STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Roumell Opportunistic Value Fund
Institutional Class Shares -
Ticker Symbol
RAMSX
December 29, 201 7
A
series of the
Starboard Investment Trust
116 South Franklin Street
Post Office Box 69
Rocky Mount, North Carolina 27802-0069
Telephone 1-800-773-3863
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
GENERAL INFORMATION
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2
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT INVESTMENT POLICIES
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2
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INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS
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14
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PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS
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16
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DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST
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17
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MANAGEMENT AND OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS
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18
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ADDITIONAL PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION
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26
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SPECIAL SHAREHOLDER SERVICES
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27
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DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
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28
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NET ASSET VALUE
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30
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ADDITIONAL TAX INFORMATION
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31
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FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
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33
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APPENDIX A – DESCRIPTION OF RATINGS
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34
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APPENDIX B – PROXY VOTING POLICIES
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38
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This Statement of Additional Information is meant to be read in conjunction with the prospectus for the Roumell Opportunistic Value Fund, dated the same date as this Statement of Additional Information, and is incorporated by reference in its entirety into the prospectus. Because this Statement of Additional Information is not itself a prospectus, no investment in shares of the Roumell Opportunistic Value Fund should be made solely upon the information contained herein. Copies of the Roumell Opportunistic Value Fund prospectus, annual report, and/or semi-annual report may be obtained at no charge by writing or calling the Roumell Opportunistic Value Fund at the address or phone number shown above. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein have the same meanings as in the Roumell Opportunistic Value Fund prospectus.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Starboard Investment Trust ("Trust") was organized on May 13, 2009 as a Delaware statutory trust and is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") as an open-end management investment company. The Roumell Opportunistic Value Fund (the "Fund") is a separate, non-diversified series of the Trust. The Fund's investment advisor is Roumell Asset Management, LLC (the "Advisor").
This Statement of Additional Information ("SAI") describes the financial history, management and operation of the Fund, as well as the Fund's investment objective and policies. It should be read in conjunction with the Fund's current prospectus, dated the same date as this SAI, as supplemented from time to time (the "Prospectus").
Investments in the Fund are not:
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Deposits or obligations of any bank;
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Guaranteed or endorsed by any bank; or
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Federally insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board or any other federal agency.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT INVESTMENT POLICIES
The Prospectus describes the Fund's investment objective and principal investment strategy, as well as the principal investment risks of the Fund. All investments in securities and other financial instruments involve a risk of financial loss. No assurance can be given that the Fund's investment program will be successful. Investors should carefully review the descriptions of the Fund's investments and their risks described in the Fund's Prospectus and this SAI.
The following descriptions and policies supplement those descriptions, and also include descriptions of certain types of investments that may be made by the Fund but are not principal investment strategies of the Fund. Attached to this SAI is Appendix A, which contains descriptions of the rating symbols used by nationally recognized statistical rating organizations for securities in which the Fund may invest. Appendix B contains copies of the Trust's Proxy Voting and Disclosure Policy and the Advisor's Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures
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Certain strategies and instruments described below may not apply to the Fund. Unless a strategy, instrument or policy described below is specifically prohibited by the investment restrictions listed in the Fund's Prospectus, under "Investment Restrictions" in this SAI, or by applicable law, the Fund may, but will not necessarily, engage in each of the investment practices described below. Except as stated elsewhere in the Fund's Prospectus or this SAI, to the extent the Fund has reserved the freedom to invest in a type of investment or to utilize a particular investment practice, the Fund may invest in such investment or engage in such investment practice without limit.
The Advisor's investment process may take into account a number of factors. These factors may include, among others, standard of living convergence, consumer deleveraging, private sector debt transference and demographic shifts, position in the business cycle, sector returns, relative growth, monetary and fiscal policy, risk integration, market sentiment, behavioral analysis, relative value, market technicals, and government and/or regulatory intervention.
Equity Securities.
The equity portion of the Fund's portfolio may be comprised of common stocks traded on domestic securities exchanges or on the over-the-counter market. In addition to common stocks, the equity portion of the Fund's portfolio may also include preferred stocks, convertible preferred stocks, convertible bonds , and warrants . Prices of equity securities in which the Fund invests may fluctuate in response to many factors, including, but not limited to, the activities of the individual companies whose securities the Fund owns, general market and economic conditions, interest rates, and specific industry changes. Such price fluctuations subject the Fund to potential losses. In addition, regardless of any one company's particular prospects, a declining stock market may produce a decline in prices for all equity securities, which could also result in losses for the Fund. Market declines may continue for an indefinite period of time, and investors should understand that during temporary or extended bear markets, the value of equity securities will decline.
Convertible securities entitle the holder to receive interest payments or a dividend preference until the security matures or is redeemed, or the conversion privilege is exercised. As a result of the conversion feature, the interest rate or dividend preference on a convertible security is generally less than would be the case if the securities were issued in non-convertible form. Warrants entitle the holder to purchase equity securities at specific prices for a certain period of time. The prices do not necessarily move parallel to the prices of the underlying securities and the warrants have no voting rights, receive no dividends, and have no rights with respect to the assets of the issuer.
Investment Companies.
The Fund may invest in securities of other investment companies, including, without limitation, money market funds, open-end mutual funds, closed-end funds, and exchange-traded funds ("ETFs") . The Fund's investments in such securities involve certain additional expenses and certain tax results, which would not be present in a direct investment in the underlying fund. Due to legal limitations, the Fund will be prevented from: (i) purchasing more than 3% of an investment company's outstanding shares; (ii) investing more than 5% of the Fund's assets in any single such investment company, and (iii) investing more than 10% of the Fund's assets in investment companies overall; unless: (a) the underlying investment company and/or the applicable Fund has received an order for exemptive relief from such limitations from the SEC ; and (b) the underlying investment company and the Fund take appropriate steps to comply with any conditions in such order. In the alternative, the Fund may rely on Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"), which allows unaffiliated mutual funds to exceed the 5% limitation and the 10% limitation, provided that the offering price of the Fund does not include a sales load greater than 1.5%. The foregoing notwithstanding, the Fund, in reliance on Rule 12d1-3 under the 1940 Act , may impose a sales charge in excess of 1.5% where the aggregate sales loads any investor pays (i.e., the combined distribution expenses of both the acquiring fund and the acquired fund) does not exceed the limits on sales loads established by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority pursuant to NASD Rule 2830(d)(3). Also, in the event that there is a proxy vote with respect to shares of another investment company purchased and held by the Fund under Section 12(d)(1)(F), then the Fund will either (i) vote such shares in the same proportion as the vote of all other holders of such securities; or (ii) contact its shareholders for instructions regarding how to vote the proxy. Investments by the Fund in other investment companies entail a number of risks unique to a fund of funds structure. These risks include the following:
Multiple Layers of Fees.
By investing in other investment companies indirectly through the Fund, prospective investors will directly bear the fees and expenses of the Fund's Advisor and indirectly bear the fees and expenses of other investment companies and other investment companies' managers as well. As such, this multiple or duplicative layer of fees will increase the cost of investments in the Fund.
Lack of Transparency.
The Sub-Advisor will not be able to monitor the investment activities of the other investment companies on a continuous basis and the other investment companies may use investment strategies that differ from its past practices and are not fully disclosed to the Sub-Advisor and that involve risks that are not anticipated by the Sub-Advisor. The Fund has no control over the risks taken by the underlying investment companies in which they invest.
Valuation of Investment Companies.
Although the Sub-Advisor will attempt to review the valuation procedures used by other investment companies' managers, the Sub-Advisor will have little or no means of independently verifying valuations of the Fund's investments in investment companies and valuations of the underlying securities held by other investment companies. As such, the Sub-Advisor will rely significantly on valuations of other investment companies and the securities underlying other investment companies that are reported by other investment companies' managers. In the event that such valuations prove to be inaccurate, the net asset value (" NAV ") of the Fund could be adversely impacted and an investor could incur a loss of investment in the Fund.
Illiquidity of Investments By and In Other Investment Companies.
Other investment companies may invest in securities that are not registered, are subject to legal or other restrictions on transfer, or for which no liquid market exists. The market prices, if any, for such securities tend to be volatile and restricted securities may sell at prices that are lower than similar securities that are not subject to legal restrictions on resale. Further, the Fund may not be able to redeem their interests in other investment companies' securities that it has purchased in a timely manner. If adverse market conditions were to develop during any period in which the Fund is unable to redeem interests in other investment companies, the Fund may suffer losses as a result of this illiquidity. As such, the lack of liquidity and volatility of restricted securities held by other investment companies could adversely affect the value of the other investment companies. Any such losses could adversely affect the value of the Fund's investments and an investor could incur a loss of investment in the Fund.
Lack of Control.
Although the Fund and the Sub-Advisor will evaluate regularly other investment companies to determine whether their investment programs are consistent with the Fund's investment objective, the Sub-Advisor will not have any control over the investments made by other investment companies. Even though other investment companies are subject to certain constraints, the investment advisor to each such investment company may change aspects of their investment strategies at any time. The Sub-Advisor will not have the ability to control or influence the composition of the investment portfolio of other investment companies.
Lack of Diversification.
There is no requirement that the underlying investments held by other investment companies be diversified. As such, other investment companies' managers may target or concentrate other investment companies' investments in specific markets, sectors, or types of securities. As a result, investments made by other investment companies are subject to greater volatility as a result of this concentration than if the other investment companies had non-concentrated and diversified portfolios of investments. Thus, the Fund's portfolios (and by extension the value of an investment in the Fund) may therefore be subject to greater risk than the portfolio of a similar fund with investments in diversified investment companies.
Use of Leverage.
The other investment companies may utilize leverage (i.e., borrowing) to acquire their underlying portfolio investments. When other investment companies borrow money or otherwise leverage their portfolio of investments, doing so may exaggerate changes in the NAV of the shares of the other investment companies and in the return on the other investment companies' investments. Borrowing will also cost other investment companies interest expense and other fees. As such, the value of the Fund's investments in other investment companies may be more volatile and all other risks (including the risk of loss of an investment in other investment companies) tend to be compounded or magnified. As a result, any losses suffered by other investment companies as a result of their use of leverage could adversely affect the value of the Fund's investments and an investor could incur a loss of investment in the Fund.
Exchange Traded Funds.
The Fund may invest in ETFs. An ETF is an investment company that holds a portfolio of common stock or bonds designed to track the performance of a securities index or sector of an index. ETFs are traded on a securities exchange based on their market value. An investment in an ETF generally presents the same primary risks as an investment in a conventional registered investment company (i.e., one that is not exchange traded). In addition, all ETFs will have costs and expenses that will be passed on to the Fund and these costs and expenses will in turn increase the Fund's expenses. ETFs are also subject to the following risks that often do not apply to conventional investment companies: (i) the market price of the ETF's shares may trade at a discount to the ETF's NAV , and as a result, ETFs may experience more price volatility than other types of portfolio investments and such volatility could negatively impact the Fund's NAV ; (ii) an active trading market for an ETF's shares may not develop or be maintained at a sufficient volume; (iii) trading of an ETF's shares may be halted if the listing exchange deems such action appropriate; and (iv) ETF shares may be delisted from the exchange on which they trade, or "circuit breakers" (which are tied to large decreases in stock prices used by the exchange) may temporarily halt trading in the ETF's stock. ETFs are also subject to the risks of the underlying securities or sectors that the ETF is designed to track. Finally, there may be legal limitations and other conditions imposed by SEC rules on the amount of the ETF shares that the Fund may acquire.
Foreign Investment Risk.
Foreign securities and foreign currency contracts involve investment risks different from those associated with domestic securities. Changes in foreign economies and political climates are more likely to affect the Fund than a mutual fund that invests exclusively in domestic securities. The value of foreign currency denominated securities or foreign currency contracts is affected by the value of the local currency relative to the U.S. dollar. There may be less government supervision of foreign markets, resulting in non-uniform accounting practices and less publicly available information about issuers of foreign currency denominated securities. The value of foreign investments may be affected by changes in exchange control regulations, application of foreign tax laws (including withholding tax), changes in governmental administration or economic or monetary policy (in this country or abroad), or changed circumstances in dealings between nations. In addition, foreign brokerage commissions, custody fees, and other costs of investing in foreign securities are generally higher than in the United States. Investments in foreign issues could be affected by other factors not present in the United States, including expropriation, armed conflict, confiscatory taxation, and potential difficulties in enforcing contractual obligations.
Warrants Risk.
The prices of warrants, which entitle the holder to purchase equity securities at specific prices for a certain period of time, do not necessarily move parallel to the prices of the underlying securities and likely fluctuate more than the prices of the underlying securities. Warrants have no voting rights, receive no dividends, and have no rights with respect to the assets of the issuer.
Fixed-Income Securities.
The Fund may invest in fixed-income securities directly or indirectly through its investments in shares of ETFs, including government and corporate bonds, money market instruments, high yield securities or "junk bonds" and zero-coupon bonds. Zero-coupon bonds are purchased at a discount from their face values and accrue interest at the applicable coupon rate over a period of time. Fixed-income securities purchased by the Fund may consist of obligations of any rating. Fixed-income securities in the lowest investment grade categories have speculative characteristics, with changes in the economy or other circumstances more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the bonds to make principal and interest payments than would occur with bonds rated in higher categories. High yield bonds are typically rated below "Baa" by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. ("Moody's") or below "BBB" by S&P Global Ratings ("S&P") or below investment grade by other recognized rating agencies. The Fund may invest in unrated securities, but only if, at the time of purchase, the Sub-Advisor believes that they are of comparable quality to rated securities that the Fund may purchase. The Fund may also invest indirectly in unrated securities through ETFs and other investment companies that invest in unrated securities under certain circumstances. Such bonds are subject to greater market fluctuations and risk of loss of income and principal than higher rated bonds for a variety of reasons, including:
Sensitivity to Interest Rate and Economic Change.
The economy and interest rates affect high yield securities differently than other securities. For example, the prices of high yield bonds have been found to be less sensitive to interest rate changes than higher-rated investments, but more sensitive to adverse economic changes or individual corporate developments. Also, during an economic downturn or substantial period of rising interest rates, highly leveraged issuers may experience financial stress which would adversely affect their ability to service their principal and interest obligations, to meet projected business goals, and to obtain additional financing. If the issuer of a bond defaults, an underlying mutual fund may incur additional expenses to seek recovery. In addition, periods of economic uncertainty and changes can be expected to result in increased volatility or market prices of high yield bonds and the Fund's asset values.
Payment Expectations.
High yield bonds present certain risks based on payment expectations. For example, high yield bonds may contain redemption and call provisions. If an issuer exercises these provisions in a declining interest rate market, the Fund or an ETF the Fund invests in would have to replace the security with a lower yielding security, resulting in a decreased return for investors. Conversely, a high yield bond's value will decrease in a rising interest rate market, as will the value of the Fund's or ETF's assets. If the Fund or an ETF the Fund invests in experiences unexpected net redemptions, it may be forced to sell its high yield bonds without regard to their investment merits, thereby decreasing the asset base upon which the Fund's or ETF's expenses can be spread and possibly reducing the Fund's or ETF's rate of return.
Liquidity and Valuation.
To the extent that there is no established retail secondary market, there may be thin trading of high yield bonds, and this may impact a fund's ability to accurately value high yield bonds and may hinder a fund's ability to dispose of the bonds. Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may decrease the values and liquidity of high yield bonds, especially in a thinly traded market.
Credit Ratings.
Credit ratings evaluate the safety of principal and interest payments, not the market value risk of high yield bonds. Also, because credit rating agencies may fail to timely change the credit ratings to reflect subsequent events, the Fund or an ETF the Fund invests in must monitor the issuers of high yield bonds in their portfolios to determine if the issuers will have sufficient cash flow and profits to meet required principal and interest payments, and to assure the bonds' liquidity so the Fund or an ETF the Fund invests in can meet redemption requests.
High-yield securities are deemed speculative with respect to the issuer's capacity to pay interest and repay principal over a long period of time. Special tax considerations are associated with investing in high-yield securities structured as zero coupon or "pay-in-kind" securities. The Fund or an ETF the Fund invests in will report the interest on these securities as income even though it receives no cash interest until the security's maturity or payment date. The payment of principal and interest on most fixed-income securities purchased by a fund will depend upon the ability of the issuers to meet their obligations. An issuer's obligations under its fixed-income securities are subject to the provisions of bankruptcy, insolvency and other laws affecting the rights and remedies of creditors, such as the Federal Bankruptcy Code, and laws, if any, which may be enacted by federal or state legislatures extending the time for payment of principal or interest, or both, or imposing other constraints upon enforcement of such obligations. The power or ability of an issuer to meet its obligations for the payment of interest on, and principal of, its fixed-income securities may be materially adversely affected by litigation or other conditions.
The ratings of S&P, Moody's and other nationally recognized rating agencies represent their opinions as to the quality of fixed-income securities. It should be emphasized, however, that ratings are general and are not absolute standards of quality, and fixed-income securities with the same maturity, interest rate, and rating may have different yields while fixed-income securities of the same maturity and interest rate with different ratings may have the same yield. For a more detailed description of ratings, please see Appendix A.
U.S. Government Securities.
