Table of Contents

LOGO


Table of Contents
   TABLE OF CONTENTS
2    Portfolio Summaries
2    Global Equity Portfolio
5    International Equity Portfolio
8    International Small Companies Portfolio
11    Emerging Markets Portfolio
14    Frontier Emerging Markets Portfolio
17    Investment Objectives and Investment Process
19    Additional Information on Portfolio Investment Strategies and Risks
23    Management of the Fund
25    Shareholder Information
31    Distribution of Fund Shares
32    Financial Highlights
37    Privacy Notice
Back Cover    Availability of Additional Information about the Fund


Table of Contents

PORTFOLIO

SUMMARY

  

GLOBAL EQUITY PORTFOLIO

 

 

INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE

The Global Equity Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) seeks long-term capital appreciation through investments in equity securities of companies based both inside and outside the United States.

PORTFOLIO FEES AND EXPENSES

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Advisor Class of the Portfolio.

 

SHAREHOLDER FEES

(fees paid directly from your investment)

 
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)      None  
Redemption Fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed within 90 days or less from the date of purchase)      2.00%  

ANNUAL PORTFOLIO OPERATING EXPENSES

(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the
value of your investment)

 
Management Fees      0.80%  
Distribution (12b-1) Fees      None  
Other Expenses      0.34%  
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses      1.14%  
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement1      0.00%  
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement1      1.14%  
1Harding Loevner LP has contractually agreed to waive a portion of its management fee and/or reimburse the Advisor Class of the Portfolio for its other operating expenses to the extent Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (excluding dividend expenses, borrowing costs, interest expense relating to short sales, interest, taxes, brokerage commissions and extraordinary expenses), as a percentage of average daily net assets, exceed 1.25% through February 28, 2020.

 

Example: This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Advisor Class of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Advisor Class of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Advisor Class’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

1 YEAR    3 YEARS    5 YEARS    10 YEARS
$116    $362    $628    $1,386

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns

over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 42% of the average value of its portfolio.

PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES

The Portfolio invests in companies based in the United States and other developed markets, as well as in emerging and frontier markets. Harding Loevner LP (“Harding Loevner”), the Portfolio’s investment adviser, undertakes fundamental research in an effort to identify companies that are well managed, financially sound, fast growing, and strongly competitive, and whose shares are reasonably priced relative to estimates of their value. To reduce its volatility, the Portfolio is diversified across dimensions of geography, industry, currency, and market capitalization. The Portfolio normally holds investments across at least 15 countries.

The Portfolio will normally invest broadly in equity securities of companies domiciled in the following countries and regions: (1) Europe; (2) the Pacific Rim; (3) the United States, Canada, and Mexico; and (4) countries with emerging or frontier markets. At least 65% of total assets will be denominated in at least three currencies, which may include the U.S. dollar. For purposes of compliance with this restriction, American Depositary Receipts, Global Depositary Receipts, and European Depositary Receipts, (collectively, “Depositary Receipts”), will be considered to be denominated in the currency of the country where the securities underlying the Depositary Receipts are principally traded.

The Portfolio invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in common stocks, preferred stocks, rights, and warrants issued by companies that are based both inside and outside the United States, securities convertible into such securities (including Depositary Receipts), and investment companies that invest in the types of securities in which the Portfolio would normally invest.

Because some emerging market countries do not permit foreigners to participate directly in their securities markets or otherwise present difficulties for efficient foreign investment, the Portfolio may use equity derivative securities, and, in particular, participation notes, to gain exposure to those countries.

 

  2  


Table of Contents

PRINCIPAL RISKS

The Portfolio is subject to numerous risks, any of which could cause an investor to lose money. The principal risks of the Portfolio are as follows:

Market Risk: Investments in the Portfolio may lose value due to a general downturn in stock markets.

Currency Risk: Foreign currencies may experience steady or sudden devaluation relative to the U.S. dollar, adversely affecting the value of the Portfolio’s investments. Because the Portfolio’s net asset value is determined on the basis of U.S. dollars, if the local currency of a foreign market depreciates against the U.S. dollar, you may lose money even if the foreign market prices of the Portfolio’s holdings rise.

Foreign Investment Risk: Securities issued by foreign entities involve risks not associated with U.S. investments. These risks include additional taxation, political, economic, social, or diplomatic instability, and the above-mentioned possibility of changes in foreign currency exchange rates. There may also be less publicly-available information about a foreign issuer. Such risks may be magnified with respect to securities of issuers in frontier emerging markets.

Emerging and Frontier Market Risk: Emerging and frontier market securities involve certain risks, such as exposure to economies less diverse and mature than that of the United States or more established foreign markets. Economic or political instability may cause larger price changes in emerging or frontier market securities than in securities of issuers based in more developed foreign countries.

Participation Notes Risk: Participation notes are issued by banks, or broker-dealers, or their affiliates and are designed to replicate the return of a particular underlying equity or debt security, currency, or market. When the participation note matures, the issuer of the participation note will pay to, or receive from, the Portfolio the difference between the nominal value of the underlying instrument at the time of purchase and that instrument’s value at maturity. Participation notes involve the same risks associated with a direct investment in the underlying security, currency, or market. In addition, participation notes involve counterparty risk, because the Portfolio has no rights under participation notes against the issuer(s) of the underlying security(ies) and must rely on the creditworthiness of the issuer of the participation note.

Small- and Mid-Capitalization Risk: The securities of smaller and medium-sized companies have historically exhibited more volatility with a lower degree of liquidity than larger companies.

NAV Risk: The net asset value of the Portfolio and the value of your investment will fluctuate.

PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE

The following bar chart shows how the investment results of the Portfolio’s Advisor Class shares have varied

from year to year. The table that follows shows how the average annual total returns of the Portfolio’s Advisor Class shares compare with a broad measure of market performance. Together, these provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. How the Advisor Class shares of the Portfolio have performed in the past (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how it will perform in the future.

Updated Portfolio performance information is available at www.hardingloevnerfunds.com or by calling (877) 435-8105.

GLOBAL EQUITY PORTFOLIO

 

LOGO

The best calendar quarter return during the period shown above was 20.80% in the second quarter of 2009; the worst was -16.27% in the third quarter of 2011.

 

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS

(for the periods ended December 31, 2018)

 
    1-YEAR     5-YEAR      10-YEAR  
GLOBAL EQUITY PORTFOLIO - ADVISOR CLASS

 

Return Before Taxes

    -10.62%       5.86%        10.70%  

Return After Taxes on Distributions1

    -12.96%       4.26%        9.80%  

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares1

    -4.52%       4.56%        8.86%  
MSCI ALL COUNTRY WORLD (NET) INDEX
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or U.S. taxes)
    -9.42%       4.26%        9.46%  
1After-tax returns in the table above are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. The return after taxes on distributions and sale of Portfolio shares may exceed the Portfolio’s other returns due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Portfolio shares at the end of the measurement period. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Portfolio shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or Individual Retirement Accounts.

 

MANAGEMENT

Investment Adviser

Harding Loevner serves as investment adviser to the Portfolio.

Portfolio Managers

Peter Baughan, Ferrill Roll, Scott Crawshaw, Jingyi Li, Christopher Mack, and Richard Schmidt serve as the portfolio managers of the Global Equity Portfolio. Mr. Baughan has held his position since February 2003,

 

  3  


Table of Contents

Mr. Roll has held his position since January 2001, Mr. Crawshaw has held his position since January 2018, Mr. Li has held his position since February 2019, Mr. Mack has held his position since June 2014 and Mr. Schmidt has held his position since February 2015. Messrs. Baughan and Roll are the co-lead portfolio managers.

PURCHASE AND SALE OF PORTFOLIO SHARES

The minimum initial investment in the Advisor Class of the Portfolio is $5,000. Additional purchases may be for any amount. You may purchase or redeem (sell) shares of the Portfolio on any business day through certain authorized brokers and other financial intermediaries or directly from the Portfolio by mail, telephone, or wire.

