As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 28, 2020
1933 Act File No. 033-11387
1940 Act File No. 811-04984
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM N-1A
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 | ☒ | |
Pre-Effective Amendment No. | ☐ | |
Post-Effective Amendment No. 366 | ☒ | |
and/or | ||
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 | ☒ | |
Amendment No. 367 | ☒ | |
(Check appropriate box or boxes.) |
AMERICAN BEACON FUNDS
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)
220 East Las Colinas Boulevard, Suite 1200
Irving, Texas 75039
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code: (817) 391-6100
It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box)
☐ | immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b) |
☒ | on April 29, 2020 pursuant to paragraph (b) |
☐ | 60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) |
☐ | on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) |
☐ | 75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) |
☐ | on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485 |
If appropriate, check the following box:
☐ | This post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment. |
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American Beacon
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PROSPECTUS
April 29, 2020
Share Class |
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A |
C |
Y |
R6 |
R5* |
Investor |
American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund |
GBSAX |
GBSCX |
GBSYX |
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GBSIX |
GBSPX |
American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund |
BLYAX |
BLYCX |
BLYYX |
BLYRX |
BRLGX |
BLYPX |
American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Value Fund |
BWLAX |
BWLCX |
BWLYX |
BWLRX |
BRLVX |
BWLIX |
American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund |
SMFAX |
SMFCX |
SMFYX |
SFMRX |
SFMIX |
STMGX |
American Beacon Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund |
SPWAX |
SPWCX |
SPWYX |
STSRX |
STSIX |
STSGX |
* Formerly known as the Institutional Class.
Beginning on January 1, 2021, as permitted by regulations adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, paper copies of a Fund's shareholder reports will no longer be sent by mail, unless you specifically request paper copies of the reports from a Fund or from your financial intermediary, such as a broker-dealer or bank. Instead, the reports will be made available on a website, and you will be notified by mail each time a report is posted and provided with a website link to access the report.
If you already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and you need
not take any action. You may elect to receive shareholder reports and other communications from a Fund or your financial intermediary electronically by going to www.americanbeaconfunds.com and clicking on ‘‘Quick Links''
and then ‘‘Register for E-Delivery."
You may elect to receive all future reports in paper free of charge. You can inform a Fund that you wish to continue receiving paper copies of your shareholder reports by calling 1-800-658-5811, option 1, or
you may directly inform your financial intermediary of your wish. A notice that will be mailed to you each time a report
is posted will also include instructions for informing a Fund that you wish to continue receiving paper copies of your shareholder reports. Your election to receive reports in paper
will apply to all funds held with the American Beacon Funds Complex or your financial intermediary, as applicable.
This Prospectus contains important information you should know about investing, including information about risks. Please read it before you invest and keep it for future reference.
As with all mutual funds, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have not approved or disapproved these securities or determined if this Prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
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Additional Information About Investment Policies and Strategies |
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Back Cover
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A-1 |
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B-1 |
American Beacon
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Investment Objective
The Fund's investment objective is 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 shares of the Fund. You may qualify for sales discounts if you and your eligible family members invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in all classes of the American Beacon Funds on an aggregated basis. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in "Choosing Your Share Class" on page 39 of the Prospectus and "Additional Purchase and Sale Information for A Class Shares" on page 41 of the statement of additional information ("SAI"). With respect to purchases of shares through specific intermediaries, you may find additional information regarding sales charge discounts and waivers in Appendix A to the Fund's Prospectus entitled "Intermediary Sales Charge Discounts and Waivers." Although the Fund does not impose any sales charge on Y Class shares, you may pay a commission to your broker on your purchases and sales of those shares, which is not reflected in the tables or Example below.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Share Class |
A |
C |
Y |
R5 |
Investor |
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Maximum sales charge imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price) |
5.75 |
% |
None |
None |
None |
None |
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Maximum deferred sales charge (as a percentage of the lower of original offering price or redemption proceeds) |
0.50 |
%1 |
1.00 |
% |
None |
None |
None |
1 A contingent deferred sales charge (‘‘CDSC'') of 0.50% will be charged on certain purchases of $1,000,000 or more of A Class shares that are redeemed in whole or part within 18 months of purchase.
2 American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (the "Manager") has contractually agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses of the Fund's A Class, C Class, Y Class, R5 Class and Investor Class shares, as applicable, through April 30, 2021 to the extent that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses exceed 1.34% for the A Class, 2.13% for the C Class, 1.08% for the Y Class, 0.98% for the R5 Class, and 1.36% for the Investor Class (excluding taxes, interest, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses, securities lending fees, expenses associated with securities sold short, litigation, and other extraordinary expenses). The contractual expense reimbursement can be changed or terminated only in the discretion and with the approval of a majority of the Fund's Board of Trustees ("Board"). The Manager may also, from time to time, voluntarily waive fees and/or reimburse expenses of the Fund. The Manager can be reimbursed by the Fund for any contractual or voluntary fee waivers or expense reimbursements if reimbursement to the Manager (a) occurs within three years from the date of the Manager's waiver/reimbursement and (b) does not cause the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses of a class to exceed the lesser of the contractual percentage limit in effect at the time of the waiver/reimbursement or the time of the recoupment.
3 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement for A Class shares do not correlate to the ratio of expenses to average net assets, net of reimbursements, provided in the Fund's Financial Highlights table, which reflects the Fund's expenses, including its fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement agreement in effect through April 30, 2020. The Annual Fund Operating Expenses table reflects the new fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement agreement that was approved by the Fund's Board effective through April 30, 2021, which differs from the prior agreement.
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, except that this Example reflects the fee waiver/expense reimbursement arrangement for each share class through April 30, 2021. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Share Class |
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
A |
$ 704 |
$ 1,035 |
$ 1,389 |
$ 2,383 |
C |
$ 316 |
$ 737 |
$ 1,285 |
$ 2,781 |
Y |
$ 110 |
$ 407 |
$ 727 |
$ 1,631 |
R5 |
$ 100 |
$ 387 |
$ 695 |
$ 1,571 |
Investor |
$ 138 |
$ 505 |
$ 895 |
$ 1,990 |
Assuming no redemption of shares:
Share Class |
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
C |
$ 216 |
$ 737 |
$ 1,285 |
$ 2,781 |
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 annual
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
1 |
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 35% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund's net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) are invested in securities of small capitalization companies. The Fund considers a company to be a small capitalization company if it has a market capitalization, at the time of investment, within the range of the market capitalizations of the companies in the Russell 2000® Index. The capitalization range of that index is subject to change over time due to market activity or changes in the composition of the index. As of March 31, 2020, the market capitalizations of the companies in the Russell 2000 Index ranged from $5.3 million to $11.2 billion.
The Fund's investment sub-advisor, Bahl & Gaynor Inc., d/b/a Bahl & Gaynor Investment Counsel ("Bahl & Gaynor") pursues its small cap growth strategy by focusing on high-quality dividend-paying stocks. Quantitative tools are initially used for screening purposes, but Bahl & Gaynor's investment process is primarily driven by fundamental, bottom-up, company-focused processes. The investment process begins by quantitatively screening the stock universe to identify companies with perceived competitive advantages by evaluating their historical revenue growth, earnings growth, long-term debt/capital, dividend history and cash flows. Bahl & Gaynor conducts extensive fundamental research on potential portfolio companies to determine which stock(s) provide the best risk/reward opportunities for inclusion in the portfolio. Bahl & Gaynor typically will sell an investment if the company's fundamentals have changed or the company's market capitalization (stock market worth) moves outside of the small cap range.
Although the Fund seeks investments across a number of sectors, from time to time, based on portfolio positioning, the Fund may have significant positions in particular sectors. However, as the sector composition of the Fund's portfolio changes over time, the Fund's exposure to a sector may be lower at a future date, and the Fund's exposure to other market sectors may be higher.
The Fund's equity investments may include common stocks, depositary receipts, U.S. dollar-denominated foreign stocks traded on U.S. exchanges, and real estate investments trusts ("REITs").
The Fund may invest cash balances in other investment companies, including money market funds and may purchase and sell futures contracts, including equity index futures contracts, to gain market exposure on cash balances in anticipation of liquidity needs. The Fund may lend its securities to broker-dealers and other institutions to earn additional income.
Principal Risks
There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective and you could lose part or all of your investment in the Fund. The Fund is not designed for investors who need an assured level of current income and is intended to be a long-term investment. The Fund is not a complete investment program and may not be appropriate for all investors. Investors should carefully consider their own investment goals and risk tolerance before investing in the Fund. The principal risks of investing in the Fund listed below are presented in alphabetical order and not in order of importance or potential exposure. Among other matters, this presentation is intended to facilitate your ability to find particular risks and compare them with the risks of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a "principal risk" of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears.
Cybersecurity and Operational Risk
The Fund and its service providers, and shareholders' ability to transact with the Fund, may be negatively impacted due to
operational risks arising from, among other problems: human errors, systems and technology disruptions or failures, or cybersecurity
incidents. Cybersecurity incidents may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data, or proprietary
information, or cause the Fund or its service providers, as well as the securities trading venues and their service providers,
to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality. It is not possible for the Fund or its service providers to identify
all of the operational risks that may affect the Fund or to develop processes and controls to completely eliminate or mitigate
their occurrence or effects. Most issuers in which the Fund invests are heavily dependent on computers for data storage and
operations, and require ready access to the internet to conduct their business. Thus, cybersecurity incidents could also affect
issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, leading to significant loss of value.
Dividend Risk
An issuer of stock held by the Fund may choose not to declare a dividend or the dividend rate might not remain at current
levels. Dividend paying stocks might not experience the same level of earnings growth or capital appreciation as non-dividend
paying stocks.
Equity Investments Risk
Equity securities are subject to investment risk and market risk. The Fund may invest in the following equity securities,
which may expose the Fund to the following additional risks:
Common Stock Risk. The value of a company's common stock may fall as a result of factors affecting the company, companies in the same industry or sector, or the financial markets overall. Common stock generally is subordinate to preferred stock upon the liquidation or bankruptcy of the issuing company.
Depositary Receipts and U.S. Dollar-Denominated Foreign Stocks Traded on U.S. Exchanges Risk. Depositary receipts and U.S. dollar-denominated foreign stocks traded on U.S. exchanges are subject to certain of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities, including, but not limited to, currency exchange rate fluctuations, political and financial instability in the home country of a particular depositary receipt or foreign stock, less liquidity and more volatility, less government regulation and supervision and delays in transaction settlement.
Real Estate Investment Trusts ("REITs") Risk. Investments in REITs are subject to the risks associated with investing in the real estate industry, including, among other risks: adverse developments affecting the real estate industry; declines in real property values; changes in interest rates; defaults by mortgagors or other borrowers and tenants; lack of availability of mortgage funds or financing; extended vacancies of properties, especially during economic downturns; casualty or condemnation losses; and governmental actions, such as changes to tax laws, zoning regulations or environmental regulations. REITs also are dependent upon the skills of their managers and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency or self-liquidation. Domestic REITs could be adversely affected by failure to qualify for tax-free "pass-through" of distributed net income and net realized gains under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended ("Internal Revenue Code"), or to maintain their exemption from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended ("Investment Company Act"). REITs typically incur fees that are separate from those incurred by the Fund. Accordingly, the Fund's investment in REITs will result in the layering of expenses such that shareholders will indirectly bear a proportionate share of the REITs' operating expenses, in addition to paying Fund expenses. The value of REIT common stock may decline when interest rates rise.
Foreign Investing Risk
Non-U.S. investments carry potential risks not associated with U.S. investments. Such risks include, but are not limited to:
(1) currency exchange rate fluctuations, (2) political and financial instability, (3) less liquidity, (4) lack of uniform accounting, auditing and financial
reporting standards, (5) increased
2 |
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
volatility, (6) different government regulation and supervision of foreign stock exchanges, brokers and listed companies, and (7) delays in transaction settlement in some foreign markets.
Futures Contracts Risk
Futures contracts are derivative instruments pursuant to a contract where the parties agree to a fixed price for an agreed
amount of securities or other underlying assets at an agreed date. The use of such derivative instruments may expose the Fund
to additional risks that it would not be subject to if it invested directly in the securities underlying those derivatives.
There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in the prices of futures contracts and the value of their
underlying instruments or indexes. There can be no assurance that any strategy used will succeed. There also can be no assurance
that, at all times, a liquid market will exist for offsetting a futures contract that the Fund has previously bought or sold
and this may result in the inability to close a futures contract when desired. Futures contracts may experience potentially
dramatic price changes, which will increase the volatility of the Fund and may involve a small investment of cash (the amount
of initial and variation margin) relative to the magnitude of the risk assumed (the potential increase or decrease in the
price of the futures contract).
Growth Companies Risk
Growth companies are expected to increase their earnings at a certain rate. When these expectations are not met, the prices
of these stocks may go down, even if earnings showed an absolute increase. The Fund's investments in growth companies may
be more sensitive to company earnings and more volatile than the market in general primarily because their stock prices are
based heavily on future expectations. If the sub-advisor's assessment of the prospects for a company's growth is incorrect, then the price of the company's stock may
fall or not approach the value that the sub-advisor has placed on it. Growth company stocks may also lack the dividend yield that can cushion stock price declines
in market downturns.
Investment Risk
An investment in the Fund is not a deposit with a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation or any other government agency. When you sell your shares of the Fund, they could be worth less than what you
paid for them. Therefore, you may lose money by investing in the Fund.
Issuer Risk
The value of, and/or the return generated by, a security may decline for a number of reasons that directly relate to the
issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services, as well
as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.
Market Risk
The Fund is subject to the risk that the securities markets will move down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably based on overall
economic conditions and other factors. The value of a security may decline due to general market conditions which are not
specifically related to a particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions, changes in the general
outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates or adverse investment sentiment generally. Changes in
the financial condition of a single issuer can impact a market as a whole. A rise in protectionist trade policies, risks associated
with the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union on January 31, 2020 and trade agreement negotiations during the
transition period, the risks associated with ongoing trade negotiations with China, and the possibility of changes to some
international trade agreements, could affect the economies of many nations, including the United States, in ways that cannot
necessarily be foreseen at the present time. The severity or duration of adverse economic conditions may also be affected
by policy changes made by governments or quasi-governmental organizations. In addition, political and governmental events
within the U.S. and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the
broader economy, perhaps suddenly and to a significant degree.
Market Disruption Risk
Geopolitical and other events, including war, terrorism, economic uncertainty, trade disputes, pandemics, public health crises
and related geopolitical events have led, and in the future may continue to lead, to instability in world economies and markets
generally. This instability has disrupted, and may continue to disrupt, U.S. and world economies and markets and adversely
affect the value of your investment. Events that have led to market disruptions include the recent pandemic spread of the
novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, the duration and full effects of which are still uncertain. Market disruptions have caused,
and may continue to cause, broad changes in market value, negative public perceptions concerning these developments, and adverse
investor sentiment or publicity. Changes in value may be temporary or may last for extended periods.
Model and Data Risk
Models and data are used to screen potential investments for the Fund. When models or data prove to be incorrect or incomplete,
any decisions made in reliance thereon expose the Fund to potential risks. Some of the models used by the sub-advisor are
predictive in nature. The use of predictive models has inherent risks. Because predictive models are usually constructed based
on historical data supplied by third parties, the success of relying on such models may depend heavily on the accuracy and
reliability of the supplied historical data. There is no assurance that the models are complete or accurate, or representative
of future market cycles, nor will they always be beneficial to the Fund if they are accurate. Additionally, programs may become
outdated or experience malfunctions which may not be identified by the sub-advisor and therefore may also result in losses
to the Fund. These models may negatively affect Fund performance for various other reasons, including human judgment, inaccuracy
of historical data and non-quantitative factors (such as market or trading system dysfunctions, investor fear or overreaction).
Other Investment Companies Risk
To the extent that the Fund invests in shares of other registered investment companies, the Fund will indirectly bear the
fees and expenses charged by those investment companies in addition to the Fund's direct fees and expenses. The Fund will
be subject to the risks associated with investments in those companies, including but not limited to the following:
Money Market Funds. Investments in money market funds are subject to interest rate risk, credit risk, and market risk.
Quantitative Strategy Risk
The success of the Fund's investment strategy may depend in part on the effectiveness of the sub-advisor's quantitative tools for screening securities. These strategies may incorporate factors that are not predictive
of a security's value. The quantitative tools may not react as expected to market events, resulting in losses for the Fund.
Additionally, a previously successful strategy may become outdated or inaccurate, which may not be identified by the sub-advisor and therefore may also result in losses.
Redemption Risk
The Fund may experience periods of high levels of redemptions that could cause the Fund to sell assets at inopportune times
or at a loss or depressed value. The sale of assets to meet redemption requests may create net capital gains, which could cause the Fund to have to distribute
substantial capital gains.
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
3 |
Redemption risk is heightened during periods of declining or illiquid markets. Additionally, during periods of heavy redemptions, the Fund may borrow funds through the interfund credit facility, or from a bank line of credit, which may increase costs. Heavy redemptions could hurt the Fund's performance.
Sector Risk
When the Fund focuses its investments in certain sectors of the economy, its performance may be driven largely by sector performance
and could fluctuate more widely than if the Fund were invested more evenly across sectors. Individual sectors may be more
volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. As the Fund's portfolio changes over time, the Fund's exposure
to a particular sector may become higher or lower.
Securities Lending Risk
The borrower of the Fund's securities must provide collateral in the form of cash or cash equivalents, securities of the U.S.
Government and its agencies and instrumentalities, approved bank letters of credit, or other forms of collateral that are
permitted by the SEC for registered investment companies in an amount at least equal to the value of the loaned securities.
For loans collateralized with cash, the Fund invests the cash in other securities.
To the extent the Fund lends its securities, it may be subject to the following risks: i) borrowers of the Fund's securities may provide collateral in the form of cash that is reinvested in securities, ii) the securities in which the cash collateral is invested may not perform sufficiently to cover the return collateral payments owed to borrowers, iii) delays may occur in the recovery of securities from borrowers, which could interfere with the Fund's ability to vote proxies or to settle transactions, and iv) there is the risk of possible loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially.
Securities Selection Risk
Securities selected by the sub-advisor for the Fund may not perform to expectations. This could result in the Fund's underperformance compared to its
benchmark index(es), or other funds with similar investment objectives or strategies.
Small Capitalization Companies Risk
Investing in the securities of small-capitalization companies involves greater risk and the possibility of greater price
volatility than investing in larger capitalization and more established companies. Since small-capitalization companies may
have narrower commercial markets, and more limited operating history, product lines, and managerial and financial resources
than larger, more established companies, the securities of these companies may lack sufficient market liquidity and they can
be particularly sensitive to expected changes in interest rates, borrowing costs and earnings.
Fund Performance
The bar chart and table below provide an indication of risk by showing changes in the Fund's performance over time. The bar chart shows how the Fund's performance has varied from year to year. The table shows how the Fund's average annual total returns compare to a broad-based market index, which is the Fund's benchmark index, for the periods indicated. You may obtain updated performance information on the Fund's website at www.americanbeaconfunds.com. 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 periods ended December 31, 2019.
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Inception Date of Class |
1 Year |
5 Years |
Since Inception |
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Investor Class |
07/15/2014 |
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Returns Before Taxes |
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24.99 |
% |
8.68 |
% |
9.28 |
% |
Returns After Taxes on Distributions |
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24.88 |
% |
8.01 |
% |
8.65 |
% |
Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sales of Fund Shares |
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14.87 |
% |
6.75 |
% |
7.27 |
% |
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Inception Date of Class |
1 Year |
5 Years |
Since Inception |
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Share Class (Before Taxes) |
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A |
07/15/2014 |
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17.75 |
% |
7.38 |
% |
8.08 |
% |
C |
07/15/2014 |
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22.99 |
% |
7.85 |
% |
8.44 |
% |
Y |
07/15/2014 |
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25.34 |
% |
8.99 |
% |
9.60 |
% |
R5 |
07/15/2014 |
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25.49 |
% |
9.10 |
% |
9.70 |
% |
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1 Year |
5 Years |
Since Inception |
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Index (Reflects no deduction for fees expenses or taxes) |
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Russell 2000 Growth Index |
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28.48 |
% |
9.34 |
% |
9.96 |
% |
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 income taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. The return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period. If you are a tax-exempt entity or hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as an individual retirement account ("IRA") or a 401(k) plan,
4 |
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
the after-tax returns do not apply to your situation. After-tax returns are shown only for Investor Class shares of the Fund; after-tax returns for other share classes will vary.
Management
The Manager
The Fund has retained American Beacon Advisors, Inc. to serve as its Manager.
Sub-Advisor
The Fund's investment sub-advisor is Bahl & Gaynor Inc., d/b/a Bahl & Gaynor Investment Counsel ("Bahl & Gaynor Investment Counsel").
Portfolio Managers
Bahl & Gaynor Investment Counsel |
Edward A. Woods, CFA, CIC
Scott D. Rodes, CFA, CIC
James E. Russell, Jr., CFA, CIC
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Stephanie S. Thomas, CFA
Nicholas W. Puncer, CFA, CFP®
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Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
You may buy or sell shares of the Fund through a direct mutual fund account, a retirement account, an investment professional or another financial intermediary. As a direct mutual fund account shareholder, you may buy or sell shares in various ways:
Internet |
www.americanbeaconfunds.com |
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Phone |
To reach an American Beacon representative call 1-800-658-5811, option 1
Through the Automated Voice Response Service call 1-800-658-5811, option 2 (Investor Class only)
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American Beacon Funds
P.O. Box 219643
Kansas City, MO 64121-9643
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Overnight Delivery:
American Beacon Funds
c/o DST Asset Manager Solutions, Inc.
330 West 9th Street
Kansas City, MO 64105
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You may purchase or redeem shares of the Fund on any day the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") is open, at the Fund's net asset value ("NAV") per share next calculated after your order is received in proper form, subject to any applicable sales charge.
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New Account |
Existing Account |
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Share Class |
Minimum Initial Investment Amount |
Purchase/Redemption Minimum by Check/ACH/Exchange |
Purchase/Redemption Minimum by Wire |
C |
$1,000 |
$50 |
$250 |
A, Investor |
$2,500 |
$50 |
$250 |
Y |
$100,000 |
$50 |
None |
R5 |
$250,000 |
$50 |
None |
Tax Information
Dividends, capital gains distributions, and other distributions, if any, that you receive from the Fund are subject to federal income tax and may also be subject to state and local income taxes, unless you are a tax-exempt entity or your account is tax-deferred, such as an individual retirement account or a 401(k) plan (in which case you may be taxed later, upon the withdrawal of your investment from such account or plan).
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 the Fund's distributor, Resolute Investment Distributors, Inc. or the Manager 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 individual financial adviser to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial adviser or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
5 |
American Beacon
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Investment Objective
The Fund seeks long-term total return on capital, primarily through capital appreciation.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
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 discounts if you and your eligible family members invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in all classes of the American Beacon Funds on an aggregated basis. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in "Choosing Your Share Class" on page 39 of the Prospectus and "Additional Purchase and Sale Information for A Class Shares" on page 41 of the statement of additional information ("SAI"). With respect to purchases of shares through specific intermediaries, you may find additional information regarding sales charge discounts and waivers in Appendix A to the Fund's Prospectus entitled "Intermediary Sales Charge Discounts and Waivers." Although the Fund does not impose any sales charge on Y Class shares, you may pay a commission to your broker on your purchases and sales of those shares, which is not reflected in the tables or Example below.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Share Class |
A |
C |
Y |
R6 |
R5 |
Investor |
||||||
Maximum sales charge imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price) |
5.75 |
% |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
|||||
Maximum deferred sales charge (as a percentage of the lower of original offering price or redemption proceeds) |
0.50 |
%1 |
1.00 |
% |
None |
None |
None |
None |
1 A contingent deferred sales charge (‘‘CDSC'') of 0.50% will be charged on certain purchases of $1,000,000 or more of A Class shares that are redeemed in whole or part within 18 months of purchase.
2 During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, the Fund paid amounts to American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (the "Manager") that were previously waived and/or reimbursed under a contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement agreement for the Fund's A Class and C Class shares in the amount of 0.03% for the A Class and 0.04% for the C Class. As a result of the reimbursement, the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses of the A Class and C Class shares do not correlate to the ratio of expenses to average net assets provided in the Financial Highlights table.
3 The Manager has contractually agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses of the Fund's A Class, Y Class, R6 Class, R5
Class and Investor Class shares, as applicable, through April 30, 2021 to the extent that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses exceed 1.10% for the A Class, 1.84% for the C Class, 0.87% for the Y Class, 0.76% for the R6 Class, 0.81% for the R5 Class and 1.12% for the Investor Class (excluding taxes, interest, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses, securities lending
fees, expenses associated with securities sold short, litigation, and other extraordinary expenses). The contractual expense
reimbursement can be changed or terminated only in the discretion and with the approval of a majority of the Fund's Board
of Trustees (the "Board"). The Manager may also, from time to time, voluntarily waive fees and/or reimburse expenses of the
Fund. The Manager can be reimbursed by the Fund for any contractual or voluntary fee waivers or expense reimbursements if
reimbursement to the Manager (a) occurs within three years from the date of the Manager's waiver/reimbursement and (b) does
not cause the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses of a class to exceed the lesser of the contractual percentage limit in
effect at the time of the waiver/reimbursement or the time of the recoupment.
4 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement for A Class, C Class, Y Class and Investor Class shares do not correlate to the ratio of expenses to average net assets, net of reimbursements, provided in the Fund's Financial Highlights table, which reflects the Fund's expenses, including its fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement agreement in effect through April 30, 2020. The Annual Fund Operating Expenses table reflects the new fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement agreement that was approved by the Fund's Board effective through April 30, 2021, which differs from the prior agreement.
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, except that the Example reflects the fee waiver/expense reimbursement arrangement for each share class through April 30, 2021. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
6 |
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
Assuming no redemption of shares:
Share Class |
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
C |
$ 187 |
$ 604 |
$ 1,046 |
$ 2,276 |
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 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 77% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund invests in a diversified portfolio of large capitalization companies that are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE American, or Nasdaq. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus borrowings for investment purposes) in stocks from among those in the large-cap growth category at the time of purchase. For purposes of the Fund's investments, "large-cap stocks" are stocks of companies whose market capitalization falls within the range of the Russell 1000® Index at the time of investment. The Russell 1000 Index is an unmanaged, market value weighted index, which measures performance of approximately 1,000 of the largest companies in the U.S. equity market. The Russell 1000 Index is reconstituted from time to time. The market capitalization range for the Russell 1000 Index was $75.6 million to $1.2 trillion as of March 31, 2020.
Growth stocks are those that the Fund's sub-advisor, Bridgeway Capital Management, Inc. ("Bridgeway Capital") believes have above average prospects for economic growth. Generally, these are stocks represented in the Russell 1000® Growth Index, but may also include stocks of other companies with similar "growth" characteristics whose market capitalizations are within the range of the Russell 1000 Index. The Russell 1000 Growth Index includes those Russell 1000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values.
The Fund's investments may include common stocks, preferred stocks, securities convertible into U.S. common stocks, real estate investment trusts ("REITs"), depositary receipts and dollar-denominated foreign stocks traded on U.S. exchanges (collectively referred to as "stocks"). The Fund also may invest in stocks of mid-capitalization companies.
Bridgeway Capital selects stocks within the large-cap growth category using a statistically driven approach. Bridgeway Capital will not necessarily sell a stock if it "migrates" outside the market capitalization range of the Russell 1000 Index after purchase. As a result, due to such "migration" or other market movements, the Fund may have less than 80% of its assets in large-cap stocks at any point in time. Based on statistically driven rules, securities are sold when the reasons for selecting the stock are no longer valid or when necessary to maintain the risk profile of the overall Fund.
Although the Fund seeks investments across a number of sectors, from time to time, based on portfolio positioning to reflect its benchmark index, the Fund may have significant positions in particular sectors, including the Information Technology sector. However, as the sector composition of the Fund's portfolio changes over time, the Fund's exposure to the Information Technology sector may be lower at a future date, and the Fund's exposure to other market sectors may be higher.
While the Fund is actively managed for long-term total return, Bridgeway Capital seeks to minimize capital gain distributions as part of a tax management strategy. The successful application of this method is intended to result in a more tax-efficient fund than would otherwise be the case.
The Fund may also invest cash balances in other investment companies, including money market funds, and may purchase and sell futures contracts, including equity index futures contracts, to gain market exposure on cash balances or reduce market exposure in anticipation of liquidity needs. The Fund may lend its securities to broker-dealers and other institutions to earn additional income.
Principal Risks
There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective and you could lose part or all of your investment in the Fund. The Fund is not designed for investors who need an assured level of current income and is intended to be a long-term investment. The Fund is not a complete investment program and may not be appropriate for all investors. Investors should carefully consider their own investment goals and risk tolerance before investing in the Fund. The principal risks of investing in the Fund listed below are presented in alphabetical order and not in order of importance or potential exposure. Among other matters, this presentation is intended to facilitate your ability to find particular risks and compare them with the risks of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a "principal risk" of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears.
Allocation Risk
The sub-advisor's judgments about, and allocations among, strategies, asset classes and market exposures may adversely affect
the Fund's performance. There can be no assurance, particularly during periods of market disruption and stress, that the sub-advisor's
judgements about asset allocation will be correct.
Cybersecurity and Operational Risk
The Fund and its service providers, and shareholders' ability to transact with the Fund, may be negatively impacted due to
operational risks arising from, among other problems: human errors, systems and technology disruptions or failures, or cybersecurity
incidents. Cybersecurity incidents may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data, or proprietary
information, or cause the Fund or its service providers, as well as the securities trading venues and their service providers,
to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality. It is not possible for the Fund or its service providers to identify
all of the operational risks that may affect the Fund or to develop processes and controls to completely eliminate or mitigate
their occurrence or effects. Most issuers in which the Fund invests are heavily dependent on computers for data storage and
operations, and require ready access to the internet to conduct their business. Thus, cybersecurity incidents could also affect
issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, leading to significant loss of value.
Equity Investments Risk
Equity securities are subject to investment risk and market risk. The Fund may invest in the following equity securities,
which may expose the Fund to the following additional risks:
Common Stock Risk. The value of a company's common stock may fall as a result of factors affecting the company, companies in the same industry or sector, or the financial markets overall. Common stock generally is subordinate to preferred stock upon the liquidation or bankruptcy of the issuing company.
Convertible Securities Risk. Convertible securities are subject to the risk that the credit standing of the issuer may have an effect on the convertible securities' investment value. Convertible securities are also sensitive to movements in interest rates. Generally, a convertible security is subject to the market risks of stocks when the underlying stock's price is high relative to the conversion price, and is subject to the market risks of debt securities when the underlying stock's price is low relative to the conversion price.
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
7 |
Depositary Receipts and U.S. Dollar-Denominated Foreign Stocks Traded on U.S. Exchanges Risk. Depositary receipts and U.S. dollar-denominated foreign stocks traded on U.S. exchanges are subject to certain of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities, including, but not limited to, currency exchange rate fluctuations, political and financial instability in the home country of a particular depositary receipt or foreign stock, less liquidity and more volatility, less government regulation and supervision and delays in transaction settlement.
Preferred Stock Risk. Preferred stocks are sensitive to movements in interest rates. Preferred stocks may be less liquid than common stocks and, unlike common stocks, participation in the growth of an issuer may be limited. Distributions on preferred stocks generally are payable at the discretion of an issuer and after required payments to bond holders. In certain situations, an issuer may call or redeem its preferred stock or convert it to common stock. The market prices of preferred stocks are generally more sensitive to actual or perceived changes in the issuer's financial condition or prospects than are the prices of debt securities.
Real Estate Investment Trusts ("REITs") Risk. Investments in REITs are subject to the risks associated with investing in the real estate industry, including, among other risks: adverse developments affecting the real estate industry; declines in real property values; changes in interest rates; defaults by mortgagors or other borrowers and tenants; lack of availability of mortgage funds or financing; extended vacancies of properties, especially during economic downturns; casualty or condemnation losses; and governmental actions, such as changes to tax laws, zoning regulations or environmental regulations. REITs also are dependent upon the skills of their managers and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency or self-liquidation. Domestic REITs could be adversely affected by failure to qualify for tax-free "pass-through" of distributed net income and net realized gains under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended ("Internal Revenue Code"), or to maintain their exemption from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended ("Investment Company Act"). REITs typically incur fees that are separate from those incurred by the Fund. Accordingly, the Fund's investment in REITs will result in the layering of expenses such that shareholders will indirectly bear a proportionate share of the REITs' operating expenses, in addition to paying Fund expenses. The value of REIT common stock may decline when interest rates rise.
Foreign Investing Risk
Non-U.S. investments carry potential risks not associated with U.S. investments. Such risks include, but are not limited
to: (1) currency exchange rate fluctuations, (2) political and financial instability, (3) less liquidity, (4) lack of uniform
accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, (5) increased volatility, (6) different government regulation and
supervision of foreign stock exchanges, brokers and listed companies, and (7) delays in transaction settlement in some foreign
markets.
Futures Contracts Risk
Futures contracts are derivative instruments pursuant to a contract where the parties agree to a fixed price for an agreed
amount of securities or other underlying assets at an agreed date. The use of such derivative instruments may expose the Fund
to additional risks that it would not be subject to if it invested directly in the securities underlying those derivatives.
There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in the prices of futures contracts and the value of their
underlying instruments or indexes. There can be no assurance that any strategy used will succeed. There also can be no assurance
that, at all times, a liquid market will exist for offsetting a futures contract that the Fund has previously bought or sold
and this may result in the inability to close a futures contract when desired. Futures contracts may experience potentially
dramatic price changes, which will increase the volatility of the Fund and may involve a small investment of cash (the amount
of initial and variation margin) relative to the magnitude of the risk assumed (the potential increase or decrease in the
price of the futures contract).
Growth Companies Risk
Growth companies are expected to increase their earnings at a certain rate. When these expectations are not met, the prices
of these stocks may go down, even if earnings showed an absolute increase. The Fund's investments in growth companies may
be more sensitive to company earnings and more volatile than the market in general primarily because their stock prices are
based heavily on future expectations. If the sub-advisor's assessment of the prospects for a company's growth is incorrect, then the price of the company's stock may
fall or not approach the value that the sub-advisor has placed on it. Growth company stocks may also lack the dividend yield that can cushion stock price declines
in market downturns.
Investment Risk
An investment in the Fund is not a deposit with a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation or any other government agency. When you sell your shares of the Fund, they could be worth less than what you
paid for them. Therefore, you may lose money by investing in the Fund.
Issuer Risk
The value of, and/or the return generated by, a security may decline for a number of reasons that directly relate to the
issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services, as well
as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.
Large Capitalization Companies Risk
The securities of large market capitalization companies may underperform other segments of the market because such companies
may be less responsive to competitive challenges and opportunities. Many larger capitalization companies also may be unable
to attain the high growth rates of successful smaller companies, especially during periods of economic expansion.
Market Risk
The Fund is subject to the risk that the securities markets will move down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably based on overall
economic conditions and other factors. The value of a security may decline due to general market conditions which are not
specifically related to a particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions, changes in the general
outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates or adverse investment sentiment generally. Changes in
the financial condition of a single issuer can impact a market as a whole. A rise in protectionist trade policies, risks associated
with the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union on January 31, 2020 and trade agreement negotiations during the
transition period, the risks associated with ongoing trade negotiations with China, and the possibility of changes to some
international trade agreements, could affect the economies of many nations, including the United States, in ways that cannot
necessarily be foreseen at the present time. The severity or duration of adverse economic conditions may also be affected
by policy changes made by governments or quasi-governmental organizations. In addition, political and governmental events
within the U.S. and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the
broader economy, perhaps suddenly and to a significant degree.
Market Disruption Risk
Geopolitical and other events, including war, terrorism, economic uncertainty, trade disputes, pandemics, public health crises
and related geopolitical events have led, and in the future may continue to lead, to instability in world economies and markets generally. This instability
has disrupted, and may continue to disrupt, U.S. and world economies and markets and adversely affect the value of your investment. Events that have led to market
disruptions include the recent pandemic spread of the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, the duration and full effects of which are still uncertain.
Market disruptions have
8 |
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
caused, and may continue to cause, broad changes in market value, negative public perceptions concerning these developments, and adverse investor sentiment or publicity. Changes in value may be temporary or may last for extended periods.
Mid-Capitalization Companies Risk
Investing in the securities of mid-capitalization companies involves greater risk and the possibility of greater price volatility
than investing in larger capitalization and more established companies. Since mid-capitalization companies may have narrower
commercial markets and more limited operating history, product lines, and managerial and financial resources than larger,
more established companies, the securities of these companies may lack sufficient market liquidity, and they can be particularly
sensitive to expected changes in interest rates, borrowing costs and earnings.
Model and Data Risk
Models and data are used to screen potential investments for the Fund. When models or data prove to be incorrect or incomplete,
any decisions made in reliance thereon expose the Fund to potential risks. Some of the models used by the sub-advisor are
predictive in nature. The use of predictive models has inherent risks. Because predictive models are usually constructed based
on historical data supplied by third parties, the success of relying on such models may depend heavily on the accuracy and
reliability of the supplied historical data. There is no assurance that the models are complete or accurate, or representative
of future market cycles, nor will they always be beneficial to the Fund if they are accurate. Additionally, programs may become
outdated or experience malfunctions which may not be identified by the sub-advisor and therefore may also result in losses
to the Fund. These models may negatively affect Fund performance for various other reasons, including human judgment, inaccuracy
of historical data and non-quantitative factors (such as market or trading system dysfunctions, investor fear or overreaction).
Modeling and Programming Error Risk
The success of the sub-advisor's investment strategy depends largely on the effectiveness of its quantitative research models
and investment programs. The programs may not react as expected to market events, resulting in losses for the Fund. Additionally,
programs may become outdated or experience malfunctions, which may not be identified by the sub-advisor and therefore may
also result in losses to the Fund. There is no assurance that the models and programs are complete or accurate, or representative
of future market cycles, nor will they always be beneficial to the Fund if they are accurate. These models and programs may
negatively affect Fund performance for various reasons, including human judgment, inaccuracy of historical data and non-quantitative
factors (such as market or trading system dysfunctions, investor fear or over-reaction.
Other Investment Companies Risk
To the extent that the Fund invests in shares of other registered investment companies, the Fund will indirectly bear the
fees and expenses charged by those investment companies in addition to the Fund's direct fees and expenses. The Fund will
be subject to the risks associated with investments in those companies, including but not limited to the following:
Money Market Funds. Investments in money market funds are subject to interest rate risk, credit risk, and market risk.
Redemption Risk
The Fund may experience periods of high levels of redemptions that could cause the Fund to sell assets at inopportune times
or at a loss or depressed value. The sale of assets to meet redemption requests may create net capital gains, which could
cause the Fund to have to distribute substantial capital gains. Redemption risk is heightened during periods of declining
or illiquid markets. Additionally, during periods of heavy redemptions, the Fund may borrow funds through the interfund credit
facility, or from a bank line of credit, which may increase costs. Heavy redemptions could hurt the Fund's performance.
Sector Risk
When the Fund focuses its investments in certain sectors of the economy, its performance may be driven largely by sector performance
and could fluctuate more widely than if the Fund were invested more evenly across sectors. Individual sectors may be more
volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. As the Fund's portfolio changes over time, the Fund's exposure
to a particular sector may become higher or lower.
Information Technology Sector Risk. The information technology sector includes companies engaged in internet software and services, technology hardware and storage peripherals, electronic equipment and components, and semiconductors and semiconductor equipment. Information technology companies face intense competition, both domestically and internationally, which may have an adverse effect on profit margins. Information technology companies may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. The products of information technology companies may face rapid product obsolescence due to technological developments and frequent new product introduction, unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for the services of qualified personnel. Failure to introduce new products, develop and maintain a loyal customer base or achieve general market acceptance for their products could have a material adverse effect on a company's business. Companies in the information technology sector are heavily dependent on intellectual property and the loss of patent, copyright or trademark protections may adversely affect the profitability of these companies.
Securities Lending Risk
The borrower of the Fund's securities must provide collateral in the form of cash or cash equivalents, securities of the U.S.
Government and its agencies and instrumentalities, approved bank letters of credit, or other forms of collateral that are
permitted by the SEC for registered investment companies in an amount at least equal to the value of the loaned securities.
For loans collateralized with cash, the Fund invests the cash in other securities.
To the extent the Fund lends its securities, it may be subject to the following risks: i) borrowers of the Fund's securities may provide collateral in the form of cash that is reinvested in securities, ii) the securities in which the cash collateral is invested may not perform sufficiently to cover the return collateral payments owed to borrowers, iii) delays may occur in the recovery of securities from borrowers, which could interfere with the Fund's ability to vote proxies or to settle transactions, and iv) there is the risk of possible loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially.
Securities Selection Risk
Securities selected by the sub-advisor for the Fund may not perform to expectations. This could result in the Fund's underperformance compared to its
benchmark index(es), or other funds with similar investment objectives or strategies.
Fund Performance
The bar chart and table below provide an indication of risk by showing changes in the Fund's performance over time. The bar chart shows how the Fund's performance has varied from year to year. The table shows how the Fund's average annual total returns compare compares to a broad-based market index, which is the Fund's benchmark index and was the benchmark index of the Fund's predecessor, for the periods indicated.
On February 5, 2016, the Fund acquired all the assets and assumed all the liabilities of the Fund's predecessor. In connection with that reorganization, the R5 Class shares of the Fund adopted the performance history and financial statements of the Fund's predecessor. In the bar chart and table below, the performance of the Fund's R5 Class shares for periods prior to February 5, 2016 is the performance of the Fund's predecessor. In the table below, the performance of the Fund's A Class, C Class, Y Class and Investor Class shares for periods prior to February 5, 2016 also represents the returns of the Fund's predecessor. In the table below, the performance for the R6 Class shares for periods prior to April 30, 2018 represents the returns achieved by the Fund's
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
9 |
predecessor from January 1, 2010 through February 4, 2016 and the performance of the Fund's R5 Class from February 5, 2016 through April 29, 2018. In each case, the newer share classes would have had similar annual returns to the Fund's predecessor because the shares of each class represent investments in the same portfolio securities. However, the older share class had different expenses than the newer share classes, which would affect performance. The performance of the newer share classes shown in the table has not been adjusted for differences in operating expenses between those share classes and the shares of the Fund's predecessor, but the A Class and C Class shares performance has been adjusted for the impact of the maximum applicable sales charge. You may obtain updated performance information on the Fund's website at www.americanbeaconfunds.com. 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 periods ended December 31, 2019.
|
Inception Date of Class |
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||
R5 Class |
10/31/2003 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Returns Before Taxes |
|
|
30.18 |
% |
11.24 |
% |
13.75 |
% |
Returns After Taxes on Distributions |
|
|
27.28 |
% |
9.81 |
% |
12.94 |
% |
Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sales of Fund Shares |
|
|
19.94 |
% |
8.67 |
% |
11.43 |
% |
|
Inception Date of Class |
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||
Share Class (Before Taxes) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A |
02/05/2016 |
|
22.29 |
% |
9.63 |
% |
12.92 |
% |
C |
02/05/2016 |
|
27.75 |
% |
10.28 |
% |
13.26 |
% |
Y |
02/05/2016 |
|
30.11 |
% |
11.17 |
% |
13.71 |
% |
Investor |
02/05/2016 |
|
29.70 |
% |
10.91 |
% |
13.58 |
% |
R6 |
04/30/2018 |
|
30.30 |
% |
11.26 |
% |
13.76 |
% |
|
|
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||
Index (Reflects no deduction for fees expenses or taxes) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Russell 1000 Growth Index |
|
|
36.39 |
% |
14.63 |
% |
15.22 |
% |
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 income taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. The return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period. If you are a tax-exempt entity or hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as an individual retirement account ("IRA") or a 401(k) plan, the after-tax returns do not apply to your situation. After-tax returns are shown only for the R5 Class shares of the Fund; after-tax returns for other share classes will vary.
Management
The Manager
The Fund has retained American Beacon Advisors, Inc. to serve as its Manager.
Sub-Advisor
The Fund's investment sub-advisor is Bridgeway Capital Management, Inc.
Portfolio Managers
Bridgeway Capital Management, Inc.
|
John Montgomery
Michael Whipple
|
Elena Khoziaeva
|
* Predecessor Fund inception date.
** Includes Predecessor Fund.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
You may buy or sell shares of the Fund through a direct mutual fund account, a retirement account, an investment professional or another financial intermediary. As a direct mutual fund account shareholder, you may buy or sell shares in various ways:
10 |
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
Internet |
www.americanbeaconfunds.com |
|
Phone |
To reach an American Beacon representative call 1-800-658-5811, option 1
Through the Automated Voice Response Service call 1-800-658-5811, option 2 (Investor Class only)
|
|
|
American Beacon Funds
P.O. Box 219643
Kansas City, MO 64121-9643
|
Overnight Delivery:
American Beacon Funds
c/o DST Asset Manager Solutions, Inc.
330 West 9th Street
Kansas City, MO 64105
|
You may purchase or redeem shares of the Fund on any day the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") is open, at the Fund's net asset value ("NAV") per share next calculated after your order is received in proper form, subject to any applicable sales charge.
|
New Account |
Existing Account |
|
Share Class |
Minimum Initial Investment Amount |
Purchase/Redemption Minimum by Check/ACH/Exchange |
Purchase/Redemption Minimum by Wire |
C |
$1,000 |
$50 |
$250 |
A, Investor |
$2,500 |
$50 |
$250 |
Y |
$100,000 |
$50 |
None |
R5 |
$250,000 |
$50 |
None |
R6 |
None |
$50 |
None |
Tax Information
Dividends, capital gains distributions, and other distributions, if any, that you receive from the Fund are subject to federal income tax and may also be subject to state and local income taxes, unless you are a tax-exempt entity or your account is tax-deferred, such as an individual retirement account or a 401(k) plan (in which case you may be taxed later, upon the withdrawal of your investment from such account or plan).
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 the Fund's distributor, Resolute Investment Distributors, Inc. or the Manager 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 individual financial adviser to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial adviser or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
11 |
American Beacon
|
|
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks to provide long-term total return on capital, primarily through capital appreciation and some income.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
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 discounts if you and your eligible family members invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in all classes of the American Beacon Funds on an aggregated basis. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in "Choosing Your Share Class" on page 39 of the Prospectus and "Additional Purchase and Sale Information for A Class Shares" on page 41 of the statement of additional information ("SAI"). With respect to purchases of shares through specific intermediaries, you may find additional information regarding sales charge discounts and waivers in Appendix A to the Fund's Prospectus entitled "Intermediary Sales Charge Discounts and Waivers." Although the Fund does not impose any sales charge on Y Class shares, you may pay a commission to your broker on your purchases and sales of those shares, which is not reflected in the tables or Example below.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Share Class |
A |
C |
Y |
R6 |
R5 |
Investor |
||||||
Maximum sales charge imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price) |
5.75 |
% |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
|||||
Maximum deferred sales charge (as a percentage of the lower of original offering price or redemption proceeds) |
0.50 |
%1 |
1.00 |
% |
None |
None |
None |
None |
1 A contingent deferred sales charge (‘‘CDSC'') of 0.50% will be charged on certain purchases of $1,000,000 or more of A Class shares that are redeemed in whole or part within 18 months of purchase.
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:
Assuming no redemption of shares:
Share Class |
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
C |
$ 184 |
$ 569 |
$ 980 |
$ 2,127 |
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 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% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund invests in a diversified portfolio of stocks of large capitalization companies that are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE American, or Nasdaq. Under normal market conditions, at least 80% of Fund net assets (plus borrowings for investment purposes) are invested in stocks from among those in the large-cap value category at the time of purchase. For purposes of the Fund's investment portfolio, "large-cap stocks" are those whose market capitalization (stock market worth) falls within the range of the Russell 1000® Index at the time of investment. The Russell 1000® Index measures the performance of the 1,000 largest U.S. companies based on total market capitalization. As of March 31, 2020, the market capitalizations of the companies in the Russell 1000® Index ranged from $75.6 million to $1.2 trillion.
The Fund's sub-advisor, Bridgeway Capital Management, Inc. ("Bridgeway Capital"), selects stocks within the large-cap value category for the Fund using a proprietary statistically driven approach. Value stocks are those Bridgeway Capital believes are priced cheaply relative to some financial measures of worth,
12 |
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
such as the ratio of price to earnings, price to sales, or price to cash flow. Generally, these are stocks represented in the Russell 1000® Value Index, plus large capitalization stocks with similar "value" characteristics. The Russell 1000® Value Index includes those Russell 1000® companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values. Based on statistically driven rules, securities are sold when the reasons for selecting the stock are no longer valid or when necessary to maintain the risk profile of the overall Fund.
The Fund's investments may include common stocks, preferred stocks, securities convertible into U.S. common stocks, real estate investment trusts ("REITs"), American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs") and U.S. dollar-denominated foreign stocks traded on U.S. exchanges (collectively referred to as "stocks"). The Fund also may invest in stocks of mid-capitalization companies.
The Fund may also invest cash balances in other investment companies, including money market funds, and may purchase and sell futures contracts, including equity index futures contracts, to gain market exposure on cash balances or reduce market exposure in anticipation of liquidity needs. The Fund may lend its securities to broker-dealers and other institutions to earn additional income.
Bridgeway Capital selects stocks within the large-cap growth category using a statistically driven approach. Bridgeway Capital will not necessarily sell a stock if it "migrates" outside the market capitalization range of the Russell 1000 Index after purchase. As a result, due to such "migration" or other market movements, the Fund may have less than 80% of its assets in large-cap stocks at any point in time.
While the Fund is actively managed for long-term total return, Bridgeway Capital seeks to minimize capital gains distributions as part of a tax management strategy. The successful application of this method is intended to result in a more tax-efficient fund than would otherwise be the case.
Although the Fund seeks investments across a number of sectors, from time to time, based on portfolio positioning to reflect its benchmark index, the Fund may have significant positions in particular sectors, including the Financial sector. However, as the sector composition of the Fund's portfolio changes over time, the Fund's exposure to the Financial sector may be lower at a future date, and the Fund's exposure to other market sectors may be higher.
The Fund's income is derived almost exclusively from dividend-paying stocks held by the Fund. However, not all stocks held by the Fund pay dividends.
Principal Risks
There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective and you could lose part or all of your investment in the Fund. The Fund is not designed for investors who need an assured level of current income and is intended to be a long-term investment. The Fund is not a complete investment program and may not be appropriate for all investors. Investors should carefully consider their own investment goals and risk tolerance before investing in the Fund. The principal risks of investing in the Fund listed below are presented in alphabetical order and not in order of importance or potential exposure. Among other matters, this presentation is intended to facilitate your ability to find particular risks and compare them with the risks of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a "principal risk" of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears.
Allocation Risk
The sub-advisor's judgments about, and allocations among, strategies, asset classes and market exposures may adversely affect
the Fund's performance. There can be no assurance, particularly during periods of market disruption and stress, that the sub-advisor's
judgements about asset allocation will be correct.
Cybersecurity and Operational Risk
The Fund and its service providers, and shareholders' ability to transact with the Fund, may be negatively impacted due to
operational risks arising from, among other problems: human errors, systems and technology disruptions or failures, or cybersecurity
incidents. Cybersecurity incidents may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data, or proprietary
information, or cause the Fund or its service providers, as well as the securities trading venues and their service providers,
to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality. It is not possible for the Fund or its service providers to identify
all of the operational risks that may affect the Fund or to develop processes and controls to completely eliminate or mitigate
their occurrence or effects. Most issuers in which the Fund invests are heavily dependent on computers for data storage and
operations, and require ready access to the internet to conduct their business. Thus, cybersecurity incidents could also affect
issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, leading to significant loss of value.
Dividend Risk
An issuer of stock held by the Fund may choose not to declare a dividend or the dividend rate might not remain at current
levels. Dividend paying stocks might not experience the same level of earnings growth or capital appreciation as non-dividend
paying stocks.
Equity Investments Risk
Equity securities are subject to investment risk and market risk. The Fund may invest in the following equity securities,
which may expose the Fund to the following additional risks:
Common Stock Risk. The value of a company's common stock may fall as a result of factors affecting the company, companies in the same industry or sector, or the financial markets overall. Common stock generally is subordinate to preferred stock upon the liquidation or bankruptcy of the issuing company.
Convertible Securities Risk. Convertible securities are subject to the risk that the credit standing of the issuer may have an effect on the convertible securities' investment value. Convertible securities are also sensitive to movements in interest rates. Generally, a convertible security is subject to the market risks of stocks when the underlying stock's price is high relative to the conversion price, and is subject to the market risks of debt securities when the underlying stock's price is low relative to the conversion price.
Depositary Receipts and U.S. Dollar-Denominated Foreign Stocks Traded on U.S. Exchanges Risk. Depositary receipts and U.S. dollar-denominated foreign stocks traded on U.S. exchanges are subject to certain of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities, including, but not limited to, currency exchange rate fluctuations, political and financial instability in the home country of a particular depositary receipt or foreign stock, less liquidity and more volatility, less government regulation and supervision and delays in transaction settlement.
Preferred Stock Risk. Preferred stocks are sensitive to movements in interest rates. Preferred stocks may be less liquid than common stocks and, unlike common stocks, participation in the growth of an issuer may be limited. Distributions on preferred stocks generally are payable at the discretion of an issuer and after required payments to bond holders. In certain situations, an issuer may call or redeem its preferred stock or convert it to common stock. The market prices of preferred stocks are generally more sensitive to actual or perceived changes in the issuer's financial condition or prospects than are the prices of debt securities.
Real Estate Investment Trusts ("REITs") Risk. Investments in REITs are subject to the risks associated with investing in the real estate industry, including, among other risks: adverse developments affecting the real estate industry; declines in real property values; changes in interest rates; defaults by mortgagors or other borrowers and tenants; lack of availability of mortgage funds or financing; extended vacancies of properties, especially during economic downturns; casualty or condemnation losses; and governmental actions, such as changes to tax laws, zoning regulations or environmental regulations. REITs also are dependent upon the skills of their managers and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency or self-liquidation. Domestic REITs could be adversely affected by failure to qualify for tax-free "pass-through" of distributed net income and net realized gains under the Internal Revenue
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
13 |
Code of 1986, as amended ("Internal Revenue Code"), or to maintain their exemption from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended ("Investment Company Act"). REITs typically incur fees that are separate from those incurred by the Fund. Accordingly, the Fund's investment in REITs will result in the layering of expenses such that shareholders will indirectly bear a proportionate share of the REITs' operating expenses, in addition to paying Fund expenses. The value of REIT common stock may decline when interest rates rise.
Foreign Investing Risk
Non-U.S. investments carry potential risks not associated with U.S. investments. Such risks include, but are not limited
to: (1) currency exchange rate fluctuations, (2) political and financial instability, (3) less liquidity, (4) lack of uniform
accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, (5) increased volatility, (6) different government regulation and
supervision of foreign stock exchanges, brokers and listed companies, and (7) delays in transaction settlement in some foreign
markets.
Futures Contracts Risk
Futures contracts are derivative instruments pursuant to a contract where the parties agree to a fixed price for an agreed
amount of securities or other underlying assets at an agreed date. The use of such derivative instruments may expose the Fund
to additional risks that it would not be subject to if it invested directly in the securities underlying those derivatives.
There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in the prices of futures contracts and the value of their
underlying instruments or indexes. There can be no assurance that any strategy used will succeed. There also can be no assurance
that, at all times, a liquid market will exist for offsetting a futures contract that the Fund has previously bought or sold
and this may result in the inability to close a futures contract when desired. Futures contracts may experience potentially
dramatic price changes, which will increase the volatility of the Fund and may involve a small investment of cash (the amount
of initial and variation margin) relative to the magnitude of the risk assumed (the potential increase or decrease in the
price of the futures contract).
Investment Risk
An investment in the Fund is not a deposit with a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation or any other government agency. When you sell your shares of the Fund, they could be worth less than what you
paid for them. Therefore, you may lose money by investing in the Fund.
Issuer Risk
The value of, and/or the return generated by, a security may decline for a number of reasons that directly relate to the
issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services, as well
as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.
Large Capitalization Companies Risk
The securities of large market capitalization companies may underperform other segments of the market because such companies
may be less responsive to competitive challenges and opportunities. Many larger capitalization companies also may be unable
to attain the high growth rates of successful smaller companies, especially during periods of economic expansion.
Market Risk
The Fund is subject to the risk that the securities markets will move down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably based on overall
economic conditions and other factors. The value of a security may decline due to general market conditions which are not
specifically related to a particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions, changes in the general
outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates or adverse investment sentiment generally. Changes in
the financial condition of a single issuer can impact a market as a whole. A rise in protectionist trade policies, risks associated
with the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union on January 31, 2020 and trade agreement negotiations during the
transition period, the risks associated with ongoing trade negotiations with China, and the possibility of changes to some
international trade agreements, could affect the economies of many nations, including the United States, in ways that cannot
necessarily be foreseen at the present time. The severity or duration of adverse economic conditions may also be affected
by policy changes made by governments or quasi-governmental organizations. In addition, political and governmental events
within the U.S. and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the
broader economy, perhaps suddenly and to a significant degree.
Market Disruption Risk
Geopolitical and other events, including war, terrorism, economic uncertainty, trade disputes, pandemics, public health crises
and related geopolitical events have led, and in the future may continue to lead, to instability in world economies and markets
generally. This instability has disrupted, and may continue to disrupt, U.S. and world economies and markets and adversely
affect the value of your investment. Events that have led to market disruptions include the recent pandemic spread of the
novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, the duration and full effects of which are still uncertain. Market disruptions have caused,
and may continue to cause, broad changes in market value, negative public perceptions concerning these developments, and adverse
investor sentiment or publicity. Changes in value may be temporary or may last for extended periods.
Mid-Capitalization Companies Risk
Investing in the securities of mid-capitalization companies involves greater risk and the possibility of greater price volatility
than investing in larger capitalization and more established companies. Since mid-capitalization companies may have narrower
commercial markets and more limited operating history, product lines, and managerial and financial resources than larger,
more established companies, the securities of these companies may lack sufficient market liquidity, and they can be particularly
sensitive to expected changes in interest rates, borrowing costs and earnings.
Model and Data Risk
Models and data are used to screen potential investments for the Fund. When models or data prove to be incorrect or incomplete,
any decisions made in reliance thereon expose the Fund to potential risks. Some of the models used by the sub-advisor are
predictive in nature. The use of predictive models has inherent risks. Because predictive models are usually constructed based
on historical data supplied by third parties, the success of relying on such models may depend heavily on the accuracy and
reliability of the supplied historical data. There is no assurance that the models are complete or accurate, or representative
of future market cycles, nor will they always be beneficial to the Fund if they are accurate. Additionally, programs may become
outdated or experience malfunctions which may not be identified by the sub-advisor and therefore may also result in losses
to the Fund. These models may negatively affect Fund performance for various other reasons, including human judgment, inaccuracy
of historical data and non-quantitative factors (such as market or trading system dysfunctions, investor fear or overreaction).
Modeling and Programming Error Risk
The success of the sub-advisor's investment strategy depends largely on the effectiveness of its quantitative research models
and investment programs. The programs may not react as expected to market events, resulting in losses for the Fund. Additionally, programs may become outdated
or experience malfunctions, which may not be identified by the sub-advisor and therefore may also result in losses to the Fund. There is
no assurance that the models and
14 |
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
programs are complete or accurate, or representative of future market cycles, nor will they always be beneficial to the Fund if they are accurate. These models and programs may negatively affect Fund performance for various reasons, including human judgment, inaccuracy of historical data and non-quantitative factors (such as market or trading system dysfunctions, investor fear or over-reaction.
Other Investment Companies Risk
To the extent that the Fund invests in shares of other registered investment companies, the Fund will indirectly bear the
fees and expenses charged by those investment companies in addition to the Fund's direct fees and expenses. The Fund will
be subject to the risks associated with investments in those companies, including but not limited to the following:
Money Market Funds. Investments in money market funds are subject to interest rate risk, credit risk, and market risk.
Redemption Risk
The Fund may experience periods of high levels of redemptions that could cause the Fund to sell assets at inopportune times
or at a loss or depressed value. The sale of assets to meet redemption requests may create net capital gains, which could
cause the Fund to have to distribute substantial capital gains. Redemption risk is heightened during periods of declining
or illiquid markets. Additionally, during periods of heavy redemptions, the Fund may borrow funds through the interfund credit
facility, or from a bank line of credit, which may increase costs. Heavy redemptions could hurt the Fund's performance.
Sector Risk
When the Fund focuses its investments in certain sectors of the economy, its performance may be driven largely by sector performance
and could fluctuate more widely than if the Fund were invested more evenly across sectors. Individual sectors may be more
volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. As the Fund's portfolio changes over time, the Fund's exposure
to a particular sector may become higher or lower.
Financial Sector Risk. Financial services companies are subject to extensive governmental regulation, which may limit both the amounts and types of loans and other financial commitments they can make, the interest rates and fees they can charge, the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge and the amount of capital they must maintain. Profitability is largely dependent on the availability and cost of capital funds and can fluctuate significantly when interest rates change or due to increased competition. In addition, deterioration of the credit markets generally may cause an adverse impact in a broad range of markets, including U.S. and international credit and interbank money markets generally, thereby affecting a wide range of financial institutions and markets. Certain events in the financial sector may cause an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets, both domestic and foreign, and cause certain financial services companies to incur large losses. Securities of financial services companies may experience a dramatic decline in value when such companies experience substantial declines in the valuations of their assets, take action to raise capital (such as the issuance of debt or equity securities), or cease operations.
Securities Lending Risk
The borrower of the Fund's securities must provide collateral in the form of cash or cash equivalents, securities of the U.S.
Government and its agencies and instrumentalities, approved bank letters of credit, or other forms of collateral that are
permitted by the SEC for registered investment companies in an amount at least equal to the value of the loaned securities.
For loans collateralized with cash, the Fund invests the cash in other securities.
To the extent the Fund lends its securities, it may be subject to the following risks: i) borrowers of the Fund's securities may provide collateral in the form of cash that is reinvested in securities, ii) the securities in which the cash collateral is invested may not perform sufficiently to cover the return collateral payments owed to borrowers, iii) delays may occur in the recovery of securities from borrowers, which could interfere with the Fund's ability to vote proxies or to settle transactions, and iv) there is the risk of possible loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially.
Securities Selection Risk
Securities selected by the sub-advisor for the Fund may not perform to expectations. This could result in the Fund's underperformance compared to its
benchmark index(es), or other funds with similar investment objectives or strategies.
Value Stocks Risk
Value stocks are subject to the risk that their intrinsic value may never be realized by the market or that their prices
may decline. The Fund's investments in value stocks seek to limit potential downside price risk over time; however, value
stock prices still may decline substantially. In addition, the Fund may produce more modest gains as a trade-off for this
potentially lower risk. The Fund's investment in value stocks could cause the Fund to underperform funds that use a growth
or non-value approach to investing or have a broader investment style.
Fund Performance
The bar chart and table below provide an indication of risk by showing changes in the Fund's performance over time. The bar chart shows how the Fund's performance has varied from year to year. The table shows how the Fund's average annual total returns compare to a broad-based market index, which is the Fund's benchmark index, for the periods indicated.
On February 3, 2012, the Fund acquired all the assets and assumed all the liabilities of the Fund's predecessor. In connection with that reorganization, the R5 Class shares of the Fund adopted the performance history and financial statements of the Class N shares of the Fund's predecessor. In the bar chart and table below, the performance of the Fund's Investor Class shares for periods prior to February 3, 2012 is the performance of the Class N shares of the Fund's predecessor. In the table below, the performance of the Fund's A Class, C Class and Y Class shares for periods prior to February 3, 2012 also represents the returns of the Class N shares of the Fund's predecessor. In the table below, the performance for the R6 Class shares for periods prior to April 28, 2017 represents the returns achieved by the Class N shares of the Fund's predecessor from January 1, 2010 through February 2, 2012 and the performance of the Fund's Investor Class from February 3, 2012 through April 27, 2017. In each case, the newer share classes would have had similar annual returns to the older share classes because the shares of each class represent investments in the same portfolio securities. However, the older share classes had different expenses than the newer share classes, which would affect performance. The performance of the newer share classes shown in the bar chart and table has not been adjusted for differences in operating expenses between those share classes and the older share classes, but the A Class and C Class shares performance has been adjusted for the impact of the maximum applicable sales charge. You may obtain updated performance information on the Fund's website at www.americanbeaconfunds.com. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
15 |
Average annual total returns for periods ended December 31, 2019.
|
Inception Date of Class |
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||
Investor Class |
02/03/2012 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Returns Before Taxes |
|
|
24.68 |
% |
7.27 |
% |
11.84 |
% |
Returns After Taxes on Distributions |
|
|
23.61 |
% |
6.17 |
% |
11.08 |
% |
Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sales of Fund Shares |
|
|
15.38 |
% |
5.57 |
% |
9.78 |
% |
|
Inception Date of Class |
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||
Share Class (Before Taxes) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A |
02/03/2012 |
|
17.51 |
% |
5.98 |
% |
11.12 |
% |
C |
02/03/2012 |
|
22.79 |
% |
6.45 |
% |
11.14 |
% |
Y |
02/03/2012 |
|
25.06 |
% |
7.56 |
% |
12.07 |
% |
R5 |
10/31/2003 |
|
25.11 |
% |
7.61 |
% |
12.12 |
% |
R6 |
04/28/2017 |
|
25.17 |
% |
7.62 |
% |
12.13 |
% |
|
|
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||
Index (Reflects no deduction for fees expenses or taxes) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Russell 1000 Value Index |
|
|
26.54 |
% |
8.29 |
% |
11.80 |
% |
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 income taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. The return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period. If you are a tax-exempt entity or hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as an individual retirement account ("IRA") or a 401(k) plan, the after-tax returns do not apply to your situation. After-tax returns are shown only for Investor Class shares of the Fund; after-tax returns for other share classes will vary.
Management
The Manager
The Fund has retained American Beacon Advisors, Inc. to serve as its Manager.
Sub-Advisor
The Fund's investment sub-advisor is Bridgeway Capital Management, Inc.
Portfolio Managers
Bridgeway Capital Management, Inc.
|
John Montgomery
Michael Whipple
|
Elena Khoziaeva
|
* Predecessor Fund inception date.
** Includes Predecessor Fund.
16 |
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
You may buy or sell shares of the Fund through a direct mutual fund account, a retirement account, an investment professional or another financial intermediary. As a direct mutual fund account shareholder, you may buy or sell shares in various ways:
Internet |
www.americanbeaconfunds.com |
|
Phone |
To reach an American Beacon representative call 1-800-658-5811, option 1
Through the Automated Voice Response Service call 1-800-658-5811, option 2 (Investor Class only)
|
|
|
American Beacon Funds
P.O. Box 219643
Kansas City, MO 64121-9643
|
Overnight Delivery:
American Beacon Funds
c/o DST Asset Manager Solutions, Inc.
330 West 9th Street
Kansas City, MO 64105
|
You may purchase or redeem shares of the Fund on any day the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") is open, at the Fund's net asset value ("NAV") per share next calculated after your order is received in proper form, subject to any applicable sales charge.
|
New Account |
Existing Account |
|
Share Class |
Minimum Initial Investment Amount |
Purchase/Redemption Minimum by Check/ACH/Exchange |
Purchase/Redemption Minimum by Wire |
C |
$1,000 |
$50 |
$250 |
A, Investor |
$2,500 |
$50 |
$250 |
Y |
$100,000 |
$50 |
None |
R5 |
$250,000 |
$50 |
None |
R6 |
None |
$50 |
None |
Tax Information
Dividends, capital gains distributions, and other distributions, if any, that you receive from the Fund are subject to federal income tax and may also be subject to state and local income taxes, unless you are a tax-exempt entity or your account is tax-deferred, such as an individual retirement account or a 401(k) plan (in which case you may be taxed later, upon the withdrawal of your investment from such account or plan).
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 the Fund's distributor, Resolute Investment Distributors, Inc. or the Manager 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 individual financial adviser to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial adviser or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
17 |
American Beacon
|
|
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks long-term growth of capital.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
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 discounts if you and your eligible family members invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in all classes of the American Beacon Funds on an aggregated basis. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in "Choosing Your Share Class" on page 39 of the Prospectus and "Additional Purchase and Sale Information for A Class Shares" on page 41 of the statement of additional information ("SAI"). With respect to purchases of shares through specific intermediaries, you may find additional information regarding sales charge discounts and waivers in Appendix A to the Fund's Prospectus entitled "Intermediary Sales Charge Discounts and Waivers." Although the Fund does not impose any sales charge on Y Class shares, you may pay a commission to your broker on your purchases and sales of those shares, which is not reflected in the tables or Example below.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Share Class |
A |
C |
Y |
R6 |
R5 |
Investor |
||||||
Maximum sales charge imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price) |
5.75 |
% |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
|||||
Maximum deferred sales charge (as a percentage of the lower of original offering price or redemption proceeds) |
0.50 |
%1 |
1.00 |
% |
None |
None |
None |
None |
1 A contingent deferred sales charge (‘‘CDSC'') of 0.50% will be charged on certain purchases of $1,000,000 or more of A Class shares that are redeemed in whole or part within 18 months of purchase.
2 During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, the Fund paid amounts to American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (the "Manager") that were previously waived and/or reimbursed under a contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement agreement for the Fund's A Class and C Class shares in the amount of 0.02% for the A Class and 0.01% for the C Class. As a result of the reimbursement, the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses of the A Class and C Class shares do not correlate to the ratio of expenses to average net assets provided in the Financial Highlights table.
3 American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (the "Manager") has contractually agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses of the Fund's A Class, C Class, Y Class, R6 Class, R5 Class and Investor Class shares, as applicable, through April 30, 2021 to the extent that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses exceed 1.21% for the A Class, 1.94% for the C Class, 0.95% for the Y Class, 0.84% for the R6 Class, 0.89% for the R5 Class and 1.22% for the Investor Class (excluding taxes, interest, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses, securities lending fees, expenses associated with securities sold short, litigation, and other extraordinary expenses). The contractual expense reimbursement can be changed or terminated only in the discretion and with the approval of a majority of the Fund's Board of Trustees. The Manager may also, from time to time, voluntarily waive fees and/or reimburse expenses of the Fund. The Manager can be reimbursed by the Fund for any contractual or voluntary fee waivers or expense reimbursements if reimbursement to the Manager (a) occurs within three years from the date of the Manager's waiver/reimbursement and (b) does not cause the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses of a class to exceed the lesser of the contractual percentage limit in effect at the time of the waiver/reimbursement or the time of the recoupment.
4 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement for A Class, C Class, Y Class and Investor Class shares do not correlate to the ratio of expenses to average net assets, net of reimbursements, provided in the Fund's Financial Highlights table, which reflects the Fund's expenses, including its fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement agreement in effect through April 30, 2020. The Annual Fund Operating Expenses table reflects the new fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement agreement that was approved by the Fund's Board effective through April 30, 2021, which differs from the prior agreement.
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, except that the Example reflects the fee waiver/expense reimbursement arrangement for each share class through April 30, 2021. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Assuming no redemption of shares:
Share Class |
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
C |
$ 197 |
$ 624 |
$ 1,076 |
$ 2,332 |
18 |
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
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 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 15% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities of medium capitalization companies. The Fund considers a company to be a medium capitalization company if it has a market capitalization (stock market worth), at the time of investment, between $1 billion and the market capitalization of the largest company in the Russell Midcap® Index, which was $64.6 billion as of March 31, 2020.
Most of the assets of the Fund are invested in U.S. common stocks that Stephens Investment Management Group, LLC ("SIMG") believes have clear indicators of future earnings growth, or that demonstrate other potential for growth of capital. The Fund may invest in other securities, including preferred stock, securities convertible into common stock, U.S. dollar denominated foreign stock traded on U.S. exchanges, American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs") and real estate investment trusts ("REITs"). The Fund also may invest in stocks of large-capitalization companies. In selecting companies for the Fund, SIMG employs quantitative analysis and fundamental research with a focus on earnings growth. SIMG will sell a security when appropriate and consistent with the Fund's investment objective and policies.
Although the Fund seeks investments across a number of sectors, from time to time, based on portfolio positioning to reflect its benchmark index, the Fund may have significant positions in particular sectors, including the Information Technology sector. However, as the sector composition of the Fund's portfolio changes over time, the Fund's exposure to the Information Technology sector may be lower at a future date, and the Fund's exposure to other market sectors may be higher.
The Fund may also invest cash balances in other investment companies, including money market funds, and may lend its securities to broker-dealers and other institutions to earn additional income.
Principal Risks
There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective and you could lose part or all of your investment in the Fund. The Fund is not designed for investors who need an assured level of current income and is intended to be a long-term investment. The Fund is not a complete investment program and may not be appropriate for all investors. Investors should carefully consider their own investment goals and risk tolerance before investing in the Fund. The principal risks of investing in the Fund listed below are presented in alphabetical order and not in order of importance or potential exposure. Among other matters, this presentation is intended to facilitate your ability to find particular risks and compare them with the risks of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a "principal risk" of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears.
Cybersecurity and Operational Risk
The Fund and its service providers, and shareholders' ability to transact with the Fund, may be negatively impacted due to
operational risks arising from, among other problems: human errors, systems and technology disruptions or failures, or cybersecurity
incidents. Cybersecurity incidents may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data, or proprietary
information, or cause the Fund or its service providers, as well as the securities trading venues and their service providers,
to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality. It is not possible for the Fund or its service providers to identify
all of the operational risks that may affect the Fund or to develop processes and controls to completely eliminate or mitigate
their occurrence or effects. Most issuers in which the Fund invests are heavily dependent on computers for data storage and
operations, and require ready access to the internet to conduct their business. Thus, cybersecurity incidents could also affect
issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, leading to significant loss of value.
Equity Investments Risk
Equity securities are subject to investment risk and market risk. The Fund may invest in the following equity securities,
which may expose the Fund to the following additional risks:
Common Stock Risk. The value of a company's common stock may fall as a result of factors affecting the company, companies in the same industry or sector, or the financial markets overall. Common stock generally is subordinate to preferred stock upon the liquidation or bankruptcy of the issuing company.
Convertible Securities Risk. Convertible securities are subject to the risk that the credit standing of the issuer may have an effect on the convertible securities' investment value. Convertible securities are also sensitive to movements in interest rates. Generally, a convertible security is subject to the market risks of stocks when the underlying stock's price is high relative to the conversion price, and is subject to the market risks of debt securities when the underlying stock's price is low relative to the conversion price.
Depositary Receipts and U.S. Dollar-Denominated Foreign Stocks Traded on U.S. Exchanges Risk. Depositary receipts and U.S. dollar-denominated foreign stocks traded on U.S. exchanges are subject to certain of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities, including, but not limited to, currency exchange rate fluctuations, political and financial instability in the home country of a particular depositary receipt or foreign stock, less liquidity and more volatility, less government regulation and supervision and delays in transaction settlement.
Preferred Stock Risk. Preferred stocks are sensitive to movements in interest rates. Preferred stocks may be less liquid than common stocks and, unlike common stocks, participation in the growth of an issuer may be limited. Distributions on preferred stocks generally are payable at the discretion of an issuer and after required payments to bond holders. In certain situations, an issuer may call or redeem its preferred stock or convert it to common stock. The market prices of preferred stocks are generally more sensitive to actual or perceived changes in the issuer's financial condition or prospects than are the prices of debt securities.
Real Estate Investment Trusts ("REITs") Risk. Investments in REITs are subject to the risks associated with investing in the real estate industry, including, among other risks: adverse developments affecting the real estate industry; declines in real property values; changes in interest rates; defaults by mortgagors or other borrowers and tenants; lack of availability of mortgage funds or financing; extended vacancies of properties, especially during economic downturns; casualty or condemnation losses; and governmental actions, such as changes to tax laws, zoning regulations or environmental regulations. REITs also are dependent upon the skills of their managers and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency or self-liquidation. Domestic REITs could be adversely affected by failure to qualify for tax-free "pass-through" of distributed net income and net realized gains under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended ("Internal Revenue Code"), or to maintain their exemption from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended ("Investment Company Act"). REITs typically incur fees that are separate from those incurred by the Fund. Accordingly, the Fund's investment in
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
19 |
REITs will result in the layering of expenses such that shareholders will indirectly bear a proportionate share of the REITs' operating expenses, in addition to paying Fund expenses. The value of REIT common stock may decline when interest rates rise.
Foreign Investing Risk
Non-U.S. investments carry potential risks not associated with U.S. investments. Such risks include, but are not limited
to: (1) currency exchange rate fluctuations, (2) political and financial instability, (3) less liquidity, (4) lack of uniform
accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, (5) increased volatility, (6) different government regulation and
supervision of foreign stock exchanges, brokers and listed companies, and (7) delays in transaction settlement in some foreign
markets.
Growth Companies Risk
Growth companies are expected to increase their earnings at a certain rate. When these expectations are not met, the prices
of these stocks may go down, even if earnings showed an absolute increase. The Fund's investments in growth companies may
be more sensitive to company earnings and more volatile than the market in general primarily because their stock prices are
based heavily on future expectations. If the sub-advisor's assessment of the prospects for a company's growth is incorrect, then the price of the company's stock may
fall or not approach the value that the sub-advisor has placed on it. Growth company stocks may also lack the dividend yield that can cushion stock price declines
in market downturns.
Investment Risk
An investment in the Fund is not a deposit with a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation or any other government agency. When you sell your shares of the Fund, they could be worth less than what you
paid for them. Therefore, you may lose money by investing in the Fund.
Issuer Risk
The value of, and/or the return generated by, a security may decline for a number of reasons that directly relate to the
issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services, as well
as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.
Large Capitalization Companies Risk
The securities of large market capitalization companies may underperform other segments of the market because such companies
may be less responsive to competitive challenges and opportunities. Many larger capitalization companies also may be unable
to attain the high growth rates of successful smaller companies, especially during periods of economic expansion.
Market Risk
The Fund is subject to the risk that the securities markets will move down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably based on overall
economic conditions and other factors. The value of a security may decline due to general market conditions which are not
specifically related to a particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions, changes in the general
outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates or adverse investment sentiment generally. Changes in
the financial condition of a single issuer can impact a market as a whole. A rise in protectionist trade policies, risks associated
with the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union on January 31, 2020 and trade agreement negotiations during the
transition period, the risks associated with ongoing trade negotiations with China, and the possibility of changes to some
international trade agreements, could affect the economies of many nations, including the United States, in ways that cannot
necessarily be foreseen at the present time. The severity or duration of adverse economic conditions may also be affected
by policy changes made by governments or quasi-governmental organizations. In addition, political and governmental events
within the U.S. and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the
broader economy, perhaps suddenly and to a significant degree.
Market Disruption Risk
Geopolitical and other events, including war, terrorism, economic uncertainty, trade disputes, pandemics, public health crises
and related geopolitical events have led, and in the future may continue to lead, to instability in world economies and markets
generally. This instability has disrupted, and may continue to disrupt, U.S. and world economies and markets and adversely
affect the value of your investment. Events that have led to market disruptions include the recent pandemic spread of the
novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, the duration and full effects of which are still uncertain. Market disruptions have caused,
and may continue to cause, broad changes in market value, negative public perceptions concerning these developments, and adverse
investor sentiment or publicity. Changes in value may be temporary or may last for extended periods.
Mid-Capitalization Companies Risk
Investing in the securities of mid-capitalization companies involves greater risk and the possibility of greater price volatility
than investing in larger capitalization and more established companies. Since mid-capitalization companies may have narrower
commercial markets and more limited operating history, product lines, and managerial and financial resources than larger,
more established companies, the securities of these companies may lack sufficient market liquidity, and they can be particularly
sensitive to expected changes in interest rates, borrowing costs and earnings.
Other Investment Companies Risk
To the extent that the Fund invests in shares of other registered investment companies, the Fund will indirectly bear the
fees and expenses charged by those investment companies in addition to the Fund's direct fees and expenses. The Fund will
be subject to the risks associated with investments in those companies, including but not limited to the following:
Money Market Funds. Investments in money market funds are subject to interest rate risk, credit risk, and market risk.
Quantitative Strategy Risk
The success of the Fund's investment strategy may depend in part on the effectiveness of the sub-advisor's quantitative tools for screening securities. These strategies may incorporate factors that are not predictive
of a security's value. The quantitative tools may not react as expected to market events, resulting in losses for the Fund.
Additionally, a previously successful strategy may become outdated or inaccurate, which may not be identified by the sub-advisor and therefore may also result in losses.
Redemption Risk
The Fund may experience periods of high levels of redemptions that could cause the Fund to sell assets at inopportune times
or at a loss or depressed value. The sale of assets to meet redemption requests may create net capital gains, which could
cause the Fund to have to distribute substantial capital gains. Redemption risk is heightened during periods of declining
or illiquid markets. Additionally, during periods of heavy redemptions, the Fund may borrow funds through the interfund credit
facility, or from a bank line of credit, which may increase costs. Heavy redemptions could hurt the Fund's performance.
Sector Risk
When the Fund focuses its investments in certain sectors of the economy, its performance may be driven largely by sector performance
and could fluctuate
20 |
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
more widely than if the Fund were invested more evenly across sectors. Individual sectors may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. As the Fund's portfolio changes over time, the Fund's exposure to a particular sector may become higher or lower.
Information Technology Sector Risk. The market prices of information technology-related securities tend to exhibit a greater degree of market risk and sharp price fluctuations than other types of securities. These securities may fall in and out of favor with investors rapidly, which may cause sudden selling and dramatically lower market prices.
Securities Lending Risk
The borrower of the Fund's securities must provide collateral in the form of cash or cash equivalents, securities of the U.S.
Government and its agencies and instrumentalities, approved bank letters of credit, or other forms of collateral that are
permitted by the SEC for registered investment companies in an amount at least equal to the value of the loaned securities.
For loans collateralized with cash, the Fund invests the cash in other securities.
To the extent the Fund lends its securities, it may be subject to the following risks: i) borrowers of the Fund's securities may provide collateral in the form of cash that is reinvested in securities, ii) the securities in which the cash collateral is invested may not perform sufficiently to cover the return collateral payments owed to borrowers, iii) delays may occur in the recovery of securities from borrowers, which could interfere with the Fund's ability to vote proxies or to settle transactions, and iv) there is the risk of possible loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially.
Securities Selection Risk
Securities selected by the sub-advisor for the Fund may not perform to expectations. This could result in the Fund's underperformance compared to its
benchmark index(es), or other funds with similar investment objectives or strategies.
Fund Performance
The bar chart and table below provide an indication of risk by showing changes in the Fund's performance over time. The bar chart shows how the Fund's performance has varied from year to year. The table shows how the Fund's average annual total returns compare to a broad-based market index, which is the Fund's benchmark index, for the periods indicated.
On February 24, 2012, the Fund acquired all the assets and assumed all the liabilities of the Fund's predecessor. In connection with that reorganization, the Investor Class and R5 Class shares of the Fund adopted the performance history and financial statements of the Class A and Class I shares, respectively, of the Fund's predecessor. In the bar chart and table below, the performance of the Fund's Investor Class shares for periods prior to February 24, 2012 is the performance of the Class A shares of the Fund's predecessor. In the table below, the performance shown for the R5 Class shares of the Fund for periods prior to February 24, 2012 is the performance of the Class I shares of the Fund's predecessor. The table below also shows the performance of the A Class, C Class, Y Class and R6 Class shares of the Fund. In the table below, the performance for the Fund's A Class, C Class and Y Class shares for periods prior to February 24, 2012 represents the returns achieved by the Class A shares of the Fund's predecessor. In the table below, the performance for the Fund's R6 Class shares for periods prior to December 31, 2018 represents the returns achieved by the Class I shares of the Fund's predecessor from January 1, 2010 through February 23, 2012, and the performance of the Fund's R5 Class shares from February 24, 2012 through December 30, 2018. In each case, the newer share classes would have had similar annual returns to the older share classes because the shares of each class represent investments in the same portfolio securities. However, the older share classes had different expenses than the newer share classes, which would affect performance. The performance of the newer share classes shown in the bar chart and table has not been adjusted for differences in operating expenses between those share classes and the older share classes, but the A Class and C Class shares performance has been adjusted for the impact of the maximum applicable sales charge. You may obtain updated performance information on the Fund's website at www.americanbeaconfunds.com. 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 periods ended December 31, 2019.
|
Inception Date of Class |
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||
Investor Class |
02/01/2006 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Returns Before Taxes |
|
|
31.28 |
% |
12.38 |
% |
13.92 |
% |
Returns After Taxes on Distributions |
|
|
30.20 |
% |
10.83 |
% |
12.84 |
% |
Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sales of Fund Shares |
|
|
19.30 |
% |
9.53 |
% |
11.45 |
% |
|
Inception Date of Class |
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||
Share Class (Before Taxes) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A |
02/24/2012 |
|
23.67 |
% |
10.99 |
% |
13.20 |
% |
C |
02/24/2012 |
|
29.31 |
% |
11.48 |
% |
13.22 |
% |
Y |
02/24/2012 |
|
31.62 |
% |
12.63 |
% |
14.16 |
% |
R5 |
08/31/2006 |
|
31.79 |
% |
12.77 |
% |
14.31 |
% |
R6 |
12/31/2018 |
|
31.84 |
% |
12.77 |
% |
14.31 |
% |
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
21 |
|
|
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||
Index (Reflects no deduction for fees expenses or taxes) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Russell Midcap Growth Index |
|
|
35.47 |
% |
11.60 |
% |
14.24 |
% |
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 income taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. The return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period. If you are a tax-exempt entity or hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as an individual retirement account ("IRA") or a 401(k) plan, the after-tax returns do not apply to your situation. After-tax returns are shown only for Investor Class shares of the Fund; after-tax returns for other share classes will vary.
Management
The Manager
The Fund has retained American Beacon Advisors, Inc. to serve as its Manager.
Sub-Advisor
The Fund's investment sub-advisor is Stephens Investment Management Group, LLC.
Portfolio Managers
Stephens Investment Management Group, LLC
|
Ryan Crane
Kelly Ranucci
|
John Thornton
Sam Chase
John Keller
|
* Predecessor Fund inception date.
** Includes Predecessor Fund.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
You may buy or sell shares of the Fund through a direct mutual fund account, a retirement account, an investment professional or another financial intermediary. As a direct mutual fund account shareholder, you may buy or sell shares in various ways:
Internet |
www.americanbeaconfunds.com |
|
Phone |
To reach an American Beacon representative call 1-800-658-5811, option 1
Through the Automated Voice Response Service call 1-800-658-5811, option 2 (Investor Class only)
|
|
|
American Beacon Funds
P.O. Box 219643
Kansas City, MO 64121-9643
|
Overnight Delivery:
American Beacon Funds
c/o DST Asset Manager Solutions, Inc.
330 West 9th Street
Kansas City, MO 64105
|
You may purchase or redeem shares of the Fund on any day the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") is open, at the Fund's net asset value ("NAV") per share next calculated after your order is received in proper form, subject to any applicable sales charge.
|
New Account |
Existing Account |
|
Share Class |
Minimum Initial Investment Amount |
Purchase/Redemption Minimum by Check/ACH/Exchange |
Purchase/Redemption Minimum by Wire |
C |
$1,000 |
$50 |
$250 |
A, Investor |
$2,500 |
$50 |
$250 |
Y |
$100,000 |
$50 |
None |
R5 |
$250,000 |
$50 |
None |
R6 |
None |
$50 |
None |
Tax Information
Dividends, capital gains distributions, and other distributions, if any, that you receive from the Fund are subject to federal income tax and may also be subject to state and local income taxes, unless you are a tax-exempt entity or your account is tax-deferred, such as an individual retirement account or a 401(k) plan (in which case you may be taxed later, upon the withdrawal of your investment from such account or plan).
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 the Fund's distributor, Resolute Investment Distributors, Inc. or the Manager 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 individual financial adviser to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial adviser or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
22 |
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
American Beacon
|
|
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks long-term growth of capital.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
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 discounts if you and your eligible family members invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in all classes of the American Beacon Funds on an aggregated basis. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in "Choosing Your Share Class" on page 39 of the Prospectus and "Additional Purchase and Sale Information for A Class Shares" on page 41 of the statement of additional information ("SAI"). With respect to purchases of shares through specific intermediaries, you may find additional information regarding sales charge discounts and waivers in Appendix A to the Fund's Prospectus entitled "Intermediary Sales Charge Discounts and Waivers." Although the Fund does not impose any sales charge on Y Class shares, you may pay a commission to your broker on your purchases and sales of those shares, which is not reflected in the tables or Example below.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Share Class |
A |
C |
Y |
R6 |
R5 |
Investor |
||||||
Maximum sales charge imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price) |
5.75 |
% |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
|||||
Maximum deferred sales charge (as a percentage of the lower of original offering price or redemption proceeds) |
0.50 |
%1 |
1.00 |
% |
None |
None |
None |
None |
1 A contingent deferred sales charge (‘‘CDSC'') of 0.50% will be charged on certain purchases of $1,000,000 or more of A Class shares that are redeemed in whole or part within 18 months of purchase.
2 The management fee has been restated to reflect the current contractual fee rate.
3 American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (the "Manager") has contractually agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses of the Fund's A Class, C Class, Y Class, R6 Class, R5 Class, and Investor Class shares, as applicable, through April 30, 2021 to the extent that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses exceed 1.28% for the A Class, 2.06% for the C Class, 1.05% for the Y Class, 0.95% for the R6 Class, 0.99% for the R5 Class, and 1.30% for the Investor Class (excluding taxes, interest, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses, securities lending fees, expenses associated with securities sold short, litigation, and other extraordinary expenses). The contractual expense reimbursement can be changed or terminated only in the discretion and with the approval of a majority of the Fund's Board of Trustees. The Manager may also, from time to time, voluntarily waive fees and/or reimburse expenses of the Fund. The Manager can be reimbursed by the Fund for any contractual or voluntary fee waivers or expense reimbursements if reimbursement to the Manager (a) occurs within three years from the date of the Manager's waiver/reimbursement and (b) does not cause the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses of a class to exceed the lesser of the contractual percentage limit in effect at the time of the waiver/reimbursement or the time of the recoupment.
4 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement for each share class do not correlate to the ratio of expenses to average net assets, net of reimbursements, provided in the Fund's Financial Highlights table, which reflects the Fund's expenses, including its fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement agreement in effect through April 30, 2020. The Annual Fund Operating Expenses table reflects the new fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement agreement that was approved by the Fund's Board effective through April 30, 2021, which differs from the prior agreement.
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, except that the Example reflects the fee waiver/expense reimbursement arrangement for each share class through April 30, 2021. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Assuming no redemption of shares:
Share Class |
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
C |
$ 209 |
$ 662 |
$ 1,142 |
$ 2,466 |
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
23 |
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 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 20% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities of small capitalization companies. The Fund considers a company to be a small capitalization company if it has a market capitalization (stock market worth), at the time of investment, similar to the market capitalizations of the companies in the Russell 2000 Index. The capitalization range of that index is subject to change over time due to market activity or changes in the composition of the index. As of March 31, 2020, the market capitalizations of the companies in the Russell 2000 Index ranged from $5.3 million to $11.2 billion.
Most of the assets of the Fund are invested in U.S. common stocks the sub-advisor, Stephens Investment Management Group, LLC ("SIMG"), believes have clear indicators of future earnings growth, or that demonstrate other potential for growth of capital. The Fund may invest in other securities, including preferred stock, securities convertible into common stock, real estate investment trusts ("REITs"), American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs") and U.S. dollar denominated foreign stock traded on U.S. exchanges. In selecting companies for the Fund, SIMG employs quantitative analysis and fundamental research with a focus on earnings growth. SIMG will sell a security when appropriate and consistent with the Fund's investment objectives and policies.
Although the Fund seeks investments across a number of sectors, from time to time, based on portfolio positioning to reflect its benchmark index, the Fund may have significant positions in particular sectors, including the Information Technology sector. However, as the sector composition of the Fund's portfolio changes over time, the Fund's exposure to the Information Technology sector may be lower at a future date, and the Fund's exposure to other market sectors may be higher.
The Fund may also invest cash balances in other investment companies, including money market funds, and may lend its securities to broker-dealers and other institutions to earn additional income.
Principal Risks
There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective and you could lose part or all of your investment in the Fund. The Fund is not designed for investors who need an assured level of current income and is intended to be a long-term investment. The Fund is not a complete investment program and may not be appropriate for all investors. Investors should carefully consider their own investment goals and risk tolerance before investing in the Fund. The principal risks of investing in the Fund listed below are presented in alphabetical order and not in order of importance or potential exposure. Among other matters, this presentation is intended to facilitate your ability to find particular risks and compare them with the risks of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a "principal risk" of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears.
Cybersecurity and Operational Risk
The Fund and its service providers, and shareholders' ability to transact with the Fund, may be negatively impacted due to
operational risks arising from, among other problems: human errors, systems and technology disruptions or failures, or cybersecurity
incidents. Cybersecurity incidents may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data, or proprietary
information, or cause the Fund or its service providers, as well as the securities trading venues and their service providers,
to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality. It is not possible for the Fund or its service providers to identify
all of the operational risks that may affect the Fund or to develop processes and controls to completely eliminate or mitigate
their occurrence or effects. Most issuers in which the Fund invests are heavily dependent on computers for data storage and
operations, and require ready access to the internet to conduct their business. Thus, cybersecurity incidents could also affect
issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, leading to significant loss of value.
Equity Investments Risk
Equity securities are subject to investment risk and market risk. The Fund may invest in the following equity securities,
which may expose the Fund to the following additional risks:
Common Stock Risk. The value of a company's common stock may fall as a result of factors affecting the company, companies in the same industry or sector, or the financial markets overall. Common stock generally is subordinate to preferred stock upon the liquidation or bankruptcy of the issuing company.
Convertible Securities Risk. Convertible securities are subject to the risk that the credit standing of the issuer may have an effect on the convertible securities' investment value. Convertible securities are also sensitive to movements in interest rates. Generally, a convertible security is subject to the market risks of stocks when the underlying stock's price is high relative to the conversion price, and is subject to the market risks of debt securities when the underlying stock's price is low relative to the conversion price.
Depositary Receipts and U.S. Dollar-Denominated Foreign Stocks Traded on U.S. Exchanges Risk. Depositary receipts and U.S. dollar-denominated foreign stocks traded on U.S. exchanges are subject to certain of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities, including, but not limited to, currency exchange rate fluctuations, political and financial instability in the home country of a particular depositary receipt or foreign stock, less liquidity and more volatility, less government regulation and supervision and delays in transaction settlement.
Preferred Stock Risk. Preferred stocks are sensitive to movements in interest rates. Preferred stocks may be less liquid than common stocks and, unlike common stocks, participation in the growth of an issuer may be limited. Distributions on preferred stocks generally are payable at the discretion of an issuer and after required payments to bond holders. In certain situations, an issuer may call or redeem its preferred stock or convert it to common stock. The market prices of preferred stocks are generally more sensitive to actual or perceived changes in the issuer's financial condition or prospects than are the prices of debt securities.
Real Estate Investment Trusts ("REITs") Risk. Investments in REITs are subject to the risks associated with investing in the real estate industry, including, among other risks: adverse developments affecting the real estate industry; declines in real property values; changes in interest rates; defaults by mortgagors or other borrowers and tenants; lack of availability of mortgage funds or financing; extended vacancies of properties, especially during economic downturns; casualty or condemnation losses; and governmental actions, such as changes to tax laws, zoning regulations or environmental regulations. REITs also are dependent upon the skills of their managers and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency or self-liquidation. Domestic REITs could be adversely affected by failure to qualify for tax-free "pass-through" of distributed net income and net realized gains under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended ("Internal Revenue Code"), or to maintain their exemption from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended ("Investment Company Act"). REITs typically incur fees that are separate from those incurred by the Fund. Accordingly, the Fund's investment in REITs will result in the layering of expenses such that shareholders will indirectly bear a proportionate share of the REITs' operating expenses, in addition to paying Fund expenses. The value of REIT common stock may decline when interest rates rise.
24 |
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
Foreign Investing Risk
Non-U.S. investments carry potential risks not associated with U.S. investments. Such risks include, but are not limited
to: (1) currency exchange rate fluctuations, (2) political and financial instability, (3) less liquidity, (4) lack of uniform
accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, (5) increased volatility, (6) different government regulation and
supervision of foreign stock exchanges, brokers and listed companies, and (7) delays in transaction settlement in some foreign
markets.
Growth Companies Risk
Growth companies are expected to increase their earnings at a certain rate. When these expectations are not met, the prices
of these stocks may go down, even if earnings showed an absolute increase. The Fund's investments in growth companies may
be more sensitive to company earnings and more volatile than the market in general primarily because their stock prices are
based heavily on future expectations. If the sub-advisor's assessment of the prospects for a company's growth is incorrect, then the price of the company's stock may
fall or not approach the value that the sub-advisor has placed on it. Growth company stocks may also lack the dividend yield that can cushion stock price declines
in market downturns.
Investment Risk
An investment in the Fund is not a deposit with a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation or any other government agency. When you sell your shares of the Fund, they could be worth less than what you
paid for them. Therefore, you may lose money by investing in the Fund.
Issuer Risk
The value of, and/or the return generated by, a security may decline for a number of reasons that directly relate to the
issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services, as well
as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.
Market Risk
The Fund is subject to the risk that the securities markets will move down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably based on overall
economic conditions and other factors. The value of a security may decline due to general market conditions which are not
specifically related to a particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions, changes in the general
outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates or adverse investment sentiment generally. Changes in
the financial condition of a single issuer can impact a market as a whole. A rise in protectionist trade policies, risks associated
with the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union on January 31, 2020 and trade agreement negotiations during the
transition period, the risks associated with ongoing trade negotiations with China, and the possibility of changes to some
international trade agreements, could affect the economies of many nations, including the United States, in ways that cannot
necessarily be foreseen at the present time. The severity or duration of adverse economic conditions may also be affected
by policy changes made by governments or quasi-governmental organizations. In addition, political and governmental events
within the U.S. and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the
broader economy, perhaps suddenly and to a significant degree.
Market Disruption Risk
Geopolitical and other events, including war, terrorism, economic uncertainty, trade disputes, pandemics, public health crises
and related geopolitical events have led, and in the future may continue to lead, to instability in world economies and markets
generally. This instability has disrupted, and may continue to disrupt, U.S. and world economies and markets and adversely
affect the value of your investment. Events that have led to market disruptions include the recent pandemic spread of the
novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, the duration and full effects of which are still uncertain. Market disruptions have caused,
and may continue to cause, broad changes in market value, negative public perceptions concerning these developments, and adverse
investor sentiment or publicity. Changes in value may be temporary or may last for extended periods.
Other Investment Companies Risk
To the extent that the Fund invests in shares of other registered investment companies, the Fund will indirectly bear the
fees and expenses charged by those investment companies in addition to the Fund's direct fees and expenses. The Fund will
be subject to the risks associated with investments in those companies, including but not limited to the following:
Money Market Funds. Investments in money market funds are subject to interest rate risk, credit risk, and market risk.
Quantitative Strategy Risk
The success of the Fund's investment strategy may depend in part on the effectiveness of the sub-advisor's quantitative tools for screening securities. These strategies may incorporate factors that are not predictive
of a security's value. The quantitative tools may not react as expected to market events, resulting in losses for the Fund.
Additionally, a previously successful strategy may become outdated or inaccurate, which may not be identified by the sub-advisor and therefore may also result in losses.
Redemption Risk
The Fund may experience periods of high levels of redemptions that could cause the Fund to sell assets at inopportune times
or at a loss or depressed value. The sale of assets to meet redemption requests may create net capital gains, which could
cause the Fund to have to distribute substantial capital gains. Redemption risk is heightened during periods of declining
or illiquid markets. Additionally, during periods of heavy redemptions, the Fund may borrow funds through the interfund credit
facility, or from a bank line of credit, which may increase costs. Heavy redemptions could hurt the Fund's performance.
Sector Risk
When the Fund focuses its investments in certain sectors of the economy, its performance may be driven largely by sector performance
and could fluctuate more widely than if the Fund were invested more evenly across sectors. Individual sectors may be more
volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. As the Fund's portfolio changes over time, the Fund's exposure
to a particular sector may become higher or lower.
Information Technology Sector Risk. The market prices of information technology-related securities tend to exhibit a greater degree of market risk and sharp price fluctuations than other types of securities. These securities may fall in and out of favor with investors rapidly, which may cause sudden selling and dramatically lower market prices.
Securities Lending Risk
The borrower of the Fund's securities must provide collateral in the form of cash or cash equivalents, securities of the U.S.
Government and its agencies and instrumentalities, approved bank letters of credit, or other forms of collateral that are
permitted by the SEC for registered investment companies in an amount at least equal to the value of the loaned securities.
For loans collateralized with cash, the Fund invests the cash in other securities.
To the extent the Fund lends its securities, it may be subject to the following risks: i) borrowers of the Fund's securities may provide collateral in the form of cash that is reinvested in securities, ii) the securities in which the cash collateral is invested may not perform sufficiently to cover the return collateral payments
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
25 |
owed to borrowers, iii) delays may occur in the recovery of securities from borrowers, which could interfere with the Fund's ability to vote proxies or to settle transactions, and iv) there is the risk of possible loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially.
Securities Selection Risk
Securities selected by the sub-advisor for the Fund may not perform to expectations. This could result in the Fund's underperformance compared to its
benchmark index(es), or other funds with similar investment objectives or strategies.
Small Capitalization Companies Risk
Investing in the securities of small-capitalization companies involves greater risk and the possibility of greater price
volatility than investing in larger capitalization and more established companies. Since small-capitalization companies may
have narrower commercial markets, and more limited operating history, product lines, and managerial and financial resources
than larger, more established companies, the securities of these companies may lack sufficient market liquidity and they can
be particularly sensitive to expected changes in interest rates, borrowing costs and earnings.
Fund Performance
The bar chart and table below provide an indication of risk by showing changes in the Fund's performance over time. The bar chart shows how the Fund's performance has varied from year to year. The table shows how the Fund's average annual total returns compare to a broad-based market index, which is the Fund's benchmark index, for the periods indicated.
On February 24, 2012, the Fund acquired all the assets and assumed all the liabilities of the Fund's predecessor. In connection with that reorganization, the Investor Class and R5 Class shares of the Fund adopted the performance history and financial statements of the Class A and Class I shares, respectively, of the Fund's predecessor. In the bar chart and table below, the performance of the Fund's Investor Class shares for periods prior to February 24, 2012 is the performance of the Class A shares of the Fund's predecessor. The table below also shows the performance of the A Class, C Class, Y Class, R5 Class, and R6 Class shares of the Fund. In the table below, the performance shown for the R5 Class shares of the Fund for periods prior to February 24, 2012 is the performance of the Class I shares of the Fund's predecessor. The performance shown for the Fund's Y Class, A Class and C Class shares for periods prior to February 24, 2012 represents the returns achieved by the Class A shares of the Fund's predecessor. In the table below, the performance for the Fund's R6 Class shares for periods prior to April 30, 2019 represents the returns achieved by the Class I shares of the Fund's predecessor from January 1, 2010 through February 23, 2012, and the performance of the Fund's R5 Class shares from February 24, 2012 through April 29, 2019. In each case, the newer share classes would have had similar annual returns to the older share classes because the shares of each class represent investments in the same portfolio securities. However, the older share classes had different expenses than the newer share classes, which would affect performance. The performance of the newer share classes shown in the bar chart and table has not been adjusted for differences in operating expenses between those share classes and the older share classes, but the A Class and C Class shares performance has been adjusted for the impact of the maximum applicable sales charge. You may obtain updated performance information on the Fund's website at www.americanbeaconfunds.com. 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 periods ended December 31, 2019.
|
Inception Date of Class |
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||
Investor Class |
12/01/2005 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Returns Before Taxes |
|
|
22.49 |
% |
9.39 |
% |
12.37 |
% |
Returns After Taxes on Distributions |
|
|
19.44 |
% |
6.67 |
% |
10.48 |
% |
Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sales of Fund Shares |
|
|
15.52 |
% |
7.05 |
% |
10.03 |
% |
|
Inception Date of Class |
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||
Share Class (Before Taxes) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A |
02/24/2012 |
|
15.45 |
% |
8.06 |
% |
11.61 |
% |
C |
02/24/2012 |
|
20.56 |
% |
8.49 |
% |
11.61 |
% |
Y |
02/24/2012 |
|
22.82 |
% |
9.60 |
% |
12.55 |
% |
R5 |
08/31/2006 |
|
22.92 |
% |
9.71 |
% |
12.68 |
% |
R6 |
04/30/2019 |
|
22.92 |
% |
9.71 |
% |
12.68 |
% |
|
|
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||
Index (Reflects no deduction for fees expenses or taxes) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Russell 2000 Growth Index |
|
|
28.48 |
% |
9.34 |
% |
13.01 |
% |
26 |
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
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 income taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. The return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period. If you are a tax-exempt entity or hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as an individual retirement account ("IRA") or a 401(k) plan, the after-tax returns do not apply to your situation. After-tax returns are shown only for Investor Class shares of the Fund; after-tax returns for other share classes will vary.
Management
The Manager
The Fund has retained American Beacon Advisors, Inc. to serve as its Manager.
Sub-Advisor
The Fund's investment sub-advisor is Stephens Investment Management Group, LLC.
Portfolio Managers
Stephens Investment Management Group, LLC |
Ryan Crane
Kelly Ranucci
John Keller
|
John Thornton
Sam Chase
|
* Includes Predecessor Fund.
** Predecessor Fund inception date.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
You may buy or sell shares of the Fund through a direct mutual fund account, a retirement account, an investment professional or another financial intermediary. As a direct mutual fund account shareholder, you may buy or sell shares in various ways:
Internet |
www.americanbeaconfunds.com |
|
Phone |
To reach an American Beacon representative call 1-800-658-5811, option 1
Through the Automated Voice Response Service call 1-800-658-5811, option 2 (Investor Class only)
|
|
|
American Beacon Funds
P.O. Box 219643
Kansas City, MO 64121-9643
|
Overnight Delivery:
American Beacon Funds
c/o DST Asset Manager Solutions, Inc.
330 West 9th Street
Kansas City, MO 64105
|
You may purchase or redeem shares of the Fund on any day the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") is open, at the Fund's net asset value ("NAV") per share next calculated after your order is received in proper form, subject to any applicable sales charge.
|
New Account |
Existing Account |
|
Share Class |
Minimum Initial Investment Amount |
Purchase/Redemption Minimum by Check/ACH/Exchange |
Purchase/Redemption Minimum by Wire |
C |
$1,000 |
$50 |
$250 |
A, Investor |
$2,500 |
$50 |
$250 |
Y |
$100,000 |
$50 |
None |
R5 |
$250,000 |
$50 |
None |
R6 |
None |
$50 |
None |
Tax Information
Dividends, capital gains distributions, and other distributions, if any, that you receive from the Fund are subject to federal income tax and may also be subject to state and local income taxes, unless you are a tax-exempt entity or your account is tax-deferred, such as an individual retirement account or a 401(k) plan (in which case you may be taxed later, upon the withdrawal of your investment from such account or plan).
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 the Fund's distributor, Resolute Investment Distributors, Inc. or the Manager 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 individual financial adviser to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial adviser or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
Prospectus – Additional Information About the Funds |
27 |
Additional Information About the Funds
To help you better understand the Funds, this section provides a detailed discussion of the Funds' investment policies, their principal strategies and principal risks and performance benchmarks; however, this Prospectus does not describe all of a Fund's investment practices. Capitalized terms that are not otherwise defined are defined in Appendix B. For additional information, please see the Funds' SAI, which is available at www.americanbeaconfunds.com or by contacting us via telephone at 1-800-658-5811, by U.S. mail at P.O. Box 219643, Kansas City, MO 64121-9643, or by e-mail at americanbeaconfunds@ambeacon.com.
Additional Information About Investment Policies and Strategies
Investment Objectives
The American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund's investment objective is long-term capital appreciation.
The American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund's investment objective is long-term total return on capital, primarily through capital appreciation.
The American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Value Fund's investment objective is long-term total return on capital, primarily through capital appreciation and some income.
The American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund's investment objective is long-term growth of capital.
The American Beacon Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund's investment objective is long-term growth of capital.
Each Fund's investment objective is ‘‘non-fundamental,'' which means that it may be changed by the Funds' Board without the approval of Fund shareholders.
80% Investment Policies
The American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund has a non-fundamental policy to invest under normal circumstances at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in securities of small capitalization companies.
The American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund has a non-fundamental policy to invest under normal market conditions at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in stocks from among those in the large-cap growth category at the time of purchase.
The American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Value Fund has a non-fundamental policy to invest under normal market conditions at least 80% of Fund net assets (plus borrowings for investment purposes), in stocks from among those in the large-cap value category at the time of purchase.
The American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund has a non-fundamental policy to invest under normal circumstances at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities of medium capitalization companies.
The American Beacon Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund has a non-fundamental policy to invest under normal circumstances at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities of small capitalization companies.
If a Fund changes its 80% investment policy, a notice will be sent to shareholders at least 60 days in advance of the change and this prospectus will be supplemented.
Temporary Defensive Policy
Each Fund may depart from its principal investment strategy by taking temporary defensive positions in response to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions. During these times, a Fund may not achieve its investment objective.
Additional Information About the Management of the Funds
The Funds have retained American Beacon Advisors, Inc. to serve as their Manager. The Manager may allocate the assets of each Fund among different sub-advisors. The Manager provides or oversees the provision of all administrative, investment advisory and portfolio management services to the Funds. The Manager:
develops overall investment strategies for each Fund,
selects and changes sub-advisors,
allocates assets among sub-advisors,
monitors and evaluates the sub-advisors' investment performance,
monitors the sub-advisors' compliance with the Funds' investment objectives, policies and restrictions,
oversees the Funds' securities lending activities and actions taken by the securities lending agent to the extent applicable, and
directs the investment of the portion of Fund assets that the sub-advisors determine should be allocated to short-term investments.
Each Fund's assets are currently allocated by the Manager to one respective sub-advisor. Each sub-advisor has full discretion to purchase and sell securities for its segment of the Funds' assets in accordance with the Funds' objectives, policies, restrictions and more specific strategies provided by the Manager. The Manager oversees the sub-advisors but does not reassess individual security selections made by the sub-advisors for their portfolios.
Although the Manager has no current intention to do so, a Fund's assets may be allocated among one or more additional sub-advisors in the future by the Manager. The Funds operate in a manager of managers structure. The Funds and the Manager have received an exemptive order from the Securities and Exchange Commission (''SEC'') that permits the Funds, subject to certain conditions and approval by the Board, to hire and replace sub-advisors that are unaffiliated with the Manager without approval of the shareholders. In the future, the Funds and the Manager may rely on an SEC staff no-action letter, dated July 9, 2019, that would permit the Funds to expand their exemptive relief to hire and replace sub-advisors that are affiliated and unaffiliated with the Manager without shareholder approval, subject to approval by the Board and other conditions. The Manager has ultimate responsibility, subject to oversight by the Board, to oversee sub-advisors and recommend their hiring, termination and replacement. The SEC order also exempts the Funds from disclosing the advisory fees paid by the Funds to individual sub-advisors in a multi-manager fund in various documents filed with the SEC and provided to shareholders. In the future, the Funds may rely on the SEC staff no-action letter to expand their exemptive relief to individual sub-advisors that are affiliated with the Manager. Under that no-action letter, the fees payable to sub-advisors unaffiliated with or partially-owned by the Manager or its parent company would be aggregated, and fees payable to sub-advisors that are wholly-owned by the Manager or its parent company, if any, would be aggregated with fees payable to the Manager. Whenever a sub-advisor change is proposed in reliance on the order, in order for the change to be implemented, the Board, including a majority of its "non-interested" trustees, must approve the change. In addition, the Funds are required to provide shareholders with certain information regarding any new sub-advisor within 90 days of the hiring of any new sub-advisor.
28 |
Prospectus – Additional Information About the Funds |
American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund
The Fund's assets are allocated among the Manager and the following investment sub-advisor:
Bahl & Gaynor Inc., d/b/a/ Bahl & Gaynor Investment Counsel
American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund and American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Value Fund
The Funds' assets are allocated among the Manager and the following investment sub-advisor:
Bridgeway Capital Management, Inc.
American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund and American Beacon Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund
The Funds' assets are allocated among the Manager and the following investment sub-advisor:
Stephens Investment Management Group, LLC
Additional Information About Investments
This section provides more detailed information regarding certain of the Funds' principal investment strategies as well as information regarding the Funds' strategy with respect to investment of cash balances.
Cash Management Investments
A Fund may invest cash balances in money market funds that are registered as investment companies under the Investment Company Act, including money market funds that are advised by the Manager or a sub-advisor, and in futures contracts. If a Fund invests in money market funds, the Fund becomes a shareholder of that investment company. As a result, Fund shareholders will bear their proportionate share of the expenses, including, for example, advisory and administrative fees of the money market funds in which a Fund invests, such as advisory fees charged by the Manager to any applicable money market funds advised by the Manager, in addition to the fees and expenses Fund shareholders directly bear in connection with a Fund's own operations. Shareholders also would be exposed to the risks associated with money market funds and the portfolio investments of such money market funds, including the risk that a money market fund's yield will be lower than the return that a Fund would have derived from other investments that provide liquidity.
For the American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund, American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund, and American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Value Fund:
To gain market exposure on cash balances held in anticipation of liquidity needs or reduce market exposure in anticipation of liquidity needs, a Fund also may purchase and sell non-commodity based futures contracts on a daily basis that relate to securities in which they may invest directly and indices comprised of such securities.
A futures contract is a contract to purchase or sell a particular security, or the cash value of an index, at a specified future date at a price agreed upon when the contract is made. Under such contracts, no delivery of the actual securities is required. Rather, upon the expiration of the contract, settlement is made by exchanging cash in an amount equal to the difference between the contract price and the closing price of a security or index at expiration, net of the variation margin that was previously paid. As cash balances are invested in securities, a Fund may invest simultaneously those balances in futures contracts until the cash balances are delivered to settle the securities transactions. This exposes a Fund to the market risks associated with the underlying securities and indices. Because a Fund will have market exposure simultaneously in both the invested securities and futures contracts, a Fund may have more than 100% of its assets exposed to the markets. This can magnify gains and losses in a Fund. A Fund also may have to sell assets at inopportune times to satisfy its settlement or collateral obligations. The risks associated with the use of futures contracts also include that there may be an imperfect correlation between the changes in market value of the securities held by a Fund and the prices of futures contracts or the movement in the prices of futures contracts and the value of their underlying investment or indices and that there may not be a liquid secondary market for a futures contract.
Equity Investments
A Fund's equity investments may include:
Common Stock. Common stock generally takes the form of shares in a corporation which represent an ownership interest. It ranks below preferred stock and debt securities in claims for dividends and for assets of the company in a liquidation or bankruptcy. Common stock may be traded via an exchange or over-the-counter. Over the counter stock may be less liquid than exchange-traded stock.
Convertible Securities. Convertible securities are generally preferred stocks and other securities, including bonds and warrants, that are convertible into or exercisable for common stock at a stated price or rate. Convertible debt securities may offer greater appreciation potential than non-convertible debt securities. Convertible securities are senior to common stock in an issuer's capital structure, but are usually subordinated to similar non-convertible securities. While typically providing a fixed-income stream, a convertible security also gives an investor the opportunity, through its conversion feature, to participate in the capital appreciation of the issuing company depending upon a market price advance in the convertible security's underlying common stock.
Depositary Receipts and U.S. Dollar-Denominated Foreign Stock Trading on U.S. Exchanges. A Fund may invest in securities issued by foreign companies through ADRs and U.S. dollar-denominated foreign stock trading on U.S. exchanges. These securities are subject to many of the risks inherent in investing in foreign securities, including, but not limited to, currency fluctuations and political and financial instability in the home country of a particular ADR or foreign stock. ADRs are U.S. dollar-denominated receipts issued generally by domestic banks and represent the deposit with the bank of a security of a foreign issuer. Depositary receipts may not be denominated in the same currency as the securities into which they may be converted. Investing in depositary receipts entails substantially the same risks as direct investment in foreign securities. There is generally less publicly available information about foreign companies and there may be less governmental regulation and supervision of foreign stock exchanges, brokers and listed companies. In addition, such companies may use different accounting and financial standards (and certain currencies may become unavailable for transfer from a foreign currency), resulting in a Fund's possible inability to convert immediately into U.S. currency proceeds realized upon the sale of portfolio securities of the affected foreign companies. In addition, a Fund may invest in unsponsored depositary receipts, the issuers of which are not obligated to disclose material information about the underlying securities to investors in the United States. Ownership of unsponsored depositary receipts may not entitle a Fund to the same benefits and rights as ownership of a sponsored depositary receipt or the underlying security.
Preferred Stock. Preferred stock blends the characteristics of a bond and common stock. It can offer the higher yield of a bond and has priority over common stock in equity ownership, but it does not have the seniority of a bond and its participation in the issuer's growth may be limited. Preferred stock has preference over common stock in the receipt of dividends and in any residual assets after payment to creditors should the issuer be dissolved. Although the dividend is typically set at a fixed annual rate, in some circumstances it can be variable, changed or omitted by the issuer.
Prospectus – Additional Information About the Funds |
29 |
Real Estate Investment Trusts (‘‘REITs''). REITs are pooled investment vehicles that own, and often operate, income producing real estate (known as "equity REITs") or invest in mortgages secured by loans on such real estate (known as "mortgage REITs") or both (known as "hybrid REITs"). REITs are susceptible to the risks associated with direct ownership of real estate, such as declines in property values, increase in property taxes, operating expenses, rising interest rates or overbuilding, zoning changes, and losses from casualty or condemnation. REITs typically are subject to management fees and other expenses that are separate from those of a Fund.
Additional Information About Risks
The greatest risk of investing in a mutual fund is that its returns will fluctuate and you could lose money. The following table identifies the risk factors of each Fund in light of each Fund's respective principal investment strategies. These risk factors are explained following the table. References to "the Fund" and "a Fund" in the risk explanations are intended to refer the Fund(s) identified in the table as having that risk factor. The principal risks of investing in each Fund listed below are presented in alphabetical order and not in order of importance or potential exposure. Among other matters, this presentation is intended to facilitate your ability to find particular risks and compare them with the risks of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a "principal risk" of investing in a Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears.
Risk |
Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund |
Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund |
Bridgeway Large Cap Value Fund |
Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund |
Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund |
Allocation Risk |
|
X |
X |
|
|
Cybersecurity and Operational Risk |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Dividend Risk |
X |
|
X |
|
|
Equity Investments Risk |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Foreign Investing Risk |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Futures Contracts Risk |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
Growth Companies Risk |
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
Investment Risk |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Issuer Risk |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Large Capitalization Companies Risk |
|
X |
X |
X |
|
Market Risk |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Market Disruption Risk |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Mid-Capitalization Companies Risk |
|
X |
X |
X |
|
Model and Data Risk |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
Modeling and Programming Error Risk |
|
X |
X |
|
|
Other Investment Companies Risk |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Quantitative Strategy Risk |
X |
|
|
X |
X |
Redemption Risk |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Sector Risk |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Securities Lending Risk |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Securities Selection Risk |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Small Capitalization Companies Risk |
X |
|
|
|
X |
Value Stocks Risk |
|
|
X |
|
|
Allocation Risk
This is the risk that a sub-advisor's judgments about, and allocations among, strategies, asset classes and market exposures may adversely affect a Fund's performance. There can be no assurance, particularly during periods of market disruption and stress, that a sub-advisor's judgments about asset allocation will be correct. Some broad asset categories and sub-classes may perform below expectations or the securities markets generally over short and extended periods.
Cybersecurity and Operational Risk
A Fund, its service providers, and third-party fund distribution platforms, and shareholders' ability to transact with a Fund, may be negatively impacted due to operational risks arising from, among other problems, human errors, systems and technology disruptions or failures, or cybersecurity incidents. Cybersecurity incidents may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data, or proprietary information, or cause a Fund or its service providers, as well as the securities trading venues and their service providers, to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality. A cybersecurity incident could, among other things, result in the loss or theft of customer data or funds, customers or employees being unable to access electronic systems (also known as "denial of services"), loss or theft of proprietary information or corporate data, interference with a Fund's ability to calculate its NAV, impediments to trading, physical damage to a computer or network system, or remediation costs associated with system repairs.
The occurrence of any of these problems could result in a loss of information, regulatory scrutiny, reputational damage and other consequences, any of which could have a material adverse effect on a Fund or its shareholders. The Manager, through its monitoring and oversight of Fund service providers, endeavors to determine that service providers take appropriate precautions to avoid and mitigate risks that could lead to such problems. While the Manager has established business continuity plans and risk management systems seeking to address these problems, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems, and it is not possible for the Manager, Fund service providers, or third-party fund distribution platforms to identify all of the operational risks that may affect a Fund or to develop processes and controls to completely eliminate or mitigate their occurrence or effects. Most issuers in which a Fund invests are heavily dependent on computers for data storage and operations, and require ready access to the internet to conduct their business. Thus, cybersecurity incidents could also affect issuers of securities in which a Fund invests, leading to significant loss of value.
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Prospectus – Additional Information About the Funds |
Dividend Risk
A Fund's focus on dividend-paying stocks could cause a Fund to underperform funds that invest without consideration of a company's track record of paying dividends. An issuer of stock held by a Fund may choose not to declare a dividend or the dividend rate might not remain at current levels. Dividend paying stocks might not experience the same level of earnings growth or capital appreciation as non-dividend paying stocks. In addition, stocks of companies with a history of paying dividends may not participate in a broad market advance to the same degree as most other stocks, and a sharp rise in interest rates or an economic downturn could cause a company to unexpectedly reduce or eliminate its dividend. Securities that pay dividends may be sensitive to changes in interest rates, and as interest rates rise, the prices of such securities may fall. At times, a Fund may not be able to identify dividend-paying stocks that are attractive investments. The income received by a Fund will also fluctuate due to the amount of dividends that companies elect to pay.
Equity Investments Risk
Equity securities are subject to investment risk and market risk. A Fund may invest in the following equity securities, which may expose a Fund to the following additional risks:
Common Stocks Risk. The value of a company's common stock may fall as a result of factors directly relating to that company, such as decisions made by its management or decreased demand for the company's products or services. A stock's value may also decline because of factors affecting not just the company, but also companies in the same industry or sector. The price of a company's stock may also be affected by changes in financial markets that are relatively unrelated to the company, such as changes in interest rates, exchange rates or industry regulation. Companies that pay dividends on their common stock generally only do so after they invest in their own business and make required payments to bondholders and on other debt and preferred stock. Therefore, the value of a company's common stock will usually be more volatile than its bonds, other debt and preferred stock. Common stock generally is subordinate to preferred stock upon the liquidation or bankruptcy of the issuing company.
Convertible Securities Risk. The value of a convertible security is influenced by both the yield of non-convertible securities of comparable issuers and by the value of the underlying common stock. The investment value of a convertible is based on its yield and tends to decline as interest rates increase. The conversion value of a convertible is the market value that would be received if the convertible were converted to its underlying common stock. The conversion value will decrease as the price of the underlying common stock decreases. When conversion value is substantially below investment value, the convertible's price tends to be influenced more by its yield, so changes in the price of the underlying common stock may not have as much of an impact. Conversely, the convertible's price tends to be influenced more by the price of the underlying common stock when conversion value is comparable to or exceeds investment value. The value of a synthetic convertible security will respond differently to market fluctuations than a convertible security, because a synthetic convertible is composed of two or more separate securities, each with its own market value. Convertible securities may be subject to market risk, credit risk and interest rate risk. Generally, a convertible security is subject to the market risks of stocks when the underlying stock's price is high relative to the conversion price, and is subject to the market risks of debt securities when the underlying stock's price is low relative to the conversion price. Convertible securities are also subject to the risk that the credit standing of the issuer may have an effect on the convertible securities' investment value.
Depositary Receipts and U.S. Dollar-Denominated Foreign Stocks Traded on U. S. Exchanges Risk. A Fund may invest in securities issued by foreign companies through ADRs and U.S. dollar-denominated foreign stocks traded on U.S. exchanges. These securities are generally subject to many of the same risks of investing in the foreign securities that they evidence or into which they may be converted, including, but not limited to, currency exchange rate fluctuations, political and financial instability in the home country of a particular depositary receipt or foreign stock, less liquidity and more volatility, less government regulation and supervision and delays in transaction settlement.
Preferred Stocks Risk. Preferred securities, which are a form of hybrid security (i.e., a security with both debt and equity characteristics), may pay fixed or adjustable rates of return. If interest rates rise, the dividend on preferred stocks may be less attractive, causing the price of preferred stocks to decline. Preferred stocks may have mandatory sinking fund provisions, as well as provisions for their call or redemption prior to maturity which can have a negative effect on their prices when interest rates decline. Preferred stocks may be less liquid than common stocks and, unlike common stocks, participation in the growth of an issuer may be limited. Distributions on preferred stocks generally are payable at the discretion of an issuer and after required payments to bond holders. In certain situations, an issuer may call or redeem its preferred stock or convert it to common stock. The market prices of preferred stocks are generally more sensitive to actual or perceived changes in the issuer's financial condition or prospects than are the prices of debt securities. Issuers may threaten preferred stockholders with the cancellation of all dividends and liquidation preference rights in an attempt to force their conversion to less secure common stock. Certain preferred stocks are equity securities because they do not constitute a liability of the issuer and therefore do not offer the same degree of protection of capital or continuation of income as debt securities. The rights of preferred stock on distribution of a corporation's assets in the event of its liquidation are generally subordinated to the rights associated with a corporation's debt securities. Therefore, in the event of an issuer's bankruptcy, there is substantial risk that there will be nothing left to pay preferred stockholders after payments, if any, to bondholders have been made. Preferred stocks may also be subject to credit risk.
REITs Risk. REITs or other real estate-related securities are subject to the risks associated with direct ownership of real estate, including, among other risks: adverse developments affecting the real estate industry; declines in the value of real estate; changes in interest rates; risks related to general and local economic conditions; defaults by mortgagors or other borrowers and tenants; lack of availability of mortgage funds or financing; extended vacancies of properties, especially during economic downturns; casualty or condemnation losses; and governmental actions, such as changes to tax laws, zoning regulations or environmental regulations. Generally, REITs can be classified as equity REITs, mortgage REITs or hybrid REITs. Equity REITs invest the majority of their assets directly in real property and derive their income primarily from rents and net capital gains from appreciation realized through property sales. Equity REITs are further categorized according to the types of real estate they own, e.g., apartment properties, retail shopping centers, office and industrial properties, hotels, health-care facilities, manufactured housing and mixed-property types. 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. All REITs are dependent on management skills, are subject to heavy cash flow dependency or self-liquidation and generally are not diversified. Equity REITs are affected by the changes in the value of the properties owned by the trust. Mortgage REITs are affected by the quality of the credit extended. Equity, mortgage and hybrid REITs may not be diversified with regard to the types of tenants, may not be diversified with regard to the geographic locations of the properties, and are subject to cash flow dependency and defaults by borrowers, and any REIT could fail to qualify for tax-free "pass-through" of distributed net income and net realized gains under the Internal Revenue Code, or to maintain its exemption from registration under the Investment Company Act. REITs typically incur fees that are separate from those incurred by a Fund. Accordingly, a Fund's investment in REITs will result in the layering of expenses such that shareholders will indirectly bear a proportionate share of the REITs' operating expenses, in addition to indirectly paying Fund expenses. The value of REIT common stock may decline when interest rates rise.
Foreign Investing Risk
Non-U.S. investments carry potential risks not associated with U.S. investments. Such risks include, but are not limited to: (1) currency exchange rate fluctuations, (2) political and financial instability, (3) less liquidity and greater volatility of foreign investments, (4) lack of uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, (5) different government regulation and supervision of foreign banks, stock exchanges, brokers and listed companies, (6)
Prospectus – Additional Information About the Funds |
31 |
increased price volatility, and (7) delays in transaction settlement in some foreign markets. There may be very limited oversight of certain foreign banks or securities depositories that hold foreign securities and currency and the laws of certain countries may limit the ability to recover such assets if a foreign bank, depository, or their agents goes bankrupt. To the extent a Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in securities of a single country or region, it is more likely to be affected by events or conditions of that country or region.
Futures Contracts Risk
There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in the prices of futures contracts and the value of their underlying instruments or index. Futures contracts may experience dramatic price changes (losses) and imperfect correlations between the price of the contract and the underlying security, index or currency, which may increase the volatility of a Fund. Futures contracts may involve a small investment of cash (the amount of initial and variation margin) relative to the magnitude of the risk assumed (the potential increase or decrease in the price of the futures contract). There can be no assurance that, at all times, a liquid market will exist for offsetting a futures contract that a Fund has previously bought or sold and this may result in the inability to close a futures contract when desired. When a Fund purchases or sells a futures contract, it is subject to daily variation margin calls that could be substantial. If a Fund has insufficient cash to meet daily variation margin requirements, it might need to sell securities at a time when such sales are disadvantageous. Equity index futures contracts expose a Fund to volatility in an underlying securities index.
Growth Companies Risk
Growth companies are expected to increase their earnings at a certain rate. When these expectations are not met, the prices of these stocks may decline, even if earnings showed an absolute increase. A Fund's investments in growth companies may be more sensitive to company earnings and more volatile than the market in general primarily because their stock prices are based heavily on future expectations. If a sub-advisor's assessment of the prospects for a company's growth is incorrect, then the price of the company's stock may fall or not approach the value that a sub-advisor has placed on it. Growth company stocks may lack the dividend yield that can cushion stock price declines in market downturns. Different investment styles tend to shift in and out of favor, depending on market conditions and investor sentiment. A Fund's growth style could cause it to underperform funds that use a value or non-growth approach to investing or have a broader investment style.
Investment Risk
An investment in a Fund is not a deposit with a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. A Fund should not be relied upon as a complete investment program. The share price of a Fund fluctuates, which means that when you sell your shares of a Fund, they could be worth less than what you paid for them. Therefore, you may lose money by investing in a Fund.
Issuer Risk
The value of, and/or the return generated by, a security may decline for a number of reasons that directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets. When the issuer of a security implements strategic initiatives, including mergers, acquisitions and dispositions, there is the risk that the market response to such initiatives will cause the share price of the issuer's securities to fall.
Large Capitalization Companies Risk
The securities of large market capitalization companies may underperform other segments of the market because such companies may be less responsive to competitive challenges and opportunities, such as changes in technology and consumer tastes. Large market capitalization companies may be unable to attain the high growth rates of successful smaller companies, especially during periods of economic expansion.
Market Risk
Conditions in the U.S. and many foreign economies have resulted, and may continue to result, in certain instruments experiencing unusual liquidity issues, increased price volatility and, in some cases, credit downgrades and increased likelihood of default. These events have reduced the willingness and ability of some lenders to extend credit, and have made it more difficult for some borrowers to obtain financing on attractive terms, if at all. In some cases, traditional market participants have been less willing to make a market in some types of debt instruments, which has affected the liquidity of those instruments. During times of market turmoil, investors tend to look to the safety of securities issued or backed by the U.S. Treasury, causing the prices of these securities to rise and the yields to decline. Reduced liquidity in fixed income and credit markets may negatively affect many issuers worldwide. In addition, global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibility that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers in a different country or region. A rise in protectionist trade policies, slowing global economic growth, risks associated with the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union on January 31, 2020 and trade agreement negotiations during the transition period, the risks associated with ongoing trade negotiations with China, and the possibility of changes to some international trade agreements, could affect the economies of many nations, including the United States, in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time.
In response to the financial crisis, the U.S. and other governments, the Federal Reserve, and certain foreign central banks have taken steps to support financial markets. In some countries where economic conditions are recovering, they are nevertheless perceived as still fragile. Withdrawal of government support, failure of efforts in response to the crisis, or investor perception that such efforts are not succeeding, could adversely impact the value and liquidity of certain securities. The severity or duration of adverse economic conditions may also be affected by policy changes made by governments or quasi-governmental organizations, including changes in tax laws. The impact of new financial regulation legislation on the markets and the practical implications for market participants may not be fully known for some time. Regulatory changes are causing some financial services companies to exit long-standing lines of business, resulting in dislocations for other market participants.
In addition, political and governmental events within the U.S. and abroad, such as the U.S. government's inability at times to agree on a long-term budget and deficit reduction plan, the threat of a federal government shutdown and threats not to increase the federal government's debt limit, may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy, perhaps suddenly and to a significant degree. The U.S. government has reduced the federal corporate income tax rate, and future legislative, regulatory and policy changes may result in more restrictions on international trade, less stringent prudential regulation of certain players in the financial markets, and significant new investments in infrastructure and national defense. Markets may react strongly to expectations about the changes in these policies, which could increase volatility, especially if the market's expectations for changes in government policies are not borne out.
Changes in market conditions will not have the same impact on all types of securities. Interest rates have been unusually low in recent years in the U.S. and abroad. Because there is little precedent for this situation, it is difficult to predict the impact of a significant rate increase on various markets. For example, because investors may buy securities or other investments with borrowed money, a significant increase in interest rates may cause a decline in the markets for those investments. Regulators have expressed concern that rate increases may cause investors to sell fixed income securities faster than the market can absorb them, contributing to price volatility. In addition, there is a risk that the prices of goods and services in the U.S. and many foreign economies may decline over
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Prospectus – Additional Information About the Funds |
time, known as deflation (the opposite of inflation). Deflation may have an adverse effect on stock prices and creditworthiness and may make defaults on debt more likely. If a country's economy slips into a deflationary pattern, it could last for a prolonged period and may be difficult to reverse.
The impact of the United Kingdom's departure from the EU, which occurred on January 31, 2020, commonly known as Brexit, is not yet known. The effect on the United Kingdom's economy will likely depend on the nature of trade relations with the EU and other major economies following its exit, which are matters to be negotiated. The outcomes may cause increased volatility and have a significant adverse impact on world financial markets, other international trade agreements, and the United Kingdom and European economies, as well as the broader global economy for some time, which could significantly adversely affect the value of a Fund's investments in the United Kingdom and Europe.
