RBC Funds Trust
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RBC Global Asset Management RBC BlueBay Funds Prospectus January 26, 2024 RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Debt Fund Class A: RESAX Class I: RBESX Class R6: RBERX RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund Class A: RHYAX Class I: RGHYX RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund Class A: RCPAX Class I: RCPIX Class R6: RCPRX RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund Class A: RBIAX Class I: RBSIX Class R6: RBSRX As with all mutual funds, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) have not approved or disapproved of the Fund shares described in this Prospectus or determined whether this Prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense. RBC

     
  Table of Contents    
     
     
 
      Fund Summaries
This Prospectus describes the RBC BlueBay Fixed Income Funds (the “Funds” or each a “Fund”) offered by RBC Funds Trust. Carefully review this important section, which summarizes the Funds’ investment objectives, principal investment strategies and risks, past performance, and fees.    
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     More on the Funds’ Investment
Objectives, Principal Investment
Strategies and Principal Risks
    41     Investment Objectives
    41     Principal Investment Strategies
    50     Principal Risks
    64     Additional Risks
     Management
The Funds are managed by RBC Global Asset Management (U.S.) Inc. (the “Advisor”) and the RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Debt Fund and RBC BlueBay High Yield Fund are sub‑advised by RBC Global Asset Management (UK) Limited (“RBC GAM UK” or the “Sub‑Advisor”).    
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     Shareholder Information
Review this section for details on how shares are valued, how to purchase, sell and exchange shares, related charges and payments of dividends and distributions.     73     Pricing of Fund Shares
  75     Investment Minimums
  77     Purchasing and Adding to Your Shares
  79     Automatic Investment Plan
  80     Dividends and Distributions and Directed
Dividend Option
  81     Selling Your Shares
  83     Additional Information About Purchasing
and Selling Shares
  90     Exchanging Your Shares
  91     Additional Policies on Exchanges
    92     Additional Shareholder Services
    92     Market Timing and Excessive Trading
    94     Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

     
  Table of Contents    
     
     
 
    95   Distribution Arrangements/Sales Charges
    98   Distribution and Service (12b‑1) Fees
    99   Shareholder Servicing Plan
    99   Dividends, Distributions and Taxes
    101   Organizational Structure
     Investment Practices
    102    
     Financial Highlights
    106    
     Privacy Policy
    119    
     Back Cover
    Where to Learn More About the Funds

     
     
     
     
 
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  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Debt Fund  
     
     
 
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks to achieve a high level of total return consisting of income and capital appreciation.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts on purchases of Class A shares of the Fund if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $100,000 in Class A shares of the RBC Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial intermediary and under the subheading “Reducing the Initial Sales Charge on Purchases of Class A Shares” on page 96 of this Prospectus.
 
       
      Class A      Class I      Class R6  
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
          
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a % of offering price)
     4.25      None        None  
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load)
(as a % of offering or sales price, whichever is less)1
     None        None        None  
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
          
Management Fees
     0.65      0.65      0.65
Distribution and Service (12b‑1) Fees
     0.25      None        None  
Other Expenses
     14.57      0.90      32.27
    
 
 
    
 
 
    
 
 
 
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
     15.47      1.55      32.92
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement2
     (14.43 )%       (0.76 )%       (32.18 )% 
    
 
 
    
 
 
    
 
 
 
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement
     1.04      0.79      0.74
 
1   A 1.00% Contingent Deferred Sales Charge (“CDSC”) is imposed on redemptions of Class A shares made within 12 months of a purchase of $1 million or more of Class A shares on which no front‑end sales charge was paid.
 
2   The Advisor has contractually agreed to waive fees and/or pay operating expenses in order to limit the Fund’s total expenses (excluding, brokerage and other investment-related costs, interest, taxes, dues, fees and other charges of governments and their agencies, extraordinary expenses such as litigation and indemnification, other expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the Fund’s business and acquired fund fees and expenses) to 1.04% of the Fund’s average daily net assets for Class A shares, 0.79% for Class I shares and 0.74% for Class R6 shares. This expense limitation agreement will remain in place until January 31, 2025 and may not be terminated by the Advisor prior to that date. The expense limitation agreement may be revised or terminated by the Fund’s board of trustees if the board consents to a revision or termination as being in the best interests of the Fund. The Advisor is entitled to recoup from the Fund or class the fees and/or operating expenses previously waived or reimbursed for a period of 3 years from the date of such waiver or reimbursement, provided that such recoupment does not cause the Fund’s expense ratio (after the repayment is taken into account) to exceed the lesser of: (i) the Fund’s expense limitation at the time of the waiver or reimbursement and (ii) the Fund’s expense limitation at the time of recoupment.
 
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  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Debt Fund  
     
     
 
Example:    This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs for the Fund reflect the net expenses of the Fund that result from the contractual expense limitation in the first year only. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
 
      Class A      Class I      Class R6  
One Year
   $ 527      $ 81      $ 76
Three Years
   $ 3,293      $ 415      $ 5,158  
Five Years
   $ 5,510      $ 773      $ 7,798  
Ten Years
   $ 9,314      $ 1,781      $ 10,098  
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 85% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its assets in fixed income securities and/or investments that have similar economic characteristics as fixed income securities of issuers economically tied to emerging market countries that are considered by the Fund to have the potential to provide a high level of total return. For purposes of this policy, the term “assets” means net assets plus the amount of borrowings for investment purposes.
The Fund will primarily invest in sovereign debt securities. Sovereign debt securities are securities that are issued or guaranteed by foreign sovereign governments or their agencies, authorities or political subdivisions or instrumentalities, and supranational agencies. The Fund may also invest in debt securities issued or guaranteed by foreign corporations and foreign financial institutions and in loans.
A security is economically tied to an emerging market country if it is issued by a foreign government (or any political subdivision, agency, authority or instrumentality of such government) or corporation and the security is principally traded on the emerging market country’s securities markets, or the issuer is headquartered in the emerging market country, 100% of the issuer’s assets are within the economies of emerging market countries, or the issuer is 100% secured by assets within the economies of emerging market countries. In determining whether a country is emerging or developed, the Fund may consider (i) classifications by the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation or the United Nations (and its agencies);
 
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  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Debt Fund  
     
     
 
(ii) classifications by the JPMorgan EMBI Global Diversified index; and (iii) the International Monetary Fund’s definition and list of developing and emerging market countries. Currently, emerging market countries include, but are not limited to, countries in Asia (excluding Japan), Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America.
The Fund will normally invest in a portfolio of fixed income securities denominated in both the U.S. Dollar and currencies of other developed countries, and in currencies of the local emerging market countries. Currencies of developed countries include: U.S. Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Euro, GB Pound and Japanese Yen. Local currencies can be defined as the currency of the issuer based in emerging market countries worldwide (e.g. Brazil bonds issued in Brazilian Real).
The Fund will invest, either directly or indirectly (e.g. via derivatives such as credit linked notes, interest rate swaps, total return swaps and credit default swaps), in fixed income securities of any rating (i.e. including investment grade and below investment grade (junk bonds)) issued by emerging market issuers or entities domiciled in an emerging market country, as well as in distressed debt securities of issuers from emerging market countries. The Fund may invest in securities of any market capitalization and may from time to time invest a significant amount of its assets in fixed income securities issued by smaller companies. The Fund’s investments may be of any maturity.
Derivatives, which are instruments that have a value based on another instrument, interest rate, exchange rate or index, may be used as substitutes for securities in which the Fund can invest. The Fund may use futures contracts, options, swaps and forwards as tools in the management of portfolio assets. The Fund may use such derivatives through either the creation of long and short positions to hedge various investments, for investment purposes, for risk management and/or in a manner intended to increase income or gain to the Fund.
The Fund may invest in sovereign debt securities which are traded in local markets in local currency, and bonds and notes issued by banks and corporations which are traded in local markets. The Fund takes active exposure to investments in foreign currencies, including the local currencies in the emerging markets countries, both through its investments in such countries as well as through currency derivatives. The Fund will vary its proportion invested in developed country currency instruments and emerging markets currency instruments according to the investment view of the Fund in relation to the relevant instruments. In making this selection, the Fund will consider in particular the credit rating, the currency (in case of emerging market currency instruments only) and the interest rate of such instruments. There is no limit on the number of countries in which the Fund may invest and the Fund may invest in a number of different countries at any time.
The Fund is non‑diversified, which means that it may invest its assets in a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund.
 
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  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Debt Fund  
     
     
 
The Fund engages in active and frequent trading of its portfolio securities, which results in high portfolio turnover.
The Sub‑Advisor incorporates material environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors as part of the investment process.
The Sub‑Advisor employs ESG Exclusion / Negative Screening as part of its investment process in managing the Fund. ESG Exclusion / Negative Screening is defined as the exclusion of certain sectors, issuers or practices based on specific ESG considerations determined by the Sub‑Advisor, as applicable.
The ESG Exclusion / Negative Screening applied by the Sub‑Advisor includes:
 
   
Producers of controversial weapons, including, but not limited to, cluster munitions, anti-personnel mines, chemical and biological weapons and depleted uranium;
 
   
Tobacco producers;
 
   
Certain thresholds of involvement in thermal coal mining;
 
   
Certain thresholds of involvement in oil sands exploration and production; and
 
   
Party to, or ratification status of, UN conventions and treaties against corruption and torture and punishment
The Sub‑Advisor may also facilitate ESG engagement, which is defined by the Sub‑Advisor as the interactions between the Sub‑Advisor and current or potential investees (which may be companies, sovereign, supranational and agency issuers (SSA) and/or other stakeholders of relevance to the investees on ESG issues). The Sub‑Advisor may undertake ESG engagement to seek to gain insight regarding an issuer’s ESG practices and/or improve an issuer’s ESG disclosure. For example, the Sub‑Advisor may engage with certain issuers regarding governance practices as well as what the Sub‑Advisor deems to be materially important environmental and/or social issues.
For specific issuer and security types, as well as certain investment exposures, fixed income securities held by the Fund are subject to the Sub‑Advisor’s ESG evaluation. The Sub‑Advisor’s ESG evaluation is part of the Sub‑Advisor’s wider credit analysis. The Sub‑Advisor uses in‑house ESG research supplemented by external third-party ESG information.
Principal Risks
The value of your investment in the Fund will change daily, which means that you could lose money. 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 other government agency. By itself, the Fund is not a balanced investment program. There is no guarantee that the Fund will meet its goal. The principal risks of investing in the Fund include:
Emerging Markets Risk.    The Fund primarily invests in emerging markets. The securities markets of most emerging market countries are less liquid, are
 
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  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Debt Fund  
     
     
 
especially subject to greater price volatility, have smaller market capitalizations, have less government regulation and are not subject to as extensive and frequent accounting, auditing, financial and other reporting requirements as the securities markets of more developed countries. In addition, the Fund is limited in its ability to exercise its legal rights or enforce a counterparty’s legal obligations in emerging markets countries. These risks are not normally associated with investments in more developed countries.
Foreign Risk.    Foreign securities may be subject to risk of loss because of less foreign government regulation, less public information, different auditing and legal standards and less economic, political, environmental and social stability in these countries. Loss may also result from the imposition of exchange controls, sanctions, trading restrictions, confiscation of assets and property and other government restrictions, or from problems in registration, settlement or custody. Foreign risk also involves the risk of negative foreign currency 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. Additionally, foreign securities and dividends and interest payable on those securities may be subject to foreign taxes, including taxes withheld from payments on those securities.
Sovereign Debt Risk.    The Fund may invest in securities issued or guaranteed by foreign governmental entities (known as sovereign debt securities). These investments are subject to the risk of payment delays or defaults, due, for example, to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves, political considerations, large debt positions relative to the country’s economy or failure to implement economic reforms. There is no legal or bankruptcy process for collecting sovereign debt.
Investing in the European Union Risk.    Investments in certain countries in the European Union are susceptible to economic risks associated with high levels of government debt. Adverse regulatory, economic and political events in European Union member states may cause the Fund’s investments to decline in value. Separately, the European Union faces issues involving its membership, structure, procedures and policies. The exit of one or more member states from the European Union, such as the exit by the United Kingdom (UK), would subject its currency and banking system to increased risk. The exit by a member state will likely result in increased volatility, illiquidity and potentially lower economic growth in the affected markets, which may adversely affect a Fund’s investments. Additionally, the reintroduction of national currencies in one or more Eurozone countries or the abandonment of the Euro as a currency could have major negative effects on the Funds’ investments as well as the ability of the Funds’ counterparties to fulfill their obligations.
Currency Risk.    Changes in foreign currency exchange rates will affect the value of the Fund’s securities and the price of the Fund’s shares. Generally,
 
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  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Debt Fund  
     
     
 
when the value of the U.S. Dollar rises in value relative to a foreign currency, an investment in that country loses value because that currency is worth fewer U.S. Dollars. Devaluation of a currency by a country’s government or banking authority also may have a significant impact on the value of any investments denominated in that currency. Currency markets generally are not as regulated as securities markets.
Interest Rate Risk.    The Fund’s yield and value will fluctuate as the general level of interest rates change. During periods when interest rates are low, the Fund’s yield may also be low. When interest rates increase, securities held by the Fund will generally decline in value. Interest rate changes are influenced by a number of factors including government policy, inflation expectations, and supply and demand. The Fund assumes the risk that the value of the security at delivery may be more or less than the purchase price.
High Yield Securities Risk.    High yield securities, which are non‑investment grade fixed income securities and unrated securities of comparable credit quality (commonly known as “junk bonds”) are considered speculative and have a higher risk of an issuer’s inability to meet principal and interest payment obligations. These securities may be subject to greater price volatility due to such factors as specific corporate developments, interest rate sensitivity, negative perceptions of the junk bond markets generally and less secondary market liquidity.
Investment Grade Securities Risk.    Investment grade rated securities are assigned credit ratings by ratings agencies on the basis of the creditworthiness or risk of default of a bond issue. Rating agencies review, from time to time, such assigned ratings of the securities and may subsequently downgrade the rating if economic circumstances impact the relevant bond issues. Investments in the Fund are subject to additional risks associated with municipal securities.
LIBOR Discontinuance or Unavailability Risk.    The London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) was a leading floating rate benchmark used in loans, notes, derivatives and other instruments or investments. As a result of benchmark reforms, publication of most LIBOR settings has ceased. Some LIBOR settings continue to be published but only on a temporary, synthetic and non‑representative basis. Regulated entities have generally ceased entering into new LIBOR contracts in connection with regulatory guidance or prohibitions. Public and private sector actors have worked to establish alternative reference rates to be used in place of LIBOR. There is no assurance that any such alternative reference rate will be similar to or produce the same value or economic equivalence as LIBOR or that it will have the same volume or liquidity as did LIBOR which may affect the value, volatility, liquidity or return on certain of the Fund’s loans, notes, derivatives and other instruments or investments comprising some or all of the Fund’s investments and result in costs incurred in connection with changing reference rates used for positions, closing out positions and entering into new trades. Certain of the Fund’s investments may have transitioned from
 
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  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Debt Fund  
     
     
 
LIBOR or will transition from LIBOR in the future. The transition from LIBOR to alternative reference rates may result in operational issues for the Fund or its investments. No assurances can be given as to the impact of the LIBOR transition (and the timing of any such impact) on the Fund and its investments. 
Small Company Risk.    Stocks of smaller and less seasoned companies involve greater risks than those of larger companies. These companies may not have the management experience, financial resources, product diversification and competitive strengths of larger companies. Smaller companies may be more sensitive to changes in the economy overall. Historically, small company stocks have been more volatile than those of larger companies. As a result, the Fund’s net asset value may be subject to rapid and substantial changes.
Derivatives Risk.    Derivatives and other similar instruments (collectively referred to as “derivatives”), including options contracts, futures contracts, forwards, options on futures contracts and swap agreements (including, but not limited to, credit default swaps and swaps on exchange-traded funds), may be riskier than other types of investments and could result in losses that significantly exceed the Fund’s original investment. The performance of derivatives depends largely on the performance of their underlying asset reference, rate, or index; therefore, derivatives often have risks similar to those risks of the underlying asset, reference rate or index, in addition to other risks. However, the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with, and may be more sensitive to market events than, the underlying asset, reference, rate or index. Many derivatives create leverage thereby causing the Fund to be more volatile than it would have been if it had not used derivatives. Over‑the‑counter (“OTC”) derivatives are traded bilaterally between two parties, which exposes the Fund to heightened liquidity risk, valuation risk and counterparty risk (the risk that the derivative counterparty will not fulfill its contractual obligations), including the credit risk of the derivative counterparty, compared to other types of investments. Changes in the value of a derivative may also create margin delivery or settlement payment obligations for the Fund. Certain derivatives are subject to exchange trading and/or mandatory clearing (which interposes a central clearinghouse to each participant’s derivative transaction). Exchange trading, central clearing and margin requirements are intended to reduce counterparty credit risk and increase liquidity and transparency, but do not make a derivatives transaction risk-free and may subject the Fund to increased costs. The use of derivatives may not be successful, and certain of the Fund’s transactions in derivatives may not perform as expected, which may prevent the Fund from realizing the intended benefits, and could result in a loss to the Fund. In addition, given their complexity, derivatives expose the Fund to risks of mispricing or improper valuation, as well as liquidity risk. The use of derivatives is also subject to operational risk which refers to risk related to potential operational issues, including documentation issues, settlement issues, system failures, inadequate controls, and human error, as well as legal risk which refers to the risk of loss resulting from insufficient documentation,
 
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  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Debt Fund  
     
     
 
insufficient capacity or authority of counterparty, or legality or enforceability of a contract.
Leverage Risk.    Some transactions may give rise to a form of economic leverage. These transactions may include, among others, derivatives, and may expose the Fund to greater risk and increase its costs. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations. Increases and decreases in the value of the Fund’s portfolio will be magnified when the Fund uses leverage.
Liquidity Risk.    The Fund may be subject to the risk that a particular investment may be difficult to purchase or sell and that the Fund may be unable to sell illiquid securities (including securities deemed liquid at the time of purchase that subsequently became less liquid) at an advantageous time or price or achieve its desired level of exposure to a certain sector.
Loan Risk.    The Fund may invest in loans including loans that are rated below investment grade or the unrated equivalent. Like other high yield, corporate debt instruments, such loans are subject to an increased risk of default in the payment of principal and interest as well as the other risks described under “Interest Rate Risk,” “Issuer/Credit Risk,” and “High Yield Securities Risk.”
Non‑Diversified Fund Risk.    Because the Fund is non‑diversified, it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in a particular issuer or group of issuers than a diversified fund would. This increased concentration in fewer issuers may result in the Fund’s shares being more sensitive to economic results of those issuing the securities.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk.    The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of its portfolio securities. High portfolio turnover (more than 100%) may result in increased transaction costs to the Fund, including brokerage commissions, dealer mark‑ups and other transaction costs on the sale of the securities and on reinvestment in other securities.
Valuation Risk.    The Fund’s assets are generally valued based on evaluated prices received from third-party pricing services or from broker-dealers who make markets in the securities and are generally categorized as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy. As a result, there is the risk that the values at which these investments are sold may be significantly different to the estimated fair values of these investments.
Custodial Risk.    The Fund may invest in markets where custodian and/or settlement systems are not fully developed. The assets of the Fund which are traded in such markets and which have been entrusted to sub‑custodians, in circumstances where the use of such sub‑custodians is necessary, may be exposed to risk in circumstances whereby the custodian will have no liability.
Market Risk.    The markets in which the Fund invests may go down in value, sometimes sharply and unpredictably. The success of the Fund’s investment program may be affected by general economic and market conditions, such as interest rates, availability of credit, inflation rates,
 
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  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Debt Fund  
     
     
 
economic uncertainty, changes in laws, and national and international political circumstances. Unexpected volatility or illiquidity could impair the Fund’s profitability or result in losses. A Fund’s investments may be overweighted from time to time in one or more sectors, which will increase the Fund’s exposure to risk of loss from adverse developments affecting those sectors.
Credit Spread Risk.    The Fund’s investments may be adversely affected if any of the issuers it is invested in are subject to an actual or perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) deterioration to their credit quality. Any actual or perceived deterioration may lead to an increase in the credit spreads and a decline in price of the issuer’s securities.
Issuer/Credit Risk.    There is a possibility that issuers of securities in which the Fund may invest may default on the payment of interest or principal on the securities when due, which could cause the Fund to lose money.
Active Management Risk.    The Fund is actively managed and its performance therefore will reflect in part the Sub‑Advisor’s ability to make investment decisions that are suited to achieve the Fund’s investment objective.
Performance Information
The bar chart and performance table provide an indication of the risks of an investment in the Fund by showing changes in performance from year to year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns (before and after taxes) compare with those of a broad-based securities index. The returns for Class A and Class R6 shares will be different than the returns of Class I shares shown in the bar chart and performance table because fees and expenses of the classes differ. Past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future.
As of November 1, 2017, the Fund changed its investment strategies and certain investment policies. In view of these changes, the Fund’s performance record prior to this period might be less pertinent for investors considering whether to purchase shares of the Fund. Updated information on the Fund’s performance can be obtained by visiting www.rbcgam.com or by calling 1‑800‑422‑2766.
 
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  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Debt Fund  
     
     
 
Annual Total Returns – Class I Shares
 
LOGO    
    During the periods shown in the chart for the Class I
Shares of the Fund:
 
 
          Quarter     Year     Returns  
    Best quarter:     2Q       2020       14.87%  
    Worst quarter:     1Q       2020       (16.44)%  
                               
Performance Table
The table below shows after‑tax returns for Class I shares only. Before‑tax returns for Class A shares assume applicable maximum sales charges. After‑tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after‑tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. After‑tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold Fund shares through tax‑deferred arrangements, such as qualified retirement plans. In some cases, returns after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares may be higher than returns before taxes because the calculations assume that the investor received a tax benefit for any loss incurred on the sale of the shares. The inception dates of Class I shares, Class A shares and Class R6 shares of the Fund are November 30, 2011, November 27, 2013, and December 27, 2016, respectively. Performance shown for Class R6 and Class A shares prior to their inception dates are based on the performance of Class I shares, adjusted to reflect the respective fees and expenses of Class R6 shares and Class A shares and applicable sales charges.
 
 
   
Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2023)
 
  
         
Past
Year
    
Past 5
Years
    
Past 10
Years
    
Since
Inception
 
   
Class I Return Before Taxes
     15.62%        3.30%        2.15%        2.28%  
   
Class I Return After Taxes on Distributions
     12.39%        1.03%        0.61%        0.82%  
   
Class I Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Shares
     9.09%        1.56%        0.98%        1.13%  
   
Class A Return Before Taxes
     10.39%        2.11%        1.46%        1.67%  
   
Class R6 Return Before Taxes
     15.67%        3.35%        2.22%        2.37%  
   
JPMorgan EMBI Global Diversified (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes; inception calculated from November 30, 2011)
     11.09%        1.67%        3.22%        3.66%  
                                         
 
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  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Debt Fund  
     
     
 
Management
Investment Advisor
RBC Global Asset Management (U.S.) Inc.
Investment Sub‑Advisor
RBC Global Asset Management (UK) Limited (“Sub‑Advisor” or “RBC GAM UK”)
Portfolio Manager
The following individuals are responsible for the day‑to‑day management of the Fund’s portfolio:
 
   
Polina Kurdyavko, Senior Portfolio Manager of the Sub‑Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since 2017.
 
   
Gary Sedgewick, Portfolio Manager of the Sub‑Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since 2024.
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions generally are taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or a combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax‑deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account, in which case you may be taxed later upon withdrawal of your investment from such arrangement.
For important information about “Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares” and “Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries,” please turn to “Important Additional Information” on page 40 of this Prospectus.
 
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  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund  
     
     
 
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks to achieve a high level of total return consisting of income and capital appreciation.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts on purchases of Class A shares of the Fund if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $100,000 in Class A shares of the RBC Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial intermediary and under the subheading “Reducing the Initial Sales Charge on Purchases of Class A Shares” on page 96 of this Prospectus.
 
     
      Class A      Class I  
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
       
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on
Purchases (as a % of offering price)
     4.25      None  
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load)
(as a % of offering or sales price, whichever is less)1
     None        None  
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
       
Management Fees
     0.55      0.55
Distribution and Service (12b‑1) Fees
     0.25      None  
Other Expenses
     0.34      0.26
    
 
 
    
 
 
 
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
     1.14      0.81
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement2
     (0.32 )%       (0.24 )% 
    
 
 
    
 
 
 
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement
     0.82      0.57
 
1   A 1.00% CDSC is imposed on redemptions of Class A shares made within 12 months of a purchase of $1 million or more of Class A shares on which no front‑end sales charge was paid.
 
2   The Advisor has contractually agreed to waive fees and/or pay operating expenses in order to limit the Fund’s total expenses (excluding brokerage and other investment-related costs, interest, taxes, dues, fees and other charges of governments and their agencies, extraordinary expenses such as litigation and indemnification, other expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the Fund’s business and acquired fund fees and expenses) to 0.82% of the Fund’s average daily net assets for Class A shares and 0.57% for Class I shares. This expense limitation agreement will remain in place until January 31, 2025 and may not be terminated by the Advisor prior to that date. The expense limitation agreement may be revised or terminated by the Fund’s board of trustees if the board consents to a revision or termination as being in the best interests of the Fund. The Advisor is entitled to recoup from the Fund or class the fees and/or operating expenses previously waived or reimbursed for a period of 3 years from the date of such waiver or reimbursement, provided that such recoupment does not cause the Fund’s expense ratio (after the repayment is taken into account) to exceed the lesser of: (i) the Fund’s expense limitation at the time of the waiver or reimbursement and (ii) the Fund’s expense limitation at the time of recoupment.
Example:    This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The
 
12

     
  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund  
     
     
 
example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs for the Fund reflect the net expenses of the Fund that result from the contractual expense limitation in the first year only. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
 
      Class A      Class I  
One Year
   $ 505      $ 58  
Three Years
   $ 741      $ 234  
Five Years
   $ 996      $ 426  
Ten Years
   $ 1,724      $ 979  
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the Fund’s most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 72% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its assets in fixed income securities and/or investments that, at the time of purchase, have similar economic characteristics as fixed income securities that are non‑investment grade (high yield /junk bond), and are considered by the Fund to have the potential to provide a high level of total return. For purposes of this policy, the term “assets” means net assets plus the amount of borrowings for investment purposes. Up to 20% of the Fund’s total assets may be invested in other securities, including investment grade securities. The Fund may also invest in loans.
Non‑investment grade securities are securities rated Ba1 or BB+ or below by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) or Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“S&P”), respectively, a similar rating from a recognized rating agency, or unrated securities deemed comparable by the Fund. The Fund will normally invest at least 70% of the Fund’s assets in security holdings issued by U.S.-domiciled entities.
The Fund will invest, either directly or indirectly (e.g. via derivatives such as credit linked notes, interest rate swaps, total return swaps and credit default swaps), primarily in fixed income securities that are non‑investment grade. Derivatives, which are instruments that have a value based on another instrument, interest rate, exchange rate or index, may be used as substitutes for securities in which the Fund can invest. The Fund may use futures contracts, options, swaps and forwards as tools in the management of
portfolio assets. The Fund may use such derivatives through either the creation of long and short positions to hedge various investments, for
 
13

     
  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund  
     
     
 
investment purposes, for risk management and/or in a manner intended to increase income or gain to the Fund.
The Advisor and Sub‑Advisor incorporate material environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors as part of the investment process.
The Advisor and Sub‑Advisor employ ESG Exclusion / Negative Screening as part of the investment process in managing the Fund. ESG Exclusion / Negative Screening is defined as the exclusion of certain sectors, issuers or practices based on specific ESG considerations determined by the Advisor or Sub‑Advisor, as applicable.
The ESG Exclusion / Negative Screening applied by the Advisor and Sub‑Advisor includes:
 
   
Non‑compliance with the UN Global Compact Principles;
 
   
Producers of controversial weapons, including, but not limited to, cluster munitions, anti-personnel mines, chemical and biological weapons and depleted uranium;
 
   
Tobacco producers; and
 
   
Certain thresholds of involvement in thermal coal mining and power generation.
The Advisor and Sub‑Advisor may also facilitate ESG engagement, which is defined by the Advisor and Sub‑Advisor as the interactions between the Advisor and Sub‑Advisor, as applicable, and current or potential investees (which may be companies, sovereign, supranational and agency issuers (SSA) and/or other stakeholders of relevance to the investees on ESG issues). The Advisor or Sub‑Advisor may undertake ESG engagement to seek to gain insight regarding an issuer’s ESG practices and/or improve an issuer’s ESG disclosure. For example, the Advisor or Sub‑Advisor may engage with management of certain issuers regarding governance practices as well as what the Advisor or Sub‑Advisor deems to be materially important environmental and/or social issues.
For specific issuer and security types, as well as certain investment exposures, fixed income securities held by the Fund are subject to the Advisor’s and/or Sub‑Advisor’s ESG evaluation. The Advisor’s and Sub‑Advisor’s ESG evaluation is part of the Advisor’s and Sub‑Advisor’s wider credit analysis. The Advisor and Sub‑Advisor use in‑house ESG research supplemented by external third-party ESG information.
Principal Risks
The value of your investment in the Fund will change daily, which means that you could lose money. 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 other government agency. By itself, the Fund is not a balanced investment program. There is no guarantee that the Fund will meet its goal. The principal risks of investing in the Fund include:
High Yield Securities Risk.    High yield securities, which are non‑investment grade fixed income securities and unrated securities of
 