TAX CONSIDERATIONS

The Portfolio’s distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or a combination of the two, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account. Upon withdrawal, your investment through a tax-deferred arrangement may become taxable.

PAYMENTS TO BROKERS-DEALERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES

If you purchase Portfolio shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Portfolio and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Portfolio shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 

  4  


Table of Contents

PORTFOLIO

SUMMARY

  

INTERNATIONAL EQUITY PORTFOLIO

 

 

INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE

The International Equity Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) seeks long-term capital appreciation through investments in equity securities of companies based outside the United States.

PORTFOLIO FEES AND EXPENSES

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Investor Class of the Portfolio.

 

SHAREHOLDER FEES

(fees paid directly from your investment)

 
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)      None  
Redemption Fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed within 90 days or less from the date of purchase)      2.00%  

ANNUAL PORTFOLIO OPERATING EXPENSES

(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the
value of your investment)

 
Management Fees      0.67%  
Distribution (12b-1) Fees      0.25%  
Other Expenses      0.22%  
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses      1.14%  
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement1      0.00%  
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement1      1.14%  
1Harding Loevner LP has contractually agreed to waive a portion of its management fee and/or reimburse the Investor Class of the Portfolio for its other operating expenses to the extent Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (excluding dividend expenses, borrowing costs, interest expense relating to short sales, interest, taxes, brokerage commissions and extraordinary expenses), as a percentage of average daily net assets, exceed 1.25% through February 28, 2020.

 

Example: This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Investor Class of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Investor Class of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Investor Class’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

1 YEAR    3 YEARS    5 YEARS    10 YEARS
$116    $362    $628    $1,386

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may

indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 10% of the average value of its portfolio.

PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES

The Portfolio invests primarily in companies based in developed markets outside the United States as well as in companies in emerging and frontier markets. Harding Loevner LP (“Harding Loevner”), the Portfolio’s investment adviser, undertakes fundamental research in an effort to identify companies that are well managed, financially sound, fast growing, and strongly competitive, and whose shares are reasonably priced relative to estimates of their value. To reduce its volatility, the Portfolio is diversified across dimensions of geography, industry, currency, and market capitalization. The Portfolio normally holds investments across at least 15 countries.

Factors bearing on whether a company is considered to be “based” outside the United States may include: (1) it is legally domiciled outside the United States; (2) it conducts at least 50% of its business, as measured by the location of its sales, earnings, assets, or production, outside the United States; or (3) it has the principal exchange listing for its securities outside the United States.

The Portfolio will normally invest broadly in equity securities of companies domiciled in the following countries and regions: (1) Europe; (2) the Pacific Rim; (3) Canada and Mexico; and (4) countries with emerging or frontier markets. At least 65% of total assets will be denominated in at least three currencies other than the U.S. dollar. For purposes of compliance with this restriction, American Depositary Receipts, Global Depositary Receipts, and European Depositary Receipts (collectively, “Depositary Receipts”), will be considered to be denominated in the currency of the country where the securities underlying the Depositary Receipts are principally traded.

The Portfolio invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in common stocks, preferred stocks, rights, and warrants issued by companies that are based outside the United States, securities convertible into such securities (including Depositary Receipts), and investment companies that invest in the types of securities in which the Portfolio would normally invest. The Portfolio also may invest in securities of U.S. companies that derive, or are expected to derive, a significant portion of their revenues from their foreign operations, although under normal circumstances not

 

  5  


Table of Contents

more than 15% of the Portfolio’s total assets will be invested in securities of U.S. companies.

Because some emerging market countries do not permit foreigners to participate directly in their securities markets or otherwise present difficulties for efficient foreign investment, the Portfolio may use equity derivative securities, and, in particular, participation notes, to gain exposure to those countries.

PRINCIPAL RISKS

The Portfolio is subject to numerous risks, any of which could cause an investor to lose money. The principal risks of the Portfolio are as follows:

Market Risk: Investments in the Portfolio may lose value due to a general downturn in stock markets.

Currency Risk: Foreign currencies may experience steady or sudden devaluation relative to the U.S. dollar, adversely affecting the value of the Portfolio’s investments. Because the Portfolio’s net asset value is determined on the basis of U.S. dollars, if the local currency of a foreign market depreciates against the U.S. dollar, you may lose money even if the foreign market prices of the Portfolio’s holdings rise.

Foreign Investment Risk: Securities issued by foreign entities involve risks not associated with U.S. investments. These risks include additional taxation, political, economic, social or diplomatic instability, and the above-mentioned possibility of changes in foreign currency exchange rates. There may also be less publicly-available information about a foreign issuer. Such risks may be magnified with respect to securities of issuers in frontier emerging markets.

Emerging and Frontier Market Risk: Emerging and frontier market securities involve certain risks, such as exposure to economies less diverse and mature than that of the United States or more established foreign markets. Economic or political instability may cause larger price changes in emerging or frontier market securities than in securities of issuers based in more developed foreign countries.

Participation Notes Risk: Participation notes are issued by banks, or broker-dealers, or their affiliates and are designed to replicate the return of a particular underlying equity or debt security, currency, or market. When the participation note matures, the issuer of the participation note will pay to, or receive from, the Portfolio the difference between the nominal value of the underlying instrument at the time of purchase and that instrument’s value at maturity. Participation notes involve the same risks associated with a direct investment in the underlying security, currency, or market. In addition, participation notes involve counterparty risk, because the Portfolio has no rights under participation notes against the issuer(s) of the underlying security(ies) and must rely on the creditworthiness of the issuer of the participation note.

NAV Risk: The net asset value of the Portfolio and the value of your investment will fluctuate.

PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE

The following bar chart shows how the investment results of the Portfolio’s Investor Class shares have varied from year to year. The table that follows shows how the average annual total returns of the Portfolio’s Investor Class shares compare with a broad measure of market performance. Together, these provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. How the Investor Class shares of the Portfolio have performed in the past (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how it will perform in the future.

Updated Portfolio performance information is available at www.hardingloevnerfunds.com or by calling (877) 435-8105.

INTERNATIONAL EQUITY PORTFOLIO

 

LOGO

The best calendar quarter return during the period shown above was 21.31% in the second quarter of 2009; the worst was -19.67% in the third quarter of 2011.

 

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS

(for the periods ended December 31, 2018)

 
     1-YEAR      5-YEAR      10-YEAR  
INTERNATIONAL EQUITY PORTFOLIO - INVESTOR CLASS

 

Return Before Taxes

     -14.30%        2.31%        8.47%  

Return After Taxes on Distributions1

     -14.40%        2.18%        8.38%  

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares1

     -8.23%        1.86%        7.01%  
MSCI ALL COUNTRY WORLD ex-U.S. (NET) INDEX
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or U.S. taxes)
     -14.20%        0.67%        6.57%  
1After-tax returns in the table above are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. The return after taxes on distributions and sale of Portfolio shares may exceed the Portfolio’s other returns due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Portfolio shares at the end of the measurement period. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Portfolio shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or Individual Retirement Accounts.

 

MANAGEMENT

Investment Adviser

Harding Loevner serves as investment adviser to the Portfolio.

 

  6  


Table of Contents

Portfolio Managers

Ferrill Roll, Andrew West, Scott Crawshaw, Bryan Lloyd, Patrick Todd, and Alexander Walsh serve as the portfolio managers of the International Equity Portfolio. Mr. Roll has held his position since October 2004, Mr. West has held his position since June 2014, Mr. Crawshaw has held his position since January 2018, Mr. Lloyd has held his position since June 2014, Mr. Todd has held his position since January 2017, and Mr. Walsh has held his position since January 2001. Messrs. Roll and West are the co-lead portfolio managers.

PURCHASE AND SALE OF PORTFOLIO SHARES

The minimum initial investment in the Investor Class of the Portfolio is $5,000. Additional purchases may be for any amount. You may purchase or redeem (sell) shares of the Portfolio on any business day through certain authorized brokers and other financial intermediaries or directly from the Portfolio by mail, telephone, or wire.

