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 |
$85
|
$323
|
$580
|
$1,316
|
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 76% of the average value of its portfolio.
The Fund
invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes (measured at the time of purchase) (“Net Assets”) in a diversified portfolio of equity investments in small- and mid-cap
issuers with public stock market capitalizations within the range of the market capitalization of companies constituting the Russell 2000® Value
Index and the Russell Midcap® Value Index, respectively, at the time of investment. As of September 30, 2020, the capitalization range of the
companies in these indices was between $33 million and $37.287 billion. Under normal circumstances, the Fund’s investment horizon for ownership of stocks will be two to three years. Although the Fund will invest primarily in publicly traded
U.S. securities, including real estate investment trusts (“REITs”), it may also invest in foreign securities, including securities of issuers in countries with emerging markets or economies (“emerging countries”) and
securities quoted in foreign currencies.
The
Fund’s equity investment process involves: (1) using multiple industry-specific valuation metrics to identify real economic value and company potential in stocks, screened by valuation, profitability and business characteristics; (2)
conducting in-depth company research and assessing overall business quality; (3) considering a wide range of factors as part of the fundamental investment process, which may include integrating environmental, social and governance
(“ESG”) factors with traditional fundamental factors; and (4) buying those securities that a sector portfolio manager recommends, taking into account feedback from the rest of the portfolio management team. 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 valuation and price considerations, readjustment of the Investment Adviser’s outlook based on subsequent
events, the Investment Adviser’s ongoing assessment of the quality and effectiveness of management, if new investment ideas offer the potential
for better risk/reward profiles than existing holdings, or for risk
management purposes. In addition, the Investment Adviser may sell a position in order to meet shareholder redemptions.
The Fund may invest in companies with public stock
market capitalizations outside the range of companies constituting the Russell 2000® Value Index and the Russell Midcap® Value Index at the time of investment and in fixed income securities, such as government, corporate and bank debt obligations.
The Fund’s benchmark index is the Russell 2500® Value 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. Value investing is an example of an investment style. Value stocks are those believed to be undervalued in comparison to their peers, due to market, company-specific or other factors.
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.