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Statement of Additional Information
Dated: December 29, 2023
PMC Funds

PMC Core Fixed Income Fund
Advisor Class Shares: (PMFIX)
Institutional Class Shares: (PMFQX)

PMC Diversified Equity Fund
Advisor Class Shares: (PMDEX)
Institutional Class Shares: (PMDQX)

This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) provides general information about the PMC Core Fixed Income Fund (the “Core Fixed Income Fund”) and the PMC Diversified Equity Fund (the “Diversified Equity Fund”) (each, a “Fund,” and collectively, the “Funds” or “PMC Funds”), each a series of Trust for Professional Managers (the “Trust”). This SAI is not a prospectus and should be read in conjunction with the Funds’ current prospectus dated December 29, 2023 (the “Prospectus”), as supplemented and amended from time to time, which is incorporated herein by reference. The audited financial statements of the PMC Funds for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2023 are incorporated herein by reference to the Funds’ 2023 Annual Report to Shareholders. To obtain a free copy of the Prospectus and/or the Funds’ 2023 Annual Report to Shareholders, please write or call the Funds at the address or telephone number below, or visit the Funds’ website at http://www.investpmc.com/investment solutions/funds.html.
PMC Funds
c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services
P.O. Box 701
Milwaukee, WI 53201-0701
(866) PMC‑7338



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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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The Trust
The Trust is a Delaware statutory trust organized on May 29, 2001, and is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) as an open-end management investment company. Each Fund is one series of the Trust. Each Fund is a diversified series and has its own investment objective and policies. Shares of other series of the Trust are offered in separate prospectuses and SAIs. The Trust may register additional series and offer shares of a new fund or share class under the Trust at any time.
The Trust is authorized to issue an unlimited number of interests (or shares). Interests in the Funds are represented by shares of beneficial interest each with a par value of $0.001. Each share of the Trust has equal voting rights and liquidation rights, and is voted in the aggregate and not by the series or class of shares except in matters where a separate vote is required by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), or when the matters affect only the interests of a particular series or class of shares. When matters are submitted to shareholders for a vote, each shareholder is entitled to one vote for each full share owned and fractional votes for fractional shares owned. Shares of each series or class generally vote together, except when required under federal securities laws to vote separately on matters that only affect a particular class. The Trust does not normally hold annual meetings of shareholders. The Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board” or the “Board of Trustees”) shall promptly call and give notice of a meeting of shareholders for the purpose of voting upon removal of any trustee when requested to do so in writing by shareholders holding 10% or more of the Trust’s outstanding shares.
Each share of a Fund represents an equal proportionate interest in the assets and liabilities belonging to that Fund and is entitled to such distributions out of the income belonging to the Fund as are declared by the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees has the authority from time to time to divide or combine the shares of any series into a greater or lesser number of shares of that series so long as the proportionate beneficial interests in the assets belonging to that series and the rights of shares of any other series are in no way affected. Additionally, in case of any liquidation of a series, the shareholders of the series being liquidated are entitled to receive a distribution out of the assets, net of the liabilities, belonging to that series. Expenses attributable to any series or class are borne by that series or class. Any general expenses of the Trust not readily identifiable as belonging to a particular series or class are allocated by, or under the direction of, the Board of Trustees on the basis of relative net assets, the number of shareholders or another equitable method. No shareholder is liable to further calls or to assessment by the Trust without his or her express consent.
With respect to the Funds, the Trust may offer more than one class of shares. Each share of a series or class represents an equal proportionate interest in that series or class with each other share of that series or class. The Trust, on behalf of the Funds, has adopted a multiple class plan under Rule 18f-3 under the 1940 Act, detailing the attributes of each Fund’s share classes. The Funds offer two classes of shares: Institutional Class shares and Advisor Class shares.
The assets of a Fund received for the issue or sale of its shares, and all income, earnings, profits and proceeds thereof, subject only to the rights of creditors, shall constitute the underlying assets of the Fund. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of a Fund, the shareholders of that Fund are entitled to share pro rata in the net assets of the Fund available for distribution to shareholders.
Envestnet Asset Management, Inc. (the “Adviser”) serves as the Funds’ investment adviser. The Adviser also serves as investment adviser to the ActivePassive Core Bond ETF, ActivePassive Intermediate Municipal Bond ETF, ActivePassive International Equity ETF and ActivePassive U.S. Equity ETF, each a separate series of the Trust.
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Investment Policies, Strategies and Associated Risks
Investment Objectives
The investment objective of the Diversified Equity Fund is long-term capital appreciation. The investment objective of the Core Fixed Income Fund is to provide current income consistent with low volatility of principal. Each Fund’s investment objective may be changed without the approval of the Fund’s shareholders upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders. Each Fund will not change its investment policy of investing at least 80% of its net assets according to its investment strategies without first changing the Fund’s name and providing shareholders with at least 60 days’ prior written notice.
There is no assurance that a Fund will achieve its investment objective. The following discussion supplements the description of the Funds’ investment objectives and principal investment strategies set forth in the Prospectus. Except for the fundamental investment restrictions listed below (see “Investment Restrictions”), the Funds’ investment objectives, strategies and policies are not fundamental and may be changed by action of the Board of Trustees, without shareholder approval. While the Funds are permitted to hold securities and engage in various strategies as described hereafter, they are not obligated to do so.
Diversification
The Funds are diversified. Under applicable federal laws, to qualify as a diversified fund, a Fund, with respect to 75% of its total assets, may not invest more than 5% of its total assets in any one issuer and may not hold more than 10% of the securities of one issuer. The remaining 25% of a Fund’s total assets does not need to be “diversified” and may be invested in securities of a single issuer, subject to other applicable laws. The diversification of a Fund’s holdings is measured at the time the fund purchases a security. However, if a Fund purchases a security and holds it for a period of time, the security may become a larger percentage of the Fund’s total assets due to movements in the financial markets. If the market affects several securities held by a Fund, the Fund may have a greater percentage of its assets invested in securities of fewer issuers.
Whenever an investment policy or investment restriction states a maximum percentage of a Fund’s assets that may be invested in any security, or other asset, or sets forth a policy regarding quality standards, such standard or percentage limitation will be determined immediately after and as a result of the Fund’s acquisition of such security or other asset. Accordingly, any subsequent change in values, net assets or other circumstances will not be considered when determining whether an investment complies with a Fund’s investment policies and investment restrictions set forth herein or in the Prospectus. In addition, if a bankruptcy or other extraordinary event occurs concerning a particular investment by a Fund, the Fund may receive stock, real estate or other investments that the Fund would not, or could not, buy. If this happens, the Fund will sell such investments as soon as practicable while trying to maximize the return to Fund shareholders. Please note, however, that the guidance referenced in the first two sentences of this paragraph does not apply to each Fund’s limitation on borrowing of money or holding illiquid investments..
Equity Securities
Equity securities (such as a stock, partnership interest or other beneficial interest in an issuer) represent a proportionate share of the ownership of a company. Its value is based on the success of the company’s business, any income paid to stockholders, the value of its assets and general market conditions. Common stock and preferred stock are examples of equity securities. Preferred stock are equity securities that often pay dividends at a specific rate and have a preference over common stock in dividend payments and liquidation of assets. Some preferred stock may be convertible into common stock. Convertible securities are securities (such as debt securities or preferred stock) that may be converted into or exchanged for a specified amount of common stock of the same or different issuer within a particular period of time at a specified price or formula.
The risks of investing in companies in general include business failure and reliance on erroneous reports. To the extent a Fund is invested in the equity securities of small- or medium-size companies, directly or
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indirectly, it will be exposed to the risks of smaller sized companies. Small- and medium-size companies often have narrower markets for their goods and/or services and more limited managerial and financial resources than larger, more established companies. Furthermore, those companies often have limited product lines or services, markets or financial resources, or are dependent on a small management group. In addition, because these securities are not well-known to the investing public, do not have significant institutional ownership and are followed by relatively few security analysts, there will normally be less publicly available information concerning these securities compared to what is available for the securities of larger companies. Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, can decrease the value and liquidity of securities held by the Funds. As a result, their performance can be more volatile and they face greater risk of business failure, which could increase the volatility of a Fund’s portfolio. Alternately, larger, more established companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges and may be unable to attain high growth rates.
When-Issued Securities. The Funds may purchase securities on a when-issued basis. These transactions involve a commitment by the Funds to purchase or sell particular securities with payment and delivery taking place at a future date, and permit the Funds to lock in a price or yield on a security it owns or intends to purchase, regardless of future changes in interest rates or market action. No income accrues to the purchaser of a security on a when-issued basis prior to delivery. Such securities are recorded as an asset and are subject to changes in value based upon changes in the general level of interest rates. Purchasing a security on a when-issued basis can involve a risk that the market price at the time of delivery may be lower than the agreed-upon purchase price, in which case there could be an unrealized loss at the time of delivery. The Funds will only make commitments to purchase securities on a when-issued basis with the intention of actually acquiring the securities but may sell them before the settlement date if it is deemed advisable.
Preferred Stock
Preferred stock is a blend of the characteristics of a bond and common stock. It can offer the higher yield of a bond and has priority over common stock in equity ownership, but does not have the seniority of a bond and, unlike common stock, its participation in the issuer’s growth may be limited. Preferred stock has preference over common stock in the receipt of dividends and in any residual assets after payment to creditors should the issuer be dissolved. Although the dividend is set at a fixed annual rate, in some circumstances it can be changed or omitted by the issuer.
Fixed Income Securities
The Core Fixed Income Fund may invest in a wide range of fixed income securities, which may include obligations of any rating or maturity.
The Core Fixed Income Fund may invest in investment grade corporate debt securities and lower-rated corporate debt securities (commonly known as “junk bonds”). Lower-rated or high yield debt securities include corporate high yield debt securities, zero-coupon securities, payment-in kind securities and strips. Investment grade corporate bonds are those rated BBB- or better by Standard & Poors (“S&P”) or Baa3 or better by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”), or if unrated or split rated, securities deemed by the Adviser or a sub-adviser to be of comparable quality). Securities rated BBB- by S&P are considered investment grade, but Moody’s considers securities rated Baa3 to have speculative characteristics. The Core Fixed Income Fund may also invest in unrated securities.
High-Yield Bonds. High-yield bonds (also known as “junk bonds”) generally offer a higher current yield than that available for higher-grade issues. However, lower-rated securities involve higher risks, in that they are especially subject to adverse changes in general economic conditions and in the industries in which the issuers are engaged, to changes in the financial condition of the issuers and to price fluctuations in response to changes in interest rates. During periods of economic downturn or rising interest rates, highly leveraged issuers may experience financial stress that could adversely affect their ability to make payments of interest and principal and increase the possibility of default. In addition, the market for lower-rated debt securities
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has expanded rapidly in recent years, and its growth paralleled a long economic expansion. At times in recent years, the prices of many lower-rated debt securities declined substantially, reflecting an expectation that many issuers of such securities might experience financial difficulties. As a result, the yields on lower-rated debt securities rose dramatically, but such higher yields did not reflect the value of the income stream that holders of such securities expected, but rather, the risk that holders of such securities could lose a substantial portion of their value as a result of the issuers’ financial restructuring or default. There can be no assurance that such declines will not recur. The market for lower-rated debt issues generally is thinner and less active than that for higher quality securities, which may limit the Core Fixed Income Fund’s ability to sell such securities at fair value in response to changes in the economy or financial markets. Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may also decrease the values and liquidity of lower-rated securities, especially in a thinly traded market. Changes by recognized rating services in their rating of a fixed income security may affect the value of these investments. The Core Fixed Income Fund will not necessarily dispose of a security when its rating is reduced below its rating at the time of purchase. However, the Adviser and sub-adviser will monitor the investment to determine whether continued investment in the security will assist in meeting the Core Fixed Income Fund’s investment objective.
Corporate Debt Securities. Corporate debt securities are fixed income securities issued by businesses to finance their operations, although corporate debt instruments may also include bank loans to companies. Notes, bonds, debentures and commercial paper are the most common types of corporate debt securities, with the primary difference being their maturities and secured or unsecured status. Commercial paper has the shortest term and is usually unsecured.
The broad category of corporate debt securities includes debt issued by domestic or foreign companies of all kinds, including those with small-, mid- and large-capitalizations. Corporate debt may be rated investment-grade or below investment-grade and may carry variable or floating rates of interest.
Because of the wide range of types and maturities of corporate debt securities, as well as the range of creditworthiness of its issuers, corporate debt securities have widely varying potentials for return and risk profiles. For example, commercial paper issued by a large established domestic corporation that is rated investment-grade may have a modest return on principal, but carries relatively limited risk. On the other hand, a long-term corporate note issued by a small foreign corporation from an emerging market country that has not been rated may have the potential for relatively large returns on principal, but carries a relatively high degree of risk.
Corporate debt securities carry both credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk is the risk that a Fund could lose money if the issuer of a corporate debt security is unable to pay interest or repay principal when it is due. Some corporate debt securities that are rated below investment-grade are generally considered speculative because they present a greater risk of loss, including default, than higher quality debt securities. The credit risk of a particular issuer’s debt security may vary based on its priority for repayment. For example, higher ranking (senior) debt securities have a higher priority than lower ranking (subordinated) securities. This means that the issuer might not make payments on subordinated securities while continuing to make payments on senior securities. In addition, in the event of bankruptcy, holders of higher-ranking senior securities may receive amounts otherwise payable to the holders of more junior securities. Ratings agencies provide ratings on debt securities based on their analyses of information they deem relevant. Ratings are essentially opinions or judgments of the credit quality of an issuer and may prove to be inaccurate. In addition, there may be a delay between events or circumstances adversely affecting the ability of an issuer to pay interest and or repay principal and an agency’s decision to downgrade a security. Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of certain corporate debt securities will tend to fall when interest rates rise. In general, corporate debt securities with longer terms tend to fall more in value when interest rates rise than corporate debt securities with shorter terms.
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Zero-Coupon Securities. Zero-coupon securities make no periodic interest payments, but are sold at a deep discount from their face value. The buyer recognizes a rate of return determined by the gradual appreciation of the security, which is redeemed at face value on a specified maturity date. The discount varies depending on the time remaining until maturity, as well as market interest rates, liquidity of the security, and the issuer’s perceived credit quality. If the issuer defaults, the holder may not receive any return on its investment. Because zero-coupon securities bear no interest and compound semiannually at the rate fixed at the time of issuance, their value generally is more volatile than the value of other fixed income securities. Since zero-coupon bondholders do not receive interest payments, when interest rates rise, zero-coupon securities fall more dramatically in value than bonds paying interest on a current basis. When interest rates fall, zero-coupon securities rise more rapidly in value because the bonds reflect a fixed rate of return. An investment in zero-coupon and delayed interest securities may cause the applicable Fund to recognize income and make required distributions to shareholders before it receives any cash payments on its investment. As a result, such Fund may have to dispose of its portfolio investments under disadvantageous circumstances in order to generate sufficient cash to satisfy the distribution requirements for maintaining its status as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) under Section 851 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).
Unrated Debt Securities. Unrated debt, while not necessarily lower in quality than rated securities, may not have as broad a market. Because of the size and perceived demand for the issue, among other factors, certain issuers may decide not to pay the cost of obtaining a rating for their bonds. The creditworthiness of the issuer, as well as any financial institution or other party responsible for payments on the security, will be analyzed to determine whether to purchase unrated bonds.
Convertible Securities
Convertible securities include fixed income securities that may be exchanged or converted into a predetermined number of shares of the issuer’s underlying common stock or other equity security at the option of the holder during a specified period. Convertible securities may take the form of convertible preferred stock, convertible bonds or debentures, units consisting of “usable” bonds and warrants or a combination of the features of several of these securities. The investment characteristics of each convertible security vary widely, which allows convertible securities to be employed for a variety of investment strategies. The Fund will exchange or convert convertible securities into shares of underlying common stock when, in the opinion of the Adviser, the investment characteristics of the underlying common stock or other equity security will assist a Fund in achieving its investment objectives. A Fund may also elect to hold or trade convertible securities. In selecting convertible securities, the Adviser evaluates the investment characteristics of the convertible security as a fixed income instrument, and the investment potential of the underlying equity security for capital appreciation. In evaluating these matters with respect to a particular convertible security, the Adviser considers numerous factors, including the economic and political outlook, the value of the security relative to other investment alternatives, trends in the determinants of the issuer’s profits, and the issuer’s management capability and practices. Convertible securities are senior to common stock in an issuer’s capital structure, but are subordinated to any senior debt securities. Consequently, the issuer’s convertible securities generally may be viewed as having more risk than its senior debt securities but less risk than its common stock.
Warrants
The Funds may invest in warrants. A warrant gives the holder a right to purchase at any time during a specified period a predetermined number of shares of common stock at a fixed price. Unlike convertible debt securities or preferred stock, warrants do not pay a fixed coupon or dividend. Investments in warrants involve certain risks, including the possible lack of a liquid market for resale of the warrants, potential price fluctuations as a result of speculation or other factors and failure of the price of the underlying security to reach or have reasonable prospects of reaching a level at which the warrant can be prudently exercised (in which event the warrant may expire without being exercised, resulting in a loss of a Fund’s entire investment therein).
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Exchange-Traded Funds
The Funds may invest in exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) as a principal investment strategy. Each share of an ETF represents an undivided ownership interest in the portfolio of securities held by that ETF. An ETF is an investment company that offers investors a proportionate share in a portfolio of stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies or other securities. Like individual equity securities, ETFs are traded on a stock exchange and can be bought and sold throughout the day.
Passive ETFs attempt to achieve the same investment return as that of a particular market index. To mirror the performance of a market index, an ETF invests either in all of the securities in a particular index in the same proportion that is represented in the index itself or in a representative sample of securities in a particular index in a proportion meant to track the performance of the entire index. Such ETFs generally do not buy or sell securities, except to the extent necessary to conform their portfolios to the corresponding index. Because such ETFs have operating expenses and transaction costs, while a market index does not, they typically will be unable to match the performance of the index exactly. Alternatively, some ETFs use active investment strategies instead of tracking broad market indices and, as a result, may incur greater operating expenses and transactions costs than traditional ETFs. Investments in ETFs are investments in other investment companies. See “Other Investment Companies” below.
ETFs generally do not sell or redeem their shares for cash, and most investors do not purchase or redeem shares directly from an ETF at all. Instead, the ETF issues and redeems its shares in large blocks (typically 50,000 of its shares) called “creation units.” Creation units are issued to anyone who deposits a specified portfolio of the ETF’s underlying securities, as well as a cash payment generally equal to accumulated dividends on the securities (net of expenses) up to the time of deposit, and creation units are redeemed in kind for a portfolio of the underlying securities (based on the ETF’s net asset value) together with a cash payment generally equal to accumulated dividends as of the date of redemption. Most ETF investors, however, purchase and sell ETF shares in the secondary trading market on a securities exchange, in lots of any size, at any time during the trading day. ETF investors generally must pay a brokerage fee for each purchase or sale of ETF shares, including purchases made to reinvest dividends.
Because ETF shares are created from the securities of an underlying portfolio and can be redeemed into the securities of an underlying portfolio on any day, arbitrage traders may move to profit from any discrepancies between the market price of the ETF’s shares in the secondary market and the net asset value per share of the ETF’s portfolio, which helps to close the price gap between the two. Of course, because of the forces of supply and demand and other market factors, there may be times when an ETF share trades at a premium or discount to its net asset value.
The Funds will invest in ETF shares only if the ETF is registered as an investment company (see “Other Investment Companies” below) under the 1940 Act. If an ETF in which a Fund invests ceases to be a registered investment company, the Fund will dispose of the securities of the ETF as soon as practicable while trying to maximize the return to the Fund’s shareholders. Furthermore, in connection with its investment in ETF shares, a Fund will incur various costs. A Fund may also realize capital gains when ETF shares are sold, and the purchase and sale of the ETF shares may include a brokerage commission that may result in costs. In addition, the Funds are subject to other fees as an investor in ETFs. Generally, those fees include, but are not limited to, director/trustee fees, operating expenses, licensing fees, registration fees and marketing expenses, each of which will be reflected in the net asset value of ETFs and therefore the shares representing a beneficial interest therein.
There is a risk that the underlying ETFs in which the Funds invest may terminate due to extraordinary events that may cause any of the service providers to the ETFs, such as the trustee or sponsor, to close or otherwise fail to perform their obligations to the ETF. Also, because the ETFs in which the Funds may principally invest are each granted licenses by agreement to use the indices as a basis for determining their compositions
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and/or otherwise to use certain trade names, the ETFs may terminate if such license agreements are terminated. In addition, an ETF may terminate if its entire net asset value falls below a certain amount.
Other Investment Companies
Each Fund may invest in shares of other investment companies, including money market mutual funds, other mutual funds or ETFs. The Funds limit their investments in securities issued by other investment companies in accordance with the 1940 Act. With certain exceptions, Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act precludes the Funds from acquiring (i) more than 3% of the total outstanding shares of another investment company; (ii) shares of another investment company having an aggregate value in excess of 5% of the value of the total assets of a Fund; or (iii) shares of another registered investment company and all other investment companies having an aggregate value in excess of 10% of the value of the total assets of a Fund (such limits do not apply to investments in money market funds). The Funds may from time to time rely on Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act with respect to their investments in other investment companies, including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) and money market funds. Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act provides that the provisions of paragraph 12(d)(1) shall not apply to securities purchased or otherwise acquired by a Fund if (i) immediately after such purchase or acquisition not more than 3% of the total outstanding shares of such investment company is owned by a Fund and all affiliated persons of a Fund; and (ii) a Fund has not offered or sold, and is not proposing to offer or sell its shares through a principal underwriter or otherwise at a public or offering price that includes a sales load of more than 1 1/2%. The Funds’ investments in money market funds may be used for cash management purposes and to maintain liquidity in order to satisfy redemption requests or pay unanticipated expenses.
If a Fund invests in investment companies, including ETFs, pursuant to Section 12(d)(1)(F), it must comply with the following voting restrictions: when such Fund exercises voting rights, by proxy or otherwise, with respect to investment companies owned by the Fund, the Fund will either seek instruction from the Fund’s shareholders with regard to the voting of all proxies and vote in accordance with such instructions, or vote the shares held by the Fund in the same proportion as the vote of all other holders of such security. In addition, an investment company purchased by a Fund pursuant to Section 12(d)(1)(F) shall not be required to redeem its shares in an amount exceeding 1% of such investment company’s total outstanding shares in any period of less than thirty days. In addition to the advisory and operational fees the Funds bear directly in connection with their own operation, the Funds also bear their pro rata portion of the advisory and operational expenses incurred indirectly through investments in other investment companies.
A Fund may also rely on Rule 12d1-4 of the 1940 Act which provides an exemption from Section 12(d)(1) that allows a Fund to invest all of its assets in other registered funds, including ETFs, if the Fund satisfies certain conditions specified in the Rule, including, among other conditions, that the Fund and its advisory group will not control (individually or in the aggregate) an acquired fund (e.g., hold more than 25% of the outstanding voting securities of an acquired fund that is a registered open-end management investment company).
Foreign Investments and Currencies
The Funds may invest in securities of foreign issuers that are not publicly traded in the United States. The Funds may also invest in American depositary receipts (“ADRs”), European depositary receipts (“EDRs”) and Global depositary receipts (“GDRs”), foreign securities traded on a national securities market, and may purchase and sell foreign currency on a spot basis and enter into forward currency contracts (see “Forward Currency Contracts,” below). In considering whether to invest in the securities of a foreign company, the Adviser considers such factors as the characteristics of the particular company, differences between economic trends and the performance of securities markets within the U.S. and those within other countries, and also factors relating to the general economic, governmental and social conditions of the country or countries where the company is located. The extent to which the Fund will be invested in foreign companies and countries and depositary receipts will fluctuate from time to time within the limitations described in the Prospectus, depending on the Adviser’s assessment of prevailing market, economic and other conditions.
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Depositary Receipts. The Funds may invest their assets in securities of foreign issuers in the form of depositary receipts, including ADRs, EDRs and GDRs, which are securities representing securities of foreign issuers. A purchaser of unsponsored depositary receipts may not have unlimited voting rights and may not receive as much information about the issuer of the underlying securities as with a sponsored depositary receipt. Generally, ADRs, in registered form, are denominated in U.S. dollars and are designed for use in the U.S. securities markets. ADRs are receipts typically issued by a U.S. bank or trust company evidencing ownership of the underlying securities. For purposes of the Funds’ investment policies, ADRs are deemed to have the same classification as the underlying securities they represent. Thus, an ADR representing ownership of common stock will be treated as common stock.
Risks of Investing in Foreign Securities. Investments in foreign securities involve certain inherent risks, including the following:
Political and Economic Factors. Individual foreign economies of certain countries may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of gross national product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency, diversification and balance of payments position. Governments in certain foreign countries also continue to participate to a significant degree, through ownership interest or regulation, in their respective economies. Action by these governments could include restrictions on foreign investment, nationalization, expropriation of goods or imposition of taxes, and could have a significant effect on market prices of securities and payment of interest. The economies of many foreign countries are heavily dependent upon international trade and are accordingly affected by the trade policies and economic conditions of their trading partners. Enactment by these trading partners of protectionist trade legislation could have a significant adverse effect upon the securities markets of such countries.
There is still market uncertainty regarding the potential consequences of “Brexit” (the United Kingdom’s (UK) withdrawal from the European Union (EU)) including Brexit’s long-term ramifications. The range of possible political, regulatory, economic and market outcomes are difficult to predict. The uncertainty surrounding the UK’s economy may cause disruption in securities markets, including increased volatility and illiquidity, as well as currency fluctuations in the British pound’s exchange rate against the U.S. dollar.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has resulted in an ongoing military conflict and economic sanctions against certain Russian individuals and companies; this conflict may expand and military attacks could occur elsewhere in Europe. This conflict could also drive a rise in traditional and cyber terrorism in Europe and other parts of the world. Further, sanctions against Russian individuals and companies could adversely affect the price and availability of certain commodities.