Market Disruption Risk
Geopolitical and other events, including war, terrorism, economic uncertainty, trade disputes, pandemics, public health crises and related geopolitical events have led, and in the future may continue to lead, to instability in world economies and markets generally. This instability has disrupted, and may continue to disrupt, U.S. and world economies and markets and adversely affect the value of your investment. Such market disruptions have caused, and may continue to cause, broad changes in market value, negative public perceptions concerning these developments, and adverse investor sentiment or publicity. Changes in value may be temporary or may last for extended periods. Although multiple asset classes have been and may continue to be affected by a market disruption, the duration and effects may not be the same for all types of assets. Events that have led to market disruptions include the recent pandemic spread of the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, which has resulted in travel restrictions, closed international borders, quarantines, disruptions to supply chains and lower consumer demand. The duration and full effects of these market disruptions are still uncertain. The effect of recent efforts undertaken by the Federal Reserve System to address the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the reduction of the federal funds target rate, and other monetary and fiscal actions that may be taken by the U.S. federal government to stimulate the U.S. economy, are not yet known. In addition, COVID-19 could cause the need for employees and vendors at various businesses, including the Manager, a sub-advisor or other service providers, to work at external locations, and extensive medical absences. Because a large epidemic may create significant market and business uncertainties and disruptions, not all events that could affect the business of the Manager, a sub-advisor or other service providers can be determined and addressed in advance.
Mid-Capitalization Companies Risk
Investments in mid-capitalization companies generally involve greater risks and the possibility of greater price volatility than investments in larger, more established companies. Mid-capitalization companies often have narrower commercial markets and more limited operating history, product lines, and managerial and financial resources than larger, more established companies. As a result, performance can be more volatile and they may face greater risk of business failure, which could increase the volatility of a Fund's portfolio. Generally, the smaller the company size, the greater these risks. Additionally, mid-capitalization companies may have less market liquidity than large capitalization companies, and they can be sensitive to changes in interest rates, borrowing costs and earnings.
Model and Data Risk
Models and data are used to screen potential investments for a Fund. When models or data prove to be incorrect or incomplete, any decisions made in reliance thereon expose a Fund to potential risks. Securities selected using models or data can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole or securities selected using only fundamental analysis, which could adversely affect value. Some of the models used by an applicable sub-advisor are predictive in nature. The use of predictive models has inherent risks. Because predictive models are usually constructed based on historical data supplied by third parties, the success of relying on such models may depend heavily on the accuracy and reliability of the supplied historical data. Data for some companies, particularly non-U.S. companies, may be less available and/or less current than data for other companies. In addition, factors that affect a security's value can change over time and these changes may not be reflected in the quantitative model. There can be no assurance that the models are complete, accurate, or representative of future market cycles, nor that they will always be beneficial to a Fund if they are accurate. Additionally, programs may become outdated or experience malfunctions which may not be identified by a sub-advisor and therefore may also result in losses to a Fund. These models may negatively affect Fund performance for various other reasons, including human judgment, inaccuracy of historical data and non-quantitative factors (such as market or trading system dysfunctions, investor fear or overreaction). Assets selected using models and programs can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole or as compared to securities selected using only fundamental analysis, which could adversely affect value. Factors that affect an asset's value can change over time and these changes may not be reflected in the quantitative model. The data used to build the model is extremely complex and involves financial, economic, econometric and statistical theories which are then translated into computer code to create the applicable program. Human judgment plays a role in building, utilizing, testing and modifying the financial algorithms and formulas used in these models. Additionally, the data, which is typically supplied by third parties, can be imprecise or become stale due to new events or changing circumstances. Market performance can be affected by non-quantitative factors (for example, investor fear, over-reaction or other emotional considerations) that are not easily integrated into modeling programs. There may also be errors in the code for the models or issues relating to the computer systems used to screen securities. A sub-advisor's security selection can be adversely affected if it relies on erroneous or outdated data, and there is a risk that the finished model may contain errors; one or more of which could adversely affect a Fund's performance.
Modeling and Programming Error Risk
The success of a sub-advisor's investment strategy depends largely on the effectiveness of its quantitative research models and investment programs. Assets selected using models and programs can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole or securities selected using only fundamental analysis, which could adversely affect value. Factors that affect an asset's value can change over time and these changes may not be reflected in the quantitative model. The data used to build the model is extremely complex and involves financial, economic, econometric and statistical theories which are then translated into computer code to create the applicable program. Human judgment plays a role in building, utilizing, testing and modifying the financial algorithms and formulas used in these models. Additionally, the data, which is typically supplied by third parties, can be imprecise or become stale due to new events or changing circumstances. Market performance can be affected by non-quantitative factors (for example, investor fear or over-reaction or other emotional considerations) that are not easily integrated into modeling programs. There may also be errors in the code for the models or issues relating to the computer systems used to screen securities. A sub-advisor's security selection can be adversely affected if it relies on erroneous or outdated data, and there is a risk that the finished model may contain errors; one or more of which could adversely affect a Fund's performance. There can be no assurance that the models and programs are complete or accurate, or representative of future market cycles, nor that they will always be beneficial to a Fund if they are accurate. These models and programs may negatively affect Fund performance for various reasons, including errors in human judgment, inaccuracy of historical data and non-quantitative factors (such as market or trading system dysfunctions, investor fear or over-reaction).
Other Investment Companies Risk
To the extent that a Fund invests in shares of other registered investment companies, a Fund will indirectly bear the fees and expenses, including, for example, advisory and administrative fees, charged by those investment companies in addition to a Fund's direct fees and expenses. A Fund must rely on the investment
Prospectus – Additional Information About the Funds |
33 |
company in which it invests to achieve its investment objective. If the investment company fails to achieve its investment objective, the value of a Fund's investment may decline, adversely affecting a Fund's performance. To the extent a Fund invests in other investment companies that invest in equity securities, fixed income securities and/or foreign securities, or that track an index, a Fund is subject to the risks associated with the underlying investments held by the investment company or the index fluctuations to which the investment company is subject. A Fund will be subject to the risks associated with investments in those companies, including but not limited to the following:
Money Market Funds. Investments in money market funds are subject to interest rate risk, credit risk, and market risk.
Quantitative Strategy Risk
The success of a Fund's investment strategy may depend in part on the effectiveness of a sub-advisor's quantitative tools for screening securities. Securities selected using quantitative analysis can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole or securities selected using only fundamental analysis, which could adversely affect their value. As a result, a portfolio of securities selected using quantitative analysis may underperform the market as a whole or a portfolio of securities selected using a different investment approach, such as fundamental analysis. A sub-advisor's quantitative tools may use factors that may not be predictive of a security's value, and any changes over time in the factors that affect a security's value may not be reflected in the quantitative model. Data for some companies, particularly for non-U.S. companies, may be less available and/or less current than data for other companies. There may also be errors in the computer code for the quantitative model or in the model itself, or issues relating to the computer systems used to screen securities. A sub-advisor's stock selection can be adversely affected if it relies on insufficient, erroneous or outdated data or flawed models or computer systems.
Redemption Risk
A Fund may experience periods of heavy redemptions that could cause a Fund to sell assets at inopportune times or at a loss or depressed value. Redemption risk is greater to the extent that one or more investors or intermediaries control a large percentage of investments in a Fund, have short investment horizons, or have unpredictable cash flow needs. A general rise in interest rates has the potential to cause investors to move out of fixed income securities on a large scale, which may increase redemptions from mutual funds that hold large amounts of fixed income securities. This, coupled with a reduction in the ability or willingness of dealers and other institutional investors to buy or hold fixed income securities, may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed income markets, and heightened redemption risk. Additionally, during periods of heavy redemptions, a Fund may borrow funds through the interfund credit facility, or from a bank line of credit, which may increase costs. Heavy redemptions, whether by a few large investors or many smaller investors, could hurt a Fund's performance. The sale of assets to meet redemption requests may create net capital gains or losses, which could cause a Fund to have to distribute substantial capital gains.
Sector Risk
Sector risk is the risk associated with a Fund holding a significant amount of investments in similar businesses, which would be similarly affected by particular economic or market events that may, in certain circumstances, cause the value of the equity and debt securities of companies in a particular sector of the market to change. To the extent a Fund has substantial holdings within a particular sector, the risks to a Fund associated with that sector increase. In addition, when a Fund focuses its investments in certain sectors of the economy, its performance may be driven largely by sector performance and could fluctuate more widely than if a Fund were invested more evenly across sectors. Individual sectors may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. The businesses that constitute a sector may all react the same way to economic, political or regulatory events. A Fund's performance could also be affected if the sectors do not perform as expected. Alternatively, the lack of exposure to one or more sectors may adversely affect performance.
Financial Sector Risk. Financial services companies are subject to extensive governmental regulation, which may limit both the amounts and types of loans and other financial commitments they can make, the interest rates and fees they can charge, the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge and the amount of capital they must maintain. Profitability is largely dependent on the availability and cost of capital funds and can fluctuate significantly when interest rates change or due to increased competition. In addition, deterioration of the credit markets generally may cause an adverse impact in a broad range of markets, including U.S. and international credit and interbank money markets generally, thereby affecting a wide range of financial institutions and markets. Certain events in the financial sector may cause an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets, both domestic and foreign, and cause certain financial services companies to incur large losses. Securities of financial services companies may experience a dramatic decline in value when such companies experience substantial declines in the valuations of their assets, take action to raise capital (such as the issuance of debt or equity securities), or cease operations. Credit losses resulting from financial difficulties of borrowers and financial losses associated with investment activities can negatively impact the sector. Insurance companies may be subject to severe price competition. Adverse economic, business or political developments could adversely affect financial institutions engaged in mortgage finance or other lending or investing activities directly or indirectly connected to the value of real estate.
Information Technology Sector Risk. The market prices of information technology-related securities tend to exhibit a greater degree of market risk and sharp price fluctuations than other types of securities. These securities may fall in and out of favor with investors rapidly, which may cause sudden selling and dramatically lower market prices. Information technology securities also may be adversely affected by changes in technology, consumer and business purchasing patterns, government regulation and/or obsolete products or services. In addition, a rising interest rate environment tends to negatively affect information technology companies because companies with high market valuations may appear less attractive to investors, which may cause sharp decreases in their market prices. Further, those information technology companies seeking to finance expansion would have increased borrowing costs, which may negatively impact earnings.
Securities Lending Risk
A Fund may lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and financial institutions to seek income. There is a risk that a borrower may default on its obligations to return loaned securities; however, a Fund's securities lending agent may indemnify a Fund against that risk. There is a risk that the assets of a Fund's securities lending agent may be insufficient to satisfy any contractual indemnification requirements to a Fund. Borrowers of a Fund's securities may provide collateral in the form of cash that is reinvested in securities. A Fund will be responsible for the risks associated with the investment of cash collateral, including any collateral invested in an affiliated money market fund. A Fund may lose money on its investment of cash collateral or may fail to earn sufficient income on its investment to meet obligations to the borrower. In addition, delays may occur in the recovery of securities from borrowers, which could interfere with a Fund's ability to vote proxies or to settle transactions and there is the risk of possible loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially. In any case in which the loaned securities are not returned to a Fund before an ex-dividend date, the payment in lieu of the dividend that a Fund receives from the securities' borrower would not be treated as a dividend for federal income tax purposes and thus would not qualify for treatment as "qualified dividend income" (as described under "Distributions and Taxes – Taxes" below).
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Securities Selection Risk
Securities selected by a sub-advisor for a Fund may decline substantially in value or may not perform to expectations. The portfolio managers' judgments about the attractiveness, value and anticipated price movements of a particular asset class or individual security may be incorrect, and there is no guarantee that individual securities will perform as anticipated. This could result in a Fund's underperformance compared to other funds with similar investment objectives.
Small-Capitalization Companies Risk
Investments in small-capitalization companies generally involve greater risks and the possibility of greater price volatility than investments in larger-capitalization and more established companies. Small-capitalization companies often have narrower commercial markets and more limited operating history, product lines, and managerial and financial resources than larger, more established companies. As a result, performance of small-capitalization companies can be more volatile and these companies may face greater risk of business failure, which could increase the volatility of a Fund's portfolio. Generally, the smaller the company size, the greater these risks. Additionally, small-capitalization companies may have less market liquidity than larger capitalization companies, and they can be sensitive to changes in interest rates, borrowing costs and earnings. Generally, the smaller the company size, the greater these risks.
Value Stocks Risk
Investments in value stocks are subject to the risk that their intrinsic value may never be realized by the market or that their prices may go down. This may result in the value stocks' prices remaining undervalued for extended periods of time. While a Fund's investments in value stocks seek to limit potential downside price risk over time, value stock prices still may decline substantially. In addition, a Fund may produce more modest gains as a trade-off for this potentially lower risk. A Fund's performance also may be affected adversely if value stocks become unpopular with or lose favor among investors. Different investment styles tend to shift in and out of favor, depending on market conditions and investor sentiment. A Fund's value style could cause it to underperform funds that use a growth or non-value approach to investing or have a broader investment style.
Additional Information About Performance Benchmarks
The annual total return of each Fund is compared to one or more broad-based market index(es). Set forth below is additional information regarding the index to which each Fund's performance is compared.
American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund
The Fund's performance is compared to the Russell 2000 ® Growth Index. The Russell 2000® Growth Index is an unmanaged index of those stocks in the Russell 2000® Index with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. The Russell 2000® Index is an unmanaged index of approximately 2000 smaller-capitalization stocks from various industrial sectors.
American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund
The Fund's performance is compared to the Russell 1000® Growth Index. The Russell 1000 Growth Index measures the performance of the large-cap growth segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell 1000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. The Russell 1000 Growth Index is constructed to provide a comprehensive and unbiased barometer for the large-cap growth segment. The Index is completely reconstituted annually to ensure new and growing equities are included and that the represented companies continue to reflect growth characteristics.
American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Value Fund
The Fund's performance is compared to the Russell 1000® Value Index. The Russell 1000 Value Index measures the performance of the large-cap value segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell 1000 companies that are considered more value oriented relative to the overall market as defined by Russell's leading style methodology. The Russell 1000 Value Index is constructed to provide a comprehensive and unbiased barometer for the large-cap value segment. The Index is completely reconstituted annually to ensure new and growing equities are included and that the represented companies continue to reflect value characteristics.
American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund
The Fund's performance is compared to the Russell Midcap® Growth Index. The Russell Midcap® Growth Index is an unmanaged index of those stocks in the Russell Midcap® Index with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. The Russell Midcap® Index measures the performance of the 800 smallest companies in the Russell 1000® Index.
American Beacon Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund
The Fund's performance is compared to the Russell 2000® Growth Index. The Russell 2000® Growth Index is an unmanaged index of those stocks in the Russell 2000® Index with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. The Russell 2000® Index is an unmanaged index of approximately 2000 smaller-capitalization stocks from various industrial sectors.
Notices Regarding Index Data
Russell 1000® Index, Russell 1000® Value Index, Russell 1000® Growth Index, Russell 2000® Growth Index, and Russell Midcap® Growth Index are registered trademarks of Frank Russell Company.
American Beacon Funds is not promoted, sponsored or endorsed by, nor in any way affiliated with Russell Investment Group ("Russell"). Russell is not responsible for and has not reviewed the American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund, American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund, American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Value Fund, American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund and American Beacon Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund nor any associated literature or publications and Russell makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, as to their accuracy, or completeness, or otherwise.
Russell reserves the right, at any time and without notice, to alter, amend, terminate or in any way change the Russell Indexes. Russell has no obligation to take the needs of any particular fund or its participants or any other product or person into consideration in determining, composing or calculating any of the Russell Indexes.
Russell's publication of the Russell Indexes in no way suggests or implies an opinion by Russell as to the attractiveness or appropriateness of investment in any or all securities upon which the Russell Indexes are based. RUSSELL MAKES NO REPRESENTATION, WARRANTY, OR GUARANTEE AS TO THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, RELIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE OF THE RUSSELL INDEXES OR ANY DATA INCLUDED IN THE RUSSELL INDEXES. RUSSELL MAKES NO REPRESENTATION, WARRANTY OR GUARANTEE REGARDING THE USE, OR THE RESULTS OF USE, OF THE RUSSELL INDEXES OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN, OR ANY SECURITY (OR COMBINATION THEREOF) COMPRISING THE RUSSELL INDEXES. RUSSELL MAKES NO OTHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTY, OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR
Prospectus – Additional Information About the Funds |
35 |
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE WITH RESPECT TO THE RUSSELL INDEX(ES) OR ANY DATA OR ANY SECURITY (OR COMBINATION THEREOF) INCLUDED THEREIN.
Fund Management
The Manager
AMERICAN BEACON ADVISORS, INC. (the "Manager") serves as the Manager and administrator of the Funds. The Manager, located at 220 East Las Colinas Boulevard, Suite 1200, Irving, Texas 75039, is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Resolute Investment Holdings, LLC, which is owned primarily by Kelso Investment Associates VIII, L.P., KEP VI, LLC and Estancia Capital Partners L.P.
The Manager was organized in 1986 to provide investment management, advisory, and administrative services. The Manager is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. The Manager is not registered as a commodity pool operator ("CPO") with respect to each Fund, other than the American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund, in reliance on the delayed compliance date provided by No-Action Letter 12-38 of the Division of Swaps Dealer and Intermediary Oversight ("Division") of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC"). Pursuant to this letter, the Manager is not required to register as a CPO, or rely on an exemption from registration, until six months from the date the Division issues revised guidance on the application of the calculation of the de minimis thresholds in the context of the CPO exclusion in CFTC Regulation 4.5. In addition, on behalf of the Funds, the Manager has also filed a notice claiming the CFTC Regulation 4.5 exclusion from CPO registration. The Manager is also exempt from registration as a commodity trading advisor under CFTC Regulation 4.14(a)(8) with respect to the Funds.
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, each Fund identified below paid aggregate management fees to the Manager and investment advisory fees to its sub-advisor(s) as a percentage of each Fund's average daily net assets, net of waivers and recoupments of the management fees and sub-advisor fees, as follows:
American Beacon Fund |
Aggregate Management and Investment Advisory Fees |
American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth |
0.55% |
American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth |
0.69% |
American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Value |
0.66% |
American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Growth |
0.74% |
American Beacon Stephens Small Cap Growth |
0.96% |
As compensation for services provided by the Manager in connection with securities lending activities conducted by a Fund, the lending Fund pays to the Manager, with respect to cash collateral posted by borrowers, a fee of 10% of the net monthly interest income (the gross interest income earned by the investment of cash collateral, less the amount paid to borrowers and related expenses) from such activities and, with respect to loan fees paid by borrowers when a borrower posts collateral other than cash, a fee up to 10% of such loan fees. The SEC has granted exemptive relief that permits the Funds to invest cash collateral received from securities lending transactions in shares of one or more private or registered investment companies managed by the Manager.
As of the date of this Prospectus, each Fund intends to engage in securities lending activities.
A discussion of the Board's consideration and approval of the Management Agreement between the Funds and the Manager and the Investment Advisory Agreements among the Trust, on behalf of the Funds, each sub-advisor and the Manager is available in each Fund's Semi-Annual Report for the period ended June 30, 2019.
The Manager has contractually agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses of the following Funds and share classes to the extent that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses exceed a percentage of that class' average daily net assets (excluding taxes, interest, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses, securities lending fees, expenses associated with securities sold short, litigation, and other extraordinary expenses) through April 30, 2021 as follows:
American Beacon Fund |
A Class |
C Class |
Y Class |
R6 Class |
R5 Class |
Investor Class |
American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund |
1.34% |
2.13% |
1.08% |
N/A |
0.98% |
1.36% |
American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund |
1.10% |
1.84% |
0.87% |
0.76% |
0.81% |
1.12% |
American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund |
1.21% |
1.94% |
0.95% |
0.84% |
0.89% |
1.22% |
American Beacon Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund |
1.28% |
2.06% |
1.05% |
0.95% |
0.99% |
1.30% |
The contractual expense reimbursement can be changed or terminated only in the discretion and with the approval of a majority of a Fund's Board. The Manager will itself waive fees and/or reimburse expenses of a Fund to maintain the contractual expense ratio caps for each class of shares. The Manager may also, from time to time, voluntarily waive fees and/or reimburse expenses of a Fund. The Board has approved a policy whereby the Manager may seek repayment for any contractual or voluntary fee waivers or expense reimbursements if reimbursement to the Manager (a) occurs within three years from the date of the Manager's waiver/reimbursement and (b) does not cause the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses of a class to exceed the lesser of the contractual percentage limit in effect at the time of the waiver/reimbursement or the time of recoupment.
36 |
Prospectus – Fund Management |
The Sub-Advisors
Set forth below is a brief description of each sub-advisor and the portfolio managers who are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the sub-advisor's allocation of a Fund. The SAI provides additional information about the portfolio managers, including other accounts they manage, their ownership in the Funds they manage and their compensation.
BAHL & GAYNOR INC., D/B/A BAHL & GAYNOR INVESTMENT COUNSEL ("Bahl & Gaynor"), is located at 255 East Fifth Street, Suite 2700 Cincinnati, OH 45202. Bahl & Gaynor was established in 1990. Bahl & Gaynor is an investment adviser registered with the SEC under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. Bahl & Gaynor managed approximately $12.5 billion in assets as of March 31, 2020. Bahl & Gaynor serves as sub-advisor to the American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund.
The persons who are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Funds are listed below.
Edward A. Woods, CFA, CIC is Vice President and Principal and he joined the firm in 2004. He is a member of the Bahl & Gaynor Investment Committee and is responsible for portfolio management, investment research, and client management. Mr. Woods has served as a primary portfolio manager on the Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Quality Growth strategy since its inception in 2005. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Woods was a vice president and senior investment counselor with the Northern Trust Company in Chicago. He was responsible for investment management of client relationships, investment analysis, and was a member of the Equity Selection, Fixed Income and Asset Allocation committees. Mr. Woods received a B.A. from Wittenberg University and an MBA from the University of Cincinnati, Mr. Woods is a CFA® charterholder and a member of the Cincinnati Society of Financial Analysts.
Scott D. Rodes, CFA, CIC is Vice President and Principal and he joined the firm in 2001. He is a member of the Bahl & Gaynor Investment Committee and is responsible for portfolio management, investment research, and client management. Mr. Rodes has served as a portfolio manager on the Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Quality Growth strategy since its inception in 2005. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Rodes was a vice president and senior investment counselor with the Northern Trust Company in Chicago. He was responsible for investment management of client relationships, investment analysis, and was a member of the Investment Committee. Mr. Rodes received a B.E.M.E from Vanderbilt University and a MBA from Xavier University. Mr. Rodes is a CFA charterholder and a member and past president of the Cincinnati Society of Financial Analysts.
Stephanie S. Thomas, CFA is Vice President and Principal and she joined the firm in 2012. She is a member of the Bahl & Gaynor Investment Committee and is responsible for portfolio management, investment research, and client management. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Thomas was a managing director with Fifth Third Asset Management. She managed a team of senior relationship managers and staff supporting 250 institutional clients with $6 billion in assets. Ms. Thomas was responsible for all aspects of client management in the areas of investment review, reporting, compliance, and account management. As a managing director, Ms. Thomas was a member of a senior leadership team overseeing sales, product development, system conversion, compliance, client management, marketing and legal aspects of the firm. Ms. Thomas received a B.A. in Economics from Wittenberg University and an M.B.A. from the University of Notre Dame. Ms. Thomas is a CFA charterholder, a CFA Society of Cincinnati board member, and a member of the Cincinnati ArtsWave Finance and Investment Committee.
Nicholas W. Puncer, CFA, CFP® is Vice President, Principal & Portfolio Manager and he joined the firm in 2007. He is a member of the Bahl & Gaynor Investment Committee and is responsible for portfolio management, investment research, and client management. Mr. Puncer worked at Bahl & Gaynor as a co-op from 2007 to 2010 and a research analyst from 2010 to 2014 before being promoted to Portfolio Manager in 2014. Mr. Puncer received a B.A.A. in Finance and Business Economics from University of Cincinnati. Mr. Puncer is a CFA charterholder and member of the Cincinnati CFA society and Certified Financial PlannerTM professional.
James E. Russell, Jr., CFA is Vice President, Principal & Portfolio Manager and he joined Bahl & Gaynor Investment Counsel in 2014. He is a member of the Bahl & Gaynor Investment Committee and is responsible for portfolio management, investment research, and client management. Prior to joining Bahl & Gaynor, Mr. Russell was the Senior Equity Strategist and Regional Investment Director of US Bank Wealth Management. His responsibilities included participation in establishing nationwide asset allocation, compliance oversight of investment professionals, thought leadership and media interaction and high net worth account management. Mr. Russell received a M.B.A. from Emory University and a B.S. from Centre College of Kentucky. Mr. Russell is a CFA charterholder and member of the Cincinnati CFA society.
BRIDGEWAY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, INC. ("Bridgeway Capital"), 20 Greenway Plaza, Suite 450, Houston, Texas 77046, is a registered investment adviser. Bridgeway Capital is a Texas corporation that was organized in 1993. As of March 31, 2020, Bridgeway Capital had approximately $4.4 billion in assets under management. Bridgeway Capital serves as sub-advisor to the American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund and the American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Value Fund.
Investment decisions for the Funds are based on statistical models run by Bridgeway Capital's Investment Management Team. Collectively, the following individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Funds' portfolio.
John Montgomery is the Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager for the Fund. Mr. Montgomery founded Bridgeway Capital in 1993 and has been a Portfolio Manager since that time. Mr. Montgomery has served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Investment Officer since June 2010. Prior thereto, he served as President from 1993 to June 2010. Mr. Montgomery was the investment management team leader of the Fund's predecessor funds since their inception in 2003.
Elena Khoziaeva, CFA, is a Portfolio Manager, leader for the U.S. equity investment management team, and began working at Bridgeway Capital in 1998. Ms. Khoziaeva has served as a portfolio manager at Bridgeway Capital since 2005. Her responsibilities include portfolio management, investment research, and statistical modeling. Ms. Khoziaeva was an investment management team member of the Funds' predecessor funds since 2003.
Michael Whipple, CFA, is a Portfolio Manager and began working at Bridgeway Capital in 2002. Mr. Whipple has served as a portfolio manager at Bridgeway Capital since 2005. His responsibilities include portfolio management, investment research, and statistical modeling. Mr. Whipple was an investment management team member of the Funds' predecessor funds since 2003.
STEPHENS INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT GROUP, LLC ("SIMG"), 111 Center Street, Little Rock, Arkansas 72201, was founded in 2005 and is a subsidiary of Stephens Investments Holdings LLC, a privately held and family owned company. As of March 31, 2020, SIMG had approximately $4.2 billion in assets under management. SIMG serves as sub-advisor to the American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund and American Beacon Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund.
The persons who are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Funds are listed below.
Ryan Crane is the Chief Investment Officer for the Funds and of SIMG, and is primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Funds' portfolios. Mr. Crane has served as Senior Portfolio Manager and Chief Investment Officer since SIMG was formed in 2005. Mr. Crane joined Stephens Inc., an affiliate of SIMG, in September of 2004 as a Senior Portfolio Manager in charge of small and small/mid-cap growth accounts. Prior to joining Stephens Inc., Mr. Crane
Prospectus – Fund Management |
37 |
worked for AIM Management Group ("AIM") since 1994. While at AIM, Mr. Crane was the lead manager of the AIM Small Cap Growth Fund and served as co-manager on various other AIM funds. Mr. Crane is a CFA Charterholder.
John Thornton is the Senior Portfolio Manager of the Funds and is jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Funds' portfolios. Mr. Thornton has served as Co-Portfolio Manager since SIMG was formed in 2005. Mr. Thornton joined Stephens Inc. in September of 2004 as a Co-Portfolio Manager in charge of small and small/mid-cap growth accounts. Prior to joining Stephens Inc., Mr. Thornton worked for AIM since 2000. While at AIM, Mr. Thornton was the senior analyst of the AIM Small Cap Growth Fund and various AIM technology funds. Mr. Thornton is a CFA Charterholder.
Kelly Ranucci is the Senior Portfolio Manager of the Funds and is jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Funds' portfolios. Ms. Ranucci has served as Co-Portfolio Manager since March 2011. Prior thereto she was Senior Equity Analyst from March 2008 to March 2011 and Equity Analyst from September 2004 to March 2008. Ms. Ranucci joined Stephens Inc. in September of 2004 as an Equity Analyst of small/mid-cap growth accounts. Prior to joining Stephens Inc., Ms. Ranucci worked for AIM since 1994. While at AIM, Ms. Ranucci was responsible for research and analysis of small and medium capitalization securities for AIM's Small Cap Growth and Mid-Cap Growth Funds. Ms. Ranucci is a CFA Charterholder.
Sam Chase is the Senior Portfolio Manager of the Funds and is jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Funds' portfolios. Mr. Chase has served as Co-Portfolio Manager since March 2011. Prior thereto he was Senior Equity Analyst from March 2008 to March 2011 and Equity Analyst from September 2004 to March 2008. Mr. Chase joined Stephens Inc. in September of 2004 as an Equity Analyst of small/mid-cap growth accounts. Prior to joining Stephens Inc., Mr. Chase worked for AIM. While at AIM, Mr. Chase was responsible for research and analysis of small capitalization securities for AIM's Small Cap Growth Fund. Mr. Chase is a CFA Charterholder.
John Keller is the Portfolio Manager of the Funds and is jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Funds' portfolios. Mr. Keller has served as Portfolio Manager since January 2019. Prior thereto, he was Senior Equity Analyst from September 2013 to December 2018. Mr. Keller joined Stephens Inc. in September 2009 in its Research Department as an Equity Analyst for the oil services industry. Mr. Keller is a CFA Charterholder.
Valuation of Shares
The price of each Fund's shares is based on its NAV. Each Fund's NAV per share is computed by adding total assets, subtracting all of the Fund's liabilities, and dividing the result by the total number of shares outstanding.
The NAV per share of each class of a Fund's shares is determined based on a pro rata allocation of a Fund's investment income, expenses and total capital gains and losses. A Fund's NAV per share is determined each business day as of the regular close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (‘‘NYSE''), which is typically 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. However, if trading on the NYSE closes at a time other than 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, a Fund's NAV per share typically would still be determined as of the regular close of trading on the NYSE. The Funds do not price their shares on days that the NYSE is closed. Foreign exchanges may permit trading in foreign securities on days when a Fund is not open for business, which may result in the value of a Fund's portfolio investments being affected at a time when you are unable to buy or sell shares.
Equity securities and certain derivative instruments that are traded on an exchange are valued based on market value. Certain derivative instruments (other than short-term securities) usually are valued on the basis of prices provided by a pricing service. The price of debt securities generally is determined using pricing services or quotes obtained from broker/dealers who may consider a number of inputs and factors, such as comparable characteristics, yield curve, credit spreads, estimated default rates, coupon rates, underlying collateral and estimated cash flow. Investments in other mutual funds are valued at the closing NAV per share of the mutual funds on the day of valuation. Equity securities, including shares of closed-end funds and ETFs, are valued at the last sale price or official closing price.
The valuation of securities traded on foreign markets and certain fixed income securities will generally be based on prices determined as of the earlier closing time of the markets on which they primarily trade, unless a significant event has occurred. When a Fund holds securities or other assets that are denominated in a foreign currency, a Fund will normally use the currency exchange rates as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Securities may be valued at fair value, as determined in good faith and pursuant to procedures approved by the Board, under certain limited circumstances. For example, fair value pricing will be used when market quotations are not readily available or reliable, as determined by the Manager, such as when: (i) trading for a security is restricted or stopped; (ii) a security's trading market is closed (other than customary closings); or (iii) a security has been de-listed from a national exchange. A security with limited market liquidity may require fair value pricing if the Manager determines that the available price does not reflect the security's true market value. In addition, if a significant event that the Manager determines to affect the value of one or more securities held by a Fund occurs after the close of a related exchange but before the determination of a Fund's NAV per share, fair value pricing may be used on the affected security or securities. Securities of small capitalization companies are also more likely to require a fair value determination using these procedures because they are more thinly traded and less liquid than the securities of larger capitalization companies. The Funds may fair value securities as a result of significant events occurring after the close of the foreign markets in which a Fund invests. In addition, the Funds may invest in illiquid securities requiring these procedures.
Attempts to determine the fair value of securities introduce an element of subjectivity to the pricing of securities. As a result, the price of a security determined through fair valuation techniques may differ from the price quoted or published by other sources and may not accurately reflect the market value of the security when trading resumes. If a reliable market quotation becomes available for a security formerly valued through fair valuation techniques, the Manager compares the new market quotation to the fair value price to evaluate the effectiveness of the Funds' fair valuation procedures. If any significant discrepancies are found, the Manager may adjust the Funds' fair valuation procedures. You may view a Fund's most recent NAV per share at www.americanbeaconfunds.com by clicking on ‘‘Quick Links'' and then ‘‘Daily NAVs.''
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Prospectus – Fund Management |
About Your Investment
Choosing Your Share Class
Each Fund offers various classes of shares. Each share class of a Fund represents an investment in the same portfolio of securities for that Fund, but each class has its own expense structure and combination of purchase restrictions, sales charges, and ongoing fees, allowing you to choose the class that best fits your situation.
Factors you should consider when choosing a class of shares include:
How long you expect to own the shares;
How much you intend to invest;
Total expenses associated with owning shares of each class;
Whether you qualify for any reduction or waiver of sales charges;
Whether you plan to take any distributions in the near future; and
Availability of share classes.
Each investor's financial considerations are different. You should speak with your financial adviser to help you decide which share class is best for you.
A Class Charges and Waivers
The table below shows the amount of sales charges you will pay on purchases of A Class shares of the Funds both as a percentage of offering price and as a percentage of the amount you invest. The sales charge differs depending upon the amount you invest and may be reduced or eliminated for larger purchases as indicated below. If you invest more, the sales charge will be lower.
Any applicable sales charge will be deducted directly from your investment. Because of rounding of the calculation in determining the sales charges, you may pay more or less than what is shown in the table below. Shares acquired through reinvestment of dividends or other distributions are not subject to a front-end sales charge. You may qualify for a reduced sales charge or the sales charge may be waived as described below in ‘‘A Class Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers.''
Amount of Sale/Account Value |
As a % of Offering Price |
As a % of Investment |
Dealer Commission as a % of Offering Price |
Less than $50,000 |
5.75% |
6.10% |
5.00% |
$50,000 but less than $100,000 |
4.75% |
4.99% |
4.00% |
$100,000 but less than $250,000 |
3.75% |
3.90% |
3.00% |
$250,000 but less than $500,000 |
2.75% |
2.83% |
2.05% |
$500,000 but less than $1 million |
2.00% |
2.04% |
1.50% |
$1 million and above |
0.00% |
0.00% |
|
No initial sales charge applies on purchases of $1,000,000 or more. A CDSC of 0.50% of the offering price will be charged on purchases of $1,000,000 or more that are redeemed in whole or in part within eighteen (18) months of purchase.
See "Dealer Concessions on A Class Purchases Without a Front-End Sales Charge."
The Distributor retains any portion of the commissions that are not paid to financial intermediaries to solely pay distribution-related expenses.
A Class Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers
A shareholder may qualify for a waiver or reduction in sales charges under certain circumstances. To receive a waiver or reduction in your A Class sales charge, you must advise the Funds' transfer agent, your broker-dealer or other financial intermediary of your eligibility at the time of purchase. If you or your financial intermediary do not let the Funds' transfer agent know that you are eligible for a reduction, you may not receive a sales charge discount to which you are otherwise entitled.
Waiver of Sales Charges
There is no sales charge if you invest $1 million or more in A Class shares of the Funds.
Sales charges also may be waived for certain shareholders or transactions, such as:
The Manager or its affiliates;
Present and former directors, trustees, officers, employees of the Manager, the Manager's parent company, and the American Beacon Funds (and their ‘‘immediate family'' as defined in the SAI), and retirement plans established by them for their employees;
Registered representatives or employees of intermediaries that have selling agreement with the Funds;
Shares acquired through merger or acquisition;
Insurance company separate accounts;
Employer-sponsored retirement plans;
Dividend reinvestment programs;
Purchases through certain fee-based programs under which investors pay advisory fees that may be offered through selected registered investment advisers, broker-dealers, and other financial intermediaries;
Shareholders that purchase a Fund through a financial intermediary that offers our A Class shares uniformly on a ‘‘no load'' (or reduced load) basis to you and all similarly situated customers of the intermediary in accordance with the intermediary's prescribed fee schedule for purchases of fund shares;
Mutual fund shares exchanged from an existing position in the same fund as part of a share class conversion instituted by an intermediary; and
Reinvestment of proceeds within 90 days of a redemption from A Class account (see Redemption Policies for more information).
The availability of A Class shares sales charge waivers may depend upon the policies, procedures, and trading platform of your financial intermediary.
Prospectus – About Your Investment |
39 |
Reduced Sales Charges
Under a ‘‘Rights of Accumulation Program,'' a ‘‘Letter of Intent'' or through ‘‘Concurrent Purchases'' you may be eligible to buy A Class shares of the Funds at the reduced sales charge rates that would apply to a larger purchase. Each Fund reserves the right to modify or to cease offering these programs at any time.
This information is available, free of charge, on the Funds' website, www.americanbeaconfunds.com or call (800) 658-5811 or consult with your financial advisor.
Dealer Concessions on A Class Purchases Without a Front-End Sales Charge
Brokers who initiate and are responsible for purchases of $1,000,000 or more of A Class shares of a Fund may receive a dealer concession from the Funds' Distributor of 0.50% of the offering price. If a client or broker is unable to provide account verification on purchases of $1,000,000 or more, the dealer concession will be forfeited by the broker and front-end sales loads will apply. Dealer concessions will not be paid on shares purchased by exchange or shares that were previously subject to a front-end sales charge or dealer concession. Dealer concessions will be paid only on eligible purchases where the applicability of the CDSC can be monitored. Purchases eligible for sales charge waivers as described under ‘‘A Class Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers'' are not eligible for dealer concessions on purchases of $1,000,000 or more.
Rights of Accumulation Program
Under the Rights of Accumulation Program, you may qualify for a reduced sales charge for A Class shares by aggregating all of your investments held in certain accounts (‘'Qualified Accounts''). The following Qualified Accounts holding any share class of the American Beacon Funds may be grouped together to qualify for the reduced sales charge under the Rights of Accumulation Program or Letter of Intent:
Accounts owned by you, your spouse or your minor children under the age of 21, including trust or other fiduciary accounts in which you, your spouse or your minor children are the beneficiary;
UTMA/UGMA;
IRAs, including traditional, Roth, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs; and
Coverdell Education Savings Accounts or qualified 529 plans.
A fiduciary can apply a right of accumulation to all shares purchased for a trust, estate or other fiduciary account that has multiple accounts.
You must notify your financial intermediary or the Funds' transfer agent, in the case of shares held directly with a Fund, at the time of purchase that a purchase qualifies for a reduced sales charge under the Rights of Accumulation Program. In addition, you must provide either a list of account numbers or copies of account statements verifying your qualification. You may combine the historical cost or current market value, as of the day prior to your additional American Beacon Funds' purchase (whichever is higher) of your existing American Beacon Funds' mutual fund with the amount of your current purchase in order to take advantage of the reduced sales charge. Historical cost is the price you actually paid for the shares you own, plus your reinvested dividends and other distributions. If you are using historical cost to qualify for a reduced sales charge, you should retain any records to substantiate your historical costs since the Fund, its transfer agent or your financial intermediary may not maintain this information.
If your shares are held through financial intermediaries and/or in a retirement account (such as a 401(k) or employee benefit plan), you may combine the current market value of your existing American Beacon Funds mutual fund investment with the amount of your current purchase in order to take advantage of the reduced sales charge. You or your financial intermediary must notify the Funds' transfer agent at the time of purchase that a purchase qualifies for a reduced sales charge and provide copies of account statements dated within three months of your current purchase verifying your qualification.
Upon receipt of the above referenced supporting documentation, the financial intermediary or the Funds' transfer agent will calculate the combined value of all of your Qualified Accounts to determine if the current purchase is eligible for a reduced sales charge. Purchases made for nominee or street name accounts (securities held in the name of a dealer or another nominee such as a bank trust department instead of the customer) may not be aggregated with purchases for other accounts and may not be aggregated with other nominee or street name accounts unless otherwise qualified as described above.
Letter of Intent
If you plan to invest at least $50,000 (excluding any reinvestment of dividends and other distributions) during the next 13 months in any class of a Fund, you may qualify for a reduced sales charge for purchases of A Class shares by completing the Letter of Intent section of your account application.
A Letter of Intent indicates your intent to purchase at least $50,000 in any class of the American Beacon Funds over the next 13 months in exchange for a reduced A Class sales charge indicated on the above tables. The minimum initial investment under a Letter of Intent is $2,500. You are not obligated to purchase additional shares if you complete a Letter of Intent. However, if you do not buy enough shares to qualify for the projected level of sales charge by the end of the 13-month period (or when you sell your shares, if earlier), your sales charge will be recalculated to reflect your actual purchase level. During the term of the Letter of Intent, shares representing 5% of your intended purchase will be held in escrow. If you do not purchase enough shares during the 13-month period to qualify for the projected reduced sales charge, the additional sales charge will be deducted from your account. If you have purchased shares of any American Beacon mutual fund within 90 days prior to signing a Letter of Intent, they may be included as part of your intended purchase, however, previous purchase transactions will not be recalculated with the proposed new breakpoint. You must provide either a list of account numbers or copies of account statements verifying your purchases within the past 90 days.
Concurrent Purchases
You may combine simultaneous purchases in shares of any of the American Beacon Funds to qualify for a reduced charge.
CDSC — A Class Shares
Unless a waiver applies, investors who purchase $1,000,000 or more of A Class shares of a Fund (and, thus, pay no initial sales charge) will be subject to a 0.50% CDSC if those shares are redeemed within 18 months after they are purchased. The CDSC does not apply if you are otherwise eligible to purchase A Class shares without an initial sales charge or are eligible for one of the waivers described herein or in the SAI.
CDSC — C Class Shares
If you redeem C Class shares within 12 months of purchase, you may be charged a CDSC of 1%. The CDSC generally will be deducted from your redemption proceeds. In some circumstances, you may be eligible for one of the waivers described herein or in the SAI. You must advise the transfer agent of your eligibility for a waiver when you place your redemption request.
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Prospectus – About Your Investment |
How CDSCs will be Calculated
The amount of the CDSC will be based on the market value of the redeemed shares at the time of the redemption or the original purchase price, whichever is lower. Because of the rounding of the calculation in determining the CDSC, you may pay more or less than the indicated rate. Your CDSC holding period is based upon the date of your purchase. The CDSCs will be deducted from the proceeds of your redemption, not from amounts remaining in your account. A CDSC is not imposed on any increase in NAV per share over the initial purchase price or shares you received through the reinvestment of dividends or other distributions.
To keep your CDSC as low as possible, each time you place a request to sell shares, the Funds will redeem your shares in the following order:
shares acquired by the reinvestment of dividends or other distributions;
other shares that are not subject to the CDSC;
shares held the longest during the holding period.
Waiver of CDSCs — A and C Class Shares
A shareholder may qualify for a CDSC waiver under certain circumstances. To have your CDSC waived, you must advise the Funds' transfer agent, your broker-dealer or other financial intermediary of your eligibility at the time of redemption. If you or your financial intermediary do not let the Funds' transfer agent know that you are eligible for a waiver, you may not receive a waiver to which might otherwise be otherwise entitled.
The CDSC may be waived if:
The redemption is due to a shareholder's death or post-purchase disability;
The redemption is from a systematic withdrawal plan and represents no more than 10% of your annual account value;
The redemption is a benefit payment made from a qualified retirement plan, unless the redemption is due to the termination of the plan or the transfer of the plan to another financial institution;
The redemption is for a "required minimum distribution" from a traditional IRA after age 70½;
The redemption is due to involuntary redemptions by a Fund as a result of your account not meeting the minimum balance requirements, the termination and liquidation of a Fund, or other actions;
The redemption is from accounts for which the broker-dealer of record has entered into a written agreement with the Distributor (or Manager) allowing this waiver;
The redemption is to return excess contributions made to a retirement plan; or
The redemption is to return contributions made due to a mistake of fact.
The SAI contains further details about the CDSC and the conditions for waiving the CDSC.
Information regarding CDSC waivers for A and C Class shares is available, free of charge, on the Funds' website. Please visit www.americanbeaconfunds.com. You may also call (800) 658-5811 or consult with your financial advisor.
Sales Charge Waivers and Reductions Available Through Certain Financial Intermediaries
The availability of certain sales charge waivers and discounts may depend on whether you purchase your shares directly from a Fund or through a financial intermediary. Different intermediaries may impose different sales charges (including potential reductions in or waivers of sales charges). Such intermediary-specific sales charge variations are described in Appendix A to this Prospectus, entitled "Intermediary Sales Charge Discounts and Waivers." Appendix A is incorporated herein by reference (is legally a part of this Prospectus).
In all instances, it is the purchaser's responsibility to notify a Fund or the purchaser's financial intermediary at the time of purchase of any relationship or other facts qualifying the purchaser for sales charge waivers or discounts. For waivers and discounts not available through a particular intermediary, shareholders will have to purchase Fund shares directly from a Fund or through another intermediary to receive these waivers or discounts.
Conversion of C Class Shares to A Class Shares
C Class shares convert automatically into A Class shares ten (10) years after the initial date of purchase or, if you acquired your C Class shares through an exchange or conversion from another share class, ten (10) years after the date you acquired your C Class shares. When C Class shares that you acquired through a purchase or exchange convert, any other C Class shares that you purchased with reinvested dividends and distributions also will convert into A Class shares on a pro rata basis. A shorter holding period may also apply depending on your intermediary. Please see "Appendix A—Intermediary Sales Charge Discounts and Waivers" in this Prospectus.
Purchase and Redemption of Shares
Eligibility
The A Class, C Class, Y Class, R5 Class and Investor Class shares offered in this Prospectus are available to eligible investors who meet the minimum initial investment. R6 Class shares are available only to 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit-sharing and money purchase pension plans, defined benefit plans, non-qualified deferred compensation plans, health savings plans, health savings accounts and funded welfare benefit plans (e.g., Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Association (VEBA) and Other Post-Employment (OPEB) plans). R6 Class shares generally are available only to retirement plans where plan level or omnibus accounts are held on the books of a Fund; however, a Fund reserves the right in its sole discretion to waive this requirement. Generally, R6 Class shares are not available to retail non-retirement accounts, Traditional and Roth IRAs, Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, SEPs, SARSEPs, SIMPLE IRAs and individual 403(b) plans. American Beacon Funds do not accept accounts registered to foreign individuals or entities, including foreign correspondent accounts. The Funds do not conduct operations and are not offered for purchase outside of the United States.
Subject to your eligibility, you may invest in a Fund directly or through intermediary organizations, such as broker-dealers, insurance companies, plan sponsors, third party administrators and retirement plans.
If you invest directly with a Fund, the fees and policies with respect to the Fund's shares that are outlined in this Prospectus are set by the Fund. The Manager and the Funds are not responsible for determining the suitability of the Funds or a share class for any investor.
Because in most cases it is more advantageous for investors using an intermediary to purchase A Class shares than C Class shares for amounts of $1,000,000 or more, the Funds will decline a request to purchase C Class shares for $1,000,000 or more.
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41 |
If you invest through a financial intermediary, most of the information you will need for managing your investment will come from your financial intermediary. This includes information on how to buy, sell and exchange shares of the Funds. If you establish an account through a financial intermediary, the investment minimums described in this section may not apply. Investors investing in a Fund through a financial intermediary should consult with their financial intermediary to ensure they obtain any proper "breakpoint" discount and all information regarding the differences between available share classes. Your broker-dealer or financial intermediary also may charge fees that are in addition to those described in this Prospectus. Please contact your intermediary for information regarding investment minimums, how to purchase and redeem shares and applicable fees.
Minimum Investment Amount by Share Class
|
New Account |
Existing Account |
|
Share Class |
Minimum Initial Investment Amount |
Purchase/Redemption Minimum by Check/ACH/Exchange |
Purchase/Redemption Minimum by Wire |
C |
$1,000 |
$50 |
$250 |
A, Investor |
$2,500 |
$50 |
$250 |
Y |
$100,000 |
$50 |
None |
R5 |
$250,000 |
$50 |
None |
R6 |
None |
$50 |
None |
Investor Class shares are also available to traditional IRA and Roth IRA shareholders investing directly in a Fund. The minimum investment is $2,500. A traditional IRA or Roth IRA invested directly will be charged an annual maintenance fee of $15.00 by the Custodian.
R6 Class shares can only be purchased through a participating retirement plan. R6 Class shares are available only to 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit-sharing and money purchase pension plans, defined benefit plans, non-qualified deferred compensation plans, health savings plans, health savings accounts and funded welfare benefit plans (e.g., Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Association (VEBA) and Other Post-Employment (OPEB) plans). R6 Class shares generally are available only to retirement plans where plan level or omnibus accounts are held on the books of a Fund; however, a Fund reserves the right in its sole discretion to waive this requirement. Generally, R6 Class shares are not available to retail non-retirement accounts, Traditional and Roth IRAs, Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, SEPs, SARSEPs, SIMPLE IRAs and individual 403(b) plans.
The Manager may allow a reasonable period of time after opening an account for a Y Class or R5 Class investor to meet the initial investment requirement. In addition, for investors such as trust companies and financial advisors who make investments for a group of clients, the minimum initial investment can be met through aggregated purchase orders for more than one client.
Opening an Account
You may open an account through your broker-dealer or other financial intermediary. Please contact your financial intermediary for more information on how to open an account. Shares you purchase through your broker-dealer will normally be held in your account with that firm.
To open an account directly with the Funds, a completed, signed application is required. You may obtain an account application from the Funds' website www.americanbeaconfunds.com or by calling 1-800-658-5811. Institutional shareholders should call 1-800-967-9009.
Complete the application, sign it and send it:
To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. When you open an account, you will be asked for information that will allow the Funds or your financial institution to identify you. Non-public corporations and other entities may be required to provide articles of incorporation, trust or partnership agreements, and taxpayer identification numbers on the account or other documentation. The Funds are required by law to reject your new account application if the required identifying information is not provided.
A Fund reserves the right to liquidate a shareholder's account at the current day's NAV per share and remit proceeds via check if a Fund or a financial institution is unable to verify the shareholder's identity within three days of account opening.
Purchase Policies
Shares of the Funds are offered and purchase orders are typically accepted until 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time or the close of the NYSE (whichever comes first) on each day on which the NYSE is open for business. If a purchase order is received by a Fund in good order prior to the Fund's deadline, the purchase price will be the NAV per share next determined on that day, plus any applicable sales charges. A purchase order is considered to be received in good order when it complies with all of a Fund's applicable policies. If a purchase order is received in good order after the applicable deadline, the purchase price will be the NAV per share of the following day that a Fund is open for business plus any applicable sales charge. Shares of a Fund will only be issued against full payment, as described more fully in this Prospectus and SAI.
The Funds have authorized certain third-party financial intermediaries, such as broker-dealers, insurance companies, third-party administrators and trust companies, to receive purchase and redemption orders on behalf of the Funds and to designate other intermediaries to receive purchase and redemption orders on behalf of the Funds. A Fund is deemed to have received such orders when they are received by the financial intermediaries or their designees. Thus, an order to purchase or sell Fund shares will be priced at the Fund's next determined NAV per share after receipt by the financial intermediary or its designee. It is the responsibility of your broker-dealer or financial intermediary to transmit orders that will be received by the Funds in proper form and in a timely manner. The Funds are not responsible for the failure of a broker-dealer or financial intermediary to transmit a purchase order in proper form and in a timely manner.
Fund shares may be purchased only in U.S. States and Territories in which they can be legally sold. Prospective investors should inquire as to whether shares of a Fund are available for offer and sale in their jurisdiction. Each Fund reserves the right to refuse purchases if, in the judgment of the Funds, the transaction
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would adversely affect the Funds and their shareholders. Each Fund has the right to reject any purchase order or cease offering any or all classes of shares at any time. The Funds reserve the right to require payment by wire. Checks to purchase shares are accepted subject to collection at full face value in U.S. funds and must be drawn in U.S. dollars on a U.S. bank. The Funds will not accept ''starter'' checks, credit card checks, money orders, cashier's checks, or third-party checks.
If your payment is not received and collected, your purchase may be canceled and you could be liable for any losses or fees the Funds or the Manager has incurred. Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, purchase orders may be suspended, restricted or canceled and the monies may be withheld.
Please refer to the section titled ‘‘Frequent Trading and Market Timing'' for information on the Funds' policies regarding frequent purchases, redemptions, and exchanges.
Redemption Policies
If you purchased shares of a Fund through your financial intermediary, please contact your broker-dealer or other financial intermediary to sell shares of a Fund.
The redemption price will be the NAV per share next determined after a redemption request is received in good order, minus any applicable CDSC and/or redemption fees. In order to receive the redemption price calculated on a particular business day, redemption requests must be received in good order by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time or by the close of the NYSE (whichever comes first).
Wire proceeds from redemption requests received in good order by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time or by the close of the NYSE (whichever comes first) generally are transmitted to shareholders on the next day the Funds are open for business. In any event, proceeds from a redemption request will typically be transmitted to a shareholder by no later than seven days after the receipt of a redemption request in good order. Delivery of proceeds from shares purchased by check, ACH, or pre-authorized automatic investment may be delayed until the funds have cleared, which may take up to ten days.
You may, within 90 days of redemption, reinvest all or part of the proceeds of your redemption of A or C Class shares of a Fund, without incurring any applicable additional sales charge, in the same class of another American Beacon Fund, by sending a written request and a check to your financial intermediary or directly to the Funds. Reinvestment must be into the same account from which you redeemed the shares or received the distribution. Proceeds from a redemption and all dividend payments and other distributions will be reinvested in the same share class from which the original redemption or distribution was made. Reinvestment will be at the NAV per share next calculated after the Funds receive your request. You must notify the Funds and your financial intermediary at the time of investment if you decide to exercise this privilege.
The Funds reserve the right to suspend redemptions or postpone the date of payment for more than seven days (i) when the NYSE is closed (other than for customary weekend and holiday closings); (ii) when trading on the NYSE is restricted; (iii) when the SEC determines that an emergency exists so that disposal of a Fund's investments or determination of its NAV per share is not reasonably practicable; or (iv) by order of the SEC for protection of the Funds' shareholders.
Although the Funds intend to redeem shares by paying out available cash, cash generated by selling portfolio holdings (including cash equivalent portfolio holdings), or funds borrowed through the interfund credit facility, or from a bank line of credit, in stressed market conditions and other appropriate circumstances, the Funds reserve the right to pay the redemption price in whole or in part by borrowing funds from external parties or distributing securities or other assets held by the Funds. To the extent that a Fund redeems its shares in this manner, the shareholder assumes the risk of a subsequent change in the market value of those securities, the cost of liquidating the securities and the possibility of a lack of a liquid market for those securities.
Please refer to the section titled ‘‘Frequent Trading and Market Timing'' for information on the Funds' policies regarding frequent purchases, redemptions, and exchanges.
Exchange Policies
If you purchased shares of the Funds through your financial intermediary, please contact your financial intermediary to determine if you may take advantage of the exchange policies described in this section and for its policies to effect an exchange.
Shares of any class of a Fund may be exchanged for shares of the same class of another American Beacon Fund under certain limited circumstances. Since an exchange involves a concurrent redemption and purchase, please review the sections titled "Redemption Policies" and "Purchase Policies" for additional limitations that apply to redemptions and purchases. There is no front-end sales charge on exchanges between A Class shares of a Fund for A Class shares of another fund. Shares otherwise subject to a CDSC will not be charged a CDSC in an exchange to shares of another fund that has a CDSC however, shares exchanged between funds that impose a CDSC will be charged a CDSC if redeemed within 12 months or 18 months, as applicable, of the purchase of the initial shares.
Before exchanging shares, shareholders should consider how the exchange may affect any CDSC that might be imposed on the subsequent redemption of remaining shares.
If shares of a Fund were purchased by check, a shareholder must have owned those shares for at least ten days prior to exchanging out of a Fund and into another fund.
The eligibility and minimum investment requirement must be met for the class into which the shareholder is exchanging. Fund shares may be acquired through exchange only in U.S. states and Territories in which they can be legally sold. Each Fund reserves the right to charge a fee and to modify or terminate the exchange privilege at any time. Each Fund reserves the right to refuse exchange requests if, in the judgment of a Fund, the transaction would adversely affect a Fund and its shareholders. Please refer to the section titled "Frequent Trading and Market Timing" for information on the Funds' policies regarding frequent purchases, redemptions, and exchanges.
Shares of any class of a Fund may be converted to shares of another class of the same Fund under certain limited circumstances. For federal income tax purposes, the conversion of shares of one share class of a Fund to shares of a different share class of the same Fund will not result in the realization of a capital gain or loss. However, an exchange of shares of one Fund for shares of a different American Beacon Fund generally is considered a redemption and a concurrent purchase, respectively, and thus may result in the realization of a capital gain or loss for those purposes.
How to Purchase, Redeem or Exchange Shares
If your account is through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary, please contact them directly to purchase, redeem or exchange shares of a Fund. Your broker-dealer or financial intermediary can help you open a new account, review your financial needs and formulate long-term investment goals and objectives. Your broker dealer or financial intermediary will transmit your request to a Fund and may charge you a fee for this service. A Fund will not accept a purchase order of $1,000,000 or more for C Class shares if the purchase is known to be on behalf of a single investor (not including dealer "street name" or
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43 |
omnibus accounts). Dealers, other financial intermediaries or fiduciaries purchasing shares for their customers are responsible for determining the suitability of a particular share class for an investor.
You should include the following information with any order:
Your name/account registration
Your account number
Type of transaction requested
Fund name(s) and fund number(s)
Dollar amount or number of shares
Transactions for direct shareholders are conducted through:
Internet |
www.americanbeaconfunds.com |
|
Phone |
To reach an American Beacon representative call 1-800-658-5811, option 1
Through the Automated Voice Response Service call 1-800-658-5811, option 2 (Investor Class Only)
|
|
|
American Beacon Funds
PO Box 219643
Kansas City, MO 64121-9643
|
Overnight Delivery:
American Beacon Funds
c/o DST Asset Manager Solutions, Inc.
330 West 9th Street
Kansas City, MO 64105
|
Purchases by Wire:
Send a bank wire to State Street Bank and Trust Co. with these instructions:
ABA# 0110-0002-8; AC-9905-342-3,
Attn: American Beacon Funds
the fund name and fund number, and
shareholder account number and registration.
|
New Account |
Existing Account |
|
Share Class |
Minimum Initial Investment Amount |
Purchase/Redemption Minimum by Check/ACH/Exchange |
Purchase/Redemption Minimum by Wire |
C |
$1,000 |
$50 |
$250 |
A, Investor |
$2,500 |
$50 |
$250 |
Y |
$100,000 |
$50 |
None |
R5 |
$250,000 |
$50 |
None |
R6 |
None |
$50 |
None |
Redemption proceeds will be mailed to the account of record or transmitted to commercial bank designated on the account application form.
Supporting documents may be required for redemptions by estates, trusts, guardianships, custodians, corporations, and welfare, pension and profit sharing plans. Redemption requests must also include authorized signature(s) of all persons required to sign for the account. Call 1-800-658-5811 for instructions.
To protect the Funds and your account from fraud, a Medallion signature guarantee is required for redemption orders:
with a request to send the proceeds to an address or commercial bank account other than the address or commercial bank account designated on the account application, or
for an account whose address has changed within the last 30 days if proceeds are sent by check.
The Funds only accept Medallion signature guarantees, which may be obtained at participating banks, broker-dealers and credit unions. A notary public cannot provide a signature guarantee. Call 1-800-658-5811 for instructions and further assistance.
Payments to Financial Intermediaries
For certain share classes, the Funds and/or the Manager (and/or the Manager's affiliates), at their own expense, may pay compensation to financial intermediaries for shareholder-related services and, if applicable, distribution-related services, including administrative, sub-transfer agency type, recordkeeping and shareholder communication services. For example, compensation may be paid to make Fund shares available to sales representatives and/or customers of a fund supermarket platform or similar program sponsor or for services provided in connection with such fund supermarket platforms and programs.
The amount of compensation paid to different financial intermediaries may differ. The compensation paid to a financial intermediary may be based on a variety of factors, including average assets under management in accounts distributed and/or serviced by the financial intermediary, gross sales by the financial intermediary and/or the number of accounts serviced by the financial intermediary that invest in the Funds. To the extent that the Funds pay any such compensation, it is designed to compensate the financial intermediary for providing services that would otherwise be provided by the Manager, the Funds or their transfer agent. To the extent the Manager or its affiliates pay such compensation, it would likely include amounts from that party's own resources and constitute what is sometimes referred to as ‘‘revenue sharing.''
Compensation received by a financial intermediary from a Fund, the Manager or an affiliate of the Manager may include payments for marketing and/or training expenses incurred by the financial intermediary, including expenses incurred by the financial intermediary in educating (itself and) its salespersons with respect to Fund shares. For example, such compensation may include reimbursements for expenses incurred in attending educational seminars regarding the
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Prospectus – About Your Investment |
Funds, including travel and lodging expenses. It may also cover costs incurred by financial intermediaries in connection with their efforts to sell Fund shares, including costs incurred compensating (registered) sales representatives and preparing, printing and distributing sales literature.
Any compensation received by a financial intermediary, whether from the Funds or the Manager and/or its affiliates, and the prospect of receiving it may provide the financial intermediary with an incentive to recommend the shares of the Funds, or a certain class of shares of the Funds, over other potential investments. Similarly, the compensation may cause financial intermediaries to elevate the prominence of the Funds within its organization by, for example, placing it on a list of preferred funds. You can contact your financial intermediary for details about any such payments it receives from the Manager, its affiliates and/or the Funds, or any other fees, expenses, or commissions your financial intermediary may charge you in addition to those disclosed in this Prospectus.
The Funds will not make any of the payments described in this section with respect to their R6 Class shares.
Additional Payments with Respect to Y Class Shares
Y Class shares may also be available on brokerage platforms of firms that have agreements with a Fund's distributor to offer such shares solely when acting as an agent for the investor. An investor transacting in Y Class shares in these programs may be required to pay a commission and/or other forms of compensation to the broker. Shares of a Fund are available in other share classes that have different fees and expenses.
General Policies
If a shareholder's account balance falls below the following minimum levels, the shareholder may be asked to increase the balance.
Share Class |
Account Balance |
C |
$ 1,000 |
A |
$ 2,500 |
Investor |
$ 2,500 |
Y |
$25,000 |
R5 |
$75,000 |
R6 |
$0 |
If the account balance remains below the applicable minimum account balance after 45 days, each Fund reserves the right, upon 30 days' written notice, to close the account and send the proceeds to the shareholder. Each Fund reserves the authority to modify minimum account balances in its discretion.
An ACH privilege allows electronic transfer from a checking or savings account into a direct account with the Funds. The ACH privilege may not be used for initial purchases but may be used for subsequent purchases and redemptions. Purchases of Fund shares by ACH are subject to a limit of $2,000 per Fund per day. The Funds reserve the right to waive such limit in their sole discretion.
ACH privileges must be requested on the account application, or may be established on an existing account by submitting a request in writing to the Funds. Validated signatures from all shareholders of record for the account are required on the written request. See details below regarding signature validations. Such privileges apply unless and until the Funds receive written instructions from all shareholders of record canceling such privileges. Changes of bank account information must also be made in writing with validated signatures. The Funds reserve the right to amend, suspend or discontinue the ACH privilege at any time without prior notice. The ACH privilege does not apply to shares held in broker "street name" accounts or in other omnibus accounts.
When a signature validation is called for, a Medallion signature guarantee or SVP stamp may be required. A Medallion signature guarantee is intended to provide signature validation for transactions considered financial in nature, and an SVP stamp is intended to provide signature validation for transactions non-financial in nature. A Medallion signature guarantee or SVP stamp may be obtained from a domestic bank or trust company, broker, dealer, clearing agency, savings association or other financial institution which is participating in a Medallion program or SVP recognized by the Securities Transfer Association. The Funds may reject a Medallion signature guarantee or SVP stamp. Shareholders should call 800-658-5811 for additional details regarding the Funds' signature guarantee requirements.
The following policies apply to instructions you may provide to the Funds by telephone:
The Funds, their officers, trustees, employees, or agents are not responsible for the authenticity of instructions provided by telephone, nor for any loss, liability, cost or expense incurred for acting on them.
The Funds employ procedures reasonably designed to confirm that instructions communicated by telephone are genuine.
Due to the volume of calls or other unusual circumstances, telephone redemptions may be difficult to implement during certain time periods.
Each Fund reserves the right to:
liquidate a shareholder's account at the current day's NAV per share and remit proceeds via check if the Funds or a financial institution are unable to verify the shareholder's identity within three business days of account opening,
seek reimbursement from the shareholder for any related loss incurred by a Fund if payment for the purchase of Fund shares by check does not clear the shareholder's bank, and
reject a purchase order and seek reimbursement from the shareholder for any related loss incurred by a Fund if funds are not received by the applicable wire deadline.
A shareholder will not be required to pay a CDSC when the registration for A Class or C Class shares is transferred to the name of another person or entity. The transfer may occur by absolute assignment, gift or bequest, as long as it does not involve, directly or indirectly, a public sale of the shares. When A Class or C Class shares are transferred, any applicable CDSC will continue to apply to the transferred shares and will be calculated as if the transferee had acquired the shares in the same manner and at the same time as the transferring shareholder.
Escheatment
Please be advised that certain state escheatment laws may require a Fund to turn over your mutual fund account to the state listed in your account registration as abandoned property unless you contact the Funds. Many states have added ‘‘inactivity'' or the absence of customer-initiated contact as a component of their rules and guidelines for the escheatment of unclaimed property. These states consider property to be abandoned when there is no shareholder-initiated activity on an account for at least three (3) to five (5) years.
Depending on the laws in your jurisdiction, customer-initiated contact might be achieved by one of the following methods:
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45 |
Send a letter to American Beacon Funds via the United States Post Office,
Speak to a Customer Service Representative on the phone after you go through a security verification process. For residents of certain states, contact cannot be made by phone but must be in writing or through the Funds' secure web application.
Access your account through the Funds' secure web application,
Cashing checks that are received and are made payable to the owner of the account.
The Funds, the Manager, and the Transfer Agent will not be liable to shareholders or their representatives for good faith compliance with escheatment laws. To learn more about the escheatment rules for your particular state, please contact your attorney or State Treasurer's and/or Controller's Offices. If you do not hold your shares directly with a Fund, you should contact your broker-dealer, retirement plan, or other third party, intermediary regarding applicable state escheatment laws.
Shareholders that reside in the state of Texas may designate a representative to receive escheatment notifications by completing and submitting a designation form that can be found on the website of the Texas Comptroller. While the designated representative does not have any rights to claim or access the shareholder's account or assets, the escheatment period will cease if the representative communicates knowledge of the shareholder's location and confirms that the shareholder has not abandoned his or her property. If a shareholder designates a representative to receive escheatment notifications, any escheatment notices will be delivered both to the shareholder and the designated representative. The completed designation form may be mailed to the below address.
Contact information:
American Beacon Funds
P.O. Box 219643
Kansas City, MO 64121-9643
1-800-658-5811
www.americanbeaconfunds.com
Frequent Trading and Market Timing
Frequent trading by Fund shareholders poses risks to other shareholders in that Fund, including: (i) the dilution of a Fund's NAV per share, (ii) an increase in a Fund's expenses, and (iii) interference with the portfolio manager's ability to execute efficient investment strategies. Frequent, short-term trading of Fund shares in an attempt to profit from day-to-day fluctuations in a Fund's NAV per share is known as market timing.
The Funds' Board has adopted policies and procedures intended to discourage frequent trading and market timing.
Shareholders may transact one ‘‘round trip'' in a Fund in any rolling 90-day period. A ‘‘round trip'' is defined as two transactions, each in an opposite direction. A round trip may involve either (i) a purchase or exchange into a Fund followed by a redemption or exchange out of a Fund or (ii) a redemption or exchange out of a Fund followed by a purchase or exchange into a Fund. If the Manager detects that a shareholder has exceeded one round trip in a Fund in any rolling 90-day period, the Manager, without prior notice to the shareholder, may prohibit the shareholder from making further purchases of that Fund. In general, each Fund reserves the right to reject any purchase order, terminate the exchange privilege, or liquidate the account of any shareholder that the Manager determines has engaged in frequent trading or market timing, regardless of whether the shareholder's activity violates any policy stated in this Prospectus. Additionally, the Manager may in its discretion, reject any purchase or exchange into a Fund from any individual investor, institutional investor, or group whose trading activity could disrupt the management of a Fund or dilute the value of the Fund's shares, including collective trading (e.g., following the advice of an investment newsletter). Such investors may be barred from future purchases of American Beacon Funds.
The round-trip limit does not apply to the following transaction types:
shares acquired through the reinvestment of dividends and other distributions;
systematic purchases and redemptions;
shares redeemed to return excess IRA contributions; or
certain transactions made within a retirement or employee benefit plan, such as payroll contributions, minimum required distributions, loans, and hardship withdrawals, or other transactions that are initiated by a party other than the plan participant.
Financial intermediaries that offer Fund shares, such as broker-dealers, third party administrators of retirement plans, and trust companies, will be asked to enforce the Funds' policies to discourage frequent trading and market timing by investors. However, certain intermediaries that offer Fund shares have informed the Funds that they are currently unable to enforce the Funds' policies on an automated basis. In those instances, the Manager will monitor trading activity of the intermediary in an attempt to detect patterns of activity that indicate frequent trading or market timing by underlying investors. In some cases, intermediaries that offer Fund shares have their own policies to deter frequent trading and market timing that differ from the Funds' policies. A Fund may defer to an intermediary's policies. For more information, please contact the financial intermediary through which you invest in the Funds.
The Manager monitors trading activity in the Funds to attempt to identify shareholders engaged in frequent trading or market timing. The Manager may exclude transactions below a certain dollar amount from monitoring and may change that dollar amount from time to time. The ability of the Manager to detect frequent trading and market timing activity by investors who own shares through an intermediary is dependent upon the intermediary's provision of information necessary to identify transactions by the underlying investors. The Funds have entered into agreements with the intermediaries that service the Funds' investors, pursuant to which the intermediaries agree to provide information on investor transactions to the Funds and to act on the Funds' instructions to restrict transactions by investors who the Manager has identified as having violated the Funds' policies and procedures to deter frequent trading and market timing.
Wrap programs offered by certain intermediaries may be designated ''Qualified Wrap Programs'' by a Fund based on specific criteria established by the Funds and a certification by the intermediary that the criteria have been met. A Qualified Wrap Program is a wrap program whose sponsoring intermediary: (i) certifies that it has investment discretion over $50 million or more in client assets invested in mutual funds at the time of the certification, (ii) certifies that it directs transactions in accounts participating in the wrap program(s) in concert with changes in a model portfolio; (iii) provides the Manager a description of the wrap program(s); and (iv) managed by an intermediary that agrees to provide the Manager sufficient information to identify individual accounts in the intermediary's wrap program(s). For purposes of applying the round-trip limit, transactions initiated by clients invested in a Qualified Wrap Program will not be matched to transactions initiated by the intermediary sponsoring the Qualified Wrap Program. For example, a client's purchase of a Fund followed within 90 days by the intermediary's redemption of the same Fund would not be considered a round trip. However, transactions initiated by a Qualified Wrap Program client are subject to the round-trip limit and will be matched to determine if the client has exceeded the round-trip limit. In addition, the Manager will monitor transactions initiated by Qualified Wrap Program intermediaries to determine whether any intermediary has engaged in frequent trading or market timing. If
46 |
Prospectus – About Your Investment |
the Manager determines that an intermediary has engaged in activity that is harmful to a Fund, the Manager will revoke the intermediary's Qualified Wrap Program status. Upon termination of status as a Qualified Wrap Program, all account transactions will be matched for purposes of testing compliance with a Fund's frequent trading and market timing policies, including any applicable redemption fees.
Each Fund reserves the right to modify the frequent trading and market timing policies and procedures and grant or eliminate waivers to such policies and procedures at any time without advance notice to shareholders. There can be no assurance that the Funds' policies and procedures to deter frequent trading and market timing will have the intended effect or that the Manager will be able to detect frequent trading and market timing.
Distributions and Taxes
Each Fund distributes most or all of its net earnings and realized gains, if any, each taxable year in the form of dividends from net investment income ("dividends"), distributions of realized net capital gains ("capital gains distributions") and net gains from foreign currency transactions (sometimes referred to below collectively as "other distributions") (and dividends, capital gains distributions, and other distributions are sometimes referred to below collectively as "distributions"). Different tax treatment applies to different types of distributions (as described in the table below).
No Fund has a fixed dividend rate or guarantees that it will pay any distributions in any particular period. Distributions paid by each Fund with respect to each class of shares are calculated in the same manner and at the same time, but dividends on different classes of shares may be different as a result of the services and/or fees applicable to certain classes of shares. Distributions are paid as follows:
American Beacon Fund |
Dividends Paid |
Other Distributions Paid |
Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth |
Annually |
Annually |
Bridgeway Large Cap Growth |
Annually |
Annually |
Bridgeway Large Cap Value |
Annually |
Annually |
Stephens Mid-Cap Growth |
Annually |
Annually |
Stephens Small Cap Growth |
Annually |
Annually |
Options for Receiving Dividends and Other Distributions
When you open your Fund account, you can specify on your application how you want to receive distributions. To change that option, you must notify the transfer agent. Unless you instruct otherwise in your account application, distributions payable to you by a Fund will be reinvested in additional shares of the distributing class of that Fund. There are four payment options available:
Reinvest All Distributions. You can elect to reinvest all distributions by a Fund in additional shares of the distributing class of that Fund.
Reinvest Only Some Distributions. You can elect to reinvest some types of distributions by a Fund in additional shares of the distributing class of that Fund while receiving the other types of distributions by that Fund by check or having them sent directly to your bank account by ACH ("in cash").
Receive All Distributions in Cash. You can elect to receive all distributions in cash.
Reinvest Your Distributions in shares of another American Beacon Fund. You can reinvest all of your distributions by a Fund on a particular class of shares in shares of the same class of another American Beacon Fund that is available for exchanges. You must have an existing account in the same share class of the selected fund.
Distributions of Fund income are generally taxable to you regardless of the manner in which received or reinvested.
If you invest directly with the Funds, any election to receive distributions payable by check will only apply to distributions totaling $10.00 or more. Any distribution by a Fund totaling less than $10.00 will be reinvested in shares of the distributing class of that Fund and will not be paid to you by check.
If you elect to receive a distribution by check and the U.S. Postal Service cannot deliver your check, or if your check remains uncashed for at least six months, each Fund reserves the right to reinvest the amount of your check, and to reinvest all subsequent distributions, in shares of the distributing class of that Fund at the NAV per share on the day of the reinvestment. Interest will not accrue on amounts represented by uncashed distribution or redemption checks.
Shareholders investing in a Fund through a financial intermediary should discuss their options for receiving distributions with the intermediary.
Taxes
Fund distributions are taxable to shareholders other than tax-qualified retirement plans and accounts and other tax-exempt investors. However, the portion of a Fund's dividends derived from its investments in U.S. Government obligations, if any, is generally exempt from state and local income taxes. Fund dividends, except those that are "qualified dividend income" (as described below), are subject to federal income tax at the rates for ordinary income contained in the Internal Revenue Code. The following table outlines the typical status of transactions in taxable accounts:
* Whether reinvested or taken in cash.
** Except for dividends that are attributable to ‘‘qualified dividend income,'' if any.
To the extent distributions are attributable to net capital gain that a Fund recognizes, they are subject to a 15% maximum federal income tax rate for individual and certain other non-corporate shareholders (each, an ‘‘individual'') (20% for individuals with taxable income exceeding certain thresholds, which are indexed for inflation annually), regardless of how long the shareholder held his or her Fund shares.
Prospectus – About Your Investment |
47 |
A portion of the dividends a Fund pays to individuals may be ‘‘qualified dividend income'' (‘‘QDI'') and thus eligible for the preferential rates mentioned above that apply to net capital gain. QDI is the aggregate of dividends a Fund receives on shares of most domestic corporations (excluding most distributions from REITs) and certain foreign corporations with respect to which the Fund satisfies certain holding period and other restrictions. To be eligible for those rates, a shareholder must meet similar restrictions with respect to his or her Fund shares.
The Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund and Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund do not expect a substantial part of its dividends to qualify as QDI or be eligible for the DRD.
A portion of the dividends a Fund pays may also be eligible for the dividends-received deduction allowed to corporations ("DRD"), subject to similar holding period and other restrictions, but the eligible portion may not exceed the aggregate dividends a Fund receives from domestic corporations only.
A shareholder may realize a taxable gain or loss when redeeming or exchanging shares. That gain or loss is treated as a short-term or long-term capital gain or loss, depending on how long the redeemed or exchanged shares were held. Any capital gain an individual shareholder recognizes on a redemption or exchange of Fund shares that have been held for more than one year will qualify for the 15% and 20% rates mentioned above.
A shareholder who wants to use an acceptable basis determination method with respect to Fund shares that the shareholder acquired or acquires after 2011 ("Covered Shares") other than the average basis method (each Fund's default method), must elect to do so in writing, which may be electronic. A Fund, or its administrative agent, must report to the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") and furnish to its shareholders the basis information for dispositions of Covered Shares. See "Tax Information" in the SAI for a description of the rules regarding that election and each Fund's reporting obligation.
An individual must pay a 3.8% tax on the lesser of (1) the individual's ‘‘net investment income,'' which generally includes distributions a Fund pays and net gains realized on the redemption or exchange of Fund shares, or (2) the excess of the individual's ‘‘modified adjusted gross income'' over a threshold amount ($250,000 for married persons filing jointly and $200,000 for single taxpayers). This tax is in addition to any other taxes due on that income. A similar tax applies to estates and trusts. Shareholders should consult their own tax advisers regarding the effect, if any, this tax may have on their investment in Fund shares.
Effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026, the Internal Revenue Code generally allows individuals and certain other non-corporate entities a deduction for 20% of (1) "qualified REIT dividends" and (2) "qualified publicly traded partnership income" (such as income from MLPs). Proposed Treasury regulations (having current effect) permit a RIC to pass the character of its qualified REIT dividends through to its shareholders provided certain holding period requirements are met. As a result, a shareholder in a Fund that invests in REITs will be eligible to receive the benefit of the same 20% deduction with respect to the Fund's REIT-based dividends as is available to an investor who directly invests in REITs. There currently is no similar pass-through of the 20% deduction with respect to a RIC's qualified publicly traded partnership income.
Each year, each Fund's shareholders will receive tax information regarding Fund distributions and dispositions of Fund shares to assist them in preparing their income tax returns.
The foregoing is only a summary of some of the important federal income tax considerations that may affect Fund shareholders, who should consult their tax advisers regarding specific questions as to the effect of federal, state, and local income taxes on an investment in a Fund.
Additional Information
The Funds' Board oversees generally the operations of the Funds. The Trust enters into contractual arrangements with various parties, including among others, the Funds' manager, sub-advisor(s), custodian, transfer agent, and accountants, who provide services to the Funds. Shareholders are not parties to any such contractual arrangements, and those contractual arrangements are not intended to create in any shareholder any right to enforce them directly against the service providers or to seek any remedy under them directly against the service providers.
This Prospectus provides information concerning the Funds that you should consider in determining whether to purchase Fund shares. Neither this Prospectus nor the SAI is intended, or should be read, to be or create an agreement or contract between the Trust or the Funds and any investor, or to create any rights in any shareholder or other person other than any rights under federal or state law that may not be waived. Nothing in this Prospectus, the SAI or the Funds' reports to shareholders is intended to provide investment advice and should not be construed as investment advice.
Distribution and Service Plans
The Funds have adopted separate Distribution Plans for their A Class and C Class shares in accordance with Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act, which allows the A Class and C Class shares to pay distribution and other fees for the sale of Fund shares and for other services provided to shareholders. Each Plan also authorizes the use of any fees received by the Manager in accordance with the Management Agreement, and any fees received by the sub-advisors pursuant to their Investment Advisory Agreements with the Manager, to be used for the sale and distribution of Fund shares. The Plans provide that the A Class shares of a Fund will pay up to 0.25% per annum of the average daily net assets attributable to the A Class and the C Class shares of the Funds will pay up to 1.00% per annum of the average daily net assets attributable to the C Class, to the Manager (or another entity approved by the Board). Because these fees are paid out of a Fund's A Class and C Class 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.
The Funds have also adopted a shareholder services plan for their A Class, C Class and Investor Class shares for certain non-distribution shareholder services provided by financial intermediaries. The shareholder services plan authorizes annual payment of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets attributable to the A Class shares, up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets attributable to the C Class shares and up to 0.375% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Investor Class shares. In addition, a Fund may reimburse the Manager for certain non-distribution shareholder services provided by financial intermediaries attributable to Y Class and R5 Class shares of a Fund.
R6 Class shares of a Fund are not subject to a distribution plan or a shareholder service plan.
Portfolio Holdings
A complete list of the holdings for the American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund, American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund and American Beacon Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund is made available on the Funds' website on a monthly basis approximately twenty days after the end of each month and remains available for six months thereafter. A complete list of holdings for the American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund and American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Value Fund is made available on the Funds' website on a quarterly basis approximately sixty days after the end of each calendar quarter and remains available for six months thereafter.
A list of each Fund's ten largest holdings is made available on the Funds' website on a quarterly basis. The ten largest holdings of the Funds are generally posted to the website approximately fifteen days after the end of each calendar quarter and remain available until the next quarter. To access the holdings information, go to www.americanbeaconfunds.com. A Fund's ten largest holdings may also be accessed by selecting a particular Fund's fact sheet.
48 |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
A description of the Funds' policies and procedures regarding the disclosure of portfolio holdings is available in the Funds' SAI, which you may access on the Funds' website at www.americanbeaconfunds.com or call 1-800-658-5811 to request a free copy.
Delivery of Documents
If you are interested in electronic delivery of the Funds' summary prospectuses and shareholder reports, please go to www.americanbeaconfunds.com and click on ‘‘Quick Links'' and then ‘‘Register for E-Delivery.''
To reduce expenses, your financial institution may mail only one copy of the summary prospectus, Annual Report and Semi-Annual Report to those addresses shared by two or more accounts. If you wish to receive individual copies of these documents, please contact your financial institution. Delivery of individual copies will commence thirty days after receiving your request.
Financial Highlights
The financial highlights tables are intended to help you understand each Fund's financial performance for the past five fiscal years (or, if shorter, the period of the Fund's operations). Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund share.
The total returns in each Fund's tables represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in that Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and other distributions).
For periods prior to February 5, 2016, the financial highlights for R5 Class shares of the American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund represent the financial history of the American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund's predecessor fund, Bridgeway Large-Cap Growth Fund, a series of Bridgeway Funds, Inc., which was acquired by the American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund in a reorganization that closed upon the close of business on February 5, 2016. Regarding the American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund, the information for the fiscal period ended June 30, 2015 were audited by the predecessor's Fund's independent registered public accounting firm.
Except as set forth above, the information in the financial highlights has been derived from the Funds' financial statements audited by Ernst & Young LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the Funds' financial statements, is included in the Funds' Annual Report, which you may obtain upon request.
Prospectus – Additional Information |
49 |
A |
Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method. |
B |
Amount represents less than $0.01 per share. |
C |
Tax return of capital is calculated based on outstanding shares at the time of distribution. |
D |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
50 |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
A |
Amount represents less than $0.01 per share. |
B |
Tax return of capital is calculated based on outstanding shares at the time of distribution. |
C |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
51 |
A |
Amount represents less than $0.01 per share. |
B |
Tax return of capital is calculated based on outstanding shares at the time of distribution. |
C |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
52 |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
A |
Amount represents less than $0.01 per share. |
B |
Tax return of capital is calculated based on outstanding shares at the time of distribution. |
C |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
53 |
A |
Amount represents less than $0.01 per share. |
B |
Tax return of capital is calculated based on outstanding shares at the time of distribution. |
C |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
54 |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
A |
On December 15, 2017, pursuant to a plan of Reorganization on termination, the American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth II Fund (“Target Fund”) transferred all of its property and assets to the American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund (“Acquiring Fund”) in exchange solely for voting shares of the Acquiring Fund and the assumption of the Target Fund’s liabilities. |
B |
Commencement of operations. |
C |
Amount represents less than $0.01 per share. |
D |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
E |
Not annualized. |
F |
Annualized. |
G |
Amount rounds to less than 0.005%. |
H |
Portfolio turnover rate is for the period from February 5, 2016 through December 31, 2016 and is not annualized. |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
55 |
A |
On December 15, 2017, pursuant to a plan of Reorganization on termination, the American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth II Fund (“Target Fund”) transferred all of its property and assets to the American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund (“Acquiring Fund”) in exchange solely for voting shares of the Acquiring Fund and the assumption of the Target Fund’s liabilities. |
B |
Commencement of operations. |
C |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
D |
Not annualized. |
E |
Annualized. |
F |
Portfolio turnover rate is for the period from February 5, 2016 through December 31, 2016 and is not annualized. |
56 |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
A |
On December 15, 2017, pursuant to a plan of Reorganization on termination, the American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth II Fund (“Target Fund”) transferred all of its property and assets to the American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund (“Acquiring Fund”) in exchange solely for voting shares of the Acquiring Fund and the assumption of the Target Fund’s liabilities. |
B |
Commencement of operations. |
C |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
D |
Not annualized. |
E |
Annualized. |
F |
Portfolio turnover rate is for the period from February 5, 2016 through December 31, 2016 and is not annualized. |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
57 |
American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund |
||||
|
R6 Class |
|||
For a share outstanding throughout the period: |
Year Ended December 31, 2019 |
April 30, 2018A to December 31, 2018 |
||
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$25.28 |
|
$30.89 |
|
Income from investment operations: |
|
|
|
|
Net investment income |
0.10 |
|
0.12 |
|
Net gains (losses) on investments (both realized and unrealized) |
7.56 |
|
(2.98 |
) |
Total income (loss) from investment operations |
7.66 |
|
(2.86 |
) |
Less distributions: |
|
|
|
|
Dividends from net investment income |
– |
|
(0.11 |
) |
Distributions from net realized gains |
(3.08 |
) |
(2.64 |
) |
Total distributions |
(3.08 |
) |
(2.75 |
) |
Net asset value, end of period |
$29.86 |
|
$25.28 |
|
Total returnB |
30.30 |
% |
(9.07 |
)%C |
Ratios and supplemental data: |
|
|
|
|
Net assets, end of period |
$107,424 |
|
$90,943 |
|
Ratios to average net assets: |
|
|
|
|
Expenses, before reimbursements |
0.84 |
% |
4.15 |
%D |
Expenses, net of reimbursements |
0.76 |
% |
0.76 |
%D |
Net investment income (loss), before expense reimbursements |
0.25 |
% |
(2.85 |
)%D |
Net investment income, net of reimbursements |
0.33 |
% |
0.54 |
%D |
Portfolio turnover rate |
77 |
% |
60 |
%E |
A |
Commencement of operations. |
B |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
C |
Not annualized. |
D |
Annualized. |
E |
Portfolio turnover rate is for the period from April 30, 2018 through December 31, 2018 and is not annualized. |
58 |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
A |
Prior to the reorganization on February 5, 2016, the Institutional Class was known as Class N. |
B |
On December 15, 2017, pursuant to a plan of Reorganization on termination, the American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth II Fund (“Target Fund”) transferred all of its property and assets to the American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund (“Acquiring Fund”) in exchange solely for voting shares of the Acquiring Fund and the assumption of the Target Fund’s liabilities. |
C |
Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method. |
D |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
E |
Not annualized. |
F |
Annualized. |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
59 |
A |
On December 15, 2017, pursuant to a plan of Reorganization on termination, the American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth II Fund (“Target Fund”) transferred all of its property and assets to the American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund (“Acquiring Fund”) in exchange solely for voting shares of the Acquiring Fund and the assumption of the Target Fund’s liabilities. |
B |
Commencement of operations. |
C |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
D |
Not annualized. |
E |
Annualized. |
F |
Amount represents less than 0.005% of average net assets. |
G |
Portfolio turnover rate is for the period from February 5, 2016 through December 31, 2016 and is not annualized. |
60 |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
A |
Tax return of capital is calculated based on outstanding shares at the time of distribution. Amounts are less than $0.01 per share. |
B |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
61 |
A |
Tax return of capital is calculated based on outstanding shares at the time of distribution. Amounts are less than $0.01 per share. |
B |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
62 |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
A |
Tax return of capital is calculated based on outstanding shares at the time of distribution. Amounts are less than $0.01 per share. |
B |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
63 |
American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Value Fund |
||||||
|
R6 Class |
|||||
For a share outstanding throughout the period: |
Year Ended December 31, 2019 |
Year Ended December 31, 2018 |
April 28, 2017A to December 31, 2017 |
|||
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$22.59 |
|
$28.55 |
|
$26.73 |
|
Income from investment operations: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net investment income |
0.49 |
|
0.54 |
|
0.11 |
|
Net gains (losses) on investments (both realized and unrealized) |
5.20 |
|
(4.37 |
) |
3.37 |
|
Total income (loss) from investment operations |
5.69 |
|
(3.83 |
) |
3.48 |
|
Less distributions: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dividends from net investment income |
(0.55 |
) |
(0.47 |
) |
(0.39 |
) |
Distributions from net realized gains |
(0.61 |
) |
(1.66 |
) |
(1.27 |
) |
Total distributions |
(1.16 |
) |
(2.13 |
) |
(1.66 |
) |
Net asset value, end of period |
$27.12 |
|
$22.59 |
|
$28.55 |
|
Total returnB |
25.17 |
% |
(13.27 |
)% |
13.01 |
%C |
Ratios and supplemental data: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net assets, end of period |
$227,580,520 |
|
$147,107,520 |
|
$91,521,786 |
|
Ratios to average net assets: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Expenses, before reimbursements |
0.70 |
% |
0.70 |
% |
0.75 |
%D |
Expenses, net of reimbursements |
0.70 |
% |
0.70 |
% |
0.71 |
%D |
Net investment income, before expense reimbursements |
1.76 |
% |
1.69 |
% |
1.44 |
%D |
Net investment income, net of reimbursements |
1.76 |
% |
1.69 |
% |
1.48 |
%D |
Portfolio turnover rate |
44 |
% |
49 |
% |
48 |
%E |
A |
Commencement of operations. |
B |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
C |
Not annualized. |
D |
Annualized. |
E |
Portfolio turnover rate is for the period from April 28, 2017 through December 31, 2017 and is not annualized. |
64 |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
A |
Tax return of capital is calculated based on outstanding shares at the time of distribution. Amounts are less than $0.01 per share. |
B |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
65 |
A |
Tax return of capital is calculated based on outstanding shares at the time of distribution. Amounts are less than $0.01 per share. |
B |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
66 |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
A |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
B |
Expense ratios may exceed stated expense caps in Note 2 due to security lending expenses, which are not reimbursable under the agreement with the Manager. |
C |
Expense ratios may exceed stated expense caps in Note 2 due to the change in the contractual expense caps on July 1, 2018. |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
67 |
A |
Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method. |
B |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
C |
Expense ratios may exceed stated expense caps in Note 2 due to security lending expenses, which are not reimbursable under the agreement with the Manager. |
D |
Expense ratios may exceed stated expense caps in Note 2 due to the change in the contractual expense caps on July 1, 2018. |
68 |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
A |
Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method. |
B |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
C |
Expense ratios may exceed stated expense caps in Note 2 due to security lending expenses, which are not reimbursable under the agreement with the Manager. |
D |
Expense ratios may exceed stated expense caps in Note 2 due to the change in the contractual expense caps on July 1, 2018. |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
69 |
American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund |
||||
|
R6 Class |
|||
For a share outstanding throughout the period: |
Year Ended December 31, 2019 |
Period EndedA December 31, 2018 |
||
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$21.23 |
|
$21.23 |
|
Income from investment operations: |
|
|
|
|
Net investment income (loss) |
(0.05 |
) |
– |
|
Net gains on investments (both realized and unrealized) |
6.81 |
|
– |
|
Total income from investment operations |
6.76 |
|
– |
|
Less distributions: |
|
|
|
|
Dividends from net investment income |
– |
|
– |
|
Distributions from net realized gains |
(0.81 |
) |
– |
|
Total distributions |
(0.81 |
) |
– |
|
Net asset value, end of period |
$27.18 |
|
$21.23 |
|
Total returnB |
31.84 |
% |
0.00 |
% |
Ratios and supplemental data: |
|
|
|
|
Net assets, end of period |
$17,073,112 |
|
$100,000 |
|
Ratios to average net assets: |
|
|
|
|
Expenses, before reimbursements |
0.92 |
% |
0.00 |
% |
Expenses, net of reimbursementsC |
0.84 |
% |
0.00 |
% |
Net investment income (loss), before expense reimbursements |
(0.50 |
)% |
0.00 |
% |
Net investment income (loss), net of reimbursements |
(0.42 |
)% |
0.00 |
% |
Portfolio turnover rate |
15 |
% |
38 |
%D |
A |
Class launched on December 31, 2018 and commenced operations on January 2, 2019 (Note 1). |
B |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
C |
Expense ratios may exceed stated expense caps in Note 2 due to security lending expenses, which are not reimbursable under the agreement with the Manager. |
D |
Not annualized. |
70 |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
A |
Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method. |
B |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
C |
Expense ratios may exceed stated expense caps in Note 2 due to security lending expenses, which are not reimbursable under the agreement with the Manager. |
D |
Expense ratios may exceed stated expense caps in Note 2 due to the change in the contractual expense caps on July 1, 2018. |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
71 |
A |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
B |
Expense ratios may exceed stated expense caps in Note 2 due to security lending expenses, which are not reimbursable under the agreement with the Manager. |
C |
Expense ratios may exceed stated expense caps in Note 2 due to the change in the contractual expense caps on July 1, 2018. |
72 |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
A |
Includes non-recurring dividends. Without these dividends, net investment loss per share would have been $(0.25). |
B |
Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method. |
C |
Tax return of capital is calculated based on outstanding shares at the time of distribution. Amounts are less than $0.01 per share. |
D |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
E |
Expense ratios may exceed stated expense caps in Note 2 due to security lending expenses, which are not reimbursable under the agreement with the Manager. |
F |
Expense ratios may exceed stated expense caps in Note 2 due to the change in the contractual expense caps on August 23, 2019. |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
73 |
A |
Includes non-recurring dividends. Without these dividends, net investment loss per share would have been $(0.38). |
B |
Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method. |
C |
Tax return of capital is calculated based on outstanding shares at the time of distribution. Amounts are less than $0.01 per share. |
D |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
E |
Expense ratios may exceed stated expense caps in Note 2 due to security lending expenses, which are not reimbursable under the agreement with the Manager. |
F |
Expense ratios may exceed stated expense caps in Note 2 due to the change in the contractual expense caps on August 23, 2019. |
74 |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
A |
Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method. |
B |
Includes non-recurring dividends. Without these dividends, net investment loss per share would have been $(0.52). |
C |
Tax return of capital is calculated based on outstanding shares at the time of distribution. Amounts are less than $0.01 per share. |
D |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
E |
Expense ratios may exceed stated expense caps in Note 2 due to security lending expenses, which are not reimbursable under the agreement with the Manager. |
F |
Expense ratios may exceed stated expense caps in Note 2 due to the change in the contractual expense caps on August 23, 2019. |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
75 |
American Beacon Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund |
||
|
R6 Class |
|
For a share outstanding throughout the period: |
Period EndedA December 31, 2019 |
|
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$16.91 |
|
Income from investment operations: |
|
|
Net investment income (loss) |
(0.01 |
) |
Net gains on investments (both realized and unrealized) |
0.11 |
|
Total income from investment operations |
0.10 |
|
Less distributions: |
|
|
Dividends from net investment income |
– |
|
Distributions from net realized gains |
(1.61 |
) |
Total distributions |
(1.61 |
) |
Net asset value, end of period |
$15.40 |
|
Total returnB |
0.53 |
%C |
Ratios and supplemental data: |
|
|
Net assets, end of period |
$8,132,874 |
|
Ratios to average net assets: |
|
|
Expenses, before reimbursements |
1.41 |
%D |
Expenses, net of reimbursementsE |
0.96 |
%DF |
Net investment income (loss), before expense reimbursements |
(1.18 |
)%D |
Net investment income (loss), net of reimbursements |
(0.73 |
)%D |
Portfolio turnover rate |
20 |
%C |
A |
Class launched on April 30, 2019 and commenced operations on May 1, 2019 (Note 1). |
B |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
C |
Not annualized. |
D |
Annualized. |
E |
Expense ratios may exceed stated expense caps in Note 2 due to security lending expenses, which are not reimbursable under the agreement with the Manager. |
F |
Expense ratios may exceed stated expense caps in Note 2 due to the change in the contractual expense caps on August 23, 2019. |
76 |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
A |
Includes non-recurring dividends. Without these dividends, net investment loss per share would have been $(0.36). |
B |
Amount represents less than $0.01 per share. |
C |
Tax return of capital is calculated based on outstanding shares at the time of distribution. Amounts are less than $0.01 per share. |
D |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
E |
Expense ratios may exceed stated expense caps in Note 2 due to security lending expenses, which are not reimbursable under the agreement with the Manager. |
F |
Expense ratios may exceed stated expense caps in Note 2 due to the change in the contractual expense caps on August 23, 2019. |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
77 |
A |
Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method. |
B |
Includes non-recurring dividends. Without these dividends, net investment loss per share would have been $(0.24). |
C |
Tax return of capital is calculated based on outstanding shares at the time of distribution. Amounts are less than $0.01 per share. |
D |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
E |
Expense ratios may exceed stated expense caps in Note 2 due to security lending expenses, which are not reimbursable under the agreement with the Manager. |
F |
Expense ratios may exceed stated expense caps in Note 2 due to the change in the contractual expense caps on August 23, 2019. |
78 |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
Additional Information
Additional information about the Funds is found in the documents listed below. Request a free copy of these documents by calling 1-800-658-5811 or you may access them on the Funds' website at www.americanbeaconfunds.com.
Annual Report/Semi-Annual Report
The Funds' Annual and Semi-Annual Reports list each Fund's actual investments as of the report's date. They also include a discussion by the Manager of market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Funds' performance. The report of the Funds' independent registered public accounting firm is included in the Annual Report.
SAI
The SAI contains more details about the Funds and their investment policies. The SAI is incorporated in this Prospectus by reference (it is legally part of this Prospectus). A current SAI is on file with the SEC.
Appendix A to the Prospectus – Intermediary Sales Charge Discounts and Waivers
Appendix A contains more information about specific sales charge discounts and waivers available for shareholders who purchase Fund shares through a specific financial intermediary. Appendix A is incorporated herein by reference (is legally a part of this Prospectus).
To obtain more information about the Funds or to request a copy of the documents listed above:
By Telephone: |
Call
|
By Mail: |
American Beacon Funds
|
By E-mail: |
americanbeaconfunds@ambeacon.com |
On the Internet: |
Visit our website at www.americanbeaconfunds.com
|
The SAI and other information about the Funds are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov. Copies of this information may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic mail to publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing to the SEC's Public Reference Section, 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. The SAI and other information about the Funds may also be reviewed and copied at the SEC's Public Reference Room. Information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at (202) 551-8090.
American Beacon is a registered service mark of American Beacon Advisors, Inc. The American Beacon Funds, American Beacon
Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund, American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund, American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap
Value Fund, American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund, and American Beacon Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund are service marks
of American Beacon Advisors, Inc.
|
|
Appendix A
INTERMEDIARY SALES CHARGE DISCOUNTS AND WAIVERS
Specific intermediaries may have different policies and procedures regarding the availability of front-end sales load waivers or CDSC waivers, which are discussed below. In all instances, it is the purchaser's responsibility to notify a Fund or the purchaser's financial intermediary at the time of purchase of any relationship or other facts qualifying the purchaser for sales charge waivers or discounts. For waivers and discounts not available through a particular intermediary, shareholders will have to purchase Fund shares directly from a Fund or through another intermediary to receive any applicable waivers or discounts. Please see the section entitled "Choosing Your Share Class" for more information on sales charges and waivers available for different classes.
The information in this Appendix is part of, and incorporated into, the Funds' prospectus.
Appendix A: Janney Montgomery Scott
Effective May 1, 2020, if you purchase fund shares through a Janney Montgomery Scott LLC ("Janney") brokerage account, you will be eligible for the following load waivers (front-end sales charge waivers and contingent deferred sales charge ("CDSC"), or back-end sales charge, waivers) and discounts, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this fund's Prospectus or SAI.
Front-end sales charge* waivers on Class A shares available at Janney
Shares purchased through reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend reinvestment when purchasing shares of the same fund (but not any other fund within the fund family).
Shares purchased by employees and registered representatives of Janney or its affiliates and their family members as designated by Janney.
Shares purchased from the proceeds of redemptions within the same fund family, provided (1) the repurchase occurs within ninety (90) days following the redemption, (2) the redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end or deferred sales load (i.e., right of reinstatement).
Employer-sponsored retirement plans (e.g., 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit sharing and money purchase pension plans and defined benefit plans). For purposes of this provision, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP IRAs, Simple IRAs, SAR-SEPs or Keogh plans.
Shares acquired through a right of reinstatement.
Class C shares that are no longer subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and are converted to Class A shares of the same fund pursuant to Janney's policies and procedures.
CDSC waivers on Class A and C shares available at Janney
Shares sold upon the death or disability of the shareholder.
Shares sold as part of a systematic withdrawal plan as described in the fund's Prospectus.
Shares purchased in connection with a return of excess contributions from an IRA account.
Shares sold as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and other retirement accounts due to the shareholder reaching age 70½ as described in the fund's Prospectus.
Shares sold to pay Janney fees but only if the transaction is initiated by Janney.
Shares acquired through a right of reinstatement.
Shares exchanged into the same share class of a different fund.
Front-end sales charge* discounts available at Janney: breakpoints, rights of accumulation, and/or letters of intent
Breakpoints as described in the fund's Prospectus.
Rights of accumulation ("ROA"), which entitle shareholders to breakpoint discounts, will be automatically calculated based on the aggregated holding of fund family assets held by accounts within the purchaser's household at Janney. Eligible fund family assets not held at Janney may be included in the ROA calculation only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such assets.
Letters of intent which allow for breakpoint discounts based on anticipated purchases within a fund family, over a 13-month time period. Eligible fund family assets not held at Janney Montgomery Scott may be included in the calculation of letters of intent only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such assets.
*Also referred to as an "initial sales charge."
Appendix A: Merrill Lynch
A CLASS AND C CLASS PURCHASES THROUGH MERRILL LYNCH
Shareholders purchasing Fund shares through a Merrill Lynch platform or account will be eligible only for the following load waivers (front-end sales charge waivers and contingent deferred, or back-end sales charge waivers) and discounts, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in a Fund's prospectus or SAI.
Front-end Sales Load Waivers on A Class Shares available at Merrill Lynch
Employer-sponsored retirement, deferred compensation and employee benefit plans (including health savings accounts) and trusts used to fund those plans, provided that the shares are not held in a commission- based brokerage account and shares are held for the benefit of the plan.
Shares purchased by a 529 Plan (does not include 529 Plan units or 529-specific share classes or equivalents)
Shares purchased through a Merrill Lynch affiliated investment advisory program.
Shares exchanged due to the holdings moving from a Merrill Lynch affiliated investment advisory program to a Merrill Lynch brokerage (non-advisory) account pursuant to Merrill Lynch's policies relating to sales load discounts and waivers
Shares purchased by third party investment advisors on behalf of their advisory clients through Merrill Lynch's platform.
Shares of funds purchased through the Merrill Edge Self-Directed platform (if applicable).
Shares purchased through reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend reinvestment when purchasing shares of the same fund (but not any other fund within the fund family).
A-1 |
Prospectus – Appendix |
Shares exchanged from C Class (i.e. level-load) shares of the same fund pursuant to Merrill Lynch's policies relating to sales load discounts and waivers
Employees and registered representatives of Merrill Lynch or its affiliates and their family members.
Directors or Trustees of a Fund, and employees of a Fund's investment adviser or any of its affiliates, as described in this Prospectus.
Eligible shares purchased from the proceeds of redemptions within the same fund family, provided (1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (2) the redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end or deferred sales load (known as Rights of Reinstatement). Automated transactions (i.e. systematic purchases and withdrawals) and purchases made after shares are automatically sold to pay Merrill Lynch's account maintenance fees are not eligible for reinstatement
CDSC Waivers on A Class and C Class Shares available at Merrill Lynch
Death or disability of the shareholder
Shares sold as part of a systematic withdrawal plan as described in a Fund's Prospectus
Return of excess contributions from an IRA Account
Shares sold as part of a "required minimum distribution" for IRAs and other retirement accounts due to the shareholder reaching age 70½
Shares sold to pay Merrill Lynch fees but only if the transaction is initiated by Merrill Lynch
Shares acquired through a right of reinstatement
Shares held in retirement brokerage accounts, that are exchanged for a lower cost share class due to transfer to certain fee based accounts or platforms (applicable to A Class and C Class shares only)
Front-end load Discounts Available at Merrill Lynch: Breakpoints, Rights of Accumulation & Letters of Intent
Breakpoints as described in this prospectus.
Rights of Accumulation (ROA) which entitle shareholders to breakpoint discounts as described in the Fund's prospectus will be automatically calculated based on the aggregated holding of fund family assets held by accounts (including 529 program holdings, where applicable) within the purchaser's household at Merrill Lynch. Eligible fund family assets not held at Merrill Lynch may be included in the ROA calculation only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such assets.
Letters of Intent (LOI) which allow for breakpoint discounts based on anticipated purchases within a fund family, through Merrill Lynch, over a 13-month period of time (if applicable)
Appendix A: Morgan Stanley
Effective July 1, 2018, shareholders purchasing Fund shares through a Morgan Stanley Wealth Management transactional brokerage account will be eligible only for the following front-end sales charge waivers with respect to Class A shares, which may differ from and may be more limited than those disclosed elsewhere in this Fund's Prospectus or SAI.
Front-end Sales Charge Waivers on Class A Shares available at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management
Employer-sponsored retirement plans (e.g., 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit sharing and money purchase pension plans and defined benefit plans). For purposes of this provision, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP IRAs, Simple IRAs, SAR-SEPs or Keogh plans
Morgan Stanley employee and employee-related accounts according to Morgan Stanley's account linking rules
Shares purchased through reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions when purchasing shares of the same fund
Shares purchased through a Morgan Stanley self-directed brokerage account
Class C (i.e., level-load) shares that are no longer subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and are converted to Class A shares of the same fund pursuant to Morgan Stanley Wealth Management's share class conversion program
Shares purchased from the proceeds of redemptions within the same fund family, provided (i) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (ii) the redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (iii) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end or deferred sales charge.
Appendix A: Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. ("OPCO")
Effective February 26, 2020, shareholders purchasing Fund shares through an OPCO platform or account are eligible only for the following load waivers (front-end sales charge waivers and contingent deferred, or back-end, sales charge waivers) and discounts, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this Fund's prospectus or SAI.
Front-end Sales Load Waivers on Class A Shares available at OPCO
Employer-sponsored retirement, deferred compensation and employee benefit plans (including health savings accounts) and trusts used to fund those plans, provided that the shares are not held in a commission-based brokerage account and shares are held for the benefit of the plan
Shares purchased by or through a 529 Plan
Shares purchased through an OPCO affiliated investment advisory program
Shares purchased through reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend reinvestment when purchasing shares of the same fund (but not any other fund within the fund family)
Shares purchased form the proceeds of redemptions within the same fund family, provided (1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (2) the redemption and purchase occur in the same amount, and (3) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end or deferred sales load (known as Rights of Restatement).
A shareholder in the Fund's Class C shares will have their shares converted at net asset value to Class A shares (or the appropriate share class) of the Fund if the shares are no longer subject to a CDSC and the conversion is in line with the policies and procedures of OPCO
Employees and registered representatives of OPCO or its affiliates and their family members
Directors or Trustees of the Fund, and employees of the Fund's investment adviser or any of its affiliates, as described in this prospectus
CDSC Waivers on A, B and C Shares available at OPCO
Death or disability of the shareholder
Shares sold as part of a systematic withdrawal plan as described in the Fund's prospectus
Prospectus – Appendix |
A-2 |
Return of excess contributions from an IRA Account
Shares sold as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts due to the shareholder reaching age 70½ as described in the prospectus
Shares sold to pay OPCO fees but only if the transaction is initiated by OPCO
Shares acquired through a right of reinstatement
Front-end load Discounts Available at OPCO: Breakpoints, Rights of Accumulation & Letters of Intent
Breakpoints as described in this prospectus.
Rights of Accumulation (ROA) which entitle shareholders to breakpoint discounts will be automatically calculated based on the aggregated holding of fund family assets held by accounts within the purchaser's household at OPCO. Eligible fund family assets not held at OPCO may be included in the ROA calculation only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such assets.
Appendix A: Raymond James
Front-end Sales Charge Waivers on Class A Shares available at Raymond James
Shares purchased in an investment advisory program.
Shares purchased within the same fund family through a systematic reinvestment of capital gains and dividend distributions.
Employees and registered representatives of Raymond James or its affiliates and their family members as designated by Raymond James.
Shares purchased from the proceeds of redemptions within the same fund family, provided (1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (2) the redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end or deferred sales load (known as Rights of Reinstatement).
A shareholder in the Fund's Class C shares will have their shares converted at net asset value to Class A shares (or the appropriate share class) of the Fund if the shares are no longer subject to a CDSC and the conversion is in line with the policies and procedures of Raymond James.
CDSC Waivers on Classes A and C shares available at Raymond James
Death or disability of the shareholder.
Shares sold as part of a systematic withdrawal plan as described in the fund's prospectus.
Return of excess contributions from an IRA Account.
Shares sold as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts due to the shareholder reaching the qualified age based on applicable IRS regulations as described in the fund's prospectus.
Shares sold to pay Raymond James fees but only if the transaction is initiated by Raymond James.
Shares acquired through a right of reinstatement.
Front-end load discounts available at Raymond James: breakpoints, rights of accumulation, and/or letters of intent
Breakpoints as described in this Prospectus.
Rights of accumulation which entitle shareholders to breakpoint discounts will be automatically calculated based on the aggregated holding of fund family assets held by accounts within the purchaser's household at Raymond James. Eligible fund family assets not held at Raymond James may be included in the calculation of rights of accumulation only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such assets.
Letters of intent which allow for breakpoint discounts based on anticipated purchases within a fund family, over a 13-month time period. Eligible fund family assets not held at Raymond James may be included in the calculation of letters of intent only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such assets.
A-3 |
Prospectus – Appendix |
Appendix B
GLOSSARY
ACH |
Automated Clearing House |
|
ADRs |
American Depositary Receipts |
|
Advisers Act |
Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended |
|
American Beacon or Manager
|
American Beacon Advisors, Inc. |
|
Beacon Funds |
American Beacon Funds |
|
Board |
Board of Trustees |
|
Brexit |
The United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union |
|
Capital Gains Distributions |
Distributions of realized net capital gains |
|
CDSC |
Contingent Deferred Sales Charge |
|
Covered Shares |
Fund shares that the shareholder acquired or acquires after 2011 |
|
CPO |
Commodity Pool Operator |
|
Denial of Services |
A cybersecurity incident that results in customers or employees being unable to access electronic systems |
|
Dividends |
Distributions from a Fund’s net investment income |
|
DRD |
Dividends-received deduction |
|
EDR |
European Depositary Receipt |
|
Equity REIT |
A pooled investment vehicle that owns, and often operates, income producing real estate |
|
ETF |
Exchange-Traded Fund |
|
EU |
European Union |
|
Hybrid REIT |
A pooled investment vehicle that owns, and often operates, income producing real estate and invests in mortgages secured by loans on such real estate |
|
Internal Revenue Code |
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended |
|
Investment Company Act |
Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended |
|
IRA |
Individual Retirement Account |
|
IRS |
Internal Revenue Service |
|
LOI |
Letter of Intent |
|
Management Agreement |
A Fund’s Management Agreement with the Manager |
|
MLP |
Master Limited Partnership |
|
Mortgage REIT |
A pooled investment vehicle that invests in mortgages secured by loans on income producing real estate |
|
NAV |
Fund's net asset value |
|
NYSE |
New York Stock Exchange |
|
Other Distributions |
Distributions of net gains from foreign currency transactions |
|
OTC |
Over-the-Counter |
|
Proxy Policy |
Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures |
|
QDI |
Qualified Dividend Income |
|
REIT |
Real Estate Investment Trust |
|
RIC |
Regulated Investment Company |
|
SAI |
Statement of Additional Information |
|
SEC |
Securities and Exchange Commission |
|
State Street |
State Street Bank and Trust Company |
|
SVP |
Signature Validation Program |
|
Trust |
American Beacon Funds |
|
UGMA |
Uniform Gifts to Minors Act |
|
UK |
United Kingdom |
|
UTMA |
Uniform Transfers to Minors Act |
Prospectus – Appendix |
B-1 |
|
|
|
Statement of Additional Information
April 29, 2020
|
Ticker |
||||||
Share Class |
A |
C |
Y |
R6 |
R5* |
Investor |
|
American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund
|
GBSAX |
GBSCX |
GBSYX |
|
GBSIX |
GBSPX |
|
American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund |
BLYAX |
BLYCX |
BLYYX |
BLYRX |
BRLGX |
BLYPX |
|
American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Value Fund |
BWLAX |
BWLCX |
BWLYX |
BWLRX |
BRLVX |
BWLIX |
|
American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund
|
SMFAX |
SMFCX |
SMFYX |
SFMRX |
SFMIX |
STMGX |
|
American Beacon Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund |
SPWAX |
SPWCX |
SPWYX |
STSRX |
STSIX |
STSGX |
* Formerly known as the Institutional Class.
This Statement of Additional Information ("SAI") should be read in conjunction with the prospectus dated April 29, 2020 (the "Prospectus") for the American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund, American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund, American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Value Fund, American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund and American Beacon Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund (each individually a "Fund," and collectively, the "Funds"), each a separate series of the American Beacon Funds, a Massachusetts business trust. Copies of the Prospectus may be obtained without charge by calling (800) 658-5811. You also may obtain copies of the Prospectus without charge by visiting the Funds' website at www.americanbeaconfunds.com. This SAI is incorporated by reference into the Funds' Prospectus. In other words, it is legally a part of the Prospectus. This SAI is not a prospectus and is authorized for distribution to prospective investors only if preceded or accompanied by the current Prospectus. Capitalized terms in this SAI have the same definition as in the Prospectus, unless otherwise defined. Capitalized terms that are not otherwise defined in this SAI or the Prospectus are defined in Appendix D.
The Funds' Annual Report to shareholders for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 and the financial statements and accompanying notes appearing therein are incorporated by reference into this SAI. Copies of the Funds' Annual and Semi-Annual Reports may be obtained, without charge, upon request by calling (800) 658-5811 or visiting www.americanbeaconfunds.com.
1 |
|
Additional Information About Investment Strategies and Risks |
1 |
10 |
|
11 |
|
13 |
|
13 |
|
13 |
|
15 |
|
15 |
|
24 |
|
24 |
|
24 |
|
31 |
|
Management, Administrative, Securities Lending, and Distribution Services |
31 |
37 |
|
37 |
|
40 |
|
41 |
|
Additional Information Regarding Contingent Deferred Sales Charges |
43 |
43 |
|
44 |
|
49 |
|
49 |
|
Appendix A: Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures for the Trust |
A-1 |
B-1 |
|
C-1 |
|
D-1 |
ORGANIZATION AND HISTORY OF THE FUNDS
Each Fund is a separate series of the American Beacon Funds (the "Trust"), an open-end management investment company organized as a Massachusetts business trust on January 16, 1987. Each Fund constitutes a separate investment portfolio with a distinct investment objective and distinct purpose and strategy. Each Fund is diversified as defined by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "Investment Company Act"). Each Fund is comprised of multiple classes of shares designed to meet the needs of different groups of investors. This SAI relates to the A Class, C Class, Y Class, R5 Class, and Investor Class shares of the Funds and the R6 Class shares of the American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund, American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Value Fund, American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund, and American Beacon Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund. Prior to February 28, 2020, the R5 Class shares were known as the Institutional Class shares.
On February 3, 2012 and February 5, 2016, respectively, the American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Value Fund and American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund (the "Bridgeway Funds") acquired respectively all the assets and assumed, respectively, all the liabilities of the Bridgeway Large-Cap Value Fund and the Bridgeway Large-Cap Growth Fund, each a series of Bridgeway Funds, Inc. (each an "Acquired Bridgeway Fund," and collectively, the "Acquired Bridgeway Funds"). The Acquired Bridgeway Funds' objectives and policies were the same in all material respects as those of the respective Bridgeway Funds, and the Bridgeway Funds engage the investment advisor that provided services to the Acquired Bridgeway Funds, Bridgeway Capital Management, Inc., as sub-advisor. The American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Value Fund and American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund have adopted the prior performance and financial history of the respective Acquired Bridgeway Fund.
On February 24, 2012, the American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund and American Beacon Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund (the "Stephens Funds") acquired, respectively, all the assets and assumed, respectively, all of the liabilities of the Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund and Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund, each a series of Professionally Managed Portfolios (each an "Acquired Stephens Fund," and collectively, the "Acquired Stephens Funds"). The Stephens Funds' objectives and policies were the same in all material respects as those of the respective Acquired Stephens Funds, and the Stephens Funds engage the investment advisor that provided services to the Acquired Stephens Funds, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC, as sub-advisor.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS
The investment objective and principal investment strategies and risks of each Fund are described in the Prospectus. This section contains additional information about the Funds' investment policies and risks and types of investments a Fund may purchase. The composition of a Fund's portfolio and the strategies a Fund may use in selecting investments may vary over time. A Fund is not required to use all of the investment strategies described below in pursuing its investment objective. It may use some of the investment strategies only at some times or it may not use them at all. In the following table, Funds with an "X" in a particular strategy/risk are more likely to use or be subject to that strategy/risk than those without an "X".
Strategy/Risk |
Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund |
Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund |
Bridgeway Large Cap Value Fund |
Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund |
Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund |
Borrowing Risk |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Cash Equivalents |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Common Stock |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Convertible Securities |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Corporate Actions |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Cover and Asset Segregation |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Cyber-Security Risk |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Depositary Receipts |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Derivatives |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
Emerging Market Investments |
|
|
|
X |
X |
Expense Risk |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Foreign Securities |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Futures Contracts |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
Growth Companies Risk |
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
Illiquid and Restricted Securities |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Index Futures Contracts |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
Initial Public Offerings |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Interfund Lending |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Issuer Risk |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Large Capitalization Companies Risk |
|
X |
X |
X |
|
Market Events |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Mid-Capitalization Companies Risk |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
1 |
Non-Corporate and Foreign Companies |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Other Investment Company Securities and Exchange-Traded Products |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Preferred Stock |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Publicly Traded Partnerships; Master Limited Partnerships |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Real Estate Related Investments |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Redemption Risk |
|
X |
X |
|
|
Rights and Warrants |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Securities Loan Transactions |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Small Capitalization Companies Risk |
X |
|
|
X |
X |
Statistical Approach |
|
X |
X |
|
|
U.S. Government Agency Securities |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
U.S. Treasury Obligations |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Valuation Risk |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Value Companies Risk |
|
|
X |
|
|
Borrowing Risk — A Fund may borrow money in an amount up to one-third of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) from banks and other financial institutions. A Fund may borrow for temporary purposes or to facilitate short sales. Borrowing may exaggerate changes in a Fund's net asset value ("NAV") and in its total return. Interest expense and other fees associated with borrowing may reduce a Fund's return.
Cash Equivalents — Cash equivalents include shares of money market funds, CDs, time deposits, bearer deposit notes, bankers' acceptances, government obligations, commercial paper, short-term corporate debt securities and repurchase agreements.
Bankers' acceptances are short-term credit instruments designed to enable businesses to obtain funds to finance commercial transactions. Generally, an acceptance is a time draft drawn on a bank by an exporter or an importer to obtain a stated amount of funds to pay for specific merchandise. The draft is then "accepted" by a bank that, in effect, unconditionally guarantees to pay the face value of the instrument on its maturity date. The acceptance may then be held by the accepting bank as an earning asset or it may be sold in the secondary market at the going rate of discount for a specific maturity. Although maturities for acceptances can be as long as 270 days, most acceptances have maturities of six months or less.
CDs are issued against funds deposited in an eligible bank (including its domestic and foreign branches, subsidiaries and agencies), are for a definite period of time, earn a specified rate of return and are normally negotiable. U.S. dollar denominated CDs issued by banks abroad are known as Eurodollar CDs. CDs issued by foreign branches of U.S. banks are known as Yankee CDs.
Time deposits are non-negotiable deposits maintained at a banking institution for a specified period of time at a specified interest rate.
Common Stock — Common stock generally takes the form of shares in a corporation which represent an ownership interest. It ranks below preferred stock and debt securities in claims for dividends and for assets of the company in a liquidation or bankruptcy. The value of a company's common stock may fall as a result of factors directly relating to that company, such as decisions made by its management or decreased demand for the company's products or services. A stock's value may also decline because of factors affecting not just the company, but also companies in the same industry or sector. The price of a company's stock may also be affected by changes in financial markets that are relatively unrelated to the company, such as changes in interest rates, currency exchange rates or industry regulation. Companies that elect to pay dividends on their common stock generally only do so after they invest in their own business and make required payments to bondholders and on other debt and preferred stock. Therefore, the value of a company's common stock will usually be more volatile than its bonds, other debt and preferred stock. Common stock may be exchange-traded or traded over-the-counter. OTC stock may be less liquid than exchange-traded stock.
Convertible Securities — Convertible securities include corporate bonds, notes, preferred stock or other securities 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 dividends paid on preferred stock until the convertible security matures or is redeemed, converted or exchanged. While no securities investment is without some risk, investments in convertible securities generally entail less risk than the issuer's 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. The market value of convertible securities tends to decline as interest rates increase and, conversely, to increase as interest rates decline. While convertible securities generally offer lower interest or dividend yields than non-convertible debt securities of similar quality, they do enable the investor to benefit from increases in the market price of the underlying common stock. Holders of convertible securities have a claim on the assets of the issuer prior to the common stockholders but may be subordinated to holders of similar non-convertible securities of the same issuer. Because of the conversion feature, certain convertible securities may be considered equity equivalents.
Corporate Actions — From time to time, a Fund may voluntarily participate in corporate actions (for example, rights offerings, conversion privileges, exchange offers, credit event settlements, etc.) where the issuer or counterparty offers securities or instruments to holders or counterparties, such as a Fund, and the acquisition is determined to be beneficial to Fund shareholders. Notwithstanding any percentage investment limitation listed under the "Investment Restrictions" section or any percentage investment limitation of the Investment Company Act or rules thereunder, if a Fund has the opportunity to acquire a permitted security or instrument through a Voluntary Action, and by doing so, a Fund would exceed a percentage investment limitation following the acquisition, it will not constitute a violation if, prior to the receipt of the securities or instruments and after announcement of
2 |
the corporate action, a Fund sells an offsetting amount of assets that are subject to the investment limitation in question at least equal to the value of the securities or instruments to be acquired.
Cover and Asset Segregation — A Fund may make investments or employ trading practices that obligate a Fund, on a fixed or contingent basis, to deliver an asset or make a cash payment to another party in the future. A Fund will comply with guidance from the SEC with respect to coverage of certain investments and trading practices. This guidance requires segregation (which may include earmarking) by a Fund of cash or liquid assets with its custodian or a designated sub-custodian to the extent a Fund's obligations with respect to these strategies are not otherwise "covered" through ownership of the underlying security or financial instrument or by offsetting portfolio positions.
For example, if a Fund enters into a currency forward contract to sell foreign currency on a future date, a Fund may cover its obligation to deliver the foreign currency by segregating cash or liquid assets having a value at least equal to the value of the deliverable currency on a marked-to-market basis. Alternatively, a Fund could cover its obligation by entering into an offsetting transaction to acquire, on or before the date such foreign currency must be delivered, an amount of foreign currency at least equal to the deliverable amount at a price at or below the sale price to be received by a Fund under the currency forward contract.
A Fund's approach to asset coverage may vary among different types of transactions. For example, if a Fund's forward obligation on the transaction is only to make a cash payment equal to the amount, if any, by which the value of the Fund's position is less than that of its counterparty, the Fund will segregate cash or liquid assets equal to that difference calculated on a daily marked-to-market basis (a "net amount"). Additionally, if a Fund is a protection seller in a credit default swap, the Fund, depending on how the credit default swap is settled, usually will segregate assets equal to the full notional value of the swap. If a Fund is a protection buyer in a credit default swap, depending on how the credit default swap is settled, it usually will cover the total amount of required premium payments plus the prepayment penalty.
With respect to certain investments, a Fund calculates the obligations of the parties to the agreement on a "net basis" (i.e., 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). Under such circumstances, a Fund's current obligations will generally be equal only to the net amount to be paid by a Fund based on the relative values of the positions held by each party to the agreement (the "net amount").
Inasmuch as a Fund covers its obligations under these transactions as described above, the Manager, and a Fund believe such obligations do not constitute senior securities. Earmarking or otherwise segregating a large percentage of a Fund's assets could impede a sub-advisor's ability to manage a Fund's portfolio.
Cybersecurity Risk — With the increased use of technologies such as the Internet and the dependence on computer systems to perform necessary business functions, the Funds, and their service providers, may be prone to operational and information security risks resulting from cyber-attacks. Cyber-attacks 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 cybersecurity breaches. Cyber-attacks affecting the Funds or the Manager, their sub-advisors, custodian, transfer agent, intermediaries and other third-party service providers may adversely impact the Funds. For instance, cyber-attacks may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, result in the loss or theft of customer data or funds, impact the Funds' ability to calculate their NAV, cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential business information, impede trading, subject the Funds to regulatory fines or financial losses and/or cause reputational damage. A cyber-attack may also result in customers or employees being unable to access electronic systems, ("denial of services"), loss or theft of proprietary information or corporate data, physical damage to a computer or network system, or remediation costs associated with system repairs. The Funds may also incur additional costs for cybersecurity risk management purposes. Similar types of cybersecurity risks are also present for issues or securities in which the Funds may invest, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Funds' investment in such companies to lose value.
Any of these results could have a substantial adverse impact on a Fund and its shareholders. For example, if a cybersecurity incident results in a denial of service, Fund shareholders could lose access to their electronic accounts and be unable to buy or sell Fund shares for an unknown period of time, and employees could be unable to access electronic systems to perform critical duties for a Fund, such as trading, NAV calculation, shareholder accounting or fulfillment of Fund share purchases and redemptions. Cybersecurity incidents could cause a Fund or Fund service provider to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures, or financial loss of a significant magnitude and could result in allegations that a Fund or Fund service provider violated privacy and other laws. Similar adverse consequences could result from cybersecurity incidents affecting issuers of securities in which a Fund invests, counterparties with which a Fund engages in transactions, governmental and other regulatory authorities, exchange and other financial market operators, banks, brokers, dealers, insurance companies, and other financial institutions and other parties. Although the Funds, the Manager and the sub-advisors endeavor to determine that service providers have established risk management systems that seek to reduce the risks associated with cybersecurity, and business continuity plans in the event there is a cybersecurity breach, there are inherent limitations in these systems and plans, including the possibility that certain risks may not have been identified, in large part because different or unknown threats may emerge in the future. Furthermore, a Fund does not control the cybersecurity systems and plans of the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests or the Fund's third-party service providers or trading counterparties or any other service providers whose operations may affect the Fund or its shareholders.
Depositary Receipts — American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) — ADRs are depositary receipts for foreign issuers in registered form traded in U.S. securities markets. Depositary receipts may not be denominated in the same currency as the securities into which they may be converted. Investing in depositary receipts entails substantially the same risks as direct investment in foreign securities. There is generally less publicly available information about foreign companies and there may be less governmental regulation and supervision of foreign stock exchanges, brokers and listed companies. In addition, such companies may use different accounting and financial standards (and certain currencies may become unavailable for transfer from a foreign currency) resulting in a Fund's possible inability to convert immediately into U.S. currency proceeds realized upon the sale of portfolio securities of the affected foreign companies. In addition, a Fund may invest in unsponsored depositary receipts, the issuers of which are not obligated to disclose material information about the underlying securities to investors in the United States. Ownership of unsponsored depositary receipts may not entitle a
3 |
Fund to the same benefits and rights as ownership of a sponsored depositary receipt or the underlying security. Please see "Foreign Securities" below for a description of the risks associated with investments in foreign securities.
Derivatives — Generally a derivative is a financial arrangement, the value of which is based on, or "derived" from, a traditional security, asset, currency, or market index. Some derivatives such as mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities are in many respects like any other investment, although they may be more volatile or less liquid than more traditional debt securities. There are, in fact, many different types of derivatives and many different ways to use them. Certain derivative securities are described more accurately as index/structured securities. Index/ structured securities are derivative securities whose value or performance is linked to other equity securities (such as depositary receipts), currencies, interest rates, indices or other financial indicators (reference assets).
A Fund may invest in various types of derivatives, including among others, options (including non-deliverable options), futures and options thereon, forward currency and other forwards (including non-deliverable forwards), forwards for currency hedges, warrants, rights, structured products (including credit-linked and structured notes), interest rate caps, floors, collars, reverse collars, total return swaps and credit default swaps. The enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act resulted in historic and comprehensive reform relating to derivatives, including the manner in which they are entered into, reported, recorded, executed, and settled or cleared. Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, the SEC and the CFTC have promulgated a broad range of new regulations with respect to security-based swaps (e.g., derivatives based on a single security or narrow-based securities index), which are regulated by the SEC, and other swaps, which are regulated by the CFTC and the markets in which these instruments trade.
Prior to 2012, advisers of registered investment companies, like the Funds, that trade commodity interests (such as futures contracts, options on futures contracts, non-deliverable forwards and swaps), were excluded from regulation as CPOs pursuant to CFTC Regulation 4.5. In 2012, the CFTC amended Regulation 4.5 to dramatically narrow this exclusion. Under the amended Regulation 4.5 exclusion, in order to rely on the exclusion a Funds' commodity interests, other than those used for bona fide hedging purposes (as defined by the CFTC), must be limited such that the aggregate initial margin and premiums required to establish the positions (after taking into account unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions and excluding the amount by which options that are "in-the-money" at the time of purchase) do not exceed 5% of a Fund's NAV, or alternatively, the aggregate net notional value of the positions, determined at the time the most recent position was established, does not exceed 100% of a Fund's NAV (after taking into account unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions). Further, to qualify for the exclusion in amended Regulation 4.5, a Fund must satisfy a marketing test, which requires, among other things, that a Fund not hold itself out as a vehicle for trading commodity interests. A Fund's ability to use these instruments also may be limited by federal income tax considerations. See the section entitled "Tax Information."
The Manager is not registered as a CPO with respect to the American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund, American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Value Fund, American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund and American Beacon Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund in reliance on the delayed compliance date provided by No-Action Letter 12-38 of the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight ("Division") of the CFTC. Pursuant to this letter and the conditions set forth herein, the Manager is not required to register as a CPO, or rely on an exemption from registration, until six months from the date the Division issues revised guidance on the application of the calculation of the de minimis thresholds in the context of the CPO exemption in CFTC Regulation 4.5 (the "Deadline"). In addition, the Manager has also filed a notice claiming the CFTC Regulation 4.5 exclusion from CPO registration with respect to the Funds. The Manager is also exempt from registration as a commodity trading advisor under CFTC Regulation 4.14(a)(8) with respect to the Funds.
Derivatives may involve significant risk. Some derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of a Fund's initial investment. Not all derivative transactions require a counterparty to post collateral, which may expose a Fund to greater losses in the event of a default by a counterparty.
Derivatives may be illiquid and may be more volatile than other types of investments. A Fund may buy and sell derivatives that are neither centrally cleared nor traded on an exchange. Such derivatives may be subject to heightened counterparty, liquidity and valuation risk.
Transactions in derivatives may expose a Fund to an obligation to another party and, as a result, a Fund may need to "cover" the obligation or segregate liquid assets in compliance with SEC guidelines, as discussed above under "Cover and Asset Segregation."
The SEC has proposed a new Rule 18f-4 that, among other matters, would place limits on the use of derivatives by registered investment companies, such as a Fund. If the rule were to be adopted in the form proposed, a fund's derivatives transactions may, depending upon the circumstances, be subject to additional oversight and regulatory requirements.
Expense Risk — Fund expenses are subject to a variety of factors, including fluctuations in a Fund's net assets. Accordingly, actual expenses may be greater or less than those indicated. For example, to the extent that a Fund's net assets decrease due to market declines or redemptions, a Fund's expenses will increase as a percentage of Fund net assets. During periods of high market volatility, these increases in a Fund's expense ratio could be significant.
Foreign Securities — A Fund may invest in U.S. dollar-denominated equity and debt securities of foreign issuers and foreign branches of U.S. banks, including negotiable certificates of deposit ("CDs"), bankers' acceptances, and commercial paper. Foreign issuers are issuers organized and doing business principally outside the United States and include corporations, banks, non-U.S. governments, and quasi-governmental organizations. While investments in foreign securities are intended to reduce risk by providing further diversification, such investments involve sovereign and other risks, in addition to the credit and market risks normally associated with domestic securities. These additional risks include the possibility of adverse political and economic developments (including political or social instability, nationalization, expropriation, or confiscatory taxation); the potentially adverse effects of unavailability of public information regarding issuers, different governmental supervision and regulation of financial markets, reduced liquidity of certain financial markets, and the lack of uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting standards or the application of standards that are different or less stringent than those applied in the United States; different laws and customs governing securities tracking; and possibly limited access to the courts to enforce a Fund's rights as an investor.
4 |
A Fund also may invest in equity, debt, or other income-producing securities, including: (1) common and preferred stocks, (2) CDs, commercial paper, fixed time deposits, and bankers' acceptances issued by foreign banks, (3) obligations of other corporations, and (4) obligations of foreign governments and their subdivisions, agencies, and instrumentalities, international agencies, and supranational entities.