The Fund may invest in U.S. Government securities, defined to be U.S. Government obligations such as U.S. Treasury notes, U.S. Treasury bonds, and U.S. Treasury bills, obligations guaranteed by the U.S. Government such as Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA), as well as obligations of U.S. Government authorities, agencies, and instrumentalities such as Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Federal Farm Credit Bank (FFCB), Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB), Student Loan Marketing Association (SLMA), and The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). U.S. Government securities may also be acquired subject to repurchase agreements. While obligations of some U.S. Government sponsored entities are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government (e.g. GNMA), others are not. No assurance can be given that the U.S. Government will provide financial support to U.S. Government agencies or instrumentalities in the future since it is not obligated to do so by law. The guarantee of the U.S. Government does not extend to the yield or value of the Fund's shares.
Money Market Instruments.
The Fund may invest in money market instruments including U.S. Government obligations or corporate debt obligations (including those subject to repurchase agreements) provided that they are eligible for purchase by the Fund. Money market instruments also may include Banker's Acceptances and Certificates of Deposit of domestic branches of U.S. banks, Commercial Paper, and Variable Amount Demand Master Notes ("Master Notes"). Banker's Acceptances are time drafts drawn on and "accepted" by a bank. When a bank "accepts" such a time draft, it assumes liability for its payment. When the Fund acquires a Banker's Acceptance, the bank that "accepted" the time draft is liable for payment of interest and principal when due. The Banker's Acceptance carries the full faith and credit of such bank. A Certificate of Deposit ("CD") is an unsecured, interest bearing debt obligation of a bank. Commercial Paper is an unsecured, short-term debt obligation of a bank, corporation, or other borrower. Commercial Paper maturity generally ranges from two to 270 days and is usually sold on a discounted basis rather than as an interest-bearing instrument. The Fund will invest in Commercial Paper only if it is rated in one of the top two rating categories by Moody's Investors Service, Inc., Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, or Fitch Investors Service, Inc., or if not rated, of equivalent quality in the Advisor's opinion. Commercial Paper may include Master Notes of the same quality. Master Notes are unsecured obligations that are redeemable upon demand of the holder and that permit the investment of fluctuating amounts at varying rates of interest. Master Notes will be acquired by the Fund only through the Master Note program of the Fund's custodian bank, acting as administrator thereof. The Advisor will monitor, on a continuous basis, the earnings power, cash flow, and other liquidity ratios of the issuer of a Master Note held by the Fund.
Information Regarding the Fund's Non-Principal Strategies and Risks
Debentures.
A debenture is long-term, unsecured, debt instrument backed only by the integrity of the borrower, not by collateral, and documented by an indenture. Governments often issue debentures, in part because they generally cannot guarantee debt with assets (government assets are public property). The primary risk with this type of investment is that the issuer will default or go into bankruptcy. As an unsecured creditor, in the event of default or bankruptcy, the holder of a debenture does not have a claim against any specific assets of the issuing firm, so the investor will only be paid from the issuer's assets after the secured creditors have been paid. The Fund may invest in all types of debentures, including corporate and government debentures.
Derivative Instruments Risk.
W
hen the Fund enters into options, futures, swaps, and other forms of financial derivatives specifically described below, the investments
involve risks different from direct investments in the underlying securities
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While transactions in derivatives may reduce certain risks, these transactions themselves entail certain other risks. For example, unanticipated changes in interest rates, securities prices, or currency exchange rates may result in a poorer overall performance of the Fund than if they had not entered into any derivatives transactions. Derivatives may magnify the Fund's gains or losses, causing it to make or lose substantially more than it invested.
The Fund may invest in derivative instruments for both speculative and hedging purposes. These investments can be made as a substitute for taking a direct position in the underlying asset or as part of a strategy that is intended to reduce the exposure of the Fund to various risks. If the Fund does use derivative instruments, the Fund will comply with the applicable requirements of the 1940 Act and the guidance of no-action letters issued by the SEC , including SEC Release 10666 that require the Fund to segregate assets or otherwise "cover" its positions in a manner that limits the Fund's risk of loss. The Fund has no specific limit on the amount it invest in derivatives, although practical limits are created by the requirement to segregate assets and hold offsetting positions in connection with such investments.
When used for hedging purposes, increases in the value of the securities the Fund holds or intends to acquire should offset any losses incurred with a derivative. Purchasing derivatives for purposes other than hedging could expose the Fund to greater risks.
The Fund's ability to hedge securities through derivatives depends on the degree to which price movements in the underlying index or instrument correlate with price movements in the relevant securities. In the case of poor correlation, the price of the securities the Fund is hedging may not move in the same amount, or even in the same direction as the hedging instrument. The Advisor will try to minimize this risk by investing only in those contracts whose behavior it expects to resemble with the portfolio securities it is trying to hedge. However, if the Fund's prediction of interest and currency rates, market value, volatility, or other economic factors is incorrect, the Fund may lose money, or may not make as much money as it expected.
Derivative prices can diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the characteristics of the underlying instruments are very similar to the derivative. Listed below are some of the factors that may cause such a divergence:
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current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract;
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a difference between the derivatives and securities markets, including different levels of demand, how the instruments are traded, the imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading of an instrument stops; and
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differences between the derivatives, such as different margin requirements, different liquidity of such markets, and the participation of speculators in such markets.
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Derivatives based upon a narrow index of securities may present greater risk than derivatives based on a broad index. Since narrower indices are made up of a smaller number of securities, they are more susceptible to rapid and extreme price fluctuations because of changes in the value of those securities.
While currency futures and options values are expected to correlate with exchange rates, they may not reflect other factors that affect the value of the investments of the Fund. A currency hedge, for example, should protect a yen-denominated security from a decline in the yen, but will not protect the Fund against a price decline resulting from deterioration in the issuer's creditworthiness. Because the value of the Fund's foreign-denominated investments changes in response to many factors other than exchange rates, it may not be possible to match the amount of currency options and futures to the value of the Fund's investments precisely over time.
Before a futures contract or option is exercised or expires, the Fund can terminate it only by entering into a closing purchase or sale transaction. Moreover, the Fund may close out a futures contract only on the exchange the contract was initially traded. Although the Fund intends to purchase options and futures only where there appears to be an active market, there is no guarantee that such a liquid market will exist. If there is no secondary market for the contract, or the market is illiquid, the Fund may not be able to close out a position. In an illiquid market, the Fund may:
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have to sell securities to meet its daily margin requirements at a time when it is disadvantageous to do so;
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have to purchase or sell the instrument underlying the contract;
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not be able to hedge its investments; and
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not be able to realize profits or limit its losses.
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Derivatives may become illiquid (i.e., difficult to sell at a desired time and price) under a variety of market conditions. For example:
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an exchange may suspend or limit trading in a particular derivative instrument, an entire category of derivatives, or all derivatives, which sometimes occurs because of increased market volatility;
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unusual or unforeseen circumstances may interrupt normal operations of an exchange;
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the facilities of the exchange may not be adequate to handle current trading volume;
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equipment failures, government intervention, insolvency of a brokerage firm or clearing house, or other occurrences may disrupt normal trading activity; or
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investors may lose interest in a particular derivative or category of derivatives.
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If the Advisor incorrectly predicts securities market and interest rate trends, the Fund may lose money by investing in derivatives. For example, if the Fund were to write a call option based on the Advisor's expectation that the price of the underlying security would fall, but the price were to rise instead, the Fund could be required to sell the security upon exercise at a price below the current market price. Similarly, if the Fund were to write a put option based on the Advisor's expectation that the price of the underlying security would rise, but the price were to fall instead, the Fund could be required to purchase the security upon exercise at a price higher than the current market price.
Because of the low margin deposits required upon the opening of a derivative position, such transactions involve an extremely high degree of leverage. Consequently, a relatively small price movement in a derivative may result in an immediate and substantial loss (as well as gain) to the Fund and they may lose more than it originally invested in the derivative.
If the price of a futures contract changes adversely, the Fund may have to sell securities at a time when it is disadvantageous to do so to meet its minimum daily margin requirement. The Fund may lose margin deposits if a broker with whom they have an open futures contract or related option becomes insolvent or declares bankruptcy.
The prices of derivatives are volatile (i.e., they may change rapidly, substantially, and unpredictably) and are influenced by a variety of factors, including:
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actual and anticipated changes in interest rates;
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fiscal and monetary policies; and
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national and international political events.
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Most exchanges limit the amount by which the price of a derivative can change during a single trading day. Daily trading limits establish the maximum amount that the price of a derivative may vary from the settlement price of that derivative at the end of trading on the previous day. Once the price of a derivative reaches this value, the Fund may not trade that derivative at a price beyond that limit. The daily limit governs only price movements during a given day and does not limit potential gains or losses. Derivative prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days, preventing prompt liquidation of the derivative.
Government Regulation of Derivatives.
It is possible that government regulation of various types of derivative instruments, including futures and swap agreements, may limit or prevent the Fund from using such instruments as a part of its investment strategy, and could ultimately prevent the Fund from being able to achieve its investment objective. It is impossible to predict fully the effects of legislation and regulation in this area, but the effects could be substantial and adverse.
The futures markets are subject to comprehensive statutes, regulations, and margin requirements. The SEC, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") and the exchanges are authorized to take extraordinary actions in the event of a market emergency, including, for example, the implementation or reduction of speculative position limits, the implementation of higher margin requirements, the establishment of daily price limits and the suspension of trading.
The regulation of swaps and futures transactions in the U.S., the European Union and other jurisdictions is a rapidly changing area of law and is subject to modification by government and judicial action. There is a possibility of future regulatory changes altering, perhaps to a material extent, the nature of an investment in the Fund or the ability of the Fund to continue to implement its investment strategies.
Under recently adopted rules and regulations, transactions in some types of swaps (including interest rate swaps and credit default swaps on North American and European indices) are required to be centrally cleared, and additional types of swaps may be required to be centrally cleared in the future. In a transaction involving those swaps ("cleared derivatives"), the Fund's counterparty is a clearing house, rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of a clearing house and only clearing members can participate directly in the clearing house, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members. In cleared derivatives transactions, the Fund will make payments (including margin payments) to and receive payments from a clearing house through its accounts at clearing members. Clearing members guarantee performance of their clients' obligations to the clearing house.
In addition, U.S. regulators, the European Union and certain other jurisdictions have adopted minimum margin and capital requirements for uncleared over-the-counter ("OTC") derivatives transactions. It is expected that these regulations will have a material impact on the Fund's use of uncleared derivatives. These rules will impose minimum margin requirements on derivatives transactions between the Fund and its swap counterparties and may increase the amount of margin the Fund is required to provide. They will impose regulatory requirements on the timing of transferring margin, which may accelerate the Fund's current margin process. They will also effectively require changes to typical derivatives margin documentation. It is expected that the Fund will become subject to variation margin requirements under such rules in 2017 and initial margin requirements under such rules in 2020. Such requirements could increase the amount of margin the Fund needs to provide in connection with uncleared derivatives transactions and, therefore, make such transactions more expensive.
The SEC has also issued a proposed rule under the 1940 Act providing for the regulation of registered investment companies' use of derivatives and certain related instruments. The ultimate impact, if any, of possible regulation remains unclear, but the proposed rule, if adopted, could, among other things, restrict the Fund's ability to engage in derivatives transactions and/or increase the costs of such derivatives transactions such that the Fund may be unable to implement its investment strategy. These and other new rules and regulations could, among other things, further restrict the Fund's ability to engage in, or increase the cost to the Fund of, derivatives transactions, for example, by making some types of derivatives no longer available to the Fund, increasing margin or capital requirements, or otherwise limiting liquidity or increasing transaction costs. The implementation of the clearing requirement has increased the costs of derivatives transactions for the Fund, since the Fund has to pay fees to its clearing members and is typically required to post more margin for cleared derivatives than it has historically posted for bilateral derivatives. The costs of derivatives transactions are expected to increase further as clearing members raise their fees to cover the costs of additional capital requirements and other regulatory changes applicable to the clearing members. These regulations are new and evolving, so their potential impact on the Fund and the financial system are not yet known. While the new regulations and central clearing of some derivatives transactions are designed to reduce systemic risk (i.e., the risk that the interdependence of large derivatives dealers could cause them to suffer liquidity, solvency or other challenges simultaneously), there is no assurance that the new mechanisms will achieve that result.
Options.
The Fund may purchase and write put and call options on securities. The purchase and writing of options involves certain risks. During the option period, a call writer that holds the underlying security has, in return for the premium on the option, given up the opportunity to profit from a price increase in the underlying securities above the exercise price, but, as long as its obligation as a writer continues, has retained the risk of loss should the price of the underlying security decline. The writer of an option has no control over the time when it may be required to fulfill its obligation as a writer of the option. Once an option writer has received an exercise notice, it cannot effect a closing purchase transaction in order to terminate its obligation under the option and must deliver the underlying securities at the exercise price. If a put or call option purchased by the Fund is not sold when it has remaining value, and if the market price of the underlying security, in the case of a put, remains equal to or greater than the exercise price or, in the case of a call, remains less than or equal to the exercise price, the Fund will lose its entire investment in the option. Also, where a put or call option on a particular security is purchased to hedge against price movements in a related security, the price of the put or call option may move more or less than the price of the related security. There can be no assurance that a liquid market will exist when the Fund seeks to close out an option position. Furthermore, if trading restrictions or suspensions are imposed on the options market, the Fund may be unable to close out a position.
The Fund may write a call or put option only if the option is "covered" by holding a position in the underlying securities or by other means which would permit immediate satisfaction of the Fund's obligation as writer of the option. A written call option creates a potential obligation to sell the underlying security. In order to make sure that this obligation can be met, the Fund could (i) hold the security underlying the written option; (ii) hold an offsetting call option (one with a strike price that is the same or lower than the strike price of the written option); or (iii) segregate cash and liquid securities (which can be cash, U.S. Government securities, and other liquid debt or equity securities) that when added to collateral on deposit equals the market value of the underlying security. A written put option creates a potential obligation to buy the underlying security. In order to make sure that this obligation can be met, the Fund could (i) sell short the underlying security at the same or higher price than the strike price of the written put option; (ii) hold an offsetting put option (one with a strike price that is the same or higher than the strike price of the written option); or (iii) segregate cash and liquid securities that when added to collateral on deposit equals the strike price of the option.
Options offer large amounts of leverage, which will result in the Fund's NAV being more sensitive to changes in the value of the related instrument. The Fund may purchase or write both exchange-traded and OTC options. Exchange-traded options in the United States are issued by a clearing organization affiliated with the exchange on which the option is listed that, in effect, guarantees completion of every exchange-traded option transaction. In contrast, OTC options are contracts between the Fund and its counterparty (usually a securities dealer or a bank) with no clearing organization guarantee. Thus, when the Fund purchases an OTC option, it relies on the counterparty from whom it purchased the option to make or take delivery of the underlying investment upon exercise of the option. Failure by the counterparty to do so would result in the loss of any premium paid by the Fund as well as the loss of any expected benefit of the transaction.
The Fund's ability to establish and close out positions in exchange-listed options depends on the existence of a liquid market. However, there can be no assurance that such a market will exist at any particular time. Closing transactions can be made for OTC options only by negotiating directly with the counterparty, or by a transaction in the secondary market if any such market exists. There can be no assurance that the Fund will in fact be able to close out an OTC option position at a favorable price prior to expiration. In the event of insolvency of the counterparty, the Fund might be unable to close out an OTC option position at any time prior to its expiration, if at all.
If the Fund were unable to effect a closing transaction for an option it had purchased, due to the absence of a counterparty or secondary market, the imposition of price limits or otherwise, it would have to exercise the option to realize any profit. The inability to enter into a closing purchase transaction for a covered call option written by the Fund could cause material losses because the Fund would be unable to sell the investment used as cover for the written option until the option expires or is exercised.
Options have varying expiration dates. The exercise price of the options may be below, equal to or above the current market value of the underlying security or instrument. Options purchased by the Fund that expire unexercised have no value, and the Fund will realize a loss in the amount of the premium paid and any transaction costs. If an option written by the Fund expires unexercised, the Fund realizes a gain equal to the premium received at the time the option was written. Transaction costs must be included in these calculations.
Futures Contracts.
The Fund may enter into futures contracts. A futures contract is a bilateral agreement
to buy or sell a security (or deliver a cash settlement price, in the case of a contract relating to an index or otherwise not calling for physical delivery at the end of trading in the contracts) for a set price in the future. Futures contracts are designated by boards of trade that have been designated "contracts markets" by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). No purchase price is paid or received when the contract is entered into. Instead, the Fund, upon entering into a futures contract (and to maintain the Fund's open positions in futures contracts), would be required to deposit with its custodian in a segregated account in the name of the futures broker an amount of cash, U.S. government securities, suitable money market instruments, or liquid, high-grade debt securities, known as "initial margin." The margin required for a particular futures contract is set by the exchange on which the contract is traded, and may be significantly modified from time to time by the exchange during the term of the contract. Futures contracts are customarily purchased and sold on margin that may range upward from less than 5% of the value of the contract being traded. By using futures contracts as a risk management technique, given the greater liquidity in the futures market than in the cash market, it may be possible to accomplish certain results more quickly and with lower transaction costs.