Currency Fluctuations. The Funds may invest in securities denominated in foreign currencies. Accordingly, a change in the value of any such currency against the U.S. dollar will result in a corresponding change in the U.S. dollar value of a Fund’s assets denominated in that currency. Such changes will also affect a Fund’s income. The value of a Fund’s assets may also be affected significantly by currency restrictions and exchange control regulations enacted from time to time.
Market Characteristics. Many foreign securities in which the Funds may invest could be purchased in over-the-counter (“OTC”) markets or on exchanges located in the countries in which the principal offices of the issuers of the various securities are located, if that is the best available market. Foreign exchanges and markets may be more volatile than those in the United States. While growing in volume, they usually have substantially less volume than U.S. markets, and the Funds’ foreign securities may be less liquid and more volatile than U.S. securities. Moreover, settlement practices for transactions in foreign markets may differ from those in U.S. markets, and may include delays beyond periods customary in the United States. Foreign security trading practices, including those involving securities settlement where Fund assets may be released
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prior to receipt of payment or securities, may expose the Funds to increased risk in the event of a failed trade or the insolvency of a foreign broker-dealer.
Legal and Regulatory Matters. Certain foreign countries may have less supervision of securities markets, brokers and issuers of securities, and less financial information available from issuers, than is available in the United States. Additionally, issuers of foreign securities may not be required to provide operational or financial information that is as timely or reliable as those required for issuers of U.S. securities.
Taxes. The interest and dividends payable on certain of the Funds’ foreign portfolio securities may be subject to foreign withholding taxes, thus reducing the net amount of income available for distribution to Fund shareholders.
Costs. To the extent that a Fund invests in foreign securities, its expense ratio is likely to be higher than those of investment companies investing only in domestic securities, because the cost of maintaining the custody of foreign securities is higher.
Emerging Markets. Some of the securities in which the Funds may invest may be located in developing or emerging markets, which entail additional risks, including: less social, political and economic stability; smaller securities markets and lower trading volume, which may result in less liquidity and greater price volatility; national policies that may restrict a Fund’s investment opportunities, including restrictions on investments in issuers or industries, or expropriation or confiscation of assets or property; and less developed legal structures governing private or foreign investment.
Many emerging markets have histories of political instability and abrupt changes in policies. As a result, their governments may be more likely to take actions that are hostile or detrimental to private enterprise or foreign investment than those of more developed countries, including expropriation of assets, confiscatory taxation or unfavorable diplomatic developments. Some emerging countries have pervasive corruption and crime that may hinder investments. Certain emerging markets may also face other significant internal or external risks, including the risk of war, and ethnic, religious and racial conflicts. In addition, governments in many emerging market countries participate to a significant degree in their economies and securities markets, which may impair investment and economic growth. National policies that may limit a Fund’s investment opportunities include restrictions on investment in issuers or industries deemed sensitive to national interests.
Emerging markets may also have differing legal systems and the existence or possible imposition of exchange controls, custodial restrictions or other laws or restrictions applicable to investments differ from those found in more developed markets. Sometimes, they may lack, or be in the relatively early development of, legal structures governing private and foreign investments and private property. In addition to withholding taxes on investment income, some emerging market countries may impose different capital gains taxes on foreign investors.
Practices in relation to settlement of securities transactions in emerging market countries involve higher risks than those in developed markets, in part because a Fund will need to use brokers and counterparties that are less well capitalized, and custody and registration of assets in some countries may be unreliable. The possibility of fraud, negligence, and/or undue influence being exerted by the issuer or refusal to recognize ownership exists in some emerging markets, and, along with other factors, could result in ownership registration being completely lost. A Fund would absorb any loss resulting from such registration problems and may have no successful claim for compensation. In addition, communications between parties in the U.S. and parties in emerging market countries may be unreliable, increasing the risk of delayed settlements or losses of security certificates.
Forward Currency Contracts. The Funds may enter into forward currency contracts in anticipation of changes in currency exchange rates. A forward currency contract is an obligation to purchase or sell a specific currency
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at a future date, which may be any fixed number of days from the date of the contract agreed upon by the parties, at a price set at the time of the contract. For example, a Fund might purchase a particular currency or enter into a forward currency contract to preserve the U.S. dollar price of securities it intends to or has contracted to purchase. Alternatively, it might sell a particular currency on either a spot or forward basis to hedge against an anticipated decline in the dollar value of securities it intends to or has contracted to sell. Although this strategy could minimize the risk of loss due to a decline in the value of the hedged currency, it could also limit any potential gain from an increase in the value of the currency.
In considering whether to invest in the securities of a foreign company, the Adviser considers such factors as the characteristics of the particular company, differences between economic trends and the performance of securities markets within the U.S. and those within other countries, and also factors relating to the general economic, governmental and social conditions of the country or countries where the company is located. The extent to which the Funds will be invested in foreign companies and countries and depositary receipts will fluctuate from time to time within the limitations described in the Prospectus, depending on the Adviser’s assessment of prevailing market, economic and other conditions.
Borrowing
As a non-principal investment strategy, the Funds may borrow money for investment purposes, which is a form of leveraging, to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. Leveraging investments, by purchasing securities with borrowed money, is a speculative technique that increases investment risk while increasing investment opportunity. Leverage will magnify changes in a Fund’s net asset value and on a Fund’s investments. Although the principal of such borrowings will be fixed, a Fund’s assets may change in value during the time the borrowing is outstanding. Leverage also creates interest expenses for the Funds. To the extent the income derived from securities purchased with borrowed funds exceeds the interest the Funds will have to pay, the Funds’ net income will be greater than it would be if leverage were not used. Conversely, if the income from the assets obtained with borrowed funds is not sufficient to cover the cost of leveraging, the net income of the Funds will be less than it would be if leverage were not used, and therefore the amount available for distribution to shareholders as dividends will be reduced. The use of derivatives in connection with leverage creates the potential for significant loss.
The Funds may also borrow funds to meet redemptions or for other emergency purposes. Such borrowings may be on a secured or unsecured basis at fixed or variable rates of interest. The 1940 Act requires the Funds to maintain continuous asset coverage of not less than 300% with respect to all borrowings. If such asset coverage should decline to less than 300% due to market fluctuations or other reasons, a Fund may be required to dispose of some of its portfolio holdings within three days in order to reduce the Fund’s debt and restore the 300% asset coverage, even though it may be disadvantageous from an investment standpoint to dispose of assets at that time.
The Funds also may be required to maintain minimum average balances in connection with such borrowing or to pay a commitment or other fee to maintain a line of credit. Either of these requirements would increase the cost of borrowing over the stated interest rate.
Borrowing by the Funds creates an opportunity for increased net income, but at the same time, creates special risk considerations. For example, leveraging may exaggerate the effect on net asset value of any increase or decrease in the market value of a Fund’s portfolio.
Securities Lending
As a non-principal strategy, each Fund may lend securities from its portfolio to brokers, dealers and financial institutions (but not individuals) in order to increase the return on its portfolio. The value of the loaned securities may not exceed one-third of a Fund’s total assets and loans of portfolio securities are fully collateralized based on values that are marked-to-market daily. The Funds will not enter into any portfolio security lending arrangement having a duration of longer than one year. The principal risk of portfolio
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lending is potential default or insolvency of the borrower. In either of these cases, a Fund could experience delays in recovering securities or collateral or could lose all or part of the value of the loaned securities. The Funds may pay reasonable administrative and custodial fees in connection with loans of portfolio securities and may pay a portion of the interest or fee earned thereon to the borrower or a placing broker. For loans secured by cash, the Funds retain the interest earned on cash collateral, but the Funds are required to pay the borrower a rebate for the use of the cash collateral.
In determining whether or not to lend a security to a particular broker, dealer or financial institution, the Adviser considers all relevant facts and circumstances, including the size, creditworthiness and reputation of the broker, dealer or financial institution. Any loans of portfolio securities are fully collateralized based on values that are marked-to-market daily. Any securities that a Fund may receive as collateral will not become part of the Fund’s investment portfolio at the time of the loan and, in the event of a default by the borrower, the Fund will, if permitted by law, dispose of such collateral except for such part thereof that is a security in which the Fund is permitted to invest. During the time securities are on loan, the borrower will pay the applicable Fund any accrued income on those securities (although any fee income representing dividend payments will not qualify as “qualified dividend” income), and the Fund may invest the cash collateral and earn income or receive an agreed-upon fee from a borrower that has delivered cash-equivalent collateral. The Fund will be responsible for the risks associated with the investment of the cash collateral, including the risk that the Fund may lose money on the investment or may fail to earn sufficient income to meet its obligation to the borrower. While a Fund does not have the right to vote securities on loan, it would terminate the loan and regain the right to vote if that were considered important with respect to the investment.
See the information under “Securities Lending Activity” for information about the Funds’ securities lending activity during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2023.
Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”)
Equity REITs invest primarily in real property and earn rental income from leasing those properties. They also may realize gains or losses from the sale of properties. Equity REITs generally exercise some degree of control over the operational aspects of their real estate investments, lease terms and property maintenance and repair. Mortgage REITs invest primarily in mortgages and similar real estate interests and receive interest payments from the owners of the mortgaged properties and are paid interest by the owners of the financed properties. Hybrid REITs invest both in real property and in mortgages.
A REIT generally is not taxed on income distributed to its shareholders if it complies with certain federal income tax requirements relating primarily to its organization, ownership, assets and income and, further, if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to shareholders each year. Consequently, REITs tend to focus on income-producing real estate investments.
The Funds’ investments in REITs may be adversely affected by deteriorations of the real estate rental market, in the case of REITs that primarily own real estate, or by deteriorations in the creditworthiness of property owners and changes in interest rates in the case of REITs that primarily hold mortgages. Equity and mortgage REITs also are dependent upon specialized management skills, may not be diversified in their holdings and are subject to the risks of financing projects. REITs also may be subject to heavy cash flow dependency, defaults by borrowers and self-liquidation. Under certain circumstances, a REIT may fail to qualify for pass-through treatment for tax purposes, which would subject the REIT to federal income taxes and adversely affect a Fund’s return on its investment in the REIT.
In general, qualified REIT dividends that an investor receives directly from a REIT are automatically eligible for the 20% qualified business income deduction. The IRS has issued final Treasury Regulations that permit a dividend or part of a dividend paid by a RIC and reported as a “section 199A dividend” to be treated by the recipient as a qualified REIT dividend for purposes of the 20% qualified business income deduction, if certain holding period and other requirements have been satisfied by the recipient with respect to its Fund shares.
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Options, Futures and Other Strategies
General. As a non-principal strategy, the Funds may use certain options (both traded on an exchange and OTC), futures contracts (sometimes referred to as “futures”) and options on futures contracts (collectively, “Financial Instruments”) as a substitute for a comparable market position in the underlying security, to attempt to hedge or limit the exposure of a Fund’s position, to create a synthetic money market position, for certain tax-related purposes and to effect closing transactions.
The Funds’ use of Financial Instruments is subject to applicable regulations of the SEC (including Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act, the several exchanges upon which they are traded and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”). In addition, the Funds’ ability to use Financial Instruments will be limited by tax considerations (see “Federal Income Tax Matters”). On October 28, 2020, the SEC adopted new regulations governing the use of derivatives by registered investment companies as Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act (“Rule 18f-4”). Rule 18f-4 imposes limits on the amount of derivatives a fund can enter into, eliminates the asset segregation and cover framework arising from prior SEC guidance for covering derivatives and certain financial instruments currently used by funds to comply with Section 18 of the 1940 Act and treats derivatives as senior securities. Under Rule 18f-4 a fund’s derivatives exposure is limited through a value-at-risk test. Funds whose use of derivatives is more than a limited specified exposure amount are required to establish and maintain a comprehensive derivatives risk management program, subject to oversight by a fund’s board of trustees, and appoint a derivatives risk manager. The Core Fixed Income Fund limits its derivatives exposure to 10% of its net assets and qualifies as a “limited derivatives user” for purposes of Rule 18f-4. The Diversified Equity Fund is a non-derivatives user.
In addition to the instruments, strategies and risks described below and in the Prospectus, the Adviser may discover additional opportunities in connection with Financial Instruments and other similar or related techniques. These new opportunities may become available as the Adviser develops new techniques, as regulatory authorities broaden the range of permitted transactions and as new Financial Instruments or other techniques are developed. The Adviser may utilize these opportunities to the extent that they are consistent with the Funds’ investment objective and permitted by the Funds’ investment limitations and applicable regulatory authorities. The Prospectus or this SAI will be supplemented to the extent that new products or techniques involve materially different risks than those described below or in the Prospectus.
Special Risks. The use of Financial Instruments involves special considerations and risks, certain of which are described below. Risks pertaining to particular Financial Instruments are described in the sections that follow.
(1)Successful use of most Financial Instruments depends upon the Adviser’s ability to predict movements of the overall securities markets, which requires different skills than predicting changes in the prices of individual securities. The ordinary spreads between prices in the cash and futures markets, due to the differences in the natures of those markets, are subject to distortion. Due to the possibility of distortion, a correct forecast of stock market trends by the Adviser may still not result in a successful transaction. The Adviser may be incorrect in its expectations as to the extent of market movements or the time span within which the movements take place, which, thus, may result in the strategy being unsuccessful.
(2)Options and futures prices can diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments. Options and futures prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect or no correlation also may result from differing levels of demand in the options and futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how options and futures and securities are traded and from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts.
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(3)As described below, a Fund might be required to maintain assets as “cover,” maintain segregated accounts or make margin payments when it takes positions in Financial Instruments involving obligations to third parties (e.g., Financial Instruments other than purchased options). If a Fund were unable to close out its positions in such Financial Instruments, it might be required to continue to maintain such assets or accounts or make such payments until the position expired or matured. These requirements might impair a Fund’s ability to sell a portfolio security or make an investment when it would otherwise be favorable to do so or require that the Fund sell a portfolio security at a disadvantageous time. A Fund’s ability to close out a position in a Financial Instrument prior to expiration or maturity depends on the existence of a liquid secondary market or, in the absence of such a market, the ability and willingness of the other party to the transaction (the “counter-party”) to enter into a transaction closing out the position. Therefore, there is no assurance that any position can be closed out at a time and price that is favorable to the Funds.
(4)Losses may arise due to unanticipated market price movements, lack of a liquid secondary market for any particular instrument at a particular time or due to losses from premiums paid by a Fund on options transactions.
Cover. Transactions using Financial Instruments, other than purchased options, expose the Funds to an obligation to another party. The Funds will not enter into any such transactions unless they own either (1) an offsetting (“covered”) position in securities or other options or futures contracts or (2) cash and liquid assets with a value, marked-to-market daily, sufficient to cover their potential obligations to the extent not covered as provided in (1) above. The Funds will set aside cash or liquid assets in an account with their custodian, U.S. Bank National Association (the “Custodian”), in the prescribed amount as determined daily to provide cover for these instruments if obligated contractually or otherwise to do so.
Assets used as cover or held in an account cannot be sold while the position in the corresponding Financial Instrument is open, unless they are replaced with other appropriate assets. As a result, the commitment of a large portion of a Fund’s assets to cover accounts could impede portfolio management or the Fund’s ability to meet redemption requests or other current obligations.
Options. The value of an option position will reflect, among other things, the current market value of the underlying investment, the time remaining until expiration, the relationship of the exercise price to the market price of the underlying investment and general market conditions. Options that expire unexercised have no value. Options currently are traded on the Chicago Board Options Exchange, the NYSE Amex and other exchanges, as well as the OTC markets.
By buying a call option on a security, a Fund has the right, in return for the premium paid, to buy the security underlying the option at the exercise price. By writing (selling) a call option and receiving a premium, a Fund becomes obligated during the term of the option to deliver securities underlying the option at the exercise price if the option is exercised. By buying a put option, a Fund has the right, in return for the premium, to sell the security underlying the option at the exercise price. By writing a put option, a Fund becomes obligated during the term of the option to purchase the securities underlying the option at the exercise price.
Because options premiums paid or received by the Funds are small in relation to the market value of the investments underlying the options, buying and selling put and call options can be more speculative than investing directly in securities.
A Fund may effectively terminate its right or obligation under an option by entering into a closing transaction. For example, a Fund may terminate its obligation under a call or put option that it had written by purchasing an identical call or put option. This is known as a closing purchase transaction. Conversely, a Fund may terminate a position in a put or call option it had purchased by writing an identical put or call option. This is known as a closing sale transaction. Closing transactions permit a Fund to realize profits or limit losses on an option position prior to its exercise or expiration.
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Risks of Options on Securities. Exchange-traded options in the United States are issued by a clearing organization affiliated with the exchange on which the option is listed that, in effect, guarantees completion of every exchange-traded option transaction. In contrast, OTC options are contracts between a Fund and its counter-party (usually a securities dealer or a bank) with no clearing organization guarantee. Thus, when a Fund purchases an OTC option, it relies on the counter-party from whom it purchased the option to make or take delivery of the underlying investment upon exercise of the option. Failure by the counter-party to do so would result in the loss of any premium paid by a Fund as well as the loss of any expected benefit of the transaction.
A Fund’s ability to establish and close out positions in exchange-traded options depends on the existence of a liquid market. However, there can be no assurance that such a market will exist at any particular time. Closing transactions can be made for OTC options only by negotiating directly with the counter-party or by a transaction in the secondary market if any such market exists. There can be no assurance that a Fund will in fact be able to close out an OTC option position at a favorable price prior to expiration. In the event of insolvency of the counter-party, a Fund might be unable to close out an OTC option position at any time prior to its expiration.
If a Fund were unable to effect a closing transaction for an option it had purchased, it would have to exercise the option to realize any profit. The inability to enter into a closing purchase transaction for a covered call option written by a Fund could cause material losses because the Fund would be unable to sell the investment used as cover for the written option until the option expires or is exercised.
Options on Indices. An index fluctuates with changes in the market values of the securities included in the index. Options on indices give the holder the right to receive an amount of cash upon exercise of the option. Receipt of this cash amount will depend upon the closing level of the index upon which the option is based being greater than (in the case of a call) or less than (in the case of put) the exercise price of the option. Some stock index options are based on a broad market index such as the S&P 500® Index, the NYSE Composite Index or the NYSE Arca Index or on a narrower index such as the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Over-the-Counter Index.
Each of the exchanges has established limitations governing the maximum number of call or put options on the same index that may be bought or written by a single investor, whether acting alone or in concert with others (regardless of whether such options are written on the same or different exchanges or are held or written on one or more accounts or through one or more brokers). Under these limitations, option positions of all investment companies advised by the Adviser are combined for purposes of these limits. Pursuant to these limitations, an exchange may order the liquidation of positions and may impose other sanctions or restrictions. These positions limits may restrict the number of listed options that a Fund may buy or sell.
Puts and calls on indices are similar to puts and calls on securities or futures contracts except that all settlements are in cash and gain or loss depends on changes in the index in question rather than on price movements in individual securities or futures contracts. When a Fund writes a call on an index, it receives a premium and agrees that, prior to the expiration date, the purchaser of the call, upon exercise of the call, will receive from the Fund an amount of cash if the closing level of the index upon which the call is based is greater than the exercise price of the call. The amount of cash is equal to the difference between the closing price of the index and the exercise price of the call times a specified multiple (“multiplier”), which determines the total value for each point of such difference. When a Fund buys a call on an index, it pays a premium and has the same rights to such call as are indicated above. When a Fund buys a put on an index, it pays a premium and has the right, prior to the expiration date, to require the seller of the put, upon the Fund’s exercise of the put, to deliver to the Fund an amount of cash if the closing level of the index upon which the put is based is less than the exercise price of the put, which amount of cash is determined by the multiplier, as described above for calls. When a Fund writes a put on an index, it receives a premium and the purchaser of the put has the right, prior to the expiration date, to require the Fund to deliver to it an amount of cash equal
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to the difference between the closing level of the index and the exercise price times the multiplier if the closing level is less than the exercise price.
Risks of Options on Indices. If a Fund has purchased an index option and exercises it before the closing index value for that day is available, it runs the risk that the level of the underlying index may subsequently change. If such a change causes the exercised option to fall out-of-the-money, a Fund will be required to pay the difference between the closing index value and the exercise price of the option (times the applicable multiplier) to the assigned writer.
OTC Options. Unlike exchange-traded options, which are standardized with respect to the underlying instrument, expiration date, contract size and strike price, the terms of OTC options (options not traded on exchanges) generally are established through negotiation with the other party to the option contract. While this type of arrangement allows a Fund great flexibility to tailor the option to its needs, OTC options generally involve greater risk than exchange-traded options, which are guaranteed by the clearing organization of the exchanges where they are traded.
Futures Contracts and Options on Futures Contracts. A futures contract obligates the seller to deliver (and the purchaser to take delivery of) the specified security on the expiration date of the contract. An index futures contract obligates the seller to deliver (and the purchaser to take) an amount of cash equal to a specific dollar amount times the difference between the value of a specific index at the close of the last trading day of the contract and the price at which the agreement is made. No physical delivery of the underlying securities in the index is made.
When a Fund writes an option on a futures contract, it becomes obligated, in return for the premium paid, to assume a position in the futures contract at a specified exercise price at any time during the term of the option. If a Fund writes a call, it assumes a short futures position. If it writes a put, it assumes a long futures position. When a Fund purchases an option on a futures contract, it acquires the right in return for the premium it pays to assume a position in a futures contract (a long position if the option is a call and a short position if the option is a put).
Whether a Fund realizes a gain or loss from futures activities depends upon movements in the underlying security or index. The extent of a Fund’s loss from an unhedged short position in futures contracts or from writing unhedged call options on futures contracts is potentially unlimited. The Funds only purchase and sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts that are traded on a U.S. exchange or board of trade.
No price is paid upon entering into a futures contract. Instead, at the inception of a futures contract a Fund is required to deposit “initial margin” in an amount generally equal to 10% or less of the contract value. Margin also must be deposited when writing a call or put option on a futures contract, in accordance with applicable exchange rules. Unlike margin in securities transactions, initial margin does not represent a borrowing, but rather is in the nature of a performance bond or good-faith deposit that is returned to the Fund at the termination of the transaction if all contractual obligations have been satisfied. Under certain circumstances, such as periods of high volatility, a Fund may be required by an exchange to increase the level of its initial margin payment, and initial margin requirements might be increased generally in the future by regulatory action.
Subsequent “variation margin” payments are made to and from the futures commission merchant daily as the value of the futures position varies, a process known as “marking-to-market.” Variation margin does not involve borrowing, but rather represents a daily settlement of a Fund’s obligations to or from a futures commission merchant. When a Fund purchases an option on a futures contract, the premium paid plus transaction costs is all that is at risk. In contrast, when a Fund purchases or sells a futures contract or writes a call or put option thereon, it is subject to daily variation margin calls that could be substantial in the event of
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adverse price movements. If a Fund has insufficient cash to meet daily variation margin requirements, it might need to sell securities at a time when such sales are disadvantageous.
Purchasers and sellers of futures contracts and options on futures can enter into offsetting closing transactions, similar to closing transactions in options, by selling or purchasing, respectively, an instrument identical to the instrument purchased or sold. Positions in futures and options on futures contracts may be closed only on an exchange or board of trade that provides a secondary market. However, there can be no assurance that a liquid secondary market will exist for a particular contract at a particular time. In such event, it may not be possible to close a futures contract or options position.
Under certain circumstances, futures exchanges may establish daily limits on the amount that the price of a futures contract or an option on a futures contract can vary from the previous day’s settlement price. Once that limit is reached, no trades may be made that day at a price beyond the limit. Daily price limits do not limit potential losses because prices could move to the daily limit for several consecutive days with little or no trading, thereby preventing liquidation of unfavorable positions.
If a Fund were unable to liquidate a futures contract or an option on a futures position due to the absence of a liquid secondary market or the imposition of price limits, it could incur substantial losses, and the Fund would continue to be subject to market risk with respect to the position. In addition, except in the case of purchased options, a Fund would continue to be required to make daily variation margin payments and might be required to maintain cash or liquid assets in an account.
The Funds may use futures solely for the purpose of equitizing cash positions. Futures will not be used for speculative purpose. The Funds will hold amounts of cash equivalents equal to the excess of the notional amount of the contract over the amount deposited as collateral upon purchasing a futures contract.
Risks of Futures Contracts and Options Thereon. The ordinary spreads between prices in the cash and futures markets (including the options on futures markets), due to differences in the natures of those markets, are subject to the following factors, which may create distortions. First, all participants in the futures market are subject to margin deposit and maintenance requirements. Rather than meeting additional margin deposit requirements, investors may close futures contracts through offsetting transactions, which could distort the normal relationships between the cash and futures markets. Second, the liquidity of the futures market depends on participants entering into offsetting transactions rather than making or taking delivery. To the extent participants decide to make or take delivery, liquidity in the futures market could be reduced, thus producing distortion. Third, from the point of view of speculators, the deposit requirements in the futures market are less onerous than margin requirements in the securities market. Therefore, increased participation by speculators in the futures market may cause temporary price distortions.
Combined Positions. The Funds may purchase and write options in combination with each other. For example, a Fund may purchase a put option and write a call option on the same underlying instrument, in order to construct a combined position whose risk and return characteristics are similar to selling a futures contract. Another possible combined position would involve writing a call option at one strike price and buying a call option at a lower price, in order to reduce the risk of the written call option in the event of a substantial price increase. Because combined options positions involve multiple trades, they result in higher transaction costs and may be more difficult to open and close out.
Commodity Pool Operator Exclusion. The Adviser operates the Funds in compliance with the requirements of Rule 4.5 under the Commodity Exchange Act (the “CEA”). As a result, the Funds are not deemed to be “commodity pools” under the CEA and will be limited in their ability to use futures and options on futures or commodities or engage in swap transactions other than for bona fide hedging purposes. Provided the Funds operate within the limits of Rule 4.5, the Adviser will be excluded from registration with the National Futures Association and regulation under the CEA and the Adviser will not be deemed to be a “commodity pool