Brexit Risk. The risk of investing in Europe may be heightened due to the 2016 referendum in which the UK voted to exit the European Union,
commonly referred to as "Brexit." On January 31, 2020, the United Kingdom left the European Union and on this date the United
Kingdom entered a transition period that is scheduled to end on December 31, 2020. Negotiations to settle what form Brexit
will take are due to be finalized during the transition period and, therefore, at present the political and economic consequences
of Brexit are uncertain. While it is not possible to determine the precise impact that Brexit may have on a Fund, the effect
on the UK and European economies and the broader global economy could be significant, resulting in negative impacts, such
as increased volatility and illiquidity, and potentially lower economic growth, on markets in the UK, Europe and globally,
which may adversely affect the value of the Fund's investments. In addition, if one or more other countries were to exit the
EU or abandon the use of the euro as a currency, the value of investments tied to those countries or the euro could decline
significantly and unpredictably.
Emerging Market Investments — A Fund may invest in the securities and derivatives with exposure to various countries with emerging capital markets. Investments
in the securities and derivatives with exposure to countries with emerging capital markets involve significantly higher risks
not involved in investments in securities in more developed capital markets, such as: (i) low or non-existent trading volume,
resulting in a lack of liquidity and increased volatility in prices for such securities, as compared to securities from more
developed capital markets, (ii) uncertain national policies and social, political and economic instability, increasing the
potential for expropriation of assets, confiscatory taxation, high rates of inflation or unfavorable diplomatic developments,
(iii) possible fluctuations in exchange rates, differing legal systems and the existence or possible imposition of exchange
controls, custodial restrictions or other non-U.S. or U.S. governmental laws or restrictions applicable to such investments,
(iv) national policies that may limit a Fund's investment opportunities such as restrictions on investment in issuers or industries
deemed sensitive to national interests, (v) the lack or relatively early development of legal structures governing private
and foreign investments and private property, and (vi) less diverse or immature economic structures. In addition to withholding
taxes on investment income, some countries with emerging capital markets may impose differential capital gain taxes on foreign
investors.
Such capital markets are emerging in a dynamic political and economic environment brought about by events over recent years
that have reshaped political boundaries and traditional ideologies. In such a dynamic environment, there can be no assurance
that these capital markets will continue to present viable investment opportunities for a Fund. In the past, governments of
such nations have expropriated substantial amounts of private property, and most claims of the property owners have never
been fully settled. There is no assurance that such expropriations will not reoccur. In such event, it is possible that a
Fund could lose the entire value of its investments in the affected markets.
The economies of emerging market countries may be based predominately on only a few industries or may be dependent on revenues
from participating commodities or on international aid or developmental assistance, may be highly vulnerable to changes in
local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from extreme and volatile debt burdens or inflation rates.
Also, there may be less publicly available information about emerging markets than would be available in more developed capital
markets, and such issuers may not be subject to accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and requirements comparable
to those to which U.S. companies are subject. In certain countries with emerging capital markets, reporting standards vary
widely. As a result, traditional investment measurements used in the U.S. may not be applicable. Emerging market securities
may be substantially less liquid and more volatile than those of mature markets, and securities may be held by a limited number
of investors. This may adversely affect the timing and pricing of a Fund's acquisition or disposal of securities.
The laws in certain countries with emerging capital markets may be based upon or be highly influenced by religious codes or
rules. The interpretation of how these laws apply to certain investments may change over time, which could have a negative
impact on those investments and a Fund.
Practices in relation to settlement of securities transactions in emerging markets involve higher risks than those in developed
markets, in part because a Fund may use brokers and counterparties that are less well capitalized, and custody and registration
of assets in some countries may be unreliable.
A Fund may consider a country to be an emerging market country based on a number of factors including, but not limited to,
if the country is classified as an emerging or developing economy by any supranational organization such as the World Bank,
International Finance Corporation or the United Nations, or related entities, or if the country is considered an emerging
market country for purposes of constructing emerging markets indices.
Futures Contracts — Futures contracts, including interest rate and treasury futures contracts, obligate the purchaser to take delivery of, or cash settle, a specific amount of a commodity, security or obligation underlying the futures contract at a specified time in the future for a specified price. Likewise, the seller incurs an obligation to deliver the specified amount of the underlying obligation against receipt of the specified price. Futures are traded on both U.S. and foreign commodities exchanges. The purchase of futures can serve as a long hedge, and the sale of futures can serve as a short hedge.
No price is paid upon entering into a futures contract. Instead, at the inception of a futures contract a Fund is required to deposit "initial margin" consisting of cash or U.S. Government securities in an amount set by the exchange on which the contract is traded and varying based on the volatility of the underlying asset. Margin must also be deposited when writing a call or put option on a futures contract, in accordance with applicable exchange rules. Unlike margin in securities transactions, initial margin on futures contracts does not represent a borrowing, but rather is in the nature of a performance bond or good-faith deposit that is returned to a Fund at the termination of the transaction if all contractual obligations have been satisfied. Under certain circumstances, such as periods of high volatility, a Fund may be required by a futures exchange to increase the level of its initial margin payment, and initial margin requirements might be increased generally in the future by regulatory action.
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Subsequent "variation margin" payments (sometimes referred to as "maintenance margin" payments) are made to and from the futures broker daily as the value of the futures position varies, a process known as "marking-to-market." Variation margin does not involve borrowing, but rather represents a daily settlement of a Fund's obligations to or from a futures broker. When a Fund purchases or sells a futures contract, it is subject to daily, or even intraday, variation margin calls that could be substantial in the event of adverse price movements. If a Fund has insufficient cash to meet daily or intraday variation margin requirements, it might need to sell securities at a time when such sales are disadvantageous.
Purchasers and sellers of futures contracts can enter into offsetting closing transactions, by selling or purchasing, respectively, an instrument identical to the instrument purchased or sold. Positions in futures contracts may be closed only on a futures exchange or board of trade that trades that contract. A Fund intends to enter into futures contracts only on exchanges or boards of trade where there appears to be a liquid secondary market. However, there can be no assurance that such a market will exist for a particular contract at a particular time. In such event, it may not be possible to close a futures contract.
Although many futures contracts by their terms call for the actual delivery or acquisition of the underlying asset, in most cases the contractual obligation is fulfilled before the date of the contract without having to make or take delivery of the securities or currency. The offsetting of a contractual obligation is accomplished by buying (or selling, as appropriate) on a commodities exchange an identical futures contract calling for delivery in the same month. Such a transaction, which is effected through a member of an exchange, cancels the obligation to make or take delivery of the securities or currency. Since all transactions in the futures market are made, offset or fulfilled through a clearinghouse associated with the exchange on which the contracts are traded, a Fund will incur brokerage fees when it purchases or sells futures contracts. The Funds have no current intent to accept physical delivery in connection with the settlement of futures contracts.
Under certain circumstances, futures exchanges may establish daily limits on the amount that the price of a futures contract can vary from the previous day's settlement price; once that limit is reached, no trades may be made that day at a price beyond the limit. Daily price limits do not limit potential losses because prices could move to the daily limit for several consecutive days with little or no trading, thereby preventing liquidation of unfavorable positions.
If a Fund were unable to liquidate a futures contract due to the absence of a liquid secondary market or the imposition of price limits, it could incur substantial losses. A Fund would continue to be subject to market risk with respect to the position. In addition, a Fund would continue to be required to make daily variation margin payments and might be required to maintain the position being hedged by the futures contract or option thereon or to maintain cash or securities in a segregated account.
The ordinary spreads between prices in the cash and futures markets, due to differences in the nature of those markets, are subject to distortions. First, all participants in the futures market are subject to initial deposit and variation margin requirements. Rather than meeting additional variation margin deposit requirements, investors may close futures contracts through offsetting transactions that could distort the normal relationship between the cash and futures markets. Second, the liquidity of the futures market depends on participants entering into offsetting transactions rather than making or taking delivery. To the extent participants decide to make or take delivery, liquidity in the futures market could be reduced, thus producing distortion. Third, from the point of view of speculators, the margin deposit requirements in the futures market are less onerous than margin requirements in the securities market. Therefore, increased participation by speculators in the futures market may cause temporary price distortions. Due to the possibility of distortion, a correct forecast of securities price or currency exchange rate trends by a sub-advisor may still not result in a successful transaction.
Futures contracts also entail other risks. Although the use of such contracts may benefit a Fund, if investment judgment about the general direction of, for example, an index is incorrect, a Fund's overall performance would be worse than if it had not entered into any such contract. There are differences between the securities and futures markets that could result in an imperfect correlation between the markets, causing a given transaction not to achieve its objectives. A Fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a futures contract in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a counterparty. If such a default occurs, a Fund may have contractual remedies pursuant to the futures contract, but such remedies may be subject to bankruptcy and insolvency laws which could affect a Fund's rights as a creditor.
Growth Companies Risk — Growth companies are expected to increase their earnings at a certain rate. When these expectations are not met, the prices of these stocks may go down, even if earnings showed an absolute increase. Growth company stocks may lack the dividend yield that can cushion stock prices in market downturns. Different investment styles tend to shift in and out of favor, depending on market conditions and investor sentiment. A Fund's investments in growth stocks may underperform value or non-growth stocks that have a broader investment style.
Illiquid and Restricted Securities — Generally, an illiquid asset is an asset that a Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment.
Historically, illiquid securities have included securities that have not been registered under the Securities Act, securities that are otherwise not readily marketable, and repurchase agreements having a remaining maturity of longer than seven calendar days. Securities that 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. These securities may be sold only in a privately negotiated transaction or pursuant to an exemption from registration. A large institutional market exists for certain securities that are not registered under the Securities Act, including repurchase agreements, commercial paper, foreign securities, municipal securities and corporate bonds and notes. Institutional investors depend on an efficient institutional market in which the unregistered security can be readily resold or on an issuer's ability to honor a demand for repayment. However, the fact that there are contractual or legal restrictions on resale of such investments to the general public or to certain institutions may not be indicative of their liquidity.
Limitations on resale may have an adverse effect on the marketability of portfolio securities, and a 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 calendar days. In addition, a Fund may get only limited information about an issuer, so it may be less able to predict a loss. A Fund also might 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.
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In recognition of the increased size and liquidity of the institutional market for unregistered securities and the importance of institutional investors in the formation of capital, the SEC adopted Rule 144A under the Securities Act. Rule 144A is designed to facilitate efficient trading among institutional investors by permitting the sale of certain unregistered securities to qualified institutional buyers. To the extent privately placed securities held by a Fund qualify under Rule 144A and an institutional market develops for those securities, that Fund likely will be able to dispose of the securities without registering them under the Securities Act. To the extent that institutional buyers become, for a time, uninterested in purchasing these securities, investing in Rule 144A securities could increase the level of a Fund's illiquidity. The Manager or a sub-advisor, as applicable, may determine that certain securities qualified for trading under Rule 144A are liquid. Regulation S under the Securities Act permits the sale abroad of securities that are not registered for sale in the United States and includes a provision for U.S. investors, such as a Fund, to purchase such unregistered securities if certain conditions are met.
Securities sold in private placement offerings made in reliance on the "private placement" exemption from registration afforded by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act and resold to qualified institutional buyers under Rule 144A under the Securities Act ("Section 4(a)(2) securities") are restricted as to disposition under the federal securities laws, and generally are sold to institutional investors, such as a Fund that agree they are purchasing the securities for investment and not with an intention to distribute to the public. Any resale by the purchaser must be pursuant to an exempt transaction and may be accomplished in accordance with Rule 144A. Section 4(a)(2) securities normally are resold to other institutional investors through or with the assistance of the issuer or dealers that make a market in the Section 4(a)(2) securities, thus providing liquidity.
The Manager and the applicable sub-advisors will carefully monitor a Fund's investments in Section 4(a)(2) securities offered and sold under Rule 144A, focusing on such important factors, among others, as valuation, liquidity, and availability of information. Investments in Section 4(a)(2) securities could have the effect of reducing a Fund's liquidity to the extent that qualified institutional buyers no longer wish to purchase these restricted securities.
Index Futures Contracts — A Fund may invest in index futures contracts for investment purposes, including for short-term cash management purposes. Like other futures contracts, index futures contracts are derivatives. For a further discussion of the risks of derivatives instruments, see "Derivatives."
An index futures contract is a U.S. futures contract traded on an exchange that has been designated a "contract market" by the CFTC and must be executed through a futures commission merchant, or brokerage firm, which is a member of the relevant contract market. Index futures contracts are traded on a number of exchanges and generally are cash settled.
At the same time a futures contract on an index is purchased or sold, a Fund must allocate cash or securities as a deposit payment ("initial deposit") based on the contract's face value. Daily thereafter, the futures contract is valued and the payment of "variation margin" may be required.
Futures Contracts on Stock Indices — A Fund may enter into contracts providing for the making and acceptance of a cash settlement based upon changes in the
value of an index of securities ("Index Futures Contracts").
Transactions in Index Futures Contracts involve certain risks. These risks could include a lack of correlation between the
Futures Contract and the equity market, a potential lack of liquidity in the market and incorrect assessments of market trends,
which may result in worse overall performance than if a Futures Contract had not been entered into.
Brokerage costs will be incurred and "margin" will be required to be posted and maintained as a good-faith deposit against
performance of obligations under Futures Contracts written into by a Fund.
Initial Public Offerings — A Fund can invest in IPOs. By definition, securities issued in IPOs have not traded publicly until the time of their offerings. Special risks associated with IPOs may include, among others, the fact that there may only be a limited number of shares available for trading. The market for those securities may be unseasoned. The issuer may have a limited operating history. These factors may contribute to price volatility. The limited number of shares available for trading in some IPOs may also make it more difficult for a Fund to buy or sell significant amounts of shares without an unfavorable impact on prevailing prices. In addition, some companies initially offering their shares publicly are involved in relatively new industries or lines of business, which may not be widely understood by investors. Some of the companies involved in new industries may be regarded as developmental state companies, without revenues or operating income, or the near-term prospects of them. Many IPOs are by small- or micro-cap companies that are undercapitalized.
Interfund Lending — Pursuant to an order issued by the SEC, the American Beacon Funds may participate in a credit facility whereby each American Beacon Fund, under certain conditions, is permitted to lend money directly to and borrow directly from other American Beacon Funds for temporary purposes. The credit facility is administered by a credit facility team consisting of professionals from the Manager's asset management, compliance, and accounting areas who report on credit facility activities to the Board. The credit facility can provide a borrowing fund with savings at times when the cash position of a Fund is insufficient to meet temporary cash requirements. This situation could arise when shareholder redemptions exceed anticipated volumes and a Fund has insufficient cash on hand to satisfy such redemptions or when sales of securities do not settle as expected, resulting in a cash shortfall for a Fund. When the Funds liquidate portfolio securities to meet redemption requests, they often do not receive payment in settlement for up to two days (or longer for certain foreign transactions). However, redemption requests normally are satisfied the next business day. The credit facility provides a source of immediate, short-term liquidity pending settlement of the sale of portfolio securities. Although the credit facility may reduce the Funds' need to borrow from banks, the Funds remain free to establish and utilize lines of credit or other borrowing arrangements with banks.
Issuer Risk — The value of an investment may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.
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Large Capitalization Companies Risk — The securities of large market capitalization companies may underperform other segments of the market because such companies may be less responsive to competitive challenges and opportunities and may be unable to attain high growth rates during periods of economic expansion.
Market Events — Turbulence in the economic, political and financial system has historically resulted, and may continue to result, in an unusually high degree of volatility in the capital markets. Both domestic and foreign capital markets have experienced increased volatility and turmoil. Issuers that have exposure to the energy, real estate, mortgage or credit markets, for example, may be particularly affected, and it is uncertain whether or for how long these conditions could continue. An epidemic outbreak and governments' reactions to such a public health crisis could cause uncertainty in the markets and may adversely affect the performance of the global economy.
Reduced liquidity in equity, credit and fixed income markets may adversely affect many issuers worldwide. This reduced liquidity may result in less money being available to purchase raw materials, goods and services from emerging markets, which may, in turn, bring down the prices of these economic staples. It may also result in small or emerging market issuers having more difficulty obtaining financing, which may, in turn, cause a decline in their security prices. These events and possible continued market turbulence may have an adverse effect on a Fund.
Mid-Capitalization Companies Risk — Investing in the securities of mid-capitalization companies involves greater risk and the possibility of greater price volatility than investing in more established companies with larger capitalization. Since mid-capitalization companies may have limited operating history, product lines and financial resources, the securities of these companies may lack sufficient market liquidity and can be sensitive to expected changes in interest rates, borrowing costs and earnings.
Non-Corporate and Foreign Companies — A Fund may purchase securities of entities such as limited partnerships, limited liability companies, business and statutory trusts and companies organized outside the United States.
Other Investment Company Securities and Exchange-Traded Products — A Fund at times may invest in shares of other investment companies and exchange-traded products, including open-end funds, closed-end funds, business development companies, exchange-traded funds ("ETFs"), exchange-traded notes ("ETNs") and interests in unit investment trusts. A Fund may invest in investment company securities advised by the Manager or a sub-advisor. Investments in the securities of other investment companies may involve duplication of advisory fees and certain other expenses. By investing in another investment company, a Fund becomes a shareholder of that investment company. As a result, Fund shareholders indirectly will bear a Fund's proportionate share of the fees and expenses paid by shareholders of the other investment company, in addition to the fees and expenses Fund shareholders directly bear in connection with a Fund's own operations. These other fees and expenses are reflected as Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses and are included in the Fees and Expenses Table for a Fund in its Prospectus, if applicable. Investment in other investment companies may involve the payment of substantial premiums above the value of such issuer's portfolio securities.
A Fund can invest free cash balances in registered open-end investment companies regulated as money market funds under the Investment Company Act, to provide liquidity or for defensive purposes. A Fund would invest in money market funds rather than purchasing individual short-term investments. If a Fund invests in money market funds shareholders will bear their proportionate share of the expenses, including for example, advisory and administrative fees, of those funds, including such fees charged by the Manager to any applicable money market funds it advises.
Although a money market fund is designed to be a relatively low risk investment, it is not free of risk. Despite the short maturities and high credit quality of a money market fund's investments, increases in interest rates and deteriorations in the credit quality of the instruments the money market fund has purchased may reduce the money market fund's yield and can cause the price of a money market security to decrease. In addition, a money market fund is subject to the risk that the value of an investment may be eroded over time by inflation.
A Fund may purchase shares of ETFs. ETFs trade like a common stock and passive ETFs usually represent a fixed portfolio of securities designed to track the performance and dividend yield of a particular domestic or foreign market index. Typically, a Fund would purchase passive ETF shares to obtain exposure to all or a portion of the stock or bond market. As a shareholder of an ETF, a Fund would be subject to its ratable share of the ETF's expenses, including its advisory and administration expenses.
An investment in an ETF generally presents the same primary risks as an investment in a conventional mutual fund (i.e., one that is not exchange-traded) that has the same investment objective, strategies, and policies. The price of an ETF can fluctuate within a wide range, and a Fund could lose money investing in an ETF if the prices of the securities owned by the ETF go down. In addition, ETFs are subject to the following risks that do not apply to conventional funds: (1) the market price of the ETF's shares may trade at a discount or premium to their NAV per share; (2) an active trading market for an ETF's shares may not develop or be maintained; or (3) trading of an ETF's shares may be halted if the listing exchange's officials deem such action appropriate, the shares are de-listed from the exchange, or the activation of market-wide "circuit breakers" (which are tied to large decreases in stock prices) halts stock trading generally. A Fund may also invest in ETNs, which are structured debt securities. Whereas ETFs' liabilities are secured by their portfolio securities, ETNs' liabilities are unsecured general obligations of the issuer. ETFs and ETNs have expenses associated with their operation, typically including, with respect to ETFs, advisory fees.
BDCs are a specialized form of closed-end fund that invest generally in small developing companies and financially troubled businesses. BDCs invest in private companies and thinly traded securities of public companies, including debt instruments. Generally, little public information exists for private and thinly traded companies and there is a risk that investors may not be able to make fully informed investment decisions. Many debt investments in which a BDC may invest will not be rated by a credit rating agency and will be below investment grade quality. Risks faced by BDCs include competition for limited BDC investment opportunities; the liquidity of a BDC's private investments; uncertainty as to the value of a BDC's private investments; risks associated with access to capital and leverage; and reliance on the management of a BDC. A Fund's investments in BDCs are similar and include portfolio company risk, leverage risk, market and valuation risk, price volatility risk and liquidity risk.
Each Fund's investment in securities of other investment companies, except for money market funds, is generally limited to: (i) 3% of the total voting stock of any one investment company, (ii) 5% of the Fund's total assets with respect to any one investment company and (iii) 10% of the Fund's total assets in all investment companies in the aggregate. However, a Fund may exceed these limits when investing in shares of an ETF or other investment
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company, subject to a statutory exemption or to the terms and conditions of an exemptive order from the SEC obtained by the ETF or other investment company that permits an investing fund such as the Fund, to invest in the ETF or other investment company in excess of the limits described above.
The SEC has proposed revisions to the rules permitting funds to invest in other investment companies. The SEC has also proposed rescinding most prior exemptive orders permitting fund of funds arrangements and certain fund of fund rules and SEC staff guidance. The proposed revisions and the related rescissions could alter the operations of fund of funds by limiting their investments in unaffiliated funds and direct investments and potentially imposing restrictions on their ability to redeem the investment company shares they hold.
Preferred Stock — A preferred stock blends the characteristics of a bond and common stock. It can offer the higher yield of a bond and has priority over common stock in equity ownership but does not have the seniority of a bond, and its participation in the issuer's growth may be limited. Preferred stock generally has preference over common stock in the receipt of dividends and in any residual assets after payment to creditors should the issuer be dissolved. Although the dividend is set at a fixed or variable rate, in some circumstances it can be changed or omitted by the issuer. Preferred stocks are subject to the risks associated with other types of equity securities, as well as additional risks, such as credit risk, interest rate risk, potentially greater volatility and risks related to deferral, non-cumulative dividends, subordination, liquidity, limited voting rights, and special redemption rights.
Publicly Traded Partnerships; Master Limited Partnerships — A Fund may invest in publicly traded partnerships such as MLPs. MLPs issue units that are registered with the SEC and are freely tradable on a securities exchange or in the OTC market. An MLP may have one or more general partners, who conduct the business, and one or more limited partners, who contribute capital. The general partner or partners are jointly and severally responsible for the liabilities of the MLP. (An MLP also may be an entity similar to a limited partnership, such as an LLC, which has one or more managers or managing members and non-managing members (who are like limited partners)). A Fund invests in an MLP as a limited partner and normally would not be liable for the debts of the MLP beyond the amount the Fund has invested therein, but it would not be shielded to the same extent that a shareholder of a corporation would be. In certain instances, creditors of an MLP would have the right to seek a return of capital that had been distributed to a limited partner. The right of an MLP's creditors would continue even after a Fund had sold its investment in the partnership. MLPs typically invest in real estate and oil and gas equipment leasing assets, but they also finance entertainment, research and development, and other projects.
Real Estate Related Investments — A Fund may gain exposure to the real estate sector by investing in real estate-linked derivatives, REITs, and common, preferred and convertible securities of issuers in real estate-related industries. Adverse economic, business or political developments affecting real estate could have a major effect on the value of a Fund's investments. Investing in securities issued by real estate and real estate-related companies may subject a Fund to risks associated with the direct ownership of real estate. Changes in interest rates, debt leverage ratios, debt maturity schedules, and the availability of credit to real estate companies may also affect the value of a Fund's investment in real estate securities. Real estate securities are dependent upon specialized management skills at the operating company level, have limited diversification and are, therefore, subject to risks inherent in operating and financing a limited number of properties. Real estate securities are also subject to heavy cash flow dependency and defaults by borrowers. The real estate industry tends to be cyclical. Such cycles may adversely affect the value of a Fund's portfolio. A Fund will indirectly bear a proportionate share of a REIT's ongoing operating fees and expense. In addition, a REIT is subject to the possibility of failing to (a) qualify for tax-free "pass-through" of distributed net income and net realized gains under the Internal Revenue Code and (b) maintain exemption eligibility from Investment Company Act registration requirements.
Redemption Risk — A Fund may experience periods of heavy redemptions that could cause a Fund to sell assets at inopportune times or at a loss or depressed value. The sale of assets to meet redemption requests may create capital gains, which could cause a Fund to distribute substantial capital gains. Redemption risk is greater to the extent that one or more investors or intermediaries control a large percentage of investments in a Fund, have short investment horizons, or have unpredictable cash flow needs. Additionally, during periods of heavy redemptions, a Fund may borrow funds from the interfund credit facility, or from a bank line of credit, which may increase costs. Heavy redemptions, whether by a few large investors or many smaller investors, could hurt a Fund's performance.
Rights and Warrants — Rights are short-term warrants issued in conjunction with new stock or bond issues. Warrants are options to purchase an issuer's securities at a stated price during a stated term. If the market price of the underlying common stock does not exceed the warrant's exercise price during the life of the warrant, the warrant will expire worthless. Warrants usually have no voting rights, pay no dividends and have no rights with respect to the assets of the corporation issuing them. The percentage increase or decrease in the value of a warrant may be greater than the percentage increase or decrease in the value of the underlying common stock. Warrants may be purchased with values that vary depending on the change in value of one or more specified indices ("index warrants"). Index warrants are generally issued by banks or other financial institutions and give the holder the right, at any time during the term of the warrant, to receive upon exercise of the warrant a cash payment from the issuer based on the value of the underlying index at the time of the exercise. The market for warrants or rights may be very limited and it may be difficult to sell them promptly at an acceptable price. There is no specific limit on the percentage of assets a Fund may invest in rights and warrants.
Securities Loan Transactions — Securities loan transactions involve the lending of securities to a broker-dealer or institutional investor for its use in connection with short sales, arbitrages or other security transactions. The purpose of a securities loan transaction is to enable a Fund to continue to have the benefits of owning the securities loaned and at the same time capture any demand premium paid by the borrower and to earn fee income or income on the reinvestment of any cash collateral that it receives. Cash collateral received through securities loan transactions may be invested only in those categories of high-quality liquid securities previously authorized by the Board. Please see the "Lending of Portfolio Securities" section for additional information.
Securities loans will be made in accordance with the following conditions: (1) a Fund receives collateral in the form of cash or cash equivalents, securities of the U.S. Government and its agencies and instrumentalities, approved bank letters of credit, or other forms of collateral that are permitted by the SEC for registered investment companies in an amount at least equal to the value of the loaned securities; (2) the borrower is required to provide additional collateral if collateral value falls below the required level; (3) a Fund is able to terminate the loan at any time upon one standard settlement period's notice; (4) a Fund receives reasonable interest or other return on the loan or a flat fee from the borrower, as well as amounts
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approximately equivalent to any dividends, interest or other distributions on the securities loaned, and is entitled to the benefit of any increase in market value of the loaned securities; (5) a Fund may pay reasonable custodian or other fees in connection with the loan; and (6) voting rights on the securities loaned may pass to the borrower, but a Fund is entitled to terminate the loan in order to be able to vote the loaned securities.
While there may be delays in recovery of loaned securities or even non-indemnified losses should the borrower fail financially or otherwise default, loans will be made only to firms deemed to be acceptable credit risks pursuant to procedures adopted by the Board.
Small Capitalization Companies Risk — Investing in the securities of small capitalization companies involves greater risk and the possibility of greater price volatility than investing in larger capitalization and more established companies, since smaller companies may have limited operating history, product lines, and financial resources. The securities of these companies may lack sufficient market liquidity and they can be particularly sensitive to expected changes in interest rates, borrowing costs and earnings.
Statistical Approach — A sub-advisor uses a statistically driven approach to manage a Fund and resists overriding the statistical models with qualitative or subjective data. However, a sub-advisor may exclude stocks based on current narrow social reasons including, but not limited to, if the issuer of the stock: (i) is a target of Sudan divestiture; (ii) is principally engaged in the tobacco industry; or (iii) is substantially engaged in the production or trade of pornographic material. The number of such companies in a sub-advisor's universe is currently significantly less than one half of one percent, and is thus seen by a sub-advisor as "de minimis."
U.S. Government Agency Securities — U.S. Government agency securities are issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities. Some obligations issued by U.S. Government agencies and instrumentalities are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury; others by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury; others by discretionary authority of the U.S. Government to purchase certain obligations of the agency or instrumentality; and others only by the credit of the agency or instrumentality. U.S. Government securities bear fixed, floating or variable rates of interest. While the U.S. Government currently provides financial support to certain U.S. Government-sponsored agencies or instrumentalities, no assurance can be given that it will always do so, since it is not so obligated by law. U.S. Government securities include U.S. Treasury bills, notes and bonds, Federal Home Loan Bank obligations, Federal Intermediate Credit Bank obligations, U.S. Government agency obligations and repurchase agreements secured thereby. U.S. Government agency securities are subject to credit risk and interest rate risk.
U.S. Treasury Obligations — U.S. Treasury obligations include bills (initial maturities of one year or less), notes (initial maturities between two and ten years), and bonds (initial maturities over ten years) issued by the U.S. Treasury, Separately Traded Registered Interest and Principal component parts of such obligations and inflation-indexed securities. The prices of these securities (like all debt securities) change between issuance and maturity in response to fluctuating market interest rates. U.S. Treasury obligations are subject to credit risk and interest rate risk.
Valuation Risk — This is the risk that a Fund has valued certain securities at a price different from the price at which they can be sold. This risk may be especially pronounced for investments, which may be illiquid or which may become illiquid.
Value Companies Risk — Value companies are subject to the risk that their intrinsic value may never be realized by the market or that their prices may go down. While a Fund's investments in value stocks may limit its downside risk over time, a Fund may produce more modest gains than riskier stock funds as a trade-off for this potentially lower risk. Different investment styles tend to shift in and out of favor, depending on market conditions and investor sentiment. A Fund's investments in value stocks may underperform growth or non-value stocks that have a broader investment style.
OTHER INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS
In addition to the investment strategies and risks described in the Prospectus, the American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund and the American Beacon Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund may:
Invest up to 20% of its total assets in debt securities that are investment grade at the time of purchase, including obligations
of the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities, corporate debt securities, mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed
securities, master-demand notes, Yankee and Eurodollar bank certificates of deposit, time deposits, bankers' acceptances,
commercial paper and other notes, inflation-indexed securities, and other debt securities. Investment grade securities include
securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities, as well as securities rated in
one of the four highest rating categories by at least two rating organizations rating that security, such as S&P Global Ratings
("S&P Global"), Fitch, Inc. ("Fitch") or Moody's Investors Service, Inc. ("Moody's"), or rated in one of the four highest
rating categories by one rating organization if it is the only rating organization rating that security. Obligations rated
in the fourth highest rating category are limited to 25% of each of these Funds' debt allocations. These Funds, at the discretion
of the Manager, or the applicable sub-advisor, may retain a debt security that has been downgraded below the initial investment
criteria.
Each Fund may (except where indicated otherwise):
Engage in dollar rolls or purchase or sell securities on a when-issued or forward commitment basis. The purchase or sale of when-issued securities enables an investor to hedge against anticipated changes in interest rates and prices by locking in an attractive price or yield. The price of when-issued securities is fixed at the time the commitment to purchase or sell is made, but delivery and payment for the when-issued securities takes place at a later date, normally one to two months after the date of purchase. During the period between purchase and settlement, no payment is made by the purchaser to the issuer and no interest accrues to the purchaser. Such transactions therefore involve a risk of loss if the value of the security to be purchased declines prior to the settlement date or if the value of the security to be sold increases prior to the settlement date. A sale of a when-issued security also involves the risk that the other party will be unable to settle the transaction. Dollar rolls are a type of forward commitment transaction. Purchases and sales of securities on a forward commitment basis involve a commitment to purchase or sell securities with payment and delivery to take place at some future date, normally one to two months after the date of the transaction. As with when-issued securities, these transactions involve certain risks, but they also enable an investor to hedge against anticipated changes in interest rates and prices. Forward commitment transactions are executed for existing obligations, whereas in a when-issued transaction, the obligations have not yet been
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issued. When purchasing securities on a when-issued or forward commitment basis, a segregated amount of liquid assets at least equal to the value of purchase commitments for such securities will be maintained until the settlement date.
Invest in other investment companies (including affiliated investment companies) to the extent permitted by the Investment Company Act, or exemptive relief granted by the SEC.
Loan securities to broker-dealers or other institutional investors. Securities loans will not be made if, as a result, the aggregate amount of all outstanding securities loans by a Fund exceeds 33¹/3% of its total assets (including the market value of collateral received). For purposes of complying with a Fund's investment policies and restrictions, collateral received in connection with securities loans is deemed an asset of a Fund to the extent required by law.
Enter into repurchase agreements. A repurchase agreement is an agreement under which securities are acquired by a Fund from a securities dealer or bank subject to resale at an agreed upon price on a later date. The acquiring Fund bears a risk of loss in the event that the other party to a repurchase agreement defaults on its obligations and a Fund is delayed or prevented from exercising its rights to dispose of the collateral securities. However, the Manager or the sub-advisors, as applicable, attempt to minimize this risk by entering into repurchase agreements only with financial institutions that are deemed to be of good financial standing.
Purchase securities sold in private placement offerings made in reliance on the "private placement" exemption from registration afforded by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act and resold to qualified institutional buyers under Rule 144A under the Securities Act. A Fund will not invest more than 15% of its net assets in Section 4(a)(2) securities and illiquid securities unless the Manager or the sub-advisor, as applicable, determines that any Section 4(a)(2) securities held by such Fund in excess of this level are liquid.
INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS
Fundamental Policies. Each Fund has the following fundamental investment policy that enables it to invest in another investment company or series thereof that has substantially similar investment objectives and policies:
Notwithstanding any other limitation, a Fund may invest all of its investable assets in an open-end management investment company with substantially the same investment objectives, policies and limitations as a Fund. For this purpose, "all of a Fund's investable assets" means that the only investment securities that will be held by a Fund will be a Fund's interest in the investment company.
All Funds (except American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund)
Fundamental Investment Restrictions. The following discusses the investment policies of each Fund, except American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund.
The following restrictions have been adopted by each Fund and may be changed with respect to any such Fund only by the majority vote of that Fund's outstanding voting securities. "Majority of the outstanding voting securities" under the Investment Company Act and as used herein means, with respect to each Fund, the lesser of (a) 67% of the shares of the Fund present at the meeting if the holders of more than 50% of the shares are present and represented at the shareholders' meeting or (b) more than 50% of the shares of the Fund.
No Fund may (unless otherwise indicated):
Purchase or sell real estate or real estate limited partnership interests, provided, however, that a Fund may invest in securities secured by real estate or interests therein or issued by companies which invest in real estate or interests therein when consistent with the other policies and limitations described in the Prospectus.
Invest in physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent a Fund from purchasing or selling foreign currency, options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, forward contracts, swaps, caps, floors, collars, securities on a forward-commitment or delayed-delivery basis, and other similar financial instruments).
Engage in the business of underwriting securities issued by others, except to the extent that, in connection with the disposition of securities, a Fund may be deemed an underwriter under federal securities law.
Lend any security or make any other loan except: (i) as otherwise permitted under the Investment Company Act, (ii) pursuant to a rule, order or interpretation issued by the SEC or its staff, (iii) through the purchase of a portion of an issue of debt securities in accordance with a Fund's investment objective, policies and limitations, or (iv) by engaging in repurchase agreements.
Issue any senior security except as otherwise permitted (i) under the Investment Company Act or (ii) pursuant to a rule, order or interpretation issued by the SEC or its staff.
Borrow money, except as otherwise permitted under the Investment Company Act or pursuant to a rule, order or interpretation issued by the SEC or its staff, including: (i) as a temporary measure, (ii) by entering into reverse repurchase agreements, and (iii) by lending portfolio securities as collateral. For purposes of this investment limitation, the purchase or sale of options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, forward contracts, swaps, caps, floors, collars and other similar financial instruments shall not constitute borrowing.
Invest more than 5% of its total assets (taken at market value) in securities of any one issuer, other than obligations issued by the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities, or purchase more than 10% of the voting securities of any one issuer, with respect to 75% of a Fund's total assets.
Invest more than 25% of its total assets in the securities of companies primarily engaged in any one industry provided that: (i) this limitation does not apply to obligations issued by U.S. agencies; and (ii) tax exempt municipalities and their agencies and authorities are not deemed to be industries.
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American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund
Fundamental Investment Restrictions. The following discusses the investment policies of the American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund.
The following restrictions have been adopted by the Fund and may be changed with respect to the Fund only by the majority vote of the Fund's outstanding voting securities. "Majority of the outstanding voting securities" under the Investment Company Act and as used herein means, with respect to the Fund, the lesser of (a) 67% of the shares of the Fund present at the meeting if the holders of more than 50% of the shares are present and represented at the shareholders' meeting or (b) more than 50% of the shares of the Fund.
The Fund may not:
Purchase or sell real estate or real estate limited partnership interests, provided, however, that the Fund may dispose of real estate acquired as a result of the ownership of securities or other instruments and invest in securities secured by real estate or interests therein or issued by companies which invest in real estate or interests therein when consistent with the other policies and limitations described in the Prospectus.
Invest in physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the Fund from purchasing or selling foreign currency, options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, forward contracts, swaps, caps, floors, collars, securities on a forward-commitment or delayed-delivery basis, and other similar financial instruments).
Engage in the business of underwriting securities issued by others, except to the extent that, in connection with the disposition of securities, the Fund may be deemed an underwriter under federal securities law.
Lend any security or make any other loan except (i) as otherwise permitted under the Investment Company Act, (ii) pursuant to a rule, order or interpretation issued by the SEC or its staff, (iii) through the purchase of a portion of an issue of debt securities in accordance with the Fund's investment objective, policies and limitations, or (iv) by engaging in repurchase agreements.
Issue any senior security except as otherwise permitted (i) under the Investment Company Act or (ii) pursuant to a rule, order or interpretation issued by the SEC or its staff.
Borrow money, except as otherwise permitted under the Investment Company Act or pursuant to a rule, order or interpretation issued by the SEC or its staff, including (i) as a temporary measure, (ii) by entering into reverse repurchase agreements, and (iii) by lending portfolio securities as collateral. For purposes of this investment limitation, the purchase or sale of options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, forward contracts, swaps, caps, floors, collars and other similar financial instruments and margin deposits, security interests, liens and collateral arrangements with respect to such instruments shall not constitute borrowing.
Invest more than 5% of its total assets (taken at market value) in securities of any one issuer, other than obligations issued by the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities, or purchase more than 10% of the voting securities of any one issuer, with respect to 75% of the Fund's total assets.
Invest more than 25% of its total assets in the securities of companies primarily engaged in any industry or group of industries provided that this limitation does not apply to: (i) obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities; and (ii) tax-exempt securities issued by municipalities and their agencies and authorities.
All Funds
The above percentage limits (except the limitation to borrowings) are based upon asset values at the time of the applicable transaction; accordingly, a subsequent change in asset values will not affect a transaction that was in compliance with the investment restrictions at the time such transaction was effected. With respect to the fundamental investment restriction relating to making loans set forth in number 4 above, securities loans will not be made if, as a result, the aggregate amount of all outstanding securities loans by a Fund exceeds 33¹/3% of its total assets (including the market value of collateral received).
For purposes of each Fund's policy relating to issuing senior securities set forth above, "senior securities" are defined as Fund obligations that have a priority over the Funds' shares with respect to the payment of dividends or the distribution of Fund assets. The Investment Company Act prohibits the Funds from issuing any class of senior securities or selling any senior securities of which it is the issuer, except that the Funds are permitted to borrow from a bank so long as, immediately after such borrowings, there is an asset coverage of at least 300% for all borrowings of each Fund (not including borrowings for temporary purposes in an amount not exceeding 5% of the value of the Fund's total assets). In the event that such asset coverage falls below this percentage, each Fund is required to reduce the amount of its borrowings within three days (not including Sundays and holidays) so that the asset coverage is restored to at least 300%. Consistent with guidance issued by the SEC and its staff, the requisite asset coverage may vary among different types of instruments. The policy above will be interpreted not to prevent collateral arrangements with respect to swaps, options, forward or futures contracts or other derivatives, or the posting of initial or variation margin.
For purposes of each Fund's industry concentration policy set forth above, the Manager may analyze the characteristics of a particular issuer and instrument and may assign an industry classification consistent with those characteristics. The Manager may, but need not, consider industry classifications provided by third parties, and the classifications applied to Fund investments will be informed by applicable law. A large economic or market sector shall not be construed as a single industry or group of industries. The Manager currently considers securities issued by a foreign government (but not the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities) to be an "industry" subject to the 25% limitation. Thus, not more than 25% of a Fund's total assets will be invested in securities issued by any one foreign government or supranational organization. A Fund might invest in certain securities issued by companies in a particular industry whose obligations are guaranteed by a foreign government. The Manager could consider such a company to be within the particular industry and, therefore, a Fund will invest in the securities of such a company only if it can do so under its industry concentration policy.
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Non-Fundamental Investment Restrictions. The following non-fundamental investment restrictions apply to each Fund (except where noted otherwise) and may be changed with respect to each Fund by a vote of a majority of the Board. Each Fund may not:
Invest more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities, including time deposits and repurchase agreements that mature in more than seven days; or
Purchase securities on margin, except that (1) a Fund may obtain such short term credits necessary for the clearance of transactions, and (2) a Fund may make margin payments in connection with foreign currency, futures contracts, options, forward contracts, swaps, caps, floors, collars, securities purchased or sold on a forward-commitment or delayed-delivery basis or other financial instruments.
All percentage limitations on investments will apply at the time of the making of an investment and shall not be considered violated unless an excess or deficiency occurs or exists immediately after and as a result of such investment. Except for the investment restrictions listed above as fundamental or to the extent designated as such in the Prospectus with respect to each Fund, the other investment policies described in this SAI are not fundamental and may be changed by approval of the Trustees.
TEMPORARY OR DEFENSIVE INVESTMENTS
In times of unstable or adverse market, economic, political or other conditions, where the Manager or a sub-advisor believes it is appropriate, and in a Fund's best interest, a Fund can invest up to 100% in cash and other types of securities for defensive or temporary purposes. It can also hold cash or purchase these types of securities for liquidity purposes to meet cash needs due to redemptions of Fund shares, or to hold while waiting to invest cash received from purchases of Fund shares or the sale of other portfolio securities.
These temporary investments can include: (i) obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities; (ii) commercial paper rated in the highest short term category by a rating organization; (iii) domestic, Yankee and Eurodollar certificates of deposit or bankers' acceptances of banks rated in the highest short term category by a rating organization; (iv) any of the foregoing securities that mature in one year or less (generally known as "cash equivalents"); (v) other short-term corporate debt obligations; (vi) repurchase agreements; (vii) futures or (viii) shares of money market funds, including funds advised by the Manager or a sub-advisor.
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER
Portfolio turnover is a measure of trading activity in a portfolio of securities, usually calculated over a period of one year. The rate is calculated by dividing the lesser amount of purchases or sales of securities by the average amount of securities held over the period. A portfolio turnover rate of 100% would indicate that a Fund sold and replaced the entire value of its securities holdings during the period. High portfolio turnover can increase a Fund's transaction costs and generate additional capital gains or losses.
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
Each Fund publicly discloses portfolio holdings information as follows:
a complete list of holdings for each Fund on an annual and semi-annual basis in the reports to shareholders within sixty days of the end of each fiscal semi-annual period and in publicly available filings of Form N-CSR with the SEC within ten days thereafter (available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov);
a complete list of holdings for each Fund as of the end of each fiscal quarter in publicly available filings of Form N-PORT with the SEC within sixty days of the end of the fiscal quarter (available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov);
a complete list of holdings for the American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund, American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund and American Beacon Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund as of the end of each month on the Funds' website (www.americanbeaconfunds.com) approximately twenty days after the end of the month;
a complete list of holdings for the American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund and American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Value Fund as of the end of each calendar quarter on the Funds' website (www.americanbeaconfunds.com) approximately sixty days after the end of the calendar quarter; and
ten largest holdings for each Fund as of the end of each calendar quarter on the Funds' website (www.americanbeaconfunds.com) and in sales materials approximately fifteen days after the end of the calendar quarter.
Public disclosure of a Fund's holdings on the website and in sales materials may be delayed when an investment manager informs a Fund that such disclosure could be harmful to a Fund. In addition, individual holdings may be omitted from website and sales material disclosure, when such omission is deemed to be in a Fund's best interest. Disclosure of a Fund's ten largest holdings may exclude U.S. Treasury securities and cash equivalent assets, although such holdings will be included in a Fund's complete list of holdings.
Disclosure of Nonpublic Holdings. Occasionally, certain interested parties - including individual investors, institutional investors, intermediaries that distribute shares of the Funds, third-party service providers, rating and ranking organizations, and others - may request portfolio holdings information that has not yet been publicly disclosed by the Funds. The Funds' policy is to control the disclosure of nonpublic portfolio holdings information in an attempt to prevent parties from utilizing such information to engage in trading activity harmful to Fund shareholders. To this end, the Board has adopted the Holdings Policy. The purpose of the Holdings Policy is to define those interested parties who are authorized to receive nonpublic portfolio holdings information on a selective basis and to set forth conditions upon which such information may be provided. In general, nonpublic portfolio holdings may be disclosed on a selective basis only when it is determined that (i) there is a legitimate business purpose for the information; (ii) recipients are subject to a duty of confidentiality, including a duty not to trade on the nonpublic information; and (iii) disclosure is in the best interests of Fund shareholders. The Holdings Policy does not restrict a Fund from disclosing that a particular security is not a holding of the Fund. The Holdings Policy is summarized below.
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A variety of third party service providers require access to Fund holdings to provide services to the Funds or to assist the Manager and the sub-advisors in managing the Funds ("service providers"). The service providers have a duty to keep the Funds' nonpublic information confidential either through written contractual arrangements with the Funds (or another Fund service provider) or by the nature of their role with respect to the Funds (or the service provider). The Funds have determined that disclosure of nonpublic holdings information to service providers fulfills a legitimate business purpose and is in the best interest of shareholders. In addition, the Funds have determined that disclosure of nonpublic holdings information to members of the Board fulfills a legitimate business purpose, is in the best interest of Fund shareholders, and each Trustee is subject to a duty of confidentiality.
The Funds have ongoing arrangements to provide nonpublic holdings information to the following service providers:
Service Provider |
Service |
Holdings Access |
Manager |
Investment management and administrator |
Complete list on intraday basis with no lag |
Sub-Advisor |
Investment management |
Holdings under sub-advisor's management on intraday basis with no lag |
State Street Bank and Trust Co. (“State Street”) and its designated foreign sub-custodians |
Securities lending agent for Funds that participate in securities lending, Funds’ custodian and foreign custody manager, and foreign sub-custodians |
Complete list on daily basis with no lag |
Ernst & Young LLP |
Funds' independent registered public accounting firm |
Complete list on annual basis with no lag |
Abel Noser Solutions |
Trade execution cost analysis |
Complete list on daily basis with no lag |
Assets Advisers Management |
Model support for sub-advisor |
Complete list on daily basis with no lag |
Automated Securities Clearance LLC |
Compliance monitoring |
Complete list on daily basis with one-day lag |
Baseline Analytics |
Performance and portfolio analytics reporting |
Complete list on daily basis with no lag |
Bloomberg Finance L.P. |
Performance and portfolio analytics reporting |
Complete list on daily basis with no lag |
Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. |
Proxy voting research provider for sub-advisor |
Complete list on daily basis with no lag |
Charles River Systems, Inc. |
Trade order management for sub-advisors |
Complete list on daily basis with no lag |
FactSet Research Systems, Inc. |
Performance and portfolio analytics reporting for the Manager and sub-advisors |
Complete list on daily basis with no lag |
Institutional Shareholder Services ("ISS") |
Proxy voting research provider to sub-advisors, and share recall services provider to the Manager |
Complete list on daily basis with no lag |
Investment Technology Group, Inc. |
Fair valuation of portfolio securities for Funds with significant foreign securities holdings; transaction cost analysis for sub-advisor |
Complete list on daily basis with no lag and more frequently when the Manager seeks advice with respect to certain holdings |
SS&C (APX AOS Infrastructure) |
Portfolio management software for Bahl & Gaynor |
Complete list on daily basis with no lag |
SEI Global Services, Inc. |
Accounting and operations agent for Stephens |
Complete list for Stephens Funds on daily basis with no lag |
STP Investment Services |
Accounting and operations agent for Bridgeway |
Complete list for Bridgeway Fund on daily basis with no lag |
The Yield Book Inc. |
Performance and portfolio analytics reporting |
Complete list on monthly basis with four-day lag |
Trade Informatics |
Transaction cost analysis for Stephens and Bridgeway |
Complete list for Stephens and Bridgeway Funds on daily basis with no lag |
Certain third parties are provided with nonpublic holdings information (either complete or partial lists) by the Manager or another service provider on an ad hoc basis. These third parties include broker-dealers, prospective sub-advisors, borrowers of the Funds' portfolio securities, pricing services, legal counsel, and issuers (or their agents). Broker-dealers utilized by the Funds in the process of purchasing and selling portfolio securities or providing market quotations receive limited holdings information on a current basis with no lag. The Manager provides current holdings to investment managers being considered for appointment as a sub-advisor to the Funds. If the Funds participate in securities lending activities, potential borrowers of the Funds' securities receive information pertaining to the Funds' securities available for loan. Such information is provided on a current basis with no lag. The Funds utilize various pricing services to supply market quotations and evaluated prices to State Street. State Street and the Manager may disclose current nonpublic holdings to those pricing services. An investment manager may provide holdings information to legal counsel when seeking advice regarding those holdings. From time to time, an issuer (or its agent) may contact the Funds requesting confirmation of ownership of the issuer's securities. Such holdings information is provided to the issuer (or its agent) as of the date requested. The Funds do not have written contractual arrangements with these third parties regarding the confidentiality of the holdings information. However, the Funds would not continue to utilize a third party that the Manager determined to have misused nonpublic holdings information.
The Funds have ongoing arrangements to provide periodic holdings information to certain organizations that publish ratings and/or rankings for the Funds or that redistribute the Funds' holdings to financial intermediaries to facilitate their analysis of the Funds. The Funds have determined that
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disclosure of holdings information to such organizations fulfills a legitimate business purpose and is in the best interest of shareholders, as it provides existing and potential shareholders with an independent basis for evaluating the Funds in comparison to other mutual funds. As of the date of this SAI, all such organizations receive holdings information after it has been made public on the Funds' website.
No compensation or other consideration may be paid to the Funds, the Funds' service providers, or any other party in connection with the disclosure of portfolio holdings information.
Under the Holdings Policy, disclosure of nonpublic portfolio holdings information to parties other than those discussed above must meet all of the following conditions:
Recipients of portfolio holdings information must agree in writing to keep the information confidential until it has been posted to the Funds' website and not to trade based on the information;
Holdings may only be disclosed as of a month-end date;
No compensation may be paid to the Funds, the Manager or any other party in connection with the disclosure of information about portfolio securities; and
A member of the Manager's Compliance staff must approve requests for nonpublic holdings information.
In determining whether to approve a request for portfolio holdings disclosure by the Manager, Compliance staff generally considers the type of requestor and its relationship to the Funds, the stated reason for the request, any historical pattern of requests from that same individual or entity, the style and strategy of the Fund for which holdings have been requested (e.g., passive versus active management), whether a Fund is managed by one or multiple investment managers, and any other factors it deems relevant. Any potential conflicts between shareholders and affiliated persons of the Funds that arise as a result of a request for portfolio holdings information shall be decided by the Manager in the best interests of shareholders.
However, if a conflict exists between the interests of shareholders and the Manager, the Manager may present the details of the request to the Board for a determination to either approve or deny the request. On a quarterly basis, the Manager will prepare a report for the Board outlining any instances of disclosures of nonpublic holdings during the period that did not comply with the Holdings Policy.
The Compliance staff generally determines whether a historical pattern of requests by the same individual or entity constitutes an "ongoing arrangement" and should be disclosed in the Funds' SAI.
The Manager and sub-advisors to the Funds may manage substantially similar portfolios for clients other than the Funds. Those other clients may receive and publicly disclose their portfolio holdings information prior to public disclosure by the Funds. The Holdings Policy is not intended to limit the Manager or the sub-advisors from making such disclosures to their clients.
LENDING OF PORTFOLIO SECURITIES
A Fund may lend securities from its portfolio to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions needing to borrow securities to complete certain transactions. In connection with such loans, a Fund remains the beneficial owner of the loaned securities and continues to be entitled to payments in amounts approximately equal to the interest, dividends or other distributions payable on the loaned securities. A Fund also has the right to terminate a loan at any time. A Fund does not have the right to vote on securities while they are on loan. However, it is the Funds' policy to attempt to terminate loans in time to vote those proxies that a Fund determines are material to its interests. Loans of portfolio securities may not exceed 33¹/3% of the value of a Fund's total assets (including the value of all assets received as collateral for the loan). The Funds will receive collateral consisting of cash in the form of cash or cash equivalents, securities of the U.S. Government and its agencies and instrumentalities, approved bank letters of credit, or other forms of collateral that are permitted by the SEC for registered investment companies, which will be maintained at all times in an amount equal to at least 100% of the current market value of the loaned securities. If the collateral consists of cash, a Fund will reinvest the cash and may pay the borrower a pre-negotiated fee or "rebate" for the use of that cash collateral. Under the terms of the securities loan agreement between the Funds and State Street, their securities lending agent, State Street indemnifies the Funds for certain losses resulting from a borrower default. However, should the borrower of the securities fail financially, a Fund may experience delays in recovering the loaned securities or exercising its rights in the collateral. In a loan transaction, a Fund will also bear the risk of any decline in value of securities acquired with cash collateral. A Fund seeks to minimize this risk by normally limiting the investment of cash collateral to registered money market funds, including money market funds advised by the Manager that invest in U.S. Government and agency securities.
For all funds that engage in securities lending, the Manager receives compensation for administrative and oversight functions with respect to securities lending, including oversight of the securities lending agent. The amount of such compensation depends on the income generated by the loan of the securities.
As of the date of this SAI, each Fund intends to engage in securities lending activities.
TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS OF THE TRUST
The Board of Trustees
The Trust is governed by its Board of Trustees. The Board is responsible for and oversees the overall management and operations of the Trust and the Funds, which includes the general oversight and review of the Funds' investment activities, in accordance with federal law and the law of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as well as the stated policies of the Funds. The Board oversees the Trust's officers and service providers, including American Beacon, which is responsible for the management of the day-to-day operations of the Funds based on policies and agreements reviewed and approved by the Board. In carrying out these responsibilities, the Board regularly interacts with and receives reports from senior personnel of service providers, including American Beacon's investment personnel and the Trust's CCO. The Board also is assisted by the Trust's independent registered
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public accounting firm (which reports directly to the Trust's Audit and Compliance Committee), independent counsel and other experts as appropriate, all of whom are selected by the Board.
Risk Oversight
Consistent with its responsibility for oversight of the Trust and its Funds, the Board oversees the management of risks relating to the administration and operation of the Trust and the Funds. American Beacon, as part of its responsibilities for the day-to-day operations of the Funds, is responsible for day-to-day risk management for the Funds. The Board, in the exercise of its reasonable business judgment, also separately considers potential risks that may impact the Funds. The Board performs this risk management oversight directly and, as to certain matters, through its committees (described below) and through the Board members who are not "interested persons" of the Trust as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Investment Company Act ("Independent Trustees"). The following provides an overview of the principal, but not all, aspects of the Board's oversight of risk management for the Trust and the Funds.
In general, a Fund's risks include, among others, investment risk, credit risk, liquidity risk, securities selection risk and valuation risk. The Board has adopted, and periodically reviews, policies and procedures designed to address these and other risks to the Trust and the Funds. In addition, under the general oversight of the Board, American Beacon, each Fund's investment adviser, and other service providers to the Funds have themselves adopted a variety of policies, procedures and controls designed to address particular risks to the Funds. Different processes, procedures and controls are employed with respect to different types of risks. Further, American Beacon as manager of the Funds oversees and regularly monitors the investments, operations and compliance of the Funds' investment advisers.
The Board also oversees risk management for the Trust and the Funds through review of regular reports, presentations and other information from officers of the Trust and other persons. Senior officers of the Trust, and senior officers of American Beacon, and the Funds' CCO regularly report to the Board on a range of matters, including those relating to risk management. The Board and the Investment Committee also regularly receive reports from American Beacon with respect to the investments, securities trading and securities lending activities of the Funds. In addition to regular reports from American Beacon, the Board also receives reports regarding other service providers to the Trust, either directly or through American Beacon or the Funds' CCO, on a periodic or regular basis. At least annually, the Board receives a report from the Funds' CCO regarding the effectiveness of the Funds' compliance program. Also, typically on an annual basis, the Board receives reports, presentations and other information from American Beacon in connection with the Board's consideration of the renewal of each of the Trust's agreements with American Beacon and the Trust's distribution plans under Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act.
Senior officers of the Trust and American Beacon also report regularly to the Audit and Compliance Committee on Fund valuation matters and on the Trust's internal controls and accounting and financial reporting policies and practices. In addition, the Audit and Compliance Committee receives regular reports from the Trust's independent registered public accounting firm on internal control and financial reporting matters. On at least a quarterly basis, the Audit and Compliance Committee meets with the Funds' CCO to discuss matters relating to the Funds' compliance program.
Board Structure and Related Matters
Independent Trustees constitute at least three-fourths of the Board. Brenda A. Cline, an Independent Trustee, serves as Independent Chair of the Board. The Independent Chair's responsibilities include: setting an agenda for each meeting of the Board; presiding at all meetings of the Board and Independent Trustees; and serving as a liaison with other Trustees, the Trust's officers and other management personnel, and counsel to the Funds. The Independent Chair shall perform such other duties as the Board may from time to time determine.
The Trustees discharge their responsibilities collectively as a Board, as well as through Board committees, each of which operates pursuant to a charter approved by the Board that delineates the responsibilities of that committee. The Board has established three standing committees: the Audit and Compliance Committee, the Investment Committee and the Nominating and Governance Committee. For example, the Investment Committee is responsible for oversight of the process, typically performed annually, by which the Board considers and approves each Fund's investment advisory agreement with American Beacon, while specific matters related to oversight of the Funds' independent auditors have been delegated by the Board to its Audit and Compliance Committee, subject to approval of the Audit and Compliance Committee's recommendations by the Board. The members and responsibilities of each Board committee are summarized below.
The Board periodically evaluates its structure and composition as well as various aspects of its operations. The Board believes that its leadership structure, including its Independent Chair position and its committees, is appropriate for the Trust in light of, among other factors, the asset size and nature of the funds in the Trust, the number of series of the American Beacon Funds Complex overseen by the Board, the arrangements for the conduct of the Funds' operations, the number of Trustees, and the Board's responsibilities. On an annual basis, the Board conducts a self-evaluation that considers, among other matters, whether the Board and its committees are functioning effectively and whether, given the size and composition of the Board and each of its committees, the Trustees are able to oversee effectively the number of Funds in the complex.
The Trust is part of the American Beacon Funds Complex, which is comprised of 33 series within the American Beacon Funds, 1 series within the American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust, 1 series within the American Beacon Select Funds, 1 series within the American Beacon Sound Point Enhanced Income Fund, and 1 series within the American Beacon Apollo Total Return Fund. The same persons who constitute the Board of the Trust also constitute the Board of Trustees of the American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust, the American Beacon Sound Point Enhanced Income Fund, the American Beacon Apollo Total Return Fund, and the American Beacon Select Funds and each Trustee oversees the Trusts' combined 37 series.
The Board holds five (5) regularly scheduled meetings each year. The Board may hold special meetings, as needed, either in person or by telephone, to address matters arising between regular meetings. The Independent Trustees also hold at least one in-person meeting each year during a portion of which management is not present and may hold special meetings, as needed, either in person or by telephone.
The Trustees of the Trust are identified in the tables below, which provide information as to their principal business occupations and directorships held during the last five years and certain other information. Subject to the Trustee Emeritus and Retirement Policy described below, a Trustee serves until
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his or her successor is elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation or removal. The address of each Trustee listed below is 220 East Las Colinas Boulevard, Suite 1200, Irving, Texas 75039. Each Trustee serves for an indefinite term or until his or her removal, resignation, or retirement.*
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Barbara J. McKenna (56) |
Trustee since 2012 |
Trustee since 2017 |
Trustee since 2018 |
President/Managing Principal, Longfellow Investment Management Company (2005-Present). |
R. Gerald Turner (74) |
Trustee since 2001 |
Trustee since 2017 |
Trustee since 2018 |
President, Southern Methodist University (1995-Present); Director, J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE: JCP) (1996-Present); Director, Kronus Worldwide Inc. (chemical manufacturing) (2003-Present). |
* The Board has adopted a retirement policy that requires Trustees to retire no later than the last day of the calendar year
in which they reach the age of 75.
In addition to the information set forth in the tables above and other relevant qualifications, experience, attributes or skills applicable to a particular Trustee, the following provides further information about the qualifications and experience of each Trustee.
Gilbert G. Alvarado: Mr. Alvarado has extensive organizational management and financial experience as senior vice president and chief financial officer in public charities and private foundations, service as director of private companies and non-profit organizations, service as president of non-profit institutional investment fund, an adjunct professor for a non-profit school of management at University of San Francisco, and multiple years of service as a Trustee.
Joseph B. Armes: Mr. Armes has extensive financial, investment and organizational management experience as chairman of the board of directors, president and chief executive officer of an investment company listed on NASDAQ, president and chief executive officer of a private family investment vehicle, chief operating officer of a private holding company for a family office, president, chief executive officer, chief financial officer and director of a special purpose acquisition company listed on the American Stock Exchange, a director and audit committee chair of an oil and gas exploration and production company listed on the New York Stock Exchange and as an officer of public companies and as a director and officer of private companies, and multiple years of service as a Trustee.
Gerard J. Arpey: Mr. Arpey has extensive organizational management, financial and international experience serving as chairman, chief executive officer, and chief financial officer of one of the largest global airlines, service as a director of public and private companies, service to several charitable organizations, and multiple years of service as a Trustee.
Brenda A. Cline: Ms. Cline has extensive organizational management, financial and investment experience as executive vice president, chief financial officer, secretary and treasurer to a private foundation, service as a director, trustee, audit committee chair, and member of the nominating and governance committees of various publicly held companies and mutual funds, service as a trustee to a private university, and several charitable boards, including acting as a member of their investment and/or audit committees, extensive experience as an audit senior manager with a large public accounting firm, and multiple years of service as a Trustee.
Eugene J. Duffy: Mr. Duffy has extensive experience in the investment management business and organizational management experience as a member of senior management, service as a director of a bank, service as a chairman of a charitable fund and as a trustee to an association, service on the board of a private university and non-profit organization, service as chair to a financial services industry association, and multiple years of service as a Trustee.
Claudia A. Holz: Ms. Holz has extensive financial audit and organizational management experience obtained as an audit partner with a major public accounting firm for over 27 years. Prior to her retirement, she led audits of large public investment company complexes and held several management roles in the firm's New York and national offices.
Douglas A. Lindgren: Mr. Lindgren has extensive senior management experience in the asset management industry, having overseen several organizations and numerous fund structures and having served as an Adjunct Professor of Finance at Columbia Business School.
Barbara J. McKenna: Ms. McKenna has extensive experience in the investment management industry, organizational management experience as a member of senior management, service as a director of an investment manager, member of numerous financial services industry associations, and multiple years of service as a Trustee.
R. Gerald Turner: Mr. Turner has extensive organizational management experience as president of a private university, service as a director and member of the audit and governance committees of various publicly held companies, service as a member to several charitable boards, and multiple years of service as a Trustee.
Committees of the Board
The Trust has an Audit and Compliance Committee ("Audit Committee"). The Audit Committee consists of Ms. Holz, and Messrs. Duffy and Alvarado (Chair). Ms. Cline, as Chair of the Board, serves on the Audit Committee in an ex-officio non-voting capacity. None of the members of the committee are "interested persons" of the Trust, as defined by the Investment Company Act. As set forth in its charter, the primary duties of the Trust's Audit Committee are: (a) to oversee the accounting and financial reporting processes of the Trust and the Funds and their internal controls and, as the Committee deems appropriate, to inquire into the internal controls of certain third-party service providers; (b) to oversee the quality and integrity of the Trust's financial statements and the independent audit thereof; (c) to approve, prior to appointment, the engagement of the Trust's independent auditors and, in connection therewith, to review and evaluate the qualifications, independence and performance of the Trust's independent auditors; (d) to oversee the Trust's compliance with all regulatory obligations arising under applicable federal securities laws, rules and regulations and oversee management's implementation and enforcement of the Trust's compliance policies and procedures ("Compliance Program"); and (e) to coordinate the Board's oversight of the Trust's CCO in connection with his or her implementation of the Trust's Compliance Program. The Audit Committee met four (4) times during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019.
18 |
The Trust has a Nominating and Governance Committee ("Nominating Committee") that is comprised of Messrs. Turner (Chair) and Armes, and Ms. Cline. As set forth in its charter, the Nominating Committee's primary duties are: (a) to make recommendations regarding the nomination of non-interested Trustees to the Board; (b) to make recommendations regarding the appointment of an Independent Trustee as Chair of the Board; (c) to evaluate qualifications of potential "interested" members of the Board and Trust officers; (d) to review shareholder recommendations for nominations to fill vacancies on the Board; (e) to make recommendations to the Board for nomination for membership on all committees of the Board; (f) to consider and evaluate the structure, composition and operation of the Board; (g) to review shareholder recommendations for proposals to be submitted for consideration during a meeting of Funds shareholders; and (h) to consider and make recommendations relating to the compensation of Independent Trustees and of those officers as to whom the Board is charged with approving compensation. Shareholder recommendations for Trustee candidates may be mailed in writing, including a comprehensive resume and any supporting documentation, to the Nominating Committee in care of the Secretary of the Funds, and must otherwise comply with the Declaration of Trust and Bylaws of the Trust. The Nominating and Governance Committee met four (4) times during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019.
The Trust has an Investment Committee that is comprised of Ms. McKenna (Chair), Messrs. Arpey, and Lindgren. Ms. Cline, as Chair of the Board, serves on the Investment Committee in an ex-officio non-voting capacity. As set forth in its charter, the Investment Committee's primary duties are: (a) to review and evaluate the short- and long-term investment performance of the Manager and each of the designated sub-advisors to the Funds; (b) to evaluate recommendations by the Manager regarding the hiring or removal of designated sub-advisors to the Funds; (c) to review material changes recommended by the Manager to the allocation of Funds assets to a sub-advisor; (d) to review proposed changes recommended by the Manager to the investment objectives or principal investment strategies of the Funds; and (e) to review proposed changes recommended by the Manager to the material provisions of the advisory agreement with a sub-advisor, including, but not limited to, changes to the provision regarding compensation. The Investment Committee met four (4) times during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019.
Trustee Ownership in the Funds
The following tables show the amount of equity securities owned in the Funds and all series of the American Beacon Funds Complex by the Trustees as of the calendar year ended December 31, 2019.
|
NON-INTERESTED TRUSTEES |
||||||||
American Beacon Fund |
Alvarado |
Armes |
Arpey |
Cline |
Duffy |
Holz |
Lindgren |
McKenna |
Turner |
Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
$10,001-$50,0000 |
Bridgeway Large Cap Growth |
$10,001-$50,000 |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
$50,001-$100,000 |
None |
Bridgeway Large Cap Value |
$10,001-$50,000 |
None |
None |
None |
None |
$10,001-$50,000 |
None |
$50,001-$100,000 |
None |
Stephens Mid-Cap Growth |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
$50,001-$100,000 |
None |
None |
None |
Stephens Small Cap Growth |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
Over $100,000 |
Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity Securities in all Trusts (36 Funds as of December 31, 2019) |
$50,001-$100,000 |
Over $100,000 |
Over $100,000 |
Over $100,000 |
None |
Over $100,000 |
Over $100,000 |
Over $100,000 |
Over $100,000 |
Trustee Compensation
As compensation for their service to the American Beacon Funds Complex, including the Trust (collectively, the "Trusts"), each Trustee is compensated from the Trusts as follows: (1) an annual retainer of $120,000; (2) meeting attendance fee (for attendance in person or via teleconference) of (a) $12,000 for in person attendance, or $5,000 for telephonic attendance, by Board members for each regularly scheduled or special Board meeting, (b) $2,500 for attendance by Committee members at meetings of the Audit Committee and the Investment Committee, (c) $1,500 for attendance by Committee members at meetings of the Nominating and Governance Committee; and (d) $2,500 for attendance by Board members for each special telephonic Board meeting; and (3) reimbursement of reasonable expenses incurred in attending Board meetings, Committee meetings, and relevant educational seminars. The Trustees also may be compensated for attendance at special Board and/or Committee meetings from time to time.
For her service as Board Chair, Ms. Cline receives an additional annual retainer of $50,000. Although she attends several committee meetings at each quarterly Board meeting, she receives only a single $2,500 fee each quarter for her attendance at those meetings. The chairpersons of the Audit Committee and the Investment Committee each receive an additional annual retainer of $25,000 and the Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee receives an additional annual retainer of $15,000.
19 |
The following table shows total compensation (excluding reimbursements) paid by the Trusts to each Trustee for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019. |
|||
Name of Trustee |
Aggregate Compensation from the Trust |
Pension or Retirement Benefits Accrued as Part of the Trust's Expenses |
Total Compensation from the Trusts |
INTERESTED TRUSTEES |
|
|
|
Alan D. Feld1 |
$180,454 |
2 |
$189,500 |
NON-INTERESTED TRUSTEES |
|
|
|
Gilbert G. Alvarado |
$195,214 |
|
$205,000 |
Joseph B. Armes |
$171,408 |
|
$180,000 |
Gerard J. Arpey |
$171,408 |
|
$180,000 |
Brenda A. Cline |
$242,827 |
2 |
$255,000 |
Eugene J. Duffy |
$171,408 |
|
$180,000 |
Claudia A. Holz |
$171,408 |
|
$180,000 |
Douglas A. Lindgren |
$171,408 |
|
$180,000 |
Richard A Massman1 |
$177,121 |
2 |
$186,000 |
Barbara J. McKenna |
$219,021 |
|
$230,000 |
R. Gerald Turner |
$167,599 |
2 |
$176,000 |
1 Messrs. Feld and Massman received compensation from the Trust prior to and up to their retirement from the Board on December 31, 2019.
2 Upon retirement from the Board, each of these Trustees is eligible for flight benefits afforded to Trustees who served on the Boards as of June 4, 2008 as described below.
The Boards adopted a Trustee Retirement Policy and Trustee Emeritus and Retirement Plan ("Trustee Retirement Plan"). The Trustee Retirement Plan provides that a Trustee who has served on the Boards prior to September 12, 2008, and who has reached a mandatory retirement age established by the Board (currently 75) is eligible to elect Trustee Emeritus status ("Eligible Trustees"). The Eligible Trustees are Mr. Turner and Ms. Cline. Eligible Trustees who have served on the Board of one or more Trusts for at least five years may elect to retire from the Board at an earlier age and immediately assume Trustee Emeritus status. The Board has determined that, other than the Trustee Retirement Plan established for Eligible Trustees, no other retirement benefits will accrue for current or future Trustees.
Each Eligible Trustee and his or her spouse (or designated companion) may receive annual flight benefits from the Trusts of up to $40,000 combined, on a tax-grossed up basis, on American Airlines (a subsidiary of the Manager's former parent company) for a maximum period of 10 years, depending upon length of service prior to September 12, 2008. Eligible Trustees may opt to receive instead an annual retainer of $20,000 from the Trusts in lieu of flight benefits. No retirement benefits are accrued for Board service after September 12, 2008.
A Trustee Emeritus must be reasonably available to provide advice, counseling and assistance to the Trustees and American Beacon as needed, as agreed to from time to time by the parties involved; however, a Trustee Emeritus does not have any voting rights at Board meetings and is not subject to election by shareholders of the Funds. Currently, two individuals who retired from the Board and accrued retirement benefits for periods prior to September 12, 2008, have assumed Trustee Emeritus status. One individual and their spouse receive annual flight benefits of up to $40,000 combined, on a tax-grossed up basis, on American Airlines. The other individual receives an annual retainer of $20,000 from the Trusts in lieu of flight benefits.
Principal Officers of the Trust
The Officers of the Trust conduct and supervise its daily business. As of the date of this SAI, the Officers of the Trust, their ages, their business address and their principal occupations and directorships during the past five years are as set forth below. The address of each Officer is 220 East Las Colinas Boulevard, Suite 1200, Irving, Texas 75039. Each Officer serves for a term of one year or until his or her resignation, retirement, or removal. Each Officer has and continues to hold the same position with the American Beacon Funds, the American Beacon Select Funds, the American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust, the American Beacon Sound Point Enhanced Income Fund, and the American Beacon Apollo Total Return Fund.
20 |
Name (Age) |
Position and Length of Time Served on the American Beacon Funds and American Beacon Select Funds |
Position and Length of Time Served on the American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust |
Position and Length of Time Served on the American Beacon Sound Point Enhanced Income Fund and American Beacon Apollo Total Return Fund |
Principal Occupation(s) and Directorships During Past 5 Years |
OFFICERS |
|
|
|
|
Gene L. Needles, Jr. (65) |
President since 2009 |
President since 2017 |
President since 2018 |
President (2009-2018), CEO and Director (2009-Present), and Chairman (2018-Present), American Beacon Advisors, Inc.; President (2015-2018), Director and CEO (2015-Present), and Chairman (2018-Present), Resolute Investment Holdings, LLC; President (2015-2018), Director and CEO (2015-Present), and Chairman (2018-Present),Resolute Topco, Inc.; President (2015-2018); Director, and CEO (2015-Present), and Chairman (2018-Present), Resolute Acquisition, Inc.; President (2015-2018), Director and CEO (2015-Present), Chairman (2018-Present), Resolute Investment Managers, Inc.; Director, Chairman, President and CEO, Resolute Investment Distributors (2017-Present); Director, Chairman, President and CEO; Resolute Investment Services, Inc. (2017-Present); President and CEO, Lighthouse Holdings Parent, Inc. (2009-2015); President, CEO and Director, Lighthouse Holdings, Inc. (2009-2015); Manager, President and CEO, American Private Equity Management, LLC (2012-Present); Director, Chairman, President and CEO, Alpha Quant Advisors, LLC (2016-Present); Director, ARK Investment Management LLC (2016-Present); Director, Shapiro Capital Management LLC (2017-Present); Director, Chairman and CEO, Continuous Capital, LLC (2018-Present); President, American Beacon Cayman Managed Futures Strategy Fund, Ltd. (2014-Present); Director and President, American Beacon Cayman Transformational Innovation Company, LTD., (2017-2018); President, American Beacon Delaware Transformational Innovation Corporation (2017-2018); President American Beacon Cayman TargetRisk Company, Ltd. (2018-Present); Member, Investment Advisory Committee, Employees Retirement System of Texas (2017-Present); Trustee, American Beacon NextShares Trust (2015-Present); Director, RSW Investments Holdings LLC, (2019-Present); Director, SSI Investment Management, LLC (2019-Present); Director, Green Harvest Asset Management (2019-Present); Director, National Investment Services of America, LLC (2019-Present). |
21 |
22 |
23 |
CODE OF ETHICS
The Manager, the Trust, the Distributor, and the sub-advisors each have adopted a Code of Ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the Investment Company Act. Each Code of Ethics significantly restricts the personal trading of all employees with access to non-public portfolio information. For example, each Code of Ethics generally requires pre-clearance of all personal securities trades (with limited exceptions) and prohibits employees from purchasing or selling a security that is being purchased or sold or being considered for purchase (with limited exceptions) or sale by any Fund. In addition, the Manager's and the Trust's Code of Ethics requires employees to report trades in shares of the Trusts. Each Code of Ethics is on public file with, and may be obtained from, the SEC.
PROXY VOTING POLICIES
From time to time, the Funds may own a security whose issuer solicits a proxy vote on certain matters. The Board seeks to ensure that proxies are voted in the best interests of each Fund's shareholders and has delegated proxy voting authority to the Manager. The Manager in turn has delegated proxy voting authority to each sub-advisor with respect to each Fund's assets under the sub-advisor's management. The Trust has adopted a Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures (the "Proxy Policy") that governs proxy voting by the Manager and sub-advisors, including procedures to address potential conflicts of interest between a Fund's shareholders and the Manager, the sub-advisors or their affiliates. The Board has approved the Manager's proxy voting policies and procedures with respect to Fund assets under the Manager's management. Please see Appendix A for a copy of the Proxy Policy. The sub-advisors' proxy voting policy and procedures are summarized (or included in their entirety) in Appendix B. The Funds' proxy voting record for the most recent year ended June 30 is available as of August 31 of each year upon request and without charge by calling 1-800-967-9009 or by visiting the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. The proxy voting record can be found in Form N-PX on the SEC's website.
CONTROL PERSONS AND 5% SHAREHOLDERS
A principal shareholder is any person who owns of record or beneficially 5% or more of any Class of a Fund's outstanding shares. A control person is a shareholder that owns beneficially or through controlled companies more than 25% of the voting securities of a company or acknowledges the existence of control. Shareholders owning voting securities in excess of 25% may determine the outcome of any matter affecting and voted on by shareholders of a Fund. The actions of an entity or person that controls a Fund could have an effect on other shareholders. For instance, a control person may have effective voting control over a Fund or large redemptions by a control person could cause a Fund's other shareholders to pay a higher pro rata portion of a Fund's expenses.
Set forth below are entities or persons that own 5% or more of the outstanding shares of a Class of the Funds as of March 31, 2020. The Trustees and officers as a group own 2.73% of the Investor Class shares of the American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund. The Trustees and officers of the Trusts, as a group, own less than 1% of all other classes of each Fund's shares outstanding.
American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund
Shareholder Address |
Fund Percentage (listed if over 25%) |
A CLASS |
C Class |
Investor CLASS |
R5 CLASS |
Y CLASS |
CHARLES SCHWAB & CO INC* |
52.86% |
|
|
75.05% |
74.89% |
35.76% |
SPECIAL CUST A/C |
|
|
|
|
|
|
EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF CUSTOMERS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ATTN MUTUAL FUNDS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
211 MAIN ST |
|
|
|
|
|
|
SAN FRANCISCO CA 94105-1905 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
CHARLES SCHWAB & CO INC* |
|
16.17% |
|
|
|
|
SPECIAL CUSTODY A/C FBO CUSTOMERS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ATTN MUTUAL FUNDS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
211 MAIN STREET |
|
|
|
|
|
|
SAN FRANCISCO CA 94105-1905 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
LPL FINANCIAL* |
|
30.73% |
44.78% |
5.85% |
|
6.85% |
4707 EXECUTIVE DR |
|
|
|
|
|
|
SAN DIEGO CA 92121-3091 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
NATIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC* |
|
6.92% |
|
12.09% |
6.15% |
40.53% |
FOR EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF |
|
|
|
|
|
|
OUR CUSTOMERS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ATTN MUTUAL FUNDS DEPT 4TH FLOOR |
|
|
|
|
|
|
499 WASHINGTON BLVD |
|
|
|
|
|
|
JERSEY CITY NJ 07310-1995 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
PERSHING LLC* |
|
9.72% |
|
|
|
|
24 |
1 PERSHING PLZ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
JERSEY CITY NJ 07399-0001 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
WELLS FARGO CLEARING SERVICES LLC* |
|
25.46% |
21.98% |
|
|
8.42% |
SPECIAL CUSTODY ACCT FOR THE |
|
|
|
|
|
|
EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF CUSTOMERS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2801 MARKET ST |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ST LOUIS MO 63103-2523 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
GREAT-WEST TRUST COMPANY LLC FBO |
|
|
|
|
11.59% |
|
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS CLIENTS 401K |
|
|
|
|
|
|
8515 E ORCHARD RD 2T2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
GREENWOOD VILLAGE CO 80111-5002 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
STIFEL NICOLAUS & CO INC |
|
|
12.62% |
|
|
|
DIANE M LEAGHTY REVOCABLE |
|
|
|
|
|
|
501 N BROADWAY FL 8 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
SAINT LOUIS MO 63102-2137 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
STIFEL NICOLAUS CUSTODIAN FOR |
|
|
10.23% |
|
|
|
JEANNE GRATTAN IRA |
|
|
|
|
|
|
10405 N HARTTS DR |
|
|
|
|
|
|
TAMPA FL 33617-3411 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
* Denotes record owner of Fund shares only
American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund
25 |
RAYMOND JAMES* |
|
|
21.55% |
|
|
|
|
OMNIBUS FOR MUTUAL FUNDS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ATTN COURTNEY WALLER |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
880 CARILLON PKWY |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ST PETERSBURG FL 33716-1100 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
UBS WM USA* |
|
|
13.46% |
|
|
|
9.41% |
OMNI ACCOUNT M/F |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1000 HARBOR BLVD |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
WEEHAWKEN NJ 07086-6761 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
WELLS FARGO CLEARING SERVICES LLC* |
|
7.40% |
17.24% |
|
|
|
|
SPECIAL CUSTODY ACCT FOR THE |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF CUSTOMERS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2801 MARKET ST |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ST LOUIS MO 63103-2523 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
AMERICAN BEACON ADVISORS |
|
|
|
|
|
100.00% |
|
220 LAS COLINAS BLVD E STE 1200 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
IRVING TX 75039-5500 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
JPMORGAN CHASE BANK NA CUST |
|
|
|
|
7.22% |
|
|
4 CHASE METROTECH CTR FL 4TH |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BROOKLYN NY 11245-0003 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
VALIC |
34.00% |
|
|
91.78% |
|
|
|
2929 ALLEN PKWY STE A6-20 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HOUSTON TX 77019-7117 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
* Denotes record owner of Fund shares only
American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Value Fund
26 |
JERSEY CITY NJ 07310-1995 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PERSHING LLC* |
|
5.60% |
6.06% |
|
|
|
|
1 PERSHING PLZ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
JERSEY CITY NJ 07399-0001 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
RAYMOND JAMES* |
|
|
13.69% |
|
|
|
|
OMNIBUS FOR MUTUAL FUNDS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ATTN COURTNEY WALLER |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
880 CARILLON PKWY |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ST PETERSBURG FL 33716-1100 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
WELLS FARGO CLEARING SERVICES LLC* |
|
6.45% |
19.14% |
|
|
|
|
SPECIAL CUSTODY ACCT FOR THE |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF CUSTOMERS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2801 MARKET ST |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ST LOUIS MO 63103-2523 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DCGT AS TTEE AND/OR CUST |
|
|
|
|
|
11.08% |
|
FBO PLIC VARIOUS RETIREMENT PLANS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
OMNIBUS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ATTN NPIO TRADE DESK |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
711 HIGH ST |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DES MOINES IA 50392-0001 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PIMS/PRUDENTIAL RETIREMENT |
|
20.96% |
|
|
|
|
|
AS NOMINEE FOR THE TTEE/CUST PL 006 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MISSOURI |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ADMINISTRATIVE ANNEX - 5TH FLOOR |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
41 SOUTH CENTRAL AVE |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CLAYTON MO 63105-1719 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PIMS/PRUDENTIAL RETIREMENT |
|
|
|
|
|
7.64% |
|
AS NOMINEE FOR THE TTEE/CUST PL 980 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NAPA, LLP PROFIT SHARING PLAN |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
68 S SERVICE RD STE 350 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
MELVILLE NY 11747-2358 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SAXON & CO. |
|
|
|
|
|
13.29% |
|
VI OMNIBUS ACCOUNT VICA |
|
|
|
|
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PO BOX 94597 |
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CLEVELAND OH 44101-4597 |
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T ROWE PRICE RETIREMENT PLAN |
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8.83% |
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SERVICES FBO RETIREMENT PLAN |
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CLIENTS |
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4555 PAINTERS MILL RD |
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OWINGS MILLS MD 21117-4903 |
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WELLS FARGO BANK FBO |
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5.15% |
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VARIOUS RETIREMENT PLANS |
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1525 WEST WT HARRIS BLVD |
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CHARLOTTE NC 28288-1076 |
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* Denotes record owner of Fund shares only
27 |
American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund
28 |
C/O US BANK NA |
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PO BOX 1787 |
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MILWAUKEE WI 53201-1787 |
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MAC & CO |
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5.92% |
FBO PB&T |
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ATTN MUTUAL FUND OPERATIONS |
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500 GRANT ST RM 151-1010 |
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PITTSBURGH PA 15219-2502 |
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STATE STREET BANK FBO TRANSAMERICA |
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82.45% |
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STEPHEN'S, INC. |
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440 MAMARONECK AVE |
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HARRISON NY 10528-2418 |
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VOYA RETIREMENT INSURANCE AND |
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12.86% |
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ANNUITY COMPANY |
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ATTN MICHAEL KAMINSKI |
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ONE ORANGE WAY |
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WINDSOR CT 06095-4773 |
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* Denotes record owner of Fund shares only
American Beacon Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund
29 |
JACKSONVILLE FL 32246-6484 |
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NATIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC* |
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38.80% |
19.79% |
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8.86% |
FOR EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF |
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OUR CUSTOMERS |
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ATTN MUTUAL FUNDS DEPT 4TH FLOOR |
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499 WASHINGTON BLVD |
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JERSEY CITY NJ 07310-1995 |
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PERSHING LLC* |
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13.83% |
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13.44% |
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10.99% |
1 PERSHING PLZ |
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JERSEY CITY NJ 07399-0001 |
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RAYMOND JAMES* |
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24.19% |
31.40% |
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4.94% |
OMNIBUS FOR MUTUAL FUNDS |
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ATTN COURTNEY WALLER |
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880 CARILLON PKWY |
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ST PETERSBURG FL 33716-1100 |
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UBS WM USA* |
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12.41% |
10.76% |
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OMNI ACCOUNT M/F |
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1000 HARBOR BLVD |
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WEEHAWKEN NJ 07086-6761 |
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WELLS FARGO CLEARING SERVICES LLC* |
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20.96% |
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SPECIAL CUSTODY ACCT FOR THE |
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EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF CUSTOMERS |
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2801 MARKET ST |
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ST LOUIS MO 63103-2523 |
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NABANK & CO. |
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98.99% |
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PO BOX 2180 |
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TULSA OK 74101-2180 |
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SEI PRIVATE TRUST COMPANY |
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8.95% |
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C/O FROST BANK |
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ATTN: MUTUAL FUND ADMINISTRATOR |
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ONE FREEDOM VALLEY DRIVE |
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OAKS PA 19456-9989 |
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TD AMERITRADE TRUST COMPANY |
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11.89% |
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ATTN HOUSE |
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PO BOX 17748 |
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DENVER CO 80217-0748 |
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* Denotes record owner of Fund shares only
30 |
INVESTMENT SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENTS
The Funds' sub-advisors are listed below with information regarding their controlling persons or entities. According to the Investment Company Act, a person or entity with control with respect to an investment advisor has "the power to exercise a controlling influence over the management or policies of a company, unless such power is solely the result of an official position with such company." Persons and entities affiliated with a sub-advisor may be considered affiliates of a Fund with respect to which the subadvisor manages a portion of the Fund's assets.
Bridgeway Capital Management, Inc. ("Bridgeway") |
||
Controlling Person/Entity |
Basis of Control |
Nature of Controlling Person/Entity Business |
John Noland Ryan Montgomery |
Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors and majority shareholder |
Financial Services |
Tammira Yvonne Philippe |
Officer and Member Board of Directors |
Financial Services |
Linda Gail Giuffré |
Officer |
Financial Services |
Von Devanthini Celestine |
Officer |
Financial Services |
Richard Peter Cancelmo |
Officer |
Financial Services |
The Trust, on behalf of the Funds, and the Manager have entered into an Investment Advisory Agreement with each sub-advisor pursuant to which a Fund pays each sub-advisor an annualized sub-advisory fee that is calculated and accrued daily based on a percentage of the applicable Fund's average daily net assets. Each Investment Advisory Agreement will automatically terminate if assigned, and may be terminated without penalty at any time by the Manager, by a vote of a majority of the Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the applicable Fund on no less than thirty (30) days' nor more than sixty (60) days' written notice to a sub-advisor, or by a sub-advisor upon sixty (60) days' written notice to the Trust. The Investment Advisory Agreements will continue in effect from year to year provided that annually such continuance is specifically approved by a vote of the Trustees, including the affirmative votes of a majority of the Trustees who are not parties to the Investment Advisory Agreement or "interested persons" (as defined in the Investment Company Act) of any such party, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of considering such approval, or by the vote of shareholders.
MANAGEMENT, ADMINISTRATIVE, SECURITIES LENDING, AND DISTRIBUTION SERVICES
The Manager
The Manager, located at 220 East Las Colinas Boulevard, Suite 1200, Irving, Texas 75039 is a Delaware corporation and a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Resolute Investment Managers, Inc. ("RIM"). RIM is, in turn, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Resolute Acquisition,
Inc., which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Resolute Topco, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Resolute Investment Holdings,
LLC ("RIH"). RIH is owned primarily by Kelso Investment Associates VIII, L.P., KEP VI, LLC and Estancia Capital Partners L.P.,
investment funds affiliated with Kelso & Company, L.P. ("Kelso") or Estancia Capital Management, LLC ("Estancia"), which are
private equity firms. The address of Kelso and its investment funds is 320 Park Avenue, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10022. The
address of Estancia and its investment fund is 20865 N 90th Place, Suite 200, Scottsdale, AZ 85255. The address of RIH is
220 East Las Colinas Boulevard, Suite 1200, Irving, TX 75039.
Listed below are individuals and entities that may be deemed control persons of the Manager.
The Manager is paid a management fee as compensation for providing each Fund with management and administrative services. The expenses are allocated daily to each class of shares of a Fund based upon the relative proportion of net assets represented by such class. The Management
31 |
Agreement provides for the Manager to receive an annualized management fee based on a percentage of a Fund's average daily net assets that is calculated and accrued daily according to the following schedule:
First $5 billion |
0.35% |
Next $5 billion |
0.325% |
Next $10 billion |
0.30% |
Over $20 billion |
0.275% |
Operating expenses directly attributable to a specific class are charged against the assets of that class. Pursuant to the Management Agreement, the Manager provides the Trust with office space, office equipment and personnel necessary to manage and administer the Trust's operations. This includes:
complying with reporting requirements;
corresponding with shareholders;
maintaining internal bookkeeping, accounting and auditing services and records; and
supervising the provision of services to the Trust by third parties; and
administering the interfund lending facility and lines of credit, if applicable.
In addition to its oversight of the sub-advisors, the Manager may invest the portion of a Fund's assets that a sub-advisor
determines to be allocated to short-term investments.
The Funds are responsible for expenses not otherwise assumed by the Manager, including the following: audits by independent
auditors; transfer agency, custodian, dividend disbursing agent and shareholder recordkeeping services; taxes, if any, and
the preparation of a Fund's tax returns; interest; costs of Trustee and shareholder meetings; preparing, printing and mailing
prospectuses and reports to existing shareholders; fees for filing reports with regulatory bodies and the maintenance of a
Fund's existence; legal fees; fees to federal and state authorities for the registration of shares; fees and expenses of Trustees;
insurance and fidelity bond premiums; fees paid to service providers providing reports regarding adherence by sub-advisors
to the investment style of a Fund; fees paid for brokerage commission analysis for the purpose of monitoring best execution
practices of the sub-advisors; and any extraordinary expenses of a nonrecurring nature.
The Manager has contractually agreed from time to time to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses for each Fund in order to maintain competitive expense ratios for each Fund. The contractual expense reimbursement can be changed or terminated only in the discretion and with the approval of a majority of a Fund's Board of Trustees. The Manager may also, from time to time, voluntarily waive fees and/or reimburse expenses of a Fund. The Board approved a policy whereby the Manager may seek repayment for such fee waivers and expense reimbursements. Under the policy, the Manager can be reimbursed by a Fund for any contractual or voluntary fee waivers or expense reimbursements if reimbursement to the Manager (a) occurs within three years from the date of the Manager's waiver/reimbursement and (b) does not cause the Fund's Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses to exceed the lesser of the contractual percentage limit in effect at the time of the waiver/reimbursement or the time of recoupment.
The following tables show the total management fees paid to the Manager for management and administrative services, and the investment advisory fees paid to the sub-advisors based on a Fund's average daily net assets for each Fund's three most recent fiscal years ended December 31. The following tables also show the fees waived or recouped by the Manager and the fees waived by a sub-advisor, if applicable. The fees paid to the Manager were equal to 0.35% of each Fund's average daily net assets. In the tables below, the fees paid to the sub-advisors are expressed both as a dollar amount and percentage of a Fund's average daily net assets.
Management Fees Paid to American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (Gross) |
|||
Fund |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth |
$113,567 |
$163,554 |
$153,461 |
Bridgeway Large Cap Growth |
$537,497 |
$944,255 |
$700,160 |
Bridgeway Large Cap Value |
$15,050,205 |
$17,465,267 |
$14,274,034 |
Stephens Mid-Cap Growth |
$324,247 |
$463,461 |
$858,574 |
Stephens Small Cap Growth |
$2,134,376 |
$1,919,064 |
$1,442,344 |
32 |
Sub-Advisor Fees (Gross) |
|
|
|
Fund |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth |
$169,774 |
$240,905 |
$228,717 |
|
0.53% |
0.53% |
0.53% |
Bridgeway Large Cap Growth |
$613,814 |
$1,022,400 |
$735,524 |
|
0.40% |
0.38% |
0.40% |
Bridgeway Large Cap Value |
$13,266,840 |
$15,036,788 |
$12,511,105 |
|
0.32% |
0.30% |
0.31% |
Stephens Mid-Cap Growth |
$461,173 |
$623,143 |
$1,103,171 |
|
0.50% |
0.46% |
0.45% |
Stephens Small Cap Growth |
$3,710,581 |
$3,313,868 |
$2,506,889 |
|
0.63% |
0.63% |
0.61% |
Sub-Advisor Fees (Waived) |
|
|
|
Fund |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
Bridgeway Large Cap Growth |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
Bridgeway Large Cap Value |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
Stephens Mid-Cap Growth |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
Stephens Small Cap Growth |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
Distribution Fees
The Manager (or another entity approved by the Board) under a distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act, is paid up to 0.25% per annum of the average daily net assets of the A Class shares and up to 1.00% per annum of the average daily net assets of the C Class shares of the Funds for distribution and shareholder servicing related services, including expenses relating to selling efforts of various broker-dealers, shareholder servicing fees and the preparation and distribution of A Class and C Class advertising material and sales literature. The Manager will receive Rule 12b-1 fees from the A Class and C Class regardless of the amount of the Manager's actual expenses related to distribution and shareholder servicing efforts on behalf of each Class. Thus, the Manager may realize a profit or a loss based upon its actual distribution and shareholder servicing related expenditures for the A Class and C Class shares. The Manager anticipates that the Rule 12b-1 plan will benefit shareholders by providing broader access to the Funds through broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries who require compensation for their expenses in order to offer shares of the Funds. Distribution fees pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 were:
33 |
A Class |
|
Fund |
Distribution Fee |
Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth |
$5,388 |
Bridgeway Large Cap Growth |
$4,799 |
Bridgeway Large Cap Value |
$177,230 |
Stephens Mid-Cap Growth |
$22,136 |
Stephens Small Cap Growth |
$13,646 |
C Class |
|
Fund |
Distribution Fee |
Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth |
$3,110 |
Bridgeway Large Cap Growth |
$10,266 |
Bridgeway Large Cap Value |
$695,741 |
Stephens Mid-Cap Growth |
$30,490 |
Stephens Small Cap Growth |
$10,084 |
Certain sub-advisors of the Funds or other series of the American Beacon Funds contribute to the Manager to support the Funds' distribution activities.
Service Plan Fees
The A Class, C Class and Investor Class have each adopted a Service Plan (collectively, the "Service Plans"). The Service Plans authorize the payment to the Manager (or another entity approved by the Board) of up to 0.375% per annum of the average daily net assets of the Investor Class shares and up to 0.25% per annum of the average daily net assets of the A Class shares and C Class shares. In addition, a Fund may reimburse the Manager for certain non-distribution shareholder services provided by financial intermediaries attributable to Y Class and R5 Class shares. The Manager or other approved entities may spend such amounts on any activities or expenses primarily intended to result in or relate to the servicing of A Class, C Class, Y Class, R5 Class and Investor Class shares including, but not limited to, payment of shareholder service fees and transfer agency or sub-transfer agency expenses. The fees, which are included as part of a Fund's "Other Expenses" in the Table of Fees and Expenses in the Prospectus, will be payable monthly in arrears. The primary expenses expected to be incurred under the Service Plans are shareholder servicing, record keeping fees and servicing fees paid to financial intermediaries such as plan sponsors and broker-dealers. Service fees paid by the A Class, C Class, Y Class (to April 1, 2017) and Investor Class shares of each Fund pursuant to the applicable Service Plan for the last three fiscal years ended December 31 are set forth below:
A Class |
|
|
|
Fund |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth |
$4,872 |
$5,011 |
$2,486 |
Bridgeway Large Cap Growth |
$1,774 |
$5,553 |
$1,691 |
Bridgeway Large Cap Value |
$165,481 |
$114,132 |
$95,946 |
Stephens Mid-Cap Growth |
$20,047 |
$14,806 |
$7,511 |
Stephens Small Cap Growth |
$7,263 |
$5,178 |
$4,090 |
C Class |
|
|
|
Fund |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth |
$765 |
$444 |
$557 |
Bridgeway Large Cap Growth |
$439 |
$576 |
$841 |
Bridgeway Large Cap Value |
$127,314 |
$93.819 |
$68,638 |
Stephens Mid-Cap Growth |
$1,756 |
$1,601 |
$1,981 |
Stephens Small Cap Growth |
$1,053 |
$1,118 |
$1,135 |
34 |
Y Class* |
|
|
|
Fund |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth |
$2,236 |
$0 |
$0 |
Bridgeway Large Cap Growth |
$169 |
$0 |
$0 |
Bridgeway Large Cap Value |
$239,065 |
$0 |
$0 |
Stephens Mid-Cap Growth |
$761 |
$0 |
$0 |
Stephens Small Cap Growth |
$20,186 |
$0 |
$0 |
* Service Fees for Y Class from January 1, 2017 to April 1, 2017.
Investor Class |
|
|
|
Fund |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth |
$8,605 |
$19,029 |
$11,811 |
Bridgeway Large Cap Growth |
$9,646 |
$231,421 |
$244,935 |
Bridgeway Large Cap Value |
$5,247,639 |
$4,618,034 |
$3,036,695 |
Stephens Mid-Cap Growth |
$40,944 |
$52,299 |
$51,234 |
Stephens Small Cap Growth |
$126,161 |
$164,746 |
$191,642 |
Securities Lending Fees
As compensation for services provided by the Manager in connection with securities lending activities conducted by a Fund, the lending Fund pays to the Manager, with respect to cash collateral posted by borrowers, a fee of 10% of the net monthly interest income (the gross interest income earned by the investment of cash collateral, less the amount paid to borrowers and related expenses) from such activities and, with respect to loan fees paid by borrowers when a borrower posts collateral other than cash, a fee up to 10% of such loan fees.
Securities lending income is generated from the demand premium (if any) paid by the borrower to borrow a specific security and from the return on investment of cash collateral, reduced by negotiated rebate fees paid to the borrower and transaction costs. To the extent that a loan is secured by non-cash collateral, securities lending income is generated as a demand premium reduced by transaction costs.
Fees received by the Manager from securities lending for the last three fiscal years ended December 31 were approximately as follows:
Fund |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth |
$414 |
$489 |
$78 |
Bridgeway Large Cap Growth |
$1,983 |
$1,559 |
$2,815 |
Bridgeway Large Cap Value |
$9,727 |
- |
$27,446 |
Stephens Mid-Cap Growth |
$1,436 |
$1,418 |
$1,616 |
Stephens Small Cap Growth |
$33,940 |
$40,623 |
$5,223 |
State Street serves as securities lending agent for each Fund and, in that role, administers each Fund's securities lending program pursuant to the terms of a securities lending authorization agreement entered into between each Fund and State Street ("Securities Lending Agreement").
As securities lending agent, State Street is responsible for the implementation and administration of each Fund's securities lending program. State Street's responsibilities include: (1) lending available securities to approved borrowers; (2) continually monitoring the creditworthiness of approved borrowers and potential borrowers; (3) determining whether a loan shall be made and negotiating the terms and conditions of the loan with the borrower, provided that such terms and conditions are consistent with the terms and conditions of the Securities Lending Agreement; (4) receiving and holding, on the Fund's behalf, or transferring to a fund account, upon instruction by the Fund, collateral from borrowers to secure obligations of borrowers with respect to any loan of available securities; (5) marking loaned securities and collateral to their market value each business day; (6) obtaining additional collateral, as needed, to maintain the value of the collateral relative to the market value of the loaned securities at the levels required by the Securities Lending Agreement; (7) returning the collateral to the borrower, at the termination of the loan, upon the return of the loaned securities; (8) investing cash collateral in permitted investments, including the American Beacon U.S. Government Money Market Select Fund; and (9) establishing and maintaining records related to the Fund's securities lending activities. Additionally, State Street has indemnified each Fund for borrower default as it relates to the securities lending program administered by State Street.
State Street is compensated for the above-described services from its securities lending revenue split, as provided in the Securities Lending Agreement. The table below shows the income each Fund earned and the fees and compensation it paid to service providers (including fees paid to State Street as securities lending agent and the Manager for administrative and oversight functions) in connection with its securities lending activities during its most recent fiscal year.
35 |
|
Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund |
Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund |
Bridgeway Large Cap Value Fund |
Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund |
Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund |
Gross income earned by the fund from securities lending activities |
$2,118 |
$26,100 |
$307,808 |
$44,757 |
$167,362 |
Fees and/or compensation paid by the fund for securities lending activities and related services: |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Fees paid to securities lending agent from a revenue split |
$78 |
$2,815 |
$27,446 |
$1,616 |
$5,223 |
Fees paid for any cash collateral management service (including fees deducted from a pooled cash collateral reinvestment vehicle) that are not included in the revenue split |
$63 |
$501 |
$2,080 |
$1,788 |
$6,711 |
Administrative fees not included in revenue split |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Indemnification fee not included in revenue split |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Rebate (paid to borrower) |
$1,371 |
$2,300 |
$43,900 |
$29,718 |
$115,178 |
Other fees not included in revenue split (administrative and oversight functions provided by the Manager) |
$78 |
$2,815 |
$27,446 |
$1,616 |
$5,223 |
Aggregate fees/compensation paid by the fund for securities lending activities |
$1,590 |
$8,431 |
$100,872 |
$34,738 |
$132,335 |
Net income from securities lending activities |
$528 |
$17,669 |
$206,936 |
$10,019 |
$35,027 |
The SEC has granted exemptive relief that permits each Fund to invest cash collateral received from securities lending transactions in shares of one or more private or registered investment companies managed by the Manager.
The Distributor
Resolute Investment Distributors, Inc. ("RID" or "Distributor") is the Funds' distributor and principal underwriter of the Funds' shares.
RID, located at 220 East Las Colinas, Blvd., Suite 1200, Irving, Texas 75039, is a registered broker-dealer and is a member of FINRA. The Distributor is affiliated with the Manager through common ownership. Under a Distribution Agreement with the Trust, the Distributor acts as the distributor and principal underwriter of the Trust 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 the Funds' shares. Pursuant to the Distribution Agreement, to the extent applicable, the Distributor receives, and may re-allow to broker-dealers, all or a portion of the sales charge paid by the purchasers of A Class and C Class shares. For A Class and C Class shares, the Distributor receives commission revenue consisting of the portion of the A Class and C Class sales charge remaining after the allowances by the Distributor to the broker dealers. The Distributor retains any portion of the commission fees that are not paid to the broker-dealers for use solely to pay distribution related expenses.
Prior to March 1, 2018, Foreside, located at Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101, served as the distributor and principal underwriter of the Funds' shares. Pursuant to a Sub-Administration Agreement between Foreside and the Manager in effect through February 28, 2018, Foreside received a fee from the Manager for providing administrative services in connection with the marketing and distribution of shares of the Trust, including the registration of Manager employees as registered representatives of Foreside to facilitate distribution of Fund shares. Foreside also received a fee from the Manager under a Marketing Agreement pursuant to which Foreside provided services in connection with the marketing of a Fund to institutional investors. Pursuant to the Distribution Agreement with the Trust in effect through February 28, 2018, Foreside received, and may have re-allowed to broker-dealers, all or a portion of the sales charge paid by the purchasers of A and C Class shares. For A and C Class shares, Foreside received commission revenues consisting of the portion of A and C Class sales charge remaining after the allowances by Foreside to the broker dealers. Foreside retained any portion of the commission fees that were not paid to the broker-dealers for use solely to pay distribution related expenses.
The aggregate sales charges paid to, or retained by, Foreside from the sale of shares and the contingent deferred sales charge ("CDSC") retained by Foreside on the redemption of shares during the Funds' fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, and for the period from January 1, 2018 through February 28, 2018 are shown in the table below.
36 |
|
|
Sales Charge Revenue |
Deferred Sales Charge Revenue |
||
American Beacon Fund |
Fiscal Year |
Amount Paid to Distributor |
Amount Retained by Distributor |
Amount Paid to Foreside |
Amount Retained by Foreside |
Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth |
2018* |
$1,600 |
$229 |
- |
- |
|
2017 |
$26,398 |
$4,536 |
$174 |
- |
Bridgeway Large Cap Growth |
2018* |
$2,221 |
$462 |
$20 |
- |
|
2017 |
$10,401 |
$1,871 |
$129 |
- |
Bridgeway Large Cap Value |
2018* |
$47,994 |
$4,615 |
$1,918 |
- |
|
2017 |
$364,877 |
$38,306 |
$14,411 |
- |
Stephens Mid-Cap Growth |
2018* |
$1,364 |
$177 |
$209 |
- |
|
2017 |
$11,107 |
$2,913 |
$165 |
- |
Stephens Small Cap Growth |
2018* |
$1,332 |
$170 |
$0 |
- |
|
2017 |
$7,584 |
$1,554 |
$24 |
- |
* Compensation paid to Foreside from January 1, 2018 through February 28, 2018.
The aggregate sales charges paid to, or retained by, the Distributor from the sale of shares and the CDSC retained by the Distributor on the redemption of shares from the period March 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018, and the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, are shown in the table below.
American Beacon Fund |
|
Sales Charge Revenue |
Deferred Sales Charge Revenue |
||
|
Fiscal Year |
Amount Paid to Distributor |
Amount Retained by Distributor |
Amount Paid to Distributor |
Amount Retained by Distributor |
Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth |
2019 |
$1,470 |
$132 |
$170 |
- |
|
2018 |
$11,373 |
$1,811 |
$70 |
- |
Bridgeway Large Cap Growth |
2019 |
$2,467 |
$234 |
$123 |
- |
|
2018 |
$14,491 |
$2,221 |
$58 |
- |
Bridgeway Large Cap Value |
2019 |
$85,063 |
$14,824 |
$12,272 |
- |
|
2018 |
$249,753 |
$21,241 |
$7,705 |
- |
Stephens Mid-Cap Growth |
2019 |
$26,842 |
$3,647 |
$220 |
- |
|
2018 |
$12,841 |
$2,157 |
$173 |
- |
Stephens Small Cap Growth |
2019 |
$3,697 |
$666 |
$329 |
- |
|
2018 |
$12,916 |
$1,983 |
$223 |
- |
RID does not receive compensation on redemptions and repurchases, brokerage commissions, or other compensation. However, as shown in a separate chart, RID may receive distribution fees (i.e., Rule 12b-1 fees) from a Fund.
OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS
State Street, located at One Lincoln Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, serves as custodian for the Funds. State Street also serves as the Funds' Foreign Custody Manager pursuant to rules adopted under the Investment Company Act, whereby it selects and monitors eligible foreign sub-custodians. The Manager also has entered into a sub-administration agreement with State Street. Under the sub-administration agreement, State Street provides each Fund with certain financial reporting and tax services.
Pursuant to an administrative services agreement among the Manager, the Trust, American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust and Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC ("Parametric"), located at 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2800, Seattle, Washington 98104, Parametric provides certain administrative services related to the equitization of cash balances for certain Funds.
DST Asset Manager Solutions, Inc., located at 2000 Crown Colony Drive, Quincy, Massachusetts 02169, is the transfer agent and dividend paying agent for the Trust and provides these services to Fund shareholders.
The Funds' independent registered public accounting firm is Ernst & Young LLP, which is located at 2323 Victory Avenue, Suite 2000, Dallas, Texas 75219.
K&L Gates LLP, 1601 K Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20006, serves as legal counsel to the Funds.
PORTFOLIO MANAGERS
The portfolio managers to each Fund (the "Portfolio Managers") have responsibility for the day-to-day management of accounts other than the Fund. Information regarding these other accounts has been provided by each Portfolio Manager's firm and is set forth below. The number of accounts and assets is shown as of December 31, 2019.
37 |
|
Number of Other Accounts Managed and Assets by Account Type |
Number of Accounts and Assets for Which Advisory Fee is Performance-Based |
||||
Name of Investment Advisor and Portfolio Manager |
Registered Investment Companies |
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
Other Accounts |
Registered Investment Companies |
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
Other Accounts |
Bahl & Gaynor Investment Counsel |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Edward A. Woods |
1 ($45 mil) |
0 ($0) |
154 ($434 mil) |
0 ($0) |
0 ($0) |
0 ($0) |
Scott D. Rodes |
0 ($0) |
0 ($0) |
132 ($481 mil) |
0 ($0) |
0 ($0) |
0 ($0) |
Stephanie S. Thomas |
0 ($0) |
0 ($0) |
71 ($709 mil) |
0 ($0) |
0 ($0) |
0 ($0) |
Nicholas W. Puncer |
0 ($0) |
0 ($0) |
52 ($162 mil) |
0 ($0) |
0 ($0) |
0 ($0) |
James E. Russell, Jr. |
0 ($0) |
0 ($0) |
84 ($317 mil) |
0 ($0) |
0 ($0) |
0 ($0) |
|
Number of Other Accounts Managed and Assets by Account Type |
Number of Accounts and Assets for Which Advisory Fee is Performance-Based |
||||
Name of Investment Advisor and Portfolio Manager |
Registered Investment Companies |
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
Other Accounts |
Registered Investment Companies |
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
Other Accounts |
Bridgeway Capital Management, Inc. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
John Montgomery |
7 ($2.65 bil) |
1 ($242.1 mil) |
16 ($533.1 mil) |
3 ($255.3 mil) |
N/A |
10 ($48.3 mil) |
Elena Khoziaeva |
7 ($2.65 bil) |
1 ($242.1 mil) |
16 ($533.1 mil) |
3 ($255.3 mil) |
N/A |
10 ($48.3 mil) |
Michael Whipple |
7 ($2.65 bil) |
1 ($242.1 mil) |
16 ($533.1 mil) |
3 ($255.3 mil) |
N/A |
10 ($48.3 mil) |
|
Number of Other Accounts Managed and Assets by Account Type |
Number of Accounts and Assets for Which Advisory Fee is Performance-Based |
||||
Name of Investment Advisor and Portfolio Manager |
Registered Investment Companies |
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
Other Accounts |
Registered Investment Companies |
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
Other Accounts |
Stephens Investment Management Group, LLC |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ryan E. Crane |
1 ($427 bil) |
N/A |
54 ($1.6 bil) |
1 ($2.62 bil) |
N/A |
N/A |
John M. Thornton |
1 ($427 bil) |
N/A |
54 ($1.6 bil) |
1 ($2.62 bil) |
N/A |
N/A |
Kelly Ranucci |
1 ($427 bil) |
N/A |
54 ($1.6 bil) |
1 ($2.62 bil) |
N/A |
N/A |
Samuel M. Chase III |
1 ($427 bil) |
N/A |
54 ($1.6 bil) |
1 ($2.62 bil) |
N/A |
N/A |
John Keller |
1 ($427 bil) |
N/A |
54 ($1.6 bil) |
1 ($2.62 bil) |
N/A |
N/A |
Conflicts of Interest
As noted in the table above, the Portfolio Managers manage accounts other than the Funds. This side-by-side management may present potential conflicts between a Portfolio Manager's management of the Funds' investments, on the one hand, and the investments of the other accounts, on the other hand. Set forth below is a description by each sub-advisor of any foreseeable material conflicts of interest that may arise from the concurrent management of a Fund and other accounts. The information regarding potential conflicts of interest of a sub-advisor was provided by the sub-advisors as of December 31, 2019.
Bahl & Gaynor Investment Counsel ("Bahl & Gaynor") Actual or apparent conflicts of interest may arise when a portfolio manager has day-to-day management responsibilities with respect to more than one fund or other account. Where conflicts of interest arise between the Fund and other accounts managed by the portfolio managers, the sub-advisor will proceed in a manner that ensures that the Fund will not be treated less favorably. There may be instances where similar portfolio transactions may be executed for the same security for numerous accounts managed by the portfolio managers. In such instances, securities will be allocated in accordance with the sub-advisor's trade allocation policy.
Bridgeway Capital Management, Inc. ("Bridgeway") Actual or apparent conflicts of interest may arise when a Portfolio Manager or investment management team member has day-to-day management responsibilities with respect to more than one fund or other account. The sub-advisor has adopted certain compliance policies and procedures that are designed to detect, prevent, or mitigate conflicts or potential conflicts of interest that may arise. However, there is no guarantee that such procedures will detect each and every situation in which an actual or potential conflict may arise.
Stephens Investment Management Group, LLC ("SIMG" or "Stephens") SIMG manages a number of separate accounts which utilize the same investment model as the American Beacon Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund. SIMG also manages a number of separate accounts which utilize the exact same investment model as the American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund. The same Portfolio Management team manages both SIMG's separately managed accounts and the American Beacon Funds. After modeling changes to the portfolios, the portfolio management team aggregates orders for all separately managed accounts and the American Beacon Stephens Funds together and places a block order for execution with one or more broker-dealers. All accounts receive an average price if multiple executions are received. If only part of the order is able to be executed, SIMG allocates the trades pro rata based on order size. SIMG regularly reviews the performance of the mutual funds it sub-advises against performance of the separate accounts it advises to ensure that no single account is advantaged or disadvantaged. Portfolio managers do not have the ability to deviate from the allocation policy.
38 |
Compensation
The following is a description provided by each investment sub-advisor regarding the structure of and criteria for determining the compensation of each Portfolio Manager as of December 31, 2019.
Bahl & Gaynor Each portfolio manager receives a base salary from the sub-advisor and contributions to a retirement plan. No payment or portfolio manager compensation formulas are tied to the Fund or its performance. In addition, the portfolio managers that are principal owners of Bahl & Gaynor receive benefits indirectly from the revenue generated from the firm. The portfolio managers are not entitled to any deferred benefits.
Bridgeway The objective of the Sub-Advisor's compensation program is to provide pay and long-term compensation for its employees (who are all referred to as "Partners") that is competitive with the mutual fund/investment advisory market relative to the Sub-Advisor's size and geographical location. The Sub-Advisor evaluates competitive market compensation by reviewing compensation survey results conducted by independent third parties involved in investment industry compensation.
The Portfolio Managers, including John Montgomery, Elena Khoziaeva, and Michael Whipple, participate in a compensation program that includes a base salary that is fixed annually, bonus and long-term compensation. Each Portfolio Manager's base salary is a function of review of market salary data for their respective role and an assessment of individual execution of responsibilities related to goals, integrity, team work and leadership. Profit sharing bonuses are driven by company performance, and an assessment of individual execution of responsibilities. The Sub-Advisor's profitability is primarily affected by a) assets under management, b) management fees, for which some actively managed accounts have performance based fees relative to stock market benchmarks, c) operating costs of the Sub-Advisor and d) tax rates.
Fund performance impacts overall compensation in two broad ways. First, generally assets under management increase with positive long-term performance. An increase in assets increases total management fees and likely increases the Sub-Advisor's profitability (although certain funds do not demonstrate economies of scale and other funds have management fees which reflect economies of scale to shareholders). Second, certain funds managed by the Sub-Advisor have performance-based management fees that are a function of trailing five-year before-tax performance of the Fund relative to its specific market benchmark. Should each such Fund's performance exceed the benchmark, the Sub-Advisor may make more total management fees and increase its profitability. On the other hand, should each such Fund's performance lag the benchmark, the Sub-Advisor may experience a decrease in profitability.
Finally, all Portfolio Managers participate in long-term compensation programs including a 401(k) Plan and ownership programs in the Sub-Advisor. With the exception of John Montgomery, Portfolio Managers (as well as all of the Sub-Advisor's Partners) participate in an Employee Stock Ownership Program or Phantom Stock Program of the Sub-Advisor or both. The value of this ownership is a function of the profitability and growth of the Sub-Advisor. The Sub-Advisor is an "S" Corporation with John Montgomery as the majority owner. Therefore, he does not participate in the ESOP, but the value of his ownership stake is impacted by the profitability and growth of the Sub-Advisor. However, by policy of the Sub-Advisor, John Montgomery may only receive distributions from the Sub-Advisor in an amount equal to the taxes incurred from his corporate ownership due to the "S" corporation structure.
Stephens All of the Portfolio Managers receive compensation as the Funds' Portfolio Managers in the form of a fixed salary and bonus. The amount of a portfolio manager's bonus is related to the performance of the American Beacon Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund against the Russell 2000® Growth Index and the peer group, the Lipper Small Cap Growth Funds Index, as well as the Russell MidCap® Growth Index and the peer group, the Lipper Mid-Cap Growth Funds Index for the American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund. The Portfolio Managers are eligible to participate in the Stephens Inc. 401(k) plan under the same guidelines and criteria established for all employees of Stephens Inc. and its affiliates. Each member of the portfolio management team participates in an incentive compensation plan and own "phantom shares" of SIMG which entitle them to receive a portion of the overall net profits of SIMG. Performance is measured over the most recent calendar year.
Ownership of the Funds
A Portfolio Manager's beneficial ownership of a Fund is defined as the Portfolio Manager having the opportunity to share in any profit from transactions in the Fund, either directly or indirectly, as the result of any contract, understanding, arrangement, relationship or otherwise. Therefore, ownership of Fund shares by members of the Portfolio Manager's immediate family or by a trust of which the Portfolio Manager is a trustee could be considered ownership by the Portfolio Manager. The tables below set forth each Portfolio Manager's beneficial ownership of a Fund under that Portfolio Manager's management as of December 31, 2019 as provided by the Funds' sub-advisors.
Name of Investment Advisor and Portfolio Manager |
Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund |
Bahl & Gaynor Investment Counsel |
|
Edward A. Woods |
$500,001-$1,000,000 |
Scott D. Rodes |
$100,001-$500,000 |
Stephanie S. Thomas |
$100,001-$500,000 |
Nicholas W. Puncer |
$10,001-$50,000 |
James E. Russell, Jr. |
$10,001-$50,000 |
39 |
Name of Investment Advisor and Portfolio Manager |
Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund |
Bridgeway Large Cap Value Fund |
Bridgeway Capital Management, Inc. |
|
|
John Montgomery |
$100,001-$500,000 |
$100,001-$500,000 |
Elena Khoziaeva |
$10,001-$50,000 |
$50,001-$100,000 |
Michael Whipple |
$1-$10,000 |
$10,001-$50,000 |
Name of Investment Advisor and Portfolio Manager |
Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund |
Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund |
Stephens Investment Management Group, LLC |
||
Ryan Crane |
Over $1,000,000 |
Over $1,000,000 |
John Thornton |
$100,001-$500,000 |
$500,001-$1,000,000 |
Kelly Ranucci |
$500,001-$1,000,000 |
$500,001-$1,000,000 |
Sam Chase |
$100,001-$500,000 |
$100,001-$500,000 |
John Keller |
$100,001-$500,000 |
$100,001-$500,000 |
PORTFOLIO SECURITIES TRANSACTIONS
In selecting brokers or dealers to execute particular transactions, the Manager and the sub-advisors are authorized to consider "brokerage and research services" (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended), provision of statistical quotations (including the quotations necessary to determine a Fund's NAV), and other information provided to the applicable Fund, to the Manager and/or to the sub-advisors (or their affiliates), provided, however, that the Manager or a sub-advisor must always seek best execution. Research and brokerage services may include information on portfolio companies, economic analyses, and other investment research services. The Trust does not allow the Manager or sub-advisors to enter arrangements to direct transactions to broker-dealers as compensation for the promotion or sale of Trust shares by those broker-dealers. The Manager and the sub-advisors are also authorized to cause a Fund to pay a commission (as defined in SEC interpretations) to a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services for executing a portfolio transaction which is in excess of the amount of the commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction. The Manager or the sub-advisors, as appropriate, must determine in good faith, however, that such commission was reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided, viewed in terms of that particular transaction or in terms of all the accounts over which the Manager or a sub-advisor exercises investment discretion. The fees of the sub-advisors are not reduced by reason of receipt of such brokerage and research services. However, with disclosure to and pursuant to written guidelines approved by the Board, as applicable, the Manager, or the sub-advisors (or a broker-dealer affiliated with them) may execute portfolio transactions and receive usual and customary brokerage commissions (within the meaning of Rule 17e-1 under the Investment Company Act) for doing so. Brokerage and research services obtained with Fund commissions might be used by the Manager and/or the sub-advisors, as applicable, to benefit their other accounts under management.
The Manager and each sub-advisor will place its own orders to execute securities transactions that are designed to implement the applicable Fund's investment objective and policies. In placing such orders, each sub-advisor will seek best execution. The full range and quality of services offered by the executing broker or dealer will be considered when making these determinations. Pursuant to written guidelines approved by the Board, as appropriate, a sub-advisor of a Fund, or its affiliated broker-dealer, may execute portfolio transactions and receive usual and customary brokerage commissions (within the meaning of Rule 17e-1 of the Investment Company Act) for doing so. A Fund's turnover rate, or the frequency of portfolio transactions, will vary from year to year depending on market conditions and a Fund's cash flows. High portfolio turnover increases a Fund's transaction costs, including brokerage commissions, and may result in a greater amount of recognized capital gains.
The Investment Advisory Agreements provide, in substance, that in executing portfolio transactions and selecting brokers or dealers, the principal objective of each sub-advisor is to seek best execution. In assessing available execution venues, each sub-advisor shall consider all factors it deems relevant, including the breadth of the market in the security, the price of the security, the value of any eligible research, the financial condition and execution capability of the broker or dealer and the reasonableness of the commission, if any, for the specific transaction and on a continuing basis. Transactions with respect to the securities of small and emerging growth companies in which a Fund may invest may involve specialized services on the part of the broker or dealer and thereby may entail higher commissions or spreads than would be the case with transactions involving more widely traded securities.
Each Fund may establish brokerage commission recapture arrangements with certain brokers or dealers. If a sub-advisor chooses to execute a transaction through a participating broker, the broker rebates a portion of the commission back to a Fund. Any collateral benefit received through participation in the commission recapture program is directed exclusively to the Fund. Neither the Manager nor any of the sub-advisors receive any benefits from the commission recapture program. A sub-advisor's participation in the brokerage commission recapture program is optional. Each sub-advisor retains full discretion in selecting brokerage firms for securities transactions and is instructed to use the commission recapture program for a transaction only if it is consistent with the sub-advisor's obligation to seek the best execution available.
40 |
Commission Recapture
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, each Fund received $0 as a result of participation in the commission recapture program.
Affiliated Broker Commissions
During the fiscal years ended December 31, 2017, 2018, and 2019, no brokerage commissions were paid to affiliated brokers by any of the Funds.
Brokerage Commissions
For the fiscal years ending December 31, 2017, 2018, and 2019 the following brokerage commissions were paid by the Funds. Fluctuations in brokerage commissions from year to year were primarily due to increases or decreases in Fund assets resulting in increased trading. Shareholders of these Funds bear only their pro-rata portion of such expenses.
American Beacon Fund |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth |
$34,721 |
$32,309 |
$26,058 |
Bridgeway Large Cap Growth |
$28,220 |
$31,433 |
$28,197 |
Bridgeway Large Cap Value |
$983,309 |
$701,267 |
$543,891 |
Stephens Mid-Cap Growth |
$25,321 |
$41,443 |
$86,200 |
Stephens Small Cap Growth |
$324,374 |
$325,387 |
$163,309 |
Soft Dollars
The table below reflects the amount of transactions each Fund directed to brokers in part because of research services provided and the amount paid in commissions on such transactions for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019.
American Beacon Fund |
Amounts Directed |
Amounts Paid in Commissions |
Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth |
$25,045 |
$18,784 |
Bridgeway Large Cap Growth |
$0 |
$0 |
Bridgeway Large Cap Value |
$0 |
$0 |
Stephens Mid-Cap Growth |
$175,445,094 |
$76,055 |
Stephens Small Cap Growth |
$147,399,855 |
$124,617 |
Securities Issued by Top 10 Brokers
The following table lists each Fund that as of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 held securities issued by a broker-dealer (or by its parent) that was one of the top ten brokers or dealers through which a Fund executed transactions or sold shares.
Regular Broker-Dealers |
American Beacon Fund |
Aggregate Value of Securities (000s) |
National Financial Service Corp |
Bridgeway Large Cap Growth |
$2,448 |
National Financial Service Corp |
Bridgeway Large Cap Value |
$23,353 |
Principal Securities, Inc. |
Bridgeway Large Cap Value |
$32,659 |
Prudential Financial Inc |
Bridgeway Large Cap Value |
$38,452 |
Evercore Group LLC |
Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth |
$636 |
ADDITIONAL PURCHASE AND SALE INFORMATION FOR A CLASS SHARES
Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers
As described in the Prospectus, there are various ways to reduce your sales charge when purchasing A Class shares. Additional information about A Class sales charge reductions is provided below.
LOI. The LOI may be revised upward at any time during the 13-month period of the LOI ("LOI Period"), and such a revision will be treated as a new LOI, except that the LOI Period during which the purchases must be made will remain unchanged. Purchases made from the date of revision will receive the reduced sales charge, if any, resulting from the revised LOI. The LOI will be considered completed if the shareholder dies within the 13-month LOI Period. Commissions to dealers will not be adjusted or paid on the difference between the LOI amount and the amount invested before the shareholder's death.
All dividends and other distributions on shares held in escrow will be credited to the shareholder's account in shares (or paid in cash, if requested). If the intended investment is not completed within the specified LOI Period, the purchaser may be required to remit to the transfer agent the difference between the sales charge actually paid and the sales charge which would have been paid if the total of such purchases had been made at a single time. Any dealers assigned to the shareholder's account at the time a purchase was made during the LOI Period will receive a corresponding commission adjustment if appropriate. If the difference is not paid by the close of the LOI Period, the appropriate number of shares held in escrow will
41 |
be redeemed to pay such difference. If the proceeds from this redemption are inadequate, the purchaser may be liable to the Funds for the balance still outstanding.
Rights of Accumulation. Subject to the limitations described in the aggregation policy, you may take into account your accumulated holdings in any class of the American Beacon Funds to determine your sales charge for A Class shares on investments in accounts eligible to be aggregated. If you make a gift of A Class shares, upon your request, you may purchase the shares at the sales charge discount allowed under rights of accumulation of all of your investments in any class of the American Beacon Funds.
Aggregation. Qualifying investments for aggregation include those made by you and your "immediate family" as defined in the Prospectus, if all parties are purchasing shares for their own accounts and/or:
individual-type employee benefit plans, such as an IRA, individual 403(b) plan or single-participant Keogh-type plan;
business accounts solely controlled by you or your immediate family (for example, you own the entire business);
trust accounts established by you or your immediate family (for trusts with only one primary beneficiary, upon the trustor's death the trust account may be aggregated with such beneficiary's own accounts; for trusts with multiple primary beneficiaries, upon the trustor's death the trustees of the trust may instruct a Fund's transfer agent to establish separate trust accounts for each primary beneficiary; each primary beneficiary's separate trust account may then be aggregated with such beneficiary's own accounts);
endowments or foundations established and controlled by you or your immediate family; or
529 accounts, which will be aggregated at the account owner level (Class 529-E accounts may only be aggregated with an eligible employer plan).
Individual purchases by a trustee(s) or other fiduciary(ies) may also be aggregated if the investments are:
for a single trust estate or fiduciary account, including employee benefit plans other than the individual-type employee benefit plans described above;
made for two or more employee benefit plans of a single employer or of affiliated employers as defined in the Investment Company Act, excluding the individual-type employee benefit plans described above;
for nonprofit, charitable or educational organizations, or any endowments or foundations established and controlled by such organizations, or any employer-sponsored retirement plans established for the benefit of the employees of such organizations, their endowments, or their foundations; or
for individually established participant accounts of a 403(b) plan that is treated similarly to an employer-sponsored plan for sales charge purposes (see "Purchases by certain 403(b) plans" under "Sales Charges" above), or made for two or more such 403(b) plans that are treated similarly to employer-sponsored plans for sales charge purposes, in each case of a single employer or affiliated employers as defined in the Investment Company Act. Purchases made for nominee or street name accounts (securities held in the name of a broker-dealer or another nominee such as a bank trust department instead of the customer) may not be aggregated with those made for other accounts and may not be aggregated with other nominee or street name accounts unless otherwise qualified as described above.
Concurrent Purchases. As described in the Prospectus, you may reduce your A Class sales charge by combining simultaneous purchases in any of the American Beacon Funds.
Other Purchases. Pursuant to a determination of eligibility by the Manager, A Class shares of a Fund may be sold at NAV per share (without the imposition of a front-end sales charge) to:
current or retired trustees, and officers of the American Beacon Funds family, current or retired employees and directors of the Manager and its affiliated companies, certain family members and employees of the above persons, and trusts or plans primarily for such persons;
currently registered representatives and assistants directly employed by such representatives, retired registered representatives with respect to accounts established while active, or full-time employees (collectively, "Eligible Persons") (and their spouses, and children, including children in step and adoptive relationships, sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, if the Eligible Persons or the spouses or children of the Eligible Persons are listed in the account registration with the spouse or parent) of broker-dealers who have sales agreements with the Distributor (or who clear transactions through such dealers), plans for the dealers, and plans that include as participants only the Eligible Persons, their spouses and/or children;
companies exchanging securities with a Fund through a merger, acquisition or exchange offer;
insurance company separate accounts;
accounts managed by the Manager, a sub-advisor to a Fund and its affiliated companies;
the Manager or a sub-advisor to a Fund and its affiliated companies;
an individual or entity with a substantial business relationship with, which may include the officers and employees of the Funds' custodian or transfer agent, the Manager or a sub-advisor to a Fund and its affiliated companies, or an individual or entity related or relating to such individual or entity;
full-time employees of banks that have sales agreements with the Distributor, who are solely dedicated to directly supporting the sale of mutual funds;
directors, officers and employees of financial institutions that have a selling group agreement with the Distributor;
banks, broker-dealers and other financial institutions (including registered investment advisors and financial planners) that have entered into an agreement with the Distributor or one of its affiliates, purchasing shares on behalf of clients participating in a Fund supermarket or in a wrap program, asset allocation program or other program in which the clients pay an asset-based fee;
clients of authorized dealers purchasing shares in fixed or flat fee brokerage accounts;
Employer-sponsored defined contribution - type plans, including 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer sponsored 403(b) plans, profit-sharing and money purchase pension plans, defined benefit plans and non-qualified deferred compensation plans, and IRA rollovers involving retirement plan assets invested in a Fund in the American Beacon Funds fund family; and
42 |
Employee benefit and retirement plans for the Manager and its affiliates.
Shares are offered at NAV per share to these persons and organizations due to anticipated economies in sales effort and expense. Once an account is established under this NAV per share privilege, additional investments can be made at NAV per share for the life of the account.
It is possible that a broker-dealer may not be able to offer one or more of these waiver categories. If this situation occurs, it is possible that the investor would need to invest directly through American Beacon Funds in order to take advantage of the waiver. A Fund may terminate or amend the terms of these sales charge waivers at any time.
Moving Between Accounts. Investments in certain account types may be moved to other account types without incurring additional A Class sales charges. These transactions include, for example:
redemption proceeds from a non-retirement account (for example, a joint tenant account) used to purchase Fund shares in an IRA or other individual-type retirement account;
"required minimum distributions" (as described in Section 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code) from an IRA or other individual-type retirement account used to purchase Fund shares in a non-retirement account;
death distributions paid to a beneficiary's account that are used by the beneficiary to purchase Fund shares in a different account; and
it is possible that a broker-dealer may not be able to offer the ability to move between accounts. If this situation occurs, it is possible that the investor would need to invest directly through American Beacon Funds in order to take advantage of this privilege. Please contact your financial intermediary for additional information.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING CONTINGENT DEFERRED SALES CHARGES
As discussed in the Prospectus, the redemption of C Class shares may be subject to a CDSC if you redeem your shares within 12 months of purchase. If you purchased $1,000,000 or more of A Class shares of a Fund (and therefore paid no initial sales charges) and subsequently redeem your shares within 18 months of your purchase, you may be charged a CDSC upon redemption. In determining whether the CDSC is payable, it is assumed that shares not subject to the CDSC are the first redeemed followed by other shares held for the longest period of time. The CDSC will not be imposed upon shares representing reinvested dividends or other distributions, or upon amounts representing share appreciation. As described in the Prospectus, there are various circumstances under which the CDSC will be waived. Additional information about CDSC waivers is provided below.
The CDSC is waived under the following circumstances:
Any partial or complete redemption following death or "disability" (as defined in the Internal Revenue Code) of a shareholder (including one who owns the shares with his or her spouse as a joint tenant with rights of survivorship) from an account in which the deceased or disabled is named. The Manager or a Fund's transfer agent may require documentation prior to waiver of the charge, including death certificates, physicians' certificates, etc.
Redemptions from a systematic withdrawal plan. If the systematic withdrawal plan is based on a fixed dollar amount or number of shares, systematic withdrawal redemptions are limited to no more than 10% of your account value or number of shares per year, as of the date the Manager or a Fund's transfer agent receives your request. If the systematic withdrawal plan is based on a fixed percentage of your account value, each redemption is limited to an amount that would not exceed 10% of your annual account value at the time of withdrawal.