14

     
  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund  
     
     
 
comparable credit quality (commonly known as “junk bonds”) are considered speculative and have a higher risk of an issuer’s inability to meet principal and interest payment obligations. These securities may be subject to greater price volatility due to such factors as specific corporate developments, interest rate sensitivity, negative perceptions of the junk bond markets generally and less secondary market liquidity.
Interest Rate Risk.    The Fund’s yield and value will fluctuate as the general level of interest rates change. During periods when interest rates are low, the Fund’s yield may also be low. When interest rates increase, securities held by the Fund will generally decline in value. Interest rate changes are influenced by a number of factors including government policy, inflation expectations, and supply and demand. The Fund assumes the risk that the value of the security at delivery may be more or less than the purchase price.
Foreign Risk.    Foreign securities may be subject to risk of loss because of less foreign government regulation, less public information, different auditing and legal standards and less economic, political, environmental and social stability in these countries. Loss may also result from the imposition of exchange controls, sanctions, trading restrictions, confiscation of assets and property and other government restrictions, or from problems in registration, settlement or custody. Foreign risk also involves the risk of negative foreign currency 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. Additionally, foreign securities and dividends and interest payable on those securities may be subject to foreign taxes, including taxes withheld from payments on those securities.
Currency Risk.    Changes in foreign currency exchange rates will affect the value of the Fund’s securities and the price of the Fund’s shares. Generally, when the value of the U.S. Dollar rises in value relative to a foreign currency, an investment in that country loses value because that currency is worth fewer U.S. Dollars. Devaluation of a currency by a country’s government or banking authority also may have a significant impact on the value of any investments denominated in that currency. Currency markets generally are not as regulated as securities markets.
Investment Grade Securities Risk.    Investment grade rated securities are assigned credit ratings by ratings agencies on the basis of the creditworthiness or risk of default of a bond issue. Rating agencies review, from time to time, such assigned ratings of the securities and may subsequently downgrade the rating if economic circumstances impact the
relevant bond issues. Investments in the Fund are subject to additional risks associated with municipal securities.
Loan Risk.    The Fund may invest in loans including loans that are rated below investment grade or the unrated equivalent. Like other high yield, corporate debt instruments, such loans are subject to an increased risk of
 
15

     
  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund  
     
     
 
default in the payment of principal and interest as well as the other risks described under “Interest Rate Risk,” “Issuer/Credit Risk,” and “High Yield Securities Risk.”
LIBOR Discontinuance or Unavailability Risk.    The London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) was a leading floating rate benchmark used in loans, notes, derivatives and other instruments or investments. As a result of benchmark reforms, publication of most LIBOR settings has ceased. Some LIBOR settings continue to be published but only on a temporary, synthetic and non‑representative basis. Regulated entities have generally ceased entering into new LIBOR contracts in connection with regulatory guidance or prohibitions. Public and private sector actors have worked to establish alternative reference rates to be used in place of LIBOR. There is no assurance that any such alternative reference rate will be similar to or produce the same value or economic equivalence as LIBOR or that it will have the same volume or liquidity as did LIBOR which may affect the value, volatility, liquidity or return on certain of the Fund’s loans, notes, derivatives and other instruments or investments comprising some or all of the Fund’s investments and result in costs incurred in connection with changing reference rates used for positions, closing out positions and entering into new trades. Certain of the Fund’s investments may have transitioned from LIBOR or will transition from LIBOR in the future. The transition from LIBOR to alternative reference rates may result in operational issues for the Fund or its investments. No assurances can be given as to the impact of the LIBOR transition (and the timing of any such impact) on the Fund and its investments. 
Derivatives Risk.    Derivatives and other similar instruments (collectively referred to as “derivatives”), including options contracts, futures contracts, forwards, options on futures contracts and swap agreements (including, but not limited to, credit default swaps and swaps on exchange-traded funds), may be riskier than other types of investments and could result in losses that significantly exceed the Fund’s original investment. The performance of derivatives depends largely on the performance of their underlying asset reference, rate, or index; therefore, derivatives often have risks similar to those risks of the underlying asset, reference rate or index, in addition to other risks. However, the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with, and may be more sensitive to market events than, the underlying asset, reference, rate or index. Many derivatives create leverage thereby causing the Fund to be more volatile than it would have been if it had not used derivatives. Over‑the‑counter (“OTC”) derivatives are traded bilaterally between two parties, which exposes the Fund to heightened liquidity risk, valuation risk and counterparty risk (the risk that the derivative counterparty will not fulfill its contractual obligations), including the credit risk of the derivative counterparty, compared to other types of investments. Changes in the value of a derivative may also create margin delivery or settlement payment obligations for the Fund. Certain derivatives are subject to exchange trading and/or mandatory clearing (which interposes a central clearinghouse to each participant’s derivative transaction). Exchange trading, central
 
16

     
  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund  
     
     
 
clearing and margin requirements are intended to reduce counterparty credit risk and increase liquidity and transparency, but do not make a derivatives transaction risk-free and may subject the Fund to increased costs. The use of derivatives may not be successful, and certain of the Fund’s transactions in derivatives may not perform as expected, which may prevent the Fund from realizing the intended benefits, and could result in a loss to the Fund. In addition, given their complexity, derivatives expose the Fund to risks of mispricing or improper valuation, as well as liquidity risk. The use of derivatives is also subject to operational risk which refers to risk related to potential operational issues, including documentation issues, settlement issues, system failures, inadequate controls, and human error, as well as legal risk which refers to the risk of loss resulting from insufficient documentation, insufficient capacity or authority of counterparty, or legality or enforceability of a contract.
Leverage Risk.    Some transactions may give rise to a form of economic leverage. These transactions may include, among others, derivatives, and may expose the Fund to greater risk and increase its costs. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations. Increases and decreases in the value of the Fund’s portfolio will be magnified when the Fund uses leverage.
Liquidity Risk.    The Fund may be subject to the risk that a particular investment may be difficult to purchase or sell and that the Fund may be unable to sell illiquid securities (including securities deemed liquid at the time of purchase that subsequently became less liquid) at an advantageous time or price or achieve its desired level of exposure to a certain sector.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk.    The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of its portfolio securities. High portfolio turnover (more than 100%) may result in increased transaction costs to the Fund, including brokerage commissions, dealer mark‑ups and other transaction costs on the sale of the securities and on reinvestment in other securities.
Valuation Risk.    The Fund’s assets are generally valued based on evaluated prices received from third-party pricing services or from broker-dealers who make markets in the securities and are generally categorized as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy. As a result, there is the risk that the values at which these investments are sold may be significantly different to the estimated fair values of these investments.
Custodial Risk.    The Fund may invest in markets where custodian and/or settlement systems are not fully developed. The assets of the Fund which are traded in such markets and which have been entrusted to sub‑custodians, in circumstances where the use of such sub‑custodians is necessary, may be exposed to risk in circumstances whereby the custodian will have no liability.
Sovereign Debt Risk.    The Fund may invest in securities issued or guaranteed by foreign governmental entities (known as sovereign debt securities). These investments are subject to the risk of payment delays or
 
17

     
  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund  
     
     
 
defaults, due, for example, to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves, political considerations, large debt positions relative to the country’s economy or failure to implement economic reforms. There is no legal or bankruptcy process for collecting sovereign debt.
Emerging Markets Risk.    The securities markets of most emerging market countries are less liquid, are especially subject to greater price volatility, have smaller market capitalizations, have less government regulation and are not subject to as extensive and frequent accounting, auditing, financial and other reporting requirements as the securities markets of more developed countries. In addition, the Fund is limited in its ability to exercise its legal rights or enforce a counterparty’s legal obligations in emerging markets countries. These risks are not normally associated with investments in more developed countries.
Investing in the European Union Risk.    Investments in certain countries in the European Union are susceptible to economic risks associated with high levels of government debt. Adverse regulatory, economic and political events in European Union member states may cause the Fund’s investments to decline in value. Separately, the European Union faces issues involving its membership, structure, procedures and policies. The exit of one or more member states from the European Union, such as the exit by United Kingdom (UK), would subject its currency and banking system to increased risk. The exit by a member state will likely result in increased volatility, illiquidity and potentially lower economic growth in the affected markets, which may adversely affect a Fund’s investments. Additionally, the reintroduction of national currencies in one or more Eurozone countries or the abandonment of the Euro as a currency could have major negative effects on the Funds’ investments as well as the ability of the Funds’ counterparties to fulfill their obligations.
Market Risk.    The markets in which the Fund invests may go down in value, sometimes sharply and unpredictably. The success of the Fund’s investment program may be affected by general economic and market conditions, such as interest rates, availability of credit, inflation rates, economic uncertainty, changes in laws, and national and international political circumstances. Unexpected volatility or illiquidity could impair the Fund’s profitability or result in losses. A Fund’s investments may be overweighted from time to time in one or more sectors, which will increase the Fund’s exposure to risk of loss from adverse developments affecting those sectors.
Credit Spread Risk.    The Fund’s investments may be adversely affected if any of the issuers it is invested in are subject to an actual or perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) deterioration to their credit quality. Any actual or perceived deterioration may lead to an increase in the credit spreads and a decline in price of the issuer’s securities.
Issuer/Credit Risk.    There is a possibility that issuers of securities in which the Fund may invest may default on the payment of interest or
 
18

     
  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund  
     
     
 
principal on the securities when due, which could cause the Fund to lose money.
Active Management Risk.    The Fund is actively managed and its performance therefore will reflect in part the Advisor’s and Sub‑Advisor’s ability to make investment decisions that are suited to achieve the Fund’s investment objective.
Performance Information
The bar chart and performance table provide an indication of the risks of an investment in the Fund by showing changes in performance from year to year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns (before and after taxes) compare with those of a broad-based securities index. The returns for Class A shares will be different than the returns of Class I shares shown in the bar chart and performance table because fees and expenses of the classes differ. Past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. As of November 1, 2017, the Fund changed its investment strategies and certain investment policies. In view of these changes, the Fund’s performance record prior to this period might be less pertinent for investors considering whether to purchase shares of the Fund. Updated information on the Fund’s performance can be obtained by visiting www.rbcgam.com or by calling 1‑800‑422‑2766.
Annual Total Returns – Class I Shares
 
LOGO    
    During the periods shown in the chart for Class I
Shares of the Fund:
 
 
          Quarter     Year     Returns  
    Best quarter:     4Q       2023       7.21%  
    Worst quarter:     2Q       2022       (9.18)%  
                               
Performance Table
The table below shows after‑tax returns for Class I shares only. Before‑tax returns for Class A shares assume applicable maximum sales charges.
After‑tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after‑tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. After‑tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold Fund shares through tax‑deferred arrangements, such as qualified
 
19

     
  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund  
     
     
 
retirement plans. In some cases, returns after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares may be higher than returns before taxes because the calculations assume that the investor received a tax benefit for any loss incurred on the sale of the shares. The inception dates of Class I shares and Class A shares of the Fund are November 30, 2011 and November 27, 2013,
respectively. Performance shown for Class A shares prior to its inception date is based on the performance of Class I shares, adjusted to reflect the fees and expenses of Class A shares and any applicable sales charges.
 
 
   
Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2023)
 
  
         
Past
Year
    
Past 5
Years
    
Past 10
Years
    
Since
Inception
 
   
Class I Return Before Taxes
     12.87%        6.32%        5.09%        6.00%  
   
Class I Return After Taxes on Distributions
     9.95      3.94%        2.76%        3.50%  
   
Class I Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Shares
     7.51      3.85%        2.88%        3.55%  
   
Class A Return Before Taxes
     7.80%        5.16%        4.36%        5.34%  
   
ICE BofA US High Yield Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes; inception calculated from November 30, 2011)
     13.46      5.21%        4.51%        5.81%  
                                         
Management
Investment Advisor
RBC Global Asset Management (U.S.) Inc.
Investment Sub‑Advisor
RBC Global Asset Management (UK) Limited (“Sub‑Advisor” or “RBC GAM UK”)
Portfolio Managers
The following individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day‑to‑ day management of the Fund’s portfolio:
 
   
Justin Jewell, Senior Portfolio Manager of the Sub‑Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since 2016.
 
   
Tim Leary, Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since 2019.
 
   
Andrzej Skiba, Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since 2020.
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions generally are taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or a combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax‑deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account, in which case you may be taxed later upon withdrawal of your investment from such arrangement.
For important information about “Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares” and “Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries,” please turn to “Important Additional Information” on page 40 of this Prospectus.
 
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  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund  
     
     
 
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks to provide total return.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts on purchases of Class A shares of the Fund if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $100,000 in Class A shares of the RBC Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial intermediary and under the subheading “Reducing the Initial Sales Charge on Purchases of Class A Shares” on page 96 of this Prospectus.
 
       
      Class I      Class A      Class R6  
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
          
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a % of offering price)
     None        3.75      None  
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a % of offering or sales price, whichever is less)1
     None        None        None  
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
          
Management Fees
     0.35      0.35      0.35
Distribution and Service (12b‑1) Fees
     None        0.25      None  
Other Expenses
     0.67      0.74      0.70
Acquired Funds Fees and Expenses2
     0.01      0.01      0.01
    
 
 
    
 
 
    
 
 
 
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
     1.03      1.35      1.06
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement2
     (0.57 )%       (0.64 )%       (0.65 )% 
    
 
 
    
 
 
    
 
 
 
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement
     0.46      0.71      0.41
 
1   A 1.00% CDSC is imposed on redemptions of Class A shares made within 12 months of a purchase of $1 million or more of Class A shares on which no front‑end sales charge was paid.
 
2   Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses differ from the ratio of expenses to average net assets shown in the Financial Highlights, which reflect the operating expenses of the Fund and do not include acquired fund fees and expenses.
 
3   The Advisor has contractually agreed to waive fees and/or pay operating expenses in order to limit the Fund’s total expenses (excluding brokerage and other investment-related costs, interest, taxes, dues, fees and other charges of governments and their agencies, extraordinary expenses such as litigation and indemnification, other expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the Fund’s business and acquired fund fees and expenses) to 0.45% of the Fund’s average daily net assets for Class I shares 0.70% for Class A shares and 0.40% for Class R6 shares. This expense limitation agreement is in place until January 31, 2025 and may not be terminated by the Advisor prior to that date. The expense limitation agreement may be revised or terminated by the Fund’s board of trustees if the board consents to a revision or termination as being in the best interests of the Fund. The Advisor is entitled to recoup from the Fund or class the fees and/or operating expenses previously waived or reimbursed for a period of 3 years from the date of such waiver or reimbursement, provided that such recoupment does not cause the Fund’s expense ratio (after the repayment is taken into account) to exceed the lesser of: (i) the Fund’s expense limitation at the time of the waiver or reimbursement and (ii) the Fund’s expense limitation at the time of recoupment.
 
21

     
  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund  
     
     
 
Example:    This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs for the Fund reflect the net expenses of the Fund that result from the contractual expense limitation through the expiration date stated above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
 
      Class I      Class A      Class R6  
One Year
   $ 47      $ 445      $ 42  
Three Years
   $ 271      $ 726      $ 273  
Five Years
   $ 513      $ 1,028      $ 522  
Ten Years
   $ 1,207      $ 1,884      $ 1,235  
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the Fund’s most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 750% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its assets in fixed income securities. For purposes of this policy, the term “assets” means net assets plus the amount of borrowings for investment purposes. The fixed income securities in which the Fund may invest include, but are not limited to, bonds, municipal securities, mortgage-related and asset-backed securities (including Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (“CMOs”)), and obligations of U.S. and foreign governments (and supranational organizations) and their agencies. The Fund may invest in securities with fixed, floating or variable rates of interest. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in securities that are non‑investment grade (high yield/junk bond).
The Fund will be managed relative to the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index as the Fund’s duration will be managed relative to the Index. The weighted average effective duration of the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index was 6.24 years as of December 31, 2023. The Fund typically seeks to maintain a duration of +/- 2 years versus benchmark. Duration is a measure of price sensitivity of a debt security or a portfolio of debt securities relative to changes in interest rates. The longer a security’s duration, the more sensitive it will be to changes in interest rates.
The Fund’s investment strategy is referred to as “Core Plus” because the Advisor has the ability to add high yield securities and other securities to a
 
22

     
  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund  
     
     
 
core portfolio of investment grade fixed income securities that are generally representative of the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index.
The Fund may invest in securities of both U.S. and foreign issuers. The Fund will normally invest in a portfolio of fixed income securities denominated in U.S. Dollars but may invest in securities denominated in currencies of other countries.
In addition, the Fund may invest its assets in derivatives, which are instruments that have a value derived from or directly linked to an underlying asset, such as equity securities, bonds, commodities, currencies, interest rates, or market indices. In particular, the Fund may use exchange-traded options, bond futures, interest rate swaps, credit default swaps (including buying and selling credit default swaps on individual securities and/or baskets of securities) and currency futures for portfolio positioning and risk management purposes. The Fund’s exposure to derivatives will vary. For purposes of meeting its 80% investment policy, the Fund may include derivatives that have characteristics similar to the Fund’s direct investments.
The Advisor is primarily responsible for managing the Fund’s assets. The Advisor uses a bottom‑up, fundamental process combined with top‑down risk management tools designed to meet the Fund’s investment objective. The Advisor uses detailed credit analysis to identify investment opportunities while simultaneously seeking to minimize principal losses.
The Advisor incorporates material environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors as part of the investment process.
The Advisor employs ESG Exclusion / Negative Screening as part of its investment process in managing the Fund. ESG Exclusion / Negative Screening is defined as the exclusion of certain sectors, issuers or practices based on specific ESG considerations determined by the Advisor, as applicable.
The ESG Exclusion / Negative Screening applied by the Fund’s Advisor includes:
 
   
Non‑compliance with the UN Global Compact Principles;
 
   
Producers of controversial weapons, including, but not limited to, cluster munitions, anti-personnel mines, chemical and biological weapons and depleted uranium;
 
   
Tobacco producers; and
 
   
Certain thresholds of involvement in thermal coal mining and power generation.
The Advisor may also facilitate ESG engagement, which is defined by the Advisor as the interactions between the Advisor and current or potential investees (which may be companies, sovereign, supranational and agency issuers (SSA) and/or other stakeholders of relevance to the investees on ESG issues). The Advisor may undertake ESG engagement to seek to gain insight regarding an issuer’s ESG practices and/or improve an issuer’s ESG disclosure. For example, the Advisor may engage with certain issuers
 
23

     
  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund  
     
     
 
regarding governance practices as well as what the Advisor deems to be materially important environmental and/or social issues.
For specific issuer and security types, as well as certain investment exposures, fixed income securities held by the Fund are subject to the Advisor’s ESG evaluation. The Advisor’s ESG evaluation is part of its wider credit analysis. The Advisor uses in‑house ESG research supplemented by external third-party ESG information.
Principal Risks
The value of your investment in the Fund will change daily, which means that you could lose money. 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 other government agency. By itself, the Fund is not a balanced investment program. There is no guarantee that the Fund will meet its goal. The principal risks of investing in the Fund include:
Interest Rate Risk.    The Fund’s yield and value will fluctuate as the general level of interest rates change. During periods when interest rates are low, the Fund’s yield may also be low. When interest rates increase, securities held by the Fund will generally decline in value. Interest rate changes are influenced by a number of factors including government policy, inflation expectations, and supply and demand. Municipal securities may be issued on a when-issued or delayed delivery basis, where payment and delivery take place at a future date. The Fund assumes the risk that the value of the security at delivery may be more or less than the purchase price.
Credit Spread Risk.    The Fund’s investments may be adversely affected if any of the issuers it is invested in are subject to an actual or perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) deterioration to their credit quality. Any actual or perceived deterioration may lead to an increase in the credit spreads and a decline in price of the issuer’s securities.
Issuer/Credit Risk.    There is a possibility that issuers of securities in which the Fund may invest may default on the payment of interest or principal on the securities when due, which could cause the Fund to lose money.
Market Risk.    The markets in which the Fund invests may go down in value, sometimes sharply and unpredictably. The success of the Fund’s investment program may be affected by general economic and market conditions, such as interest rates, availability of credit, inflation rates, economic uncertainty, changes in laws, and national and international political circumstances. Unexpected volatility or illiquidity could impair the Fund’s profitability or result in losses. A Fund’s investments may be overweighted from time to time in one or more sectors, which will increase the Fund’s exposure to risk of loss from adverse developments affecting those sectors.
 
24

     
  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund  
     
     
 
Investment Grade Securities Risk.    The Fund primarily invests in investment grade rated securities. Investment grade rated securities are assigned credit ratings by ratings agencies on the basis of the creditworthiness or risk of default of a bond issue. Rating agencies review, from time to time, such assigned ratings of the securities and may subsequently downgrade the rating if economic circumstances impact the relevant bond issues.
Mortgage-Related Securities Risk.    Mortgage-related securities represent direct or indirect participation in, or are secured by and payable from, mortgage loans secured by real property, and include pass-through securities and Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (“CMOs”). Mortgage pass-through securities are securities representing interests in “pools” of mortgages in which payments of both interest and principal on the securities are made monthly, in effect “passing through” monthly payments made by the individual borrowers on the underlying residential mortgage loans. Early repayment of principal on mortgage pass-through securities may expose the Fund to a lower rate of return upon reinvestment of principal. CMOs are hybrid instruments with characteristics of both mortgage-backed bonds and mortgage pass-through securities. CMOs are issued in multiple classes, and each class may have its own interest rate and/or maturity. The value of some classes in which the Fund invests may be more volatile and may be subject to higher risk of non‑payment.
Like other fixed-income securities, when interest rates rise, the value of a mortgage-related security generally will decline; however, when interest rates decline, the value of mortgage-related securities with prepayment features may not increase as much as other fixed-income securities. Upward trends in interest rates tend to lengthen the average life of mortgage-related securities and also cause the value of outstanding securities to drop. Thus, during periods of rising interest rates, the value of these securities held by the Fund would tend to drop and the portfolio-weighted average life of such securities held by the Fund may tend to lengthen due to this effect. Longer-term securities tend to experience more price volatility.
Asset-Backed Securities Risk.    Payments on asset-backed securities depend upon assets held by the issuer and collections of the underlying loans. The value of these securities depends on many factors, including changing interest rates, the availability of information about the pool and its structure, the credit quality of the underlying assets, the market’s perception of the servicer of the pool, and any credit enhancement provided. In certain market conditions, asset-backed securities may experience volatile fluctuations in value and periods of illiquidity.
Prepayment Risk.    The value of some mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities in which the Fund invests may fall due to unanticipated levels of principal prepayments that can occur when interest rates decline.
U.S. Government Obligations Risk.    Obligations of U.S. Government agencies, authorities, instrumentalities and sponsored enterprises (such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) have historically involved little risk of loss of
 
25

     
  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund  
     
     
 
principal if held to maturity. However, the maximum potential liability of the issuers of some of these securities may greatly exceed their current resources and no assurance can be given that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to any of these entities if it is not obligated to do so by law.
High Yield Securities Risk.    High yield securities, which are non‑investment grade fixed income securities and unrated securities of comparable credit quality (commonly known as “junk bonds”) are considered speculative and have a higher risk of an issuer’s inability to meet principal and interest payment obligations. These securities may be subject to greater price volatility due to such factors as specific corporate developments, interest rate sensitivity, negative perceptions of the junk bond markets generally and less secondary market liquidity.
Liquidity Risk.    The Fund may be subject to the risk that a particular investment may be difficult to purchase or sell and that the Fund may be unable to sell illiquid securities (including securities deemed liquid at the time of purchase that subsequently became less liquid) at an advantageous time or price or achieve its desired level of exposure to a certain sector.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk.    The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of its portfolio securities. High portfolio turnover (more than 100%) may result in increased transaction costs to the Fund, including brokerage commissions, dealer mark‑ups and other transaction costs on the sale of the securities and on reinvestment in other securities.
Valuation Risk.    The Fund’s assets are generally valued based on evaluated prices received from third-party pricing services or from broker-dealers who make markets in the securities and are generally categorized as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy. As a result, there is the risk that the values at which these investments are sold may be significantly different to the estimated fair values of these investments.
Derivatives Risk.    Derivatives and other similar instruments (collectively referred to as “derivatives”), including options contracts, futures contracts, forwards, options on futures contracts and swap agreements (including, but not limited to, credit default swaps and swaps on exchange-traded funds), may be riskier than other types of investments and could result in losses that significantly exceed the Fund’s original investment. The performance of derivatives depends largely on the performance of their underlying asset reference, rate, or index; therefore, derivatives often have risks similar to those risks of the underlying asset, reference rate or index, in addition to other risks. However, the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with, and may be more sensitive to market events than, the underlying asset, reference, rate or index. Many derivatives create leverage thereby causing the Fund to be more volatile than it would have been if it had not used derivatives. Over‑the‑counter (“OTC”) derivatives are traded bilaterally between two parties, which exposes the Fund to heightened liquidity risk,
valuation risk and counterparty risk (the risk that the derivative counterparty will not fulfill its contractual obligations), including the credit risk of the derivative counterparty, compared to other types of investments. Changes in
 
26

     
  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund  
     
     
 
the value of a derivative may also create margin delivery or settlement payment obligations for a Fund. Certain derivatives are required to be exchange traded and/or cleared (which interposes a central clearinghouse to each participant’s derivative transaction) and are subject to margin requirements. Exchange trading, central clearing and margin requirements are intended to reduce counterparty credit risk and increase liquidity and transparency, but do not make a derivatives transaction risk-free and may subject the Fund to increased costs. The use of derivatives may not be successful, and certain of the Fund’s transactions in derivatives may not perform as expected, which may prevent the Fund from realizing the intended benefits, and could result in a loss to the Fund. In addition, given their complexity, derivatives expose the Fund to risks of mispricing or improper valuation, as well as liquidity risk. The use of derivatives is also subject to operational risk which refers to risk related to potential operational issues, including documentation issues, settlement issues, system failures, inadequate controls, and human error, as well as legal risk which refers to the risk of loss resulting from insufficient documentation, insufficient capacity or authority of counterparty, or legality or enforceability of a contract.
Foreign Risk.    Foreign securities may be subject to risk of loss because of less foreign government regulation, less public information, different auditing and legal standards and less economic, political, environmental and social stability in these countries. Loss may also result from the imposition of exchange controls, sanctions, trading restrictions, confiscation of assets and property and other government restrictions, or from problems in registration, settlement or custody. Foreign risk also involves the risk of negative foreign currency 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. Additionally, foreign securities and dividends and interest payable on those securities may be subject to foreign taxes, including taxes withheld from payments on those securities.
Sovereign Debt Risk.    Sovereign debt securities are issued or guaranteed by foreign governmental entities. These investments are subject to the risk that a governmental entity may delay or refuse to pay interest or repay principal on its sovereign debt, due, for example, to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves, political considerations, the relative size of the governmental entity’s debt position in relation to the economy or the failure to put in place economic reforms required by the International Monetary Fund or other multilateral agencies. If a governmental entity defaults, it may ask for more time in which to pay or for further loans. There is no legal process for collecting sovereign debts that a government does not pay nor are there bankruptcy proceedings through which all or part of the sovereign debt that a governmental entity has not repaid may be collected.
Currency Risk.    Changes in foreign currency exchange rates will affect the value of the Fund’s securities and the price of the Fund’s shares. Generally,
 
27

     
  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund  
     
     
 
when the value of the U.S. Dollar rises in value relative to a foreign currency, an investment in that country loses value because that currency is worth fewer U.S. Dollars. Devaluation of a currency by a country’s government or banking authority also may have a significant impact on the value of any investments denominated in that currency. Currency markets generally are not as regulated as securities markets.
Municipal Obligations Risk.    Municipal obligations include debt obligations issued by or on behalf of states, territories, possessions, or sovereign nations within the territorial boundaries of the United States (including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico). The risk of a municipal obligation generally depends on the financial and credit status of the issuer. Changes in a municipality’s financial status may make it difficult for the municipality to make interest and principal payments when due. Municipal obligations may be more susceptible to downgrades or defaults during recessions or similar periods of economic stress. In addition, since some municipal obligations may be secured or guaranteed by banks and other institutions, the risk to the Fund could increase if the banking or financial sector suffers an economic downturn and/or if the credit ratings of the institutions issuing the guarantee are downgraded or at risk of being downgraded by a national rating organization. In addition to being downgraded, an insolvent municipality may file for bankruptcy.
U.S. Government Intervention in Financial Markets Risk.    Instability in the financial markets has led the U.S. Government to take unprecedented actions to support certain financial institutions and certain segments of the financial markets that experienced extreme volatility. Regulatory organizations may take future legislative or regulatory actions that may affect the operations of the Fund or the Fund’s investments. Such actions could limit or preclude the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective.
Active Management Risk.    The Fund is actively managed and its performance therefore will reflect in part the Advisor’s ability to make investment decisions that are suited to achieve the Fund’s investment objective.
Limited Operating History Risk.    The Fund has limited operating history. As a result, prospective investors have a limited track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.
Performance Information
The bar chart and performance table provide an indication of the risks of an investment in the Fund by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns (before and after taxes) compare with those of a broad-based securities index. The returns for Class A and Class R6 shares will be different than the returns of Class I shares shown in the bar chart and performance table because fees and expenses of the classes differ. Past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated information on the Fund’s performance can be obtained by visiting www.rbcgam.com or by calling 1‑800‑422‑2766.
 