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operator” with respect to the operations of the Funds. If the Funds were no longer able to claim the exclusion, the Funds and the Adviser, to the extent trading in commodity interests, would be subject to regulation and registration under the CEA.
To the extent the Adviser can no longer rely on the Rule 4.5 exclusion, the impact on the Funds of CFTC requirements is uncertain. CFTC-mandated disclosure, reporting and recordkeeping obligations, which have been “harmonized” with the overlapping SEC obligations, will apply with respect to the Funds. The effects of these regulatory changes could reduce investment returns or limit a Fund’s ability to implement its investment strategy. Investors in the Funds and their financial advisers should consider whether a Fund’s potential status as a “commodity pool” impacts their operations or status under the CEA in deciding whether to invest in the Funds.
Short Sales
The Funds may seek to hedge investments or realize additional gains through short sales. Short sales are transactions in which a Fund sells a security it does not own in anticipation of a decline in the value of that security relative to the long positions held by the Fund. To complete such a transaction, a Fund must borrow the security to make delivery to the buyer. That Fund then is obligated to replace the security borrowed by purchasing it at the market price at or prior to the time of replacement. The price at such time may be more or less than the price at which the security was sold by the applicable Fund. Until the security is replaced, the Fund is required to repay the lender any dividends or interest that accrues during the period of the loan. To borrow the security, a Fund also may be required to pay a premium, which would increase the cost of the security sold. The net proceeds of the short sale will be retained by the broker (or by the Funds’ custodian in a special custody account), to the extent necessary to meet margin requirements, until the short position is closed out. The Funds also will incur transaction costs in effecting short sales.
A Fund will incur a loss as a result of the short sale if the price of the security increases between the date of the short sale and the date on which the Fund replaces the borrowed security. Short sales may, however, protect the Funds against the risk of losses in the value of their portfolio securities because any unrealized losses with respect to such portfolio securities should be wholly or partially offset by a corresponding gain in the short position. However, any potential gains in such portfolio securities should be wholly or partially offset by a corresponding loss in the short position. The extent to which such gains or losses are offset will depend upon the amount of securities sold short relative to the amount a Fund owns, either directly or indirectly, and, in the case where the Fund owns convertible securities, changes in the conversion premium. There can be no assurance that a Fund will be able to close out a short position at any particular time or at an acceptable price.
The Funds also must segregate liquid assets equal to the difference between (a) the market value of the securities sold short at the time they were sold short and (b) the value of the collateral deposited with the broker in connection with the short sale (not including the proceeds from the short sale). While the short position is open, a Fund must maintain segregated assets at such a level that the amount segregated plus the amount deposited with the broker as collateral equal the current market value of the securities sold short.
Interest Rate Swaps
The Core Fixed Income Fund may enter into swap agreements for purposes of attempting to gain exposure to the price movements of debt securities for changes in interest rates without actually purchasing those securities. Swap agreements are two-party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors for periods ranging from a day to more than one year. In a standard “swap” transaction, two parties agree to exchange the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments. The gross returns to be exchanged or “swapped” between the parties are calculated with respect to a “notional amount,” i.e., the return on or increase in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a “basket” of securities representing a particular index.
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Most swap agreements entered into by the Core Fixed Income Fund calculate the obligations of the parties to the agreement on a “net basis.” Consequently, the Fund’s current obligations (or rights) under a swap agreement will generally be equal only to the net amount to be paid or received under the agreement based on the relative values of the positions held by each party to the agreement (the “net amount”). Payments may be made at the conclusion of a swap agreement or periodically during its term.
Swap agreements do not involve the delivery of securities or other underlying assets. Accordingly, if a swap is entered into on a net basis, if the other party to a swap agreement defaults, the Core Fixed Income Fund’s risk of loss consists of the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually entitled to receive, if any.
The net amount of the excess, if any, of the Fund’s obligations over its entitlements with respect to a swap agreement entered into on a net basis will be accrued daily and an amount of cash or liquid asset having an aggregate net asset value at least equal to the accrued excess will be maintained in an account with the Fund’s custodian. The Fund will also establish and maintain such accounts with respect to its total obligations under any swaps that are not entered into on a net basis. Obligations under swap agreements so covered will not be construed to be “senior securities” for purposes of the Fund’s investment restriction concerning senior securities.
Because they are two-party contracts and because they may have terms of greater than seven days, swap agreements may be considered to be illiquid for the Funds’ illiquid investment limitations. The Funds will not enter into any swap agreement unless the Adviser believes that the other party to the transaction is creditworthy. The Core Fixed Income Fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counter-party.
Temporary and Cash Investments
For temporary defensive purposes, the Adviser may invest up to 100% of a Fund’s total assets in high-quality, short-term debt securities and money market instruments. These short-term debt securities and money market instruments include shares of other mutual funds, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances, U.S. Government securities and repurchase agreements. Taking a temporary defensive position may result in a Fund not achieving its investment objective.
For longer periods of time, a Fund may hold a substantial cash position. If the market advances during periods when the Fund is holding a large cash position, the Fund may not participate to the extent it would have if the Fund had been more fully invested, which may result in the Fund not achieving its investment objective during that period.
To the extent that a Fund uses a money market fund for its cash position, there will be some duplication of expenses because the Fund would bear its pro rata portion of such money market fund’s advisory fees and operational expenses.
The Funds may invest in any of the following securities and instruments:
Money Market Mutual Funds. The Funds may invest in money market mutual funds in connection with their management of daily cash positions or as a temporary defensive measure. Generally, money market mutual funds seek to earn income consistent with the preservation of capital and maintenance of liquidity. They primarily invest in high quality money market obligations, including securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies and instrumentalities, bank obligations and high-grade corporate instruments. These investments generally mature within 397 days from the date of purchase. An investment in a money market mutual fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any government agency. The Funds’ investments in money market mutual funds may be used for cash management purposes and to maintain liquidity in order to satisfy redemption requests or pay
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unanticipated expenses. The Funds limit their investments in securities issued by money market mutual funds in accordance with the 1940 Act. Please see “Other Investment Companies” above.
Your cost of investing in the Funds will generally be higher than the cost of investing directly in the underlying money market mutual fund shares. You will indirectly bear fees and expenses charged by the underlying money market mutual funds in addition to the Funds’ direct fees and expenses. Furthermore, the use of this strategy could affect the timing, amount and character of distributions to you and therefore may increase the amount of taxes payable by you.
Bank Certificates of Deposit, Bankers’ Acceptances and Time Deposits. The Funds may acquire certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances and time deposits. Certificates of deposit are negotiable certificates issued against monies deposited in a commercial bank for a definite period of time and earning a specified return. Bankers’ acceptances are negotiable drafts or bills of exchange, normally drawn by an importer or exporter to pay for specific merchandise, which are “accepted” by a bank, meaning in effect that the bank unconditionally agrees to pay the face value of the instrument on maturity. Certificates of deposit and bankers’ acceptances acquired by the Funds will be dollar-denominated obligations of domestic or foreign banks or financial institutions which at the time of purchase have capital, surplus and undivided profits in excess of $100 million (including assets of both domestic and foreign branches), based on latest published reports, or less than $100 million if the principal amount of such bank obligations are fully insured by the U.S. Government.
Domestic banks and foreign banks are subject to different governmental regulations with respect to the amount and types of loans that may be made and interest rates that may be charged. In addition, the profitability of the banking industry depends largely upon the availability and cost of funds for the purpose of financing lending operations under prevailing money market conditions. General economic conditions as well as exposure to credit losses arising from possible financial difficulties of borrowers play an important part in the operations of the banking industry.
As a result of federal and state laws and regulations, domestic banks are, among other things, required to maintain specified levels of reserves, limited in the amount which they can loan to a single borrower and subject to other regulations designed to promote financial soundness. However, such laws and regulations do not necessarily apply to foreign bank obligations that the Funds may acquire.
In addition to purchasing certificates of deposit and bankers’ acceptances, to the extent permitted under the investment objectives and policies stated above and in the Prospectus, the Funds may make interest-bearing time or other interest-bearing deposits in commercial or savings banks. Time deposits are non-negotiable deposits maintained at a banking institution for a specified period of time at a specified interest rate.
Savings Association Obligations. The Funds may invest in certificates of deposit (interest-bearing time deposits) issued by savings banks or savings and loan associations that have capital, surplus and undivided profits in excess of $100 million, based on latest published reports, or less than $100 million if the principal amount of such obligations is fully insured by the U.S. Government.
Commercial Paper, Short-Term Notes and Other Corporate Obligations. The Funds may invest a portion of their assets in commercial paper and short-term notes. Commercial paper consists of unsecured promissory notes issued by corporations. Issues of commercial paper and short-term notes will normally have maturities of less than nine months and fixed rates of return, although such instruments may have maturities of up to one year.
Commercial paper and short-term notes will consist of issues rated at the time of purchase “A‑2” or higher by S&P, “Prime-1” or “Prime-2” by Moody’s, or similarly rated by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization or, if unrated, will be determined by the Adviser or sub-adviser to be of comparable quality.
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Corporate obligations include bonds and notes issued by corporations to finance longer-term credit needs than supported by commercial paper. While such obligations generally have maturities of ten years or more, the Funds may purchase corporate obligations which have remaining maturities of one year or less from the date of purchase and which are rated “A” or higher by S&P or “A” or higher by Moody’s.
U.S. Government Obligations
The Core Fixed Income Fund may invest in various types of U.S. Government obligations. U.S. Government obligations include securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, such as the U.S. Treasury. Payment of principal and interest on U.S. Government obligations may be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States or may be backed solely by the issuing or guaranteeing agency or instrumentality itself. In the latter case, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, which agency or instrumentality may be privately owned. There can be no assurance that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises) where it is not obligated to do so. As a result, there is a risk that these entities will default on a financial obligation. For instance, securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association or “Ginnie Mae” (“GNMA”) are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Securities issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association or “Fannie Mae” (“FNMA”) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation or “Freddie Mac” (“FHLMC”) are supported only by the discretionary authority of the U.S. government. See “Mortgage-Backed Securities” below. Securities issued by the Student Loan Marketing Association or “Sallie Mae” are supported only by the credit of that agency.
In addition, U.S. government obligations are subject to fluctuations in market value due to fluctuations in market interest rates. As a general matter, the value of debt instruments, including U.S. government obligations, declines when market interest rates increase and rises when market interest rates decrease. Certain types of U.S. government obligations are subject to fluctuations in yield or value due to their structure or contract terms.
Asset-Backed Securities
The Core Fixed Income Fund may invest in certain types of asset-backed securities. Asset-backed securities are securities issued by trusts and special purpose entities that are backed by pools of assets, such as automobile and credit-card receivables and home equity loans, which pass through the payments on the underlying obligations to the security holders (less servicing fees paid to the originator or fees for any credit enhancement). Typically, the originator of the loan or accounts receivable paper transfers it to a specially created trust, which repackages it as securities with a minimum denomination and a specific term. The securities are then privately placed or publicly offered. Examples include certificates for automobile receivables and so-called plastic bonds, backed by credit card receivables.
The value of an asset-backed security is affected by, among other things, changes in the market’s perception of the asset backing the security, the creditworthiness of the servicing agent for the loan pool, the originator of the loans and the financial institution providing any credit enhancement. Payments of principal and interest passed through to holders of asset-backed securities are frequently supported by some form of credit enhancement, such as a letter of credit, surety bond, limited guarantee by another entity or by having a priority to certain of the borrower’s other assets. The degree of credit enhancement varies, and generally applies to only a portion of the asset-backed security’s par value. Value is also affected if any credit enhancement has been exhausted.
Mortgage-Backed Securities
The Core Fixed Income Fund may invest in mortgage-backed securities, including commercial mortgage-backed securities and residential mortgage-backed securities. A mortgage-backed security is a type of pass-through security, which is a security representing pooled debt obligations repackaged as interests that pass income through an intermediary to investors. In the case of mortgage-backed securities, the ownership
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interest is in a pool of mortgage loans.
Mortgage-backed securities are most commonly issued or guaranteed by the GNMA, FNMA, FHLMC or Federal Home Loan Banks (“FHLB”), but may also be issued or guaranteed by other private issuers. GNMA is a government-owned corporation that is an agency of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It guarantees, with the full faith and credit of the United States, full and timely payment of all monthly principal and interest on its mortgage-backed securities. FNMA is a publicly owned, government-sponsored corporation that mostly packages mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration, but also sells some non-governmentally backed mortgages. Pass-through securities issued by FNMA are generally guaranteed as to timely payment of principal and interest only by FNMA. The FHLMC is a publicly chartered agency that buys qualifying residential mortgages from lenders, re-packages them and provides certain guarantees. Pass-through securities issued by the FHLMC are generally guaranteed as to timely payment of principal and interest only by the FHLMC. However, in September 2008, at the direction of the U.S. Treasury, FNMA and FHLMC were placed into conservatorship under the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The U.S. government also took steps to provide additional financial support to FNMA and FHLMC. However, there is no assurance that such actions will be successful.
Some of these obligations are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury; others are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury; others are supported by the discretionary authority of the U.S. Government to purchase the agency’s obligations; still others are supported only by the credit of the instrumentality. No assurance can be given that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to U.S. Government-sponsored instrumentalities if it is not obligated to do so by law.
Mortgage-backed securities issued by private issuers, whether or not such obligations are subject to guarantees by the private issuer, may entail greater risk than obligations directly or indirectly guaranteed by the U.S. Government. The average life of a mortgage-backed security is likely to be substantially less than the original maturity of the mortgage pools underlying the securities. Prepayments of principal by mortgagors and mortgage foreclosures will usually result in the return of the greater part of principal invested far in advance of the maturity of the mortgages in the pool.
Collateralized mortgage obligations (“CMOs”) are debt obligations collateralized by mortgage loans or mortgage pass-through securities (collateral collectively hereinafter referred to as “Mortgage Assets”). Multi-class pass-through securities are interests in a trust composed of Mortgage Assets and all references in this section to CMOs include multi-class pass-through securities. Principal prepayments on the Mortgage Assets may cause the CMOs to be retired substantially earlier than their stated maturities or final distribution dates, resulting in a loss of all or part of the premium if any has been paid. Interest is paid or accrues on all classes of the CMOs on a monthly, quarterly or semiannual basis. The principal and interest payments on the Mortgage Assets may be allocated among the various classes of CMOs in several ways. Typically, payments of principal, including any prepayments, on the underlying mortgages are applied to the classes in the order of their respective stated maturities or final distribution dates, so that no payment of principal is made on CMOs of a class until all CMOs of other classes having earlier stated maturities or final distribution dates have been paid in full.
Stripped mortgage-backed securities (“SMBS”) are derivative multi-class mortgage securities. The Fund will only invest in SMBS whose mortgage assets are U.S. Government obligations and are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. SMBS are usually structured with two classes that receive different proportions of the interest and principal distributions from a pool of mortgage assets. A common type of SMBS will be structured so that one class receives some of the interest and most of the principal from the mortgage assets, while the other class receives most of the interest and the remainder of the principal. If the underlying mortgage assets experience greater than anticipated prepayments of principal, the Fund may fail to fully recoup its initial investment in these securities. The market value of any class which consists primarily or entirely of principal payments is generally unusually volatile in response to changes in interest rates.
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Investment in mortgage-backed securities poses several risks, including among others, prepayment, market and credit risk. Prepayment risk reflects the risk that borrowers may prepay their mortgages faster than expected, thereby affecting the investment’s average life and perhaps its yield. Whether a mortgage loan is prepaid is almost entirely controlled by the borrower. Borrowers are most likely to exercise prepayment options at the time when it is least advantageous to investors, generally prepaying mortgages as interest rates fall, and slowing payments as interest rates rise. Besides the effect of prevailing interest rates, the rate of prepayment and refinancing of mortgages may also be affected by home value appreciation, ease of the refinancing process and local economic conditions. Market risk reflects the risk that the price of a security may fluctuate over time. The price of mortgage-backed securities may be particularly sensitive to prevailing interest rates, the length of time the security is expected to be outstanding and the liquidity of the issue. In a period of unstable interest rates, there may be decreased demand for certain types of mortgage-backed securities, and the Core Fixed Income Fund, to the extent that it is invested in such securities and desires to sell them, may find it difficult to find a buyer, which may in turn decrease the price at which they may be sold. Credit risk reflects the risk that a Fund may not receive all or part of its principal because the issuer or credit enhancer has defaulted on its obligations. Obligations issued by U.S. Government-related entities are guaranteed as to the payment of principal and interest, but are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. The performance of private label mortgage-backed securities, issued by private institutions, is based on the financial health of those institutions. With respect to GNMA certificates, although GNMA guarantees timely payment even if homeowners delay or default, tracking the “pass-through” payments may, at times, be difficult.
Restricted Securities
The Funds may invest in securities that are subject to restrictions on resale because they have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). These securities are sometimes referred to as private placements. Although securities that may be resold only to “qualified institutional buyers” in accordance with the provisions of Rule 144A under the Securities Act are technically considered “restricted securities,” the Funds may purchase Rule 144A securities without regard to the limitation on investments in illiquid investments described below in the “Illiquid Investments” section, provided that a determination is made that such securities have a readily available trading market. The Funds may also purchase certain commercial paper issued in reliance on the exemption from regulations in Section 4(2) of the Securities Act (“4(2) Paper”). The Adviser will determine the liquidity of Rule 144A securities and 4(2) Paper under the supervision of the Board of Trustees. The liquidity of Rule 144A securities and 4(2) Paper will be monitored by the Adviser, and if as a result of changed conditions it is determined that a Rule 144A security or 4(2) Paper is no longer liquid, the Funds’ holdings of illiquid investments will be reviewed to determine what, if any, action is required to assure that a Fund does not exceed its applicable percentage limitation for investments in illiquid investments.
Limitations on the resale of restricted securities may have an adverse effect on the marketability of portfolio securities and the Funds might be unable to dispose of restricted securities promptly or at reasonable prices and might thereby experience difficulty satisfying redemption requirements. The Funds might also have to register such restricted securities in order to dispose of them, resulting in additional expense and delay. Adverse market conditions could impede such a public offering of securities.
Repurchase Agreements
The Funds may enter into repurchase agreements. Under such agreements, the seller of the security agrees to repurchase it at a mutually agreed upon time and price. The repurchase price may be higher than the purchase price, the difference being income to a Fund, or the purchase and repurchase prices may be the same, with interest at a stated rate due to a Fund together with the repurchase price on repurchase. In either case, the income to a Fund is unrelated to the interest rate on the security itself. Such repurchase agreements will be made only with banks with assets of $500 million or more that are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or with Government securities dealers recognized by the Federal Reserve Board and registered as broker‑dealers with the SEC or exempt from such registration. The Funds will generally enter into repurchase agreements of short durations, from overnight to one week, although the underlying
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securities generally have longer maturities. The Funds may not enter into a repurchase agreement with more than seven days to maturity if, as a result, more than 15% of the value of a Fund’s net assets would be invested in illiquid investments including such repurchase agreements.
For purposes of the 1940 Act, a repurchase agreement is deemed to be a loan from a Fund to the seller of the U.S. Government security that is subject to the repurchase agreement. It is not clear whether a court would consider the U.S. Government security acquired by a Fund subject to a repurchase agreement as being owned by the Fund or as being collateral for a loan by the Fund to the seller. In the event of the commencement of bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings with respect to the seller of the U.S. Government security before its repurchase under a repurchase agreement, a Fund could encounter delays and incur costs before being able to sell the security. Delays may involve loss of interest or a decline in price of the U.S. Government security. If a court characterizes the transaction as a loan and a Fund has not perfected a security interest in the U.S. Government security, the Fund may be required to return the security to the seller’s estate and be treated as an unsecured creditor of the seller. As an unsecured creditor, a Fund would be at the risk of losing some or all of the principal and income involved in the transaction. As with any unsecured debt instrument purchased for a Fund, the Adviser and sub-adviser seek to minimize the risk of loss through repurchase agreements by analyzing the creditworthiness of the other party, in this case the seller of the U.S. Government security.
Apart from the risk of bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings, there is also the risk that the seller may fail to repurchase the security. However, each Fund will always receive as collateral for any repurchase agreement to which it is a party, securities acceptable to the Adviser, the market value of which is equal to at least 100% of the amount invested by the Fund plus accrued interest, and the Fund will make payment against such securities only upon physical delivery or evidence of book entry transfer to the account of its custodian. If the market value of the U.S. Government security subject to the repurchase agreement becomes less than the repurchase price (including interest), the Fund will direct the seller of the U.S. Government security to deliver additional securities so that the market value of all securities subject to the repurchase agreement will equal or exceed the repurchase price. It is possible that the Funds could be unsuccessful in seeking to enforce on the seller a contractual obligation to deliver additional securities.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements
The Funds may borrow by entering into reverse repurchase agreements with the same parties with whom they may enter into repurchase agreements. Under a reverse repurchase agreement, a Fund sells securities and agrees to repurchase them at a mutually agreed to price. At the time a Fund enters into a reverse repurchase agreement, it will establish and maintain a segregated account with an approved custodian containing liquid high-grade securities, marked-to-market daily, having a value not less than the repurchase price (including accrued interest). Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the market value of securities retained in lieu of sale by a Fund may decline below the price of the securities the Fund has sold but is obliged to repurchase. If the buyer of securities under a reverse repurchase agreement files for bankruptcy or becomes insolvent, such buyer or its trustee or receiver may receive an extension of time to determine whether to enforce a Fund’s obligation to repurchase the securities. During that time, a Fund’s use of the proceeds of the reverse repurchase agreement effectively may be restricted. Reverse repurchase agreements create leverage, a speculative factor, and are considered borrowings for the purpose of the Funds’ limitations on borrowing.
Illiquid Investments
In accordance with Rule 22e-4 (the “Liquidity Rule”) under the 1940 Act, each Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in “illiquid investments.” For these purposes, “illiquid investments” are investments that cannot reasonably be expected to 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.
Each portfolio investment must be classified at least monthly into one of four liquidity categories (highly liquid, moderately liquid, less liquid and illiquid), which are defined pursuant to the Liquidity Rule. Such classification is to be made using information obtained after reasonable inquiry and taking into account
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relevant market, trading and investment-specific considerations. Moreover, in making such classification determinations, a Fund determines whether trading varying portions of a position in a particular portfolio investment or asset class, in sizes that the Fund would reasonably anticipate trading, is reasonably expected to significantly affect its liquidity, and if so, the Fund takes this determination into account when classifying the liquidity of that investment. The Funds may be assisted in classification determinations by one or more third-party service providers. Assets classified according to this process as “illiquid investments” are those subject to the 15% limit on illiquid investments.
Cybersecurity Risks
With the increasing use of the Internet and technology in connection with the Funds’ operations, the Funds are susceptible to greater operational and information security risks through breaches in cybersecurity. Cybersecurity breaches include, without limitation, infection by computer viruses and unauthorized access to the Funds’ systems through “hacking” or other means for the purpose of misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting data, or causing operations to be disrupted. Cybersecurity breaches may also occur in a manner that does not require gaining unauthorized access, such as denial-of-service attacks or situations where authorized individuals intentionally or unintentionally release confidential information stored on the Funds’ systems. A cybersecurity breach may cause disruptions and impact the Funds’ business operations, which could potentially result in financial losses, inability to determine the Funds’ NAV, violation of applicable law, regulatory penalties and/or fines, compliance and other costs. The Funds and their shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result. In addition, because the Funds work closely with third-party service providers (e.g., custodians), indirect cybersecurity breaches at such third-party service providers may subject Fund shareholders to the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches. Further, indirect cybersecurity breaches at an issuer of securities in which the Funds invest may similarly negatively impact Fund shareholders because of a decrease in the value of these securities. While the Funds have established risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cybersecurity breaches, there can be no assurances that such measures will be successful particularly since the Funds do not control the cybersecurity systems of issuers or third-party service providers.
Investment Restrictions
Fundamental Investment Restrictions
The Trust (on behalf of the Funds) has adopted the following restrictions as fundamental policies, which may not be changed without the affirmative vote of the holders of a “majority of the outstanding voting securities” of the applicable Fund. Under the 1940 Act, the vote of the holders of a “majority of the outstanding voting securities” means the vote of the holders of the lesser of (i) 67% of the shares of a Fund represented at a meeting at which the holders of more than 50% of its outstanding shares are represented or (ii) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of a Fund.
Each Fund may not:
1.Issue senior securities, borrow money or pledge its assets, except that: (i) a Fund may borrow from banks in amounts not exceeding one-third of its total assets (including the amount borrowed); and (ii) this restriction shall not prohibit a Fund from engaging in options transactions or short sales in accordance with its objective and strategies;
2.Act as underwriter (except to the extent a Fund may be deemed to be an underwriter in connection with the sale of securities in its investment portfolio);
3.Invest more than 25% of its net assets, calculated at the time of purchase and taken at market value, in securities of issuers in any one industry (other than U.S. Government securities);
4.Purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities (although the Funds may purchase and sell securities which are secured by real estate and securities of companies that invest or deal in real estate);
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5.Purchase or sell commodities, unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments and provided that this restriction does not prevent the Funds from engaging in transactions involving currencies and futures contracts and options thereon or investing in securities or other instruments that are secured by commodities;
6.Make loans of money (except for the lending of its portfolio securities, purchases of debt securities consistent with the investment policies of the Funds and except for repurchase agreements); or
7.With respect to 75% of its total assets, invest 5% or more of its total assets in securities of a single issuer or hold 10% or more of the voting securities of such issuer. (Does not apply to investments in the securities of the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities).
Non-Fundamental Investment Restrictions
The following non-fundamental investment restrictions can be changed by the Board of Trustees, but the change will only be effective after notice is given to shareholders of a Fund.
Each Fund may not:
1.Invest more than 15% of the value of its net assets, computed at the time of investment, in illiquid investments(1); and
2.Change its investment policy of investing at least 80% of its net assets according to its investment strategies without first changing the Fund’s name and proving shareholders with at least 60 days’ prior written notice.
(1)The term “illiquid investment” is defined as a security that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the security.