Redemptions from retirement plans qualified under Section 401 of the Internal Revenue Code. The CDSC will be waived for benefit payments made by American Beacon Funds directly to plan participants. Benefit payments include, but are not limited to: payments resulting from death, "disability," "retirement," "separation from service" (each as defined in the Internal Revenue Code), "required minimum distributions" (as described in Section 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code), in-service distributions, hardships, loans and qualified domestic relations orders. The CDSC waiver will not apply in the event of termination of the plan or transfer of the plan to another financial institution.
Redemptions that are required minimum distributions from a traditional IRA after age 701/2.
Involuntary redemptions as a result of your account not meeting the minimum balance requirements, the termination and liquidation of the Fund, or other actions by the Fund.
Distributions from accounts for which the broker-dealer of record has entered into a written agreement with the Distributor (or Manager) allowing this waiver.
To return excess contributions made to a retirement plan.
To return contributions made due to a mistake of fact.
The following example illustrates the operation of the CDSC. Assume that you open an account and purchase 1,000 shares at $10 per share and that six months later the NAV per share is $12 and, during such time, you have acquired 50 additional shares through reinvestment of distributions. If at such time you should redeem 450 shares (proceeds of $5,400), 50 shares will not be subject to the charge because of dividend reinvestment. With respect to the remaining 400 shares, the charge is applied only to the original cost of $10 per share and not to the increase in NAV of $2 per share. Therefore, $4,000 of the $5,400 redemption proceeds will pay the charge. At the rate of 1.00%, the CDSC would be $40 for redemptions of C Class shares. In determining whether an amount is available for redemption without incurring a deferred sales charge, the purchase payments made for all shares in your account are aggregated.
REDEMPTIONS IN KIND
Although each Fund intends to redeem shares in cash, each Fund reserves the right to pay the redemption price in whole or in part by a distribution of securities or other assets. However, shareholders always will be entitled to redeem shares for cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of the applicable Fund's net asset value of the applicable Fund during any 90-day period. Redemption in kind is not as liquid as a cash redemption. In addition, to the
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extent a Fund redeems its shares in this manner, the shareholder assumes the risk of a subsequent change in the market value of those securities, the cost of liquidating the securities and the possibility of a lack of a liquid market for those securities.
TAX INFORMATION
The tax information in the Prospectus and in this section relates solely to the federal income tax law and assumes that each Fund will continue to qualify each taxable year as a "regulated investment company" ("RIC") under the Internal Revenue Code (as discussed below). The tax information in this section is only a summary of certain key federal tax considerations affecting the Funds and their shareholders and is in addition to the tax information provided in the Prospectus. No attempt has been made to present a complete explanation of the federal income tax treatment of each Fund or the tax implications to its shareholders. The discussions here and in the Prospectus are not intended as substitutes for careful tax planning. The tax information is based on the Internal Revenue Code and applicable regulations in effect, and administrative pronouncements and judicial decisions publicly available, on the date of this SAI. Future legislative, regulatory or administrative changes or court decisions may significantly change the tax rules applicable to the Funds and their shareholders. Any of these changes or court decisions may have a retroactive effect.
Taxation of the Funds
Each Fund intends to continue to qualify each taxable year for treatment as a RIC under Subchapter M of Chapter 1 of Subtitle A of the Internal Revenue Code. To so qualify, each Fund (which is treated as a separate corporation for these purposes) must, among other requirements:
Derive at least 90% of its gross income each taxable year from (1) dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans and gains from the sale or other disposition of securities or foreign currencies, or other income, including gains from options, futures or forward contracts, derived with respect to its business of investing in securities or those currencies ("Qualifying Income") and (2) net income derived from an interest in a "qualified publicly traded partnership" ("QPTP") ("Gross Income Requirement"). A QPTP is a "publicly traded partnership" (that is, a partnership the interests in which are "traded on an established securities market" or "readily tradable on a secondary market (or the substantial equivalent thereof)" (a "PTP")) that meets certain qualifying income requirements other than a partnership at least 90% of the gross income of which is Qualifying Income;
Diversify its investments so that, at the close of each quarter of its taxable year, (1) at least 50% of the value of its total assets is represented by cash and cash items, Government securities, securities of other RICs, and other securities, with those other securities limited, in respect of any one issuer, to an amount that does not exceed 5% of the value of the Fund's total assets and that does not represent more than 10% of the issuer's outstanding voting securities (equity securities of QPTPs being considered voting securities for these purposes), and (2) not more than 25% of the value of its total assets is invested in (a) the securities (other than Government securities or securities of other RICs) of any one issuer, (b) the securities (other than securities of other RICs) of two or more issuers the Fund controls (by owning 20% or more of their voting power) that are determined to be engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses, or (c) the securities of one or more QPTPs ("Diversification Requirements"); and
Distribute annually to its shareholders at least the sum of 90% of its investment company taxable income (generally, net investment income, the excess (if any) of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss, and net gains and losses (if any) from certain foreign currency transactions, all determined without regard to any deduction for dividends paid) and 90% of its net exempt interest income ("Distribution Requirement").
By qualifying for treatment as a RIC, a Fund (but not its shareholders) will be relieved of federal income tax on the part of its investment company taxable income and net capital gain (i.e., the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss) that it distributes to its shareholders. If for any taxable year a Fund does not qualify for that treatment - either (1) by failing to satisfy the Distribution Requirement, even if it satisfies the Gross Income and Diversification Requirements ("Other Requirements"), or (2) by failing to satisfy any of the Other Requirements and is unable to, or determines not to, avail itself of Internal Revenue Code provisions that enable a RIC to cure a failure to satisfy any of the Other Requirements as long as the failure "is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect" and the RIC pays a deductible tax calculated in accordance with those provisions and meets certain other requirements - then for federal tax purposes, all of its taxable income (including its net capital gain) would be subject to tax at the regular corporate rate without any deduction for dividends paid to its shareholders, and the dividends it pays would be taxable to its shareholders as ordinary income (or possibly, (a) for individual and certain other non-corporate shareholders (each, an "individual"), as "qualified dividend income" (as described in the Prospectus) ("QDI"), and/or (b) in the case of corporate shareholders that meet certain holding period and other requirements regarding their Fund shares, as eligible for the dividends-received deduction ("DRD")) to the extent of the Fund's current and accumulated earnings and profits. Failure to qualify for RIC treatment would therefore have a negative impact on a Fund's income and performance. Furthermore, a Fund could be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest, and make substantial distributions before requalifying for RIC treatment. It is possible that a Fund will not qualify as a RIC in any given taxable year.
Each Fund will be subject to a nondeductible 4% federal excise tax ("Excise Tax") to the extent it fails to distribute by the end of any calendar year substantially all of its ordinary income for that year and substantially all of its "capital gain net income" for the one-year period ending on December 31 of that year, plus certain other amounts. Each Fund intends to make sufficient distributions by the end of each calendar year to avoid liability for the Excise Tax.
Taxation of Certain Investments and Strategies
Hedging strategies, such as entering into forward contracts and selling (writing) and purchasing options and futures contracts, involve complex rules that will determine for federal income tax purposes the amount, character and timing of recognition of gains and losses a Fund may realize in connection therewith. In general, a Fund's (1) gains from the disposition of foreign currencies and (2) such contracts will be treated as Qualifying Income under the Gross Income Requirement.
Dividends and interest a Fund receives, and gains it realizes, on foreign securities may be subject to income, withholding or other taxes imposed by foreign countries and U.S. possessions (collectively, "foreign taxes") that would reduce the yield and/or total return on its securities. Tax treaties
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between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate foreign taxes, however, and many foreign countries do not impose taxes on capital gains realized on investments by foreign investors. It is impossible to determine the effective rate of any Fund's foreign tax in advance, since the amount of its assets to be invested in various countries is not known.
Each Fund may invest in the stock of "passive foreign investment companies" ("PFICs"). A PFIC is any foreign corporation (with certain exceptions) that, in general, meets either of the following tests for a taxable year: (1) at least 75% of its gross income is passive; or (2) an average of at least 50% of the value (or adjusted tax basis, if elected) of its assets produce, or are held for the production of, passive income. Under certain circumstances, a Fund will be subject to federal income tax on a portion of any "excess distribution" it receives on the PFIC stock and of any gain on its disposition of that stock (collectively, "PFIC income"), plus interest thereon, even if the Fund distributes the PFIC income as a dividend to its shareholders. The balance of the PFIC income will be included in a Fund's investment company taxable income and, accordingly, will not be taxable to it to the extent it distributes that income to its shareholders. Fund distributions thereof will not be eligible to be treated as QDI or for the DRD.
If a Fund invests in a PFIC and elects to treat the PFIC as a "qualified electing fund" ("QEF"), then in lieu of incurring the foregoing tax and interest obligation, the Fund would be required to include in income each taxable year its pro rata share of the QEF's annual ordinary earnings and net capital gain — which the Fund likely would have to distribute to satisfy the Distribution Requirement and avoid imposition of the Excise Tax — even if the QEF did not distribute those earnings and gain to the Fund. In most instances, however, it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to make this election because of certain requirements thereof.
Alternatively, each Fund may elect to "mark to market" any stock in a PFIC it owns at the end of its taxable year, in which event it likely would be required to distribute to its shareholders any resulting gains to satisfy the Distribution Requirement and avoid imposition of the Excise Tax. "Marking-to-market," in this context, means including in gross income each taxable year (and treating as ordinary income) the excess, if any, of the fair market value of the stock over a Fund's adjusted basis therein (including any net mark-to-market gain or loss for each prior taxable year for which an election was in effect) as of the end of that year. Pursuant to the election, a Fund also would be allowed to deduct (as an ordinary, not a capital, loss) the excess, if any, of its adjusted basis in PFIC stock over the fair market value thereof as of the taxable year-end, but only to the extent of any net mark-to-market gains with respect to that stock the Fund included in income for prior taxable years under the election. A Fund's adjusted basis in each PFIC's stock subject to the election would be adjusted to reflect the amounts of income included and deductions taken thereunder.
Investors should be aware that determining whether a foreign corporation is a PFIC is a fact-intensive determination that is based on various facts and circumstances and thus is subject to change, and the principles and methodology used therein are subject to interpretation. As a result, a Fund may not be able, at the time it acquires a foreign corporation's stock, to ascertain whether the corporation is a PFIC and a foreign corporation may become a PFIC after a Fund acquires stock therein. While each Fund generally will seek to minimize its investment in PFIC stock, and to make appropriate elections when they are available, to lessen the adverse tax consequences detailed above, there are no guarantees that it will be able to do so, and each Fund reserves the right to make those investments as a matter of its investment policy.
Each Fund may invest in one or more LLCs and limited partnerships ("LPs") that will be classified for federal tax purposes as partnerships (and, except as expressly stated below, this discussion assumes that classification). LLCs and LPs in which a Fund may invest may include a "publicly traded partnership" (that is, a partnership the interests in which are "traded on an established securities market" or "readily tradable on a secondary market (or the substantial equivalent thereof)") (a "PTP"), which may be a QPTP, which satisfies certain qualifying income requirements as describe above, or a non-QPTP, which does not satisfy those income requirements.
If an LLC or LP in which a Fund invests is a QPTP, all its net income (regardless of source) will be Qualifying Income for the Fund under the Gross Income Requirement. A Fund's investment in QPTPs, together with certain other investments, however, may not exceed 25% of the value of its total assets at the end of each quarter of its taxable year in order to satisfy one of the Diversification Requirements.
With respect to non-QPTPs, (1) if an LLC or LP (including a PTP) is treated for federal tax purposes as a corporation, distributions from it to a Fund might be treated as QDI and eligible for the DRD and disposition of the Fund's interest therein would generate gain or loss from the disposition of a security, or (2) if such an LLC or LP is not treated for those purposes as a corporation, the Fund would be treated as having earned its proportionate share of each item of income the LLC or LP earned. In the latter case, a Fund would be able to treat its share of the entity's income as Qualifying Income under the Gross Income Requirement only to the extent that income would be such if realized directly by the Fund in the same manner as realized by the LLC or LP. Certain LLCs and LPs (e.g., private funds) in which a Fund may invest may generate income and gains that are not such Qualifying Income. Each Fund will monitor its investments in LLCs and LPs to assure its compliance with the requirements for continued qualification as a RIC.
Some futures contracts, foreign currency contracts, and "non-equity" options (i.e., certain listed options, such as those on a "broad-based" securities index) - except any "securities futures contract" that is not a "dealer securities futures contract" (both as defined in the Internal Revenue Code) and any interest rate swap, currency swap, basis swap, interest rate cap, interest rate floor, commodity swap, equity swap, equity index swap, credit default swap, or similar agreement - in which a Fund invests may be subject to Internal Revenue Code section 1256 (collectively, "Section 1256 contracts"). Any Section 1256 contract a Fund holds at the end of its taxable year must be "marked-to-market" (that is, treated as having been sold at that time for its fair market value) for federal income tax purposes, with the result that unrealized gains or losses will be treated as though they were realized. Sixty percent of any net gain or loss realized on these deemed sales, and 60% of any net realized gain or loss from any actual sales of Section 1256 contracts, will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss, and the balance will be treated as short-term capital gain or loss. Section 1256 contracts also may be marked-to-market for purposes of the Excise Tax. These rules may operate to increase the amount that a Fund must distribute to satisfy the Distribution Requirement (i.e., with respect to the portion treated as short-term capital gain), which will be taxable to its shareholders as ordinary income when distributed to them, and to increase the net capital gain a Fund recognizes, without in either case increasing the cash available to it.
Under Internal Revenue Code section 988, a gain or loss (1) from the disposition of foreign currencies, (2) except in certain circumstances, from options, futures, and forward contracts on foreign currencies (and on financial instruments involving foreign currencies) and from notional principal contracts (e.g., swaps, caps, floors, and collars) involving payments denominated in foreign currencies, (3) on the disposition of each foreign-currency-
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denominated debt security that is attributable to fluctuations in the value of the foreign currency between the dates of acquisition and disposition of the security, and (4) that is attributable to exchange rate fluctuations between the time a Fund accrues interest, dividends, or other receivables or expenses or other liabilities denominated in a foreign currency and the time it actually collects the receivables or pays the liabilities generally will be treated as ordinary income or loss. These gains or losses will increase or decrease the amount of a Fund's investment company taxable income to be distributed to its shareholders as ordinary income, rather than affecting the amount of its net capital gain. If a Fund's section 988 losses exceed its other investment company taxable income for a taxable year, the Fund would not be able to distribute any dividends, and any distributions made during that year (including those made before the losses were realized) would be characterized as a non-taxable "return of capital" to shareholders, rather than as a dividend, thereby reducing each shareholder's basis in his or her Fund shares and treating any part of such distribution exceeding that basis as gain from the disposition of those shares.
Offsetting positions a Fund enters into or holds in any actively traded option, futures or forward contract may constitute a "straddle" for federal income tax purposes. Straddles are subject to certain rules that may affect the amount, character and timing of recognition of a Fund's gains and losses with respect to positions of the straddle by requiring, among other things, that (1) losses realized on disposition of one position of a straddle be deferred to the extent of any unrealized gain in an offsetting position until the latter position is disposed of, (2) a Fund's holding period in certain straddle positions not begin until the straddle is terminated (possibly resulting in gain being treated as short-term rather than long-term capital gain), and (3) losses recognized with respect to certain straddle positions, that otherwise would constitute short-term capital losses, be treated as long-term capital losses. Applicable regulations also provide certain "wash sale" rules, which apply to transactions where a position is sold at a loss and a new offsetting position is acquired within a prescribed period, and "short sale" rules applicable to straddles. Different elections are available, which may mitigate the effects of the straddle rules, particularly with respect to a "mixed straddle" (i.e., a straddle at least one, but not all, positions of which are Section 1256 contracts).
When a covered call option written (sold) by a Fund expires, it will realize a short-term capital gain equal to the amount of the premium it received for writing the option. When a Fund terminates its obligations under such an option by entering into a closing transaction, it will realize a short-term capital gain (or loss), depending on whether the cost of the closing transaction is less (or more) than the premium it received when it wrote the option. When a covered call option written by a Fund is exercised, it will be treated as having sold the underlying security, producing long-term or short-term capital gain or loss, depending on the holding period of the underlying security and whether the sum of the option price received on the exercise plus the premium received when it wrote the option is more or less than the underlying security's basis.
If a Fund has an "appreciated financial position" — generally, any position (including an interest through an option, futures or forward contract or short sale) with respect to any stock, debt instrument (other than "straight debt") or partnership interest the fair market value of which exceeds its adjusted basis — and enters into a "constructive sale" of the position, the Fund will be treated as having made an actual sale thereof, with the result that it will recognize gain at that time. A constructive sale generally consists of a short sale, an offsetting notional principal contract or a futures or forward contract a Fund or a related person enters into with respect to the same or substantially identical property. In addition, if the appreciated financial position is itself a short sale or such a contract, acquisition of the underlying property or substantially identical property will be deemed a constructive sale. The foregoing will not apply, however, to any transaction of a Fund during any taxable year that otherwise would be treated as a constructive sale if the transaction is closed within 30 days after the end of that year and the Fund holds the appreciated financial position unhedged for 60 days after that closing (i.e., at no time during that 60-day period is the Fund's risk of loss regarding that position reduced by reason of certain specified transactions with respect to substantially identical or related property, such as having an option to sell, being contractually obligated to sell, making a short sale or granting an option to buy substantially identical stock or securities).
Certain aspects of the tax treatment of derivative instruments are currently unclear and may be affected by changes in legislation, regulations, administrative rules, and/or other legally binding authority that could affect the treatment of income from those instruments and the character, timing of recognition and amount of a Fund's taxable income or net realized gains and distributions. If the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") were to assert successfully that income a Fund derives from those investments does not constitute Qualifying Income, the Fund might cease to qualify as a RIC (with the consequences described above under "Taxation of the Funds") or might be required to reduce its exposure to such investments.
A Fund may acquire zero coupon or other securities issued with original issue discount ("OID") (such as STRIPS). As a holder of those securities, a Fund must include in its gross income the OID that accrues on them during the taxable year, even if it receives no corresponding payment on them during the year. Similarly, a Fund must include in its gross income each taxable year securities it receives as interest on pay-in-kind securities. Because each Fund annually must distribute substantially all of its investment company taxable income, including any accrued OID and other non-cash income (such as that interest), to satisfy the Distribution Requirement and avoid imposition of the Excise Tax, it may be required in a particular taxable year to distribute as a dividend an amount that is greater than the total amount of cash it actually receives. Those distributions will be made from a Fund's cash assets or from the proceeds of sales of its portfolio securities, if necessary. A Fund may realize capital gains or losses from those sales, which would increase or decrease its investment company taxable income and/or net capital gain.
Taxation of the Funds' Shareholders
General - Dividends and other distributions a Fund declares in the last quarter of any calendar year that are payable to shareholders of record on a date in that quarter will be deemed to have been paid by the Fund and received by those shareholders on December 31 of that year if the Fund pays the distributions during the following January. Accordingly, those distributions will be reportable by, and taxed to, those shareholders for the taxable year in which that December 31 falls.
If Fund shares are redeemed at a loss after being held for six months or less, the loss will be treated as long-term, instead of short-term, capital loss to the extent of any capital gain distributions received on those shares. In addition, any loss a shareholder realizes on a redemption of Fund shares will be disallowed to the extent the shares are replaced within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the redemption; in that case, the basis in the acquired shares will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss. Investors also should be aware that the price of Fund shares at any time may reflect the amount of a forthcoming dividend or other distribution, so if they purchase Fund shares shortly before the record date for a
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distribution, they will pay full price for the shares and receive some part of the price back as a taxable distribution, even though it represents a partial return of invested capital.
If more than 50% of the value of a Fund's total assets at the close of any taxable year consists of securities of foreign corporations, it will be eligible to file an election for that year with the IRS that would enable its shareholders to benefit from any foreign tax credit or deduction available with respect to any foreign taxes it pays. Pursuant to the election, the Funds would treat those taxes as dividends paid to its shareholders and each shareholder (1) would be required to include in gross income, and treat as paid by the shareholder, the shareholder's proportionate share of those taxes, (2) would be required to treat that share of those taxes and of any dividend the Fund paid that represents income from foreign or U.S. possessions sources ("foreign-source income") as the shareholder's own income from those sources, and (3) could either use the foregoing information in calculating the foreign tax credit against the shareholder's federal income tax or, alternatively, deduct the foreign taxes deemed paid by the shareholder in computing taxable income. If a Fund makes this election for a taxable year, it will report to its shareholders shortly after that year their respective shares of the foreign taxes it paid and its foreign-source income for that year.
An individual shareholder of a Fund who, for a taxable year, has no more than $300 ($600 for married persons filing jointly) of creditable foreign taxes included on IRS Forms 1099 and all of whose foreign-source income is "qualified passive income" may elect for that year to be exempt from the extremely complicated foreign tax credit limitation for federal income tax purposes (about which shareholders may wish to consult their tax advisers), in which event the shareholder would be able to claim a foreign tax credit without having to file the detailed Form 1116 that otherwise is required. A shareholder will not be entitled to credit or deduct its portion of foreign taxes a Fund paid that is allocable to Fund shares the shareholder has not held for at least 16 days during the 31-day period beginning 15 days before the ex-distribution date for those shares. The minimum holding period will be extended if the shareholder's risk of loss with respect to those shares is reduced by reason of holding an offsetting position. No deduction for foreign taxes may be claimed by a shareholder who does not itemize deductions. A foreign shareholder may not deduct or claim a credit for foreign taxes in determining its federal income tax liability unless the Fund dividends paid to it are effectively connected with the shareholder's conduct of a U.S. trade or business.
Basis Election and Reporting - A Fund shareholder who wants to use an acceptable method for basis determination with respect to Fund shares that the shareholder acquired or acquires after 2011 ("Covered Shares"), other than the average basis method (the Funds' default method) must elect to do so in writing, which may be electronic. The basis determination method a Fund shareholder elects may not be changed with respect to a redemption (including a redemption that is part of an exchange) of Covered Shares after the settlement date of the redemption.
In addition to the requirement to report the gross proceeds from redemptions of Fund shares, each Fund (or its administrative agent) must report to the IRS and furnish to its shareholders the basis information for Fund shares that are redeemed or exchanged and indicate whether they had a short-term (one year or less) or long-term (more than one year) holding period. Fund shareholders should consult with their tax advisers to determine the best IRS-accepted basis determination method for their tax situation and to obtain more information about how the basis reporting law applies to them. Fund shareholders who acquire and hold Fund shares through a financial intermediary should contact their financial intermediary for information related to the basis election and reporting.
Backup Withholding - A Fund is required to withhold and remit to the U.S. Treasury 24% of dividends, capital gain distributions, and redemption proceeds (regardless of the extent to which gain or loss may be realized) otherwise payable to any individual who fails to certify that the taxpayer identification number furnished to the Fund is correct or who furnishes an incorrect number (together with the withholding described in the next sentence, "backup withholding"). Withholding at that rate also is required from each Fund's dividends and capital gain distributions otherwise payable to such a shareholder who (1) is subject to backup withholding for failure to report the receipt of interest or dividend income properly or (2) fails to certify to the Fund that he or she is not subject to backup withholding or that it is a corporation or other "exempt recipient." Backup withholding is not an additional tax; rather, any amounts so withheld may be credited against the shareholder's federal income tax liability or refunded if proper documentation is submitted to the IRS.
Non-U.S. Shareholders - Dividends a Fund pays to a shareholder who is a nonresident alien individual or foreign entity (each a "non-U.S. shareholder") - other than (1) dividends paid to a non-U.S. shareholder whose ownership of the Fund's shares is effectively connected with a trade or business within the United States the shareholder conducts and (2) capital gain distributions paid to a nonresident alien individual who is physically present in the United States for no more than 182 days during the taxable year - generally are subject to 30% federal withholding tax (unless a reduced rate of withholding or a withholding exemption is provided under an applicable treaty). However, two categories of dividends a Fund might pay, "short-term capital gain dividends" and "interest-related dividends," to non-U.S. shareholders (with certain exceptions) and reported by it in writing to its shareholders are exempt from that tax. "Short-term capital gain dividends" are dividends that are attributable to net short-term gain, computed with certain adjustments. "Interest-related dividends" are dividends that are attributable to "qualified net interest income" (i.e., "qualified interest income," which generally consists of certain OID, interest on obligations "in registered form," and interest on deposits, less allocable deductions) from sources within the United States. Non-U.S. shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisers concerning the applicability of that withholding tax.
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act ("FATCA") - Under FATCA, "foreign financial institutions" ("FFIs") and "non-financial foreign entities" ("NFFEs") that are Fund shareholders may be subject to a generally nonrefundable 30% withholding tax on income dividends a Fund pays. As discussed more fully below, the FATCA withholding tax generally can be avoided (a) by an FFI, if it reports certain information regarding direct and indirect ownership of financial accounts U.S. persons hold with the FFI, and (b) by an NFFE that certifies its status as such and, in certain circumstances, information regarding substantial U.S. owners. Proposed regulations (having current effect) have been issued to eliminate certain FATCA withholding taxes, including the withholding tax on investment sale proceeds that was scheduled to begin in 2019, and to defer the effective date of other taxes.
The U.S. Treasury has negotiated intergovernmental agreements ("IGAs") with certain countries and is in various stages of negotiations with other foreign countries with respect to alternative approaches to implement FATCA. An entity in one of those countries may be required to comply with the terms of the IGA instead of U.S. Treasury regulations. An FFI resident in a country that has entered into a Model I IGA with the United States must
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report to that country's government (pursuant to the terms of the applicable IGA and applicable law), which will, in turn, report to the IRS. An FFI resident in a Model II IGA country generally must comply with U.S. regulatory requirements, with certain exceptions, including the treatment of recalcitrant accountholders. An FFI resident in one of those countries that complies with whichever of the foregoing applies will be exempt from FATCA withholding.
An FFI can avoid FATCA withholding by becoming a "participating FFI," which requires the FFI to enter into a tax compliance agreement with the IRS under the Internal Revenue Code. Under such an agreement, a participating FFI agrees to (1) verify and document whether it has U.S. accountholders, (2) report certain information regarding their accounts to the IRS, and (3) meet certain other specified requirements.
An NFFE that is the beneficial owner of a payment from a Fund can avoid FATCA withholding generally by certifying its status as such and, in certain circumstances, either that (1) it does not have any substantial U.S. owners or (2) it does have one or more such owners and reports the name, address, and taxpayer identification number of each such owner. The NFFE will report to a Fund or other applicable withholding agent, which may, in turn, report information to the IRS.
Those foreign shareholders also may fall into certain exempt, excepted, or deemed compliant categories established by U.S. Treasury regulations, IGAs, and other guidance regarding FATCA. An FFI or NFFE that invests in a Fund will need to provide it with documentation properly certifying the entity's status under FATCA to avoid FATCA withholding. The requirements imposed by FATCA are different from, and in addition to, the tax certification rules to avoid backup withholding described above. Foreign investors are urged to consult their tax advisers regarding the application of these requirements to their own situation and the impact thereof on their investment in a Fund.
Income From Investment in REITs and MLPs. - A Fund may invest in the equity securities of corporations or other entities that invest in U.S. real property, including REITs. The sale of a U.S. real property interest by a REIT or "United States real property holding corporation" (as defined in the Internal Revenue Code) in which a Fund invests may trigger special tax consequences to the Fund's non-U.S. shareholders, who are urged to consult their tax advisers regarding those consequences.
A Fund may invest in REITs that (1) hold residual interests in "real estate mortgage investment conduits" ("REMICs") or (2) engage in mortgage securitization transactions that cause the REITs to be taxable mortgage pools ("TMPs") or have a qualified REIT subsidiary that is a TMP. A part of the net income allocable to REMIC residual interest holders may be an "excess inclusion." The Internal Revenue Code authorizes the issuance of regulations dealing with the taxation and reporting of excess inclusion income of REITs and RICs that hold residual REMIC interests and of REITs, or qualified REIT subsidiaries, that are TMPs. Although those regulations have not yet been issued, the U.S. Treasury and the IRS issued a notice in 2006 ("Notice") announcing that, pending the issuance of further guidance (which has not yet been issued), the IRS would apply the principles in the following paragraphs to all excess inclusion income, whether from REMIC residual interests or TMPs.
The Notice provides that a REIT must (1) determine whether it or its qualified REIT subsidiary (or a part of either) is a TMP and, if so, calculate the TMP's excess inclusion income under a "reasonable method," (2) allocate its excess inclusion income to its shareholders generally in proportion to dividends paid, (3) inform shareholders that are not "disqualified organizations" (i.e., governmental units and tax-exempt entities that are not subject to tax on their "unrelated business taxable income" ("UBTI")) of the amount and character of the excess inclusion income allocated thereto, (4) pay tax (at the highest federal income tax rate imposed on corporations, currently 21%) on the excess inclusion income allocable to its shareholders that are disqualified organizations, and (5) apply the withholding tax provisions with respect to the excess inclusion part of dividends paid to foreign persons without regard to any treaty exception or reduction in tax rate. Excess inclusion income allocated to certain tax-exempt entities (including qualified retirement plans, IRAs, and public charities) constitutes UBTI to them.
A RIC with excess inclusion income is subject to rules identical to those in clauses (2) through (5) above (substituting "that are nominees" for "that are not 'disqualified organizations'" in clause (3) and inserting "record" after "its" in clause (4)). The Notice further provides that a RIC is not required to report the amount and character of the excess inclusion income allocated to its shareholders that are not nominees, except that (1) a RIC with excess inclusion income from all sources that exceeds 1% of its gross income must do so and (2) any other RIC must do so by taking into account only excess inclusion income allocated to the RIC from REITs the excess inclusion income of which exceeded 3% of its dividends. A Fund will not invest directly in REMIC residual interests and does not intend to invest in REITs that, to its knowledge, invest in those interests or are TMPs or have a qualified REIT subsidiary that is a TMP.
After calendar year-end, REITs can and often do change the category (e.g., ordinary income dividend, capital gain distribution, or "return of capital") of one or more of the distributions they have made during that year, which would result at that time in a Fund that held shares in such a REIT during that year, also having to re-categorize some of the distributions it made to its stockholders. These changes would be reflected in your annual Form 1099, together with other tax information. Those forms generally will be distributed to you in February of each year, although a Fund may, in one or more years, request from the IRS an extension of time to distribute those forms until mid-March to enable it to receive the latest information it can from the REITs in which it invests and thereby accurately report that information to you on a single form (rather than having to send you an amended form).
Effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026, the Internal Revenue Code generally allows individuals and certain other non-corporate entities a deduction for 20% of (1) "qualified REIT dividends" and (2) "qualified publicly traded partnership income" (such as income from MLPs). Proposed Treasury regulations (having current effect) permit a RIC to pass the character of its qualified REIT dividends through to its shareholders provided certain holding period requirements are met. As a result, a shareholder in a Fund that invests in REITs will be eligible to receive the benefit of the same 20% deduction with respect to the Fund's REIT-based dividends as is available to an investor who directly invests in REITs. There currently is no similar pass-through of the 20% deduction with respect to a RIC's qualified publicly traded partnership income.
Other Taxes - Statutory rules and regulations regarding state and local taxation of ordinary income dividends, QDI dividends and net capital and foreign currency gain distributions may differ from the federal income taxation rules described above. Distributions may also be subject to additional state, local and foreign taxes depending on each shareholder's situation.
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Investors should consult their own tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences to them of an investment in a Fund based on their particular circumstances. A Fund does not expect to receive a ruling from any tax authority or an opinion of tax counsel with respect to its treatment of any tax positions. Tax consequences of transactions are not the primary consideration of a Fund in implementing its investment strategy.
DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST
The Trust is an entity of the type commonly known as a "Massachusetts business trust." Under Massachusetts law, shareholders of such a trust may, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable for its obligations. However, the Trust's Declaration of Trust contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for acts or obligations of the Trust and provides for indemnification and reimbursement of expenses out of Trust property for any shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the Trust. The Declaration of Trust also provides that the Trust may maintain appropriate insurance (e.g., fidelity bonding) for the protection of the Trust, its shareholders, Trustees, officers, employees and agents to cover possible tort and other liabilities. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss due to shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which both inadequate insurance existed and the Trust itself was unable to meet its obligations. The Trust has not engaged in any other business.
The Trust was originally created to manage money for large institutional investors. The following individuals (and members of that individual's "immediate family"), are eligible to purchase shares of the R5 Class with an initial investment of less than $250,000: (i) employees of the Manager or its parent company Resolute Investment Managers, Inc., (ii) employees of a sub-advisor for Funds where it serves as sub-advisor, (iii) members of the Board, (iv) employees of Kelso/Estancia, and (v) members of the Manager's Board of Directors. The term "immediate family" refers to one's spouse, children, grandchildren, grandparents, parents, parents-in-law, brothers and sisters, sons- and daughters-in-law, a sibling's spouse, a spouse's sibling, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews; relatives by virtue of remarriage (step-children, step-parents, etc.) are included. Any shareholders that the Manager transfers to the R5 Class upon termination of the class of shares in which the shareholders were originally invested is also eligible for purchasing shares of the R5 Class with an initial investment of less than $250,000.
The Investor Class was created to give individuals and other smaller investors an opportunity to invest in the American Beacon Funds. The R5 and Y Classes were created to manage money for large institutional investors, including pension and 401(k) plans. The A Class and C Class were created for investors investing in the American Beacon Funds through their broker-dealers or other financial intermediaries. The R6 Class was created to provide third party intermediaries an investment option for the large 401(k) plans that does not charge 12b-1 or sub-transfer agency fees.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Funds' independent registered public accounting firm, Ernst & Young LLP, audits and reports on the Funds' annual financial statements. The audited financial statements include the schedule of investments, statement of assets and liabilities, statement of operations, statements of changes in net assets, financial highlights, notes and report of independent registered public accounting firm.
The audited financial statements are incorporated by reference to the American Beacon Funds' Annual Report to Shareholders of the American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund, American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund, American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Value Fund, American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund, and American Beacon Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund for the period ended December 31, 2019.
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APPENDIX A
AMERICAN BEACON ADVISORS, INC.
SUMMARY OF PROXY VOTING POLICY AND PROCEDURES
Proxy voting is an important component of investment management and must be performed in a dutiful and purposeful fashion in order to secure the best long-term interests of the advisory clients of American Beacon Advisors, Inc. ("AmBeacon"). AmBeacon's proxy voting policies and procedures are designed to implement AmBeacon's duty to vote proxies in clients' best interests. Given that AmBeacon manages portfolios that invest solely in fixed-income securities, the only securities for which we expect to receive proxies are money market mutual funds. As such, the proxy voting policies and procedures set forth voting guidelines for the proxy issues and proposals common to money market funds.
For routine proposals that will not change the structure, bylaws or operations of the money market fund, AmBeacon's policy is to support management; however, each proposal will be considered individually focusing on the financial interests of the client portfolio. Non-routine proposals, such as board elections, advisory contract and distribution plan approvals, investment objective changes, and mergers, will generally be reviewed on a case-by-case basis with AmBeacon first and foremost considering the effect of the proposal on the portfolio.
Items to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and proposals not contemplated in the policies set forth above will be assessed by AmBeacon. In these situations, AmBeacon will use its judgment to vote in the best interest of the client portfolio. For all proposals, especially controversial or case-by-case evaluations, AmBeacon will be responsible for individually identifying significant issues that could impact the investment performance of the portfolio.
AmBeacon manages portfolios for the American Beacon Funds, the American Beacon Select Funds, the American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust, the American Beacon Sound Point Enhanced Income Fund, and the American Beacon Apollo Total Return Fund (collectively, the "Funds"). AmBeacon may invest a Fund in shares of the American Beacon U.S. Government Money Market Select Fund. If the American Beacon U.S. Government Money Market Select Fund solicits a proxy for which another Fund is entitled to vote, AmBeacon's interests as manager of the American Beacon U.S. Government Money Market Select Fund might appear to conflict with the interests of the shareholders of the other Fund. In these cases, AmBeacon will vote the Fund's shares in accordance with the Select Funds' Board of Trustees' recommendations in the proxy statement.
AMERICAN BEACON FUNDS
AMERICAN BEACON SELECT FUNDS
AMERICAN BEACON INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS TRUST
AMERICAN BEACON SOUND POINT ENHANCED INCOME FUND
AMERICAN BEACON APOLLO TOTAL RETURN FUND
PROXY VOTING POLICY AND PROCEDURES
Last Amended February 28, 2018
Preface
Proxy voting is an important component of investment management and must be performed in a dutiful and purposeful fashion to secure the best long-term interests of shareholders of the American Beacon Funds ("Beacon Funds"), the American Beacon Select Funds ("Select Funds"), the American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust ("Institutional Funds"), the American Beacon Sound Point Enhanced Income Fund, and the American Beacon Apollo Total Return Fund (collectively, the "Funds"). Therefore, this Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures (the "Policy") have been adopted by the Funds.
The Funds are managed by American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (the "Manager"). The Manager may allocate discrete portions of the Funds among sub-advisors, and the Manager may directly manage all or a portion of the assets of certain Funds. The Funds' respective Boards of Trustees have delegated proxy voting authority to the Manager. The Manager has in turn delegated proxy voting authority to each sub-advisor with respect to the sub-advisor's respective portion of the Fund(s) under management, but the Manager has retained the authority to override a proposed proxy voting decision by a sub-advisor. For the securities held in their respective portion of each Fund, the Manager and the sub-advisors make voting decisions pursuant to their own proxy voting policies and procedures, which have been adopted by the applicable Fund and approved by the applicable Fund's Board of Trustees.
Conflicts of Interest
The Board of Trustees seeks to ensure that proxies are voted in the best interests of Fund shareholders. For certain proxy proposals, the interests of the Manager, the sub-advisors and/or their affiliates may differ from Fund shareholders' interests. To avoid the appearance of impropriety and to fulfill their fiduciary responsibility to shareholders in these circumstances, the Manager and the sub-advisors are required to establish procedures that are reasonably designed to address material conflicts between their interests and those of the Funds.
When a sub-advisor deems that it is conflicted with respect to a voting matter, its policy may call for it to seek voting instructions from the client. The Manager is authorized by the Boards of Trustees to consider any such matters and provide voting instructions to the sub-advisor, unless the Manager has determined that its interests are conflicted with Fund shareholders with respect to the voting matter. In those instances, the Manager will instruct the sub-advisor to vote in accordance with the recommendation of a third-party proxy voting advisory service.
Each Fund can invest in the shares of the American Beacon U.S. Government Money Market Select Fund. If the American Beacon U.S. Government Money Market Select Fund issues a proxy for which another Fund is entitled to vote, the Manager's interests regarding the American Beacon U.S. Government Money Market Select Fund might appear to conflict with the interests of the shareholders of the other Fund. In these cases, the Manager will vote in accordance with the Select Funds' Board of Trustees' recommendations in the proxy statement.
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If the methods for addressing conflicts of interest, as described above, are deemed by the Manager to be unreasonable due to cost, timing or other factors, then the Manager may decline to vote in those instances.
Securities on Loan
With respect to the Funds that engage in securities lending, the Manager shall engage a proxy voting service to notify the Manager before the record date about the occurrence of future shareholder meetings, as feasible. The Manager will determine whether or not to recall shares of the applicable security that are on loan with the intent of the Manager or the sub-advisor, as applicable, voting such shares. The Manager's determination shall be based on factors which may include the nature of the meeting (i.e., annual or special), the percentage of the proxy issuer's outstanding securities on loan, any other information regarding the proxy proposals of which the Manager may be aware, and the loss of securities lending income to a Fund as a result of recalling the shares on loan.
Recordkeeping
The Manager and the sub-advisors shall maintain records of all votes cast on behalf of the Funds. Such documentation will include the firm's proxy voting policies and procedures, company reports provided by proxy voting advisory services, additional information gathered by the Manager or sub-advisor that was material to reaching a voting decision, and communications to the Manager regarding any identified conflicts. The Manager and the sub-advisors shall maintain voting records in a manner to facilitate the Funds' production of the Form N-PX filing on an annual basis.
Disclosure
The Manager will coordinate the compilation of the Funds' proxy voting record for each year ended June 30 and file the required information with the SEC via Form N-PX by August 31. The Manager will include a summary of the Policy and the proxy voting policies and procedures of the Manager and the sub-advisors, as applicable, in each Fund's Statement of Additional Information ("SAI"). In each Fund's annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders, the Manager will disclose that a description of the Policy and the proxy voting policies and procedures of the Manager and the sub-advisors, as applicable, is a) available upon request, without charge, by toll-free telephone request, b) on the Funds' website (if applicable), and c) on the SEC's website in the SAI. The SAI and shareholder reports will also disclose that the Funds' proxy voting record is available by toll-free telephone request (or on the Funds' website) and on the SEC's website by way of the Form N-PX. Within three business days of receiving a request, the Manager will send a copy of the policy description or voting record by first-class mail.
Manager Oversight
The Manager shall review a sub-advisor's proxy voting policies and procedures for compliance with this Policy and applicable laws and regulations prior to initial delegation of proxy voting authority and on at least an annual basis thereafter.
Board Reporting
On at least an annual basis, the Manager will present a summary of the voting records of the Funds to the Boards of Trustees for their review. The Manager will notify the Boards of Trustees of any material changes to its proxy voting policies and procedures.
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APPENDIX B
PROXY VOTING POLICIES — FUND SUB-ADVISORS
BAHL & GAYNOR, INC.
PROXY VOTING POLICY
Introduction - Proxy Voting
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 Rule further requires the adviser to provide a summary of the adviser's 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.
Policy
B&G does not vote proxies in-house. B&G has engaged the services of Broadridge's ProxyEdge platform to vote and maintain records of all proxies. The Broadridge open architecture platform allows B&G to choose from several different proxy advisory firms to make recommendations on how Broadridge should vote the proxies.
B&G has selected Glass Lewis as the current adviser, who considers the reputation, experience, and competence of a company's management and board of directors when it evaluates an issuer.
The Glass Lewis guidelines are maintained in writing and are available for client review. In addition, B&G's complete proxy voting record is available to our clients, and only to our clients. Clients should contact B&G at the phone number on the front of this document if they have any questions or if they would like to review either of these documents.
B&G will not overwrite a vote according to the Glass Lewis guidelines. The only instance that this would occur would be in the case where the client has indicated a desire to vote differently than the Glass Lewis guideline. The client decision would be documented.
B&G will periodically request attestation from Broadridge that it:
has the capacity and competency to adequately analyze proxy issues;
has provided B&G directly (or made publicly known) all information as required by Exchange Act Rule 14a-2(b)(3) with respect
to significant relationships and/or material interests; and
has made no recommendations to B&G in the past that were based on material, factual errors.
Recordkeeping
B&G must maintain the documentation described in the following section for a period of not less than five (5) years, the first two (2) years at its principal place of business. The Compliance Officer will be responsible for the following procedures and for ensuring that the required documentation is retained.
Client request to review proxy votes:
Any request, whether written (including e-mail) or oral, received by any employee of B&G, must be promptly reported to the Compliance Officer. All written requests must be retained in the permanent file.
The Compliance Officer will record the identity of the client, the date of the request, and the disposition (e.g., provided a written or oral response to client's request, referred to third party, not a proxy voting client, other dispositions, etc.) in a suitable place.
In order to facilitate the management of proxy voting record keeping process, and to facilitate dissemination of such proxy
voting records to clients, the Compliance Officer will distribute to any client requesting proxy voting information the complete
proxy voting record of B&G for the period requested. Reports containing proxy information of only those issuers held by a
certain client will not be created or distributed.1
Any report disseminated to a client(s) will contain the following legend:
"This report contains the full proxy voting record of Bahl & Gaynor. If securities of a particular issuer were held in your
account on the date of the shareholder meeting indicated, your proxy was voted in the direction indicated (absent your expressed
written direction otherwise)."
Furnish the information requested, free of charge, to the client within a reasonable time period (within 10 business days). Maintain a copy of the written record provided in response to client's written (including e-mail) or oral request. A copy of the written response should be attached and maintained with the client's written request, if applicable, and maintained in the permanent file.
Clients are permitted to request the proxy voting record for the 5 year period prior to their request.
Disclosure
B&G will ensure that Part 2A of Form ADV is updated as necessary to reflect: (i) all material changes to the Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures; and (ii) regulatory requirements.
Proxy Solicitation
The Compliance Officer is to be promptly informed of the receipt of any solicitation from any person to vote proxies on behalf of clients. At no time may any employee accept any remuneration in the solicitation of proxies. The Compliance Officer shall handle all responses to such solicitations.
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BRIDGEWAY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, INC.
PROXY VOTING POLICY
BRIDGEWAY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, INC. PROXY VOTING POLICY
As Amended September 25, 2017
I. Overview
This proxy voting policy (the "policy") is designed to provide reasonable assurance that proxies are voted in the clients' best interest, when the responsibility for voting client proxies rests with Bridgeway Capital Management, Inc. ("BCM"). BCM has engaged Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc. ("ISS"), a third party proxy voting agent, to research proxy proposals, provide vote recommendations and vote proxies on behalf of the firm. BCM has adopted the ISS Social Advisory Services SRI U.S. Proxy Voting Guidelines ("SRI Guidelines") for all U.S. proxy issues and the ISS Social Advisory Services SRI International Proxy Voting Guidelines ("SRI International Guidelines") for all non-U.S. proxy issues.
BCM's Investment Operations Team Leader is responsible for ensuring compliance with this policy. Questions regarding this policy should be directed to the Investment Operations Team Leader or the Chief Compliance Officer ("CCO").
II. Proxy Voting Guidelines
BCM has instructed ISS to vote in accordance with the SRI Guidelines for all U.S. proxy issues with the exception of proxy proposals related to the election of directors in which case BCM has instructed ISS to only vote for director slates when there is a woman and an ethnic minority on the board and/or up for election on the proxy. Likewise, BCM has instructed ISS to vote in accordance with the SRI International Guidelines for all non-U.S. proxy issues with the exception of proxy proposals related to the election of directors where ISS will refer all non-U.S. director proposals to BCM to be voted in the best interest of BCM's clients. In cases where the SRI Guidelines do not address a specific proxy proposal, BCM has adopted the ISS U.S. Corporate Governance Policy ("Standard Guidelines") and has instructed ISS to vote in accordance with the Standard Guidelines. BCM's Investment Operations Team Leader maintains copies of the SRI Guidelines, the SRI International Guidelines and the Standard Guidelines which are incorporated herein by reference. To the extent the SRI Guidelines, SRI International Guidelines and the Standard Guidelines do not address a proxy proposal but ISS has done research to address the issue, ISS will vote proxies in the best interest of BCM's clients.
BCM has instructed ISS to vote as described above unless the following conditions apply:
1. BCM's Investment Management Team ("IMT") has decided to override the ISS vote recommendation for a client based on its own determination that the client would best be served with a vote contrary to the ISS recommendation. Such decision will be documented by BCM and communicated to ISS; or
2. ISS does not provide a vote recommendation, in which case BCM will independently determine how a particular issue should be voted. In these instances, BCM, through IMT, will document the reason(s) used in determining a vote and communicate BCM's voting instruction to ISS.
III. Record Retention Requirements
ISS shall maintain the following proxy voting records:
A. Proxy statements received regarding client securities. Electronic statements, such as those maintained on EDGAR or by a
proxy voting service are acceptable;
B. Records of proxy votes cast on behalf of each client for a period of five years.
BCM shall maintain the following required proxy voting records:
A. Documents prepared by BCM that were material to making the decision of how to vote proxies on behalf of a client if BCM
votes against the ISS recommendation or policy,
B. Records of clients' written or oral requests for proxy voting information, including a record of the information provided
by BCM,
C. Historical records of votes cast on behalf of each client, and
D. Current and historical proxy voting policies and procedures.
BCM will keep records in accordance with its Books and Records Policy.
IV. Conflicts of Interest
A. Overview
Unless BCM votes a proxy proposal as described under Section II. above, BCM does not address material conflicts of interest that could arise between BCM and its clients related to proxy voting matters.
However, when BCM is involved in making the determination as to how a particular proxy proposal will be voted, the IMT member will consult with the CCO to determine if any potential material conflicts of interest exist or may exist that require consideration before casting a vote. For purposes of this policy, material conflicts of interest are defined as those conflicts that a reasonable investor would view as important in making a decision regarding how to vote a proxy. The CCO in consultation with IMT will determine whether the proxy may be voted by BCM, whether to seek legal advice, or whether to refer the proxy to the client(s) (or another fiduciary of the client(s)) for voting purposes.
Additionally, ISS monitors its conflicts of interest in voting proxies and has provided the firm a written summary report of its due diligence compliance process which includes information related to ISS' conflicts of interest policies, procedures and practices. BCM will review updates from time to time to determine whether ISS conflicts of interest may materially and adversely affect BCM's clients and, if so, whether any action should be taken as a result.
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V. Monitoring of ISS
BCM will periodically perform due diligence to assess ISS' ability to adequately analyze proxy issues and manage its conflicts of interest. In order to make this assessment, BCM shall consider, among other things:
A. ISS's oversight structure and personnel performing services on behalf of BCM;
B. Policies, procedures and related controls, including those that ensure vote recommendations are in accordance with ISS's
voting guidelines and are based on current and accurate information;
C. Policies and procedures related to the identification, management and disclosure of conflicts of interest impacting services
provided; and
D. Changes in ISS' business and specific conflicts of interest in order to reasonably determine whether ISS' conflicts of
interest may materially and adversely affect BCM's clients and, if so, whether any action should be taken as a result.
VI. Loaned Securities
As a general matter, securities on loan will not be recalled to facilitate proxy voting (in which case the borrower of the security shall be entitled to vote the proxy). However, if IMT is aware of an item in time to recall the security and has determined in good faith that the importance of the matter to be voted upon outweighs the loss in lending revenue that would result from recalling the security (i.e., if there is a controversial upcoming merger or acquisition, or some other significant matter), the security will be recalled for voting.
VII. Disclosure
A. BCM will disclose in its Form ADV Part 2A that clients may contact BCM in order to obtain information on how BCM voted
such client's proxies, and to request a copy of this policy. If a client requests this information, Investment Operations,
will prepare a written response to the client that lists, with respect to each voted proxy that the client has inquired about:
(1) the name of the issuer, (2) the proposal voted upon and (3) how BCM voted the client's proxy.
B. A concise summary of this Proxy Voting Policy will be included in the BCM's Form ADV Part 2A, and will be updated whenever
this policy is updated.
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STEPHENS INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT GROUP, LLC
PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Stephens Investment Management Group, LLC ("SIMG") has adopted the policies and procedures set out below regarding the voting of proxies on securities held in client accounts advised by SIMG (the "Policy"). This Policy is designed by SIMG to comply with its legal, fiduciary and contractual obligations in situations where SIMG has undertaken and agreed to vote client proxies. SIMG is a fiduciary and owes each of its clients a duty of care and loyalty with respect to the services it has undertaken on the client's behalf, including the voting of proxies. It is the policy of SIMG to vote all proxies on securities held in client investment advisory accounts over which the client has given SIMG voting authority (the "Proxies") in the best interests of its clients.
RESPONSIBILITY
SIMG's Board of Managers has responsibility for determining SIMG's Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures, exceptions to the procedures and the framework for how SIMG will vote Proxies in accordance with these procedures. SIMG's Proxy Committee consists of the Chief Investment Officer, the Chief Compliance Officer, the Senior Portfolio Manager, Chief Operating Officer and the Operations Administrator who collectively have a broad and diverse range of experience in the financial services industry.
The responsibility for monitoring the Policy and the practices, disclosures and recordkeeping relating to SIMG's Proxy voting will be coordinated through SIMG's compliance department. Regular reports of proxy votes will be provided to SIMG's Board of Managers. SIMG's Board of Managers shall review proxy voting on an ongoing basis at the Quarterly Board of Manager meetings.
PROCEDURES
SIMG has established procedures related to Proxy voting to implement the Policy set forth herein. The Policy and procedures may be amended or updated from time to time as appropriate.
Determining Responsibility to Vote Proxies. At the opening of each investment advisory client relationship, proxy voting responsibility, including any applicable regulatory requirements, will be determined, and any client proxy policies and/or guidelines regarding proxy voting will be ascertained. SIMG's investment management agreements typically specify that SIMG will assume proxy voting authority, unless a client retains such authority.
Retaining Services of A Third Party Proxy Advisory Firm. SIMG's Proxy Committee has determined that SIMG will utilize the services of a third party proxy advisory firm. In selecting a proxy advisory firm, SIMG will assess whether or not the proxy advisory firm has the necessary capacity and competence to adequately analyze proxy issues. In making this determination, SIMG will consider among other things the adequacy and quality of the proxy advisory firm's staffing and personnel and the robustness of the proxy advisory firm's policies and procedures regarding its ability to (i) ensure that its proxy voting recommendations are based on current and accurate information and (ii) identify and address any conflicts of interest and other considerations believed by SIMG to be appropriate considering the nature and quality of the services to be provided to SIMG.
Voting and Voting Guidelines. SIMG has selected Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. ("ISS"), an independent proxy-advisory firm, to provide research, recommendations and other proxy voting services for client Proxies. Absent a determination by SIMG's Proxy Committee to override ISS's guidelines and/or recommendations, SIMG will vote all client Proxies in accordance with ISS guidelines and recommendations. SIMG has also retained ISS for its voting agent service to administer its Proxy voting operation. As such, ISS is responsible for submitting all Proxies in a timely manner and for maintaining appropriate records of Proxy votes. SIMG may choose to hire other service providers or replace or supplement any of the services SIMG currently receives from ISS.
ISS maintains Proxy Voting Guidelines and Policies (the "Guidelines") that address a wide variety of individual topics, including, among others, shareholder voting rights, anti-takeover defenses, board structures, the election of directors, executive compensation, reorganizations, mergers and various shareholder proposals. These Guidelines may be amended by ISS from time to time.
Overrides. While it is generally SIMG's policy to follow the most current version of the Guidelines and recommendations from ISS, SIMG retains the authority to adopt guidelines from time to time that differ from the Guidelines. In addition, SIMG retains the authority on any particular Proxy vote to vote differently from the Guidelines or a related ISS recommendation. Such authority may be exercised only by the Proxy Committee. With respect to changing any voting guidelines from the ISS Guidelines, the Proxy Committee will consider the reasons for changing the guidelines and will create and maintain a written record reflecting its reasons for adopting the changed guidelines.
Copies of upcoming proxy votes will be circulated to the Proxy Committee along with ISS's recommendation for each proxy vote. Each Proxy Committee member will review the upcoming votes, and if any member of the Proxy Committee wishes to override ISS's voting recommendation, a meeting of the Proxy Committee shall be convened to discuss whether to override ISS's recommendation. The Proxy Committee shall:
(i) consider the reasons for voting in a manner different from the ISS recommendation;
(ii) consider whether there is a material conflict of interest between SIMG and its advisory clients or between the third
party proxy advisory firm and any person that would make it inappropriate for the Proxy Committee to vote in a manner different
from the ISS recommendations;
(iii) exercise its judgment to vote the Proxy in the best economic interests of SIMG's investment advisory clients; and
(iv) create and maintain a written record reflecting the basis for its judgment as to such Proxy vote.
In the event that any member of the Proxy Committee has any material pecuniary interest (direct or indirect) in a Proxy matter that is separate and distinct from that of a shareholder of the Proxy issuer, then the member shall recuse himself from the Proxy Committee's deliberations regarding that matter.
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Input from Others. The Proxy Committee may, with respect to any particular proxy matter under consideration, solicit and/or receive input from any employee of SIMG or its affiliates (e.g., an employee with the Stephens Inc. Research Department), so long as neither the individual nor his or her department have a material interest in the outcome of the proxy matter under consideration that would potentially conflict with the economic interests of SIMG's advisory clients. For example, the Proxy Committee should not solicit input from a Stephens Inc. investment banker with respect to a proxy matter if Stephens Inc. investment bankers are advising the issuer on the transaction underlying the proxy.
Conflicts of Interest. SIMG is part of a large financial services organization that has investment banking and other business relationships with, and/or ownership interests in, many issuers of securities. Such relationships may, from time to time, create or give rise to the appearance of a conflict of interest between SIMG (or its affiliates) and its clients. For example, an affiliate of SIMG may have an investment banking relationship with an issuer of voting securities that could create the potential for a conflict with SIMG's duty, in the Proxy voting process, to act in the best economic interest of its investment advisory clients. SIMG has implemented procedures designed to prevent conflicts of interest from influencing its Proxy voting decisions. These procedures include information barriers and, most significantly, the use of an independent third party proxy advisory firm to assist SMIG in the Proxy voting process.
Recordkeeping. SIMG shall maintain relevant records, in paper or electronic format, through EDGAR or ISS, including Proxy statements, related research materials, Proxy ballots and votes, on an issue and client basis. SIMG shall also maintain copies of any written client request for Proxy voting information regarding investment advisory client securities and any written responses thereto.
Periodic Review. SIMG will provide ongoing oversight over any third party proxy advisory firm it retains to ensure that SIMG, through the third party, continues to vote proxies in the best interests of SIMG's clients. Proxy voting for the most recent quarterly period will be presented to SIMG's Board of Managers and reviewed by them each quarter.
Annually, SIMG shall review this proxy voting policy and its implementation over the past 12 month period. SIMG, as part of this review, shall assess its third party proxy voting advisory firm's actions and recommendations. In this review, SIMG shall consider and determine:
whether or not proxies have been voted in SIMG client best interests and in accordance with SIMG's proxy voting policy;
whether or not any conflict of interest was identified in connection with proxy voting;
whether or not any business changes or other factors have influenced SIMG's third party proxy advisory firm's continued effectiveness and independence;
whether or not SIMG's proxy advisory firm continues to have the capacity, the systems, technology, controls, staffing and expertise to evaluate relevant company related issues;
whether SIMG's proxy advisory firm has an effective process for seeking timely input from issuers and its own clients with respect to its proxy voting policies, methodologies and peer group constructions (including say-on-pay votes).
whether SIMG's proxy advisory firm has adequately disclosed its methodologies in formulating voting recommendations such that the SIMG can understand the factors underlying the proxy advisory firm's voting recommendations; and
how SIMG's proxy advisory firm addresses conflicts of interest
B-5 |
APPENDIX C
Ratings Definitions
Below are summaries of the ratings definitions used by some of the rating organizations. Those ratings represent the opinion of the rating organizations as to the credit quality of the issues that they rate. The summaries are based upon publicly available information provided by the rating organizations.
Ratings of Long-Term Obligations and Preferred Stocks — A Fund utilizes ratings provided by rating organizations in order to determine eligibility of long-term obligations. The ratings described in this section may also be used for evaluating the credit quality for preferred stocks.
Credit ratings typically evaluate the safety of principal and interest payments, not the market value risk of bonds. The rating organizations may fail to update a credit rating on a timely basis to reflect changes in economic or financial conditions that may affect the market value of the security. For these reasons, credit ratings may not be an accurate indicator of the market value of a bond.
The four highest Moody's ratings for long-term obligations (or issuers thereof) are Aaa, Aa, A and Baa. Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, subject to the lowest level of credit risk. Obligations rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk. Obligations rated A are judged to be upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk. Obligations rated Baa are judged to be medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.
Moody's ratings of Ba, B, Caa, Ca and C are considered below investment grade. Obligations rated Ba are judged to be speculative and are subject to substantial credit risk. Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk. Obligations rated Caa are judged to be of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk. Obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest. Obligations rated C are the lowest rated and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest. Moody's also 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. Additionally, a "(hyb)" indicator is appended to all ratings of hybrid securities issued by banks, insurers, finance companies, and securities firms.
The four highest S&P Global ratings for long-term obligations are AAA, AA, A and BBB. An obligation rated AAA has the highest rating assigned by S&P Global. The obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is extremely strong. An obligation rated AA differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is very strong. 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 obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is still strong. An obligation rated BBB exhibits adequate protection parameters; however, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to weaken the obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
S&P Global ratings of 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. 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 obligor's inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. 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 obligor's capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. 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. An obligation rated CC is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The CC rating is used when a default has not yet occurred, but S&P Global expects default to be a virtual certainty, regardless of the anticipated time to default. 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. 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 S&P Global 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 obligation's rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer. NR indicates that a rating has not been assigned or is no longer assigned. 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.
The four highest ratings for long-term obligations by Fitch Ratings are AAA, AA, A and BBB. Obligations rated AAA are deemed to be of the highest credit quality. AAA ratings denote the lowest expectation of default risk. They are assigned only in case of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events. Obligations rated AA are deemed to be of very high credit quality. AA ratings denote expectations of very low default risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events. Obligations rated A are deemed to be of high credit quality. An A rating denotes expectations of low default risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to changes in circumstances or in economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings. Obligations rated BBB are deemed to be of good credit quality. BBB ratings indicate that expectations of default risk are currently low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate but adverse business and economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity. This is the lowest investment grade category.
C-1 |
Fitch's ratings of BB, B, CCC, CC, C, RD and D are considered below investment grade or speculative grade. Obligations rated BB are deemed to be speculative. BB ratings indicate an elevated vulnerability to default risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time; however, business or financial flexibility exists which supports the servicing of financial commitments. Obligations rated B are deemed to be highly speculative. B ratings indicate that material default risk is present, but a limited margin of safety remains. Financial commitments are currently being met; however, capacity for continued payment is vulnerable to deterioration in the business and economic environment. Obligations rated CCC indicate, for issuers and performing obligations, default is a real possibility. Obligations rated CC indicate, for issuers and performing obligations, default of some kind appears probable. Obligations rated C indicate exceptionally high levels of credit risk. Default is imminent or inevitable, or the issuer is in standstill. Conditions that are indicative of a 'C' category rating for an issuer include: (a) the issuer has entered into a grace or cure period following non-payment of a material financial obligation; (b) the issuer has entered into a temporary negotiated waiver or standstill agreement following a payment default on a material financial obligation; (c) the formal announcement by the issuer or their agent of a distressed debt exchange; or (d) a closed financing vehicle where payment capacity is irrevocably impaired such that it is not expected to pay interest and/or principal in full during the life of the transaction, but where no payment default is imminent. Obligations rated RD indicate an issuer that in Fitch Ratings' opinion has experienced an uncured payment default on a bond, loan or other material financial obligation but which has not entered into bankruptcy filings, administration, receivership, liquidation or other formal winding-up procedure, and which has not otherwise ceased operating. This would include: (a) the selective payment default on a specific class or currency of debt; (b) the uncured expiry of any applicable grace period, cure period or default forbearance period following a payment default on a bank loan, capital markets security or other material financial obligation; (c) the extension of multiple waivers or forbearance periods upon a payment default on one or more material financial obligations, either in series or in parallel; or (d) execution of a distressed debt exchange on one or more material financial obligations. Obligations rated D indicate an issuer that in Fitch Ratings' opinion has entered into bankruptcy filings, administration, receivership, liquidation or other formal winding-up procedure, or which has otherwise ceased business. Default ratings are not assigned prospectively to entities or their obligations; within this context, non-payment on an instrument that contains a deferral feature or grace period will generally not be considered a default until after the expiration of the deferral or grace period unless a default is otherwise driven by bankruptcy or other similar circumstance, or by a distressed debt exchange. "Imminent" default typically refers to the occasion where a payment default has been intimated by the issuer, and is all but inevitable. This may, for example, be where an issuer has missed a scheduled payment, but (as is typical) has a grace period during which it may cure the payment default. Another alternative would be where an issuer has formally announced a distressed debt exchange, but the date of the exchange still lies several days or weeks in the immediate future. In all cases, the assignment of a default rating reflects the agency's opinion as to the most appropriate rating category consistent with the rest of its universe of ratings, and may differ from the definition of default under the terms of an issuer's financial obligations or local commercial practice.
Ratings of Municipal Obligations — Moody's ratings for short-term investment-grade municipal obligations are designated Municipal Investment Grade (MIG or VMIG in the case of variable rate demand obligations) and are divided into three levels — MIG/VMIG 1, MIG/VMIG 2 and MIG/VMIG 3. The MIG/VMIG 1 rating 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. The MIG/VMIG 2 rating denotes strong credit quality. Margins of protection are ample, although not as large as in the preceding group. The MIG/VMIG 3 rating denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash-flow protection may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established. An SG rating denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of protection.
S&P Global uses SP-1, SP-2, SP-3, and D to rate short-term municipal obligations. A rating of SP-1 denotes 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. A rating of SP-2 denotes a satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes. A rating of SP-3 denotes a speculative capacity to pay principal and interest. A rating of D is assigned upon failure to pay the note when due, completion of a distressed exchange offer, or 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.
Ratings of Short-Term Obligations — Moody's short-term ratings, designated as P-1, P-2, P-3, or NP, are opinions of the ability of issuers to honor short-term financial obligations that generally have an original maturity not exceeding thirteen months. The rating P-1 is the highest short-term rating assigned by Moody's and it denotes an issuer (or supporting institution) that has a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations. The rating P-2 denotes an issuer (or supporting institution) that has a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations. The rating P-3 denotes an issuer (or supporting institution) that has an acceptable ability for repayment of senior short-term policyholder claims and obligations. The rating NP (Not Prime) denotes an issuer (or supporting institutions) that does not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.
S&P Global short-term ratings are generally assigned to those obligations considered short-term in the relevant market. A short-term obligation rated A-1 is rated in the highest category by S&P Global. The obligor's 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 obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on these obligations is extremely strong. 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 obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory. 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. 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 commitment; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties which could lead to the obligor's inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. 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. 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 S&P Global 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
C-2 |
where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligation's rating is lowered to 'D' if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
Fitch Ratings' short-term ratings have a time horizon of less than 13 months for most obligations, or up to three years for US public finance markets. Short-term ratings thus place greater emphasis on the liquidity necessary to meet financial commitments in a timely manner. A rating of F1 denotes an obligation of the highest short-term credit quality. It indicates the strongest intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments and may have an added "+" to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature. A rating of F2 denotes good short-term credit quality. It indicates a good intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments. A rating of F3 denotes fair short-term credit quality. The intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is adequate. A rating of B denotes an obligation that is of speculative short-term credit quality. Minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus heightened vulnerability to near term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions. A rating of C denotes a high short-term default risk. Default is a real possibility. A rating of RD 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, a rating of D indicates a broad-based default event for an entity or the default of a short-term obligation.
C-3 |
APPENDIX D
GLOSSARY
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|
ADRs |
American Depositary Receipts |
Advisers Act |
Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. |
American Beacon or the Manager
|
American Beacon Advisors, Inc. |
BDCs |
Business Development Companies |
Beacon Funds |
American Beacon Funds |
Board |
Board of Trustees |
Brexit |
The United Kingdom's departure from the European Union. |
CCO |
Chief Compliance Officer |
CDSC |
Contingent Deferred Sales Charge |
CFTC |
Commodity Futures Trading Commission |
Covered Shares |
Fund shares that the shareholder acquired or acquires after 2011. |
CPO |
Commodity Pool Operator |
Denial of Services |
A cybersecurity incident that results in customers or employees being unable to access electronic systems. |
Dividends |
Distributions from a Fund’s net investment income |
Dodd-Frank Act |
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act |
DRD |
Dividends-received deduction. |
ETF |
Exchange-Traded Fund |
ETN |
Exchange-Traded Note |
EU |
European Union |
FINRA |
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. |
Forwards |
Forward Currency Contracts |
GDR |
Global Depositary Receipt |
Holdings Policy |
Policies and Procedures for Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings |
Internal Revenue Code |
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended |
IPO |
Initial Public Offering |
IRA |
Individual Retirement Account |
IRS |
Internal Revenue Service |
ISS |
Institutional Shareholder Services |
Management Agreement |
A Fund’s Management Agreement with the Manager. |
Manager |
American Beacon Advisors, Inc. |
MLP |
Master Limited Partnership |
Moody's |
Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. |
NAV |
Net asset value |
NYSE |
New York Stock Exchange |
OTC |
Over-the-Counter |
Proxy Policy |
Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures |
QDI |
Qualified Dividend Income |
REIT |
Real Estate Investment Trust |
REMICs |
Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduits |
RIC |
Regulated Investment Company |
S&P Global |
S&P Global Ratings |
SAI |
Statement of Additional Information |
SEC |
Securities and Exchange Commission |
Securities Act |
Securities Act of 1933, as amended |
State Street |
State Street Bank and Trust Co. |
STRIPS |
Separately traded registered interest and principal securities |
Trust |
American Beacon Funds |
D-1 |
Trustee Retirement Plan |
Trustee Retirement and Trustee Emeritus and Retirement Plan |
UK |
United Kingdom |
Voluntary Action |
When a Fund voluntarily participates in corporate actions (for example, rights offerings, conversion privileges, exchange offers, credit event settlements, etc.) where the issuer or counterparty offers securities or instruments to holders or counterparties, such as the Fund, and the acquisition is determined to be beneficial to Fund shareholders. |
D-2 |
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American Beacon
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PROSPECTUS
April 29, 2020
Share Class |
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|
A |
C |
Y |
R5* |
Investor |
American Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
AHLAX |
AHLCX |
AHLYX |
AHLIX |
AHLPX |
American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund |
AHTAX |
AHACX |
AHTYX |
AHTIX |
AHTPX |
* Formerly known as the Institutional Class.
Beginning on January 1, 2021, as permitted by regulations adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, paper copies of a Fund's shareholder reports will no longer be sent by mail, unless you specifically request paper copies of the reports from a Fund or from your financial intermediary, such as a broker-dealer or bank. Instead, the reports will be made available on a website, and you will be notified by mail each time a report is posted and provided with a website link to access the report.
If you already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and you need
not take any action. You may elect to receive shareholder reports and other communications from a Fund or your financial intermediary electronically by going to www.americanbeaconfunds.com and clicking on ‘‘Quick Links''
and then ‘‘Register for E-Delivery."
You may elect to receive all future reports in paper free of charge. You can inform a Fund that you wish to continue receiving paper copies of your shareholder reports by calling 1-800-658-5811, option 1, or
you may directly inform your financial intermediary of your wish. A notice that will be mailed to you each time a report
is posted will also include instructions for informing a Fund that you wish to continue receiving paper copies of your shareholder reports. Your election to receive reports in paper
will apply to all funds held with the American Beacon Funds Complex or your financial intermediary, as applicable.
This Prospectus contains important information you should know about investing, including information about risks. Please read it before you invest and keep it for future reference.
As with all mutual funds, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have not approved or disapproved these securities or determined if this Prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
1 |
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10 |
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Additional Information About Investment Policies and Strategies |
19 |
19 |
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21 |
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33 |
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33 |
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34 |
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35 |
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35 |
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38 |
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41 |
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42 |
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43 |
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44 |
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45 |
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45 |
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45 |
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Back Cover
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A-1 |
|
B-1 |
American Beacon
|
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Investment Objective
The Fund's investment objective is capital growth.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
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 discounts if you and your eligible family members invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in all classes of the American Beacon Funds on an aggregated basis. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in "Choosing Your Share Class" on page 35 of the Prospectus and "Additional Purchase and Sale Information for A Class Shares" on page 38 of the statement of additional information ("SAI"). With respect to purchases of shares through specific intermediaries, you may find additional information regarding sales charge discounts and waivers in Appendix A to the Fund's Prospectus entitled "Intermediary Sales Charge Discounts and Waivers." Although the Fund does not impose any sales charge on Y Class shares, you may pay a commission to your broker on your purchases and sales of those shares, which is not reflected in the tables or Example below.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Share Class |
A |
C |
Y |
R5 |
Investor |
|||||
Maximum sales charge imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price) |
5.75 |
% |
None |
None |
None |
None |
||||
Maximum deferred sales charge (as a percentage of the lower of original offering price or redemption proceeds) |
0.50 |
%1 |
1.00 |
% |
None |
None |
None |
1 A contingent deferred sales charge (‘‘CDSC'') of 0.50% will be charged on certain purchases of $1,000,000 or more of A Class shares that are redeemed in whole or part within 18 months of purchase.
2 During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, the Fund paid amounts to American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (the "Manager") that were previously waived and/or reimbursed under a contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement agreement for the Fund's A Class, C Class and Y Class shares in the amount of 0.05% for the A Class, 0.05% for the C Class and 0.01% for the Y Class. As a result of the reimbursement, the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses of the A Class, C Class and Y Class shares do not correlate to the ratio of expenses to average net assets provided in the Financial Highlights table.
3 The Manager has contractually agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses of the Fund's A Class, C Class, Y Class, R5 Class and Investor Class shares, as applicable, through April 30, 2021 to the extent that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses exceed 1.87% for the A Class, 2.62% for the C Class, 1.61% for the Y Class, 1.54% for the R5 Class and 1.92% for the Investor Class (excluding taxes, interest, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses, securities lending fees, expenses associated with securities sold short, litigation, and other extraordinary expenses). The contractual expense reimbursement can be changed or terminated only in the discretion and with the approval of a majority of the Fund's Board of Trustees (the "Board"). The Manager will itself waive fees and/or reimburse expenses of the Fund to maintain the contractual expense ratio caps for each class of shares or make arrangements with other service providers to do so. The Manager may also, from time to time, voluntarily waive fees and/or reimburse expenses of the Fund. The Manager can be reimbursed by the Fund for any contractual or voluntary fee waivers or expense reimbursements if reimbursement to the Manager (a) occurs within three years from the date of the Manager's waiver/reimbursement and (b) does not cause the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses of a class to exceed the lesser of the contractual percentage limit in effect at the time of the waiver/reimbursement or the time of the recoupment.
4 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement for A Class, C Class and Y Class shares do not correlate to the ratio of expenses to average net assets, net of reimbursements, provided in the Fund's Financial Highlights table, which reflects the Fund's expenses, including its fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement agreement in effect through April 30, 2020. The Annual Fund Operating Expenses table reflects the new fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement agreement that was approved by the Fund's Board effective through April 30, 2021, which differs from the prior agreement.
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, except that the Example reflects the fee waiver/expense reimbursement arrangement for each share class through April 30, 2021. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Share Class |
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
A |
$ 754 |
$ 1,143 |
$ 1,556 |
$ 2,704 |
C |
$ 365 |
$ 829 |
$ 1,419 |
$ 3,017 |
Y |
$ 164 |
$ 514 |
$ 888 |
$ 1,940 |
R5 |
$ 157 |
$ 499 |
$ 865 |
$ 1,895 |
Investor |
$ 195 |
$ 607 |
$ 1,045 |
$ 2,263 |
Assuming no redemption of shares:
Share Class |
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
C |
$ 265 |
$ 829 |
$ 1,419 |
$ 3,017 |
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
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 Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual Fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. The Fund's portfolio turnover rate for the Fund's most recent fiscal year is not provided because the Fund did not invest in any long-term securities during the reporting period.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by implementing a quantitative trading strategy and systematic investment process designed to capitalize on price trends (up and/or down) in a broad range of global markets including stock indices, bonds and bond futures, currency and currency futures, and interest rates by utilizing derivative instruments. As the owner of a "long" position in a derivative instrument, the Fund may benefit from an increase in the price of the underlying investment and, as the owner of a "short" position, the Fund may benefit from a decrease in the price of the underlying investment.
The Fund invests primarily in futures, bonds, currency and forward contracts, including non-deliverable forwards. The Fund also may invest in swaps, which may include commodities swaps, credit default swaps, cross-currency swaps, equity swaps, interest rate swaps and total return swaps, and other types of derivative instruments linked to stock indices, currencies, bonds, interest rates and commodity instruments. In connection with the Fund's use of derivatives, the Fund also holds significant amounts of U.S. Treasury securities and other foreign developed market sovereign short-term bonds issued by countries such as France, Germany, Japan and other developed countries, or short-term investments, including money market funds, cash and time deposits in order to meet applicable asset coverage requirements under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "Investment Company Act"). The Fund's investments are generally made without restriction as to issuer market capitalization, country, currency, maturity or credit rating. The Fund may invest in below investment grade securities, which are commonly referred to as "junk bonds" and in issuers in the U.S. and foreign developed and emerging markets.
The Fund seeks to gain exposure to the commodity futures markets by investing up to 25% of its total assets in a wholly-owned subsidiary, which is organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the "Subsidiary"). Generally, the Subsidiary invests primarily in commodity futures, but it may also invest in financial futures and forwards and swap contracts, fixed income securities, pooled investment vehicles, including open-end investment companies, and other investments intended to serve as margin or collateral for the Subsidiary's derivative positions. The Fund invests in the Subsidiary in order to gain exposure to the commodities markets within the limitations of the federal tax law, rules and regulations that apply to "regulated investment companies." Unlike the Fund, the Subsidiary may invest without limitation in commodity-linked derivatives, however, the Subsidiary and the Fund, in the aggregate, comply with applicable Investment Company Act asset coverage requirements with respect to their total investments in commodity-linked derivatives. In addition, the Fund and the Subsidiary comply with the same fundamental investment restrictions on an aggregate basis and the Subsidiary follows the same compliance policies and procedures as the Fund to the extent those restrictions, policies and procedures are applicable to the investment activities of the Subsidiary. Unlike the Fund, the Subsidiary does not, and will not, seek to qualify as a "regulated investment company" under Subchapter M of Chapter 1 of Subtitle A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended ("Subchapter M"). 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.
The sub-advisor employs computerized processes to identify investment opportunities across a wide range of markets around the world. Investment decisions are executed via the sub-advisor's proprietary execution strategy. The investment decision process is quantitative and primarily directional in nature, meaning that investment decisions are driven by mathematical models based on market trends and other historical relationships. It is underpinned by risk control, ongoing research, diversification and the quest for efficiency. The Fund's holdings may be frequently adjusted to reflect the sub-advisor's assessment of changing risks, which could result in high portfolio turnover.
The cornerstone of the sub-advisor's investment philosophy is that the financial markets exhibit trends and other inefficiencies. Trends are a manifestation of serial correlation in financial markets — the phenomenon whereby past price movements influence price behavior. Although price trends vary in their intensity, duration and frequency they typically recur across sectors and markets. Trends are an attractive focus for active trading styles applied across a range of global markets. In implementing its investment program, the Fund may hold significant cash positions from time to time. Accordingly, the sub-advisor will make investment decisions for cash management purposes. Such arrangements may include entering into repurchase agreements or investing in cash equivalents.
The Fund is non-diversified, which means that it is not limited to a percentage of assets that it may invest in any one issuer.
Principal Risks
There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective and you could lose part or all of your investment in the Fund. The Fund is not designed for investors who need an assured level of current income and is intended to be a long-term investment. The Fund is not a complete investment program and may not be appropriate for all investors. Investors should carefully consider their own investment goals and risk tolerance before investing in the Fund. The principal risks of investing in the Fund listed below are presented in alphabetical order and not in order of importance or potential exposure. Among other matters, this presentation is intended to facilitate your ability to find particular risks and compare them with the risks of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a "principal risk" of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears.
Allocation Risk
The sub-advisor's judgments about, and allocations among, strategies, asset classes and market exposures may adversely affect
the Fund's performance. There can be no assurance, particularly during periods of market disruption and stress, that the sub-advisor's
judgements about asset allocation will be correct. This risk may be increased by the use of derivatives to increase allocations
to various market exposures.
Asset Selection Risk
Assets selected by the sub-advisor or the Manager for the Fund may not perform to expectations. The sub-advisor's investment
models may rely in part on data derived from third parties and may not perform as intended. This could result in the Fund's
underperformance compared to other funds with similar investment objectives.
Commodities Risk
The Fund's investments in commodity-linked derivative instruments 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 changes in supply and demand, drought, floods, weather,
livestock disease, embargoes, tariffs, war, acts of terrorism and international economic, political and regulatory developments. The Fund and the Subsidiary
each may invest significantly in a particular sector of the commodities market (such as oil, metal or agricultural products). As a result, the Fund and the Subsidiary
may be more susceptible to risks associated with those sectors. No active trading market may exist for certain commodities investments. The Fund's investments
in commodity-related
2 |
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
instruments may lead to losses in excess of the Fund's investment in such products. Such losses can significantly and adversely affect the NAV per share of the Fund and, consequently, a shareholder's interest in the Fund. Because the Fund's and the Subsidiary's performance is linked to the performance of potentially volatile commodities, investors should be willing to assume the risks of significant fluctuations in the value of the Fund's shares.
Counterparty Risk
The Fund is subject to the risk that a party or participant to a transaction, such as a broker or derivative counterparty,
will be unwilling or unable to satisfy its obligation to make timely principal, interest or settlement payments or to otherwise
honor its obligations to the Fund.
Credit Risk
The Fund is subject to the risk that the issuer or guarantor of a debt security, or the counterparty to a derivatives contract,
may fail, or become less able, to make timely payment of interest or principal or otherwise honor its obligations or default
completely. Changes in the actual or perceived creditworthiness of an issuer, or a downgrade or default affecting any of the
Fund's securities, could affect the Fund's performance.
Crowding/Convergence Risk
There is significant competition among quantitatively-focused managers, and the ability of the sub-advisor to deliver returns
that have a low correlation with global aggregate equity markets and that outperform other funds is dependent on its ability
to employ models that are simultaneously profitable and differentiated from those employed by other managers. To the extent
that the sub-advisor is not able to develop sufficiently differentiated models, the Fund's investment objective may not be
met, irrespective of whether the models are profitable in an absolute sense.
Currency Risk
The Fund may have exposure to foreign currencies by using various instruments described below. Foreign currencies may fluctuate
significantly over short periods of time, may be affected unpredictably by intervention, or the failure to intervene, of the
U.S. or foreign governments or central banks, and may be affected by currency controls or political developments in the U.S.
or abroad. Foreign currencies may also decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar and other currencies and thereby affect
the Fund's investments in non-U.S. currencies or in securities that trade in, and receive revenues in, or in derivatives that
provide exposure to, non-U.S. currencies. The Fund may gain exposure to foreign currencies because of its investments in one
or more of the following:
Non-U.S. currencies
Securities denominated in non-U.S. currencies
Foreign currency forward contracts, including non-deliverable forwards ("NDFs"), which are described below under "Derivatives Risk"
Non-U.S. currency futures contracts, which are described below under "Derivatives Risk"
Swaps for cross-currency transactions, which are described below under "Derivatives Risk"
Cybersecurity and Operational Risk
The Fund and its service providers, and shareholders' ability to transact with the Fund, may be negatively impacted due to
operational risks arising from, among other problems: human errors, systems and technology disruptions or failures, or cybersecurity
incidents. Cybersecurity incidents may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data, or proprietary
information, or cause the Fund or its service providers, as well as the securities trading venues and their service providers,
to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality. It is not possible for the Fund or its service providers to identify
all of the operational risks that may affect the Fund or to develop processes and controls to completely eliminate or mitigate
their occurrence or effects. Most issuers in which the Fund invests are heavily dependent on computers for data storage and
operations, and require ready access to the internet to conduct their business. Thus, cybersecurity incidents could also affect
issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, leading to significant loss of value.
Derivatives Risk
Derivatives may involve significant risk. The use of derivative instruments may expose the Fund to additional risks that
it would not be subject to if it invested directly in the securities or other instruments underlying those derivatives, including
the high degree of leverage often embedded in such instruments, and potential material and prolonged deviations between the
theoretical value and realizable value of a derivative. Some derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless
of the size of the Fund's initial investment. Derivatives may at times be illiquid, and the Fund may not be able to close
out or sell a derivative at a particular time or at an anticipated price. Certain derivatives may be difficult to value, and
valuation may be more difficult in times of market turmoil. Derivatives may also be more volatile than other types of investments.
The Fund may buy or sell derivatives not traded on an exchange, which may be subject to heightened liquidity and valuation
risk. Derivative investments can increase portfolio turnover and transaction costs. Derivatives also are subject to counterparty
risk and credit risk. As a result, the Fund may not recover its investment or may only obtain a limited recovery, and any
recovery may be delayed. Not all derivative transactions require a counterparty to post collateral, which may expose the Fund
to greater losses in the event of a default by a counterparty. Ongoing changes to the regulation of the derivatives markets
and potential changes in the regulation of funds using derivative instruments could limit the Fund's ability to pursue its
investment strategies. New regulation of derivatives may make them more costly, or may otherwise adversely affect their liquidity,
value or performance. In addition, the Fund's investments in derivatives are subject to the following risks:
Forward Contracts Risk. Forward contracts, including NDFs, are derivative instruments pursuant to a contract where the parties agree to a fixed price for an agreed amount of securities or other underlying assets at an agreed date or to buy or sell a specific currency at a future date at a price set at the time of the contract. There are no limitations on daily price movements of forward contracts. There can be no assurance that any strategy used will succeed. Not all forward contracts, including NDFs, require a counterparty to post collateral, which may expose the Fund to greater losses in the event of a default by a counterparty. Forward currency transactions, including NDFs, and forward currency contracts include the risks associated with fluctuations in currency.
Futures Contracts Risk. Futures contracts are derivative instruments pursuant to a contract where the parties agree to a fixed price for an agreed amount of securities or other underlying assets at an agreed date. The use of such derivative instruments may expose the Fund to additional risks that it would not be subject to if it invested directly in the securities underlying those derivatives. There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in the prices of futures contracts and the value of their underlying instruments or indexes. There can be no assurance that any strategy used will succeed. There also can be no assurance that, at all times, a liquid market will exist for offsetting a futures contract that the Fund has previously bought or sold and this may result in the inability to close a futures contract when desired. Futures contracts may experience potentially dramatic price changes, which will increase the volatility of the Fund and may involve a small investment of cash (the amount of initial and variation margin) relative to the magnitude of the risk assumed (the potential increase or decrease in the price of the futures contract).
Swap Agreements Risk. Swaps can involve greater risks than a direct investment in an underlying asset, because swaps typically include a certain amount of embedded leverage and as such are subject to leverage risk. If swaps are used as a hedging strategy, the Fund is subject to the risk that the hedging strategy may not eliminate the risk that it is intended to offset, due to, among other reasons, the occurrence of unexpected price movements or the non-occurrence of expected price movements. Swaps also may be difficult to value. Swaps may be subject to liquidity risk and counterparty risk, and swaps that are traded over-the-counter are not subject to standardized clearing requirements and may involve greater liquidity and counterparty risks. In addition, the Fund may invest in the following types of swaps:
Commodities swaps, which may be subject to commodities risk.
Prospectus – Fund Summaries
3
Credit default swaps, which may be subject to credit risk and the risks associated with the purchase and sale of credit protection.
Cross-currency swaps, which may be subject to currency risk and credit risk.
Equity swaps, which may be subject to equity investments risk.
Interest rate swaps, which may be subject to interest rate risk and credit risk.
Total return swaps, which may be subject to credit risk and, if the underlying securities are bonds or other debt obligations, market risk and
interest rate risk.
Emerging Markets Risk
When investing in emerging markets, the risks of investing in foreign securities, as discussed below, are heightened. Emerging
markets are generally smaller, less developed, less liquid and more volatile than the securities markets of the U.S. and other
developed markets. There are also risks of: greater political uncertainties; an economy's dependence on revenues from particular
commodities or on international aid or development assistance; currency transfer restrictions; a limited number of potential
buyers for such securities resulting in increased volatility and limited liquidity for emerging market securities; trading
suspensions; and delays and disruptions in securities settlement procedures. The governments of emerging market countries
may also be more unstable and more likely to impose capital controls, nationalize a company or industry, place restrictions
on foreign ownership and on withdrawing sale proceeds of securities from the country, intervene in the financial markets,
and/or impose burdensome taxes that could adversely affect security prices. In addition, there may be less publicly available
information about issuers in emerging markets than would be available about issuers in more developed capital markets, and
such issuers may not be subject to accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and requirements comparable to those
to which U.S. companies are subject.
Foreign Investing Risk
Non-U.S. investments carry potential risks not associated with U.S. investments. Such risks include, but are not limited
to: (1) currency exchange rate fluctuations, (2) political and financial instability, (3) less liquidity, (4) lack of uniform
accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, (5) increased volatility, (6) different government regulation and
supervision of foreign stock exchanges, brokers and listed companies, and (7) delays in transaction settlement in some foreign
markets.
Investing in Developed Countries Risk. The Fund's investment in a developed country issuer may subject the Fund to regulatory, political, currency, security, economic and other risks associated with developed countries. Developed countries tend to represent a significant portion of the global economy and have generally experienced slower economic growth than some less developed countries. In addition, developed countries may be impacted by changes to the economic conditions of certain key trading partners, regulatory burdens, debt burdens and the price or availability of certain commodities.
Hedging Risk
If the Fund uses a hedging instrument at the wrong time or judges the market conditions incorrectly, or the hedged instrument
does not correlate to the risk sought to be hedged, the hedge might be unsuccessful, reduce the Fund's return, or create a
loss. In addition, hedges, even when successful in mitigating risk, may not prevent the Fund from experiencing losses on its
investments. Hedging instruments may also reduce or eliminate gains that may otherwise have been available had the Fund not
used the hedging instruments.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk
Portfolio turnover is a measure of the Fund's trading activity over a one-year period. High portfolio turnover could increase
the Fund's transaction costs, have a negative impact on performance, and generate higher capital gain distributions to shareholders
than if the Fund had a lower portfolio turnover rate.
High Yield Securities Risk
Exposure to high yield, below investment-grade securities (commonly referred to as "junk bonds") generally involves significantly
greater risks than an investment in investment grade securities. High yield debt securities may fluctuate more widely in price
and yield and may fall in price when the economy is weak or expected to become weak. These securities also may be difficult
to sell at the time and price the Fund desires. High yield securities are considered to be speculative with respect to an
issuer's ability to pay interest and principal and carry a greater risk that the issuers of lower-rated securities will default
on the timely payment of principal and interest. High yield securities may experience greater price volatility and less liquidity
than investment grade securities. Issuers of securities that are in default or have defaulted may fail to resume principal
or interest payments, in which case the Fund may lose its entire investment.
Interest Rate Risk
Generally, the value of investments with interest rate risk, such as fixed income securities, will move in the opposite direction
to movements in interest rates. As of the date of this Prospectus, interest rates are historically low. In the future, interest
rates may rise, perhaps significantly and/or rapidly, potentially resulting in substantial losses to the Fund. The prices
of fixed income securities or derivatives are also affected by their durations. Fixed income securities or derivatives with
longer durations generally have greater sensitivity to changes in interest rates. For example, if a bond has a duration of
eight years, a 1% increase in interest rates could be expected to result in an 8% decrease in the value of the bond. An increase in interest rates can impact markets broadly as well. Some investors buy
securities and derivatives with borrowed money; an increase in interest rates can cause a decline in those markets. Conversely,
extremely low or negative interest rates may become more prevalent among U.S. and foreign issuers. To the extent the Fund
holds an investment with a negative interest rate to maturity, the Fund would generate a negative return on that investment.
Investment Risk
An investment in the Fund is not a deposit with a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation or any other government agency. When you sell your shares of the Fund, they could be worth less than what you
paid for them. Therefore, you may lose money by investing in the Fund.
Issuer Risk
The value of, and/or the return generated by, a security may decline for a number of reasons that directly relate to the
issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services, as well
as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.
Leverage Risk
The Fund's use of derivative instruments, repurchase agreements and selling securities short will have the economic effect
of financial leverage. Financial leverage magnifies the exposure to the swings in prices of an asset or class of assets underlying
a derivative instrument and may result in increased volatility, which means that the Fund will have the potential for greater
losses than if the Fund does not use the derivative instruments that have a leveraging effect. Leverage may result in losses
that exceed the amount originally invested and may accelerate the rate of losses. Leverage tends to magnify, sometimes significantly,
the effect of any increase or decrease in the Fund's exposure to an asset or class of assets and may cause the Fund's NAV
to be volatile. There can be no assurance that the Fund's use of leverage will be successful.
4 |
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
LIBOR Risk
Certain of the instruments identified in the Fund's principal investment strategies have variable or floating coupon rates
that are based on the ICE LIBOR ("LIBOR"), Euro Interbank Offered Rate and other similar types of reference rates (each, a
"Reference Rate"). On July 27, 2017, the Chief Executive of the UK Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA"), which regulates LIBOR,
announced that the FCA will no longer persuade nor require banks to submit rates for the calculation of LIBOR and certain
other Reference Rates after 2021. Such announcement indicates that the continuation of LIBOR and other Reference Rates on
the current basis cannot and will not be guaranteed after 2021. This announcement and any additional regulatory or market
changes may have an adverse impact on the Fund or its investments, including increased volatility or illiquidity in markets
for instruments that rely on LIBOR.
In advance of 2021, regulators and market participants are working together to identify or develop successor Reference Rates. Additionally, prior to 2021, it is expected that market participants will focus on the transition mechanisms by which the Reference Rates in existing contracts or instruments may be amended, whether through marketwide protocols, fallback contractual provisions, bespoke negotiations or amendments or otherwise. Nonetheless, the termination of certain Reference Rates presents risks to the Fund. At this time, it is not possible to completely identify or predict the effect of any such changes, any establishment of alternative Reference Rates or any other reforms to Reference Rates that may be enacted in the UK or elsewhere. The elimination of a Reference Rate or any other changes or reforms to the determination or supervision of Reference Rates could have an adverse impact on the market for or value of any securities or payments linked to those Reference Rates and other financial obligations held by the Fund or on its overall financial condition or results of operations. In addition, any substitute Reference Rate and any pricing adjustments imposed by a regulator or by counterparties or otherwise may adversely affect the Fund's performance and/or NAV.
Liquidity Risk
The Fund is susceptible to the risk that certain investments held by the Fund may have limited marketability, be subject to
restrictions on sale, be difficult or impossible to purchase or sell at favorable times or prices, or become less liquid in
response to market developments or adverse credit events that may affect issuers or guarantors of a security. An inability
to sell a portfolio position can adversely affect the Fund's value or prevent the Fund from being able to take advantage of
other investment opportunities. Market prices for such instruments may be volatile. The Fund could lose money if it is unable
to dispose of an investment at a time that is most beneficial to the Fund. The Fund may be required to dispose of investments
at unfavorable times or prices to satisfy obligations, which may result in losses or may be costly to the Fund. For example,
liquidity risk may be magnified in rising interest rate environments due to higher than normal redemption rates. Unexpected
redemptions may force the Fund to sell certain investments at unfavorable prices to meet redemption requests or other cash
needs. Judgment plays a greater role in pricing illiquid investments than in investments with more active markets.
Market Risk
In recent periods, certain fixed income instruments have experienced unusual liquidity issues, increased price volatility
and, in some cases, credit downgrades and increased likelihood of default. These events have reduced the willingness and ability
of some lenders to extend credit, and have made it more difficult for some borrowers to obtain financing on attractive terms,
if at all. In addition, global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the
possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers in a different country or region. A
rise in protectionist trade policies, risks associated with the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union on January
31, 2020 and trade agreement negotiations during the transition period, the risks associated with ongoing trade negotiations
with China, and the possibility of changes to some international trade agreements, could affect the economies of many nations,
including the United States, in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time. The severity or duration of
adverse economic conditions may also be affected by policy changes made by governments or quasi-governmental organizations.
In addition, political and governmental events within the U.S. and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and
may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy, perhaps suddenly and to a significant degree. High public
debt in the U.S. and other countries creates ongoing systemic and market risks and policymaking uncertainty. Because the impact
on the markets has been widespread, it may be difficult to identify both risks and opportunities using past models of the
interplay of market forces, or to predict the duration of these market conditions. Interest rates have been unusually low
in recent years in the U.S. and abroad. Because there is little precedent for this situation, it is difficult to predict the
impact on various markets of a significant rate increase, whether brought about by U.S. policy makers or by dislocations in
world markets. In addition, there is a risk that the prices of goods and services in the U.S. and many foreign economies may
decline over time, known as deflation (the opposite of inflation). Deflation may have an adverse effect on stock prices and
creditworthiness and may make defaults on debt more likely.
Market Direction Risk
Since the Fund will typically hold both long and short positions, an investment in the Fund will involve market risks associated
with different types of investment decisions than those made for a typical "long only" fund. The Fund's results could suffer
both when there is a general market advance and the Fund holds significant "short" positions, and when there is a general
market decline and the Fund holds significant "long" positions.
Market Disruption Risk
Geopolitical and other events, including war, terrorism, economic uncertainty, trade disputes, pandemics, public health crises
and related geopolitical events have led, and in the future may continue to lead, to instability in world economies and markets
generally. This instability has disrupted, and may continue to disrupt, U.S. and world economies and markets and adversely
affect the value of your investment. Events that have led to market disruptions include the recent pandemic spread of the
novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, the duration and full effects of which are still uncertain. Market disruptions have caused,
and may continue to cause, broad changes in market value, negative public perceptions concerning these developments, and adverse
investor sentiment or publicity. Changes in value may be temporary or may last for extended periods.
Market Timing Risk
The Fund is subject to the risk of market timing activities by investors due to the Fund's investments in high yield, and
foreign securities, or its exposure to foreign securities through the derivatives it holds. If the Fund trades foreign securities,
it generally prices these foreign securities using their closing prices from the foreign markets in which they trade, which
typically is prior to the Fund's calculation of its net asset value ("NAV"). These prices may be affected by events that occur
after the close of a foreign market but before the Fund prices its shares. In such instances, the Fund may fair value high yield and foreign securities. However, some investors may engage in frequent short-term trading in the Fund to take advantage of any
price differentials that may be reflected in the NAV of the Fund's shares. Frequent trading by Fund shareholders poses risks
to other shareholders in the Fund, including (i) the dilution of the Fund's NAV, (ii) an increase in the Fund's expenses,
and (iii) interference with the portfolio manager's ability to execute efficient investment strategies. While the Manager
monitors trading in the Fund, there is no guarantee that it can detect all market timing activities.
Model and Data Risk
The sub-advisor relies heavily on proprietary mathematical quantitative models (each, a "Model") and data developed both by
the sub-advisor and those supplied by third parties (collectively, "Data"), rather than granting trade-by-trade discretion
to the sub-advisor's investment professionals. In combination, Models and Data are used to construct investment decisions,
to value both current and potential investments (including, without limitation, for trading purposes, and for the purposes
of determining the NAV of the Fund), to provide risk management insights and to assist in hedging the Fund's positions and
investments.
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
5 |
Models and Data are known to have errors, omissions, imperfections and malfunctions (collectively, "System Events").
The sub-advisor seeks to reduce the incidence and impact of System Events, to the extent feasible, through a combination of internal testing, simulation, real-time monitoring, use of independent safeguards in the overall portfolio management process and often in the software code itself. Despite such testing, monitoring and independent safeguards, System Events will result in, among other things, the execution of unanticipated trades, the failure to execute anticipated trades, delays in the execution of anticipated trades, the failure to properly allocate trades, the failure to properly gather and organize available data, the failure to take certain hedging or risk reducing actions and/or the taking of actions which increase certain risk(s) - all of which may have materially adverse effects on the Fund.
System Events in third-party provided Data are generally entirely outside the control of the sub-advisor.
Modeling and Programming Error Risk
The success of the sub-advisor's investment strategy depends largely on the effectiveness of its quantitative research models
and investment programs. The programs may not react as expected to market events, resulting in losses for the Fund. Additionally,
programs may become outdated or experience malfunctions, which may not be identified by the sub-advisor and therefore may
also result in losses to the Fund. There is no assurance that the models and programs are complete or accurate, or representative
of future market cycles, nor will they always be beneficial to the Fund if they are accurate. These models and programs may
negatively affect Fund performance for various reasons, including human judgment, inaccuracy of historical data and non-quantitative
factors (such as market or trading system dysfunctions, investor fear or over-reaction.
Non-Diversification Risk
The Fund is non-diversified, which means it may focus its investments in the securities of a comparatively small number of
issuers. Investments in securities of a limited number of issuers exposes the Fund to greater market risk, price volatility
and potential losses than if assets were diversified among the securities of a greater number of issuers.
Obsolescence Risk
The Fund is unlikely to be successful in the deployment of its quantitative investment strategies unless the assumptions
underlying the Models are realistic and either remain realistic and relevant in the future or are adjusted to account for
changes in the overall market environment. If such assumptions are inaccurate or become inaccurate and are not promptly adjusted,
it is likely that profitable trading signals will not be generated. If and to the extent that the Models do not reflect certain
factors, and the sub-advisor does not successfully address such omission through its testing and evaluation and modify the
Models accordingly, major losses may result — all of which will be borne by the Fund.
Other Investment Companies Risk
To the extent that the Fund invests in shares of other registered investment companies, the Fund will indirectly bear the
fees and expenses charged by those investment companies in addition to the Fund's direct fees and expenses. The Fund will
be subject to the risks associated with investments in those companies, including but not limited to the following:
Money Market Funds. Investments in money market funds are subject to interest rate risk, credit risk, and market risk.
Quantitative Strategy Risk
The success of the Fund's investment strategy may depend in part on the effectiveness of the sub-advisor's quantitative tools for screening securities. These strategies may incorporate factors that are not predictive
of a security's value. The quantitative tools may not react as expected to market events, resulting in losses for the Fund.
Additionally, a previously successful strategy may become outdated or inaccurate, which may not be identified by the sub-advisor and therefore may also result in losses.
Redemption Risk
The Fund may experience periods of high levels of redemptions that could cause the Fund to sell assets at inopportune times
or at a loss or depressed value. The sale of assets to meet redemption requests may create net capital gains, which could
cause the Fund to have to distribute substantial capital gains. Redemption risk is heightened during periods of declining
or illiquid markets. Additionally, during periods of heavy redemptions, the Fund may borrow funds through the interfund credit
facility, or from a bank line of credit, which may increase costs. Heavy redemptions could hurt the Fund's performance.
Repurchase Agreement Risk
The use of repurchase agreements involves counterparty risk and credit risk. The obligations of a counterparty to a repurchase
agreement are not guaranteed. If the other party to a repurchase agreement defaults on its obligation under the agreement,
the Fund may suffer delays and incur costs or lose money in exercising its rights under the agreement. The Fund permits various
forms of securities as collateral whose values fluctuate and that are not issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government. There
are risks that a counterparty may default at a time when the collateral has declined in value, or a counterparty may become
insolvent and subject to liquidation, which may affect the Fund's right to control the collateral.
Risk Management
Risk is an essential part of investing. No risk management program can eliminate the Fund's exposure to adverse events; at
best, it can only reduce the possibility that the Fund will be affected by such events, and especially those risks that are
not intrinsic to the Fund's investment program.
Segregated Assets Risk
In connection with certain transactions that may give rise to future payment obligations, the Fund may be required to maintain
a segregated amount of, or otherwise earmark, cash or liquid securities to cover the obligation. Segregated assets generally
cannot be sold while the position they are covering is outstanding, unless they are replaced with other assets of equal value.
The need to segregate cash or other liquid securities could limit the Fund's ability to pursue other opportunities as they
arise.
Short Position Risk
The Fund will incur a loss as a result of a short position if the price of the instrument sold short increases in value between
the date of the short sale and the date on which an offsetting position is purchased. Short positions may be considered speculative
transactions and involve special risks, including greater reliance on the sub-advisor's ability to accurately anticipate the future value of a security or instrument. The Fund's losses are potentially
unlimited in a short position transaction because there is potentially no limit on the amount that the security that the Fund
is required to purchase may have appreciated. Because the Fund may invest the proceeds of a short sale, another effect of
short selling on the Fund is similar to the effect of leverage, in that short selling may amplify changes in the Fund's NAV
since it may increase the exposure of the Fund to certain markets and may increase losses and the volatility of returns.
Sovereign and Quasi-Sovereign Debt Risk
Sovereign or quasi-sovereign debt securities are subject to risk of payment delays or defaults due to, among other things:
(1) country cash flow problems, (2) insufficient foreign currency reserves, (3) political considerations, (4) large debt positions relative to the country's economy,
(5) policies toward foreign lenders or investors, (6) the failure to implement economic reforms required by the International Monetary Fund or other multilateral
agencies, or (7) an inability or
6 |
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
unwillingness to repay debts. It may be particularly difficult to enforce the rights of debt holders in emerging markets. A governmental entity that defaults on an obligation may request additional time in which to repay loans, may request further loans, or may seek to restructure its obligations to reduce interest rates or outstanding principal. There is no legal process for collecting sovereign and quasi-sovereign debt that a government does not pay, nor are there bankruptcy proceedings through which all or part of the sovereign debt that a governmental entity has not repaid may be collected. Sovereign and quasi-sovereign debt risk is increased for emerging markets issuers, which are among the largest debtors to commercial banks and foreign governments. At times, certain emerging market countries have declared moratoria on the payment of principal and interest on external debt. Certain emerging market countries have experienced difficulty in servicing their sovereign debt on a timely basis, which has led to defaults and the restructuring of certain indebtedness.
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. These risks
are described elsewhere in this Prospectus. There can be no assurance that the investment objective of the Fund or the Subsidiary
will be achieved. The Subsidiary is not registered under the Investment Company Act, and, unless otherwise noted in this Prospectus,
is not subject to all the investor protections of the Investment Company Act. In addition, 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
this Prospectus and the SAI and could adversely affect the Fund's performance.
Tax Risk
To qualify as a "regulated investment company" under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Internal
Revenue Code") ("RIC"), the Fund must, among other requirements, derive at least 90% of its gross income for each taxable
year from "qualifying income," which is described in more detail in the "Tax Information" section of the SAI. Income from
certain commodity-linked derivative instruments in which the Fund invests is not considered qualifying income. The Fund will
therefore restrict its income from direct investments in those instruments, such as commodity-linked swaps, to a maximum of
10% of its gross income for each taxable year. The Fund's investment in the Subsidiary is expected to provide the Fund with
exposure to the commodities markets within the limitations of the federal tax requirements of Subchapter M. The Internal Revenue
Service ("IRS") issued a large number of private letter rulings ("PLRs") (which the Fund may not cite as precedent) from 2006
to 2011 that income a RIC derives from a wholly owned foreign subsidiary (a "controlled foreign corporation" or "CFC") (such
as the Subsidiary) that earns income derived from commodity-linked derivative instruments is qualifying income. Treasury regulations
published on March 19, 2019, provide that income inclusions of a RIC from a CFC are qualifying income for the RIC whether
or not the CFC makes distributions to the RIC out of its associated earnings and profits for the applicable taxable year.
See "Tax Information" in the SAI for further information regarding RIC's federal income tax treatment of income from CFCs
and commodity-linked instruments. The federal income tax treatment of the Fund's commodity-linked investments and income from
the Subsidiary may be materially adversely affected by future legislation, other Treasury regulations, and/or guidance issued
by the IRS that could affect whether income from such investments is qualifying income under Subchapter M or otherwise materially
affect the character, timing or recognition, and/or amount of the Fund's taxable income and/or net capital gains and, therefore,
the distributions the Fund makes.
Trading System and Execution of Orders Risk
The sub-advisor relies extensively on computer programs, systems, technology, Data and Models to implement its execution strategies
and algorithms. The sub-advisor's investment strategies, trading strategies and algorithms depend on its ability to establish
and maintain an overall market position in a combination of financial instruments selected by the sub-advisor. There is a
risk that the sub-advisor's proprietary algorithmic trading systems may not be able to adequately react to a market event
without serious disruption. Further, trading strategies and algorithms may malfunction causing severe losses. While the sub-advisor
has employed tools to allow for human intervention to respond to significant system malfunctions, it cannot be guaranteed
that losses will not occur in such circumstances as unforeseen market events, disruptions and execution system issues.
U.S. Government Securities and Government-Sponsored Enterprises Risk
A security backed by the U.S. Treasury or the full faith and credit of the United States is guaranteed only as to the timely
payment of interest and principal when held to maturity. The market prices for such securities are not guaranteed and will
fluctuate. Securities held by the Fund that are issued by government-sponsored enterprises, such as the Federal National Mortgage
Association (‘‘Fannie Mae''), Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (‘‘Freddie Mac''), Federal Home Loan Bank (‘‘FHLB''),
Federal Farm Credit Bank ("FFCB"), and the Tennessee Valley Authority, are not guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury and are not
backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government, and no assurance can be given that the U.S. Government will provide
financial support if these organizations do not have the funds to meet future payment obligations. U.S. Government securities
and securities of government-sponsored entities are also subject to credit risk, interest rate risk and market risk.
U.S. Treasury Obligations Risk
The value of U.S. Treasury obligations may vary due to changes in interest rates. In addition, changes to the financial condition
or credit rating of the U.S. government may cause the value of the Fund's investments in obligations issued by the U.S. Treasury
to decline. Certain political events in the U.S., such as a prolonged government shut down, may also cause investors to lose
confidence in the U.S. government and may cause the value of U.S. Treasury obligations to decline.
Valuation Risk
The Fund may value certain assets at a price different from the price at which they can be sold. This risk may be especially
pronounced for investments that are illiquid or may become illiquid, or securities that trade in relatively thin markets and/or
markets that experience extreme volatility. The Fund's ability to value its investments in an accurate and timely manner may
be impacted by technological issues and/or errors by third party service providers, such as pricing services or accounting
agents.
Volatility Risk
The Fund may have investments that appreciate or decrease significantly in value over short periods of time. This may cause
the Fund's NAV to experience significant increases or declines in value over short periods of time.
Fund Performance
The bar chart and table below provide an indication of risk by showing changes in the Fund's performance over time. The bar chart shows how the Fund's performance has varied from year to year. The table shows how the Fund's average annual total returns compare to a broad-based market index, which is the Fund's benchmark index, for the periods indicated.
You may obtain updated performance information on the Fund's website at www.americanbeaconfunds.com. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
7 |
Average annual total returns for periods ended December 31, 2019.
|
Inception Date of Class |
1 Year |
5 Years |
Since Inception |
||||
Investor Class |
08/19/2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Returns Before Taxes |
|
|
0.08 |
% |
0.93 |
% |
3.23 |
% |
Returns After Taxes on Distributions |
|
|
-1.24 |
% |
0.04 |
% |
2.10 |
% |
Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sales of Fund Shares |
|
|
0.36 |
% |
0.42 |
% |
2.09 |
% |
|
Inception Date of Class |
1 Year |
5 Years |
Since Inception |
||||
Share Class (Before Taxes) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A |
08/19/2014 |
|
-5.79 |
% |
-0.30 |
% |
2.07 |
% |
C |
08/19/2014 |
|
-1.78 |
% |
0.16 |
% |
2.44 |
% |
Y |
08/19/2014 |
|
0.34 |
% |
1.24 |
% |
3.54 |
% |
R5 |
08/19/2014 |
|
0.43 |
% |
1.32 |
% |
3.63 |
% |
|
|
1 Year |
5 Years |
Since Inception |
||||
Index (Reflects no deduction for fees expenses or taxes) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ICE BofA 3-Month Treasury Bill Index |
|
|
2.28 |
% |
1.07 |
% |
1.00 |
% |
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 income taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. The return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period. If you are a tax-exempt entity or hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as an individual retirement account ("IRA") or a 401(k) plan, the after-tax returns do not apply to your situation. After-tax returns are shown only for Investor Class shares of the Fund; after-tax returns for other share classes will vary.
Management
The Manager
The Fund has retained American Beacon Advisors, Inc. to serve as its Manager.
Sub-Advisor
The Fund's investment sub-advisor is AHL Partners LLP.
Portfolio Managers
AHL Partners LLP |
Russell Korgaonkar
|
Matthew Sargaison
|
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
You may buy or sell shares of the Fund through a direct mutual fund account, a retirement account, an investment professional or another financial intermediary. As a direct mutual fund account shareholder, you may buy or sell shares in various ways:
Internet |
www.americanbeaconfunds.com |
|
Phone |
To reach an American Beacon representative call 1-800-658-5811, option 1
Through the Automated Voice Response Service call 1-800-658-5811, option 2 (Investor Class only)
|
|
|
American Beacon Funds
P.O. Box 219643
Kansas City, MO 64121-9643
|
Overnight Delivery:
American Beacon Funds
c/o DST Asset Manager Solutions, Inc.
330 West 9th Street
Kansas City, MO 64105
|
8 |
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
You may purchase or redeem shares of the Fund on any day the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") is open, at the Fund's net asset value ("NAV") per share next calculated after your order is received in proper form, subject to any applicable sales charge.
|
New Account |
Existing Account |
|
Share Class |
Minimum Initial Investment Amount |
Purchase/Redemption Minimum by Check/ACH/Exchange |
Purchase/Redemption Minimum by Wire |
C |
$1,000 |
$50 |
$250 |
A, Investor |
$2,500 |
$50 |
$250 |
Y |
$100,000 |
$50 |
None |
R5 |
$250,000 |
$50 |
None |
Tax Information
Dividends, capital gains distributions, and other distributions, if any, that you receive from the Fund are subject to federal income tax and may also be subject to state and local income taxes, unless you are a tax-exempt entity or your account is tax-deferred, such as an individual retirement account or a 401(k) plan (in which case you may be taxed later, upon the withdrawal of your investment from such account or plan).
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 the Fund's distributor, Resolute Investment Distributors, Inc. or the Manager 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 individual financial adviser to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial adviser or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
9 |
American Beacon
|
|
Investment Objective
The Fund's investment objective is capital growth.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
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 discounts if you and your eligible family members invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in all classes of the American Beacon Funds on an aggregated basis. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in "Choosing Your Share Class" on page 35 of the Prospectus and "Additional Purchase and Sale Information for A Class Shares" on page 38 of the statement of additional information ("SAI"). With respect to purchases of shares through specific intermediaries, you may find additional information regarding sales charge discounts and waivers in Appendix A to the Fund's Prospectus entitled "Intermediary Sales Charge Discounts and Waivers." Although the Fund does not impose any sales charge on Y Class shares, you may pay a commission to your broker on your purchases and sales of those shares, which is not reflected in the tables or Example below.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Share Class |
A |
C |
Y |
R5 |
Investor |
|||||
Maximum sales charge imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price) |
5.75 |
% |
None |
None |
None |
None |
||||
Maximum deferred sales charge (as a percentage of the lower of original offering price or redemption proceeds) |
0.50 |
%1 |
1.00 |
% |
None |
None |
None |
1 A contingent deferred sales charge (‘‘CDSC'') of 0.50% will be charged on certain purchases of $1,000,000 or more of A Class shares that are redeemed in whole or part within 18 months of purchase.
2 American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (the "Manager") has contractually agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses of the Fund's A Class, C Class, Y Class, R5 Class and Investor Class shares, as applicable, through April 30, 2021 to the extent that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses exceed 1.44% for the A Class, 2.19% for the C Class, 1.11% for the Y Class, 1.04% for the R5 Class and 1.42% for the Investor Class (excluding taxes, interest, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses, securities lending fees, expenses associated with securities sold short, litigation, and other extraordinary expenses). The contractual expense reimbursement can be changed or terminated only in the discretion and with the approval of a majority of the Fund's Board of Trustees (the "Board"). The Manager will itself waive fees and/or reimburse expenses of the Fund to maintain the contractual expense ratio caps for each class of shares or make arrangements with other service providers to do so. The Manager may also, from time to time, voluntarily waive fees and/or reimburse expenses of the Fund. The Manager can be reimbursed by the Fund for any contractual or voluntary fee waivers or expense reimbursements if reimbursement to the Manager (a) occurs within three years from the date of the Manager's waiver/reimbursement and (b) does not cause the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses of a class to exceed the lesser of the contractual percentage limit in effect at the time of the waiver/reimbursement or the time of the recoupment.
3 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement for Y Class shares do not correlate to the ratio of expenses to average net assets, net of reimbursements, provided in the Fund's Financial Highlights table, which reflects the Fund's expenses, including its fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement agreement in effect through April 30, 2020. The Annual Fund Operating Expenses table reflects the new fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement agreement that was approved by the Fund's Board effective through April 30, 2021, which differs from the prior agreement.
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, except that the Example reflects the fee waiver/expense reimbursement arrangement for each share class through April 30, 2021. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Share Class |
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
A |
$ 713 |
$ 1,180 |
$ 1,673 |
$ 3,023 |
C |
$ 322 |
$ 802 |
$ 1,409 |
$ 3,048 |
Y |
$ 113 |
$ 461 |
$ 833 |
$ 1,878 |
R5 |
$ 106 |
$ 448 |
$ 814 |
$ 1,843 |
Investor |
$ 145 |
$ 557 |
$ 995 |
$ 2,213 |
Assuming no redemption of shares:
Share Class |
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
C |
$ 222 |
$ 802 |
$ 1,409 |
$ 3,048 |
10 |
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
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 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 77% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by allocating all or substantially all of its assets across equities, bonds (including inflation index-linked bonds), interest rates, corporate credit, and commodities primarily through derivative instruments. The Fund implements its strategy by utilizing a proprietary quantitative model, which is designed to provide a stable level of volatility regardless of market conditions.
The Fund invests primarily in futures (including bond futures), swaps (including commodity swaps, credit default swaps, cross-currency swaps, equity swaps, interest rate swaps, and total return swaps) and forward contracts, but also may invest in other types of derivative instruments. The Fund uses derivative instruments to enhance total return, to manage certain investment risks or to substitute for the purchase or sale of the underlying securities, and to hedge against currency exchange rates. In connection with the Fund's use of derivatives, the Fund also holds significant amounts of U.S. Treasury securities, or short-term investments, including money market funds, cash and time deposits in order to meet applicable asset coverage requirements under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "Investment Company Act"). The Fund's use of derivatives will have the economic effect of financial leverage. The Fund's investments are generally made without restriction as to issuer market capitalization, country, currency, maturity or credit rating. The Fund may invest in derivatives instruments that provide exposure to below investment grade securities, which are commonly referred to as "junk bonds" and to issuers in the U.S. and foreign developed and emerging markets, including sovereign and quasi-sovereign debt. The Fund may invest directly in government obligations and repurchase agreements, as well as securities denominated in non-U.S. currencies.
The sub-advisor's strategy is designed to provide an excess return with a stable level of volatility regardless of market conditions. The sub-advisor seeks to do this by using systematic algorithms (a mathematical model) to scale positions based on the net asset value ("NAV") of the Fund. The algorithm measures the degree of volatility in a particular market. If the market is turbulent, and returns are volatile, the algorithm will reduce exposure. Conversely, it will increase exposure if the market is calm. This technique is called 'volatility scaling' and can be applied at various levels to achieve a balanced risk exposure through time, and across different asset classes. Volatility scaling aims to achieve a certain target level of volatility which is stable through time. The Fund has set an annualized volatility target of 10% of its NAV. Volatility is defined as the annualized standard deviation of returns. It is important to note that both the short and long term realized volatility of the Fund can and will differ from the targeted volatility and can be dependent on prevailing market conditions.
In addition to the volatility scaling described above, the strategy utilizes additional systematic overlays to control downside risk. The first of these is a momentum overlay, which uses past price behavior to identify periods when a market is in a downtrend. The strategy uses this information to scale down positions depending upon the strength of that trend, thereby reducing risk in falling markets. The second is a volatility switching mechanism, which reacts quickly to spikes in volatility by using a formula that is designed to minimize market transactions during periods of low volatility and increase market transactions during periods of heightened market volatility in order to maintain the Fund's target level of volatility. Volatility switching is used to react more dynamically to market events. The third uses intraday data to identify dangerous environments in which fixed income assets no longer act as a hedge to equities and other assets. The combination of these overlays aims to reduce losses and improve risk-adjusted returns.
The Fund seeks to gain exposure to the commodity markets by investing up to 25% of its total assets in a wholly-owned subsidiary, which is organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the "Subsidiary"). Generally, the Subsidiary invests primarily in commodity swaps, but it may also invest in financial futures and forwards, fixed income securities, pooled investment vehicles, including open-end investment companies, and other investments intended to serve as margin or collateral for the Subsidiary's derivative positions. The Fund invests in the Subsidiary in order to gain exposure to the commodities markets within the limitations of the federal tax law, rules and regulations that apply to "regulated investment companies." Unlike the Fund, the Subsidiary may invest without limitation in commodity-linked derivatives; however, the Subsidiary and the Fund, in the aggregate, comply with applicable Investment Company Act asset coverage requirements with respect to their total investments in commodity-linked derivatives. In addition, the Fund and the Subsidiary comply with the same fundamental investment restrictions on an aggregate basis and the Subsidiary follows the same compliance policies and procedures as the Fund to the extent those restrictions, policies and procedures are applicable to the investment activities of the Subsidiary. Unlike the Fund, the Subsidiary does not, and will not, seek to qualify as a "regulated investment company" under Subchapter M of Chapter 1 of Subtitle A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended ("Subchapter M"). 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.
The Fund's holdings may be frequently adjusted to reflect the sub-advisor's assessment of changing risks, which could result in high portfolio turnover.
The Fund is non-diversified, which means that it is not limited to a percentage of assets that it may invest in any one issuer.
Principal Risks
There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective and you could lose part or all of your investment in the Fund. The Fund is not designed for investors who need an assured level of current income and is intended to be a long-term investment. The Fund is not a complete investment program and may not be appropriate for all investors. Investors should carefully consider their own investment goals and risk tolerance before investing in the Fund. The principal risks of investing in the Fund listed below are presented in alphabetical order and not in order of importance or potential exposure. Among other matters, this presentation is intended to facilitate your ability to find particular risks and compare them with the risks of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a "principal risk" of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears.
Allocation Risk
The sub-advisor's judgments about, and allocations among, strategies, asset classes and market exposures may adversely affect
the Fund's performance. There can be no assurance, particularly during periods of market disruption and stress, that the sub-advisor's
judgements about asset allocation will be correct. This risk may be increased by the use of derivatives to increase allocations
to various market exposures.
Asset Selection Risk
Assets selected by the sub-advisor or the Manager for the Fund may not perform to expectations. The sub-advisor's investment
models may rely in part on data derived from third parties and may not perform as intended. This could result in the Fund's
underperformance compared to other funds with similar investment objectives.
Commodities Risk
The Fund's investments in commodity-linked derivative instruments 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
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
11 |
rates, or factors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as changes in supply and demand, drought, floods, weather, livestock disease, embargoes, tariffs, war, acts of terrorism and international economic, political and regulatory developments. No active trading market may exist for certain commodities investments. The Fund's investments in commodity-related instruments may lead to losses in excess of the Fund's investment in such products. Such losses can significantly and adversely affect the NAV per share of the Fund and, consequently, a shareholder's interest in the Fund. Because the Fund's and the Subsidiary's performance is linked to the performance of potentially volatile commodities, investors should be willing to assume the risks of significant fluctuations in the value of the Fund's shares.
Counterparty Risk
The Fund is subject to the risk that a party or participant to a transaction, such as a broker or derivative counterparty,
will be unwilling or unable to satisfy its obligation to make timely principal, interest or settlement payments or to otherwise
honor its obligations to the Fund.
Credit Risk
The Fund is subject to the risk that the issuer or guarantor of a debt security, or the counterparty to a derivatives contract,
may fail, or become less able, to make timely payment of interest or principal or otherwise honor its obligations or default
completely. Changes in the actual or perceived creditworthiness of an issuer, or a downgrade or default affecting any of the
Fund's securities, could affect the Fund's performance.
Crowding/Convergence Risk
There is significant competition among quantitatively-focused managers, and the ability of the sub-advisor to outperform
other funds is dependent on its ability to employ models that are simultaneously profitable and differentiated from those
employed by other managers. To the extent that the sub-advisor is not able to develop sufficiently differentiated models the
Fund's investment objective may not be met, irrespective of whether the models are profitable in an absolute sense.
Currency Risk
The Fund may have exposure to foreign currencies by using various instruments described below. Foreign currencies may fluctuate
significantly over short periods of time, may be affected unpredictably by intervention, or the failure to intervene, of the
U.S. or foreign governments or central banks, and may be affected by currency controls or political developments in the U.S.
or abroad. Foreign currencies may also decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar and other currencies and thereby affect
the Fund's investments in non-U.S. currencies or in securities that trade in, and receive revenues in, or in derivatives that
provide exposure to, non-U.S. currencies. The Fund may gain exposure to foreign currencies because of its investments in one
or more of the following:
Securities denominated in non-U.S. currencies
Foreign currency forward contracts, which are described below under "Derivatives Risk"
Non-U.S. currency futures contracts, which are described below under "Derivatives Risk"
Swaps for cross-currency transactions, which are described below under "Derivatives Risk"
Cybersecurity and Operational Risk
The Fund and its service providers, and shareholders' ability to transact with the Fund, may be negatively impacted due to
operational risks arising from, among other problems: human errors, systems and technology disruptions or failures, or cybersecurity
incidents. Cybersecurity incidents may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data, or proprietary
information, or cause the Fund or its service providers, as well as the securities trading venues and their service providers,
to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality. It is not possible for the Fund or its service providers to identify
all of the operational risks that may affect the Fund or to develop processes and controls to completely eliminate or mitigate
their occurrence or effects. Most issuers in which the Fund invests are heavily dependent on computers for data storage and
operations, and require ready access to the internet to conduct their business. Thus, cybersecurity incidents could also affect
issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, leading to significant loss of value.
Derivatives Risk
Derivatives may involve significant risk. The use of derivative instruments may expose the Fund to additional risks that
it would not be subject to if it invested directly in the securities or other instruments underlying those derivatives, including
the high degree of leverage often embedded in such instruments, and potential material and prolonged deviations between the
theoretical value and realizable value of a derivative. Some derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless
of the size of the Fund's initial investment. Derivatives may at times be illiquid, and the Fund may not be able to close
out or sell a derivative at a particular time or at an anticipated price. Certain derivatives may be difficult to value, and
valuation may be more difficult in times of market turmoil. Derivatives may also be more volatile than other types of investments.
The Fund may buy or sell derivatives not traded on an exchange, which may be subject to heightened liquidity and valuation
risk. Derivative investments can increase portfolio turnover and transaction costs. Derivatives also are subject to counterparty
risk and credit risk. As a result, the Fund may not recover its investment or may only obtain a limited recovery, and any
recovery may be delayed. Not all derivative transactions require a counterparty to post collateral, which may expose the Fund
to greater losses in the event of a default by a counterparty. Ongoing changes to the regulation of the derivatives markets
and potential changes in the regulation of funds using derivative instruments could limit the Fund's ability to pursue its
investment strategies. New regulation of derivatives may make them more costly, or may otherwise adversely affect their liquidity,
value or performance. In addition, the Fund's investments in derivatives are subject to the following risks:
Forward Contracts Risk. Forward contracts, including NDFs, are derivative instruments pursuant to a contract where the parties agree to a fixed price for an agreed amount of securities or other underlying assets at an agreed date or to buy or sell a specific currency at a future date at a price set at the time of the contract. There are no limitations on daily price movements of forward contracts. There can be no assurance that any strategy used will succeed. Not all forward contracts, including NDFs, require a counterparty to post collateral, which may expose the Fund to greater losses in the event of a default by a counterparty. Forward currency transactions, including NDFs, and forward currency contracts include the risks associated with fluctuations in currency.
Futures Contracts Risk. Futures contracts are derivative instruments pursuant to a contract where the parties agree to a fixed price for an agreed amount of securities or other underlying assets at an agreed date. The use of such derivative instruments may expose the Fund to additional risks that it would not be subject to if it invested directly in the securities underlying those derivatives. There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in the prices of futures contracts and the value of their underlying instruments or indexes. There can be no assurance that any strategy used will succeed. There also can be no assurance that, at all times, a liquid market will exist for offsetting a futures contract that the Fund has previously bought or sold and this may result in the inability to close a futures contract when desired. Futures contracts may experience potentially dramatic price changes, which will increase the volatility of the Fund and may involve a small investment of cash (the amount of initial and variation margin) relative to the magnitude of the risk assumed (the potential increase or decrease in the price of the futures contract).
Swap Agreements Risk. Swaps can involve greater risks than a direct investment in an underlying asset, because swaps typically include a certain amount of embedded leverage and as such are subject to leverage risk. If swaps are used as a hedging strategy, the Fund is subject to the risk that the hedging strategy may not eliminate the risk that it is intended to offset, due to, among other reasons, the occurrence of unexpected price movements or the non-occurrence of expected price movements. Swaps also may be difficult to value. Swaps may be subject to liquidity risk and counterparty risk, and swaps that
12 |
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
are traded over-the-counter are not subject to standardized clearing requirements and may involve greater liquidity and counterparty risks. In addition, the Fund may invest in the following types of swaps:
Commodities swaps, which may be subject to commodities risk.
Credit default swaps, which may be subject to credit risk and the risks associated with the purchase and sale of credit protection.
Cross-currency swaps, which may be subject to currency risk and credit risk.
Equity Swaps, which may be subject to equity investment risk.
Interest rate swaps, which may be subject to interest rate risk and credit risk.
Total return swaps, which may be subject to credit risk and, if the underlying securities are bonds or other debt obligations, market risk and
interest rate risk.
Emerging Markets Risk
When investing in emerging markets, the risks of investing in foreign securities, as discussed below, are heightened. Emerging
markets are generally smaller, less developed, less liquid and more volatile than the securities markets of the U.S. and other
developed markets. There are also risks of: greater political uncertainties; an economy's dependence on revenues from particular
commodities or on international aid or development assistance; currency transfer restrictions; a limited number of potential
buyers for such securities resulting in increased volatility and limited liquidity for emerging market securities; trading
suspensions; and delays and disruptions in securities settlement procedures. The governments of emerging market countries
may also be more unstable and more likely to impose capital controls, nationalize a company or industry, place restrictions
on foreign ownership and on withdrawing sale proceeds of securities from the country, intervene in the financial markets,
and/or impose burdensome taxes that could adversely affect security prices. In addition, there may be less publicly available
information about issuers in emerging markets than would be available about issuers in more developed capital markets, and
such issuers may not be subject to accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and requirements comparable to those
to which U.S. companies are subject.
Foreign Investing Risk
Non-U.S. investments carry potential risks not associated with U.S. investments. Such risks include, but are not limited
to: (1) currency exchange rate fluctuations, (2) political and financial instability, (3) less liquidity, (4) lack of uniform
accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, (5) increased volatility, (6) different government regulation and
supervision of foreign stock exchanges, brokers and listed companies, and (7) delays in transaction settlement in some foreign
markets.
Investing in Developed Countries Risk. The Fund's investment in a developed country issuer may subject the Fund to regulatory, political, currency, security, economic and other risks associated with developed countries. Developed countries tend to represent a significant portion of the global economy and have generally experienced slower economic growth than some less developed countries. In addition, developed countries may be impacted by changes to the economic conditions of certain key trading partners, regulatory burdens, debt burdens and the price or availability of certain commodities.
Hedging Risk
If the Fund uses a hedging instrument at the wrong time or judges the market conditions incorrectly, or the hedged instrument
does not correlate to the risk sought to be hedged, the hedge might be unsuccessful, reduce the Fund's return, or create a
loss. In addition, hedges, even when successful in mitigating risk, may not prevent the Fund from experiencing losses on its
investments. Hedging instruments may also reduce or eliminate gains that may otherwise have been available had the Fund not
used the hedging instruments.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk
Portfolio turnover is a measure of the Fund's trading activity over a one-year period. High portfolio turnover could increase
the Fund's transaction costs, have a negative impact on performance, and generate higher capital gain distributions to shareholders
than if the Fund had a lower portfolio turnover rate.
High Yield Securities Risk
Exposure to high yield, below investment-grade securities (commonly referred to as "junk bonds") generally involves significantly
greater risks than an investment in investment grade securities. High yield debt securities may fluctuate more widely in price
and yield and may fall in price when the economy is weak or expected to become weak. These securities also may be difficult
to sell at the time and price the Fund desires. High yield securities are considered to be speculative with respect to an
issuer's ability to pay interest and principal and carry a greater risk that the issuers of lower-rated securities will default
on the timely payment of principal and interest. High yield securities may experience greater price volatility and less liquidity
than investment grade securities. Issuers of securities that are in default or have defaulted may fail to resume principal
or interest payments, in which case the Fund may lose its entire investment.
Inflation Index-Linked Securities Risk
Unlike a conventional bond, whose issuer makes regular fixed interest payments and repays the face value of the bond at maturity,
an inflation index-linked security provides principal payments and interest payments that vary as the principal and/or interest
are adjusted over time to reflect a rise or a drop in the reference inflation-related index. For inflation index-linked debt
securities for which repayment of the original principal upon maturity (as adjusted for inflation) is not guaranteed, the
adjusted principal value of the securities repaid at maturity may be less than the original principal value. The value of
inflation index-linked securities is expected to change in response to real interest rates. The price of an inflation index-linked
security generally falls when real interest rates rise and rises when real interest rates fall. In periods of deflation, the
Fund may have no income at all from such investments.
Interest Rate Risk
Generally, the value of investments with interest rate risk, such as fixed income securities, will move in the opposite direction
to movements in interest rates. As of the date of this Prospectus, interest rates are historically low. In the future, interest
rates may rise, perhaps significantly and/or rapidly, potentially resulting in substantial losses to the Fund. The prices
of fixed income securities or derivatives are also affected by their durations. Fixed income securities or derivatives with
longer durations generally have greater sensitivity to changes in interest rates. For example, if a bond has a duration of
eight years, a 1% increase in interest rates could be expected to result in an 8% decrease in the value of the bond. An increase in interest rates can impact markets broadly as well. Some investors buy
securities and derivatives with borrowed money; an increase in interest rates can cause a decline in those markets. Conversely,
extremely low or negative interest rates may become more prevalent among U.S. and foreign issuers. To the extent the Fund
holds an investment with a negative interest rate to maturity, the Fund would generate a negative return on that investment.
Investment Risk
An investment in the Fund is not a deposit with a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation or any other government agency. When you sell your shares of the Fund, they could be worth less than what you
paid for them. Therefore, you may lose money by investing in the Fund.
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
13 |
Issuer Risk
The value of, and/or the return generated by, a security may decline for a number of reasons that directly relate to the
issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services, as well
as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.
Leverage Risk
The Fund's use of derivative instruments and repurchase agreements will have the economic effect of financial leverage. Financial
leverage magnifies the exposure to the swings in prices of an asset or class of assets underlying a derivative instrument
and results in increased volatility, which means that the Fund will have the potential for greater losses than if the Fund
does not use the derivative instruments that have a leveraging effect. Leverage may result in losses that exceed the amount
originally invested and may accelerate the rate of losses. Leverage tends to magnify, sometimes significantly, the effect
of any increase or decrease in the Fund's exposure to an asset or class of assets and may cause the Fund's NAV per share to
be volatile. There can be no assurance that the Fund's use of leverage will be successful.