28

     
  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund  
     
     
 
Annual Total Returns – Class I
 
LOGO    
    During the periods shown in the chart for Class I
Shares of the Fund:
 
 
          Quarter     Year     Returns  
    Best quarter:     4Q       2023       7.54%  
    Worst quarter:     1Q       2022       (6.18)%  
                               
Performance Table
The table below shows after‑tax returns for Class I shares only. Before‑tax returns for Class A shares assume applicable maximum sales charges. After‑tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after‑tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. After‑tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold Fund shares through tax‑deferred arrangements, such as qualified retirement plans. In some cases, returns after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares may be higher than returns before taxes because the calculations assume that the investor received a tax benefit for any loss incurred on the sale of the shares. The inception date of the Fund is November 1, 2021.
 
 
   
Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2023)
 
         
Past
Year
    
Since
Inception
 
   
Class I Return Before Taxes
     9.62%        (2.73 )% 
   
Class I Return After Taxes on Distributions
     7.64      (4.17 )% 
   
Class I Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Shares
     5.63      (2.69 )% 
   
Class A Return Before Taxes
     4.56%        (4.91 )% 
   
Class R6 Return Before Taxes
     9.67%        (2.68 )% 
   
Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
     5.53      (4.05 )% 
                       
Management
Investment Advisor
RBC Global Asset Management (U.S.) Inc.
 
29

     
  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund  
     
     
 
Portfolio Managers
The following individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day‑to‑day management of the Fund’s portfolio:
 
   
Andrzej Skiba, Senior Portfolio Manager, of the Advisor, has been a Co‑Portfolio Manager of the Fund since its inception.
 
   
Brian Svendahl, Senior Portfolio Manager, of the Advisor, has been a Co‑Portfolio Manager of the Fund since its inception.
 
   
Brandon Swensen, Senior Portfolio Manager, of the Advisor, has been a Co‑Portfolio Manager of the Fund since its inception.
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions generally are taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or a combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax -deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account, in which case you may be taxed later upon withdrawal of your investment from such arrangement.
For important information about “Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares” and “Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries,” please turn to “Important Additional Information” on page 40 of this Prospectus.
 
30

     
  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund  
     
     
 
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks to provide total return (capital appreciation and income).
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts on purchases of Class A shares of the Fund if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $100,000 in Class A shares of the RBC Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial intermediary and under the subheading “Reducing the Initial Sales Charge on Purchases of Class A Shares” on page 96 of this Prospectus.
 
       
      Class I      Class A      Class R6  
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
          
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases
(as a % of offering price)
     None        3.75      None  
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a % of offering or sales price, whichever is less)1
     None        None        None  
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
          
Management Fees
     0.53      0.53      0.53
Distribution and Service (12b‑1) Fees
     None        0.25      None  
Other Expenses
     0.58      0.64      0.60
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses2
     0.01      0.01      0.01
    
 
 
    
 
 
    
 
 
 
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
     1.12      1.43      1.14
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement3
     (0.48 )%       (0.54 )%       (0.55 )% 
    
 
 
    
 
 
    
 
 
 
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement
     0.64      0.89      0.59
 
1   A 1.00% CDSC is imposed on redemptions of Class A shares made within 12 months of a purchase of $1 million or more of Class A shares on which no front‑end sales charge was paid.
 
2   Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses differ from the ratio of expenses to average net assets shown in the Financial Highlights, which reflect the operating expenses of the Fund and do not include acquired fund fees and expenses.
 
3   The Advisor has contractually agreed to waive fees and/or pay operating expenses in order to limit the Fund’s total expenses (excluding brokerage and other investment-related costs, interest, taxes, dues, fees and other charges of governments and their agencies, extraordinary expenses such as litigation and indemnification, other expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the Fund’s business and acquired fund fees and expenses) to 0.63% of the Fund’s average daily net assets for Class I shares 0.88% for Class A shares and 0.58% for Class R6. This expense limitation agreement is in place until January 31, 2025 and may not be terminated by the Advisor prior to that date. The expense limitation agreement may be revised or terminated by the Fund’s board of trustees if the board consents to a revision or termination as being in the best interests of the Fund. The Advisor is entitled to recoup from the Fund or class the fees and/or operating expenses previously waived or reimbursed for a period of 3 years from the date of such waiver or reimbursement, provided that such recoupment does not cause the Fund’s expense ratio (after the repayment is taken into account) to exceed the lesser of: (i) the Fund’s expense limitation at the time of the waiver or reimbursement and (ii) the Fund’s expense limitation at the time of recoupment.
 
31

     
  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund  
     
     
 
Example:    This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs for the Fund reflect the net expenses of the Fund that result from the contractual expense limitation through the expiration date stated above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
 
      Class I      Class A      Class R6  
One Year
   $ 65      $ 462      $ 60  
Three Years
   $ 308      $ 759      $ 307  
Five Years
   $ 571      $ 1.077      $ 574  
Ten Years
   $ 1,322      $ 1,978      $ 1,336  
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the Fund’s most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 712% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in fixed income securities. The fixed income securities in which the Fund may invest include, but are not limited to, bonds, municipal securities, mortgage-related and asset-backed securities (including Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (“CMOs”)), and obligations of U.S. and foreign governments and their agencies.
The Fund is actively managed and is not managed to an index and may invest in securities of any maturity. The Fund will invest primarily in US domestic investment grade bonds, but will be allowed to invest flexibly across sectors, including non US and non investment grade securities. The Fund may invest in securities with fixed, floating or variable rates of interest. The Fund may invest up to 30% of its net assets in securities that are non investment grade (high yield/junk bond).
In addition, the Fund may invest its assets in derivatives, which are instruments that have a value derived from or directly linked to an underlying asset, such as equity securities, bonds, commodities, currencies, interest rates, or market indices. In particular, the Fund may use exchange-traded options, bond futures, interest rate swaps, credit default swaps (including buying and selling credit default swaps on individual securities and/or baskets of securities) and currency futures for portfolio positioning and risk management purposes. The Fund’s exposure to derivatives will vary.
 
32

     
  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund  
     
     
 
The Advisor is primarily responsible for managing the Fund’s assets. The Advisor uses a bottom up, fundamental process combined with top down risk management tools designed to meet the Fund’s investment objective.
The Advisor uses detailed credit analysis to identify investment opportunities while simultaneously seeking to minimize principal losses.
The Advisor incorporates material environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors as part of the investment process.
The Advisor employs ESG Exclusion / Negative Screening as part of its investment process in managing the Fund. ESG Exclusion / Negative Screening is defined as the exclusion of certain sectors, issuers or practices based on specific ESG considerations determined by the Advisor, as applicable.
The ESG Exclusion / Negative Screening applied by the Fund’s Advisor includes:
 
   
Non‑compliance with the UN Global Compact Principles;
 
   
Producers of controversial weapons, including, but not limited to, cluster munitions, anti-personnel mines, chemical and biological weapons and depleted uranium;
 
   
Tobacco producers; and
 
   
Certain thresholds of involvement in thermal coal mining and power generation.
The Advisor may also facilitate ESG engagement, which is defined by the Advisor as the interactions between the Advisor and current or potential investees (which may be companies, sovereign, supranational and agency issuers (SSA) and/or other stakeholders of relevance to the investees on ESG issues). The Advisor may undertake ESG engagement to seek to gain insight regarding an issuer’s ESG practices and/or improve an issuer’s ESG disclosure. For example, the Advisor may engage of certain issuers regarding governance practices as well as what the Advisor deems to be materially important environmental and/or social issues.
For specific issuer and security types, as well as certain investment exposures, fixed income securities held by the Fund are subject to the Advisor’s ESG evaluation. The Advisor’s ESG evaluation is part of its wider credit analysis. The Advisor uses in‑house ESG research supplemented by external third-party ESG information.
Principal Risks
The value of your investment in the Fund will change daily, which means that you could lose money. 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 other government agency. By itself, the Fund is not a balanced investment program. There is no guarantee
 
33

     
  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund  
     
     
 
that the Fund will meet its goal. The principal risks of investing in the Fund include:
Interest Rate Risk.    The Fund’s yield and value will fluctuate as the general level of interest rates change. During periods when interest rates are low, the Fund’s yield may also be low. When interest rates increase, securities held by the Fund will generally decline in value. Interest rate changes are influenced by a number of factors including government policy, inflation expectations, and supply and demand. Municipal securities may be issued on a when-issued or delayed delivery basis, where payment and delivery take place at a future date. The Fund assumes the risk that the value of the security at delivery may be more or less than the purchase price.
Credit Spread Risk.    The Fund’s investments may be adversely affected if any of the issuers it is invested in are subject to an actual or perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) deterioration to their credit quality. Any actual or perceived deterioration may lead to an increase in the credit spreads and a decline in price of the issuer’s securities.
Issuer/Credit Risk.    There is a possibility that issuers of securities in which the Fund may invest may default on the payment of interest or principal on the securities when due, which could cause the Fund to lose money.
Market Risk.    The markets in which the Fund invests may go down in value, sometimes sharply and unpredictably. The success of the Fund’s investment program may be affected by general economic and market conditions, such as interest rates, availability of credit, inflation rates, economic uncertainty, changes in laws, and national and international political circumstances. Unexpected volatility or illiquidity could impair the Fund’s profitability or result in losses. A Fund’s investments may be overweighted from time to time in one or more sectors, which will increase the Fund’s exposure to risk of loss from adverse developments affecting those sectors.
Investment Grade Securities Risk.    The Fund primarily invests in investment grade rated securities. Investment grade rated securities are assigned credit ratings by ratings agencies on the basis of the creditworthiness or risk of default of a bond issue. Rating agencies review, from time to time, such assigned ratings of the securities and may subsequently downgrade the rating if economic circumstances impact the relevant bond issues.
Mortgage-Related Securities Risk.    Mortgage-related securities represent direct or indirect participation in, or are secured by and payable from,
mortgage loans secured by real property, and include pass-through securities and Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (“CMOs”). Mortgage pass-through securities are securities representing interests in “pools” of mortgages in which payments of both interest and principal on the securities are made monthly, in effect “passing through” monthly payments made by the individual borrowers on the underlying residential mortgage loans. Early
 
34

     
  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund  
     
     
 
repayment of principal on mortgage pass-through securities may expose the Fund to a lower rate of return upon reinvestment of principal. CMOs are hybrid instruments with characteristics of both mortgage-backed bonds and mortgage pass-through securities. CMOs are issued in multiple classes, and each class may have its own interest rate and/or maturity. The value of some classes in which the Fund invests may be more volatile and may be subject to higher risk of non‑payment.
Like other fixed-income securities, when interest rates rise, the value of a mortgage-related security generally will decline; however, when interest rates decline, the value of mortgage-related securities with prepayment features may not increase as much as other fixed-income securities. Upward trends in interest rates tend to lengthen the average life of mortgage-related securities and also cause the value of outstanding securities to drop. Thus, during periods of rising interest rates, the value of these securities held by the Fund would tend to drop and the portfolio-weighted average life of such securities held by the Fund may tend to lengthen due to this effect. Longer-term securities tend to experience more price volatility.
Asset-Backed Securities Risk.    Payments on asset-backed securities depend upon assets held by the issuer and collections of the underlying loans. The value of these securities depends on many factors, including changing interest rates, the availability of information about the pool and its structure, the credit quality of the underlying assets, the market’s perception of the servicer of the pool, and any credit enhancement provided. In certain market conditions, asset-backed securities may experience volatile fluctuations in value and periods of illiquidity.
Prepayment Risk.    The value of some mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities in which the Fund invests may fall due to unanticipated levels of principal prepayments that can occur when interest rates decline.
U.S. Government Obligations Risk.    Obligations of U.S. Government agencies, authorities, instrumentalities and sponsored enterprises (such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) have historically involved little risk of loss of principal if held to maturity. However, the maximum potential liability of the issuers of some of these securities may greatly exceed their current resources
and no assurance can be given that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to any of these entities if it is not obligated to do so by law.
High Yield Securities Risk.    High yield securities, which are non‑investment grade fixed income securities and unrated securities of comparable credit quality (commonly known as “junk bonds”) are considered speculative and have a higher risk of an issuer’s inability to meet principal and interest payment obligations. These securities may be subject to greater price volatility due to such factors as specific corporate developments, interest rate sensitivity, negative perceptions of the junk bond markets generally and less secondary market liquidity.
Liquidity Risk.    The Fund may be subject to the risk that a particular investment may be difficult to purchase or sell and that the Fund may be unable to sell illiquid securities (including securities deemed liquid at the
 
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  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund  
     
     
 
time of purchase that subsequently became less liquid) at an advantageous time or price or achieve its desired level of exposure to a certain sector.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk.    The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of its portfolio securities. High portfolio turnover (more than 100%) may result in increased transaction costs to the Fund, including brokerage commissions, dealer mark‑ups and other transaction costs on the sale of the securities and on reinvestment in other securities.
Valuation Risk.    The Fund’s assets are generally valued based on evaluated prices received from third-party pricing services or from broker-dealers who make markets in the securities and are generally categorized as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy. As a result, there is the risk that the values at which these investments are sold may be significantly different to the estimated fair values of these investments.
Derivatives Risk.    Derivatives and other similar instruments (collectively referred to as “derivatives”), including options contracts, futures contracts, forwards, options on futures contracts and swap agreements (including, but not limited to, credit default swaps and swaps on exchange-traded funds), may be riskier than other types of investments and could result in losses that significantly exceed the Fund’s original investment. The performance of derivatives depends largely on the performance of their underlying asset reference, rate, or index; therefore, derivatives often have risks similar to those risks of the underlying asset, reference rate or index, in addition to other risks. However, the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with, and may be more sensitive to market events than, the underlying asset, reference, rate or index. Many derivatives create leverage thereby causing the Fund to be more volatile than it would have been if it had not used derivatives. Over ‑the ‑counter (“OTC”) derivatives are traded bilaterally between two parties, which exposes the Fund to heightened liquidity risk, valuation risk and counterparty risk (the risk that the derivative counterparty will not fulfill its contractual obligations), including the credit risk of the derivative counterparty, compared to other types of investments. Changes in the value of a derivative may also create margin delivery or settlement payment obligations for the Fund. Certain derivatives are required to be exchange traded and/or cleared (which interposes a central clearinghouse to each participant’s derivative transaction) and are subject to margin requirements. Exchange trading, central clearing and margin requirements are intended to reduce counterparty credit risk and increase liquidity and transparency, but do not make a derivatives transaction risk-free and may subject the Fund to increased costs. The use of derivatives may not be successful, and certain of the Fund’s transactions in derivatives may not perform as expected, which may prevent the Fund from realizing the intended benefits, and could result in a loss to the Fund. In addition, given their complexity, derivatives expose the Fund to risks of mispricing or improper valuation, as well as liquidity risk. The use of derivatives is also subject to operational risk which refers to risk related to potential operational issues, including documentation issues, settlement issues, system failures, inadequate controls, and human error, as well as legal risk which refers to the risk of loss resulting from insufficient documentation,
 
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  Fund Summary   RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund  
     
     
 
insufficient capacity or authority of counterparty, or legality or enforceability of a contract.
Foreign Risk.    Foreign securities may be subject to risk of loss because of less foreign government regulation, less public information, different auditing and legal standards and less economic, political, environmental and social stability in these countries. Loss may also result from the imposition of exchange controls, sanctions, trading restrictions, confiscation of assets and property and other government restrictions, or from problems in registration, settlement or custody. Foreign risk also involves the risk of negative foreign currency 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. Additionally, foreign securities and dividends and interest payable on those securities may be subject to foreign taxes, including taxes withheld from payments on those securities.
Sovereign Debt Risk.    Sovereign debt securities are issued or guaranteed by foreign governmental entities. These investments are subject to the risk that a governmental entity may delay or refuse to pay interest or repay principal on its sovereign debt, due, for example, to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves, political considerations, the relative size of the governmental entity’s debt position in relation to the economy or the failure to put in place economic reforms required by the International Monetary Fund or other multilateral agencies. If a governmental entity defaults, it may ask for more time in which to pay or for further loans. There is no legal process for collecting sovereign debts that a government does not pay nor are there bankruptcy proceedings through which all or part of the sovereign debt that a governmental entity has not repaid may be collected.
Currency Risk.    Changes in foreign currency exchange rates will affect the value of the Fund’s securities and the price of the Fund’s shares. Generally, when the value of the U.S. Dollar rises in value relative to a foreign currency, an investment in that country loses value because that currency is worth fewer U.S. Dollars. Devaluation of a currency by a country’s government or banking authority also may have a significant impact on the value of any investments denominated in that currency. Currency markets generally are not as regulated as securities markets.
Municipal Obligations Risk.    Municipal obligations include debt obligations issued by or on behalf of states, territories, possessions, or sovereign nations within the territorial boundaries of the United States (including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico). The risk of a municipal obligation generally depends on the financial and credit status of the issuer. Changes in a municipality’s financial status may make it difficult for the municipality to make interest and principal payments when due. Municipal obligations may be more susceptible to downgrades or defaults during recessions or similar periods of economic stress. In addition, since some municipal obligations may be secured or guaranteed by banks and other
 
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institutions, the risk to the Fund could increase if the banking or financial sector suffers an economic downturn and/or if the credit ratings of the institutions issuing the guarantee are downgraded or at risk of being downgraded by a national rating organization. In addition to being downgraded, an insolvent municipality may file for bankruptcy.
U.S. Government Intervention in Financial Markets Risk.    Instability in the financial markets has led the U.S. Government to take unprecedented actions to support certain financial institutions and certain segments of the financial markets that experienced extreme volatility. Regulatory organizations may take future legislative or regulatory actions that may affect the operations of the Fund or the Fund’s investments. Such actions could limit or preclude the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective.
Active Management Risk.    The Fund is actively managed and its performance therefore will reflect in part the Advisor’s ability to make investment decisions that are suited to achieve the Fund’s investment objective.
Limited Operating History Risk.    The Fund has limited operating history. As a result, prospective investors have a limited track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.
Performance Information
The bar chart and performance table provide an indication of the risks of an investment in the Fund by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns (before and after taxes) compare with those of two broad-based securities indexes. The returns for Class A and Class R6 shares will be different than the returns of Class I shares shown in the bar chart and performance table because fees and expenses of the classes differ. Past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated information on the Fund’s performance can be obtained by visiting www.rbcgam.com or by calling 1‑800‑422‑2766.
Annual Total Returns – Class I
 
LOGO    
    During the periods shown in the chart for Class I
Shares of the Fund:
 
 
          Quarter     Year     Returns  
    Best quarter:     4Q       2023       3.41%  
    Worst quarter:     2Q       2022       (1.90)%  
                               
 
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Performance Table
The table below shows after‑tax returns for Class I shares only. Before‑tax returns for Class A shares assume applicable maximum sales charges. After‑tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after‑tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. After‑tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold Fund shares through tax‑deferred arrangements, such as qualified retirement plans. In some cases, returns after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares may be higher than returns before taxes because the calculations assume that the investor received a tax benefit for any loss incurred on the sale of the shares. The inception date of the Fund is November 1, 2021.
 
 
   
Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2023)
 
  
         
Past
Year
    
Since
Inception
 
   
Class I Return Before Taxes
     9.73%        4.28%  
   
Class I Return After Taxes on Distributions
     6.83      2.15
   
Class I Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Shares
     6.10%        2.54
   
Class A Return Before Taxes
     4.81%        1.97%  
   
Class R6 Return Before Taxes
     9.78%        4.33%  
   
ICE BofA US Dollar 3‑Month Deposit Offered Rate Constant Maturity Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
     5.13%        2.91%  
   
Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
     5.53      (4.05 )% 
                       
Management
Investment Advisor
RBC Global Asset Management (U.S.) Inc.
Portfolio Managers
The following individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day‑to‑day management of the Fund’s portfolio:
 
   
Andrzej Skiba, Senior Portfolio Manager, of the Advisor, has been a Co‑Portfolio Manager of the Fund since its inception.
 
   
Brian Svendahl, Senior Portfolio Manager, of the Advisor, has been a Co‑Portfolio Manager of the Fund since its inception.
 
   
Brandon Swensen, Senior Portfolio Manager, of the Advisor, has been a Co‑Portfolio Manager of the Fund since its inception.
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions generally are taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or a combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax‑deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account, in which case you may be taxed later upon withdrawal of your investment from such arrangement.
For important information about “Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares” and “Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries,” please turn to “Important Additional Information” on page 40 of this Prospectus.
 
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  Important Additional Information    
     
     
 
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
You may purchase or redeem (sell) shares of the Funds on any business day by phone (1‑800‑422‑2766), by mail (RBC Funds, c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, P.O. Box 701, Milwaukee, WI 53201-0701) or by wire. The following table provides the Funds’ minimum initial and subsequent investment requirements, which may be reduced or modified in some cases.
 
Minimum Initial Investment:    
 
Class A
  $1,000 ($250 IRA)
 
Class I
  $1,000,000 ($0 through Qualified Retirement Benefit Plans)
 
Class R6
 
$1,000,000 for Institutional Investors1
$0 for Eligible Investors1
Minimum Subsequent Investment:  
 
Class A
  None
 
Class I
  None
 
Class R6
  None
 
1   For more information about Institutional Investors and Eligible Investors, see “Additional Information about Purchasing and Selling Shares” on page 83 of this Prospectus.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of a Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and/or the Advisor may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
 
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Investment Objectives
Each Fund’s investment objective described in the “Fund Summary” section of this Prospectus is non‑fundamental and may be changed by the Board of Trustees (“Board”) without shareholder approval.
Principal Investment Strategies
The information below describes in greater detail each Fund’s principal investment strategies. The Funds will provide shareholders with at least 60 days’ prior notice of any changes in their 80% investment policy. A further discussion of permissible investments can be found in the Funds’ Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).
RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Debt Fund.    The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its assets, measured at the time of purchase, in fixed income securities and/or investments that have similar economic characteristics as fixed income securities of issuers economically tied to emerging market countries that are considered by the Fund to have the potential to provide a high level of total return. For purposes of this policy, the term “assets” means net assets plus the amount of borrowings for investment purposes. The 80% investment policy may be changed by the Board without shareholder approval. The Fund will provide notice to its shareholders at least 60 days prior to any change to its 80% investment policy. These securities may be denominated in both the U.S. Dollar and currencies of other developed countries, and in currencies of the local emerging market countries. The Fund is managed to achieve a total rate of return in excess of the JPMorgan Emerging Markets Bond Index Global Diversified Index.
The Fund will primarily invest in sovereign debt securities. Sovereign debt securities are securities that are issued or guaranteed by foreign sovereign governments or their agencies, authorities or political subdivisions or instrumentalities, and supranational agencies. The Fund may also invest in debt securities issued or guaranteed by foreign corporations and foreign financial institutions and in loans.
The Fund may invest in sovereign debt securities which are traded in local markets in local currency, and bonds and notes issued by banks and corporations which are traded in local markets. There is no limit on the number of countries in which the Fund may invest and the Fund may invest in a number of different countries at any time.
A security is economically tied to an emerging market country if it is issued by a foreign government (or any political subdivision, agency, authority or instrumentality of such government) or corporation and the security is principally traded on the emerging market country’s securities markets, or the issuer is headquartered in the emerging market country, 100% of the issuer’s assets are within the economies of emerging market countries, or the issuer is 100% secured by assets within the economies of emerging market countries. In determining whether a country is emerging or developed, the
 
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Fund will consider (i) classifications by the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation or the United Nations (and its agencies); (ii) classifications by the JPMorgan EMBI Global Diversified index; and (iii) the International Monetary Fund’s definition and list of developing and emerging market countries. Currently, emerging market countries include, but are not limited to, countries in Asia (excluding Japan), Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America.
The Fund will normally invest in a portfolio of fixed income securities denominated in both the U.S. Dollar and currencies of other developed countries, and in currencies of the local emerging market countries. Currency investments provide the Fund with economic exposure similar to investments in sovereign and corporate debt with respect to currency and interest rate exposure. Currencies of developed countries include: U.S. Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Euro, GB Pound and Japanese Yen. Local currencies can be defined as the currency of the issuer based in emerging market countries worldwide (e.g. Brazil bonds issued in Brazilian Real). The Fund will vary its proportion invested in developed country currency instruments and emerging markets currency instruments according to the investment view of the Fund in relation to the relevant instruments. In making this selection, the Fund will consider in particular the credit rating, the currency (in case of emerging market currency instruments only) and the interest rate of such instruments.
The Fund will invest, either directly or indirectly (e.g. via derivatives such as credit linked notes, interest rate swaps, total return swaps and credit default swaps), in fixed income securities of any rating (i.e. including investment grade and below investment grade (junk bonds)) issued by emerging market issuers or entities domiciled in an emerging market country, as well as in distressed debt securities of issuers from emerging market countries. The Fund may invest in securities of any market capitalization and may from time to time invest a significant amount of its assets in fixed income securities issued by smaller companies. The Fund’s investments may be of any maturity.
Derivatives, which are instruments that have a value based on another instrument, interest rate, exchange rate or index, may be used as substitutes for securities in which the Fund can invest. The Fund may use futures contracts, options, swaps, and forwards as tools in the management of portfolio assets. The Fund may use such derivatives through either the creation of long and short positions to hedge various investments, for investment purposes, for risk management, to increase income or gain to the Fund, to improve the performance of the Fund or to gain exposure to certain countries or currencies in the Fund’s investment portfolio in accordance with its investment objective, and the Fund’s investments in these instruments may have a significant impact on the Fund’s portfolio.
The Fund normally invests for the long-term but may sell a security at any time that the Sub‑Advisor considers it to be overvalued or otherwise unfavorable.
 