If the price of an open futures contract changes (by increase in the case of a sale or by decrease in the case of a purchase) so that the loss on the futures contract reaches a point at which the margin on deposit does not satisfy margin requirements, the broker will require an increase in the margin. However, if the value of a position increases because of favorable price changes in the futures contract so that the margin deposit exceeds the required margin, the broker will pay the excess to the Fund. These subsequent payments, called "variation margin," to and from the futures broker, are made on a daily basis as the price of the underlying assets fluctuates, making the long and short positions in the futures contract more or less valuable, a process known as "marking to the market." The Fund is expected to earn interest income on initial and variation margin deposits.
The Fund will incur brokerage fees when it purchases and sells futures contracts. Positions taken in the futures markets are not normally held until delivery or cash settlement is required, but are instead liquidated through offsetting transactions that may result in a gain or a loss. While futures positions taken by the Fund will usually be liquidated in this manner, the Fund may instead make or take delivery of underlying securities whenever it appears economically advantageous for the Fund to do so. A clearing organization associated with the exchange on which futures are traded assumes responsibility for closing out transactions and guarantees that as between the clearing members of an exchange, the sale and purchase obligations will be performed with regard to all positions that remain open at the termination of the contract.
In addition to the margin restrictions discussed above, transactions in futures contracts may involve the segregation of funds pursuant to requirements imposed by the SEC . Under those requirements, where the Fund has a long position in a futures contract, it may be required to establish a segregated account (not with a futures commission merchant or broker) containing cash or certain liquid assets equal to the purchase price of the contract (less any margin on deposit). However, segregation of assets is not required if the Fund "covers" a long position. For a short position in futures or forward contracts held by the Fund, those requirements may mandate the establishment of a segregated account (not with a futures commission merchant or broker) with cash or certain liquid assets that, when added to the amounts deposited as margin, equal the market value of the instruments underlying the futures contracts (but are not less than the price at which the short positions were established).
Swaps.
The Fund may invest in currency, equity, interest rate, index and other swaps, which involve the exchange by an investor with another party of their respective commitments, in an attempt to obtain a particular return when it is considered desirable to do so, possibly at a lower cost than if the Fund had invested directly in the asset that yielded the desired return. In the case of interest rate swaps, an investor may exchange with another party their respective commitments to pay or receive interest, such as an exchange of fixed rate payments for floating rate payments. Use of swaps subjects the investor to risk of default by the counterparties. If there is a default by the counterparty to such a transaction, there may be contractual remedies pursuant to the agreements related to the transaction although contractual remedies may not be sufficient in the event that the counterparty to the transaction is insolvent. The swap market has grown substantially in recent years with a large number of banks and investment banking firms acting both as principals and agents utilizing standardized swap documentation. As a result, the swap market has become relatively liquid in comparison with the markets for other similar instruments which are traded in the interbank market. An investor may also enter into currency swaps or other swaps which are similar to interest rate swaps but may be surrogates for other instruments such as currency forwards or options.
Forward Commitment and When-Issued Securities.
The Fund may purchase securities on a when-issued basis or for settlement at a future date if the Fund holds sufficient assets to meet the purchase price. In such purchase transactions, the Fund will not accrue interest on the purchased security until the actual settlement. Similarly, if a security is sold for a forward date, the Fund will accrue the interest until the settlement of the sale. When-issued security purchases and forward commitments have a higher degree of risk of price movement before settlement due to the extended time period between the execution and settlement of the purchase or sale. As a result, the exposure to the counterparty of the purchase or sale is increased. Although the Fund would generally purchase securities on a forward commitment or when-issued basis with the intention of taking delivery, the Fund may sell such a security prior to the settlement date if the Advisor feels such action is appropriate. In such a case, the Fund could incur a short-term gain or loss.
Repurchase Agreements.
A repurchase transaction occurs when an investor purchases a security (normally a U.S. Treasury obligation), and it then resells it to the vendor (normally a member bank of the Federal Reserve or a registered government securities dealer) and is required to deliver the security (and/or securities substituted for them under the repurchase agreement) to the vendor on an agreed upon date in the future. The repurchase price exceeds the purchase price by an amount which reflects an agreed upon market interest rate effective for the period of time during which the repurchase agreement is in effect. Delivery pursuant to the resale normally will occur within one to seven days of the purchase. Repurchase agreements are considered "loans" under the 1940 Act , collateralized by the underlying security. The Trust has implemented procedures to monitor on a continuous basis the value of the collateral serving as security for repurchase obligations. The Advisor will consider the creditworthiness of the vendor. If the vendor fails to pay the agreed upon resale price on the delivery date, the Fund will retain or attempt to dispose of the collateral. The Fund's risk is that such default may include any decline in value of the collateral to an amount which is less than 100% of the repurchase price, any costs of disposing of such collateral, and any loss resulting from any delay in foreclosing on the collateral.
Repurchase agreements that do not provide for payment within seven days will be treated as illiquid securities.
The Fund will not invest in reverse repurchase agreements.
Short Sales.
The Fund may sell securities short. A short sale is a transaction in which the Fund sells a security it does not own or have the right to acquire (or that it owns but does not wish to deliver) in anticipation that the market price of that security will decline. When the Fund makes a short sale, the broker-dealer through which the short sale is made must borrow the security sold short and deliver it to the party purchasing the security. The Fund is required to make a margin deposit in connection with such short sales; the Fund may have to pay a fee to borrow particular securities and will often be obligated to pay over any dividends and accrued interest on borrowed securities.
If the price of the security sold short increases between the time of the short sale and the time the Fund covers the short position, the Fund will incur a loss; conversely, if the price declines, the Fund will realize a capital gain. Any gain will be decreased, and any loss increased, by the transaction costs described above. The successful use of short selling may be adversely affected by imperfect correlation between movements in the price of the security sold short and the securities being hedged.
To the extent the Fund sells securities short, the Fund will take measures that assure its obligation to purchase the security in the future will be met, including (i) holding the security sold short; (ii) holding an offsetting call option (one with a strike price that is the same or lower than the price at which the security was sold short); or (iii) segregating liquid assets (which can be cash, U.S. Government securities, and other liquid debt or equity securities) on the Fund's books or in a segregated account at the Fund's custodian in an amount sufficient to cover the current value of the securities to be replaced as well as any dividends, interest, and transaction costs due to the broker-dealer lender. In determining the amount to be segregated, any securities that have been sold short by the Fund will be marked to market daily. To the extent the market price of the securities sold short increases and more assets are required to meet the Fund's short sale obligations, additional assets will be segregated to ensure adequate coverage of the Fund's short position obligations. If the Fund does not have the assets to cover a short sale, then the Fund's potential losses on the short will be unlimited because the security's price may appreciate indefinitely.
Liquidity Impact of Margin and Segregation Requirements.
Although the Fund will segregate cash and liquid assets in an amount sufficient to cover its open obligations with respect to written options, short sales, and other derivative instruments as applicable, the segregated assets will be available to the Fund immediately upon closing out the positions, while settlement of securities transactions could take several days. However, because the Fund's cash that may otherwise be invested would be held uninvested or invested in other liquid assets so long as the position remains open, the Fund's return could be diminished due to the opportunity losses of foregoing other potential investments.
Illiquid Investments.
The Fund may invest up to 15% of net assets in illiquid securities, which are investments that cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business within seven days at approximately the prices at which they are valued. This restriction is not limited to the time of purchase and must be adhered to at all times. Under the supervision of the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the "Board" or the "Trustees"), the Advisor determines the liquidity of the Fund's investments, and through reports from the Advisor, the Trustees monitor investments in illiquid instruments. In determining the liquidity of the Fund's investments, the Advisor may consider various factors including (i) the frequency of trades and quotations; (ii) the number of dealers and prospective purchasers in the marketplace; (iii) dealer undertakings to make a market; (iv) the nature of the security (including any demand or tender features); and (v) the nature of the marketplace for trades (including the ability to assign or offset the Fund's rights and obligations relating to the investment). If through a change in values, net assets, or other circumstances, the Fund were in a position where more than 15% of its net assets were invested in illiquid securities, the Fund will take steps to reduce, in an orderly fashion, its holdings of illiquid securities and may dispose of some securities even though it may be disadvantageous from an investment standpoint at that time. However, the Fund will not dispose of illiquid securities if the Sub-Advisor determines that doing so would not be in the best interests of the Fund. Investment in illiquid securities poses risks of potential delays in resale and uncertainty in valuation. Limitations on resale may have an adverse effect on the marketability of portfolio securities and the Fund may be unable to dispose of illiquid securities promptly or at reasonable prices.
Restricted Securities.
Within its limitation on investment in illiquid securities, the Fund may purchase restricted securities that generally can be sold in privately negotiated transactions, pursuant to an exemption from registration under the federal securities laws, or in a registered public offering. Where registration is required, the Fund may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expense and a considerable period may elapse between the time it decides to seek registration and the time the Fund may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If during such a period adverse market conditions were to develop, the Fund might obtain a less favorable price than prevailed when it decided to seek registration of the security. Restricted securities that can be offered and sold to qualified institutional buyers under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933 and are determined to be liquid under guidelines adopted by and subject to the supervision of the Trustees are not subject to the limitations on illiquid securities.
Lending of Portfolio Securities.
In order to generate additional income, the Fund may lend portfolio securities in an amount up to 33% of total Fund assets to broker-dealers, major banks, or other recognized domestic institutional borrowers of securities which the Advisor has determined are creditworthy under guidelines established by the Board. In determining whether the Fund will lend securities, the Advisor will consider all relevant facts and circumstances. The Fund may not lend securities to any company affiliated with the Advisor. Each loan of securities will be collateralized by cash, securities, or equivalent collateral. The Fund might experience a loss if the borrower defaults on the loan.
The borrower at all times during the loan must maintain with the Fund cash or cash equivalent collateral. While the loan is outstanding, the borrower will pay the Fund any interest paid on the loaned securities, and the Fund may invest the cash collateral to earn additional income. Alternatively, the Fund may receive an agreed-upon amount of interest income from the borrower who has delivered equivalent collateral. It is anticipated that the Fund may share with the borrower some of the income received on the collateral for the loan or the Fund will be paid a premium for the loan. Voting rights for loaned securities will typically pass to the borrower, but the Fund will retain the right to call any security in anticipation of a vote that the Advisor deems material to the security on loan. Loans are subject to termination at the option of the Fund or the borrower at any time. The Fund may pay reasonable administrative and custodial fees in connection with a loan, and may pay a negotiated portion of the income earned on the cash to the borrower or placing broker. As with other extensions of credit, there are risks of delay in recovery or even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially.
Securities lending involves counterparty risk, including the risk that the loaned securities may not be returned or returned in a timely manner and/or a loss of rights in the collateral if the borrower or the lending agent defaults or fails financially. This risk will be increased if a continuation of the current downturn in the economic conditions in the United States and around the world, particularly the recent failures of several major financial services firms, causes further declines in the securities markets and/or causes further financial instability in the borrowers or lending agents. This risk is increased when the Fund's loans are concentrated with a single or limited number of borrowers. There are no limits on the number of borrowers the Fund may use, and the Fund may lend securities to only one or a small group of borrowers. Mutual funds participating in securities lending bear the risk of loss in connection with investments of the cash collateral received from the borrowers, which do not trigger additional collateral requirements from the borrower.
Borrowing.
The Fund may borrow money for investment purposes, which is a form of leveraging. Leveraging investments, by purchasing securities with borrowed money, is a speculative technique that increases investment risk while increasing investment opportunity. Such borrowing may make the Fund's NAV more volatile than funds that do not borrow for investment purposes because leverage magnifies changes in the Fund's NAV and on the Fund's investments. Although the principal of borrowings will be fixed, the Fund's assets may change in value during the time the borrowing is outstanding. Leverage also creates interest expenses for the Fund. To the extent the income derived from securities purchased with borrowed funds exceeds the interest the Fund will have to pay, the Fund's net income will be greater than it would be if leverage were not used. Conversely, if the income from the assets obtained with borrowed funds is not sufficient to cover the cost of leveraging, the net income of the Fund will be less than it would be if leverage were not used, and therefore the amount available for distribution to shareholders as dividends will be reduced. The use of derivatives in connection with leverage creates the potential for significant loss. The Fund does not intend to use leverage in excess of 5% of total assets and will not make additional investments when outstanding borrowings exceed 5% of the Fund's total assets. Any leveraging will comply with the applicable requirements of the 1940 Act and the guidance of no-action letters issued by the SEC , including Investment Company Act Release No. 10666 (Apr. 18, 1979), intended to minimize the use of leverage and the possibility that the Fund's liabilities will exceed the value of its assets.
The Fund may also borrow money to meet redemptions or for other emergency purposes. Such borrowings may be on a secured or unsecured basis at fixed or variable rates of interest. The 1940 Act requires the Fund to maintain continuous asset coverage of not less than 300% with respect to all borrowings. If such asset coverage should decline to less than 300% due to market fluctuations or other reasons, the Fund may be required to dispose of some portfolio holdings within three days in order to reduce the Fund's debt and restore the 300% asset coverage, even though it may be disadvantageous from an investment standpoint to dispose of assets at that time. The Fund also may be required to maintain minimum average balances in connection with such borrowing or to pay a commitment or other fee to maintain a line of credit. Either of these requirements would increase the cost of borrowing over the stated interest rate.
Temporary Defensive Positions.
The Fund may, from time to time, take temporary defensive positions in an attempt to respond to adverse market, economic, political, or other conditions. During such an unusual set of circumstances, the Fund may hold up to 100% of its portfolios in cash or cash equivalent positions (e.g., money market securities, U.S. Government securities, and/or similar securities). When the Fund takes a temporary defensive position, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective.
INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS
Fundamental Investment Restrictions.
The following investment restrictions have been adopted by the Trust with respect to the Fund. Except as otherwise stated, these investment restrictions are "fundamental" policies. A "fundamental" policy is defined in the 1940 Act to mean that the restriction cannot be changed without approval by holders of a majority of the outstanding voting shares of the Fund. A "majority" for this purpose means the lesser of (i) 67% of the Fund's outstanding shares represented in person or by proxy at a meeting at which more than 50% of its outstanding shares are represented; or (ii) more than 50% of its outstanding shares.
As a matter of fundamental policy, the Fund may not:
(1)
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Issue senior securities, except as permitted by the Investment Company Act of 1940;
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(2)
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Borrow money, except to the extent permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (including, without limitation, borrowing to meet redemptions). For purposes of this investment restriction, the entry into options, forward contracts, futures contracts, including those relating to indices, and options on futures contracts or indices shall not constitute borrowing;
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(3)
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Pledge, mortgage, or hypothecate its assets, except to the extent necessary to secure permitted borrowings and to the extent related to the deposit of assets in escrow in connection with writing covered put and call options and the purchase of securities on a when-issued or forward commitment basis and collateral and initial or variation margin arrangements with respect to options, forward contracts, futures contracts, including those relating to indices, and options on futures contracts or indices;
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(4)
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Act as an underwriter except to the extent that, in connection with the disposition of portfolio securities, the Fund may be deemed to be an underwriter under certain federal securities laws;
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(5)
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Purchase or sell real estate or direct interests in real estate; provided, however, that the Fund may purchase and sell securities which are secured by real estate and securities of companies which invest or deal in real estate (including, without limitation, investments in REITs, mortgage-backed securities, and privately-held real estate funds);
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(6)
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Invest in commodities, except that the Fund may purchase and sell options, forward contracts, futures contracts, including those relating to indices and currencies, and options on futures contracts, indices or currencies;
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(7)
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Make investments for the purpose of exercising control or management over a portfolio company;
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(8)
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Make loans, provided that the Fund may lend its portfolio securities in an amount up to 33% of total Fund assets, and provided further that, for purposes of this restriction, investment in U.S. Government obligations, short-term commercial paper, certificates of deposit, bankers' acceptances, and repurchase agreements shall not be deemed to be the making of a loan; or
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(9)
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The Fund will not concentrate its investments. The Fund's concentration policy limits the aggregate value of holdings of a single industry or group of industries (except U.S. Government and cash items) to less than 25% of the Fund's total assets.
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Senior securities may include any obligation or instrument issued by a fund evidencing indebtedness. The 1940 Act generally prohibits funds from issuing senior securities, although it does not treat certain transactions as senior securities, such as certain borrowings, short sales, firm commitment agreements, and standby commitments, with appropriate earmarking or segregation of assets to cover such obligations. The Fund's specific policies for segregation of assets are described in "Additional Information About Investment Policies" above.
The Fund is allowed to pledge, mortgage, or hypothecate assets up to the amounts allowable under the 1940 Act , which presently allows the Fund to borrow from any bank (including pledging, mortgaging or hypothecating assets) in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its total assets (not including temporary borrowings not in excess of 5% of its total assets).
With respect to Investment Limitation #2, the Fund will not make additional investments if outstanding borrowings exceed 5% of the Fund's total assets.
With respect to the fundamental investment restrictions above (other than those involving permitted senior securities and borrowings), if a percentage limitation is adhered to at the time of investment, a later increase or decrease in percentage resulting from any change in value or net assets will not result in a violation of such restriction (i.e., percentage limitations are determined at the time of purchase).
The Fund may invest up to 15% of net assets in illiquid securities, which are investments that cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business within seven days at approximately the prices at which they are valued. This restriction is not limited to the time of purchase and must be adhered to at all times. If the Fund were in a position where more than 15% of its net assets were invested in illiquid securities, the Fund would take steps to reduce, in an orderly fashion, its holdings of illiquid securities and may dispose of some securities even though it may be disadvantageous from an investment standpoint at that time.
PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS
Subject to the general supervision of the Trustees, the Advisor is responsible for, makes decisions with respect to, and places orders for all purchases and sales of portfolio securities for the Fund. The Advisor shall manage the Fund's portfolios in accordance with the terms of the Investment Advisory Agreement by and between the Advisor and the Trust on behalf of the Fund ("Advisory Agreement"), which is described in detail under "Management and Other Service Providers – Investment Advisor." The Advisor serves as investment advisor for a number of client accounts, including the Fund. Investment decisions for the Fund are made independently from those for any other series of the Trust, if any, and for any other investment companies and accounts advised or managed by the Advisor.
Brokerage Selection.
The Fund has adopted, and the Trustees have approved, policies and procedures relating to the direction of mutual fund portfolio securities transactions to broker-dealers. The Advisor may not give consideration to sales of shares of the Fund as a factor in selecting broker-dealers to execute portfolio securities transactions. The Advisor may, however, place portfolio transactions with broker-dealers that promote or sell the Fund's shares so long as such transactions are done in accordance with the policies and procedures established by the Trustees that are designed to ensure that the selection is based on the quality of the broker's execution and not on its sales efforts. In selecting brokers to be used in portfolio transactions, the Advisor's general guiding principle is to obtain the best overall execution for each trade, which is a combination of price and execution. With respect to execution, the Advisor considers a number of discretionary factors, including, without limitation, the actual handling of the order, the ability of the broker to settle the trade promptly and accurately, the financial standing of the broker, the ability of the broker to position stock to facilitate execution, the Advisor's past experience with similar trades, and other factors that may be unique to a particular order. Recognizing the value of these discretionary factors, the Advisor may select brokers who charge a brokerage commission that is higher than the lowest commission that might otherwise be available for any given trade.
Under Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Advisory Agreement, the Advisor is authorized to pay a brokerage commission in excess of that which another broker might have charged for effecting the same transaction, in recognition of the value of brokerage and/or research services provided by the broker. The research received by the Advisor may include, without limitation: information on the United States and other world economies; information on specific industries, groups of securities, individual companies, and political and other relevant news developments affecting markets and specific securities; technical and quantitative information about markets; analysis of proxy proposals affecting specific companies; accounting and performance systems that allow the Advisor to determine and track investment results; and trading systems that allow the Advisor to interface electronically with brokerage firms, custodians, and other providers. Research is received in the form of written reports, telephone contacts, personal meetings, research seminars, software programs, and access to computer databases. In some instances, research products or services received by the Advisor may also be used by the Advisor for functions that are not research related (i.e. not related to the making of investment decisions). Where a research product or service has a mixed use, the Advisor will make a reasonable allocation according to the use and will pay for the non-research function in cash using its own funds.
The research and investment information services described above make available to the Advisor for its analysis and consideration the views and information of individuals and research staffs of other securities firms. These services may be useful to the Advisor in connection with advisory clients other than the Fund and not all such services may be useful to the Advisor in connection with the Fund. Although such information may be a useful supplement to the Advisor's own investment information in rendering services to the Fund, the value of such research and services is not expected to reduce materially the expenses of the Advisor in the performance of its services under the Advisory Agreement and will not reduce the management fees payable to the Advisor by the Fund.
The Fund may invest in securities traded in the over-the-counter market. In these cases, the Fund may initiate trades through brokers on an agency basis and pay a commission in connection with the transaction. The Fund may also effect these transactions by dealing directly with the dealers who make a market in the securities involved, in which case the costs of such transactions would involve dealer spreads rather than brokerage commissions. With respect to securities traded only in the over-the-counter market, orders will be executed on a principal basis with primary market makers in such securities except where better prices or executions may be obtained on an agency basis or by dealing with those other than a primary market maker.
The Fund's fixed income portfolio transactions may be executed through broker-dealers on an agency basis or be principal transactions executed in over the counter markets on a "net" basis, which may include a dealer mark up. Where possible, the Advisor will deal directly with the broker-dealers who make a market in the securities involved except in those circumstances where better prices and execution are available elsewhere. Such broker-dealers usually act as principal for their own account.
The Fund may participate, if and when practicable, in bidding for the purchase of Fund securities directly from an issuer in order to take advantage of the lower purchase price available to members of a bidding group. The Fund will engage in this practice, however, only when the Advisor, in its sole discretion, believes such practice to be otherwise in the Fund's interest.
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2017, the Fund paid brokerage commissions in the amount of $37,691. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2016, the Fund paid brokerage commissions in the amount of $25,890. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2015, the Fund paid brokerage commissions in the amount of $5,144.
Aggregated Trades.
While investment decisions for the Fund are made independently of the Advisor's other client accounts, the Advisor's other client accounts may invest in the same securities as the Fund. To the extent permitted by law, the Advisor may aggregate the securities to be sold or purchased for the Fund with those to be sold or purchased for other investment companies or accounts in executing transactions. When a purchase or sale of the same security is made at substantially the same time on behalf of the Fund and another investment company or account, the transaction will be averaged as to price and available investments allocated as to amount in a manner which the Advisor believes to be equitable to the Fund and such other investment company or account. In some instances, this investment procedure may adversely affect the price paid or received by the Fund or the size of the position obtained or sold by the Fund.
Portfolio Turnover.
The annualized portfolio turnover rate for the Fund is calculated by dividing the lesser of purchases or sales of portfolio securities for the reporting period by the monthly average value of the portfolio securities owned during the reporting period. The calculation excludes all securities whose maturities or expiration dates at the time of acquisition are one year or less. Portfolio turnover of the Fund may vary greatly from year to year as well as within a particular year, and may be affected by cash requirements for redemption of shares and by requirements that enable the Fund to receive favorable tax treatment. Portfolio turnover will not be a limiting factor in making Fund decisions, and the Fund may engage in short-term trading to achieve its investment objectives. High rates of portfolio turnover could lower performance of the Fund due to increased transaction costs and may also result in the realization of short-term capital gains taxed at ordinary income tax rates. The portfolio turnover rate for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2017 was 111.52%. The portfolio turnover rate for the Fund was in excess of 100% due to high trading volume during the fiscal year.
DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST
The Trust, which is a statutory trust organized under Delaware law on May 13, 2009, is an open-end management investment company. The Trust's Declaration of Trust ("Trust Instrument") authorizes the Trustees to divide shares into series, each series relating to a separate portfolio of investments, and to classify and reclassify any unissued shares into one or more classes of shares of each such series. The Trust currently consists of sixteen series. Additional series and/or classes may be created from time to time. The number of shares in the Trust shall be unlimited. When issued for payment as described in the Fund's P rospectus and this SAI , shares of the Fund will be fully paid and non‑assessable and shall have no preemptive rights . The Trust normally does not issue share certificates.
In the event of a liquidation or dissolution of the Trust or an individual series, such as the Fund, shareholders of a particular series would be entitled to receive the assets available for distribution belonging to such series. Shareholders of a series are entitled to participate equally in the net distributable assets of the particular series involved on liquidation, based on the number of shares of the series that are held by each shareholder. If there are any assets, income, earnings, proceeds, funds, or payments, that are not readily identifiable as belonging to any particular series, the Trustees shall allocate them among any one or more of the series as they, in their sole discretion, deem fair and equitable.
Shareholders of all of the series of the Trust, including the Fund, will vote together and not separately on a series‑by‑series or class-by-class basis, except as otherwise required by law or when the Trustees determine that the matter to be voted upon affects only the interests of the shareholders of a particular series or class. Rule 18f-2 under the 1940 Act provides that any matter required to be submitted to the holders of the outstanding voting securities of an investment company such as the Trust shall not be deemed to have been effectively acted upon unless approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of each series or class affected by the matter. A series or class is affected by a matter unless it is clear that the interests of each series or class in the matter are substantially identical or that the matter does not affect any interest of the series or class. Under Rule 18f-2, the approval of an investment advisory agreement or any change in a fundamental investment policy would be effectively acted upon with respect to a series only if approved by a majority of the outstanding shares of such series. However, the rule also provides that the ratification of the appointment of independent accountants, the approval of principal underwriting contracts, and the election of Trustees may be effectively acted upon by shareholders of the Trust voting together, without regard to a particular series or class. Rights of shareholders can only be modified by a majority vote.
When used in the Prospectus or this SAI, a "majority" of shareholders means the vote of the lesser of (i) 67% of the shares of the Trust or the applicable series or class present at a meeting if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares are present in person or by proxy or (ii) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Trust or the applicable series or class.
Share-holders are entitled to one vote for each full share and a fractional vote for each fractional share held. Shares have non-cumulative voting rights, which means that the holders of more than 50% of the shares voting for the election of Trustees can elect 100% of the Trustees, and in this event, the holders of the remaining shares voting will not be able to elect any Trustees.
The Trustees will hold office indefinitely, except that: (i) any Trustee may resign or retire, and (ii) any Trustee may be removed: (a) any time by written instrument signed by at least two-thirds of the number of Trustees prior to such removal; (b) at any meeting of shareholders of the Trust by a vote of two-thirds of the outstanding shares of the Trust; or (c) by a written declaration signed by shareholders holding not less than two-thirds of the outstanding shares of the Trust. In case a vacancy on the Board shall for any reason exist, the vacancy shall be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining Trustees, subject to certain restrictions under the 1940 Act . Otherwise, there will normally be no meeting of shareholders for the purpose of electing Trustees, and the Trust does not expect to have an annual meeting of share-holders.
The Trust Instrument provides that the Trustees will not be liable in any event in connection with the affairs of the Trust, except as such liability may arise from a Trustee's bad faith, willful misfeasance, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of duties. It also provides that all third parties shall look solely to the Trust's property for satisfaction of claims arising in connection with the affairs of the Trust. With the exceptions stated, the Trust Instrument provides that a Trustee or officer is entitled to be indemnified against all liability in connection with the affairs of the Trust.
MANAGEMENT AND OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS
The Trustees are responsible for the management and supervision of the Fund. The Trustees approve all significant agreements between the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and those companies that furnish services to the Fund; review performance of the Advisor and the Fund; and oversee activities of the Fund. This section of the SAI provides information about the persons who serve as Trustees and officers to the Trust and Fund, respectively, as well as the entities that provide services to the Fund.
Trustees and Officers.
Following are the Trustees and officers of the Trust, their age and address, their present position with the Trust or the Fund, and their principal occupation during the past five years. The Trustees in the following table who are not "interested" persons of the Trust within the meaning of the 1940 Act ("Independent Trustees") are indicted as such. The address of each Trustee and officer of the Trust, unless otherwise indicated, is 116 South Franklin Street, Rocky Mount, North Carolina 27804.
Name, Age
and Address
|
Position
held with
Funds or Trust
|
Length
of Time
Served
|
Principal Occupation
During Past 5 Years
|
Number of Portfolios in Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee
|
Other Directorships
Held by Trustee
During Past 5 Years
|
Independent Trustees
|
James H. Speed, Jr.
Date of Birth: 06/1953
|
Independent
Trustee, Chairman
|
Trustee
since
7/09,
Chair
since 5/12
|
Previously President and CEO of NC Mutual Insurance Company (insurance company) from 2003 to 2015.
|
16
|
Independent Trustee of the Brown Capital Management Mutual Funds for its four series, Hillman Capital Management Investment Trust for its one series, Centaur Mutual Funds Trust for its one series, Chesapeake Investment Trust, previously known as Gardner Lewis Trust, for its one series and WST Investment Trust for its two series (all registered investment companies). Member of Board of Directors of M&F Bancorp. Member of Board of Directors of Investors Title Company. Previously, Board of Directors of NC Mutual Life Insurance Company.
|
Theo H. Pitt, Jr.
Date of Birth: 04/1936
|
Independent
Trustee
|
Since 9/10
|
Senior Partner, Community Financial Institutions Consulting (financial consulting) since 1999; Partner, Pikar Properties (real estate) since 2001.
|
16
|
Independent Trustee of World Funds Trust for its forty nine series, Chesapeake Investment Trust, previously known as Gardner Lewis Investment Trust, for its one series, Leeward Investment Trust for its two series and Hillman Capital Management Investment Trust for its one series (all registered investment companies).
|
Michael G. Mosley
Date of Birth: 01/1953
|
Independent
Trustee
|
Since 7/10
|
Owner of Commercial Realty Services (real estate) since 2004.
|
16
|
None.
|
J. Buckley Strandberg
Date of Birth: 03/1960
|
Independent Trustee
|
Since 7/09
|
President of Standard Insurance and Realty (insurance and property management) since 1982.
|
16
|
None.
|
Other Officers
|
Katherine M. Honey
Date of Birth: 09/1973
|
President and
Principal Executive
Officer
|
Since
05/15
|
EVP of The Nottingham Company since 2008.
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
Matthew J. Beck
Date of Birth: 06/1988
|
Secretary
|
Since
05/15
|
General Counsel of The Nottingham Company since 2014.
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
Ashley E. Harris
Date of Birth: 03/1984
|
Treasurer, Assistant
Secretary and
Principal Financial
Officer
|
Since
05/15
|
Fund Accounting Manager and Financial Reporting, The Nottingham Company since 2008.
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
Name, Age
and Address
|
Position
held with
Funds or Trust
|
Length
of Time
Served
|
Principal Occupation
During Past 5 Years
|
Number of Portfolios in Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee
|
Other Directorships
Held by Trustee
During Past 5 Years
|
Stacey Gillespie
Date of Birth: 05/1974
|
Chief Compliance
Officer
|
Since
03/16
|
Compliance Director, Cipperman Compliance Services, LLC (09/15-present). Formerly, Chief Compliance Officer of Boenning & Scattergood, Inc. (2013-2015) and Director of Investment Compliance at Boenning & Scattergood, Inc. (2007-2013).
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
The Board met nine times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 201 7 . Each Trustee attended all of the Board meetings.
Board Structure.
The Trust's Board includes four I ndependent Trustees. Mr. Speed, Jr. serves as the Independent Chairman of the Board. The Board has established several standing committees: the Audit Committee, Nominating Committee, Proxy Voting Committee, Governance Committee, and Qualified Legal Compliance Committee. These standing committees are comprised entirely of the Independent Trustees. Other information about these standing committees is set forth below. The Board has determined that the Board's structure is appropriate given the characteristics, size, and operations of the Trust. The Board also believes that its leadership structure, including its committees, helps facilitate effective oversight of Trust management. The Board reviews its structure annually.
With respect to risk oversight, the Board considers risk management issues as part of its general oversight responsibilities throughout the year. The Board holds four regular board meetings each year during which the Board receives risk management reports and/or assessments from Trust management, the Fund's advisor, administrator, transfer agent, and distributor, and receives an annual report from the Trust's Chief Compliance Officer ("CCO"). The Audit Committee also meets with the Trust's independent registered public accounting firm on an annual basis, to discuss among other things, the internal control structure of the Trust's financial reporting function. When appropriate, the Board may hold special meeting or communicate directly with Trust management, the CCO, the Trust's third party service providers, legal counsel, or independent public accountants to address matters arising between regular board meeting or needing special attention. In addition, the Board has adopted policies and procedures for the Trust to help detect and prevent and, if necessary, correct violations of federal securities laws.
Qualification of Trustees.
The Board believes that each Trustee's experience, qualifications, attributes or skills on an individual basis and in combination with those of the other Trustees on the Board lead to the conclusion that the Board possesses the requisite skills and attributes to carry out its oversight responsibilities with respect to the Trust. The Board believes that its Trustees' ability to review, critically evaluate, question, and discuss information provided to them, to interact effectively with the Advisor, other service providers, counsel and independent auditors, and to exercise effective business judgment in the performance of its duties, support this conclusion. The Board also has considered the following experience, qualifications, attributes and/or skills, among others, of its members, as applicable, in reaching its conclusion: (i) such person's business and professional experience and accomplishments, including prior experience in the financial services and investment management fields or on other boards; (ii) such person's ability to work effectively with the other members of the Board; (iii) how the individual's skills, experiences, and attributes would contribute to an appropriate mix of relevant skills and experience on the Board; (iv) such person's character and integrity; (v) such person's willingness to serve and willingness and ability to commit the time necessary to perform the duties of a Trustee; and (vi) as to each Trustee his status as an Independent Trustee.
In addition, the following specific experience, qualifications, attributes and/or skills were considered in respect of the listed Trustee.
Mr. Mosley has had business experience as an owner of a real estate company. Mr. Pitt has experience as an investor, including his role as trustee of several other investment companies and business experience as Senior Partner of a financial consulting company, as a Partner of a real estate partnership and as an Account Administrator for a money management firm. Mr. Speed also has experience as an investor as trustee of several other investment companies and business experience as President and CEO of an insurance company and as President of a company in the business of consulting and private investing. Mr. Strandberg also has investment experience as a former trustee of another investment company and business experience as President of an insurance and property management company.
The Board has determined that each of the Trustees' careers and background, combined with their interpersonal skills and general understanding of financial and other matters, enable the Trustees to effectively participate in and contribute to the Board's functions and oversight of the Trust. References to the qualifications, attributes, and skills of Trustees are pursuant to requirements of the SEC , do not constitute holding out the Board or any Trustee as having any special expertise or experience, and shall not impose any greater responsibility on any such person or on the Board by reason thereof.