LIBOR Risk
Certain of the instruments identified in the Fund's principal investment strategies have variable or floating coupon rates
that are based on the ICE LIBOR ("LIBOR"), Euro Interbank Offered Rate and other similar types of reference rates (each, a
"Reference Rate"). On July 27, 2017, the Chief Executive of the UK Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA"), which regulates LIBOR,
announced that the FCA will no longer persuade nor require banks to submit rates for the calculation of LIBOR and certain
other Reference Rates after 2021. Such announcement indicates that the continuation of LIBOR and other Reference Rates on
the current basis cannot and will not be guaranteed after 2021. This announcement and any additional regulatory or market
changes may have an adverse impact on the Fund or its investments, including increased volatility or illiquidity in markets
for instruments that rely on LIBOR.
In advance of 2021, regulators and market participants are working together to identify or develop successor Reference Rates. Additionally, prior to 2021, it is expected that market participants will focus on the transition mechanisms by which the Reference Rates in existing contracts or instruments may be amended, whether through marketwide protocols, fallback contractual provisions, bespoke negotiations or amendments or otherwise. Nonetheless, the termination of certain Reference Rates presents risks to the Fund. At this time, it is not possible to completely identify or predict the effect of any such changes, any establishment of alternative Reference Rates or any other reforms to Reference Rates that may be enacted in the UK or elsewhere. The elimination of a Reference Rate or any other changes or reforms to the determination or supervision of Reference Rates could have an adverse impact on the market for or value of any securities or payments linked to those Reference Rates and other financial obligations held by the Fund or on its overall financial condition or results of operations. In addition, any substitute Reference Rate and any pricing adjustments imposed by a regulator or by counterparties or otherwise may adversely affect the Fund's performance and/or NAV.
Liquidity Risk
The Fund is susceptible to the risk that certain investments held by the Fund may have limited marketability, be subject to
restrictions on sale, be difficult or impossible to purchase or sell at favorable times or prices, or become less liquid in
response to market developments or adverse credit events that may affect issuers or guarantors of a security. An inability
to sell a portfolio position can adversely affect the Fund's value or prevent the Fund from being able to take advantage of
other investment opportunities. Market prices for such instruments may be volatile. The Fund could lose money if it is unable
to dispose of an investment at a time that is most beneficial to the Fund. The Fund may be required to dispose of investments
at unfavorable times or prices to satisfy obligations, which may result in losses or may be costly to the Fund. For example,
liquidity risk may be magnified in rising interest rate environments due to higher than normal redemption rates. Unexpected
redemptions may force the Fund to sell certain investments at unfavorable prices to meet redemption requests or other cash
needs. Judgment plays a greater role in pricing illiquid investments than in investments with more active markets.
Market Risk
In recent periods, certain fixed income instruments have experienced unusual liquidity issues, increased price volatility
and, in some cases, credit downgrades and increased likelihood of default. These events have reduced the willingness and ability
of some lenders to extend credit, and have made it more difficult for some borrowers to obtain financing on attractive terms,
if at all. In addition, global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the
possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers in a different country or region. A
rise in protectionist trade policies, risks associated with the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union on January
31, 2020 and trade agreement negotiations during the transition period, the risks associated with ongoing trade negotiations
with China, and the possibility of changes to some international trade agreements, could affect the economies of many nations,
including the United States, in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time. The severity or duration of
adverse economic conditions may also be affected by policy changes made by governments or quasi-governmental organizations.
In addition, political and governmental events within the U.S. and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and
may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy, perhaps suddenly and to a significant degree. High public
debt in the U.S. and other countries creates ongoing systemic and market risks and policymaking uncertainty. Because the impact
on the markets has been widespread, it may be difficult to identify both risks and opportunities using past models of the
interplay of market forces, or to predict the duration of these market conditions. Interest rates have been unusually low
in recent years in the U.S. and abroad. Because there is little precedent for this situation, it is difficult to predict the
impact on various markets of a significant rate increase, whether brought about by U.S. policy makers or by dislocations in
world markets. In addition, there is a risk that the prices of goods and services in the U.S. and many foreign economies may
decline over time, known as deflation (the opposite of inflation). Deflation may have an adverse effect on stock prices and
creditworthiness and may make defaults on debt more likely.
Market Disruption Risk
Geopolitical and other events, including war, terrorism, economic uncertainty, trade disputes, pandemics, public health crises
and related geopolitical events have led, and in the future may continue to lead, to instability in world economies and markets
generally. This instability has disrupted, and may continue to disrupt, U.S. and world economies and markets and adversely
affect the value of your investment. Events that have led to market disruptions include the recent pandemic spread of the
novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, the duration and full effects of which are still uncertain. Market disruptions have caused,
and may continue to cause, broad changes in market value, negative public perceptions concerning these developments, and adverse
investor sentiment or publicity. Changes in value may be temporary or may last for extended periods.
Market Timing Risk
The Fund is subject to the risk of market timing activities by investors due to the Fund's investments in high yield, and
foreign securities, or its exposure to foreign securities through the derivatives it holds. If the Fund trades foreign securities,
it generally prices these foreign securities using their closing prices from the foreign markets in which they trade, which typically is prior to the Fund's
calculation of its net asset value ("NAV"). These prices may be affected by events that occur after the close of a foreign market but before the Fund prices
its shares. In such instances, the Fund may fair value high yield and foreign securities. However, some investors may engage in frequent short-term trading in
the Fund to take advantage of any price differentials that may be reflected in the NAV of the Fund's shares. Frequent trading by Fund shareholders poses
risks to other shareholders in the
14 |
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
Fund, including (i) the dilution of the Fund's NAV, (ii) an increase in the Fund's expenses, and (iii) interference with the portfolio manager's ability to execute efficient investment strategies. While the Manager monitors trading in the Fund, there is no guarantee that it can detect all market timing activities.
Model and Data Risk
The sub-advisor relies heavily on proprietary mathematical quantitative models (each, a "Model") and data developed both by
the sub-advisor and those supplied by third parties (collectively, "Data"), rather than granting trade-by-trade discretion
to the sub-advisor's investment professionals. In combination, Models and Data are used to construct investment decisions,
to value both current and potential investments (including, without limitation, for trading purposes, and for the purposes
of determining the NAV of the Fund), to provide risk management insights and to assist in hedging the Fund's positions and
investments.
Models and Data are known to have errors, omissions, imperfections and malfunctions (collectively, "System Events").
The sub-advisor seeks to reduce the incidence and impact of System Events, to the extent feasible, through a combination of internal testing, simulation, real-time monitoring, use of independent safeguards in the overall portfolio management process and often in the software code itself. Despite such testing, monitoring and independent safeguards, System Events will result in, among other things, the execution of unanticipated trades, the failure to execute anticipated trades, delays in the execution of anticipated trades, the failure to properly allocate trades, the failure to properly gather and organize available data, the failure to take certain hedging or risk reducing actions and/or the taking of actions which increase certain risk(s) - all of which may have materially adverse effects on the Fund.
System Events in third-party provided Data are generally entirely outside the control of the sub-advisor.
Modeling and Programming Error Risk
The success of the sub-advisor's investment strategy depends largely on the effectiveness of its quantitative research models
and investment programs. The programs may not react as expected to market events, resulting in losses for the Fund. Additionally,
programs may become outdated or experience malfunctions, which may not be identified by the sub-advisor and therefore may
also result in losses to the Fund. There is no assurance that the models and programs are complete or accurate, or representative
of future market cycles, nor will they always be beneficial to the Fund if they are accurate. These models and programs may
negatively affect Fund performance for various reasons, including human judgment, inaccuracy of historical data and non-quantitative
factors (such as market or trading system dysfunctions, investor fear or over-reaction.
Non-Diversification Risk
The Fund is non-diversified, which means it may focus its investments in the securities of a comparatively small number of
issuers. Investments in securities of a limited number of issuers exposes the Fund to greater market risk, price volatility
and potential losses than if assets were diversified among the securities of a greater number of issuers.
Obsolescence Risk
The Fund is unlikely to be successful in the deployment of its quantitative investment strategies unless the assumptions
underlying the Models are realistic and either remain realistic and relevant in the future or are adjusted to account for
changes in the overall market environment. If such assumptions are inaccurate or become inaccurate and are not promptly adjusted,
it is likely that profitable trading signals will not be generated. If and to the extent that the Models do not reflect certain
factors, and the sub-advisor does not successfully address such omission through its testing and evaluation and modify the
Models accordingly, major losses may result — all of which will be borne by the Fund.
Other Investment Companies Risk
To the extent that the Fund invests in shares of other registered investment companies, the Fund will indirectly bear the
fees and expenses charged by those investment companies in addition to the Fund's direct fees and expenses. The Fund will
be subject to the risks associated with investments in those companies, including but not limited to the following:
Money Market Funds. Investments in money market funds are subject to interest rate risk, credit risk, and market risk.
Quantitative Strategy Risk
The success of the Fund's investment strategy may depend in part on the effectiveness of the sub-advisor's quantitative tools for screening securities. These strategies may incorporate factors that are not predictive
of a security's value. The quantitative tools may not react as expected to market events, resulting in losses for the Fund.
Additionally, a previously successful strategy may become outdated or inaccurate, which may not be identified by the sub-advisor and therefore may also result in losses.
Redemption Risk
The Fund may experience periods of high levels of redemptions that could cause the Fund to sell assets at inopportune times
or at a loss or depressed value. The sale of assets to meet redemption requests may create net capital gains, which could
cause the Fund to have to distribute substantial capital gains. Redemption risk is heightened during periods of declining
or illiquid markets. Additionally, during periods of heavy redemptions, the Fund may borrow funds through the interfund credit
facility, or from a bank line of credit, which may increase costs. Heavy redemptions could hurt the Fund's performance.
Repurchase Agreement Risk
The use of repurchase agreements involves counterparty risk and credit risk. The obligations of a counterparty to a repurchase
agreement are not guaranteed. If the other party to a repurchase agreement defaults on its obligation under the agreement,
the Fund may suffer delays and incur costs or lose money in exercising its rights under the agreement. The Fund permits various
forms of securities as collateral whose values fluctuate and that are not issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government. There
are risks that a counterparty may default at a time when the collateral has declined in value, or a counterparty may become
insolvent and subject to liquidation, which may affect the Fund's right to control the collateral.
Risk Management
Risk is an essential part of investing. No risk management program can eliminate the Fund's exposure to adverse events; at
best, it can only reduce the possibility that the Fund will be affected by such events, and especially those risks that are
not intrinsic to the Fund's investment program.
Segregated Assets Risk
In connection with certain transactions that may give rise to future payment obligations, the Fund may be required to maintain
a segregated amount of, or otherwise earmark, cash or liquid securities to cover the obligation. Segregated assets generally
cannot be sold while the position they are covering is outstanding, unless they are replaced with other assets of equal value.
The need to segregate cash or other liquid securities could limit the Fund's ability to pursue other opportunities as they
arise.
Sovereign and Quasi-Sovereign Debt Risk
Sovereign or quasi-sovereign debt securities are subject to risk of payment delays or defaults due to, among other things:
(1) country cash flow problems, (2) insufficient foreign currency reserves, (3) political considerations, (4) large debt positions relative to the country's economy,
(5) policies toward foreign lenders
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
15 |
or investors, (6) the failure to implement economic reforms required by the International Monetary Fund or other multilateral agencies, or (7) an inability or unwillingness to repay debts. It may be particularly difficult to enforce the rights of debt holders in emerging markets. A governmental entity that defaults on an obligation may request additional time in which to repay loans, may request further loans, or may seek to restructure its obligations to reduce interest rates or outstanding principal. There is no legal process for collecting sovereign and quasi-sovereign debt that a government does not pay, nor are there bankruptcy proceedings through which all or part of the sovereign debt that a governmental entity has not repaid may be collected. Sovereign and quasi-sovereign debt risk is increased for emerging markets issuers, which are among the largest debtors to commercial banks and foreign governments. At times, certain emerging market countries have declared moratoria on the payment of principal and interest on external debt. Certain emerging market countries have experienced difficulty in servicing their sovereign debt on a timely basis, which has led to defaults and the restructuring of certain indebtedness.
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. These risks
are described elsewhere in this Prospectus. There can be no assurance that the investment objective of the Fund or the Subsidiary
will be achieved. The Subsidiary is not registered under the Investment Company Act, and, unless otherwise noted in this Prospectus,
is not subject to all the investor protections of the Investment Company Act. In addition, 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
this Prospectus and the SAI and could adversely affect the Fund's performance.
Tax Risk
To qualify as a "regulated investment company" under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Internal
Revenue Code") ("RIC"), the Fund must, among other requirements, derive at least 90% of its gross income for each taxable
year from "qualifying income," which is described in more detail in the "Tax Information" section of the SAI. Income from
certain commodity-linked derivative instruments in which the Fund invests is not considered qualifying income. The Fund will
therefore restrict its income from direct investments in those instruments, such as commodity-linked swaps, to a maximum of
10% of its gross income for each taxable year. The Fund's investment in the Subsidiary is expected to provide the Fund with
exposure to the commodities markets within the limitations of the federal tax requirements of Subchapter M. The Internal Revenue
Service ("IRS") issued a large number of private letter rulings ("PLRs") (which the Fund may not cite as precedent) from 2006
to 2011 that income a RIC derives from a wholly owned foreign subsidiary (a "controlled foreign corporation" or "CFC") (such
as the Subsidiary) that earns income derived from commodity-linked derivative instruments is qualifying income. Treasury regulations
published on March 19, 2019, provide that income inclusions of a RIC from a CFC are qualifying income for the RIC whether
or not the CFC makes distributions to the RIC out of its associated earnings and profits for the applicable taxable year.
See "Tax Information" in the SAI for further information regarding RIC's federal income tax treatment of income from CFCs
and commodity-linked instruments. The federal income tax treatment of the Fund's commodity-linked investments and income from
the Subsidiary may be materially adversely affected by future legislation, other Treasury regulations, and/or guidance issued
by the IRS that could affect whether income from such investments is qualifying income under Subchapter M or otherwise materially
affect the character, timing or recognition, and/or amount of the Fund's taxable income and/or net capital gains and, therefore,
the distributions the Fund makes.
Trading System and Execution of Orders Risk
The sub-advisor relies extensively on computer programs, systems, technology, Data and Models to implement its execution strategies
and algorithms. The sub-advisor's investment strategies, trading strategies and algorithms depend on its ability to establish
and maintain an overall market position in a combination of financial instruments selected by the sub-advisor. There is a
risk that the sub-advisor's proprietary algorithmic trading systems may not be able to adequately react to a market event
without serious disruption. Further, trading strategies and algorithms may malfunction causing severe losses. While the sub-advisor
has employed tools to allow for human intervention to respond to significant system malfunctions, it cannot be guaranteed
that losses will not occur in such circumstances as unforeseen market events, disruptions and execution system issues.
U.S. Government Securities and Government-Sponsored Enterprises Risk
A security backed by the U.S. Treasury or the full faith and credit of the United States is guaranteed only as to the timely
payment of interest and principal when held to maturity. The market prices for such securities are not guaranteed and will
fluctuate. Securities held by the Fund that are issued by government-sponsored enterprises, such as the Federal National Mortgage
Association (‘‘Fannie Mae''), Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (‘‘Freddie Mac''), Federal Home Loan Bank (‘‘FHLB''),
Federal Farm Credit Bank ("FFCB"), and the Tennessee Valley Authority, are not guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury and are not
backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government, and no assurance can be given that the U.S. Government will provide
financial support if these organizations do not have the funds to meet future payment obligations. U.S. Government securities
and securities of government-sponsored entities are also subject to credit risk, interest rate risk and market risk.
U.S. Treasury Obligations Risk
The value of U.S. Treasury obligations may vary due to changes in interest rates. In addition, changes to the financial condition
or credit rating of the U.S. government may cause the value of the Fund's investments in obligations issued by the U.S. Treasury
to decline. Certain political events in the U.S., such as a prolonged government shut down, may also cause investors to lose
confidence in the U.S. government and may cause the value of U.S. Treasury obligations to decline.
Valuation Risk
The Fund may value certain assets at a price different from the price at which they can be sold. This risk may be especially
pronounced for investments that are illiquid or may become illiquid, or securities that trade in relatively thin markets and/or
markets that experience extreme volatility. The Fund's ability to value its investments in an accurate and timely manner may
be impacted by technological issues and/or errors by third party service providers, such as pricing services or accounting
agents.
Volatility Risk
The Fund may have investments that appreciate or decrease significantly in value over short periods of time. This may cause
the Fund's NAV to experience significant increases or declines in value over short periods of time.
Fund Performance
The bar chart and table below provide an indication of risk by showing changes in the Fund's performance over time. The bar chart shows how the Fund's performance has varied from year to year. The table shows how the Fund's average annual total returns compare to a composite index and the two broad-based securities market indices that comprise the composite index, for the periods indicated. In the table below, the performance of the Fund's A Class and C Class shares for periods prior to April 30, 2019 represents the returns of the Fund's Investor Class shares. The A Class and C Class shares would have had similar annual returns to the Fund's Investor Class because the shares of each class represent investments in the same portfolio securities. However, the Investor Class shares had different expenses than the A Class and C Class shares, which would affect performance. The performance of the newer share
16 |
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
classes shown in the table has not been adjusted for differences in operating expenses between those share classes and the Investor Class shares, but the A Class and C Class shares performance has been adjusted for the impact of the maximum applicable sales charge. You may obtain updated performance information on the Fund's website at www.americanbeaconfunds.com. 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 periods ended December 31, 2019.
|
Inception Date of Class |
1 Year |
Since Inception |
|||
Investor Class |
12/31/2018 |
|
|
|
|
|
Returns Before Taxes |
|
|
26.85 |
% |
26.85 |
% |
Returns After Taxes on Distributions |
|
|
25.00 |
% |
25.00 |
% |
Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sales of Fund Shares |
|
|
16.28 |
% |
16.28 |
% |
|
Inception Date of Class |
1 Year |
Since Inception 12/31/2018 |
|||
Share Class (Before Taxes) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Y |
12/31/2018 |
|
27.06 |
% |
27.06 |
% |
R5 |
12/31/2018 |
|
27.17 |
% |
27.17 |
% |
A |
04/30/2019 |
|
19.68 |
% |
19.68 |
% |
C |
04/30/2019 |
|
25.35 |
% |
25.35 |
% |
|
1 Year |
Since Inception 12/31/2018 |
||
Index (Reflects no deduction for fees expenses or taxes) |
|
|
|
|
60% MSCI World Index / 40% Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Total Return Index |
19.15 |
% |
19.15 |
% |
MSCI World Index |
27.67 |
% |
27.67 |
% |
Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Total Return Index |
6.84 |
% |
6.84 |
% |
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 income taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. The return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period. If you are a tax-exempt entity or hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as an individual retirement account ("IRA") or a 401(k) plan, the after-tax returns do not apply to your situation. After-tax returns are shown only for Investor Class shares of the Fund; after-tax returns for other share classes will vary.
Management
The Manager
The Fund has retained American Beacon Advisors, Inc. to serve as its Manager.
Sub-Advisor
The Fund's investment sub-advisor is AHL Partners LLP.
Portfolio Managers
AHL Partners LLP |
Russell Korgaonkar
|
Matthew Sargaison
|
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
17 |
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
You may buy or sell shares of the Fund through a direct mutual fund account, a retirement account, an investment professional or another financial intermediary. As a direct mutual fund account shareholder, you may buy or sell shares in various ways:
Internet |
www.americanbeaconfunds.com |
|
Phone |
To reach an American Beacon representative call 1-800-658-5811, option 1
Through the Automated Voice Response Service call 1-800-658-5811, option 2 (Investor Class only)
|
|
|
American Beacon Funds
P.O. Box 219643
Kansas City, MO 64121-9643
|
Overnight Delivery:
American Beacon Funds
c/o DST Asset Manager Solutions, Inc.
330 West 9th Street
Kansas City, MO 64105
|
You may purchase or redeem shares of the Fund on any day the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") is open, at the Fund's net asset value ("NAV") per share next calculated after your order is received in proper form, subject to any applicable sales charge.
|
New Account |
Existing Account |
|
Share Class |
Minimum Initial Investment Amount |
Purchase/Redemption Minimum by Check/ACH/Exchange |
Purchase/Redemption Minimum by Wire |
C |
$1,000 |
$50 |
$250 |
A, Investor |
$2,500 |
$50 |
$250 |
Y |
$100,000 |
$50 |
None |
R5 |
$250,000 |
$50 |
None |
Tax Information
Dividends and other distributions, if any, that you receive from the Fund are subject to federal income tax and may also be subject to state and local income taxes, unless you are a tax-exempt entity or your account is tax-deferred, such as an individual retirement account ("IRA") or a 401(k) plan (in which case you may be taxed later, upon the withdrawal of your investment from such account or plan).
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 the Fund's distributor, Resolute Investment Distributors, Inc. or the Manager 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 individual financial adviser to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial adviser or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
18 |
Prospectus – Fund Summaries |
Additional Information About the Funds
To help you better understand the Funds, this section provides a detailed discussion of the Funds' investment policies, their principal strategies and principal risks and performance benchmarks; however, this Prospectus does not describe all of a Fund's investment practices. Capitalized terms that are not otherwise defined are defined in Appendix B. For additional information, please see the Funds' SAI, which is available at www.americanbeaconfunds.com or by contacting us via telephone at 1-800-658-5811, by U.S. mail at P.O. Box 219643, Kansas City, MO 64121-9643, or by e-mail at americanbeaconfunds@ambeacon.com.
Additional Information About Investment Policies and Strategies
Investment Objectives
The American Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund's investment objective is capital growth.
The American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund's investment objective is capital growth.
Each Fund's investment objective is ‘‘non-fundamental,'' which means that it may be changed by the Funds' Board without the approval of Fund shareholders.
Temporary Defensive Policy
Each Fund may depart from its principal investment strategy by taking temporary defensive positions in response to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions. During these times, a Fund may not achieve its investment objective.
Additional Information About the Management of the Funds
The Funds have retained American Beacon Advisors, Inc. to serve as their Manager. The Manager may allocate the assets of each Fund among different sub-advisors. The Manager provides or oversees the provision of all administrative, investment advisory and portfolio management services to the Funds. The Manager:
develops overall investment strategies for each Fund,
selects and changes sub-advisors,
allocates assets among sub-advisors,
monitors and evaluates the sub-advisor's investment performance,
monitors the sub-advisor's compliance with each Fund's investment objectives, policies and restrictions,
oversees the Funds' securities lending activities and actions taken by the securities lending agent to the extent applicable, and
directs the investment of the portion of Fund assets that the sub-advisors determine should be allocated to short-term investments.
Each Fund's assets are currently allocated by the Manager to one sub-advisor, AHL Partners LLP ("AHL"). AHL has full discretion to purchase and sell securities for the Funds in accordance with the Funds' objectives, policies, restrictions and more specific strategies provided by the Manager. The Manager oversees the sub-advisor but does not reassess individual security selections made by the sub-advisor for its portfolios.
Although the Manager has no current intention to do so, a Fund's assets may be allocated among one or more additional sub-advisors in the future by the Manager. The Funds operate in a manager of managers structure. The Funds and the Manager have received an exemptive order from the SEC that permits the Funds, subject to certain conditions and approval by the Board, to hire and replace sub-advisors that are unaffiliated with the Manager without approval of the shareholders. In the future, the Funds and the Manager may rely on an SEC staff no-action letter, dated July 9, 2019, that would permit the Funds to expand their exemptive relief to hire and replace sub-advisors that are affiliated and unaffiliated with the Manager without shareholder approval, subject to approval by the Board and other conditions. The Manager has ultimate responsibility, subject to oversight by the Board, to oversee sub-advisors and recommend their hiring, termination and replacement. The SEC order also exempts the Funds from disclosing the advisory fees paid by the Funds to individual sub-advisors in a multi-manager fund in various documents filed with the SEC and provided to shareholders. In the future, the Funds may rely on the SEC staff no-action letter to expand their exemptive relief to individual sub-advisors that are affiliated with the Manager. Under that no-action letter, the fees payable to sub-advisors unaffiliated with or partially-owned by the Manager or its parent company would be aggregated, and fees payable to sub-advisors that are wholly-owned by the Manager or its parent company, if any, would be aggregated with fees payable to the Manager. Whenever a sub-advisor change is proposed in reliance on the order, in order for the change to be implemented, the Board, including a majority of its "non-interested" trustees, must approve the change. In addition, the Funds are required to provide shareholders with certain information regarding any new sub-advisor within 90 days of the hiring of any new sub-advisor.
Additional Information About Investments
This section provides more detailed information regarding certain of the Funds' principal investment strategies as well as information regarding the Funds' strategy with respect to investment of cash balances.
Cash Equivalents
A Fund may invest in cash equivalents including, among others, time deposits, government obligations, and repurchase agreements. Time deposits are non-negotiable deposits maintained at a banking institution for a specified period of time at a specified interest rate.
Cash Management Investments
A Fund may invest cash balances in money market funds that are registered as investment companies under the Investment Company Act, including money market funds that are advised by the Manager or a sub-advisor, and in futures contracts. If a Fund invests in money market funds, the Fund becomes a shareholder of that investment company. As a result, Fund shareholders will bear their proportionate share of the expenses, including, for example, advisory and administrative fees of the money market funds in which a Fund invests, such as advisory fees charged by the Manager to any applicable money market funds advised by the Manager, in addition to the fees and expenses Fund shareholders directly bear in connection with a Fund's own operations. Shareholders also would be exposed to the risks associated with money market funds and the portfolio investments of such money market funds, including the risk that a money market fund's yield will be lower than the return that a Fund would have derived from other investments that provide liquidity.
Currencies
A Fund may invest in foreign currencies and foreign currency-denominated securities. A Fund may also purchase and sell foreign currency futures contracts as well as forward currency contracts (see ''Derivative Investments''), and swaps for cross-currency transactions, and may engage in foreign currency
Prospectus – Additional Information About the Funds |
19 |
transactions either on a spot (cash) basis at the rate prevailing in the currency exchange market at the time or through forward currency contracts (see ''Forward Contracts''). A Fund may engage in these transactions in order to hedge or protect against uncertainty in the level of future foreign exchange rates in the purchase and sale of securities or other derivative positions. A Fund also may use foreign currency futures and foreign currency forward contracts to increase exposure to a foreign currency or to shift exposure to foreign currency fluctuations from one country to another.
Derivative Investments
Derivatives are financial instruments that have a value that depends upon, or is derived from, a reference asset, such as one or more underlying securities, pools of securities, futures, indexes or currencies. A Fund may invest in the following derivative instruments:
Forward Contracts. Forward contracts are two-party contracts pursuant to which one party agrees to pay the counterparty a fixed price for an agreed upon amount of commodities or securities, or the cash value of commodities, securities or a securities index, at an agreed upon future date. A forward currency contract is an obligation to buy or sell a specific currency at a future date, which may be any fixed number of days from the date of the contract agreed upon by the parties, at a price set at the time of the contract. An NDF is a forward contract where there is no physical settlement of the two currencies at maturity. Rather, on the contract settlement date, a net cash settlement will be made by one party to the other based on the difference between the contracted forward rate and the prevailing spot rate, on an agreed notional amount.
Futures Contracts. A futures contract is a contract to purchase or sell a particular security, or the cash value of an asset, such as securities, indices, or currencies, at a specified future date at a price agreed upon when the contract is made. Under many such contracts, no delivery of the actual underlying asset is required. Rather, upon the expiration of the contract, settlement is made by exchanging cash in an amount equal to the difference between the contract price and the closing price of the asset (e.g., a security or an index) at expiration, net of the initial and variation margin that was previously paid. An interest rate futures contract is a contract for the future delivery of an interest-bearing debt security. A treasury futures contract is a contract for the future delivery of a U.S. Treasury security. A Fund also may have to sell assets at inopportune times to satisfy its settlement or collateral obligations. The risks associated with the use of futures contracts also include that there may be an imperfect correlation between the changes in market value of the futures contracts and the assets underlying such contracts and that there may not be a liquid secondary market for a futures contract.
Swap Agreements. A swap is a transaction in which a Fund and a counterparty agree to pay or receive payments at specified dates based upon or calculated by reference to changes in specified prices or rates (e.g., interest rates in the case of interest rate swaps) or the performance of specified securities, indices or other assets based on a specified amount (the "notional" amount). The terms of certain instruments are generally negotiated by the sub-advisor and the swap counterparty. Nearly any type of derivative, including forward contracts, can be structured as a swap. A Fund may enter into credit default swaps to attempt to hedge against a decline in the value of debt securities due to a credit event, such as an issuer's failure to make timely payments of interest or principal, bankruptcy or restructuring. A credit default swap enables an investor to buy or sell protection against a credit event. The terms of the swap transaction are either negotiated by the sub-advisor and the swap counterparty or established based on terms generally available on an exchange or contract market. A Fund may enter into an interest rate swap in order to protect against declines in the value of fixed income securities held by the Fund. In an interest rate swap, a Fund and another party exchange the right to receive interest payments on a security or other reference rate. A Fund may enter into total return swaps to obtain exposure to a security or market without owning or taking physical custody of such security or market. In a total return swap, one party agrees 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 a total return from a different underlying asset or non-asset reference. A Fund may enter into cross-currency swaps to hedge foreign currency exchange risk embedded in the funding agreements. A cross-currency swap involves the exchange of payments denominated in one currency for payments denominated in another. Payments are based on a notional principal amount the value of which is fixed in exchange rate terms at the swap's inception. In a commodities swap, a Fund agrees to either pay or receive an amount equal to the change in the value of a specified, notional amount of a commodity index, basket of commodities, or individual commodity to or from a counterparty in exchange for the payment of a fee or the equivalent of an interest rate. An equity swap involves the exchange of future cash flows between two parties that is similar to an interest rate swap, but is based on the return of equity.
Fixed Income Instruments
A Fund's investments in fixed income instruments may include:
Corporate Debt and Other Fixed Income Securities. Typically, the values of fixed income securities change inversely with prevailing interest rates. Therefore, a fundamental risk of fixed income securities is interest rate risk, which is the risk that their value will generally decline as prevailing interest rates rise, which may cause a Fund's NAV to likewise decrease, and vice versa. How specific fixed income securities may react to changes in interest rates will depend on the specific characteristics of each security. For example, while securities with longer maturities tend to produce higher yields, they also tend to be more sensitive to changes in prevailing interest rates and are therefore more volatile than shorter-term securities and are subject to greater market fluctuations as a result of changes in interest rates. Fixed income securities are also subject to credit risk, which is the risk that the credit strength of an issuer of a fixed income security will weaken and/or that the issuer will be unable to make timely principal and interest payments and that the security may go into default.
Emerging Markets Debt. A Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in a particular geographic region or country, including emerging markets. A Fund may consider a country to be an emerging market country based on a number of factors including, but not limited to, if the country is classified as an emerging or developing economy by any supranational organization such as the World Bank, International Finance Corporation or the United Nations, or related entities, or if the country is considered an emerging market country for purposes of constructing emerging market indices.
Government-Sponsored Enterprises. A Fund may invest in debt obligations of U.S. Government-sponsored enterprises, including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FFCB and the Tennessee Valley Authority. Although chartered or sponsored by Acts of Congress, these entities are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are supported by the issuers' right to borrow from the U.S. Treasury, the discretionary authority of the U.S. Treasury to lend to the issuers and the U.S. Treasury's commitment to purchase stock to ensure the issuers' positive net worth.
High Yield Bonds. High yield, non-investment grade bonds (also known as "junk bonds") are low-quality, high-risk corporate bonds that generally offer a high level of current income. These bonds are considered speculative by rating organizations. For example, Moody's, S&P Global Ratings and Fitch, Inc. rate them below Baa 3 and BBB-, respectively. Please see "Appendix C Ratings Definitions" in the SAI for an explanation of the ratings applied to high yield bonds. High yield bonds are often issued as a result of corporate restructurings, such as leveraged buyouts, mergers, acquisitions, or other similar events. They may also be issued by smaller, less creditworthy companies or by highly leveraged firms, which are generally less able to make scheduled payments of interest and principal than more financially stable firms. Because of their low credit quality, high-yield bonds must pay higher interest to compensate investors for the substantial credit risk they assume. Lower-rated securities are subject to certain risks that may not be present with investments in higher-grade securities. Investors should consider carefully their ability to assume the risks associated with lower-rated securities before investing in the Fund. The lower rating of certain high yielding corporate income securities reflects a greater possibility that the financial condition of the issuer or adverse changes in general economic conditions may impair the ability of the issuer to pay income and principal. Changes by rating agencies in their ratings of a fixed income security also may affect the value of these investments. However, allocating investments in the Fund among securities of different issuers should reduce the risks of owning any such securities separately. The prices of these high yielding securities tend to be less sensitive to interest rate changes than higher-rated
20 |
Prospectus – Additional Information About the Funds |
investments, but more sensitive to adverse economic changes or individual corporate developments. During economic downturns, highly leveraged issuers may experience financial stress that adversely affects their ability to service principal and interest payment obligations, to meet projected business goals or to obtain additional financing, and the markets for their securities may be more volatile. If an issuer defaults, the Fund may incur additional expenses to seek recovery. Additionally, accruals of interest income for the Fund may have to be adjusted in the event of default. In the event of an issuer's default, the Fund may write off prior income accruals for that issuer, resulting in a reduction in the Fund's current dividend payment. Frequently, the higher yields of high-yielding securities may not reflect the value of the income stream that holders of such securities may expect, but rather the risk that such securities may lose a substantial portion of their value as a result of their issuer's financial restructuring or default. Additionally, an economic downturn or an increase in interest rates could have a negative effect on the high-yield securities market and on the market value of the high-yield securities held by the Fund, as well as on the ability of the issuers of such securities to repay principal and interest on their borrowings.
Inflation Index Linked Securities. Inflation-indexed securities, also known as inflation-protected securities, are fixed income instruments structured such that their interest and principal payments are adjusted to keep up with inflation. In periods of deflation when the inflation rate is declining, the principal value of an inflation-indexed security will be adjusted downward. This will result in a decrease in the interest payments
Investment Grade Securities. Investment grade securities that a Fund may purchase, either as part of its principal investment strategy or to implement its temporary defensive policy, include securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities, as well as securities rated in one of the four highest rating categories by a rating organization rating that security (such as S&P Global Ratings, Moody's Investors Service, Inc., or Fitch, Inc.) or comparably rated by the sub-advisor if unrated by a rating organization. A Fund, at the discretion of the sub-advisor, may retain a security that has been downgraded below the initial investment criteria.
Sovereign and Quasi-Sovereign Debt. Sovereign debt securities are typically issued or guaranteed by national governments in order to finance the issuing country's growth and/or budget. Investing in foreign sovereign debt securities will expose funds investing in such securities to the direct or indirect consequences of political, social or economic changes in the countries that issue the debt securities. Quasi-sovereign debt securities are debt securities either explicitly guaranteed by a foreign government or their agencies or whose majority shareholder is a foreign government.
U.S. Government Securities. U.S. Government securities may include U.S. Treasury securities or debt obligations of U.S. Government-sponsored enterprises.
Other Investment Companies Securities
A Fund at times may invest in shares of other investment companies, including money market funds. A Fund may invest in securities of an investment company advised by the Manager or its sub-advisor. Investments in the securities of other investment companies may involve duplication of advisory fees and certain other expenses. By investing in another investment company, a Fund becomes a shareholder of that investment company. As a result, Fund shareholders indirectly will bear a Fund's proportionate share of the fees and expenses paid by shareholders of the other investment company, in addition to the fees and expenses Fund shareholders directly bear in connection with a Fund's own operations. These other fees and expenses, if applicable, are reflected as Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses and are included in the Fees and Expenses Table for a Fund in this Prospectus. Investment in other investment companies may involve the payment of substantial premiums above the value of such issuer's portfolio securities.
A Fund can invest free cash balances in registered open-end investment companies regulated as money market funds under the Investment Company Act, to provide liquidity or for defensive purposes. A Fund could invest in money market funds rather than purchasing individual short-term investments. If a Fund invests in money market funds, shareholders will bear their proportionate share of the expenses, including for example, advisory and administrative fees, of the money market funds in which a Fund invests, including advisory fees charged by the Manager to any applicable money market funds advised by the Manager.
Although a money market fund is designed to be a relatively low risk investment, it is not free of risk. Despite the short maturities and high credit quality of a money market fund's investments, increases in interest rates and deteriorations in the credit quality of the instruments the money market fund has purchased may reduce the money market fund's yield and can cause the price of a money market security to decrease. In addition, a money market fund is subject to the risk that the value of an investment may be eroded over time by inflation.
Repurchase Agreements
Repurchase agreements are fixed income securities in the form of an agreement between a Fund as purchaser and a counterparty as seller. The agreement is backed by collateral in the form of securities and/or cash transferred by the seller to the buyer, sometimes to be held by an eligible third-party custodian. Under the agreement, a Fund acquires securities from the counterparty and the counterparty simultaneously agrees to repurchase the securities from a Fund at an agreed upon price and date, normally within a week or on demand. The price for the seller to repurchase the securities is greater than a Fund's purchase price, reflecting an agreed upon ‘‘interest rate'' for the period the purchaser's money is invested in the security. Such agreements permit a Fund to earn income while retaining ‘‘overnight'' flexibility in pursuit of longer-term investments. Repurchase agreements may exhibit the economic characteristics of loans by a Fund. The obligation of the seller under the repurchase agreement is not guaranteed, and there is a risk that the seller may fail to repurchase the underlying securities, whether because of the seller's bankruptcy or otherwise. In such event, a Fund would attempt to exercise its rights with respect to the underlying collateral, including possible sale of the securities. A Fund may incur various expenses in the connection with the exercise of its rights and may be subject to various delays and risks of loss, including: (a) possible declines in the value of the underlying collateral, (b) possible reduction in levels of income and (c) lack of access to the securities (if they are held through a third-party custodian) and possible inability to enforce a Fund's rights. A Fund's Board of Trustees has established procedures pursuant to which the sub-advisors monitor the creditworthiness of the counterparties with which a Fund enters into repurchase agreement transactions.
Additional Information About Risks
The greatest risk of investing in a mutual fund is that its returns will fluctuate and you could lose money. The following table identifies the risk factors of each Fund in light of each Fund's respective principal investment strategies. These risk factors are explained following the table. References to "the Fund" and "a Fund" in the risk explanations are intended to refer the Fund(s) identified in the table as having that risk factor. The principal risks of investing in each Fund listed below are presented in alphabetical order and not in order of importance or potential exposure. Among other matters, this presentation is intended to facilitate your ability to find particular risks and compare them with the risks of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a "principal risk" of investing in a Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears.
Prospectus – Additional Information About the Funds |
21 |
Risk |
AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
AHL TargetRisk Fund |
Allocation Risk |
X |
X |
Asset Selection Risk |
X |
X |
Commodities Risk |
X |
X |
Counterparty Risk |
X |
X |
Credit Risk |
X |
X |
Crowding/Convergence Risk |
X |
X |
Currency Risk |
X |
X |
Cybersecurity and Operational Risk |
X |
X |
Derivatives Risk |
X |
X |
Foreign Investing & Emerging Markets Risk |
X |
X |
Hedging Risk |
X |
X |
High Portfolio Turnover Risk |
X |
X |
High Yield Securities Risk |
X |
X |
Inflation Index-Linked Securities Risk |
|
X |
Interest Rate Risk |
X |
X |
Investment Risk |
X |
X |
Issuer Risk |
X |
X |
Leverage Risk |
X |
X |
LIBOR Risk |
X |
X |
Liquidity Risk |
X |
X |
Market Risk |
X |
X |
Market Direction Risk |
X |
|
Market Disruption Risk |
X |
X |
Market Timing Risk |
X |
X |
Model and Data Risk |
X |
X |
Modeling and Programming Error Risk |
X |
X |
Non-Diversification Risk |
X |
X |
Obsolescence Risk |
X |
X |
Other Investment Companies Risk |
X |
X |
Quantitative Strategy Risk |
X |
X |
Redemption Risk |
X |
X |
Repurchase Agreement Risk |
X |
X |
Risk Management |
X |
X |
Segregated Assets Risk |
X |
X |
Short Position Risk |
X |
|
Sovereign and Quasi-Sovereign Debt Risk |
X |
X |
Subsidiary Risk |
X |
X |
Tax Risk |
X |
X |
Trading System and Execution of Orders Risk |
X |
X |
U.S. Government Securities and Government-Sponsored Enterprises Risk |
X |
X |
U.S. Treasury Obligations Risk |
X |
X |
Valuation Risk |
X |
X |
Volatility Risk |
X |
X |
Allocation Risk
This is the risk that the sub-advisor's judgments about, and allocations among, strategies, asset classes and market exposures may adversely affect a Fund's performance. There can be no assurance, particularly during periods of market disruption and stress, that the sub-advisor's judgments about asset allocation will be correct. Some broad asset categories and sub-classes may perform below expectations or the securities markets generally over short and extended periods. This risk may be increased by the use of derivatives to increase allocations to various market exposures because derivatives can create investment leverage, which will magnify the impact to a Fund of its investment in any underperforming market exposure.
Asset Selection Risk
Assets selected by the sub-advisor or the Manager for a Fund may not perform to expectations. The portfolio managers' judgments about the attractiveness, value and potential performance of a particular asset class or individual security may be incorrect, and there is no guarantee that individual securities will perform as anticipated. Additionally, asset classes tend to go through cycles of outperformance and underperformance in comparison to each other and to
22 |
Prospectus – Additional Information About the Funds |
the general securities markets. The sub-advisor's investment models may rely in part on data derived from third parties and may not perform as intended. This could result in a Fund's underperformance compared to other funds with similar investment objectives.
Commodities Risk
A Fund's investments in commodity-linked derivative instruments may subject a 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 changes in supply and demand, drought, floods, weather, livestock disease, embargoes, tariffs, war, acts of terrorism and international economic, political and regulatory developments. These factors may have a larger impact on commodity prices and commodity-linked instruments, including futures contracts and swaps, than on traditional securities. Certain commodities are also subject to limited pricing flexibility because of supply and demand factors. Others are subject to broad price fluctuations as a result of the volatility of the prices for certain raw materials and the instability of the supplies of other materials. In the commodity markets there are often costs of physical storage associated with purchasing the underlying commodity. The price of a commodity-linked derivative will reflect the storage costs of purchasing the physical commodity, including the time value of money invested in the physical commodity. To the extent that the storage costs for an underlying commodity change while a Fund (or its respective Subsidiary) holds a derivative on that commodity, the value of the derivative may change proportionately. In the commodity futures markets, producers of the underlying commodity may decide to hedge the price risk of selling the commodity by selling futures contracts to lock in the price of the commodity at delivery in the future. In order to induce speculators to purchase the other side of the same futures contract, the commodity producer generally must sell the futures contract at a lower price than the expected future spot price of the commodity. Conversely, if most hedgers in the futures market are purchasing futures contracts to hedge against a rise in prices, then speculators will only sell the other side of the futures contract at a higher futures price than the expected future spot price of the commodity. The changing nature of the hedgers and speculators in the commodities markets will influence whether the prices of commodity-linked derivatives are above or below the expected future spot price, which can have significant implications for a Fund (and its respective Subsidiary). No active trading market may exist for certain commodities investments. A Fund's investments in commodity-related instruments may lead to losses in excess of a Fund's investment in such products. Such losses can significantly and adversely affect the NAV per share of a Fund and, consequently, a shareholder's interest in a Fund. Because a Fund's and its respective Subsidiary's performance is linked to the performance of potentially volatile commodities, investors should be willing to assume the risks of significant fluctuations in the value of a Fund's shares. Additionally, rulemaking by the CFTC may affect a Fund's use of commodities to pursue its investment strategies or result in an increase in a Fund's expenses. A Fund and its respective Subsidiary each may invest significantly in a particular sector of the commodities market (such as oil, metal or agricultural products). As a result, a Fund and its respective Subsidiary may be more susceptible to risks associated with those sectors.
Counterparty Risk
A Fund is subject to the risk that a party or participant to a transaction, such as a broker or derivative counterparty, will be unwilling or unable to satisfy its obligation to make timely principal, interest or settlement payments or to otherwise honor its obligations to a Fund. As a result, a Fund may not recover its investment or may only obtain a limited recovery, and any recovery may be delayed. Not all derivative transactions require a counterparty to post collateral, which may expose a Fund to greater losses in the event of a default by a counterparty.
Some of the markets in which a Fund may effect derivative transactions are OTC or "interdealer" markets. The participants in such markets are typically not subject to credit evaluation and regulatory oversight to the same extent as are members of "exchange-based" markets. This exposes a Fund to the risk that a counterparty will not settle a transaction in accordance with its terms and conditions because of a credit or liquidity problem with the counterparty. Recent turbulence in the financial markets could exacerbate counterparty risk resulting from OTC derivative transactions.
A Fund is also subject to the risk that an FCM would default on an obligation set forth in an agreement between a Fund and the FCM. This risk exists at and from the time that a Fund enters into derivatives transactions that are centrally cleared. In such cases, a clearing organization becomes a Fund's counterparty and the principal counterparty risk is that the clearing organization itself will default. In addition, the FCM may hold margin posted in connection with those contracts and that margin may be re-hypothecated (or re-pledged) by the FCM, and lost, or its return delayed, due to a default by the FCM or other customer of the FCM. The FCM may itself file for bankruptcy, which would either delay the return of, or jeopardize altogether, the assets posted by the FCM as margin in response to margin calls relating to cleared positions. If a counterparty fails to meet its contractual obligations, goes bankrupt, or otherwise experiences a business interruption, a Fund could miss investment opportunities or otherwise hold investments it would prefer to sell, resulting in losses for a Fund.
Credit Risk
A Fund is subject to the risk that the issuer or guarantor of an obligation, or the counterparty to a transaction, including a derivatives contract, may fail, or become less able, to make timely payment of interest or principal or otherwise honor its obligations or default completely. The strategies utilized by a sub-advisor require accurate and detailed credit analysis of issuers and there can be no assurance that its analysis will be accurate or complete. A Fund may be subject to substantial losses in the event of credit deterioration or bankruptcy of one or more issuers in its portfolio. Financial strength and solvency of an issuer are the primary factors influencing credit risk. In addition, inadequacy of collateral or credit enhancement for a debt instrument may affect its credit risk. Credit risk may change over the life of an instrument and debt obligations which are rated by rating agencies may be subject to downgrade. The credit ratings of debt instruments and investments represent the rating agencies' opinions regarding their credit quality and are not a guarantee of future credit performance of such securities. Rating agencies attempt to evaluate the safety of the timely payment of principal and interest (or dividends) and do not evaluate the risks of fluctuations in market value. The ratings assigned to securities by rating agencies do not purport to fully reflect the true risks of an investment. Further, in recent years many highly-rated structured securities have been subject to substantial losses as the economic assumptions on which their ratings were based proved to be materially inaccurate. A decline in the credit rating of an individual security held by a Fund may have an adverse impact on its price and may make it difficult for a Fund to sell it. Ratings represent a rating agency's opinion regarding the quality of the security and are not a guarantee of quality. Rating agencies might not always change their credit rating on an issuer or security in a timely manner to reflect events that could affect the issuer's ability to make timely payments on its obligations. Credit risk is typically greater for securities with ratings that are below investment grade (commonly referred to as "junk bonds"). Since a Fund can invest significantly in high yield investments that are considered speculative in nature, this risk may be substantial. Changes in the actual or perceived creditworthiness of an issuer, or a downgrade or default affecting any of a Fund's securities, could affect a Fund's performance.
Crowding/Convergence Risk
There is significant competition among quantitatively-focused managers, and the ability of the sub-advisor to deliver returns that have a low correlation with global aggregate equity markets and that outperform other funds is dependent on its ability to employ models that are simultaneously profitable and differentiated from those employed by other managers. To the extent that the sub-advisor is not able to develop sufficiently differentiated models, a Fund's investment objective may not be met, irrespective of whether the models are profitable in an absolute sense. In addition, to the extent that the models come to resemble those employed by other managers, there is an increased risk that a market disruption may negatively affect predictive models such as those
Prospectus – Additional Information About the Funds |
23 |
employed by a Fund, as such a disruption could accelerate reductions in liquidity or rapid re-pricing due to simultaneous trading across a number of funds utilizing models (or similar quantitatively-focused investment strategies) in the marketplace.
Currency Risk
A Fund may have exposure to foreign currencies by using various instruments described below. Foreign currencies may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time for a number of reasons, including changes in interest rates, may be affected unpredictably by intervention, or the failure to intervene, of the U.S. or foreign governments, central banks, or supranational entities such as the International Monetary Fund, and may be affected by the imposition of currency controls or political developments in the U.S. or abroad. As a result, a Fund's exposure to foreign currencies either directly or through portfolio investments, may reduce the returns of a Fund. Foreign currencies may also decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar and other currencies and thereby affect a Fund's investments in non-U.S. currencies or in securities that trade in and receive revenues in non-U.S. currencies, or in derivatives that provide exposure to non-U.S. currencies. In addition, changes in currency exchange rates could adversely impact investment gains or add to investment losses. Currency futures, forwards, and swaps may not always work as intended, and in specific cases, a Fund may be worse off than if it had not used such instrument(s). In the case of hedging positions, the U.S. dollar or other currency may decline in value relative to the foreign currency that is being hedged and thereby affect a Fund's investments. There may not always be suitable hedging instruments available. Even where suitable hedging instruments are available, a Fund may choose to not hedge its currency risks. A Fund may gain exposure to foreign currencies because of its investments in one or more of the following:
Non-U.S. currencies
Securities denominated in non-U.S. currencies
Foreign currency forward contracts, including NDFs, which are described below under "Derivatives Risk"
Non-U.S. currency futures contracts, which are described below under "Derivatives Risk"
Swaps for cross-currency transactions, which are described below under "Derivatives Risk"
Cybersecurity and Operational Risk
A Fund, its service providers, and third-party fund distribution platforms, and shareholders' ability to transact with a Fund, may be negatively impacted due to operational risks arising from, among other problems, human errors, systems and technology disruptions or failures, or cybersecurity incidents. Cybersecurity incidents may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data, or proprietary information, or cause a Fund or its service providers, as well as the securities trading venues and their service providers, to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality. A cybersecurity incident could, among other things, result in the loss or theft of customer data or funds, customers or employees being unable to access electronic systems (also known as "denial of services"), loss or theft of proprietary information or corporate data, interference with a Fund's ability to calculate its NAV, impediments to trading, physical damage to a computer or network system, or remediation costs associated with system repairs.
The occurrence of any of these problems could result in a loss of information, regulatory scrutiny, reputational damage and other consequences, any of which could have a material adverse effect on a Fund or its shareholders. The Manager, through its monitoring and oversight of Fund service providers, endeavors to determine that service providers take appropriate precautions to avoid and mitigate risks that could lead to such problems. While the Manager has established business continuity plans and risk management systems seeking to address these problems, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems, and it is not possible for the Manager, Fund service providers, or third-party fund distribution platforms to identify all of the operational risks that may affect a Fund or to develop processes and controls to completely eliminate or mitigate their occurrence or effects. Most issuers in which a Fund invests are heavily dependent on computers for data storage and operations, and require ready access to the internet to conduct their business. Thus, cybersecurity incidents could also affect issuers of securities in which a Fund invests, leading to significant loss of value.
Derivatives Risk
Derivatives are financial instruments that have a value which depends upon, or is derived from, a reference asset, such as one or more underlying securities, pools of securities, options, futures, indexes or currencies. A Fund may use derivatives to enhance total return of its portfolio, to hedge against fluctuations in interest rates or currency exchange rates, to change the effective duration of its portfolio, to manage certain investment risks or as a substitute for the purchase or sale of the underlying currencies or securities. A Fund may also hold derivative instruments to obtain economic exposure to an issuer without directly holding its securities.
Derivatives can be highly complex and their use within a management strategy can require specialized skills. There can be no assurance that any strategy used will succeed. If the sub-advisor incorrectly forecasts stock market values, or the direction of interest rates or currency exchange rates in utilizing a specific derivatives strategy for a Fund, a Fund could lose money. In addition, leverage embedded in a derivative instrument can expose a Fund to greater risk and increase its costs. Gains or losses in the value of a derivative instrument may be magnified and be much greater than the derivative's original cost (generally the initial margin deposit).
Some derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of a Fund's initial investment, for example, where a Fund may be called upon to deliver a security it does not own. Derivatives may be illiquid and may be more volatile than other types of investments. A Fund may not be able to close out or sell a derivative position at a particular time or at an anticipated price. Certain derivatives may also be difficult to value, and valuation may be more difficult in times of market turmoil. A Fund may buy or sell derivatives not traded on organized exchanges. A Fund may also enter into transactions that are not cleared through clearing organizations. These types of transactions may be subject to heightened liquidity and valuation risk. Derivative investments can increase portfolio turnover and transaction costs. Derivatives also are subject to counterparty risk and credit risk. As a result, a Fund may not recover its investment or may only obtain a limited recovery, and any recovery may be delayed. Not all derivative transactions require a counterparty to post collateral, which may expose a Fund to greater losses in the event of a default by a counterparty. Certain derivatives require a Fund to post margin to secure its future obligation; if a Fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell investments from its portfolio to meet daily variation margin requirements at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so. A Fund's use of derivatives also may create financial leverage, which may result in losses that exceed the amount originally invested and accelerate the rate of losses. Suitable derivatives may not be available in all circumstances, and there can be no assurance that a Fund will use derivatives to reduce exposure to other risks when that might have been beneficial.
Although a Fund may attempt to hedge against certain risks, the hedging instruments may not perform as expected and could produce losses. Hedging instruments may also reduce or eliminate gains that may otherwise have been available had a Fund not used the hedging instruments. A Fund may not hedge certain risks in particular situations, even if suitable instruments are available.
Ongoing changes to the regulation of the derivatives markets and potential changes in the regulation of funds using derivative instruments could limit a Fund's ability to pursue its investment strategies. The extent and impact of the regulation is not yet fully known and may not be for some time. New regulation may make derivatives more costly, may limit their availability, may disrupt markets, or may otherwise adversely affect their value or performance. In
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addition to other changes, these rules provide for central clearing of derivatives that in the past were traded exclusively over-the-counter and may increase costs and margin requirements, but are expected to reduce certain counterparty risks.
Because the markets for certain derivative instruments (including markets located in foreign countries) are relatively new and still developing, suitable derivatives transactions may not be available in all circumstances for risk management or other purposes. Upon the expiration of a particular contract, the sub-advisor may wish to retain a Fund's position in the derivative instrument by entering into a similar contract, but may be unable to do so if the counterparty to the original contract is unwilling to enter into the new contract and no other suitable counterparty can be found. A Fund's ability to use derivatives may also be limited by certain regulatory and tax considerations. For example, the CFTC and the designated contract markets have established position limits for futures and option contracts that may restrict the ability of a Fund, or the Manager or sub-advisor entering trades on a Fund's behalf, to make certain trading decisions. A Fund may be subject to the risks associated with investments in those derivatives, including but not limited to the following:
Forward Contracts Risk. There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the price of a forward contract and the underlying security, index or currency, which may increase the volatility of a Fund. A Fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a forward contract in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a counterparty. If such a default occurs, a Fund will have contractual remedies pursuant to the forward contract, but such remedies may be subject to bankruptcy and insolvency laws which could affect a Fund's rights as a creditor. Forward currency transactions include risks associated with fluctuations in foreign currency. There are no limitations on daily price movements of forward contracts. Not all forward contracts, including NDFs, require a counterparty to post collateral, which may expose a Fund to greater losses in the event of a default by a counterparty.
Foreign Currency Forward Contracts Risk. Foreign currency forward contracts, including NDFs, are derivative instruments pursuant to a contract with a counterparty to pay a fixed price for an agreed amount of securities or other underlying assets at an agreed date or to buy or sell a specific currency at a future date at a price set at the time of the contract. The use of foreign currency forward contracts may expose a Fund to additional risks that it would not be subject to if it invested directly in the securities or currencies underlying the foreign currency forward contract. Foreign currency forward transactions include risks associated with fluctuations in foreign currency. There are no limitations on daily price movements of forward contracts. Not all forward contracts, including NDFs, require a counterparty to post collateral, which may expose a Fund to greater losses in the event of a default by a counterparty.
Futures Contracts Risk. There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in the prices of futures contracts and the value of their underlying instruments or index. Futures contracts may experience dramatic price changes (losses) and imperfect correlations between the price of the contract and the underlying security, index or currency, which may increase the volatility of a Fund. Futures contracts may involve a small investment of cash (the amount of initial and variation margin) relative to the magnitude of the risk assumed (the potential increase or decrease in the price of the futures contract). There can be no assurance that, at all times, a liquid market will exist for offsetting a futures contract that a Fund has previously bought or sold and this may result in the inability to close a futures contract when desired. When a Fund purchases or sells a futures contract, it is subject to daily variation margin calls that could be substantial. If a Fund has insufficient cash to meet daily variation margin requirements, it might need to sell securities at a time when such sales are disadvantageous. Interest rate and Treasury futures contracts expose a Fund to price fluctuations resulting from changes in interest rates. A Fund could suffer a loss if interest rates rise after a Fund has purchased an interest rate futures contract or fall after a Fund has sold an interest rate futures contract. Similarly, treasury futures contracts expose a Fund to potential losses if interest rates do not move as expected. Equity index futures contracts expose a Fund to volatility in an underlying securities index.
Swap Agreement Risk. Swaps can involve greater risks than a direct investment in an underlying asset, because swaps typically include a certain amount of embedded leverage and as such are subject to leveraging risk. If swaps are used as a hedging strategy, a Fund is subject to the risk that the hedging strategy may not eliminate the risk that it is intended to offset, due to, among other reasons, a lack of correlation between the swaps and the portfolio of assets that the swaps are designed to hedge or replace. Swaps also may be difficult to value. Swaps may be subject to liquidity risk and counterparty risk. Swaps that are traded over-the-counter are not subject to standardized clearing requirements and may involve greater liquidity and counterparty risks. In addition, a Fund may invest in the following types of swaps:
Commodities swaps, which may be subject to commodities risk.
Credit default swaps, which may be subject to credit risk and the risks associated with the purchase and sale of credit protection. With respect
to a credit default swap, if a Fund is selling credit protection, there is a risk a Fund is subject to many of the same risks it would be if it were holding debt obligations of the issuer; however, a Fund would not have any recourse against such issuer and would not benefit from any collateral securing such issuer's debt
obligations. Therefore, when selling protection, a Fund could be forced to liquidate other assets upon the occurrence of a credit event in order to pay the counterparty. There
is also the risk that the transaction may be closed-out at a time when the credit quality of the underlying investment has
deteriorated, in which case a Fund may need to make an early termination payment. If a Fund is buying credit protection, there is the risk that no credit event will occur and a Fund will receive no benefit (other than any hedging benefit) for the premium paid. There is also the risk that the transaction
may be closed-out at a time when the credit quality of the underlying investment has improved, in which case a Fund may need to make an early termination payment.
Cross-currency swaps, which may be subject to currency risk and credit risk.
Equity swaps, which may be subject to equity investments risk.
Interest rate swaps, which may be subject to interest rate risk and credit risk.
Total return swaps, which may be subject to credit risk and, if the underlying securities are bonds or other debt obligations, market risk and
interest rate risk.
Emerging Markets Risk
When investing in emerging markets, the risks of investing in foreign securities are heightened. Emerging markets have unique risks that are greater than, or in addition to, the risks associated with investing in developed markets because emerging markets are generally smaller, less developed, less liquid and more volatile than the securities markets of the U.S. and other developed markets. There are also risks of: greater political uncertainties; an economy's dependence on revenues from particular commodities or on international aid or development assistance; currency transfer restrictions; a limited number of potential buyers for such securities, resulting in increased volatility and limited liquidity for emerging market securities; trading suspensions; and delays and disruptions in securities settlement procedures. The economies and political environments of emerging market countries tend to be more unstable than those of developed countries, resulting in more volatile rates of return than the developed markets and substantially greater risk to investors. The governments of emerging market countries may also be more unstable and more likely to impose capital controls, nationalize a company or industry, place restrictions on foreign ownership and on withdrawing sale proceeds of securities from the country, intervene in the financial markets, and/or impose burdensome taxes that could adversely affect security prices. In addition, there may be less publicly available information about issuers in emerging markets than would be available about issuers in more developed capital markets, and such issuers may not be subject to accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and requirements comparable to those to which U.S. companies are subject. In certain emerging market countries, fraud and corruption may be more prevalent than in developed market countries.
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Foreign Investing Risk
Non-U.S. investments carry potential risks not associated with U.S. investments. Such risks include, but are not limited to: (1) currency exchange rate fluctuations, (2) political and financial instability, (3) less liquidity and greater volatility of foreign investments, (4) lack of uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, (5) different government regulation and supervision of foreign banks, stock exchanges, brokers and listed companies, (6) increased price volatility, and (7) delays in transaction settlement in some foreign markets. There may be very limited oversight of certain foreign banks or securities depositories that hold foreign securities and currency and the laws of certain countries may limit the ability to recover such assets if a foreign bank, depository, or their agents goes bankrupt. To the extent a Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in securities of a single country or region, it is more likely to be affected by events or conditions of that country or region.
Investing in Developed Countries Risk. Investment in a developed country issuer may subject a Fund to regulatory, political, currency, security, economic and other risks associated with developed countries. Developed countries generally tend to rely on services sectors (e.g., the financial services sector) as the primary means of economic growth. A prolonged slowdown in services sectors is likely to have a negative impact on economies of certain developed countries, although individual developed country economies can be impacted by slowdowns in other sectors. In the past, certain developed countries have been targets of terrorism. Acts of terrorism in developed countries or against their interests may cause uncertainty in the financial markets and adversely affect the performance of the issuers to which a Fund has exposure. Heavy regulation of certain markets, including labor and product markets, may have an adverse effect on certain issuers. Such regulations may negatively affect economic growth or cause prolonged periods of recession. Many developed countries are heavily indebted and face rising healthcare and retirement expenses. In addition, price fluctuations of certain commodities and regulations impacting the import of commodities may negatively affect developed country economies.
Hedging Risk
A Fund may enter into hedging transactions with the intention of reducing or controlling risk. It is possible that hedging strategies will not be effective in controlling risk, due to unexpected non-correlation (or even positive correlation) between the hedging instrument and the position being hedged, increasing, rather than reducing, both risk and losses. To the extent that a Fund enters into hedging transactions, the hedges will not be static but rather will need to be continually adjusted based on the sub-advisor's assessment of market conditions, as well as the expected degree of non-correlation between the hedges and the portfolio being hedged. The success of a Fund's hedging strategies will depend on the sub-advisor's ability to implement such strategies efficiently and cost-effectively, as well as on the accuracy of the sub-advisor's judgments concerning the hedging positions to be acquired by a Fund. A counterparty to a hedging transaction may be unable to honor its financial obligation to a Fund. In addition, the sub-advisor may be unable to close the transaction at the time it would like or at the price it believes the security is currently worth. A Fund may not, in general, attempt to hedge all market or other risks inherent in a Fund's investments, and may hedge certain risks only partially, if at all. Certain risks, either in respect of particular investments or in respect of a Fund's overall portfolio, may not be hedged, particularly if doing so is economically unattractive. As a result, various directional market risks may remain unhedged. Gains or losses from positions in hedging instruments may be much greater than the instrument's original cost. If a Fund uses a hedging instrument at the wrong time or judges the market conditions incorrectly, or the hedged instrument does not correlate to the risk sought to be hedged, the hedge might be unsuccessful. The use of hedges may fail to mitigate risks, reduce a Fund's return, or create a loss. In addition, hedges, even when successful in mitigating risk, may not prevent a Fund from experiencing losses on its investments. Hedging instruments may also reduce or eliminate gains that may otherwise have been available had a Fund not used the hedging instruments.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk
Portfolio turnover is a measure of a Fund's trading activity over a one-year period. A portfolio turnover rate of 100% would indicate that a Fund sold and replaced the entire value of its securities holdings during the period. A Fund may engage in active and frequent trading and may have a high portfolio turnover rate, which could increase a Fund's transaction costs because of increased broker commissions resulting from such transactions. These costs are not reflected in a Fund's annual operating expenses or in the expense example, but they can have a negative impact on performance and generate higher capital gain distributions to shareholders than if a Fund had a low portfolio turnover rate. Frequent trading by a Fund could also result in increased realized net capital gains, distributions of which are taxable to a Fund's shareholders when Fund shares are held in a taxable account (including net short-term capital gain distributions, which are taxable to them as ordinary income).
High Yield Securities Risk
Exposure to high yield securities (commonly referred to as ''junk bonds'') generally involves significantly greater risks of loss of your money than an investment in investment-grade securities. Compared with issuers of investment grade securities, issuers of high yield securities are more likely to encounter financial difficulties and to be materially affected by these difficulties. High yield debt securities may fluctuate more widely in price and yield and may fall in price when the economy is weak or expected to become weak. These securities also may be difficult to sell at the time and price a Fund desires. High yield securities are considered to be speculative with respect to an issuer's ability to pay interest and principal and carry a greater risk that issuers of lower-rated securities will default on the timely payment of principal or interest. Rising interest rates may compound these difficulties and reduce an issuer's ability to repay principal and interest obligations. Issuers of lower-rated securities also have a greater risk of default or bankruptcy. Issuers of securities that are in default or have defaulted may fail to resume principal or interest payments, in which case a Fund may lose its entire investment. Below-investment-grade securities may experience greater price volatility and less liquidity than investment-grade securities.
Lower-rated securities are subject to certain risks that may not be present with investments in higher-grade securities. Investors should consider carefully their ability to assume the risks associated with lower-rated securities before investing in a Fund. The lower rating of certain high yielding corporate income securities reflects a greater possibility that the financial condition of the issuer or adverse changes in general economic conditions may impair the ability of the issuer to pay income and principal. Changes by credit rating agencies in their ratings of a fixed income security also may affect the value of these investments. However, allocating investments among securities of different issuers could reduce the risks of owning any such securities separately. The prices of these high yield securities tend to be less sensitive to interest rate changes than investment-grade investments, but more sensitive to adverse economic changes or individual corporate developments. During economic downturns or periods of rising interest rates, highly leveraged issuers may experience financial stress that adversely affects their ability to service principal and interest payment obligations, to meet projected business goals or to obtain additional financing, and the markets for their securities may be more volatile. If an issuer defaults, a Fund may incur additional expenses to seek recovery. Additionally, accruals of interest income for a Fund may have to be adjusted in the event of default. In the event of an issuer's default, a Fund may write off prior income accruals for that issuer, resulting in a reduction in a Fund's current dividend payment. Frequently, the higher yields of high-yielding securities may not reflect the value of the income stream that holders of such securities may expect, but rather the risk that such securities may lose a substantial portion of their value as a result of their issuer's financial restructuring or default.
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Inflation Index-Linked Securities Risk
Unlike a conventional bond, whose issuer makes regular fixed interest payments and repays the face value of the bond at maturity, an inflation index-linked security provides principal payments and interest payments that vary as the principal and/or interest are adjusted over time to reflect a rise or a drop in the reference inflation-related index. For inflation index-linked debt securities for which repayment of the original principal upon maturity (as adjusted for inflation) is not guaranteed, the adjusted principal value of the securities repaid at maturity may be less than the original principal value. The value of inflation index-linked securities is expected to change in response to real interest rates. The price of an inflation index-linked security generally falls when real interest rates rise and rises when real interest rates fall. In periods of deflation, a Fund may have no income at all from such investments. Interest payments on such securities are unpredictable and will fluctuate as the principal and interest are adjusted to reflect movements in the inflation-related index. Any increase in the principal amount of an inflation index-linked security will be taxable as ordinary income, even though a Fund will not receive the increased principal until maturity.
Interest Rate Risk
Investments in investment-grade and non-investment grade fixed income securities or derivatives that are influenced by interest rates are subject to interest rate risk. The value of a Fund's fixed income investments typically will fall when interest rates rise. A Fund may be particularly sensitive to changes in interest rates if it invests in debt securities with intermediate and long terms to maturity. Debt securities with longer durations tend to be more sensitive to changes in interest rates, usually making them more volatile than debt securities with shorter durations. For example, if a bond has a duration of eight years, a 1% increase in interest rates could be expected to result in an 8% decrease in the value of the bond. Yields of debt securities will fluctuate over time. Following the financial crisis that started in 2008, the Federal Reserve attempted to stabilize the economy and support the economic recovery by keeping the federal funds rate (the interest rate at which depository institutions lend reserve balances to each other overnight) at or near zero percent. As of the date of this Prospectus, interest rates are historically low. In the future, interest rates may rise significantly and/or rapidly, potentially resulting in substantial losses to a Fund. Generally, the value of investments with interest rate risk, such as fixed income securities, will move in the opposite direction as movements in interest rates. During periods of very low or negative interest rates, a Fund may be unable to maintain positive returns. Certain European countries and Japan have recently experienced negative interest rates on deposits and debt securities have traded at negative yields. Negative interest rates may become more prevalent among U.S. and foreign issuers. Changing interest rates, including rates that fall below zero, may have unpredictable effects on markets, may result in heightened market volatility and may detract from Fund performance to the extent a Fund is exposed to such interest rates. To the extent a Fund holds an investment with a negative interest rate to maturity, a Fund would generate a negative return on that investment.
Investment Risk
An investment in a Fund is not a deposit with a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. A Fund should not be relied upon as a complete investment program. The share price of a Fund fluctuates, which means that when you sell your shares of a Fund, they could be worth less than what you paid for them. Therefore, you may lose money by investing in a Fund.
Issuer Risk
The value of, and/or the return generated by, a security may decline for a number of reasons that directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets. When the issuer of a security implements strategic initiatives, including mergers, acquisitions and dispositions, there is the risk that the market response to such initiatives will cause the share price of the issuer's securities to fall.
Leverage Risk
Financial leverage magnifies the exposure to the movement in prices of an asset or class of assets underlying a derivative instrument and may result in increased volatility, which means that a Fund will have the potential for greater losses than if a Fund does not use the derivative instruments that have a leveraging effect. Leverage may result in losses that exceed the amount originally invested and may accelerate the rate of losses. Leverage tends to magnify, sometimes significantly, the effect of any increase or decrease in a Fund's exposure to an asset or class of assets and may cause a Fund's NAV per share to be volatile. A Fund may experience leverage risk in connection with investments in derivatives because its investments in derivatives may be purchased with a fraction of the assets that would be needed to purchase the securities directly, so that the remainder of the assets may be invested in other investments. Such investments may have the effect of leveraging a Fund because a Fund may experience gains or losses not only on its investments in derivatives, but also on the investments purchased with the remainder of the assets. If the value of a Fund's investments in derivatives is increasing, this could be offset by declining values of a Fund's other investments. Conversely, it is possible that the rise in the value of a Fund's non-derivative investments could be offset by a decline in the value of a Fund's investments in derivatives. In either scenario, a Fund may experience losses. In a market where the value of a Fund's investments in derivatives is declining and the value of its other investments is declining, a Fund may experience substantial losses. The use of leverage may cause a Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations or to meet any required asset segregation requirements. In addition, the costs that a Fund pays to engage in these practices are additional costs borne by a Fund and could reduce or eliminate any net investment profits. There can be no assurance that a Fund's use of leverage will be successful.
LIBOR Risk
Certain of the instruments identified in a Fund's principal investment strategies have variable or floating coupon rates that are based on LIBOR, Euro Interbank Offered Rate and other similar types of reference rates (each, a "Reference Rate"). In June 2017, the Alternative Reference Rates Committee, a group of large U.S. banks working with the Federal Reserve, announced its selection of a new SOFR, which is intended to be a broad measure of overnight U.S. Treasury repurchase agreement rates, as an appropriate replacement for U.S. dollar LIBOR. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York began publishing the SOFR in 2018, with the expectation that it could be used on a voluntary basis in new instruments and transactions. Bank working groups and regulators in other countries have suggested other alternatives for their markets to replace sterling LIBOR. On July 27, 2017, the Chief Executive of the FCA, which regulates LIBOR, announced that the FCA will no longer persuade nor require banks to submit rates for the calculation of LIBOR and certain other Reference Rates after 2021. Such announcement indicates that the continuation of LIBOR and other Reference Rates on the current basis cannot and will not be guaranteed after 2021. This announcement and any additional regulatory or market changes may have an adverse impact on a Fund or its investments, including increased volatility or illiquidity in markets for instruments that rely on LIBOR.
In advance of 2021, regulators and market participants are working together to identify or develop successor Reference Rates. Additionally, prior to 2021, it is expected that market participants will focus on the transition mechanisms by which the Reference Rates in existing contracts or instruments may be amended, whether through marketwide protocols, fallback contractual provisions, bespoke negotiations or amendments or otherwise. Nonetheless, the termination of certain Reference Rates presents risks to a Fund. At this time, it is not possible to completely identify or predict the effect of any such changes, any establishment of alternative Reference Rates or any other reforms to Reference Rates that may be enacted in the UK or elsewhere. The elimination of a Reference Rate or any other changes or reforms to the determination or supervision of Reference Rates could have an adverse impact on the market for or
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value of any securities or payments linked to those Reference Rates and other financial obligations held by a Fund or on its overall financial condition or results of operations. In addition, any substitute Reference Rate and any pricing adjustments imposed by a regulator or by counterparties or otherwise may adversely affect a Fund's performance and/or NAV.
Liquidity Risk
When there is little or no active trading market for specific types of securities, it can become more difficult to purchase or sell the securities at or near their perceived value. During such periods, certain investments held by a Fund may be difficult or impossible to purchase or sell at favorable times or prices. As a result, a Fund may have to lower the price on certain securities that it is trying to sell, sell other securities instead or forgo an investment opportunity, any of which could have a negative effect on Fund management or performance. An inability to sell a portfolio position can adversely affect a Fund's NAV or prevent a Fund from being able to take advantage of other investment opportunities. A Fund could lose money if it is unable to dispose of an investment at a time that is most beneficial to a Fund. Redemptions by a few large investors in a Fund at such times may have a significant adverse effect on a Fund's NAV per share and remaining Fund shareholders. In addition, the market-making capacity of dealers in certain types of securities has been reduced in recent years, in part as a result of structural and regulatory changes, such as fewer proprietary trading desks and increased regulatory capital requirements for broker-dealers. Further, many broker-dealers have reduced their inventory of certain debt securities. This could negatively affect a Fund's ability to buy or sell debt securities and increase the related volatility and trading costs. A Fund may lose money if it is forced to sell certain investments at unfavorable prices to meet redemption requests or other cash needs. Judgment plays a greater role in pricing illiquid investments than in investments with more active markets.
Market Risk
Conditions in the U.S. and many foreign economies have resulted, and may continue to result, in certain instruments experiencing unusual liquidity issues, increased price volatility and, in some cases, credit downgrades and increased likelihood of default. These events have reduced the willingness and ability of some lenders to extend credit, and have made it more difficult for some borrowers to obtain financing on attractive terms, if at all. In some cases, traditional market participants have been less willing to make a market in some types of debt instruments, which has affected the liquidity of those instruments. During times of market turmoil, investors tend to look to the safety of securities issued or backed by the U.S. Treasury, causing the prices of these securities to rise and the yields to decline. Reduced liquidity in fixed income and credit markets may negatively affect many issuers worldwide. In addition, global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibility that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers in a different country or region. A rise in protectionist trade policies, slowing global economic growth, risks associated with the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union on January 31, 2020 and trade agreement negotiations during the transition period, the risks associated with ongoing trade negotiations with China, and the possibility of changes to some international trade agreements, could affect the economies of many nations, including the United States, in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time.
In response to the financial crisis, the U.S. and other governments, the Federal Reserve, and certain foreign central banks have taken steps to support financial markets. In some countries where economic conditions are recovering, they are nevertheless perceived as still fragile. Withdrawal of government support, failure of efforts in response to the crisis, or investor perception that such efforts are not succeeding, could adversely impact the value and liquidity of certain securities. The severity or duration of adverse economic conditions may also be affected by policy changes made by governments or quasi-governmental organizations, including changes in tax laws. The impact of new financial regulation legislation on the markets and the practical implications for market participants may not be fully known for some time. Regulatory changes are causing some financial services companies to exit long-standing lines of business, resulting in dislocations for other market participants.
In addition, political and governmental events within the U.S. and abroad, such as the U.S. government's inability at times to agree on a long-term budget and deficit reduction plan, the threat of a federal government shutdown and threats not to increase the federal government's debt limit, may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy, perhaps suddenly and to a significant degree. The U.S. government has reduced the federal corporate income tax rate, and future legislative, regulatory and policy changes may result in more restrictions on international trade, less stringent prudential regulation of certain players in the financial markets, and significant new investments in infrastructure and national defense. Markets may react strongly to expectations about the changes in these policies, which could increase volatility, especially if the market's expectations for changes in government policies are not borne out.
Changes in market conditions will not have the same impact on all types of securities. Interest rates have been unusually low in recent years in the U.S. and abroad. Because there is little precedent for this situation, it is difficult to predict the impact of a significant rate increase on various markets. For example, because investors may buy securities or other investments with borrowed money, a significant increase in interest rates may cause a decline in the markets for those investments. Regulators have expressed concern that rate increases may cause investors to sell fixed income securities faster than the market can absorb them, contributing to price volatility. In addition, there is a risk that the prices of goods and services in the U.S. and many foreign economies may decline over time, known as deflation (the opposite of inflation). Deflation may have an adverse effect on stock prices and creditworthiness and may make defaults on debt more likely. If a country's economy slips into a deflationary pattern, it could last for a prolonged period and may be difficult to reverse.
The impact of the United Kingdom's departure from the EU, which occurred on January 31, 2020, commonly known as Brexit, is not yet known. The effect on the United Kingdom's economy will likely depend on the nature of trade relations with the EU and other major economies following its exit, which are matters to be negotiated. The outcomes may cause increased volatility and have a significant adverse impact on world financial markets, other international trade agreements, and the United Kingdom and European economies, as well as the broader global economy for some time, which could significantly adversely affect the value of a Fund's investments in the United Kingdom and Europe.
Market Direction Risk
Since a Fund will typically hold both long and short positions, an investment in a Fund will involve market risks associated with different types of investment decisions than those made for a typical "long only" fund. A Fund's results could suffer both when there is a general market advance and a Fund holds significant "short" positions, and when there is a general market decline and a Fund holds significant "long" positions. In recent years, markets have shown considerable volatility from day to day and even in intra-day trading.
Market Disruption Risk
Geopolitical and other events, including war, terrorism, economic uncertainty, trade disputes, pandemics, public health crises and related geopolitical events have led, and in the future may continue to lead, to instability in world economies and markets generally. This instability has disrupted, and may continue to disrupt, U.S. and world economies and markets and adversely affect the value of your investment. Such market disruptions have caused, and may continue to cause, broad changes in market value, negative public perceptions concerning these developments, and adverse investor sentiment or publicity. Changes in value may be temporary or may last for extended periods. Although multiple asset classes have been and may continue to be affected by a market disruption, the duration and effects may not be the same for all types of assets. Events that have led to market disruptions include the recent pandemic spread of the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, which has resulted in travel restrictions, closed international borders, quarantines, disruptions to supply chains and
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lower consumer demand. The duration and full effects of these market disruptions are still uncertain. The effect of recent efforts undertaken by the Federal Reserve System to address the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the reduction of the federal funds target rate, and other monetary and fiscal actions that may be taken by the U.S. federal government to stimulate the U.S. economy, are not yet known. In addition, COVID-19 could cause the need for employees and vendors at various businesses, including the Manager, the sub-advisor or other service providers, to work at external locations, and extensive medical absences. Because a large epidemic may create significant market and business uncertainties and disruptions, not all events that could affect the business of the Manager, the sub-advisor or other service providers can be determined and addressed in advance.
Market Timing Risk
A Fund that invests in high yield and foreign securities, or has exposure to foreign securities through the derivatives it holds, is particularly subject to the risk of market timing activities. Frequent trading by Fund shareholders poses risks to other shareholders in that Fund, including (i) the dilution of a Fund's NAV, (ii) an increase in a Fund's expenses, and (iii) interference with the portfolio manager's ability to execute efficient investment strategies. Because of the types of specific securities in which a Fund may invest, it could be subject to the risk of market timing activities by shareholders. Some examples of these types of securities are high yield and foreign securities. The limited trading activity of some high yield securities may result in market prices that do not reflect the true market value of these securities. If a Fund trades foreign securities, it generally prices these foreign securities using their closing prices from the foreign markets in which they trade, which typically is prior to a Fund's calculation of its NAV. These prices 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 Fund may fair value high yield and foreign securities. However, some investors may engage in frequent short-term trading in a Fund to take advantage of any price differentials that may be reflected in the NAV of a Fund's shares. While the Manager monitors trading in a Fund, there is no guarantee that it can detect all market timing activities.
Model and Data Risk
The sub-advisor relies heavily on proprietary mathematical quantitative models (each, a "Model" and collectively "Models") and data developed both by the sub-advisor and those supplied by third parties (collectively, "Data") rather than granting trade-by-trade discretion to the sub-advisor's investment professionals. In combination, Models and Data are used to construct investment decisions, to value investments or potential investments (including, without limitation, for trading purposes), to provide risk management insights and to assist in hedging a Fund's investments. Models and Data are known to have errors, omissions, imperfections and malfunctions (collectively, "System Events"). System Events in third-party Data are generally entirely outside of the control of the sub-advisor. The sub-advisor seeks to reduce the incidence and impact of System Events, to the extent feasible, through a combination of internal testing, simulation, real-time monitoring, and use of independent safeguards in the overall portfolio management process and often in the software code itself. Despite such testing, monitoring and independent safeguards, System Events may result in, among other things, the execution of unanticipated trades, the failure to execute anticipated trades, delays to the execution of anticipated trades, the failure to properly allocate trades, the failure to properly gather and organize available data, the failure to take certain hedging or risk reducing actions and/or the taking of actions which increase certain risk(s) — all of which may negatively impact a Fund and/or its returns. A Fund will bear the risks associated with the reliance on Models and Data including that a Fund will bear all losses related to System Events unless otherwise determined by the sub-advisor in accordance with its internal policies or as may be required by applicable law.
Data Risk. The investment strategies of a Fund are highly reliant on the gathering, cleaning, culling and performance of analysis of large amounts of Data. Accordingly, Models rely heavily on appropriate Data inputs. However, it is not possible or practicable to factor all relevant, available Data into forecasts and/or trading decisions of the Models, particularly with regard to the more newly established financial instruments in which a Fund may invest. The sub-advisor will use its discretion to determine what Data to gather with respect to each investment strategy and what subset of that Data the Models to take into account to produce forecasts that may have an impact on ultimate investment decisions. In addition, due to the automated nature of Data gathering, the volume and depth of Data available, the complexity and often manual nature of Data cleaning, and the fact that the substantial majority of Data comes from third-party sources, it is inevitable that not all desired and/or relevant Data will be available to, or processed by, the sub-advisor at all times. Irrespective of the merit, value and/or strength of a particular Model, it will not perform as designed if incorrect Data is fed into it, which may lead to a System Event, potentially subjecting a Fund to a loss. Further, even if Data is input correctly, "model prices" anticipated by the Data through the Models may differ substantially from market prices, especially for securities with complex characteristics, such as derivatives. Where incorrect or incomplete Data is available, the sub-advisor may, and often will, continue to generate forecasts and make investment decisions based on the Data available to it. Additionally, the sub-advisor may determine that certain available Data, while potentially useful in generating forecasts and/or making investment decisions, is not cost effective to gather due to, among other factors, the technology costs or third-party vendor costs and, in such cases, the sub-advisor will not utilize such Data. The sub-advisor has full discretion to select the Data it utilizes. The sub-advisor may elect to use or may refrain from using any specific Data or type of Data in generating forecasts or making trading decisions with respect to the Models. The Data utilized in generating forecasts or making decisions underlying the Models may not be (i) the most accurate data available or (ii) free of errors. Shareholders should assume that the Data set used in connection with the Models is limited and should understand that the foregoing risks associated with gathering, cleaning, culling and analyzing large amounts of Data are an inherent part of investing with a quantitative, process-driven, systematic adviser such as the sub-advisor. When Models and Data prove to be incorrect, misleading or incomplete, any decisions made in reliance thereon expose a Fund to potential losses and such losses may be compounded over time. For example, by relying on Models and Data, the sub-advisor may be induced to buy certain investments at prices that are too high, to sell certain other investments at prices that are too low, or to miss favorable opportunities altogether. Similarly, any hedging based on faulty Models and Data may prove to be unsuccessful and any valuations of a Fund's investments that are based on valuation Models may prove to be incorrect.
Error Detection Risk. Errors in Models and Data are often extremely difficult to detect, and, in the case of Models, the difficulty of detecting System Events may be exacerbated by the lack of design documents or specifications. Regardless of how difficult their detection appears in retrospect, some System Events may go undetected for long periods of time and some may never be detected. Finally, the sub-advisor may detect certain System Events that it chooses, in its sole discretion, not to address or fix, and the use of third-party software may also lead to System Events known to the sub-advisor that it chooses, in its sole discretion, not to address or fix. The degradation or impact caused by these System Events can compound over time. When a System Event is detected, the sub-advisor generally will not perform a materiality analysis on the potential impact of a System Event. The sub-advisor believes that the testing and monitoring performed on its models may enable the sub-advisor to identify and address those System Events that a prudent person managing a quantitative, systematic and computerized investment program would identify and address by correcting the underlying issue(s) giving rise to the System Events; however, there is no guarantee of the success of such processes. Shareholders should assume that the System Events and their ensuing risks and impact are an inherent part of investing with a process-driven, systematic investment manager such as the sub-advisor. Accordingly, the sub-advisor does not expect to disclose discovered System Events to a Fund or to shareholders.
Model Error Risk. Models may incorrectly forecast future behavior, leading to potential losses on a cash flow and/or a mark-to-market basis. Furthermore, in unforeseen or certain low-probability scenarios (often involving a market event or disruption of some kind), Models may produce unexpected results which may or may not be System Events.
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Programming Risk. The research and modelling processes engaged in by the sub-advisor on behalf of a Fund are extremely complex and involve the use of financial, economic, econometric and statistical theories, research and modelling; the results of this investment approach must then be translated into computer code. Although the sub-advisor seeks to hire individuals skilled in each of these functions and to provide appropriate levels of oversight and employ other mitigating measures and processes, the complexity of the individual tasks, the difficulty of integrating such tasks, and the limited ability to perform "real world" testing of the end product, even with simulations and similar methodologies, raise the chances that Model code may contain one or more coding errors, thus potentially resulting in a System Event and further, one or more of such coding errors could adversely affect a Fund's investment performance.
Modeling and Programming Error Risk
The success of the sub-advisor's investment strategy depends largely on the effectiveness of its quantitative research models and investment programs. Assets selected using models and programs can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole or securities selected using only fundamental analysis, which could adversely affect value. Factors that affect an asset's value can change over time and these changes may not be reflected in the quantitative model. The data used to build the model is extremely complex and involves financial, economic, econometric and statistical theories which are then translated into computer code to create the applicable program. Human judgment plays a role in building, utilizing, testing and modifying the financial algorithms and formulas used in these models. Additionally, the data, which is typically supplied by third parties, can be imprecise or become stale due to new events or changing circumstances. Market performance can be affected by non-quantitative factors (for example, investor fear or over-reaction or other emotional considerations) that are not easily integrated into modeling programs. There may also be errors in the code for the models or issues relating to the computer systems used to screen securities. The sub-advisor's security selection can be adversely affected if it relies on erroneous or outdated data, and there is a risk that the finished model may contain errors; one or more of which could adversely affect a Fund's performance. There can be no assurance that the models and programs are complete or accurate, or representative of future market cycles, nor that they will always be beneficial to a Fund if they are accurate. These models and programs may negatively affect Fund performance for various reasons, including errors in human judgment, inaccuracy of historical data and non-quantitative factors (such as market or trading system dysfunctions, investor fear or over-reaction).
Non-Diversification Risk
When a Fund is non-diversified, it may invest a high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers. When a Fund invests in a relatively small number of issuers, it may be more susceptible to risks associated with a single economic, political or regulatory occurrence than a more diversified portfolio might be. Some of those issuers also may present substantial credit or other risks. When a Fund is non-diversified, its NAV and total return may also fluctuate more or be subject to declines in weaker markets than a diversified mutual fund. Investments in securities of a limited number of issuers exposes a Fund to greater market risk, price volatility and potential losses than if assets were diversified among the securities of a greater number of issuers.
Obsolescence Risk
A Fund is unlikely to be successful in its quantitative trading strategies unless the assumptions underlying the models are realistic and either remain realistic and relevant in the future or are adjusted to account for changes in the overall market environment. If such assumptions are inaccurate or become inaccurate and are not promptly adjusted, it is likely that profitable trading signals will not be generated. If and to the extent that the models do not reflect certain factors, and the sub-advisor does not successfully address such omission through its testing and evaluation and modify the models accordingly, major losses may result — all of which will be borne by a Fund. The sub-advisor will continue to test, evaluate and add new models, which may lead to the models being modified from time to time. Any modification of the models or strategies will not be subject to any requirement that shareholders receive notice of the change or that they consent to it. There can be no assurance as to the effects (positive or negative) of any modification to the models or strategies on a Fund's performance.
Other Investment Companies Risk
To the extent that a Fund invests in shares of other registered investment companies, a Fund will indirectly bear the fees and expenses, including, for example, advisory and administrative fees, charged by those investment companies in addition to a Fund's direct fees and expenses. A Fund must rely on the investment company in which it invests to achieve its investment objective. If the investment company fails to achieve its investment objective, the value of a Fund's investment may decline, adversely affecting a Fund's performance. To the extent a Fund invests in other investment companies that invest in equity securities, fixed income securities and/or foreign securities, or that track an index, a Fund is subject to the risks associated with the underlying investments held by the investment company or the index fluctuations to which the investment company is subject. A Fund will be subject to the risks associated with investments in those companies, including but not limited to the following:
Money Market Funds. Investments in money market funds are subject to interest rate risk, credit risk, and market risk.
Quantitative Strategy Risk
The success of a Fund's investment strategy may depend in part on the effectiveness of a sub-advisor's quantitative tools for screening securities. Securities selected using quantitative analysis can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole or securities selected using only fundamental analysis, which could adversely affect their value. As a result, a portfolio of securities selected using quantitative analysis may underperform the market as a whole or a portfolio of securities selected using a different investment approach, such as fundamental analysis. The sub-advisor's quantitative tools may use factors that may not be predictive of a security's value, and any changes over time in the factors that affect a security's value may not be reflected in the quantitative model. Data for some companies, particularly for non-U.S. companies, may be less available and/or less current than data for other companies. There may also be errors in the computer code for the quantitative model or in the model itself, or issues relating to the computer systems used to screen securities. The sub-advisor's stock selection can be adversely affected if it relies on insufficient, erroneous or outdated data or flawed models or computer systems.
Redemption Risk
A Fund may experience periods of heavy redemptions that could cause a Fund to sell assets at inopportune times or at a loss or depressed value. Redemption risk is greater to the extent that one or more investors or intermediaries control a large percentage of investments in a Fund, have short investment horizons, or have unpredictable cash flow needs. A general rise in interest rates has the potential to cause investors to move out of fixed income securities on a large scale, which may increase redemptions from mutual funds that hold large amounts of fixed income securities. This, coupled with a reduction in the ability or willingness of dealers and other institutional investors to buy or hold fixed income securities, may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed income markets, and heightened redemption risk. Additionally, during periods of heavy redemptions, a Fund may borrow funds through the interfund credit facility, or from a bank line of credit, which may increase costs. Heavy redemptions, whether by a few large investors or many smaller investors, could hurt a Fund's performance. This risk is heightened if a Fund invests in emerging market securities, which are generally less liquid than the securities of U.S. and other developed markets. The sale of assets to meet redemption requests may create net capital gains or losses, which could cause a Fund to have to distribute substantial capital gains.
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Repurchase Agreement Risk
The use of repurchase agreements involves counterparty risk and credit risk. Repurchase agreements may exhibit the economic characteristics of loans by a Fund. The obligation of the seller under the repurchase agreement is not guaranteed, and there is a risk that the seller may fail to repurchase the underlying securities, whether because of the seller's bankruptcy or otherwise. In such event, a Fund would attempt to exercise its rights with respect to the underlying collateral, including possible sale of the securities. A Fund permits various forms of securities as collateral with values that fluctuate and that are not issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government. A Fund may incur various expenses in connection with the exercise of its rights and may be subject to various delays and risks of loss, including: (a) possible declines in the value of the underlying collateral, (b) possible reduction in levels of income and (c) lack of access to the securities (if they are held through a third-party custodian) and possible inability to enforce a Fund's rights. There also are risks that a counterparty may default at a time when the collateral has declined in value. A Fund's Board of Trustees has established procedures pursuant to which the sub-advisor monitors the creditworthiness of the counterparties with which a Fund enters into repurchase agreement transactions.
Risk Management
Management undertakes certain analyses with the intention of identifying particular types of risks and reducing a Fund's exposure to them. However, risk is an essential part of investing, and the degree of return an investor might expect is often tied to the degree of risk the investor is willing to accept. By its very nature, risk involves exposure to the possibility of adverse events. Accordingly, no risk management program can eliminate a Fund's exposure to such events; at best, it can only reduce the possibility that a Fund will be affected by adverse events, and especially those risks that are not intrinsic to a Fund's investment program. While the prospectus describes material risk factors associated with a Fund's investment program, there is no assurance that, as a particular situation unfolds in the markets, the portfolio managers will be able to identify all of the risks that might affect a Fund, rate their probability or potential magnitude correctly, or take appropriate measures to reduce a Fund's exposure to them. Measures taken with the intention of decreasing exposure to identified risks might have the unintended effect of increasing exposure to other risks.
Segregated Assets Risk
In connection with certain transactions that may give rise to future payment obligations, a Fund may be required to maintain a segregated amount of, or otherwise earmark, cash or liquid securities to cover the position. Segregated or earmarked securities cannot be sold while the position or transaction they are covering is outstanding, unless they are replaced with other securities of equal value. There is the possibility that the segregation or earmarking of a large percentage of a Fund's assets may, in some circumstances, limit a Fund's ability to take advantage of investment opportunities or meet redemption requests. In addition, the need to segregate cash or other liquid securities could limit a Fund's ability to pursue other opportunities as they arise.
Short Position Risk
A Fund's short positions are speculative transactions and are subject to special risks. A short position involves the sale by a Fund of a security that it does not own. A Fund then intends to purchase the same security at a later date at a lower price. A short sale is effected by selling a security that a Fund does not own, or selling a security that a Fund owns but that it does not deliver upon consummation of the sale. In order to make delivery to the buyer of a security sold short, a Fund must borrow the security. In so doing, it incurs the obligation to replace that security, whatever its price may be, at the time it is required to deliver it to the lender. A Fund must also pay to the lender of the security any dividends or interest payable on the security during the borrowing period and may have to pay a premium to borrow the security. Unless a Fund then owns or has the right to obtain, without payment, securities identical to those sold short, this obligation must be collateralized by a deposit of cash or marketable securities with the lender. Short selling is subject to a theoretically unlimited risk of loss because there is no limit on how much the price of a security may appreciate before the short position is closed out. A Fund may enter into a short position through a forward commitment, a futures contract, or a swap agreement. If the price of the security or derivative has increased during the time a Fund holds the short position, then a Fund will incur a loss equal to the increase in price from the time that the short position was entered into plus any premiums and interest paid to the third party. Therefore, short positions involve the risk that losses may be exaggerated, potentially losing more money than the actual cost of the investment. A Fund's losses are potentially unlimited in a short position because the price appreciation of the security that a Fund is required to purchase is unlimited. There can be no assurance that the securities necessary to cover the short position will be available for purchase by a Fund. In addition, purchasing securities to close out the short position can itself cause the price of the relevant securities to rise further, thereby increasing any loss incurred by a Fund. Furthermore, a Fund may be forced to close out a short position prematurely if a counterparty from which a Fund borrowed securities demands their return, resulting in a loss on what might otherwise have been a profitable position. Short positions also include greater reliance on the sub-advisor's ability to accurately anticipate the future value of a security or instrument. In addition, because a Fund may invest the proceeds of a short sale, a Fund may be subject to the effect of leverage, in that short selling amplifies changes in a Fund's NAV since it increases the exposure of a Fund to the market and may increase losses and the volatility of returns. If such instruments are traded over-the-counter, there is the risk that the counterparty may fail to honor its contract terms, causing a loss to a Fund.
Sovereign and Quasi-Sovereign Debt Risk
An investment in sovereign and quasi-sovereign debt obligations involves special risks not present in corporate debt obligations. Sovereign and quasi-sovereign debt securities are issued or guaranteed by a sovereign government or entity affiliated with or backed by a sovereign government. The issuer of the sovereign or quasi-sovereign debt that controls the repayment of the debt may be unable or unwilling to repay principal or interest when due, and a Fund may have limited recourse in the event of a default. In addition, these investments are subject to risk of payment delays or defaults due to, among other things (1) country cash flow problems, (2) insufficient foreign currency reserves, (3) political considerations, (4) large debt positions relative to the country's economy, (5) policies toward foreign lenders or investors, (6) the failure to implement economic reforms required by the International Monetary Fund or other multilateral agencies, or (7) an inability or unwillingness to repay debts. It may be particularly difficult to enforce the rights of debt holders in emerging markets. A governmental entity that defaults on an obligation may request additional time in which to repay loans, may request to receive further loans, or may seek to restructure its obligations to reduce interest rates or outstanding principal. There is no legal process for collecting sovereign and quasi-sovereign debt that a government does not pay nor are there bankruptcy proceedings through which all or part of the sovereign debt that a governmental entity has not repaid may be collected. Sovereign and quasi-sovereign debt risk is increased for emerging markets issuers, which are among the largest debtors to commercial banks and foreign governments. At times, certain emerging market countries have declared moratoria on the payment of principal and interest on external debt. Certain emerging market countries have experienced difficulty in servicing their sovereign debt on a timely basis, which has led to defaults and the restructuring of certain indebtedness.
Subsidiary Risk
By investing in a Subsidiary, a Fund is indirectly exposed to the risks associated with a Subsidiary's investments. The derivatives and other investments held by a Subsidiary are generally similar to those that are permitted to be held by a respective Fund and are subject to the same risks that apply to similar investments if held directly by a Fund. These risks are described elsewhere in this Prospectus. There can be no assurance that the investment objective of a Subsidiary will be achieved. The Subsidiaries are not registered under the Investment Company Act, and, unless otherwise noted in this Prospectus, are not subject to all the
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investor protections of the Investment Company Act. However, a Fund wholly owns and controls its respective Subsidiary, and a Fund and its respective Subsidiary are both managed by the Manager and the sub-advisor pursuant to separate agreements, making it unlikely that a Subsidiary will take action contrary to the interests of its respective Fund and a Fund's shareholders. The Board of Trustees has oversight responsibility for the investment activities of a Fund, including its investment in its respective Subsidiary, and a Fund's role as sole shareholder of its respective Subsidiary. Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which a Fund and its respective Subsidiary, respectively, are organized, could result in the inability of a Fund and/or its respective Subsidiary to operate as described in this Prospectus and could negatively affect a Fund and its respective shareholders. For example, the Cayman Islands government has undertaken not to impose any income, corporate or capital gains tax, estate duty, inheritance tax, gift tax or withholding tax on a Subsidiary. If Cayman Islands law changes such that a Subsidiary must pay Cayman Islands taxes, Fund shareholders would likely suffer decreased investment returns. Rulemaking by the CFTC or other regulatory initiatives may affect a Fund's ability to use its respective Subsidiary to pursue its investment strategies. As of the date of this Prospectus, the potential impact of these initiatives on a Fund is uncertain.
Tax Risk
To qualify as a RIC and receive the "modified pass-through" tax treatment accorded thereto (as described in the "Tax Information" section of the SAI), a Fund must, among other requirements, derive at least 90% of its gross income for each taxable year from "qualifying income" under Subchapter M. Although qualifying income does not include income derived directly from commodities, including certain commodity-linked derivative instruments — and a Fund, therefore will restrict its gross income from direct investments therein to a maximum of 10% of its gross income for each taxable year — a Fund's investment in a Subsidiary is expected to provide a Fund with exposure to the commodities markets within the limitations of the requirements of Subchapter M.
The IRS issued a large number of private letter rulings ("PLRs") (which a Fund may not cite as precedent) from 2006 through 2011 that income a RIC derives from a wholly owned foreign subsidiary (a "controlled foreign corporation" or "CFC") (such as a Subsidiary) that earns income derived from commodity-linked derivative instruments is qualifying income. Treasury regulations published on March 19, 2019, provide that income inclusions of a RIC from a CFC are qualifying income for the RIC whether or not the CFC makes distributions to the RIC out of its associated earnings and profits for the applicable taxable year. See "Tax Information" in the SAI for further information regarding RIC's federal income tax treatment of income from CFCs and commodity-linked instruments. The federal income tax treatment of a Fund's commodity-linked investments and income from a Subsidiary may be materially adversely affected by future legislation, other Treasury regulations, and/or guidance issued by the IRS that could affect whether income from such investments is qualifying income under Subchapter M or otherwise materially affect the character, timing or recognition, and/or amount of a Fund's taxable income and/or net capital gains and, therefore, the distributions a Fund makes. If a Fund were unable to qualify as a RIC for one or more taxable years, it would incur potentially significant federal income tax expense. In certain such instances, its income available for distribution to shareholders would be reduced and all such distributions from current or accumulated earnings and profits would be taxable to them as dividend income. In that event, a Fund may not utilize all the potential additional investment strategies.
Trading System and Execution of Orders Risk
The sub-advisor relies extensively on computer programs, systems, technology, Data and Models to implement its execution strategies and algorithms. The sub-advisor's investment strategies, trading strategies and algorithms depend on its ability to establish and maintain an overall market position in a combination of financial instruments selected by the sub-advisor. There is a risk that the sub-advisor's proprietary algorithmic trading systems may not be able to adequately react to a market event without serious disruption. Further, trading strategies and algorithms may malfunction causing severe losses. While the sub-advisor has employed tools to allow for human intervention to respond to significant system malfunctions, it cannot be guaranteed that losses will not occur in such circumstances as unforeseen market events and disruptions and execution system issues.
Orders may not be executed in a timely and efficient manner due to various circumstances, including, without limitation: trading volume surges or systems failures attributable to the sub-advisor, the sub-advisor's counterparties, brokers, dealers, agents or other service providers. In such event, the sub-advisor might only be able to acquire or dispose of some, but not all, of the components of such position, or if the overall position were to need adjustment, the sub-advisor might not be able to make such adjustment. As a result, a Fund would not be able to achieve the market position selected by the sub-advisor, which may result in a loss.
U.S. Government Securities and Government-Sponsored Enterprises Risk
A security backed by the U.S. Treasury or the full faith and credit of the United States is guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity. The market prices for such securities are not guaranteed and will fluctuate. Additionally, circumstances could arise that would prevent the payment of interest or principal. This could result in losses to a Fund. Investments in securities issued by government-sponsored enterprises are debt obligations issued by agencies and instrumentalities of the U.S. Government. These obligations vary in the level of support they receive from the U.S. Government. They may be: (i) supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury, such as those of the GNMA; (ii) supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury, such as those of the Federal Home Loan Bank and the Federal Farm Credit Banks; (iii) supported by the discretionary authority of the U.S. Government to purchase the agency obligations, such as those of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or (iv) supported only by the credit of the issuer, such as those of the Federal Farm Credit Bureau. The U.S. Government may choose not to provide financial support to U.S. Government-sponsored agencies or instrumentalities if it is not legally obligated to do so, in which case, if the issuer defaulted, to the extent a Fund holds securities of such issuer, it might not be able to recover its investment from the U.S. Government. U.S. Government securities and securities of government-sponsored entities are also subject to credit risk, interest rate risk and market risk.
U.S. Treasury Obligations Risk
Securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury are backed by the "full faith and credit" of the United States; however, the U.S. government guarantees the securities only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity, and the market prices of such securities may fluctuate. The value of U.S. Treasury obligations may vary due to changes in interest rates. In addition, changes to the financial condition or credit rating of the U.S. government may cause the value of a Fund's investments in obligations issued by the U.S. Treasury to decline. Certain political events in the U.S., such as a prolonged government shut down, may also cause investors to lose confidence in the U.S. government and may cause the value of U.S. Treasury obligations to decline. Because U.S. Treasury securities trade actively outside the United States, their prices may also rise and fall as changes in global economic conditions affect the demand for these securities.
Valuation Risk
This is the risk that a Fund has valued a security at a price different from the price at which it can be sold. This risk may be especially pronounced for investments that may be illiquid or may become illiquid and for securities that trade in relatively thin markets and/or markets that experience extreme volatility. A Fund's ability to value its investments in an accurate and timely manner may be impacted by technological issues and/or errors by third party service providers, such as pricing services or accounting agents. If market conditions make it difficult to value certain investments, a Fund may value these investments using more subjective methods, such as fair-value methodologies. Investors who purchase or redeem Fund shares on days when a Fund is holding
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fair-valued securities may receive fewer or more shares, or lower or higher redemption proceeds, than they would have received if a Fund had not fair-valued the securities or had used a different valuation methodology. The value of foreign securities, certain fixed income securities and currencies, as applicable, may be materially affected by events after the close of the markets on which they are traded, but before a Fund determines its NAV.
Volatility Risk
A Fund may have investments that appreciate or decrease significantly in value over short periods of time. This may cause a Fund's NAV to experience significant increases or declines in value over short periods of time. Because a Fund may use some derivatives that involve economic leverage, this economic leverage will increase the volatility of a derivative instrument, as they may increase or decrease in value more quickly than the reference asset.
Additional Information About Performance Benchmarks
The annual total return of the AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund is compared to the ICE BofA 3-Month Treasury Bill Index. The ICE BofA 3-Month Treasury Bill Index is designed to measure the total return on cash, including price and interest income, based on short-term government Treasury Bills of about 90-day maturity. AHL uses a benchmark agnostic approach to investing. Thus, exposure to individual investments, use of instruments, volatility and tracking error will differ and as a result performance of the Fund is expected to vary significantly from that of the ICE BofA 3-Month Treasury Bill Index.
The AHL TargetRisk Fund's annual total return will be compared to the TargetRisk Composite Index, which combines the returns of the MSCI World Index Hedged to U.S. Dollars (USD) and the Bloomberg Barclays Global-Aggregate Total Return Index Hedged to U.S. Dollars (USD) in a 60%/40% proportion. Set forth below is additional information regarding the indices that comprise the TargetRisk Composite Index to which the Fund's performance is compared.
The MSCI World Index Hedged to USD represents a close estimation of the performance that can be achieved by hedging the currency exposures of its parent index, the MSCI World Index, to the USD, the "home" currency for the hedged index. The index is 100% hedged to the USD by selling each foreign currency forward at the one-month forward weight. The parent index is composed of large and mid cap stocks across 23 Developed Markets (DM) countries and its local performance is calculated in 13 different currencies, including the Euro.
The Bloomberg Barclays Global-Aggregate Total Return Index Value Hedged USD is a flagship measure of global investment grade debt from twenty-four local currency markets. This multi-currency benchmark includes treasury, government-related, corporate and securitized fixed-rate bonds from both developed and emerging markets issuers.
Notice Regarding Index Data
Certain indices and index data included as a data reference are the property of ICE Data Indices, LLC ("ICE DATA") and used under license. ICE DATA, ITS AFFILIATES AND THEIR RESPECTIVE THIRD PARTY SUPPLIERS DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES AND REPRESENTATIONS, EXPRESS AND/OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE, INCLUDING with regard to THE INDICES, INDEX DATA AND ANY DATA INCLUDED IN, RELATED TO, OR DERIVED THEREFROM. NEITHER ICE DATA, nor ITS AFFILIATES OR THEIR RESPECTIVE THIRD PARTY PROVIDERS SHALL BE SUBJECT TO ANY DAMAGES OR LIABILITY WITH RESPECT TO THE ADEQUACY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS OR COMPLETENESS OF THE INDICES OR THE INDEX DATA OR ANY COMPONENT THEREOF. THE INDICES AND INDEX DATA AND ALL COMPONENTS THEREOF ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS AND YOUR USE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. ICE DATA, ITS AFFILIATES AND THEIR RESPECTIVE THIRD PARTY SUPPLIERS DO NOT SPONSOR, ENDORSE, OR RECOMMEND AMERICAN BEACON FUNDS, OR ANY OF ITS PRODUCTS OR SERVICES.
Neither MSCI nor any other party involved in or related to compiling, computing or creating the MSCI data makes any express or implied warranties or representations with respect to such data (or the results to be obtained by the use thereof), and all such parties hereby expressly disclaim all warranties of originality, accuracy, completeness, merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose with respect to any of such data. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall MSCI, any of its affiliates or third party involved in or related to compiling, computing or creating the data have any liability for any direct, indirect, special, punitive, consequential or any other damages (including lost profits) even if notified of the possibility of such damages. No further distribution or dissemination of the MSCI data is permitted without MSCI's express written consent.
Fund Management
The Manager
AMERICAN BEACON ADVISORS, INC. (the "Manager") serves as the Manager and administrator of the Funds. The Manager, located at 220 East Las Colinas Boulevard, Suite 1200, Irving, Texas 75039, is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Resolute Investment Holdings, LLC, which is owned primarily by Kelso Investment Associates VIII, L.P., KEP VI, LLC and Estancia Capital Partners L.P.
The Manager was organized in 1986 to provide investment management, advisory, and administrative services. The Manager is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. The Manager is also registered with the CFTC as a CPO under the Commodity Exchange Act and serves as the CPO with respect to the Funds. The Manager is exempt from registration as a commodity trading advisor under CFTC Regulation 4.14(a)(4) with respect to the Funds.
Normally, under CFTC regulations, if a registered investment company, such as the AHL TargetRisk Fund, has less than a three-year operating history, the Manager is required to show the performance of all accounts and pools managed by the Manager that have investment objectives, policies, and strategies substantially similar to the Fund. The Manager is not providing such performance as the Manager does not have any such accounts or pools.
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, each Fund identified below paid aggregate management fees to the Manager and investment advisory fees to its sub-advisor(s) as a percentage of each Fund's average daily net assets, net of waivers and recoupments of the management fees and sub-advisor fees, as follows:
American Beacon Fund |
Aggregate Management and Investment Advisory Fees |
American Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
1.33% |
American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund |
0.56% |
As compensation for services provided by the Manager in connection with securities lending activities conducted by a Fund, the lending Fund pays to the Manager, with respect to cash collateral posted by borrowers, a fee of 10% of the net monthly interest income (the gross interest income earned by the investment of cash collateral, less the amount paid to borrowers and related expenses) from such activities and, with respect to loan fees paid by borrowers when a borrower posts collateral other than cash, a fee up to 10% of such loan fees. The SEC has granted exemptive relief that permits the Funds to invest cash collateral received from securities lending transactions in shares of one or more private or registered investment companies managed by the Manager.
As of the date of this prospectus, the Funds do not intend to engage in securities lending activities.
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33 |
A discussion of the Board's consideration and approval of the Management Agreement between the American Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund and the Manager and the Investment Advisory Agreement among the Trust, on behalf of the American Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund, the sub-advisor and the Manager, is available in that Fund's Semi-Annual Report for the period ended June 30, 2019.
A discussion of the Board's consideration and approval of the Management Agreement between the American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund and the Manager and the Investment Advisory Agreement among the Trust, on behalf of the American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund, the sub-advisor and the Manager, is available in that Fund's Annual Report for the period ended December 31, 2019.
The Manager has contractually agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses of the following Funds and share classes to the extent that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses exceed a percentage of that class' average daily net assets (excluding taxes, interest, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses, securities lending fees, expenses associated with securities sold short, litigation, and other extraordinary expenses) through April 30, 2021 as follows:
American Beacon Fund |
A Class |
C Class |
Y Class |
R5 Class |
Investor Class |
American Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
1.87% |
2.62% |
1.61% |
1.54% |
1.92% |
American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund |
1.44% |
2.19% |
1.11% |
1.04% |
1.42% |
The contractual expense reimbursement can be changed or terminated only in the discretion and with the approval of a majority of a Fund's Board. The Manager will itself waive fees and/or reimburse expenses of a Fund to maintain the contractual expense ratio caps for each class of shares. The Manager may also, from time to time, voluntarily waive fees and/or reimburse expenses of a Fund. The Board has approved a policy whereby the Manager may seek repayment for any contractual or voluntary fee waivers or expense reimbursements if reimbursement to the Manager (a) occurs within three years from the date of the Manager's waiver/reimbursement and (b) does not cause the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses of a class to exceed the lesser of the contractual percentage limit in effect at the time of the waiver/reimbursement or the time of recoupment.
The Sub-Advisor
Set forth below is a brief description of the sub-advisor and its portfolio management team who have joint and primary responsibility for the day-to-day management of the Funds. The Funds' SAI provides additional information about the sub-advisor's portfolio management team, including other accounts they manage, their ownership in the Funds and their compensation.
AHL PARTNERS LLP ("AHL"), is located at 2 Swan Lane, London, United Kingdom EC4R 3AD. AHL is an investment management firm. The firm managed approximately $35.1 billion in assets as of March 31, 2020. AHL is authorized and regulated by the FCA and SEC in the conduct of its regulated activities. AHL is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. AHL is also registered as a "commodity pool operator" and "commodity trading advisor" with the CFTC and is a member of the National Futures Association. AHL serves as sub-advisor to the AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund and AHL TargetRisk Fund (collectively "the Funds").
Russell Korgaonkar is Director of Investment Strategies at AHL. Mr. Korgaonkar is a member of AHL's management and investment committees. He has overall responsibility for AHL's Liquid Strategies unit, which creates and runs scalable systematic strategies, as well as the Institutional Solutions business. Mr. Korgaonkar joined the firm in 2001 as a researcher and later portfolio manager focused on systematic cash equity strategies, and was instrumental in building up AHL's expertise in this space. In 2011 he became Head of Portfolio Management, responsible for constructing and managing AHL's growing range of portfolios, and was promoted to his current role in June 2017. Russell holds a BA/MA (First Class) in Physics from the University of Oxford.
Matthew Sargaison is Co-Chief Executive Officer of AHL and a member of the Man Group Executive Committee. Matthew was previously AHL's Chief Investment Officer, with overall responsibility for investment management and research from 2012 and 2017, as well as Chief Risk Officer between 2009 and 2012. Before joining AHL in 2009, he spent 13 years working at Deutsche Bank, Barclays Capital and UBS. Matthew originally worked for AHL from 1992 to 1995 as a trading system researcher and institutional product designer. Matthew holds a degree in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge and a Master's Degree in advanced computer science from the University of Sheffield.
The Subsidiaries
Each Fund may invest up to 25% of the value of its total assets in its respective Subsidiary. Each Subsidiary is organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands, and is overseen by its own board of directors. Each Fund is the sole shareholder of its respective Subsidiary. It is not currently expected that shares of the Subsidiaries will be sold or offered to other investors. If, at any time, a Subsidiary proposes to offer or sell its shares to any investor other than its respective Fund, shareholders of the affected Fund will receive 60 days' prior notice of such offer or sale.
As with the Funds, the Manager and the sub-advisor are responsible for the Subsidiaries' day-to-day business pursuant to separate agreements with each Subsidiary. Under these agreements, the Manager and the sub-advisor provide the Subsidiaries with the same type of management services, under the same terms, as are provided to the Funds. The Manager, the sub-advisor and the Funds' auditors receive no compensation for the services they provide to the Subsidiaries. The Subsidiaries have also entered into a separate contract for the provision of custody services with the same service provider that provides those services to the Funds.
The Funds' principal investment strategies and principal risks reflect the aggregate principal investment strategies and principal risks of the Funds and the Subsidiaries. Each Subsidiary will be managed pursuant to compliance policies and procedures that are the same, in all material respects, as the policies and procedures adopted by the Fund. As a result, when managing and advising the Subsidiaries, the Manager and the sub-advisor are subject to the same investment policies and restrictions that apply to the management of the Funds, and, in particular, to applicable Investment Company Act requirements relating to transactions with affiliates, custody, portfolio leverage, liquidity, brokerage, and the timing and method of the valuation of each Subsidiary's portfolio investments. These policies and restrictions are described in detail in the Funds' SAI. The Funds' Chief Compliance Officer oversees implementation of each Subsidiary's policies and procedures, and makes periodic reports to the Funds' Board regarding each Subsidiary's compliance with its policies and procedures. To the extent a Subsidiary invests in commodity-linked derivative instruments, it will comply with the same segregation and asset coverage requirements that are applicable to the Funds' transactions in derivatives under the Investment Company Act.
The financial statements of each Subsidiary are consolidated for financial reporting purposes with the Funds' financial statements, which are included in the Funds' annual and semi-annual reports. Those reports are distributed to shareholders, and copies of the reports are provided without charge upon request as indicated on the back cover of this Prospectus. Please refer to the SAI for additional information about the organization and management of the Subsidiaries.
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Prospectus – Fund Management |
Valuation of Shares
The price of each Fund's shares is based on its NAV. Each Fund's NAV per share is computed by adding total assets, subtracting all of the Fund's liabilities, and dividing the result by the total number of shares outstanding.
The NAV per share of each class of a Fund's shares is determined based on a pro rata allocation of a Fund's investment income, expenses and total capital gains and losses. A Fund's NAV per share is determined each business day as of the regular close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (‘‘NYSE''), which is typically 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. However, if trading on the NYSE closes at a time other than 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, a Fund's NAV per share typically would still be determined as of the regular close of trading on the NYSE. The Funds do not price their shares on days that the NYSE is closed. Foreign exchanges may permit trading in foreign securities on days when a Fund is not open for business, which may result in the value of a Fund's portfolio investments being affected at a time when you are unable to buy or sell shares.
Equity securities and certain derivative instruments that are traded on an exchange are valued based on market value. Certain derivative instruments (other than short-term securities) usually are valued on the basis of prices provided by a pricing service. The price of debt securities generally is determined using pricing services or quotes obtained from broker/dealers who may consider a number of inputs and factors, such as comparable characteristics, yield curve, credit spreads, estimated default rates, coupon rates, underlying collateral and estimated cash flow. Investments in other mutual funds are valued at the closing NAV per share of the mutual funds on the day of valuation. Equity securities, including shares of closed-end funds, are valued at the last sale price or official closing price.
The valuation of securities traded on foreign markets and certain fixed income securities will generally be based on prices determined as of the earlier closing time of the markets on which they primarily trade, unless a significant event has occurred. When a Fund holds securities or other assets that are denominated in a foreign currency, a Fund will normally use the currency exchange rates as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Securities may be valued at fair value, as determined in good faith and pursuant to procedures approved by the Board, under certain limited circumstances. For example, fair value pricing will be used when market quotations are not readily available or reliable, as determined by the Manager, such as when: (i) trading for a security is restricted or stopped; (ii) a security's trading market is closed (other than customary closings); or (iii) a security has been de-listed from a national exchange. A security with limited market liquidity may require fair value pricing if the Manager determines that the available price does not reflect the security's true market value. In addition, if a significant event that the Manager determines to affect the value of one or more securities held by a Fund occurs after the close of a related exchange but before the determination of a Fund's NAV per share, fair value pricing may be used on the affected security or securities. Securities of small capitalization companies are also more likely to require a fair value determination using these procedures because they are more thinly traded and less liquid than the securities of larger capitalization companies. The Funds may fair value securities as a result of significant events occurring after the close of the foreign markets in which a Fund invests. In addition, the Funds may invest in illiquid securities requiring these procedures.
Attempts to determine the fair value of securities introduce an element of subjectivity to the pricing of securities. As a result, the price of a security determined through fair valuation techniques may differ from the price quoted or published by other sources and may not accurately reflect the market value of the security when trading resumes. If a reliable market quotation becomes available for a security formerly valued through fair valuation techniques, the Manager compares the new market quotation to the fair value price to evaluate the effectiveness of the Funds' fair valuation procedures. If any significant discrepancies are found, the Manager may adjust the Funds' fair valuation procedures. You may view a Fund's most recent NAV per share at www.americanbeaconfunds.com by clicking on ‘‘Quick Links'' and then ‘‘Daily NAVs.''
About Your Investment
Choosing Your Share Class
Each Fund offers various classes of shares. Each share class of a Fund represents an investment in the same portfolio of securities for that Fund, but each class has its own expense structure and combination of purchase restrictions, sales charges, and ongoing fees, allowing you to choose the class that best fits your situation.
Factors you should consider when choosing a class of shares include:
How long you expect to own the shares;
How much you intend to invest;
Total expenses associated with owning shares of each class;
Whether you qualify for any reduction or waiver of sales charges;
Whether you plan to take any distributions in the near future; and
Availability of share classes.
Each investor's financial considerations are different. You should speak with your financial adviser to help you decide which share class is best for you.
A Class Charges and Waivers
The table below shows the amount of sales charges you will pay on purchases of A Class shares of the Funds both as a percentage of offering price and as a percentage of the amount you invest. The sales charge differs depending upon the amount you invest and may be reduced or eliminated for larger purchases as indicated below. If you invest more, the sales charge will be lower.
Any applicable sales charge will be deducted directly from your investment. Because of rounding of the calculation in determining the sales charges, you may pay more or less than what is shown in the table below. Shares acquired through reinvestment of dividends or other distributions are not subject to a front-end sales charge. You may qualify for a reduced sales charge or the sales charge may be waived as described below in ‘‘A Class Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers.''
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35 |
Amount of Sale/Account Value |
As a % of Offering Price |
As a % of Investment |
Dealer Commission as a % of Offering Price |
Less than $50,000 |
5.75% |
6.10% |
5.00% |
$50,000 but less than $100,000 |
4.75% |
4.99% |
4.00% |
$100,000 but less than $250,000 |
3.75% |
3.90% |
3.00% |
$250,000 but less than $500,000 |
2.75% |
2.83% |
2.05% |
$500,000 but less than $1 million |
2.00% |
2.04% |
1.50% |
$1 million and above |
0.00% |
0.00% |
|
No initial sales charge applies on purchases of $1,000,000 or more. A CDSC of 0.50% of the offering price will be charged on purchases of $1,000,000 or more that are redeemed in whole or in part within eighteen (18) months of purchase.
See "Dealer Concessions on A Class Purchases Without a Front-End Sales Charge."
The Distributor retains any portion of the commissions that are not paid to financial intermediaries to solely pay distribution-related expenses.
A Class Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers
A shareholder may qualify for a waiver or reduction in sales charges under certain circumstances. To receive a waiver or reduction in your A Class sales charge, you must advise the Funds' transfer agent, your broker-dealer or other financial intermediary of your eligibility at the time of purchase. If you or your financial intermediary do not let the Funds' transfer agent know that you are eligible for a reduction, you may not receive a sales charge discount to which you are otherwise entitled.
Waiver of Sales Charges
There is no sales charge if you invest $1 million or more in A Class shares of the Funds.
Sales charges also may be waived for certain shareholders or transactions, such as:
The Manager or its affiliates;
Present and former directors, trustees, officers, employees of the Manager, the Manager's parent company, and the American Beacon Funds (and their ‘‘immediate family'' as defined in the SAI), and retirement plans established by them for their employees;
Registered representatives or employees of intermediaries that have selling agreement with the Funds;
Shares acquired through merger or acquisition;
Insurance company separate accounts;
Employer-sponsored retirement plans;
Dividend reinvestment programs;
Purchases through certain fee-based programs under which investors pay advisory fees that may be offered through selected registered investment advisers, broker-dealers, and other financial intermediaries;
Shareholders that purchase a Fund through a financial intermediary that offers our A Class shares uniformly on a ‘‘no load'' (or reduced load) basis to you and all similarly situated customers of the intermediary in accordance with the intermediary's prescribed fee schedule for purchases of fund shares;
Mutual fund shares exchanged from an existing position in the same fund as part of a share class conversion instituted by an intermediary; and
Reinvestment of proceeds within 90 days of a redemption from A Class account (see Redemption Policies for more information).
The availability of A Class shares sales charge waivers may depend upon the policies, procedures, and trading platform of your financial intermediary.
Reduced Sales Charges
Under a ‘‘Rights of Accumulation Program,'' a ‘‘Letter of Intent'' or through ‘‘Concurrent Purchases'' you may be eligible to buy A Class shares of the Funds at the reduced sales charge rates that would apply to a larger purchase. Each Fund reserves the right to modify or to cease offering these programs at any time.
This information is available, free of charge, on the Funds' website, www.americanbeaconfunds.com or call (800) 658-5811 or consult with your financial advisor.
Dealer Concessions on A Class Purchases Without a Front-End Sales Charge
Brokers who initiate and are responsible for purchases of $1,000,000 or more of A Class shares of a Fund may receive a dealer concession from the Funds' Distributor of 0.50% of the offering price. If a client or broker is unable to provide account verification on purchases of $1,000,000 or more, the dealer concession will be forfeited by the broker and front-end sales loads will apply. Dealer concessions will not be paid on shares purchased by exchange or shares that were previously subject to a front-end sales charge or dealer concession. Dealer concessions will be paid only on eligible purchases where the applicability of the CDSC can be monitored. Purchases eligible for sales charge waivers as described under ‘‘A Class Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers'' are not eligible for dealer concessions on purchases of $1,000,000 or more.
Rights of Accumulation Program
Under the Rights of Accumulation Program, you may qualify for a reduced sales charge for A Class shares by aggregating all of your investments held in certain accounts (‘'Qualified Accounts''). The following Qualified Accounts holding any share class of the American Beacon Funds may be grouped together to qualify for the reduced sales charge under the Rights of Accumulation Program or Letter of Intent:
Accounts owned by you, your spouse or your minor children under the age of 21, including trust or other fiduciary accounts in which you, your spouse or your minor children are the beneficiary;
UTMA/UGMA;
IRAs, including traditional, Roth, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs; and
Coverdell Education Savings Accounts or qualified 529 plans.
A fiduciary can apply a right of accumulation to all shares purchased for a trust, estate or other fiduciary account that has multiple accounts.
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Prospectus – About Your Investment |
You must notify your financial intermediary or the Funds' transfer agent, in the case of shares held directly with a Fund, at the time of purchase that a purchase qualifies for a reduced sales charge under the Rights of Accumulation Program. In addition, you must provide either a list of account numbers or copies of account statements verifying your qualification. You may combine the historical cost or current market value, as of the day prior to your additional American Beacon Funds' purchase (whichever is higher) of your existing American Beacon Funds' mutual fund with the amount of your current purchase in order to take advantage of the reduced sales charge. Historical cost is the price you actually paid for the shares you own, plus your reinvested dividends and other distributions. If you are using historical cost to qualify for a reduced sales charge, you should retain any records to substantiate your historical costs since the Fund, its transfer agent or your financial intermediary may not maintain this information.
If your shares are held through financial intermediaries and/or in a retirement account (such as a 401(k) or employee benefit plan), you may combine the current market value of your existing American Beacon Funds mutual fund investment with the amount of your current purchase in order to take advantage of the reduced sales charge. You or your financial intermediary must notify the Funds' transfer agent at the time of purchase that a purchase qualifies for a reduced sales charge and provide copies of account statements dated within three months of your current purchase verifying your qualification.
Upon receipt of the above referenced supporting documentation, the financial intermediary or the Funds' transfer agent will calculate the combined value of all of your Qualified Accounts to determine if the current purchase is eligible for a reduced sales charge. Purchases made for nominee or street name accounts (securities held in the name of a dealer or another nominee such as a bank trust department instead of the customer) may not be aggregated with purchases for other accounts and may not be aggregated with other nominee or street name accounts unless otherwise qualified as described above.
Letter of Intent
If you plan to invest at least $50,000 (excluding any reinvestment of dividends and other distributions) during the next 13 months in any class of a Fund, you may qualify for a reduced sales charge for purchases of A Class shares by completing the Letter of Intent section of your account application.
A Letter of Intent indicates your intent to purchase at least $50,000 in any class of the American Beacon Funds over the next 13 months in exchange for a reduced A Class sales charge indicated on the above tables. The minimum initial investment under a Letter of Intent is $2,500. You are not obligated to purchase additional shares if you complete a Letter of Intent. However, if you do not buy enough shares to qualify for the projected level of sales charge by the end of the 13-month period (or when you sell your shares, if earlier), your sales charge will be recalculated to reflect your actual purchase level. During the term of the Letter of Intent, shares representing 5% of your intended purchase will be held in escrow. If you do not purchase enough shares during the 13-month period to qualify for the projected reduced sales charge, the additional sales charge will be deducted from your account. If you have purchased shares of any American Beacon mutual fund within 90 days prior to signing a Letter of Intent, they may be included as part of your intended purchase, however, previous purchase transactions will not be recalculated with the proposed new breakpoint. You must provide either a list of account numbers or copies of account statements verifying your purchases within the past 90 days.
Concurrent Purchases
You may combine simultaneous purchases in shares of any of the American Beacon Funds to qualify for a reduced charge.
CDSC — A Class Shares
Unless a waiver applies, investors who purchase $1,000,000 or more of A Class shares of a Fund (and, thus, pay no initial sales charge) will be subject to a 0.50% CDSC if those shares are redeemed within 18 months after they are purchased. The CDSC does not apply if you are otherwise eligible to purchase A Class shares without an initial sales charge or are eligible for one of the waivers described herein or in the SAI.
CDSC — C Class Shares
If you redeem C Class shares within 12 months of purchase, you may be charged a CDSC of 1%. The CDSC generally will be deducted from your redemption proceeds. In some circumstances, you may be eligible for one of the waivers described herein or in the SAI. You must advise the transfer agent of your eligibility for a waiver when you place your redemption request.
How CDSCs will be Calculated
The amount of the CDSC will be based on the market value of the redeemed shares at the time of the redemption or the original purchase price, whichever is lower. Because of the rounding of the calculation in determining the CDSC, you may pay more or less than the indicated rate. Your CDSC holding period is based upon the date of your purchase. The CDSCs will be deducted from the proceeds of your redemption, not from amounts remaining in your account. A CDSC is not imposed on any increase in NAV per share over the initial purchase price or shares you received through the reinvestment of dividends or other distributions.
To keep your CDSC as low as possible, each time you place a request to sell shares, the Funds will redeem your shares in the following order:
shares acquired by the reinvestment of dividends or other distributions;
other shares that are not subject to the CDSC;
shares held the longest during the holding period.
Waiver of CDSCs — A and C Class Shares
A shareholder may qualify for a CDSC waiver under certain circumstances. To have your CDSC waived, you must advise the Funds' transfer agent, your broker-dealer or other financial intermediary of your eligibility at the time of redemption. If you or your financial intermediary do not let the Funds' transfer agent know that you are eligible for a waiver, you may not receive a waiver to which might otherwise be otherwise entitled.
The CDSC may be waived if:
The redemption is due to a shareholder's death or post-purchase disability;
The redemption is from a systematic withdrawal plan and represents no more than 10% of your annual account value;
The redemption is a benefit payment made from a qualified retirement plan, unless the redemption is due to the termination of the plan or the transfer of the plan to another financial institution;
The redemption is for a "required minimum distribution" from a traditional IRA after age 70½;
The redemption is due to involuntary redemptions by a Fund as a result of your account not meeting the minimum balance requirements, the termination and liquidation of a Fund, or other actions;
The redemption is from accounts for which the broker-dealer of record has entered into a written agreement with the Distributor (or Manager) allowing this waiver;
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37 |
The redemption is to return excess contributions made to a retirement plan; or
The redemption is to return contributions made due to a mistake of fact.
The SAI contains further details about the CDSC and the conditions for waiving the CDSC.
Information regarding CDSC waivers for A and C Class shares is available, free of charge, on the Funds' website. Please visit www.americanbeaconfunds.com. You may also call (800) 658-5811 or consult with your financial advisor.
Sales Charge Waivers and Reductions Available Through Certain Financial Intermediaries
The availability of certain sales charge waivers and discounts may depend on whether you purchase your shares directly from a Fund or through a financial intermediary. Different intermediaries may impose different sales charges (including potential reductions in or waivers of sales charges). Such intermediary-specific sales charge variations are described in Appendix A to this Prospectus, entitled "Intermediary Sales Charge Discounts and Waivers." Appendix A is incorporated herein by reference (is legally a part of this Prospectus).
In all instances, it is the purchaser's responsibility to notify a Fund or the purchaser's financial intermediary at the time of purchase of any relationship or other facts qualifying the purchaser for sales charge waivers or discounts. For waivers and discounts not available through a particular intermediary, shareholders will have to purchase Fund shares directly from a Fund or through another intermediary to receive these waivers or discounts.
Conversion of C Class Shares to A Class Shares
C Class shares convert automatically into A Class shares ten (10) years after the initial date of purchase or, if you acquired your C Class shares through an exchange or conversion from another share class, ten (10) years after the date you acquired your C Class shares. When C Class shares that you acquired through a purchase or exchange convert, any other C Class shares that you purchased with reinvested dividends and distributions also will convert into A Class shares on a pro rata basis. A shorter holding period may also apply depending on your intermediary. Please see "Appendix A—Intermediary Sales Charge Discounts and Waivers" in this Prospectus.
Purchase and Redemption of Shares
Eligibility
The A Class, C Class, Y Class, R5 Class, and Investor Class shares offered in this Prospectus are available to eligible investors who meet the minimum initial investment. American Beacon Funds do not accept accounts registered to foreign individuals or entities, including foreign correspondent accounts. The Funds do not conduct operations and are not offered for purchase outside of the United States.
Subject to your eligibility, you may invest in a Fund directly or through intermediary organizations, such as broker-dealers, insurance companies, plan sponsors, third party administrators, and retirement plans.
If you invest directly with a Fund, the fees and policies with respect to a Fund's shares that are outlined in this Prospectus are set by the Fund. The Manager and the Funds are not responsible for determining the suitability of a Fund or a share class for any investor.
Because in most cases it is more advantageous for investors using an intermediary to purchase A Class shares than C Class shares for amounts of $1,000,000 or more, a Fund will decline a request to purchase C Class shares for $1,000,000 or more.
If you invest through a financial intermediary, most of the information you will need for managing your investment will come from your financial intermediary. This includes information on how to buy, sell and exchange shares of a Fund. If you establish an account through a financial intermediary, the investment minimums described in this section may not apply. Investors investing in a Fund through a financial intermediary should consult with their financial intermediary to ensure they obtain any proper ‘‘breakpoint'' discount and all information regarding the differences between available share classes. Your broker-dealer or financial intermediary also may charge fees that are in addition to those described in this Prospectus. Please contact your intermediary for information regarding investment minimums, how to purchase and redeem shares and applicable fees.