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The Fund is non‑diversified, which means that it may invest its assets in a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund.
The Sub‑Advisor incorporates material environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors as part of the investment process.
The Sub‑Advisor employs ESG Exclusion / Negative Screening as part of its investment process in managing the Fund. ESG Exclusion / Negative Screening is defined as the exclusion of certain sectors, issuers or practices based on specific ESG considerations determined by the Sub‑Advisor, as applicable.
The ESG Exclusion / Negative Screening applied by the Sub‑Advisor includes:
 
   
Producers of controversial weapons, including, but not limited to, cluster munitions, anti-personnel mines, chemical and biological weapons and depleted uranium;
 
   
Tobacco producers;
 
   
Certain thresholds of involvement in thermal coal mining;
 
   
Certain thresholds of involvement in oil sands exploration and production: and
 
   
Party to, or ratification status of, UN conventions and treaties against corruption and torture and punishment.
ESG Integration is defined by the Sub‑Advisor as the systematic and explicit inclusion of material ESG factors into investment analysis by the Sub‑Advisor. Material ESG factors are considered as part of the investment analysis of relevant fixed income securities and may help inform the Sub‑Advisor’s portfolio construction decisions.
For specific issuer and security types, as well as certain investment exposures, fixed income securities held by the Fund are subject to the Sub‑Advisor’s ESG evaluation. The Sub‑Advisor’s ESG evaluation is part of the Sub‑Advisor’s wider credit analysis. The Sub‑Advisor uses proprietary in‑house ESG research supplemented by external third-party ESG information.
The Sub‑Advisor’s ESG evaluation framework is differentiated based on the type of fixed income security. For single-issuer related investments, the Sub‑Advisor’s ESG evaluation focuses on the issuer’s practices, considering a range of ESG considerations including, but not limited to, governance, social, and environmental policies and management. The Sub‑Advisor’s assessment of the ESG quality considers an issuer’s practices in absolute terms as well as relative to its peer group.
The Sub‑Advisor may also facilitate ESG engagement, which is defined by the Sub‑Advisor as the interactions between the Sub‑Advisor and current or potential investees (which may be companies, sovereign, supranational and agency issuers (SSA) and/or other stakeholders of relevance to the investees on ESG issues). The Sub‑Advisor may undertake ESG engagement to seek to
 
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gain insight regarding an issuer’s ESG practices and/or improve an issuer’s ESG disclosure. For example, the Sub‑Advisor may engage with certain issuers regarding governance practices as well as what the Sub‑Advisor deems to be materially important environmental and/or social issues.
RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund.    The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its assets in fixed income securities and/or investments that, at the time of purchase, have similar economic characteristics as fixed income securities that are non‑investment grade (high yield /junk bond), and are considered by the Fund to have the potential to provide a high level of total return. For the purposes of this policy, the term “assets” means net assets plus the amount of borrowings for investment purposes. The 80% investment policy may be changed by the Board without shareholder approval. The Fund will provide notice to its shareholders at least 60 days prior to any change to its 80% investment policy.
Up to 20% of the Fund’s total assets may be invested in other securities, including investment grade securities. The Fund’s investments may be of any maturity. The Fund may also invest in loans.
Non‑investment grade securities are securities rated Ba1 or BB+ or below by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) or Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“S&P”), respectively, a similar rating from a recognized rating agency, or unrated securities deemed comparable by the Fund. The Fund will normally invest at least 70% of the Fund’s assets in security holdings issued by U.S.-domiciled entities. The Fund is managed to achieve a rate of return in excess of the ICE BofA US High Yield Index from a portfolio of fixed income securities predominantly of high yield issuers.
The Fund will invest, either directly or indirectly (e.g. via derivatives such as credit linked notes, interest rate swaps, total return swaps and credit default swaps), primarily in fixed income securities that are non‑investment grade. Derivatives, which are instruments that have a value based on another instrument, interest rate, exchange rate or index, may be used as substitutes for securities in which the Fund can invest. The Fund may use futures contracts, options, swaps and forwards as tools in the management of portfolio assets. The Fund may use such derivatives through either the creation of long and short positions to hedge various investments, for investment purposes, for risk management and/or in a manner intended to increase income or gain to the Fund.
The Fund normally invests for the long-term but may sell a security at any time that the Sub‑Advisor considers it to be overvalued or otherwise unfavorable.
The Advisor and Sub‑Advisor incorporate material environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors as part of the investment process.
The Advisor and Sub‑Advisor employ ESG Exclusion / Negative Screening as part of the investment process in managing the Fund. ESG Exclusion /
 
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Negative Screening is defined as the exclusion of certain sectors, issuers or practices based on specific ESG considerations determined by the Advisor or Sub‑Advisor, as applicable.
The ESG Exclusion / Negative Screening applied by the Advisor and Sub‑Advisor includes:
 
   
Non‑compliance with the UN Global Compact Principles;
 
   
Producers of controversial weapons, including, but not limited to, cluster munitions, anti-personnel mines, chemical and biological weapons and depleted uranium;
 
   
Tobacco producers; and
 
   
Certain thresholds of involvement in thermal coal mining and power generation.
ESG Integration is defined by the Advisor and Sub‑Advisor as the systematic and explicit inclusion of material ESG factors into investment analysis by the Advisor and Sub‑Advisor. Material ESG factors are considered as part of the investment analysis of relevant fixed income securities and may help inform the Advisor’s and Sub‑Advisor’s portfolio construction decisions. For specific issuer and security types, as well as certain investment exposures, fixed income securities held by the Fund are subject to the Advisor’s and Sub‑Advisor’s ESG evaluations. The Advisor’s and Sub‑Advisor’s ESG evaluation is part of the Advisor’s and Sub‑Advisor’s wider credit analysis. The Advisor and Sub‑Advisor use in‑house ESG research supplemented by external third-party ESG information.
The Advisor’s ESG evaluation framework is differentiated based on the type of fixed income security. For single-issuer related investments, the Advisor’s and Sub‑Advisor’s ESG analysis focuses on the issuer’s practices, considering a range of ESG considerations including, but not limited to, governance, social, and environmental policies and management. The Advisor’s and Sub‑Advisor’s assessment of the ESG quality considers an issuer’s practices in absolute terms as well as relative to its peer group.
The Advisor and Sub‑Advisor may also facilitate ESG engagement, which is defined by the Advisor and Sub‑Advisor as the interactions between the Advisor and Sub‑Advisor, as applicable, and current or potential investees (which may be companies, sovereign, supranational and agency issuers (SSA) and/or other stakeholders of relevance to the investees) on ESG issues. The Advisor or Sub‑Advisor may undertake ESG engagement to seek to gain insight regarding an issuer’s ESG practices and/or improve an issuer’s ESG disclosure. For example, the Advisor or Sub‑Advisor may engage with certain issuers regarding governance practices as well as what the Advisor or Sub‑Advisor deems to be materially important environmental and/or social issues.
RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund.    The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its assets in fixed income securities. For purposes of this policy, the term
 
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“assets” means net assets plus the amount of borrowings for investment purposes. The fixed income securities in which the Fund may invest include, but are not limited to, bonds, municipal securities, mortgage-related and asset-backed securities (including Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (“CMOs”)), and obligations of U.S. and foreign governments (and supranational organizations) and their agencies. The Fund is not expected to invest in excess of 15% of its net assets in CMOs. CMOs rated below investment grade are not expected to represent in excess of 10% of the Fund’s net assets. The Fund may invest in securities with fixed, floating or variable rates of interest. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in securities that are non‑investment grade (high yield/junk bond).
The Fund will be managed relative to the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index as the Fund’s duration will be managed relative to the Index. The weighted average effective duration of the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index was 6.24 years as of December 31, 2023. The Fund typically seeks to maintain a duration of +/- 2 years versus the benchmark. Duration is a measure of price sensitivity of a debt security or a portfolio of debt securities relative to changes in interest rates. The longer a security’s duration, the more sensitive it will be to changes in interest rates.
The Fund’s investment strategy is referred to as “Core Plus” because the Advisor has the ability to add high yield securities and other securities to a core portfolio of investment grade fixed income securities that are generally representative of the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index.
The Fund may invest in securities of both U.S. and foreign issuers. The Fund will normally invest in a portfolio of fixed income securities denominated in U.S. Dollars but may invest in securities denominated in currencies of other countries.
In addition, the Fund may invest its assets in derivatives, which are instruments that have a value derived from or directly linked to an underlying asset, such as equity securities, bonds, commodities, currencies, interest rates, or market indices. In particular, the Fund may use exchange-traded options, bond futures, interest rate swaps, credit default swaps and currency futures for portfolio positioning and risk management purposes. The Fund’s exposure to derivatives will vary. For purposes of meeting its 80% investment policy, the Fund may include derivatives that have characteristics similar to the Fund’s direct investments.
The Advisor is primarily responsible for managing the Fund’s assets. The Advisor uses a bottom‑up, fundamental process combined with top‑down risk management tools designed to meet the Fund’s investment objective. The Advisor uses detailed credit analysis to identify investment opportunities while simultaneously seeking to minimize principal losses. The Fund normally invests for the long-term but may sell a security at any time that the Advisor considers it to be overvalued or otherwise unfavorable.
The Advisor incorporates material environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors as part of the investment process.
 
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The Advisor employs ESG Exclusion / Negative Screening as part of its investment process in managing the Fund. ESG Exclusion / Negative Screening is defined as the exclusion of certain sectors, issuers or practices based on specific ESG considerations determined by the Advisor, as applicable.
The ESG Exclusion / Negative Screening applied by the Fund’s Advisor includes:
 
   
Non‑compliance with the UN Global Compact Principles;
 
   
Producers of controversial weapons, including, but not limited to, cluster munitions, anti-personnel mines, chemical and biological weapons and depleted uranium;
 
   
Tobacco producers; and
 
   
Certain thresholds of involvement in thermal coal mining and power generation.
ESG Integration is defined by the Advisor as the systematic and explicit inclusion of material ESG factors into investment analysis. Material ESG factors are considered as part of the investment analysis of relevant fixed income securities and may help inform the Advisor’s portfolio construction decisions. For specific issuer and security types, as well as certain investment exposures, fixed income securities held by the Fund are subject to the Advisor’s ESG evaluation. The Advisor’s ESG evaluation is part of its wider credit analysis. The Advisor uses in‑house ESG research supplemented by external third-party ESG information.
The Advisor’s ESG evaluation framework is differentiated based on the type of fixed income security. For single-issuer related investments, the Advisor’s ESG analysis framework focuses on the issuer’s practices, considering a range of ESG considerations including, but not limited to, governance, social, and environmental policies and management. The Advisor’s assessment of the ESG quality considers an issuer’s practices in absolute terms as well as relative to its peer group. The Advisor’s evaluation of structured credit securities accounts for the varying characteristics of instruments belonging to this asset class. For CLOs, the Advisor conducts an analysis of the manager and of the collateral pool of such securities. For other types of asset-backed securities, the Advisor’s ESG evaluation depends on a number of factors. For a security that is directly issued by a corporate issuer and has a collateral pool which is part of the issuer’s economic activity, the Advisor’s ESG evaluation will follow the same approach as that of fixed income securities and will assess the ESG risk of the corporate issuer. For securities issued by special purpose vehicles not directly part of the economic activity of a corporate issuer, such as securities backed by a pool of mortgages or auto loans, the Advisor carries out its ESG evaluation by assessing the originator, the servicer and the collateral pool.
The Advisor may also facilitate ESG engagement, which is defined by the Advisor as the interactions between the Advisor and current or potential
 
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investees (which may be companies, sovereign, supranational and agency issuers (SSA) and/or other stakeholders of relevance to the investees on ESG issues). The Advisor may undertake ESG engagement to seek to gain insight regarding an issuer’s ESG practices and/or improve an issuer’s ESG disclosure. For example, the Advisor may engage with certain issuers regarding governance practices as well as what the Advisor deems to be materially important environmental and/or social issues.
RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund.    The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in fixed income securities. The fixed income securities in which the Fund may invest include, but are not limited to, bonds, municipal securities, mortgage-related and asset-backed securities (including Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (“CMOs”)), and obligations of U.S. and foreign governments and their agencies. The Fund is not expected to invest in excess of 15% of its net assets in CMOs. CMOs rated below investment grade are not expected to represent in excess of 10% of the Fund’s net assets.
The Fund is actively managed and is not managed to an index and may invest in securities of any maturity. The Fund will invest primarily in US domestic investment grade bonds, but will be allowed to invest flexibly across sectors, including non‑US and non‑investment grade securities. The Fund may invest in securities with fixed, floating or variable rates of interest.
The Fund may invest up to 30% of its net assets in securities that are non‑investment grade (high yield/junk bond). In addition, the Fund may invest its assets in derivatives, which are instruments that have a value derived from or directly linked to an underlying asset, such as equity securities, bonds, commodities, currencies, interest rates, or market indices. In particular, the Fund may use exchange-traded options, bond futures, interest rate swaps, credit default swaps and currency futures for portfolio positioning and risk management purposes. The Fund’s exposure to derivatives will vary.
The Advisor is primarily responsible for managing the Fund’s assets. The Advisor uses a bottom‑up, fundamental process combined with top‑down risk management tools designed to meet the Fund’s investment objective.
The Advisor uses detailed credit analysis to identify investment opportunities while simultaneously seeking to minimize principal losses. The Fund normally invests for the long-term but may sell a security at any time that the Advisor considers it to be overvalued or otherwise unfavorable.
The Advisor incorporates material environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors as part of the investment process.
The Advisor employs ESG Exclusion / Negative Screening as part of its investment process in managing the Fund. ESG Exclusion / Negative Screening is defined as the exclusion of certain sectors, issuers or practices based on specific ESG considerations determined by the Advisor, as applicable.
 
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The ESG Exclusion / Negative Screening applied by the Fund’s Advisor includes:
 
   
Non‑compliance with the UN Global Compact Principles;
 
   
Producers of controversial weapons, including, but not limited to, cluster munitions, anti-personnel mines, chemical and biological weapons and depleted uranium;
 
   
Tobacco producers; and
 
   
Certain thresholds of involvement in thermal coal mining and power generation.
ESG Integration is defined by the Advisor as the systematic and explicit inclusion of material ESG factors into investment analysis. Material ESG factors are considered as part of the investment analysis of relevant fixed income securities and may help inform the Advisor’s portfolio construction decisions. For specific issuer and security types, as well as certain investment exposures, fixed income securities held by the Fund are subject to the Advisor’s ESG evaluation. The Advisor’s ESG evaluation is part of its wider credit analysis. The Advisor uses in‑house ESG research supplemented by external third-party ESG information.
The Advisor’s ESG evaluation framework is differentiated based on the type of fixed income security. For single-issuer related investments, the Advisor’s ESG analysis framework focuses on the issuer’s practices, considering a range of ESG considerations including, but not limited to, governance, social, and environmental policies and management. The Advisor’s assessment of the ESG quality considers an issuer’s practices in absolute terms as well as relative to its peer group. The Advisor’s evaluation of structured credit securities accounts for the varying characteristics of instruments belonging to this asset class. For CLOs, the Advisor conducts an analysis of the manager and of the collateral pool of such securities. For other types of asset-backed securities, the Advisor’s ESG evaluation depends on a number of factors. For a security that is directly issued by a corporate issuer and has a collateral pool which is part of the issuer’s economic activity, the Advisor’s ESG evaluation will follow the same approach as that of fixed income securities and will assess the ESG risk of the corporate issuer. For securities issued by special purpose vehicles not directly part of the economic activity of a corporate issuer, such as securities backed by a pool of mortgages or auto loans, the Advisor carries out its ESG evaluation by assessing the originator, the servicer and the collateral pool.
The Advisor may also facilitate ESG engagement, which is defined by the Advisor as the interactions between the Advisor and current or potential investees (which may be companies, sovereign, supranational and agency issuers (SSA) and/or other stakeholders of relevance to the investees on ESG issues). The Advisor may undertake ESG engagement to seek to gain insight regarding an issuer’s ESG practices and/or improve an issuer’s ESG disclosure. For example, the Advisor may engage with certain issuers
 
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regarding governance practices as well as what the Advisor deems to be materially important environmental and/or social issues.
Investing for Temporary Defensive Purposes
Each Fund may respond to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions by investing up to 100% of its assets in temporary defensive instruments, consisting of cash, short-term debt obligations or other high quality investments. This could prevent losses, but, if a Fund is investing defensively, it may not be investing according to its principal investment strategy and may not achieve its investment objective.
Principal Risks
Each of the Funds is affected by changes in the economy, or in securities and other markets. There is also the possibility that investment decisions the Advisor or Sub‑Advisor makes with respect to the investments of a Fund will not accomplish what they were designed to achieve or that the investments will have disappointing performance.
Because each Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of each Fund’s shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in a Fund could go down as well as up and you can lose money by investing in a Fund.
Your investment is not a bank deposit, and it is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any other government agency, entity, or person.
The principal risks of investing in each Fund are identified in the “Fund Summary” section of this Prospectus and are further described below.
Active Management Risk (All Funds).    Each Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed investment portfolio. The Advisor, Sub‑Advisor and each individual portfolio manager will apply investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the Funds, but there can be no guarantee that these decisions will produce the desired results. Additionally, legislative, regulatory, or tax restrictions, policies or developments may affect the investment techniques available in connection with managing the Funds and may also adversely affect the ability of the Funds to achieve their investment objectives.
Asset-Backed Securities Risk (RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund and RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund only).    Asset-backed securities represent participations in, or are secured by and payable from, pools of assets including company receivables, truck and auto loans, leases and credit card receivables. These securities may be in the form of pass-through instruments or asset-backed bonds. Asset-backed securities are issued by nongovernmental entities and carry no direct or indirect government guarantee; the asset pools that back asset-backed securities are securitized through the use of privately-formed trusts or special purpose corporations.
 
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Payments on asset-backed securities depend upon assets held by the issuer and collections of the underlying loans. The value of these securities depends on many factors, including changing interest rates, the availability of information about the pool and its structure, the credit quality of the underlying assets, the market’s perception of the servicer of the pool, and any credit enhancement provided. In certain market conditions, asset-backed securities may experience volatile fluctuations in value and periods of illiquidity.
Credit Spread Risk (All Funds).    The Funds’ investments may be adversely affected if any of the issuers it is invested in are subject to an actual or perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) deterioration to their credit quality. Any actual or perceived deterioration may lead to an increase in the credit spreads and a decline in price of the issuer’s securities.
Currency Risk (All Funds).    Changes in foreign currency exchange rates will affect the value of a Fund’s securities and the price of a Fund’s shares. Generally, when the value of the U.S. Dollar rises in value relative to a foreign currency, an investment in that country loses value because that currency is worth fewer U.S. Dollars. Devaluation of a currency by a country’s government or banking authority also may have a significant impact on the value of any investments denominated in that currency. Currency markets generally are not as regulated as securities markets.
The Funds may be exposed to currency exchange risk where the assets and income are denominated in foreign currencies. Changes in exchange rates between currencies or the conversion from one currency to another may cause the value of a Fund’s investments to decline or increase. Currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time. They generally are determined by supply and demand in the currency exchange markets and the relative merits of investment in different countries, actual or perceived changes in interest rates and other complex factors. Currency exchange rates can also be affected unpredictably by intervention (or failure to intervene) by governments or central banks, or by currency controls or political developments. Such events may prevent or restrict a Fund’s ability to enter into foreign currency transactions, force a Fund to exit a foreign currency transaction at a disadvantageous time or price, or result in penalties for the Fund, any of which may result in a loss to the Fund.
Custodial Risk (RBC BlueBay Emerging Markets Debt Fund and RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund only).    The Funds may invest in markets where custodian and/or settlement systems are not fully developed. The assets of the Funds which are traded in such markets and which have been entrusted to sub‑custodians, in circumstances where the use of such sub‑custodians is necessary, may be exposed to risk in circumstances whereby the custodian will have no liability.
Derivatives Risk (All Funds).    The Funds may use derivatives and other similar instruments (referred to collectively as “derivatives”) in connection
 
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with their investment strategies. Generally, derivatives are financial contracts whose value depends upon, or is derived from, the value of an underlying asset, reference, rate or index, and may relate to stocks, bonds, interest rates, spreads between different interest rates, currencies or currency exchange rates, commodities, and related indexes. Derivatives, including options contracts, forwards, futures contracts, options on futures contracts and swap agreements (including, but not limited to, credit default swaps and swaps on exchange-traded funds), may be riskier than other types of investments and could result in losses that significantly exceed a Fund’s original investment. The Funds may use derivatives for hedging and (for certain funds) non‑hedging purposes. The performance of derivatives depends largely on the performance of their underlying asset, reference, rate or index; therefore, derivatives often have risks similar to those risks of the underlying asset, reference, rate or index, in addition to other risks. However, the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with, and may be more sensitive to market events than, the underlying asset, reference, rate or index. The use of derivatives may not be successful, and certain of a Fund’s transactions in derivatives may not perform as expected, which may prevent the Fund from realizing the intended benefits, and could result in a loss to the Fund.
Credit default swap contracts involve heightened risks and may result in losses to a Fund. Credit default swaps may be illiquid and difficult to value. When a Fund sells credit protection via a credit default swap, credit risk increases since the Fund has exposure to both the issuer whose credit is the subject of the swap and the counterparty to the swap.
OTC derivatives are traded bilaterally between two parties, which exposes a Fund to heightened liquidity risk, mispricing and valuation risk and counterparty risk (the risk that the derivative counterparty will not fulfill its contractual obligations), including credit risk of the derivative counterparty. A Fund may experience a loss or delay in recovering assets if the OTC counterparty defaults on its obligations. Changes in the value of a derivative may also create margin delivery or settlement payment obligations for a Fund. Certain derivatives are subject to exchange trading and/or central clearing (which interposes a central clearinghouse that serves as a central counterparty to each participant’s derivatives transaction). Under recent financial reforms, certain types of derivatives (e.g., certain swaps) are, and others eventually are expected to be, required to be exchange-traded and/or cleared through a clearinghouse that serves as a central counterparty and transacted through an FCM and are subject to margin requirements. Exchange trading, central clearing and margin requirements are intended to reduce counterparty credit risk and increase liquidity and transparency, but do not make derivatives transactions risk-free and may subject a Fund to increased costs. With cleared swaps and futures contracts, there is also a risk of loss by the Fund of its initial and variation margin deposits in the event of bankruptcy of an FCM or the central counterparty with which the Fund has an open position. Additionally, applicable regulators have recently adopted rules imposing certain margin requirements, including minimums, on
 
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uncleared swaps, which may result in a Fund and its counterparties posting higher margin amounts for uncleared swaps than for cleared derivatives. If an FCM does not provide accurate reporting, the Fund is also subject to the risk that the FCM could use the Fund’s assets to satisfy its own financial obligations or the payment obligations of another customer. Moreover, depending on the size of a Fund and other factors, the margin required under the rules of a clearinghouse and/or by the FCM may be in excess of the collateral required to be posted by the Fund to support its obligations under a similar uncleared swap. If losses occur on derivative instruments, the Fund may have to make margin payments. In the event that a Fund does not hold sufficient cash, it may be forced to liquidate assets in order to meet margin calls, and in the event that there is insufficient liquidity in the market this may result in further losses.
Investing in derivatives will result in a form of leverage. Leverage involves special risks. A Fund may be more volatile than if the Fund had not been leveraged because leverage tends to exaggerate the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities. The use of leverage may not result in a higher return on investments, and using leverage could result in a net loss, which in some cases could be unlimited.
The use of derivatives is also subject to operational risk which refers to risk related to potential operational issues, including documentation issues, settlement issues, system failures, inadequate controls, and human error, as well as legal risk which refers to the risk of loss resulting from insufficient documentation, insufficient capacity or authority of counterparty, or legality or enforceability of a contract.
A Fund’s transactions in futures contracts, swaps and other derivatives could also affect the amount, timing and character of distributions to shareholders which may result in a Fund realizing more short-term capital gain and ordinary income subject to tax at ordinary income tax rates than it would if it did not engage in such transactions, which may adversely impact the Fund’s after‑tax returns.
The regulation of cleared and uncleared swaps, as well as other derivatives, is a rapidly changing area of law and is subject to modification by government and judicial action. It is not possible to predict fully the effects of current or future regulation. New requirements, even if not directly applicable to the Funds, may increase the cost of the Funds’ investments and cost of doing business, which could adversely affect investors.
Emerging Markets Risk (RBC BlueBay Emerging Markets Debt Fund and RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund only).    The Funds may invest in emerging markets. These markets may be volatile and illiquid and the investments of a Fund in such markets may be considered speculative and subject to significant delays in settlement. Practices in relation to settlement of securities transactions in emerging markets involve higher risks than those in developed markets, in part because a Fund will need to use brokers and counterparties which are less well capitalized, and custody and registration
 
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of assets in some countries may be unreliable. Delays in settlement could result in investment opportunities being missed if a Fund is unable to acquire or dispose of a security. Additional significant risks include a higher possibility of the devaluation of a country’s currency, a downgrade in the credit ratings of issuers in such country, or a decline in the value and liquidity of securities of issuers in that country if the United States, or other nations or other governmental entities (including supranational entities) impose sanctions on issuers that limit or restrict foreign investment, the movement of assets or other economic activity in the country due to political, military or regional conflicts or due to terrorism or war. In some cases, securities subject to such actions may become worthless.
There may be less government supervision, legal regulation and less well defined tax laws and procedures than in countries with more developed securities markets. Some emerging markets may not be subject to legal, accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and practices comparable to those of more developed countries and the securities markets of emerging markets countries may be subject to unexpected closure. In addition, a Fund is limited in its ability to exercise its legal rights or enforce a counterparty’s legal obligations in emerging markets countries. Some emerging markets governments exercise substantial influence over the private economic sector and the political and social uncertainties that exist for many developing countries are particularly significant. Another risk common to most such countries is that the economy is heavily export oriented and, accordingly, is dependent upon international trade. The existence of overburdened infrastructures and obsolete financial systems also presents risks in certain countries, as do environmental problems. In addition, as a result of its investments in emerging markets a Fund may be invested in securities of smaller companies that are riskier and more volatile and vulnerable to economic, market and industry changes than securities of larger, more established companies.
Foreign Risk (All Funds).    Foreign securities may be subject to risk of loss because of less foreign government regulation, less public information, different auditing and legal standards and less economic, political, environmental and social stability in these countries. Loss may also result from political, diplomatic, or regional conflicts; terrorism or war; internal or external policies or economic sanctions limiting or restricting foreign investment, the movement of assets or other economic activity, such as the imposition of exchange controls, sanctions, trading restrictions, confiscation of assets and property and other government restrictions; or from problems in registration, settlement or custody. In some cases, affected securities may become worthless. A Fund may determine not to invest in, or may limit its overall investment in, a particular issuer, country or geographic region due to, among other things, heightened risks regarding repatriation restrictions, confiscation of assets and property, expropriation or nationalization. Geopolitical developments in certain countries in which a Fund may invest have caused, or may in the future cause, significant volatility in financial
 
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markets. Foreign risk also involves the risk of negative foreign currency 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.
Additionally, foreign securities and dividends and interest payable on those securities may be subject to foreign taxes, including taxes withheld from payments on those securities.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk (All Funds).    The Funds may engage in active and frequent trading of its portfolio securities. High portfolio turnover (more than 100%) may result in increased transaction costs to the Funds, including brokerage commissions, dealer mark‑ups and other transaction costs on the sale of the securities and on reinvestment in other securities. The sale of portfolio securities may result in the realization and/or distribution to shareholders of higher capital gains or losses as compared to a fund with less active trading policies. These effects of higher than normal portfolio turnover may adversely affect each Fund’s performance.
High Yield Securities Risk (All Funds).    The Funds may invest in high yield, high risk securities (commonly known as “junk bonds”) which are considered to be speculative. These investments may be issued by companies which are highly leveraged, less creditworthy or financially distressed. Although non‑investment grade debt securities tend to be less sensitive to interest rate changes than investment grade debt securities, non‑investment grade debt securities can be more sensitive to short-term corporate, economic and market developments. During periods of economic uncertainty and change, the market price of the Funds’ investments and the Funds’ net asset value may be volatile. Furthermore, though these investments generally provide a higher yield than higher-rated debt securities, the high degree of risk involved in these investments can result in substantial or total losses. These securities have a higher risk of loss, valuation difficulties, and a potential lack of a secondary or public market for securities. The market price of these securities can change suddenly and unexpectedly. Junk bonds have a higher risk of default or are already in default and are considered speculative. As a result, the Funds are intended for investors who are able and willing to assume a high degree of risk.
Interest Rate Risk (All Funds).    Interest rate risk is the risk that fixed income securities and other instruments in a Fund’s portfolio will decline in value because of an increase in interest rates. As nominal interest rates rise, the value of certain fixed income securities held by a Fund is likely to decrease. Interest rate changes are influenced by a number of factors including government policy, inflation expectations, and supply and demand. Interest rates and bond yields in the U.S. and many other countries were, until recently, near historically low levels. More recently, interest rates in the U.S. and many other countries have begun rising. Thus, Funds currently face a heightened level of risk associated with rising interest rates and/or bond
 
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yields. Municipal securities may be issued on a when-issued or delayed delivery basis, where payment and delivery take place at a future date. The Fund assumes the risk that the value of the security at delivery may be more or less than the purchase price. A nominal interest rate can be described as the sum of a real interest rate and an expected inflation rate.
Fixed income securities with longer durations tend to be more sensitive to changes in interest rates, usually making them more volatile than securities with shorter durations. Convertible securities may or may not decline in value in response to higher interest rates. The values of equity and other non‑fixed income securities may also decline due to fluctuations in interest rates.
Investing in the European Union Risk (BlueBay Emerging Markets Debt Fund and RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund only).    Investments in certain countries in the European Union are susceptible to economic risks associated with high levels of government debt. Adverse regulatory, economic and political events in European Union member states may cause the Fund’s investments to decline in value. Separately, the European Union faces issues involving its membership, structure, procedures and policies. The exit of one or more member states from the European Union, such as the exit by the United Kingdom (UK), would subject its currency and banking system to increased risk. The exit by a member state will likely result in increased volatility, illiquidity and potentially lower economic growth in the affected markets, which may adversely affect a Fund’s investments. Additionally, the reintroduction of national currencies in one or more Eurozone countries or the abandonment of the Euro as a currency could have major negative effects on the Funds’ investments as well as the ability of the Funds’ counterparties to fulfill their obligations.
Investment Grade Securities Risk (All Funds).    The Fund may invest in investment grade rated securities. Investment grade rated securities are assigned credit ratings by ratings agencies on the basis of the creditworthiness or risk of default of a bond issue. Rating agencies review, from time to time, such assigned ratings of the securities and may subsequently downgrade the rating if economic circumstances impact the relevant bond issues. Investments in RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund and RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund are subject to additional risks associated with municipal securities.
Issuer/Credit Risk (All Funds).    A Fund could lose money if the issuer or guarantor of a fixed income security (including a security purchased with securities lending collateral), or the counterparty to a derivatives contract, repurchase agreement or a loan of portfolio securities, is unable or unwilling, or is perceived (whether by market participants, ratings agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as unable or unwilling, to make timely principal and/or interest payments, or to otherwise honor its obligations. If an issuer’s financial condition worsens, the credit quality of the issuer may deteriorate making it difficult for the Fund to sell such investments. The downgrade of
 
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the credit of a security held by the Fund may decrease its value. Securities are subject to varying degrees of credit risk, which are often reflected in credit ratings.
Information about a security’s credit quality may be imperfect and a security’s credit rating may be downgraded at any time. Investments in the Funds are subject to additional risks associated with the obligor’s ability to make payments on the municipal securities. Municipal securities that the Funds purchase may be backed by letters of credit issued by banks and other financial institutions. Adverse developments affecting banks could have a negative effect on the Funds’ portfolio securities. Municipal obligations which the Funds may acquire include municipal lease obligations which are issued by a state or local government to acquire land and a wide variety of equipment and facilities. If the funds are not appropriated for the following year’s lease payments, the lease may terminate, with the possibility of default on the lease obligation and significant loss to the Funds.
Leverage Risk (RBC BlueBay Emerging Markets Debt Fund and RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund only).    Some transactions may give rise to a form of economic leverage. These transactions may include, among others, derivatives, and may expose the Fund to greater risk and increase its costs. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations. Increases and decreases in the value of the Fund’s portfolio will be magnified when the Fund uses leverage.
LIBOR Discontinuance or Unavailability Risk (All Funds).    The London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) was a leading floating rate benchmark used in loans, notes, derivatives and other instruments or investments. As a result of benchmark reforms, publication of most LIBOR settings has ceased. Some LIBOR settings continue to be published but only on a temporary, synthetic and non‑representative basis. Regulated entities have generally ceased entering into new LIBOR contracts in connection with regulatory guidance or prohibitions. Public and private sector actors have worked to establish alternative reference rates to be used in place of LIBOR. There is no assurance that any such alternative reference rate will be similar to or produce the same value or economic equivalence as LIBOR or that it will have the same volume or liquidity as did LIBOR which may affect the value, volatility, liquidity or return on certain of the Fund’s loans, notes, derivatives and other instruments or investments comprising some or all of the Fund’s investments and result in costs incurred in connection with changing reference rates used for positions, closing out positions and entering into new trades. Certain of the Fund’s investments may have transitioned from LIBOR or will transition from LIBOR in the future. The transition from LIBOR to alternative reference rates may result in operational issues for the Fund or its investments. No assurances can be given as to the impact of the LIBOR transition (and the timing of any such impact) on the Fund and its investments. 
 