Management of the Funds
Board of Trustees
The management and affairs of the Funds are supervised by the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees consists of seven individuals. The Trustees are fiduciaries for the Funds’ shareholders and are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware in this regard. The Board of Trustees establishes policies for the operation of the Funds and appoints the officers who conduct the daily business of the Funds.
Trustees and Officers
The Trustees and the officers of the Trust are listed below with their addresses, present positions with the Trust and principal occupations over at least the last five years.


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Name, Address and Year of Birth Position(s) Held with the Trust Term of Office and Length of Time Served Number of Portfolios in the Trust Overseen by Trustee Principal Occupation(s) During the Past Five Years Other Directorships Held by Trustee During the Past Five Years
Independent Trustees
Michael D. Akers, Ph.D.
615 E. Michigan St.
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Year of Birth: 1955
Trustee Indefinite Term; Since August 22, 2001 31 Professor Emeritus, Department of Accounting (June 2019-present), Professor, Department of Accounting (2004-2019), Marquette University.
Independent Trustee, USA MUTUALS (an open-end investment company) (2001-2021).
Gary A. Drska
615 E. Michigan St.
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Year of Birth: 1956
Trustee Indefinite Term; Since August 22, 2001 31 Retired; Former Pilot, Frontier/Midwest Airlines, Inc. (airline company) (1986-2021).
Independent Trustee, USA MUTUALS (an open-end investment company) (2001-2021).
Vincent P. Lyles
615 E. Michigan St.
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Year of Birth: 1961
Trustee Indefinite Term; Since April 6, 2022 31 Executive Director, Milwaukee Succeeds (education advocacy organization) (2023-present); System Vice President of Community Relations, Advocate Aurora Health Care (health care provider) (2019-2022); President and Chief Executive Officer, Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee (2012-2018).
Independent Director, BMO Funds, Inc. (an open-end investment company) (2017-2022).
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Name, Address and Year of Birth Position(s) Held with the Trust Term of Office and Length of Time Served Number of Portfolios in the Trust Overseen by Trustee Principal Occupation(s) During the Past Five Years Other Directorships Held by Trustee During the Past Five Years
Erik K. Olstein
615 E. Michigan St.
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Year of Birth: 1967
Trustee Indefinite Term; Since April 6, 2022 31 Retired; President and Chief Operating Officer (2000-2020), Vice President of Sales and Chief Operating Officer (1995-2000), Olstein Capital Management, L.P. (asset management firm); Secretary and Assistant Treasurer, The Olstein Funds (1995-2018).
Trustee, The Olstein Funds (an open-end investment company) (1995-2018).
Lisa Zúñiga Ramírez
615 E. Michigan St.
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Year of Birth: 1969
Trustee Indefinite Term; Since April 6, 2022 31 Retired; Principal and Senior Portfolio Manager, Segall, Bryant & Hamill, LLC (asset management firm) (2018-2020); Partner and Senior Portfolio Manager, Denver Investments LLC (asset management firm) (2009-2018).
Director, Peoples Financial Services Corp. (a publicly-traded bank holding company) (2022-present).
Gregory M. Wesley
615 E. Michigan St.
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Year of Birth: 1969
Trustee Indefinite Term; Since April 6, 2022 31 Senior Vice President of Strategic Alliances and Business Development, Medical College of Wisconsin (2016-present).
N/A
Interested Trustee and Officers
John P. Buckel*
615 E. Michigan St.
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Year of Birth: 1957
Chairperson, Trustee, President and Principal Executive Officer
Indefinite Term; Chairperson and Trustee (since January 19, 2023); President and Principal Executive Officer (since January 24, 2013)
31 Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2004-present).
N/A
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Name, Address and Year of Birth Position(s) Held with the Trust Term of Office and Length of Time Served Number of Portfolios in the Trust Overseen by Trustee Principal Occupation(s) During the Past Five Years Other Directorships Held by Trustee During the Past Five Years
Jennifer A. Lima
615 E. Michigan St.
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Year of Birth: 1974
Vice President, Treasurer and Principal Financial and Accounting Officer
Indefinite Term; Since January 24, 2013 N/A Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2002-present). N/A
Deanna B. Marotz
615 E. Michigan St.
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Year of Birth: 1965
Chief Compliance Officer, Vice President and Anti-Money Laundering Officer Indefinite Term; Since October 21, 2021 N/A Senior Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2021-present); Chief Compliance Officer, Keeley-Teton Advisors, LLC and Teton Advisors, Inc (2017-2021).
N/A
Jay S. Fitton
615 E. Michigan St.
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Year of Birth: 1970
Secretary Indefinite Term; Since July 22, 2019 N/A Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2019-present); Partner, Practus, LLP (2018-2019).
N/A
Kelly A. Strauss
615 E. Michigan St.
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Year of Birth: 1987
Assistant Treasurer Indefinite Term; Since April 23, 2015 N/A Assistant Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2011-present).
N/A
Laura A. Carroll
615 E. Michigan St.
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Year of Birth: 1985
Assistant Treasurer Indefinite Term; Since August 20, 2018 N/A Assistant Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2007-present).
N/A
Shannon Coyle
615 E. Michigan St.
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Year of Birth: 1990
Assistant Treasurer Indefinite Term; Since August 26, 2022 N/A Officer, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2015-present). N/A
*Mr. Buckel is deemed to be an “interested person” of the Trust as defined by the 1940 Act due to his position and material business relationship with the Trust.

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Role of the Board
The Board of Trustees provides oversight of the management and operations of the Trust. Like all funds, the day-to-day responsibility for the management and operation of the Trust is the responsibility of various service providers to the Trust and its individual series, such as the Adviser, Distributor, Custodian, and the Funds’ administrator and transfer agent, each of which are discussed in greater detail in this SAI. The Board approves all significant agreements with the Adviser, Distributor, Custodian, and the Funds’ administrator and transfer agent. The Board has appointed various individuals of certain of these service providers as officers of the Trust, with responsibility to monitor and report to the Board on the Trust’s day-to-day operations. In conducting this oversight, the Board receives regular reports from these officers and service providers regarding the Trust’s operations. The Board has appointed a Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”) who reports directly to the Board and who administers the Trust’s compliance program and regularly reports to the Board as to compliance matters, including an annual compliance review. Some of these reports are provided as part of formal Board meetings, which are generally held five times per year, and at such other times as the Board determines is necessary, and involve the Board’s review of recent Trust operations. From time to time, one or more members of the Board may also meet with Trust officers in less formal settings, between formal Board meetings, to discuss various topics. In all cases, however, the role of the Board and of any individual Trustee is one of oversight and not of management of the day-to-day affairs of the Trust and its oversight role does not make the Board a guarantor of the Trust’s investments, operations or activities.
Board Leadership Structure
The Board has structured itself in a manner that it believes allows it to perform its oversight function effectively. The Board is composed of six Independent Trustees – Dr. Michael D. Akers, Gary A. Drska, Vincent P. Lyles, Erik K. Olstein, Lisa Zúñiga Ramírez and Gregory M. Wesley – and one Trustee who is an “interested person” (as defined by the 1940 Act) of the Trust (the “Interested Trustee”) – John P. Buckel. Accordingly, more than 85% of the members of the Board are Independent Trustees, Trustees who are not affiliated with the Adviser or its affiliates, or any other investment adviser or service provider to the Trust or any underlying fund. The Board of Trustees has established two standing committees, an Audit Committee and a Nominating Committee, which are discussed in greater detail under “Board Committees” below. Each of the Audit Committee and the Nominating Committee is composed entirely of Independent Trustees. The Independent Trustees have engaged their own independent counsel to advise them on matters relating to their responsibilities in connection with the Trust.
The Trust’s Chairperson, Mr. Buckel, is deemed to be an “interested person” of the Trust, as defined by the 1940 Act, due to his position and material business relationship with the Trust. Mr. Buckel also serves as a Vice President of U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, doing business as U.S. Bank Global Fund Services (“Fund Services”), the Funds’ administrator. The Trust has not appointed a lead Independent Trustee.
In accordance with the fund governance standards prescribed under the 1940 Act, the Independent Trustees on the Nominating Committee select and nominate all candidates for Independent Trustee positions. Each Trustee was appointed to serve on the Board of Trustees because of his or her experience, qualifications, attributes and skills as set forth in the subsection “Trustee Qualifications” below.
The Board reviews its structure regularly in light of the characteristics and circumstances of the Trust, including the unaffiliated nature of each investment adviser and the funds managed by such adviser; the number of funds that comprise the Trust; the variety of asset classes that those funds reflect; the net assets of the Trust; the committee structure of the Trust; and the independent distribution arrangements of each of the Trust’s underlying funds.
The Board has determined that the function and composition of the Audit Committee and the Nominating Committee are appropriate to address any potential conflicts of interest that may arise from the Chairperson’s status as an Interested Trustee. In addition, the inclusion of all Independent Trustees as members of the
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Audit Committee and the Nominating Committee allows these Trustees to participate in the full range of the Board’s oversight duties, including oversight of risk management processes discussed below. Given the specific characteristics and circumstances of the Trust as described above, the Trust has determined that the Board’s leadership structure is appropriate.
Board Oversight of Risk Management
As part of its oversight function, the Board receives and reviews various risk management reports and assessments and discusses these matters with appropriate management and other personnel, including personnel of the Trust’s service providers. Because risk management is a broad concept composed of many elements (such as, for example, investment risk, issuer and counterparty risk, compliance risk, operational risks, business continuity risks, etc.) the oversight of different types of risks is handled in different ways. For example, the CCO regularly reports to the Board during Board meetings and meets in executive session with the Independent Trustees and their legal counsel to discuss compliance and operational risks. In addition, the Independent Trustee designated as the Audit Committee’s “audit committee financial expert” meets with the Treasurer and the Funds’ independent registered public accounting firm to discuss, among other things, the internal control structure of the Trust’s financial reporting function. The full Board receives reports from the investment advisers to the underlying funds and the portfolio managers as to investment risks as well as other risks that may be discussed during Audit Committee meetings.