Minimum Investment Amount by Share Class
|
New Account |
Existing Account |
|
Share Class |
Minimum Initial Investment Amount |
Purchase/Redemption Minimum by Check/ACH/Exchange |
Purchase/Redemption Minimum by Wire |
C |
$1,000 |
$50 |
$ 250 |
A, Investor |
$2,500 |
$50 |
$ 250 |
Y |
$100,000 |
$50 |
None |
R5 |
$250,000 |
$50 |
None |
Investor Class shares are also available to traditional IRA or Roth IRA shareholders investing directly in a Fund. The minimum investment is $2,500. A traditional IRA and Roth IRA invested directly will be charged an annual maintenance fee of $15.00 by the Custodian.
The Manager may allow a reasonable period of time after opening an account for a Y Class or R5 Class investor to meet the initial investment requirement. In addition, for investors such as trust companies and financial advisors who make investments for a group of clients, the minimum initial investment can be met through aggregated purchase orders for more than one client.
Opening an Account
You may open an account through your broker-dealer or other financial intermediary. Please contact your financial intermediary for more information on how to open an account. Shares you purchase through your broker-dealer will normally be held in your account with that firm.
To open an account directly with the Funds, a completed, signed application is required. You may obtain an account application from the Funds' website www.americanbeaconfunds.com or by calling 1-800-658-5811. Institutional shareholders should call 1-800-967-9009.
Complete the application, sign it and send it:
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Prospectus – About Your Investment |
Regular Mail to:
|
For Overnight Delivery:
|
To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. When you open an account, you will be asked for information that will allow the Funds or your financial institution to identify you. Non-public corporations and other entities may be required to provide articles of incorporation, trust or partnership agreements, and taxpayer identification numbers on the account or other documentation. The Funds are required by law to reject your new account application if the required identifying information is not provided.
A Fund reserves the right to liquidate a shareholder's account at the current day's NAV per share and remit proceeds via check if a Fund or a financial institution is unable to verify the shareholder's identity within three days of account opening.
Purchase Policies
Shares of the Funds are offered and purchase orders are typically accepted until 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time or the close of the NYSE (whichever comes first) on each day on which the NYSE is open for business. If a purchase order is received by a Fund in good order prior to the Fund's deadline, the purchase price will be the NAV per share next determined on that day, plus any applicable sales charges. A purchase order is considered to be received in good order when it complies with all of a Fund's applicable policies. If a purchase order is received in good order after the applicable deadline, the purchase price will be the NAV per share of the following day that a Fund is open for business plus any applicable sales charge. Shares of a Fund will only be issued against full payment, as described more fully in this Prospectus and SAI.
The Funds have authorized certain third-party financial intermediaries, such as broker-dealers, insurance companies, third-party administrators and trust companies, to receive purchase and redemption orders on behalf of the Funds and to designate other intermediaries to receive purchase and redemption orders on behalf of the Funds. A Fund is deemed to have received such orders when they are received by the financial intermediaries or their designees. Thus, an order to purchase or sell Fund shares will be priced at the Fund's next determined NAV per share after receipt by the financial intermediary or its designee. It is the responsibility of your broker-dealer or financial intermediary to transmit orders that will be received by the Funds in proper form and in a timely manner. The Funds are not responsible for the failure of a broker-dealer or financial intermediary to transmit a purchase order in proper form and in a timely manner.
Fund shares may be purchased only in U.S. States and Territories in which they can be legally sold. Prospective investors should inquire as to whether shares of a Fund are available for offer and sale in their jurisdiction. Each Fund reserves the right to refuse purchases if, in the judgment of the Funds, the transaction would adversely affect the Funds and their shareholders. Each Fund has the right to reject any purchase order or cease offering any or all classes of shares at any time. The Funds reserve the right to require payment by wire. Checks to purchase shares are accepted subject to collection at full face value in U.S. funds and must be drawn in U.S. dollars on a U.S. bank. The Funds will not accept ‘‘starter'' checks, credit card checks, money orders, cashier's checks, or third-party checks.
If your payment is not received and collected, your purchase may be canceled and you could be liable for any losses or fees the Funds or the Manager has incurred. Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, purchase orders may be suspended, restricted or canceled and the monies may be withheld.
Please refer to the section titled ‘‘Frequent Trading and Market Timing'' for information on the Funds' policies regarding frequent purchases, redemptions, and exchanges.
Redemption Policies
If you purchased shares of a Fund through your financial intermediary, please contact your broker-dealer or other financial intermediary to sell shares of a Fund.
The redemption price will be the NAV per share next determined after a redemption request is received in good order, minus any applicable CDSC and/or redemption fees. In order to receive the redemption price calculated on a particular business day, redemption requests must be received in good order by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time or by the close of the NYSE (whichever comes first).
Wire proceeds from redemption requests received in good order by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time or by the close of the NYSE (whichever comes first) generally are transmitted to shareholders on the next day the Funds are open for business. In any event, proceeds from a redemption request will typically be transmitted to a shareholder by no later than seven days after the receipt of a redemption request in good order. Delivery of proceeds from shares purchased by check, ACH, or pre-authorized automatic investment may be delayed until the funds have cleared, which may take up to ten days.
You may, within 90 days of redemption, reinvest all or part of the proceeds of your redemption of A or C Class shares of a Fund, without incurring any applicable additional sales charge, in the same class of another American Beacon Fund, by sending a written request and a check to your financial intermediary or directly to the Funds. Reinvestment must be into the same account from which you redeemed the shares or received the distribution. Proceeds from a redemption and all dividend payments and other distributions will be reinvested in the same share class from which the original redemption or distribution was made. Reinvestment will be at the NAV per share next calculated after the Funds receive your request. You must notify the Funds and your financial intermediary at the time of investment if you decide to exercise this privilege.
The Funds reserve the right to suspend redemptions or postpone the date of payment for more than seven days (i) when the NYSE is closed (other than for customary weekend and holiday closings); (ii) when trading on the NYSE is restricted; (iii) when the SEC determines that an emergency exists so that disposal of a Fund's investments or determination of its NAV per share is not reasonably practicable; or (iv) by order of the SEC for protection of the Funds' shareholders.
Although the Funds intend to redeem shares by paying out available cash, cash generated by selling portfolio holdings (including cash equivalent portfolio holdings), or funds borrowed through the interfund credit facility, or from a bank line of credit, in stressed market conditions and other appropriate circumstances, the Funds reserve the right to pay the redemption price in whole or in part by borrowing funds from external parties or distributing securities or other assets held by the Funds. To the extent that a Fund redeems its shares in this manner, the shareholder assumes the risk of a subsequent change in the market value of those securities, the cost of liquidating the securities and the possibility of a lack of a liquid market for those securities.
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39 |
Please refer to the section titled ‘‘Frequent Trading and Market Timing'' for information on the Funds' policies regarding frequent purchases, redemptions, and exchanges.
Exchange Policies
If you purchased shares of the Funds through your financial intermediary, please contact your financial intermediary to determine if you may take advantage of the exchange policies described in this section and for its policies to effect an exchange.
Shares of any class of a Fund may be exchanged for shares of the same class of another American Beacon Fund under certain limited circumstances. Since an exchange involves a concurrent redemption and purchase, please review the sections titled "Redemption Policies" and "Purchase Policies" for additional limitations that apply to redemptions and purchases. There is no front-end sales charge on exchanges between A Class shares of a Fund for A Class shares of another fund. Shares otherwise subject to a CDSC will not be charged a CDSC in an exchange to shares of another fund that has a CDSC however, shares exchanged between funds that impose a CDSC will be charged a CDSC if redeemed within 12 months or 18 months, as applicable, of the purchase of the initial shares.
Before exchanging shares, shareholders should consider how the exchange may affect any CDSC that might be imposed on the subsequent redemption of remaining shares.
If shares of a Fund were purchased by check, a shareholder must have owned those shares for at least ten days prior to exchanging out of a Fund and into another fund.
The eligibility and minimum investment requirement must be met for the class into which the shareholder is exchanging. Fund shares may be acquired through exchange only in U.S. states and Territories in which they can be legally sold. Each Fund reserves the right to charge a fee and to modify or terminate the exchange privilege at any time. Each Fund reserves the right to refuse exchange requests if, in the judgment of a Fund, the transaction would adversely affect a Fund and its shareholders. Please refer to the section titled "Frequent Trading and Market Timing" for information on the Funds' policies regarding frequent purchases, redemptions, and exchanges.
Shares of any class of a Fund may be converted to shares of another class of the same Fund under certain limited circumstances. For federal income tax purposes, the conversion of shares of one share class of a Fund to shares of a different share class of the same Fund will not result in the realization of a capital gain or loss. However, an exchange of shares of one Fund for shares of a different American Beacon Fund generally is considered a redemption and a concurrent purchase, respectively, and thus may result in the realization of a capital gain or loss for those purposes.
How to Purchase, Redeem or Exchange Shares
If your account is through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary, please contact them directly to purchase, redeem or exchange shares of a Fund. Your broker-dealer or financial intermediary can help you open a new account, review your financial needs and formulate long-term investment goals and objectives. Your broker dealer or financial intermediary will transmit your request to a Fund and may charge you a fee for this service. A Fund will not accept a purchase order of $1,000,000 or more for C Class shares if the purchase is known to be on behalf of a single investor (not including dealer "street name" or omnibus accounts). Dealers, other financial intermediaries or fiduciaries purchasing shares for their customers are responsible for determining the suitability of a particular share class for an investor. You should include the following information with any order:
Your name/account registration
Your account number
Type of transaction requested
Fund name(s) and fund numbers
Dollar amount or number of shares
Transactions for direct shareholders are conducted through:
Internet |
www.americanbeaconfunds.com |
|
Phone |
To reach an American Beacon representative call 1-800-658-5811, option 1
Through the Automated Voice Response Service call 1-800-658-5811, option 2 (Investor Class Only)
|
|
|
American Beacon Funds
PO Box 219643
Kansas City, MO 64121-9643
|
Overnight Delivery:
American Beacon Funds
c/o DST Asset Manager Solutions, Inc.
330 West 9th Street
Kansas City, MO 64105
|
Purchases by Wire:
Send a bank wire to State Street Bank and Trust Co. with these instructions:
ABA# 0110-0002-8; AC-9905-342-3,
Attn: American Beacon Funds
the fund name and fund number, and
shareholder account number and registration.
Redemption Proceeds will be mailed to the account of record or transmitted to commercial bank designated on the account application form.
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Prospectus – About Your Investment |
|
New Account |
Existing Account |
|
Share Class |
Minimum Initial Investment Amount |
Purchase/Redemption Minimum by Check/ACH/Exchange |
Purchase/Redemption Minimum by Wire |
C |
$1,000 |
$50 |
$250 |
A, Investor |
$2,500 |
$50 |
$250 |
Y |
$100,000 |
$50 |
None |
R5 |
$250,000 |
$50 |
None |
Supporting documents may be required for redemptions by estates, trusts, guardianships, custodians, corporations, and welfare, pension and profit sharing plans. Redemption requests must also include authorized signature(s) of all persons required to sign for the account. Call 1-800-658-5811 for instructions.
To protect the Funds and your account from fraud, a Medallion signature guarantee is required for redemption orders:
with a request to send the proceeds to an address or commercial bank account other than the address or commercial bank account designated on the account application, or
for an account whose address has changed within the last 30 days if proceeds are sent by check.
The Funds only accept Medallion signature guarantees, which may be obtained at participating banks, broker-dealers and credit unions. A notary public cannot provide a signature guarantee. Call 1-800-658-5811 for instructions and further assistance.
Payments to Financial Intermediaries
For certain share classes each Fund and/or the Manager (and/or the Manager's affiliates), at their own expense, may pay compensation to financial intermediaries for shareholder-related services and, if applicable, distribution-related services, including administrative, sub-transfer agency type, recordkeeping and shareholder communication services. For example, compensation may be paid to make Fund shares available to sales representatives and/or customers of a fund supermarket platform or similar program sponsor or for services provided in connection with such fund supermarket platforms and programs.
The amount of compensation paid to different financial intermediaries may differ. The compensation paid to a financial intermediary may be based on a variety of factors, including average assets under management in accounts distributed and/or serviced by the financial intermediary, gross sales by the financial intermediary and/or the number of accounts serviced by the financial intermediary that invest in a Fund. To the extent that a Fund pays any such compensation, it is designed to compensate the financial intermediary for providing services that would otherwise be provided by a Manager, a Fund or its transfer agent. To the extent the Manager or its affiliates pay such compensation, it would likely include amounts from that party's own resources and constitute what is sometimes referred to as ‘‘revenue sharing.''
Compensation received by a financial intermediary from a Fund, the Manager or an affiliate of the Manager may include payments for marketing and/or training expenses incurred by the financial intermediary, including expenses incurred by the financial intermediary in educating (itself and) its salespersons with respect to Fund shares. For example, such compensation may include reimbursements for expenses incurred in attending educational seminars regarding a Fund, including travel and lodging expenses. It may also cover costs incurred by financial intermediaries in connection with their efforts to sell Fund shares, including costs incurred compensating (registered) sales representatives and preparing, printing and distributing sales literature.
Any compensation received by a financial intermediary, whether from a Fund or the Manager and/or its affiliates, and the prospect of receiving it may provide the financial intermediary with an incentive to recommend the shares of a Fund, or a certain class of shares of a Fund, over other potential investments. Similarly, the compensation may cause financial intermediaries to elevate the prominence of a Fund within its organization by, for example, placing it on a list of preferred funds. You can contact your financial intermediary for details about any such payments it receives from the Manager, its affiliates and/or the Funds, or any other fees, expenses, or commissions your financial intermediary may charge you in addition to those disclosed in this Prospectus.
Additional Payments with Respect to Y Class Shares
Y Class shares may also be available on brokerage platforms of firms that have agreements with a Fund's distributor to offer such shares solely when acting as an agent for the investor. An investor transacting in Y Class shares in these programs may be required to pay a commission and/or other forms of compensation to the broker. Shares of a Fund are available in other share classes that have different fees and expenses.
General Policies
If a shareholder's account balance falls below the following minimum levels, the shareholder may be asked to increase the balance.
Share Class |
Account Balance |
A, Investor |
$ 2,500 |
C |
$ 1,000 |
Y |
$25,000 |
R5 |
$75,000 |
If the account balance remains below the applicable minimum account balance after 45 days, each Fund reserves the right, upon 30 days' written notice, to close the account and send the proceeds to the shareholder. Each Fund reserves the authority to modify minimum account balances in its discretion.
An ACH privilege allows electronic transfer from a checking or savings account into a direct account with the Funds. The ACH privilege may not be used for initial purchases but may be used for subsequent purchases and redemptions. Purchases of Fund shares by ACH are subject to a limit of $2,000 per Fund per day. The Funds reserve the right to waive such limit in their sole discretion.
ACH privileges must be requested on the account application, or may be established on an existing account by submitting a request in writing to the Funds. Validated signatures from all shareholders of record for the account are required on the written request. See details below regarding signature validations. Such privileges apply unless and until the Funds receive written instructions from all shareholders of record canceling such privileges. Changes of bank account information must also be made in writing with validated signatures. The Funds reserve the right to amend, suspend or discontinue the ACH privilege at any time without prior notice. The ACH privilege does not apply to shares held in broker "street name" accounts or in other omnibus accounts.
Prospectus – About Your Investment |
41 |
When a signature validation is called for, a Medallion signature guarantee or SVP stamp may be required. A Medallion signature guarantee is intended to provide signature validation for transactions considered financial in nature, and an SVP stamp is intended to provide signature validation for transactions non-financial in nature. A Medallion signature guarantee or SVP stamp may be obtained from a domestic bank or trust company, broker, dealer, clearing agency, savings association or other financial institution which is participating in a Medallion program or SVP recognized by the Securities Transfer Association. The Funds may reject a Medallion signature guarantee or SVP stamp. Shareholders should call 800-658-5811 for additional details regarding the Funds' signature guarantee requirements.
The following policies apply to instructions you may provide to the Funds by telephone:
The Funds, their officers, trustees, employees, or agents are not responsible for the authenticity of instructions provided by telephone, nor for any loss, liability, cost or expense incurred for acting on them.
The Funds employ procedures reasonably designed to confirm that instructions communicated by telephone are genuine.
Due to the volume of calls or other unusual circumstances, telephone redemptions may be difficult to implement during certain time periods.
Each Fund reserves the right to:
liquidate a shareholder's account at the current day's NAV per share and remit proceeds via check if the Funds or a financial institution are unable to verify the shareholder's identity within three business days of account opening,
seek reimbursement from the shareholder for any related loss incurred by a Fund if payment for the purchase of Fund shares by check does not clear the shareholder's bank, and
reject a purchase order and seek reimbursement from the shareholder for any related loss incurred by a Fund if funds are not received by the applicable wire deadline.
A shareholder will not be required to pay a CDSC when the registration for A Class or C Class shares is transferred to the name of another person or entity. The transfer may occur by absolute assignment, gift or bequest, as long as it does not involve, directly or indirectly, a public sale of the shares. When A Class or C Class shares are transferred, any applicable CDSC will continue to apply to the transferred shares and will be calculated as if the transferee had acquired the shares in the same manner and at the same time as the transferring shareholder.
Escheatment
Please be advised that certain state escheatment laws may require a Fund to turn over your mutual fund account to the state listed in your account registration as abandoned property unless you contact the Funds. Many states have added ‘‘inactivity'' or the absence of customer-initiated contact as a component of their rules and guidelines for the escheatment of unclaimed property. These states consider property to be abandoned when there is no shareholder-initiated activity on an account for at least three (3) to five (5) years.
Depending on the laws in your jurisdiction, customer-initiated contact might be achieved by one of the following methods:
Send a letter to American Beacon Funds via the United States Post Office,
Speak to a Customer Service Representative on the phone after you go through a security verification process. For residents of certain states, contact cannot be made by phone but must be in writing or through the Funds' secure web application.
Access your account through the Funds' secure web application,
Cashing checks that are received and are made payable to the owner of the account.
The Funds, the Manager, and the Transfer Agent will not be liable to shareholders or their representatives for good faith compliance with escheatment laws. To learn more about the escheatment rules for your particular state, please contact your attorney or State Treasurer's and/or Controller's Offices. If you do not hold your shares directly with a Fund, you should contact your broker-dealer, retirement plan, or other third party, intermediary regarding applicable state escheatment laws.
Shareholders that reside in the state of Texas may designate a representative to receive escheatment notifications by completing and submitting a designation form that can be found on the website of the Texas Comptroller. While the designated representative does not have any rights to claim or access the shareholder's account or assets, the escheatment period will cease if the representative communicates knowledge of the shareholder's location and confirms that the shareholder has not abandoned his or her property. If a shareholder designates a representative to receive escheatment notifications, any escheatment notices will be delivered both to the shareholder and the designated representative. The completed designation form may be mailed to the below address.
Contact information:
American Beacon Funds
P.O. Box 219643
Kansas City, MO 64121-9643
1-800-658-5811
www.americanbeaconfunds.com
Frequent Trading and Market Timing
Frequent trading by Fund shareholders poses risks to other shareholders in that Fund, including (i) the dilution of a Fund's NAV per share, (ii) an increase in a Fund's expenses, and (iii) interference with the portfolio manager's ability to execute efficient investment strategies. Frequent, short-term trading of Fund shares in an attempt to profit from day-to-day fluctuations in a Fund's NAV is known as market timing.
The Funds' Board has adopted policies and procedures intended to discourage frequent trading and market timing. Shareholders may transact one ‘‘round trip'' in a Fund in any rolling 90-day period. A ‘‘round trip'' is defined as two transactions, each in an opposite direction. A round trip may involve either (i) a purchase or exchange into a Fund followed by a redemption or exchange out of a Fund or (ii) a redemption or exchange out of a Fund followed by a purchase or exchange into a Fund. If the Manager detects that a shareholder has exceeded one round trip in a Fund in any rolling 90-day period, the Manager, without prior notice to the shareholder, may prohibit the shareholder from making further purchases of that Fund. In general, each Fund reserves the right to reject any purchase order, terminate the exchange privilege, or liquidate the account of any shareholder that the Manager determines has engaged in frequent trading or market timing, regardless of whether the shareholder's activity violates any policy stated in this Prospectus. Additionally, the Manager may in its discretion, reject any purchase or exchange into a Fund from any individual investor, institutional investor, or group whose trading activity could disrupt the management of a Fund or dilute the value of the Fund's shares, including collective trading (e.g. following the advice of an investment newsletter). Such investors may be barred from future purchases of American Beacon Funds.
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Prospectus – About Your Investment |
The round-trip limit does not apply to the following transaction types:
shares acquired through the reinvestment of dividends and other distributions;
systematic purchases and redemptions;
shares redeemed to return excess IRA contributions; or
certain transactions made within a retirement or employee benefit plan, such as payroll contributions, minimum required distributions, loans, and hardship withdrawals, or other transactions that are initiated by a party other than the plan participant.
Financial intermediaries that offer Fund shares, such as broker-dealers, third party administrators of retirement plans, and trust companies, will be asked to enforce the Funds' policies to discourage frequent trading and market timing by investors. However, certain intermediaries that offer Fund shares have informed the Funds that they are currently unable to enforce the Funds' policies on an automated basis. In those instances, the Manager will monitor trading activity of the intermediary in an attempt to detect patterns of activity that indicate frequent trading or market timing by underlying investors. In some cases, intermediaries that offer Fund shares have their own policies to deter frequent trading and market timing that differ from the Funds' policies. A Fund may defer to an intermediary's policies. For more information, please contact the financial intermediary through which you invest in the Funds.
The Manager monitors trading activity in the Funds to attempt to identify shareholders engaged in frequent trading or market timing. The Manager may exclude transactions below a certain dollar amount from monitoring and may change that dollar amount from time to time. The ability of the Manager to detect frequent trading and market timing activity by investors who own shares through an intermediary is dependent upon the intermediary's provision of information necessary to identify transactions by the underlying investors. The Funds have entered into agreements with the intermediaries that service the Funds' investors, pursuant to which the intermediaries agree to provide information on investor transactions to the Funds and to act on the Funds' instructions to restrict transactions by investors who the Manager has identified as having violated the Funds' policies and procedures to deter frequent trading and market timing.
Wrap programs offered by certain intermediaries may be designated ‘‘Qualified Wrap Programs'' by a Fund based on specific criteria established by the Funds and a certification by the intermediary that the criteria have been met. A Qualified Wrap Program is a wrap program whose sponsoring intermediary: (i) certifies that it has investment discretion over $50 million or more in client assets invested in mutual funds at the time of the certification, (ii) certifies that it directs transactions in accounts participating in the wrap program(s) in concert with changes in a model portfolio; (iii) provides the Manager a description of the wrap program(s); and (iv) managed by an intermediary that agrees to provide the Manager sufficient information to identify individual accounts in the intermediary's wrap program(s). For purposes of applying the round-trip limit, transactions initiated by clients invested in a Qualified Wrap Program will not be matched to transactions initiated by the intermediary sponsoring the Qualified Wrap Program. For example, a client's purchase of a Fund followed within 90 days by the intermediary's redemption of the same Fund would not be considered a round trip. However, transactions initiated by a Qualified Wrap Program client are subject to the round-trip limit and will be matched to determine if the client has exceeded the round-trip limit. In addition, the Manager will monitor transactions initiated by Qualified Wrap Program intermediaries to determine whether any intermediary has engaged in frequent trading or market timing. If the Manager determines that an intermediary has engaged in activity that is harmful to a Fund, the Manager will revoke the intermediary's Qualified Wrap Program status. Upon termination of status as a Qualified Wrap Program, all account transactions will be matched for purposes of testing compliance with a Fund's frequent trading and market timing policies, including any applicable redemption fees.
Each Fund reserves the right to modify the frequent trading and market timing policies and procedures and grant or eliminate waivers to such policies and procedures at any time without advance notice to shareholders. There can be no assurance that the Funds' policies and procedures to deter frequent trading and market timing will have the intended effect or that the Manager will be able to detect frequent trading and market timing.
Distributions and Taxes
Each Fund distributes most or all of its net earnings and realized gains, if any, each taxable year in the form of dividends from net investment income ("dividends"), distributions of realized net capital gains ("capital gains distributions") and net gains from foreign currency transactions (sometimes referred to below collectively as "other distributions") (and dividends, capital gains distributions, and other distributions are sometimes referred to below collectively as "distributions"). Different tax treatment applies to different types of distributions (as described in the table below).
No Fund has a fixed dividend rate or guarantees that it will pay any distributions in any particular period. Distributions paid by each Fund with respect to each class of shares are calculated in the same manner and at the same time, but dividends on different classes of shares may be different as a result of the services and/or fees applicable to certain classes of shares. Distributions are paid as follows:
American Beacon Fund |
Dividends Paid |
Other Distributions Paid |
AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
Annually |
Annually |
AHL TargetRisk Fund |
Annually |
Annually |
Options for Receiving Dividends and Other Distributions
When you open your Fund account, you can specify on your application how you want to receive distributions. To change that option, you must notify the transfer agent. Unless you instruct otherwise in your account application, distributions payable to you by a Fund will be reinvested in additional shares of the distributing class of that Fund. There are four payment options available:
Reinvest All Distributions. You can elect to reinvest all distributions by a Fund in additional shares of the distributing class of that Fund.
Reinvest Only Some Distributions. You can elect to reinvest some types of distributions by a Fund in additional shares of the distributing class of that Fund while receiving the other types of distributions by that Fund by check or having them sent directly to your bank account by ACH ("in cash").
Receive All Distributions in Cash. You can elect to receive all distributions in cash.
Reinvest Your Distributions in shares of another American Beacon Fund. You can reinvest all of your distributions by a Fund on a particular class of shares in shares of the same class of another American Beacon Fund that is available for exchanges. You must have an existing account in the same share class of the selected fund.
Distributions of Fund income are generally taxable to you regardless of the manner in which received or reinvested.
If you invest directly with the Funds, any election to receive distributions payable by check will only apply to distributions totaling $10.00 or more. Any distribution by a Fund totaling less than $10.00 will be reinvested in shares of the distributing class of that Fund and will not be paid to you by check.
If you elect to receive a distribution by check and the U.S. Postal Service cannot deliver your check, or if your check remains uncashed for at least six months, each Fund reserves the right to reinvest the amount of your check, and to reinvest all subsequent distributions, in shares of the distributing class of
Prospectus – About Your Investment |
43 |
that Fund at the NAV per share on the day of the reinvestment. Interest will not accrue on amounts represented by uncashed distribution or redemption checks.
Shareholders investing in a Fund through a financial intermediary should discuss their options for receiving distributions with the intermediary.
Taxes
Fund distributions are taxable to shareholders other than tax-qualified retirement plans and accounts and other tax-exempt investors. However, the portion of a Fund's dividends derived from its investments in U.S. Government obligations, if any, is generally exempt from state and local income taxes. Fund dividends, except those that are "qualified dividend income" (as described below), are subject to federal income tax at the rates for ordinary income contained in the Internal Revenue Code. The following table outlines the typical status of transactions in taxable accounts:
* Whether reinvested or taken in cash.
** Except for dividends that are attributable to ‘‘qualified dividend income,'' if any.
To the extent distributions are attributable to net capital gain that a Fund recognizes they are subject to a 15% maximum federal income tax rate for individual and certain other non-corporate shareholders (each, an ‘‘individual'') (20% for individuals with taxable income exceeding certain thresholds, which are indexed for inflation annually), regardless of how long the shareholder held his or her Fund shares. A portion of the dividends a Fund pays to individuals may be ‘‘qualified dividend income'' (‘‘QDI'') and thus eligible for the preferential rates, mentioned above, that apply to net capital gain. QDI is the aggregate of dividends a Fund receives on shares of most domestic corporations (excluding most distributions from REITs) and certain foreign corporations with respect to which a Fund satisfies certain holding period and other restrictions. To be eligible for those rates, a shareholder must meet similar restrictions with respect to his or her Fund shares.
A portion of the dividends a Fund pays may also be eligible for the dividends-received deduction allowed to corporations ("DRD") (which was reduced by the Act), subject to similar holding period and other restrictions, but the eligible portion may not exceed the aggregate dividends the Fund receives from domestic corporations only.
A Fund does not expect a substantial part of its dividends to qualify as QDI or be eligible for the DRD.
A shareholder may realize a taxable gain or loss when redeeming or exchanging shares. That gain or loss is treated as a short-term or long-term capital gain or loss, depending on how long the redeemed or exchanged shares were held. Any capital gain an individual shareholder recognizes on a redemption or exchange of Fund shares that have been held for more than one year will qualify for the 15% and 20% tax rates mentioned above.
A shareholder who wants to use an acceptable basis determination method with respect to Fund shares other than the average basis method (the Fund's default method) must elect to do so in writing, which may be electronic. A Fund, or its administrative agent, must report to the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") and furnish to its shareholders the basis information for dispositions of Fund shares. See "Tax Information" in the SAI for a description of the rules regarding that election and a Fund's reporting obligation.
An individual must pay a 3.8% tax on the lesser of (1) the individual's ‘‘net investment income,'' which generally includes distributions a Fund pays and net gains realized on the redemption or exchange of Fund shares, or (2) the excess of the individual's ‘‘modified adjusted gross income'' over a threshold amount ($250,000 for married persons filing jointly and $200,000 for single taxpayers). This tax is in addition to any other taxes due on that income. A similar tax applies to estates and trusts. Shareholders should consult their own tax advisers regarding the effect, if any, this tax may have on their investment in Fund shares.
Each year, the Funds' shareholders will receive tax information regarding Fund distributions and dispositions of Fund shares to assist them in preparing their income tax returns.
The foregoing is only a summary of some of the important federal income tax considerations that may affect Fund shareholders, who should consult their tax advisers regarding specific questions as to the effect of federal, state and local income taxes on an investment in the Fund.
Additional Information
The Funds' Board oversees generally the operations of the Funds. The Trust enters into contractual arrangements with various parties, including among others, the Funds' manager, sub-advisor(s), custodian, transfer agent, and accountants, who provide services to the Funds. Shareholders are not parties to any such contractual arrangements, and those contractual arrangements are not intended to create in any shareholder any right to enforce them directly against the service providers or to seek any remedy under them directly against the service providers.
This Prospectus provides information concerning the Funds that you should consider in determining whether to purchase Fund shares. Neither this Prospectus nor the SAI is intended, or should be read, to be or create an agreement or contract between the Trust or the Funds and any investor, or to create any rights in any shareholder or other person other than any rights under federal or state law that may not be waived. Nothing in this Prospectus, the SAI or the Funds' reports to shareholders is intended to provide investment advice and should not be construed as investment advice.
Distribution and Service Plans
The Funds have adopted separate Distribution Plans for their A Class and C Class shares in accordance with Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act, which allows the A Class and C Class shares to pay distribution and other fees for the sale of Fund shares and for other services provided to shareholders. Each Plan also authorizes the use of any fees received by the Manager in accordance with the Management Agreement, and any fees received by the sub-advisors pursuant to their Investment Advisory Agreements with the Manager, to be used for the sale and distribution of Fund shares. The Plans provide that
44 |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
the A Class shares of a Fund will pay up to 0.25% per annum of the average daily net assets attributable to the A Class and the C Class shares of a Fund will pay up to 1.00% per annum of the average daily net assets attributable to the C Class, to the Manager (or another entity approved by the Board). Because these fees are paid out of a Fund's A Class and C Class 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.
The Funds have also adopted a shareholder services plan for their A Class, C Class and Investor Class shares for certain non-distribution shareholder services provided by financial intermediaries. The shareholder services plan authorizes annual payment of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets attributable to the A Class shares, up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets attributable to the C Class shares and up to 0.375% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Investor Class shares. In addition, the Funds may reimburse the Manager for certain non-distribution shareholder services provided by financial intermediaries attributable to Y Class and R5 Class shares of the Funds.
Portfolio Holdings
A complete list of each Fund's holdings is made available on the Funds' website on a quarterly basis approximately sixty days after the end of each calendar quarter and remains available for six months thereafter. A list of each Fund's ten largest holdings is made available on the Fund's website on a quarterly basis. The ten largest holdings of each Fund are generally posted to the website approximately fifteen days after the end of each calendar quarter and remain available until the next quarter. To access the holdings information, go to www.americanbeaconfunds.com. A Fund's ten largest holdings may also be accessed by selecting a particular Fund's fact sheet.
A description of each Fund's policies and procedures regarding the disclosure of portfolio holdings is available in the Fund's SAI, which you may access on the Fund's website at www.americanbeaconfunds.com or call 1-800-658-5811 to request a free copy.
Delivery of Documents
If you are interested in electronic delivery of the Funds' summary prospectuses and shareholder reports, please go to www.americanbeaconfunds.com and click on ‘‘Quick Links'' and then ‘‘Register for E-Delivery.''
To reduce expenses, your financial institution may mail only one copy of the summary prospectus, Annual Report and Semi-Annual Report to those addresses shared by two or more accounts. If you wish to receive individual copies of these documents, please contact your financial institution. Delivery of individual copies will commence thirty days after receiving your request.
Financial Highlights
The financial highlights tables are intended to help you understand each Fund's financial performance for the past five fiscal years or, if shorter, the period of that Fund's operations, as applicable. Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund share. The total returns in each Fund's table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in that Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and other distributions). The information in the financial highlights has been derived from the Funds' financial statements audited by Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the Funds' financial statements, is included in the Funds' Annual Report, which you may obtain upon request.
Prospectus – Additional Information |
45 |
A |
Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method. |
B |
Tax return of capital is calculated based on outstanding shares at the time of distribution. Amounts are less than $0.01 per share. |
C |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
D |
Portfolio turnover is based on the lesser of long-term purchases or sales divided by the average long-term fair value during the period. The Fund did not invest in any long-term securities during the reporting period. |
46 |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
A |
Tax return of capital is calculated based on outstanding shares at the time of distribution. Amounts are less than $0.01 per share. |
B |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
C |
Portfolio turnover is based on the lesser of long-term purchases or sales divided by the average long-term fair value during the period. The Fund did not invest in any long-term securities during the reporting period. |
D |
Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method. |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
47 |
A |
Tax return of capital is calculated based on outstanding shares at the time of distribution. Amounts are less than $0.01 per share. |
B |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
C |
Portfolio turnover is based on the lesser of long-term purchases or sales divided by the average long-term fair value during the period. The Fund did not invest in any long-term securities during the reporting period. |
48 |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
A |
Tax return of capital is calculated based on outstanding shares at the time of distribution. Amounts are less than $0.01 per share. |
B |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
C |
Portfolio turnover is based on the lesser of long-term purchases or sales divided by the average long-term fair value during the period. The Fund did not invest in any long-term securities during the reporting period. |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
49 |
A |
Tax return of capital is calculated based on outstanding shares at the time of distribution. Amounts are less than $0.01 per share. |
B |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
C |
Portfolio turnover is based on the lesser of long-term purchases or sales divided by the average long-term fair value during the period. The Fund did not invest in any long-term securities during the reporting period. |
50 |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund |
||
|
A Class |
|
For a share outstanding throughout the period: |
Period EndedA December 31, 2019 |
|
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$11.32 |
|
Income (loss) from investment operations: |
|
|
Net investment income (loss) |
(0.03 |
) |
Net gains on investments (both realized and unrealized) |
1.38 |
|
Total income (loss) from investment operations |
1.35 |
|
Less distributions: |
|
|
Dividends from net investment income |
(0.02 |
) |
Distributions from net realized gains |
(0.53 |
) |
Total distributions |
(0.55 |
) |
Net asset value, end of period |
$12.12 |
|
Total returnB |
11.89 |
%C |
Ratios and supplemental data: |
|
|
Net assets, end of period |
$1,469,217 |
|
Ratios to average net assets: |
|
|
Expenses, before reimbursements |
2.33 |
%D |
Expenses, net of reimbursements |
1.44 |
%D |
Net investment income (loss), before expense reimbursements |
(1.73 |
)%D |
Net investment income (loss), net of reimbursements |
(0.84 |
)%D |
Portfolio turnover rate |
77 |
%C |
A |
Commenced operations on April 30, 2019. |
B |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
C |
Not annualized. |
D |
Annualized. |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
51 |
American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund |
||
|
C Class |
|
For a share outstanding throughout the period: |
Period EndedA December 31, 2019 |
|
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$11.32 |
|
Income (loss) from investment operations: |
|
|
Net investment income (loss) |
(0.06 |
) |
Net gains on investments (both realized and unrealized) |
1.36 |
|
Total income (loss) from investment operations |
1.30 |
|
Less distributions: |
|
|
Dividends from net investment income |
– |
|
Distributions from net realized gains |
(0.53 |
) |
Total distributions |
(0.53 |
) |
Net asset value, end of period |
$12.09 |
|
Total returnB |
11.42 |
%C |
Ratios and supplemental data: |
|
|
Net assets, end of period |
$5,702,552 |
|
Ratios to average net assets: |
|
|
Expenses, before reimbursements |
2.76 |
%D |
Expenses, net of reimbursements |
2.19 |
%D |
Net investment income (loss), before expense reimbursements |
(2.28 |
)%D |
Net investment income (loss), net of reimbursements |
(1.71 |
)%D |
Portfolio turnover rate |
77 |
%C |
A |
Commenced operations on April 30, 2019. |
B |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
C |
Not annualized. |
D |
Annualized. |
52 |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund |
||||
|
Y Class |
|||
For a share outstanding throughout the period: |
Year Ended December 31, 2019 |
Period EndedA December 31, 2018 |
||
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$10.00 |
|
$10.00 |
|
Income (loss) from investment operations: |
|
|
|
|
Net investment income (loss) |
(0.02 |
) |
– |
|
Net gains on investments (both realized and unrealized) |
2.73 |
|
– |
|
Total income (loss) from investment operations |
2.71 |
|
– |
|
Less distributions: |
|
|
|
|
Dividends from net investment income |
(0.02 |
) |
– |
|
Distributions from net realized gains |
(0.53 |
) |
– |
|
Total distributions |
(0.55 |
) |
– |
|
Redemption fees added to beneficial interests |
– |
|
– |
|
Net asset value, end of period |
$12.16 |
|
$10.00 |
|
Total returnB |
27.06 |
% |
– |
% |
Ratios and supplemental data: |
|
|
|
|
Net assets, end of period |
$118,366,001 |
|
$100,000 |
|
Ratios to average net assets: |
|
|
|
|
Expenses, before reimbursements |
1.62 |
% |
241.64 |
%C |
Expenses, net of reimbursements |
1.14 |
% |
0.00 |
%D |
Net investment income (loss), before expense reimbursements |
(1.13 |
)% |
(241.64 |
)%C |
Net investment income (loss), net of reimbursements |
(0.65 |
)% |
0.00 |
% |
Portfolio turnover rate |
77 |
% |
– |
% |
A |
Commenced operations on December 31, 2018. |
B |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
C |
Annualized. |
D |
The Manager agreed to voluntarily waive expenses as of 12/31/18, despite expense caps being in place, due to the one day of operations on the Fund. |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
53 |
American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund |
||||
|
R5 Class |
|||
For a share outstanding throughout the period: |
Year Ended December 31, 2019 |
Period EndedA December 31, 2018 |
||
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$10.00 |
|
$10.00 |
|
Income (loss) from investment operations: |
|
|
|
|
Net investment income |
0.02 |
|
– |
|
Net gains on investments (both realized and unrealized) |
2.69 |
|
– |
|
Total income (loss) from investment operations |
2.71 |
|
– |
|
Less distributions: |
|
|
|
|
Dividends from net investment income |
(0.02 |
) |
– |
|
Distributions from net realized gains |
(0.53 |
) |
– |
|
Total distributions |
(0.55 |
) |
– |
|
Net asset value, end of period |
$12.16 |
|
$10.00 |
|
Total returnB |
27.06 |
% |
– |
% |
Ratios and supplemental data: |
|
|
|
|
Net assets, end of period |
$12,692,260 |
|
$24,800,000 |
|
Ratios to average net assets: |
|
|
|
|
Expenses, before reimbursements |
1.59 |
% |
89.10 |
%C |
Expenses, net of reimbursements |
1.04 |
% |
0.00 |
%D |
Net investment income (loss), before expense reimbursements |
(0.44 |
)% |
(89.10 |
)%C |
Net investment income, net of reimbursements |
0.11 |
% |
0.00 |
% |
Portfolio turnover rate |
77 |
% |
– |
% |
A |
Commenced operations on December 31, 2018. |
B |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
C |
Annualized. |
D |
The Manager agreed to voluntarily waive expenses as of 12/31/18, despite expense caps being in place, due to the one day of operations on the Fund. |
54 |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund |
||||
|
Investor Class |
|||
For a share outstanding throughout the period: |
Year Ended December 31, 2019 |
Period EndedA December 31, 2018 |
||
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$10.00 |
|
$10.00 |
|
Income (loss) from investment operations: |
|
|
|
|
Net investment income (loss) |
(0.07 |
) |
– |
|
Net gains on investments (both realized and unrealized) |
2.76 |
|
– |
|
Total income (loss) from investment operations |
2.69 |
|
– |
|
Less distributions: |
|
|
|
|
Dividends from net investment income |
(0.02 |
) |
– |
|
Distributions from net realized gains |
(0.53 |
) |
– |
|
Total distributions |
(0.55 |
) |
– |
|
Net asset value, end of period |
$12.14 |
|
$10.00 |
|
Total returnB |
26.85 |
% |
– |
% |
Ratios and supplemental data: |
|
|
|
|
Net assets, end of period |
$8,469,551 |
|
$100,010 |
|
Ratios to average net assets: |
|
|
|
|
Expenses, before reimbursements |
1.93 |
% |
241.89 |
%C |
Expenses, net of reimbursements |
1.42 |
% |
0.00 |
%D |
Net investment income (loss), before expense reimbursements |
(1.49 |
)% |
(241.89 |
)%C |
Net investment income (loss), net of reimbursements |
(0.98 |
)% |
0.00 |
% |
Portfolio turnover rate |
77 |
% |
– |
% |
A |
Commenced operations on December 31, 2018. |
B |
Based on net asset value, which does not reflect the sales charge, redemption fee, or contingent deferred sales charge, if applicable. May include adjustments in accordance with U.S. GAAP and as such, the net asset value for reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset value and returns for shareholder transactions. |
C |
Annualized. |
D |
The Manager agreed to voluntarily waive expenses as of 12/31/18, despite expense caps being in place, due to the one day of operations on the Fund. |
Prospectus – Additional Information |
55 |
Additional Information
Additional information about the Funds is found in the documents listed below. Request a free copy of these documents by calling 1-800-658-5811 or you may access them on the Funds' website at www.americanbeaconfunds.com.
Annual Report/Semi-Annual Report
The Funds' Annual and Semi-Annual Reports list each Fund's actual investments as of the report's date. They also include a discussion by the Manager of market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Funds' performance. The report of the Funds' independent registered public accounting firm is included in the Annual Report.
SAI
The SAI contains more details about the Funds and their investment policies. The SAI is incorporated in this Prospectus by reference (it is legally part of this Prospectus). A current SAI is on file with the SEC.
Appendix A to the Prospectus – Intermediary Sales Charge Discounts and Waivers
Appendix A contains more information about specific sales charge discounts and waivers available for shareholders who purchase Fund shares through a specific financial intermediary. Appendix A is incorporated herein by reference (is legally a part of this Prospectus).
To obtain more information about the Funds or to request a copy of the documents listed above:
By Telephone: |
Call
|
By Mail: |
American Beacon Funds
|
By E-mail: |
americanbeaconfunds@ambeacon.com |
On the Internet: |
Visit our website at www.americanbeaconfunds.com
|
The SAI and other information about the Funds are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov. Copies of this information may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic mail to publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing to the SEC's Public Reference Section, 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. The SAI and other information about the Funds may also be reviewed and copied at the SEC's Public Reference Room. Information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at (202) 551-8090.
American Beacon is a registered service mark of American Beacon Advisors, Inc. The American Beacon Funds, American Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund and American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund are service marks of American Beacon Advisors, Inc. |
|
Appendix A
INTERMEDIARY SALES CHARGE DISCOUNTS AND WAIVERS
Specific intermediaries may have different policies and procedures regarding the availability of front-end sales load waivers or CDSC waivers, which are discussed below. In all instances, it is the purchaser's responsibility to notify the Fund or the purchaser's financial intermediary at the time of purchase of any relationship or other facts qualifying the purchaser for sales charge waivers or discounts. For waivers and discounts not available through a particular intermediary, shareholders will have to purchase Fund shares directly from the Fund or through another intermediary to receive any applicable waivers or discounts. Please see the section entitled "Choosing Your Share Class" for more information on sales charges and waivers available for different classes.
The information in this Appendix is part of, and incorporated into, the Fund's prospectus.
Appendix A: Janney Montgomery Scott
Effective May 1, 2020, if you purchase fund shares through a Janney Montgomery Scott LLC ("Janney") brokerage account, you will be eligible for the following load waivers (front-end sales charge waivers and contingent deferred sales charge ("CDSC"), or back-end sales charge, waivers) and discounts, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this fund's Prospectus or SAI.
Front-end sales charge* waivers on Class A shares available at Janney
Shares purchased through reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend reinvestment when purchasing shares of the same fund (but not any other fund within the fund family).
Shares purchased by employees and registered representatives of Janney or its affiliates and their family members as designated by Janney.
Shares purchased from the proceeds of redemptions within the same fund family, provided (1) the repurchase occurs within ninety (90) days following the redemption, (2) the redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end or deferred sales load (i.e., right of reinstatement).
Employer-sponsored retirement plans (e.g., 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit sharing and money purchase pension plans and defined benefit plans). For purposes of this provision, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP IRAs, Simple IRAs, SAR-SEPs or Keogh plans.
Shares acquired through a right of reinstatement.
Class C shares that are no longer subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and are converted to Class A shares of the same fund pursuant to Janney's policies and procedures.
CDSC waivers on Class A and C shares available at Janney
Shares sold upon the death or disability of the shareholder.
Shares sold as part of a systematic withdrawal plan as described in the fund's Prospectus.
Shares purchased in connection with a return of excess contributions from an IRA account.
Shares sold as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and other retirement accounts due to the shareholder reaching age 70½ as described in the fund's Prospectus.
Shares sold to pay Janney fees but only if the transaction is initiated by Janney.
Shares acquired through a right of reinstatement.
Shares exchanged into the same share class of a different fund.
Front-end sales charge* discounts available at Janney: breakpoints, rights of accumulation, and/or letters of intent
Breakpoints as described in the fund's Prospectus.
Rights of accumulation ("ROA"), which entitle shareholders to breakpoint discounts, will be automatically calculated based on the aggregated holding of fund family assets held by accounts within the purchaser's household at Janney. Eligible fund family assets not held at Janney may be included in the ROA calculation only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such assets.
Letters of intent which allow for breakpoint discounts based on anticipated purchases within a fund family, over a 13-month time period. Eligible fund family assets not held at Janney Montgomery Scott may be included in the calculation of letters of intent only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such assets.
*Also referred to as an "initial sales charge."
Appendix A: Merrill Lynch
A CLASS AND C CLASS PURCHASES THROUGH MERRILL LYNCH
Shareholders purchasing Fund shares through a Merrill Lynch platform or account will be eligible only for the following load waivers (front-end sales charge waivers and contingent deferred, or back-end sales charge waivers) and discounts, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in a Fund's prospectus or SAI.
Front-end Sales Load Waivers on A Class Shares available at Merrill Lynch
Employer-sponsored retirement, deferred compensation and employee benefit plans (including health savings accounts) and trusts used to fund those plans, provided that the shares are not held in a commission- based brokerage account and shares are held for the benefit of the plan.
Shares purchased by a 529 Plan (does not include 529 Plan units or 529-specific share classes or equivalents)
Shares purchased through a Merrill Lynch affiliated investment advisory program.
Shares exchanged due to the holdings moving from a Merrill Lynch affiliated investment advisory program to a Merrill Lynch brokerage (non-advisory) account pursuant to Merrill Lynch's policies relating to sales load discounts and waivers
Shares purchased by third party investment advisors on behalf of their advisory clients through Merrill Lynch's platform.
Shares of funds purchased through the Merrill Edge Self-Directed platform (if applicable).
Shares purchased through reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend reinvestment when purchasing shares of the same fund (but not any other fund within the fund family).
Prospectus – Appendix |
A-1 |
Shares exchanged from C Class (i.e. level-load) shares of the same fund pursuant to Merrill Lynch's policies relating to sales load discounts and waivers
Employees and registered representatives of Merrill Lynch or its affiliates and their family members.
Directors or Trustees of a Fund, and employees of a Fund's investment adviser or any of its affiliates, as described in this Prospectus.
Eligible shares purchased from the proceeds of redemptions within the same fund family, provided (1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (2) the redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end or deferred sales load (known as Rights of Reinstatement). Automated transactions (i.e. systematic purchases and withdrawals) and purchases made after shares are automatically sold to pay Merrill Lynch's account maintenance fees are not eligible for reinstatement
CDSC Waivers on A Class and C Class Shares available at Merrill Lynch
Death or disability of the shareholder
Shares sold as part of a systematic withdrawal plan as described in the Fund's Prospectus
Return of excess contributions from an IRA Account
Shares sold as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code.
Shares sold to pay Merrill Lynch fees but only if the transaction is initiated by Merrill Lynch
Shares acquired through a right of reinstatement
Shares held in retirement brokerage accounts, that are exchanged for a lower cost share class due to transfer to certain fee based accounts or platforms (applicable to A Class and C Class shares only)
Shares received through an exchange due to the holdings moving from a Merrill Lynch affiliated investment advisory program to a Merrill Lynch brokerage (non-advisory) account pursuant to Merrill Lynch's policies relating to sales load discounts and waivers
Front-end load Discounts Available at Merrill Lynch: Breakpoints, Rights of Accumulation & Letters of Intent
Breakpoints as described in this prospectus.
Rights of Accumulation (ROA) which entitle shareholders to breakpoint discounts as described in the Fund's prospectus will be automatically calculated based on the aggregated holding of fund family assets held by accounts (including 529 program holdings, where applicable) within the purchaser's household at Merrill Lynch. Eligible fund family assets not held at Merrill Lynch may be included in the ROA calculation only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such assets.
Letters of Intent (LOI) which allow for breakpoint discounts based on anticipated purchases within a fund family, through Merrill Lynch, over a 13-month period of time (if applicable)
Appendix A: Morgan Stanley
Effective July 1, 2018, shareholders purchasing Fund shares through a Morgan Stanley Wealth Management transactional brokerage account will be eligible only for the following front-end sales charge waivers with respect to Class A shares, which may differ from and may be more limited than those disclosed elsewhere in this Fund's Prospectus or SAI.
Front-end Sales Charge Waivers on Class A Shares available at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management
Employer-sponsored retirement plans (e.g., 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit sharing and money purchase pension plans and defined benefit plans). For purposes of this provision, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP IRAs, Simple IRAs, SAR-SEPs or Keogh plans
Morgan Stanley employee and employee-related accounts according to Morgan Stanley's account linking rules
Shares purchased through reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions when purchasing shares of the same fund
Shares purchased through a Morgan Stanley self-directed brokerage account
Class C (i.e., level-load) shares that are no longer subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and are converted to Class A shares of the same fund pursuant to Morgan Stanley Wealth Management's share class conversion program
Shares purchased from the proceeds of redemptions within the same fund family, provided (i) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (ii) the redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (iii) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end or deferred sales charge.
Appendix A: Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. ("OPCO")
Effective February 26, 2020, shareholders purchasing Fund shares through an OPCO platform or account are eligible only for the following load waivers (front-end sales charge waivers and contingent deferred, or back-end, sales charge waivers) and discounts, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this Fund's prospectus or SAI.
Front-end Sales Load Waivers on Class A Shares available at OPCO
Employer-sponsored retirement, deferred compensation and employee benefit plans (including health savings accounts) and trusts used to fund those plans, provided that the shares are not held in a commission-based brokerage account and shares are held for the benefit of the plan
Shares purchased by or through a 529 Plan
Shares purchased through an OPCO affiliated investment advisory program
Shares purchased through reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend reinvestment when purchasing shares of the same fund (but not any other fund within the fund family)
Shares purchased form the proceeds of redemptions within the same fund family, provided (1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (2) the redemption and purchase occur in the same amount, and (3) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end or deferred sales load (known as Rights of Restatement).
A shareholder in the Fund's Class C shares will have their shares converted at net asset value to Class A shares (or the appropriate share class) of the Fund if the shares are no longer subject to a CDSC and the conversion is in line with the policies and procedures of OPCO
Employees and registered representatives of OPCO or its affiliates and their family members
Directors or Trustees of the Fund, and employees of the Fund's investment adviser or any of its affiliates, as described in this prospectus
CDSC Waivers on A, B and C Shares available at OPCO
A-2 |
Prospectus – Appendix |
Death or disability of the shareholder
Shares sold as part of a systematic withdrawal plan as described in the Fund's prospectus
Return of excess contributions from an IRA Account
Shares sold as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts due to the shareholder reaching age 70½ as described in the prospectus
Shares sold to pay OPCO fees but only if the transaction is initiated by OPCO
Shares acquired through a right of reinstatement
Front-end load Discounts Available at OPCO: Breakpoints, Rights of Accumulation & Letters of Intent
Breakpoints as described in this prospectus.
Rights of Accumulation (ROA) which entitle shareholders to breakpoint discounts will be automatically calculated based on the aggregated holding of fund family assets held by accounts within the purchaser's household at OPCO. Eligible fund family assets not held at OPCO may be included in the ROA calculation only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such assets.
Appendix A: Raymond James
Shareholders purchasing Fund Shares through a Raymond James platform or account, or through an introducing broker-dealer or independent registered investment adviser for which Raymond James provides trade execution, clearance, and/or custody services, will be eligible only for the following load waivers (front-end sales charge waivers and contingent deferred, or back-end, sales charge waivers) and discounts, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this Fund's prospectus or SAI.
Front-end sales load waivers on T Class shares available at Raymond James
Shares purchased in an investment advisory program.
Shares purchased within the same fund family through a systematic reinvestment of capital gains and dividend distributions.
Employees and registered representatives of Raymond James or its affiliates and their family members as designated by Raymond James.
Shares purchased from the proceeds of redemptions or repurchases within the same fund family, provided (1) the purchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption or repurchase, (2) the redemption or repurchase and subsequent purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed or repurchased shares were subject to a front-end or deferred sales load (known as Rights of Reinstatement).
Front-end load discounts available at Raymond James: breakpoints, rights of accumulation, and/or letters of intent
Breakpoints as described in this prospectus.
Rights of accumulation which entitle shareholders to breakpoint discounts will be automatically calculated based on the aggregated holding of fund family assets held by accounts within the purchaser's household at Raymond James. Eligible fund family assets not held at Raymond James may be included in the calculation of rights of accumulation only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such assets.
Letters of intent which allow for breakpoint discounts based on anticipated purchases within a fund family, over a 13-month time period. Eligible fund family assets not held at Raymond James may be included in the calculation of letters of intent only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such assets.
Front-end Sales Charge Waivers on Class A Shares available at Raymond James
Shares purchased in an investment advisory program.
Shares purchased within the same fund family through a systematic reinvestment of capital gains and dividend distributions.
Employees and registered representatives of Raymond James or its affiliates and their family members as designated by Raymond James.
Shares purchased from the proceeds of redemptions within the same fund family, provided (1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (2) the redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end or deferred sales load (known as Rights of Reinstatement).
A shareholder in the Fund's Class C shares will have their shares converted at net asset value to Class A shares (or the appropriate share class) of the Fund if the shares are no longer subject to a CDSC and the conversion is in line with the policies and procedures of Raymond James.
CDSC Waivers on Classes A and C shares available at Raymond James
Death or disability of the shareholder.
Shares sold as part of a systematic withdrawal plan as described in the fund's prospectus.
Return of excess contributions from an IRA Account.
Shares sold as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts due to the shareholder reaching the qualified age based on applicable IRS regulations as described in the fund's prospectus.
Shares sold to pay Raymond James fees but only if the transaction is initiated by Raymond James.
Shares acquired through a right of reinstatement.
Front-end load discounts available at Raymond James: breakpoints, rights of accumulation, and/or letters of intent
Breakpoints as described in this Prospectus.
Rights of accumulation which entitle shareholders to breakpoint discounts will be automatically calculated based on the aggregated holding of fund family assets held by accounts within the purchaser's household at Raymond James. Eligible fund family assets not held at Raymond James may be included in the calculation of rights of accumulation only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such assets.
Letters of intent which allow for breakpoint discounts based on anticipated purchases within a fund family, over a 13-month time period. Eligible fund family assets not held at Raymond James may be included in the calculation of letters of intent only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such assets.
Prospectus – Appendix |
A-3 |
Appendix B
GLOSSARY
ACH |
Automated Clearing House |
|
Advisers Act |
Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended |
|
American Beacon or Manager
|
American Beacon Advisors, Inc. |
|
Beacon Funds or Trust
|
American Beacon Funds |
|
Board |
Board of Trustees |
|
Brexit |
The United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union |
|
Capital Gains Distributions |
Distributions of realized net capital gains |
|
CDSC |
Contingent Deferred Sales Charge |
|
CFTC |
Commodity Futures Trading Commission |
|
CPO |
Commodity Pool Operator |
|
Denial of Services |
A cybersecurity incident that results in customers or employees being unable to access electronic systems |
|
Distributor |
Resolute Investment Distributors, Inc. |
|
Dividends |
Distributions from a Fund’s net investment income |
|
DRD |
Dividends-received deduction |
|
EU |
European Union |
|
Fannie Mae |
Federal National Mortgage Association |
|
FCA |
UK Financial Conduct Authority |
|
FFCB |
Federal Farm Credit Banks |
|
FHLB |
Federal Home Loan Bank |
|
Forwards |
Forward Currency Contracts |
|
Freddie Mac |
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation |
|
GNMA |
Government National Mortgage Association |
|
ICE Data |
ICE Data Indices, LLC |
|
Internal Revenue Code |
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended |
|
Investment Company Act |
Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended |
|
IRA |
Individual Retirement Account |
|
IRS |
Internal Revenue Service |
|
Junk Bonds |
High yield, non-investment grade bonds |
|
LIBOR |
ICE LIBOR |
|
LOI |
Letter of Intent |
|
Management Agreement |
The Fund’s Management Agreement with the Manager |
|
Moody's |
Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. |
|
NAV |
Fund's net asset value |
|
NDF |
Non-deliverable foreign currency forward contract |
|
NYSE |
New York Stock Exchange |
|
Other Distributions |
Distributions of net gains from foreign currency transactions |
|
OTC |
Over-the-Counter |
|
Proxy Policy |
Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures |
|
QDI |
Qualified Dividend Income |
|
REIT |
Real Estate Investment Trust |
|
RIC |
Regulated Investment Company |
|
SAI |
Statement of Additional Information |
|
SEC |
Securities and Exchange Commission |
|
SOFR |
Secured Overnight Financing Rate |
|
State Street |
State Street Bank and Trust Company |
|
SVP |
Signature Validation Program |
|
UGMA |
Uniform Gifts to Minors Act |
|
UK |
United Kingdom |
B-1 |
Prospectus – Appendix |
UTMA |
Uniform Transfers to Minors Act |
Prospectus – Appendix |
B-2 |
|
|
|
Statement of Additional Information
April 29, 2020
|
Share Class |
|||||
|
A |
C |
Y |
R5* |
Investor |
|
American Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
AHLAX |
AHLCX |
AHLYX |
AHLIX |
AHLPX |
|
American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund |
AHTAX |
AHACX |
AHTYX |
AHTIX |
AHTPX |
* Formerly known as the Institutional Class.
This Statement of Additional Information ("SAI") should be read in conjunction with the prospectus dated April 29, 2020 (the "Prospectus") for the American Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund and the American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund (each individually a "Fund", and collectively the "Funds"), each a separate series of American Beacon Funds, a Massachusetts business trust. Copies of the Prospectus may be obtained without charge by calling (800) 658-5811. You also may obtain copies of the Prospectus without charge by visiting the Funds' website at www.americanbeaconfunds.com. This SAI is incorporated by reference into the Funds' Prospectus. In other words, it is legally a part of the Prospectus. This SAI is not a prospectus and is authorized for distribution to prospective investors only if preceded or accompanied by the current Prospectus. Capitalized terms in this SAI have the same definition as in the Prospectus, unless otherwise defined. Capitalized terms that are not otherwise defined in this SAI or the Prospectus are defined in Appendix B.
The Funds' Annual Reports to shareholders for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 and the financial statements and accompanying notes appearing therein are incorporated by reference into this SAI. Copies of the Funds' Annual and Semi-Annual Reports may be obtained, without charge, upon request by calling (800) 658-5811 or visiting www.americanbeaconfunds.com.
1 |
|
1 |
|
Additional Information About Investment Strategies and Risks |
1 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
20 |
|
20 |
|
20 |
|
22 |
|
22 |
|
30 |
|
30 |
|
30 |
|
31 |
|
Management, Administrative, Securities Lending, and Distribution Services |
32 |
36 |
|
36 |
|
37 |
|
38 |
|
Additional Information Regarding Contingent Deferred Sales Charges |
39 |
40 |
|
40 |
|
44 |
|
45 |
|
A-1 |
|
B-1 |
ORGANIZATION AND HISTORY OF THE FUNDS
Each Fund is a separate series of the American Beacon Funds (the "Trust"), an open-end management investment company organized as a Massachusetts business trust on January 16, 1987. Each Fund constitutes a separate investment portfolio with a distinct investment objective and distinct purpose and strategy. Each Fund is "non-diversified" as that term is defined by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "Investment Company Act"). The Funds are comprised of multiple classes of shares designed to meet the needs of different groups of investors. This SAI relates to the A Class, C Class, Y Class, R5 Class and Investor Class shares of the Funds. Prior to February 28, 2020, the R5 Class shares were known as the Institutional Class shares.
NON-DIVERSIFIED STATUS
As noted above, the Funds are "non-diversified" under the Investment Company Act, which means that each Fund may invest a greater portion of its assets in a more limited number of issuers than a diversified fund. An investment in a Fund may present greater risk to an investor than an investment in a diversified portfolio because changes in the financial condition or market assessment of a single issuer, or the effects of a single economic, political or regulatory event, may cause greater fluctuations in the value of its shares. Although each of those Funds is non-diversified under the Investment Company Act, it is subject to the diversification rules of the Internal Revenue Code that apply to all regulated investment companies. These rules provide that, among the requirements to maintain the favorable tax treatment applicable to RICs, a Fund may not acquire a security if, as a result, with respect to 50% of the value of its total assets, more than 5% of that value would be invested in the securities of a single issuer or more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of an issuer would be held by a Fund. With respect to the remaining 50% of its total asset value, a Fund is limited to holding no more than 25% of that value in the securities of any one issuer, the securities of any two or more issuers that a Fund controls (by owning 20% or more of their voting power) and that are determined to be engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one or more "qualified publicly traded partnerships". These limits apply only as of the end of each quarter of a Fund's taxable (fiscal) year and do not apply to securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, or issued by other RICs.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS
The investment objective and principal investment strategies and risks of each Fund are described in the Prospectus. This section contains additional information about the Funds' investment policies and risks and types of investments a Fund may purchase. The composition of a Fund's portfolio and the strategies a Fund may use in selecting investments may vary over time. A Fund is not required to use all of the investment strategies described below in pursuing its investment objective. It may use some of the investment strategies only at some times or it may not use them at all. In the following table, Funds with an "X" in a particular strategy/risk are more likely to use or be subject to that strategy/risk than those without an "X".
Strategy/Risk |
AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
AHL TargetRisk Fund |
Bank Deposit Notes |
X |
X |
Borrowing Risk |
X |
X |
Cash Equivalents |
X |
X |
Commodity Instruments |
X |
X |
Contracts for Differences |
X |
X |
Cover and Asset Segregation |
X |
X |
Currencies Risk |
X |
X |
Custody Risk |
X |
X |
Cybersecurity Risk |
X |
X |
Debentures |
X |
X |
Derivatives |
X |
X |
Emerging Market Investments |
X |
X |
Expense Risk |
X |
X |
Fixed-Income Investments |
X |
X |
Foreign Debt Securities |
X |
X |
Foreign Securities |
X |
X |
Forward Contracts and Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts |
X |
X |
Futures Contracts |
X |
X |
High-Yield Bonds |
X |
X |
Illiquid and Restricted Securities |
X |
X |
Index Futures Contracts |
X |
X |
Inflation-Indexed Securities |
X |
X |
1 |
Interfund Lending |
X |
X |
Issuer Risk |
X |
X |
Legal and Litigation Risk |
X |
X |
Market Events |
X |
X |
Model and Data Risk |
X |
X |
Other Investment Companies Securities and Exchange-Traded Products |
X |
X |
Repurchase Agreements |
X |
X |
Reverse Repurchase Agreements |
X |
X |
Securities Loan Transactions |
X |
X |
Structured Products |
X |
X |
Swap Agreements |
X |
X |
Time-Zone Arbitrage |
X |
X |
U.S. Government Agency Securities |
X |
X |
U.S. Treasury Obligations |
X |
X |
Valuation Risk |
X |
X |
When-Issued and Forward Commitment Transactions |
X |
X |
Bank Deposit Notes — Bank deposit notes are obligations of a bank, rather than bank holding company corporate debt. The only structural difference between bank deposit notes and certificates of deposit is that interest on bank deposit notes is calculated on a 30/360 basis, as are corporate notes/bonds. Similar to certificates of deposit, deposit notes represent bank level investments and, therefore, are senior to all holding company corporate debt.
Borrowing Risk — A Fund may borrow money in an amount up to one-third of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) from banks and other financial institutions. A Fund may borrow for temporary purposes. Borrowing may exaggerate changes in a Fund's NAV and in its total return. Interest expense and other fees associated with borrowing may reduce a Fund's return.
Cash Equivalents — Cash equivalents include certificates of deposit, time deposits, bearer deposit notes, bankers' acceptances, government obligations, commercial paper, short-term corporate debt securities and repurchase agreements.
Bankers' acceptances are short-term credit instruments designed to enable businesses to obtain funds to finance commercial transactions. Generally, an acceptance is a time draft drawn on a bank by an exporter or an importer to obtain a stated amount of funds to pay for specific merchandise. The draft is then "accepted" by a bank that, in effect, unconditionally guarantees to pay the face value of the instrument on its maturity date. The acceptance may then be held by the accepting bank as an earning asset or it may be sold in the secondary market at the going rate of discount for a specific maturity. Although maturities for acceptances can be as long as 270 days, most acceptances have maturities of six months or less.
CDs are issued against funds deposited in an eligible bank (including its domestic and foreign branches, subsidiaries and agencies), are for a definite period of time, earn a specified rate of return and are normally negotiable. U.S. dollar denominated CDs issued by banks abroad are known as Eurodollar CDs. CDs issued by foreign branches of U.S. banks are known as Yankee CDs.
Time deposits are non-negotiable deposits maintained at a banking institution for a specified period of time at a specified interest rate.
Commodity Instruments — Exposure to physical commodities may subject a Fund to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities. The value of such investments may be affected by overall market movements, commodity index volatility, changes in interest rates, or factors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as supply and demand, drought, floods, weather, embargoes, tariffs and international economic, political and regulatory developments. Their value may also respond to investor perception of instability in the national or international economy, whether or not justified by the facts. However, these investments may help to moderate fluctuations in the value of a Fund's other holdings, because these investments may not correlate with investments in traditional securities. Economic and other events (whether real or perceived) can reduce the demand for commodities, which may reduce market prices and cause the value of a Fund's shares to fall. The sub-advisor's failure to anticipate these events may lead to a Fund losing money on its commodity investments. No active trading market may exist for certain commodities investments, which may impair the ability of a Fund to sell or realize the full value of such investments in the event of the need to liquidate such investments. Certain commodities are subject to limited pricing flexibility because of supply and demand factors. Others are subject to broad price fluctuations as a result of the volatility of the prices for certain raw materials and the instability of supplies of other materials. These additional variables may create additional investment risks and result in greater volatility than investments in traditional securities. Because physical commodities do not generate investment income, the return on such investments will be derived solely from the appreciation or depreciation on such investments. Certain types of commodities instruments (such as commodity-linked swaps and commodity-linked structured notes) are subject to the risk that the counterparty to the instrument will not perform or will be unable to perform in accordance with the terms of the instrument.
A Fund will not qualify as a "RIC" under the Internal Revenue Code in any taxable year in which more than 10% of its annual gross income consists of certain "non-qualifying" income, which includes gains resulting from selling physical commodities (or options or futures contracts thereon unless the gain is realized from certain hedging transactions) and certain other non-passive income. See the section entitled "Tax Information." A Fund's investment in securities or derivatives backed by, or in certain entities (such as ETFs)) that invest in, physical commodities, other than shares of a wholly-owned subsidiary, generally would produce income that would be subject to this 10% limitation. To remain within this limitation, a Fund may hold
2 |
such an investment or sell it at a loss, or sell other investments, when for investment reasons it would not otherwise do so. The availability of such measures does not guarantee that a Fund would be able to satisfy the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code to continue to qualify as a RIC.
Contracts for Differences — A contract for difference is a contract which one party agrees to pay the other party an amount of money based on the difference between the current value of a security or instrument and its value on a specified date in the future.
Contracts for differences are similar to total return swaps and allow a Fund to take a long or short position without having to own the reference security or index.
Cover and Asset Segregation — A Fund may make investments or employ trading practices that obligate a Fund, on a fixed or contingent basis, to deliver an asset or make a cash payment to another party in the future. A Fund will comply with guidance from the SEC with respect to coverage of certain investments and trading practices. This guidance requires segregation (which may include earmarking) by a Fund of cash or liquid assets with its custodian or a designated sub-custodian to the extent a Fund's obligations with respect to these strategies are not otherwise "covered" through ownership of the underlying security or financial instrument or by offsetting portfolio positions.
For example, if a Fund enters into a currency forward contract to sell foreign currency on a future date, a Fund may cover its obligation to deliver the foreign currency by segregating cash or liquid assets having a value at least equal to the value of the deliverable currency on a marked-to-market basis. Alternatively, a Fund could cover its obligation by entering into an offsetting transaction to acquire, on or before the date such foreign currency must be delivered, an amount of foreign currency at least equal to the deliverable amount at a price at or below the sale price to be received by a Fund under the currency forward contract.
A Fund's approach to asset coverage may vary among different types of transactions. For example, if a Fund's forward obligation on the transaction is only to make a cash payment equal to the amount, if any, by which the value of the Fund's position is less than that of its counterparty, the Fund will segregate cash or liquid assets equal to that difference calculated on a daily marked-to-market basis (a "net amount"). Additionally, if a Fund is a protection seller in a credit default swap, the Fund, depending on how the credit default swap is settled, usually will segregate assets equal to the full notional value of the swap. If a Fund is a protection buyer in a credit default swap, depending on how the credit default swap is settled, it usually will cover the total amount of required premium payments plus the prepayment penalty.
With respect to certain investments, a Fund calculates the obligations of the parties to the agreement on a "net basis" (i.e., 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). Under such circumstances, a Fund's current obligations will generally be equal only to the net amount to be paid by a Fund based on the relative values of the positions held by each party to the agreement (the "net amount").
Inasmuch as a Fund covers its obligations under these transactions as described above, the Manager, and a Fund believe such obligations do not constitute senior securities. Earmarking or otherwise segregating a large percentage of a Fund's assets could impede the sub-advisor's ability to manage a Fund's portfolio.
Currencies Risk — A Fund may have significant exposure to foreign currencies for investment or hedging purposes by making direct investments in non-U.S. currencies or in securities denominated in non-U.S. currencies, purchasing or selling forward currency exchange contracts in non-U.S. or emerging market currencies, non-U.S. currency futures contracts, options on non-U.S. currencies and non-U.S. currency futures and swaps for cross-currency investments.
Foreign currencies will fluctuate, and may decline, in value relative to the U.S. dollar and affect a Fund's investments in foreign (non-U.S.) currencies or in securities that trade in, and receive revenues in, or in derivatives that provide exposure to, foreign (non-U.S.) currencies.
Custody Risk — A Fund may invest in markets that are less developed than those in the U.S., which may expose a Fund to risks in the process of clearing and settling trades and the holding of securities by foreign banks, agents and depositories. Investments in frontier and emerging markets may be subject to greater custody risks than investments in more developed markets.
Cybersecurity Risk — With the increased use of technologies such as the Internet and the dependence on computer systems to perform necessary business functions, the Funds, and their service providers, may be prone to operational and information security risks resulting from cyber-attacks. Cyber-attacks 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 cybersecurity breaches. Cyber-attacks affecting the Funds or the Manager, their sub-advisors, custodian, transfer agent, intermediaries and other third-party service providers may adversely impact the Funds. For instance, cyber-attacks may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, result in the loss or theft of customer data or funds, impact a Fund's ability to calculate its net asset value ("NAV") per share, cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential business information, impede trading, subject the Funds to regulatory fines or financial losses and/or cause reputational damage. A cyber-attack may also result in customers or employees being unable to access electronic systems ("denial of services"), loss or theft of proprietary information or corporate data, physical damage to a computer or network system, or remediation costs associated with system repairs. The Funds may also incur additional costs for cybersecurity risk management purposes. Similar types of cybersecurity risks are also present for issues or securities in which the Funds may invest, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Funds' investment in such companies to lose value.
Any of these results could have a substantial adverse impact on a Fund and its shareholders. For example, if a cybersecurity incident results in a denial of service, Fund shareholders could lose access to their electronic accounts and be unable to buy or sell Fund shares for an unknown period of time, and employees could be unable to access electronic systems to perform critical duties for a Fund, such as trading, NAV calculation, shareholder accounting or fulfillment of Fund share purchases and redemptions. Cybersecurity incidents could cause a Fund or Fund service provider to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures, or financial loss of a significant magnitude and could result in allegations that a Fund or Fund service provider violated privacy and other laws. Similar adverse consequences could result from cybersecurity incidents affecting issuers of securities in which a Fund invests, counterparties with which a Fund engages in transactions, governmental
3 |
and other regulatory authorities, exchange and other financial market operators, banks, brokers, dealers, insurance companies, and other financial institutions and other parties. Although the Funds and the Manager endeavor to determine that service providers have established risk management systems that seek to reduce the risks associated with cybersecurity, and business continuity plans in the event there is a cybersecurity breach, there are inherent limitations in these systems and plans, including the possibility that certain risks may not have been identified, in large part because different or unknown threats may emerge in the future. Furthermore, a Fund does not control the cybersecurity systems and plans of the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests or the Fund's third party service providers or trading counterparties or any other service providers whose operations may affect the Fund or its shareholders.
Debentures — Debentures are unsecured debt securities. The holder of a debenture is protected only by the general creditworthiness of the issuer.
Derivatives — Generally a derivative is a financial arrangement, the value of which is based on, or "derived" from, a traditional security, asset, currency, or market index. Some derivatives such as mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities are in many respects like any other investment, although they may be more volatile or less liquid than more traditional debt securities. There are, in fact, many different types of derivatives and many different ways to use them. Certain derivative securities are described more accurately as index/structured securities. Index/structured securities are derivative securities whose value or performance is linked to other equity securities (such as depositary receipts), currencies, interest rates, indices or other financial indicators (reference assets).
A Fund may invest in various types of derivatives, including among others: options (including non-deliverable options), futures, forward currency and other forwards (including non-deliverable forwards), warrants, structured products (including credit-linked and structured notes), interest rate caps, floors, collars, reverse collars, warrants, rights, and other derivative instruments. The enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act resulted in historic and comprehensive reform relating to derivatives, including the manner in which they are entered into, reported, recorded, executed, and settled or cleared. Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act the SEC and the CFTC have promulgated a broad range of new regulations with respect to security-based swaps (e.g., derivatives based on a single security or narrow-based securities index) which are regulated by the SEC, and other swaps which are regulated by the CFTC and the markets in which these instruments trade.
Prior to 2012, advisers of registered investment companies like the Funds that trade commodity interests (such as futures contracts, options on futures contracts, non-deliverable forwards and swaps), were excluded from regulation as CPOs pursuant to CFTC Regulation 4.5. In 2012, the CFTC amended Regulation 4.5 to dramatically narrow this exclusion. Under the amended Regulation 4.5 exclusion, in order to rely on the exclusion, a Fund's commodity interests, other than those used for bona fide hedging purposes (as defined by the CFTC), must be limited such that the aggregate initial margin and premiums required to establish the positions (after taking into account unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions and excluding the amount by which options that are "in-the-money" at the time of purchase) do not exceed 5% of a Fund's NAV, or alternatively, the aggregate net notional value of the positions, determined at the time the most recent position was established, does not exceed 100% of a Fund's NAV (after taking into account unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions). Further, to qualify for the exclusion in amended Regulation 4.5, a Fund must satisfy a marketing test, which requires, among other things, that a Fund not hold itself out as a vehicle for trading commodity interests. A Fund's ability to use these instruments also may be limited by federal income tax considerations. See the section entitled "Tax Information."
Amended Regulation 4.5 was effective on April 24, 2012. As the Funds cannot comply with the limitations in Regulation 4.5 above, the Manager registered as a CPO with respect to the Funds and the American Beacon Cayman Managed Futures Strategy Fund, Ltd. and American Beacon Cayman TargetRisk Company, Ltd., each a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Funds that are organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands as an exempted company (the "Subsidiary"). As a result, the Manager and the Funds are subject to regulation by the CFTC.
Derivatives may involve significant risk. Some derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of a Fund's initial investment. Not all derivative transactions require a counterparty to post collateral, which may expose a Fund to greater losses in the event of a default by a counterparty. Derivatives may be illiquid and may be more volatile than other types of investments. A Fund may buy and sell derivatives that are neither centrally cleared nor traded on an exchange. Such derivatives may be subject to heightened counterparty, liquidity and valuation risk.
Transactions in derivatives may expose a Fund to an obligation to another party and, as a result, a Fund may need to "cover" the obligation or segregate liquid assets in compliance with SEC guidelines, as discussed above under "Cover and Asset Segregation."
The SEC has proposed a new Rule 18f-4 that, among other matters, would place limits on the use of derivatives by registered investment companies, such as a Fund and its respective Subsidiary. If the rule were to be adopted in the form proposed, a fund's derivatives transactions may, depending upon the circumstances, be subject to additional oversight and regulatory requirements.
Expense Risk — Fund expenses are subject to a variety of factors, including fluctuations in a Fund's net assets. Accordingly, actual expenses may be greater or less than those indicated. For example, to the extent that a Fund's net assets decrease due to market declines or redemptions, a Fund's expenses will increase as a percentage of Fund net assets. During periods of high market volatility, these increases in a Fund's expense ratio could be significant.
Fixed Income Investments — A Fund may hold debt, including government and corporate debt, and other fixed income securities. Typically, the values of fixed income securities change inversely with prevailing interest rates. Therefore, a fundamental risk of fixed income securities is interest rate risk, which is the risk that their value will generally decline as prevailing interest rates rise, which may cause a Fund's NAV per share to likewise decrease, and vice versa. How specific fixed income securities may react to changes in interest rates will depend on the specific characteristics of each security. For example, while securities with longer maturities tend to produce higher yields, they also tend to be more sensitive to changes in prevailing interest rates and are therefore more volatile than shorter-term securities and are subject to greater market fluctuations as a result of changes in interest rates. Fixed income securities are also subject to credit risk, which is the risk that the credit strength of an issuer of a fixed income security will weaken and/or that the issuer will be unable to make timely principal and interest payments and that the security may go into default. In addition, there is prepayment risk, which is the risk that during periods of falling interest rates, certain fixed income securities with higher interest rates, such as
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mortgage- and asset-backed securities, may be prepaid by their issuers thereby reducing the amount of interest payments. This may result in a Fund having to reinvest its proceeds in lower yielding securities. Securities underlying mortgage- and asset-backed securities, which may include subprime mortgages, also may be subject to a higher degree of credit risk, valuation risk, and liquidity risk.
Foreign Debt Securities — A Fund may invest in foreign fixed and floating rate income securities (including emerging market securities) all or a portion of which may be non-U.S. dollar denominated and which include: (a) debt obligations issued or guaranteed by foreign national, provincial, state, municipal or other governments with taxing authority or by their agencies or instrumentalities, including Brady Bonds; (b) debt obligations of supranational entities; (c) debt obligations of the U.S. Government issued in non-dollar securities; (d) debt obligations and other fixed income securities of foreign corporate issuers (both dollar and non-dollar denominated); and (e) U.S. corporate issuers (both Eurodollar and non-dollar denominated). There is no minimum rating criteria for the Funds' investments in such securities. Investing in the securities of foreign issuers involves special considerations that are not typically associated with investing in the securities of U.S. issuers. In addition, emerging markets are markets that have risks that are different and higher than those in more developed markets.
Foreign Securities — A Fund may invest in U.S. dollar-denominated and non-U.S. dollar denominated equity and debt securities of foreign issuers and foreign branches of U.S. banks, including negotiable CDs, bankers' acceptances, and commercial paper. Foreign issuers are issuers organized and doing business principally outside the United States and include corporations, banks, non-U.S. governments, and quasi-governmental organizations. While investments in foreign securities are intended to reduce risk by providing further diversification, such investments involve sovereign and other risks, in addition to the credit and market risks normally associated with domestic securities. These additional risks include the possibility of adverse political and economic developments (including political or social instability, nationalization, expropriation, or confiscatory taxation); the potentially adverse effects of unavailability of public information regarding issuers, less governmental supervision and regulation of financial markets, reduced liquidity of certain financial markets, and the lack of uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting standards or the application of standards that are different or less stringent than those applied in the United States; different laws and customs governing securities tracking; and possibly limited access to the courts to enforce a Fund's rights as an investor.
A Fund also may invest in equity, debt, or other income-producing securities that are denominated in or indexed to foreign currencies, including: (1) common and preferred stocks, (2) CDs, commercial paper, fixed time deposits, and bankers' acceptances issued by foreign banks, (3) obligations of other corporations, and (4) obligations of foreign governments and their subdivisions, agencies, and instrumentalities, international agencies, and supranational entities. Investing in foreign currency denominated securities involves the special risks associated with investing in non-U.S. issuers, as described in the preceding paragraph, and the additional risks of (1) adverse changes in foreign exchange rates and (2) adverse changes in investment or exchange control regulations (which could prevent cash from being brought back to the United States). Additionally, dividends and interest payable on foreign securities (and gains realized on disposition thereof) may be subject to foreign taxes, including taxes withheld from those payments.
Commissions on foreign securities exchanges are often at fixed rates and are generally higher than negotiated commissions on U.S. exchanges, although the sub-advisors endeavor to achieve the most favorable net results on portfolio transactions.
A Fund may also invest in foreign "market access" investments, such as participatory notes, low-exercise price options or warrants, equity-linked notes, or equity swaps. These investments may provide economic exposure to an issuer without directly holding its securities. For example, market access investments may be used where regulatory or exchange restrictions make it difficult or undesirable for a Fund to invest directly in an issuer's common stock. Use of market access investments may involve risks associated with derivative investments (see "Derivatives"). Market access investments can be either exchange-traded or over-the-counter. Certain market access investments can be subject to the credit risk of both the underlying issuer and a counterparty. Holders of certain market access investments might not have voting, dividend, or other rights associated with shareholders of the referenced securities. Holders of market access investments might not have any right to make a claim against an issuer or counterparty in the event of their bankruptcy or other restructuring. It may be more difficult or time consuming to dispose of certain market access investments than the referenced security.
Commissions on foreign securities exchanges are often at fixed rates and are generally higher than negotiated commissions on U.S. exchanges, although the sub-advisors endeavor to achieve the most favorable net results on portfolio transactions.
Foreign securities may trade with less frequency and in less volume than domestic securities and therefore may exhibit greater or lower price volatility. Additional costs associated with an investment in foreign securities may include higher custodial fees than apply to domestic custody arrangements and transaction costs of foreign currency conversions.
Foreign markets also have different clearance and settlement procedures. 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. Delays in settlement could result in temporary periods when a portion of the assets of a Fund is not invested and no return is earned thereon. The inability of a Fund to make intended security purchases due to settlement problems could cause a Fund to miss attractive investment opportunities. Inability to dispose of portfolio securities due to settlement problems could result in losses to a Fund due to subsequent declines in value of the securities or, if a Fund has entered into a contract to sell the securities, could result in possible liability to the purchaser.
Interest rates prevailing in other countries may affect the prices of foreign securities and exchange rates for foreign currencies. Local factors, including the strength of the local economy, the demand for borrowing, the government's fiscal and monetary policies, and the international balance of payments, often affect interest rates in other countries. Individual foreign economies may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of gross national product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency, and balance of payments position.
Brexit Risk. The risk of investing in Europe may be heightened due to the 2016 referendum in which the UK voted to exit the European Union,
commonly referred to as "Brexit." On January 31, 2020, the United Kingdom left the European Union and on this date the United
Kingdom entered a transition period that is scheduled to end on December 31, 2020. Negotiations to settle what form Brexit will take are due
to be finalized during the transition period and, therefore, at present the political and economic consequences of Brexit are uncertain. While it
is not possible to determine
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the precise impact that Brexit may have on a Fund, the effect on the UK and European economies and the broader global economy
could be significant, resulting in negative impacts, such as increased volatility and illiquidity, and potentially lower economic growth,
on markets in the UK, Europe and globally, which may adversely affect the value of a Fund's investments. In addition, if one or more other countries
were to exit the EU or abandon the use of the euro as a currency, the value of investments tied to those countries or the euro could decline significantly
and unpredictably. To the extent that a Fund's sub-advisor or its parent company is located in the UK or conducts a significant amount of its
business in the UK, failure of such sub-advisor to have adequately prepared for Brexit could adversely affect the ability of the sub-advisor to conduct
its business and could result in the disruption of services that the sub-advisor provides to a Fund.
Emerging Market Investments — A Fund may invest in the securities and derivatives with exposure to various countries with emerging capital markets. Investments
in the securities and derivatives with exposure to countries with emerging capital markets involve significantly higher risks
not involved in investments in securities in more developed capital markets, such as: (i) low or non-existent trading volume,
resulting in a lack of liquidity and increased volatility in prices for such securities, as compared to securities from more
developed capital markets, (ii) uncertain national policies and social, political and economic instability, increasing the
potential for expropriation of assets, confiscatory taxation, high rates of inflation or unfavorable diplomatic developments,
(iii) possible fluctuations in exchange rates, differing legal systems and the existence or possible imposition of exchange
controls, custodial restrictions or other non-U.S. or U.S. governmental laws or restrictions applicable to such investments,
(iv) national policies that may limit a Fund's investment opportunities such as restrictions on investment in issuers or industries
deemed sensitive to national interests, (v) the lack or relatively early development of legal structures governing private
and foreign investments and private property, and (vi) less diverse or immature economic structures. In addition to withholding
taxes on investment income, some countries with emerging capital markets may impose differential capital gain taxes on foreign
investors.
Such capital markets are emerging in a dynamic political and economic environment brought about by events over recent years
that have reshaped political boundaries and traditional ideologies. In such a dynamic environment, there can be no assurance
that these capital markets will continue to present viable investment opportunities for a Fund. In the past, governments of
such nations have expropriated substantial amounts of private property, and most claims of the property owners have never
been fully settled. There is no assurance that such expropriations will not reoccur. In such event, it is possible that a
Fund could lose the entire value of its investments in the affected markets.
The economies of emerging market countries may be based predominately on only a few industries or may be dependent on revenues
from participating commodities or on international aid or developmental assistance, may be highly vulnerable to changes in
local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from extreme and volatile debt burdens or inflation rates.
Also, there may be less publicly available information about emerging markets than would be available in more developed capital
markets, and such issuers may not be subject to accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and requirements comparable
to those to which U.S. companies are subject. In certain countries with emerging capital markets, reporting standards vary
widely. As a result, traditional investment measurements used in the U.S. may not be applicable. Emerging market securities
may be substantially less liquid and more volatile than those of mature markets, and securities may be held by a limited number
of investors. This may adversely affect the timing and pricing of a Fund's acquisition or disposal of securities.
The laws in certain countries with emerging capital markets may be based upon or be highly influenced by religious codes or
rules. The interpretation of how these laws apply to certain investments may change over time, which could have a negative
impact on those investments and a Fund.
Practices in relation to settlement of securities transactions in emerging markets involve higher risks than those in developed
markets, in part because a Fund may use brokers and counterparties that are less well capitalized, and custody and registration
of assets in some countries may be unreliable.
A Fund may consider a country to be an emerging market country based on a number of factors including, but not limited to,
if the country is classified as an emerging or developing economy by any supranational organization such as the World Bank,
International Finance Corporation or the United Nations, or related entities, or if the country is considered an emerging
market country for purposes of constructing emerging markets indices.
Forward Contracts and Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts — A Fund may enter into forward contracts and forward foreign currency exchange contracts ("forward currency contracts") for a variety of reasons. Forward contracts are two-party contracts pursuant to which one party agrees to pay the counterparty a fixed price for an agreed upon amount of commodities, securities, or the cash value of the commodities, securities or the securities index, at an agreed upon date. A forward currency contract involves an obligation to purchase or sell a specified currency at a future date, which may be any fixed number of days from the date of the contract agreed upon by the parties at a price set at the time of the contract. Because these forward currency contracts are normally settled through an exchange of currencies, they are traded in the interbank market directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers.
Forward currency contracts may serve as long hedges — for example, a Fund may purchase a forward currency contract to lock in the U.S. dollar price of a security denominated in a foreign currency that it intends to acquire. Forward currency contract transactions also may serve as short hedges — for example, a Fund may sell a forward currency contract to lock in the U.S. dollar equivalent of the proceeds from the anticipated sale of a security or from a dividend or interest payment on a security denominated in a foreign currency.
A Fund may enter into forward currency contracts to sell a foreign currency for a fixed U.S. dollar amount approximating the value of some or all of its respective portfolio securities denominated in such foreign currency. In addition, a Fund may use forward currency contracts when the sub-advisor wishes to "lock in" the U.S. dollar price of a security when a Fund is purchasing or selling a security denominated in a foreign currency or anticipates receiving a dividend or interest payment denominated in a foreign currency.
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A Fund may enter into forward currency contracts for the purchase or sale of a specified currency at a specified future date either with respect to specific transactions or with respect to portfolio positions in order to minimize the risk to a Fund from adverse changes in the relationship between the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies.
A Fund may use forward foreign currency contracts to seek to hedge against, or profit from, changes in the value of a particular currency by using forward currency contracts on another foreign currency or a basket of currencies, the value of which the applicable sub-advisor believes will have a positive correlation to the values of the currency being hedged. When hedging, use of a different foreign currency magnifies the risk that movements in the price of the forward contract will not correlate or will correlate unfavorably with the foreign currency being hedged.
In addition, a Fund may use forward currency contracts to shift exposure to foreign currency fluctuations from one country to another. For example, if a Fund owned securities denominated in a foreign currency that the sub-advisor believed would decline relative to another currency, it might enter into a forward currency contract to sell an appropriate amount of the first foreign currency, with payment to be made in the second currency. Transactions that involve two foreign currencies are sometimes referred to as "cross hedging." Use of a different foreign currency magnifies a Fund's exposure to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations.
The cost to a Fund of engaging in forward currency contracts varies with factors such as the currency involved, the length of the contract period and the market conditions then prevailing. Because forward currency contracts usually are entered into on a principal basis, no fees or commissions are involved. When a Fund enters into a forward currency contract, it relies on the counterparty to make or take delivery of the underlying currency at the maturity of the contract. Failure by the counterparty to do so would result in the loss of any expected benefit of the transaction.
Sellers or purchasers of forward currency contracts can enter into offsetting closing transactions, similar to closing transactions on futures, by purchasing or selling, respectively, an instrument identical to the instrument sold or bought, respectively. Secondary markets generally do not exist for forward currency contracts, however, with the result that closing transactions generally can be made for forward currency contracts only by negotiating directly with the counterparty. Thus, there can be no assurance that a Fund will in fact be able to close out a forward currency contract at a favorable price prior to maturity. In addition, in the event of insolvency of the counterparty, a Fund might be unable to close out a forward currency contract at any time prior to maturity. In either event, a Fund would continue to be subject to market risk with respect to the position, and would continue to be required to maintain a position in the securities or currencies that are the subject of the hedge or to maintain cash or securities.
The precise matching of forward currency contract amounts and the value of securities whose U.S. dollar value is being hedged by those contracts involved generally will not be possible because the value of such securities, measured in the foreign currency, will change after the forward currency contract has been established. Thus, a Fund might need to purchase or sell foreign currencies in the spot (cash) market to the extent such foreign currencies are not covered by forward contracts. The projection of short-term currency market movements is extremely difficult, and the successful execution of a short-term hedging strategy is highly uncertain.
A Fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a forward currency contract in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a counterparty. If such a default occurs, a Fund may have contractual remedies pursuant to the forward currency contract, but such remedies may be subject to bankruptcy and insolvency laws which could affect a Fund's rights as a creditor.
Non-Deliverable Currency Forwards — A Fund also may enter into NDFs. NDFs are cash-settled, short-term forward contracts on foreign currencies (each a "Reference
Currency"), generally on currencies that are non-convertible, and may be thinly traded or illiquid. NDFs involve an obligation
to pay a U.S. dollar amount (the "Settlement Amount") equal to the difference between the prevailing market exchange rate
for the Reference Currency and the agreed upon exchange rate (the "NDF Rate"), with respect to an agreed notional amount.
NDFs have a fixing date and a settlement (delivery) date. The fixing date is the date and time at which the difference between
the prevailing market exchange rate and the agreed upon exchange rate is calculated. The settlement (delivery) date is the
date by which the payment of the Settlement Amount is due to the party receiving payment.
Although NDFs are similar to other forward currency contracts, NDFs do not require physical delivery of each Reference Currency
on the settlement date. Rather, on the settlement date, one counterparty pays the Settlement Amount. NDFs typically may have
terms from one month up to two years and are settled in U.S. dollars.
A Fund will typically use NDFs for hedging purposes or for direct investment in a foreign country for income or gain. The
use of NDFs for hedging or to increase income or gain may not be successful, resulting in losses to a Fund, and the cost of
such strategies may reduce a Fund's respective returns.
NDFs are subject to many of the risks associated with derivatives in general and forward currency transactions including risks
associated with fluctuations in foreign currency and the risk that the counterparty will fail to fulfill its obligations.
In addition, pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act and regulations adopted by the CFTC in connection with implementing the Dodd-Frank
Act, NDFs are deemed to be swaps, and consequently commodity interests for purposes of amended Regulation 4.5.
Although NDFs have historically been traded OTC, some are now exchange-traded pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act. Under such circumstances,
they will be centrally cleared and a secondary market for them will exist. All NDFs are subject to counterparty risk, which
is the risk that the counterparty will not perform as contractually required under the NDF. With respect to NDFs that are
centrally-cleared, a Fund could lose margin payments it has deposited with the clearing organization as well as the net amount
of gains not yet paid by the clearing organization if it breaches its obligations under the NDF, becomes insolvent or goes
into bankruptcy. In the event of bankruptcy of the clearing organization, the investor may be entitled to the net amount of
gains the investor is entitled to receive plus the return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by
the clearing organization's other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the investor.
Futures Contracts — Futures contracts, including interest rate and treasury futures contracts, obligate the purchaser to take delivery of, or cash settle, a specific amount of an obligation underlying the futures contract at a specified time in the future for a specified price. Likewise, the seller incurs an
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obligation to deliver the specified amount of the underlying obligation against receipt of the specified price. Futures are traded on both U.S. and foreign commodities exchanges. The purchase of futures can serve as a long hedge, and the sale of futures can serve as a short hedge.
No price is paid upon entering into a futures contract. Instead, at the inception of a futures contract a Fund is required to deposit "initial margin" consisting of cash or U.S. Government securities in an amount set by the exchange on which the contract is traded and varying based on the volatility of the underlying asset. Margin must also be deposited when writing a call or put option on a futures contract, in accordance with applicable exchange rules. Unlike margin in securities transactions, initial margin on futures contracts does not represent a borrowing, but rather is in the nature of a performance bond or good-faith deposit that is returned to a Fund at the termination of the transaction if all contractual obligations have been satisfied. Under certain circumstances, such as periods of high volatility, a Fund may be required by a futures exchange to increase the level of its initial margin payment, and initial margin requirements might be increased generally in the future by regulatory action.
Subsequent "variation margin" payments (sometimes referred to as "maintenance margin" payments) are made to and from the futures broker daily as the value of the futures position varies, a process known as "marking-to-market." Variation margin does not involve borrowing, but rather represents a daily settlement of a Fund's obligations to or from a futures broker. When a Fund purchases or sells a futures contract, it is subject to daily, or even intraday, variation margin calls that could be substantial in the event of adverse price movements. If a Fund has insufficient cash to meet daily or intraday variation margin requirements, it might need to sell securities at a time when such sales are disadvantageous.
Purchasers and sellers of futures contracts can enter into offsetting closing transactions, by selling or purchasing, respectively, an instrument identical to the instrument purchased or sold. Positions in futures contracts may be closed only on a futures exchange or board of trade that trades that contract. A Fund intends to enter into futures contracts only on exchanges or boards of trade where there appears to be a liquid secondary market. However, there can be no assurance that such a market will exist for a particular contract at a particular time. In such event, it may not be possible to close a futures contract.
Although many futures contracts by their terms call for the actual delivery or acquisition of the underlying asset, in most cases the contractual obligation is fulfilled before the date of the contract without having to make or take delivery of the securities or currency. The offsetting of a contractual obligation is accomplished by buying (or selling, as appropriate) on a commodities exchange an identical futures contract calling for delivery in the same month. Such a transaction, which is affected through a member of an exchange, cancels the obligation to make or take delivery of the securities or currency. Since all transactions in the futures market are made, offset or fulfilled through a clearinghouse associated with the exchange on which the contracts are traded, a Fund will incur brokerage fees when it purchases or sells futures contracts. The Funds have no current intent to accept physical delivery in connection with the settlement of futures contracts.
Under certain circumstances, futures exchanges may establish daily limits on the amount that the price of a futures contract can vary from the previous day's settlement price; once that limit is reached, no trades may be made that day at a price beyond the limit. Daily price limits do not limit potential losses because prices could move to the daily limit for several consecutive days with little or no trading, thereby preventing liquidation of unfavorable positions.
If a Fund were unable to liquidate a futures contract due to the absence of a liquid secondary market or the imposition of price limits, it could incur substantial losses. A Fund would continue to be subject to market risk with respect to the position. In addition, a Fund would continue to be required to make daily variation margin payments and might be required to maintain the position being hedged by the futures contract or option thereon or to maintain cash or securities in a segregated account.
The ordinary spreads between prices in the cash and futures markets, due to differences in the nature of those markets, are subject to distortions. First, all participants in the futures market are subject to initial deposit and variation margin requirements. Rather than meeting additional variation margin deposit requirements, investors may close futures contracts through offsetting transactions that could distort the normal relationship between the cash and futures markets. Second, the liquidity of the futures market depends on participants entering into offsetting transactions rather than making or taking delivery. To the extent participants decide to make or take delivery, liquidity in the futures market could be reduced, thus producing distortion. Third, from the point of view of speculators, the margin deposit requirements in the futures market are less onerous than margin requirements in the securities market. Therefore, increased participation by speculators in the futures market may cause temporary price distortions. Due to the possibility of distortion, a correct forecast of securities price or currency exchange rate trends by the sub-advisor may still not result in a successful transaction.
Futures contracts also entail other risks. Although the use of such contracts may benefit a Fund, if investment judgment about the general direction of, for example, an index is incorrect, a Fund's overall performance would be worse than if it had not entered into any such contract. There are differences between the securities and futures markets that could result in an imperfect correlation between the markets, causing a given transaction not to achieve its objectives. A Fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a forward contract in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a counterparty. If such a default occurs, a Fund may have contractual remedies pursuant to the forward contract, but such remedies may be subject to bankruptcy and insolvency laws which could affect a Fund's rights as a creditor.
Risks Associated with Commodity Futures Contracts — There are several additional risks associated with transactions in commodity futures contracts.
Storage. Unlike the financial futures markets, in the commodity futures markets there are costs of physical storage associated with purchasing the underlying commodity. The price of the commodity futures contract will reflect the storage costs of purchasing the physical commodity, including the time value of money invested in the physical commodity. To the extent that the storage costs for an underlying commodity change while a Fund is invested in futures contracts on that commodity, the value of the futures contract may change proportionately.
Reinvestment. In the commodity futures markets, producers of the underlying commodity may decide to hedge the price risk of selling the commodity by selling futures contracts today to lock in the price of the commodity at delivery tomorrow. In order to induce speculators to purchase the other side of the same futures contract, the commodity producer generally must sell the futures contract at a lower price than the expected future spot price. Conversely, if most hedgers in the futures market are purchasing futures contracts to hedge against a rise in prices, then speculators will only sell the
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other side of the futures contract at a higher futures price than the expected future spot price of the commodity. The changing nature of the hedgers and speculators in the commodity markets will influence whether futures prices are above or below the expected future spot price, which can have significant implications for a Fund. If the nature of hedgers and speculators in futures markets has shifted when it is time for a Fund to reinvest the proceeds of a maturing contract in a new futures contract, a Fund might reinvest at higher or lower futures prices, or choose to pursue other investments.
Other Economic Factors. The commodities which underlie commodity futures contracts may be subject to additional economic and non-economic variables, such as drought, floods, weather, livestock disease, embargoes, tariffs, and international economic, political and regulatory developments. These factors may have a larger impact on commodity prices and commodity-linked instruments, including futures contracts, than on traditional securities. Certain commodities are also subject to limited pricing flexibility because of supply and demand factors. Others are subject to broad price fluctuations as a result of the volatility of the prices for certain raw materials and the instability of supplies of other materials. These additional variables may create additional investment risks which subject a Fund's investments to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities.
High-Yield Bonds — High-yield, non-investment grade bonds (also known as "junk bonds") are low-quality, high-risk corporate bonds that generally offer a high level of current income. These bonds are considered speculative by rating organizations. For example, Moody's, S&P Global, and Fitch, Inc. rate them below Baa and BBB, respectively. Please see "Appendix C Ratings Definitions" below for an explanation of the ratings applied to high-yield bonds. High-yield bonds are often issued as a result of corporate restructurings, such as leveraged buyouts, mergers, acquisitions, or other similar events. They may also be issued by smaller, less creditworthy companies or by highly leveraged firms, which are generally less able to make scheduled payments of interest and principal than more financially stable firms. Because of their low credit quality, high-yield bonds must pay higher interest to compensate investors for the substantial credit risk they assume. In order to minimize credit risk, a Fund intends to diversify its holdings among multiple bond issuers.
Lower-rated securities are subject to certain risks that may not be present with investments in higher-grade securities. Investors should consider carefully their ability to assume the risks associated with lower-rated securities before investing in a Fund. The lower rating of certain high yielding corporate income securities reflects a greater possibility that the financial condition of the issuer or adverse changes in general economic conditions may impair the ability of the issuer to pay income and principal. Changes by rating agencies in their ratings of a fixed income security also may affect the value of these investments; however, allocating investments in a Fund among securities of different issuers should reduce the risks of owning any such securities separately. The prices of these high yielding securities tend to be less sensitive to interest rate changes than higher-rated investments, but more sensitive to adverse economic changes or individual corporate developments. During economic downturns or periods of rising interest rates, highly leveraged issuers may experience financial stress that adversely affects their ability to service principal and interest payment obligations, to meet projected business goals or to obtain additional financing, and the markets for their securities may be more volatile. If an issuer defaults, a Fund may incur additional expenses to seek recovery. Additionally, accruals of interest income for a Fund may have to be adjusted in the event of default. In the event of an issuer's default, a Fund may write off prior income accruals for that issuer, resulting in a reduction in a Fund's current dividend payment. Frequently, the higher yields of high-yielding securities may not reflect the value of the income stream that holders of such securities may expect, but rather the risk that such securities may lose a substantial portion of their value as a result of their issuer's financial restructuring or default. Additionally, an economic downturn or an increase in interest rates could have a negative effect on the high-yield securities market and on the market value of the high-yield securities held by a Fund, as well as on the ability of the issuers of such securities to repay principal and interest on their borrowings.
Illiquid and Restricted Securities — Generally, an illiquid asset is an asset that a Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment.
Historically, illiquid securities have included securities that have not been registered under the Securities Act, securities that are otherwise not readily marketable, and repurchase agreements having a remaining maturity of longer than seven calendar days. Securities that 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. These securities may be sold only in a privately negotiated transaction or pursuant to an exemption from registration. A large institutional market exists for certain securities that are not registered under the Securities Act, including repurchase agreements, commercial paper, foreign securities, municipal securities and corporate bonds and notes. Institutional investors depend on an efficient institutional market in which the unregistered security can be readily resold or on an issuer's ability to honor a demand for repayment. However, the fact that there are contractual or legal restrictions on resale of such investments to the general public or to certain institutions may not be indicative of their liquidity.
Limitations on resale may have an adverse effect on the marketability of portfolio securities, and a 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 calendar days. In addition, a Fund may get only limited information about an issuer, so it may be less able to predict a loss. A Fund also might 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.
In recognition of the increased size and liquidity of the institutional market for unregistered securities and the importance of institutional investors in the formation of capital, the SEC adopted Rule 144A under the Securities Act. Rule 144A is designed to facilitate efficient trading among institutional investors by permitting the sale of certain unregistered securities to qualified institutional buyers. To the extent privately placed securities held by a Fund qualify under Rule 144A and an institutional market develops for those securities, that Fund likely will be able to dispose of the securities without registering them under the Securities Act. To the extent that institutional buyers become, for a time, uninterested in purchasing these securities, investing in Rule 144A securities could increase the level of a Fund's illiquidity. The Manager or the sub-advisor, as applicable, may determine that certain securities qualified for trading under Rule 144A are liquid. Regulation S under the Securities Act permits the sale abroad of securities that are not registered for sale in the United States and includes a provision for U.S. investors, such as a Fund, to purchase such unregistered securities if certain conditions are met.
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Securities sold in private placement offerings made in reliance on the "private placement" exemption from registration afforded by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act and resold to qualified institutional buyers under Rule 144A under the Securities Act ("Section 4(a)(2) securities") are restricted as to disposition under the federal securities laws, and generally are sold to institutional investors, such as a Fund that agree they are purchasing the securities for investment and not with an intention to distribute to the public. Any resale by the purchaser must be pursuant to an exempt transaction and may be accomplished in accordance with Rule 144A. Section 4(a)(2) securities normally are resold to other institutional investors through or with the assistance of the issuer or dealers that make a market in the Section 4(a)(2) securities, thus providing liquidity.
The Manager and the applicable sub-advisors will carefully monitor a Fund's investments in Section 4(a)(2) securities offered and sold under Rule 144A, focusing on such important factors, among others, as valuation, liquidity, and availability of information. Investments in Section 4(a)(2) securities could have the effect of reducing a Fund's liquidity to the extent that qualified institutional buyers no longer wish to purchase these restricted securities.
Index Futures Contracts — A Fund may invest in index futures contracts for investment purposes, including for short-term cash management purposes. Like other futures contracts, index futures contracts are derivatives. For a further discussion of the risks of derivatives instruments, see "Derivatives."
An index futures contract is a U.S. futures contracts traded on an exchange that has been designated a "contract market" by the CFTC and must be executed through a futures commission merchant, or brokerage firm, which is a member of the relevant contract market. Futures contracts are traded on a number of exchanges and generally are cash settled.
At the same time a futures contract on an index is purchased or sold, a Fund must allocate cash or securities as a deposit payment ("initial deposit") based on the contract's face value. Daily thereafter, the futures contract is valued and the payment of "variation margin" may be required.
Futures Contracts on Stock Indices — A Fund may enter into contracts providing for the making and acceptance of a cash settlement based upon changes in the
value of an index of securities ("Index Futures Contracts"). This technique may be used to hedge against anticipated future
change in general market prices that otherwise might either adversely affect the value of securities held by a Fund or adversely
affect the prices of securities that are intended to be purchased at a later date for a Fund.
In general, each hedging transaction in Index Futures Contracts involves the establishment of a position that will move in
a direction opposite to that of the investment being hedged. If these hedging transactions are successful, the futures positions
taken for a Fund will rise in value by an amount that approximately offsets the decline in value of the portion of a Fund's
investments that are being hedged. Should general market prices move in an unexpected manner, the full anticipated benefits
of Index Futures Contracts may not be achieved or a loss may be realized.
Transactions in Index Futures Contracts involve certain risks. These risks could include a lack of correlation between the
Futures Contract and the equity market, a potential lack of liquidity in the market and incorrect assessments of market trends,
which may result in worse overall performance than if a Futures Contract had not been entered into.
Brokerage costs will be incurred and "margin" will be required to be posted and maintained as a good-faith deposit against
performance of obligations under Futures Contracts written into by a Fund.
Options on Index Futures Contracts — The purchase of or selling (writing) of options on an index futures contract is similar in some respects to the purchase
or selling (writing) of options on such an index.
A Fund may write (sell) a call option on an index futures contract. If the futures price at expiration of the option is below
the exercise price, a Fund will retain the full amount of the option premium, which, if used to hedge, provides a partial
hedge against any decline that may have occurred in the value of a Fund's holdings. If, however, the price of the futures
at expiration is above the option exercise price, a Fund generally will be required to make a settlement payment equivalent
to the difference in the strike price of the option and the price of the applicable futures contract at expiration multiplied
by any applicable multiplier. In addition, if the futures contract underlying the option does not have the same delivery date
as the option's expiration date, a Fund will be assigned a short position in the relevant futures contract. The writing (selling)
of a put option on an index futures contract works in a similar manner and may constitute a partial hedge against increasing
prices of the securities underlying the index. If the futures price at expiration of the option is higher than the exercise
price, the option will expire and a Fund will retain the full amount of the option premium, which could provide a partial
hedge against any increase in the price of securities that a Fund intends to purchase. If a put or call option a Fund has
written is exercised, a Fund will incur a loss that will be reduced by the amount of the premium it receives. Depending on
the degree of correlation between changes in the value of its portfolio securities and changes in the value of its futures
positions, a Fund's losses or gains from existing options on futures may to some extent be reduced or increased by changes
in the value of portfolio securities.
The purchase of a put option on a futures contract with respect to an index is similar in some respects to the purchase of
protective put options on the index. For example, a Fund may purchase a put option on an index futures contract to hedge against
the risk of lowering securities values.
The amount of risk a Fund assumes when it purchases an option on a futures contract with respect to an index is the premium
paid for the option plus related transaction costs. In addition to the correlation risks discussed above, the purchase of
such an option also entails the risk that changes in the value of the underlying futures contract will not be fully reflected
in the value of the option purchased.
Options on Securities Indices — A Fund may purchase and write (sell) put and call options on securities indices. A securities index fluctuates with changes
in the market values of the securities included in the index. Options on securities indices generally are similar to options
on securities except that the delivery requirements are different. Instead of giving the right to take or make delivery of
securities at a specified price, an option on a securities index gives the holder the right to receive a cash "exercise settlement
amount" equal to (a) the amount, if any, by which the fixed exercise price of the option exceeds (in the case of a call) or
is less than (in the case of a put) the closing value of the underlying index on the date of exercise, multiplied by (b) a
fixed "index multiplier." The writer of the option is obligated, in return for the premium received, to make delivery of this
amount. The writer may offset its position in stock index options prior to expiration by entering into a closing transaction
on an exchange or the option may expire unexercised.
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A Fund may write (sell) call and put options to a limited extent on an index in an attempt to increase income.
By writing a call option, a Fund forgoes, in exchange for the premium less the commission ("net premium"), the opportunity
to profit during the option period from an increase in the market value of an index above the exercise price. By writing a
put option, a Fund, in exchange for the net premium received, accepts the risk of a decline in the market value of the index
below the exercise price.
A Fund may terminate its obligation as the writer of a call or put option by purchasing an option with the same exercise price
and expiration date as the option previously written.
When a Fund writes an option, an amount equal to the net premium received by a Fund is included in the liability section of
a Fund's Statement of Assets and Liabilities as a deferred credit. The amount of the deferred credit will be subsequently
marked to market to reflect the current market value of the option written which is the last sale price or, in the absence
of a sale, the mean between the closing bid and asked price. If an option expires unexercised on its stipulated expiration
date or if a Fund enters into a closing purchase transaction, a Fund will realize a gain (or loss if the cost of a closing
purchase transaction exceeds the premium received when the option was sold), and the deferred credit related to such option
will be eliminated.
The hours of trading for options on an index may not conform to the hours during which the underlying securities are traded.
To the extent that the option markets close before the markets for the underlying securities, significant price and rate movements
can take place in the underlying securities markets that cannot be reflected in the option markets. It is impossible to predict
the volume of trading that may exist in such options, and there can be no assurance that viable exchange markets will develop
or continue.
Options on securities indices require settlement in cash. Therefore the sub-advisor may be forced to liquidate portfolio securities
to meet settlement obligations. Because the value of an index option depends upon movements in the level of the index rather
than the price of a particular stock, whether a Fund will realize a gain or loss from the purchase or writing of options on
an index depends upon movements in the level of stock prices in the stock market generally or, in the case of certain indices,
in an industry or market segment, rather than movements in the price of a particular stock.
Inflation-Indexed Securities — Inflation-indexed securities, also known as "inflation-protected securities," are fixed income instruments structured such that their interest payments and principal amounts are adjusted to keep up with inflation.
In periods of deflation when the inflation rate is declining, the principal value of an inflation-indexed security will be adjusted downward. This will result in a decrease in the interest payments thereon. The U.S. Treasury is obligated to repay at least the original principal value at maturity for inflation-indexed securities issued directly by the U.S. Government. However, inflation-indexed securities of other issuers may or may not have the same principal guarantee and may repay an amount less than the original principal value at maturity. Any increase in the principal amount of an inflation-indexed debt security will be considered ordinary income, even though a Fund will not receive the principal until maturity.
There can be no assurance that the inflation index used will accurately measure the real rate of inflation in the prices of goods and services. A Fund's investments in inflation-indexed securities may lose value in the event that the actual rate of inflation is different than the rate of the inflation index. In addition, inflation-indexed securities are subject to the risk that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (the index used for U.S. Treasury inflation-indexed securities) or other relevant pricing index (such as LIBOR) may be discontinued, fundamentally altered in a manner materially adverse to the interests of an investor in the securities, altered by legislation or Executive Order in a materially adverse manner to the interests of an investor in the securities or substituted with an alternative index.
Interfund Lending — Pursuant to an order issued by the SEC, the American Beacon Funds may participate in a credit facility whereby each American Beacon Fund, under certain conditions, is permitted to lend money directly to and borrow directly from other American Beacon Funds for temporary purposes. The credit facility is administered by a credit facility team consisting of professionals from the Manager's asset management, compliance, and accounting areas who report on credit facility activities to the Board. The credit facility can provide a borrowing fund with savings at times when the cash position of a Fund is insufficient to meet temporary cash requirements. This situation could arise when shareholder redemptions exceed anticipated volumes and a Fund has insufficient cash on hand to satisfy such redemptions or when sales of securities do not settle as expected, resulting in a cash shortfall for a Fund. When the Funds liquidate portfolio securities to meet redemption requests, they often do not receive payment in settlement for up to two days (or longer for certain foreign transactions). However, redemption requests normally are satisfied the next business day. The credit facility provides a source of immediate, short-term liquidity pending settlement of the sale of portfolio securities. Although the credit facility may reduce the Funds' need to borrow from banks, the Funds remain free to establish and utilize lines of credit or other borrowing arrangements with banks.
Issuer Risk — The value of an investment may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.
Legal and Litigation Risk — In certain emerging markets, fraud and corruption may be more prevalent than in developed market countries. Securities and issuers that a Fund may invest in are exposed to these risks, which could have a negative impact on a security's value.
It may be difficult for a Fund to obtain or enforce judgments against parties located outside of the U.S. It may be difficult or impossible to obtain or enforce remedies against non-U.S. governments, their agencies, quasi-sovereign entities, other foreign issuers or counterparties.
Market Events — Turbulence in the economic, political and financial system has historically resulted, and may continue to result, in an unusually high degree of volatility in the capital markets. Both domestic and foreign capital markets have experienced increased volatility and turmoil. Issuers that have exposure to the energy, real estate, mortgage or credit markets, for example, may be particularly affected, and it is uncertain whether or for how long these conditions could continue. An epidemic outbreak and governments' reactions to such a public health crisis could cause uncertainty in the markets and may adversely affect the performance of the global economy.
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Reduced liquidity in equity, credit and fixed income markets may adversely affect many issuers worldwide. This reduced liquidity may result in less money being available to purchase raw materials, goods and services from emerging markets, which may, in turn, bring down the prices of these economic staples. It may also result in small or emerging market issuers having more difficulty obtaining financing, which may, in turn, cause a decline in their security prices. These events and possible continued market turbulence may have an adverse effect on a Fund.
Model and Data Risk - The sub-advisor relies heavily on proprietary mathematical quantitative models (each, a "Model") and data developed both by the sub-advisor and those supplied by third parties (collectively, "Data") rather than granting trade-by-trade discretion to the sub-advisor's investment professionals. In combination, Models and Data are used to construct investment decisions, to value both current and potential investments (including, without limitation, for trading purposes, and for the purposes of determining the NAV of a Fund), to provide risk management insights and to assist in hedging a Fund's positions and investments. Models and Data are known to have errors, omissions, imperfections and malfunctions (collectively, "System Events").
The sub-advisor seeks to reduce the incidence and impact of System Events, to the extent feasible, through a combination of internal testing, simulation, real-time monitoring, use of independent safeguards in the overall portfolio management process and often in the software code itself. Despite such testing, monitoring and independent safeguards, System Events will result in, among other things, the execution of unanticipated trades, the failure to execute anticipated trades, delays in the execution of anticipated trades, the failure to properly allocate trades, the failure to properly gather and organize available data, the failure to take certain hedging or risk reducing actions and/or the taking of actions which increase certain risk(s) - all of which may have materially adverse effects on a Fund.
System Events in third-party provided Data are generally entirely outside of the control of the sub-advisor.
The research and modeling processes engaged in by the sub-advisor on behalf of a Fund are extremely complex and involve the use of financial, economic, econometric and statistical theories, research and modeling; the results of this investment approach must then be translated into computer code. Although the sub-advisor seeks to hire individuals skilled in each of these functions and to provide appropriate levels of oversight and employ other mitigating measures and processes, the complexity of the individual tasks, the difficulty of integrating such tasks, and the limited ability to perform "real world" testing of the end product, even with simulations and similar methodologies, raise the chances that Model code may contain one or more coding errors, thus potentially resulting in a System Event and further, one or more of such coding errors could adversely affect a Funds' investment performance.
The investment strategies of the sub-advisor are highly reliant on the gathering, cleaning, culling and performing of analysis of large amounts of Data. Accordingly, Models rely heavily on appropriate Data inputs. However, it is impossible and impracticable to factor all relevant, available Data into forecasts, investment decisions and other parameters of the Models. The sub-advisor will use its discretion to determine what Data to gather with respect to each investment strategy and what subset of that Data the Models take into account to produce forecasts which may have an impact on ultimate investment decisions. In addition, due to the automated nature of Data gathering, the volume and depth of Data available, the complexity and often manual nature of Data cleaning, and the fact that the substantial majority of Data comes from third-party sources, it is inevitable that not all desired and/or relevant Data will be available to, or processed by, the sub-advisor at all times. Irrespective of the merit, value and/or strength of a particular Model, it will not perform as designed if incorrect Data is fed into it which may lead to a System Event potentially subjecting a Fund to a loss. Further, even if Data is input correctly, "model prices" anticipated by the Data through the Models may differ substantially from market prices, especially for financial instruments with complex characteristics, such as derivatives, in which a Fund may invest.
Where incorrect or incomplete Data is available, the sub-advisor may, and often will, continue to generate forecasts and make investment decisions based on the Data available to it. Additionally, the sub-advisor may determine that certain available Data, while potentially useful in generating forecasts and/or making investment decisions, is not cost effective to gather due to, among other factors, the technology costs or third-party vendor costs and, in such cases, the sub-advisor will not utilize such Data. The sub-advisor has full discretion to select the Data it utilizes. The sub-advisor may elect to use or may refrain from using any specific Data or type of Data in generating forecasts or making trading decisions with respect to the Models. The Data utilized in generating forecasts or making trading decisions underlying the Models may not be (i) the most accurate data available or (ii) free of errors. The Data set used in connection with the Models is limited. The foregoing risks associated with gathering, cleaning, culling and analysis of large amounts of Data are an inherent part of investing with a quantitative, process-driven, systematic adviser such as the sub-advisor.
When Models and Data prove to be incorrect, misleading or incomplete, any decisions made in reliance thereon expose a Fund to potential losses and such losses may be compounded over time. For example, by relying on Models and Data, the sub-advisor may be induced to buy certain investments at prices that are too high, to sell certain other investments at prices that are too low, or to miss favorable opportunities altogether. Similarly, any hedging based on faulty Models and Data may prove to be unsuccessful and when determining the NAV of a Fund, any valuations of a Fund's investments that are based on valuation Models may prove to be incorrect. In addition, Models may incorrectly forecast future behavior, leading to potential losses on a cash flow and/or a mark-to-market basis. Furthermore, in unforeseen or certain low-probability scenarios (often involving a market event or disruption of some kind), Models may produce unexpected results which may or may not be System Events.
Errors in Models and Data are often extremely difficult to detect, and, in the case of Models, the difficulty of detecting System Events may be exacerbated by the lack of design documents or specifications. Regardless of how difficult their detection appears in retrospect, some System Events may go undetected for long periods of time and some may never be detected. When a System Event is detected, a review and analysis of the circumstances that may have caused a reported System Event will be completed and is overseen by an escalation committee made up of appropriate senior personnel. Following this review, the sub-advisor in its sole discretion may choose not to address or fix such System Event, and the third party software will lead to System Events known to the sub-advisor that it chooses, in its sole discretion, not to address or fix. The degradation or impact caused by these System Events can compound over time. When a System Event is detected, the sub-advisor generally will not, as part of the review of circumstances leading to the System Event, perform a materiality analysis on the potential impact of a System Event. The sub-advisor believes that the testing and monitoring performed on Models and the controls adopted to ensure processes are undertaken with care will enable the sub-advisor to identify and address those System Events that a prudent person managing a quantitative, systematic and computerized investment program would
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identify and address by correcting the underlying issue(s) giving rise to the System Events, but there is no guarantee of the success of such processes. Fund shareholders should assume that System Events and their ensuing risks and impact are an inherent part of investing with a process-driven, systematic sub-advisor such as the sub-advisor. Accordingly, the sub-advisor does not expect to disclose discovered System Events to a Fund or to Fund shareholders.
A Fund will bear the risks associated with the reliance on Models and Data including bearing all losses related to System Events other than in relation to losses arising from the sub-advisor's willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of its obligations to a Fund.
Other Investment Companies Securities and Exchange-Traded Products — A Fund at times may invest in shares of other investment companies and exchange-traded products, including open-end funds, closed-end funds, business development companies, exchange-traded funds ("ETFs"), exchange-traded notes ("ETNs"), and interests in unit investment trusts. A Fund may invest in investment company securities advised by the Manager or the sub-advisor. Investments in the securities of other investment companies may involve duplication of advisory fees and certain other expenses. By investing in another investment company, a Fund becomes a shareholder of that investment company. As a result, Fund shareholders indirectly will bear a Fund's proportionate share of the fees and expenses paid by shareholders of the other investment company, in addition to the fees and expenses Fund shareholders directly bear in connection with a Fund's own operations. These other fees and expenses are reflected as Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses and are included in the Fees and Expenses Table for a Fund in its Prospectus, if applicable. Investment in other investment companies may involve the payment of substantial premiums above the value of such issuer's portfolio securities.
A Fund can invest free cash balances in registered open-end investment companies regulated as money market funds under the Investment Company Act, to provide liquidity or for defensive purposes. A Fund would invest in money market funds rather than purchasing individual short-term investments. If a Fund invests in money market funds shareholders will bear their proportionate share of the expenses, including for example, advisory and administrative fees, of those funds, including such fees charged by the Manager to any applicable money market funds it advises.
Although a money market fund is designed to be a relatively low risk investment, it is not free of risk. Despite the short maturities and high credit quality of a money market fund's investments, increases in interest rates and deteriorations in the credit quality of the instruments the money market fund has purchased may reduce the money market fund's yield and can cause the price of a money market security to decrease. In addition, a money market fund is subject to the risk that the value of an investment may be eroded over time by inflation.
A Fund may purchase shares of ETFs. ETFs trade like a common stock and passive ETFs usually represent a fixed portfolio of securities designed to track the performance and dividend yield of a particular domestic or foreign market index. Typically, a Fund would purchase passive ETF shares to obtain exposure to all or a portion of the stock or bond market. As a shareholder of an ETF, a Fund would be subject to its ratable share of the ETF's expenses, including its advisory and administration expenses.
An investment in an ETF generally presents the same primary risks as an investment in a conventional mutual fund (i.e., one that is not exchange-traded) that has the same investment objective, strategies, and policies. The price of an ETF can fluctuate within a wide range, and a Fund could lose money investing in an ETF if the prices of the securities owned by the ETF go down. In addition, ETFs are subject to the following risks that do not apply to conventional funds: (1) the market price of the ETF's shares may trade at a discount or premium to their NAV per share; (2) an active trading market for an ETF's shares may not develop or be maintained; or (3) trading of an ETF's shares may be halted if the listing exchange's officials deem such action appropriate, the shares are de-listed from the exchange, or the activation of market-wide "circuit breakers" (which are tied to large decreases in stock prices) halts stock trading generally. A Fund may also invest in ETNs, which are structured debt securities. Whereas ETFs' liabilities are secured by their portfolio securities, ETNs' liabilities are unsecured general obligations of the issuer. ETFs and ETNs have expenses associated with their operation, typically including, with respect to ETFs, advisory fees.
A Fund's investment in securities of other investment companies, except for money market funds, is generally limited to: (i) 3% of the total voting stock of any one investment company, (ii) 5% of a Fund's total assets with respect to any one investment company and (iii) 10% of a Fund's total assets in all investment companies in the aggregate. However, a Fund may exceed these limits when investing in shares of an ETF or other investment company, subject to a statutory exemption or to the terms and conditions of an exemptive order from the SEC obtained by the ETF or other investment company that permits an investing fund such as a Fund, to invest in the ETF or other investment company in excess of the limits described above.
The SEC has proposed revisions to the rules permitting funds to invest in other investment companies. The SEC has also proposed rescinding most prior exemptive orders permitting fund of funds arrangements and certain fund of fund rules and SEC staff guidance. The proposed revisions and the related rescissions could alter the operations of fund of funds by limiting their investments in unaffiliated funds and direct investments and potentially imposing restrictions on their ability to redeem the investment company shares they hold.
Repurchase Agreements — A repurchase agreement is an agreement between a Fund as purchaser and an approved counterparty as seller. The agreement is backed by collateral in the form of securities and/or cash transferred by the seller to the buyer, sometimes to be held by an eligible third-party custodian. Under the agreement a Fund acquires securities from the seller and the seller simultaneously commits to repurchase the securities at an agreed upon price and date, normally within a week or on demand. The price for the seller to repurchase the securities is greater than a Fund's purchase price, reflecting an agreed upon rate that is the equivalent of interest. During the term of the repurchase agreement, a Fund monitors on a daily basis the market value of the collateral subject to the agreement and, if the market value of the securities falls below the seller's repurchase amount provided under the repurchase agreement, the seller is required to transfer additional securities or cash collateral equal to the amount by which the market value of the securities falls below the repurchase amount. Because a repurchase agreement permits a Fund to invest temporarily available cash on a fully-collateralized basis, repurchase agreements permit a Fund to earn income while retaining flexibility in pursuit of longer-term investments. Repurchase agreements may exhibit the economic characteristics of loans by a Fund.
The obligation of the seller under the repurchase agreement is not guaranteed, and there is a risk that the seller may fail to repurchase the underlying securities, whether because of the seller's bankruptcy or otherwise. In such event, a Fund would attempt to exercise its rights with respect to the underlying collateral, including possible sale of the securities. A Fund may incur various expenses in the connection with the exercise of its rights and
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may be subject to various delays and risks of loss, including (a) possible declines in the value of the underlying collateral, (b) possible reduction in levels of income and (c) lack of access to the securities (if they are held through a third-party custodian) and possible inability to enforce a Fund's rights. The Board has established procedures pursuant to which the sub-advisor monitors the creditworthiness of the counterparties with which a Fund enters into repurchase agreement transactions.
A Fund may enter into repurchase agreements with member banks of the Federal Reserve System or registered broker-dealers who, in the opinion of the sub-advisor, present a minimal risk of default during the term of the agreement. The underlying securities which serve as collateral for repurchase agreements may include equity and fixed income securities such as U.S. Government and agency securities, municipal obligations, asset-backed securities, mortgage-backed securities, common and preferred stock, depositary receipts, ETFs, corporate obligations and convertible securities.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements — A Fund may borrow funds by entering into reverse repurchase agreements. Pursuant to such agreements, a Fund would sell portfolio securities to financial institutions such as banks and broker/dealers and agree to repurchase them at a mutually agreed-upon date and price. At the time a Fund enters into a reverse repurchase agreement, it will place in a segregated custodial account assets such as liquid high quality debt securities having a value not less than 100% of the repurchase price (including accrued interest), and will subsequently monitor the account to ensure that such required value is maintained. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the market value of the securities sold by a Fund may decline below the price at which a Fund is obligated to repurchase the securities. Reverse repurchase agreements are considered to be borrowings by an investment company under the Investment Company Act.
Securities Loan Transactions — Securities loan transactions involve the lending of securities to a broker-dealer or institutional investor for its use in connection with short sales, arbitrages or other security transactions. The purpose of a securities loan transaction is to enable a Fund to continue to have the benefits of owning the securities loaned and at the same time capture any demand premium paid by the borrower and to earn fee income or income on the reinvestment of any cash collateral that it receives. Cash collateral received through securities loan transactions may be invested only in those categories of high-quality liquid securities previously authorized by the Board. Please see the "Lending of Portfolio Securities" section for additional information.
Securities loans will be made in accordance with the following conditions: (1) a Fund receives collateral in the form of cash or cash equivalents, securities of the U.S. Government and its agencies and instrumentalities, approved bank letters of credit, or other forms of collateral that are permitted by the SEC for registered investment companies in an amount at least equal to the value of the loaned securities; (2) the borrower is required to provide additional collateral if collateral value falls below the required level; (3) a Fund is able to terminate the loan at any time upon one standard settlement period's notice; (4) a Fund receives reasonable interest or other return on the loan or a flat fee from the borrower, as well as amounts approximately equivalent to any dividends, interest or other distributions on the securities loaned, and is entitled to the benefit of any increase in market value of the loaned securities; (5) a Fund may pay reasonable custodian or other fees in connection with the loan; and (6) voting rights on the securities loaned may pass to the borrower, but a Fund is entitled to terminate the loan in order to be able to vote the loaned securities.
While there may be delays in recovery of loaned securities or even non-indemnified losses should the borrower fail financially or otherwise default, loans will be made only to firms deemed to be acceptable credit risks pursuant to procedures adopted by the Board.
Structured Products — A Fund may invest in structured products, including instruments such as credit-linked securities, commodity-linked notes and structured notes, which are potentially high-risk derivatives. For example, a structured product may combine a traditional stock or bond with an option or forward contract. Generally, the principal amount, amount payable upon maturity or redemption, or interest rate of a structured product is tied (positively or negatively) to the price of some currency or securities index or another interest rate or some other economic factor (each a "benchmark"). The interest rate or (unlike most fixed income securities) the principal amount payable at maturity of a structured product may be increased or decreased, depending on changes in the value of the benchmark.
Structured products can be used as an efficient means of pursuing a variety of investment goals, including currency hedging, duration management, and increased total return. Structured products may not bear interest or pay dividends. The value of a structured product or its interest rate may be a multiple of a benchmark and, as a result, may be leveraged and move (up or down) more steeply and rapidly than the benchmark. These benchmarks may be sensitive to economic and political events, such as commodity shortages and currency devaluations, which cannot be readily foreseen by the purchaser of a structured product. Under certain conditions, the redemption value of a structured product could be zero. Thus, an investment in a structured product may entail significant market risks that are not associated with a similar investment in a traditional, U.S. dollar-denominated bond that has a fixed principal amount and pays a fixed rate or floating rate of interest.
The purchase of structured products also exposes a Fund to the credit risk of the issuer of the structured product. These risks may cause significant fluctuations in the NAV per share of a Fund.
Credit-Linked Securities - A Fund may invest in credit-linked securities (CLSs). CLSs are debt obligations that are issued by limited purpose entities, such as special purpose vehicles, or by financial firms, such as banks, securities firms or their affiliates. They are structured so that their performance is linked to that of an underlying bond or other debt obligation (a "reference asset"), normally by means of an embedded or underlying credit default swap. A Fund may invest in CLSs when a Fund's sub-advisor believes that doing so is more efficient than investing in the reference assets directly or when such direct investment by a Fund is not feasible due to legal or other restrictions.
Under the terms of a CLS, a Fund will be entitled to receive a fixed or variable rate of interest on the outstanding principal amount of the CLS, which in turn will be subject to reduction (potentially down to zero) if a "credit event" occurs with respect to the underlying reference asset or its issuer. Such credit events will include, but will not be limited to payment defaults on the reference asset. If a credit event occurs, payments on the CLS would terminate, and a Fund normally would receive delivery of the underlying reference asset (or, in some cases, a comparable "deliverable" asset) in lieu of the repayment of principal. In some cases, however, including but not limited to instances where there has been a market disruption or in which it is or has become illegal, impossible or impracticable for a Fund to purchase, hold or receive the reference assets, a Fund may receive a cash settlement based on the value of the reference asset or a comparable instrument, less fees charged and certain expenses incurred by the CLS issuer.