TAX CONSIDERATIONS

The Portfolio’s distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or a combination of the two, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account. Upon withdrawal, your investment through a tax-deferred arrangement may become taxable.

PAYMENTS TO BROKERS-DEALERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES

If you purchase Portfolio shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Portfolio and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Portfolio shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 

  7  


Table of Contents

PORTFOLIO

SUMMARY

  

INTERNATIONAL SMALL COMPANIES PORTFOLIO

 

 

INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE

The International Small Companies Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) seeks long-term capital appreciation through investments in equity securities of small companies based outside the United States.

PORTFOLIO FEES AND EXPENSES

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Investor Class of the Portfolio.

 

SHAREHOLDER FEES

(fees paid directly from your investment)

 
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)      None  
Redemption Fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed within 90 days or less from the date of purchase)      2.00%  

ANNUAL PORTFOLIO OPERATING EXPENSES

(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the
value of your investment)

 
Management Fees      1.15%  
Distribution (12b-1) Fees      0.25%  
Other Expenses      0.35%  
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses      1.75%  
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement1      -0.35%  
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement1      1.40%  
1Harding Loevner LP has contractually agreed to waive a portion of its management fee and/or reimburse the Investor Class of the Portfolio for its other operating expenses to the extent Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (excluding dividend expenses, borrowing costs, interest expense relating to short sales, interest, taxes, brokerage commissions and extraordinary expenses), as a percentage of average daily net assets, exceed 1.40% through February 28, 2020.

 

Example: This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Investor Class of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Investor Class of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Investor Class’s operating expenses remain the same, except that the example assumes the fee waiver and expense reimbursement agreement pertains only through February 28, 2020. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

1 YEAR    3 YEARS    5 YEARS    10 YEARS
$143    $517    $916    $2,033

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 52% of the average value of its portfolio.

PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES

The Portfolio invests primarily in small companies based outside the United States, including companies in emerging and frontier as well as in developed markets. Harding Loevner LP (“Harding Loevner”), the Portfolio’s investment adviser, undertakes fundamental research in an effort to identify companies that are well managed, financially sound, fast growing, and strongly competitive, and whose shares are reasonably priced relative to estimates of their value.

Companies considered to be small are those having a market capitalization, at time of purchase, within the range of the market capitalization of companies in the Portfolio’s benchmark index, currently the MSCI All Country World ex-U.S. Small Cap Index (the “Index”). As of December 31, 2018, the range of market capitalization of companies in the Index was US$96 million to US$8.8 billion. To reduce its volatility, the Portfolio is diversified across dimensions of geography, industry, and currency. The Portfolio normally holds investments across at least 15 countries.

Factors bearing on whether a company is considered to be “based” outside the United States may include: (1) it is legally domiciled outside the United States; (2) it conducts at least 50% of its business, as measured by the location of its sales, earnings, assets, or production, outside the United States; or (3) it has the principal exchange listing for its securities outside the United States.

The Portfolio will normally invest broadly in equity securities of small companies domiciled in the following countries and regions: (1) Europe; (2) the Pacific Rim; (3) Canada and Mexico; and (4) countries with emerging or frontier markets. At least 65% of total assets will be denominated in at least three currencies other than the U.S. dollar. For purposes of compliance with this restriction, American Depositary Receipts, Global Depositary Receipts, and European Depositary Receipts (collectively, “Depositary Receipts”) will be considered to be denominated in the currency of the country where the securities underlying the Depositary Receipts are principally traded.

 

  8  


Table of Contents

The Portfolio invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in common stocks, preferred stocks, rights, and warrants issued by small companies that are based outside the United States, securities convertible into such securities (including Depositary Receipts), and investment companies that invest in the types of securities in which the Portfolio would normally invest. If the Portfolio continues to hold securities of small companies whose market capitalization, subsequent to purchase, grows to exceed the upper range of the market capitalization of the Index, it may continue to treat them as small for the purposes of the 80% requirement. The Portfolio also may invest in securities of small U.S. companies that derive, or are expected to derive, a significant portion of their revenues from their foreign operations, although under normal circumstances not more than 15% of the Portfolio’s total assets will be invested in securities of U.S. companies.

Because some emerging market countries do not permit foreigners to participate directly in their securities markets or otherwise present difficulties for efficient foreign investment, the Portfolio may use equity derivative securities, and, in particular, participation notes, to gain exposure to those countries.

PRINCIPAL RISKS

The Portfolio is subject to numerous risks, any of which could cause an investor to lose money. The principal risks of the Portfolio are as follows:

Market Risk: Investments in the Portfolio may lose value due to a general downturn in stock markets.

Currency Risk: Foreign currencies may experience steady or sudden devaluation relative to the U.S. dollar, adversely affecting the value of the Portfolio’s investments. Because the Portfolio’s net asset value is determined on the basis of U.S. dollars, if the local currency of a foreign market depreciates against the U.S. dollar, you may lose money even if the foreign market prices of the Portfolio’s holdings rise.

Foreign Investment Risk: Securities issued by foreign entities involve risks not associated with U.S. investments. These risks include additional taxation, political, economic, social or diplomatic instability, and the above-mentioned possibility of changes in foreign currency exchange rates. There may also be less publicly-available information about a foreign issuer. Such risks may be magnified with respect to securities of issuers in frontier emerging markets.

Emerging and Frontier Market Risk: Emerging and frontier market securities involve certain risks, such as exposure to economies less diverse and mature than that of the United States or more established foreign markets. Economic or political instability may cause larger price changes in emerging or frontier market securities than in securities of issuers based in more developed foreign countries.

Small Company Risk: The securities of smaller companies have historically exhibited more volatility with a lower degree of liquidity than larger companies.

Participation Notes Risk: Participation notes are issued by banks, or broker-dealers, or their affiliates and are designed to replicate the return of a particular underlying equity or debt security, currency, or market. When the participation note matures, the issuer of the participation note will pay to, or receive from, the Portfolio the difference between the nominal value of the underlying instrument at the time of purchase and that instrument’s value at maturity. Participation notes involve the same risks associated with a direct investment in the underlying security, currency, or market. In addition, participation notes involve counterparty risk, because the Portfolio has no rights under participation notes against the issuer(s) of the underlying security(ies) and must rely on the creditworthiness of the issuer of the participation note.

NAV Risk: The net asset value of the Portfolio and the value of your investment will fluctuate.

PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE

The following bar chart shows how the investment results of the Portfolio’s Investor Class shares have varied from year to year. The table that follows shows how the average annual total returns of the Portfolio’s Investor Class shares compare with a broad measure of market performance. Together, these provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. How the Investor Class shares of the Portfolio have performed in the past (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how it will perform in the future.

Updated Portfolio performance information is available at www.hardingloevnerfunds.com or by calling (877) 435-8105.

INTERNATIONAL SMALL COMPANIES PORTFOLIO

 

LOGO

The best calendar quarter return during the period shown above was 42.23% in the second quarter of 2009; the worst was -21.17% in the third quarter of 2011.

 

  9  


Table of Contents

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS

(for the periods ended December 31, 2018)

 
     1-YEAR      5-YEAR      10-YEAR  
INTERNATIONAL SMALL COMPANIES PORTFOLIO - INVESTOR CLASS

 

Return Before Taxes

     -17.61%        1.90%        12.07%  

Return After Taxes on Distributions1

     -18.75%        1.26%        11.52%  

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares1

     -9.20%        1.57%        10.18%  
MSCI ALL COUNTRY WORLD ex-U.S. SMALL CAP (NET) INDEX
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or U.S. taxes)
     -18.20%        1.96%        10.02%  
1After-tax returns in the table above are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. The return after taxes on distributions and sale of Portfolio shares may exceed the Portfolio’s other returns due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Portfolio shares at the end of the measurement period. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Portfolio shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or Individual Retirement Accounts.