Trustee Standing Committees.
The Trustees have established the following standing committees:
Audit Committee.
All of the Independent Trustees are members of the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee oversees the Fund's accounting and financial reporting policies and practices, reviews the results of the annual audits of the Fund's financial statements, and interacts with the Fund's independent auditors on behalf of all the Trustees. The Audit Committee operates pursuant to an Audit Committee Charter and meets periodically as necessary. The Audit Committee met eight times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 201 7 .
Nominating Committee.
All of the Independent Trustees are members of the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee nominates, selects, and appoints independent trustees to fill vacancies on the Board of Trustees and to stand for election at meetings of the shareholders of the Trust. The Nominating Committee meets only as necessary. The Nominating Committee generally will not consider nominees recommended by shareholders of the Trust. The Nominating Committee did not meet during the fiscal year ended August 31, 201 7 .
Proxy Voting Committee.
All of the Independent Trustees are members of the Proxy Voting Committee. The Proxy Voting Committee will determine how the Fund should vote, if called upon by the Board or the Advisor, when a matter with respect to which the Fund is entitled to vote presents a conflict between the interests of the Fund's shareholders, on the one hand, and those of the Fund's Advisor, principal underwriter, or an affiliated person of the Fund, its investment advisor, or principal underwriter, on the other hand. The Proxy Voting Committee will also review the Trust's Proxy Voting Policy and recommend any changes to the Board as it deems necessary or advisable. The Proxy Voting Committee will also decide if the Fund should participate in a class action settlement, if called upon by the Advisor, in cases where a class action settlement with respect to which the Fund is eligible to participate presents a conflict between the interests of the Fund's shareholders, on the one hand, and those of the Advisor, on the other hand. The Proxy Voting Committee meets only as necessary and did not meet during the fiscal year ended August 31, 201 7 .
Governance Committee.
The Independent Trustees are the current members of the Governance Committee. The Governance Committee assists the Board in adopting fund governance practices and meeting certain fund governance standards. The Governance Committee operates pursuant to a Governance Committee Charter and normally meets annually, but may also meet as often as necessary to carry out its purpose. The Governance Committee met once during the fiscal year ended August 31, 201 7 .
Qualified Legal Compliance Committee.
The Independent Trustees are the current members of the Qualified Legal Compliance Committee. The Qualified Legal Compliance Committee receives, investigates, and makes recommendations as to appropriate remedial action in connection with any report of evidence of a material violation of securities laws or breach of fiduciary duty or similar violation by the Trust, its officers, Trustees, or agents. The Qualified Legal Compliance Committee meets only as necessary and did not meet during the fiscal year ended August 31, 201 7 .
Beneficial Equity Ownership Information.
The table below shows for each Trustee, the amount of Fund equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee, and the aggregate value of all investments in equity securities of the Fund complex, as of valuation date of December 31, 201 6 and stated as one of the following ranges: A = None; B = $1-$10,000; C = $10,001-$50,000; D = $50,001-$100,000; and E = over $100,000.
Name of
Trustee
|
Dollar Range of
Equity Securities in the Fund
|
Aggregate Dollar Range
Of Equity Securities In
All Registered
Investment Companies
Overseen By Trustee In
Family of Investment
Companies*
|
Michael G. Mosley
|
A
|
A
|
Theo H. Pitt, Jr.
|
A
|
A
|
James H. Speed, Jr.
|
A
|
A
|
J. Buckley Strandberg
|
A
|
A
|
* Includes all the funds of the Trust managed by the Advisor.
Ownership of Securities of Advisor, Distributor, or Related Entities.
As of December 31, 201 6 , none of the Independent Trustees and/or their immediate family members own securities of the Advisor, Distributor, or any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the Advisor or Distributor.
Compensation.
Officers of the Trust and Trustees who are interested persons of the Trust or the Advisor will receive no salary or fees from the Trust. Independent Trustees receive $2,000 per Fund each year. The Trust reimburses each Trustee and officers of the Trust for his or her travel and other expenses relating to attendance at such meetings. The following compensation is based on figures for the fiscal year ended August 31, 201 7 . Each of the Trustees serves as a Trustee to all series of the Trust, including the Fund.
Name of Trustee
|
Aggregate
Compensation
From the Fund*
|
Pension or
Retirement Benefits
Accrued As Part of
Fund Expenses
|
Estimated Annual
Benefits Upon
Retirement
|
Total Compensation
From Fund and
Fund Complex Paid
to Trustees*
|
Independent Trustees
|
Michael G. Mosley
|
$ 2,000
|
None
|
None
|
$ 37,450.56
|
Theo H. Pitt, Jr.
|
$ 2,000
|
None
|
None
|
$ 37,450.36
|
James H. Speed, Jr.
|
$ 2,000
|
None
|
None
|
$ 37,450.36
|
J. Buckley Strandberg
|
$ 2,000
|
None
|
None
|
$ 37,450.36
|
*Each of the Trustees serves as a Trustee to all series of the Trust.
Codes of Ethics.
The Trust and Advisor each have adopted a code of ethics, as required under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act , which is designed to prevent affiliated persons of the Trust and Advisor from engaging in deceptive, manipulative, or fraudulent activities in connection with securities held or to be acquired by the Fund (which securities may also be held by persons subject to each such code of ethics). There can be no assurance that the codes will be effective in preventing such activities. The codes permit employees and officers of the Trust and Advisor to invest in securities, subject to certain restrictions and pre-approval requirements. In addition, the Advisor's code requires that portfolio managers and other investment personnel of the Advisor report their personal securities transactions and holdings, which are reviewed for compliance with the Trust's and Advisor's code of ethics.
Anti-Money Laundering Program.
The Trust has adopted an anti-money laundering program, as required by applicable law, that is designed to prevent the Fund from being used for money laundering or the financing of terrorist activities. The Trust's Chief Compliance Officer is responsible for implementing and monitoring the operations and internal controls of the program. Compliance officers at certain of the Fund's service providers are also responsible for monitoring the program. The anti-money laundering program is subject to the continuing oversight of the Trustees.
Proxy Voting Policies.
The Trust has adopted a proxy voting and disclosure policy that delegates to the Advisor the authority to vote proxies for the Fund, subject to oversight by the Trustees. Copies of the Trust's Proxy Voting and Disclosure Policy and the Advisor's Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures are included as Appendix B to this SAI . No later than August 31st of each year, the Fund will file Form N-PX stating how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30th. Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies as set forth in its most recent filing of Form N-PX will be available (i) without charge, upon request, by calling the Fund at 1-800-773-3863; and (ii) on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov.
Principal Holders of Voting Securities.
As of November 30, 201 7 , the Trustees and officers of the Trust as a group owned beneficially (i.e., had direct or indirect voting and/or investment power) less than 1% of the then outstanding shares of the Fund. Except as provided below, no person is known by the Trust to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of the outstanding shares of the Fund as of November 30, 201 7 .
Roumell Opportunistic Value Fund
Name and Address of
Beneficial Owner
|
Amount and Nature of
Beneficial Ownership
|
Percent
|
Charles Schwab & Co, Inc.
101 Montgomery Street
San Francisco, CA 94104
|
3,857,116.552 Shares
|
51.12 %
1
|
1.
|
The Fund believes that such entity does not have a beneficial ownership interest in such shares.
|
Investment Advisor.
Information about the Advisor, Roumell Asset Management, LLC, 2 Wisconsin Circle, Suite 640 , Chevy Chase, MD 20815, and its duties and compensation as Advisor is contained in the Fund's P rospectus. The Advisor is controlled by James C. Roumell, President. The Advisor supervises the Fund's investments pursuant to the Advisory Agreement. The Advisory Agreement is effective for an initial two-year period and will be renewed thereafter only so long as such renewal and continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the Trustees or by vote of a majority of the Fund's outstanding voting securities, provided the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Trustees who are not parties to the Advisory Agreement or interested persons of any such party. The Advisory Agreement is terminable without penalty by the Trust on 60 calendar days' written notice by the Trustees or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities or upon 60 calendar days' written notice by the Advisor. The Advisory Agreement provides that it will terminate automatically in the event of its "assignment," as such term is defined in the 1940 Act . The Advisor manages the Fund's investments in accordance with the stated policies of the Fund, subject to the approval of the Trustees. The Advisor is responsible for investment decisions, and provides the Fund with portfolio managers who are authorized by the Trustees to execute purchases and sales of securities.
Under the Advisory Agreement, the Advisor is not liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Fund in connection with the performance of such agreement, except a loss resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty with respect to the receipt of compensation for services; or a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence on the part of the Advisor in the performance of its duties; or from its reckless disregard of its duties and obligations under the Advisory Agreement.
The Advisor receives a monthly management fee equal to an annual rate of 0.92% of the Fund's net assets. In the interest of limiting expenses of the Fund, the Advisor has entered into an Expense Limitation Agreement with the Fund, pursuant to which the Advisor has agreed to waive or limit its fees and to assume other expenses so that the total annual operating expenses of the Fund (exclusive of acquired fund fees and expenses, interest, taxes, brokerage fees and commissions, extraordinary expenses, and payments under the Rule 12b-1 distribution plan) is limited to 1.23% for the period ending December 31, 2018. The Expense Limitation Agreement will continue from year-to-year thereafter, provided such continuance is specifically approved by a majority of the Trustees who (i) are not "interested persons" of the Trust or any other part to the Expense Limitation Agreement, as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, and (ii) have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Expense Limitation Agreement. The Advisor cannot recoup from the Fund any amounts paid by the Advisor under the Expense Limitation Agreement.
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2017, $512,742 in advisory fees were incurred, of which $63,173 in advisory fees were waived by the Advisor. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2016, the Advisor received fees for its services to the Fund in the amount of $391,260. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2015, the Advisor received fees for its services to the Fund in the amount of $382,416.
Portfolio Managers.
The Fund's portfolios will be managed on a day-to-day basis by James C. Roumell. As of August 31, 201 7 , James C. Roumell was responsible for the management of the following types of accounts in addition to the Fund.
Portfolio Manager
|
Registered Investment
Companies
|
Other Pooled Investment
Vehicles
|
Other Accounts
|
Number of
Accounts
|
Total Assets
|
Number of
Accounts
|
Total Assets
|
Number of
Accounts
|
Total Assets
|
All Accounts
|
James C. Roumell
|
0
|
$0
|
0
|
$0
|
121
|
$ 36 million
|
Accounts with Performance-Based Advisory Fee
|
James C. Roumell
|
0
|
$0
|
0
|
$0
|
0
|
$0
|
Conflicts of Interest.
When a portfolio manager has responsibility for managing more than one account, potential conflicts of interest may arise. Those conflicts could include preferential treatment of one account over others in terms of allocation of resources or of investment opportunities. For instance, the Advisor may receive fees from certain accounts that are higher than the fee it receives from the Fund, or it may receive a performance-based fee on certain accounts. The procedures to address conflicts of interest, if any, are described below.
The portfolio managers' management of "other accounts" may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in connection with their management of the Fund's investments, on the one hand, and the investments of the other accounts, on the other. The other accounts may have the same investment objective as the Fund. Therefore, a potential conflict of interest may arise as a result of the identical investment objectives, whereby the portfolio manager could favor one account over another. Another potential conflict could include the portfolio managers' knowledge about the size, timing and possible market impact of Fund trades, whereby a portfolio manager could use this information to the advantage of other accounts and to the disadvantage of the Fund. However, the Advisor has established policies and procedures to ensure that the purchase and sale of securities among all accounts it manages are fairly and equitably allocated.
Compensation.
Each portfolio manager's compensation varies with the general success of the Advisor as a firm. Each portfolio manager's compensation consists of a fixed annual salary, plus additional remuneration based on the Advisor's assets under management. Each portfolio manager's compensation is not directly linked to the Fund's performance, although positive performance and growth in managed assets are factors that may contribute to the Advisor's distributable profits and assets under management.
Ownership of Fund Shares.
The table below shows the amount of the Fund's equity securities beneficially owned by each portfolio manager as of August 31, 2016 and stated as one of the following ranges: A = None; B = $1-$10,000; C = $10,001-$50,000; D = $50,001-$100,000; E = $100,001-$500,000; F = $500,001-$1,000,000; and G = over $1,000,000.
Name of
Portfolio Manager
|
Dollar Range of
Equity Securities in the Fund
|
James C. Roumell
|
G
|
Administrator.
The Trust has entered into a Fund Accounting and Administration Agreement with The Nottingham Company ("Administrator"), 116 South Franklin Street, Post Office Box 69, Rocky Mount, North Carolina 27802-0069. The Administrator performs the following services for the Fund: (i) procures on behalf of the Trust, and coordinates with the custodian and monitors the services it provides to the Fund; (ii) coordinates with and monitors any other third parties furnishing services to the Fund; (iii) provides the Fund with necessary office space, telephones and other communications facilities and personnel competent to perform administrative and clerical functions for the Fund; (iv) assists or supervises the maintenance by third parties of such books and records of the Fund as may be required by applicable federal or state law; (v) assists in the preparation of all federal, state, and local tax returns and reports of the Fund required by applicable law; (vi) assists in the preparation of and, after approval by the Trust, files and arranges for the distribution of proxy materials and periodic reports to shareholders of the Fund as required by applicable law; (vii) assists in the preparation of and, after approval by the Trust, arranges for the filing of such registration statements and other documents with the SEC and other federal and state regulatory authorities as may be required by applicable law; (viii) reviews and submits to the officers of the Trust for their approval invoices or other requests for payment of Fund expenses and instructs the custodian to issue checks in payment thereof; and (ix) takes such other action with respect to the Fund as may be necessary in the opinion of the Administrator to perform its duties under the agreement. The Administrator will also provide certain accounting and pricing services for the Fund.
Compensation of the Administrator, which is based upon an administration fee on the average daily net assets of the Fund, is at the following annual rates: 0.100% of the Funds' first $250 million, 0.080% on the next $250 million, 0.060% on the next $250 million, 0.050% on the next $250 million, 0.040% on the next $1 billion, and 0.035% on all net assets over $2 billion, with a monthly minimum general administration fee of $2,000. The Administrator currently receives a monthly fund accounting fee of $2,250 for accounting and recordkeeping services with an additional fee of $500 per month for each additional class of shares plus an asset-based fee of 0.01% of the net assets of the Fund. The Administrator will also receive the following to procure and pay the custodian for the Fund: 0.02% on the first $200 million of the Fund's net assets and 0.009% on all assets over $200 million plus transaction fees with a minimum annual fee of $5,000. The Administrator also charges the Fund for certain costs involved with the daily valuation of investment securities and is reimbursed for out‑of‑pocket expenses.
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2017, the Fund paid $55,733 in administration fees and $31,580 in fund accounting fees to the Administrator. For the fiscal years ended August 31, 2016 and August 31, 2015, the Fund paid a combined fee of $131,838 and $128,858 for administration and fund accounting services to the Administrator, respectively. For a portion of the 2016 fiscal year and all of the 2015 fiscal year, the Administrator's fee was higher in order to offset certain Fund expenses.
Distributor.
The Fund will conduct a continuous offering of their securities. Capital Investment Group, Inc. ("Distributor"), 100 E. Six Forks Road, Suite 200, Raleigh, North Carolina 27609, acts as the underwriter and distributor of the Fund's shares for the purpose of facilitating the registration of shares of the Fund under state securities laws and assisting in sales of Fund shares pursuant to a distribution agreement ("Distribution Agreement") approved by the Trustees. In this regard, the Distributor has agreed at its own expense to qualify as a broker‑dealer under all applicable federal or state laws in those states that the Fund shall from time to time identify to the Distributor as states in which the Fund wishes to offer its shares for sale, in order that state registrations may be maintained for the Fund. The Distributor is a broker‑dealer registered with the SEC and a member in good standing of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. The Distributor is entitled to receive an annual fee of $5,000 per Fund for performing certain recordkeeping, communication, and other administrative services for the Fund. Such administrative services shall include, but are not limited to, the following: (i) maintaining records with respect to submissions to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, dealer discounts and brokerage fees and commissions, and selling agreements; (ii) maintaining an account with the National Securities Clearing Corporation's Fund/SERV System for the purpose of processing account registrations, maintaining accounts, and communicating transaction data; (iii) preparing reports for the Board as shall be reasonably requested from time to time; and (iv) performing other services for the Trust as agreed to by the Distributor and the Trust from time to time. The Distributor and Trust agree that the services described above are of an administrative nature and such services, as well as the fee provided in connection therewith, are not, nor are they intended to be, payment for marketing and/or distribution services related to, or the promotion of, the sale of the Fund's shares. The Distribution Agreement may be terminated by either party upon 60-days' prior written notice to the other party and will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment. The Distributor serves as exclusive agent for the distribution of the shares of the Fund.
Transfer Agent.
The Trust has entered into a Dividend Disbursing and Transfer Agent Agreement with Nottingham Shareholder Services, LLC ("Transfer Agent"), a North Carolina limited liability company, to serve as transfer, dividend paying, and shareholder servicing agent for the Fund. For its services, the Transfer Agent is entitled to receive compensation from the Administrator pursuant to the Administrator's fee arrangements with the Fund. The address of the Transfer Agent is 116 South Franklin Street, Post Office Box 4365, Rocky Mount, North Carolina 27803-0365.
Custodian.