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CLSs are debt obligations of the CLS issuers, and a Fund would have no ownership or other property interest in the reference assets (other than following a credit event that results in the reference assets being delivered to a Fund) or any direct recourse to the issuers of those reference assets. Thus, a Fund will be exposed to the credit risk of the issuers of the reference assets that underlie its CLSs, as well as to the credit risk of the issuers of the CLSs themselves. CLSs will also be subject to currency risk, liquidity risk, valuation risks, and the other risks of an underlying credit default swap, as well as to risks resulting from potential conflicts of interest with the CLS issuer or sponsor.
Commodity-Linked Derivatives - Certain structured products may provide exposure to the commodities markets. These are derivative securities with one or more commodity-linked components that have payment features similar to commodity futures contracts, commodity swaps, commodity options, or similar instruments. Commodity-linked structured products may be either equity or debt securities, leveraged or unleveraged, and have both security and commodity-like characteristics. A portion of the value of these instruments may be derived from the value of a commodity, futures contract, index or other economic variable. A Fund will only invest in commodity-linked structured products that qualify under applicable rules of the CFTC for an exemption from the provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act ("CEA").
Structured Notes - A Fund may invest in structured notes, which are derivative debt instruments with principal and/or interest payments linked to the value of a commodity, a foreign currency, an index of securities, an interest rate or other financial indicators ("reference instruments"). The payments on a structured note may vary based on changes in one or more specified reference instruments, such as a floating interest rate compared to a fixed interest rate, the exchange rates between two currencies, one or more securities or a securities or commodities index. A structured note may be positively or negatively indexed. For example, its principal amount and/or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument increases, depending upon the terms of the instrument. The change in the principal amount payable with respect to, or the interest rate of, a structured note may be a multiple of the percentage change (positive or negative) in the value of the underlying reference instrument or instruments. Structured notes can be used to increase a Fund's exposure to changes in the value of assets or to hedge the risks of other investments that a Fund holds.
Structured notes are subject to interest rate risk. They are also subject to credit risk with respect both to the issuer and, if applicable, to the underlying security or borrower. If the underlying investment or index does not perform as anticipated, the structured note might pay less interest than the stated coupon payment or repay less principal upon maturity. The price of structured notes may be very volatile and they may have a limited trading market, making it difficult to value them or sell them at an acceptable price. In some cases, a Fund may enter into agreements with an issuer of structured notes to purchase minimum amounts of those notes over time. In some cases, a Fund may invest in structured notes that pay an amount based on a multiple of the relative change in value of the asset or reference. This type of note increases the potential for income but at a greater risk of loss than a typical debt security of the same maturity and credit quality.
Certain issuers of structured products may be deemed to be investment companies as defined in the Investment Company Act. As a result, a Fund's investments in these structured products may be subject to limits applicable to investments in investment companies.
Swap Agreements — A swap is a transaction in which a Fund and a counterparty agree to pay or receive payments at specified dates based upon or calculated by reference to changes in specified prices or rates (e.g., interest rates in the case of interest rate swaps) or the performance of specified securities or indices based on a specified amount (the "notional" amount). Nearly any type of derivative, including forward contracts, can be structured as a swap. See "Derivatives" for a further discussion of derivatives risks.
Swap agreements can be structured to provide exposure to a variety of different types of investments or market factors. For example, in an interest rate swap, fixed-rate payments may be exchanged for floating rate payments; in a currency swap, U.S. dollar-denominated payments may be exchanged for payments denominated in a foreign currency; and in a total return swap, payments tied to the investment return on a particular asset, group of assets or index may be exchanged for payments that are effectively equivalent to interest payments or for payments tied to the return on another asset, group of assets, or index. Swaps may have a leverage component, and adverse changes in the value or level of the underlying asset, reference rate or index can result in gains or losses that are substantially greater than the amount invested in the swap itself.
Some swaps currently are, and more in the future will be, centrally cleared. Swaps that are centrally-cleared are exposed to the creditworthiness of the clearing organizations (and, consequently, that of their members - generally, banks and broker-dealers) involved in the transaction. For example, an investor could lose margin payments it has deposited with the clearing organization as well as the net amount of gains not yet paid by the clearing organization if it breaches its agreement with the investor or becomes insolvent or goes into bankruptcy. In the event of bankruptcy of the clearing organization, the investor may be able to recover only a portion of the net amount of gains on its transactions and of the margin owed to it, potentially resulting in losses to the investor.
Swaps that are not centrally cleared, involve the risk that a loss may be sustained as a result of the insolvency or bankruptcy of the counterparty or the failure of the counterparty to make required payments or otherwise comply with the terms of the agreement. To mitigate this risk, a Fund will only enter into swap agreements with counterparties considered by the sub-advisor to present minimum risk of default and a Fund normally obtains collateral to secure its exposure. Changing conditions in a particular market area, whether or not directly related to the referenced assets that underlie the swap agreement, may have an adverse impact on the creditworthiness of a counterparty.
The centrally cleared and OTC swap agreements into which a Fund enters normally provide for the obligations of the Fund and its counterparty in the event of a default or other early termination to be determined on a net basis. Similarly, periodic payments on a swap transaction that are due by each party on the same day normally are netted. To the extent that a swap agreement is subject to netting, a Fund's cover and asset segregation responsibilities will normally be with respect to the net amount owed by that Fund. See "Cover and Asset Segregation" for additional discussion of these matters. However, a Fund may be required to segregate liquid assets equal to the full notional amount of certain swaps, such as written credit default swaps on physically settled forwards or written options. The amount that a Fund must segregate may be reduced by the value of any collateral that it has pledged to secure its own obligations under the swap.
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The use of swap agreements requires special skills, knowledge and investment techniques that differ from those required for normal portfolio management. Swaps may be considered illiquid investments; see "Illiquid and Restricted Securities" for a description of liquidity risk.
Interest Rate and Inflation Swaps — In an interest rate swap, the parties exchange payments based on fixed or floating interest rates multiplied by a hypothetical
or "notional" amount. For example, one party might agree to pay the other a specified fixed rate on the notional amount in
exchange for recovering a floating rate on that notional amount. Interest rate swap agreements entail both interest rate risk
and counterparty risk. There is a risk that based on movements of interest rates, the payments made under a swap agreement
will be greater than the payments received.
A Fund may also invest in inflation swaps, where an inflation rate index is used in place of an interest rate index.
Caps, Floors and Collars — A Fund may also enter caps, floors and collars, which are types of interest rate swap agreements. The purchaser of an interest
rate cap agrees to pay a premium to the seller in return for the seller paying interest on a specified principal amount to
the purchaser based on the extent to which a specified interest rate exceeds a predetermined level. Conversely, the seller
of an interest rate floor agrees to pay interest on a specified principal amount to the purchaser based on the extent to which
a specified interest rate falls below a predetermined level. A collar combines a cap and selling a floor, establishing a predetermined
range of interest rates within which each party agrees to make payments.
Total Return Swaps — In a total return swap transaction, one party agrees to pay the other party an amount equal to the total return on a defined
underlying asset such as a security or basket of securities or on a referenced index during a specified period of time. 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 index. Total return swap agreements may be used to gain exposure to price changes in an overall
market or an asset. Total return swaps could result in losses if the underlying asset or index does not perform as anticipated.
Written total return swaps can have the potential for unlimited losses.
Credit Default Swaps — In a credit default swap, one party (the seller) agrees to make a payment to the other party (the buyer) in the event that
a "credit event," such as a default or issuer insolvency occurs with respect to one or more underlying or "reference" bonds
or other debt securities. A Fund may be either a seller or a buyer of credit protection under a credit default swap. Credit
default swaps may be on a single security, a basket of securities or on a securities index. The purchaser pays a fee during
the life of the swap. If there is a credit event with respect to a referenced debt security, the seller under a credit default
swap may be required to pay the buyer the par amount (or a specified percentage of the par amount) of that security in exchange
for receiving the referenced security (or a specified alternative security) from the buyer. Alternatively, the credit default
swap may be cash settled, meaning that the seller will pay the buyer the difference between the par value and the market value
of the defaulted bonds. If the swap is on a basket of securities (such as the CDX indices), the notional amount of the swap
is reduced by the par amount of the defaulted bond, and the fixed payments are then made on the reduced notional amount. Taking
a long position in (i.e., acting as the seller under) a credit default swap increases the exposure to the specific issuers.
The risks of being the buyer of credit default swaps include the cost of paying for credit protection if there are no credit
events, pricing transparency when assessing the cost of a credit default swap, counterparty risk, and the need to fund any
delivery obligation, particularly in the event of adverse pricing when purchasing bonds to satisfy a delivery obligation.
Credit default swap buyers are also subject to counterparty risk since the ability of the seller to make required payments
is dependent on its creditworthiness. Taking a short position in (i.e., acting as the buyer under) a credit default swap results
in opposite exposures for the Fund.
Currency Swaps — A currency swap involves the exchange of payments denominated in one currency for payments denominated in another. Payments
are based on a notional principal amount, the value of which is fixed in exchange rate terms at the swap's inception. Currency
swaps are subject to currency risk.
Equity Swaps — Equity swaps are subject to liquidity risk because the liquidity of equity swaps is based on the liquidity of the underlying
instrument, and are subject to counterparty risk, i.e., the risk that the counterparty to the equity swap transaction may
be unable or unwilling to make payments or to otherwise honor its financial obligations under the terms of the contract. To
the extent that there is an imperfect correlation between the return on a Fund's obligation to its counterparty under the
equity swap and the return on related assets in its portfolio, the equity swap transaction may increase a Fund's financial
risk. Equity swaps, 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. The income tax treatment of swap agreements is unsettled and may be subject
to future legislation, regulations or administrative pronouncements issued by the IRS. If such future guidance limits a Fund's
ability to use derivatives, a Fund may have to find other ways of achieving its investment objective.
Volatility Swaps — A volatility swap is a forward contract under which the payments to be received are dependent on the future realized volatility
of an underlying asset, such as a stock. A volatility swap involves exposure to volatility, not on whether the value of the
underlying asset goes up or down. Volatility swaps can be used to speculate on future volatility or as a hedge against volatility.
A volatility swap is subject to the risk that the future volatility of the underlying asset is higher or lower than the sub-advisor
anticipated.
Correlation Swaps — A correlation swap is used to speculate on or hedge risks associated with the observed average correlation of a collection
of underlying products.
Forward Swaps — A forward swap is created through the use of two swaps with different durations to meet the investment time period desired
by the sub-advisor.
Swaptions - Swaptions are options, but not obligations, to establish a position in a swap on predetermined terms at a future date.
Time-Zone Arbitrage — Investing in foreign securities may involve a greater risk for excessive trading due to "time-zone arbitrage." If an event occurring after the close of a foreign market, but before the time a Fund computes its current NAV per share, causes a change in the price of the foreign securities and such price is not reflected in a Fund's current NAV per share, investors may attempt to take advantage of anticipated price movements in securities held by a Fund based on such pricing discrepancies.
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U.S. Government Agency Securities — U.S. Government agency securities are issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities. Some obligations issued by U.S. Government agencies and instrumentalities are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury; others by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury; others by discretionary authority of the U.S. Government to purchase certain obligations of the agency or instrumentality; and others only by the credit of the agency or instrumentality. U.S. Government securities bear fixed, floating or variable rates of interest. While the U.S. Government currently provides financial support to certain U.S. Government-sponsored agencies or instrumentalities, no assurance can be given that it will always do so, since it is not so obligated by law. U.S. Government securities include U.S. Treasury bills, notes and bonds, Federal Home Loan Bank obligations, Federal Intermediate Credit Bank obligations, U.S. Government agency obligations and repurchase agreements secured thereby. U.S. Government agency securities are subject to credit risk and interest rate risk.
There are a number of important differences among the agencies, instrumentalities and government-sponsored enterprises of the U.S. Government that issue mortgage-related securities and among the securities that they issue. Such agencies and securities include:
GNMA Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates ("Ginnie Maes") — GNMA is a wholly owned U.S. Government corporation within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Ginnie Maes represent an undivided interest in a pool of mortgages that are insured by the Federal Housing Administration or the Farmers Home Administration or guaranteed by the Veterans Administration. Ginnie Maes entitle the holder to receive all payments (including prepayments) of principal and interest owed by the individual mortgagors, net of fees paid to GNMA and to the issuer which assembles the mortgage pool and passes through the monthly mortgage payments to the certificate holders (typically, a mortgage banking firm), regardless of whether the individual mortgagor actually makes the payment. Because payments are made to certificate holders regardless of whether payments are actually received on the underlying mortgages, Ginnie Maes are of the "modified pass-through" mortgage certificate type. The GNMA is authorized to guarantee the timely payment of principal and interest on the Ginnie Maes. The GNMA guarantee is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, and the GNMA has unlimited authority to borrow funds from the U.S. Treasury to make payments under the guarantee. The market for Ginnie Maes is highly liquid because of the government guarantee, the size of the market, and the active participation in the secondary market of security dealers and a variety of investors.
Mortgage-Related Securities Issued by Private Organizations — Pools created by non-governmental issuers generally offer a higher rate of interest than government and government-related pools because there are no direct or indirect government guarantees of payments in such pools. However, timely payment of interest and principal of these pools is often partially supported by various enhancements such as over-collateralization and senior/ subordination structures and by various forms of insurance or guarantees, including individual loan, title, pool and hazard insurance. The insurance and guarantees are issued by government entities, private insurers or the mortgage poolers. Although the market for such securities is becoming increasingly liquid, securities issued by certain private organizations may not be readily marketable.
FHLMC Mortgage Participation Certificates ("Freddie Macs") — Freddie Macs represent interests in groups of specified first lien residential conventional mortgages underwritten and owned by the FHLMC. Freddie Macs entitle the holder to timely payment of interest, which is guaranteed by the FHLMC. The FHLMC guarantees either ultimate collection or timely payment of all principal payments on the underlying mortgage loans. In cases where the FHLMC has not guaranteed timely payment of principal, the FHLMC may remit the amount due because 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. Freddie Macs are not guaranteed by the United States or by any of the Federal Home Loan Banks and do not constitute a debt or obligation of the United States or of any Federal Home Loan Bank.
FNMA Guaranteed Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates ("Fannie Maes") — Fannie Maes represent an undivided interest in a pool of conventional mortgage loans secured by first mortgages or deeds of trust, on one family or two to four family, residential properties. The FNMA is obligated to distribute scheduled monthly installments of principal and interest on the mortgages in the pool, whether or not received, plus full principal of any foreclosed or otherwise liquidated mortgages. The obligation of the FNMA under its guarantee is solely its obligation and is not backed by, nor entitled to, the full faith and credit of the United States.
U.S. Treasury Obligations — U.S. Treasury obligations include bills (initial maturities of one year or less), notes (initial maturities between two and ten years), and bonds (initial maturities over ten years) issued by the U.S. Treasury and inflation-indexed securities. The prices of these securities (like all debt securities) change between issuance and maturity in response to fluctuating market interest rates. U.S. Treasury obligations are subject to credit risk and interest rate risk.
Valuation Risk — This is the risk that a Fund has valued certain securities at a price different from the price at which they can be sold. This risk may be especially pronounced for investments, such as certain credit-linked notes and other derivatives, which may be illiquid or which may become illiquid.
When-Issued and Forward Commitment Transactions — These transactions involve a commitment by a Fund to purchase or sell securities at a future date, typically one to two months after the date of the transaction. These transactions enable a Fund to "lock-in" what the Manager or the sub-advisor, as applicable, believes 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 purchase a security on a when-issued or forward commitment basis and sell a similar security to settle such purchase, thereby obtaining the benefit of currently higher yields. If the other party fails to complete the trade, a Fund may lose the opportunity to obtain a favorable price. For purchases on a when-issued basis, the price of the security is fixed at the date of purchase, but delivery of and payment for the securities is not set until after the securities are issued. The value of when-issued securities is subject to market fluctuation during the interim period and no income accrues to a Fund until settlement takes place. Such transactions therefore involve a risk of loss if the value of the security to be purchased declines prior to the settlement date or if the value of the security to be sold increases prior to the settlement date. A sale of a when-issued security also involves the risk that the other party will be unable to settle the transaction. Forward commitment transactions involve a commitment to purchase or sell securities with payment and delivery to take place at some future date, normally one to two months after the date of the transaction. The payment obligation and interest rate are fixed at the time the buyer enters into the forward
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commitment. Forward commitment transactions are typically used as a hedge against anticipated changes in interest rates and prices. Forward commitment transactions are executed for existing obligations, whereas in a when-issued transaction, the obligations have not yet been issued.
A Fund maintains with its custodian segregated (or earmarked) liquid securities in an amount at least equal to the when-issued or forward commitment transaction. When entering into a when-issued or forward commitment transaction, a Fund will rely on the other party to consummate the transaction. If the other party fails to do so, a Fund may be disadvantaged. Inasmuch as a Fund covers its obligations under these transactions, the Manager and the Fund believe such obligations do not constitute senior securities. Earmarking or otherwise segregating a large percentage of a Fund's assets could impede the sub-advisor's ability to manage a Fund's portfolio.
OTHER INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS
In addition to the investment strategies and risks described in the Prospectus, each Fund may (except where otherwise indicated):
Engage in dollar rolls or purchase or sell securities on a when-issued or forward commitment basis. The purchase or sale of when-issued securities enables an investor to hedge against anticipated changes in interest rates and prices by locking in an attractive price or yield. The price of when-issued securities is fixed at the time the commitment to purchase or sell is made, but delivery and payment for the when-issued securities takes place at a later date, normally one to two months after the date of purchase. During the period between purchase and settlement, no payment is made by the purchaser to the issuer and no interest accrues to the purchaser. Such transactions therefore involve a risk of loss if the value of the security to be purchased declines prior to the settlement date or if the value of the security to be sold increases prior to the settlement date. A sale of a when-issued security also involves the risk that the other party will be unable to settle the transaction. Dollar rolls are a type of forward commitment transaction. Purchases and sales of securities on a forward commitment basis involve a commitment to purchase or sell securities with payment and delivery to take place at some future date, normally one to two months after the date of the transaction. As with when-issued securities, these transactions involve certain risks, but they also enable an investor to hedge against anticipated changes in interest rates and prices. Forward commitment transactions are executed for existing obligations, whereas in a when-issued transaction, the obligations have not yet been issued. When purchasing securities on a when-issued or forward commitment basis, a segregated amount of liquid assets at least equal to the value of purchase commitments for such securities will be maintained until the settlement date.
Invest in other investment companies (including affiliated investment companies) to the extent permitted by the Investment Company Act, or exemptive relief granted by the SEC.
Loan securities to broker-dealers or other institutional investors. Securities loans will not be made if, as a result, the aggregate amount of all outstanding securities loans by a Fund exceeds 33¹/3% of its total assets (including the market value of collateral received). For purposes of complying with a Fund's investment policies and restrictions, collateral received in connection with securities loans is deemed an asset of a Fund to the extent required by law.
Enter into repurchase agreements. A repurchase agreement is an agreement under which securities are acquired by a Fund from a securities dealer or bank subject to resale at an agreed upon price on a later date. The acquiring Fund bears a risk of loss in the event that the other party to a repurchase agreement defaults on its obligations and a Fund is delayed or prevented from exercising its rights to dispose of the collateral securities. However, the Manager or the sub-advisor, as applicable, attempt to minimize this risk by entering into repurchase agreements only with financial institutions that are deemed to be of good financial standing.
Purchase securities sold in private placement offerings made in reliance on the "private placement" exemption from registration afforded by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act, and resold to qualified institutional buyers under Rule 144A under the Securities Act. A Fund will not invest more than 15% of its net assets in Section 4(a)(2) securities and illiquid securities unless the Manager or the sub-advisor, as applicable, determines that any Section 4(a)(2) securities held by such Fund in excess of this level are liquid.
INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS
Fundamental Policies. Each Fund has the following fundamental investment policy that enables it to invest in another investment company or series thereof that has substantially similar investment objectives and policies:
Notwithstanding any other limitation, a Fund may invest all of its investable assets in an open-end management investment company with substantially the same investment objectives, policies and limitations as a Fund. For this purpose, "all of a Fund's investable assets" means that the only investment securities that will be held by a Fund will be a Fund's interest in the investment company.
The AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund and AHL TargetRisk Fund have no current intention to convert to a master-feeder structure, as permitted by the foregoing policy.
Fundamental Investment Restrictions. The following discusses the investment policies of each Fund.
The following restrictions have been adopted by each Fund and may be changed with respect to any such Fund only by the majority vote of the Fund's outstanding voting securities. "Majority of the outstanding voting securities" under the Investment Company Act and as used herein means, with respect to each Fund, the lesser of (a) 67% of the shares of the Fund present at the meeting if the holders of more than 50% of the shares are present and represented at the shareholders' meeting or (b) more than 50% of the shares of the Fund.
No Fund may:
Purchase or sell real estate or real estate limited partnership interests, provided, however, that the Fund may dispose of real estate acquired as a result of the ownership of securities or other instruments and invest in securities secured by real estate or interests therein or issued by companies which invest in real estate or interests therein when consistent with the other policies and limitations described in the Prospectus.
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Invest in physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the Fund from purchasing or selling foreign currency, options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, forward contracts, swaps, caps, floors, collars, securities on a forward-commitment or delayed-delivery basis, and other similar financial instruments or commodity pools or other entities that purchase and sell commodities and commodity contracts).
Engage in the business of underwriting securities issued by others, except to the extent that, in connection with the disposition of securities, the Fund may be deemed an underwriter under federal securities law.
Lend any security or make any other loan except: (i) as otherwise permitted under the Investment Company Act, (ii) pursuant to a rule, order or interpretation issued by the SEC or its staff, (iii) through the purchase of a portion of an issue of debt securities in accordance with the Fund's investment objective, policies and limitations, or (iv) by engaging in repurchase agreements.
Issue any senior security except as otherwise permitted (i) under the Investment Company Act or (ii) pursuant to a rule, order or interpretation issued by the SEC or its staff.
Borrow money, except as otherwise permitted under the Investment Company Act or pursuant to a rule, order or interpretation issued by the SEC or its staff, including (i) as a temporary measure, (ii) by entering into reverse repurchase agreements, and (iii) by lending portfolio securities as collateral. For purposes of this investment limitation, the purchase or sale of options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, forward contracts, swaps, caps, floors, collars and other similar financial instruments and margin deposits, security interests, liens and collateral arrangements with respect to such instruments shall not constitute borrowing.
Invest more than 25% of its total assets in the securities of companies primarily engaged in any particular industry or group of industries provided that this limitation does not apply to: (i) obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities; and (ii) tax-exempt securities issued by municipalities and their agencies and authorities.
The above percentage limits (except the limitation on borrowings) are based upon asset values at the time of the applicable transaction; accordingly, a subsequent change in asset values will not affect a transaction that was in compliance with the investment restrictions at the time such transaction was affected. For purposes of each Fund's policy relating to commodities set forth in (2) above, the Funds do not consider foreign currencies or forward contracts to be physical commodities.
For purposes of each Fund's policy relating to commodities set forth in (2) above, the restriction does not prevent the Funds from investing in a wholly owned subsidiary, thereby indirectly gaining exposure to the investment returns of commodities markets within the limitations of federal income tax requirements, or from investing in commodity-linked derivative instruments.
For purposes of each Fund's policy relating to making loans set forth in (4) above, securities loans will not be made if, as a result, the aggregate amount of all outstanding securities loans by the Fund exceeds 33¹/3% of its total assets (including the market value of collateral received).
For purposes of each Fund's policy relating to issuing senior securities set forth in (5) above, "senior securities" are defined as Fund obligations that have a priority over the Fund's shares with respect to the payment of dividends or the distribution of Fund assets. The Investment Company Act prohibits a Fund from issuing any class of senior securities or selling any senior securities of which it is the issuer, except that the Fund is permitted to borrow from a bank so long as, immediately after such borrowings, there is an asset coverage of at least 300% for all borrowings of the Fund (not including borrowings for temporary purposes in an amount not exceeding 5% of the value of the Fund's total assets). In the event that such asset coverage falls below this percentage, the Fund is required to reduce the amount of its borrowings within three days (not including Sundays and holidays) so that the asset coverage is restored to at least 300%. Consistent with guidance issued by the SEC and its staff, the requisite asset coverage may vary among different types of instruments. The policy in (5) above will be interpreted not to prevent collateral arrangements with respect to swaps, options, forward or futures contracts or other derivatives, or the posting of initial or variation margin.
For purposes of each Fund's industry concentration policy set forth above, the Manager may analyze the characteristics of a particular issuer and instrument and may assign an industry classification consistent with those characteristics. The Manager may, but need not, consider industry classifications provided by third parties, and the classifications applied to Fund investments will be informed by applicable law. A large economic or market sector shall not be construed as a single industry or group of industries. The Manager currently considers securities issued by a foreign government (but not the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities) to be an "industry" subject to the 25% limitation. Thus, not more than 25% of a Fund's total assets will be invested in securities issued by any one foreign government or supranational organization. A Fund might invest in certain securities issued by companies in a particular industry whose obligations are guaranteed by a foreign government. The Manager could consider such a company to be within the particular industry and, therefore, a Fund will invest in the securities of such a company only if it can do so under its industry concentration policy.
Non-Fundamental Investment Restrictions. The following non-fundamental investment restrictions apply to each Fund (except where noted otherwise) and may be changed with respect to each Fund by a vote of a majority of the Board. Each Fund may not:
Invest more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities, including time deposits and repurchase agreements that mature in more than seven days; or
Purchase securities on margin, except that (1) a Fund may obtain such short term credits necessary for the clearance of transactions, and (2) a Fund may make margin payments in connection with foreign currency, futures contracts, options, forward contracts, swaps, caps, floors, collars, securities purchased or sold on a forward-commitment or delayed-delivery basis or other financial instruments.
All percentage limitations on investments will apply at the time of the making of an investment and shall not be considered violated unless an excess or deficiency occurs or exists immediately after and as a result of such investment. Except for the investment restrictions listed above as fundamental or to the extent designated as such in the Prospectus with respect to each Fund, the other investment policies described in this SAI are not fundamental and may be changed by approval of the Trustees.
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TEMPORARY OR DEFENSIVE INVESTMENTS
In times of unstable or adverse market, economic, political or other conditions, where the Manager or the sub-advisor believes it is appropriate and in a Fund's best interest, a Fund can invest up to 100% in cash and other types of securities for defensive or temporary purposes. It can also hold cash or purchase these types of securities for liquidity purposes to meet cash needs due to redemptions of Fund shares, or to hold while waiting to invest cash received from purchases of Fund shares or the sale of other portfolio securities.
These temporary investments can include: (i) obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities; (ii) commercial paper rated in the highest short term category by a rating organization; (iii) domestic, Yankee and Eurodollar certificates of deposit or bankers' acceptances of banks rated in the highest short term category by a rating organization; (iv) any of the foregoing securities that mature in one year or less (generally known as "cash equivalents"); (v) other short-term corporate debt obligations; (vi) repurchase agreements; (vii) futures or (viii) shares of money market funds, including funds advised by the Manager or the sub-advisor.
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER
Portfolio turnover is a measure of trading activity in a portfolio of securities, usually calculated over a period of one year. The rate is calculated by dividing the lesser amount of purchases or sales of securities by the average amount of securities held over the period. A portfolio turnover rate of 100% would indicate that a Fund sold and replaced the entire value of its securities holdings during the period. High portfolio turnover can increase a Fund's transaction costs and generate additional capital gains or losses.
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
Each Fund publicly discloses portfolio holdings information as follows:
a complete list of holdings for each Fund on an annual and semi-annual basis in the reports to shareholders within sixty days of the end of each fiscal semi-annual period and in publicly available filings of Form N-CSR with the SEC within ten days thereafter (available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov);
a complete list of holdings for each Fund as of the end of each fiscal quarter in publicly available filings of Form N-PORT with the SEC within sixty days of the end of the fiscal quarter (available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov);
a complete list of holdings for each Fund as of the end of each quarter on the Funds' website (www.americanbeaconfunds.com) approximately sixty days after the end of the quarter; and
ten largest holdings for each Fund as of the end of each calendar quarter on the Funds' website (www.americanbeaconfunds.com) and in sales materials approximately fifteen days after the end of the calendar quarter.
Public disclosure of a Fund's holdings on the website and in sales materials may be delayed when an investment manager informs the Fund that such disclosure could be harmful to the Fund. In addition, individual holdings may be omitted from website and sales material disclosure, when such omission is deemed to be in a Fund's best interest. Disclosure of a Fund's ten largest holdings may exclude U.S. Treasury securities and cash equivalent assets, although such holdings will be included in each Fund's complete list of holdings.
Disclosure of Nonpublic Holdings. Occasionally, certain interested parties - including individual investors, institutional investors, intermediaries that distribute shares of the Funds, third-party service providers, rating and ranking organizations, and others - may request portfolio holdings information that has not yet been publicly disclosed by the Funds. The Funds' policy is to control the disclosure of nonpublic portfolio holdings information in an attempt to prevent parties from utilizing such information to engage in trading activity harmful to Fund shareholders. To this end, the Board has adopted the Holdings Policy. The purpose of the Holdings Policy is to define those interested parties who are authorized to receive nonpublic portfolio holdings information on a selective basis and to set forth conditions upon which such information may be provided. In general, nonpublic portfolio holdings may be disclosed on a selective basis only when it is determined that (i) there is a legitimate business purpose for the information; (ii) recipients are subject to a duty of confidentiality, including a duty not to trade on the nonpublic information; and (iii) disclosure is in the best interests of Fund shareholders. The Holdings Policy does not restrict a Fund from disclosing that a particular security is not a holding of the Fund. The Holdings Policy is summarized below.
A variety of third party service providers require access to Fund holdings to provide services to the Funds or to assist the Manager and the sub-advisors in managing the Funds ("service providers"). The service providers have a duty to keep the Funds' nonpublic information confidential either through written contractual arrangements with the Funds (or another Fund service provider) or by the nature of their role with respect to the Funds (or the service provider). The Funds have determined that disclosure of nonpublic holdings information to service providers fulfills a legitimate business purpose and is in the best interest of shareholders. In addition, the Funds have determined that disclosure of nonpublic holdings information to members of the Board fulfills a legitimate business purpose, is in the best interest of Fund shareholders, and each Trustee is subject to a duty of confidentiality.
The Funds have ongoing arrangements to provide nonpublic holdings information to the following service providers:
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Service Provider |
Service |
Holdings Access |
Manager |
Investment management and administrator |
Complete list on intraday basis with no lag |
Sub-Advisor |
Investment management |
Holdings under sub-advisor's management on intraday basis with no lag |
State Street Bank and Trust Co. ("State Street") and its designated foreign sub-custodians |
Funds' custodian and foreign custody manager, and foreign sub-custodians; Subsidiary's custodian |
Complete list on intraday basis with no lag |
Ernst & Young LLP |
Funds' independent registered public accounting firm |
Complete list on annual basis with no lag |
ACA Compliance Group |
Sub-Advisor third-party compliance testing |
Complete list upon request with lag |
Bloomberg, L.P. |
Performance and portfolio analytics reporting |
Complete list on daily basis with no lag |
ENSO LP acting by its general partner, ENSO FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT LLP |
Manage exposure across brokers, monitor initial margin, variation margin, and total equity of Sub-advisor. |
Complete list on daily basis with no lag |
FactSet Research Systems, Inc. |
Performance and portfolio analytics reporting for the Manager |
Complete list on daily basis with no lag |
Investment Technology Group |
Pricing vendor |
Complete list on daily basis with no lag |
Certain third parties are provided with nonpublic holdings information (either complete or partial lists) by the Manager or another service provider on an ad hoc basis. These third parties include broker-dealers, prospective sub-advisors, borrowers of the Funds' portfolio securities, pricing services, legal counsel, and issuers (or their agents). Broker-dealers utilized by the Funds in the process of purchasing and selling portfolio securities or providing market quotations receive limited holdings information on a current basis with no lag. The Manager provides current holdings to investment managers being considered for appointment as a sub-advisor to the Funds. If the Funds participate in securities lending activities, potential borrowers of the Funds' securities receive information pertaining to the Funds' securities available for loan. Such information is provided on a current basis with no lag. The Funds utilize various pricing services to supply market quotations and evaluated prices to State Street. State Street and the Manager may disclose current nonpublic holdings to those pricing services. An investment manager may provide holdings information to legal counsel when seeking advice regarding those holdings. From time to time, an issuer (or its agent) may contact the Funds requesting confirmation of ownership of the issuer's securities. Such holdings information is provided to the issuer (or its agent) as of the date requested. The Funds do not have written contractual arrangements with these third parties regarding the confidentiality of the holdings information. However, the Funds would not continue to utilize a third party that the Manager determined to have misused nonpublic holdings information.
The Funds have ongoing arrangements to provide periodic holdings information to certain organizations that publish ratings and/or rankings for the Funds or that redistribute the Funds' holdings to financial intermediaries to facilitate their analysis of the Funds. The Funds have determined that disclosure of holdings information to such organizations fulfills a legitimate business purpose and is in the best interest of shareholders, as it provides existing and potential shareholders with an independent basis for evaluating the Funds in comparison to other mutual funds. As of the date of this SAI, all such organizations receive holdings information after it has been made public on the Funds' website.
No compensation or other consideration may be paid to the Funds, the Funds' service providers, or any other party in connection with the disclosure of portfolio holdings information.
Under the Holdings Policy, disclosure of nonpublic portfolio holdings information to parties other than those discussed above must meet all of the following conditions:
Recipients of portfolio holdings information must agree in writing to keep the information confidential until it has been posted to the Funds' website and not to trade based on the information;
Holdings may only be disclosed as of a month-end date;
No compensation may be paid to the Funds, the Manager or any other party in connection with the disclosure of information about portfolio securities; and
A member of the Manager's Compliance staff must approve requests for nonpublic holdings information.
In determining whether to approve a request for portfolio holdings disclosure by the Manager, Compliance staff generally considers the type of requestor and its relationship to the Funds, the stated reason for the request, any historical pattern of requests from that same individual or entity, the style and strategy of the Fund for which holdings have been requested (e.g., passive versus active management), whether a Fund is managed by one or multiple investment managers, and any other factors it deems relevant. Any potential conflicts between shareholders and affiliated persons of the Funds that arise as a result of a request for portfolio holdings information shall be decided by the Manager in the best interests of shareholders.
However, if a conflict exists between the interests of shareholders and the Manager, the Manager may present the details of the request to the Board for a determination to either approve or deny the request. On a quarterly basis, the Manager will prepare a report for the Board outlining any instances of disclosures of nonpublic holdings during the period that did not comply with the Holdings Policy.
The Compliance staff generally determines whether a historical pattern of requests by the same individual or entity constitutes an "ongoing arrangement" and should be disclosed in the Funds' SAI.
The Manager and sub-advisors to the Funds may manage substantially similar portfolios for clients other than the Funds. Those other clients may receive and publicly disclose their portfolio holdings information prior to public disclosure by the Funds. The Holdings Policy is not intended to limit the Manager or the sub-advisors from making such disclosures to their clients.
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LENDING OF PORTFOLIO SECURITIES
A Fund may lend securities from its portfolio to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions needing to borrow securities to complete certain transactions. In connection with such loans, a Fund remains the beneficial owner of the loaned securities and continues to be entitled to payments in amounts approximately equal to the interest, dividends or other distributions payable on the loaned securities. A Fund also has the right to terminate a loan at any time. A Fund does not have the right to vote on securities while they are on loan. However, it is the Funds' policy to attempt to terminate loans in time to vote those proxies that a Fund determines are material to its interests. Loans of portfolio securities may not exceed 33¹/3% of the value of a Fund's total assets (including the value of all assets received as collateral for the loan). The Funds will receive collateral consisting of cash in the form of cash or cash equivalents, securities of the U.S. Government and its agencies and instrumentalities, approved bank letters of credit, or other forms of collateral that are permitted by the SEC for registered investment companies, which will be maintained at all times in an amount equal to at least 100% of the current market value of the loaned securities. If the collateral consists of cash, a Fund will reinvest the cash and may pay the borrower a pre-negotiated fee or "rebate" for the use of that cash collateral. Under the terms of the securities loan agreement between the Funds and State Street, their securities lending agent, State Street indemnifies the Funds for certain losses resulting from a borrower default. However, should the borrower of the securities fail financially, a Fund may experience delays in recovering the loaned securities or exercising its rights in the collateral. In a loan transaction, a Fund will also bear the risk of any decline in value of securities acquired with cash collateral. A Fund seeks to minimize this risk by normally limiting the investment of cash collateral to registered money market funds, including money market funds advised by the Manager that invest in U.S. Government and agency securities.
For all funds that engage in securities lending, the Manager receives compensation for administrative and oversight functions with respect to securities lending, including oversight of the securities lending agent. The amount of such compensation depends on the income generated by the loan of the securities.
As of the date of this SAI, the Funds do not intend to engage in securities lending activities.
TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS OF THE TRUST
The Board of Trustees
The Trust is governed by its Board of Trustees. The Board is responsible for and oversees the overall management and operations of the Trust and the Funds, which includes the general oversight and review of the Funds' investment activities, in accordance with federal law and the law of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as well as the stated policies of the Funds. The Board oversees the Trust's officers and service providers, including American Beacon, which is responsible for the management of the day-to-day operations of the Funds based on policies and agreements reviewed and approved by the Board. In carrying out these responsibilities, the Board regularly interacts with and receives reports from senior personnel of service providers, including American Beacon's investment personnel and the Trust's CCO. The Board also is assisted by the Trust's independent registered public accounting firm (which reports directly to the Trust's Audit and Compliance Committee), independent counsel and other experts as appropriate, all of whom are selected by the Board.
Risk Oversight
Consistent with its responsibility for oversight of the Trust and its Funds, the Board oversees the management of risks relating to the administration and operation of the Trust and the Funds. American Beacon, as part of its responsibilities for the day-to-day operations of the Funds, is responsible for day-to-day risk management for the Funds. The Board, in the exercise of its reasonable business judgment, also separately considers potential risks that may impact the Funds. The Board performs this risk management oversight directly and, as to certain matters, through its committees (described below) and through the Board members who are not "interested persons" of the Trust as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Investment Company Act ("Independent Trustees"). The following provides an overview of the principal, but not all, aspects of the Board's oversight of risk management for the Trust and the Funds.
In general, a Fund's risks include, among others, investment risk, credit risk, liquidity risk, securities selection risk and valuation risk. The Board has adopted, and periodically reviews, policies and procedures designed to address these and other risks to the Trust and the Funds. In addition, under the general oversight of the Board, American Beacon, each Fund's investment adviser, and other service providers to the Funds have themselves adopted a variety of policies, procedures and controls designed to address particular risks to the Funds. Different processes, procedures and controls are employed with respect to different types of risks. Further, American Beacon as manager of the Funds oversees and regularly monitors the investments, operations and compliance of the Funds' investment advisers.
The Board also oversees risk management for the Trust and the Funds through review of regular reports, presentations and other information from officers of the Trust and other persons. Senior officers of the Trust, and senior officers of American Beacon, and the Funds' CCO regularly report to the Board on a range of matters, including those relating to risk management. The Board and the Investment Committee also regularly receive reports from American Beacon with respect to the investments, securities trading and securities lending activities of the Funds. In addition to regular reports from American Beacon, the Board also receives reports regarding other service providers to the Trust, either directly or through American Beacon or the Funds' CCO, on a periodic or regular basis. At least annually, the Board receives a report from the Funds' CCO regarding the effectiveness of the Funds' compliance program. Also, typically on an annual basis, the Board receives reports, presentations and other information from American Beacon in connection with the Board's consideration of the renewal of each of the Trust's agreements with American Beacon and the Trust's distribution plans under Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act.
Senior officers of the Trust and American Beacon also report regularly to the Audit and Compliance Committee on Fund valuation matters and on the Trust's internal controls and accounting and financial reporting policies and practices. In addition, the Audit and Compliance Committee receives
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regular reports from the Trust's independent registered public accounting firm on internal control and financial reporting matters. On at least a quarterly basis, the Audit and Compliance Committee meets with the Funds' CCO to discuss matters relating to the Funds' compliance program.
Board Structure and Related Matters
Independent Trustees constitute at least three-fourths of the Board. Brenda A. Cline, an Independent Trustee, serves as Independent Chair of the Board. The Independent Chair's responsibilities include: setting an agenda for each meeting of the Board; presiding at all meetings of the Board and Independent Trustees; and serving as a liaison with other Trustees, the Trust's officers and other management personnel, and counsel to the Funds. The Independent Chair shall perform such other duties as the Board may from time to time determine.
The Trustees discharge their responsibilities collectively as a Board, as well as through Board committees, each of which operates pursuant to a charter approved by the Board that delineates the responsibilities of that committee. The Board has established three standing committees: the Audit and Compliance Committee, the Investment Committee and the Nominating and Governance Committee. For example, the Investment Committee is responsible for oversight of the process, typically performed annually, by which the Board considers and approves each Fund's investment advisory agreement with American Beacon, while specific matters related to oversight of the Funds' independent auditors have been delegated by the Board to its Audit and Compliance Committee, subject to approval of the Audit and Compliance Committee's recommendations by the Board. The members and responsibilities of each Board committee are summarized below.
The Board periodically evaluates its structure and composition as well as various aspects of its operations. The Board believes that its leadership structure, including its Independent Chair position and its committees, is appropriate for the Trust in light of, among other factors, the asset size and nature of the funds in the Trust, the number of series of the American Beacon Funds Complex overseen by the Board, the arrangements for the conduct of the Funds' operations, the number of Trustees, and the Board's responsibilities. On an annual basis, the Board conducts a self-evaluation that considers, among other matters, whether the Board and its committees are functioning effectively and whether, given the size and composition of the Board and each of its committees, the Trustees are able to oversee effectively the number of Funds in the complex.
The Trust is part of the American Beacon Funds Complex, which is comprised of 33 series within the American Beacon Funds, 1 series within the American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust, 1 series within the American Beacon Select Funds, 1 series within the American Beacon Sound Point Enhanced Income Fund, and 1 series within the American Beacon Apollo Total Return Fund. The same persons who constitute the Board of the Trust also constitute the Board of Trustees of the American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust, the American Beacon Sound Point Enhanced Income Fund, the American Beacon Apollo Total Return Fund, and the American Beacon Select Funds and each Trustee oversees the Trusts' combined 37 series.
The Board holds five (5) regularly scheduled meetings each year. The Board may hold special meetings, as needed, either in person or by telephone, to address matters arising between regular meetings. The Independent Trustees also hold at least one in-person meeting each year during a portion of which management is not present and may hold special meetings, as needed, either in person or by telephone.
The Trustees of the Trust are identified in the tables below, which provide information as to their principal business occupations and directorships held during the last five years and certain other information. Subject to the Trustee Emeritus and Retirement Policy described below, a Trustee serves until his or her successor is elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation or removal. The address of each Trustee listed below is 220 East Las Colinas Boulevard, Suite 1200, Irving, Texas 75039. Each Trustee serves for an indefinite term or until his or her removal, resignation, or retirement.*
Name (Age)* |
Position and Length of Time Served on the American Beacon Funds and American Beacon Select Funds |
Position and Length of Time Served on the American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust |
Position and Length of Time Served on the American Beacon Sound Point Enhanced Income Fund and American Beacon Apollo Total Return Fund |
Principal Occupation(s) and Directorships During Past 5 Years |
NON-INTERESTED TRUSTEES |
|
|
|
|
Gilbert G. Alvarado (50) |
Trustee since 2015 |
Trustee since 2017 |
Trustee since 2018 |
President, SJVIIF, LLC, Impact Investment Fund (2018-Present); Director, Kura MD, Inc. (local telehealth organization) (2015-2017); Senior Vice President & CFO, Sierra Health Foundation (health conversion private foundation) (2006-Present); Senior Vice President & CFO, Sierra Health Foundation: Center for Health Program Management (California public benefit corporation) (2012-Present); Director, Innovative North State (2012-2015); Director, Sacramento Regional Technology Alliance (2011-2016); Director, Valley Healthcare Staffing (2017–2018). |
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Joseph B. Armes (58) |
Trustee since 2015 |
Trustee since 2017 |
Trustee since 2018 |
Director, Switchback Energy Acquisition (2019-Present); Chairman & CEO, CSW Industrials f/k/a Capital Southwest Corporation (investment company) (2015-Present); Chairman of the Board of Capital Southwest Corporation, predecessor to CSW Industrials, Inc. (2014-2017) (investment company); CEO, Capital Southwest Corporation (2013-2015); President & CEO, JBA Investment Partners (family investment vehicle) (2010-Present); Director and Chair of Audit Committee, RSP Permian (oil and gas producer) (2013-2018). |
Gerard J. Arpey (61) |
Trustee since 2012 |
Trustee since 2017 |
Trustee since 2018 |
Partner, Emerald Creek Group (private equity firm) (2011-Present); Director, S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. (privately held company) (2008-Present). Director, The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: HD)(2015-Present). |
Brenda A. Cline (59) |
Chair since 2019 Vice Chair 2018 Trustee since 2004 |
Chair since 2019 Vice Chair 2018 Trustee since 2017 |
Chair since 2019 Vice Chair 2018 Trustee since 2018 |
Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Secretary, Kimbell Art Foundation (1993-Present); Director, Tyler Technologies, Inc. (public sector software solutions company) (2014-Present); Director, Range Resources Corporation (oil and natural gas company) (2015-Present); Trustee, Cushing Closed-End (3) and Open-End Funds (1) (2017-Present). |
Eugene J. Duffy (65) |
Trustee since 2008 |
Trustee since 2017 |
Trustee since 2018 |
Managing Director, Global Investment Management Distribution, Mesirow Financial (2016-Present); Managing Director, Institutional Services, Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation (2014-Present). |
Claudia A. Holz (62) |
Trustee since 2018 |
Trustee since 2018 |
Trustee since 2018 |
Partner, KPMG LLP (1990-2017). |
Douglas A. Lindgren (58) |
Trustee since 2018 |
Trustee since 2018 |
Trustee since 2018 |
CEO North America, Carne Global Financial Services (2016-2017); Consultant, Carne Financial Services (2017-2019); Managing Director, IPS Investment Management and Global Head, Content Management, UBS Wealth Management (2010-2016). |
Barbara J. McKenna (56) |
Trustee since 2012 |
Trustee since 2017 |
Trustee since 2018 |
President/Managing Principal, Longfellow Investment Management Company (2005-Present). |
R. Gerald Turner (74) |
Trustee since 2001 |
Trustee since 2017 |
Trustee since 2018 |
President, Southern Methodist University (1995-Present); Director, J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE: JCP) (1996-Present); Director, Kronus Worldwide Inc. (chemical manufacturing) (2003-Present). |
* The Board has adopted a retirement policy that requires Trustees to retire no later than the last day of the calendar year
in which they reach the age of 75.
In addition to the information set forth in the tables above and other relevant qualifications, experience, attributes or skills applicable to a particular Trustee, the following provides further information about the qualifications and experience of each Trustee.
Gilbert G. Alvarado: Mr. Alvarado has extensive organizational management and financial experience as senior vice president and chief financial officer in public charities and private foundations, service as director of private companies and non-profit organizations, service as president of non-profit institutional investment fund, an adjunct professor for a non-profit school of management at University of San Francisco, and multiple years of service as a Trustee.
Joseph B. Armes: Mr. Armes has extensive financial, investment and organizational management experience as chairman of the board of directors, president and chief executive officer of an investment company listed on NASDAQ, president and chief executive officer of a private family investment vehicle, chief operating officer of a private holding company for a family office, president, chief executive officer, chief financial officer and director of a special purpose acquisition company listed on the American Stock Exchange, a director and audit committee chair of an oil and gas exploration and production company listed on the New York Stock Exchange and as an officer of public companies and as a director and officer of private companies, and multiple years of service as a Trustee.
Gerard J. Arpey: Mr. Arpey has extensive organizational management, financial and international experience serving as chairman, chief executive officer, and chief financial officer of one of the largest global airlines, service as a director of public and private companies, service to several charitable organizations, and multiple years of service as a Trustee.
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Brenda A. Cline: Ms. Cline has extensive organizational management, financial and investment experience as executive vice president, chief financial officer, secretary and treasurer to a private foundation, service as a director, trustee, audit committee chair, and member of the nominating and governance committees of various publicly held companies and mutual funds, service as a trustee to a private university, and several charitable boards, including acting as a member of their investment and/or audit committees, extensive experience as an audit senior manager with a large public accounting firm, and multiple years of service as a Trustee.
Eugene J. Duffy: Mr. Duffy has extensive experience in the investment management business and organizational management experience as a member of senior management, service as a director of a bank, service as a chairman of a charitable fund and as a trustee to an association, service on the board of a private university and non-profit organization, service as chair to a financial services industry association, and multiple years of service as a Trustee.
Claudia A. Holz: Ms. Holz has extensive financial audit and organizational management experience obtained as an audit partner with a major public accounting firm for over 27 years. Prior to her retirement, she led audits of large public investment company complexes and held several management roles in the firm's New York and national offices.
Douglas A. Lindgren: Mr. Lindgren has extensive senior management experience in the asset management industry, having overseen several organizations and numerous fund structures and having served as an Adjunct Professor of Finance at Columbia Business School.
Barbara J. McKenna: Ms. McKenna has extensive experience in the investment management industry, organizational management experience as a member of senior management, service as a director of an investment manager, member of numerous financial services industry associations, and multiple years of service as a Trustee.
R. Gerald Turner: Mr. Turner has extensive organizational management experience as president of a private university, service as a director and member of the audit and governance committees of various publicly held companies, service as a member to several charitable boards, and multiple years of service as a Trustee.
Committees of the Board
The Trust has an Audit and Compliance Committee ("Audit Committee"). The Audit Committee consists of Ms. Holz, and Messrs. Duffy and Alvarado (Chair). Ms. Cline, as Chair of the Board, serves on the Audit Committee in an ex-officio non-voting capacity. None of the members of the committee are "interested persons" of the Trust, as defined by the Investment Company Act. As set forth in its charter, the primary duties of the Trust's Audit Committee are: (a) to oversee the accounting and financial reporting processes of the Trust and the Funds and their internal controls and, as the Committee deems appropriate, to inquire into the internal controls of certain third-party service providers; (b) to oversee the quality and integrity of the Trust's financial statements and the independent audit thereof; (c) to approve, prior to appointment, the engagement of the Trust's independent auditors and, in connection therewith, to review and evaluate the qualifications, independence and performance of the Trust's independent auditors; (d) to oversee the Trust's compliance with all regulatory obligations arising under applicable federal securities laws, rules and regulations and oversee management's implementation and enforcement of the Trust's compliance policies and procedures ("Compliance Program"); and (e) to coordinate the Board's oversight of the Trust's CCO in connection with his or her implementation of the Trust's Compliance Program. The Audit Committee met four (4) times during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019.
The Trust has a Nominating and Governance Committee ("Nominating Committee") that is comprised of Messrs. Turner (Chair) and Armes, and Ms. Cline. As set forth in its charter, the Nominating Committee's primary duties are: (a) to make recommendations regarding the nomination of non-interested Trustees to the Board; (b) to make recommendations regarding the appointment of an Independent Trustee as Chair of the Board; (c) to evaluate qualifications of potential "interested" members of the Board and Trust officers; (d) to review shareholder recommendations for nominations to fill vacancies on the Board; (e) to make recommendations to the Board for nomination for membership on all committees of the Board; (f) to consider and evaluate the structure, composition and operation of the Board; (g) to review shareholder recommendations for proposals to be submitted for consideration during a meeting of Funds shareholders; and (h) to consider and make recommendations relating to the compensation of Independent Trustees and of those officers as to whom the Board is charged with approving compensation. Shareholder recommendations for Trustee candidates may be mailed in writing, including a comprehensive resume and any supporting documentation, to the Nominating Committee in care of the Secretary of the Funds, and must otherwise comply with the Declaration of Trust and Bylaws of the Trust. The Nominating and Governance Committee met four (4) times during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019.
The Trust has an Investment Committee that is comprised of Ms. McKenna (Chair), Messrs. Arpey, and Lindgren. Ms. Cline, as Chair of the Board, serves on the Investment Committee in an ex-officio non-voting capacity. As set forth in its charter, the Investment Committee's primary duties are: (a) to review and evaluate the short- and long-term investment performance of the Manager and each of the designated sub-advisors to the Funds; (b) to evaluate recommendations by the Manager regarding the hiring or removal of designated sub-advisors to the Funds; (c) to review material changes recommended by the Manager to the allocation of Funds assets to a sub-advisor; (d) to review proposed changes recommended by the Manager to the investment objectives or principal investment strategies of the Funds; and (e) to review proposed changes recommended by the Manager to the material provisions of the advisory agreement with a sub-advisor, including, but not limited to, changes to the provision regarding compensation. The Investment Committee met four (4) times during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019.
Trustee Ownership in the Funds
The following tables show the amount of equity securities owned in the Funds and all series of the American Beacon Funds Complex by the Trustees as of the calendar year ended December 31, 2019.
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NON-INTERESTED TRUSTEES |
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Alvarado |
Armes |
Arpey |
Cline |
Duffy |
Holz |
Lindgren |
McKenna |
Turner |
AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
Over $100,000 |
$50,001-$100,000 |
None |
AHL TargetRisk |
$10,001 - $50,000 |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity Securities in all Trusts (36 Funds as of December 31, 2019) |
$50,001 - $100,000 |
Over $100,000 |
Over $100,000 |
Over $100,000 |
None |
Over $100,000 |
Over $100,000 |
Over $100,000 |
Over $100,000 |
Trustee Compensation
As compensation for their service to the American Beacon Funds Complex, including the Trust (collectively, the "Trusts"), each Trustee is compensated from the Trusts as follows: (1) an annual retainer of $120,000; (2) meeting attendance fee (for attendance in person or via teleconference) of (a) $12,000 for in person attendance, or $5,000 for telephonic attendance, by Board members for each regularly scheduled or special Board meeting, (b) $2,500 for attendance by Committee members at meetings of the Audit Committee and the Investment Committee, (c) $1,500 for attendance by Committee members at meetings of the Nominating and Governance Committee; and (d) $2,500 for attendance by Board members for each special telephonic Board meeting; and (3) reimbursement of reasonable expenses incurred in attending Board meetings, Committee meetings, and relevant educational seminars. The Trustees also may be compensated for attendance at special Board and/or Committee meetings from time to time.
For her service as Board Chair, Ms. Cline receives an additional annual retainer of $50,000. Although she attends several committee meetings at each quarterly Board meeting, she receives only a single $2,500 fee each quarter for her attendance at those meetings. The chairpersons of the Audit Committee and the Investment Committee each receive an additional annual retainer of $25,000 and the Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee receives an additional annual retainer of $15,000.
1 Messrs. Feld and Massman received compensation from the Trust prior to and up to their retirement from the Board on December 31, 2019.
2 Upon retirement from the Board, each of these Trustees is eligible for flight benefits afforded to Trustees who served on the Boards as of June 4, 2008 as described below.
The Boards adopted a Trustee Retirement Policy and Trustee Emeritus and Retirement Plan ("Trustee Retirement Plan"). The Trustee Retirement Plan provides that a Trustee who has served on the Boards prior to September 12, 2008, and who has reached a mandatory retirement age established by the Board (currently 75) is eligible to elect Trustee Emeritus status ("Eligible Trustees"). The Eligible Trustees are Mr. Turner and Ms. Cline. Eligible Trustees who have served on the Board of one or more Trusts for at least five years may elect to retire from the Board at an earlier age and immediately assume Trustee Emeritus status. The Board has determined that, other than the Trustee Retirement Plan established for Eligible Trustees, no other retirement benefits will accrue for current or future Trustees.
Each Eligible Trustee and his or her spouse (or designated companion) may receive annual flight benefits from the Trusts of up to $40,000 combined, on a tax-grossed up basis, on American Airlines (a subsidiary of the Manager's former parent company) for a maximum period of 10 years, depending upon length of service prior to September 12, 2008. Eligible Trustees may opt to receive instead an annual retainer of $20,000 from the Trusts in lieu of flight benefits. No retirement benefits are accrued for Board service after September 12, 2008.
A Trustee Emeritus must be reasonably available to provide advice, counseling and assistance to the Trustees and American Beacon as needed, as agreed to from time to time by the parties involved; however, a Trustee Emeritus does not have any voting rights at Board meetings and is not subject to election by shareholders of the Funds. Currently, two individuals who retired from the Board and accrued retirement benefits for periods prior to
26 |
September 12, 2008, have assumed Trustee Emeritus status. One individual and their spouse receive annual flight benefits of up to $40,000 combined, on a tax-grossed up basis, on American Airlines. The other individual receives an annual retainer of $20,000 from the Trusts in lieu of flight benefits.
Principal Officers of the Trust
The Officers of the Trust conduct and supervise its daily business. As of the date of this SAI, the Officers of the Trust, their ages, their business address and their principal occupations and directorships during the past five years are as set forth below. The address of each Officer is 220 East Las Colinas Boulevard, Suite 1200, Irving, Texas 75039. Each Officer serves for a term of one year or until his or her resignation, retirement, or removal. Each Officer has and continues to hold the same position with the American Beacon Funds, the American Beacon Select Funds, the American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust, the American Beacon Sound Point Enhanced Income Fund, and the American Beacon Apollo Total Return Fund.
Name (Age) |
Position and Length of Time Served on the American Beacon Funds and American Beacon Select Funds |
Position and Length of Time Served on the American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust |
Position and Length of Time Served on the American Beacon Sound Point Enhanced Income Fund and American Beacon Apollo Total Return Fund |
Principal Occupation(s) and Directorships During Past 5 Years |
OFFICERS |
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Gene L. Needles, Jr. (65) |
President since 2009 |
President since 2017 |
President since 2018 |
President (2009-2018), CEO and Director (2009-Present), and Chairman (2018-Present), American Beacon Advisors, Inc.; President (2015-2018), Director and CEO (2015-Present), and Chairman (2018-Present), Resolute Investment Holdings, LLC; President (2015-2018), Director and CEO (2015-Present), and Chairman (2018-Present),Resolute Topco, Inc.; President (2015-2018); Director, and CEO (2015-Present), and Chairman (2018-Present), Resolute Acquisition, Inc.; President (2015-2018), Director and CEO (2015-Present), Chairman (2018-Present), Resolute Investment Managers, Inc.; Director, Chairman, President and CEO, Resolute Investment Distributors (2017-Present); Director, Chairman, President and CEO; Resolute Investment Services, Inc. (2017-Present); President and CEO, Lighthouse Holdings Parent, Inc. (2009-2015); President, CEO and Director, Lighthouse Holdings, Inc. (2009-2015); Manager, President and CEO, American Private Equity Management, LLC (2012-Present); Director, Chairman, President and CEO, Alpha Quant Advisors, LLC (2016-Present); Director, ARK Investment Management LLC (2016-Present); Director, Shapiro Capital Management LLC (2017-Present); Director, Chairman and CEO, Continuous Capital, LLC (2018-Present); President, American Beacon Cayman Managed Futures Strategy Fund, Ltd. (2014-Present); Director and President, American Beacon Cayman Transformational Innovation Company, LTD., (2017-2018); President, American Beacon Delaware Transformational Innovation Corporation (2017-2018); President American Beacon Cayman TargetRisk Company, Ltd. (2018-Present); Member, Investment Advisory Committee, Employees Retirement System of Texas (2017-Present); Trustee, American Beacon NextShares Trust (2015-Present); Director, RSW Investments Holdings LLC, (2019-Present); Director, SSI Investment Management, LLC (2019-Present); Director, Green Harvest Asset Management (2019-Present); Director, National Investment Services of America, LLC (2019-Present). |
27 |
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29 |
CODE OF ETHICS
The Manager, the Trust, the Distributor (as defined below), and the sub-advisor each have adopted a Code of Ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the Investment Company Act. Each Code of Ethics significantly restricts the personal trading of all employees with access to non-public portfolio information. For example, each Code of Ethics generally requires pre-clearance of all personal securities trades (with limited exceptions) and prohibits employees from purchasing or selling a security that is being purchased or sold or being considered for purchase (with limited exceptions) or sale by any Fund. In addition, the Manager's and the Trust's Code of Ethics requires employees to report trades in shares of the Trusts. Each Code of Ethics is on public file with, and may be obtained from, the SEC.
PROXY VOTING POLICIES
Each Fund invests exclusively in non-voting securities and is therefore not expected to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities. If a Fund were to vote any proxies, the proxy voting record for the most recent year ended June 30 is available as of August 31 of each year upon request and without charge by calling 1-800-967-9009 or by visiting the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. The proxy voting record can be found in Form N-PX on the SEC's website.
CONTROL PERSONS AND 5% SHAREHOLDERS
A principal shareholder is any person who owns of record or beneficially 5% or more of any Class of a Fund's outstanding shares. A control person is a shareholder that owns beneficially or through controlled companies more than 25% of the voting securities of a company or acknowledges the existence of control. Shareholders owning voting securities in excess of 25% may determine the outcome of any matter affecting and voted on by shareholders of a Fund. The actions of an entity or person that controls a Fund could have an effect on other shareholders. For instance, a control person may have effective voting control over a Fund or large redemptions by a control person could cause a Fund's other shareholders to pay a higher pro rata portion of a Fund's expenses.
Set forth below are entities or persons that own 5% or more of the outstanding shares of a Class of the Funds as of March 31, 2020. The Trustees and officers as a group own 4.51% of the R5 Class shares of the American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund. The Trustees and officers of the Trusts, as a group, own less than 1% of all other classes of each Fund's shares outstanding.
American Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund
30 |
OMNIBUS FOR MUTUAL FUNDS |
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ATTN COURTNEY WALLER |
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880 CARILLON PKWY |
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ST PETERSBURG FL 33716-1100 |
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TD AMERITRADE INC FOR THE* |
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6.53 |
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EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF OUR CLIENTS |
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PO BOX 2226 |
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OMAHA NE 68103-2226 |
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* Denotes record owner of Fund shares only
American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund
* Denotes record owner of Fund shares only
INVESTMENT SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENT
The Funds' sub-advisor is listed below with information regarding its controlling persons or entities. According to the Investment Company Act, a person or entity with control with respect to an investment advisor has "the power to exercise a controlling influence over the management or policies of a company, unless such power is solely the result of an official position with such company." Persons and entities affiliated with the sub-advisor may be considered affiliates of the Funds.
31 |
AHL Partners LLP ("AHL") |
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|
Controlling Person/Entity |
Basis of Control |
Nature of Controlling Person/Entity Business |
Man Investments Limited |
Managing Member holding over 50.1% of the voting rights |
Investment management firm founded in 1987 |
Senior executives of AHL |
Members with 5% to 10% ownership holdings |
Individuals |
The Trust, on behalf of the AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund, and the Manager have entered into an Investment Advisory Agreement with AHL pursuant to which the Fund has agreed to pay AHL an annualized sub-advisory fee that is calculated and accrued daily equal to 1.00% of the Fund's average daily net assets.
The Trust, on behalf of the AHL TargetRisk Fund, and the Manager have entered into an Investment Advisory Agreement with AHL pursuant to which the Fund has agreed to pay AHL an annualized sub-advisory fee that is calculated and accrued daily equal to 0.55% on the first $500 million, 0.50% on the next $500 million, 0.45% on the next $500 million and 0.40% thereafter of the Fund's average daily net assets.
Each Investment Advisory Agreement will automatically terminate if assigned, and may be terminated without penalty at any time by the Manager, by a vote of a majority of the Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the applicable Fund on no less than thirty (30) days' nor more than sixty (60) days' written notice to the sub-advisor, or by the sub-advisor upon sixty (60) days' written notice to the Trust. The Investment Advisory Agreements will continue in effect from year to year provided that annually such continuance is specifically approved by a vote of the Trustees, including the affirmative votes of a majority of the Trustees who are not parties to the Investment Advisory Agreement or "interested persons" (as defined in the Investment Company Act) of any such party, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of considering such approval, or by the vote of shareholders.
Pursuant to a separate agreement, AHL also serves as the sub-advisor of the Subsidiaries. AHL does not receive additional compensation for its management of the Subsidiaries.
In rendering investment advisory services to the Funds, the sub-advisor may use the resources of one or more foreign (non-U.S.) affiliates that are not registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the "Investment Sub-Advisor's Foreign Affiliates") to provide portfolio management, research and trading services to the Funds. Under a Participating Affiliate Agreement, each of the Investment Sub-Advisor's Overseas Affiliates are considered Participating Affiliates of the sub-advisor pursuant to applicable guidance from the staff of the SEC allowing U.S. registered advisers to use investment advisory and trading resources of unregistered advisory affiliates subject to the regulatory supervision of the registered adviser. Each Participating Affiliate and any of their respective employees who provide services to the Funds are considered under the Participating Affiliate Agreement to be "supervised persons" of the sub-advisor as that term is defined in the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended.
MANAGEMENT, ADMINISTRATIVE, SECURITIES LENDING, AND DISTRIBUTION SERVICES
The Manager
The Manager, located at 220 East Las Colinas Boulevard, Suite 1200, Irving, Texas 75039 is a Delaware corporation and a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Resolute Investment Managers, Inc. ("RIM"). RIM is, in turn, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Resolute Acquisition,
Inc., which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Resolute Topco, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Resolute Investment Holdings,
LLC ("RIH"). RIH is owned primarily by Kelso Investment Associates VIII, L.P., KEP VI, LLC and Estancia Capital Partners L.P.,
investment funds affiliated with Kelso & Company, L.P. ("Kelso") or Estancia Capital Management, LLC ("Estancia"), which are
private equity firms. The address of Kelso and its investment funds is 320 Park Avenue, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10022. The
address of Estancia and its investment fund is 20865 N 90th Place, Suite 200, Scottsdale, AZ 85255. The address of RIH is
220 East Las Colinas Boulevard, Suite 1200, Irving, TX 75039.
Listed below are individuals and entities that may be deemed control persons of the Manager.
The Manager is paid a management fee as compensation for providing each Fund with management and administrative services. The expenses are allocated daily to each class of shares of a Fund based upon the relative proportion of net assets represented by such class.
The AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund's Management Agreement with the Manager provides for the Fund to pay the Manager an annualized management fee equal to 0.35% of the average daily net assets of the Fund.
The AHL TargetRisk Fund's Management Agreement with the Manager provides for the Fund to pay the Manager an annualized management fee based on a percentage of the Fund's average daily net assets that is calculated and accrued daily according to the following schedule:
First $5 billion |
0.35% |
Next $5 billion |
0.325% |
Next $10 billion |
0.30% |
Over $20 billion |
0.275% |
32 |
Operating expenses directly attributable to a specific class are charged against the assets of that class. Pursuant to the Management Agreement, the Manager provides the Trust with office space, office equipment and personnel necessary to manage and administer the Trust's operations. This includes:
complying with reporting requirements;
corresponding with shareholders;
maintaining internal bookkeeping, accounting and auditing services and records;
supervising the provision of services to the Trust by third parties; and
administering the Funds' interfund lending facility and lines of credit, if applicable.
In addition to its oversight of the sub-advisor, the Manager may invest the portion of a Fund's assets that the sub-advisor determines to be allocated to short-term investments.
Each Fund is responsible for expenses not otherwise assumed by the Manager, including the following: audits by independent auditors; transfer agency, custodian, dividend disbursing agent and shareholder recordkeeping services; taxes, if any, and the preparation of a Fund's tax returns; interest; costs of Trustee and shareholder meetings; preparing, printing and mailing prospectuses and reports to existing shareholders; fees for filing reports with regulatory bodies and the maintenance of a Fund's existence; legal fees; fees to federal and state authorities for the registration of shares; fees and expenses of Trustees; insurance and fidelity bond premiums; fees paid to service providers providing reports regarding adherence by sub-advisors to the investment style of each Fund; fees paid for brokerage commission analysis for the purpose of monitoring best execution practices of the sub-advisors; and any extraordinary expenses of a nonrecurring nature.
The Manager has contractually agreed from time to time to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses for each Fund in order to maintain competitive expense ratios for each Fund. The contractual expense reimbursement can be changed or terminated only in the discretion and with the approval of a majority of a Fund's Board of Trustees. The Manager may also, from time to time, voluntarily waive fees and/or reimburse expenses of a Fund. The Board approved a policy whereby the Manager may seek repayment for such fee waivers and expense reimbursements. Under the policy, the Manager can be reimbursed by a Fund for any contractual or voluntary fee waivers or expense reimbursements if reimbursement to the Manager (a) occurs within three years from the date of the Manager's waiver/reimbursement and (b) does not cause the Fund's Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses to exceed the lesser of the contractual percentage limit in effect at the time of the waiver/reimbursement or the time of recoupment.
Pursuant to a separate agreement, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. also serves as the Manager of the Subsidiaries. The Manager does not receive additional compensation for its management of the Subsidiaries.
The following tables show the total management fees paid to the Manager for management and administrative services, and the investment advisory fees paid to the sub-advisor based on a Fund's average daily net assets for each of the Funds' three most recent fiscal years ended December 31. The following tables also show the fees waived or recouped by the Manager and the fees waived by the sub-advisor, if applicable. The fees paid to the Manager were equal to 0.35% of each Fund's average daily net assets. In the tables below, the fees paid to the sub-advisors are expressed both as a dollar amount and percentage of a Fund's average daily net assets.
Management Fees Paid to American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (Gross) |
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2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
$1,721,691 |
$2,491,892 |
$3,601,142 |
AHL TargetRisk Fund* |
N/A |
$0 |
$215,444 |
Sub-Advisor Fees (Gross) |
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|
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
$4,936,261 |
$7,152,759 |
$10,297,669 |
|
1.00% |
1.00% |
1.00% |
AHL TargetRisk Fund* |
N/A |
$75 |
$339,945 |
|
N/A |
0.55% |
0.55% |
Management Fees (Waived)/Recouped |
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|
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
$(2,099,369) |
$(909,052) |
$(176,006) |
AHL TargetRisk Fund* |
N/A |
$(61,866) |
$(215,444) |
Sub-Advisor Fees (Waived) |
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|
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
$(371,678) |
- |
- |
AHL TargetRisk Fund* |
N/A |
$(75) |
$(97,192) |
* The American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund commenced operations on December 31, 2018.
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Distribution Fees
The Manager (or another entity approved by the Board) under a distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act, is paid up to 0.25% per annum of the average daily net assets of the A Class shares and up to 1.00% per annum of the average daily net assets of the C Class shares of a Fund for distribution and shareholder servicing related services, including expenses relating to selling efforts of various broker-dealers, shareholder servicing fees and the preparation and distribution of A Class and C Class shares advertising material and sales literature. The Manager will receive Rule 12b-1 fees from the A Class and C Class shares regardless of the amount of the Manager's actual expenses related to distribution and shareholder servicing efforts on behalf of each Class. Thus, the Manager may realize a profit or a loss based upon its actual distribution and shareholder servicing related expenditures for the A Class and C Class shares. The Manager anticipates that the Rule 12b-1 plan will benefit shareholders by providing broader access to the Funds through broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries who require compensation for their expenses in order to offer shares of the Funds. Distribution fees pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 were:
A Class |
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Fund |
Distribution Fee |
AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
$10,283 |
AHL TargetRisk Fund |
$1,084 |
C Class |
|
Fund |
Distribution Fees |
AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
$59,717 |
AHL TargetRisk Fund |
$15,902 |
Certain sub-advisors of the Funds or other series of the American Beacon Funds contribute to the Manager to support the Funds' distribution activities.
Service Plan Fees
The A Class, C Class, and Investor Class have each adopted a Service Plan (collectively, the "Service Plans"). The Service Plans authorize the payment to the Manager (or another entity approved by the Board) of up to 0.375% per annum of the average daily net assets of the Investor Class shares and up to 0.25% per annum of the average daily net assets of the A Class shares and C Class shares. In addition, a Fund may reimburse the Manager for certain non-distribution shareholder services provided by financial intermediaries attributable to Y Class and R5 Class shares. The Manager or other approved entities may spend such amounts on any activities or expenses primarily intended to result in or relate to the servicing of A Class, C Class, Y Class, R5 Class and Investor Class shares including, but not limited to, payment of shareholder service fees and transfer agency or sub-transfer agency expenses. The fees, which are included as part of each Fund's "Other Expenses" in the Table of Fees and Expenses in the Prospectus, will be payable monthly in arrears. The primary expenses expected to be incurred under the Service Plans are shareholder servicing, record keeping fees and servicing fees paid to financial intermediaries such as plan sponsors and broker-dealers. Service fees paid by the A Class, C Class, Y Class (to April 1, 2017) and Investor Class shares of each Fund pursuant to the applicable Service Plan for the last three fiscal years ended December 31 are set forth below.
AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund Service Fees |
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2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
A Class |
$22,115 |
$4,322 |
$3,136 |
C Class |
$7,179 |
$4,802 |
$4,314 |
Y Class* |
$14,847 |
$0 |
$0 |
Investor Class |
$57,760 |
$62,696 |
$65,737 |
* Service Fees for Y Class from January 1, 2017 to April 1, 2017.
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AHL TargetRisk Fund Service Fees* |
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2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
A Class |
N/A |
$0 |
$52 |
C Class |
N/A |
$0 |
$991 |
Y Class |
N/A |
$0 |
$0 |
Investor Class |
N/A |
$1 |
$13,859 |
* The American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund commenced operations on December 31, 2018.
Securities Lending Fees
As compensation for services provided by the Manager in connection with securities lending activities conducted by a Fund, the lending Fund pays to the Manager, with respect to cash collateral posted by borrowers, a fee of 10% of the net monthly interest income (the gross interest income earned by the investment of cash collateral, less the amount paid to borrowers and related expenses) from such activities and, with respect to loan fees paid by borrowers when a borrower posts collateral other than cash, a fee up to 10% of such loan fees.
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Securities lending income is generated from the demand premium (if any) paid by the borrower to borrow a specific security and from the return on investment of cash collateral, reduced by negotiated rebate fees paid to the borrower and transaction costs. To the extent that a loan is secured by non-cash collateral, securities lending income is generated as a demand premium reduced by transaction costs.
As of the date of this SAI, the Funds do not intend to engage in securities lending activities.
The SEC has granted exemptive relief that permits each Fund to invest cash collateral received from securities lending transactions in shares of one or more private or registered investment companies managed by the Manager.
The Distributor
Resolute Investment Distributors, Inc. ("RID" or "Distributor") is the Funds' distributor and principal underwriter of the Funds' shares.
RID, located at 220 East Las Colinas, Blvd., Suite 1200, Irving, Texas 75039, is a registered broker-dealer and is a member of FINRA. The Distributor is affiliated with the Manager through common ownership. Under a Distribution Agreement with the Trust, the Distributor acts as the distributor and principal underwriter of the Trust 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 the Funds' shares. Pursuant to the Distribution Agreement, to the extent applicable, the Distributor receives, and may re-allow to broker-dealers, all or a portion of the sales charge paid by the purchasers of A Class and C Class shares. For A Class and C Class shares, the Distributor receives commission revenue consisting of the portion of the A Class and C Class sales charge remaining after the allowances by the Distributor to the broker dealers. The Distributor retains any portion of the commission fees that are not paid to the broker-dealers for use solely to pay distribution related expenses.
Prior to March 1, 2018, Foreside, located at Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101, served as the distributor and principal underwriter of the Funds' shares. Pursuant to a Sub-Administration Agreement between Foreside and the Manager in effect through February 28, 2018, Foreside received a fee from the Manager for providing administrative services in connection with the marketing and distribution of shares of the Trust, including the registration of Manager employees as registered representatives of Foreside to facilitate distribution of Fund shares. Foreside also received a fee from the Manager under a Marketing Agreement pursuant to which Foreside provided services in connection with the marketing of a Fund to institutional investors. Pursuant to the Distribution Agreement with the Trust in effect through February 28, 2018, Foreside received, and may have re-allowed to broker-dealers, all or a portion of the sales charge paid by the purchasers of A and C Class shares. For A and C Class shares, Foreside received commission revenues consisting of the portion of A and C Class sales charge remaining after the allowances by Foreside to the broker dealers. Foreside retained any portion of the commission fees that were not paid to the broker-dealers for use solely to pay distribution related expenses.
The aggregate sales charges paid to, or retained by, Foreside from the sale of shares and the contingent deferred sales charge ("CDSC") retained by Foreside on the redemption of shares during the Funds' fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, and for the period from January 1, 2018 through February 28, 2018, are shown in the table below.
Fund |
Fiscal Year |
Aggregate Commissions |
Amount Retained by Foreside |
AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
2018* |
$5,874 |
$257 |
|
2017 |
$35,690 |
$2,876 |
AHL TargetRisk Fund** |
2018 |
N/A |
$0 |
|
2017 |
N/A |
$0 |
* Compensation paid to Foreside from January 1, 2018 through February 28, 2018.
** The American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund commenced operations on December 31, 2018.
The aggregate sales charges paid to, or retained by, the Distributor from the sale of shares and the CDSC retained by the Distributor on the redemption of shares from the period March 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018, and the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, are shown in the table below.
American Beacon Fund |
|
Sales Charge Revenue |
Deferred Sales Charge Revenue |
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|
Fiscal Year |
Amount Paid to Distributor |
Amount Retained by Distributor |
Amount Paid to Distributor |
Amount Retained by Distributor |
AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
2019 |
$36,205 |
$1,664 |
$694 |
- |
|
2018 |
$24,035 |
$2,181 |
$3,533 |
- |
AHL TargetRisk Fund* |
2019 |
$56,011 |
$4,235 |
- |
- |
|
2018 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
* The American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund commenced operations on December 31, 2018.
RID does not receive compensation on redemptions and repurchases, brokerage commissions, or other compensation. However, as shown in a separate chart, RID may receive distribution fees (i.e., Rule 12b-1 fees) from a Fund.
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OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS
State Street, located at One Lincoln Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, serves as custodian for the Funds and the Subsidiaries. State Street also serves as the Funds' Foreign Custody Manager pursuant to rules adopted under the Investment Company Act, whereby it selects and monitors eligible foreign sub-custodians. The Manager also has entered into a sub-administration agreement with State Street. Under the sub-administration agreement, State Street provides each Fund with certain financial reporting and tax services.
Pursuant to an administrative services agreement among the Manager, the Trust, American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust and Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC ("Parametric"), located at 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2800, Seattle, Washington 98104, Parametric provides certain administrative services related to the equitization of cash balances for certain Funds.
DST Asset Manager Solutions, Inc., located at 2000 Crown Colony Drive, Quincy, Massachusetts 02169 is the transfer agent and dividend paying agent for the Trust and provides these services to Fund shareholders.
The Funds' independent registered public accounting firm is Ernst & Young LLP, which is located at 2323 Victory Avenue, Suite 2000, Dallas, Texas 75219.
K&L Gates LLP, 1601 K Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20006, serves as legal counsel to the Funds.
PORTFOLIO MANAGERS
The portfolio managers to each Fund (the "Portfolio Managers") have responsibility for the day-to-day management of accounts other than the Fund. Information regarding these other accounts has been provided by each Portfolio Manager's firm and is set forth below. The number of accounts and assets is shown as of December 31, 2019.
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Number of Other Accounts Managed
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Number of Accounts and Assets for Which
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Name of Investment Advisor and Portfolio Manager |
Registered Investment Companies |
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
Other Accounts |
Registered Investment Companies |
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
Other Accounts |
Russell Korgaonkar |
None |
39 ($10.49 bil) |
30 ($15.36 bil) |
None |
33 ($8.19 bil) |
22 ($11.09 bil) |
Matthew Sargaison |
None |
39 ($10.49 bil) |
30 ($15.36 bil) |
None |
33 ($8.19 bil) |
22 ($11.09 bil) |
Conflicts of Interest
As noted in the table above, the Portfolio Managers manage accounts other than the Funds. This side-by-side management may present potential conflicts between a Portfolio Manager's management of the Funds' investments, on the one hand, and the investments of the other accounts, on the other hand. Set forth below is a description by the sub-advisor of any foreseeable material conflicts of interest that may arise from the concurrent management of a Fund and other accounts. The information regarding potential conflicts of interest was provided by the sub-advisor.
The portfolio managers, in performing their duties with the sub-advisor, manage accounts other than the Funds (collectively with other accounts managed by the sub-advisor and its affiliates, "Other Accounts"). Each Fund has no interest in these activities. It is possible that conflicts of interest may arise in connection with the portfolio managers' management of the Fund's investments on the one hand and the investments of other accounts for which the portfolio managers are responsible for on the other. For example, a portfolio manager may have conflicts of interest in allocating management time, resources and investment opportunities among the Fund and other accounts he advises. In addition, due to differences in the investment strategies or restrictions between the Funds and the other accounts, a portfolio manager may take action with respect to another account that differs from the action taken with respect to each Fund. In some cases, another account managed by a portfolio manager may compensate the investment adviser based on the performance of the securities held by that account. The existence of such a performance based fee may create additional conflicts of interest for the portfolio manager in the allocation of management time, resources and investment opportunities. Whenever conflicts of interest arise, the portfolio manager will report such potential conflict to the compliance department in accordance with the policies and procedures of the sub-advisor.
Compensation
The following is a description provided by the investment sub-advisor regarding the structure of and criteria for determining the compensation of the Portfolio Managers as of December 31, 2019.
Portfolio managers at the sub-advisor are compensated through a base salary and discretionary bonus. Base salaries are benchmarked against key competitors, using external market data providers. Annual discretionary bonuses are based on assessments of personal, team and company performance. Portfolio managers' discretionary bonus compensation therefore is based upon the profitability of the sub-advisor and the wider Man Group. Portfolio managers will typically have part of their discretionary bonus mandatorily deferred, with the proportion deferred increasing as total compensation increases. A share or fund award is granted in respect of the deferred portion and will typically be subject to a three-year vesting period. The share awards grant participant a conditional right over Man Group plc shares and the fund awards grant a conditional right over units in investment products managed by Man Group entities. For portfolio managers at the sub-adviser, at least 25% of the deferred portion is mandatorily deferred into one of the investment products that they manage and they can elect that up to 100% of the deferred portion is deferred into units of investment products managed by Man Group entities (or up to 75% for portfolio managers who are members of the Man Group executive committee). The remainder of the deferred portion will be deferred into share awards. There are no other special compensation schemes for the portfolio managers.
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Ownership of the Funds
A Portfolio Manager's beneficial ownership of a Fund is defined as the Portfolio Manager having the opportunity to share in any profit from transactions in the Fund, either directly or indirectly, as the result of any contract, understanding, arrangement, relationship or otherwise. Therefore, ownership of Fund shares by members of the Portfolio Manager's immediate family or by a trust of which the Portfolio Manager is a trustee could be considered ownership by the Portfolio Manager. The tables below set forth each Portfolio Manager's beneficial ownership of the Fund(s) under that Portfolio Manager's management as provided by the sub-advisor as of December 31, 2019.
Name of Investment Advisor and Portfolio Managers |
AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
AHL TargetRisk Fund |
AHL Partners LLP |
|
|
Russell Korgaonkar |
None |
None |
Matthew Sargaison |
None |
None |
PORTFOLIO SECURITIES TRANSACTIONS
In selecting brokers or dealers to execute particular transactions, the Manager and the sub-advisors are authorized to consider "brokerage and research services" (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended), provision of statistical quotations (including the quotations necessary to determine a Fund's NAV), and other information provided to the applicable Fund, to the Manager and/or to the sub-advisors (or their affiliates), provided, however, that the Manager or the sub-advisor must always seek best execution. Research and brokerage services may include information on portfolio companies, economic analyses, and other investment research services. The Trust does not allow the Manager or sub-advisors to enter arrangements to direct transactions to broker-dealers as compensation for the promotion or sale of Trust shares by those broker-dealers. The Manager and the sub-advisors are also authorized to cause a Fund to pay a commission (as defined in SEC interpretations) to a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services for executing a portfolio transaction which is in excess of the amount of the commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction. The Manager or the sub-advisors, as appropriate, must determine in good faith, however, that such commission was reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided, viewed in terms of that particular transaction or in terms of all the accounts over which the Manager or the sub-advisor exercises investment discretion. The fees of the sub-advisors are not reduced by reason of receipt of such brokerage and research services. However, with disclosure to and pursuant to written guidelines approved by the Board, as applicable, the Manager, or the sub-advisors (or a broker-dealer affiliated with them) may execute portfolio transactions and receive usual and customary brokerage commissions (within the meaning of Rule 17e-1 under the Investment Company Act) for doing so. Brokerage and research services obtained with Fund commissions might be used by the Manager and/or the sub-advisors, as applicable, to benefit their other accounts under management.
The Manager and the sub-advisor will place their own orders to execute securities transactions that are designed to implement the applicable Fund's investment objective and policies. In placing such orders, the sub-advisor will seek best execution. The full range and quality of services offered by the executing broker or dealer will be considered when making these determinations. Pursuant to written guidelines approved by the Board, as appropriate, the sub-advisor of a Fund, or its affiliated broker-dealer, may execute portfolio transactions and receive usual and customary brokerage commissions (within the meaning of Rule 17e-1 of the Investment Company Act) for doing so. A Fund's turnover rate, or the frequency of portfolio transactions, will vary from year to year depending on market conditions and a Fund's cash flows. High portfolio turnover increases a Fund's transaction costs, including brokerage commissions, and may result in a greater amount of recognized capital gains.
The Investment Advisory Agreements provide, in substance, that in executing portfolio transactions and selecting brokers or dealers, the principal objective of the sub-advisor is to seek best execution. In assessing available execution venues, the sub-advisor shall consider all factors it deems relevant, including the breadth of the market in the security, the price of the security, the value of any eligible research, the financial condition and execution capability of the broker or dealer and the reasonableness of the commission, if any, for the specific transaction and on a continuing basis. Transactions with respect to the securities of small and emerging growth companies in which a Fund may invest may involve specialized services on the part of the broker or dealer and thereby may entail higher commissions or spreads than would be the case with transactions involving more widely traded securities.
Each Fund may establish brokerage commission recapture arrangements with certain brokers or dealers. If the sub-advisor chooses to execute a transaction through a participating broker, the broker rebates a portion of the commission back to a Fund. Any collateral benefit received through participation in the commission recapture program is directed exclusively to a Fund. Neither the Manager nor the sub-advisor receives any benefits from the commission recapture program. The sub-advisor's participation in the brokerage commission recapture program is optional. The sub-advisor retains full discretion in selecting brokerage firms for securities transactions and is instructed to use the commission recapture program for a transaction only if it is consistent with the sub-advisor's obligation to seek the best execution available.
Commission Recapture
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, each Fund received $0 as a result of participation in the commission recapture program.
Brokerage Commissions
For the Funds' three most recent fiscal years ended December 31, the following brokerage commissions were paid by the Funds. Fluctuations in brokerage commissions from year to year were primarily due to increases or decreases in Fund assets resulting in increased trading. Shareholders of these Funds bear only their pro-rata portion of such expenses.
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|
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
$739,944 |
$834,308 |
$839,010 |
AHL TargetRisk Fund* |
n/a |
$0 |
$14,856 |
*AHL TargetRisk Fund commenced operations on December 31, 2018 |
|
|
|
Affiliated Broker Commissions
During the fiscal years ended December 31, 2017, 2018 and 2019, no brokerage commissions were paid to affiliated brokers by any of the Funds.
Soft Dollars
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, the Funds did not direct any transactions to brokers for research services.
Securities Issued by Top 10 Brokers
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, the Funds did not hold securities issued by a broker-dealer (or by its parent) that were one of the top ten brokers or dealers through which a Fund executed transactions or sold shares.
ADDITIONAL PURCHASE AND SALE INFORMATION FOR A CLASS SHARES
Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers
As described in the Prospectus, there are various ways to reduce your sales charge when purchasing A Class shares. Additional information about A Class sales charge reductions is provided below.
LOI. The LOI may be revised upward at any time during the 13-month period of the LOI ("LOI Period"), and such a revision will be treated as a new LOI, except that the LOI Period during which the purchases must be made will remain unchanged. Purchases made from the date of revision will receive the reduced sales charge, if any, resulting from the revised LOI. The LOI will be considered completed if the shareholder dies within the 13-month LOI Period. Commissions to dealers will not be adjusted or paid on the difference between the LOI amount and the amount invested before the shareholder's death.
All dividends and other distributions on shares held in escrow will be credited to the shareholder's account in shares (or paid in cash, if requested). If the intended investment is not completed within the specified LOI Period, the purchaser may be required to remit to the transfer agent the difference between the sales charge actually paid and the sales charge which would have been paid if the total of such purchases had been made at a single time. Any dealers assigned to the shareholder's account at the time a purchase was made during the LOI Period will receive a corresponding commission adjustment if appropriate. If the difference is not paid by the close of the LOI Period, the appropriate number of shares held in escrow will be redeemed to pay such difference. If the proceeds from this redemption are inadequate, the purchaser may be liable to the Funds for the balance still outstanding.
Rights of Accumulation. Subject to the limitations described in the aggregation policy, you may take into account your accumulated holdings in any class of the American Beacon Funds to determine your sales charge for A Class shares on investments in accounts eligible to be aggregated. If you make a gift of A Class shares, upon your request, you may purchase the shares at the sales charge discount allowed under rights of accumulation of all of your investments in any class of the American Beacon Funds.
Aggregation. Qualifying investments for aggregation include those made by you and your "immediate family" as defined in the Prospectus, if all parties are purchasing shares for their own accounts and/or:
individual-type employee benefit plans, such as an IRA, individual 403(b) plan or single-participant Keogh-type plan;
business accounts solely controlled by you or your immediate family (for example, you own the entire business);
trust accounts established by you or your immediate family (for trusts with only one primary beneficiary, upon the trustor's death the trust account may be aggregated with such beneficiary's own accounts; for trusts with multiple primary beneficiaries, upon the trustor's death the trustees of the trust may instruct a Fund's transfer agent to establish separate trust accounts for each primary beneficiary; each primary beneficiary's separate trust account may then be aggregated with such beneficiary's own accounts);
endowments or foundations established and controlled by you or your immediate family; or
529 accounts, which will be aggregated at the account owner level (Class 529-E accounts may only be aggregated with an eligible employer plan).
Individual purchases by a trustee(s) or other fiduciary(ies) may also be aggregated if the investments are:
for a single trust estate or fiduciary account, including employee benefit plans other than the individual-type employee benefit plans described above;
made for two or more employee benefit plans of a single employer or of affiliated employers as defined in the Investment Company Act, excluding the individual-type employee benefit plans described above;
for nonprofit, charitable or educational organizations, or any endowments or foundations established and controlled by such organizations, or any employer-sponsored retirement plans established for the benefit of the employees of such organizations, their endowments, or their foundations; or
for individually established participant accounts of a 403(b) plan that is treated similarly to an employer-sponsored plan for sales charge purposes (see "Purchases by certain 403(b) plans" under "Sales Charges" above), or made for two or more such 403(b) plans that are treated similarly to employer-sponsored plans for sales charge purposes, in each case of a single employer or affiliated employers as defined in the Investment Company Act. Purchases made for nominee or street name accounts (securities held in the name of a broker-dealer or another nominee such as a bank trust
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department instead of the customer) may not be aggregated with those made for other accounts and may not be aggregated with other nominee or street name accounts unless otherwise qualified as described above.
Concurrent Purchases. As described in the Prospectus, you may reduce your A Class sales charge by combining simultaneous purchases in any of the American Beacon Funds.
Other Purchases. Pursuant to a determination of eligibility by the Manager, A Class shares of a Fund may be sold at NAV per share (without the imposition of a front-end sales charge) to:
current or retired trustees, and officers of the American Beacon Funds family, current or retired employees and directors of the Manager and its affiliated companies, certain family members and employees of the above persons, and trusts or plans primarily for such persons;
currently registered representatives and assistants directly employed by such representatives, retired registered representatives with respect to accounts established while active, or full-time employees (collectively, "Eligible Persons") (and their spouses, and children, including children in step and adoptive relationships, sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, if the Eligible Persons or the spouses or children of the Eligible Persons are listed in the account registration with the spouse or parent) of broker-dealers who have sales agreements with the Distributor (or who clear transactions through such dealers), plans for the dealers, and plans that include as participants only the Eligible Persons, their spouses and/or children;
companies exchanging securities with a Fund through a merger, acquisition or exchange offer;
insurance company separate accounts;
accounts managed by the Manager, a sub-advisor to a Fund and its affiliated companies;
the Manager or a sub-advisor to a Fund and its affiliated companies;
an individual or entity with a substantial business relationship with, which may include the officers and employees of the Funds' custodian or transfer agent, the Manager or a sub-advisor to a Fund and its affiliated companies, or an individual or entity related or relating to such individual or entity;
full-time employees of banks that have sales agreements with the Distributor, who are solely dedicated to directly supporting the sale of mutual funds;
directors, officers and employees of financial institutions that have a selling group agreement with the Distributor;
banks, broker-dealers and other financial institutions (including registered investment advisors and financial planners) that have entered into an agreement with the Distributor or one of its affiliates, purchasing shares on behalf of clients participating in a Fund supermarket or in a wrap program, asset allocation program or other program in which the clients pay an asset-based fee;
clients of authorized dealers purchasing shares in fixed or flat fee brokerage accounts;
Employer-sponsored defined contribution - type plans, including 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer sponsored 403(b) plans, profit-sharing and money purchase pension plans, defined benefit plans and non-qualified deferred compensation plans, and IRA rollovers involving retirement plan assets invested in a Fund in the American Beacon Funds fund family; and
Employee benefit and retirement plans for the Manager and its affiliates.
Shares are offered at NAV per share to these persons and organizations due to anticipated economies in sales effort and expense. Once an account is established under this NAV per share privilege, additional investments can be made at NAV per share for the life of the account.
It is possible that a broker-dealer may not be able to offer one or more of these waiver categories. If this situation occurs, it is possible that the investor would need to invest directly through American Beacon Funds in order to take advantage of the waiver. A Fund may terminate or amend the terms of these sales charge waivers at any time.
Moving Between Accounts. Investments in certain account types may be moved to other account types without incurring additional A Class sales charges. These transactions include, for example:
redemption proceeds from a non-retirement account (for example, a joint tenant account) used to purchase Fund shares in an IRA or other individual-type retirement account;
"required minimum distributions" (as described in Section 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code) from an IRA or other individual-type retirement account used to purchase Fund shares in a non-retirement account;
death distributions paid to a beneficiary's account that are used by the beneficiary to purchase Fund shares in a different account; and
it is possible that a broker-dealer may not be able to offer the ability to move between accounts. If this situation occurs, it is possible that the investor would need to invest directly through American Beacon Funds in order to take advantage of this privilege. Please contact your financial intermediary for additional information.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING CONTINGENT DEFERRED SALES CHARGES
As discussed in the Prospectus, the redemption of C Class shares may be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge ("CDSC") if you redeem your shares within 12 months of purchase. If you purchased $1,000,000 or more of A Class shares of the Fund(s) (and therefore paid no initial sales charges) and subsequently redeem your shares within 18 months of your purchase, you may be charged a CDSC upon redemption. In determining whether the CDSC is payable, it is assumed that shares not subject to the CDSC are the first redeemed followed by other shares held for the longest period of time. The CDSC will not be imposed upon shares representing reinvested dividends or other distributions, or upon amounts representing share appreciation. As described in the Prospectus, there are various circumstances under which the CDSC will be waived. Additional information about CDSC waivers is provided below.
The CDSC is waived under the following circumstances:
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Any partial or complete redemption following death or "disability" (as defined in the Internal Revenue Code) of a shareholder (including one who owns the shares with his or her spouse as a joint tenant with rights of survivorship) from an account in which the deceased or disabled is named. The Manager or a Fund's transfer agent may require documentation prior to waiver of the charge, including death certificates, physicians' certificates, etc.
Redemptions from a systematic withdrawal plan. If the systematic withdrawal plan is based on a fixed dollar amount or number of shares, systematic withdrawal redemptions are limited to no more than 10% of your account value or number of shares per year, as of the date the Manager or a Fund's transfer agent receives your request. If the systematic withdrawal plan is based on a fixed percentage of your account value, each redemption is limited to an amount that would not exceed 10% of your annual account value at the time of withdrawal.
Redemptions from retirement plans qualified under Section 401 of the Internal Revenue Code. The CDSC will be waived for benefit payments made by American Beacon Funds directly to plan participants. Benefit payments include, but are not limited to, payments resulting from death, "disability," "retirement," "separation from service" (each as defined in the Internal Revenue Code), "required minimum distributions" (as described in Section 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code), in-service distributions, hardships, loans and qualified domestic relations orders. The CDSC waiver will not apply in the event of termination of the plan or transfer of the plan to another financial institution.
Redemptions that are required minimum distributions from a traditional IRA after age 701/2.
Involuntary redemptions as a result of your account not meeting the minimum balance requirements, the termination and liquidation of the Fund, or other actions by the Fund.
Distributions from accounts for which the broker-dealer of record has entered into a written agreement with the Distributor (or Manager) allowing this waiver.
To return excess contributions made to a retirement plan.
To return contributions made due to a mistake of fact.
The following example illustrates the operation of the CDSC. Assume that you open an account and purchase 1,000 shares at $10 per share and that six months later the NAV per share is $12 and, during such time, you have acquired 50 additional shares through reinvestment of distributions. If at such time you should redeem 450 shares (proceeds of $5,400), 50 shares will not be subject to the charge because of dividend reinvestment. With respect to the remaining 400 shares, the charge is applied only to the original cost of $10 per share and not to the increase in NAV per share of $2 per share. Therefore, $4,000 of the $5,400 redemption proceeds will pay the charge. At the rate of 1.00%, the CDSC would be $40 for redemptions of C Class shares. In determining whether an amount is available for redemption without incurring a deferred sales charge, the purchase payments made for all shares in your account are aggregated.
REDEMPTIONS IN KIND
Although each Fund intends to redeem shares in cash, each Fund reserves the right to pay the redemption price in whole or in part by a distribution of securities or other assets. However, shareholders always will be entitled to redeem shares for cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of the applicable Fund's net asset value of the applicable Fund during any 90-day period. Redemption in kind is not as liquid as a cash redemption. In addition, to the extent a Fund redeems its shares in this manner, the shareholder assumes the risk of a subsequent change in the market value of those securities, the cost of liquidating the securities and the possibility of a lack of a liquid market for those securities.
TAX INFORMATION
The tax information in the Prospectus and in this section relates solely to the federal income tax law and assumes that each Fund will continue to qualify each taxable year as a "regulated investment company" ("RIC") under the Internal Revenue Code (as discussed below). The tax information in this section is only a summary of certain key federal tax considerations affecting the Funds and their shareholders and is in addition to the tax information provided in the Prospectus. No attempt has been made to present a complete explanation of the federal income tax treatment of each Fund or the tax implications to its shareholders. The discussions here and in the Prospectus are not intended as substitutes for careful tax planning. The tax information is based on the Internal Revenue Code and applicable regulations in effect, and administrative pronouncements and judicial decisions publicly available, on the date of this SAI. Future legislative, regulatory or administrative changes or court decisions may significantly change the tax rules applicable to the Funds and their shareholders. Any of these changes or court decisions may have a retroactive effect.
Taxation of the Funds
Each Fund intends to continue to qualify each taxable year for treatment as a RIC under Subchapter M of Chapter 1 of Subtitle A of the Internal Revenue Code. To so qualify, each Fund (which is treated as a separate corporation for these purposes) must, among other requirements:
Derive at least 90% of its gross income each taxable year from (1) dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans and gains from the sale or other disposition of securities or foreign currencies (together with Qualifying Other Income (as defined below), "Qualifying Income"), or other income, including gains from options, futures or forward contracts, derived with respect to its business of investing in securities or those currencies ("Qualifying Other Income") and (2) net income derived from an interest in a "qualified publicly traded partnership" ("QPTP") ("Gross Income Requirement"). A QPTP is a "publicly traded partnership" (that is, a partnership the interests in which are "traded on an established securities market" or "readily tradable on a secondary market (or the substantial equivalent thereof)" (a "PTP")) that meets certain qualifying income requirements other than a partnership at least 90% of the gross income of which is Qualifying Income;
Diversify its investments so that, at the close of each quarter of its taxable year, (1) at least 50% of the value of its total assets is represented by cash and cash items, Government securities, securities of other RICs, and other securities, with those other securities limited, in respect of any one issuer, to an amount that does not exceed 5% of the value of the Fund's total assets and that does not represent more than 10% of the issuer's outstanding voting securities (equity securities of QPTPs being considered voting securities for these purposes), and (2) not more than 25% of the
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value of its total assets is invested in (a) the securities (other than Government securities or securities of other RICs) of any one issuer, (b) the securities (other than securities of other RICs) of two or more issuers the Fund controls (by owning 20% or more of their voting power) that are determined to be engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses, or (c) the securities of one or more QPTPs ("Diversification Requirements"); and
Distribute annually to its shareholders at least the sum of 90% of its investment company taxable income (generally, net investment income, the excess (if any) of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss, and net gains and losses (if any) from certain foreign currency transactions, all determined without regard to any deduction for dividends paid) and 90% of its net exempt interest income ("Distribution Requirement").
By qualifying for treatment as a RIC, a Fund (but not its shareholders) will be relieved of federal income tax on the part of its investment company taxable income and net capital gain (i.e., the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss) that it distributes to its shareholders. If for any taxable year a Fund does not qualify for that treatment - either (1) by failing to satisfy the Distribution Requirement, even if it satisfies the Gross Income and Diversification Requirements ("Other Requirements"), or (2) by failing to satisfy any of the Other Requirements and is unable to, or determines not to, avail itself of Internal Revenue Code provisions that enable a RIC to cure a failure to satisfy any of the Other Requirements as long as the failure "is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect" and the RIC pays a deductible tax calculated in accordance with those provisions and meets certain other requirements - then for federal tax purposes, all of its taxable income (including its net capital gain) would be subject to tax at the regular corporate rate without any deduction for dividends paid to its shareholders, and the dividends it pays would be taxable to its shareholders as ordinary income (or possibly, (a) for individual and certain other non-corporate shareholders (each, an "individual"), as "qualified dividend income" (as described in the Prospectus) ("QDI"), and/or (b) in the case of corporate shareholders that meet certain holding period and other requirements regarding their Fund shares, as eligible for the dividends-received deduction ("DRD")) to the extent of the Fund's current and accumulated earnings and profits. Failure to qualify for RIC treatment would therefore have a negative impact on a Fund's income and performance. Furthermore, a Fund could be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest, and make substantial distributions before requalifying for RIC treatment. It is possible that a Fund will not qualify as a RIC in any given taxable year.
Each Fund will be subject to a nondeductible 4% federal excise tax ("Excise Tax") to the extent it fails to distribute by the end of any calendar year substantially all of its ordinary income for that year and substantially all of its "capital gain net income" for the one-year period ending on December 31 of that year, plus certain other amounts. Each Fund intends to make sufficient distributions by the end of each calendar year to avoid liability for the Excise Tax.
Taxation of Certain Investments and Strategies
Hedging strategies, such as entering into forward contracts and selling (writing) and purchasing options and futures contracts, involve complex rules that will determine for federal income tax purposes the amount, character and timing of recognition of gains and losses a Fund may realize in connection therewith. In general, a Fund's (1) gains from the disposition of foreign currencies and (2) Qualifying Other Income will be treated as Qualifying Income under the Gross Income Requirement.
Dividends and interest a Fund receives, and gains it realizes, on foreign securities may be subject to income, withholding or other taxes imposed by foreign countries and U.S. possessions (collectively, "foreign taxes") that would reduce the yield and/or total return on its securities. Tax treaties between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate foreign taxes, however, and many foreign countries do not impose taxes on capital gains realized on investments by foreign investors. It is impossible to determine the effective rate of a Fund's foreign tax in advance, since the amount of its assets to be invested in various countries is not known.
Some futures contracts, foreign currency contracts, and "non-equity" options (i.e., certain listed options, such as those on a "broad-based" securities index) - except any "securities futures contract" that is not a "dealer securities futures contract" (both as defined in the Internal Revenue Code) and any interest rate swap, currency swap, basis swap, interest rate cap, interest rate floor, commodity swap, equity swap, equity index swap, credit default swap, or similar agreement - in which a Fund invests may be subject to Internal Revenue Code section 1256 (collectively, "Section 1256 contracts"). Any Section 1256 contract a Fund holds at the end of its taxable year must be "marked-to-market" (that is, treated as having been sold at that time for its fair market value) for federal income tax purposes, with the result that unrealized gains or losses will be treated as though they were realized. Sixty percent of any net gain or loss realized on these deemed sales, and 60% of any net realized gain or loss from any actual sales of Section 1256 contracts, will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss, and the balance will be treated as short-term capital gain or loss. Section 1256 contracts also may be marked-to-market for purposes of the Excise Tax. These rules may operate to increase the amount that a Fund must distribute to satisfy the Distribution Requirement (i.e., with respect to the portion treated as short-term capital gain), which will be taxable to its shareholders as ordinary income when distributed to them, and to increase the net capital gain a Fund recognizes, without in either case increasing the cash available to it.
Under Internal Revenue Code section 988, a gain or loss (1) from the disposition of foreign currencies, (2) except in certain circumstances, from options, futures, and forward contracts on foreign currencies (and on financial instruments involving foreign currencies) and from notional principal contracts (e.g., swaps, caps, floors, and collars) involving payments denominated in foreign currencies, (3) on the disposition of each foreign-currency-denominated debt security that is attributable to fluctuations in the value of the foreign currency between the dates of acquisition and disposition of the security, and (4) that is attributable to exchange rate fluctuations between the time a Fund accrues interest, dividends, or other receivables or expenses or other liabilities denominated in a foreign currency and the time it actually collects the receivables or pays the liabilities generally will be treated as ordinary income or loss. These gains or losses will increase or decrease the amount of a Fund's investment company taxable income to be distributed to its shareholders as ordinary income, rather than affecting the amount of its net capital gain. If a Fund's section 988 losses exceed its other investment company taxable income for a taxable year, a Fund would not be able to distribute any dividends, and any distributions made during that year (including those made before the losses were realized) would be characterized as a non-taxable "return of capital" to shareholders, rather than as a dividend, thereby reducing each shareholder's basis in his or her Fund shares and treating any part of such distribution exceeding that basis as gain from the disposition of those shares.
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Offsetting positions a Fund enters into or holds in any actively traded option, futures or forward contract may constitute a "straddle" for federal income tax purposes. Straddles are subject to certain rules that may affect the amount, character and timing of recognition of a Fund's gains and losses with respect to positions of the straddle by requiring, among other things, that (1) losses realized on disposition of one position of a straddle be deferred to the extent of any unrealized gain in an offsetting position until the latter position is disposed of, (2) a Fund's holding period in certain straddle positions not begin until the straddle is terminated (possibly resulting in gain being treated as short-term rather than long-term capital gain), and (3) losses recognized with respect to certain straddle positions, that otherwise would constitute short-term capital losses, be treated as long-term capital losses. Applicable regulations also provide certain "wash sale" rules, which apply to transactions where a position is sold at a loss and a new offsetting position is acquired within a prescribed period, and "short sale" rules applicable to straddles. Different elections are available, which may mitigate the effects of the straddle rules, particularly with respect to a "mixed straddle" (i.e., a straddle at least one, but not all, positions of which are Section 1256 contracts).
When a covered call option written (sold) by a Fund expires, a Fund will realize a short-term capital gain equal to the amount of the premium it received for writing the option. When a Fund terminates its obligations under such an option by entering into a closing transaction, it will realize a short-term capital gain (or loss), depending on whether the cost of the closing transaction is less (or more) than the premium it received when it wrote the option. When a covered call option written by a Fund is exercised, it will be treated as having sold the underlying security, producing long-term or short-term capital gain or loss, depending on the holding period of the underlying security and whether the sum of the option price received on the exercise plus the premium received when it wrote the option is more or less than the underlying security's basis.
If a Fund has an "appreciated financial position" - generally, any position (including an interest through an option, futures or forward contract or short sale) with respect to any stock, debt instrument (other than "straight debt") or partnership interest the fair market value of which exceeds its adjusted basis—and enters into a "constructive sale" of the position, a Fund will be treated as having made an actual sale thereof, with the result that it will recognize gain at that time. A constructive sale generally consists of a short sale, an offsetting notional principal contract or a futures or forward contract a Fund or a related person enters into with respect to the same or substantially identical property. In addition, if the appreciated financial position is itself a short sale or such a contract, acquisition of the underlying property or substantially identical property will be deemed a constructive sale. The foregoing will not apply, however, to any transaction of a Fund during any taxable year that otherwise would be treated as a constructive sale if the transaction is closed within 30 days after the end of that year and a Fund holds the appreciated financial position unhedged for 60 days after that closing (i.e., at no time during that 60-day period is a Fund's risk of loss regarding that position reduced by reason of certain specified transactions with respect to substantially identical or related property, such as having an option to sell, being contractually obligated to sell, making a short sale or granting an option to buy substantially identical stock or securities).
Certain aspects of the tax treatment of derivative instruments are currently unclear and may be affected by changes in legislation, regulations, administrative rules, and/or other legally binding authority that could affect the treatment of income from those instruments and the character, timing of recognition and amount of a Fund's taxable income or net realized gains and distributions. If the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") were to assert successfully that income a Fund derives from those investments does not constitute Qualifying Other Income, a Fund might cease to qualify as a RIC (with the consequences described above under "Taxation of the Funds") or might be required to reduce its exposure to such investments.
The Subsidiary
Each Fund invests a portion of its assets (not exceeding the amount permitted by the 25% Diversification Requirement) in its respective Subsidiary, which is each classified as a corporation for federal tax purposes. A foreign corporation, such as a Subsidiary, generally is not subject to federal income tax unless it is engaged in the conduct of a trade or business in the United States. Each Subsidiary is and will be operated in a manner that is expected to meet the requirements of a safe harbor under Section 864(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, under which it can trade in certain commodities or stocks or securities for its own account without being deemed to be so engaged. If, however, certain of a Subsidiary's activities do not meet those safe harbor requirements, it might be considered as engaging in the conduct of such a trade or business. Even if a Subsidiary is not so engaged, and thus does not have income "effectively connected" with such conduct, it could be subject to a withholding tax at a rate of 30% on all or a portion of its U.S.-source gross income.
Each Subsidiary is treated as a "controlled foreign corporation" (a "CFC"), and each Fund is a "United States shareholder" thereof (as both terms are defined in the Internal Revenue Code). As a result, a Fund is required to include in its gross income each taxable year all of its respective Subsidiary's "subpart F income," which generally is treated as ordinary income; it is expected that virtually all of that Subsidiary's income will be "subpart F income." If a Subsidiary realizes a net loss, that loss will not be available to offset the respective Fund's income. A Fund's inclusion of the respective Subsidiary's "subpart F income" in its gross income increases that Fund's tax basis in its shares of that Subsidiary. Distributions by a Subsidiary to a Fund are not taxable to the extent of its previously undistributed "subpart F income" and reduce the Fund's tax basis in those shares.
Although income derived directly from commodities, including certain commodity-linked derivative instruments, is not considered Qualifying Other Income, the IRS issued numerous private letter rulings ("PLRs") beginning in 2006 that a RIC's inclusion of "subpart F income" from a wholly owned CFC (such as the Subsidiary) is Qualifying Other Income. A PLR may be cited as precedent, however, only by the taxpayer(s) to which it is issued. Moreover, in July 2011, the IRS suspended the issuance of new such PLRs. Treasury regulations published on March 19, 2019, provide that the income a RIC is deemed under the Internal Revenue Code to constructively derive from a CFC will be Qualifying Other Income. Additionally, distributions the CFC makes to the RIC out of its associated earnings and profits for the applicable taxable year ("Annual E&P") will qualify as dividends and, therefore, Qualifying Income for a RIC.
In 2016, the IRS issued a revenue procedure, which provides that the IRS will not "ordinarily" issue PLRs on any issue relating to the treatment of a corporation as a RIC that requires a determination of whether a financial instrument or position is a "security." Accordingly, future PLRs regarding the status of commodity-linked notes and other commodity-linked derivative instruments will be rarely issued, if at all.
The federal income tax treatment of each Fund's income from its respective Subsidiary also may be adversely affected further by future legislation, other Treasury regulations, and/or other guidance issued by the IRS that could affect the character, timing of recognition, and/or amount of a Fund's
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taxable income and/or net capital gain and, therefore, the distributions it makes. See "-Taxation of the Funds" above regarding the federal income tax consequences if a Fund failed to qualify as a RIC for any taxable year.
Taxation of the Funds' Shareholders
General - Dividends and other distributions a Fund declares in the last quarter of any calendar year that are payable to shareholders of record on a date in that quarter will be deemed to have been paid by the Fund and received by those shareholders on or before December 31 of that year even if the Fund pays the distributions during the following January. Accordingly, those distributions will be reportable by, and taxed to, those shareholders for the taxable year in which that December 31 falls.
If Fund shares are redeemed at a loss after being held for six months or less, the loss will be treated as long-term, instead of short-term, capital loss to the extent of any capital gain distributions received on those shares. In addition, any loss a shareholder realizes on a redemption of Fund shares will be disallowed to the extent the shares are replaced within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the redemption; in that case, the basis in the acquired shares will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss. Investors also should be aware that the price of Fund shares at any time may reflect the amount of a forthcoming dividend or other distribution; so if they purchase Fund shares shortly before the record date for a distribution, they will pay full price for the shares and receive some part of the price back as a taxable distribution, even though it represents a partial return of invested capital.
If more than 50% of the value of a Fund's total assets at the close of any taxable year consists of securities of foreign corporations, it will be eligible to file an election for that year with the IRS that would enable its shareholders to benefit from any foreign tax credit or deduction available with respect to any foreign taxes it pays. Pursuant to the election, the Fund(s) would treat those taxes as dividends paid to its shareholders and each shareholder (1) would be required to include in gross income, and treat as paid by the shareholder, the shareholder's proportionate share of those taxes, (2) would be required to treat that share of those taxes and of any dividend the Fund paid that represents income from foreign or U.S. possessions sources ("foreign-source income") as the shareholder's own income from those sources, and (3) could either use the foregoing information in calculating the foreign tax credit against the shareholder's federal income tax or, alternatively, deduct the foreign taxes deemed paid by the shareholder in computing taxable income. If a Fund makes this election for a taxable year, it will report to its shareholders shortly after that year their respective shares of the foreign taxes it paid and its foreign-source income for that year.
An individual shareholder of a Fund who, for a taxable year, have no more than $300 ($600 for married persons filing jointly) of creditable foreign taxes included on IRS Forms 1099 and all of whose foreign-source income is "qualified passive income" may elect for that year to be exempt from the extremely complicated foreign tax credit limitation for federal income tax purposes (about which shareholders may wish to consult their tax advisers), in which event the shareholder would be able to claim a foreign tax credit without having to file the detailed Form 1116 that otherwise is required. A shareholder will not be entitled to credit or deduct its portion of foreign taxes a Fund paid that is allocable to Fund shares the shareholder has not held for at least 16 days during the 31-day period beginning 15 days before the ex-distribution date for those shares. The minimum holding period will be extended if the shareholder's risk of loss with respect to those shares is reduced by reason of holding an offsetting position. No deduction for foreign taxes may be claimed by a shareholder who does not itemize deductions. A foreign shareholder may not deduct or claim a credit for foreign taxes in determining its federal income tax liability unless a Fund dividends paid to it are effectively connected with the shareholder's conduct of a U.S. trade or business.
Basis Election and Reporting - A Fund shareholder who wants to use an acceptable method for basis determination with respect to Fund shares other than the average basis method (the Funds' default method), must elect to do so in writing (which may be electronic). The basis determination method a Fund shareholder elects may not be changed with respect to a redemption (including a redemption that is part of an exchange) of Fund shares after the settlement date of the redemption.
In addition to the requirement to report the gross proceeds from redemptions of Fund shares, each Fund (or its administrative agent) must report to the IRS and furnish to its shareholders the basis information for Fund shares that are redeemed or exchanged and indicate whether they had a short-term (one year or less) or long-term (more than one year) holding period. Fund shareholders should consult with their tax advisers to determine the best IRS-accepted basis determination method for their tax situation and to obtain more information about how the basis reporting law applies to them. Fund shareholders who acquire and hold Fund shares through a financial intermediary should contact their financial intermediary for information related to the basis election and reporting.
Backup Withholding - A Fund is required to withhold and remit to the U.S. Treasury 24% of dividends, capital gain distributions, and redemption proceeds (regardless of the extent to which gain or loss may be realized) otherwise payable to any individual who fails to certify that the taxpayer identification number furnished to the Fund is correct or who furnishes an incorrect number (together with the withholding described in the next sentence, "backup withholding"). Withholding at that rate also is required from each Fund's dividends and capital gain distributions otherwise payable to such a shareholder who (1) is subject to backup withholding for failure to report the receipt of interest or dividend income properly or (2) fails to certify to the Fund that he or she is not subject to backup withholding or that it is a corporation or other "exempt recipient." Backup withholding is not an additional tax; rather, any amounts so withheld may be credited against the shareholder's federal income tax liability or refunded if proper documentation is submitted to the IRS.
Non-U.S. Shareholders - Dividends a Fund pays to a shareholder who is a nonresident alien individual or foreign entity (each a "non-U.S. shareholder") - other than (1) dividends paid to a non-U.S. shareholder whose ownership of the Fund's shares is effectively connected with a trade or business within the United States the shareholder conducts and (2) capital gain distributions paid to a nonresident alien individual who is physically present in the United States for no more than 182 days during the taxable year - generally are subject to 30% federal withholding tax (unless a reduced rate of withholding or a withholding exemption is provided under an applicable treaty). However, two categories of dividends a Fund might pay, "short-term capital gain dividends" and "interest-related dividends," to non-U.S. shareholders (with certain exceptions) and reported by it in writing to its shareholders are exempt from that tax. "Short-term capital gain dividends" are dividends that are attributable to net short-term gain, computed with certain adjustments. "Interest-related dividends" are dividends that are attributable to "qualified net interest income" (i.e., "qualified
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interest income," which generally consists of certain OID, interest on obligations "in registered form," and interest on deposits, less allocable deductions) from sources within the United States. Non-U.S. shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisers concerning the applicability of that withholding tax.
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act ("FATCA") - Under FATCA, "foreign financial institutions" ("FFIs") and "non-financial foreign entities" ("NFFEs") that are Fund shareholders may be subject to a generally nonrefundable 30% withholding tax on income dividends a Fund pays. As discussed more fully below, the FATCA withholding tax generally can be avoided (a) by an FFI, if it reports certain information regarding direct and indirect ownership of financial accounts U.S. persons hold with the FFI, and (b) by an NFFE that certifies its status as such and, in certain circumstances, information regarding substantial U.S. owners. Proposed regulations (having current effect) have been issued to eliminate certain FATCA withholding taxes, including the withholding tax on investment sale proceeds that was scheduled to begin in 2019, and to defer the effective date of other taxes.
The U.S. Treasury has negotiated intergovernmental agreements ("IGAs") with certain countries and is in various stages of negotiations with other foreign countries with respect to alternative approaches to implement FATCA. An entity in one of those countries may be required to comply with the terms of the IGA instead of U.S. Treasury regulations. An FFI resident in a country that has entered into a Model I IGA with the United States must report to that country's government (pursuant to the terms of the applicable IGA and applicable law), which will, in turn, report to the IRS. An FFI resident in a Model II IGA country generally must comply with U.S. regulatory requirements, with certain exceptions, including the treatment of recalcitrant accountholders. An FFI resident in one of those countries that complies with whichever of the foregoing applies will be exempt from FATCA withholding.
An FFI can avoid FATCA withholding by becoming a "participating FFI," which requires the FFI to enter into a tax compliance agreement with the IRS under the Internal Revenue Code. Under such an agreement, a participating FFI agrees to (1) verify and document whether it has U.S. accountholders, (2) report certain information regarding their accounts to the IRS, and (3) meet certain other specified requirements.
An NFFE that is the beneficial owner of a payment from a Fund can avoid FATCA withholding generally by certifying its status as such and, in certain circumstances, either that (1) it does not have any substantial U.S. owners or (2) it does have one or more such owners and reports the name, address, and taxpayer identification number of each such owner. The NFFE will report to a Fund or other applicable withholding agent, which may, in turn, report information to the IRS.
Those foreign shareholders also may fall into certain exempt, excepted, or deemed compliant categories established by U.S. Treasury regulations, IGAs, and other guidance regarding FATCA. An FFI or NFFE that invests in a Fund will need to provide it with documentation properly certifying the entity's status under FATCA to avoid FATCA withholding. The requirements imposed by FATCA are different from, and in addition to, the tax certification rules to avoid backup withholding described above. Foreign investors are urged to consult their tax advisers regarding the application of these requirements to their own situation and the impact thereof on their investment in a Fund.
Other Taxes - Statutory rules and regulations regarding state and local taxation of ordinary income dividends, QDI dividends and net capital and foreign currency gain distributions may differ from the federal income taxation rules described above. Distributions may also be subject to additional state, local and foreign taxes depending on each shareholder's situation.
Investors should consult their own tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences to them of an investment in a Fund based on their particular circumstances. Each Fund does not expect to receive a ruling from any tax authority or an opinion of tax counsel with respect to its treatment of any tax positions. Tax consequences of transactions are not the primary consideration of each Fund in implementing its investment strategy.
DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST
The Trust is an entity of the type commonly known as a "Massachusetts business trust." Under Massachusetts law, shareholders of such a trust may, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable for its obligations. However, the Trust's Declaration of Trust contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for acts or obligations of the Trust and provides for indemnification and reimbursement of expenses out of Trust property for any shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the Trust. The Declaration of Trust also provides that the Trust may maintain appropriate insurance (for example, fidelity bonding) for the protection of the Trust, its shareholders, Trustees, officers, employees and agents to cover possible tort and other liabilities. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss due to shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which both inadequate insurance existed and the Trust itself was unable to meet its obligations. The Trust has not engaged in any other business.
The Trust was originally created to manage money for large institutional investors. The following individuals (and members of that individual's "immediate family"), are eligible to purchase shares of the R5 Class with an initial investment of less than $250,000: (i) employees of the Manager, or its parent company Resolute Investment Managers, Inc., (ii) employees of a sub-advisor for Funds where it serves as sub-advisor, (iii) members of the Board, (iv) employees of Kelso/Estancia, and (v) members of the Manager's Board of Directors. The term "immediate family" refers to one's spouse, children, grandchildren, grandparents, parents, parents-in-law, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters-in-law, a sibling's spouse, a spouse's sibling, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews; relatives by virtue of remarriage (step-children, step-parents, etc.) are included. Any shareholders that the Manager transfers to the R5 Class upon termination of the class of shares in which the shareholders were originally invested is also eligible for purchasing shares of the R5 Class with an initial investment of less than $250,000.
The Investor Class was created to give individuals and other smaller investors an opportunity to invest in the American Beacon Funds. The R5 and Y Classes were created to manage money for large institutional investors, including pension and 401(k) plans. The A Class and C Class were created for investors investing in the American Beacon Funds through their broker-dealers or other financial intermediaries.
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FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Funds' independent registered public accounting firm, Ernst & Young LLP, audits and reports on the Funds' annual financial statements. The audited financial statements include the schedule of investments, statement of assets and liabilities, statement of operations, statements of changes in net assets, financial highlights, notes and report of independent registered public accounting firm.
The audited financial statements are incorporated by reference to the American Beacon Funds' Annual Report to Shareholders of the American Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund, and American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019.
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APPENDIX A
Ratings Definitions
Below are summaries of the ratings definitions used by some of the rating organizations. Those ratings represent the opinion of the rating organizations as to the credit quality of the issues that they rate. The summaries are based upon publicly available information provided by the rating organizations.
Ratings of Long-Term Obligations and Preferred Stocks — A Fund utilizes ratings provided by rating organizations in order to determine eligibility of long-term obligations. The ratings described in this section may also be used for evaluating the credit quality for preferred stocks.
Credit ratings typically evaluate the safety of principal and interest payments, not the market value risk of bonds. The rating organizations may fail to update a credit rating on a timely basis to reflect changes in economic or financial conditions that may affect the market value of the security. For these reasons, credit ratings may not be an accurate indicator of the market value of a bond.
The four highest Moody's ratings for long-term obligations (or issuers thereof) are Aaa, Aa, A and Baa. Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, subject to the lowest level of credit risk. Obligations rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk. Obligations rated A are judged to be upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk. Obligations rated Baa are judged to be medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.
Moody's ratings of Ba, B, Caa, Ca and C are considered below investment grade. Obligations rated Ba are judged to be speculative and are subject to substantial credit risk. Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk. Obligations rated Caa are judged to be of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk. Obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest. Obligations rated C are the lowest rated and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest. Moody's also 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. Additionally, a "(hyb)" indicator is appended to all ratings of hybrid securities issued by banks, insurers, finance companies, and securities firms.
The four highest S&P Global ratings for long-term obligations are AAA, AA, A and BBB. An obligation rated AAA has the highest rating assigned by S&P Global. The obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is extremely strong. An obligation rated AA differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is very strong. 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 obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is still strong. An obligation rated BBB exhibits adequate protection parameters; however, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to weaken the obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
S&P Global ratings of 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. 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 obligor's inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. 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 obligor's capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. 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. An obligation rated CC is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The CC rating is used when a default has not yet occurred, but S&P Global expects default to be a virtual certainty, regardless of the anticipated time to default. 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. 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 S&P Global 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 obligation's rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer. NR indicates that a rating has not been assigned or is no longer assigned. 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.
The four highest ratings for long-term obligations by Fitch Ratings are AAA, AA, A and BBB. Obligations rated AAA are deemed to be of the highest credit quality. AAA ratings denote the lowest expectation of default risk. They are assigned only in case of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events. Obligations rated AA are deemed to be of very high credit quality. AA ratings denote expectations of very low default risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events. Obligations rated A are deemed to be of high credit quality. An A rating denotes expectations of low default risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to changes in circumstances or in economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings. Obligations rated BBB are deemed to be of good credit quality. BBB ratings indicate that expectations of default risk are currently low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate but adverse business and economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity. This is the lowest investment grade category.
A-1 |
Fitch's ratings of BB, B, CCC, CC, C, RD and D are considered below investment grade or speculative grade. Obligations rated BB are deemed to be speculative. BB ratings indicate an elevated vulnerability to default risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time; however, business or financial flexibility exists which supports the servicing of financial commitments. Obligations rated B are deemed to be highly speculative. B ratings indicate that material default risk is present, but a limited margin of safety remains. Financial commitments are currently being met; however, capacity for continued payment is vulnerable to deterioration in the business and economic environment. Obligations rated CCC indicate, for issuers and performing obligations, default is a real possibility. Obligations rated CC indicate, for issuers and performing obligations, default of some kind appears probable. Obligations rated C indicate exceptionally high levels of credit risk. Default is imminent or inevitable, or the issuer is in standstill. Conditions that are indicative of a 'C' category rating for an issuer include: (a) the issuer has entered into a grace or cure period following non-payment of a material financial obligation; (b) the issuer has entered into a temporary negotiated waiver or standstill agreement following a payment default on a material financial obligation; (c) the formal announcement by the issuer or their agent of a distressed debt exchange; or (d) a closed financing vehicle where payment capacity is irrevocably impaired such that it is not expected to pay interest and/or principal in full during the life of the transaction, but where no payment default is imminent. Obligations rated RD indicate an issuer that in Fitch Ratings' opinion has experienced an uncured payment default on a bond, loan or other material financial obligation but which has not entered into bankruptcy filings, administration, receivership, liquidation or other formal winding-up procedure, and which has not otherwise ceased operating. This would include: (a) the selective payment default on a specific class or currency of debt; (b) the uncured expiry of any applicable grace period, cure period or default forbearance period following a payment default on a bank loan, capital markets security or other material financial obligation; (c) the extension of multiple waivers or forbearance periods upon a payment default on one or more material financial obligations, either in series or in parallel; or (d) execution of a distressed debt exchange on one or more material financial obligations. Obligations rated D indicate an issuer that in Fitch Ratings' opinion has entered into bankruptcy filings, administration, receivership, liquidation or other formal winding-up procedure, or which has otherwise ceased business. Default ratings are not assigned prospectively to entities or their obligations; within this context, non-payment on an instrument that contains a deferral feature or grace period will generally not be considered a default until after the expiration of the deferral or grace period unless a default is otherwise driven by bankruptcy or other similar circumstance, or by a distressed debt exchange. "Imminent" default typically refers to the occasion where a payment default has been intimated by the issuer, and is all but inevitable. This may, for example, be where an issuer has missed a scheduled payment, but (as is typical) has a grace period during which it may cure the payment default. Another alternative would be where an issuer has formally announced a distressed debt exchange, but the date of the exchange still lies several days or weeks in the immediate future. In all cases, the assignment of a default rating reflects the agency's opinion as to the most appropriate rating category consistent with the rest of its universe of ratings, and may differ from the definition of default under the terms of an issuer's financial obligations or local commercial practice.
Ratings of Municipal Obligations — Moody's ratings for short-term investment-grade municipal obligations are designated Municipal Investment Grade (MIG or VMIG in the case of variable rate demand obligations) and are divided into three levels — MIG/VMIG 1, MIG/VMIG 2 and MIG/VMIG 3. The MIG/VMIG 1 rating 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. The MIG/VMIG 2 rating denotes strong credit quality. Margins of protection are ample, although not as large as in the preceding group. The MIG/VMIG 3 rating denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash-flow protection may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established. An SG rating denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of protection.
S&P Global uses SP-1, SP-2, SP-3, and D to rate short-term municipal obligations. A rating of SP-1 denotes 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. A rating of SP-2 denotes a satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes. A rating of SP-3 denotes a speculative capacity to pay principal and interest. A rating of D is assigned upon failure to pay the note when due, completion of a distressed exchange offer, or 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.
Ratings of Short-Term Obligations — Moody's short-term ratings, designated as P-1, P-2, P-3, or NP, are opinions of the ability of issuers to honor short-term financial obligations that generally have an original maturity not exceeding thirteen months. The rating P-1 is the highest short-term rating assigned by Moody's and it denotes an issuer (or supporting institution) that has a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations. The rating P-2 denotes an issuer (or supporting institution) that has a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations. The rating P-3 denotes an issuer (or supporting institution) that has an acceptable ability for repayment of senior short-term policyholder claims and obligations. The rating NP (Not Prime) denotes an issuer (or supporting institutions) that does not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.
S&P Global short-term ratings are generally assigned to those obligations considered short-term in the relevant market. A short-term obligation rated A-1 is rated in the highest category by S&P Global. The obligor's 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 obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on these obligations is extremely strong. 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 obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory. 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. 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 commitment; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties which could lead to the obligor's inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. 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. 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 S&P Global 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
A-2 |
where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligation's rating is lowered to 'D' if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
Fitch Ratings' short-term ratings have a time horizon of less than 13 months for most obligations, or up to three years for US public finance markets. Short-term ratings thus place greater emphasis on the liquidity necessary to meet financial commitments in a timely manner. A rating of F1 denotes an obligation of the highest short-term credit quality. It indicates the strongest intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments and may have an added "+" to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature. A rating of F2 denotes good short-term credit quality. It indicates a good intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments. A rating of F3 denotes fair short-term credit quality. The intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is adequate. A rating of B denotes an obligation that is of speculative short-term credit quality. Minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus heightened vulnerability to near term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions. A rating of C denotes a high short-term default risk. Default is a real possibility. A rating of RD 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, a rating of D indicates a broad-based default event for an entity or the default of a short-term obligation.
A-3 |
APPENDIX B
GLOSSARY
|
|
Advisers Act |
Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. |
American Beacon or the Manager
|
American Beacon Advisors, Inc. |
Beacon Funds |
American Beacon Funds |
Board |
Board of Trustees |
Brexit |
The United Kingdom's departure from the European Union. |
CCO |
Chief Compliance Officer |
CDSC |
Contingent Deferred Sales Charge |
CFTC |
Commodity Futures Trading Commission |
CLS |
Credit-Linked Securities |
Covered Shares |
Fund shares that the shareholder acquired or acquires after 2011. |
CPO |
Commodity Pool Operator |
Denial of Services |
A cybersecurity incident that results in customers or employees being unable to access electronic systems. |
Dividends |
Distributions from a Fund’s net investment income |
Dodd-Frank Act |
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act |
DRD |
Dividends-received deduction. |
ETF |
Exchange-Traded Fund |
ETN |
Exchange-Traded Note |
EU |
European Union |
Fannie Mae |
Federal National Mortgage Association |
NVDR |
Non-Voting Depositary Receipt |
FHFA |
Federal Housing Finance Agency |
FHLMC |
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation |
FINRA |
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. |
FNMA |
Federal National Mortgage Association |
Forwards |
Forward Currency Contracts |
Freddie Mac |
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation |
Ginnie Mae |
Government National Mortgage Association |
GNMA |
Government National Mortgage Association |
Holdings Policy |
Policies and Procedures for Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings |
Hybrid REIT |
A pooled investment vehicle that owns, and often operates, income producing real estate and invests inmortgages secured by loans on such real estate |
ICE Data |
ICE Data Indices, LLC |
IDS |
Income Deposit Securities |
Internal Revenue Code |
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended |
Investment Company Act |
Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended |
IPO |
Initial Public Offering |
IRA |
Individual Retirement Account |
IRS |
Internal Revenue Service |
Junk Bonds |
High yield, non-investment grade bonds |
LIBOR |
ICE LIBOR |
LOI |
Letter of Intent |
Management Agreement |
A Fund’s Management Agreement with the Manager. |
Manager |
American Beacon Advisors, Inc. |
Moody's |
Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. |
NAV |
Net asset value |
NDF |
Non-deliverable forward contracts |
B-1 |
NDO |
Non-deliverable Option |
NYSE |
New York Stock Exchange |
OTC |
Over-the-Counter |
Proxy Policy |
Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures |
QDI |
Qualified Dividend Income |
REIT |
Real Estate Investment Trust |
RIC |
Regulated Investment Company |
S&P Global |
S&P Global Ratings |
SAI |
Statement of Additional Information |
SEC |
Securities and Exchange Commission |
Securities Act |
Securities Act of 1933, as amended |
SMBS |
Stripped Mortgage-Backed Securities |
State Street |
State Street Bank and Trust Co. |
Trust |
American Beacon Funds |
Trustee Retirement Plan |
Trustee Retirement and Trustee Emeritus and Retirement Plan |
UK |
United Kingdom |
B-2 |
PART C. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 28. | Exhibits |
Other Exhibits
(i) | Powers of Attorney for Trustees of American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Select Funds and American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust, dated March 3, 2020 – (filed herewith) |
Item 29. | Persons Controlled by or under Common Control with Registrant |
None.