 

MANAGEMENT

Investment Adviser

Harding Loevner serves as investment adviser to the Portfolio.

Portfolio Managers

Jafar Rizvi and Anix Vyas serve as the portfolio managers of the International Small Companies Portfolio. Mr. Rizvi has held his position since June 2011 and Mr. Vyas has held his position since April 2018. Messrs. Rizvi and Vyas are co-lead portfolio managers.

PURCHASE AND SALE OF PORTFOLIO SHARES

The minimum initial investment in the Investor Class of the Portfolio is $5,000. Additional purchases may be for any amount. You may purchase or redeem (sell) shares of the Portfolio on any business day through certain authorized brokers and other financial intermediaries or directly from the Portfolio by mail, telephone, or wire.

TAX CONSIDERATIONS

The Portfolio’s distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or a combination of the two, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account. Upon withdrawal, your investment through a tax-deferred arrangement may become taxable.

PAYMENTS TO BROKERS-DEALERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES

If you purchase Portfolio shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Portfolio and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Portfolio shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 

  10  


Table of Contents

PORTFOLIO

SUMMARY

  

EMERGING MARKETS PORTFOLIO

 

 

INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE

The Emerging Markets Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) seeks long-term capital appreciation through investments in equity securities of companies based in emerging markets.

PORTFOLIO FEES AND EXPENSES

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Advisor Class of the Portfolio.

 

SHAREHOLDER FEES

(fees paid directly from your investment)

 
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)      None  
Redemption Fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed within 90 days or less from the date of purchase)      2.00%  

ANNUAL PORTFOLIO OPERATING EXPENSES

(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the
value of your investment)

 
Management Fees      1.12%  
Distribution (12b-1) Fees      None  
Other Expenses      0.28%  
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses      1.40%  
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement1      0.00%  
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement1      1.40%  
1Harding Loevner LP has contractually agreed to waive a portion of its management fee and/or reimburse the Advisor Class of the Portfolio for its other operating expenses to the extent Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (excluding dividend expenses, borrowing costs, interest expense relating to short sales, interest, taxes, brokerage commissions and extraordinary expenses), as a percentage of average daily net assets, exceed 1.75% through February 28, 2020.

 

Example: This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Advisor Class of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Advisor Class of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Advisor Class’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

1 YEAR    3 YEARS    5 YEARS    10 YEARS
$143    $443    $766    $1,680

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may

indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 24% of the average value of its portfolio.

PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES

The Portfolio invests primarily in companies that are based in emerging and frontier markets. Emerging and frontier markets offer investment opportunities that arise from long-term trends in demographics, deregulation, offshore outsourcing, and improving corporate governance in developing countries. Harding Loevner LP (“Harding Loevner”), the Portfolio’s investment adviser, undertakes fundamental research in an effort to identify companies that are well managed, financially sound, fast growing, and strongly competitive, and whose shares are reasonably priced relative to estimates of their value. To reduce its volatility, the Portfolio is diversified across dimensions of geography, industry, and currency. The Portfolio normally holds investments across at least 15 countries. Emerging and frontier markets include countries that have an emerging stock market as defined by Morgan Stanley Capital International, countries or markets with low- to middle-income economies as classified by the World Bank, and other countries or markets with similar characteristics. Emerging and frontier markets tend to have relatively low gross national product per capita compared to the world’s major economies and may have the potential for rapid economic growth.

Factors bearing on whether a company is considered to be “based” in an emerging or frontier market may include: (1) it is legally domiciled in an emerging or frontier market; (2) it conducts at least 50% of its business, as measured by the location of its sales, earnings, assets, or production, in an emerging or frontier market; or (3) it has the principal exchange listing for its securities in an emerging or frontier market.

The Portfolio will invest broadly in equity securities of companies domiciled in one of at least 15 countries with emerging or frontier markets, generally considered to include all countries except Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. At least 65% of the Portfolio’s total assets will be denominated in at least three currencies other than the U.S. dollar. For purposes of compliance with this restriction, American Depositary Receipts, Global Depositary Receipts, and European Depositary Receipts (collectively, “Depositary Receipts”) will be considered to be denominated in the currency of the country where the

 

  11  


Table of Contents

securities underlying the Depositary Receipts are principally traded.

The Portfolio invests at least 65% of its total assets in common stocks, preferred stocks, rights, and warrants issued by companies that are based in emerging or frontier markets, securities convertible into such securities (including Depositary Receipts), and investment companies that invest in the types of securities in which the Portfolio would normally invest. The Portfolio also may invest in securities of U.S. companies that derive, or are expected to derive, a significant portion of their revenues from their foreign operations, although under normal circumstances, not more than 15% of the Portfolio’s total assets will be invested in securities of U.S. companies.

The Portfolio invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in emerging markets securities, which includes frontier markets securities, and investment companies that invest in the types of securities in which the Portfolio would normally invest.

Because some emerging market countries do not permit foreigners to participate directly in their securities markets or otherwise present difficulties for efficient foreign investment, the Portfolio may use equity derivative securities, and, in particular, participation notes, to gain exposure to those countries.

PRINCIPAL RISKS

The Portfolio is subject to numerous risks, any of which could cause an investor to lose money. The principal risks of the Portfolio are as follows:

Market Risk: Investments in the Portfolio may lose value due to a general downturn in stock markets.

Currency Risk: Foreign currencies may experience steady or sudden devaluation relative to the U.S. dollar, adversely affecting the value of the Portfolio’s investments. Because the Portfolio’s net asset value is determined on the basis of U.S. dollars, if the local currency of a foreign market depreciates against the U.S. dollar, you may lose money even if the foreign market prices of the Portfolio’s holdings rise.

Foreign Investment Risk: Securities issued by foreign entities involve risks not associated with U.S. investments. These risks include additional taxation, political, economic, social or diplomatic instability, and the above-mentioned possibility of changes in foreign currency exchange rates. There may also be less publicly-available information about a foreign issuer. Such risks may be magnified with respect to securities of issuers in frontier emerging markets.

Emerging and Frontier Market Risk: Emerging and frontier market securities involve certain risks, such as exposure to economies less diverse and mature than that of the United States or more established foreign markets. Economic or political instability may cause larger price changes in emerging or frontier market securities than in

securities of issuers based in more developed foreign countries.

Participation Notes Risk: Participation notes are issued by banks, or broker-dealers, or their affiliates and are designed to replicate the return of a particular underlying equity or debt security, currency, or market. When the participation note matures, the issuer of the participation note will pay to, or receive from, the Portfolio the difference between the nominal value of the underlying instrument at the time of purchase and that instrument’s value at maturity. Participation notes involve the same risks associated with a direct investment in the underlying security, currency, or market. In addition, participation notes involve counterparty risk, because the Portfolio has no rights under participation notes against the issuer(s) of the underlying security(ies) and must rely on the creditworthiness of the issuer of the participation note.

NAV Risk: The net asset value of the Portfolio and the value of your investment will fluctuate.

Financial Sector Risk: To the extent the Portfolio invests in securities and other obligations of issuers in the financials sector, the Portfolio will be vulnerable to events affecting companies in the financials industry. Examples of risks affecting the financials sector include changes in governmental regulation, issues relating to the availability and cost of capital, changes in interest rates and/or monetary policy, and price competition. In addition, financials companies are often more highly leveraged than other companies, making them inherently riskier.

PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE

The following bar chart shows how the investment results of the Portfolio’s Advisor Class shares have varied from year to year. The table that follows shows how the average total returns of the Portfolio’s Advisor Class shares compare with a broad measure of market performance. Together these provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. How the Advisor Class shares of the Portfolio have performed in the past (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how it will perform in the future.

Updated Portfolio performance information is available at www.hardingloevnerfunds.com or by calling (877) 435-8105.