UMB Bank, n.a., with its principal place of business located in Kansas City, Missouri, serves as custodian for the Fund's assets (the "Custodian") . The C ustodian acts as the depository for the Fund, safekeeps its portfolio securities, collects all income and other payments with respect to portfolio securities, disburses monies at the Fund's request, and maintains records in connection with its duties as custodian. For its services, the custodian is entitled to receive a monthly fee from the Administrator based on the average net assets of the Fund plus additional out-of-pocket and transaction expenses as incurred by the Fund. The Custodian's compensation is subject to a minimum annual amount of $5,000 for the Fund.
Compliance Services Administrator.
The Trust has entered into a compliance services arrangement with Cipperman Compliance Services, LLC, located at 500 East Swedesford Road, Suite 104, Wayne, Pennsylvania, 19087. The Trust's Chief Compliance Officer will prepare and update the Trust's compliance manual and monitor and test compliance with the policies and procedures under the Trust's compliance manual.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.
The Trustees have selected the firm of BBD, LLP , 1835 Market Street, 26
th
Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19103, to serve as the independent registered public accounting firm for the Fund for the current fiscal year and to audit the annual financial statements of the Fund, and prepare the Fund's federal, state, and excise tax returns. The independent registered public accounting firm will audit the financial statements of the Fund at least once each year. Shareholders will receive annual audited and semi-annual (unaudited) reports when published and written confirmation of all transactions in their account. A copy of the most recent annual report will accompany the SAI whenever a shareholder or a prospective investor requests it.
Legal Counsel.
Holland & Knight LLP serves as legal counsel to the Trust and the Fund.
ADDITIONAL PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION
Reference is made to "Purchasing Shares" and "Redeeming Shares" in the Fund's P rospectus for more information concerning how to purchase and redeem shares. The following information supplements the information regarding share purchases and share redemptions in the Fund's P rospectus:
Purchases.
Shares of the Fund are offered and sold on a continuous basis and may be purchased through authorized investment dealers or directly by contacting the Distributor, or the Fund directly. Selling dealers have the responsibility of transmitting orders promptly to the Fund. The purchase price of shares of the Fund is based on the NAV next determined after the order is received, subject to the order being received by the Fund in good form. NAV is normally determined at the time regular trading closes on the New York Stock Exchange on days the New York Stock Exchange is open for regular trading (currently 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except when the New York Stock Exchange closes earlier), as described under "Net Asset Value" above. The NAV per share of the Fund is not calculated on business holidays when the New York Stock Exchange is closed. An order received prior to the time regular trading closes on the New York Stock Exchange will be executed at the price calculated on the date of receipt and an order received after the time regular trading closes on the New York Stock Exchange will be executed at the price calculated as of that time on the next business day.
The Fund reserves the right in its sole discretion: (i) to suspend the offering of its shares; (ii) to reject purchase orders when in the judgment of management such rejection is in the best interest of the Fund and its shareholders; and (iii) to reduce or waive the minimum for initial and subsequent investments under circumstances where certain economies can be achieved in sales of Fund shares.
Redemptions.
The Fund may suspend redemption privileges or postpone the date of payment (i) during any period that the New York Stock Exchange is closed for other than customary weekend and holiday closings, or that trading on the New York Stock Exchange is restricted as determined by the SEC; (ii) during any period when an emergency exists as defined by the rules of the SEC as a result of which it is not reasonably practicable for the Fund to dispose of securities owned by it, or to determine fairly the value of its assets; and (iii) for such other periods as the SEC may permit. The Fund may also suspend or postpone the recordation of the transfer of shares upon the occurrence of any of the foregoing conditions. Any redemption may be more or less than the shareholder's cost depending on the market value of the securities held by the Fund. No charge is made by the Fund for redemptions other than the possible charge for wiring redemption proceeds.
Involuntary Redemptions.
In addition to the situations described in the Fund's P rospectus under "Redeeming Fund Shares," the Fund may redeem shares involuntarily to reimburse the Fund for any loss sustained by reason of the failure of a shareholder to make full payment for shares purchased by the shareholder or to collect any charge relating to a transaction effected for the benefit of a shareholder which is applicable to Fund shares as provided in the Fund's P rospectus from time to time or to close a shareholder's account if the Fund is unable to verify the shareholder's identity.
Other Information.
If an investor realizes a gain on the redemption, the reinvestment will not affect the amount of any federal capital gains tax payable on the gain. If an investor realizes a loss on the redemption, the reinvestment may cause some or all of the loss to be disallowed as a tax deduction, depending on the number of shares purchased by reinvestment and the period of time that has elapsed after the redemption, although for tax purposes, the amount disallowed is added to the cost of the shares acquired upon the reinvestment.
SPECIAL SHAREHOLDER SERVICES
The Fund offers the following special shareholder services:
Regular Account.
The regular account allows for voluntary investments to be made at any time. Available to individuals, custodians, corporations, trusts, estates, corporate retirement plans, and others, investors are free to make additions to or withdrawals from their account. When an investor makes an initial investment in the Fund, a shareholder account is opened in accordance with the investor's registration instructions. Each time there is a transaction in a shareholder account, such as an additional investment or the reinvestment of a dividend or distribution, the shareholder will receive a confirm-ation statement showing the current transaction and all prior transactions in the shareholder account during the calendar year to date, along with a summary of the status of the account as of the transaction date. As stated in the Fund's prospectus, share certificates are normally not issued.
Automatic Investment Plan.
The automatic investment plan enables shareholders to make regular monthly or quarterly investments in shares through automatic charges to their checking account. With shareholder authorization and bank approval, the Administrator will automatically charge the checking account for the amount specified ($100 minimum) which will be automatically invested in shares at the public offering price on or about the 21st day of the month. The shareholder may change the amount of investment or discontinue the plan at any time by writing the Fund.
Purchases In Kind.
The Fund may accept securities in lieu of payment for the purchase of shares in the Fund. The acceptance of such securities is at the sole discretion of the Advisor based upon the suitability of the securities accepted for inclusion as a long-term investment of the Fund, the marketability of such securities, and other factors that the Advisor may deem appropriate. If accepted, the securities will be valued using the same criteria and methods as described in "Purchase and Redemption Price – Determining the Fund's Net Asset Value" in the Fund's P rospectus.
Systematic Withdrawal Plan.
Shareholders owning shares with a value of $5,000 or more may establish a systematic withdrawal plan ("Systematic Withdrawal Plan"). A shareholder may receive monthly or quarterly payments, in amounts of not less than $100 per payment, by authorizing the Fund to redeem the necessary number of shares periodically (each month, or quarterly) in order to make the payments requested. The Fund has the capability of electronically depositing the proceeds of the systematic withdrawal directly to the shareholders personal bank account ($5,000 minimum per bank wire). Instructions for establishing this service are included in the Fund Shares Application, enclosed in the Fund's P rospectus, or are available by calling the Fund. If the shareholder prefers to receive his systematic withdrawal proceeds in cash, or if such proceeds are less than the $5,000 minimum for a bank wire, checks will be made payable to the designated recipient and mailed with-in seven days of the valuation date. If the designated recipient is other than the registered shareholder, the signature of each shareholder must be guaranteed on the application (see "Redeeming Shares – Signature Guarantees" in the Fund's P rospectus). A corporation (or partnership) must also submit a "Corporate Resolution" (or "Certification of Partnership") indi-cat-ing the names, titles, and required number of signatures auth-orized to act on its behalf. The application must be signed by a duly authori-zed officer(s) and the corporate seal affixed. No redemp-tion fees are charged to shareholders under this plan. Costs in conjunction with the administration of the plan are borne by the Fund. Shareholders should be aware that such systematic withdrawals may deplete or use up entirely their initial investment and may result in real-ized long-term or short-term capital gains or losses. The Syste-matic Withdrawal Plan may be terminated at any time by the Fund upon 60-days' written notice or by a shareholder upon written notice to the Fund. Applications and further details may be obtained by calling the Fund at 1-800-773-3863 or by writing to:
Roumell Opportunistic Value Fund
c/o Nottingham Shareholder Services
116 South Franklin Street
Post Office Box 4365
Rocky Mount, NC 27803-0365
Redemptions In-Kind.
The Fund does not intend, under normal circumstances, to redeem its securities by payment in kind. It is possible, however, that conditions may arise in the future which would, in the opinion of the Trustees, make it undesirable for the Fund to pay for all redemptions in cash. In such case the Trustees may authorize payment to be made in readily marketable portfolio securities of the Fund. Securities delivered in payment of redemptions would be valued at the same value assigned to them in computing the NAV per share. Shareholders receiving them would incur brokerage costs when these securities are sold. An irrevocable election has been filed under Rule 18f‑1 of the 1940 Act , wherein the Fund committed to pay redemptions in cash, rather than in kind, to any shareholder of record of the Fund who redeems during any ninety day period, the lesser of (a) $250,000 or (b) one percent (1%) of the Fund's NAV at the beginning of such period.
Transfer of Registration.
To transfer shares to another owner, send a written request to the Fund at the address shown above. Your request should include the following: (i) the Fund name and existing account registration; (ii) signature(s) of the registered owner(s) exactly as the signature(s) appear(s) on the account registration; (iii) the new account registration, address, social security or taxpayer identification number, and how dividends and capital gains are to be distributed; (iv) signature guarantees (See the Fund's P rospectus under the heading "Signature Guarantees"); and (v) any additional documents which are required for transfer by corporations, administrators, executors, trustees, guardians, etc. If you have any questions about transferring shares, call or write the Fund.
Employees and Affiliates of the Fund.
The Fund has adopted initial investment minimums for the purpose of reducing the cost to the Fund (and consequently to the shareholders) of communicating with and servicing its shareholders. At the discretion of the Advisor, the Fund may allow investments in the Fund with a reduced minimum initial investment from its Trustees, officers, and employees; the Advisor and certain parties related thereto; including clients of the Advisor or any sponsor, officer, committee member thereof, or the immediate family of any of them. In addition, accounts having the same mailing address may be aggregated for purposes of the minimum investment if they consent in writing to sharing a single mailing of shareholder reports, proxy statements (but each such shareholder would receive his/her own proxy), and other Fund literature.
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
The Trustees have adopted a policy that governs the disclosure of portfolio holdings. This policy is intended to ensure that such disclosure is in the best interests of the shareholders of the Fund and to address possible conflicts of interest. Under the Fund's policy, the Fund generally will not disclose portfolio holdings to a third party unless such information is made available to the public. The policy provides that the Fund may disclose non-public portfolio holdings information as required by law and under other limited circumstances that are set forth in more detail below.
The Fund will seek to make a list of its complete portfolio holdings information available to the public at
http://www.roumellfund.com/
, as reported on a monthly basis. This information is generally available within 10 days of the month end and will remain available until the next month's portfolio holdings report becomes available. You may obtain a copy of these monthly portfolio holdings reports by calling the Fund at 1-800-773-3863. The Fund will also file quarterly portfolio holdings reports with the SEC on Form N-CSR or Form N-Q, as applicable. The Fund's Form N-CSR and Form N-Q are available on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov and may be reviewed and copied at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. The first and third quarter portfolio holdings reports will be filed with the SEC on Form N-Q and the second and fourth fiscal quarter portfolio holdings reports will be included with the semi-annual and annual financial statements, respectively, which are sent to shareholders and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Form N-CSR.
To the extent that the Fund's portfolio holdings have previously been disclosed publicly either through a filing made with the SEC on Form N-CSR or Form N-Q, or by being posted to the Fund's website, such holdings may also be disclosed to any third party that requests them.
Consistent with policies approved by the Board, the officers of the Fund will share non-public portfolio holdings information with the Fund's service providers that require such information for legitimate business and Fund oversight purposes. Recipients of non-public portfolio holdings information have a duty not to trade on that confidential information. The Fund has not (and does not intend to) enter into any arrangement providing for the receipt of compensation or other consideration in exchange for the disclosure of non-public portfolio holdings information, other than the benefits that result to the Fund and its shareholders from providing such information, which include the publication of Fund ratings and rankings.
The Advisor, as well as the C ustodian, fund accountant and administrator, and compliance services administrator, have full daily access to the Fund's portfolio holdings. These service providers are subject to obligations requiring them to keep non-public portfolio holdings information confidential. In some, but not all, cases these confidentiality obligations are established by written agreements. The Board has concluded that the confidentiality obligations in place for these parties are adequate to safeguard the Fund from unauthorized disclosure of non-public portfolio holdings information. In addition, the Advisor has a code of ethics that prohibits covered persons from disclosing or trading based on non-public portfolio holdings information.
The Fund's distributor, transfer agent, independent public accountants, and legal counsel have access to the Fund's portfolio holdings on an ad hoc, as needed basis. The distributor and transfer agent are subject to written agreements that establish confidentiality obligations with respect to the Fund's portfolio holdings. The independent public accountants and legal counsel are subject to professional obligations that require them to keep non-public portfolio holdings information confidential. The Board has concluded that the confidentiality obligations in place for these parties are adequate to safeguard the Fund from unauthorized disclosure of non-public portfolio holdings information.
Allegra Design Marketing Print Mail, PrintGrafix (a division of Sunbelt Graphics Systems, Inc.), PrinterLink Communications Group, Inc., Riverside Printing, Inc., and V.G. Reed & Sons are financial printers the Fund may engage for, among other things, the printing and/or distribution of regulatory and compliance documents. These service providers are subject to written agreements that establish confidentiality obligations with respect to the Fund's portfolio holdings.
The Fund and its service providers may also provide non-public portfolio holdings information to appropriate regulatory agencies as required by applicable laws and regulations.
The Fund currently does not provide non-public portfolio holdings information to any other third parties. In the future, the Advisor may establish ongoing arrangements with other third parties if the Advisor determines that the Fund has a legitimate business purpose for doing so, determines that the disclosure is in the shareholders' best interest, and the recipient is subject to a duty of confidentiality. These parties could include, by way of example, financial data processing companies that provide automated data scanning and monitoring services for the Fund, research companies that allow the Advisor to perform attribution analysis for the Fund; and the Advisor's proxy voting agent to assess and vote proxies on behalf of the Fund. The Advisor is responsible for determining which other third parties have a legitimate business purpose for receiving the Fund's portfolio holdings information.
The Fund's policy regarding disclosure of portfolio holdings is subject to the continuing oversight and direction of the Trustees. Oversight includes: (i) review and approval of the policy on disclosure of portfolio holdings as necessary, including review of the parties receiving non-public portfolio holdings information; (ii) periodic assessment of compliance in connection with a report from the Trust's Chief Compliance Officer, (iii) receipt of reports on any conflicts of interest where disclosure of information about portfolio holdings may conflict or appear to conflict with the interests of the Fund's investment advisor, investment sub-advisor, any principal underwriter for the Trust, or an affiliated person of the Trust, and (iv) receipt of reports on any known disclosure of the Fund's portfolio holdings to unauthorized third parties. The Fund and Advisor are obligated to report issues that arise under the policy on disclosure of portfolio holdings to the Chief Compliance Officer. Material compliance matters are then reported to the Board of Trustees.
NET ASSET VALUE
The NAV and NAV per share of the Fund normally is determined at the time regular trading closes on the New York Stock Exchange (currently 4:00 p.m., New York time, Monday through Friday), except when the New York Stock Exchange closes earlier. The Fund's NAV is not calculated on business holidays when the New York Stock Exchange is closed. The New York Stock Exchange generally recognizes the following holidays: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, President's Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Any other holiday recognized by the New York Stock Exchange will be deemed a business holiday on which the NAV of the Fund will not be calculated.
The NAV per share of Institutional Class shares of the Fund is calculated separately by adding the value of the Fund's securities and other assets belonging to the Fund and attributable to Institutional Class shares, subtracting the liabilities charged to the Fund and to the Institutional Class shares , and dividing the result by the number of outstanding shares of that class of shares. "Assets belonging to" the Fund consist of the consideration received upon the issuance of shares of the Fund together with all net investment income, realized gains/losses and proceeds derived from the investment thereof, including any proceeds from the sale of such investments, any funds or payments derived from any reinvestment of such proceeds, and a portion of any general assets of the Trust not belonging to a particular series of shares. Income, realized and unrealized capital gains and losses, and any expenses of the Fund not allocated to a particular class of shares will be allocated to a class on the basis of the NAV of that class in relation to the NAV of the Fund. Assets belonging to the Fund are charged with the direct liabilities of the Fund and with a share of the general liabilities of the Trust, which are normally allocated in proportion to the number of or the relative NAVs of all of the Trust's series at the time of allocation or in accordance with other allocation methods approved by the Trustees. Certain expenses attributable to a particular class of shares (such as the distribution and service fees) will be charged against that class. Certain other expenses attributable to a particular class of shares (such as registration fees, professional fees, and certain printing and postage expenses) may be charged against that class if such expenses are actually incurred in a different amount by that class or if the class receives services of a different kind or to a different degree than other classes, and the Trustees approve such allocation. Subject to the provisions of the Trust Instrument, determinations by the Trustees as to the direct and allocable liabilities, and the allocable portion of any general assets, with respect to the Fund and a class of the Fund are conclusive.
The pricing and valuation of portfolio securities is determined in good faith in accordance with procedures established by, and under the direction of, the Trustees. Values are determined according to accepted accounting practices and all laws and regulations that apply. Using methods approved by the Trustees, the assets of the Fund are valued as follows:
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Securities that are listed on a securities exchange are valued at the last quoted sales price at the time the valuation is made. Price information on listed securities is taken from the exchange where the security is primarily traded by the Fund.