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Limited Operating History Risk (RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund and RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund only).    Each Fund has limited operating history. As a result, prospective investors have a limited track record or history on which to base their investment decisions. In addition, until a Fund achieves a certain size, the performance of certain of its investments may disproportionately impact the performance of the Fund, which may be subject to heightened volatility. In addition, there can be no assurance that a Fund will grow to or maintain an economically viable size.
Liquidity Risk (All Funds).    Each Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities. Illiquid securities are securities that cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment. The SEC defines “liquidity risk” as the risk that a Fund may not be able to meet redemption requests without significantly diluting the interests of remaining shareholders. Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. A Fund’s investments in illiquid securities may reduce the returns of the Fund because it may be unable to sell the illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price. Additionally, the market for certain investments deemed liquid at the time of purchase may become illiquid under adverse market or economic conditions independent of any specific adverse changes in the conditions of a particular issuer. In such cases, a Fund, due to limitations on investments in illiquid securities and the difficulty in purchasing and selling such securities or instruments, may be unable to achieve its desired level of exposure to a certain sector. Because the Funds’ principal investment strategies involve foreign (non‑U.S.) securities, derivatives and other securities with substantial market and/or credit risk, the Funds will tend to have relatively greater liquidity risk. Liquidity risk may be magnified in a rising interest rate environment, when credit quality is deteriorating or in other circumstances where investor redemptions from fixed income mutual funds may be higher than normal. Redemptions by large shareholders may have a negative impact on the Fund’s liquidity.
Loan Risk (RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Debt Fund and RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund only).    The Funds may invest in loans including loans that are rated below investment grade or the unrated equivalent. Like other high yield, corporate debt instruments, such loans are subject to an increased risk of default in the payment of principal and interest, potentially less protections under the federal securities laws, as well as the other risks described under “Interest Rate Risk,” “Issuer/Credit Risk,” and “High Yield Securities Risk.” Although certain loans are secured by collateral, the Fund could experience delays or limitations in realizing on such collateral or have its interest subordinated to other indebtedness of the obligor. Loans are vulnerable to market sentiment such that economic conditions or other events may reduce the demand for loans and cause their value to decline rapidly and unpredictably. Although each Fund limits its investments in illiquid securities to no more than 15% of the Fund’s net
 
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assets at the time of purchase, loans that are deemed to be liquid at the time of purchase may become illiquid. No active trading market may exist for some of the loans and certain loans may be subject to restrictions on resale. The inability to dispose of loans in a timely fashion could result in losses to the Fund. Because some loans that the Fund invests in may have a more limited secondary market, liquidity risk is more pronounced for the Fund than for funds that invest primarily in other types of fixed income instruments or equity securities. Additionally, to make payments and other loan costs, a fund may be forced to sell portfolio securities when it is not otherwise advantageous to do so. Typically, loans are not registered securities and are not listed on any national securities exchange. Consequently, there may be less public information available about the Funds’ investments and the market for certain loans may be subject to irregular trading activity, wide bid/ask spreads and extended trade settlement periods. As a result, the Funds may be more dependent upon the analytical ability of the Advisor and/or Sub‑Advisor, as applicable. Certain loans may not be considered securities under the federal securities laws and, therefore, investments in such loans may not be subject to certain protections under those laws. In addition, the Advisor and/or Sub‑Advisor, as applicable may not have access to material non‑public information to which other investors may have access.
Market Risk (All Funds).    One or more markets in which a Fund invests may go down in value, sometimes sharply and unpredictably, and the value of a Fund’s portfolio securities may fall or fail to rise. Market risk may affect a single issuer, sector of the economy, industry or the market as a whole. Events in one market may adversely impact a seemingly unrelated market. The success of a Fund’s investment program may be affected by general economic and market conditions, such as interest rates, availability of credit, inflation rates, economic uncertainty, changes in laws, and national and international political circumstances. These factors may affect the level and volatility of securities prices and the liquidity of investments held by a Fund. Unexpected volatility or illiquidity could impair a Fund’s profitability or result in losses.
Market risk includes the risk that geopolitical and other events will disrupt the economy on a national or global level. For example, war, terrorism, market manipulation, government defaults, government shutdowns, political changes or diplomatic developments, public health emergencies (such as the spread of infectious diseases, pandemics and epidemics) and natural/environmental disasters can all negatively impact the securities markets, which could cause a Fund to lose value. These events could reduce consumer demand or economic output, result in market closures, travel restrictions or quarantines, and significantly adversely impact the economy. In addition, the current contentious domestic political environment, as well as political and diplomatic events within the United States and abroad, such as the U.S. government’s inability at times to agree on a long-term budget and deficit reduction plan, has in the past resulted, and may in the future
 
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result, in a government shutdown, which could have an adverse impact on a Fund’s investments and operations. Additional and/or prolonged U.S. federal government shutdowns may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy, perhaps suddenly and to a significant degree.
Governmental and quasi-governmental authorities and regulators throughout the world have previously responded to serious economic disruptions with a variety of significant fiscal and monetary policy changes, including but not limited to, direct capital infusions into companies, new monetary programs and dramatically lower interest rates. An unexpected or sudden reversal of these policies, or the ineffectiveness of these policies, could increase volatility in securities markets, which could adversely affect the Fund’s investments. To the extent that a Fund focuses its investments in a region enduring geopolitical market disruption, it will face higher risk of loss, although the increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets can lead to events or conditions in one country, region or financial market adversely impacting a different country, region or financial market.
Recently, in response to rising global inflation, governmental authorities have been raising interest rates. Government efforts to support the economy and financial markets may increase the risk that asset prices have a higher degree of correlation than historically seen across markets and asset classes. Many markets reached historical highs during recent periods and could be approaching the end of an economic expansion cycle. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that actions taken by governmental bodies to reduce inflation will be effective.
Mortgage-Related Securities Risk (RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund and RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund only).    Mortgage-related securities represent direct or indirect participation in, or are secured by and payable from, mortgage loans secured by real property, and include pass-through securities and Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (“CMOs”). Mortgage pass-through securities are securities representing interests in “pools” of mortgages in which payments of both interest and principal on the securities are made monthly, in effect “passing through” monthly payments made by the individual borrowers on the residential mortgage loans which underlie the securities (net of fees paid to the issuer or guarantor of the securities). Early repayment of principal on mortgage pass-through securities (arising from prepayments of principal due to sale of the underlying property, refinancing, or foreclosure, net of fees and costs which may be incurred) may expose the Funds to a lower rate of return upon reinvestment of principal. CMOs are hybrid instruments with characteristics of both mortgage-backed bonds and mortgage pass-through securities. CMOs are issued in multiple classes, and each class may have its own interest rate and/or maturity. Monthly payments of principal, including prepayments, are first returned to investors holding the shortest maturity class; investors
 
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holding longer maturity classes receive principal only after the first class has been retired. As a result, the value of some classes in which the Fund invests may be more volatile and may be subject to higher risk of non‑payment.
Like other fixed-income securities, when interest rates rise, the value of a mortgage-related security generally will decline; however, when interest rates decline, the value of mortgage-related securities with prepayment features may not increase as much as other fixed-income securities. Upward trends in interest rates tend to lengthen the average life of mortgage-related securities and also cause the value of outstanding securities to drop. Thus, during periods of rising interest rates, the value of these securities held by the Funds would tend to drop and the portfolio-weighted average life of such securities held by the Funds may tend to lengthen due to this effect. Longer-term securities tend to experience more price volatility. Under these circumstances, the Funds may, but are not required to, sell securities in part in order to maintain an appropriate portfolio-weighted average life.
Municipal Obligations Risk (RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund and RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund only).    Municipal obligations include debt obligations issued by or on behalf of states, territories, possessions, or sovereign nations within the territorial boundaries of the United States (including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico). These obligations are generally classified as either “general obligation” or “revenue” bonds. Municipal bonds are usually issued to obtain funds for various public purposes, to refund outstanding obligations, to meet general operating expenses or to obtain funds to lend to other public institutions and facilities. The risk of a municipal obligation generally depends on the financial and credit status of the issuer. Changes in a municipality’s financial status may make it difficult for the municipality to make interest and principal payments when due. This could decrease the Fund’s income or adversely impact the ability to preserve capital and liquidity. Under some circumstances, municipal obligations might not pay interest unless the state legislature or municipality authorizes money for that purpose. Municipal obligations may be more susceptible to downgrades or defaults during recessions or similar periods of economic stress. In addition, since some municipal obligations may be secured or guaranteed by banks and other institutions, the risk to the Fund could increase if the banking or financial sector suffers an economic downturn and/or if the credit ratings of the institutions issuing the guarantee are downgraded or at risk of being downgraded by a national rating organization. Such a downward revision or risk of being downgraded may have an adverse effect on the market prices of the bonds and thus the value of the Fund’s investments. In addition to being downgraded, an insolvent municipality may file for bankruptcy. Given the recent bankruptcy-type proceedings by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, risks associated with municipal obligations are heightened.
Non‑Diversified Fund Risk (RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Debt Fund only).    Because this Fund is non‑diversified, it may invest a greater
 
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percentage of its assets in a particular issuer or group of issuers than a diversified fund would. This increased concentration in fewer issuers may result in the Fund’s shares being more sensitive to economic results of those issuing the securities.
Prepayment Risk (RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund and RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund only).    The value of some mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities in which a Fund invests also may fall because of unanticipated levels of principal prepayments that can occur when interest rates decline. Principal and interest payments on such securities depend on payment of the underlying loans, though issuers may support creditworthiness via letters of credit or other instruments.
Small Company Risk (RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Debt Fund only).    The risk that the value of securities issued by a smaller company may go up or down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably as compared to more widely held securities of larger companies, due to narrow markets and limited resources of smaller companies. The Fund’s investments in smaller companies subject it to greater levels of credit, market and issuer risk.
Sovereign Debt Risk (All Funds).    The Funds may invest in sovereign debt securities. These securities are issued or guaranteed by foreign governmental entities. These investments are subject to the risk that a governmental entity may delay or refuse to pay interest or repay principal on its sovereign debt, due, for example, to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves, political considerations, the relative size of the governmental entity’s debt position in relation to the economy or the failure to put in place economic reforms required by the International Monetary Fund or other multilateral agencies. If a governmental entity defaults, it may ask for more time in which to pay or for further loans. There is no legal process for collecting sovereign debts that a government does not pay nor are there bankruptcy proceedings through which all or part of the sovereign debt that a governmental entity has not repaid may be collected.
U.S. Government Intervention in Financial Markets Risk (RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund and RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund only).    Instability in the financial markets has led the U.S. Government to take a number of unprecedented actions designed to support certain financial institutions and segments of the financial markets that have experienced extreme volatility, and in some cases a lack of liquidity. Federal, state, and other governments, their regulatory agencies, or self-regulatory organizations may take actions that affect the regulation of the instruments in which a Fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that are unforeseeable. Legislation or regulation may also change the way in which a Fund itself is regulated. Such legislation or regulation could limit or preclude a Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective.
Governments or their agencies may also acquire distressed assets from financial institutions and acquire ownership interests in those institutions. The implications of government ownership and disposition of these assets
 
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are unclear, and such a program may have positive or negative effects on the liquidity, valuation and performance of a Fund’s portfolio holdings. Furthermore, volatile financial markets can expose a Fund to greater market and liquidity risk and potential difficulty in valuing portfolio instruments held by the Fund. Each Fund has established procedures to assess the liquidity of portfolio holdings and to value instruments for which market prices may not be readily available. The Advisor will monitor developments and seek to manage each Fund in a manner consistent with achieving the Fund’s investment objective, but there can be no assurance that it will be successful in doing so.
U.S. Government Obligations Risk (RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund and RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund only).    Obligations of U.S. Government agencies, authorities, instrumentalities and sponsored enterprises (such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) have historically involved little risk of loss of principal if held to maturity. However, the maximum potential liability of the issuers of some of these securities may greatly exceed their current resources and no assurance can be given that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to any of these entities if it is not obligated to do so by law. In September 2008, the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”) announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be placed into a conservatorship under FHFA. The effect that this conservatorship will have on the entities’ debt and securities guaranteed by the entities remains unclear. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are continuing to operate as going concerns while in conservatorship and each remain liable for all of its obligations, including its guaranty obligations, associated with its mortgage-backed securities. In the event that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are taken out of conservatorship, it is unclear how the capital structure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be constructed and what effects, if any, there will be on their creditworthiness and guarantees of certain mortgage-backed securities. Should FHFA take Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac out of conservatorship, there could be an adverse impact on the value of their securities, which could cause losses to a Fund. Under the direction of the FHFA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have entered into a joint initiative to develop a common securitization platform for the issuance of a uniform mortgage-backed security (the “Single Security Initiative”) that aligns the characteristics of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac certificates. The Single Security Initiative was implemented in June 2019, and the effects it may have on the market for mortgage-backed securities are uncertain.
Valuation Risk (All Funds).    The Funds’ assets are generally valued based on evaluated prices received from third-party pricing services or from broker-dealers who make markets in the securities and are generally categorized as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy. As a result, there is the risk that the values at which these investments are sold may be significantly different to the estimated fair values of these investments.
 
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Additional Risks
In addition to the principal investment risks described above, the Funds will generally be subject to the following additional, non‑principal risks:
Convertible Securities Risk (RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Debt Fund and RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund only).    Convertible securities are fixed income securities, preferred stocks or other securities that are convertible into or exercisable for common stock of the issuer (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at either a stated price or a stated rate. The market values of convertible securities may decline as interest rates increase and, conversely, to increase as interest rates decline. A convertible security’s market value, however, tends to rise when the market price of the common stock of the issuing company rises. As the market price of the underlying common stock declines, the price of the convertible security tends to be influenced more by the yield of the convertible security. Thus, it may not decline in price to the same extent as the underlying common stock. In the event of a liquidation of the issuing company, holders of convertible securities may be paid before the company’s common stockholders but after holders of any senior debt obligations of the company. Consequently, the issuer’s convertible securities generally entail less risk than its common stock but more risk than its debt obligations.
Contingent convertible securities are subject to additional risk factors. If an event occurs that triggers the conversion to equity or writing down of the security, the Fund may lose the principal amount invested on a permanent or temporary basis or the contingent convertible security may be converted to equity. Coupon payments on contingent convertible securities may be discretionary and may be cancelled by the issuer. Holders of contingent convertible securities may suffer a loss of capital when comparable equity holders do not.
Counterparty Risk (All Funds).    A Fund may be subject to the risk of the failure of any markets in which its positions trade, of their clearinghouses, of any counterparty or guarantor to the Funds’ transactions or of any service provider to the Funds. Their inability or unwillingness to honor obligations can subject the Funds to credit losses incurred from late payments, failed payments and default. In times of general market turmoil, even large, well-established financial institutions may fail rapidly with little warning.
ESG Strategy Risk (All Funds).    A Fund’s consideration of ESG factors could cause it to perform differently compared to funds that do not take ESG factors into account. The incorporation of ESG factors into the investment analysis which can encourage a greater emphasis on long-term performance may result in the Fund’s forgoing near-term/short-term opportunities to buy certain securities when it might otherwise be advantageous to do so, or selling securities for ESG reasons when it might be otherwise disadvantageous for it to do so. For instance, the Funds explicitly exclude investments in corporate issuers involved in the production of specific types of controversial weapons and the RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund, RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund and RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund each explicitly exclude investments in securities involved in tobacco producers.
 
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A companys ESG performance or the Advisor or Sub‑Advisor’s assessment of a company’s ESG performance could vary over time to reflect changes in a company’s ESG performance, which could mean that a company could move from being an investment of the Fund to being divested due to ESG concerns, or conversely change from being previously considered not suitable for investment, to becoming investable. Where companies may subsequently be considered not investable for ESG reasons, there may be a delay such that the Fund is temporarily invested in such companies as the Advisor or Sub‑Advisor seeks to execute the transactions in an orderly manner to minimize the impact on the Fund. Although ESG information originates from a range of different sources, the assessment of ESG performance is ultimately subjective. As a result, there can be significant differences in interpretations of what it means for a company to qualify for investment. For instance, the Advisor or Sub‑Advisor may determine that a particular security has demonstrated sufficiently improving management and/or performance practices affecting the quality of its business related to the Advisor or Sub‑Advisor’s internal priority ESG considerations, such that the Advisor or Sub‑Advisor considers it is suitable to invest in, while another investor may have a different view.
Large Shareholder Transactions Risk (All Funds).    A Fund may experience adverse effects when certain large shareholders purchase or redeem large amounts of shares of the Fund. Such large shareholder redemptions 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 and is required to maintain a larger cash position than it ordinarily would. Large redemptions also could accelerate the realization of capital gains, increase a Fund’s transaction costs and impact a Fund’s performance.
Liquidation Risk (All Funds).    To the extent authorized by law, the Funds reserve the right to discontinue offering shares at any time, merge, reorganize itself or any class of shares or cease operations and liquidate.
Operational Risk (All Funds).    The Funds’ investments may be adversely affected due to the operational process of the Funds’ service providers, including the Advisor, Sub‑Advisor, transfer agent, custodian or administrator. The Funds may be subject to losses arising from inadequate or failed internal controls, processes and systems, or from human or external events.
Regulatory and Legal Risk (All Funds).    Governmental agencies and other regulators regularly implement additional regulations and legislators pass new laws that can affect the investments held by a Fund, the strategies used by a Fund or the level of regulation or taxation that applies to a Fund. These regulations and laws can adversely impact the investment strategies, performance, costs and operations of a Fund or taxation of shareholders.
In addition, entities that are part of banking organizations, such as the Advisor and its affiliates, are subject to extensive government regulation.
 
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Government regulation may change frequently and may have significant effects, including limiting the ability of the Advisor and its affiliates from engaging in certain trading activities, which may adversely impact the Funds. For example, the so‑called “Volcker Rule” prohibits the Advisor and its affiliates from engaging in certain trading activities. A Fund may be adversely impacted by this rule if the Advisor or its affiliates own 25% or more of the Fund’s shares outside of any seeding period permitted by the rule. These restrictions may prevent a Fund from maintaining sufficient seed capital and may cause the Fund to liquidate at the end of the period if the Fund is not able to achieve sufficient scale. Funds that are not managed by entities that are part of banking organizations are not subject to these limitations.
Reinvestment Risk (All Funds).    Reinvestment risk is the risk that a fixed income security’s cash flows (coupon income and principal repayment) will be reinvested at an interest rate below that on the original security. If interest rates decline, the underlying security may rise in value, but the cash flows received from that security may have to be reinvested at a lower interest rate. Call risk is a type of reinvestment risk. Call risk is the possibility that an issuer may redeem a fixed-income security before maturity (a call) at a price below or above its current market price. An increase in the likelihood of a call may reduce a security’s price. If a fixed-income security is called, a Fund may have to reinvest proceeds in other fixed-income securities with lower interest rates, higher credit risks, or other less favorable characteristics.
Tax Risk (RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund and RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund only).    The Funds may be adversely impacted by changes in tax rates and policies. Because interest income on municipal obligations is normally not subject to regular federal income taxation, the attractiveness of municipal obligations in relation to other investment alternatives is affected by changes in federal and state income tax rates applicable to, or the continuing tax -exempt status of, such interest income. Any proposed or actual changes in such rates or exempt status can therefore significantly affect the demand for and supply, liquidity and marketability of municipal obligations, which could in turn affect a Fund’s ability to acquire and dispose of municipal obligations at desirable yield and price levels. Also, in some cases, the Internal Revenue Service has not ruled on whether the interest received on a municipal security is tax -exempt, and accordingly, purchases of these securities are based on the opinion of bond counsel provided to the issuers at the time of issuance. The Advisor relies on these opinions and will not review the basis for them, so there is a risk that income from these securities could be taxable.
Variable Rate Demand Note Risk (RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund and RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund only).    The absence of an active secondary market for certain variable and floating rate notes could make it difficult to dispose of the instruments, and a Fund could suffer a loss if the issuer defaults during periods in which the Fund is not entitled to exercise its demand rights.
 
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Investment Advisor
The Funds are advised by RBC Global Asset Management (U.S.) Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada (“RBC”). RBC is one of North America’s leading diversified financial services companies and provides personal and commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance, corporate and investment banking, and transaction processing services on a global basis. RBC employs approximately 97,000 people who serve more than 17 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the U.S. and 27 other countries around the world. The Advisor has been registered with the SEC as an investment advisor since 1983, and has been a portfolio manager of publicly-offered mutual funds since 1986. The Advisor maintains its offices at 50 South Sixth Street, Suite 2350, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402. As of December 31, 2023, the Advisor’s investment team managed approximately $50.2 billion in assets for corporations, public and private pension plans, Taft-Hartley plans, charitable institutions, foundations, endowments, municipalities, registered mutual funds, private investment funds, trust programs, foreign funds such as UCITS funds, individuals (including high net worth individuals), wrap sponsors and other U.S. and international institutions.
For the advisory services RBC provides, each Fund paid a fee (expressed as a percentage of average daily net assets) during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023 as follows:
 
RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Debt Fund
     0.65%  
  
 
 
 
RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund
     0.55%  
  
 
 
 
RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund
     0.35%  
  
 
 
 
RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund
     0.53%  
RBC Global Asset Management has aligned the operations of the Advisor and certain of its asset management affiliates. In connection with this alignment, the Advisor may rely on persons employed by, and facilities and resources of RBC Global Asset Management (UK) Limited (“RBC GAM UK”), an SEC‑registered investment adviser based in London, U.K., to assist the Advisor in providing services under the investment advisory agreement
Prior to November 1, 2021, the Board of Trustees approved a new investment advisory agreement between the Funds and the Advisor to accommodate this integration, and the new investment advisory agreement was subsequently approved by shareholders.
The Advisor has contractually agreed to waive fees and/or pay operating expenses through January 31, 2025 for each Fund in order to maintain net annual fund operating expenses as set forth below:
 
     Class A        Class I        Class R6  
  
 
 
 
RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Debt Fund
     1.04%        0.79%        0.74%  
  
 
 
 
RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund
     0.82%        0.57%        N/A  
  
 
 
 
RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund
     0.70%        0.45%        0.40%  
  
 
 
 
RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund
     0.88%        0.63%        0.58%  
 
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The expense limitation agreement excludes brokerage and other investment-related costs, interest, taxes, dues, fees and other charges of governments and their agencies, extraordinary expenses such as litigation (including legal and audit fees and other costs in contemplation of or incident thereto) and indemnification, other expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of each Fund’s business and fees and expenses incurred indirectly by the Fund as a result of investment in shares of another investment company. The Advisor is entitled to recoup from each Fund or class the fees and/or operating expenses previously waived or reimbursed for a period of 3 years from the date of such waiver or reimbursement, provided that such recoupment does not cause the Fund’s expense ratio (after the repayment is taken into account) to exceed the lesser of: (i) the Fund’s expense limitation at the time of the waiver or reimbursement and (ii) the Fund’s expense limitation at the time of recoupment.
The Advisor provides certain administrative services necessary for the operation of the Funds, including among other things, (i) providing office space, equipment and facilities for maintaining the Funds’ organization, (ii) preparing the Trust’s registration statement, proxy statements and all annual and semi-annual reports to Fund shareholders, and (iii) general supervision of the operation of the Funds, including coordination of the services performed by the Funds’ Advisor, distributor, custodian, independent accountants, legal counsel and others.
Information regarding the factors considered by the Board of Trustees in connection with the most recent approval of the Investment Advisory Agreement with the Advisor is included in the Funds’ Annual Report for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023.
Additional Payments.    The Advisor may make payments out of its own resources and at no cost to the Funds or shareholders, to certain broker-dealers, mutual fund supermarkets, or other financial institutions (“Intermediaries”) in connection with the provision of administrative services; the distribution of the Funds’ shares; and reimbursement of ticket or operational charges (fees that an institution charges its representatives for effecting transactions in the Funds’ shares). In addition, certain Intermediaries may receive fees from the Funds for providing recordkeeping and other services for individual shareholders and/or retirement plan participants.
 
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Investment Sub‑Advisor
The RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Debt Fund and RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund are sub‑advised by RBC Global Asset Management (UK) Limited (“RBC GAM UK” or the “Sub‑Advisor”). The Sub‑Advisor is a wholly-owned subsidiary of RBC, which is the parent company of the Advisor. The Sub‑Advisor is located at 100 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AA, United Kingdom. The Sub‑Advisor has been registered with the SEC as an investment adviser since September 2013, and is authorized and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority. The Sub‑Advisor employed 476 individuals and had $135.9 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2023.
The Sub‑Advisor is paid by the Advisor out of the advisory fee the Advisor is paid by each Fund.
Information regarding the factors considered by the Board in connection with the approval of the Investment Advisory Agreement with the Advisor for each Fund and the Sub‑Advisory Agreement with the Sub‑Advisor for the RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Debt Fund and RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund is provided in the Funds’ Annual Report for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023.
Conflicts of Interest Risk.    An investment in a Fund may be subject to actual or potential conflicts of interest. For example, the Advisor, Sub‑Advisor, and/or their affiliates may face conflicts of interest when receiving compensation for services provided by affiliates or in the side‑by‑side management of Funds and other client accounts. The Advisor, Sub‑Advisor, and/or their affiliates may make investment decisions that differ from and/or negatively impact those made on behalf of a Fund. For more information about conflicts of interest, see the Potential Conflicts of Interest section in the SAI.
 
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Portfolio Managers
The Advisor or Sub‑Advisor, as applicable, is responsible for the day‑to‑day management of each Fund’s portfolio, including security analysis, industry recommendations, cash positions, the purchase and sell decision making process and general daily oversight of the Funds’ portfolios. The individuals jointly and primarily responsible for the day‑to‑day management of each Fund’s portfolio are set forth below:
 
Portfolio
Manager
Name
  Title   Role on
Fund Since
  Total Years
of Financial
Industry
Experience
  Degrees and
Designations
  Experience for
Last 5 Years
RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Debt Fund
   
Polina Kurdyavko   Head of Emerging Markets, Senior Portfolio Manager   2017   23   MSc (Hons)
Finance; CFA Member
  Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager & Head of Emerging Markets at the Sub-Advisor (2005 to present)
Gary Sedgewick   Portfolio Manager   2024   17   MA (Hons) degree in Accountancy & Finance from Heriot-Watt University; CFA charterholder; CFA Certificate in ESG Investing   Portfolio Manager at the Sub-Advisor (2012 to present)
RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund
   
Justin Jewell   Head of European High Yield, Senior Portfolio Manager   2016   22   BSc Economics   Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager & Head of Europe at the Sub-Advisor (2009 to present)
 
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Portfolio
Manager
Name
  Title   Role on
Fund Since
  Total Years
of Financial
Industry
Experience
  Degrees and
Designations
  Experience for
Last 5 Years
RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund (cont.):
 
Tim Leary   Senior Portfolio Manager   2019   18   BS Business Administration   Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager at the Advisor (or the Sub-Advisor) (2012 to present)
Andrzej Skiba   Head of U.S. Fixed Income, Senior Portfolio Manager   2020   22   BS (hons), Management (International Business), University of Manchester, CFA Member   Head, U.S. Fixed Income, Senior Portfolio Manager at the Advisor (or the Sub-Advisor) (2005 to present)
RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund and RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund
Andrzej Skiba   Head of U.S. Fixed Income, Senior Portfolio Manager   2021   22   BS (hons), Management (International Business), University of Manchester, CFA Charterholder   Head, U.S. Fixed Income, Senior Portfolio Manager at the Advisor (or the Sub-Advisor) (2005 to present)
Brian Svendahl   Senior Portfolio Manager   2021   32   BS, University of Minnesota, BBA and MBA, University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management, Director and CFA Charterholder   Managing Director and Co‑Head, U.S. Fixed Income, at the Advisor since 2012, Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager at the Advisor since 2005.
 