EMERGING MARKETS PORTFOLIO

 

LOGO

 

  12  


Table of Contents

The best calendar quarter return during the period shown above was 32.85% in the second quarter of 2009; the worst was -21.20% in the third quarter of 2011.

 

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS

(for the periods ended December 31, 2018)

 
     1-YEAR      5-YEAR      10-YEAR  
EMERGING MARKETS PORTFOLIO - ADVISOR CLASS

 

Return Before Taxes

     -18.72%        1.13%        8.23%  

Return After Taxes on Distributions1

     -18.75%        0.88%        7.90%  

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares1

     -10.82%        0.97%        6.88%  
MSCI EMERGING MARKETS (NET) INDEX
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or U.S. taxes)
     -14.58%        1.65%        8.02%  
1After-tax returns in the table above are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. The return after taxes on distributions and sale of Portfolio shares may exceed the Portfolio’s other returns due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Portfolio shares at the end of the measurement period. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Portfolio shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or Individual Retirement Accounts.

 

MANAGEMENT

Investment Adviser

Harding Loevner serves as investment adviser to the Portfolio.

Portfolio Managers

Scott Crawshaw, Craig Shaw, Pradipta Chakrabortty, G. Rusty Johnson, and Richard Schmidt serve as the portfolio managers of the Emerging Markets Portfolio. Mr. Crawshaw has held his position since June 2014, Mr. Shaw has held his position since December 2006, Mr. Chakrabortty has held his position since January 2015, Mr. Johnson has held his position since the Portfolio’s inception in November 1998, and Mr. Schmidt has held his position since December 2011. Messrs. Crawshaw and Shaw are the co-lead portfolio managers.

PURCHASE AND SALE OF PORTFOLIO SHARES

The minimum initial investment in the Advisor Class of the Portfolio is $5,000. Additional purchases may be for any amount. You may purchase or redeem (sell) shares of the Portfolio on any business day through certain authorized brokers and other financial intermediaries or directly from the Portfolio by mail, telephone, or wire.

Shares of the Emerging Markets Portfolio may not be available for purchase by all investors through financial intermediaries. For more information, see the section captioned “Shareholder Information—Purchase and Redemption of Shares” in the Portfolio’s prospectus.

TAX CONSIDERATIONS

The Portfolio’s distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or a combination of the two, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account. Upon withdrawal, your investment through a tax-deferred arrangement may become taxable.

PAYMENTS TO BROKERS-DEALERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES

If you purchase Portfolio shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Portfolio and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Portfolio shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 

  13  


Table of Contents

PORTFOLIO

SUMMARY

  

FRONTIER EMERGING MARKETS PORTFOLIO

 

 

INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE

The Frontier Emerging Markets Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) seeks long-term capital appreciation through investments in equity securities of companies based in frontier and smaller emerging markets.

PORTFOLIO FEES AND EXPENSES

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Investor Class of the Portfolio.

 

SHAREHOLDER FEES

(fees paid directly from your investment)

 
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)      None  
Redemption Fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed within 90 days or less from the date of purchase)      2.00%  

ANNUAL PORTFOLIO OPERATING EXPENSES

(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the
value of your investment)

 
Management Fees      1.35%  
Distribution (12b-1) Fees      0.25%  
Other Expenses      0.46%  
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses      2.06%  
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement1      -0.06%  
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement1      2.00%  
1Harding Loevner LP has contractually agreed to waive a portion of its management fee and/or reimburse the Investor Class of the Portfolio for its other operating expenses to the extent Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (excluding dividend expenses, borrowing costs, interest expense relating to short sales, interest, taxes, brokerage commissions and extraordinary expenses), as a percentage of average daily net assets, exceed 2.00% through February 28, 2020.

 

Example: This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Investor Class of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Investor Class of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Investor Class’s operating expenses remain the same, except that the example assumes the fee waiver and expense reimbursement agreement pertains only through February 28, 2020. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

1 YEAR    3 YEARS    5 YEARS    10 YEARS
$203    $640    $1,103    $2,385

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 20% of the average value of its portfolio.

PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES

The Portfolio invests primarily in companies that are based in frontier emerging markets, including the smaller traditionally-recognized emerging markets. Frontier emerging markets, with the exception of the oil-producing Gulf States and certain of the smaller traditionally-recognized emerging markets, tend to have relatively low gross national product per capita compared to the larger traditionally-recognized emerging markets and the world’s major developed economies. The frontier emerging markets include the least developed markets even by emerging markets standards. Frontier emerging markets offer investment opportunities that arise from long-term trends in demographics, deregulation, offshore outsourcing and improving corporate governance in developing countries. Harding Loevner LP (“Harding Loevner”), the Portfolio’s investment adviser, undertakes fundamental research in an effort to identify companies that are well managed, financially sound, fast growing, and strongly competitive, and whose shares are reasonably priced relative to estimates of their value. To reduce its volatility, the Portfolio is diversified across dimensions of geography, industry, and currency. The Portfolio normally holds investments across at least 15 countries.

As used herein, frontier emerging markets include countries that are represented in the MSCI Frontier Markets Index or the S&P Frontier Markets BMI, or similar market indices, and the smaller of the traditionally-recognized emerging markets, such as those individually constituting less than 5% of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index or the S&P Emerging Markets BMI. Factors bearing on whether a company is considered to be “based” in a frontier emerging market may include: (1) it is legally domiciled in a frontier emerging market; (2) it conducts at least 50% of its business, as measured by the location of its sales, earnings, assets, or production, in frontier emerging markets; or (3) it has the principal exchange listing for its securities in a frontier emerging market. Frontier emerging markets generally include all countries except Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal,

 

  14  


Table of Contents

Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States and the larger traditionally-recognized emerging markets of Taiwan, South Korea, Mexico, South Africa, Brazil, India, China, and Russia. At least 65% of the Portfolio’s total assets will be denominated in at least three currencies other than the U.S. dollar. For purposes of compliance with this restriction, American Depositary Receipts, Global Depositary Receipts, and European Depositary Receipts (collectively, “Depositary Receipts”) will be considered to be denominated in the currency of the country where the securities underlying the Depositary Receipts are principally traded.

The Portfolio invests at least 65% of its total assets in common stocks, preferred stocks, rights, and warrants issued by companies that are based in the frontier emerging markets, securities convertible into such securities (including Depositary Receipts), and investment companies that invest in the types of securities in which the Portfolio would normally invest. The Portfolio also may invest in securities of U.S. companies that derive, or are expected to derive, a significant portion of their revenues from their foreign operations, although under normal circumstances, not more than 15% of the Portfolio’s total assets will be invested in securities of U.S. companies.

The Portfolio invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in frontier emerging market securities, and investment companies that invest in the types of securities in which the Portfolio would normally invest.

The Portfolio may invest up to 35% of its total assets in securities of companies in any one industry if, at the time of investment, that industry represents 20% or more of the Portfolio’s benchmark index, currently the MSCI Frontier Emerging Markets Index.

Because some frontier emerging market countries do not permit foreigners to participate directly in their securities markets or otherwise present difficulties for efficient foreign investment, the Portfolio may use equity derivative securities, and, in particular, participation notes, to gain exposure to those countries.

PRINCIPAL RISKS

The Portfolio is subject to numerous risks, any of which could cause an investor to lose money. The principal risks of the Portfolio are as follows:

Market Risk: Investments in the Portfolio may lose value due to a general downturn in stock markets.

Currency Risk: Foreign currencies may experience steady or sudden devaluation relative to the U.S. dollar, adversely affecting the value of the Portfolio’s investments. Because the Portfolio’s net asset value is determined on the basis of U.S. dollars, if the local currency of a foreign market depreciates against the U.S. dollar, you may lose money even if the foreign market prices of the Portfolio’s holdings rise.

Foreign Investment Risk: Securities issued by foreign entities involve risks not associated with U.S. investments. These risks include additional taxation, political, economic, social or diplomatic instability, and the above-mentioned possibility of changes in the foreign currency exchange rates. There may also be less publicly-available information about a foreign issuer. Such risks may be magnified with respect to securities of issuers in frontier emerging markets.