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Securities that are listed on an exchange and which are not traded on the valuation date are valued at the bid price.
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Unlisted securities for which market quotations are readily available are valued at the latest quoted sales price, if available, at the time of valuation, otherwise, at the latest quoted bid price.
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Foreign securities listed on foreign exchanges are valued with quotations from the primary market in which they are traded and are translated from the local currency into U.S. dollars using current exchange rates.
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Temporary cash investments with maturities of 60 days or less will be valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value.
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Securities for which no current quotations are readily available are valued at fair value as determined in good faith using methods approved by the Trustees. Securities may be valued on the basis of prices provided by a pricing service when such prices are believed to reflect the fair market value of such securities.
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ADDITIONAL TAX INFORMATION
The following summarizes certain additional tax considerations generally affecting the Fund and its shareholders that are not described in the Fund's P rospectus. No attempt is made to present a detailed explanation of the tax treatment of the Fund or its shareholders or any particular category of shareholders. The discussions here and in the Fund's prospectus are not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning and are based on United States federal income tax laws that are in effect on the date hereof and which may be changed by legislative, judicial, or administrative action. In addition, no attempt is made to address tax concerns applicable to an investor with a special tax status such as a financial institution, REIT, insurance company, regulated investment company, individual retirement account, other tax-exempt entity, dealer in securities or non-U.S. investor. Furthermore, this discussion does not reflect possible application of the alternative minimum tax. Unless otherwise noted, this discussion assumes the common shares are held by U.S. persons and that such shares are held as capital assets. Investors are advised to consult their tax advisors with specific reference to their own tax situations.
The Fund, and any other series of the Trust, will be treated as a separate corporate entity under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended ("Code"), and intends to qualify or remain qualified as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Code. In order to so qualify, the Fund must elect to be a regulated investment company or have made such an election for a previous year and must satisfy certain requirements relating to the amount of distributions and source of its income for a taxable year. At least 90% of the gross income of the Fund must be derived from dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stocks, securities, or foreign currencies, and other income derived with respect to the Fund's business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies and net income derived from an interest in a qualified publicly traded partnership. Any income derived by the Fund from a partnership (other than a qualified publicly traded partnership) or trust is treated as derived with respect to the Fund's business of investing in stock, securities, or currencies only to the extent that such income is attributable to items of income that would have been qualifying income if realized by the Fund in the same manner as by the partnership or trust.
An investment company may not qualify as a regulated investment company for any taxable year unless it satisfies certain requirements with respect to the diversification of its investments at the close of each quarter of the taxable year. In general, at least 50% of the value of its total assets must be represented by cash, cash items, government securities, securities of other regulated investment companies, and other securities which, with respect to any one issuer, do not represent more than 5% of the total assets of the Fund or more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer. In addition, not more than 25% of the value of the Fund's total assets may be invested in (i) the securities (other than government securities or the securities of other regulated investment companies) of any one issuer; (ii) the securities of two or more issuers (other than securities of another regulated investment company) if the issuers are controlled by the Fund and they are, pursuant to Internal Revenue Service Regulations, engaged in the same or similar or related trades or businesses; or (iii) the securities of one or more publicly traded partnerships. The Fund intends to satisfy all requirements on an ongoing basis for continued qualification as a regulated investment company.
The 2003 Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act reduced the federal tax rate on most dividends paid by U.S. corporations to individuals after December 31, 2002. Through December 31, 2012, these qualifying corporate dividends are taxable at long-term capital gains tax rates. Some, but not all, of the dividends paid by the Fund may be taxable at the reduced long-term capital gains tax rate for individual shareholders. If the Fund designates a dividend as qualified dividend income, it generally will be taxable to individual shareholders at the long-term capital gains tax rate, provided certain holding period requirements are met.
Taxable dividends paid by the Fund to corporate shareholders will be taxed at corporate income tax rates. Corporate shareholders may be entitled to a dividends received deduction ("DRD") for a portion of the dividends paid and designated by the Fund as qualifying for the DRD.
If the Fund designates a dividend as a capital gains distribution, it generally will be taxable to shareholders as long-term capital gains, regardless of how long the shareholders have held their Fund shares or whether they received in cash or reinvested in additional shares. All taxable dividends paid by the Fund other than those designated as qualified dividend income or capital gains distributions will be taxable as ordinary income to shareholders, whether received in cash or reinvested in additional shares. To the extent the Fund engages in increased portfolio turnover, short-term capital gains may be realized, and any distribution resulting from such gains will be considered ordinary income for federal tax purposes.
Shareholders who hold Fund shares in a tax-deferred account, such as a retirement plan, generally will not have to pay tax on Fund distributions until they receive distributions from their account.
The Fund, and any other series of the Trust, will designate (i) any dividend of qualified dividend income as qualified dividend income; (ii) any distribution of long-term capital gains as a capital gain dividend; and (iii) any dividend eligible for the corporate DRD as such in a written notice mailed to shareholders within 60 days after the close of the Fund's taxable year. Shareholders should note that, upon the sale or exchange of Fund shares, if such shares have not been held for at least six months, any loss on the sale or exchange of those shares will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of the capital gain dividends received with respect to the shares.
To the extent that a distribution from the Fund is taxable, it is generally included in a shareholder's gross income for the taxable year in which the shareholder receives the distribution. However, if the Fund declares a dividend in October, November, or December but pays it in January, it will be taxable to shareholders as if the dividend was received in the year it was declared. Every year, each shareholder will receive a statement detailing the tax status of any Fund distributions for that year.
A 4% nondeductible excise tax is imposed on regulated investment companies that fail to currently distribute an amount equal to specified percentages of their ordinary taxable income and capital gain net income (excess of capital gains over capital losses). The Fund intends to make sufficient distributions or deemed distributions of its ordinary taxable income and any capital gain net income prior to the end of each calendar year to avoid liability for this excise tax.
If for any taxable year the Fund does not qualify for the special federal income tax treatment afforded regulated investment companies, all of its taxable income will be subject to federal income tax at regular corporate rates (without any deduction for distributions to its shareholders) at the Fund level. In such event, dividend distributions (whether or not derived from interest on tax-exempt securities) would be taxable as qualified dividends to individual shareholders in taxable years beginning on or before December 31, 2012, to the extent of the Fund's current and accumulated earnings and profits, and would be eligible for the DRD for corporations, provided in each case that certain holding period and other requirements are met.
In general, a shareholder who sells or redeems shares will realize a capital gain or loss, which will be long-term or short-term, depending upon the shareholder's holding period for the Fund shares. An exchange of shares may be treated as a sale and any gain may be subject to tax.
The Fund will be required in certain cases to withhold and remit to the U.S. Treasury a percentage equal to the fourth lowest tax rate for unmarried individuals (presently 28%) of taxable dividends or of gross proceeds realized upon sale paid to shareholders who (i) have failed to provide a correct taxpayer identification number in the manner required; (ii) are subject to back-up withholding by the Internal Revenue Service for failure to include properly on their return payments of taxable interest or dividends; or (iii) have failed to certify to the Fund that they are not subject to backup withholding when required to do so. Back-up withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld from payments to you may be refunded or credited against your U.S. federal income tax liability, if any, provided that the required information is furnished to the Internal Revenue Service.
Depending upon the extent of the Fund's activities in states and localities in which its offices are maintained, in which its agents or independent contractors are located, or in which it is otherwise deemed to be conducting business, the Fund may be subject to the tax laws of such states or localities. In addition, in those states and localities that have income tax laws, the treatment of the Fund and its shareholders under such laws may differ from their treatment under federal income tax laws.
Dividends paid by the Fund to non-U.S. shareholders may be subject to U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30% unless reduced by treaty (and the shareholder files a valid Internal Revenue Service Form W-8BEN, or other applicable form, with the Fund certifying foreign status and treaty eligibility) or the non-U.S. shareholder files an Internal Revenue Service Form W-8ECI, or other applicable form, with the Fund certifying that the investment to which the distribution relates is effectively connected to a United States trade or business of such non-U.S. shareholder (and, if certain tax treaties apply, is attributable to a United States permanent establishment maintained by such non-U.S. shareholder). The Fund may elect not to withhold the applicable withholding tax on any distribution representing a capital gain dividend to a non-U.S. shareholder. Special rules may apply to non-U.S. shareholders with respect to the information reporting requirements and withholding taxes and non-U.S. shareholders should consult their tax advisors with respect to the application of such reporting requirements and withholding taxes.
The Fund will send shareholders information each year on the tax status of dividends and distributions. A dividend or capital gains distribu-tion paid shortly after shares have been purchased, although in effect a return of investment, is subject to federal income taxa-tion. Dividends from net investment income, along with capital gains, will be taxable to shareholders, whether received in cash or Fund shares and no matter how long the shareholder has held Fund shares, even if they reduce the NAV of shares below the shareholder's cost and thus, in effect, result in a return of a part of the shareholder's investment.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The audited financial statements of the Fund for the fiscal year ended August 31, 201 7 , including the financial highlights appearing in the Annual Report to shareholders, are incorporated by reference and made a part of this document. You may request a copy of the Fund's annual and semi-annual reports at no charge by calling the Fund at 1-800-773-3863.
APPENDIX A –DESCRIPTION OF RATINGS
The Fund may acquire from time to time certain securities that meet the following minimum rating criteria ("Investment-Grade Debt Securities") (or if not rated, of equivalent quality as determined by the Advisor). The various ratings used by the nationally recognized securities rating services are described below.
A rating by a rating service represents the service's opinion as to the credit quality of the security being rated. However, the ratings are general and are not absolute standards of quality or guarantees as to the creditworthiness of an issuer. Consequently, the Advisor believes that the quality of Investment-Grade Debt Securities in which the Fund may invest should be continuously reviewed and that individual analysts give different weightings to the various factors involved in credit analysis. A rating is not a recommendation to purchase, sell, or hold a security, because it does not take into account market value or suitability for a particular investor. When a security has received a rating from more than one service, each rating is evaluated independently. Ratings are based on current information furnished by the issuer or obtained by the rating services from other sources that they consider reliable. Ratings may be changed, suspended, or withdrawn as a result of changes in or unavailability of such information, or for other reasons.
S&P Global Ratings.
The following summarizes the highest four ratings used by S&P Global Ratings, a division of McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., for bonds which are deemed to be Investment‑Grade Debt Securities by the Advisor:
AAA – An obligation rated 'AAA' has the highest rating assigned by S&P Global Ratings. The obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is extremely strong.
AA – An obligation rated 'AA' differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is very strong.
A – An obligation rated 'A' is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher-rated categories. However, the obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is still strong.
BBB – An obligation rated 'BBB' exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
To provide more detailed indications of credit quality, the AA, A, and BBB ratings may be modified by the addition of a plus or minus sign to show relative standing within these major rating categories.
Bonds rated BB, B, CCC, CC, and C are not considered by the Advisor to be Investment‑Grade Debt Securities and 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.
Commercial paper rated A‑1 by S&P Global Ratings indicates that the degree of safety regarding timely payment is strong. Those issues determined to possess extremely strong safety characteristics are denoted A‑1+. Capacity for timely payment on commercial paper rated A‑2 is satisfactory, but the relative degree of safety is not as high as for issues designated A‑1.
The rating SP‑1 is the highest rating assigned by S&P Global Ratings to short term notes and indicates 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. The rating SP‑2 indicates a satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes. The rating SP-3 indicates a speculative capacity to pay principal and interest.
Moody's Investor Service, Inc.
The following summarizes the highest four ratings used by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. ("Moody's") for fixed-income obligations with an original maturity of one year or more, which are deemed to be Investment-Grade Securities by the Advisor:
Aaa – Bond obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, subject to the lowest level of credit risk.
Aa – Bond obligations rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk.
A – Bond obligations rated A are considered upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.
Baa – Bond obligations rated Baa are judged to be medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.
Obligations that are rated Ba, B, Caa, Ca, or C by Moody's are not considered "Investment-Grade Debt Securities" by the Advisor. Obligations rated Ba are judged to have speculative elements 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.
Note: Moody's 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.
Short-Term Ratings.
Moody's short-term ratings are opinions of the ability of issuers to honor short-term financial obligations. Ratings may be assigned to issuers, short-term programs, or individual short-term debt instruments. Such obligations generally have an original maturity not exceeding thirteen months, unless explicitly noted.
Moody's employs the following designations to indicate the relative repayment ability of rated issuers:
P-1 – Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-1 have a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-2 – Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-2 have a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-3 – Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-3 have an acceptable ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
NP – Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.
Note: Canadian issuers rated P-1 or P-2 have their short-term ratings enhanced by the senior-most long-term rating of the issuer, its guarantor, or support-provider.
US Municipal Short-Term Debt And Demand Obligation Ratings.
Short-Term Debt Ratings.
There are three rating categories for short-term municipal obligations that are considered investment grade. These ratings are designated as Municipal Investment Grade (MIG) and are divided into three levels – MIG 1 through MIG 3. In addition, those short-term obligations that are of speculative quality are designated SG, or speculative grade. MIG ratings expire at the maturity of the obligation.
MIG 1 – This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by established cash flows, highly reliable liquidity support, or demonstrated broad-based access to the market for refinancing.
MIG 2 – This designation denotes strong credit quality. Margins of protection are ample, although not as large as in the preceding group.
MIG 3 – This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash-flow protection may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established.
SG – This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of protection.
Demand Obligation Ratings.
In the case of variable rate demand obligations (VRDOs), a two-component rating is assigned; a long or short-term debt rating and a demand obligation rating. The first element represents Moody's evaluation of the degree of risk associated with scheduled principal and interest payments. The second element represents Moody's evaluation of the degree of risk associated with the ability to receive purchase price upon demand ("demand feature"), using a variation of the MIG rating scale, the Variable Municipal Investment Grade or VMIG rating.
When either the long- or short-term aspect of a VRDO is not rated, that piece is designated NR, e.g., Aaa/NR or NR/VMIG 1.
VMIG rating expirations are a function of each issue's specific structural or credit features.
VMIG 1 – This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by the superior short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
VMIG 2 – This designation denotes strong credit quality. Good protection is afforded by the strong short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
VMIG 3 – This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Adequate protection is afforded by the satisfactory short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
SG – This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Demand features rated in this category may be supported by a liquidity provider that does not have an investment grade short-term rating or may lack the structural and/or legal protections necessary to ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
Fitch Ratings.
The following summarizes the highest four ratings used by Fitch, Inc. ("Fitch"):
Long-Term Ratings.
AAA – Highest credit quality. 'AAA' ratings denote the lowest expectation of credit risk. They are assigned only in cases of exceptionally strong capacity for timely payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.
AA – 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.
A – High credit quality. 'A' ratings denote expectations of low default risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.
BBB – 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 or economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity.
Long-term securities rated below BBB by Fitch are not considered by the Advisor to be investment-grade securities. Securities rated BB and B are regarded as speculative with regard to a possible credit risk developing. BB is considered speculative and B is considered highly speculative. Securities rated CCC, CC, and C are regarded as a high default risk. A rating CC indicates that default of some kind appears probable, while a rating C signals imminent default. Securities rated DDD, D, and D indicate a default has occurred.
Short-Term Ratings.
F1 – Highest short-term credit quality. The rating F1 indicates the strongest intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments; may have an added "+" to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature.
F2 – Good short-term credit quality. The rating F2 indicates good intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments.
F3 – Fair short-term credit quality. The rating F3 indicates the intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is adequate.
B – Speculative short-term credit quality. The rating B indicates minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus heightened vulnerability to near term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions.
Short-term rates B, C, and D by Fitch are considered by the Advisor to be below investment-grade securities. Short-term securities rated B are considered speculative, securities rated C have a high default risk, and securities rated D denote actual or imminent payment default.
(+) or (-) suffixes may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories. Such suffixes are not added to long-term ratings "AAA" category, categories below "CCC", or short-term ratings other than "F1". The suffix "NR" indicates that Fitch does not publicly rate the issuer or issue in question.
APPENDIX B – PROXY VOTING POLICIES
The following proxy voting policies are provided:
(1)
|
The Trust's Proxy Voting and Disclosure Policy; and
|
(2)
|
The Advisor's Proxy Voting and Disclosure Policy, including a detailed description of the Advisor's specific proxy voting guidelines.
|
Trust's Proxy Voting Disclosure Policy
The Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted rules and forms under the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Investment Company Act of 1940 to require registered investment companies to provide disclosure about how they vote proxies for their portfolio securities. Each series of shares of the Trust (individually and collectively referred to as the "Fund") is required to disclose the policies and procedures used to determine how to vote proxies for portfolio securities. The Fund is also required to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission and to make available to their shareholders the specific proxy votes cast for portfolio securities. This policy is designed to ensure that the Fund complies with these requirements and otherwise fulfills its obligations with respect to proxy voting, disclosure, and recordkeeping. The overall goal is to ensure that the Fund's proxy voting is managed in an effort to act in the best interests of its shareholders. While decisions about how to vote must be determined on a case-by-case basis, proxy voting decisions will be made considering these guidelines and following the procedures recited herein.
Specific Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures
A.