Item 30. | Indemnification |
Article XI of the Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust of the Trust provides that:
Limitation of Liability
Section 1. Provided they have exercised reasonable care and have acted under the reasonable belief that their actions are in the best interest of the Trust, the Trustees and officers of the Trust shall not be responsible for or liable in any event for neglect or wrongdoing of them or any officer, agent, employee or investment adviser of the Trust, and shall not be liable for errors of judgment or mistakes of fact or law, but nothing contained herein shall protect any Trustee or officer against any liability to which he or she 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 or her office.
Indemnification
Section 2.
(a) Subject to the exceptions and limitations contained in paragraph (b) below:
(i) every person who is, or has been, a Trustee or officer or employee of the Trust or is or was serving at the request of the Trust as a trustee, director, officer, employee or agent of another organization in which the Trust has an interest as a shareholder, creditor or otherwise (“Covered Person”) shall be indemnified by the Trust and each series to the fullest extent permitted by law, including the 1940 Act and the rules and regulations thereunder as amended from time to time and interpretations thereunder, against liability and against all expenses reasonably incurred or paid by him or her in connection with any claim, action, suit or proceeding in which he or she becomes involved as a party or otherwise by virtue of his or her being or having been a Covered Person and against amounts paid or incurred by him or her in the settlement thereof;
(ii) subject to the provisions of this Section 2, each Covered Person shall, in the performance of his or her duties, be fully and completely justified and protected with regard to any act or any failure to act resulting from reliance in good faith upon the records, books and accounts of the Trust or, as applicable, any Series, upon an opinion or other advice of legal counsel, or upon reports made or advice given to the Trust or, as applicable, any Series, by any Trustee or any of its officers, employees, or a service provider selected with reasonable care by the Trustees or officers of the Trust, regardless of whether the person rendering such report or advice may also be a Trustee, officer or employee of the Trust or, as applicable, any Series.
(iii) as used herein, the words “claim,” “action,” “suit,” or “proceeding” shall apply to all claims, actions, suits or proceedings (civil, criminal, investigative or other, including appeals), actual or threatened, and the words “liability” and “expenses” shall include, without limitation, attorneys’ fees, costs, judgments, amounts paid in settlement, fines, penalties and other liabilities whatsoever.
(b) To the extent required under the 1940 Act and the rules and regulations thereunder as amended from time to time and interpretations thereunder, but only to such extent no indemnification shall be provided hereunder to a Covered Person:
(i) who shall have been adjudicated by a court or body before which the proceeding was brought to be liable to the Trust or its Shareholders by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his or her office; or
(ii) in the event of a settlement, unless there has been a determination that such Covered Person did not engage in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his or her office: (A) by the court or other body approving the settlement; (B) by at least a majority of those Trustees who are neither interested persons of the Trust nor are parties to the matter based upon a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry); or (C) by written opinion of independent legal counsel based upon a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry).
(c) The rights of indemnification herein provided may be insured against by policies maintained by the Trust, shall be severable, shall not be exclusive of or affect any other rights to which any Covered Person may now or hereafter be entitled, shall continue as to a person who has ceased to be such Covered Person and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such Covered Person. Nothing contained herein shall affect any rights to indemnification to which any Covered Person or other person may be entitled by contract or otherwise under law or prevent the Trust from entering into any contract to provide indemnification to any Covered Person or other Person.
(d) To the extent that any determination is required to be made as to whether a Covered Person engaged in conduct for which indemnification is not provided as described herein, or as to whether there is reason to believe that a Covered Person ultimately will be found entitled to indemnification, the Person or Persons making the determination shall afford the Covered Person a rebuttable presumption that the Covered Person has not engaged in such conduct and that there is reason to believe that the Covered Person ultimately will be found entitled to indemnification.
(e) To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, including Section 17(h) of the 1940 Act and the rules and regulations thereunder as amended from time to time and interpretations thereunder, expenses in connection with the preparation and presentation of a defense to any claim, action, suit or proceeding of the character described in paragraph (a) of this Section 2 shall be paid by the Trust or the applicable Series from time to time prior to final disposition thereof upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such Covered Person that such amount will be paid over by him or her to the Trust or a Series, as applicable, if it is ultimately determined that he or she is not entitled to indemnification under this Section 2; provided, however, that; provided, however, that any such advancement will be made in accordance with any conditions required by the Commission.
According to Article XII, Section 1 of the Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust, nothing in the Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust shall be construed to make the Shareholders, either by themselves or with the Trustees, partners or members of a joint stock association. Trustees are not liable personally to any person extending credit to, contracting with or having any claim against the Trust, a
particular Portfolio or the Trustees. A Trustee, however, is not protected from liability due to willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his or her office.
Article V, Section 5 provides that, subject to the provisions of Article XI, the Trustees shall not be liable for any act or omission in accordance with certain advice of counsel or other experts or for failing to follow such advice. Article XI, Section 1 provides that the Trustees are not liable for errors of judgment or mistakes of fact or law, but a Trustee is not protected from liability due to willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his or her office, for any act or omission in accordance with advice of counsel or other experts or for failing to follow such advice.
Numbered Paragraph 10 of the Management Agreement provides that:
10. Limitation of Liability of the Manager. The Manager shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by a Trust or any Fund in connection with the matters to which this Agreement relate except a loss resulting from the willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on its part in the performance of its duties or from reckless disregard by it of its obligations and duties under this Agreement. Any person, even though also an officer, partner, employee, or agent of the Manager, who may be or become an officer, Board member, employee or agent of a Trust shall be deemed, when rendering services to a Trust or acting in any business of a Trust, to be rendering such services to or acting solely for a Trust and not as an officer, partner, employee, or agent or one under the control or direction of the Manager even though paid by it. The U.S. federal and state securities laws impose liabilities on persons who act in good faith, and, therefore, nothing in this Agreement is intended to limit the obligations of the Manager under such laws. This Paragraph 10 does not in any manner preempt any separate written indemnification commitments made by the Manager with respect to any matters encompassed by this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Aberdeen Asset Managers Limited provides that:
9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Manager, any affiliated person within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Manager, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Manager or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of and to the extent of the Adviser’s responsibilities to the Trust which may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of, the Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Adviser. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Acadian Asset Management LLC provides that:
9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement except with respect to claims which occur due to any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with AHL Partners LLP provides, in relevant part, that:
9. Liability. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders, the Manager or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Manager, any affiliated person within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Manager, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Manager or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities or commodities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Adviser’s responsibilities to the Trust which may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of, the Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement, relating to its trading activities or information provided to the Manager regarding the Adviser, by the Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Adviser. The U.S. federal and state securities laws impose liabilities on persons who act in good faith, and therefore, nothing in this Agreement is intended to limit the obligations of the Adviser under such laws.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Alpha Quant Advisors, LLC provides, in relevant part, that:
9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Manager, any affiliated person within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Manager, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Manager or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Adviser’s responsibilities to the Trust which may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of, the Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Adviser. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with American Century Investment Management, Inc. provides, in relevant part, that:
9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Manager, any affiliated person within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Manager, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Manager or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Adviser’s responsibilities to the Trust which may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of, the Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Adviser. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with ARK Investment Management LLC provides, in relevant part, that:
9. Liability of the Parties. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Manager, any affiliated person of the Adviser within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act (“Affiliated Person”), and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Manager (“Controlling Person”), against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Manager or such Affiliated Person or Controlling Person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Adviser’s responsibilities to the Trust or the Funds that may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any Affiliate Person acting on behalf of the Adviser. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
The Manager agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Adviser, any Affiliated Person of the Adviser, and each Controlling Person of the Adviser, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Adviser or its Affiliated Persons or Controlling Person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Manager’s responsibilities to the Trust or the Funds that may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard by the Manager or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any Affiliated Person acting on behalf of the Manager of the Manager’s obligations and/or duties under its agreements with the Trust or the Funds. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Bahl & Gaynor, Inc. provides that:
9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Manager, any affiliated person within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Manager, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Manager or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Adviser’s responsibilities to the Trust which may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of, the Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Adviser. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Straus, Inc. provides that:
9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement except with respect to claims which occur due to any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with BNY Mellon Asset Management North America Corporation (now known as Mellon Investment Corporation) provides that:
9. Liability of Adviser. No provision of this Agreement shall be deemed to protect the Adviser against any liability to the Trust or its shareholders to which it might otherwise be subject by reason of any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 11 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Brandywine Global Investment Management, LLC provides that:
11. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement except with respect to claims which occur due to any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Bridgeway Capital Management, Inc. provides that:
9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders, the Manager or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement except with respect to claims which occur due to any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.
Manager shall indemnify the Adviser, its officers, directors and employees, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, controls the Adviser, for any liability and expenses, including without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses, which may be sustained as a result of the Manager’s willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, reckless disregard of its duties hereunder.
Numbered Paragraph 8 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Causeway Capital Management LLC provides that:
8. Liability of Adviser. No provision of this Agreement shall be deemed to protect the Adviser against any liability to the Trust or its shareholders to which it might otherwise be subject by reason of any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Continuous Capital, LLC provides that:
9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Manager, any affiliated person within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Manager, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Manager or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Adviser’s responsibilities to the Trust which may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of, the Adviser’s
obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Adviser. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Crescent Capital Group LP provides that:
9. Liability of Adviser. Neither the Adviser nor any director, officer or employee of the Adviser performing services for the Trust in connection with the Adviser’s discharge of its obligations hereunder shall have liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Manager, any affiliated person within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Manager, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Manager or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Adviser’s responsibilities to the Trust which may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of, the Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Adviser. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Foundry Partners, LLC provides that:
9. Liability of Adviser. No provision of this Agreement shall be deemed to protect the Adviser against any liability to the Trust or its shareholders to which it might otherwise be subject by reason of any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Garcia Hamilton & Associates, L.P. provides that:
9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Manager, any affiliated person within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Manager, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Manager or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Adviser’s responsibilities to the Trust which may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of, the Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Adviser. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with GLG LLC provides that:
9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Manager, any affiliated person within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3)
of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Manager, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Manager or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Adviser’s responsibilities to the Trust which may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of, the Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Adviser. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Global Evolution USA, LLC provides that:
9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Manager, any affiliated person within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Manager, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Manager or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Adviser’s responsibilities to the Trust which may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of, the Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Adviser. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Hillcrest Asset Management, LLC provides that:
9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Manager, any affiliated person within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Manager, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Manager or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Adviser’s responsibilities to the Trust which may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of, the Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Adviser. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Hotchkis and Wiley Capital Management, LLC provides that:
9. Liability of Adviser. No provision of this Agreement shall be deemed to protect the Adviser against any liability to the Trust or its shareholders to which it might otherwise be subject by reason of any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 8 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Lazard Asset Management LLC provides that:
8. Liability of Adviser. No provision of this Agreement shall be deemed to protect the Adviser against any liability to the Trust or its shareholders to which it might otherwise be subject by reason of any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Massachusetts Financial Services Co. provides that:
9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any other third party arising out of or related to this Agreement except with respect to claims which occur due to any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Pzena Investment Management, LLC provides that:
9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall not be liable for any action taken or omitted to be taken by it in its reasonable judgment, in good faith and believed by it to be authorized or within the discretion or rights or powers conferred upon it by this Agreement, or in accordance with (or in the absence of) specific directions or instructions from the Manager. No provision of this Agreement shall be deemed to protect the Adviser against any liability to the Trust or its shareholders to which it might otherwise be subject by reason of any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Shapiro Capital Management, LLC provides that:
9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Manager, any affiliated person within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Manager, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Manager or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Adviser’s responsibilities to the Trust which may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of, the Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Adviser. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Sound Point Capital Management, LP provides that:
9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Manager, any affiliated person within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Manager, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including
reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Manager or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Adviser’s responsibilities to the Trust which may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of, the Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Adviser. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Form of Investment Advisory Agreement with SSI Investment Management LLC provides that:
9. Liability of Adviser and Manager. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement. Each of the Adviser and the Manager agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the other party, any affiliated person within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the other party, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the other party or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the indemnifying party’s responsibilities to the Trust based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of, the indemnifying party’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the indemnifying party or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the indemnifying party. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Stephens Investment Management Group, LLC provides that:
9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement except with respect to claims which occur due to any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Strategic Income Management, LLC provides that:
9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any other third party arising out of or related to this Agreement except with respect to claims which occur due to any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with The London Company of Virginia, LLC provides that:
9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement except with respect to claims which occur due to any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Tocqueville Asset Management, L.P. provides that:
9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Manager, any affiliated person within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Manager, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Manager or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Adviser’s responsibilities to the Trust which may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of, the Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Adviser. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with TwentyFour Asset Management (US) LP provides that:
9. Liability. The Adviser, including its officers, directors, employees and agents shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Manager, its officers, directors, employees and agents (each such person, a “Manager Indemnified Persons”) against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and related expenses) (“Losses”), to which a Manager Indemnified Persons may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Adviser’s responsibilities to the Trust which may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, negligence, or reckless disregard of, the Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Adviser, provided, however that the Manager’s obligation under this paragraph 9 shall be reduced to the extent that the Losses experienced by a Manager Indemnified Person are caused by or are otherwise directly related to a Manager Indemnified Person’s own willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under this Agreement.
The Manager, including its officers, directors, employees and agents shall have no liability to the Adviser, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Manager agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Adviser, its officers, directors, employees and agents (each such person, an “Adviser Indemnified Persons”) against any and all Losses, to which an Adviser Indemnified Persons may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Manager’s responsibilities to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party, provided, however that the Manager’s obligation under this paragraph 9 shall be reduced to the extent that the Losses experienced by an Adviser Indemnified Person are caused by or are otherwise directly related to an Adviser Indemnified Person’s own willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under this Agreement.
Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, neither the Adviser nor the Manager will be liable for any indirect, special, incidental or consequential damage.
The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with WEDGE Capital Management L.L.P. provides that:
9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Manager, any affiliated person within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Manager, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Manager or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Adviser’s responsibilities to the Trust which may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of, the Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Adviser. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Zebra Capital Management, LLC provides that:
9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any other third party arising out of or related to this Agreement except with respect to claims which occur due to any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.
Section 4.2 of the Distribution Agreement provides that:
(a) Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, Resolute shall not be responsible for, and the Client shall on behalf of each applicable Fund or Class thereof, indemnify and hold harmless Resolute, its employees, directors, officers and managers and any person who controls Resolute within the meaning of section 15 of the Securities Act or section 20 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (for purposes of this Section 4.2(a), “Resolute Indemnitees”) from and against, any and all losses, damages, costs, charges, reasonable counsel fees, payments, liabilities and other expenses of every nature and character (including, but not limited to, direct and indirect reasonable reprocessing costs) arising out of or attributable to all and any of the following (for purposes of this Section 4.2(a), a “Resolute Claim”)
(i) any material action (or omission to act) of Resolute or its agents taken in connection with this Agreement; provided, that such action (or omission to act) is taken in good faith and without willful misfeasance, negligence or reckless disregard by Resolute, or its affiliates, of its duties and obligations under this Agreement;
(ii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement or arising out of or based upon any alleged omission to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, unless such statement or omission was made in reliance upon, and in conformity with, information furnished to the Client in connection with the preparation of the Registration Statement or exhibits to the Registration Statement by or on behalf of Resolute;
(iii) any material breach of the Clients’ agreements, representations, warranties, and covenants in Sections 2.9 and 5.2 of this Agreement; or
(iv) the reliance on or use by Resolute or its agents or subcontractors of information, records, documents or services which have been prepared, maintained or performed by the Client or any agent of the Client, including but not limited to any Predecessor Records provided pursuant to Section 2.9(b).
(b) Resolute will indemnify, defend and hold the Client and their several officers and members of their Governing Bodies and any person who controls the Client within the meaning of section 15 of the Securities Act or section 20 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (collectively, the “Client Indemnitees” and, with the Resolute Indemnitees, an “Indemnitee”), free and harmless from and against any and all claims, demands, actions, suits, judgments, liabilities, losses, damages, costs, charges, reasonable counsel fees and other expenses of every nature and character (including the cost of investigating or defending such claims, demands, actions, suits or liabilities and any reasonable counsel fees incurred in connection therewith), but only to the extent that such claims, demands, actions, suits, judgments, liabilities, losses, damages, costs, charges, reasonable counsel fees and other expenses result from, arise out of or are based upon all and any of the following (for purposes of this Section 4.2(c), a “Client Claim” and, with a Resolute Claim, a “Claim”):
(i) any material action (or omission to act) of Resolute or its agents taken in connection with this Agreement, provided that such action (or omission to act) is taken in good faith and without willful misfeasance, negligence or reckless disregard by Resolute, or its affiliates, of its duties and obligations under this Agreement.
(ii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement or any alleged omission of a material fact required to be stated or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon, and in conformity with, information furnished to the Client in writing in connection with the preparation of the Registration Statement by or on behalf of Resolute; or
(iii) any material breach of Resolute’s agreements, representations, warranties and covenants set forth in Section 2.4 and 5.1 hereof.
(d) The Client or Resolute (for purpose of this Section 4.2(d), an “Indemnifying Party”) may assume the defense of any suit brought to enforce any Resolute Claim or Client Claim, respectively, and may retain counsel chosen by the Indemnifying Party and approved by the other Party, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed. The Indemnifying Party shall advise the other Party that it will assume the defense of the suit and retain counsel within ten (10) days of receipt of the notice of the claim. If the Indemnifying Party assumes the defense of any such suit and retains counsel, the other Party shall bear the fees and expenses of any additional counsel that they retain. If the Indemnifying Party does not assume the defense of any such suit, or if other Party does not approve of counsel chosen by the Indemnifying Party, or if the other Party has been advised that it may have available defenses or claims that are not available to or conflict with those available to the Indemnifying Party, the Indemnifying Party will reimburse any Indemnitee named as defendant in such suit for the reasonable fees and expenses of any counsel that the Indemnitee retains. An Indemnitee shall not settle or confess any claim without the prior written consent of the applicable Client, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed.
(e) An Indemnifying Party’s obligation to provide indemnification under this section is conditioned upon the Indemnifying Party receiving notice of any action brought against an Indemnitee within twenty (20) days after the summons or other first legal process is served. Such notice shall refer to the Person or Persons against whom the action is brought. The failure to provide such notice shall not relieve the Indemnifying Party of any liability that it may have to any Indemnitee except to the extent that the ability of the party entitled to such notice to defend such action has been materially adversely affected by the failure to provide notice.
(f) The provisions of this section and the parties’ representations and warranties in this Agreement shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of any Indemnitee and shall survive the sale and redemption of any Shares made pursuant to subscriptions obtained by Resolute. The indemnification provisions of this section will inure exclusively to the benefit of each person that may be an Indemnitee at any time and their respective successors and assigns (it being intended that such persons be deemed to be third party beneficiaries under this Agreement).
Section 4.3 of the Distribution Agreement provides that:
Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, except as specifically set forth below:
(a) 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 God; action or inaction of civil or military authority; public enemy; war; terrorism; riot; fire; flood; sabotage; epidemics; labor disputes; civil commotion; interruption, loss or malfunction of utilities, transportation, computer or communications capabilities; insurrection; or elements of nature;
(b) 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;
(c) No affiliate, director, officer, employee, manager, shareholder, partner, agent, counsel or consultant of either Party shall be liable at law or in equity for the obligations of such Party under this Agreement or for any damages suffered by the other Party related to this Agreement;
(d) There are no third party beneficiaries of this Agreement;
(e) Each Party shall have a duty to mitigate damages for which the other Party may become responsible;
(f) The assets and liabilities of each Fund are separate and distinct from the assets and liabilities of each other Fund, and no Fund shall be liable or shall be charged for any debt, obligation or liability of any other Fund, whether arising under this Agreement or otherwise; and in asserting any rights or claims under this Agreement, Resolute shall look only to the assets and property of the Fund to which Resolute’s rights or claims relate in settlement of such rights or claims; and
(g) Each Party agrees promptly to notify the other party of the commencement of any litigation or proceeding of which it becomes aware arising out of or in any way connected with the issuance or sale of Shares.
Insofar as indemnification for liability arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to trustees, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing or otherwise, the 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 the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a trustee, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful
defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such trustee, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the 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.
Supplemental Limited Indemnification from the Manager
ABA shall indemnify and hold harmless Indemnitee, in his or her individual capacity, from and against any cost, asserted claim, liability or expense, including reasonable legal fees (collectively, “Liability”) based upon or arising out of (i) any duty of ABA under the Management Agreement (including ABA’s failure or omission to perform such duty), and (ii) any liability or claim against Indemnitee arising pursuant to Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Rule 10b-5 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and any similar or related federal, state or common law statutes, rules or interpretations. ABA’s indemnification obligations under this Letter Agreement shall be limited to civil and administrative claims or proceedings.
Item | 31. |
I. | Business and Other Connections of Investment Manager |
American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (the “Manager”) offers investment management and administrative services to the Registrant. It acts in the same capacity to other investment companies, including those listed below.
Set forth below is information as to any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature in which each officer and director of American Beacon Advisors, Inc. is, or at any time during the past two fiscal years has been, engaged for his/her own account or in the capacity of director, officer, employee, partner or trustee.
Name; Current Position with American Beacon Advisors, Inc. | Other Substantial Business and Connections |
Rosemary K. Behan; Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel | Vice President, Secretary and Chief Legal Officer , American Beacon Funds Complex; Secretary, Resolute Investment Holdings LLC; Secretary, Resolute Topco, Inc.; Secretary, Resolute Acquisition, Inc.; Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel, Resolute Investment Managers, Inc.; Secretary, Resolute Investment Distributors, Inc.; Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel, Resolute Investment Services; Secretary, American Private Equity Management, L.L.C.; Secretary and General Counsel, Alpha Quant Advisors, LLC; Vice President and Secretary, Continuous Capital, LLC; Secretary, American Beacon Cayman Managed Futures Strategy Fund, Ltd.; Secretary, American Beacon Cayman Transformational Innovation Company, Ltd.; Secretary, American Beacon Delaware Transformational Innovation Corporation; Secretary, American Beacon Cayman TargetRisk Company, Ltd.; Secretary, Green Harvest Asset Management |
Christopher L. Collins; Director
|
Director and Vice President, Resolute Investment Holdings, LLC; Director and Vice President, Resolute Topco, Inc; Director and Vice President, Resolute Acquisition, Inc.; Director and Vice President, Resolute Investment Managers, Inc.; Director, Resolute Investment Services, Inc.; Manager, American Private Equity Management, L.L.C. |
Stephen C. Dutton; Director
|
Director and Vice President, Resolute Investment Holdings, LLC; Director and Vice President, Resolute Topco, Inc; Director and Vice President, Resolute Acquisition, Inc.; Director and Vice President, Resolute Investment Managers, Inc.; Director, Resolute Investment Services, Inc.; Manager, American Private Equity Management, L.L.C. |
Melinda G. Heika; Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer | Treasurer and Chief Accounting Officer, American Beacon Funds Complex; Treasurer, Resolute Investment Holdings, LLC; Treasurer, Resolute Topco, Inc.; Treasurer, Resolute Acquisition, Inc.; Treasurer and CFO, Resolute Investment Managers, Inc.; Treasurer and CFO, Resolute Investment Services, Inc.; Treasurer, American Private Equity Management, L.L.C.; Treasurer and CFO, Alpha Quant Advisors, LLC; Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer, Continuous Capital, LLC; Director and Treasurer, American Beacon Cayman Managed Futures Strategy Fund, Ltd.; Treasurer, American Beacon Cayman Transformational Innovation, Ltd.; Treasurer, American Beacon Delaware Transformational Innovation Corporation; Treasurer, American Beacon Cayman TargetRisk Company, Ltd.; Treasurer, Green Harvest Asset Management |
Takashi B. Moriuchi; Director
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Director, Resolute Investment Holdings, LLC; Director, Resolute Topco, Inc; Director, Resolute Acquisition, Inc.; Director, Resolute Investment Managers, Inc.; Director, Resolute Investment Services, Inc.; Manager, American Private Equity Management, L.L.C. |
Gene L. Needles, Jr.; Director, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | President, American Beacon Funds Complex; Director, CEO and Chairman, President (2015-2018), Resolute Investment Holdings, LLC; Director, Chairman and CEO, President (2015-2018), Resolute Topco, Inc.; Director, Chairman and CEO, President (2015-2018), Resolute Acquisition, Inc.; Director, Chairman and CEO, President (2015-2018), Resolute Investment Managers, Inc.; Director, Chairman, President and CEO, Resolute Investment Distributors, Inc.; Director, Chairman, President and CEO, Resolute Investment Services, Inc.; Manager, President and CEO, American Private Equity Management, LLC; Director, Chairman, President and CEO, Alpha Quant Advisors, LLC; Director, ARK Investment Management LLC; Director, Shapiro Capital Management LLC; Director, Chairman and CEO, Continuous Capital, LLC; Trustee, American Beacon NextShares Trust; President, American Beacon Cayman Managed Futures Strategy Fund, Ltd.; Director and President, American Beacon Cayman Transformational Innovation Company, Ltd.; President, American Beacon Delaware Transformational Innovation Corporation; President, American Beacon Cayman TargetRisk Company, Ltd.; Director, RSW Investment Holdings LLC; Manager, SSI Investment Management LLC; Director, Green Harvest Asset Management; Director, National Investment Services of America, LLC |
Jeffrey K. Ringdahl; Director, President and Chief Operating Officer | Vice President, American Beacon Funds Complex; Director and President, Senior Vice President (2015-2018), Resolute Investment Holdings, LLC; Director and President, Senior Vice President (2015-2018), Resolute Topco, Inc.; Director and President, Senior Vice President (2015-2018), Resolute Acquisition, Inc.; Director, President and COO, Senior Vice President (2015-2018), Resolute Investment Managers, Inc.; Director and Executive Vice President, Resolute Investment Distributors, Inc.; Director, President and COO, Executive Vice President (2015-2018), Resolute Investment Services, Inc.; Manager and Senior Vice President, American Private Equity Management, LLC; Director, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Alpha Quant Advisors, LLC; Director, Shapiro Capital Management, LLC; Director, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Continuous Capital, LLC; Trustee, American Beacon NextShares Trust; Director and Vice President, American Beacon Cayman Managed Futures Strategy Fund, Ltd.; Director and Vice |
President, American Beacon Cayman Transformational Innovation Company, Ltd.; Vice President, American Beacon Delaware Transformational Innovation Corporation; Vice President, American Beacon Cayman TargetRisk Company, Ltd.; Director, RSW Investment Holdings LLC; Manager, SSI Investment Management LLC; Director, National Investment Services of America, LLC |
The principal address of each of the entities referenced above, other than ARK Investment Management LLC, Green Harvest Asset Management, RSW Investment Holdings LLC, Shapiro Capital Management LLC, SSI Investment Management LLC and National Investment Services of America, LLC is 220 East Las Colinas Blvd., Suite 1200, Irving, Texas 75039. The principal address of ARK Investment Management LLC is 155 West 19th Street, Fifth Floor, New York, New York 10011. The Principal address of Green Harvest Asset Management is 110 Brewery Lane, Suite 501, Portsmouth, New Hampshire 03801. The principal address of RSW Investment Holdings LLC is 47 Maple Street, Suite 304, Summit, New Jersey 07901. The principal address of Shapiro Capital Management LLC is 3060 Peachtree Road NW #1555, Atlanta, Georgia 30305. The principal address of SSI Investment Management LLC is 9440 Santa Monica Blvd, 8th Floor, Beverly Hills, California 90210. The principal address of National Investment Services of America, LLC is 777 E. Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 2350, Milwaukee, WI, 53202.
II. Business and Other Connections of Investment Advisers
The investment advisers listed below provide investment advisory services to the Trust.
American Beacon Advisors, Inc., 220 East Las Colinas Blvd., Suite 1200, Irving, Texas 75039.
Aberdeen Asset Managers Limited (“Aberdeen”) is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-adviser for the American Beacon Frontier Markets Income Fund. The principal address of Aberdeen is 10 Queens Terrace, Aberdeen, United Kingdom, AB10 1XL. Information as to the officers and directors of Aberdeen is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 162309) and is incorporated herein by reference.
Acadian Asset Management LLC (“Acadian”) is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-adviser for the American Beacon Acadian Emerging Markets Managed Volatility Fund. The principal address of Acadian is 260 Franklin Street, Boston, MA 02110. Information as to the officers and directors of Acadian is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 106609) and is incorporated herein by reference.
AHL Partners LLP (“AHL”) is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund. The principal address of AHL is 2 Swan Lane, London, United Kingdom EC4R 3AD. Information as to the officers and directors of AHL is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 167882) and is incorporated herein by reference.
Alpha Quant Advisors, LLC (‘‘Alpha Quant’’), formerly known as Crest Investment Partners, LLC, is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon Alpha Quant Core Fund, American Beacon Alpha Quant Dividend Fund, Alpha Quant Quality
Fund and Alpha Quant Value Fund. The principal address of Alpha Quant is 220 East Las Colinas Blvd., Suite 1200, Irving, Texas 75039. On October 14, 2016 Alpha Quant became an indirect majority-owned subsidiary of Resolute Investment Holdings, LLC, which is owned primarily by Kelso Investment Associates VIII, L.P., KEP VI, LLC and Estancia Capital Partners L.P. Prior to October 14, 2016, it was founded in September 2011 as a subsidiary of Cypress Capital Group and affiliated of Cypress Trust Co. Information as to the Officers and Directors of Alpha Quant is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 285855), and is incorporated herein by reference.
American Century Investment Management, Inc. (“American Century”) is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon International Equity Fund. The principal address for American Century is 4500 Main Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64111. Information as to the Officers and Directors of American Century is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 105778), and is incorporated herein by reference.
ARK Investment Management LLC (“ARK”) is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon ARK Transformational Innovation Fund. The principal address for ARK is 3 East 28th Street, Seventh Floor, New York, New York 10016. ARK was formed in June 2013 and registered as an investment adviser with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in January 2014. Information as to the Officers and Directors of ARK is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 169525), and is incorporated herein by reference.
Bahl & Gaynor, Inc. (“Bahl & Gaynor”) is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund. The principal address of Bahl & Gaynor is 255 East Third Street, Suite 2700 Cincinnati, OH 45202. Information as to the officers and directors of Bahl & Gaynor is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 106139), and is incorporated herein by reference.
Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss, LLC (“Barrow”) is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon Balanced Fund, American Beacon Large Cap Value Fund, American Beacon Mid-Cap Value Fund and American Beacon Small Cap Value Fund. The principal business address of Barrow is 2200 Ross Avenue, 31st Floor, Dallas, TX 75201-2761. Information as to the officers and directors of Barrow is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 105519), and is incorporated herein by reference.
Brandywine Global Investment Management, LLC (“Brandywine”) is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon Small Cap Value Fund. The principal address of Brandywine is 1735 Market Street, Suite 1800, Philadelphia PA 19103. Information as to the officers and directors of Brandywine is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 110783), and is incorporated herein by reference.
Bridgeway Capital Management, Inc. (“Bridgeway”) is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Value Fund and the American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund. The principal address of Bridgeway is 20 Greenway Plaza, Suite 450, Houston, Texas 77046. Information as to the officers and directors of Bridgeway is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 111441) and is incorporated herein by reference.
Causeway Capital Management LLC (“Causeway”), a Delaware limited liability company, is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon International Equity Fund. The principal address of Causeway is 11111 Santa Monica Boulevard, 15th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90025. Information as to the officers and directors of Causeway is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 113308) and is incorporated herein by reference.
Continuous Capital, LLC (“Continuous Capital”) is a registered investment adviser and is the investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon Continuous Capital Emerging Markets Fund. The principal office of Continuous Capital is 220 E. Las Colinas Blvd, STE 1200, Irving, TX 75039. Information as to the officers and directors of Continuous Capital is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 292774) and is incorporated herein by reference.
Crescent Capital Group LP (“Crescent Capital”) is a registered investment adviser and is the investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon Crescent Short Duration High Income Fund, whose principal office is located at 11100 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 2000, Los Angeles, CA 90025. Information as to the officers and directors of Crescent Capital is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 153966) and is incorporated herein by reference.
Foundry Partners, LLC (“Foundry”) is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon Small Cap Value Fund. The principal address of Foundry is 323 Washington Avenue N., Suite 360, Minneapolis, MN 55401. Information as to the officers and directors of Foundry is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 164863) and is incorporated herein by reference.
Garcia Hamilton & Associates, L.P. (“Garcia Hamilton”) is a registered investment adviser and is the investment sub-adviser for the American Beacon Garcia Hamilton Quality Bond Fund. The principal address of Garcia Hamilton is 1401 McKinney Street, Suite 1600, Houston, Texas 77010. Information as to the officers and directors of Garcia Hamilton is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 108017) and is incorporated herein by reference.
GLG LLC (“GLG”) is a registered investment adviser and is the investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon GLG Total Return Fund. The principal address of GLG is 452 Fifth Avenue, 27th Floor New York, NY. GLG is an investment advisory firm formed in April 2002. GLG is a limited liability company that is directly owned by Man Litchfield, Inc. Man Litchfield is a wholly owned subsidiary of Man Investments Holdings, Inc., which is a subsidiary of Man Group plc, the ultimate parent company of GLG. Information as to the officers and directors of GLG is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 138802) and is incorporated herein by reference.
Global Evolution USA, LLC (“Global Evolution”) is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon Frontier Markets Income Fund. The principal address of Global Evolution is 250 Park Avenue, 19th floor, New York, NY 10177, United States. Global Evolution’s parent company is Global Evolution Fondsmӕglerselskab A/S and is located at Kokholm 3A,
DK-6000 Kolding, Denmark. Information as to the officers and directors of Global Evolution is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 161677), and is incorporated herein by reference.
Hillcrest Asset Management, LLC (“Hillcrest”) is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon Small Cap Value Fund. The principal address of Hillcrest is 2805 Dallas Parkway, Suite 260, Plano, Texas 75093. Information as to the officers and directors of Hillcrest is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 145078), and is incorporated herein by reference.
Hotchkis and Wiley Capital Management, LLC (“Hotchkis”) is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon Balanced Fund, American Beacon Large Cap Value Fund, and American Beacon Small Cap Value Fund. The principal address of Hotchkis is 601 South Figueroa Street, 39th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90017-5439. Information as to the officers and directors of Hotchkis is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 114649), and is incorporated herein by reference.
Lazard Asset Management, LLC (“Lazard”) is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon International Equity Fund. The principal address of Lazard is 30 Rockefeller Plaza, 55th Floor, New York, NY 10112. Information as to the officers and directors of Lazard is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 122836), and is incorporated herein by reference.
Massachusetts Financial Services Company (“MFS”) is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-adviser for the American Beacon Large Cap Value Fund. The principal address of MFS is 111 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02199. MFS is a subsidiary of Sun Life of Canada (U.S.) Financial Services Holdings Inc., which in turn is an indirect majority-owned subsidiary of Sun Life Financial, Inc. (a diversified financial services company), located at Sun Life Financial Centre, 150 King Street West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Information as to the officers and directors of MFS is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 110045), and is incorporated herein by reference.
Mellon Investments Corporation (“Mellon”) (f/k/a BNY Asset Management North America Corporation), is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon Small Cap Value Fund. The principal address of Mellon is One Boston Place, 201 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02108. Information as to the officers and directors of Mellon is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 105764), and is incorporated herein by reference.
Pzena Investment Management, LLC (“Pzena”) is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon Mid-Cap Value Fund. The principal address of Pzena is 320 Park Avenue, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10022. Information as to the officers and directors of Pzena is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 106847), and is incorporated herein by reference.
Shapiro Capital Management, LLC (“Shapiro”), is a registered investment adviser and is an investment subadvisor for the American Beacon Shapiro SMID Cap Equity Fund and American Beacon Shapiro Equity Opportunities Fund. The principal address of Shapiro is 3060 Peachtree Road NW #1555, Atlanta, GA 30305. On April 13, 2017, Shapiro became a majority-owned subsidiary of Resolute Investment Managers, Inc., which is a subsidiary of Resolute Investment Holdings, LLC.
Resolute Investment Holdings, LLC is owned primarily by Kelso Investment Associates VIII, L.P., KEP VI, LLC and Estancia Capital Partners L.P. Shapiro was founded in 1990. Information as to the Officers and Directors of Shapiro is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 105581), and is incorporated herein by reference.
Sound Point Capital Management, LP (“Sound Point”) is a registered investment adviser and is the investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon Sound Point Floating Rate Income Fund. The principal address of Sound Point is 375 Park Avenue, 33rd Floor, New York, NY 10152. Information as to the officers and directors of Sound Point is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 157479), and is incorporated herein by reference.
SSI Investment Management LLC (“SSI”) is a registered investment adviser and is the investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon SSI Alternative Income Fund. The principal address of SSI is 9440 Santa Monica Boulevard, 8th Floor, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. Information as to the officers and directors of SSI is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 104889), and is incorporated herein by reference.
Stephens Investment Management Group, LLC (“SIMG”) is a registered investment adviser and is the investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund and American Beacon Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund. The principal address of SIMG and Stephens Inc. is 111 Center Street, Little Rock, Arkansas 72201. Information as to the officers and directors of SIMG is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 136369), and is incorporated herein by reference.
Strategic Income Management, LLC (“SiM”) is a registered investment adviser and is the investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon SiM High Yield Opportunities Fund. The principal address of SiM is 1200 Westlake Avenue North, Suite 713, Seattle, WA 98109. Information as to the officers and directors of SiM is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 151956), and is incorporated herein by reference.
The London Company Of Virginia, LLC (“London Company”) is a registered investment adviser and is the investment sub-adviser for the American Beacon London Company Income Equity Fund. The principal place of business address of London Company is 1800 Bayberry Court, Suite 301, Richmond, Virginia 23226. Information as to the officers and directors of London Company is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 106654), and is incorporated herein by reference.
Tocqueville Asset Management, L.P. (“Tocqueville”) is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon Tocqueville International Value Fund. The principal address of Tremblant is 40 West 57th Street, 19th Floor, New York, NY 10019. Information as to the officers and directors of Tocqueville is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 105690), and is incorporated herein by reference.
TwentyFour Asset Management (US) LP (“TwentyFour”) is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon TwentyFour Strategic Income Fund and the American Beacon TwentyFour Short Term Bond Fund. The principal address of TwentyFour is 1540 Broadway, 38th Floor, New York, New York 10036. Information as to the officers and directors of TwentyFour is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 285791), and is incorporated herein by reference.
WEDGE Capital Management, L.L.P. (“WEDGE”) is a registered investment adviser and is the investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon Mid-Cap Value Fund. The principal address of WEDGE is 301 South College Street, Suite 3800, Charlotte, NC 28202. Information as to the officers and directors of WEDGE is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 106234), and is incorporated herein by reference.
Zebra Capital Management, LLC (“Zebra”) is a registered investment adviser and is the investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon Zebra Small Cap Equity Fund. The principal address of Zebra is 2187 Atlantic Street, 4th Floor, Stamford, CT 06902. Information as to the officers and directors of Zebra is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 126285), and is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 32. | Principal Underwriter |
(a) Resolute Investment Distributors, Inc. (the “Distributor”) serves as principal underwriter for the following investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended:
1. | American Beacon Funds |
2. | American Beacon Select Funds |
3. | American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust |
4. | American Beacon Sound Point Enhanced Income Fund |
5. | American Beacon Apollo Total Return Fund |
(b) The following are the Officers and Managers of the Distributor, the Registrant’s underwriter. The Distributor’s main business address is 220 E. Las Colinas Blvd, STE 1200, Irving, TX 75039.
(c) Not applicable.
Item 33. | Location of Accounts and Records |
The books and other documents required by Section 31(a) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 are maintained in the physical possession of 1) the Trust’s custodian and fund accounting agent at State Street Bank and Trust Company, 225 Franklin Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02110; 2) the Manager at American Beacon Advisors, Inc., 220 East Las Colinas Blvd., Suite 1200, Irving, Texas
75039; 3) the Trust’s transfer agent, DST Asset Manager Solutions, Inc., 330 West 9th St., Kansas City, Missouri 64105; 4) Mastercraft, 3021 Wichita Court, Fort Worth, Texas 76140; or 5) the Trust’s investment advisers at the addresses listed in Item 31 above.
Item 34. | Management Services |
Not applicable.
Item 35. | Undertakings |
Not applicable.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“1933 Act”), and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the Registrant represents that this Amendment meets all the requirements for effectiveness pursuant to Rule 485(b) under the 1933 Act and has duly caused this Post-Effective Amendment No. 366 to its Registration Statement on Form N-1A to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Irving and the State of Texas, on April 28, 2020.
AMERICAN BEACON FUNDS | ||||
By: | /s/ Gene L. Needles, Jr. | |||
Gene L. Needles, Jr. | ||||
President |
Pursuant to the requirements of the 1933 Act, this Post-Effective Amendment No. 366 to the Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Signature | Title | Date | ||
/s/ Gene L. Needles, Jr. | President (Principal Executive Officer) | April 28, 2020 | ||
Gene L. Needles, Jr. | ||||
/s/ Melinda G. Heika | Treasurer (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer) | April 28, 2020 | ||
Melinda G. Heika | ||||
Gilbert G. Alvarado* | Trustee | April 28, 2020 | ||
Gilbert G. Alvarado | ||||
Joseph B. Armes* | Trustee | April 28, 2020 | ||
Joseph B. Armes | ||||
Gerard J. Arpey* | Trustee | April 28, 2020 | ||
Gerard J. Arpey | ||||
Brenda A. Cline* | Chair and Trustee | April 28, 2020 | ||
Brenda A. Cline | ||||
Eugene J. Duffy* | Trustee | April 28, 2020 | ||
Eugene J. Duffy | ||||
Claudia A. Holz* | Trustee | April 28, 2020 | ||
Claudia A. Holz | ||||
Douglas A. Lindgren* | Trustee | April 28, 2020 | ||
Douglas A. Lindgren | ||||
Barbara J. McKenna* | Trustee | April 28, 2020 | ||
Barbara J. McKenna | ||||
R. Gerald Turner* | Trustee | April 28, 2020 | ||
R. Gerald Turner |
*By | /s/ Rosemary K. Behan | |||
Rosemary K. Behan | ||||
Attorney-In-Fact |
EXHIBIT INDEX
Type | Description |
99.(h)(9)(A) | Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement Agreement for American Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund, American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund, American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund, American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund, American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund and American Beacon Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund Investor and Y Class Shares, dated March 4, 2020 |
99.(i) | Opinion and consent of counsel |
99.(j) | Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm |
99.(p)(14) | Code of Ethics for Bridgeway Capital Management, Inc., dated September 23, 2019 |
99.(p)(19) | Code of Ethics for Bahl & Gaynor, Inc., dated December 6, 2019 |
Other Exhibits | |
(i) | Powers of Attorney for Trustees of American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Select Funds and American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust, dated March 3, 2020 |
Exhibit 99.(h)(9)(A)
March 4, 2020
American Beacon Funds (the “Trust”)
220 East Las Colinas Blvd., Suite 1200
Irving, TX 75039
Re: Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement
Ladies and Gentlemen:
American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (“AmBeacon”) notifies you that, for the funds listed in Attachment A to this letter (the “Funds”), it will waive its management fee and/or reimburse expenses of the Fund, to the extent necessary so that expenses of the Fund, exclusive of taxes, interest, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses, securities lending fees, expenses associated with securities sold short, litigation, and other extraordinary expenses, do not exceed the annual rates listed on Attachment A.
During the period until the expiration date of each expense limitation in Attachment A, the related expense limitation arrangements for each of the Funds may only be modified by mutual agreement of the parties that, with respect to the Trust, includes a majority vote of the “non-interested” Trustees of the Trust. For a period of up to three years following AmBeacon’s contractual fee waiver or reimbursement, AmBeacon may be reimbursed by a Fund if reimbursement does not cause the expenses of the Fund exclusive of taxes, interest, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses, securities lending fees, expenses associated with securities sold short, litigation, and other extraordinary expenses, to exceed the lesser of the contractual percentage limit in effect at the time of the waiver/reimbursement or the time of the recoupment.
We understand and intend that you will rely on this undertaking in preparing and filing the Registration Statements on Form N-1A for the Fund with the Securities and Exchange Commission, in accruing each Fund’s expenses for purposes of calculating its net asset value per share and for other purposes permitted under Form N-1A and/or the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and expressly permit you to do so.
Respectfully, | ||
American Beacon Advisors, Inc. | ||
By: | /s/ Jeffrey K. Ringdahl | |
Name: | Jeffrey K. Ringdahl | |
Title: | President |
Agreed and Accepted on behalf of the Trust | ||
By: | /s/ Melinda G. Heika | |
Name: | Melinda G. Heika | |
Title: | Treasurer |
A copy of the document establishing the Trust is filed with the Secretary of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This Agreement is executed by the officer not as an individual and is not binding upon any of the Trustees, officers or shareholders of the Trust individually but only upon the assets of each Fund.
Attachment A
American Beacon Funds – Fiscal Year End: December 31, 2019
Annual | |||
Expense % | |||
Fund | Class | Limit (Cap) | Expiration |
Bridgeway Large Cap Growth | R5 | 0.81 | 4/30/2021 |
Bridgeway Large Cap Growth | Y | 0.87 | 4/30/2021 |
Bridgeway Large Cap Growth | Investor | 1.12 | 4/30/2021 |
Bridgeway Large Cap Growth | A | 1.10 | 4/30/2021 |
Bridgeway Large Cap Growth | C | 1.84 | 4/30/2021 |
Bridgeway Large Cap Growth | R6 | 0.76 | 4/30/2021 |
Stephens Small Cap Growth | Y | 1.05 | 4/30/2021 |
Stephens Small Cap Growth | Investor | 1.30 | 4/30/2021 |
Stephens Mid-Cap Growth | R5 | 0.89 | 4/30/2021 |
Stephens Mid-Cap Growth | Y | 0.95 | 4/30/2021 |
Stephens Mid-Cap Growth | Investor | 1.22 | 4/30/2021 |
Stephens Mid-Cap Growth | A | 1.21 | 4/30/2021 |
Stephens Mid-Cap Growth | C | 1.94 | 4/30/2021 |
Stephens Mid-Cap Growth | R6 | 0.84 | 4/30/2021 |
Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth | R5 | 0.98 | 4/30/2021 |
Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth | Y | 1.08 | 4/30/2021 |
Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth | Investor | 1.36 | 4/30/2021 |
Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth | A | 1.34 | 4/30/2021 |
Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth | C | 2.13 | 4/30/2021 |
AHL Managed Futures Strategy | R5 | 1.54 | 4/30/2021 |
AHL Managed Futures Strategy | Y | 1.61 | 4/30/2021 |
AHL Managed Futures Strategy | Investor | 1.92 | 4/30/2021 |
AHL Managed Futures Strategy | A | 1.87 | 4/30/2021 |
AHL Managed Futures Strategy | C | 2.62 | 4/30/2021 |
AHL TargetRisk | R5 | 1.04 | 4/30/2021 |
AHL TargetRisk | Y | 1.11 | 4/30/2021 |
AHL TargetRisk | Investor | 1.42 | 4/30/2021 |
AHL TargetRisk | A | 1.44 | 4/30/2021 |
AHL TargetRisk | C | 2.19 | 4/30/2021 |
Exhibit 99.(i)
|
K&L Gates LLP 1601 K Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20006 T +1 202 778 9000 F +1 202 778 9100 klgates.com |
April 28, 2020
American Beacon Funds
220 East Las Colinas Boulevard, Suite 1200
Irving, Texas 75039
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as counsel to American Beacon Funds, a business trust formed under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (the “Trust”), in connection with Post-Effective Amendment No. 366 (the “Post-Effective Amendment”) to the Trust’s registration statement on Form N-1A (File Nos. 033-11387; 811-04984) (the “Registration Statement”), to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on or about April 28, 2020, registering an indefinite number of shares of beneficial interest in the series of the Trust (the “Funds”) and classes thereof listed in Schedule A to this opinion letter (the “Shares”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).
This opinion letter is being delivered at your request in accordance with the requirements of paragraph 29 of Schedule A of the Securities Act and Item 28(i) of Form N-1A under the Securities Act and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”).
For purposes of this opinion letter, we have examined originals or copies, certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of:
(i) | the prospectuses and statements of additional information (collectively, the “Prospectus”) filed as part of the Post-Effective Amendment; |
(ii) | the declaration of trust and bylaws of the Trust in effect on the date of this opinion letter; and |
(iii) | the resolutions adopted by the trustees of the Trust relating to the Post-Effective Amendment, the establishment of the Funds and the Shares of each class, and the authorization for issuance and sale of the Shares. |
We also have examined and relied on certificates of public officials and, as to certain matters of fact that are material to our opinions, we have relied on a certificate of an officer of the Trust. We have not independently established any of the facts on which we have so relied.
For purposes of this opinion letter, we have assumed the accuracy and completeness of each document submitted to us, the genuineness of all signatures on original documents, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as facsimile, electronic, certified, conformed, or photostatic copies thereof, and the due execution and delivery of all documents where due execution and delivery are prerequisites to the effectiveness thereof. We have further assumed the legal capacity of natural persons, that
Page 2
April 28, 2020
persons identified to us as officers of the Trust are actually serving in such capacity, and that the representations of officers of the Trust are correct as to matters of fact. We have not independently verified any of these assumptions.
The opinions expressed in this opinion letter are based on the facts in existence and the laws in effect on the date hereof and are limited to Chapter 182 of the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the provisions of the Investment Company Act that are applicable to equity securities issued by registered open-end investment companies. We are not opining on, and we assume no responsibility for, the applicability to or effect on any of the matters covered herein of any other laws.
Based upon and subject to the foregoing, it is our opinion that (1) the Shares to be issued pursuant to the Post-Effective Amendment, when issued and paid for by the purchasers upon the terms described in the Post-Effective Amendment and the Prospectus, will be validly issued, and (2) such purchasers will have no obligation to make any further payments for the purchase of the Shares or contributions to the Trust solely by reason of their ownership of the Shares.
This opinion is rendered solely in connection with the filing of the Post-Effective Amendment and supersedes any previous opinions of this firm in connection with the issuance of Shares. We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion with the Commission in connection with the Post-Effective Amendment and to the reference to this firm’s name under the heading “Other Service Providers” in the Prospectus. In giving this consent, we do not thereby admit that we are experts with respect to any part of the Registration Statement or Prospectus within the meaning of the term “expert” as used in Section 11 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Commission, nor do we admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission promulgated thereunder.
Very truly yours,
/s/ K&L Gates LLP
SCHEDULE A
To the Opinion Letter of K&L Gates LLP, dated April 28, 2020,
Filed as Exhibit (i) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 366 to the Registration Statement
on Form N-1A of American Beacon Funds (File Nos. 033-11387; 811-04984)
Relevant Series of American Beacon Funds and Share Classes Thereof
Series | Classes |
American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund |
A CLASS
C CLASS Y CLASS R5 CLASS INVESTOR CLASS |
American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund |
A CLASS
C CLASS Y CLASS R6 CLASS R5 CLASS INVESTOR CLASS |
American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Value Fund |
A CLASS
C CLASS Y CLASS R6 CLASS R5 CLASS INVESTOR CLASS |
American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund |
A CLASS
C CLASS Y CLASS R6 CLASS R5 CLASS INVESTOR CLASS |
American Beacon Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund |
A CLASS
C CLASS Y CLASS R6 CLASS R5 CLASS INVESTOR CLASS |
American Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
A CLASS
C CLASS Y CLASS R5 CLASS INVESTOR CLASS |
American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund |
A CLASS
C CLASS Y CLASS R5 CLASS INVESTOR CLASS |
Exhibit 99.(j)
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
We consent to the references to our firm under the captions "Financial Highlights" in the Prospectuses and "Disclosure of Nonpublic Holdings", "Other Service Providers" and "Financial Statements" in the Statements of Additional Information in Post-Effective Amendment No. 366 to the Registration Statement (Form N-1A No. 033-11387) of American Beacon Funds.
We also consent to the incorporation by reference therein of our reports dated February 28, 2020 with respect to the financial statements and financial highlights of American Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund, American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund, American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund, American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund, American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Value Fund, American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Growth Fund, and American Beacon Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund for the year ended December 31, 2019 included in the Annual Report (Form N-CSR) for 2019 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
Dallas, Texas
April 28, 2020
Exhibit 99.(p)(14)
Bridgeway Capital Management, Inc. (“BCM”)
Bridgeway Funds, Inc. (the “Funds”)
Code of Ethics and Personal Trading Policy
September 23, 2019
I. | Overview |
The purpose of this Code of Ethics and Personal Trading Policy (“Code”) is to set forth standards of conduct and personal trading guidelines that are intended to comply with Rule 204A-1 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (“Advisers Act”), and Rule 17j-1 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (“1940 Act”) and capture the spirit of the CFA Institute’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct. BCM and the Funds expect each Access Person to follow the guidelines and requirements herein.
Every Access Person will be required to certify annually that he or she has:
• | Received this Code and any amendments to this Code; |
• | Read and understood this Code and recognizes s/he is subject to its provisions; and |
• | Complied with the applicable provisions of this Code and has reported all personal Securities transactions and holdings required to be reported under Section III of this policy. |
Please see Glossary of Terms for definitions of italicized terms used throughout this Code. Questions concerning this policy should be directed to the Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”) of BCM and the Funds.
II. | Standards of Conduct |
The Advisers Act imposes a fiduciary duty on all investment advisers, including BCM. As a fiduciary, BCM has a duty of utmost good faith to act solely in the best interests of each of its Clients, including the Funds. In meeting this fiduciary duty, BCM and its Access Persons must strive to avoid and/or if appropriate, manage and/or disclose identified potential or actual conflicts of interest. Clients entrust the firm to prudently manage their assets, which in turn places a high standard on the conduct and integrity of Access Persons. This fiduciary duty compels all Access Persons to act with the utmost integrity in all dealings. This fiduciary duty is the core principle underlying this Code and represents the expected basis of all dealings with BCM’s Clients and the Funds’ shareholders.
As stewards of other people’s money, BCM strives to uphold its business values of integrity, performance, efficiency and service. BCM’s four business values are stated in order; it is not by accident that integrity is at the top of this list. BCM will not compromise integrity to excel in any other area. Long term, BCM believes its
1 |
commitment to integrity will contribute to better investment performance, service quality, and efficiency as well - but even if it doesn’t - integrity will prevail. BCM’s staff members look for ways to challenge each other positively to strive to meet this ideal. BCM encourages staff members to have open and honest communication to help each other uphold the firm’s core values, build a participant environment for all staff members and strengthen accountability of its teams.
In connection with the expectations outlined above and in an attempt to manage conflicts of interest, BCM and the Funds have established the following core principles of conduct. While the following principles are not all-encompassing, they are consistent with BCM and the Funds’ culture of trust, honesty, integrity, and openness.
A. | Core Principles |
1. | Access Persons are required to comply with Federal Securities Laws. Adherence to BCM’s compliance policy manual and guidance provided by the CCO will assist Access Persons in complying with this important requirement; |
2. | The interests of Clients, and the Funds’ shareholders are required to be placed ahead of those of all others; |
3. | Access Persons are prohibited from taking inappropriate advantage of their position with BCM or the Funds (as applicable); |
4. | Access Persons should attempt to avoid any actual conflict of interest with any Client; |
5. | Personal Securities transactions are required to be conducted in a manner consistent with this Code, and should not adversely impact a Client’s account; and |
6. | BCM and the Funds will strive to foster a healthy culture of compliance. |
B. | General Prohibitions |
The Advisers Act prohibits fraudulent activities by Access Persons. Specifically, Access Persons may not:
1. | Employ any device, scheme or artifice to defraud a Client; |
2. | Make any untrue statement of a material fact to a Client or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made to a Client not misleading, in light of the circumstances under which they are made; |
3. | Engage in any act, practice or course of business that operates or would operate as fraud or deceit on a Client; or |
2 |
4. | Engage in any manipulative practice with respect to a Client. |
C. | Personal Conduct |
1. | Acceptance of Gifts and Receipt of Business Entertainment |
a. | Acceptance of Gifts |
Access Persons may not accept any gifts over $100 in value from any one person or entity doing business with or potentially doing business with BCM or the Funds on a calendar year basis, with the exception of accounts subject to Department of Labor (“DOL”) oversight (such as ERISA qualified accounts), whereby BCM will limit the value of any gift or other offering to the value determined by BCM’s understanding of current DOL accepted standards. If a gift is less than $50 (e.g. gifts of de minimis value such as pens, notepads or promotional items that display the firm’s logo) it does not need to be reported to the Compliance Team and is not subject to the $100 annual gift limit per Access Person. If a gift is received by an Access Person valued at more than $100 it must be reported to the Compliance Team and the gift must be returned.
b. | Receipt of Business Entertainment |
With the exception of accounts subject to DOL oversight, this policy does not impose a dollar limit on the receipt of business entertainment, items or events where the Access Person has reason to believe there is a legitimate business purpose, for example, business entertainment such as a dinner or a sporting event, of reasonable value. However, no Access Person may accept entertainment deemed to be excessive. With respect to accounts subject to DOL oversight, BCM will limit the value of any entertainment received to the value determined by BCM based on its understanding of current DOL standards. A representative of the entity providing the entertainment must be present at the event to be considered legitimate business entertainment. If a representative is not at the event, then the entertainment is considered a gift subject to the limitations described in this policy.
2. | Giving of Gifts and Business Entertainment |
a. | Giving of Gifts |
Access Persons are prohibited from giving any gift, gratuity, hospitality or other offering of more than $100 to any person or entity doing business with BCM or the Funds during a calendar year with the exception of accounts subject to DOL oversight (such as ERISA qualified accounts), whereby BCM will limit the value of any gift or other offering to the value determined by BCM’s understanding of current DOL accepted standards.
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If a gift is less than $50 (e.g. gifts of de minimis value such as pens, notepads, promotional items that display the firm’s logo) it does not need to be reported to the Compliance Team and is not subject to the $100 annual gift limit per Access Person. All other gifts, provided shall be reported to the Compliance Team.
b. | Giving of Business Entertainment |
The limits on providing gifts described above do not include providing business entertainment – items or events where the Access Person has reason to believe there is a legitimate business purpose. Examples of business entertainment include golf, a dinner, concert tickets or a sporting event. An Access Person is expected to attend any event where the entertainment is provided by BCM or the Funds. If an Access Person is unable to attend, the entertainment provided to the recipient shall be considered a gift, subject to the limitations and requirements outlined above. Access Persons may not provide business entertainment deemed to be excessive, lavish or where there is not an apparent business purpose. With regards to accounts subject to DOL oversight (such as ERISA qualified accounts), BCM will limit the value of any gift or other offering to the value determined by BCM’s understanding of current DOL accepted standards.
3. | Charitable Contributions |
BCM and/or Access Persons may not make charitable contributions to organizations with the intention of unduly influencing (either directly or indirectly such as through the charitable contribution matching program) a third-party that has a current relationship with BCM and/or the Funds or is considered a business prospect.
4. | Political Contributions |
Access Persons may only make political contributions as permitted in BCM’s Political Contributions Policy. Access Persons are prohibited from making political contributions for the purpose of obtaining or retaining advisory contracts. In addition, Access Persons are prohibited from considering BCM or the Funds’ current or anticipated business relationships as a factor in making political contributions. See BCM’s Political Contributions Policy for additional details.
5. | Service on Company Boards (For Profit and Not-For-Profit) |
Any Access Person wishing to serve as director (or an equivalent position) for an outside public company or private company (for profit or not-for-profit) must first seek prior approval from their Team Leader and BCM’s President.
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The President, in reviewing the request, will determine whether such service is consistent with the interests of BCM, the Funds, Clients and the Funds’ shareholders. See BCM’s Supervision of Outside Activities Policy for further information.
6. | Outside Business Activities |
Access Persons wishing to engage in outside business activities for compensation must seek approval from their Team Leader and BCM’s President. If requested, Access Persons must provide periodic reports to the CCO, or her designee, summarizing those outside business activities. See BCM’s Supervision of Outside Activities Policy for further information.
D. | Protection of Non-Public Information |
1. | Access Persons are expected to exercise diligence and care in maintaining and protecting Client and Fund shareholder non-public information as outlined in BCM’s Privacy Policy. |
2. | Access Persons are also expected to not divulge information regarding BCM’s Securities recommendations or Client Securities holdings to any individual outside of the firm, except as approved by the CCO. |
3. | Access Persons may not purchase or sell a security, on behalf of the firm or themselves, while in possession of material, non-public information, as outlined in BCM’s Insider Trading Policy. |
4. | Access Persons are expected to adhere to any Advised Fund’s policy on the disclosure of mutual fund holdings. |
Personal Trading Policy
BCM encourages all Access Persons, but IMT members especially, to hold shares of the Funds (or any other Advised Fund) as their primary method of investment. The firm’s investors should be able to expect the best performance BCM is able to achieve. In short, they should be able to say, “I want to invest in what they are investing in.”
A. | Prohibited Transactions |
1. | All Access Persons |
Unless specifically permitted within this Code and excluding all personal Securities transactions exempt from pre-clearance in Section III(B)(3), no Access Person shall execute a transaction in a Security when BCM (on behalf of its Clients): |
a. | Is purchasing or selling in Client accounts; |
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b. | Has recommended for purchase or sale in Client accounts; |
c. | Has decided to purchase or sell in Client accounts but has not yet made the recommendation; or |
d. | Has a current model buy or sell signal but has not yet made a final decision related to such Security. |
In addition, the following restrictions apply:
a. | Access Persons may not purchase or sell derivatives or options when a personal security transaction (or pre-clearance request) in its underlying Security would be denied, regardless of whether or not the derivatives or options are being traded by BCM. |
In certain circumstances, the CCO may approve the sale of a personal Security even if one or more of the conditions above is present if she determines: 1) no client is harmed as a result of the transaction; 2) not approving the sale could result in a significant financial detriment to the Access Person; and 3) the Access Person is not unfairly advantaged as a result of the transaction.
2. | Investment Management Team (“IMT”) Restrictions |
IMT members, including portfolio managers (with the exclusion of the Trading Team Leader who is a named portfolio manager for one strategy) may not purchase any Security that is held in any Client portfolio or is in BCM’s investable universe, except futures contracts, ETFs/ETNs or derivatives or options of the underlying futures contracts/ETF/ETN (which must be pre-approved and meet the reporting requirements outlined below), Advised Funds and Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) (which must meet the reporting requirements), or as an approved exception per Section III(B)(3). BCM’s investable universe is defined as a Security eligible for purchase or sale in Client accounts including securities listed on an U.S. exchange, including common stocks, REITs, limited partnerships, tracking stocks, ADRs, NY registered shares and global depository receipts or a related security of a Security available on a foreign exchange. Under limited circumstances, and subject to pre-clearance requirements, members of IMT may sell Securities which are, or could be held in Client portfolios or in the investable universe.
B. | Personal Trading Restrictions |
1. | Initial Public Offerings (IPO) and Private Placements (Limited Offerings) |
Access Persons are prohibited from acquiring Securities in an IPO or Limited Offering unless there is a prior approval on a pre-clearance form. However, IMT members are prohibited from investing in IPOs.
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2. | Holdings at the Time of Becoming an Access Person |
When an individual, including a member of IMT, becomes an Access Person he or she will, generally, not be required to sell Securities held in personal accounts that are also held in Client accounts as long as the individual complies with the reporting requirements of this Code. This provision is subject to the Chief Investment Officer’s (“CIO”) review of Access Persons’ initial and annual personal securities holdings reports.
3. | Pre-Clearance of Personal Securities Transactions |
Pre-clearance is required for all personal securities transactions with the exception of those outlined below:
a. | Shares of registered open-end investment companies including Advised Funds; |
b. | Futures contracts, stock index options/futures ETFs/ETNs or derivatives or options of the underlying futures contract, stock index options/futures, ETF/ETN, with the exception of certain futures contracts, stock index options/futures and ETFs/ETNs that can be purchased in Client accounts, and therefore, must be pre-cleared. The list of futures contracts, stock index options/futures and ETFs/ETNs which require pre-clearance is provided to Access Persons by the Investment Management Team; |
c. | Direct obligations of the United States Government; |
d. | Bankers’ acceptances, bank certificates of deposit, commercial paper and other high quality short-term debt instruments, including repurchase agreements; |
e. | Shares issued by any money market fund; |
f. | Shares issued by unit investment trusts that are invested exclusively in one or more open-ended investment companies, including Advised Funds; |
g. | Transactions in accounts not managed by BCM, in which the Access Person has no direct or indirect influence or control, including Managed Accounts; |
h. | Master Limited Partnerships (“MLP”); |
i. | Consumer credit notes (i.e. Securities that correspond to fractions of loans) or real estate notes; |
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j. | Oil and gas or other partnership interests that are privately offered; |
k. | Securities acquired through stock dividends, automatic dividend reinvestments, stock splits, reverse stock splits, mergers, consolidations, spin-offs or other similar corporate reorganizations or distributions generally applicable to all holders of the same class of Securities. Please note, if the corporate action includes a selection between cash and securities, the action must be pre-cleared if opting for securities; and |
l. | Transactions effected pursuant to an Automatic Investment Plan. |
Access Persons may not engage in personal securities transactions unless it has been approved through BCM’s pre-clearance process. Access Persons seeking pre-clearance of personal securities transactions must complete and submit a pre-clearance request through BCM’s electronic personal trading module. John Montgomery, Elena Khoziaeva Michael Whipple and Christine Wang, members of IMT, are authorized to approve pre-clearance requests. In certain circumstances, the CCO may approve the sale of a personal security per Section III(A)(1) above. Under no circumstances may someone approve/disapprove his/her own pre-clearance request. All approved personal securities transactions must be completed within one trading day following the date of approval except as otherwise noted below. If the trade is not executed within this one day period, a new pre-clearance request must be submitted.
A new pre-clearance request will not be required if a trade is not completed within one trading day in certain circumstances including, but not limited to, the following: (i) delays in execution related to a transfer of securities; (ii) delays in execution related to gifts or donations of securities made in-kind; (iii) delays in the completion of a trade involving low liquidity stocks; and (iv) trades in illiquid or low liquidity stocks where a member of IMT determined how long the Access Person has to trade the Security prior to approving the pre-clearance request. The person reviewing the pre-clearance request is responsible for documenting such potential delays when approving the request in SchwabCT.
No explanations are required for refusals. In some cases, trades may be rejected for reasons that are confidential and/or subjective.
III. | Reporting Requirements (excluding the Funds’ Independent Directors) |
A. | Quarterly Transaction Report |
1. | Timing of Report |
Access Persons must submit a Quarterly Transaction Report to the CCO, or his designee, through BCM’s electronic personal trading module, within 30 calendar days following the end of each calendar quarter.
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2. | Content of Report |
a. | Each Quarterly Transaction Report must include the following information about transactions in Securities in which the Access Person has any direct or indirect Beneficial Ownership: |
i. | Date of Transaction | |
ii. | Name of Security | |
iii. | Ticker Symbol or CUSIP Number, as applicable | |
iv. | Interest Rate and Maturity Date, as applicable | |
v. | Number of Shares or Par | |
vi. | Principal Amount | |
vii. | Nature of Transaction (i.e., Purchase or Sale) | |
viii. | Price of Security | |
ix. | Name of Broker | |
x. | Date of the Report |
b. | Transactions in the following securities are not required to be reported: |
i. | Shares of registered open-end investment companies that are not Advised Funds (note: transactions in the Funds within the BCM Partner Stock Option Plan (“PSOP”) are required to be reported). (ETFs are not considered open-end investment companies for purposes of this Code, and therefore must be reported); | |
ii. | Direct obligations of the United States Government; | |
iii. | Bankers’ acceptances, bank certificates of deposit, commercial paper, and other high quality short-term debt instruments, including repurchase agreements; | |
iv. | Shares issued by any money market fund; | |
v. | Shares issued by unit investment trusts that are invested exclusively in one or more open-end investment companies, none of which are Advised Funds. | |
vi. | Transactions in accounts not managed by BCM, in which the Access Person has no direct or indirect influence or control, including Managed Accounts; and | |
vii. | Transactions effected pursuant to an Automatic Investment Plan. |
c. | Access Persons must also indicate on the Quarterly Transaction Report whether they established any new accounts during the previous quarter, |
d. | Access Persons may provide investment statements with the report if they contain all the required information described above. Either a hard copy or an electronic version is acceptable. Access Persons may also rely on the transactions being automatically submitted through the electronic trading platform (unless otherwise communicated). |
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e. | Regardless of the method of communication of transactions to BCM or whether the Access Person had reportable transactions, all Access Persons must submit a Quarterly Transaction Report. |
B. | Initial and Annual Holdings Report |
1. | Timing of Report |
a. | Access Persons are required to submit an Initial and Annual Portfolio Holdings Report to the CCO, or her designee, through BCM’s electronic personal trading module (or hard copy if electronic personal trading module is not available) indicating all personal securities holdings within 10 calendar days upon becoming an Access Person of BCM and on an annual basis thereafter, within 30 days of calendar year-end. The CCO will submit his/her Initial and Annual Portfolio Holdings Report as required. The CIO will review the CCO’s holdings on an annual basis. |
2. | Content of Report |
a. | Each Holdings Report must be current as of a date not more than 45 calendar days prior to submission and include the following information about the securities in which the Access Person has any direct or indirect Beneficial Ownership: |
i. | Name and Type of Security | |
ii. | Ticker Symbol or CUSIP number | |
iii. | Number of Shares or Par | |
iv. | Principal Amount | |
v. | Broker or Bank Name | |
vi. | Date of the Report |
b. | Access Persons do not have to include the following securities on their Holdings Report: |
i. | Direct obligations of the United States government; | |
ii. | Bankers’ acceptances, bank certificates of deposit, commercial paper and other high quality short-term debt instruments, including repurchase agreements; | |
iii. | Shares issued by any money market fund; | |
iv. | Shares of registered open-end investment companies, except Advised Funds, which are included (ETFs are not considered open-end investment companies for purposes of this Code, and therefore must be reported); | |
v. | Shares issued by unit investment trusts that are invested exclusively in one or more open-end investment companies, none of which are Advised Funds; and | |
vi. | Holdings in accounts not managed by BCM, in which the Access Person has no direct or indirect influence or control, including Managed Accounts. |
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c. | Investment statements may by submitted in lieu of the Holdings Report as long as all required information is included on the statements. Either a hard copy or an electronic version is acceptable. |
d. | Regardless of the method of communication of holdings to BCM, all Access Persons must submit an Initial and Annual Portfolio Holdings Report. |
C. | Managed Accounts |
In order to establish a Managed Account, an Access Person must grant to the external investment manager complete investment discretion over the account. In addition, the Access Person must provide documentation evidencing s/he does not have discretion over the account to the CCO who will determine whether the account is approved as a Managed Account. Reporting, including pre-clearance, is not required for trades in this type of an account; however, Access Persons may not participate, directly or indirectly in individual investment decisions or be made aware of such decisions before transactions are executed and must certify as such to the CCO on a quarterly basis. This restriction does not preclude Access Persons from establishing investment guidelines for the manager, such as indicating industries to invest in, the types of securities to purchase or overall investment objectives. However, these guidelines may not be changed so frequently as to give the appearance that the Access Person is actually directing account investments.
D. | Review of Personal Securities Reports |
The CCO, or her designee, reviews reports submitted by Access Persons and prepares a quarterly report to the Adviser’s Compliance Committee of personal securities trading and reporting violations.
The CCO submits her own personal securities reports, as required. The CIO will review the CCO’s reports on an annual basis. In no case should an Access Person review his/her own report.
IV. | Reporting to the Funds’ Board of Directors |
The Funds’ CCO shall provide a quarterly report to the Funds’ Board of Directors which shall identify any violations which required remedial action during the past quarter.
At least annually, the Funds’ CCO shall prepare a written report to the Funds’ Board of Directors that:
A. | Describes any issues arising under the Code or procedures since the last report to the Funds’ Board of Directors, including, but not limited to, information about material violations of the Code or procedures and sanctions imposed in response to the material violations; and |
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B. | Certifies that BCM and the Funds have adopted procedures reasonably necessary to prevent Access Persons from violating the Code. |
V. | Requirements of the Funds’ Independent Directors |
The Funds’ Independent Directors are exempt from abiding by the Personal Conduct provisions of Section II(C). In addition, Independent Directors are exempt from all personal trading, pre-clearance and reporting requirements outlined above in Sections III and IV except as the following describes. An Independent Director of the Funds need only report a transaction in a Security if such director knew or, in the ordinary course of fulfilling his or her official duties as a director of the Funds, should have known that, during the 15-day period immediately before or after the date of the transaction by the director, such Security was purchased or sold by the Funds or was being considered for purchase or sale by the Funds. Such transactions shall be reported to and monitored by the Funds’ CCO.
VI. | Requirements for Exempt- Access Persons |
Exempt-Access Persons are exempt from abiding by the Personal Conduct provisions of Section II(C). In addition, Exempt-Access Persons are exempt from all personal trading, pre-clearance and reporting requirements outlined above in Sections III and IV.
VII. | Reporting of Violations |
All Access Persons (including Exempt-Access Persons) shall report promptly any violation or suspected violation of this Code (including the discovery of any violation committed by another Access Person) to the CCO. Examples of items that should be reported include (but are not limited to): non-compliance with Federal Securities Laws; conduct that is harmful to Clients; and trading in Securities contrary to the Code.
Such persons are encouraged to report any violations or perceived violations as such good faith reports will not be viewed negatively by BCM or the Funds’ management, even if the reportable event, upon investigation, is determined not to be a violation and the CCO determines the Access Person reported such apparent violation in good faith.
The CCO, or her designee, prepares a quarterly report of personal trading and reporting violations for review by BCM’s Compliance Committee. The CCO will determine whether such violations should be reported to any mutual fund board for which BCM acts as adviser or sub-adviser.
VIII. | Sanctions |
Upon discovering a violation of the Code, the CCO and President or the Funds may impose such sanctions as they deem appropriate, including, among other sanctions, a letter of censure or suspension, or termination of employment of the violator.
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IX. | Board of Director Approval |
The Funds’ Board of Directors shall approve any material changes to the Code within six months of the adoption of the material change.
X. | Record Keeping Requirements |
The following records will be kept in accordance with this Code and for at least the minimum time periods required under applicable Federal Securities Laws:
A. | Current and historic copies of the Code; |
B. | Access Persons’ written acknowledgement of receipt of the Code; |
C. | Historic listings of all Access Persons subject to the Code; |
D. | Violations of the Code, and records of action taken as a result of the violations; |
E. | All personal securities transactions and holdings reports made by Access Persons and/or copies of investment account confirmations and statements; |
F. | All pre-clearance requests and approvals/disapprovals of personal Security trading by Access Persons, including documentation of the reasons for the approval/disapproval; and |
G. | Any reports made to an Advised Fund’s Board of Directors. |
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Glossary of Terms
A. | Access Person means any employee, director, or officer of BCM or the Funds; any other person the CCO has determined to be an Access Person because he or she is involved in making securities recommendations to Clients or has access to non-public information regarding (i) purchases or sales of securities, (ii) Security recommendations, (iii) portfolio holdings or (iv) works closely with staff that has access to such information. |
B. | Advised Fund means any investment company for which BCM serves as investment adviser or sub-adviser, as defined in Section 2(a)(20) of the 1940 Act. |
C. | Automatic Investment Plan means a program in which regular periodic purchases (or withdrawals) are made automatically in (or from) investment accounts in accordance with a predetermined schedule and allocation. An Automatic Investment Plan includes a dividend reinvestment plan. |
D. | Beneficial Ownership has the same meaning as in Rule 16a-1(a)(2) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”) except that the term applies to both debt and equity securities. As a general matter, “beneficial ownership” will be attributed to an Access Person who has or shares a direct or indirect Monetary interest in a Security, including through any contract, arrangement, understanding, relationship or otherwise or who has investment control over the account in which the Access Person is beneficiary. An Access Person is not considered to have a direct or indirect pecuniary interest by virtue of a power of attorney, trusteeship or executorship unless the Access Person or a member of his or her immediate family sharing the same household has a vested interest in the securities held in, or the income of, the assets of the account, trust or estate. |
Beneficial Ownership typically includes:
1. | Securities held in a person’s own name; |
2. | Securities held with another in joint ownership arrangements; |
3. | Securities held by a bank or broker as nominee or custodian on such person’s behalf or pledged as collateral for a loan; |
4. | Securities held by immediate family members sharing the same household (“immediate family” means any child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, spouse, sibling, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law, including adoptive relationships); and |
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5. | Securities owned by a corporation which is directly or indirectly controlled by, or under common control with, such person. |
Any uncertainty as to whether an Access Person beneficially owns a Security should be brought to the attention of the CCO.
E. | Client means any person or entity for which BCM serves as an investment adviser or sub-adviser, including the Funds. |
F. | Exempt-Access Person is an individual who falls under the definition of Access Person that the CCO has determined: (1) does not have access to nonpublic information with respect to Client holdings, transactions or securities recommendations; and (2) is not involved in the recommendation process. Exempt-Access Persons must, prior to being so designated and at least annually thereafter, certify to the CCO, as to the relevant facts and circumstances that formed the basis of the CCO’s above-described determination. |
G. | Federal Securities Laws means the Securities Act of 1933 (“1933 Act”), the 1934 Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the 1940 Act, the Advisers Act, Title V of the Gramm-Leach Bliley Act, any rules adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) under any of these statutes, the Bank Secrecy Act as it applies to investment companies and investment advisers, and any rules adopted thereunder by the SEC or the Department of Treasury. |
H. | Independent Director means a director of the Funds who is not an “interested person” of the Funds within the meaning of Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act. |
I. | Initial Public Offering (“IPO”) means an offering of securities registered under the 1933 Act, the issuer of which, immediately before the registration, was not subject to the reporting requirements of Sections 13 or 15(d) of the 1934 Act. |
J. | Limited Offering, including a Private Placement, is defined as any security of a non-public company which is exempt from registration pursuant to Section 4(2) or Section 4(5) under the 1933 Act, or Rule 504, 505 or 506 under said Act. |
K. | Managed Account is an investment account managed by an external entity in which the Access Person has no discretion over the specific securities purchased or sold within the investment account. |
L. | Monetary interest has the same meaning as “pecuniary interest” as described in Rule 16a-1(a)(2) of the 1934 Act; the opportunity to directly or indirectly profit or share in any profit derived from a Security transaction. |
M. | Private Placement has the same meaning as “Limited Offering”. |
N. | Purchase or sale of a security includes, among other things, the writing of an option to purchase or sell a Security, the conversion of a convertible Security, and the exercise of a warrant for the purchase of a Security. |
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O. | Security has the same meaning as set forth in Section 202(a)(18) of the Advisers Act. Some of the more common instruments included in this definition are any note, stock, treasury stock, bond debenture, evidence of indebtedness, certificate of interest or participation in any profit-sharing agreement, interest in a Private Placement, or any put, call, straddle or option on any Security or on any group or index of securities. Please note that shares of closed-end funds and derivatives and options of Securities are included in the definition of Security. Furthermore, all shares of ETFs, whether organized as open-end funds or otherwise, are considered Securities for purposes of this Code. |
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Exhibit 99.(p)(19)
Bahl & Gaynor, Inc - 2020 Bahl & Gaynor Compliance Program | CODE OF ETHICS |
CODE OF ETHICS
Rule 204A-1
BAHL & GAYNOR, INC.
General
The Code of Ethics is predicated on the principle that B&G owes a fiduciary duty to its clients. Accordingly, B&G’s employees must avoid activities, interests and relationships that run contrary (or appear to run contrary) to the best interests of clients. At all times, B&G must:
• | Place client interests ahead of B&G’s – As a fiduciary, B&G must serve in its clients’ best interests. In other words, B&G employees may not benefit at the expense of advisory clients. This concept is particularly relevant when employees are making personal investments in securities traded by advisory clients. | |
• | Engage in personal investing that is in full compliance with B&G’s Code of Ethics – employees must review and abide by B&G’s Personal Securities Transaction and Insider Trading Policies. | |
• | Avoid taking advantage of your position – employees must not accept investment opportunities, gifts or other gratuities from individuals seeking to conduct business with B&G, or on behalf of an advisory client. | |
• | Accept no more than reasonable compensation - B&G believes that fees for its services should be reasonable and appropriate for the level of service provided. Fee structures are available for reference in the B&G ADV 2A. | |
• | Maintain full compliance with the Federal Securities Laws1 – employees must abide by the standards set forth in Rule 204A-1 under the Advisers Act. |
Any questions with respect to B&G’s Code of Ethics should be directed to the Compliance Officer and/or Senior Management. As discussed in greater detail below, employees must promptly report any violations of the Code of Ethics to the Compliance Officer. All reported Code of Ethics violations will be treated as being made on an anonymous basis.
Guiding Principles & Standards of Conduct
All employees, directors, officers and partners of B&G, and consultants including temporary employees and interns closely associated with B&G, will act with competence, dignity and integrity, in an ethical manner, when dealing with clients, the public, prospects, third-party service providers and fellow employees. The following set of principles frame the professional and ethical conduct that B&G expects from its employees and consultants:
• | Act with integrity, competence, diligence, respect, and in an ethical manner with the public, clients, prospective clients, employers, employees, colleagues in the investment profession, and other participants in the global capital markets; | |
• | Place the integrity of the investment profession, the interests of clients, and the interests of B&G above one’s own personal interests; | |
• | Adhere to the fundamental standard that you should not take inappropriate advantage of your position; | |
• | Avoid any actual or potential conflict of interest; | |
• | Conduct all personal securities transactions in a manner consistent with this policy; | |
• | Use reasonable care and exercise independent professional judgment when conducting investment analysis, making investment recommendations, taking investment actions, and engaging in other professional activities; | |
• | Practice and encourage others to practice in a professional and ethical manner that will reflect credit on you and the profession; |
1. “Federal securities laws” means the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, any rules adopted by the Commission under any of these statutes, the Bank Secrecy Act as it applies to funds and investment advisers, and any rules adopted there under by the Commission or the Department of the Treasury.
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Bahl & Gaynor, Inc - 2020 Bahl & Gaynor Compliance Program | Personal Securities Transaction Policy |
• | Promote the integrity of, and uphold the rules governing, capital markets; | |
• | Maintain and improve your professional competence and strive to maintain and improve the competence of other investment professionals; | |
• | Comply with applicable provisions of the federal securities laws. |
All supervised persons are required to complete the Code of Conduct and Regulatory Compliance Program Acknowledgement Form that can be found at the end of this manual; which includes the Code of Ethics. Completion of this form is required upon the commencement of employment with B&G, annually thereafter, and upon each material amendment. The employee’s signature, which is required, acknowledges and certifies that the employee has received, reviewed, understood, and shall comply, or has complied, with the contents of the Code of Conduct and Regulatory Compliance Program including the Code of Ethics.
A SEC registered investment adviser’s “access person” are any of the investment adviser’s supervised persons who have access to non-public information regarding any investment advisory client’s purchase or sale of securities, or nonpublic information regarding the portfolio holdings of any reportable fund or any person who is involved in making securities recommendations to investment advisory clients, or who has access to such recommendations that are nonpublic. If providing investment advice is an investment adviser’s primary business, all its directors, officers and partners are presumed to be access persons.
B&G’s “access persons” are identified as all directors, officers, partners, any full or part-time employee of B&G
and any intern who holds an intern position for four (4) months or longer.
All access persons must adhere to B&G’s Personal Securities Transaction Policy, Trading and Review Policy of Personal Securities Transactions and have consequences of the Reporting Violations and Remedial Actions as outlined below.
Interns who hold an intern position for less than four (4) months are required to disclose any personal accounts and attest that they will NOT trade (buy or sell) any issue whose securities appear on the Restricted List during their time of internship.
Amended 2019
Review 3/2019
Personal Securities Transaction Policy
Employees may not purchase or sell any security in which the employee has a beneficial ownership unless the transaction occurs in an exempted security or the employee has complied with the Personal Security Transaction Policy set forth below.
The Compliance Officer shall maintain a “Restricted List” of securities that are being evaluated and updated promptly subsequent to investment meetings. The restricted list includes stocks of companies that B&G is evaluating through the due diligence process as well as companies that B&G is broadly purchasing or selling for its clients which also includes exchange traded funds and index funds. The Compliance Officer distributes the restricted list upon any updates. When a security is put on the restricted list, it will remain on the list for at least one (1) week (7 days) unless otherwise noted or extended. No Employee may trade (buy or sell) in issues whose securities appear on the Restricted List.
Exempt Securities
B&G requires employees to provide periodic reports (See Reporting section below) regarding transactions and holdings in any security, as that term is defined in Section 202(a)(18) of the Advisers Act (“Reportable Security”). However, as noted in Rule 204A-1, the term Reportable Security exempts and does not include:
• | Direct obligations of the Government of the United States; | |
• | Bankers’ acceptances, bank certificates of deposit, commercial paper and high-quality short-term debt instruments, including repurchase agreements; |
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Bahl & Gaynor, Inc - 2020 Bahl & Gaynor Compliance Program | Personal Securities Transaction Policy |
• | Shares issued by money market funds; | |
• | Shares issued by open-end funds; and | |
• | Shares issued by unit investment trusts that are invested exclusively in one or more open-end funds, none of which are reportable funds. |
B&G employees are required to report personal transactions for all mutual funds that are being Sub-Advised by B&G.
Beneficial Ownership
Employees are considered to have beneficial ownership of securities if they have or share a direct or indirect pecuniary interest in the securities. Employees have a pecuniary interest in securities if they can directly or indirectly profit from a securities transaction.
The following are examples of indirect pecuniary interests in securities:
• | Securities held by members of employees’ immediate family sharing the same household. Immediate family means any child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, spouse, sibling, mother- in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law or sister-in-law. Adoptive relationships are included; | |
• | Employees’ interests as a general partner in securities held by a general or limited partnership; and | |
• | Employees’ interests as a manager in the securities held by a limited liability company. |
Employees do not have an indirect pecuniary interest in securities held by entities in which they hold an equity interest unless they are a controlling equity holder, or they share investment control over the securities held by the entity.
The following circumstances constitute beneficial ownership by employees of securities held by a trust:
• | Ownership of securities as a trustee where either the employee or members of the employees’ immediate family have a vested interest in the principal or income of the trust; | |
• | Ownership of a vested beneficial interest in a trust; and | |
• | An employee’s status as a settlor/grantor of a trust, unless the consent of all the beneficiaries is required for the employee to revoke the trust. |
Exempt Transactions
The following transactions are considered exempt transactions:
• | Any transaction in an account over which the employee does not have any direct or indirect influence or control. For example, presuming that such relatives do not reside in the same household as the employee, accounts of family members outside of the immediate family would not be subject to review. | |
• | Any transactions occurring in an account that is managed on a fully-discretionary basis by an unaffiliated money manager. | |
• | Purchases that are part of an automatic investment plan.2 | |
• | Purchases of securities by the exercise of rights issued to holders of a class of securities on a pro-rata basis. | |
• | Acquisitions or dispositions of securities as a result of a stock dividend, stock split, or other corporation actions. |
From time to time, the Compliance Officer may exempt certain transactions on a trade-by-trade basis.
2. “Automatic investment plan” means a program in which regular periodic purchases (or withdrawals) are made automatically in (or from) investment accounts in accordance with a predetermined schedule and allocation. An automatic investment plan includes a dividend reinvestment plan.
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Bahl & Gaynor, Inc - 2020 Bahl & Gaynor Compliance Program | Personal Securities Transaction Policy |
Investments in Limited Offerings and Initial Public Offerings (“IPOs”)3
No employee shall acquire, directly or indirectly, any Beneficial Ownership in any limited offering or IPO without first obtaining prior approval of the Compliance Officer, in order to preclude any possibility of their profiting improperly from their positions on behalf of a Client. The Compliance Officer shall (a) obtain from the Employee full details of the proposed transaction (including written certification that the investment opportunity did not arise by virtue of the Employee’s activities on behalf of a Client; and (b) conclude, after consultation with a portfolio manager (who has no personal interest in the issuer of the limited offering or IPO), that no Clients have any foreseeable interest in purchasing such security. A record of such approval by the Compliance Officer and the reasons supporting those decisions shall be kept as required in the Records section of this Policy. Please refer to Exhibit A for a copy of the Limited Offering and IPO Request and Reporting Form.
Reporting
In order to provide B&G with information to enable it to determine with reasonable assurance any indications of scalping, front-running or the appearance of a conflict of interest with the trading by B&G clients, each Employee shall follow the procedures described below:
Initial and Annual Holdings Reports
New B&G Employees are required to report all their personal securities holdings not later than 10 days after the commencement of their employment (See Exhibit B for a copy of the Initial Holdings Report). The initial holdings report must be current as of a date not more than 30 days prior to the date the person becomes an Employee.
Existing Employees are required to provide B&G with a complete list of securities holdings on an annual basis, or on or before February 14the (as determined by B&G) of each year. The report shall be current as of December 31set, which is a date no more than 30 days prior to the final date the report is due to be submitted. (See Exhibit C for a copy of the Annual Holdings Report).
Each holdings report (both the initial and annual) must contain, at a minimum: (a) the title and type of security, and as applicable the exchange ticker symbol or CUSIP number, number of shares, and principal amount of each reportable security in which the access person has any direct or indirect beneficial ownership; (b) the name of any broker, dealer or bank with which the access person maintains an account in which any securities are held for the access person’s direct or indirect benefit; and (c) the date the access person submits the report.
Quarterly Transaction Reports
Employees shall be required to instruct their custodians to send to B&G duplicate broker trade confirmations and account statements of the Employee which shall be received by the Compliance Officer, at a minimum, no later than thirty (30) days after the end of each calendar quarter. If an Employee’s trades do not occur through a broker- dealer (i.e., purchase of a private investment fund), such transactions shall be reported separately on the quarterly personal securities transaction report provided in Exhibit D. The quarterly transaction reports shall contain at least the following information for each transaction in a Reportable Security in which the Employee had, or as a result of the transaction acquired, any direct or indirect beneficial ownership4: (a) the date of the transaction, the title, and as applicable the exchange ticker symbol or CUSIP number, the interest rate and maturity date (if applicable), the number of shares and the principal amount of each Reportable Security involved; (b) the nature of the transaction (i.e., purchase, sale or any other type of acquisition or disposition); (c) the price of the Reportable Security at which the transaction was effected; (d) the name of the broker, dealer or bank with or through which the transaction was effected; and (e) the date that the report is submitted.
3. The term “limited offering” is defined as an offering that is exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 pursuant to section 4(2) or section 4(6) or pursuant to Rules 504, 505, or 506 of Regulation D. The term “initial public offering” means an offering of securities registered under the Securities Act of 1933, the issuer of which, immediately before the registration, was not subject to the reporting requirements of sections 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
4. “Beneficial Ownership,” as set forth under Rule 16a-1(a)(2), determines whether a person is subject to the provision of Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the rules and regulations there under, which generally encompasses those situations in which the beneficial owner has the right to enjoy some direct or indirect “pecuniary interest” (i.e., some economic benefit) from the ownership of a security. This may also include securities held by members of an Employee’s immediate family sharing the same household; provided however, this presumption may be rebutted. The term immediate family means any child,
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Employees are reminded that they must also report transactions by members of the Employee’s immediate family including spouse, children and other members of the household in accounts over which the Employee has direct or indirect influence or control. |
Duplicate Copies
In order to help ensure that duplicate brokerage statements and confirmations are received for all accounts pertaining to an Employee, such Employee may complete and send a brokerage letter like Exhibit E to each bank, broker or dealer maintaining an account on behalf of the Employee or any account in which they have a beneficial interest.
Exceptions from Reporting Requirements
Employees are not required to submit: 1) a transaction or initial and annual holdings report with respect to securities held in accounts over which the access person has no direct or indirect influence or control, and 2) a transaction report with respect to transactions effected pursuant to an automatic investment plan.
Amended 2014
Review 3/2019
Trading and Review
B&G discourages its Employees to trade opposite of firm recommendations. B&G has a highly customized investment approach for its clients, which at times may result in the purchase and sale of the same security in different client accounts. Despite this customized approach, however, there will be periods of time when B&G will trade a security in a similar fashion (i.e., only purchase or only sell) for a broad number of clients. During these periods of time, the security will be placed on our restricted list and employees will be forbidden from trading in it for accounts in which they maintain a beneficial interest. Front running, which is a practice generally understood to be personally trading ahead of client accounts, should not be practiced by B&G employees. Our clients should come first in all trading of securities.
The Compliance Officer will closely monitor Employees’ investment patterns to detect abuses. A designated review person will monitor the Compliance Officer’s personal securities transactions for compliance with the Personal Securities Transaction Policy. The reason for the development of a post transaction review process is to ensure that B&G has developed procedures to supervise the activities of its associated persons. The comparison of Employee trades to those of the clients will identify potential conflicts of interest or the appearance of a potential conflict.
If B&G discovers that an employee is personally trading contrary to the policies set forth above, the employee shall meet with the Compliance Officer and Chairman to review the facts surrounding the transactions. This meeting shall help B&G to determine the appropriate course of action.
Review Process
• | All employees must report all personal securities transactions | |
• | All accounts are reconciled on B&G’s APX system | |
• | During investment meetings ideas are shared about what transactions, if any, should take place in our strategy accounts | |
• | If an idea is seriously being considered or it has been decided that a trade will take place then that security goes on the restricted list | |
• | An email goes out to ALL employees stating that a security or securities will be restricted |
stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, spouse, sibling, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in- law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law and includes adoptive relationships. Any report of beneficial ownership required there under shall not be construed as an admission that the person making the report has any direct or indirect beneficial ownership in the Covered Securities to which the report relates.
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Bahl & Gaynor, Inc - 2020 Bahl & Gaynor Compliance Program | Reporting Violations and Remedial Actions |
• | Standard seven (7) days restrictions but it could be restricted shorter or longer and that is communicated to everyone | |
• | After the email is sent then a wipe board is maintained in our kitchen area to serve as a reminder | |
• | The trader will put into Moxy a restriction of those securities for that period for the group of accounts that are considered B&G employee personal accounts |
◦ | This will prevent any person from trading those securities for their personal accounts through APX/ Moxy |
• | Accounts are reconciled on the APX system, quarterly the Compliance Officer runs the Purchase and Sales report for all personal accounts and those reports are manually checked by the Compliance Officer against the list of restricted securities to identify any violations | |
• | This process also allows for the evaluation for any front running patterns or abnormal trading patterns of personal accounts | |
• | In addition to this Program check each employee must attest to their quarterly transactions by signing the B&G Quarterly Transaction Report |
Amended 2015
Review 3/2019
Reporting Violations and Remedial Actions
B&G takes the potential for conflicts of interest caused by personal investing very seriously. As such, B&G requires its employees to promptly report any violations of the Code of Ethics to the Compliance Officer. B&G’s management is aware of the potential matters that may arise as a result of this requirement and shall act against any employee that seeks retaliation against another for reporting violations of the Code of Ethics. B&G has zero tolerance for retaliatory actions and therefore may subject offenders to more severe action than set forth below. In order to minimize the potential for such behavior, all reports of Code of Ethics violations will be treated as being made on an anonymous basis.
B&G has implemented remedial actions that are designed to discourage its employees from violating the Personal Securities Transaction Policy. Employees should be aware that B&G reserves the right to impose varied sanctions on policy violators that is on a rolling five (5) years basis. Sanctions may be as follows:
• | Verbal warning and Training; | |
• | Written warning that will be included in the employee’s file, and disgorgement of profits to a charity specified by the employee; and | |
• | Written warning, disgorgement of profits to a charity and monetary fine to be donated to a charity specified by the employee; and | |
• | Possible termination of employment. |
Disclosure
B&G shall describe its Codes of Ethics to clients in Part 2A of Form ADV and, upon request, furnish clients with a copy of the Code of Ethics. All client requests for B&G’s Code of Ethics shall be directed to the Compliance Officer.
Recordkeeping
B&G shall maintain records in the manner and to the extent set forth below, which records shall be available for appropriate examination by representatives of the Securities and Exchange Commission or B&G’s management.
• | A copy of this Policy and any other code which is, or at any time within the past five (5) years has been, in effect shall be preserved in an easily accessible place; | |
• | A record of any violation of this Policy and of any action taken as a result of such violation shall be preserved in an easily accessible place for a period of not less than five (5) years following the end of the fiscal year in which the violation occurs; | |
• | A record of all written acknowledgements (annual certifications) as required by this Policy for each person who is currently, or within the past five (5) years was, an Employee of B&G. |
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Bahl & Gaynor, Inc - 2020 Bahl & Gaynor Compliance Program | Electronic Media and Social Media Policy |
• | A copy of each report made pursuant to this Policy by an Employee, including any information provided in lieu of reports, shall be preserved by B&G for at least five (5) years after the end of the fiscal year in which the report is made or the information is provided, the first two years in an easily accessible place; | |
• | A list of all persons who are, or within the past five (5) years have been, required to make reports pursuant to this Policy; | |
• | B&G shall preserve a record of any decision, and the reasons supporting the decision, to approve the acquisition of any limited offering or IPO by Employees for at least five (5) years after the end of the fiscal year in which the approval is granted, the first two (2) years in an easily accessible place. |
Responsibility
The Compliance Officer will be responsible for administering the Personal Securities Transaction Policy. All questions regarding the policy should be directed to the Compliance Officer.
Amended 2012
Review 3/2019
Electronic Media and Social Media Policy
Issue
All B&G employees are bound by the Code of Conduct, which is based around three core principals, Integrity, Competence and Confidentiality. The Code of Conduct should be adhered to when engaging in any public relations practices. These core principals are to be applied to all elements of communications including electronic media and social media activity.
As an SEC Registered Firm, B&G must follow strict regulations that affect the ability to use Social Media in our efforts for Marketing.
• | SEC Regulation S-P - (Client Privacy) | |
• | SEC Rule 206(4)-1(a) - (Advertising and Marketing) | |
• | SEC Rule 204 (a) - (Maintaining Books and Records) |
B&G employees means all partners, principals, professionals, staff members, interns and temporary employees of
B&G.
B&G must ensure that the use of these communications maintains our integrity and reputation while minimizing actual or potential regulatory and legal risks, whether used inside or outside the workplace. It is the right and duty of B&G to protect itself and its employees from unauthorized disclosure of information. B&G’s electronic and social media policy includes rules and guidelines for company authorized and personal forms of electronic and social media.
B&G has invested a significant amount of resources to use a third-party provider that allows B&G to comply with the current SEC Rules and Regulations when using electronic and social media as a marketing tool. B&G has engaged Global Relay Communications, Inc., 233 South Wacker Drive, 84th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606. Global Relay Archive Captures B&G’s incoming, internal and outgoing electronic messages in real time, including email, instant messages, Bloomberg, and social media messages (LinkedIn and Twitter). An auditable, evidentiary-quality copy of each message is created, which is then indexed, serialized and time/date stamped. This process securely organizes and preserves B&G’s intellectual business assets, reducing the risks of lost or deleted messages.
Policy - Company Rules and Regulations
Social Media
B&G has created a Company LinkedIn page, Bahl & Gaynor Investment Counsel, as well as a Company Twitter page, @BahlGaynor. Both pages are maintained by a third-party marketing firm to help individuals to build great businesses and make an essential difference for their markets, employees and industry.
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Bahl & Gaynor, Inc - 2020 Bahl & Gaynor Compliance Program | Electronic Media and Social Media Policy |
Content of the LinkedIn and Twitter pages is the property of B&G and goes through a due diligence process. Each piece of content should be vetted by senior management of B&G and get the final approval from the Compliance Officer.
Mobile Devices/PDA Policy
This policy addresses the use of mobile devices (e.g. blackberries, smart-phones, iPhones, etc.) for company business use. Employees are permitted to use mobile devices for B&G business provided they advise the Compliance Officer of their intent to do so and provided such devices are password protected and employees exercise precaution with respect to its safekeeping (e.g.., prevention of loss or ability to be stolen). In addition, employees who use mobile devices for B&G business should note that the use of these devices are subject to the B&G’s Code of Ethics policy; such that employees are required to conduct him or herself with integrity, honesty and professionalism. Furthermore, employees should be aware that email communications will be captured and monitored in accordance with B&G policies.
• | Text messaging containing investors information is strictly prohibited. | |
• | B&G reserves the right to rescind or prohibit an employee’s use of personal mobile devices at any time with or without notice. | |
• | Employees are required to inform the Compliance Officer immediately if any device is lost or stolen. | |
• | B&G maintains the right to remotely “wipe clean” data contained on any lost or stolen mobile device or if the employee should leave B&G, or at any other times that deem to be necessary. |
◦ | In the event that your device is “wipe clean”, this will remove B&G as well as personal data from the device. |
Email and Other Electronic Communications
Email and other electronic communications are an important method of communication. It is the responsibility of every B&G employee to maintain a standard of high professional conduct in all such communications. Our policy covers electronic communications for B&G, to or from our investors, and includes any electronic communications within B&G’s network system.
Personal use of B&G’s e-mail and any other electronic system is strongly discouraged. All communications are stored on our systems and may be reviewed by either the Compliance Officer or potentially the Securities and Exchange Commission as part of their examinations of B&G.
All business, and investor related electronic communications must be on B&G’s systems and use of personal email addresses or other personal electronic communications for B&G or investor communications is absolutely prohibited.
All B&G employees have an initial responsibility to be familiar with and follow B&G’s e-mail policy with respect to their individual e-mail and electronic communications.
The Compliance Officer has the overall responsibility for monitoring electronic communications and reporting potential or actual compliance and regulatory issues.
Policy - Personal Rules and Regulations
B&G respects the rights of employees to use social media forums for self-publishing and self-expression on personal time. Employees are expected to follow the guidelines and policies set forth below to provide a clear line between you as the individual and you as the employee.
• | You are personally responsible for your commentary. You can be held personally liable for commentary that is considered defamatory, obscene, proprietary or libelous by any offended party, not just B&G. | |
• | You cannot harass, threaten, discriminate or disparage against employees or anyone associated with or doing business with B&G. | |
• | If you choose to identify yourself as a B&G employee, please understand that some readers may view you as a spokesperson for B&G. | |
• | You cannot post the name, trademark or logo of the company, or any company privileged information, including copyrighted information or company issued documents. |
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Bahl & Gaynor, Inc - 2020 Bahl & Gaynor Compliance Program | Insider Trading Policy |
B&G realizes that LinkedIn is a business networking website for people in professional occupations. As such B&G
will allow B&G employees to use LinkedIn at a personal level. B&G employees should use the following guidelines:
• | List B&G as their employer | |
• | Use general contact information such as email address, website and business address are permissible to post | |
• | General description of B&G | |
• | General description of employee job function | |
• | Endorsements MUST be turned OFF |
Acknowledgement
Employees are required to sign written acknowledgement that employees, received, read, understood and agree to comply with B&G’s electronic media and social media rules and guidelines.
Employees will be required to attest annually that they are adhering to B&G’s electronic media and social media rules and guidelines, see Exhibit F.
Reporting Violations
B&G requests and strongly urges employees to report any violations or possible or perceived violations to their manager or Compliance Officer.
Discipline for Violations
B&G investigates and responds to all reports of violations of the social media rules and guidelines and other related policies. Violation of this policy will result in disciplinary action up to and including immediate termination. B&G reserves the right to take legal action where necessary against employees who engage in prohibited or unlawful conduct.
Amended 2016
Review 3/2019
Insider Trading Policy
Section 204A of the Investment Advisers Act
Section 204A of the Advisers Act requires every investment adviser to establish, maintain, and enforce written policies and procedures reasonably designed, taking into consideration the nature of such investment adviser’s business, to prevent the misuse of material, nonpublic information by such investment adviser or any person associated with such investment adviser. In accordance with Section 204A, B&G has instituted procedures to prevent the misuse of nonpublic information.
Insider trading refers generally to buying or selling a security, in breach of a fiduciary duty or other relationship of trust and confidence, while in possession of material, nonpublic information about the security. Insider trading violations may also include “tipping” such information, securities trading by the person “tipped,” and securities trading by those who misappropriate such information.
Examples of insider trading cases that have been brought by the SEC are cases against:
• | Corporate officers, directors, and employees who traded the corporation’s securities after learning of significant, confidential corporate developments; | |
• | Friends, business associates, family members, and other “tippees” of such officers, directors, and employees, who traded the securities after receiving such information; | |
• | Employees of law, banking, brokerage and printing firms who were given such information to provide services to the corporation whose securities they traded; |
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Bahl & Gaynor, Inc - 2020 Bahl & Gaynor Compliance Program | Insider Trading Policy |
• | Government employees who learned of such information because of their employment by the government; and | |
• | Other persons who misappropriated, and took advantage of, confidential information from their employers. |
Because insider trading undermines investor confidence in the fairness and integrity of the securities markets, the
SEC has treated the detection and prosecution of insider trading violations as one of its enforcement priorities.
Whom Does the Policy Cover?
This policy covers all B&G’s employees (“covered persons”) as well as any transactions in any securities participated in by family members, trusts or corporations directly or indirectly controlled by such persons. In addition, the policy applies to transactions engaged in by corporations in which the covered person is an officer, director or 10% or greater stockholder and a partnership of which the covered person is a partner unless the covered person has no direct or indirect control over the partnership. B&G employees may be deemed insiders of mutual funds under B&G’s management.
What Information is Material?
Individuals may not be held liable for trading on inside information unless the information is material. “Material information” is generally defined as information for which there is a substantial likelihood that an investor would consider it important in making his or her investment decisions, or information that is reasonably certain to have a substantial effect on the price of a company’s securities.
Advance knowledge of the following types of information is generally regarded as “material”:
• | Dividend or earnings announcements | |
• | Write-downs or write-offs of assets | |
• | Additions to reserves for bad debts or contingent liabilities | |
• | Expansion or curtailment of company or major division operations | |
• | Merger, joint venture announcements | |
• | New product/service announcements | |
• | Discovery or research developments | |
• | Criminal, civil and government investigations and indictments | |
• | Pending labor disputes | |
• | Debt service or liquidity problems | |
• | Bankruptcy or insolvency problems | |
• | Tender offers, stock repurchase plans, etc. | |
• | Recapitalization | |
• | Mutual Fund’s intent to adjust its net asset value |
Information provided by a company could be material because of its expected effect on a class of a company’s securities, all the company’s securities, the securities of another company, or the securities of several companies. The misuse of material non-public information applies to all types of securities, including equity, mutual funds, debt, commercial paper, government securities and options.
Material information does not have to relate to a company’s business. For example, material information about the contents of an upcoming newspaper column may affect the price of a security, and therefore be considered material.
What Information is Non-Public?
For issues concerning insider trading to arise, information must not only be material, but also non-public. “Non-public” information generally means information that has not been available to the investing public.
Once material, non-public information has been effectively distributed to the investing public, it is no longer classified as material, non-public information. However, the distribution of non-public information must occur through commonly recognized channels for the classification to change. In addition, the information must not only be publicly disclosed, there must be adequate time for the public to receive and digest the information. Lastly, non- public information does not change to public information solely by selective dissemination.
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Bahl & Gaynor, Inc - 2020 Bahl & Gaynor Compliance Program | Serving as Officers, Trustees and/or Directors of Outs... |
B&G’s employees must be aware that even where there is no expectation of confidentiality, a person may become an insider upon receiving material, non-public information. Whether the “tip” made to the employee makes him/her a “tipped” depends on whether the corporate insider expects to benefit personally, either directly or indirectly, from the disclosure.
The “benefit” is not limited to a present or future monetary gain; it could be a reputational benefit or an expectation of a quid pro quo from the recipient by a gift of the information. Employees may also become insiders or tippees if they obtain material, non-public information by happenstance, at social gatherings, by overhearing conversations, etc.
Penalties for Trading on Insider Information
Severe penalties exist for firms and individuals that engage in the act of insider trading, including civil injunctions, treble damages, disgorgement of profits and jail sentences. Further, fines for individuals and firms found guilty of insider trading are levied in amounts up to three times the profit gained, or loss avoided, and up to the greater of
$1,000,000 or three times the profit gained, or loss avoided, respectively.
Procedures to Follow if an Employee Believes that he/she Possesses Material, Non-Public Information
If an employee has questions as to whether they are in possession of material, non-public information, they must inform the Compliance Officer as soon as possible. From this point, the employee and Compliance Officer will conduct research to determine if the information is likely to be considered important to investors in making investment decisions, and whether the information has been publicly disseminated.
Given the severe penalties imposed on individuals and firms engaging in insider trading, employees:
• | Shall not trade the securities of any company in which they are deemed insiders who may possess material, non-public information about the company. | |
• | Shall not engage in securities transactions of any company, except in accordance with B&G’s Personal Securities Transaction Policy and the securities laws. | |
• | Shall submit personal security trading reports in accordance with the Personal Security Transaction Policy. | |
• | Shall not discuss any potentially material, non-public information with colleagues, except as specifically required by their position. | |
• | Shall immediately report the potential receipt of non-public information to the Compliance Officer. | |
• | Shall not proceed with any research, trading, etc. until the Compliance Officer inform the employee of the appropriate course of action. |
Related Persons at Brokers and Custodians
Relatives of employees may work for entities that B&G does business with. A review of the relationship between the employee and related party and the entity that B&G does business with is performed and evaluated for any conflict of interest and documentation of any pre or post trades are maintained.
Amended 2018
Review 3/2019
Serving as Officers, Trustees and/or Directors of Outside Organizations
General
Employees may, under certain circumstances, be granted permission to serve as directors, trustees or officers of outside organizations. These organizations can include public or private corporations, partnerships, charitable foundations and other not-for-profit institutions. Employees may also receive compensation for such activities.
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At certain times, B&G may determine that it is in its clients’ best interests for an employee to serve as officers or on the board of directors of outside organizations. For example, a company held in clients’ portfolios may be undergoing a reorganization that may affect the value of the company’s outstanding securities and the future direction of the company. Service with organizations outside of B&G can, however, raise serious regulatory issues and concerns, including conflicts of interests and access to material non-public information.
As an outside board member or officer, an employee may come into possession of material non-public information about the outside company, or other public companies. It is critical that a proper information barrier be in place between B&G and the outside organization, and that the employee does not communicate such information to other B&G employees in violation of the information barrier.
Similarly, B&G may have a business relationship with the outside organization or may seek a relationship in the future. In those circumstances, the employee must not be involved in the decision to retain or hire B&G.
B&G employees are prohibited from engaging in such outside activities without the prior written approval from the Compliance Officer. Approval will be granted on a case by case basis, subject to proper resolution of potential conflicts of interest. Outside activities will be approved only if any conflict of interest issues can be satisfactorily resolved and all the necessary disclosures are made on Part 2A of Form ADV.
Cincinnati Financial Corp (NasdaqNM: CINF) (“CINF”)
William Bahl serves on the board of directors of CINF, a publicly traded company whose common stock is owned by many of B&G’s advisory clients and employees. Although investment personnel are not strictly prohibited from serving on the boards of directors of publicly traded companies, B&G has adopted the following procedure to address the conflicts of interest associated with William Bahl’s dual role as a portfolio manager at B&G and a member of the board of director of CINF.
If William Bahl is in possession of material nonpublic information regarding CINF and communicates such information to B&G, then B&G and its employees would be prohibited from effecting transactions in CINF. This prohibition would include the execution of transactions by B&G on behalf of its advisory clients.
CINF will not be bought/owned in any of B&G’s market strategies.
To avoid creating the situation described above, William Bahl will not participate in any portion of an Investment Committee meeting where CINF is discussed. The Compliance Officer, along with William Bahl, has responsibility for enforcement of this procedural safeguard.
Amended 2015
Review 3/2019
Gifts and Business Entertainment
The giving and receiving of gifts and entertainment can create or appear to create a conflict of interest and places B&G in a difficult position. Such activities can also interfere with the impartial discharge of B&G’s responsibilities to its clients. An employee should never give a gift or provide entertainment where they are intended or designed to cause the recipient to act in a manner that is inconsistent with the best interest of the client, B&G, is illegal, or would expose B&G to any potential liability from a government authority or agency.
Section 17(e)(1) of the Investment Company Act
Section 17(e)(1) of the 1940 Act prohibits affiliated persons of a fund, such as a fund’s investment advisor and/or the sub advisor, from accepting any sort of compensation for the purchase or sale of property to or for the fund. The SEC has found that gifts and entertainment meet the broad definition of “compensation” under Section 17(e)(1).
B&G employees are prohibited from accepting any gift, gratuity, attend business meals, sporting events and other entertainment events from any broker dealer that B&G transacts any trades for any mutual fund that B&G is the advisor or sub advisor.
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Bahl & Gaynor, Inc - 2020 Bahl & Gaynor Compliance Program | Gifts and Business Entertainment |
In relation to those same broker dealers providing business functions outside of trading, as in research information, meals are acceptable and must be reported to the Compliance Officer. The information that needs to be reported must include the name(s) of the giver, the date, the organization of the giver, the place of the meal, speaker information, description of the research, and the value or estimated value of the meal, which should be no more than nominal value of $100.
Outside of Section 17(e)(1) of the Investment Company Act
B&G employees may not accept any gift, gratuity or other thing of more than nominal value ($300), from any person or entity that does business, or desires to do business with B&G that includes, Brokers and securities sales persons; Clients, Consultants, Suppliers, or Vendors, directly or on behalf of an Advisory Client.
B&G employees may accept gifts from a single giver so long as the aggregate annual value does not exceed $300 in any calendar year, and the employee may attend business meals, sporting events and other entertainment events at the expense of a giver (or at your expense for another), so long as the expense is reasonable, both the employee and the giver are present, and the events are not excessively frequent.
The acceptance of tickets to any event where the giver or the employee are not in attendance are considered a gift subject to the $300 limit rather than a business meal or other entertainment event. Examples of events considered to be an unreasonable expense would be World Series or Super Bowl tickets, and vacation trips. Employees may never accept cash or a cash equivalent (e.g., gift cards, gift certificates) or preferential discounts on services or products. Any gifts exceeding $300 received by an employee should be forwarded to the Compliance Officer.
B&G employees shall not give any gift, gratuity or other thing, or provide business entertainment, which would be construed as unreasonable in value, $300 in any calendar year, with the intent or purpose of influencing a third party’s business relationship with B&G.
Exceptions to the gift limit may be made by the Compliance Officer. Employees should request exceptions for personal circumstances in which the employee has a personal relationship with a third party (such as receiving or providing personal gifts as wedding gifts, or gifts for the birth of a child).
As payment for services rendered, a client has the option to pay B&G by way of sponsored event tickets that in total value $10,000.00 annually. B&G may then gift the tickets to various clients. The giving of these tickets must be reasonable and not excessive. The tickets can range in value up to $250.00 per ticket. The higher cost tickets should be limited to two tickets per client. This gift will be an acceptable exception to the Gifts and Business Entertainment policy.
The gifting of Professional Sporting events of Hometown Teams is limited to four tickets in which they are not events considered to be an unreasonable expense. This gift will be an acceptable exception of the Gifts and Business Entertainment policy. Hometown Post Season Championship tickets are an unreasonable expense.
Employees are prohibited from giving or providing any gift, including a personal gift, to any official of a Public Fund without the express prior approval of the Compliance Officer.
Reporting
All gifts, business meals, sporting events and other entertainment events of which the employee is the recipient must be reported to the Compliance Officer via email if the value is reasonably judged to exceed $25. Reporting must include the name(s) of the giver, the date, the organization of the giver, a description of the gift or event, and the value or estimated value of the gift or event.
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Bahl & Gaynor, Inc - 2020 Bahl & Gaynor Compliance Program | Pay to Play |
Additional Labor Reporting
In addition, any gifts, any payment of money or anything of value made directly or indirectly by the employee to a labor organization or officer, agent, shop steward, or other representative or employee of any labor organization (including union officials serving in some capacity to a Taft- Hartley Plan) must be reported. All items regardless of the amount or value must be reported.
Following are examples of potentially reportable items:
• | Meals | |
• | Gifts (e.g., holiday gifts) | |
• | Travel and lodging costs | |
• | Bar bills | |
• | Sporting event tickets | |
• | Theatre tickets | |
• | Clothing or equipment | |
• | Raffle donations | |
• | Retirement dinners | |
• | Golf (including charity tournaments) | |
• | Hole sponsorships for golf tournament | |
• | Advertising at union or Taft-Hartley fund related functions | |
• | Sponsorship of union conferences, picnics, other events | |
• | Donations to union related charities or scholarship funds | |
• | Conferences attended by union officials, employees, etc. | |
• | Receptions attended by union officials, employees, etc. | |
• | Donations for apprenticeship graduation dinners |
Responsibility
The Compliance Officer will be responsible for administering the Insider Gifts and Business Entertainment Policies. All questions regarding the policy should be directed to the Compliance Officer and will be noted on the Gift & Entertainment Log, see Exhibit G.
Amended 2018
Updated 3/2019
Pay to Play
Rule 206(4)-5 of the Investment Advisers Act
Issue
On June 30, 2010, the SEC adopted new anti-fraud pay to play Rule 206(4)-5 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“rule”) (See http://www.sec.gov/rules/final/2010/ia-3043.pdf). The final rule, modeled after Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (“MSRB”) rules G-37 and G-38 applicable to municipal securities broker-dealers, is designed to prevent investment advisers from obtaining business from government entities in return for political contributions and fundraising.
• | The rule imposes a two-year ban on the adviser receiving compensation for advisory services if the adviser or any of its “covered associates” makes certain political contributions to an “official” of a state or local “government entity” client over a de minims amount ($350.00 in contributions per election to a candidate for whom he or she is entitled to vote, and up to $150.00 per election to a candidate for whom he or she is not entitled to vote. Primary and general elections are considered separate elections.). | |
• | The rule also prohibits an adviser and its covered associates from coordinating or soliciting any person or political actions committee (“PAC”) to make contributions to officials or payments to certain state or local political parties. |
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Bahl & Gaynor, Inc - 2020 Bahl & Gaynor Compliance Program | Pay to Play |
• | An adviser is prohibited from paying a third-party solicitor to solicit a government client for the adviser’s advisory services unless the third party is a “regulated person,” currently defined as a SEC-registered broker-dealer or SEC-registered investment adviser subject to pay to play restrictions. | |
• | The rule also applies to an investment adviser that manages assets of a government entity indirectly through a covered investment pool in which a government entity invests or is solicited to invest, such as hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital funds, and collective trust funds, as well as registered investment companies that are investment options of participant-directed plans or programs of a government entity, such as 529 plans, 403(b) plans and 457 plans. |
Policy
B&G’s officers, on a quarterly basis will report all political contributions. Date of contribution, who the contribution was made to, if the contributor is entitled to vote for the candidate and amount of contribution.
B&G’s officers, will need to Pre-Clear any contribution over the de minims amount, ($350.00 in contributions per election to a candidate for whom he or she is entitled to vote, and up to $150.00 per election to a candidate for whom he or she is not entitled to vote), primary and general elections are considered separate elections, through the Compliance Officer.
Any new account/client that is a government entity must be vetted by the Compliance Program.
Procedures
B&G performs a two (2) year look back for all new officers.
Quarterly B&G officers report any political contributions using the B&G Quarterly Political Contribution form, showing date of contribution, who the contribution was made to, if the contributor is entitled to vote for the candidate and the amount of the contribution, see Exhibit H.
Officers will Pre-Clear any contribution made over the de minims amounts stated in the policy, using the B&G Political Contribution Pre-Clearance form, see Exhibit I.
Officers will also review a list of any government entities that B&G provides or has provided advisory services beginning on and as of March 14, 2011 per the SEC recordkeeping rule under rule 206(4)-5 under the Investment Advisors Act of 1940.
Responsibilities
The Compliance Officer will review each B&G Quarterly Political Contribution form and determine if any de minims amounts have been met or exceeded.
The Compliance Officer will review and Pre-Clear any contribution over the de minimis amounts stated in the policy. The Compliance Officer will also screen any new government affiliated accounts to determine if any contributions made by B&G officers would cause a violation of the rule and preclude B&G from charging a fee on that account for two (2) years.
Amended 2015
Review 3/2019
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Bahl & Gaynor, Inc - 2020 Bahl & Gaynor Compliance Program | Client Privacy and Identity Theft |
Client Privacy and Identity Theft
Regulation S-P and Regulation S-ID
CLIENT PRIVACY
Issue
The SEC’s Regulation S-P (Privacy of Consumer Financial Information), which was adopted to comply with Section
504 of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, requires investment advisers to disclose to clients its policies and procedures regarding the use and safekeeping of personal information.
Personal information is collected from clients at the inception of their accounts and occasionally thereafter, primarily to determine accounts’ investment objectives and financial goals and to assist in providing clients with a high level of service.
While B&G strives to keep client information up to date, clients are requested to monitor any information provided to them for errors.
Policy
B&G will not disclose a client’s personal information to anyone unless it is permitted or required by law, at the direction of a client, or is necessary to provide B&G’s services. B&G employees will not transmit electronically any clients “Personal Information” or “Sensitive Information”, with the combination of resident’s first name (or first initial) and last name in combination with any one or more of the following data: (1) social security number; (2) driver’s license number or state-issued ID number; or (3) financial account number, or credit or debit card number, with or without any required security code. However, internal electronic transmission of such information is allowed due to our internal security monitors.
Procedures
1. | B&G shall not sell client information to anyone. | |
2. | B&G will restrict access to clients’ personal information to individuals within B&G who require the information in the ordinary course of servicing clients’ accounts. Client information is used only for business purposes. | |
3. | B&G has developed procedures to safeguard client records and information, see Exhibit J. | |
4. | Client information may only be given to third-parties under the following circumstances: |
• | To broker/dealers to open a client’s brokerage account; | |
• | To other firms as directed by clients, such as accountants, lawyers, etc.; | |
• | To specified family members; and | |
• | To regulators, when required by law. |
5. | At times, client information may be reviewed by B&G’s outside service providers (e.g.., accountants, lawyers, consultants, etc.). B&G will review the entities’ privacy policies to ensure that clients’ information is not misappropriated or used in a manner that is contrary to B&G’s privacy policies. | |
6. | B&G shall provide a privacy notice, see Exhibit K to clients (i.e. “natural persons”) upon inception of the relationship and annually thereafter. B&G will maintain a record of the dates when the privacy notice is provided to clients. | |
7. | In the event of a change in the privacy policy, B&G will provide its clients with an enough time to opt out of any disclosure provisions. | |
8. | Any suspected breaches to the privacy policy should be reported to the Compliance Officer and/or the Chairman. | |
9. | If an employee receives a complaint regarding a potential identity theft issue (be it from a client or other party), the employee should immediately notify the Compliance Officer. The Compliance Officer will thoroughly investigate any valid complaint and maintain a log of all complaints as well as the result of any investigations. | |
10. | In the event that unintended parties receive access to personal and confidential information of California residents, B&G will disclose to those clients of the privacy breech. See Senate Bill No. 1386. |
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Bahl & Gaynor, Inc - 2020 Bahl & Gaynor Compliance Program | Client Privacy and Identity Theft |
11. | With client consent, B&G may share the names of clients on a representative client list. |
Regulation S-ID
Issue
Due to the significant increase of identity theft within the industry, the SEC adopted Identity Theft Red Flag Rules (Regulation S-ID) on May 20, 2013 (with a completion date of November 20, 2013). Registered Investment Advisers who hold, directly or indirectly, transaction accounts belonging to clients are required to adopt a program to detect and prevent identity theft. Investment Advisers hold transaction accounts if they can direct payments or transfers from a client’s account to third parties upon the client’s instructions. Ideally, B&G would like to receive written instructions from the client including the client’s signature for each event. However, instructions are typically sent via email. B&G realizes that as a best practice, B&G should have in place a procedure to verify such requests from clients, to assess the extent to which its clients are at risk with respect to identity theft, and to adopt procedures designed to identify solutions where B&G may be contacted by an unauthorized person masquerading as an individual investor with intent of withdrawing assets from the account. Therefore, B&G has implemented the two-step verification process explained below.
B&G has identified that there may be several ways that information can be compromised.
• | Malware - This type of intrusion is used by attackers to disrupt computer operations, gather sensitive information, or gain access to private computer systems |
• | Phishing - This is used to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication |
• | Social Engineering - This is manipulating people into performing actions or divulging confidential information by electronic fraud |
• | Dumpster Diving - This provides access for a would-be theft to a client’s personal information without shredding the documents, a thief may retrieve this information from our waste management facilities |
• | Pretext Calling - Employees may be deceived by pretext calling, defined as an information broker or identity thief calling B&G while pretending to be a client, and may even use bits of a client’s personal information to maintain the deception |
• | Insider Access - Employees may be responsible for identity theft through more direct means. Insider access to information allows a dishonest employee to sell consumers’ personal information or to use it for fraudulent purposes |
Procedures
B&G does not have custody of client accounts. Whenever there is a request to transact with a third-party, B&G
must always request written communication.
B&G has implemented a two-step verification process for any third-party transaction requests from clients:
• | If a request is received from a client electronically a phone call must be placed to verify the request to the phone number on record and a Portfolio Manager must sign off on the request. | |
• | If a request is received from a client via phone and the person who is taking the request is unfamiliar with the client then a follow-up call to the client to the phone number on record should be made and the client must reconfirm the request and provide written communication. A Portfolio Manager must sign off on the request. | |
• | If a Portfolio Manager requests an account transaction of the Administrator the request must be made in written format to the Administrator by the Portfolio Manager. The Administrator needs to receive confirmation that the two-step verification process was followed by the requesting Portfolio Manager before the request is processed. | |
• | All requests need to be scanned into the correspondence file. |
In addition to this two-step process employees should be aware of how their actions may expose our clients to the dangers of identity theft:
• | When providing copies of information to others, employees should make sure that nonessential information is removed and the nonpublic personal information that has no relevance to the transaction is either removed or masked |
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Bahl & Gaynor, Inc - 2020 Bahl & Gaynor Compliance Program | Client Privacy and Identity Theft |
• | When disposing of paper documents, the documents with client identifying information should be placed in one of the secured shred bins on site or manually shredded | |
• | Employees should make certain that they confirm the identity of the client on the phone before divulging any personal account information | |
• | B&G prohibits the display of Social Security Numbers on any documents that are widely seen by others | |
• | If an employee’s action is cause for identity theft or if client personal information is used for fraudulent purposes these actions are cause for immediate termination of employment and may subject the employee to civil and criminal liability |
Training is also essential in identifying potential threats, not only for employees but as well as clients. Information is communicated to the employees when new threat sources have been identified to the public and new ideas are discussed to prevent such intrusion at B&G. Client communication in the form of a letter, newsletter or email blast reminding clients of potential threats is a good training tool for clients. B&G’s Chief Information Officer is essential in the process of training employees and clients.
Responsibilities
The Compliance Officer will monitor for compliance with B&G’s Privacy Policy and the account administrator designated by the Compliance Program will coordinate the dissemination of the Privacy Notice.
Amended 2015
Updated 9/2018
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Other Exhibits (i)
POWER OF ATTORNEY
I, Gilbert G. Alvarado, Trustee of the American Beacon Funds, the American Beacon Select Funds and the American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust (collectively, the “Trusts”), hereby constitute and appoint Rosemary K. Behan, Teresa A. Oxford and Peter A. Davidson, each of them with the power to act without any other and with full power of substitution, my true and lawful attorney with full power to sign for me in my capacity as Trustee for the Trusts any Registration Statement on Form N-1A under the Securities Act of 1933 and/or the Investment Company Act of 1940 and any amendments thereto of the Trusts and all instruments necessary or desirable in connection therewith, hereby ratifying and confirming my signature as it may be signed by said attorney to any and all amendments to said Registration Statements.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this instrument has been signed below by the following in my capacity and on the 3rd day of March 2020.
/s/ Gilbert G. Alvarado | |
Gilbert G. Alvarado, Trustee |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
I, Joseph B. Armes, Trustee of the American Beacon Funds, the American Beacon Select Funds and the American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust (collectively, the “Trusts”), hereby constitute and appoint Rosemary K. Behan, Teresa A. Oxford and Peter A. Davidson, each of them with the power to act without any other and with full power of substitution, my true and lawful attorney with full power to sign for me in my capacity as Trustee for the Trusts any Registration Statement on Form N-1A under the Securities Act of 1933 and/or the Investment Company Act of 1940 and any amendments thereto of the Trusts and all instruments necessary or desirable in connection therewith, hereby ratifying and confirming my signature as it may be signed by said attorney to any and all amendments to said Registration Statements.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this instrument has been signed below by the following in my capacity and on the 3rd day of March 2020.
/s/ Joseph B. Armes | |
Joseph B. Armes, Trustee |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
I, Gerard J. Arpey, Trustee of the American Beacon Funds, the American Beacon Select Funds and the American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust (collectively, the “Trusts”), hereby constitute and appoint Rosemary K. Behan, Teresa A. Oxford and Peter A. Davidson, each of them with the power to act without any other and with full power of substitution, my true and lawful attorney with full power to sign for me in my capacity as Trustee for the Trusts any Registration Statement on Form N-1A under the Securities Act of 1933 and/or the Investment Company Act of 1940 and any amendments thereto of the Trusts and all instruments necessary or desirable in connection therewith, hereby ratifying and confirming my signature as it may be signed by said attorney to any and all amendments to said Registration Statements.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this instrument has been signed below by the following in my capacity and on the 3rd day of March 2020.
/s/ Gerard J. Arpey | |
Gerard J. Arpey, Trustee |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
I, Brenda A. Cline, Trustee of the American Beacon Funds, the American Beacon Select Funds and the American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust (collectively, the “Trusts”), hereby constitute and appoint Rosemary K. Behan, Teresa A. Oxford and Peter A. Davidson, each of them with the power to act without any other and with full power of substitution, my true and lawful attorney with full power to sign for me in my capacity as Trustee for the Trusts any Registration Statement on Form N-1A under the Securities Act of 1933 and/or the Investment Company Act of 1940 and any amendments thereto of the Trusts and all instruments necessary or desirable in connection therewith, hereby ratifying and confirming my signature as it may be signed by said attorney to any and all amendments to said Registration Statements.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this instrument has been signed below by the following in my capacity and on the 3rd day of March 2020.
/s/ Brenda A. Cline | |
Brenda A. Cline, Trustee |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
I, Eugene J. Duffy, Trustee of the American Beacon Funds, the American Beacon Select Funds and the American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust (collectively, the “Trusts”), hereby constitute and appoint Rosemary K. Behan, Teresa A. Oxford and Peter A. Davidson, each of them with the power to act without any other and with full power of substitution, my true and lawful attorney with full power to sign for me in my capacity as Trustee for the Trusts any Registration Statement on Form N-1A under the Securities Act of 1933 and/or the Investment Company Act of 1940 and any amendments thereto of the Trusts and all instruments necessary or desirable in connection therewith, hereby ratifying and confirming my signature as it may be signed by said attorney to any and all amendments to said Registration Statements.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this instrument has been signed below by the following in my capacity and on the 3rd day of March 2020.
/s/ Eugene J. Duffy | |
Eugene J. Duffy, Trustee |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
I, Claudia A. Holz, Trustee of the American Beacon Funds, the American Beacon Select Funds and the American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust (collectively, the “Trusts”), hereby constitute and appoint Rosemary K. Behan, Teresa A. Oxford and Peter A. Davidson, each of them with the power to act without any other and with full power of substitution, my true and lawful attorney with full power to sign for me in my capacity as Trustee for the Trusts any Registration Statement on Form N-1A under the Securities Act of 1933 and/or the Investment Company Act of 1940 and any amendments thereto of the Trusts and all instruments necessary or desirable in connection therewith, hereby ratifying and confirming my signature as it may be signed by said attorney to any and all amendments to said Registration Statements.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this instrument has been signed below by the following in my capacity and on the 3rd day of March 2020.
/s/ Claudia A. Holz | |
Claudia A. Holz, Trustee |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
I, Douglas A. Lindgren, Trustee of the American Beacon Funds, the American Beacon Select Funds and the American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust (collectively, the “Trusts”), hereby constitute and appoint Rosemary K. Behan, Teresa A. Oxford and Peter A. Davidson, each of them with the power to act without any other and with full power of substitution, my true and lawful attorney with full power to sign for me in my capacity as Trustee for the Trusts any Registration Statement on Form N-1A under the Securities Act of 1933 and/or the Investment Company Act of 1940 and any amendments thereto of the Trusts and all instruments necessary or desirable in connection therewith, hereby ratifying and confirming my signature as it may be signed by said attorney to any and all amendments to said Registration Statements.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this instrument has been signed below by the following in my capacity and on the 3rd day of March 2020.
/s/ Douglas A. Lindgren | |
Douglas A. Lindgren, Trustee |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
I, Barbara J. McKenna, Trustee of the American Beacon Funds, the American Beacon Select Funds and the American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust (collectively, the “Trusts”), hereby constitute and appoint Rosemary K. Behan, Teresa A. Oxford and Peter A. Davidson, each of them with the power to act without any other and with full power of substitution, my true and lawful attorney with full power to sign for me in my capacity as Trustee for the Trusts any Registration Statement on Form N-1A under the Securities Act of 1933 and/or the Investment Company Act of 1940 and any amendments thereto of the Trusts and all instruments necessary or desirable in connection therewith, hereby ratifying and confirming my signature as it may be signed by said attorney to any and all amendments to said Registration Statements.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this instrument has been signed below by the following in my capacity and on the 3rd day of March 2020.
/s/ Barbara J. McKenna | |
Barbara J. McKenna, Trustee |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
I, R. Gerald Turner, Trustee of the American Beacon Funds, the American Beacon Select Funds and the American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust (collectively, the “Trusts”), hereby constitute and appoint Rosemary K. Behan, Teresa A. Oxford and Peter A. Davidson, each of them with the power to act without any other and with full power of substitution, my true and lawful attorney with full power to sign for me in my capacity as Trustee for the Trusts any Registration Statement on Form N-1A under the Securities Act of 1933 and/or the Investment Company Act of 1940 and any amendments thereto of the Trusts and all instruments necessary or desirable in connection therewith, hereby ratifying and confirming my signature as it may be signed by said attorney to any and all amendments to said Registration Statements.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this instrument has been signed below by the following in my capacity and on the 3rd day of March 2020.
/s/ R. Gerald Turner | |
R. Gerald Turner, Trustee |