Frontier Emerging Market Risk: Frontier emerging market securities involve certain risks, such as exposure to economies less diverse and mature than that of the United States or more established foreign markets. Economic or political instability may cause larger price changes in frontier emerging market securities than in securities of issuers based in more developed foreign countries, including securities of issuers based in larger emerging markets. Frontier emerging markets generally receive less investor attention than developed markets and larger emerging markets.

Participation Notes Risk: Participation notes are issued by banks, or broker-dealers, or their affiliates and are designed to replicate the return of a particular underlying equity or debt security, currency, or market. When the participation note matures, the issuer of the participation note will pay to, or receive from, the Portfolio the difference between the nominal value of the underlying instrument at the time of purchase and that instrument’s value at maturity. Participation notes involve the same risks associated with a direct investment in the underlying security, currency, or market. In addition, participation notes involve counterparty risk, because the Portfolio has no rights under participation notes against the issuer(s) of the underlying security(ies) and must rely on the creditworthiness of the issuer of the participation note.

Concentration Risk: The Portfolio may invest up to 35% of its total assets in securities of companies in any one industry if, at the time of investment, that industry represents 20% or more of the Portfolio’s benchmark index, currently the MSCI Frontier Emerging Markets Index. Accordingly, at any time the Portfolio has such a concentration of investments in a single industry group, it will be particularly vulnerable to factors that adversely affect that industry group.

NAV Risk: The net asset value of the Portfolio and the value of your investment will fluctuate.

Financial Sector Risk: To the extent the Portfolio invests in securities and other obligations of issuers in the financials sector, the Portfolio will be vulnerable to events affecting companies in the financials industry. Examples of risks affecting the financials sector include changes in governmental regulation, issues relating to the availability and cost of capital, changes in interest rates and/or monetary policy, and price competition. In addition, financials companies are often more highly leveraged than other companies, making them inherently riskier.

 

  15  


Table of Contents

PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE

The following bar chart shows how the investment results of the Portfolio’s Investor Class shares have varied from year to year. The table that follows shows how the average annual total returns of the Portfolio’s Investor Class shares compare with a broad measure of market performance. Together, these provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. How the Investor Class shares of the Portfolio have performed in the past (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how it will perform in the future.

Updated Portfolio performance information is available at www.hardingloevnerfunds.com or by calling (877) 435-8105.

FRONTIER EMERGING MARKETS PORTFOLIO

 

LOGO

The best calendar quarter return during the period shown above was 10.42% in the first quarter of 2012; the worst was -15.70% in the third quarter of 2011.

 

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS

(for the periods ended December 31, 2018)

 
     1-YEAR      5 YEARS      SINCE
INCEPTION
12/31/10
 
FRONTIER EMERGING MARKETS PORTFOLIO - INVESTOR CLASS

 

Return Before Taxes

     -15.69%        -1.86%        -0.02%  

Return After Taxes on Distributions1

     -15.67%        -1.95%        -0.11%  

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares1

     -8.98%        -1.26%        0.09%  

MSCI FRONTIER EMERGING MARKETS (NET) INDEX

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or U.S. taxes)

     -14.60%        -0.09%        0.43%  
1After-tax returns in the table above are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. The return after taxes on distributions and sale of Portfolio shares may exceed the Portfolio’s other returns due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Portfolio shares at the end of the measurement period. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Portfolio shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or Individual Retirement Accounts.

 

MANAGEMENT

Investment Adviser

Harding Loevner serves as investment adviser to the Portfolio.

Portfolio Managers

Pradipta Chakrabortty and Babatunde Ojo serve as the portfolio managers of the Frontier Emerging Markets Portfolio. Mr. Chakrabortty has held his position since December 2008 and Mr. Ojo has held his position since June 2014. Messrs. Chakrabortty and Ojo are co-lead portfolio managers.

PURCHASE AND SALE OF PORTFOLIO SHARES

The minimum initial investment in the Investor Class of the Portfolio is $5,000. Additional purchases may be for any amount. You may purchase or redeem (sell) shares of the Portfolio on any business day through certain authorized brokers and other financial intermediaries or directly from the Portfolio by mail, telephone, or wire.

TAX CONSIDERATIONS

The Portfolio’s distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or a combination of the two, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account. Upon withdrawal, your investment through a tax-deferred arrangement may become taxable.

PAYMENTS TO BROKERS-DEALERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES

If you purchase Portfolio shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Portfolio and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Portfolio shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 

  16  


Table of Contents

INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES AND INVESTMENT PROCESS

Harding, Loevner Funds, Inc. (the “Fund”) is a no-load, open-end management investment company that currently has nine separate diversified portfolios including the Global Equity Portfolio, International Equity Portfolio, International Small Companies Portfolio, Emerging Markets Portfolio, and Frontier Emerging Markets Portfolio whose Advisor and Investor Class shares are offered in this Prospectus (each, a “Portfolio,” and collectively, the “Portfolios”). Each Portfolio has its own investment objective, strategy, and policies. The Fund is advised by Harding Loevner. There is no assurance that a Portfolio will achieve its investment objective.

The investment objectives, policies, and risks of the Portfolios are detailed below. Except as otherwise indicated, the Fund’s board of directors (the “Board of Directors”) may change the investment policies at any time to the extent that such changes are consistent with the investment objective of the applicable Portfolio.

However, each Portfolio’s investment objective is fundamental and may not be changed without a majority vote of the Portfolio’s outstanding shares, which is defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, as the lesser of (a) 67% of the shares of the applicable Portfolio present or represented if the holders of more than 50% of the shares are present or represented at the shareholders’ meeting, or (b) more than 50% of the shares of the applicable Portfolio (a “majority vote”).

The Portfolios may, from time to time, take temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with the Portfolios’ principal investment strategies in attempting to respond to adverse changes in market and economic conditions. For temporary defensive purposes, the Portfolios may temporarily hold cash (foreign currencies or multinational currency) and/or invest up to 100% of their assets in high quality debt securities or money market instruments of U.S. or foreign issuers. The Portfolios may miss certain investment opportunities if they use such temporary defensive strategies and thus may not achieve their investment objectives.

 

INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES

The investment objective of each Portfolio is:

 

Portfolio    Objective
Global Equity    Seeks long-term capital appreciation through investments in equity securities of companies based both inside and outside the United States
International Equity    Seeks long-term capital appreciation through investments in equity securities of companies based outside the United States
International Small Companies    Seeks long-term capital appreciation through investments in equity securities of small companies based outside the United States
Emerging Markets    Seeks long-term capital appreciation through investments in equity securities of companies based in emerging markets
Frontier Emerging Markets    Seeks long-term capital appreciation through investments in equity securities of companies based in frontier and smaller emerging markets

 

  17  


Table of Contents

INVESTMENT PROCESS

Harding Loevner believes investing in the shares of high-quality growing businesses at reasonable prices leads to superior risk-adjusted returns over the long-term. The firm manages the Portfolios utilizing a bottom-up, business-focused approach based on careful study of individual companies and the competitive dynamics of the global industries in which they participate. The process Harding Loevner uses to identify and value companies consists of four parts: (1) Initial Qualification of companies for further research; (2) In-Depth Research into the businesses of qualified candidates; (3) Valuation and Rating of securities of potential investments; and (4) Portfolio Construction by selecting from analyst-rated securities to create a diversified portfolio from the most-promising opportunities.

To qualify companies for intensive research, Harding Loevner’s investment analysts survey companies in their assigned portions of the investment universe to identify potential candidates that meet four key criteria. They must exhibit: (i) Competitive Advantages that enable them to earn high margins that can be sustained over time; (ii) Sustainable Growth in sales, earnings, and cash flows; (iii) Financial Strength, in terms of free cash flow and available borrowing capacity; and (iv) Quality Management including a proven record of success and respect for interests of minority shareholders. Sources for investment ideas include, but are not limited to, analysts’ investigations into the competitors, suppliers, and customers of existing companies under research; their encounters with companies during onsite company visits, investor conferences, trade shows, and other research travel; and objective screens on company fundamentals using Harding Loevner’s quality and growth metrics.