Trustee Qualifications
The Board believes that each of the Trustees has the qualifications, experience, attributes and skills appropriate to his or her continued service as a Trustee of the Trust in light of the Trust’s business and structure. The Trustees have substantial business and professional backgrounds that indicate they have the ability to critically review, evaluate and assess information provided to them. Certain of these business and professional experiences are set forth in detail in the table above. In addition, the Trustees have substantial board experience and, in their service to the Trust, have gained substantial insight as to the operation of the Trust. The Board annually conducts a “self-assessment” wherein the effectiveness of the Board and the individual Trustees is reviewed.

In addition to the information provided in the table above, below is certain additional information concerning each individual Trustee. The information provided below, and in the table above, is not all-inclusive. Many of the Trustees’ qualifications to serve on the Board involve intangible elements, such as intelligence, integrity, work ethic, the ability to work together, the ability to communicate effectively, the ability to exercise judgment, the ability to ask incisive questions, and commitment to shareholder interests. In conducting its annual self-assessment, the Board has determined that the Trustees have the appropriate attributes and experience to continue to serve effectively as Trustees of the Trust.

Michael D. Akers, Ph.D., CPA. Dr. Akers has served as an Independent Trustee of the Trust since 2001. Dr. Akers previously served as an independent trustee of USA Mutuals, an open-end investment company, from 2001 to June 2021. Dr. Akers has been a Professor Emeritus, Department of Accounting at Marquette University since June 2019, was Professor, Department of Accounting at Marquette University from 2004 to May 2019, was Chair of the Department of Accounting at Marquette University from 2004 to 2017, and was Associate Professor, Department of Accounting at Marquette University from 1996 to 2004. Dr. Akers is a certified public accountant, a certified fraud examiner, a certified internal auditor and a certified management accountant. Through his experience as an investment company trustee and his employment experience, Dr. Akers is experienced with financial, accounting, regulatory and investment matters.

Gary A. Drska. Mr. Drska has served as an Independent Trustee of the Trust since 2001. Mr. Drska previously served as an independent trustee of USA Mutuals from 2001 to June 2021. Mr. Drska previously
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served as a Pilot of Frontier/Midwest Airlines, Inc., an airline company, from 1986 to September 2021. Through his experience as an investment company trustee, Mr. Drska is experienced with financial, accounting, regulatory and investment matters.

Vincent P. Lyles. Mr. Lyles has served as an Independent Trustee of the Trust since 2022. Mr. Lyles has served as Executive Director of Milwaukee Succeeds since January 2023. He previously served as System Vice President of Community Relations at Advocate Aurora Health Care from 2019 to 2022. He served as an Independent Director of BMO Funds, Inc., an open-end investment company, from 2017 to 2022. Mr. Lyles is a board member and finance committee member of Badger Mutual Insurance Company and a Trustee and member of the Committee of Student Experience & Mission on the Board of Trustees at Marquette University. Mr. Lyles previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee from 2012 to 2018, President of M&I Community Development Corporation from 2006 to 2011, and as a Director of Public Finance of Robert W. Baird & Co. from 1995 to 2006. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School in 1987. Through his experience as an investment company trustee and his employment experience, Mr. Lyles is experienced with legal, financial, accounting, regulatory and investment matters.

Erik K. Olstein. Mr. Olstein has served as an Independent Trustee of the Trust since 2022. Mr. Olstein served as President and Chief Operating Officer from 2000 to 2020 and Vice President of Sales and Chief Operating Officer from 1995 to 2000 at Olstein Capital Management, L.P., an asset management firm he co-founded. During his time at Olstein Capital Management, L.P., Mr. Olstein was responsible for fiduciary oversight and management of The Olstein Funds, an open-end investment company, where he served as Trustee, Secretary and Assistant Treasurer from 1995 to 2018. Mr. Olstein currently serves as President and Trustee of the Board of Trustees of the Trinity-Pawling School and has previously held Board positions with the American Friends of the National Museum of the Royal Navy, National Maritime Historical Society and U.S. Naval Service Personal Education Assistance Fund. Through his experience as an investment company trustee and his employment experience, Mr. Olstein is experienced with financial, accounting, regulatory and investment matters.

Lisa Zúñiga Ramírez, CFA®, FSA. Ms. Ramírez has served as an Independent Trustee of the Trust since 2022. Ms. Ramírez has served on the Board of Directors of Peoples Financial Services Corp., a publicly-traded bank holding company, since 2022. Ms. Ramírez served as Senior Portfolio Manager at Segall Bryant & Hamill, LLC, an asset management firm, from 2018 to 2020. She served as Partner and Senior Portfolio Manager from 2009 to 2018, Partner and Senior Equity Analyst from 2002 to 2009 and Equity Analyst from 1997 to 2002 at Denver Investments, LLC, an asset management firm that was acquired by Segall Bryant & Hamill, LLC in 2018. Ms. Ramírez currently serves as an Independent Director on the Bow River Capital Advisory Board, an asset management firm, and is a Director of the Denver Employees Retirement Plan. In addition, she serves on the boards of The Denver Foundation, NACD (National Association of Corporate Directors) Colorado Chapter, Latinas First Foundation and Vuela for Health. Ms. Ramírez is a CFA® charterholder (CFA® is a registered trademark owned by the CFA Institute) and holds the Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting (FSA) credential from the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board. Through her employment experience, Ms. Ramírez is experienced with financial, accounting, ESG (environmental, social and governance), regulatory and investment matters.

Gregory M. Wesley. Mr. Wesley has served as an Independent Trustee of the Trust since 2022. Mr. Wesley has served as Senior Vice President of Strategic Alliances and Business Development at the Medical College of Wisconsin since 2016. Prior to his current role at the Medical College of Wisconsin, he was a Partner at MWH Law Group LLP, a law firm during 2016, and a Partner at Gonzalez, Saggio & Harlan LLP, a law firm from 2002 to 2016. Mr. Wesley serves on the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association
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of Commerce, MHS Health Wisconsin, Versiti, Inc., and the Greater Milwaukee Committee. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Johnson Foundation at Wingspread and the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. He previously sat on the Board of Trustees of the Medical College of Wisconsin from 2009 to 2016 and the Board of Directors of Park Bank Milwaukee from 2015 to 2020. Mr. Wesley received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School in 1997. Through his sustained employment and board experience, Mr. Wesley is experienced with legal, financial, accounting, regulatory and investment matters.

John P. Buckel. Mr. Buckel has served as a Trustee of the Trust since 2023 and has served as President of the Trust since 2013. Mr. Buckel has served as a Vice President of Fund Services, a multi-line service provider to investment companies, since 2004. Through his experience as an investment company trustee and his employment experience, Mr. Buckel is experienced with financial, accounting, regulatory and investment matters.

Trustee Ownership of Fund Shares
As of December 31, 2022, no Trustee or officer of the Trust beneficially owned shares of the Funds or any other series of the Trust.
Furthermore, as of December 31, 2022, neither the Trustees who are not “interested” persons of the Funds, nor members of their immediate families, owned securities beneficially, or of record, in the Adviser, the Distributor or any of their affiliates. Accordingly, neither the Trustees who are not “interested” persons of the Funds nor members of their immediate families, have a direct or indirect interest, the value of which exceeds $120,000, in the Adviser, the Distributor or any of their affiliates. In addition, during the two most recently completed calendar years, neither the Independent Trustees nor members of their immediate families have had a direct or indirect interest, the value of which exceeds $120,000 in (i) the Adviser, the Distributor or any of their affiliates, or (ii) any transaction or relationship in which such entity, a Fund, any officer of the Trust, or any of their affiliates was a party.
Board Committees

Audit Committee. The Trust has an Audit Committee, which is composed of the Independent Trustees, Dr. Michael D. Akers, Mr. Gary A. Drska, Mr. Vincent P. Lyles, Mr. Erik K. Olstein, Ms. Lisa Zúñiga Ramírez and Mr. Gregory M. Wesley. The Audit Committee reviews financial statements and other audit-related matters for the Funds. The Audit Committee also holds discussions with management and with the Funds’ independent auditor concerning the scope of the audit and the auditor’s independence. Dr. Akers is designated as the Audit Committee chairman and serves as the Audit Committee’s “audit committee financial expert,” as stated in the annual reports relating to the series of the Trust. During the past fiscal year, the Audit Committee met three times with respect to the Funds.
Nominating Committee. The Trust has a Nominating Committee, which is composed of the Independent Trustees, Dr. Michael D. Akers, Mr. Gary A. Drska, Mr. Vincent P. Lyles, Mr. Erik K. Olstein, Ms. Lisa Zúñiga Ramírez and Mr. Gregory M. Wesley. The Nominating Committee is responsible for seeking and reviewing candidates for consideration as nominees for the position of trustee and meets only as necessary. As part of this process, the Nominating Committee considers criteria for selecting candidates sufficient to identify a diverse group of qualified individuals to serve as trustees.

The Nominating Committee will consider nominees recommended by shareholders for vacancies on the Board of Trustees. Recommendations for consideration by the Nominating Committee should be sent to the President of the Trust in writing together with the appropriate biographical information concerning each such proposed nominee, and such recommendation must comply with the notice provisions set forth in the Trust’s
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Nominating Committee Charter. In general, to comply with such procedures, such nominations, together with all required information, must be delivered to and received by the President of the Trust at the principal executive office of the Trust not later than 60 days prior to the shareholder meeting at which any such nominee would be voted on. Shareholder recommendations for nominations to the Board of Trustees will be accepted on an ongoing basis and such recommendations will be kept on file for consideration when there is a vacancy on the Board of Trustees. The Nominating Committee met twice during the Funds’ prior fiscal year.

Trustee Compensation
The Independent Trustees received from the Trust a retainer fee of $65,000(1) per year, $4,500 for each regular Board meeting attended and $1,000 for each special Board meeting attended, as well as reimbursement for expenses incurred in connection with attendance at Board meetings(2). Members of the Audit Committee receive $2,000 for each meeting of the Audit Committee attended. The chairman of the Audit Committee receives an annual retainer of $5,000(3). Interested Trustees do not receive any compensation for their service as Trustee. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2023, the Trustees received the following compensation from the Funds:

Name of Person/Position
Aggregate Compensation From the Core Fixed Income Fund(1)
Aggregate Compensation From the Diversified Equity Fund(1)
Pension or Retirement Benefits Accrued as Part of Fund Expenses Estimated Annual Benefits Upon Retirement
Total Compensation from Funds and the Trust(2)(3) Paid to Trustees
Dr. Michael D. Akers,
Independent Trustee(4)(5)
$3,624 $3,624 None None $88,000
Gary A. Drska,
Independent Trustee(4)
$3,464 $3,464 None None $84,250
Vincent P. Lyles
Independent Trustee(4)
$3,464 $3,464 None None $84,250
Erik K. Olstein
Independent Trustee(4)
$3,464 $3,464 None None $84,250
Lisa Zúñiga Ramírez
Independent Trustee(4)
$3,464 $3,464 None None $84,250
Gregory M. Wesley
Independent Trustee(4)
$3,464 $3,464 None None $84,250
John P. Buckel
Interested Trustee
None None None None None
(1)Effective January 1, 2024, the annual retainer fee will increase to $100,000 for each Independent Trustee.
(2)Trustees’ fees and expenses are allocated among the Funds and any other series comprising the Trust.
(3)    There are currently twenty-nine other series comprising the Trust.
(4)    Audit Committee member.
(5)    Audit Committee chairman.

Control Persons and Principal Shareholders
A principal shareholder is any person who owns of record or beneficially owns 5% or more of the outstanding shares of either Fund. A control person is one who owns beneficially or through controlled companies more than 25% of the voting securities of the Funds or acknowledges the existence of control. A control person possesses the ability to control the outcome of matters submitted for shareholder vote by the Funds. As of November 30, 2023, no person was a control person of either Fund, and all Trustees and
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officers as a group owned beneficially (as the term is defined in Section 13(d) under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934) less than 1% of shares of each Fund. As of November 30, 2023, the following shareholders were considered to be principal shareholders of the Funds:

Principal Shareholders of the Core Fixed Income Fund - Advisor Class
Name and Address % Ownership Type of Ownership Parent Company Jurisdiction
National Financial Services LLC
200 Liberty Street
New York, NY 10281-1015
43.43% Record Fidelity Global Brokerage Group, Inc. DE
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
211 Main Street
San Francisco, CA 94105-1901
30.03% Record The Charles Schwab Corporation DE
Pershing LLC
1 Pershing Plaza, Floor 14
Jersey City, NJ 07399-0002
16.74% Record N/A N/A

Principal Shareholders of the Core Fixed Income Fund - Institutional Class
Name and Address % Ownership Type of Ownership Parent Company Jurisdiction
National Financial Services LLC
200 Liberty Street
New York, NY 10281-1015
94.86% Record Fidelity Global Brokerage Group, Inc. DE

Principal Shareholders of the Diversified Equity Fund - Advisor Class
Name and Address % Ownership Type of Ownership Parent Company Jurisdiction
National Financial Services LLC
200 Liberty Street
New York, NY 10281-1015
54.99% Record Fidelity Global Brokerage Group, Inc. DE
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
211 Main Street
San Francisco, CA 94105-1901
20.62% Record The Charles Schwab Corporation DE
Pershing LLC
1 Pershing Plaza, Floor 14
Jersey City, NJ 07399-0002
15.87% Record N/A N/A
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Principal Shareholders of the Diversified Equity Fund - Institutional Class
Name and Address % Ownership Type of Ownership Parent Company Jurisdiction
National Financial Services LLC
200 Liberty Street
New York, NY 10281-1015
93.36% Record Fidelity Global Brokerage Group, Inc. DE
Pershing LLC
1 Pershing Plaza, Floor 14
Jersey City, NJ 07399-0002
5.68% Record N/A N/A
Investment Adviser
As stated in the Prospectus, investment advisory services are provided to the Funds by Envestnet Asset Management, Inc., One North Wacker Drive, Suite 1925, Chicago, Illinois 60606, pursuant to an investment advisory agreement (the “Advisory Agreement”) between the Adviser and the Trust, on behalf of the Funds. As of the date of this SAI, the Adviser is a wholly owned subsidiary of Envestnet, Inc., a Delaware corporation who, through its affiliated companies, provides technology-enabled, Web-based investment solutions and services to financial advisers. Subject to such policies as the Board of Trustees may determine, the Adviser is ultimately responsible for investment decisions for the Funds and performing oversight of the Funds’ sub-advisers as described below. Pursuant to the terms of the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser provides the Funds with such investment advice and supervision, as it deems necessary for the proper supervision of the Funds’ investments.
The Advisory Agreement continues in effect from year to year, only if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by: (i) the Board of Trustees or the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of each Fund; and (ii) the vote of a majority of the trustees who are not parties to the Advisory Agreement or interested persons of any such party, at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on the Advisory Agreement. The Advisory Agreement is terminable without penalty by the Trust, on behalf of a Fund, upon 60 days’ written notice to the Adviser when authorized either by: (i) a majority vote of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund; or (ii) by a vote of a majority of the Board of Trustees, or by the Adviser upon 60 days’ written notice to the Trust, and the Advisory Agreement will automatically terminate in the event of its “assignment” (as defined in the 1940 Act). The Advisory Agreement provides that the Adviser, under such agreement, shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in the execution of portfolio transactions for the Funds, except for willful misfeasance, bad faith or negligence in the performance of its duties, or by reason of reckless disregard of its obligations and duties thereunder.
In consideration of the services provided by the Adviser pursuant to the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser is entitled to receive from the Core Fixed Income Fund a management fee computed daily and paid monthly. The table below illustrates the base fees paid to the Adviser along with reduced fees paid on assets in excess of certain levels (breakpoints):
Advisory Fee (as a percentage of average daily net assets)
Fund $2.5 billion or less More than $2.5 billion but less than $5 billion $5 billion or more
Core Fixed Income Fund
0.650% 0.625% 0.600%
In consideration of the services provided by the Adviser pursuant to the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser is entitled to receive from the Diversified Equity Fund a management fee computed daily and paid monthly, based on a rate equal to 0.530% of the Fund’s average daily net assets.
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However, the Adviser may voluntarily agree to waive a portion of the management fees payable to it on a month‑to‑month basis, including additional fees above and beyond any contractual agreement the Adviser may have to waive management fees and/or reimburse Fund expenses.
The tables below set forth, for the fiscal years ended August 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, the advisory fees accrued by the Funds under the Advisory Agreement, the amounts of the advisory fees waived or recouped by the Adviser, and the total advisory fees paid by the Funds to the Adviser under the Advisory Agreement:
Core Fixed Income Fund
Fiscal Year Ended Advisory Fee (Waiver) Advisory Fee after
Waiver
August 31, 2023 $2,589,631 $(1,216,182) $1,373,449
August 31, 2022 $3,011,835 $(1,309,991) $1,701,844
August 31, 2021 $2,994,279 $(1,255,760) $1,738,519
Diversified Equity Fund
Fiscal Year Ended Advisory Fee Recoupment Advisory Fee after Recoupment
August 31, 2023 $4,898,995 $0 $4,898,995
August 31, 2022 $5,567,167 $0 $5,567,167
August 31, 2021 $5,396,364 $64,044 $5,460,408
Fund Expenses. Each Fund is responsible for its own operating expenses. However, pursuant to an operating expense limitation agreement between the Adviser and the Trust, the Adviser has contractually agreed to waive management fees payable to it by the Funds and/or to reimburse Fund operating expenses to the extent necessary to limit the Funds’ aggregate annual operating expenses (exclusive of front-end or contingent deferred loads, 12b-1 plan fees, shareholder servicing plan fees, taxes, leverage (i.e. any expenses incurred in connection with borrowings made by the Fund), interest, brokerage commissions, expenses incurred in connection with any merger or reorganization, acquired fund fees and expenses or extraordinary expenses such as litigation) to the limit set forth in the Funds’ Prospectus. The Adviser may request recoupment of previously waived fees and paid expenses from a Fund for up to three years from the date such fees and expenses were waived or paid, subject to the operating expense limitation agreement, if such reimbursements will not cause the Funds’ expense ratio, after recoupment has been taken into account, to exceed the lesser of: (1) the expense limitation in place at the time of the waiver and/or expense payment; or (2) the expense limitation in place at the time of the recoupment. Any such waiver is also contingent upon the Board of Trustees’ subsequent review and ratification of the reimbursed amounts.
Sub-Adviser
Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC (“NBIA”) serves as a sub-adviser to the Core Fixed Income Fund (the “Sub-Adviser”). It is the Adviser’s responsibility to select sub-advisers for the Fund that have distinguished themselves in their areas of expertise in asset management and to review the Sub-Adviser’s performance.
The Adviser provides investment management evaluation services by performing initial due diligence on each Sub-Adviser and thereafter monitoring the Sub-Adviser’s performance for compliance with the Core Fixed Income Fund’s investment objective and strategies, as well as adherence to its investment style. The Adviser also conducts performance evaluations through in-person, telephonic and written consultations. In evaluating the Sub-Adviser, the Adviser considers, among other factors: their level of expertise; relative performance and consistency of performance over a minimum period of time; level of adherence to investment discipline or philosophy; personnel, facilities and financial strength; and quality of service and client communications.
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The Adviser has the responsibility for communicating performance expectations and evaluations to the Sub-Adviser and ultimately recommending to the Board of Trustees whether its sub-advisory agreement should be renewed, modified or terminated. The Adviser provides written reports to the Board of Trustees regarding the results of its evaluation and monitoring functions. The Trust applied for, and the SEC has granted, an exemptive order with respect to the Core Fixed Income Fund that permits the Adviser, subject to certain conditions, to hire new sub-advisers or to continue the employment of the existing Sub-Adviser after events that would otherwise cause an automatic termination of a sub-advisory agreement. This arrangement has been approved by the Board of Trustees and the Fund’s initial shareholder. Within 90 days of retaining a new sub-adviser, shareholders of the Fund will receive notification of the change.
The Adviser pays the Sub-Adviser on a monthly basis, an annual fee of the net assets of the Core Fixed Income Fund allocated to the Sub-Adviser by the Adviser which the Adviser will pay out of the advisory fee paid to the Adviser pursuant to the Advisory Agreement. In determining the compensation structure for Sub-Adviser, the Adviser employs the following general criteria: (i) the type of asset class managed by the Sub-Adviser; (ii) the current market rate; (iii) the Sub-Adviser’s standard compensation rate for similar programs; and (iv) the anticipated asset flow for the Fund. The Fund is not responsible for the payment of the sub-advisory fees. The Adviser is also responsible for conducting all operations of the Fund, except those operations contracted to the Sub-Adviser, the Custodian, the Administrator or the Fund’s transfer agent. Although the Sub-Adviser’s activities are subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees and the officers of the Trust, the Board of Trustees, the officers and the Adviser do not evaluate the investment merits of the Sub-Advisers’ individual security selections. The Sub-Adviser has complete discretion to purchase, manage and sell portfolio securities for the portions of the Fund’s portfolios that it manages, subject to the Fund’s investment objective, policies and limitations. The Fund’s portfolio is managed by several portfolio managers (each, a “Portfolio Manager”) as discussed in the Fund’s prospectus.
Information regarding the Sub-Adviser and the biographies of its Portfolio Manager(s) are set forth in the prospectus.
The manager of managers exemptive order received by the Trust permits the Fund to disclose, in aggregate, the sub-advisory fees paid to the Sub-Adviser by the Adviser. The exemptive order does not apply with respect to any sub-adviser that is an affiliated person of the Trust or the Adviser. The following table illustrates the aggregate sub-advisory fees paid by the Adviser on behalf of the Core Fixed Income Fund to NBIA, a non-affiliated sub-adviser, for the fiscal years ended August 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021:
Core Fixed Income Fund
Fiscal Year Ended Sub-Advisory Fee
(total dollar amount)
Sub-Advisory Fee
(as a percentage of net assets managed)
August 31, 2023 $610,492 0.175%
August 31, 2022 $712,372
0.175%(1)
August 31, 2021 $628,469 0.202%
(1)Effective January 22, 2021, the Sub-Advisory fee paid by the Adviser was reduced from 0.25% to 0.175%.
Control Persons of the Sub-Advisers

Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC is an indirect subsidiary of Neuberger Berman Group LLC (“NBG”). The directors, officers and/or employees of NBIA who are deemed “control persons” of NBIA are: Joseph Amato and Brad Tank. NBG’s voting equity is owned by NBSH Acquisition, LLC (“NBSH”). NBSH is owned by portfolio managers, members of the NBG’s management team, and certain of NBG’s key employees and senior professionals.
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Portfolio Managers
The following section provides information regarding each Portfolio Manager’s other accounts managed, compensation, material conflicts of interests, and any ownership of securities in the Funds for which they serve. The Portfolio Managers are shown together in this section only for ease in presenting the information and should not be viewed for purposes of comparing the Portfolio Managers or their firms against one another. Each firm is a separate entity that may employ different compensation structures, and may have different management requirements, and each Portfolio Manager may be affected by different conflicts of interest.
Other Accounts Managed by the Portfolio Managers
The table below identifies, for each Portfolio Manager of each Fund, the number of accounts managed (excluding the Funds) and the total assets in such accounts, within each of the following categories: registered investment companies, other pooled investment vehicles, and other accounts. To the extent that any of these accounts are subject to an advisory fee based on account performance, this information is reflected in a separate table below. Asset amounts have been rounded and are approximate as of August 31, 2023.