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Portfolio
Manager
Name
  Title   Role on
Fund Since
  Total Years
of Financial
Industry
Experience
  Degrees and
Designations
  Experience for
Last 5 Years
RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund and RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund (cont.):
Brandon Swensen   Senior Portfolio Manager   2021   25   BS, St. Cloud State University and MBA, University of St. Thomas, CFA Charterholder   Managing Director and Co‑Head, U.S. Fixed Income, at the Advisor since 2012, Senior Portfolio Manager at the Advisor since 2008, and Research and Financial analyst at the Advisor since 2000.
Additional information about the portfolio managers’ compensation arrangements, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers, as applicable, and the portfolio managers’ ownership of securities of the Funds they manage is available in the Funds’ SAI.
 
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Pricing of Fund Shares
How NAV Is Calculated.    The net asset value (“NAV”) is the value of a single share. A separate NAV is calculated for each class of shares of each Fund. The NAV is calculated by adding the total value of a Fund’s investments and other assets, determining the proportion of that total allocable to the particular class, subtracting the liabilities allocable to the class and then dividing that figure by the number of outstanding shares of that class.
 
1.
The NAV is calculated separately for each class of shares.
 
2.
You can find the Funds’ NAVs daily in various newspapers, at www.bloomberg.com, www.rbcgam.com, or by calling 1‑800‑422‑2766.
 
NAV =
  Total Assets of Class – Liabilities
  Number of Shares Outstanding
The per share NAV of each Fund is determined each day the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for trading or (at the Fund’s option) on days the primary trading markets for the Fund’s portfolio instruments are open (“Value Date”) as of the close of regular trading on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time or such other time as determined by the NYSE). The Funds will not treat an intraday unscheduled disruption in NYSE trading as a closure of the NYSE and will price their shares as of the regularly scheduled NYSE closing time, if the particular disruption directly affects only the NYSE (“Value Time”).
Your order for purchase, sale or exchange of shares is based on the next applicable price calculated after your order is received in good order by the Funds’ transfer agent. For example: If you place a purchase order to buy shares of a Fund it must be received before 4:00 p.m. Eastern time in order to receive the NAV, plus any applicable sales charge, calculated at 4:00 p.m. If your order is received after 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, it will be based on the NAV, plus any applicable sales charge, calculated on the next business day at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. Also, as further explained in the “Purchasing and Adding to Your Shares” section, if a purchase order in proper form is received by an authorized financial intermediary, the order will be treated as if it had been received by the Funds’ transfer agent at the time it is received by the intermediary.
You may purchase, redeem or exchange shares of the Funds on any day when the NYSE is open. Purchases, redemptions and exchanges may be restricted in the event of an early or unscheduled close of the NYSE if the primary trading markets of the Funds are disrupted as well. Even if the NYSE is closed, a Fund may accept purchase, redemption, and exchange orders on a Value Date if the Fund’s management believes there is an adequate market to meet purchase, redemption, and exchange requests. On such days, the Funds would also price shares in accordance with the above procedures.
Because the Funds may own securities that are primarily listed on foreign exchanges, which may trade on days when the Funds do not price their
 
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shares, the value of the Funds’ investments may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or redeem shares.
Valuation of Portfolio Securities.    On behalf of each Fund, the Board of Trustees has approved Pricing and Valuation Procedures of the Advisor for determining the value of each Fund’s investments.
In general, when the market value of a portfolio security is readily available, the Funds will rely on independent pricing services that provide market data to determine the value of such portfolio security. A security’s valuation shall be considered a readily available market quotation only when that quotation is an unadjusted quoted price in an active market for an identical investment that a Fund may access on the measurement date. A quotation will not be readily available if it is not reliable. If a quotation is deemed to be unreliable or is not a quoted price in an active market, the fair value of the security shall be determined by the Advisor as set forth in the Pricing and Valuation Procedures. Fair value of a security is considered to be the price that a fund might reasonably expect to receive upon its current sale in an orderly transaction between market participants.
The market value of an equity security is generally determined on the basis of last reported sales prices, or if no sales are reported, based on quotes obtained from a quotation reporting system, established market makers or pricing services. Fixed income securities and non‑exchange traded derivatives are generally valued based on evaluated prices received from third-party pricing services or from broker-dealers who make markets in the securities. Prices obtained from pricing services utilize both dealer-supplied valuations and electronic data processing techniques that take into account appropriate factors such as institutional–size trading in similar groups of securities, yield, quality, coupon rate, maturity and type of issue. Exchange traded options, futures and options on futures are valued at their most recent sale price on the exchange on which they are primarily traded. Investments in open‑end investment companies are valued at the net asset value of those companies, and those companies may use fair value pricing as described in their prospectuses.
Under the Pricing and Valuation Procedures, fair valuation methodologies may also be used in situations such as the following: a price is determined to be stale (for example, it cannot be valued using the standard pricing method because a recent sale price is not available) on more than five consecutive days on which a Fund calculates its NAV; a foreign market is closed on a day when the U.S. markets are open and the last available price in the foreign market is determined not to represent a fair value; or a significant valuation event is determined to have occurred pursuant to the Pricing and Valuation Procedures. Significant valuation events may include the following: an event affecting the value of a security traded on a foreign market occurs between the close of that market and the Value Time; an extraordinary event like a natural disaster or terrorist act occurs; a large market fluctuation occurs; or an adverse development arises with respect to a specific issuer, such as a bankruptcy filing. These methodologies are intended to ensure that each
 
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Fund’s NAV accurately reflects the value for the underlying portfolio securities. As a result, effective use of fair valuations may prevent shareholder dilution. In addition, for Funds that invest in foreign securities, fair valuations may diminish opportunities for a short-term trader to take advantage of time zone differences between the foreign markets on which the securities are traded and the Value Time. Each such determination shall be based on a consideration of all relevant factors, which are likely to vary from one pricing context to another.
Investments initially valued in currencies other than the U.S. Dollar are converted to the U.S. Dollar using foreign exchange rate quotations received from a pricing vendor as of the Value Time on each Value Date. The value of securities traded in markets outside the United States may be affected on a day that is not a Value Date and an investor is not able to purchase, exchange or redeem shares of the Funds.
Investment Minimums
You may purchase shares of a Fund through the Fund’s Distributor or through banks, brokers and other investment representatives, which may charge additional fees and may require higher minimum investments or impose other limitations or requirements on buying and selling shares.1 For qualified retirement benefit plans, there is no minimum requirement for initial investment in a Fund. If you purchase shares through an investment representative, that party is responsible for transmitting orders by close of business and may have an earlier cut‑off time for purchase and sale requests. Consult your investment representative or institution for specific information.
 
 
Minimum Initial Investment
 
Class A Shares
     Amount  
Regular Account
   $ 1,000  
IRA
   $ 250  
   
Class I Shares
    
Regular Account
   $ 1,000,000  
Through Qualified Retirement Benefit Plans
   $ 0  
   
Class R6 Shares
    
Institutional Investors
   $ 1,000,000  
Eligible Investors
   $ 0  
  
 
Minimum Subsequent Investment
 
       Amount  
Class A Shares
     None  
   
Class I Shares
     None  
   
Class R6 Shares
     None  
 
1  
Certain broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries are authorized to accept purchase orders on behalf of a Fund which are processed based on the Fund’s net asset value next determined after your order is received by an organization in proper order before 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, or such earlier time as may be required by an organization. These organizations may be authorized to designate other intermediaries to act in this capacity. These organizations
 
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  may vary in terms of how they process your orders, and they may charge you transaction fees on purchases of Fund shares and may also impose other charges or restrictions or account options that differ from those applicable to shareholders who purchase shares directly through the Fund or its transfer agent, U.S. Bank Global Fund Services. These organizations may be the shareholders of record of your shares. These intermediaries are responsible for transmitting requests and delivering funds on a timely basis. The Fund is not responsible for ensuring that the organizations carry out their obligations to their customers.
 
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Purchasing and Adding to Your Shares
If opening an account through your financial advisor or brokerage account, simply tell your advisor or broker that you wish to purchase shares of a Fund and he or she will take care of the necessary documentation. Otherwise, follow the instructions below.
You may purchase shares directly from a Fund by completing a new account application. Contact U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, the Funds’ transfer agent at 1‑800‑422‑2766 or go to www.rbcgam.com to obtain an application. Once completed, you may submit your application by following one of the steps below.
 
   
By Mail  
• Complete and sign the account application. If you do not complete the application properly, your purchase may be delayed or rejected.
 
• Make your check payable to “[Name of Fund].” All purchases must be in U.S. Dollars. All checks must be in U.S. Dollars drawn on a domestic bank. The Funds will not accept payment in cash or money orders. To prevent check fraud, the Fund will not accept third party checks, Treasury checks, credit card checks, traveler’s checks, starter checks, postdated checks or any conditional order or payment.
 
• Mail your application and check to:
   
RBC BlueBay [    ] Fund
c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services
P.O. Box 701
Milwaukee, WI 53201-0701
 
• By overnight courier, send to:
   
RBC BlueBay [    ] Fund
c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services
615 East Michigan Street, 3rd Floor
Milwaukee, WI 53202-5207
   
• The Funds do not consider the U.S. Postal Service or other independent delivery services to be their agents. Therefore, deposit in the mail or with such services, or receipt at U.S. Bank Global Fund Services’ post office box, of purchase orders or redemption requests does not constitute receipt by the transfer agent of the Funds. Receipt of purchase orders or redemption requests is based on when the order is received at the transfer agent’s offices.
By Wire  
• To purchase shares by wire, the Funds’ transfer agent must have received a completed application and issued an account number to you.
 
• Call 1‑800‑422‑2766 for instructions prior to wiring funds and to advise of your intent to wire.
 
• Please use the following wire instructions:
   
U.S. Bank, N.A.
ABA # 075000022
Credit: U.S. Bank Global Fund Services
Account: 182380369377
Further Credit: RBC BlueBay [    ] Fund
Shareholder Name and Account Number
   
• Wired funds must be received prior to 4:00 p.m. Eastern time to be eligible for same day pricing. The Funds and U.S. Bank, N.A. are not responsible for the consequences of delays resulting from the banking or Federal Reserve wire system, or from incomplete wiring instructions.
 
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By Exchange from Another RBC Fund   1‑800‑422‑2766  
If you already have an account with us and your account is authorized for telephone and/or Internet transaction privileges, you may open an account in all RBC Funds except the RBC BlueBay U.S. Government Money Market Fund (Institutional Class 2 and Investor Class). The names and registrations on the accounts must be identical. The exchange must meet the applicable minimum exchange amount requirement.
Lost Accounts/ Unclaimed Assets  
Please note that based upon statutory requirements for returned mail, the Funds and the transfer agent will attempt to locate the investor or rightful owner of the account. If the Funds are unable to locate the investor, then they will determine whether the investor’s account can legally be considered abandoned. States increasingly are looking at inactive accounts as possible abandoned or unclaimed property. Your mutual fund account may be transferred to your state of residence if no activity occurs within your account during the “inactivity period” specified in your State’s abandoned property laws. The Funds (or the broker or custodian of record having beneficial owner information) are legally obligated to escheat (or transfer) abandoned property to the appropriate state’s unclaimed property administrator in accordance with statutory requirements. The Funds will not be liable to investors or their representatives for good faith compliance with state unclaimed or abandoned property (escheatment) laws.
 
Escheatment laws vary by State, and States have different criteria for defining inactivity and abandoned property. The investor’s last known address of record determines which state has jurisdiction. The process described above, and the application of state escheatment laws, may vary depending on how shareholders hold their shares in the Funds. If your shares are held directly with a Fund, please proactively contact the Fund’s transfer agent at 1‑800‑422‑2766 at least annually to ensure your account remains in active status. Alternatively, if your shares are held through a financial institution, please work with your financial institution directly to check your account status. Investors with a state of residence in Texas have the ability to designate a representative to receive legislatively required unclaimed property due diligence notifications. Please contact the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts for further information.
To Add to an Account.    To add to an account, you may follow any one of the following steps:
 
     
By Telephone   1‑800‑422‑2766  
You may make additional investments by telephone if your account has been open for at least 7 business days. After a Fund receives and accepts your request, the Fund will deduct from your checking or savings account (requires banking information to be on file and your bank must be a member of the ACH network) the cost of the shares. Availability of this service is subject to approval by the Funds and the participating banks.
 
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By Mail  
• Make your check payable to “RBC BlueBay [    ] Fund.”
 
• Mail the stub from your confirmation statement. Or, if unavailable, provide the following information with your payment:
 
•  Account name and account number
 
•  Share class
 
• Mail your additional investment to:
 
RBC BlueBay [    ] Fund
c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services
P.O. Box 701
Milwaukee, WI 53201-0701
 
• By overnight courier, send to:
 
RBC BlueBay [    ] Fund
c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services
615 East Michigan Street, 3rd Floor
Milwaukee, WI 53202-5207
   
• The Funds do not consider the U.S. Postal Service or other independent delivery services to be their agents. Therefore, deposit in the mail or with such services, or receipt at U.S. Bank Global Fund Services’ post office box, of purchase orders or redemption requests does not constitute receipt by the transfer agent of the Funds. Receipt of purchase orders or redemption requests is based on when the order is received at the transfer agent’s offices.
By Wire  
• To purchase shares and make additional investments by bank wire, please use the following wire instructions:
   
U.S. Bank, N.A.
ABA # 075000022
Credit: U.S. Bank Global Fund Services
Account: 182380369377 Further Credit: RBC BlueBay [    ] Fund
Shareholder Name and Account Number
 
• Wired funds must be received prior to 4:00 p.m. Eastern time to be eligible for same day pricing. The Funds and U.S. Bank, N.A. are not responsible for the consequences of delays resulting from the banking or Federal Reserve wire system, or from incomplete wiring instructions.
 
• Call 1‑800‑422‑2766 for instructions prior to wiring funds and to advise of your intent to wire.
   
By Exchange
from Another RBC Fund
  Please refer to the information under “Exchanging Your Shares” below.
Automatic Investment Plan
(Class A Shares Only)
  You may establish an Automatic Investment Plan to make additional purchases at regular intervals from your pre‑established bank account. Your financial institution must be a member of the Automated Clearing House (ACH) to participate.
You can also add to your account by using the convenient options described below. The Funds reserve the right to change or eliminate these privileges at any time without notice, to the extent permitted by applicable law.
Automatic Investment Plan
Once your account has been established, you may make additional purchases of Class A shares at regular intervals through the Automatic Investment Plan (AIP). This Plan provides a convenient method to have monies deducted from your bank account, for investment into a Fund, on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual basis in amounts of $50 or more.
 
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In order to participate in the Plan your financial institution must be a member of the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network. If your bank rejects your payment, the Fund’s transfer agent will charge a $25 fee to your account. To begin participating in the Plan, please complete the Automatic Investment Plan section on the account application or call the Fund’s transfer agent at 1‑800‑422‑2766 for instructions. Any request to change or terminate your Automatic Investment Plan should be submitted to the transfer agent 5 days prior to the effective date.
Dividends and Distributions and Directed Dividend Option
Dividends and distributions will be automatically reinvested unless you request otherwise. There are no sales charges for reinvested distributions. Dividends will differ among classes of the Funds due to differences in distribution and other class-specific operating expenses. Capital gains are distributed at least annually. By selecting the appropriate box in the account application, you can elect to have your distributions (capital gains and/or dividends) in cash (check), have distributions deposited in a pre‑authorized bank account via ACH, or have distributions reinvested in the Funds or another eligible RBC Fund (as set forth under the caption “Exchanging Your Shares”) or account without a sales charge. You should maintain the minimum balance in the Fund into which you plan to reinvest distributions. You can change or terminate your participation in the reinvestment option at any time in writing or by telephone at least five days prior to the record date of the distribution.
If you elect to receive distributions and/or capital gains paid in cash, and if the U.S. Postal Service cannot deliver the check, or if a check remains outstanding for six months, the Funds reserve the right to reinvest the distribution check in your account, at the Fund’s current net asset value, and to reinvest all subsequent distributions.
DISTRIBUTIONS ARE MADE ON A PER SHARE BASIS REGARDLESS OF HOW LONG YOU HAVE OWNED YOUR SHARES. THEREFORE, IF YOU INVEST SHORTLY BEFORE THE DISTRIBUTION DATE, SOME OF YOUR INVESTMENT WILL BE RETURNED TO YOU IN THE FORM OF A DISTRIBUTION THAT MAY BE TAXABLE. (SEE “SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION — DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES”).
 
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Selling Your Shares
If selling your shares through your financial advisor or broker, ask him or her for redemption procedures. Your advisor and/or broker may have transaction minimums and/or transaction times that will affect your redemption. For all other sales transactions, follow the instructions below.
To sell shares please contact U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, the Funds’ transfer agent:
 
     
By Phone   1‑800‑422‑2766   You may withdraw any amount up to $50,000 by telephone, provided that your account is authorized for telephone redemptions. A Fund will send proceeds only to the address or bank of record. You must provide the Fund’s name, your account number, the name of each account owner (exactly as registered), and the number of shares or dollar amount to be redeemed prior to 4:00 p.m. Eastern time for the trade to be processed with that day’s closing price.
By Mail  
RBC BlueBay [    ] Fund
c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services
P.O. Box 701
Milwaukee, WI 53201-0701
 
1.  In a letter, include the genuine signature of each registered owner (exactly as registered), the name of each account owner, the account number and the number of shares or dollar amount to be redeemed. See “Signature Guarantees” below for information on when a signature guarantee is required.
 
2.  Mail or courier the letter to the applicable address above or below.
   
3.  The Funds do not consider the U.S. Postal Service or other independent delivery services to be their agents. Therefore, deposit in the mail or with such services, or receipt at U.S. Bank Global Fund Services’ post office box, of purchase orders or redemption requests does not constitute receipt by the transfer agent of the Funds. Receipt of purchase orders or redemption requests is based on when the order is received at the transfer agent’s offices.
By Overnight
Courier
 
RBC BlueBay [    ] Fund
c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services
615 East Michigan Street, 3rd Floor
Milwaukee, WI 53202-5207
By Wire   Redemption proceeds may be wired to your pre‑identified bank account. A $15 fee may be deducted from your redemption proceeds for complete and share redemptions. In the case of a partial redemption, the fee of $15 may be deducted from the remaining account balance. If your written request is received in good order before 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, the Fund will normally wire the money on the following business day. If a Fund receives your request after 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, the Fund will normally wire the money on the second business day. Contact your financial institution about the time of receipt and availability. See “Signature Guarantees” below for information on when a signature guarantee is required.
 
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Systematic Withdrawal Plan
(Class A
shares only)
 
As another convenience, you may redeem your Fund shares through the Systematic Withdrawal Plan (SWP). Under the Plan, you may choose to receive a specified dollar amount, generated from the redemption of shares in your account, on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis. In order to participate in the Plan, your account balance must be at least $10,000. If you elect this method of redemption, the Fund will send a check to your address of record or will send the payment via electronic funds transfer through the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network directly to your bank account. For payment through the ACH network, your bank must be an ACH member and your bank account information must be maintained on your Fund account. This Program may be terminated at any time by the Fund. You may also elect to terminate your participation in this Plan at any time by contacting the transfer agent at least five days prior to the next scheduled withdrawal.
 
A withdrawal under the Plan involves a redemption of shares and may result in a gain or loss for federal income tax purposes. In addition, if the amount requested to be withdrawn exceeds the amount available in your account, which includes any dividends credited to your account, the account will ultimately be depleted.
 
You may specify a dollar amount to be withdrawn monthly, quarterly or annually. You must own shares in an open account valued at $10,000 or more when you first authorize the systematic withdrawal plan (SWP). If you wish to establish a SWP, please complete this section of the account application or contact the transfer agent for further instructions. Depending upon how long you have held your shares, contingent deferred sales charges may apply.
 
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Additional Information About Purchasing and Selling Shares
The Funds cannot process transaction requests unless they are properly completed as described in this section. The Funds may cancel or change the transaction policies without notice. To avoid delays, please call us if you have any questions about these policies.
All purchases must be in U.S. Dollars. All checks must be in U.S. Dollars drawn on a domestic bank. The Funds will not accept payment in cash or money orders. To prevent check fraud, the Funds will not accept third party checks, Treasury checks, credit card checks, traveler’s checks, starter checks, postdated checks, or any conditional order or payment.
The transfer agent will charge a $25 fee against a shareholder’s account, in addition to any loss sustained by a Fund, for any payment that is returned.
The Funds may waive the minimum purchase requirements. Each of the Funds, the Distributor, the Advisor and the transfer agent reserves the right to reject any application for any reason in its sole discretion, including rejection of orders not accompanied by proper payment and orders that are not in the best interests of the Funds and their shareholders. The Funds do not accept applications under certain circumstances or in amounts considered disadvantageous to shareholders.
Class A Eligibility.    Each Fund offers Class A shares. Class A shares are available to investors who meet the minimum initial investment requirements. There is a $1,000 minimum initial investment requirement for Class A shares ($250 minimum for IRA accounts) and no minimum required for additional investments.
Class I Eligibility.    Each Fund offers Class I shares to institutions or individuals with a $1,000,000 minimum requirement for initial investment. There is no minimum requirement for initial investment for participants of qualified retirement plans. The minimum requirement may be waived, at Fund management’s discretion, for certain persons who are charged fees for advisory, investment, consulting or similar services by a financial intermediary or other service provider. Neither the minimum requirement for initial investment for Class I nor the requirements for the minimum account size described in the next paragraph will apply to investments by employees of the Advisor and Sub‑Advisor (or their affiliates), officers and trustees of the Funds, partners or employees of law firms that serve as counsel to the Funds or the Funds’ independent trustees, or members of the immediate families of the foregoing (e.g., spouses, parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren, parents‑in‑law, sons and daughters‑in‑law, siblings, a sibling’s spouse, and a spouse’s siblings). There is no minimum required for additional investments.
Investors who hold Class I shares of the Fund through a fee‑based program, but who subsequently become ineligible to participate in the program or withdraw from the program, may be subject to conversion of their Class I shares by their program provider to another class of shares of the Fund having expenses (including Rule 12b‑1 fees) that may be higher than the
 
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expenses of the Class I shares. Investors should contact their program provider to obtain information about their eligibility for the provider’s program and the class of shares they would receive upon such a conversion.
Class R6 Eligibility.    Class R6 shares are offered by the RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Debt Fund, RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund and RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund to Institutional Investors that meet a $1,000,000 minimum requirement for initial investment and to Eligible Investors. Institutional Investors (including endowments and foundations) are investors deemed appropriate by the Advisor that hold shares of a Fund through an account held directly with the Fund that are not traded through an intermediary, subject to a minimum initial investment of $1,000,000. Eligible Investors are not subject to a minimum initial investment and include (a) retirement and benefit plans that have plan-level or omnibus accounts held on the books of a Fund and do not collect servicing or record keeping fees from the Fund; (b) plans or platforms sponsored by a financial intermediary whereby shares are held on the books of a Fund through omnibus accounts, either at the plan or platform level or the level of the plan administrator, and where an unaffiliated third party intermediary provides administrative, distribution and/or other support services to the plan or platform and does not charge the Fund servicing, record keeping or sub‑transfer agent fees; and (c) collective investment trusts. Class R6 shares are not available directly to traditional or Roth IRAs, Coverdell Savings Accounts, Keoghs, SEPs, SARSEPs, Simple IRAs, individual 401(k) plans or individual 403(b) plans. There is no minimum required for additional investments for Institutional Investors or Eligible Investors.
Minimum Account Size for Class I and Class A Shares.    You must maintain a minimum account value equal to the current minimum initial investment, which is $1,000,000 for Class I shareholder accounts and $1,000 for Class A shareholder accounts. There is no minimum account size requirement for retirement plans. If your account falls below a minimum due to redemptions and not market action, a Fund may ask you to increase the account size back to the minimum. If you do not bring the account up to the minimum amount within 60 days after the Fund contacts you, the Fund may close the account and send your money to you or begin charging you a fee for remaining below the minimum account size
Minimum Account Size for Class R6 Shares.    Institutional Investors in Class R6 shares must maintain a minimum account value equal to the current minimum initial investment, which is $1,000,000 for Class R6 shareholder accounts. There is no minimum account size requirement for Eligible Investors. If your account falls below a minimum due to redemptions and not market action, a Fund may ask you to increase the account size back to the minimum. If you do not bring the account up to the minimum amount within 60 days after the Fund contacts you, the Fund may close the account and send your money to you or begin charging you a fee for remaining below the minimum account size.
 
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Timing of Purchases and Sales of Shares.    You may purchase or sell shares of a Fund based on the NAV, plus any applicable sales charge, next determined after your request is received in good order. All requests received in good order before 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on a business day will be executed on that same day. Requests received after 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on a business day will be processed the next business day at the next business day’s NAV, plus any applicable sales charge. A purchase request is in “good order” if it includes a completed account application and the dollar amount of shares to be purchased along with payment for the shares. If you are paying with federal funds (wire), your order will be considered received when the Fund or its transfer agent receives the federal funds.
The Funds, their Advisor and their transfer agent reserve the right to reject any purchase request for any reason. A Fund may accept orders to purchase Fund shares in‑kind with securities, rather than with cash, when the offered securities are consistent with the Fund’s investment objective and policies. Acceptance of such purchases will be at the Advisor’s discretion, and will be valued in the same manner that the Fund uses to calculate its NAV.
For accounts held directly with the Funds, the length of time that the Funds typically expect to pay redemption proceeds depends on whether payment is made by ACH, wire or check. The Funds typically expect to make payments of redemption proceeds by wire or ACH within two business days following receipt of the redemption order by the Funds. For payment by check, the Funds typically expect to mail the check within two business days following receipt of the redemption order by the Funds.
For accounts held through a financial intermediary, the length of time that the Funds typically expect to pay redemption proceeds depends on the method of payment and the agreement between the financial intermediary and the Funds. For redemption proceeds that are paid directly to you by the Fund, the Fund typically expects to make payments by wire or ACH or by mailing a check within two business days following receipt of a redemption order from the financial intermediary by the Funds. For payments that are made to your financial intermediary for transmittal to you, the Funds expect to pay redemption proceeds to the financial intermediary within one to two business days following receipt of the redemption order from the financial intermediary by the Funds. The settlement of redemption proceeds is determined by the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (“DTCC”) based on the order transmitted through Fund/SERV.
Each Fund intends to pay redemption proceeds promptly and in any event within seven days after the request for redemption is received in good order. In case of emergencies or other unusual circumstances, each Fund may suspend redemptions or postpone payment for more than seven days, as permitted by law. Redemptions of Fund shares may be suspended when trading on the NYSE is closed or is restricted, in the event of an early or unscheduled close of the primary trading markets for the Fund’s portfolio instruments, or during an emergency which makes it impracticable for the applicable Fund to dispose of its securities or to determine the value of its
 
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net assets, or during any other period as permitted by the SEC for the protection of investors. Under these and other unusual circumstances, a Fund may delay redemption payments for more than seven days, as permitted by law.
In addition, a temporary hold may be placed on the payment of redemption proceeds if there is a reasonable belief that financial exploitation of a Specified Adult (as defined below) has occurred, is occurring, has been attempted, or will be attempted. For purposes of this paragraph, the term “Specified Adult” refers to an individual who is (A) a natural person age 65 and older; or (B) a natural person age 18 and older who is reasonably believed to have a mental or physical impairment that renders the individual unable to protect his or her own interests. Notice of such a delay will be provided in accordance with regulatory requirements. This temporary hold will be for an initial period of no more than 15 business days while an internal review of the facts and circumstances of the suspected financial exploitation is conducted, but the temporary hold may be extended for up to 10 additional business days if the internal review supports the belief that financial exploitation has occurred, is occurring, has been attempted, or will be attempted. Both the initial and additional hold on the disbursement may be terminated or extended by a state regulator or an agency or court of competent jurisdiction.
The Funds cannot accept requests that contain special conditions or effective dates. The Funds may request additional documentation to ensure that a request is genuine. Examples may include a certified copy of a death certificate or divorce decree.
If you purchased your shares by check, you may not receive your redemption proceeds until your purchase amount has cleared, which may take up to 15 calendar days. This delay will not apply if you purchased your shares via wire payment. You can avoid this delay by purchasing shares with a federal funds wire. For your protection, if your account address has been changed within the last 30 calendar days, your redemption request must be in writing and signed by each account owner, with signature guarantees. The right to redeem shares may be temporarily suspended in emergency situations only as permitted under federal law.
Large Sale (Redemption) Conditions.    Large redemptions can adversely affect a portfolio manager’s ability to implement a Fund’s investment strategy by causing the premature sale of securities that would otherwise be held longer. Accordingly, we request that you give us three business days’ notice for any redemption of $2 million or more.
Signature Guarantees.    You may withdraw from your account at any time. Certain redemptions will however require a signature guarantee. Signature guarantees will generally be accepted from domestic banks, brokers, dealers, credit unions, national securities exchanges, registered securities associations, clearing agencies and savings associations, as well as from participants in the New York Stock Exchange Medallion Signature Program and the Securities
Transfer Agents Medallion Program (“STAMP”). A notary public is not an acceptable signature guarantor.
 