Companies that appear qualified on these key criteria are then examined more intensively using primary and secondary sources, including company reports, management interviews, contact with trade associations, and visits to company facilities. Investment analysts assess qualified companies on ten competitive management and financial characteristics using a proprietary scoring system known as the Quality Assessment (“QA”) framework. This framework aids analysts in gaining insight into companies’ competitive positions and the extent and durability of their growth prospects, and facilitates comparing businesses across different countries and industries.

To evaluate the investment potential of the strongest candidates, analysts use a multi-stage cash-flow return on investment approach to construct financial models incorporating their forecasts for long-term growth in earnings and cash flows. The financial models include adjustments based upon the QA score. Analysts primarily use a discounted cash flow analysis to estimate the value of companies’ securities. Based upon their business forecasts and evaluation of investment potential, analysts predict the relative price performance of stocks under their coverage, and issue purchase and sale recommendations accordingly. When issuing a recommendation on the stock of a company, analysts

also set out expectations for the future business performance of the company (“mileposts”). These mileposts provide analysts with an indelible record of their expectations for the business and form the basis of ongoing review of the company’s progress.

In constructing portfolios for the Global Equity, International Equity, International Small Companies, Emerging Markets, and Frontier Emerging Markets Portfolios, Harding Loevner’s portfolio managers select among the analyzed securities. The portfolio managers take into consideration the securities’ predicted relative price performance, the timeliness and investment potential, the implications for portfolio risk of their selections, and the requirement to observe portfolio diversification guidelines.

A holding is reduced or removed from a Portfolio if and when it: (i) grows to too large a proportion of the portfolio, in terms of its impact on portfolio risk; (ii) becomes substantially overpriced in relation to its estimated value; (iii) fails to achieve the pre-established milestones for business (as opposed to share price) performance, including breach of trust by management; or (iv) is displaced by more compelling investment opportunities.

 

  18  


Table of Contents

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON PORTFOLIO INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS

OTHER INVESTMENT STRATEGIES

The Global Equity, International Equity, and International Small Companies Portfolios may each invest up to 20%, and the Emerging Markets and Frontier Emerging Markets Portfolios may each invest up to 35%, of their respective total assets in debt securities of domestic and foreign issuers, including emerging market and frontier emerging market issuers. The types of debt securities the Portfolios may invest in include instruments such as corporate bonds, debentures, notes, commercial paper, short-term notes, medium-term notes, and variable rate notes. Such securities may be rated below investment grade, that is, rated below Baa by Moody’s or below BBB by S&P and in unrated securities judged to be of equivalent quality (commonly referred to as “junk bonds”) as determined by Harding Loevner. However, a Portfolio may not invest in securities rated, at the time of investment, C or below by Moody’s, or D or below by S&P, or in securities of comparable quality as determined by Harding Loevner.

RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PORTFOLIOS’ INVESTMENT POLICIES AND TECHNIQUES

The share price of a Portfolio will change daily based on changes in the value of the securities that a Portfolio holds. The principal risks of investing in each of the Portfolios and the circumstances reasonably likely to cause the value of your investment to decline are described in the “Portfolio Summary” section of each Portfolio in this Prospectus. Additional information concerning those principal risks and the additional risks that apply to each Portfolio is set forth below. Please note that there are other circumstances that are not described here that could cause the value of your investment to decline and prevent a Portfolio from achieving its investment objective.

Market Risk. The risk that the value of the securities in which a Portfolio invests may go up or down in response to the prospects of individual companies, particular industry sectors or governments and/or such factors as general economic conditions, political or regulatory developments, changes in interest rates, and perceived desirability of equity securities relative to other investments. Price changes may be temporary or last for extended periods. A Portfolio’s investments may be over-weighted from time to time in one or more industry sectors, which will increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risk of loss from adverse developments affecting those sectors.

Geopolitical Risk. The value of your investment in the Portfolios is based on the market prices of the securities the Portfolios hold. These prices change daily due to

economic and other events that affect markets generally, as well as those that affect particular regions, countries, industries, companies or governments. These price movements, sometimes called volatility, may be greater or less depending on the types of securities a Portfolio owns and the markets in which the securities trade. The interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market. Securities in a Portfolio may decline in value due to inflation (or expectations for inflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, natural disasters, wars, terrorism, regulatory events and governmental or quasi-governmental actions. Further, the recent rise of nationalist economic policies, including trade protectionism may have a negative impact on the Portfolios’ performance. It is difficult to predict when similar events or policies may affect the U.S. or global financial markets or the effects that such events or policies may have. Any such events or policies could have a significant adverse impact on the value and risk profile of a Portfolio.

Foreign Investments. Securities issued by foreign governments, foreign corporations, international agencies and obligations of foreign banks involve risks not associated with securities issued by U.S. entities. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates may affect the value of investments of a Portfolio. With respect to certain foreign countries, there is the possibility of expropriation of assets, confiscatory taxation and political or social instability or diplomatic developments that could affect investment in those countries. There may be less publicly-available information about a foreign financial instrument than about a U.S. instrument and foreign entities may not be subject to accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and requirements comparable to those of U.S. entities. A Portfolio could encounter difficulties in obtaining or enforcing a judgment against the issuer in certain foreign countries. Such risks may be magnified with respect to securities of issuers in frontier emerging markets. In addition, certain foreign investments may be subject to foreign withholding or other taxes, although the Portfolio will seek to minimize such withholding taxes whenever practical. Investors may be able to deduct such taxes in computing their taxable income or to use such amounts as credits (subject to a holding period and certain other restrictions) against their U.S. income taxes if more than 50% of the Portfolio’s total assets at the close of any taxable year consist of stock or securities of foreign corporations. Ownership of unsponsored Depositary Receipts may not entitle the Portfolio to financial or other reports from the issuer to which it would be entitled as the owner of sponsored Depositary Receipts. See also “Shareholder Information—Tax Considerations” below.

Emerging and Frontier Market Securities. The risks of investing in foreign securities may be intensified in the case of investments in issuers domiciled or doing substantial business in developing countries with limited or immature capital markets. Security prices and

 

  19  


Table of Contents

currency valuations in emerging and frontier markets can be significantly more volatile than in the more established markets of the developed nations, reflecting the greater uncertainties of investing in less mature markets and economies. In particular, developing countries may have relatively unstable governments, present the risk of sudden adverse government action and even nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership, or prohibitions of repatriation of assets, and may have less protection of property rights than more developed countries. The economies of developing countries may be predominantly based on only a few industries, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions and may suffer from extreme debt burdens or volatile inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of substantial holdings difficult or impossible at times. Transaction settlement and dividend collection procedures may be less reliable than in developed markets. Securities of issuers located in developing countries may have limited marketability and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements.

Small- and Mid-Capitalization Companies. Investment in smaller and medium-sized companies involves greater risk than investment in larger, more established companies. Their common stock and other securities may trade less frequently and in limited volume. Accordingly, the prices of such securities are generally more sensitive to purchase and sale transactions and tend to be more volatile than the prices of securities of companies with larger market capitalizations. Because of this, if a Portfolio wishes to sell a large quantity of a small or medium-sized company’s shares, it may have to sell at a lower price than it believes is reflective of the value of the shares, or it may have to sell in smaller quantities than desired and over a period of time. These companies may face greater business risks because they lack the management depth or experience, financial resources, product diversification, or competitive strengths of larger companies, and they may be more adversely affected by poor economic conditions. There may be less publicly-available information about smaller companies than larger companies. Small company stocks, as a group, tend to go in and out of favor based on economic conditions and market sentiment, and during certain periods will perform poorly relative to other types of investments, including larger company stocks. Generally, the smaller the company size, the greater these risks become.