Fund and
Portfolio Manager
(Firm)
Registered
Investment Companies (excluding the Funds)
Other Pooled
Investment Vehicles
Other Accounts
Number of Accounts
Total Assets in the
Accounts
(in millions)
Number of Accounts
Total Assets in the
Accounts
(in millions)
Number of Accounts
Total Assets in the
Accounts
(in millions)
Core Fixed Income Fund
Brandon R. Thomas (Adviser) 4 $387 0 $0 14,616 $6,693
David M. Brown
(NBIA)
3 $800 111 $27,996 363 $34,992
Thanos Bardas
(NBIA)
2 $1,171 27 $4,019 77 $19,903
Nathan Kush
(NBIA)
2 $1,171 18 $1,165 33 $6,517
Olumide Owolabi
(NBIA)
1 $20 5 $792 53 $13,356
Diversified Equity Fund
Brandon R. Thomas (Adviser) 4 $387 0 $0 14,616 $6,693
Janis Zvingelis
(Adviser)
4 $387 0 $0 14,616 $6,693

The following table reflects information regarding accounts for which a Portfolio Manager has day-to-day management responsibilities and with respect to which the advisory fee is based on account performance. The Portfolio Managers not listed below reported that they do not provide day-to-day management of accounts with performance-based advisory fees. Asset amounts have been rounded and are approximate as of August 31, 2023.
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Fund and
Portfolio Manager
(Firm)
Registered
Investment Companies
Other Pooled
Investment Vehicles
Other Accounts
Number of Accounts
Total Assets in the
Accounts
(in millions)
Number of Accounts
Total Assets in the
Accounts
(in millions)
Number of Accounts
Total Assets in the
Accounts
(in millions)
Core Fixed Income Fund
David M. Brown
(NBIA)
0 $0 11 $2,284 4 $499
Thanos Bardas
(NBIA)
0 $0 10 $201 2 $263
Olumide Owolabi
(NBIA)
0 $0 1 $49 1 $83
Material Conflicts of Interest
Actual or apparent material conflicts of interest may arise when a Portfolio Manager has day-to-day management responsibilities with respect to more than one investment account or in other circumstances. Portfolio Managers who manage other investment accounts in addition to one or more of the Funds may be presented with the potential conflicts described below.
Envestnet Asset Management, Inc.
Although the Adviser manages other accounts that may have similar investment objectives or strategies to those of the Funds, the Adviser believes that no material conflicts currently exist due to the Adviser’s allocation procedures currently in place. In determining a fair allocation, the Adviser takes into account a number of factors, including among other things, the Adviser’s fiduciary duty to each client, any potential conflicts of interest, the size of the transaction, the relative size of a client’s portfolio, cash available for investment, suitability, as well as each client’s investment objective.
Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC
Actual or apparent conflicts of interest may arise when a Portfolio Manager for Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC (“NBIA”) has day-to-day management responsibilities with respect to more than one fund or other account. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to actual or potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different or similar objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees, as the Portfolio Manager must allocate his or her time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. The Portfolio Manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities or instruments held by a fund, and which may include transactions that are directly contrary to the positions taken by a fund. For example, a Portfolio Manager may engage in short sales of securities or instruments for another account that are the same type of securities or instruments in which a fund it manages also invests. In such a case, the Portfolio Manager could be seen as harming the performance of the fund for the benefit of the account engaging in short sales if the short sales cause the market value of the securities or instruments to fall.
Additionally, if a Portfolio Manager identifies a limited investment opportunity that may be suitable for more than one fund or other account, a fund may not be able to take full advantage of that opportunity. There may also be regulatory limitations that prevent a fund from participating in a transaction that another account or fund managed by the same Portfolio Manager will invest. For example, the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, prohibits the mutual funds from participating in certain transactions with certain of its affiliates and from participating in “joint” transactions alongside certain of its affiliates. The prohibition on “joint” transactions may limit the ability of the funds to participate alongside its affiliates in privately negotiated transactions unless the transaction is otherwise permitted under existing regulatory guidance and
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may reduce the amount of privately negotiated transactions that the funds may participate in. Further, NBIA may take an investment position or action for a fund or account that may be different from, inconsistent with, or have different rights than (e.g., voting rights, dividend or repayment priorities or other features that may conflict with one another), an action or position taken for one or more other funds or accounts, including a fund, having similar or different objectives.
A conflict may also be created by investing in different parts of an issuer’s capital structure (e.g., equity or debt, or different positions in the debt structure). Those positions and actions may adversely impact, or in some instances benefit, one or more affected accounts, including the funds. Potential conflicts may also arise because portfolio decisions and related actions regarding a position held for a fund or another account may not be in the best interests of a position held by another fund or account having similar or different objectives. If one account were to buy or sell portfolio securities or instruments shortly before another account bought or sold the same securities or instruments, it could affect the price paid or received by the second account. Securities selected for funds or accounts other than a fund may outperform the securities selected for the fund.
Finally, a conflict of interest may arise if NBIA and a Portfolio Manager have a financial incentive to favor one account over another, such as a performance-based management fee that applies to one account but not all funds or accounts for which the Portfolio Manager is responsible. In the ordinary course of operations, certain businesses within the Neuberger Berman Organization (“NB”) will seek access to material non-public information. For instance, NBIA portfolio managers may obtain and utilize material non-public information in purchasing loans and other debt instruments and certain privately placed or restricted equity instruments. From time to time, NBIA portfolio managers will be offered the opportunity on behalf of applicable clients to participate on a creditors or other similar committee in connection with restructuring or other “work-out” activity, which participation could provide access to material non-public information.
NB maintains procedures that address the process by which material non-public information may be acquired intentionally by NB. When considering whether to acquire material non-public information, NB will attempt to balance the interests of all clients, taking into consideration relevant factors, including the extent of the prohibition on trading that would occur, the size of NB’s existing position in the issuer, if any, and the value of the information as it relates to the investment decision-making process. The acquisition of material non-public information would likely give rise to a conflict of interest since NB may be prohibited from rendering investment advice to clients regarding the securities or instruments of such issuer and thereby potentially limiting the universe of securities or instruments that NB, including a fund, may purchase or potentially limiting the ability of NB, including a fund, to sell such securities or instruments. Similarly, where NB declines access to (or otherwise does not receive or share within NB) material non-public information regarding an issuer, the portfolio managers could potentially base investment decisions with respect to assets of such issuer solely on public information, thereby limiting the amount of information available to the portfolio managers in connection with such investment decisions. In determining whether or not to elect to receive material non-public information, NB will endeavor to act fairly to its clients as a whole. NB reserves the right to decline access to material non-public information, including declining to join a creditors or similar committee.
NBIA has adopted certain compliance procedures which are designed to address these types of conflicts. However, there is no guarantee that such procedures will detect each and every situation in which a conflict arises.
Portfolio Managers’ Compensation
This following section describes the structure of, and the methods used to determine the different types of compensation (e.g., salary, bonus, deferred compensation, retirement plans and arrangements) for each of the Portfolio Managers as of August 31, 2023.
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Envestnet Asset Management, Inc.
The Portfolio Managers each receive a competitive fixed base salary that is set by reference to industry standards. The Portfolio managers are also eligible for an annual bonus that is based on the achievement of corporate and individual goals.
Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC
NBIA’s compensation philosophy is one that focuses on rewarding performance and incentivizing our employees. NBIA is also focused on creating a compensation process that it believes is fair, transparent, and competitive with the market.
Compensation for Portfolio Managers consists of fixed (salary) and variable (bonus) compensation but is more heavily weighted on the variable portion of total compensation and is paid from a team compensation pool made available to the portfolio management team with which the Portfolio Manager is associated. The size of the team compensation pool is determined based on a formula that takes into consideration a number of factors including the pre-tax revenue that is generated by that particular portfolio management team, less certain adjustments. The bonus portion of the compensation is discretionary and is determined on the basis of a variety of criteria, including investment performance (including the aggregate multi-year track record), utilization of central resources (including research, sales and operations/support), business building to further the longer term sustainable success of the investment team, effective team/people management, and overall contribution to the success of NB. Certain Portfolio Managers may manage products other than mutual funds, such as high net worth separate accounts. For the management of these accounts, a Portfolio Manager may generally receive a percentage of pre-tax revenue determined on a monthly basis less certain deductions. The percentage of revenue a Portfolio Manager receives pursuant to this arrangement will vary based on certain revenue thresholds.

The terms of NBIA’s long-term retention incentives are as follows:

Employee-Owned Equity. Certain employees (primarily senior leadership and investment professionals) participate in NB’s equity ownership structure, which was designed to incentivize and retain key personnel. In addition, in prior years certain employees may have elected to have a portion of their compensation delivered in the form of equity. NBIA also offers an equity acquisition program which allows employees a more direct opportunity to invest in NB. For confidentiality and privacy reasons, NBIA cannot disclose individual equity holdings or program participation.

Contingent Compensation. Certain employees may participate in the Neuberger Berman Group Contingent Compensation Plan (the “CCP”) to serve as a means to further align the interests of our employees with the success of the firm and the interests of our clients, and to reward continued employment. Under the CCP, up to 20% of a participant’s annual total compensation in excess of $500,000 is contingent and subject to vesting. The contingent amounts are maintained in a notional account that is tied to the performance of a portfolio of NB investment strategies as specified by the firm on an employee-by-employee basis. By having a participant’s contingent compensation tied to NB investment strategies, each employee is given further incentive to operate as a prudent risk manager and to collaborate with colleagues to maximize performance across all business areas. In the case of members of investment teams, including Portfolio Managers, the CCP is currently structured so that such employees have exposure to the investment strategies of their respective teams as well as the broader NB portfolio.

Restrictive Covenants. Most investment professionals, including Portfolio Managers, are subject to notice periods and restrictive covenants which include employee and client non-solicit restrictions as well as restrictions on the use of confidential information. In addition, depending on participation levels, certain senior professionals who have received equity grants have also agreed to additional notice and transition periods and, in some
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cases, non-compete restrictions. For confidentiality and privacy reasons, NBIA cannot disclose individual restrictive covenant arrangements.

Portfolio Managers’ Ownership of the Funds
As of August 31, 2023, the following Portfolio Managers beneficially owned securities in the Funds as shown below:
Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Funds
Name of Portfolio Manager Core Fixed Income Fund Diversified Equity Fund
Brandon R. Thomas (Adviser) $1 - $10,000 $1 - $10,000
Janis Zvingelis (Adviser) None None
David M. Brown (NBIA) None None
Thanos Bardas (NBIA) None None
Nathan Kush (NBIA) None None
Olumide Owolabi (NBIA) None None
Service Providers
Fund Administrator, Transfer Agent and Fund Accountant
Pursuant to a fund administration and servicing agreement (the “Administration Agreement”) between the Trust and U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, doing business as U.S. Bank Global Fund Services (“Fund Services”), 615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202, Fund Services acts as the Funds’ administrator. Fund Services provides certain administrative services to the Funds, including, among other responsibilities, coordinating the negotiation of contracts and fees with, and the monitoring of performance and billing of, the Funds’ independent contractors and agents; preparing for signature by an officer of the Trust all of the documents required to be filed for compliance by the Trust and the Funds with applicable laws and regulations excluding those of the securities laws of various states; arranging for the computation of performance data, including net asset value (“NAV”) and yield; responding to shareholder inquiries; and arranging for the maintenance of books and records of the Funds, and providing, at its own expense, office facilities, equipment and personnel necessary to carry out its duties. In this capacity, Fund Services does not have any responsibility or authority for the management of the Funds, the determination of investment policy or for any matter pertaining to the distribution of Fund shares.
Pursuant to the Administration Agreement, as compensation for its services, Fund Services receives from the Funds a combined fee for fund administration and fund accounting services based on the Funds’ current average daily net assets. Fund Services is also entitled to be reimbursed for certain out-of-pocket expenses. In addition to its role as Administrator, Fund Services also acts as fund accountant, transfer agent (the “Transfer Agent”) and dividend disbursing agent under separate agreements with the Trust.
For the fiscal years indicated below, the Funds paid the following fees to Fund Services for fund administration services:
Administration Fees
Paid During Fiscal Years Ended August 31,
2023 2022 2021
Core Fixed Income Fund $220,371 $217,643 $204,061
Diversified Equity Fund $422,270 $457,461 $451,739

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Custodian
U.S. Bank National Association, an affiliate of Fund Services, serves as the custodian of the assets of the Funds pursuant to a custody agreement between the Custodian and the Trust, on behalf of the Funds, whereby the Custodian charges fees on a transactional basis plus out-of-pocket expenses. The Custodian has custody of all assets and securities of the Funds, delivers and receives payments for securities sold, receives and pays for securities purchased, collects income from investments and performs other duties, all as directed by the officers of the Trust. The Custodian’s address is 1555 North River Center Drive, Suite 302, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212. The Custodian does not participate in decisions relating to the purchase and sale of securities by the Funds. The Custodian and its affiliates may participate in revenue sharing arrangements with service providers of funds in which the Funds may invest.
Legal Counsel
Godfrey & Kahn, S.C., 833 East Michigan Street, Suite 1800, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202 serves as legal counsel to the Funds and the Independent Trustees.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Cohen & Company, Ltd. (“Cohen”), 342 North Water Street, Suite 830, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202, serves as the independent registered public accounting firm for the Funds. Cohen audits and reports on the Funds’ annual financial statements, reviews certain regulatory reports and the Funds’ federal income tax returns, and performs other auditing and tax services for the Funds when engaged to do so.
The Distributor
Foreside Fund Services, LLC, an affiliate of Foreside Financial Group, LLC d/b/a ACA Group (the “Distributor”), (also known as the principal underwriter) of the shares of the Funds and is located at Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101. The Distributor is a registered broker-dealer and is a member of FINRA. The Distributor is not affiliated with the Funds, the Adviser, or any other service provider to the Funds.
Under a Distribution Agreement with the Funds, the Distributor acts as the agent of the Trust in connection with the continuous offering of shares of the Funds. The Distributor continually distributes shares of the Funds on a best efforts basis. The Distributor has no obligation to sell any specific quantity of Fund shares. The Distributor and its officers have no role in determining the investment policies or which securities are to be purchased or sold by the Trust.
The Distributor may enter into agreements with selected broker-dealers, banks or other financial intermediaries for distribution of shares of the Funds. With respect to certain financial intermediaries and related fund “supermarket” platform arrangements, the Funds and/or the Adviser, rather than the Distributor, typically enter into such agreements. These financial intermediaries may charge a fee for their services and may receive shareholder service or other fees from parties other than the Distributor. These financial intermediaries may otherwise act as processing agents and are responsible for promptly transmitting purchase, redemption and other requests to the Fund.
Investors who purchase shares through financial intermediaries will be subject to the procedures of those intermediaries through which they purchase shares, which may include charges, investment minimums, cutoff times and other restrictions in addition to, or different from, those listed herein. Information concerning any charges or services will be provided to customers by the financial intermediary through which they purchase shares. Investors purchasing shares of the Funds through financial intermediaries should acquaint themselves with their financial intermediary’s procedures and should read the Prospectus in conjunction with any materials and information provided by their financial intermediary. The financial intermediary, and not its customers, will be the shareholder of record, although customers may have the right to vote shares depending upon their arrangement with the financial intermediary. The Distributor does not receive compensation from the Fund for its distribution services except the distribution/service fees with respect to the shares of those
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classes for which a Rule 12b-1 distribution plan is effective. The Adviser pays the Distributor a fee for certain distribution-related services.
The Distribution Agreement will continue in effect only if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the Board or by vote of a majority of a Fund’s outstanding voting securities in accordance with the 1940 Act. The Distribution Agreement is terminable without penalty by the Trust on behalf of a Fund on no less than 60 days’ written notice when authorized either by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund or by vote of a majority of the members of the Board who are not “interested persons” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Distribution Agreement, or by the Distributor, and will automatically terminate in the event of its “assignment” (as defined in the 1940 Act). The Distribution Agreement provides that the Distributor shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Trust in connection with the performance of the Distributor’s obligations and duties under the Distribution Agreement, except a loss resulting from the Distributor’s willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of such duties and obligations, or by reason of its reckless disregard thereof.
During the last three fiscal years, the Distributor did not receive any net underwriting commissions on the sale of the Funds’ shares.
Distribution (Rule 12b-1) Plan
The Trust has adopted a distribution plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, as amended (the “Distribution Plan”), on behalf of the Funds. Under the Distribution Plan, the Trust, on behalf of the Funds, pays a Rule 12b-1 fee (the “Distribution Fee”) to the Distributor for distribution services and the provision of personal services to shareholders at an annual rate of 0.25% of each Fund’s average daily NAV attributable to Advisor Class shares of that Fund. The Distribution Plan provides that the Distributor may use all or any portion of such Distribution Fee to finance any activity that is principally intended to result in the sale of shares of the Funds, subject to the terms of the Distribution Plan, or to provide certain shareholder services.
Pursuant to an agreement between the Distributor and the Adviser, amounts retained by the Distributor are not held for profit at the Distributor, but instead are used to reimburse the Adviser for sales and marketing expenses incurred directly by the Adviser.
The Distribution Fee is payable to the Distributor regardless of the distribution-related expenses actually incurred. Because the Distribution Fee is not directly tied to expenses, the amount of distribution fees paid by the Funds during any year may be more or less than actual expenses incurred pursuant to the Distribution Plan. For this reason, this type of distribution fee arrangement is characterized by the staff of the SEC as a “compensation” plan.
The Distributor may use the Distribution Fee to pay for services covered by the Distribution Plan including, but not limited to, the provision of personal services to shareholders, advertising, compensating broker-dealers and selling personnel engaged in the distribution of Fund shares, the printing and mailing of prospectuses, statements of additional information and reports to other than current Fund shareholders, the printing and mailing of sales literature pertaining to the Funds, and obtaining whatever information, analyses and reports with respect to marketing and promotional activities that the Funds may, from time to time, deem advisable.
The Distribution Plan provides that it will continue from year-to-year upon approval by the majority vote of the Board of Trustees, including a majority of the trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Funds, as defined in the 1940 Act, and who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operations of the Distribution Plan or in any agreement related to such plan (the “Independent Trustees”), as required by the 1940 Act, currently cast in person at a meeting called for that purpose. It is also required that the trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Funds, select and nominate all other trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Funds. The Distribution Plan and any related agreements may not be amended to materially increase the amounts to be spent for distribution expenses without approval of shareholders holding a
44


majority of the Fund shares outstanding. All material amendments to the Distribution Plan or any related agreements must be approved by a vote of a majority of the Board of Trustees and the Independent Trustees, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on any such amendment.
The Distribution Plan requires that the Distributor provide to the Board of Trustees, at least quarterly, a written report on the amounts and purpose of any payment made under the Distribution Plan. The Distributor is also required to furnish the Board of Trustees with such other information as may reasonably be requested in order to enable the Board of Trustees to make an informed determination of whether the Distribution Plan should be continued. The Board of Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, has determined that there is a reasonable likelihood that the Distribution Plan will benefit the Funds. In particular, the Board of Trustees has determined that it believes that the Distribution Plan is reasonably likely to provide an incentive for brokers, dealers and other financial intermediaries to engage in sales and marketing efforts on behalf of the Funds and to provide enhanced services to shareholders of the Funds. With the exception of the Adviser, no “interested person” of the Funds, as defined in the 1940 Act, and no Independent Trustee of the Funds has or had a direct or indirect financial interest in the Distribution Plan or any related agreement.
As noted above, the Distribution Plan provides for the ability to use Fund assets to pay financial intermediaries (including those that sponsor mutual fund supermarkets), plan administrators and other service providers to finance any activity that is principally intended to result in the sale of Fund shares or for the provision of services to shareholders. The payments made by the Funds to these financial intermediaries are based primarily on the dollar amount of assets invested in the Funds through the financial intermediaries. These financial intermediaries may pay a portion of the payments that they receive from the Funds to their investment professionals.
To the extent these asset-based fees and other payments made under the Distribution Plan to these financial intermediaries for the distribution services they provide to the Funds’ shareholders exceed the Distribution Fees available, these payments are made by the Adviser from its own resources, which may include its profits from the advisory fee it receives from the Funds. In addition, the Funds may participate in various “fund supermarkets” in which a mutual fund supermarket sponsor (usually a broker-dealer) offers many mutual funds to the sponsor’s customers without charging the customers a sales charge. In connection with its participation in such platforms, the Funds may use all or a portion of the Distribution Fee to pay one or more supermarket sponsors a negotiated fee for distributing a Fund’s shares or for the provision of services to shareholders. In addition, in its discretion, the Adviser may pay additional fees to such intermediaries from its own assets.
To the extent payments made under the Distribution Plan to the Distributor for the distribution services it provides to the Funds exceed the Distribution Fees available, the payment for the Distributor’s services are made by the Adviser from its own resources.
The Funds do not participate in any joint distribution activities with other investment companies.
The tables below show the amount of Distribution Fees incurred and the allocation of such fees by the Advisor Class shares of the Funds for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2023.
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Core Fixed Income Fund
Actual Rule 12b-1 Expenditures Incurred by the Advisor Class Shares of the Fund During the Fiscal Year Ended August 31, 2023
Total Dollars Allocated
Advertising/Marketing $0 
Printing/Postage $0 
Payment to Underwriter $1,872 
Payment to Broker/Dealer $99,609 
Compensation to sales personnel $0 
Interest, carrying or other financing charges $0 
Other $0 
Total $101,481 