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A signature guarantee from either a Medallion program member or a non‑Medallion program member, is required in the following situations:
 
    If you are requesting a change in ownership on your account;
 
    When redemption proceeds are payable or sent to any person, address or bank account not on record;
 
Withdrawing Money From Your Fund Investment
As a mutual fund shareholder, you are technically selling shares when you request a withdrawal in cash. This is also known as redeeming shares or a redemption of shares.
   
When a redemption request is received by the transfer agent and the account address has changed within the last 30 calendar days;
 
   
For all redemptions in excess of $50,000 from any shareholder account.
The Fund may waive any of the above requirements in certain instances. In addition to the situations described above, the Funds and/or the transfer agent reserve the right to require a signature guarantee or other acceptable signature authentication in other instances based on the circumstances relative to the particular situation. Non‑financial transactions, including establishing or modifying certain services on an account, may require a signature guarantee, signature verification from a Signature Validation Program member, or other acceptable form of authentication from a financial institution source.
Redemption in Kind.    Each Fund typically expects to satisfy redemption requests by selling portfolio assets or by using holdings of cash or cash equivalents. In addition to paying redemption proceeds in cash, each Fund reserves the right to make payment in securities rather than cash, known as “redemption in kind,” for amounts redeemed by a shareholder, in any 90‑day period, in excess of $250,000 or 1% of Fund net assets, whichever is less. If a Fund deems it advisable for the benefit of all shareholders, redemption in kind will consist of securities equal in market value to your shares. When you convert these securities to cash, you will pay brokerage charges. You will also bear the market risk of the securities you hold until the securities are sold. While the Funds do not routinely use redemptions in‑kind, the Funds reserve the right to use redemptions in‑kind to manage the impact of large redemptions on the Funds. Redemption in‑kind proceeds will typically be made by delivering a pro‑rata amount of a Fund’s holdings that are readily marketable securities to the redeeming shareholder within seven days after receipt of the redemption order by the Fund. In addition, a redemption in liquid portfolio securities would be treated as a taxable event for you and may result in the recognition of gain or loss for federal income tax purposes.
Form of Distributions.    By selecting the appropriate box on the account application, you can elect to receive your distributions (capital gains and dividends) in cash (check), have distributions deposited in a pre‑authorized bank account via wire transfer, ACH, or have distributions reinvested back into your account with the Fund.
 
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Telephone Purchase, Exchange and Redemption Privileges.     Shareholders who open accounts with the Funds can accept telephone purchase, exchange and redemption privileges on the account application. If you call the Funds, the Funds’ representative may request personal identification and may record the call. IRA account holders may redeem or exchange shares by telephone. If you have an IRA, you must indicate on your written redemption request whether or not to withhold federal income tax. Redemption requests failing to indicate an election to have tax withheld will be subject to 10% withholding. Shareholders redeeming from IRA accounts by telephone will be asked whether or not to withhold taxes from any distribution.
IRA and Keogh Account Maintenance Fees.    A $15 annual maintenance fee is charged on all IRA and Keogh accounts. Multiple IRA or Keogh accounts associated with a single social security number are charged a maximum annual maintenance fee of $30. If an annual maintenance fee has not yet been charged when the last IRA or Keogh account associated with a particular social security number is completely liquidated, the full annual maintenance fee will be charged to the account at that time. Additionally, a $25 fee will be imposed on non‑periodic withdrawals or terminations from IRAs and Keogh plans.
Corporations, Trusts and Other Entities.    Additional documentation is normally required for corporations, fiduciaries and others who hold shares in a representative or nominee capacity. We cannot process your request until we have all documents in the form required. Please call us first to avoid delays.
Sales Limited to U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens.    Shares of the Funds are generally offered to only United States citizens and United States resident aliens having a social security number or individual tax identification number. This Prospectus should not be considered a solicitation or offering of Fund shares to non‑U.S. citizens or non‑resident aliens.
Anti-Money Laundering Procedures.    Shareholder information is subject to independent identity verification and may be shared, as permitted by law and as permitted by the Funds’ Privacy Policy, for identifying and reporting suspected money laundering and terrorist activity. In compliance with the USA PATRIOT Act, all financial institutions (including mutual funds) are required, among other matters, to obtain, verify and record the following information for all registered owners and, in certain circumstances, others who may be authorized to act on an account: full name, date of birth (for individuals), taxpayer identification number (usually your social security number), and permanent street address. If you are opening the account in the name of a legal entity (e.g., partnership, limited liability company, business trust, corporation, etc.), you must also supply the identity of the beneficial owners. Mailing addresses containing only a P. O. Box will not be accepted. In order to verify your identity, we may cross-reference your identification information with a consumer report or other electronic database, or by requesting a copy of your driver’s license, passport or other
 
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identifying document. Corporate, trust and other entity accounts require additional documentation. If we are unable to verify your identity in accordance with the Funds’ policies and procedures, we will reject and return your application close your account or take such other action as we deem reasonable and as permitted by law. Please review your account application for additional information. In the rare event that the Transfer Agent is unable to verify your identity, the Fund reserves the right to redeem your account at the current day’s net asset value.
 
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Exchanging Your Shares
If exchanging shares through your financial advisor or brokerage account, simply tell your advisor or broker that you wish to exchange shares of a Fund and he or she will take care of the necessary documentation. To open a new account through an exchange from an existing RBC Fund account, please refer to “Purchasing and Adding to Your Shares” above.
An exchange of shares is technically a sale of shares in one fund followed by a purchase of shares in another fund, and therefore may have tax consequences. By following the instructions below, and subject to such limitations as may be imposed by the RBC Funds, you may exchange shares between all RBC Funds except the RBC BlueBay U.S. Government Money Market Fund (Institutional Class 2 and Investor Class).
 
     
By Telephone   1‑800‑422‑2766   You may make exchanges from one identically registered RBC Fund account into another eligible RBC Fund account, provided that your account is authorized for telephone exchanges.
By Mail  
Regular Mail
RBC BlueBay [    ] Fund
c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services
P.O. Box 701
Milwaukee, WI 53201-0701
 
Registered/Overnight Mail
RBC BlueBay [    ] Fund
c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services
615 East Michigan Street, 3rd Floor
Milwaukee, WI 53202-5207
 
1.  In a letter, include the genuine signature of each registered owner, the account number, the number of shares or dollar amount to be exchanged, the name of the RBC Fund from which the amount is being sold, and the name of the RBC Fund into which the amount is being purchased.
 
2.  Mail or courier the letter to the applicable address above.
   
3.  The Funds do not consider the U.S. Postal Service or other independent delivery services to be their agents. Therefore, deposit in the mail or with such services, or receipt at U.S. Bank Global Fund Services’ post office box, of purchase orders or redemption requests does not constitute receipt by the transfer agent of the Funds. Receipt of purchase orders or redemption requests is based on when the order is received at the transfer agent’s offices.
Monthly Exchanges   You may authorize monthly exchanges from one eligible RBC Fund into another eligible RBC Fund. Exchanges will be continued until all shares have been exchanged or until you terminate the service.
 
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Additional Policies on Exchanges
With the exception of exchanges to or from the RBC BlueBay U.S. Government Money Market Fund (whose shares are offered through another prospectus) and Class I shares exchanges into Class R6 shares (as noted below), the share class must be the same in the two funds involved in the exchange. Except for exchanges of Class A shares of the RBC BlueBay U.S. Government Money Market Fund, RBC BlueBay Short Duration Fixed Income Fund or RBC BlueBay Ultra-Short Fixed Income Fund (whose shares are offered through another prospectus) into Class A shares of any other RBC Fund, no front‑end sales charge will be assessed. Because Class A shares of the RBC BlueBay Short Duration Fixed Income Fund are subject to a lower maximum front‑end sales charge than other RBC Funds and Class A shares of the RBC BlueBay U.S. Government Money Market Fund and RBC BlueBay Ultra-Short Fixed Income Fund are not subject to a front‑end sales charge, you will be subject to the payment of a sales charge at the time of exchange into Class A shares of any other RBC Fund based on the amount that you would have owed if you directly purchased Class A shares of that RBC Fund (less any sales charge previously paid for such shares of the RBC BlueBay Short Duration Fixed Income Fund or in connection with shares exchanged for such shares of the RBC BlueBay U.S. Government Money Market Fund, RBC BlueBay Short Duration Fixed Income Fund or RBC BlueBay Ultra-Short Fixed Income Fund, as applicable). In addition, purchases of Class A shares of the RBC BlueBay U.S. Government Money Market Fund, RBC BlueBay Short Duration Fixed Income Fund and RBC BlueBay Ultra-Short Fixed Income Fund are not included in the calculations of rights of accumulation and other reductions of sales charges applicable to purchases of other RBC Funds. For complete information on the RBC Fund you are exchanging into, including fees and expenses, read that fund’s prospectus carefully. With the exception of exchanges to the RBC BlueBay U.S. Government Money Market Fund, you must meet the minimum investment requirement of the fund you are exchanging into. Exchanges from Class A shares of any other RBC Fund to the RBC BlueBay U.S. Government Money Market Fund will be into the Class A shares of the RBC BlueBay U.S. Government Money Market Fund and all other exchanges to the RBC BlueBay U.S. Government Money Market Fund will be into the Institutional Class 1 shares. The names and registrations on the two accounts must be identical. To the extent that an RBC Fund offers Class R6 shares, Class I shares of that Fund may be exchanged for Class R6 shares of that Fund at any time, provided that all eligibility requirements for investment in Class R6 shares are met. You should review the prospectus of the fund you are exchanging into. Call us for a free copy or contact your investment representative. The exchange privilege (including automatic exchanges) may be changed or eliminated at any time upon 60 days’ notice to shareholders.
 
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Additional Shareholder Services
Services for the following types of accounts are also available to shareholders. Please call 1‑800‑422‑2766 for more information.
 
   
Uniform Transfers/Gifts to Minors Accounts
 
   
TOD Accounts
 
   
Accounts for corporations, partnerships and retirement plans
 
   
Coverdell Education Savings Accounts (not available for Class R6 shares)
 
   
Traditional IRA accounts (not available for Class R6 shares)
 
   
Roth IRA Accounts (not available for Class R6 shares)
 
   
Simplified Employee Pensions
Telephone Services.    Telephone trades must be received by or prior to market close. During periods of increased market activity, you may have difficulty reaching the Funds by telephone or may encounter higher than usual call waits. If this happens, contact the Funds by mail or allow sufficient time to place your telephone transaction. The Funds may refuse a telephone request, including a request to redeem shares of a Fund. The Funds will use reasonable procedures to confirm that telephone instructions are genuine. If such procedures are followed, neither the Funds nor any persons or entity that provides services to the Funds will be liable for any losses due to unauthorized or fraudulent instructions. If an account has more than one owner or authorized person, the Fund will accept telephone instructions from any one owner or authorized person. The Funds reserve the right to limit the frequency or the amount of telephone redemption requests. Once a telephone transaction has been placed, it cannot be cancelled or modified after the close of regular trading on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time).
Shareholder Mailings.    To help lower operating costs, the Funds attempt to eliminate mailing duplicate documents to the same address. When two or more Fund shareholders have the same last name and address, a Fund may send only one prospectus and other similar documents, general information statement or proxy statement to that address rather than mailing separate documents to each shareholder. This practice is known as “householding.” Shareholders may opt out of this single mailing at any time by calling the Funds at 1‑800‑422‑2766 and requesting the additional copies of Fund documents.
Market Timing and Excessive Trading
Market timing may interfere with the management of a Fund’s portfolio and result in increased costs. The Funds do not accommodate market timers. On behalf of the Funds, the Board of Trustees has adopted policies and procedures to discourage short-term trading.
Restriction and Rejection of Purchase or Exchange Orders.    The Funds reserve the right to restrict or reject, for any reason, without any prior notice, any purchase or exchange order. These include transactions representing
 
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excessive trading or suspected excessive trading, transactions that may be disruptive to the management of a Fund’s portfolio, and purchase orders not accompanied by proper payment. The RBC Funds reserve the right to delay the payment of a redemption order in an exchange order for up to one business day in the event that, in a Fund’s judgment, such delay would be in the Fund’s best interest, in which case both the redemption and purchase will be processed at the conclusion of the delay period. Redemptions may be suspended or postponed at times when the NYSE is closed, when trading is restricted, or under certain emergency circumstances as determined by the SEC.
If detected, once an accountholder makes five exchanges between RBC Funds during a calendar year, the ability to make additional exchanges for that account may be suspended. In applying these exchange limits, the Funds may consider trading done in multiple accounts under common ownership, control or influence. These exchange limits do not apply to purchases made through the monthly exchange program. In addition, these limits may be modified at the Funds’ discretion for retirement plans to conform to plan exchange features and applicable law and regulation, and for automated or pre‑established exchange, asset allocation or dollar cost averaging programs.
The Funds’ policy limiting the number of exchanges applies uniformly to all investors. However, some financial intermediaries, such as investment advisors, broker-dealers, transfer agents and third-party administrators, maintain omnibus accounts in which they aggregate orders of multiple investors and forward aggregated orders to the Funds. Because the Funds receive these orders on an aggregated basis and because these omnibus accounts may not be identified by the financial intermediaries as omnibus accounts, the Funds may be limited in their ability to detect excessive trading or enforce their market timing policy with respect to those omnibus accounts and investors purchasing and redeeming Fund shares through those accounts.
If a Fund identifies an investor as a potential market timer or an intermediary as a potential facilitator for market timing in the Fund, even if the above limits have not been reached, the Fund may take steps to restrict or prohibit further trading in the Fund by that investor or through that intermediary. As stated above, each Fund reserves the right to restrict or reject a purchase order for any reason without prior notice. Each Fund also reserves the right to terminate an investor’s exchange privilege without prior notice.
Risks Presented by Excessive Trading Practices.    Parties engaged in market timing may use many techniques to seek to avoid detection. Despite the efforts of the Funds and their agents to prevent market timing, there is no guarantee that the Funds will be able to prevent all such practices. For example, a Fund may receive purchase, exchange and redemption orders through financial intermediaries and cannot always reasonably detect market timing that may be facilitated by these intermediaries or by the use of omnibus account arrangements offered by these intermediaries to investors.
 
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Omnibus account arrangements typically aggregate the share ownership positions of multiple shareholders and often result in the Fund being unable to monitor the purchase, exchange and redemption activity of a particular shareholder. To the extent that the Funds and their agents are unable to curtail excessive trading practices in the Funds, those practices may interfere with the efficient management of the Fund’s investment portfolio, and may, for example, cause the Fund to maintain a higher cash balance than it otherwise would have maintained or to experience higher portfolio turnover than it otherwise would have experienced. This could hinder performance and lead to increased brokerage and administration costs. Those increased costs would be borne by Fund shareholders.
For a Fund that invests significantly in foreign securities traded on markets that may close prior to when the Fund determines its NAV, excessive trading by certain shareholders may cause dilution in the value of Fund shares held by other shareholders. The RBC Funds have procedures designed to adjust closing market prices of foreign securities under certain circumstances to reflect what it determines to be the fair value of those securities at the time when the Fund determines its NAV, which are intended to mitigate this risk.
To the extent that a Fund invests in securities that may trade infrequently, such as securities of smaller companies, it may be susceptible to market timing by investors who seek to exploit perceived price inefficiencies in the Fund’s investments. This is commonly referred to as price arbitrage. In addition, the market for securities of smaller companies may at times show market momentum, in which positive or negative performance may continue for a period of time for reasons unrelated to the fundamentals of the issuer. Certain investors may seek to capture this momentum by trading frequently in the Fund’s shares. Because securities of smaller companies may be less liquid than securities of larger companies, the Fund may be unable to purchase or sell investments at favorable prices in response to cash inflows or outflows caused by timing activity.
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings
A description of the Funds’ policies and procedures regarding the disclosure of portfolio holdings is available in the Funds’ SAI. The Funds also make certain portfolio securities information available on their website which is accessed by using the Funds’ link at www.rbcgam.com. Within 15 calendar days of month‑end, each Fund’s top ten holdings and related weightings, the total number of Fund holdings and a Fund’s sector/industry weightings (all as of month‑end) are posted until replaced by the next month’s information. Within 10 business days of fiscal quarter‑end, each Fund’s portfolio holdings and their weightings are posted until replaced by the next quarter’s information. The aforementioned disclosure may be delayed until the Fund has a full calendar quarter of performance history. In addition, each Fund’s portfolio holdings as of the most recent first and third fiscal quarter‑end as filed on Form N‑PORT are posted on the Funds’ website within 60 days after the applicable quarter‑end.
 
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Distribution Arrangements/Sales Charges
This section describes sales charges and fees you will pay as an investor in the share classes offered by the Funds and ways to qualify for reduced sales charges. Class I shares and Class R6 shares of the Funds have no sales charges or distribution/service fees and, generally, have lower annual expenses than Class A shares.
Class I shares may also be available on certain brokerage platforms. An investor transacting in Class I shares through a broker acting as an agent for the investor may be required to pay a commission and/or other forms of compensation to the broker.
 
     Class A   Class I   Class R6
Sales Charge (Load)   Maximum sales charge of 4.25% for RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Debt Fund and RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund. Maximum sales charge of 3.75% for RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund and RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund. See Schedules below. CDSC of 1.00% on purchases of $1 million or more for redemptions within 12 months of purchase.   No sales charge.   No sales charge.
Distribution and
Service (12b‑1) Fee
  0.25%*   None   None
Fund Expenses   Higher annual expenses than Class I and Class R6 shares.   Lower annual
expenses than
Class A shares.
  Generally lower annual expenses than Class A and Class I shares.
 
*   Under the 12b‑1 Plan, Class A is authorized to pay expenses directly or reimburse the Distributor for costs and expenses incurred in connection with distribution and marketing of Fund shares subject to an annual limit of up to 0.50% of the average daily net assets attributable to Class A shares of a Fund. Currently, the Board of Trustees has approved an annual limit of 0.25% for Class A shares.
The class of shares that is better for you depends on a number of factors, including the amount you plan to invest and how long you plan to hold the shares. Your financial advisor can help you decide which class of shares is more appropriate for you.
Front‑End Sales Charges.    Front‑end sales charges are imposed on sales of Class A shares of the Funds in this Prospectus at the rates listed in the tables below. The sales charge decreases with larger purchases. For example, if you invest more than $100,000, or if your cumulative purchases or the value on your account is more than $100,000, then the sales charge is reduced. (See “Reducing the Initial Sales Charge on Purchases of Class A Shares,” below.) This sales charge will be waived for purchases (i) in accounts invested through wrap programs in which the RBC Funds participate, (ii) in accounts that transferred to an RBC Fund from a series of RBC Funds, Inc. upon the April 16, 2004 reorganization, (iii) in accounts in which Class R shares or Class C shares were converted to Class A shares, (iv) through “one‑stop” mutual fund networks, (v) through trust companies and banks acting in a
 
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fiduciary, advisor, agency, custodial or similar capacity, or (vi) through group retirement plans. The amount paid for an investment, known as the “offering price,” includes any applicable front‑end sales charges. Because of rounding in the calculation of the “offering price,” the actual sales charge you pay may be more or less than that calculated using the percentages shown below.
There is no sales charge on reinvested dividends and distributions. Also shown in the tables is the portion of the front‑end sales charge that is paid to dealers expressed as a percentage of the offering price of a Fund’s shares.
RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Debt Fund and RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund:
 
     Sales Charges as a
Percentage of
    
Dealer Concession
as a % of
Offering Price
 
For Purchases:    Offering
Price
     Net
Amount
Invested
 
Less than $100,000
     4.25      4.44      4.00
$100,000 to $249,999.99
     3.50      3.63      3.00
$250,000 to $499,999.99
     2.50      2.56      2.00
$500,000 to $749,999.99
     2.00      2.04      1.60
$750,000 to $999,999.99
     1.50      1.52      1.20
$1 million to $4,999,999.99
     0.00 %*       0.00      1.00
$5 million to $24,999,999.99
     0.00 %*       0.00      0.50
Over $25 million
     0.00 %*       0.00      0.25
 
*   A CDSC in accordance with the amount of the dealer concession paid is imposed on redemptions within 12 months of a purchase of $1 million or more on which no front‑end sales charge was paid. See “Contingent Deferred Sales Charge” below.
RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund and RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund:
 
     Sales Charges as a
Percentage of
     Dealer Concession
as a % of
Offering Price
 
For Purchases:    Offering
Price
     Net
Amount
Invested
 
Less than $100,000
     3.75      3.90      3.00
$100,000 to $249,999.99
     3.50      3.63      2.75
$250,000 to $499,999.99
     2.50      2.56      2.00
$500,000 to $749,999.99
     2.00      2.04      1.60
$750,000 to $999,999.99
     1.50      1.52      1.20
$1 million and over.
     0.00 %*       0.00      0.00 %** 
 
*   A CDSC in accordance with the amount of the dealer concession paid is imposed on redemptions within 12 months of a purchase of $1 million or more on which no front‑end sales charge was paid. See “Contingent Deferred Sales Charge” below.
 
**   The Distributor may pay dealers up to 1.00% on investments made in Class A shares with no initial sales charge.
Reducing the Initial Sales Charge on Purchases of Class A Shares
Combining Accounts of Family Members.    You may combine accounts in RBC Funds Class A shares of the Funds listed in this Prospectus and all other RBC Funds Class A shares offered in separate prospectuses (except for Class A shares of the RBC BlueBay U.S. Government Money Market Fund,
 
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RBC BlueBay Short Duration Fixed Income Fund and RBC BlueBay Ultra-Short Fixed Income Fund) in order to qualify for a reduced sales charge (load). The following types of accounts may be aggregated for purposes of reducing the initial sales charge.
 
   
Accounts owned by you and your immediate family (your spouse and your children under 21 years of age)
 
   
Single-participant retirement plan accounts owned by you or your immediate family
 
   
Trust accounts established by you or your immediate family
You need to provide your financial advisor with the information as to which of your accounts qualify as family accounts and this information should be included with your account application.
Letter of Intent.    By signing a Letter of Intent (LOI) you can reduce your Class A sales charge. Your individual purchases will be made at the applicable sales charge based on the amount you intend to invest over a 13‑month period. The LOI will apply to all purchases of RBC Funds Class A shares of the Funds in this Prospectus and all other RBC Funds Class A shares offered in separate prospectuses (except for Class A shares of the RBC BlueBay U.S. Government Money Market Fund, RBC BlueBay Short Duration Fixed Income Fund and RBC BlueBay Ultra-Short Fixed Income Fund).
Any shares purchased within 90 days of the date you sign the LOI may be used as credit toward completion, but the reduced sales charge will only apply to new purchases made on or after that date. Purchases resulting from the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains do not apply toward fulfillment of the LOI. Shares equal to 4.25% of the amount of the LOI will be held in escrow during the 13‑month period. If, at the end of that time the total amount of purchases made is less than the amount intended, you will
be required to pay the difference between the reduced sales charge and the sales charge applicable to the individual purchases had the LOI not been in effect. This amount will be obtained from redemption of the escrow shares. Any remaining escrow shares will be released to you.
If you establish an LOI with RBC Funds you can aggregate your accounts as well as the accounts of your immediate family members. You will need to provide written instruction with respect to the other accounts whose purchases should be considered in fulfillment of the LOI.
Rights of Accumulation.    For the purpose of qualifying for the lower sales charge rates that apply to larger purchases, you may combine your new purchase of Class A shares with shares of currently owned holdings in Class A shares of the RBC Funds in this Prospectus and all other RBC Funds Class A shares offered in separate prospectuses (except for Class A shares of the RBC BlueBay U.S. Government Money Market Fund, RBC BlueBay Short Duration Fixed Income Fund and RBC BlueBay Ultra-Short Fixed Income Fund). The applicable sales charge for the new purchase is based on the total of your current purchase and the current value based on NAV of all other Class A shares you own. You may need to provide your financial
 
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advisor with account statements or other information to demonstrate that you qualify for a sales charge reduction.
PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT TO RECEIVE A REDUCTION IN THE INITIAL SALES CHARGE OF YOUR PURCHASES OF CLASS A SHARES OF THE RBC FUNDS, YOU MUST NOTIFY YOUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR AT THE TIME YOU PURCHASE YOUR SHARES THAT YOU QUALIFY FOR SUCH A REDUCTION. IF YOU DO NOT NOTIFY YOUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR THAT YOU MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR A SALES CHARGE REDUCTION, YOU MAY NOT RECEIVE A REDUCTION TO WHICH YOU ARE OTHERWISE ENTITLED.
Contingent Deferred Sales Charges.    A 1.00% CDSC is imposed on redemptions of Class A shares made within 12 months of a purchase of $1 million or more of Class A shares on which no front‑end sales charge was paid. Shares acquired through reinvestment of dividends or capital gain distributions are not subject to a CDSC. For purposes of determining the CDSC, if you sell only some of your shares, shares that are not subject to any CDSC will be sold first, followed by shares that you have owned the longest. The CDSC is based on the initial offering price or the current sales price of the shares, whichever is less.
Waiving Contingent Deferred Sales Charges (Class A Shares).    The contingent deferred sales charge on Class A shares may be waived in the following cases:
 
   
Redemptions due to death or disability of the shareholder
 
   
Redemptions due to the complete termination of a trust upon the death of the trustor/grantor or beneficiary
 
   
Tax‑free returns of excess contributions to IRAs
 
   
Permitted exchanges of shares between funds (However, if shares acquired in the exchange are subsequently redeemed within the period during which a contingent deferred sales charge would have applied to the initial shares purchased, the contingent deferred sales charge will not be waived.)
The contingent deferred sales charge on Class A shares may also be waived in the following two cases, if together such transactions do not exceed 12% of the value of an account annually:
 
   
Redemptions through a systematic withdrawal plan
 
   
Redemptions due to receiving required minimum distributions from retirement accounts upon reaching RMD age
The Funds do not provide additional information on sales charges on their website because the information is contained in the Prospectus, which is available on the Funds’ website at www.dfinview.com/usrbcgam.
Distribution and Service (12b‑1) Fees
Each Fund has adopted a plan under Rule 12b‑1. 12b‑1 fees paid pursuant to the plan compensate the Distributor and other dealers and investment representatives for services and expenses relating to the sale and distribution
 
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  Shareholder Information    
     
     
 
of the Fund’s shares and/or for providing shareholder services. Because 12b‑1 fees are paid from Fund assets on an ongoing basis, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges. Under the 12b‑1 plan, Class A is authorized to pay directly or reimburse the Distributor in connection with the distribution and marketing of Fund shares subject to an annual limit of up to 0.50% of average daily net assets attributable to Class A shares of a Fund. Up to 0.25% of this fee may be used for shareholder servicing. Currently, the Board of Trustees has approved an annual limit of 0.25% for Class A shares.
Shareholder Servicing Plan
The Trust has adopted an Amended and Restated Shareholder Servicing Plan (the “Servicing Plan”) that allows Class A and Class I shares of the Funds, as applicable, to pay service fees to firms that provide shareholder services (“Intermediaries”). Under the Servicing Plan, if an Intermediary provides shareholder services, including responding to shareholder inquiries and assisting shareholders with their accounts, the Fund may pay shareholder servicing fees to the Intermediary at an annual rate not to exceed 0.15% of the average daily value of net assets of the relevant share class. Because these fees are paid out of the Fund’s assets on an ongoing basis, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than other types of charges.
Dividends, Distributions and Taxes
Dividends and Distributions.    Each Fund intends to qualify each year as a regulated investment company under the Internal Revenue Code. As a regulated investment company, a Fund generally pays no federal income tax on the income and gains it distributes to you. Each Fund expects to declare dividends monthly and distribute its net investment income, if any, to shareholders as dividends monthly. Each Fund will distribute net realized capital gains, if any, at least annually, generally in December. A Fund may distribute such income dividends and capital gains more frequently, if necessary, in order to reduce or eliminate federal excise or income taxes on the Fund. The amount of any distribution will vary, and there is no guarantee a Fund will pay either an income dividend or a capital gains distribution.
Annual Statements.    Each year, the Funds will send you an annual statement (Form 1099) of your account activity to assist you in completing your federal, state and local tax returns. Distributions declared in October, November, or December to shareholders of record in such month, but paid in January, are taxable as if they were paid in December. Prior to issuing your statement, the Funds make every effort to reduce the number of corrected forms mailed to you. However, if a Fund finds it necessary to reclassify its distributions or adjust the cost basis of any covered shares (defined below) sold or exchanged after you receive your tax statement, the Fund will send you a corrected Form 1099.
 