General
The Board of Trustees believes that the voting of proxies is an important part of portfolio management as it represents an opportunity for shareholders to make their voices heard and to influence the direction of a company. The Trust and Fund are committed to voting corporate proxies in the manner that best serves the interests of the Fund's shareholders.
B.
Delegation to Fund's Investment Advisor
The Board of Trustees believes that the Fund's investment advisor is in the best position to make individual voting decisions for the Fund consistent with this policy. Therefore, subject to the oversight of the Board of Trustees, the Fund's investment advisor is delegated the following duties:
1.
|
To make the proxy voting decisions for the Fund; and
|
2.
|
To assist the Fund in disclosing the Fund's proxy voting record as required by Rule 30b1-4 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, including providing the following information for each matter with respect to which the Fund was entitled to vote: (a) information identifying the matter voted on; (b) whether the matter was proposed by the issuer or by a security holder; (c) whether and how the Fund cast its vote; and (d) whether the Fund cast its vote for or against management.
|
The Board of Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, shall approve the Proxy Voting and Disclosure Policy of the Fund's investment advisor as it relates to the Fund. The Board of Trustees shall also approve any material changes to such policy no later than six (6) months after adoption by the Fund's investment advisor.
C.
Conflicts
In cases where a matter with respect to which a Fund is entitled to vote presents a conflict between the interest of the Fund's shareholders, on the one hand, and those of the Fund's investment advisor, principal underwriter, or an affiliated person of the Fund, its investment advisor or principal underwriter, on the other hand, the Fund shall always vote in the best interest of the Fund's shareholders. For purposes of this Policy, a vote shall be considered in the best interest of the Fund's shareholders (i) when a vote is cast consistent with a specific voting policy set forth in the Proxy Voting and Disclosure Policy of the Fund's investment advisor, provided such specific voting policy was approved by the Board of Trustees, or (ii) when a vote is cast consistent with the decision of the Trust's Proxy Voting Committee. In addition, provided the Fund's investment advisor is not affiliated with the Fund's principal underwriter or an affiliated person of the principal underwriter and neither the Fund's principal underwriter nor an affiliated person of the principal underwriter has influenced the advisor with respect to a matter to which the Fund is entitled to vote, a vote by the advisor shall not be considered a conflict between the Fund's shareholders and the Fund's principal underwriter or affiliated person of the principal underwriter.
D.
Other Investment Companies
To the extent the Fund invests in shares of other investment companies in accordance with the safe harbor provisions of Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Fund's investment advisor shall vote proxies with respect to such investment company securities in the same proportion as the vote of all other holders of such securities.
Fund Disclosure
A.
|
Disclosure of Fund Policies and Procedures With Respect to Voting Proxies Relating to Portfolio Securities
|
The Fund shall disclose this policy, or a description of the policy, to its shareholders by including it as an appendix to its Statement of Additional Information on Form N-1A. The Fund will also notify its shareholders in the Fund's shareholder reports that a description of this policy is available upon request, without charge, by calling a specified toll-free telephone number. The Fund will send this description of the policy within three business days of receipt of any shareholder request, by first-class mail, or other means designed to ensure equally prompt delivery.
B.
|
Disclosure of the Fund's Complete Proxy Voting Record
|
In accordance with Rule 30b1-4 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Fund will file Form N‑PX with the Securities and Exchange Commission no later than August 31 of each year, even if August 31 falls on a non-business day. The Fund shall disclose to its shareholders on Form N‑PX the Fund's complete proxy voting record for the twelve-month period ended June 30.
The Fund shall disclose the following information on Form N‑PX for each matter relating to a portfolio security considered at any shareholder meeting held during the period covered by the report and with respect to which to the Fund was entitled to vote:
|
(i)
|
The name of the issuer of the portfolio security;
|
|
(ii)
|
The exchange ticker symbol of the portfolio security (if available through reasonably practicable means);
|
|
(iii)
|
The Council on Uniform Security Identification Procedures ("CUSIP") number for the portfolio security (if available through reasonably practicable means);
|
|
(iv)
|
The shareholder meeting date;
|
|
(v)
|
A brief identification of the matter voted on;
|
|
(vi)
|
Whether the matter was proposed by the issuer or by a security holder;
|
|
(vii)
|
Whether the Fund cast its vote on the matter;
|
|
(viii)
|
How the Fund cast its vote (e.g., for or against proposal, or abstain; for or withhold regarding election of directors); and
|
|
(ix)
|
Whether the Fund cast its vote for or against management.
|
The Fund shall make its proxy voting record available to shareholders either upon request or by making available an electronic version on or through the Fund's website, if applicable. If the Fund discloses its proxy voting record on or through its website, the Fund shall post the information disclosed in the Fund's most recently filed report on Form N‑PX on the website beginning the same day it files such information with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Fund shall also include a statement in its annual reports, semi-annual reports, and Statement of Additional Information that information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent twelve-month period ended June 30 is available (i) without charge upon request, by calling a specified toll-free (or collect) telephone number, or (if applicable) on or through the Fund's website at a specified internet address; and (ii) on the website of the Securities and Exchange Commission. If the Fund discloses that its proxy voting record is available by calling a toll-free (or collect) telephone number, it shall send the information disclosed in the Fund's most recently filed report on Form N‑PX within three business days of receipt of a request for this information, by first-class mail or other means designed to ensure equally prompt delivery.
Recordkeeping
The Trust shall keep the following records for a period of at least five years, the first two in an easily accessible place:
(i)
|
A copy of this Policy;
|
(ii)
|
Proxy statements received regarding the Fund's securities;
|
(iii)
|
Records of votes cast on behalf of the Fund; and
|
(iv)
|
A record of each shareholder request for proxy voting information and the Fund's response, including the date of the request, the name of the shareholder, and the date of the response.
|
The foregoing records may be kept as part of the records of the Fund's investment advisor.
A Fund may rely on proxy statements filed on the SEC EDGAR system instead of keeping its own copies, and may rely on proxy statements and records of proxy votes cast by the Fund's investment advisor that are maintained with a third party such as a proxy voting service, provided that an undertaking is obtained from the third party to provide a copy of the documents promptly upon request.
Proxy Voting Committee
The Trust's Proxy Voting Committee shall be composed entirely of Independent Trustees and may be comprised of one or more such Independent Trustees as the Board of Trustees may, from time to time, decide. The purpose of the Proxy Voting Committee shall be to determine how the Fund should cast its vote, if called upon by the Board of Trustees or the Fund's investment advisor, when a matter with respect to which the Fund is entitled to vote presents a conflict between the interest of the Fund's shareholders, on the one hand, and those of the Fund's investment advisor, principal underwriter, or an affiliated person of the Fund, its investment advisor, or principal underwriter, on the other hand.
B.
|
Powers and Methods of Operation
|
The Proxy Voting Committee shall have all the powers necessary to fulfill its purpose as set forth above and such other powers and perform such other duties as the Board of Trustees may, from time to time, grant or assign to the Proxy Voting Committee. The Proxy Voting Committee shall meet at such times and places as the Proxy Voting Committee or the Board of Trustees may, from time to time, determine. The act of a majority of the members of the Proxy Voting Committee in person, by telephone conference, or by consent in writing without a meeting shall be the act of the Proxy Voting Committee. The Proxy Voting Committee shall have the authority to utilize Trust counsel at the expense of the Trust if necessary. The Proxy Voting Committee shall prepare minutes of each meeting and keep such minutes with the Trust's records. The Proxy Voting Committee shall review this Policy and recommend any changes to the Board of Trustees as it deems necessary or advisable.
Other
This policy may be amended, from time to time, as determined by the Board of Trustees.
PROXY VOTING POLICIES
ROUMELL ASSET MANAGEMENT, LLC
Rule 204-2 of the Advisers Act requires that investment advisers adopt and implement policies and procedures for voting proxies in the best interest of clients, to describe the procedures to clients, and to tell clients how they may obtain information about how RAM has actually voted their proxies. While decisions about how to vote must be determined on a case-by-case basis, RAM's general policies and procedures for voting proxies are set forth below.
B.
|
Specific Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures
|
RAM believes that the voting of certain proxies is an important part of portfolio management as it represents an opportunity for shareholders to make their voices heard and to influence the direction of a company. Under normal circumstances, RAM will only vote proxies for or make proxy recommendations to its advisory clients in certain situations. First, RAM will vote on proposals regarding closed-end investment companies that seek to open-end such funds (i.e., convert to a traditional mutual fund) or other proposals that it believes possess a meaningful likelihood of substantially closing the discount to such funds' net asset value (NAV). Additionally, RAM may vote company proposals when the proposal pertains to a change of control, including those with proxy contests with competing director slates or replacing particular directors, or in certain other special situations where we deem voting to be appropriate or otherwise consistent with our investment philosophy. Other than these specific situations, RAM will not vote company proxies.
Nevertheless, if RAM is granted authority to vote proxies, and RAM was required to vote proxies for situations other than those described above, RAM will vote such proxies in the manner that serves the best interests of their clients in accordance with this policy.
The following details RAM's philosophy and practice regarding the voting of proxies if it were required to vote proxies outside of its specific policy.
RAM believes that each proxy proposal should be individually reviewed to determine whether the proposal is in the best interests of its clients. As a result, similar proposals for different companies may receive different votes because of different corporate circumstances.
To implement RAM's proxy voting policies, RAM has developed the following procedures for voting proxies.
a.
Upon receipt of a corporate proxy by RAM, the special or annual report and the proxy are submitted to RAM's proxy voting manager (the "Proxy Manager"). The Proxy Manager will then vote the proxy in accordance with this policy. For any proxy proposal not clearly addressed by this policy, the Proxy Manager will consult with RAM's President before voting the proxy.
b.
The Proxy Manager shall be responsible for reviewing the special or annual report, proxy proposals, and proxy proposal summaries. The reviewer shall take into consideration what vote is in the best interests of clients and the provisions of RAM's Voting Guidelines in Sections B and C. The Proxy Manager will then vote the proxies.
c.
The Proxy Manager shall be responsible for maintaining copies of each annual report, proposal, proposal summary, actual vote, and any other information required to be maintained for a proxy vote under Rule 204-2 of the Advisers Act (see discussion in Section V below). With respect to proxy votes on topics deemed, in the opinion of the Proxy Manager, to be controversial or particularly sensitive, the Proxy Manager will provide a written explanation for the proxy vote which will be maintained with the record of the actual vote in RAM's files.
3.
|
Absence of Proxy Manager
|
In the event that the Proxy Manager is unavailable to vote a proxy, then an officer of RAM shall perform the Proxy Manager's duties with respect to such proxy in accordance with the policies and procedures detailed above.
While RAM's policy is to review each proxy proposal on its individual merits, RAM has adopted guidelines for certain types of matters to assist the Proxy Manager in the review and voting of proxies. These guidelines are set forth below:
1.
Corporate Governance
a.
|
Election of Directors and Similar Matters
|
In an uncontested election, RAM will generally vote in favor of management's proposed directors. In a contested election, RAM will evaluate proposed directors on a case-by-case basis. With respect to proposals regarding the structure of a company's Board of Directors, RAM will review any contested proposal on its merits.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, RAM expects to
support
proposals to:
·
|
Limit directors' liability and broaden directors' indemnification rights;
|
And expects to generally
vote against
proposals to:
·
|
Adopt or continue the use of a classified Board structure; and
|
·
|
Add special interest directors to the board of directors (e.g., efforts to expand the board of directors to control the outcome of a particular decision).
|
|
b.
|
Audit Committee Approvals
|
RAM generally supports proposals that help ensure that a company's auditors are independent and capable of delivering a fair and accurate opinion of a company's finances. RAM will generally vote to ratify management's recommendation and selection of auditors.
RAM may consider all proposals that will have a material effect on shareholder rights on a case-by-case basis. Notwithstanding the foregoing, RAM expects to generally
support
proposals to:
·
|
Adopt confidential voting and independent tabulation of voting results; and
|
·
|
Require shareholder approval of poison pills;
|
And expects to generally
vote against
proposals to:
·
|
Adopt super-majority voting requirements; and
|
·
|
Restrict the rights of shareholders to call special meetings, amend the bylaws or act by written consent.
|
2.
|
Anti-Takeover Measures, Corporate Restructurings and Similar Matters
|
RAM may review any proposal to adopt an anti-takeover measure, to undergo a corporate restructuring (e.g., change of entity form or state of incorporation, mergers or acquisitions) or to take similar action by reviewing the potential short and long-term effects of the proposal on the company. These effects may include, without limitation, the economic and financial impact the proposal may have on the company, and the market impact that the proposal may have on the company's stock.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, RAM expects to generally
support
proposals to:
·
|
Prohibit the payment of greenmail (i.e., the purchase by the company of its own shares to prevent a hostile takeover);
|
·
|
Adopt fair price requirements (i.e., requirements that all shareholders be paid the same price in a tender offer or takeover context), unless the Proxy Manager deems them sufficiently limited in scope; and
|
·
|
Require shareholder approval of "poison pills."
|
And expects to generally
vote against
proposals to:
·
|
Adopt classified boards of directors;
|
·
|
Reincorporate a company where the primary purpose appears to the Proxy Manager to be the creation of takeover defenses; and
|
·
|
Require a company to consider the non-financial effects of mergers or acquisitions.
|
3.
Capital Structure Proposals
RAM will seek to evaluate capital structure proposals on their own merits on a case-by-case basis.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, RAM expects to generally
support
proposals to:
·
|
Eliminate preemptive rights.
|
4.
Compensation
RAM generally supports proposals that encourage the disclosure of a company's compensation policies. In addition, RAM generally supports proposals that fairly compensate executives, particularly those proposals that link executive compensation to performance. RAM may consider any contested proposal related to a company's compensation policies on a case-by-case basis.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, RAM expects to generally
support
proposals to:
·
|
Require shareholders' approval of golden parachutes; and
|
·
|
Adopt golden parachutes that do not exceed 1 to 3 times the base compensation of the applicable executives.
|
And expects to generally
vote against
proposals to:
·
|
Adopt measures that appear to the Proxy Manager to arbitrarily limit executive or employee benefits.
|
|
5.
|
Stock Option Plans and Share Issuances
|
RAM evaluates proposed stock option plans and share issuances on a case-by-case basis. In reviewing proposals regarding stock option plans and issuances, RAM may consider, without limitation, the potential dilutive effect on shareholders and the potential short and long-term economic effects on the company. We believe that stock option plans do not necessarily align the interest of executives and outside directors with those of shareholders. We believe that well thought out cash compensation plans can achieve these objectives without diluting shareholders ownership. Therefore, we generally will vote against stock option plans. However, we will review these proposals on a case-by-case basis to determine that shareholders' interests are being represented. We certainly are in favor of management, directors and employees owning stock, but prefer that the shares are purchased in the open market.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, RAM expects to generally
vote against
proposals to:
·
|
Establish or continue stock option plans and share issuances that are not in the best interest of the shareholders.
|
6.
Corporate Responsibility and Social Issues
RAM generally believes that ordinary business matters (including, without limitation, positions on corporate responsibility and social issues) are primarily the responsibility of a company's management that should be addressed solely by the company's management. These types of proposals, often initiated by shareholders, may request that the company disclose or amend certain business practices.
RAM will generally
vote against
proposals involving corporate responsibility and social issues, although RAM may vote for corporate responsibility and social issue proposals that RAM believes will have substantial positive economic or other effects on a company or the company's stock.
D.
Conflicts
In cases where RAM is aware of a conflict between the interests of a client(s) and the interests of RAM or an affiliated person of RAM (e.g., a portfolio holding is a client or an affiliate of a client of RAM), the RAM will take the following steps:
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(a)
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vote matters that are specifically covered by this Proxy Voting Policy (e.g., matters where the RAM's vote is strictly in accordance with this Policy and not in its discretion) in accordance with this Policy; and
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(b)
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for other matters, contact the client for instructions with respect to how to vote the proxy.
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E. RAM
Disclosure of How to Obtain Voting Information
Rule 206(4)-6 requires RAM to disclose in response to any client request how the client can obtain information from RAM on how its securities were voted. RAM will disclose in Part 2 of its Form ADV that clients can obtain information on how their securities were voted by making a written request to RAM. Upon receiving a written request from a client, RAM will provide the information requested by the client within a reasonable amount of time.
Rule 206(4)-6 also requires RAM to describe its proxy voting policies and procedures to clients, and upon request, to provide clients with a copy of those policies and procedures. RAM will provide such a description in Part 2 of its Form ADV. Upon receiving a written request from a client, RAM will provide a copy of this policy within a reasonable amount of time.
If approved by the client, this policy and any requested records may be provided electronically.
F. Recordkeeping
RAM shall keep the following records for a period of at least five years, the first two in an easily accessible place:
(v)
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A copy of this Policy;
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(vi)
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Proxy Statements received regarding client securities;
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(vii)
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Records of votes cast on behalf of clients;
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(viii)
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Any documents prepared by RAM that were material to making a decision how to vote, or that memorialized the basis for the decision; and
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(ix)
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Records of client requests for proxy voting information.
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RAM may rely on proxy statements filed on the SEC EDGAR system instead of keeping its own copies, and may rely on proxy statements and records of proxy votes cast by RAM that are maintained with a third party such as a proxy voting service, provided that RAM has obtained an undertaking from the third party to provide a copy of the documents promptly upon request.