Diversified Equity Fund
Actual Rule 12b-1 Expenditures Incurred by the Advisor Class Shares of the Fund During the Fiscal Year Ended August 31, 2023
Total Dollars Allocated
Advertising/Marketing $0 
Printing/Postage $0 
Payment to Underwriter $0 
Payment to Broker/Dealer $246,836 
Compensation to sales personnel $0 
Interest, carrying or other financing charges $0 
Other $0 
Total $246,836 
Securities Lending Activity
The Trust, on behalf of the Funds, has entered into a securities lending agreement with U.S. Bank (the “Securities Lending Agent”) to provide certain services related to the Funds’ securities lending program. Pursuant to the securities lending agreement, the Securities Lending Agent, on behalf of the Funds, is authorized to enter into securities loan agreements, negotiate loan fees and rebate payments, collect loan fees, deliver securities, manage and hold collateral, invest cash collateral, receive substitute payments, make interest and dividend payments (in cases where a borrower has provided non-cash collateral), and upon termination of a loan, liquidate collateral investments and return collateral to the borrower.
For the most recent fiscal year ended August 31, 2023, the Funds’ securities lending activities resulted in the following:
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Core Fixed Income Fund Diversified Equity Fund
Gross income from securities lending activities:
$1,158,278  $9,984,628 
Fees and/or compensation for securities lending activities and related services:
Fees paid to Securities Lending Agent from a revenue split
($16,087) ($492,740)
Fees paid for any cash collateral management service (including fees deducted from a pooled cash collateral reinvestment vehicle) that are not included in the revenue split
($7,433) ($58,957)
Administrative fees not included in revenue split
$0  $0 
Indemnification fee not included in revenue split
$0  $0 
Rebates (paid to borrower)
($1,086,500) ($7,928,580)
Other fees not included in revenue split (specify)
$0  $0 
Aggregate fees/compensation for securities lending activities:
($1,110,020) ($8,480,278)
Net income from securities lending activities:
$48,258  $1,504,350 
U.S. Bank oversees the securities lending process, which includes the screening, selecting and ongoing review of borrowers, monitoring the availability of securities, negotiating rebates, daily marking to market of loans, monitoring and maintaining cash collateral levels, processing securities movements and reinvesting cash collateral as directed by the Advisor. U.S. Bank National Association, as Securities Lending Agent, received fees from the Funds as set forth in the table above.
Portfolio Transactions and Brokerage
Pursuant to the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser, together with the sub-advisers, determines which securities are to be purchased and sold by the Funds and which broker-dealers are eligible to execute the Funds’ portfolio transactions. Purchases and sales of securities in the OTC market will generally be executed directly with a “market-maker” unless, in the opinion of the Adviser and the sub-advisers, a better price or execution can otherwise be obtained by using a broker for the transaction.
Purchases of portfolio securities for the Funds will be effected through broker-dealers (including banks) that specialize in the types of securities that the Funds will be holding, unless the Adviser believes that better executions are available elsewhere. Dealers usually act as principal for their own accounts. Purchases from dealers will include a spread between the bid and the asked price. If the execution and price offered by more than one dealer are comparable, the order may be allocated to a dealer that has provided research or other services as discussed below.
In placing portfolio transactions, the Adviser and Sub-Adviser, as applicable, will use reasonable efforts to choose broker-dealers capable of providing the services necessary to obtain the most favorable price and execution available. The full range and quality of services available, such as the size of the order, the difficulty of execution, the operational facilities of the firm involved, the firm’s risk in positioning a block of securities and other factors will be considered in making these determinations. In those instances where it is reasonably determined that more than one broker-dealer can offer the services needed to obtain the most favorable price and execution available, consideration may be given to those broker-dealers that furnish or supply research and statistical information to the Adviser and Sub-Adviser, as applicable, that they may lawfully and appropriately use in its investment advisory capacities, as well as provide other brokerage services in addition to execution services. The Adviser and Sub-Adviser consider such information, which is in addition to and not in lieu of the services required to be performed under the Advisory Agreement or Sub-Advisory agreement, to be useful in varying degrees, but of indeterminable value. Portfolio transactions may be placed with broker-dealers who sell shares of the Funds subject to rules adopted by FINRA and the SEC. Portfolio
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transactions may also be placed with broker-dealers in which the Adviser or Sub-Adviser has invested on behalf of the Funds and/or client accounts.
While it is the Funds’ general policy to first seek to obtain the most favorable price and execution available in selecting a broker-dealer to execute portfolio transactions for the Funds, weight is also given to the ability of a broker-dealer to furnish brokerage and research services to the Funds or to the Adviser and sub-advisers, even if the specific services are not directly useful to the Funds and may be useful to the Adviser and sub-advisers in advising other clients. In negotiating commissions with a broker or evaluating the spread to be paid to a dealer, the Funds may pay a higher commission or spread than would be the case if no weight were given to the furnishing of these supplemental services, provided that the amount of such commission or spread has been determined in good faith by the Adviser or Sub-Adviser to be reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research services provided by such broker-dealer. The standard of reasonableness is to be measured in light of the Adviser’s or Sub-Adviser’s overall responsibilities to the Funds.
Investment decisions for the Funds are made independently from those of other client accounts of the Adviser and sub-advisers. Nevertheless, it is possible that at times identical securities will be acceptable for both a Fund and one or more of such client accounts. In such event, the position of the applicable Fund and such client account(s) in the same issuer may vary and the length of time that each may choose to hold its investment in the same issuer may likewise vary. However, to the extent any of these client accounts seek to acquire the same security as the Funds at the same time, the Funds may not be able to acquire as large a portion of such security as they desire, or they may have to pay a higher price or obtain a lower yield for such security. Similarly, the Funds may not be able to obtain as high a price for, or as large an execution of, an order to sell any particular security at the same time. If one or more of such client accounts simultaneously purchases or sells the same security that a Fund is purchasing or selling, each day’s transactions in such security will be allocated between the Fund and all such client accounts in a manner deemed equitable by the Adviser or Sub-Adviser, taking into account the respective sizes of the accounts and the amount being purchased or sold. It is recognized that in some cases this system could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security insofar as the Funds are concerned. In other cases, however, it is believed that the ability of the Funds to participate in volume transactions may produce better executions for the Funds. Notwithstanding the above, the Adviser and sub-advisers may execute buy and sell orders for accounts and take action in performance of their duties with respect to any of their accounts that may differ from actions taken with respect to another account, so long as the Adviser and sub-advisers shall, to the extent practicable, allocate investment opportunities to accounts, including the Funds, over a period of time on a fair and equitable basis and in accordance with applicable law.
When buying or selling securities, the Adviser or Sub-Adviser, as applicable, may, although does not currently, execute trades for the Funds with broker-dealers that are affiliated with the Trust, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or their affiliates, and the Funds may pay commissions to such broker-dealers in accordance with procedures adopted by the Board. The Trust has adopted procedures to monitor and control such affiliated brokerage transactions, which are reported to and reviewed by the Board at least quarterly.
The Funds are required to identify any securities of their “regular brokers or dealers” that the Funds have acquired during their most recent fiscal year. The following tables list such securities which have been acquired by the Core Fixed Income Fund as of August 31, 2023:
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Core Fixed Income Fund
Securities Value of Holding
Bank of America Corp. $4,536,274 
Citigroup, Inc. $2,260,919 
Goldman Sachs & Co. $1,327,965 
JP Morgan Chase & Co. $1,558,141 
Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc. $6,355,861 
Wells Fargo & Co. $3,593,580 

As of August 31, 2023, the Diversified Equity Fund did not acquire any securities of its “regular brokers or dealers”.
The Funds are also required to identify any brokerage transactions during their most recent fiscal year that were directed to a broker because of research services provided, along with the amount of any such transactions and any related commissions paid by the Funds. During the last fiscal year, the Funds had no such transactions.

The following table shows the amounts paid by each Fund in brokerage commissions for the fiscal years ended August 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021:
Brokerage Commissions
During Fiscal Years Ended August 31,
2023 2022 2021
Core Fixed Income Fund $404 $33 $3,195
Diversified Equity Fund $581,291 $407,676 $445,176

Portfolio Turnover
Although the Funds generally will not invest for short-term trading purposes, portfolio securities may be sold without regard to the length of time they have been held when, in the opinion of the Adviser and Sub-Adviser, investment considerations warrant such action. Portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing (1) the lesser of purchases or sales of portfolio securities for the fiscal year by (2) the monthly average of the value of portfolio securities owned during the fiscal year. A 100% turnover rate would occur if all the securities in a Fund’s portfolio, with the exception of securities whose maturities at the time of acquisition were one year or less, were sold and either repurchased or replaced within one year. A high rate of portfolio turnover (100% or more) generally leads to above-average transaction and brokerage commission costs and may generate capital gains, including short-term capital gains taxable to shareholders at ordinary income rates. To the extent that a Fund experiences an increase in brokerage commissions due to a higher portfolio turnover rate, the performance of the Fund could be negatively impacted by the increased expenses incurred by the Fund. Furthermore, a high portfolio turnover rate may result in a greater number of taxable transactions.
For the fiscal years indicated below, the portfolio turnover rates for the Funds were as follows:
Portfolio Turnover
During Fiscal Years Ended August 31,
2023 2022
Core Fixed Income Fund 195.1% 201.7%
Diversified Equity Fund 100.6% 59.6%
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Code of Ethics
The Trust, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser have each adopted a Code of Ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act. These Codes of Ethics permit, subject to certain conditions, personnel of the Adviser to invest in securities that may be purchased or held by the Funds. The Distributor relies on the principal underwriter’s exception under Rule 17j-1(c)(3) of the 1940 Act from the requirements to adopt a code of ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 because the Distributor is not affiliated with the Trust or the Adviser, and no officer, director, or general partner of the Distributor serves as an officer, director or general partner of the Trust or the Adviser.

Proxy Voting Procedures
The Board of Trustees has adopted proxy voting policies and procedures (“Proxy Policies”) on behalf of the Trust which delegate to the Adviser the responsibility for voting proxies relating to portfolio securities held by the Funds as part of its investment advisory services, subject to the supervision and oversight of the Board of Trustees. The Proxy Policies of the Adviser are attached as Appendix A. Notwithstanding this delegation of responsibilities, however, the Funds retain the right to vote proxies relating to their portfolio securities. The fundamental purpose of the Proxy Policies is to ensure that each vote will be in a manner that reflects the best interest of the Funds and their shareholders, taking into account the value of each Fund’s investments.
The actual voting records relating to portfolio securities during the 12-month period ended June 30th is available without charge, upon request, by calling toll-free, (866) PMC‑7338 or by accessing the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Program
The Trust has established an Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Program (the “Program”) as required by the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (the “USA PATRIOT Act”) and related anti-money laundering laws and regulations. To ensure compliance with these laws, the Trust’s Program provides for the development of internal practices, procedures and controls, designation of anti-money laundering compliance officers, an ongoing training program and an independent audit function to determine the effectiveness of the Program. Ms. Deanna B. Marotz has been designated as the Trust’s Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer.
Procedures to implement the Program include, but are not limited to: determining that the Distributor and the Transfer Agent have established proper anti-money laundering procedures; reporting suspicious and/or fraudulent activity.
Portfolio Holdings Information
The Trust, on behalf of the Funds, has adopted portfolio holdings disclosure policies (the “Disclosure Policies”) that govern the timing and circumstances of disclosure of portfolio holdings of the Funds. Information about the Funds’ portfolio holdings will not be distributed to any third party except in accordance with these Disclosure Policies. The Board of Trustees considered the circumstances under which the Funds’ portfolio holdings may be disclosed under the Disclosure Policies, considering actual and potential material conflicts that could arise in such circumstances between the interests of the Funds’ shareholders and the interests of the Adviser, Distributor or any other affiliated person of the Funds. After due consideration, the Board determined that the Funds have a legitimate business purpose for disclosing portfolio holdings to persons described in these Disclosure Policies.
Information about the Funds’ portfolio holdings will not be distributed to any third party except as described below:
the disclosure is required to respond to a regulatory request, court order or other legal proceeding;
the disclosure is to a mutual fund rating or evaluation services organization (such as Factset, Morningstar and Lipper), or statistical agency or person performing similar functions, or due
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diligence department of a broker-dealer or wirehouse, who has, if necessary, signed a confidentiality agreement, or is bound by applicable duties of confidentiality imposed by law, with the Funds;
the disclosure is made to the Funds’ service providers who generally need access to such information in the performance of their contractual duties and responsibilities, and who are subject to duties of confidentiality imposed by law and/or contract, such as the Adviser, the Board of Trustees, the Funds’ independent registered public accountants, regulatory authorities, counsel to the Funds or the Board of Trustees, proxy voting service providers, financial printers involved in the reporting process, the fund administrator, fund accountant, transfer agent, or custodian of the Funds;
the disclosure is made by the Adviser’s trading desk to broker-dealers in connection with the purchase or sale of securities or requests for price quotations or bids on one or more securities; in addition, the Adviser’s trading desk may periodically distribute a holdings list (consisting of names only) to broker-dealers so that such brokers can provide the Adviser with order flow information;
the disclosure is made to institutional consultants evaluating the Funds on behalf of potential investors;
the disclosure is (a) in connection with a quarterly, semi-annual or annual report that is available to the public or (b) relates to information that is otherwise available to the public; or
the disclosure is made pursuant to prior written approval of the Trust’s CCO, or other person so authorized, is for a legitimate business purpose and is in the best interests of the Funds’ shareholders.
For purposes of the Disclosure Policies, portfolio holdings information does not include descriptive information if that information does not present material risks of dilution, arbitrage, market timing, insider trading or other inappropriate trading for the Funds. Information excluded from the definition of portfolio holdings information generally includes, without limitation: (i) descriptions of allocations among asset classes, regions, countries or industries/sectors; (ii) aggregated data such as average or median ratios, or market capitalization, performance attributions by industry, sector or country; or (iii) aggregated risk statistics. It is the policy of the Trust to prohibit any person or entity from receiving any direct or indirect compensation or consideration of any kind in connection with the disclosure of information about the Funds’ portfolio holdings.
The Trust’s CCO must document any decisions regarding non-public disclosure of portfolio holdings and the rationale therefor. In connection with the oversight responsibilities by the Board of Trustees, any documentation regarding decisions involving the non-public disclosure of portfolio holdings of the Funds to third parties must be provided to the full Board of Trustees or its authorized committee. In addition, on a quarterly basis, the Board will review any disclosures of portfolio holdings outside of the permitted disclosures described above to address any conflicts between the interests of Fund shareholders and those of the Adviser or any other Fund affiliate.
Currently, on or about the 15th calendar day of the month following a calendar quarter, the Funds provide their quarterly portfolio holdings to rating and ranking organizations, including Lipper, a Thomson Reuters Company, Morningstar, Inc., Standard & Poor’s Financial Services, LLC, Bloomberg L.P., Thomson Reuters Corporation, Vickers Stock Research Corporation, Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. and Capital-Bridge, Inc. Portfolio holdings information may be separately provided to any person at the same time that it is filed with the SEC or one day after it is published on the Funds’ website. Portfolio holdings disclosure may be approved under the Disclosure Policies by the Trust’s CCO. Disclosure of the Funds’ complete holdings is required to be made quarterly within 60 days of the end of each fiscal quarter, in the annual and semi-annual reports to Fund shareholders, and in the quarterly holdings report on Part F of Form N-PORT. These reports will be made available, free of charge, on the EDGAR database on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
Any suspected breach of this policy must be reported immediately to the Trust’s CCO, or to the chief compliance officer of the Adviser who is to report it to the Trust’s CCO. The Board of Trustees reserves the right to amend the Disclosure Policies at any time without prior notice in its sole discretion.
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Determination of Net Asset Value
The NAV of a Fund’s shares will fluctuate and is determined as of the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) (generally 4:00 p.m., Eastern time) each business day. The NYSE annually announces the days on which it will not be open for trading. The most recent announcement indicates that the NYSE will not be open on the following days: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. However, the NYSE may close on days not included in that announcement. If the NYSE closes early, the Fund will calculate the NAV as of the close of trading on the NYSE on that day. If an emergency exists as permitted by the SEC, the NAV may be calculated at a different time.
The NAV per share is computed by dividing the value of the securities held by a Fund plus any cash or other assets (including interest and dividends accrued but not yet received) minus all liabilities (including accrued expenses) by the total number of shares in the applicable Fund outstanding at such time.
Net Assets = Net Asset Value Per Share
Shares Outstanding
Generally, the Funds’ investments are valued at market value or, in the absence of a market value, at fair value as determined in good faith by the Adviser pursuant to the Adviser’s procedures subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees.
Each equity security owned by a Fund, including depositary receipts, that is traded on a national securities exchange, except for securities listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (“NASDAQ”), is valued at its last sale price on the exchange on which such security is traded, as of the close of business on the day the security is being valued. All equity securities that are not traded on a listed exchange are valued at the last sales price at the close of the OTC market. If a non-exchange listed security does not trade on a particular day, then the mean between the last quoted bid and asked price will be used as long as it continues to reflect the value of the security.
Securities that are traded on more than one exchange are valued using the price of the exchange that the Fund generally considers to be the principal exchange on which the security is traded. Fund securities listed on NASDAQ shall be valued using the NASDAQ Official Closing Price, which may not necessarily represent the last sales price. If there has been no sale on such exchange or on NASDAQ on such day, the security will be valued at the mean between the most recent bid and the asked prices on such day, or the security shall be valued at the latest sales price on the “composite market” for the day such security is being valued. The composite market is defined as a consolidation of the trade information provided by a national securities and foreign exchange and OTC markets as published by an approved independent pricing service (“Pricing Service”).
Debt securities, including short-term debt instruments having a maturity of 60 days or less, are valued at the mean in accordance with prices provided by a Pricing Service. Pricing Services may use various valuation methodologies such as the mean between the bid and the asked prices, matrix pricing or other analytical pricing models as well as market transactions and dealer quotations. If a price is not available from a Pricing Service, the most recent quotation obtained from one or more broker-dealers known to follow the issue will be obtained. Pricing service quotations will be valued at the mean between the bid and the offer. Fixed income securities purchased on a delayed-delivery basis are typically marked to market daily until settlement at the forward settlement date. Any discount or premium is accrued or amortized using the constant yield method until maturity. In the absence of available quotations, the securities will be priced at fair value.
Foreign securities will be priced in their local currencies as of the close of their primary exchange or market or as of the time a Fund calculates its NAV, whichever is earlier. Foreign securities, currencies and other assets
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denominated in foreign currencies are then translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate of such currencies against the U.S. dollar, as provided by an approved pricing service or reporting agency. All assets denominated in foreign currencies will be converted into U.S. dollars using the applicable currency exchange rates as of the close of the NYSE, generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Money market funds, demand notes and repurchase agreements are valued at cost. If cost does not represent current market value the securities will be priced at fair value.
Redeemable securities issued by open-end, registered investment companies are valued at the NAVs of such companies for purchase and/or redemption orders placed on that day. All exchange-traded funds are valued at the last reported sale price on the exchange on which the security is principally traded.
Futures contracts are valued at the last settlement price at the close of trading on the relevant exchange or board of trade. Futures contracts for which reliable market quotations are not readily available shall each be valued at a price, supplied by a Pricing Service approved by the Board which is in the opinion of such Pricing Service representative of the market value of such positions at the time of determination of the NAV, it being the opinion of the Board that the valuations supplied by such Pricing Service accurately reflect the fair value of such position.
Forward foreign currency contracts are valued at the mean between the bid and asked prices.
Exchange traded options are valued at the composite price, using the National Best Bid and Offer quotes (“NBBO”). NBBO consists of the highest bid price and lowest ask price across any of the exchanges on which an option is quoted, thus providing a view across the entire U.S. options marketplace. Specifically, composite pricing looks at the last trades on the exchanges where the options are traded. If there are no trades for the option on a given business day composite option pricing calculates the mean of the highest bid price and lowest ask price across the exchanges where the option is traded.
Pursuant to Rule 2a-5 of the 1940 Act, other assets of the Funds are valued in such manner as the Adviser in good faith deems appropriate to reflect their fair value.
Additional Purchase and Redemption Information
The information provided below supplements the information contained in the Prospectus regarding the purchase and redemption of Fund shares.
How to Purchase Shares
You may purchase shares of the Funds directly from the Funds, or from securities brokers, dealers or other financial intermediaries (collectively, “Financial Intermediaries”). Investors should contact their Financial Intermediary directly for appropriate instructions, as well as information pertaining to accounts and any service or transaction fees that may be charged. The Funds may enter into arrangements with certain Financial Intermediaries whereby such Financial Intermediaries (and other authorized intermediaries) are authorized to accept your order on behalf of the Funds (each an “Authorized Intermediary”). If you transmit your purchase request to an Authorized Intermediary before the close of regular trading (generally 4:00 p.m., Eastern time) on a day that the NYSE is open for business, shares will be purchased at the next calculated NAV, after the Financial Intermediary receives the request. Investors should check with their Financial Intermediary to determine if it is an Authorized Intermediary.
Shares are purchased at the next calculated NAV, after the Transfer Agent or Authorized Intermediary receives your purchase request in good order. In most cases, in order to receive that day’s NAV, the Transfer Agent must receive your order in good order before the close of regular trading on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m., Eastern time).
The Trust reserves the right in its sole discretion (i) to suspend the continued offering of the Funds’ shares; (ii) to reject purchase orders in whole or in part when in the judgment of the Adviser or the Distributor such
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rejection is in the best interest of the Funds, and (iii) to reduce or waive the minimum for initial and subsequent investments for certain fiduciary accounts or under circumstances where certain economies can be achieved in sales of the Funds’ shares. The Adviser reserves the right to reject any initial or additional investments.
How to Redeem Shares and Delivery of Redemption Proceeds
You may redeem your Fund shares any day the NYSE is open for regular trading, either directly with the Funds or through your Financial Intermediary.
Payments to shareholders for shares of the Funds redeemed directly from the Funds will be made as promptly as possible, but no later than seven days after receipt by the Transfer Agent of the written request in proper form, with the appropriate documentation as stated in the Prospectus, except that the Funds may suspend the right of redemption or postpone the date of payment upon redemption for more than seven calendar days as determined by the SEC during any period when (a) trading on the NYSE is restricted as determined by the SEC or the NYSE is closed other than on weekends and holidays; (b) an emergency exists as determined by the SEC making disposal of portfolio securities or valuation of net assets of the Funds not reasonably practicable; or (c) for such other period as the SEC may permit for the protection of the Funds’ shareholders.
The value of shares on redemption or repurchase may be more or less than the investor’s cost, depending upon the market value of the Funds’ portfolio securities at the time of redemption or repurchase.
Telephone Redemptions
Shareholders with telephone transaction privileges established on their account may redeem Fund shares by telephone. Upon receipt of any instructions or inquiries by telephone from the shareholder, the Funds or its authorized agents may carry out the instructions and/or respond to the inquiry consistent with the shareholder’s previously established account service options. For joint accounts, instructions or inquiries from either party will be carried out without prior notice to the other account owners. In acting upon telephone instructions, the Funds and their agents use procedures that are reasonably designed to ensure that such instructions are genuine. These include recording all telephone calls, requiring pertinent information about the account and sending written confirmation of each transaction to the registered owner.
The Transfer Agent will employ reasonable procedures to confirm that instructions communicated by telephone are genuine. If the Transfer Agent fails to employ reasonable procedures, the Funds and the Transfer Agent may be liable for any losses due to unauthorized or fraudulent instructions. If these procedures are followed, however, to the extent permitted by applicable law, neither the Funds nor their agents will be liable for any loss, liability, cost or expense arising out of any redemption request, including any fraudulent or unauthorized request. For additional information, contact the Transfer Agent.
Redemption in-Kind
The Funds do not intend to redeem shares in any form except cash. The Trust, on behalf of the Funds, however, has filed a notice of election under Rule 18f-1 of the 1940 Act that allows the Funds to redeem in-kind redemption requests of a certain amount. Specifically, if the amount you are redeeming during any 90-day period is in excess of the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of the net assets of a Fund, valued at the beginning of such period, the Fund has the right to redeem your shares by giving you the amount that exceeds $250,000 or 1% of the net assets of the Funds in securities instead of cash. If a Fund pays your redemption proceeds by a distribution of securities, you could incur brokerage or other charges in converting the securities to cash, and will bear any market risks associated with such securities until they are converted into cash. For federal income tax purposes, redemptions made in kind are taxed in the same manner to a redeeming shareholder as redemptions made in cash. In addition, sales of in-kind securities may generate taxable gains.
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Federal Income Tax Matters
This section is not intended to be a full discussion of federal income tax laws and the effect of such laws on you.