99

     
  Shareholder Information    
     
     
 
Avoid “Buying a Dividend.”    At the time you purchase your Fund shares, a Fund’s net asset value may reflect undistributed income, undistributed capital gains, or net unrealized appreciation in value of portfolio securities held by the Fund. For taxable investors, a subsequent distribution to you of such amounts, although constituting a return of your investment, would be taxable. Buying shares in a Fund just before it declares an income dividend or capital gains distribution is sometimes known as “buying a dividend.”
Tax Considerations.    Each Fund expects, based on its investment objective and strategies, that its distributions, if any, will be taxable as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both. This is true whether you reinvest your distributions in additional Fund shares or receive them in cash.
For federal income tax purposes, Fund distributions of short-term capital gains are taxable to you as ordinary income. Fund distributions of long-term capital gains are taxable to you as long-term capital gains no matter how long you have owned your shares. A portion of income dividends reported by a Fund may be qualified dividend income eligible for taxation by individual shareholders at long-term capital gain rates provided certain holding period requirements are met. Because the income of each Fund is primarily derived from investments earning interest rather than dividend income, generally none or only a small portion of the income dividends paid to you by a Fund is anticipated to be qualified dividend income eligible for taxation by individuals at long-term capital gain tax rates.
If a Fund qualifies to pass through to you the tax benefits from foreign taxes it pays on its investments, and elects to do so, then any foreign taxes it pays on these investments may be passed through to you as a foreign tax credit.
Sale or Redemption of Fund Shares.    You will recognize taxable gain or loss on a sale, exchange or redemption of your shares in a Fund, including an exchange for shares of another RBC Fund, based on the difference between your tax basis in the shares and the amount you receive for them. Generally, you will recognize long-term capital gain or loss if you have held your Fund shares for over one year at the time you sell or exchange them. Any loss incurred on a redemption or exchange of shares held for six months or less will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of any long-term capital gain distributed to you by the Fund on those shares. A Fund is required to report to you and the Internal Revenue Service annually on Form 1099‑B not only the gross proceeds of Fund shares you sell or redeem but also their cost basis for shares purchased or acquired on or after January 1, 2012 (“covered shares”). Cost basis will be calculated using the Funds’ default method of average cost, unless you instruct a Fund to use a different calculation method. Shareholders should carefully review the cost basis information provided by a Fund and make any additional basis, holding period or other adjustments that are required when reporting these amounts on their federal income tax returns. If your account is held by your investment representative (financial advisor or other broker), please contact that representative with respect to reporting of cost basis and available
 
100

     
  Shareholder Information    
     
     
 
elections for your account. Tax‑advantaged retirement accounts will not be affected.
Medicare Tax.    An additional 3.8% Medicare tax is imposed on certain net investment income (including ordinary dividends and capital gain distributions received from a Fund and net gains from redemptions or other taxable dispositions of Fund shares) of U.S. individuals, estates and trusts to the extent that such person’s “modified adjusted gross income” (in the case of an individual) or “adjusted gross income” (in the case of an estate or trust) exceeds certain threshold amounts. This Medicare tax, if applicable, is reported by you on, and paid with, your federal income tax return.
Backup Withholding.    By law, if you do not provide a Fund with your proper taxpayer identification number and certain required certifications, you may be subject to backup withholding at the applicable rate on any distributions of income, capital gains, or proceeds from the sale of your shares. A Fund also must withhold if the Internal Revenue Service instructs it to do so.
State and Local Taxes.    Fund distributions and gains from the sale or exchange of your Fund shares also may be subject to state, local and foreign taxes.
Non‑U.S. Shareholders.    Shareholders other than U.S. persons may be subject to a different U.S. federal income tax treatment, including withholding tax at the rate of 30% on amounts treated as ordinary dividends from the Fund, as discussed in more detail in the SAI.
This discussion of “Dividends, Distributions and Taxes” is not intended or written to be used as tax advice. Because everyone’s tax situation is unique, you should consult your tax professional about federal, state, local, or foreign tax consequences before making an investment in a Fund.
Organizational Structure
RBC Funds Trust, formerly known as Tamarack Funds Trust, was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on December 16, 2003. Overall responsibility for the management of RBC Funds Trust is vested in the Board of Trustees.
 
101

     
  Investment Practices    
     
     
 
This section discusses the types of investments which can be held by the Funds. Most of these securities and investment techniques are discretionary, which means that the Sub‑Advisor can decide whether to use them or not. This Prospectus does not attempt to disclose all of the various types of securities and investment techniques that may be used by the Funds. As with any mutual fund, investors in the Funds rely on the professional investment judgment and skill of Sub‑Advisor and the individual portfolio managers. Please see “Description of Securities and Investment Practices” in the SAI for more detailed information about the securities and investment techniques described in this section and about other strategies and techniques that may be used by the Funds.
Asset-Backed Securities:    Securities secured by company receivables, home equity loans, truck and auto loans, leases and credit card receivables, collateralized loan obligations, collateralized bond obligations and collateralized debt obligations or other securities backed by other types of receivables or other assets.
Call and Put Options:    A call option gives the buyer the right (but not obligation) to buy, and obligates the seller of the option to sell a security at a specified price at a future date. A put option gives the buyer the right (but not obligation) to sell, and obligates the seller of the option to buy a security at a specified price at a future date. A Fund will sell only covered call and secured put options.
Commercial Paper:    Secured and unsecured short-term promissory notes issued by corporations and other entities. Maturities generally vary from a few days to nine months.
Convertible Securities:    Bonds or preferred stock that can convert to common stock.
Corporate Debt Securities:    May include bonds and other debt securities of domestic and foreign issuers, including obligations of industrial, utility, banking and other corporate issuers.
Currency Transactions:    Strategies used to hedge against currency risks, for other risk management purposes or to increase income or gain to a Fund. These strategies may consist of use of any of the following: options on currencies, financial and currency futures, options on such futures, forward foreign currency transactions, forward rate agreements and currency swaps, caps and floors. The Funds may engage in such transactions in both U.S. and non‑U.S. markets.
Credit Default Swaps (CDSs):    A swap agreement between two parties pursuant to which one party pays the other a fixed periodic coupon for the specified life of the agreement. The other party makes no payment unless a credit event, relating to a predetermined reference asset, occurs. If such an event occurs, the party will then make a payment to the first party, and the swap will terminate.
Credit Linked Notes:    An instrument in which an entity issues a structured note that is intended to replicate a corporate bond or portfolio of corporate bonds.
 
102

     
  Investment Practices    
     
     
 
Emerging Market Securities:     Securities issued by issuers or governments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets which may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid developments.
Equity Securities:     Shares of ownership of a company.
Foreign Investments:     Equity and debt securities (e.g., bonds and commercial paper) of foreign entities and obligations of foreign branches of U.S. banks and foreign banks. Foreign securities may also include American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) and American Depositary Securities.
Forwards:     An agreement to buy or sell a specific amount of currency, rate of interest, or security at a price set at the time of the contract.
High Yield/High Risk Securities/Junk Bonds:     Securities that are generally rated below investment grade by the primary rating agencies or are unrated but are deemed by a Fund to be of comparable quality.
Investment Company Securities:     Shares of other investment companies, including money market funds for which the Advisor, Sub‑Advisor and/or their affiliates serve as investment advisor or administrator. The Advisor will waive certain fees when investing in funds for which it serves as investment advisor, to the extent required by law.
Loan Assignments and Participations:     Assignments of, or participations in, all or a portion of loans to corporations or to governments, including governments of less developed countries.
Options and Futures Transactions:     A Fund may purchase and sell (a) exchange traded and over‑the‑counter put and call options on securities, indexes of securities and futures contracts on securities, indexes of securities, interest rate futures contracts and interest rate swaps and (b) futures contracts on securities and indexes of securities.
Private Placements, Restricted Securities and Other Unregistered Securities: Securities not registered under the Securities Act of 1933, such as privately placed commercial paper and Rule 144A securities.
Repurchase Agreements:     The purchase of a security and the simultaneous commitment to return the security to the seller at an agreed upon price on an agreed upon date. This is treated as a loan.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements:     The sale of a security and the simultaneous commitment to buy the security back at an agreed upon price on an agreed upon date. This is treated as a borrowing by a Fund.
Short Selling:     A Fund sells a security it does not own in anticipation of a decline in the market value of the security. To complete the transaction, a Fund must borrow the security to make delivery to the buyer. A Fund is obligated to replace the security borrowed by purchasing it subsequently at the market price at the time of replacement.
Sovereign Obligations:     Investments in debt obligations issued or guaranteed by a foreign sovereign government or its agencies, authorities or political subdivisions.
 
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  Investment Practices    
     
     
 
Structured Investments:     A security having a return tied to an underlying index or other security or asset class. Structured investments generally are individually negotiated agreements and may be traded over‑the‑counter. Structured investments are organized and operated to restructure the investment characteristics of the underlying security.
Swaps and Related Swap Products:     Swaps involve an exchange of obligations by two parties and may include credit default swaps, currency swaps, interest rate swaps and total return swaps. Caps and floors entitle a purchaser to a principal amount from the seller of the cap or floor to the extent that a specified index exceeds or falls below a predetermined interest rate or amount. A Fund may enter into these transactions to manage its exposure to changing interest rates and other factors.
Variable and Floating Rate Instruments:     Obligations with interest rates which are reset daily, weekly, quarterly or some other frequency and which may be payable to a Fund on demand or at the expiration of a specified term.
When-Issued Securities, Delayed Delivery Securities and Forward Commitments:     Purchase or contract to purchase securities at a fixed price for delivery at a future date.
 
104

     
     
     
     
 
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105

     
  Financial Highlights    
     
     
 
The following tables are intended to help you understand each Fund’s financial performance for the past five fiscal years or since inception, if less than five years. Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund share. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned or lost on an investment in a Fund assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. This information has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, whose Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, along with each Fund’s financial statements, is included in the Funds’ Annual Report, which is available free of charge at www.dfinview.com/usrbcgam or by calling 1‑800‑422‑2766.
 
106

     
  Financial Highlights    
     
     
 
RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Debt Fund
(Selected data for a share outstanding throughout the periods indicated)
 
            Investment Activities      Distributions         
     Net Asset
Value,
Beginning
of Year
     Net
Investment
Income(a)
         
    
Net Realized

and Unrealized
Gains (Losses)
on Investments
    Total from
Investment
Activities
     Net
Investment
Income
     Total
Distributions
     Net Asset
Value,
End of
Year
 
Class A
                   
Year Ended 9/30/23
   $ 7.03        0.54        0.45       0.99        (0.49)        (0.49)      $ 7.53  
Year Ended 9/30/22
     9.77        0.48        (2.70)       (2.22)        (0.52)        (0.52)        7.03  
Year Ended 9/30/21
     9.78        0.45        0.04 (b)      0.49        (0.50)        (0.50)        9.77  
Year Ended 9/30/20
     10.14        0.48        (0.38)       0.10        (0.46)        (0.46)        9.78  
Year Ended 9/30/19
     9.63        0.52        0.51       1.03        (0.52)        (0.52)        10.14  
Class I
                   
Year Ended 9/30/23
   $ 7.17        0.57        0.45       1.02        (0.51)        (0.51)      $ 7.68  
Year Ended 9/30/22
     9.89        0.50        (2.73)       (2.23)        (0.49)        (0.49)        7.17  
Year Ended 9/30/21
     9.90        0.48        0.03 (b)      0.51        (0.52)        (0.52)        9.89  
Year Ended 9/30/20
     10.23        0.47        (0.33)       0.14        (0.47)        (0.47)        9.90  
Year Ended 9/30/19
     9.71        0.55        0.52       1.07        (0.55)        (0.55)        10.23  
Class R6
                   
Year Ended 9/30/23
   $ 7.20        0.58        0.45       1.03        (0.51)        (0.51)      $ 7.72  
Year Ended 9/30/22
     9.94        0.51        (2.76)       (2.25)        (0.49)        (0.49)        7.20  
Year Ended 9/30/21
     9.94        0.49        0.04 (b)      0.53        (0.53)        (0.53)        9.94  
Year Ended 9/30/20
     10.27        0.48        (0.33)       0.15        (0.48)        (0.48)        9.94  
Year Ended 9/30/19
     9.74        0.56        0.52       1.08        (0.55)        (0.55)        10.27  
 
(a)   Per share net investment income (loss) has been calculated using the average daily shares method.
 
(b)   Calculation of the net gain per share (both realized and unrealized) does not correlate to the aggregate realized and unrealized losses presented in the Statement of Operations due to the timing of the sales and repurchases of Fund shares in relation to fluctuating market values of the investments of the Fund.
 
107

     
  Financial Highlights    
     
     
 
RBC BlueBay Emerging Market Debt Fund (cont.)
(Selected data for a share outstanding throughout the periods indicated)
 
            Ratios/Supplemental Data  
     Total
Return(a)(b)
     Net Assets,
End of
Year
(000’s)
       Ratio of Net
Expenses

to Average
Net Assets
     Ratio of Net
Investment

Income
(Loss) to
Average

Net Assets
     Ratio of
Expenses to
Average Net
Assets*
     Portfolio
Turnover
Rate**
 
Class A
                   
Year Ended 9/30/23
     14.12    $ 17          1.04      7.09      15.47      85
Year Ended 9/30/22
     (23.47)      25          1.04      5.67      17.51      98
Year Ended 9/30/21
     5.06      15          1.04      4.52      43.25      181
Year Ended 9/30/20
     1.06      7          1.11 %(c)       4.95      28.23      249
Year Ended 9/30/19
     11.17      21          1.12      5.38      20.37      236
Class I
                   
Year Ended 9/30/23
     14.42    $ 38,909          0.79      7.38      1.55      85
Year Ended 9/30/22
     (23.27)      30,173          0.79      5.82      1.65      98
Year Ended 9/30/21
     5.28      28,667          0.79      4.76      1.72      181
Year Ended 9/30/20
     1.44      21,356          0.85 %(c)       4.87      2.14      249
Year Ended 9/30/19
     11.48      21,529          0.87      5.62      2.13      236
Class R6
                   
Year Ended 9/30/23
     14.54    $ 11          0.74      7.43      32.92      85
Year Ended 9/30/22
     (23.27)      10          0.74      5.77      31.35      98
Year Ended 9/30/21
     5.35      13          0.74      4.82      28.96      181
Year Ended 9/30/20
     1.40      12          0.79 %(c)       4.91      31.83      249
Year Ended 9/30/19
     11.57      12          0.82      5.67      33.09      236
 
*   During the period, certain fees were contractually or voluntarily reduced and/or reimbursed. If such contractual/voluntary fee reductions and reimbursements had not occurred, the ratio would have been as indicated.
 
**   Portfolio turnover rate is calculated on the basis of the Fund as a whole without distinguishing between the classes of shares issued.
 
(a)   Excludes sales charge.
 
(b)   Assumes investment at net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions, and a complete redemption of the investment at net asset value at the end of the period.
 
(c)   Beginning June 18, 2020, the net operating expenses were contractually limited to 1.04%, 0.79% and 0.74% of average daily net assets for Class A, Class I and Class R6, respectively. The ratio of net expenses to average net assets represents a blended percentage for the year ended September 30, 2020.
 
108

     
  Financial Highlights    
     
     
 
RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund
(Selected data for a share outstanding throughout the periods indicated)
 
            Investment Activities      Distributions         
     Net Asset
Value,
Beginning
of Year
     Net
Investment
Income(a)
         
    
Net Realized

and Unrealized
Gains (Losses)
on Investments
     Redemption
Fees
    Total from
Investment
Activities
     Net
Investment
Income
     Net
Realized
Gains
     Total
Distributions
     Net Asset
Value,
End of
Year
 
Class A
                         
Year Ended 9/30/23
   $ 8.98        0.57        0.31              0.88        (0.58)               (0.58)      $ 9.28  
Year Ended 9/30/22
     10.89        0.47        (1.94)              (1.47)        (0.44)               (0.44)        8.98  
Year Ended 9/30/21
     10.56        0.47        0.52        (b)      0.99        (0.52)        (0.14)        (0.66)        10.89  
Year Ended 9/30/20
     10.46        0.48        0.09              0.57        (0.47)               (0.47)        10.56  
Year Ended 9/30/19
     10.42        0.54        0.26              0.80        (0.76)               (0.76)        10.46  
Class I
                         
Year Ended 9/30/23
   $ 9.07        0.61        0.30              0.91        (0.60)               (0.60)      $ 9.38  
Year Ended 9/30/22
     10.98        0.48        (1.95)              (1.47)        (0.44)               (0.44)        9.07  
Year Ended 9/30/21
     10.64        0.50        0.53        (b)      1.03        (0.55)        (0.14)        (0.69)        10.98  
Year Ended 9/30/20
     10.52        0.51        0.10              0.61        (0.49)               (0.49)        10.64  
Year Ended 9/30/19
     10.47        0.58        0.25              0.83        (0.78)               (0.78)        10.52  
 
(a)   Per share net investment income (loss) has been calculated using the average daily shares method.
 
(b)   Less than $0.01 or $(0.01) per share.
 
109

     
  Financial Highlights    
     
     
 
RBC BlueBay High Yield Bond Fund (cont.)
(Selected data for a share outstanding throughout the periods indicated)
 
            Ratios/Supplemental Data  
     Total
Return(a)(b)
     Net Assets,
End of
Year
(000’s)
       Ratio of Net
Expenses

to Average
Net Assets
     Ratio of Net
Investment

Income
(Loss) to
Average

Net Assets
     Ratio of
Expenses to
Average Net
Assets*
     Portfolio
Turnover
Rate**
 
Class A
                   
Year Ended 9/30/23
     10.06    $ 3,580          0.81      6.18      1.14      72
Year Ended 9/30/22
     (12.74)      2,983          0.82      4.45      1.16      75
Year Ended 9/30/21
     9.60      3,727          0.82      4.32      1.18      100
Year Ended 9/30/20
     5.64      1,586          0.82      4.64      1.92      187
Year Ended 9/30/19
     8.41      460          0.82      5.35      2.50      143
Class I
                   
Year Ended 9/30/23
     10.34    $ 452,775          0.56      6.46      0.81      72
Year Ended 9/30/22
     (12.57)      277,697          0.57      4.76      0.82      75
Year Ended 9/30/21
     9.89      244,644          0.57      4.57      0.87      100
Year Ended 9/30/20
     6.03      128,846          0.57      4.92      1.10      187
Year Ended 9/30/19
     8.58      49,397          0.57      5.66      1.39      143
 
*   During the period, certain fees were contractually or voluntarily reduced and/or reimbursed. If such contractual/voluntary fee reductions and reimbursements had not occurred, the ratio would have been as indicated.
 
**   Portfolio turnover rate is calculated on the basis of the Fund as a whole without distinguishing between the classes of shares issued.
 
(a)   Excludes sales charge.
 
(b)   Assumes investment at net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions, and a complete redemption of the investment at net asset value at the end of the period.
 
110

     
  Financial Highlights    
     
     
 
RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund
(Selected data for a share outstanding throughout the periods indicated)
 
              Investment Activities        Distributions           
     Net Asset
Value,
Beginning
of Year
       Net
Investment
Income(a)
           
    
Net Realized

and Unrealized
Gains (Losses)
on Investments
       Total from
Investment
Activities
       Net
Investment
Income
       Total
Distributions
       Net Asset
Value,
End of
Year
 
Class A
                                
Year Ended 9/30/23
   $ 8.24          0.38          (0.05)          0.33          (0.20)          (0.20)        $ 8.37  
Period Ended 9/30/22(b)
     10.00          0.18          (1.79)          (1.61)          (0.15)          (0.15)          8.24  
Class I
                                
Year Ended 9/30/23
   $ 8.24          0.40          (0.04)          0.36          (0.22)          (0.22)        $ 8.38  
Period Ended 9/30/22(b)
     10.00          0.20          (1.79)          (1.59)          (0.17)          (0.17)          8.24  
Class R6
                                
Year Ended 9/30/23
   $ 8.24          0.40          (0.04)          0.36          (0.22)          (0.22)        $ 8.38  
Period Ended 9/30/22(b)
     10.00          0.20          (1.79)          (1.59)          (0.17)          (0.17)          8.24  
 
(a)   Per share net investment income (loss) has been calculated using the average daily shares method.
 
(b)   For the period from November 1, 2021 (commencement of operations) through September 30, 2022.
 
111

     
  Financial Highlights    
     
     
 
RBC BlueBay Core Plus Bond Fund (cont.)
(Selected data for a share outstanding throughout the periods indicated)
 
            Ratios/Supplemental Data  
     Total
Return(a)(b)
     Net Assets,
End of
Year
(000’s)
       Ratio of Net
Expenses

to Average
Net Assets
     Ratio of Net
Investment

Income
(Loss) to
Average

Net Assets
     Ratio of
Expenses to
Average Net
Assets*
     Portfolio
Turnover
Rate**
 
Class A
                   
Year Ended 9/30/23
     4.11%      $ 4,358          0.70%        4.46%        1.34%        750%  
Period Ended 9/30/22(c)
     (16.32)% (d)       4,188          0.70% (e)       2.09% (e)       1.51% (e)       254%  
Class I
                   
Year Ended 9/30/23
     4.34%      $ 30,653          0.45%        4.71%        1.02%        750%  
Period Ended 9/30/22(c)
     (16.06)% (d)       29,381          0.45% (e)       2.34% (e)       1.15% (e)       254%  
Class R6
                   
Year Ended 9/30/23
     4.39%      $ 8,766          0.40%        4.76%        1.05%        750%  
Period Ended 9/30/22(c)
     (16.03)% (d)       8,399          0.40% (e)       2.39% (e)       1.19% (e)       254%  
 
*   During the period, certain fees were contractually or voluntarily reduced and/or reimbursed. If such contractual/voluntary fee reductions and reimbursements had not occurred, the ratio would have been as indicated.
 
**   Portfolio turnover rate is calculated on the basis of the Fund as a whole without distinguishing between the classes of shares issued.
 
(a)   Excludes sales charge.
 
(b)   Assumes investment at net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions, and a complete redemption of the investment at net asset value at the end of the period.
 
(c)   For the period from November 1, 2021 (commencement of operations) through September 30, 2022.
 
(d)   Not annualized.
 
(e)   Annualized.
 
112

     
  Financial Highlights    
     
     
 
RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund
(Selected data for a share outstanding throughout the periods indicated)
 
            Investment Activities      Distributions         
     Net Asset
Value,
Beginning
of Year
     Net
Investment
Income(a)
     Net Realized
and Unrealized
Gains (Losses)
on Investments
     Total from
Investment
Activities
     Net
Investment
Income
     Net
Realized
Gains
     Total
Distributions
     Net Asset
Value,
End of
Year
 
Class A
                       
Year Ended 9/30/23
   $ 9.60        0.41        0.36        0.77        (0.23)        (0.19)        (0.42)      $ 9.95  
Period Ended 9/30/22(b)
     10.00        0.17        (0.44)        (0.27)        (0.13)               (0.13)        9.60  
Class I
                       
Year Ended 9/30/23
   $ 9.61        0.43        0.36        0.79        (0.26)        (0.19)        (0.45)      $ 9.95  
Period Ended 9/30/22(b)
     10.00        0.19        (0.43)        (0.24)        (0.15)               (0.15)        9.61  
Class R6
                       
Year Ended 9/30/23
   $ 9.61        0.44        0.35        0.79        (0.26)        (0.19)        (0.45)      $ 9.95  
Period Ended 9/30/22(b)
     10.00        0.19        (0.42)        (0.23)        (0.16)               (0.16)        9.61  
 
(a)   Per share net investment income (loss) has been calculated using the average daily shares method.
 
(b)   For the period from November 1, 2021 (commencement of operations) through September 30, 2022.
 
113

     
  Financial Highlights    
     
     
 
RBC BlueBay Strategic Income Fund (cont.)
(Selected data for a share outstanding throughout the periods indicated)
 
            Ratios/Supplemental Data  
     Total
Return(a)(b)
     Net Assets,
End of
Year
(000’s)
       Ratio of Net
Expenses

to Average
Net Assets
     Ratio of Net
Investment

Income
(Loss) to
Average

Net Assets
     Ratio of
Expenses to
Average Net
Assets*
     Portfolio
Turnover
Rate**
 
Class A
                   
Year Ended 9/30/23
     8.33    $ 5,269          0.88      4.24      1.42      712
Period Ended 9/30/22(c)
     (2.70) %(d)       4,867          0.88 %(e)       1.85 %(e)       1.62 %(e)       159
Class I
                   
Year Ended 9/30/23
     8.48    $ 37,057          0.63      4.49      1.11      712
Period Ended 9/30/22(c)
     (2.50) %(d)       34,146          0.63 %(e)       2.10 %(e)       1.28 %(e)       159
Class R6
                   
Year Ended 9/30/23
     8.54    $ 10,598          0.58      4.54      1.13      712
Period Ended 9/30/22(c)
     (2.46) %(d)       9,760          0.58 %(e)       2.15 %(e)       1.32 %(e)       159
 
*   During the period, certain fees were contractually or voluntarily reduced and/or reimbursed. If such contractual/voluntary fee reductions and reimbursements had not occurred, the ratio would have been as indicated.
 
**   Portfolio turnover rate is calculated on the basis of the Fund as a whole without distinguishing between the classes of shares issued.
 
(a)   Excludes sales charge.
 
(b)   Assumes investment at net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions, and a complete redemption of the investment at net asset value at the end of the period.
 
(c)   For the period from November 1, 2021 (commencement of operations) through September 30, 2022.
 
(d)   Not annualized.
 
(e)   Annualized.
 
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118

     
  Privacy Policy         
     
     
 
RBC Funds
Notice of Privacy Policy & Practices
The RBC Funds recognize and respect the privacy concerns and expectations of our customers, including individuals who provide their nonpublic personal information to the RBC Funds but do not invest in the Funds’ shares.
We provide this notice to you so that you will know what kinds of information we collect about our customers and the circumstances in which that information may be disclosed to our affiliates and to third parties who are not affiliated with the RBC Funds. Our affiliates are companies that are related by common ownership and control.
 
Collection of Customer Information  
We collect nonpublic personal information about our customers from the following sources:
•  Account Applications and Other Forms, which may include a customer’s name, address, social security number, and information about a customer’s investment goals and risk tolerance;
•  Account History, including information about the transactions and balances in a customer’s accounts; and
•  Correspondence, written, telephonic or electronic between a customer and the Funds or service providers to the RBC Funds.
Disclosure of Customer Information  
We may disclose all of the information described above to our affiliates and to certain third parties who are not affiliated with the Funds under one or more of these circumstances:
•  As Authorized — if you request or authorize the disclosure of the information.
•  As Permitted by Law — for example, sharing information with companies who maintain or service customer accounts for the RBC Funds is permitted and is essential for us to provide shareholders with necessary or useful services with respect to their accounts.
•  Under Joint Agreements — we may also share information with companies that perform marketing services on our behalf or to other financial institutions with whom we have joint marketing agreements.
Security, Safeguarding and Destruction of Customer Information and Reports  
We require service providers to the RBC Funds:
•  To maintain policies and procedures designed to assure only access to, and use of information about customers of, the RBC Funds;
•  To maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards that comply with federal standards to guard nonpublic personal information of customers of the RBC Funds;
•  To maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards for the proper disposal of consumer report information, as defined in Rule 30(b)(1)(ii) of Regulation S‑P.
Delegation   The RBC Funds have delegated the responsibility to implement appropriate written procedures for such safeguarding and disposal of consumer report information and records to the Funds’ transfer agent and/or any other service provider who may come into possession of such information.
We will adhere to the policies and practices described in this notice regardless of whether you are a current or former shareholder of the RBC Funds.
 
119

For more information about the Funds, the following documents are available free upon request, once available:
Annual/Semi-Annual Reports (Reports):
The Funds’ Reports to shareholders contain additional information on the Funds’ investments. In the annual report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Funds’ performance during their last fiscal year.
Statement of Additional Information (SAI):
The SAI provides more detailed information about the Funds, including their operations and investment policies. It is incorporated by reference and is legally considered a part of this Prospectus.
 
You can get free copies of the Reports and the SAI, or request other information and discuss your questions about the Funds by contacting a broker or bank that sells the Funds, or contacting the Funds at:
RBC Funds
c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services
P.O. Box 701
Milwaukee, WI 53201-0701
Telephone: 1‑800‑422‑2766
You may also visit the Funds’ website at www.dfinview.com/usrbcgam for a free copy of the Funds’ Prospectus, SAI or Reports.
Information from the Securities and Exchange Commission:
You can review and obtain copies of Fund documents from the SEC as follows:
On the EDGAR database via the Internet:
www.sec.gov
By electronic request:
[email protected]
(The SEC charges a fee to copy any documents.)
 
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Investment Company Act File No. 811‑21475.   RBC BB PROSP 1/24