This Example is
intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
This Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in Class
P Shares of the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Class P Shares at the end of those periods, unless otherwise stated. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s
operating expenses remain the same (except that the Example incorporates any applicable fee waiver and/or expense limitation arrangements for only the first year). Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your
costs would be:
|
1
Year |
3
Years |
5
Years |
10
Years |
Class
P Shares |
$76
|
$254
|
$447
|
$1,006
|
The Fund pays
transaction costs when it buys and sells securities or instruments (i.e., “turns over” its portfolio). A high rate of portfolio turnover may result in increased transaction costs, including
brokerage commissions, which must be borne by the Fund and its shareholders, and is also likely to result in higher short-term capital gains for taxable shareholders. These costs are not reflected in the annual fund operating expenses or in the
expense example above, but are reflected in the Fund’s performance. The Fund’s portfolio turnover rate for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2020 was 47% of the average value of its portfolio.
The Fund
invests, under normal circumstances, at least 90% of its total assets measured at the time of purchase (“Total Assets”) in equity investments. Although the Fund invests primarily in publicly traded U.S. securities, it may invest up to
25% of its Total Assets in foreign securities, including securities of issuers in countries with emerging markets or economies (“emerging countries”) and securities quoted in foreign currencies.
The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by
investing, under normal circumstances, in companies that are considered by the Investment Adviser to be positioned for long-term growth. The Fund will invest in both value and growth companies. The Fund’s fundamental equity investment process
involves evaluating potential investments based on specific characteristics believed to indicate a high-quality business with sustainable growth, including strong business franchises, favorable long-term prospects, and excellent management. The
Investment Adviser will also consider valuation of companies when determining whether to buy and/or sell securities. The Investment Adviser may integrate environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors with traditional fundamental
factors as part of its fundamental research process. No one factor or consideration is determinative in the stock selection process. The Investment Adviser may decide to sell a position for various reasons, including when a company’s
fundamental outlook deteriorates because of valuation and price considerations, for risk management purposes, or when a company is deemed to be misallocating capital. In addition, the Investment Adviser may sell a position in order to meet
shareholder redemptions.
The Fund may invest up
to 10% of its Total Assets in fixed income securities, such as government, corporate and bank debt obligations.
The Fund’s benchmark index is the Russell 1000® Index.
Principal
Risks of the Fund |
Loss of
money is a risk of investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) or any government agency. The Fund should not be relied upon
as a complete investment program. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. Investments in the Fund involve substantial risks which prospective investors should consider carefully before investing. The Fund's
principal risks are presented below in alphabetical order, and not in the order of importance or potential exposure.
Foreign and Emerging Countries Risk. Foreign securities may be subject to risk of loss because of more or less foreign government regulation, less public information, less stringent investor protections and disclosure standards and
less economic, political and social stability in the countries in which the Fund invests. The imposition of exchange controls (including repatriation restrictions), sanctions, confiscations, trade restrictions (including tariffs) and other
government restrictions by the United States and other governments, or from problems in share registration, settlement or custody, may also result in losses. Foreign risk also involves the risk of negative foreign currency exchange rate
fluctuations, which may cause the value of securities denominated in such foreign currency (or other instruments through which the Fund has exposure to foreign currencies) to decline in value. Currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over
short periods of time. These risks may be more pronounced in connection with the Fund’s investments in securities of issuers located in emerging countries.
Investment Style Risk. Different investment styles (e.g., “growth”, “value” or
“quantitative”) tend to shift in and out of favor depending upon market and economic conditions and investor sentiment. The Fund may outperform or underperform other funds that invest in similar asset classes but employ different
investment styles.
Large Shareholder
Transactions Risk. The Fund may experience adverse effects when certain large shareholders purchase or redeem large amounts of shares of the Fund. Such large shareholder redemptions, which may
occur rapidly or unexpectedly, may cause the Fund to sell portfolio securities at times when it would not otherwise do so, which may negatively impact the Fund's net asset value (“NAV”) and liquidity. Similarly, large Fund
share purchases may adversely affect the Fund's performance to the extent that the Fund is delayed in investing new cash or otherwise maintains a larger cash position than it ordinarily would. These transactions may also accelerate the
realization of taxable income to shareholders if such sales of investments resulted in gains, and may also increase transaction costs. In addition, a large redemption could result in the Fund's current expenses being allocated over a
smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the Fund's expense ratio.
Market Risk. The value of the securities in which the Fund invests may go up or down in response to the prospects of individual companies, particular sectors or governments and/or general economic conditions
throughout the world due to increasingly interconnected global economies and financial markets. Events such as war, acts of terrorism, social unrest, natural disasters, the spread of infectious illness or other public health threats could also
significantly impact the Fund and its investments.
Stock Risk. Stock prices have historically risen and fallen in periodic cycles. U.S. and foreign stock markets have experienced periods of substantial price volatility in the past and may do so again in
the future.