This section is based on the Code, Treasury Regulations, judicial decisions, and Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) guidance as of the date hereof, all of which are subject to change, and possibly with retroactive effect. These changes could impact a Fund’s investments or the tax consequences to you of investing in a Fund. Some of the changes could affect the timing, amount and tax treatment of Fund distributions made to shareholders. There may be other federal, state, foreign or local tax considerations to a particular shareholder. No assurance can be given that legislative, judicial, or administrative changes will not be forthcoming which could affect the accuracy of any statements made in this section. Please consult your tax adviser before investing.

Each series of the Trust is treated as a separate entity for federal income tax purposes. Each Fund, as a series of the Trust, intends to qualify and elect to be treated as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) under Section 851(a) of the Code, provided it complies with all applicable requirements regarding the source of its income, diversification of its assets and timing and amount of its distributions. Each Fund’s policy is to distribute to its shareholders all of its investment company taxable income and any net capital gain for each fiscal year in a manner that complies with the distribution requirements of the Code, so that the Fund will not be subject to any federal income or excise taxes on amounts distributed. However, the Funds can give no assurances that their anticipated distributions will be sufficient to eliminate all Fund level taxes. If a Fund does not qualify as a RIC, and is unable to obtain relief from such failure, it would generally be taxed as a regular corporation and, in such case, it would be more beneficial for a shareholder to directly own the Fund’s underlying investments rather than indirectly owning them through the Fund.

To qualify as a RIC, each Fund must derive at least 90% of its gross income from “good income,” which includes: (1) dividends, interest, certain payments with respect to securities loans and gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies; (2) other income (including but not limited to gains from options, futures or forward contracts) derived with respect to the Fund’s business of investing in such stock, securities or foreign currencies and (3) net income derived from interests in a qualified publicly traded partnership. Some Fund investments may produce income that will not qualify as good income for the purposes of this annual gross income requirement. Although Code Section 851(b) authorizes the U.S. Treasury Department to issue Treasury Regulations excluding “foreign currency gains” that are not directly related to a RIC’s principal business of investing in stock or securities from qualifying income, Treasury Regulations currently provide that gains from the sale or other disposition of foreign currencies is qualifying income. Nevertheless, there can be no absolute assurances that future Treasury Regulations will not come to a different conclusion or that a Fund will satisfy all requirements to be taxed as a RIC.

Furthermore, to qualify as a RIC, each Fund must diversify its holdings such that at the end of each fiscal quarter, (i) at least 50% of the value of the Fund’s assets consists of cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities, securities of other RICs, and other acceptable securities with such other securities limited, in respect to any one issuer, to an amount not greater in value than 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets and to not more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer; and (ii) no more than 25% of the value of the Fund’s assets may be invested in the securities of any one issuer (other than U.S. government securities or securities of other RICs), or of any two or more issuers that are controlled, as determined under applicable Code rules, by the Fund and that are engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses, or of certain qualified publicly traded partnerships.

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Each Fund will be subject to a 4% federal excise tax if it fails to distribute (or be deemed to have distributed) by December 31 of each calendar year (i) at least 98% of its ordinary income for such year, (ii) at least 98.2% of its capital gain net income for the 12‑month period ending on October 31 during such year (reduced by any net ordinary losses, but not below the Fund’s net capital gain for that period) and (iii) any amounts from the prior calendar year that were not distributed and on which the Fund paid no federal income tax.
If the Funds retains some or all of its income or gains, it will be subject to federal income tax at regular corporate rates to the extent such income or gains are not distributed. The Funds may elect to designate certain amounts retained as undistributed net gain as deemed distributions in a notice to its shareholders, who (i) will be required to include for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gain, their proportionate shares of the undistributed amount so designated, (ii) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the income tax paid by the Funds on that undistributed amount against their federal income tax liabilities and to claim refunds to the extent such credits exceed their tax liabilities, and (iii) will be entitled to increase their tax basis, for federal income tax purposes, in their Shares by an amount equal to the excess of the amount undistributed net capital gain included in their respective income over their respective tax credit.
Investment company taxable income generally consists of interest, dividends, net short-term capital gain and net gain from foreign currency transactions, less expenses. Net capital gain is the excess of the net long-term gain from a Fund’s sales or exchanges of capital assets over the net short-term loss from such sales or exchanges, taking into account any capital loss carryforward of such Fund. The Funds may elect to defer certain losses for tax purposes. Any future net capital losses realized by a Fund in any taxable year may be carried forward indefinitely, and such carryforwards will generally retain their character as long-term or short-term capital losses.
At August 31, 2023, the Funds had capital loss carryovers as follows:

Short-Term Long-Term
Core Fixed Income Fund $(20,029,413) $(23,728,675)
Diversified Equity Fund —  — 

Capital loss carryovers are carried forward indefinitely to offset future realized capital gains. To the extent the Funds realize future net capital gains, taxable distributions to shareholders will be offset by any unused capital loss carryovers from the year ended August 31, 2023.

Distributions of investment company taxable income are generally taxable to shareholders as ordinary income. For a non-corporate shareholder, a portion of a Fund’s distributions of investment company taxable income may consist of “qualified dividend income” eligible for taxation at the reduced federal income tax rates applicable to long-term capital gains to the extent that the amount distributed is attributable to and reported as “qualified dividend income” and the shareholder meets certain holding period requirements with respect to its Fund shares. For a corporate shareholder, a portion of a Fund’s distributions of investment company taxable income may qualify for the intercorporate dividends‑received deduction to the extent such Fund receives dividends directly or indirectly from a U.S. corporation, reports the amount distributed as eligible for deduction and the shareholder meets certain holding period requirements with respect to its shares. The aggregate amount so reported to either non-corporate or corporate shareholders, as applicable, cannot, however, exceed the aggregate amount of such dividends received by a Fund for its taxable year.

Distributions of net capital gain are taxable to shareholders as long-term capital gain regardless of the length of time that a shareholder has owned Fund shares. Distributions of net capital gain are not eligible for “qualified dividend income” treatment or the dividends-received deduction referred to above.
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Distributions of any investment company taxable income and net capital gain will be taxable as described above whether received in additional Fund shares or in cash. Shareholders who choose to receive distributions in the form of additional shares will have a cost basis for federal income tax purposes in each share so received equal to the NAV of a share on the reinvestment date. Distributions are generally taxable when received. However, distributions declared in October, November or December to shareholders of record and paid the following January are taxable as if received on December 31. Distributions are generally includable in alternative minimum taxable income in computing a non-corporate shareholder’s liability for the alternative minimum tax.

Certain individuals, trusts and estates may be subject to a net investment income (“NII”) tax of 3.8% (in addition to the regular income tax). The NII tax is imposed on the lesser of: (i) a taxpayer’s investment income, net of deductions properly allocable to such income; or (ii) the amount by which such taxpayer’s modified adjusted gross income exceeds certain thresholds ($250,000 for married individuals filing jointly, $200,000 for unmarried individuals and $125,000 for married individuals filing separately). The Funds’ distributions are includable in a shareholder’s investment income for purposes of this NII tax. In addition, any capital gain realized by a shareholder upon the sale, exchange or redemption of Fund shares is includable in such shareholder’s investment income for purposes of this NII tax.

A sale, redemption or exchange of Fund shares, whether for cash or in-kind proceeds, may result in recognition of a taxable capital gain or loss. Gain or loss realized upon a sale, redemption or exchange of Fund shares will generally be treated as a long-term capital gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than one year, and, if held for one year or less, as a short-term capital gain or loss. However, any loss realized upon a sale, redemption or exchange of shares held for six months or less will be treated as a long‑term capital loss to the extent of any distributions of net capital gain received or deemed to be received with respect to such shares. In determining the holding period of such shares for this purpose, any period during which the shareholder’s risk of loss is offset by means of options, short sales, or similar transactions is not counted. Any loss realized upon a sale, redemption or exchange of Fund shares may be disallowed under certain wash sale rules to the extent shares of the same Fund are purchased (through reinvestment of distributions or otherwise) within 30 days before or after the sale, redemption or exchange. If a shareholder’s loss is disallowed under the wash sale rules, the basis of the new shares will be increased to preserve the loss until a future sale, redemption or exchange of the shares.

Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”), a Fund may be required to withhold a generally nonrefundable 30% tax on (i) distributions of investment company taxable income, and (ii) distributions of net capital gain and the gross proceeds of a sale, exchange, or redemption of Fund shares paid to: (A) certain “foreign financial institutions” unless such foreign financial institution agrees to verify, monitor, and report to the IRS the identity of certain of its accountholders, among other items, (unless such entity is otherwise deemed compliant under the terms of an intergovernmental agreement with the United States and the entity’s country of residence), and (B) certain “non-financial foreign entities” unless such entity certifies to the Funds that it does not have any substantial U.S. owners or provides the name, address, and taxpayer identification number of each substantial U.S. owner, among other items. In December 2018, the IRS and Treasury Department released proposed Treasury Regulations that would eliminate FATCA withholding on Fund distributions of net capital gain and the gross proceeds from a sale, exchange or redemption of Fund shares. Although taxpayers are entitled to rely on these proposed Treasury Regulations until final Treasury Regulations are issued, these proposed Treasury Regulations have not been finalized, may not be finalized in their proposed form, and are potentially subject to change. This FATCA withholding tax could also affect a Fund’s return on its investments in foreign securities or affect a shareholder’s return if the shareholder holds its Fund shares through a foreign intermediary. You are urged to consult your tax adviser
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regarding the application of this FATCA withholding tax to your investment in the Funds and the potential certification, compliance, due diligence, reporting, and withholding obligations to which you may become subject in order to avoid this withholding tax.

Except in the case of certain shareholders, if a shareholder does not furnish the Funds with its correct Social Security Number or other applicable taxpayer identification number and certain certifications or the Funds receive notification from the IRS requiring backup withholding, the Funds are required by federal law to withhold federal income tax from the shareholder’s distributions and redemption proceeds at a rate set under Section 3406 of the Code for U.S. residents.

Foreign taxpayers (including nonresident aliens) are generally subject a tax withholding at a flat rate of 30% on U.S.-source income that is not effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the U.S. This withholding rate may be lower under the terms of a tax treaty or convention.

Distributions
Each Fund will receive income primarily in the form of dividends and interest earned on the Fund’s investments in securities. This income, less the expenses incurred in their operations, is a Fund’s net investment income, substantially all of which will be distributed to the Fund’s shareholders.
The amount of a Fund’s distributions is dependent upon the amount of net investment income received by the Fund from its portfolio holdings, is not guaranteed and is subject to the discretion of the Board of Trustees. The Funds do not pay “interest” or guarantee any fixed rate of return on an investment in their shares.
Each Fund may also realize capital gains or losses in connection with sales or other dispositions of its portfolio securities. Any net gain that a Fund may realize from transactions involving investments held less than the period required for long-term capital gain or loss recognition or otherwise producing short-term capital gains and losses (taking into account any capital loss carryforwards) will comprise part of net investment income. If during any year a Fund realizes a net gain on transactions involving investments held for the period required for long-term capital gain or loss recognition or otherwise producing long-term capital gains and losses, the Fund will generally have a net long-term capital gain. After deduction of the amount of any net short-term capital loss, the balance (to the extent not offset by any capital loss carryforward) will be distributed and treated as long-term capital gains in the hands of the shareholders regardless of the length of time that the shares may have been held by the shareholders. Net capital losses of the Funds may be carried forward indefinitely and will generally retain their character as short-term or long-term capital losses. For more information concerning applicable capital gains tax rates, please consult your tax adviser.
Any distribution paid by a Fund reduces that Fund’s NAV per share on the date paid by the amount of the distribution per share. Accordingly, a distribution paid shortly after a purchase of shares by a shareholder would represent, in substance, a partial return of capital (to the extent it is paid on the shares so purchased), even though it would be subject to income taxes.
Distributions will be made in the form of additional shares of a Fund unless the shareholder has otherwise indicated. Shareholders have the right to change their elections with respect to the reinvestment of distributions by notifying the Transfer Agent in writing or calling; however, any such change will be effective only as to distributions for which the record date is five or more calendar days after the Transfer Agent has received the request.
Cost Basis Reporting
The Funds are required to report to certain shareholders and the IRS the cost basis of Fund shares acquired on or after January 1, 2012 (“covered shares”) when the shareholder sells, redeems or exchanges such shares.
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These requirements do not apply to shares held through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an IRA, or to shares held by tax-exempt organizations, financial institutions, banks, corporations (other than S corporations), credit unions and certain other entities and governmental bodies. Shares acquired before January 1, 2012 (“non-covered shares”) are treated as if held in a separate account from covered shares. The Funds are not required to determine or report a shareholder’s cost basis in non-covered shares and are not responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any information provided for non-covered shares.
The cost basis of a share is generally its purchase price adjusted for distributions, returns of capital, and other corporate actions. Cost basis is used to determine whether the sale, redemption or exchange of a share results in a capital gain or loss. If you sell, redeem or exchange covered shares during any year, then the Funds will report the gain or loss, cost basis, and holding period of such covered shares to the IRS and you on Form 1099.
A cost basis method is the method by which a Fund determines which specific covered shares are deemed to be sold, exchanged, or redeemed when a shareholder sells, redeems or exchanges less than its entire holding of Fund shares and has made multiple purchases of Fund shares on different dates at differing net asset values. If a shareholder does not affirmatively elect a cost basis method, the Funds will use the average cost method, which averages the basis of all covered shares in an account regardless of holding period, and covered shares sold, redeemed or exchanged are deemed to be those with the longest holding period first. Each shareholder may elect in writing (and not over the telephone) any alternate IRS-approved cost basis method to calculate the cost basis in its covered shares. The default cost basis method applied by the Funds or the alternate method elected by a shareholder may not be changed after the settlement date of a sale, redemption or exchange of Fund shares.
If you hold Fund shares through a broker (or another nominee), please contact that broker or nominee with respect to the reporting of cost basis and available elections for your account.
You are encouraged to consult your tax adviser regarding the application of these cost basis reporting rules and, in particular, which cost basis calculation method you should elect.
Financial Statements
The audited financial statements, accompanying notes and report of the independent registered public accounting firm appearing in the Funds’ 2023 Annual Report to Shareholders, are incorporated by reference into this SAI.
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APPENDIX A -- PROXY VOTING POLICIES
Envestnet Asset Management, Inc.
Client Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures
Envestnet Asset Management, Inc. (“Envestnet”) generally delegates proxy voting to the asset managers to whom it allocates client assets. Envestnet shall maintain copies of the asset managers’ proxy voting procedures on file for so long as Envestnet has clients whose assets are being managed by such asset managers. In the unlikely event that Envestnet becomes responsible for voting proxies relating to securities held by its clients, Envestnet has developed the following principles, policies and procedures to ensure that such proxies are voted in the best interest of Envestnet’s clients. These principles, policies and procedures are relatively general in nature to allow Envestnet the flexibility and discretion to use its business judgment in making appropriate decisions with respect to client proxies.
Summary
Envestnet acknowledges and agrees that it has a fiduciary obligation to its clients to ensure that any proxies for which it has voting authority are voted solely in the best interests and for the exclusive benefit of its clients. The policies detailed below are intended to guide Envestnet and its personnel in ensuring that proxies are voted in such manner without limiting the Envestnet or its personnel in specific situations to vote in a pre-determined manner. These policies are designed to assist Envestnet in identifying and resolving any conflicts of interest it may have in voting client proxies.
Voting Principles, Policies and Procedures
Envestnet will abide by the following principles, policies and procedures in voting client proxies:
1.Envestnet will at all times ensure that client proxies are voted with attention to the best interests and for the sole benefit of its clients.
2.Envestnet will use its reasonable efforts to ensure that each decision regarding how to vote a client proxy is based on reasonably complete information with respect to the issue to which the proxy relates such that Envestnet can make an informed decision.
3.Envestnet will determine a client’s best interest based on the maximization of investor value which is defined as an increase in long-term value through capital appreciation and dividends. Envestnet expects that it will, in most instances, vote in accordance with management’s recommendations with respect to specific proxy issues; however, Envestnet will not vote in accordance with management’s recommendations in instances where Envestnet believes in good faith that management’s interests do not coincide with investors’ best interests.
4.Envestnet will ensure that each and every proxy is voted unless the responsible Envestnet personnel affirmatively determine to abstain from voting such proxy because such abstention is in the best interest of the client.
5.All proxy voting will be executed by Envestnet’s chief executive based on a recommendation from the responsible portfolio manager for the securities to which the proxy relates. If the portfolio manager determines that there is an actual conflict of interest between the client and Envestnet with respect to a specific proxy issue, Envestnet’s chief executive will, along with Envestnet’s other executive officers, determine whether Envestnet may vote the proxy itself or will contact the relevant client to allow the client to make the final decision with respect to the proxy issue in question.
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6.Envestnet will maintain a client proxy file to retain records relating to the proxies voted by Envestnet on behalf of its clients. This file will contain, at a minimum, the proxy materials distributed by the issuer of the security to which the proxy relates and a record of how Envestnet voted that proxy. If Envestnet conducts additional research into the proxy issue, it will maintain copies of such research in the file as well.
How to Obtain Information on Your Proxy
If you would like information on how Envestnet has actually voted any proxies with respect to securities held in your portfolio for which it exercised voting authority, please contact the following individual at Envestnet:
Debra DeVoe
Chief Compliance Officer
One North Wacker Drive, Suite 1925
Chicago, Illinois 60606
(312) 827-7950


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