High Yield/High Risk Securities. The Portfolios may invest in debt and convertible securities rated lower than Baa by Moody’s or BBB by S&P, or unrated securities of equivalent quality (commonly referred to as “junk bonds”) as determined by Harding Loevner. Junk bonds typically involve greater risk and are less liquid than higher grade debt securities. The lower the ratings of such debt securities, the greater their risks render them like equity securities. None of the Portfolios may invest in securities rated, at the time of investment, C or below by Moody’s, or D or below by S&P, or the equivalent as

determined by Harding Loevner, which may be in default with respect to payment of principal or interest.

Illiquid and Restricted Securities. Each Portfolio may invest up to 15% of the value of its net assets in illiquid securities. Illiquid securities are securities that may not be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business within seven days at approximately the value at which a Portfolio has valued the investments and include securities with legal or contractual restrictions on resale, time deposits, repurchase agreements having maturities longer than seven days and securities that do not have readily available market quotations. In addition, a Portfolio may invest in securities that are sold in private placement transactions between their issuers and their purchasers and that are neither listed on an exchange nor traded over-the-counter. These factors may have an adverse effect on the Portfolio’s ability to dispose of particular securities and may limit a Portfolio’s ability to obtain accurate market quotations for purposes of valuing securities and calculating net asset value and to sell securities at fair value. If any privately placed securities held by a Portfolio are required to be registered under the securities laws of one or more jurisdictions before being resold, the Portfolio may be required to bear the expenses of registration.

Derivatives and Hedging. The Portfolios may use derivative instruments, including without limitation, options, futures, participation notes, options on futures, forwards, swaps, structured securities, and derivatives relating to foreign currency transactions (collectively, “derivatives”), for hedging purposes and to increase overall return for the Portfolios. The use of derivatives involves special risks, including possible default by the other party to the transaction, illiquidity and, to the extent a Portfolio’s orientation as to certain anticipated market movements is incorrect, the possibility that the use of derivatives could result in greater losses than if they had not been used.

Options and Futures. The Portfolios may purchase or sell options. The sale of put and call options could result in losses to a Portfolio, force the purchase or sale of portfolio securities at inopportune times, or for prices higher or lower than current market values, or cause the Portfolio to hold a security it might otherwise sell. The purchase of options involves costs associated with the option premium and, if the option is exercised, risks associated with the settlement and the creditworthiness of the party selling the option. The use of options and futures transactions entails certain special risks. In particular, the variable degree of correlation between price movements of futures contracts and price movements in the related portfolio position of a Portfolio could create the possibility that losses on the derivative will be greater than gains in the value of the Portfolio’s position. The loss from investing in futures transactions that are unhedged or uncovered is potentially unlimited. In addition, futures and options markets could be illiquid in some circumstances and certain over-the-counter options could have no markets. A Portfolio might not be able to close out certain positions without incurring substantial losses. To the extent a Portfolio utilizes

 

  20  


Table of Contents

futures and options transactions for hedging, such transactions should tend to reduce the risk of loss due to a decline in the value of the hedged position and, at the same time, limit any potential gain to the Portfolio that might result from an increase in value of the position. Finally, the daily variation margin requirements for futures contracts create a greater ongoing potential financial risk than would the purchase of options, in which case the exposure is limited to the cost of the initial premium and transaction costs.

Participation Notes. Participation notes are issued by banks, or broker-dealers, or their affiliates and are designed to replicate the return of a particular underlying equity or debt security, currency, or market. When the participation note matures, the issuer of the participation note will pay to, or receive from, a Portfolio the difference between the nominal value of the underlying instrument at the time of purchase and that instrument’s value at maturity. Participation notes involve the same risks associated with a direct investment in the underlying security, currency, or market that they seek to replicate. A Portfolio has no rights under participation notes against the issuer(s) of the underlying security(ies) and must rely on the creditworthiness of the issuer(s) of the participation notes. In general, the opportunity to sell participation notes to a third party will be limited or nonexistent.

Additional information regarding the risks and special considerations associated with derivatives appears in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”), which may be obtained by following the instructions at the back of this Prospectus.

NAV Risk. The net asset value of a Portfolio and the value of your investment will fluctuate.

Geographic Risk. Concentration of the investments of a Portfolio in issuers located in a particular country or region will subject such Portfolio, to a greater extent than if investments were less concentrated, to the risks of volatile economic cycles and/or conditions, and developments that may be particular to that country or region, such as: adverse securities markets; adverse exchange rates; social, political, regulatory, economic or environmental developments; or natural disasters.

Management Risk. A strategy used by Harding Loevner may fail to produce the intended results.

Credit Quality. The value of an individual security or particular type of security can be more volatile than the market as a whole and can behave differently from the value of the market as a whole. Lower-quality debt securities (those of less than investment-grade quality) and certain other types of securities involve greater risk of default or price changes due to changes in the credit quality of the issuer. The value of lower-quality debt securities and certain other types of securities can be more volatile due to increased sensitivity to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments, and such securities might be difficult to resell.

Debt Security Risk. Debt securities may lose value due to unfavorable fluctuations in the level of interest rates or due to a decline in the creditworthiness of the issuer. As interest rates rise, the value of debt securities generally declines. This risk is generally greater for debt securities with longer maturities than for debt securities with shorter maturities.

Counterparty (or Default) Risk. An issuer of fixed-income securities held by a Portfolio or a counterparty to a derivative transaction entered into by a Portfolio may default on its obligation to pay interest and repay principal. Generally, the lower the credit rating of a security, the greater the risk that the issuer of the security will default on its obligation. High-quality securities are generally believed to have relatively low degrees of credit risk. The Portfolios intend to enter into financial transactions only with counterparties that are creditworthy at the time of the transactions. There is always the risk that the analysis of creditworthiness is incorrect or may change due to market conditions. To the extent that a Portfolio focuses its transactions with a limited number of counterparties, it will be more susceptible to the risks associated with one or more counterparties.

Concentration Risk. The Frontier Emerging Markets Portfolio may invest up to 35% of its total assets in the securities of companies in any one industry if, at the time of investment, that industry represents 20% or more of the Portfolio’s benchmark index, currently the MSCI Frontier Emerging Markets Index. At any time the Portfolio has such a concentration of investments in a single industry group, it will be particularly vulnerable to adverse economic, political, and other factors that affect that industry group. Investment opportunities in many frontier emerging market countries may be concentrated in the banking industry. In many frontier emerging markets, banks are among the largest publicly-traded companies and their securities are among the most widely traded. The banking industry is a comparatively narrow segment of the economy generally, including in frontier emerging market countries and, therefore, the Portfolio may experience greater volatility than portfolios investing in a less-concentrated fashion or a broader range of industries. Issuers in the banking industry may be subject to additional risks such as increased competition within the industry, or changes in legislation, or government regulations affecting the industry. The value of the Portfolio’s shares may be particularly vulnerable to factors affecting the banking industry, such as the availability and cost of capital funds, changes in interest rates, the rate of corporate and consumer debt defaults, extensive government regulation, and price competition. Such risks may be magnified with respect to securities of issuers in frontier emerging markets. Please refer to the Portfolio’s SAI for further information relating to concentration.

Currency Risk. Investments in foreign currencies are subject to the risk that those currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar or, in the case of hedged positions, that the U.S. dollar will decline relative to the currency being hedged. Currency exchange rates may

 

  21  


Table of Contents

experience steady or sudden fluctuation over short periods of time. A decline in the value of foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar will reduce the value of securities held by a Portfolio and denominated in those currencies. A Portfolio may seek to reduce currency risk by hedging part or all of its exposure to various foreign currencies, although a Portfolio generally does not hedge foreign currency exposure; however, if such hedging techniques are employed, there is no assurance that they will be successful.

Financial Sector Risk. To the extent a Portfolio invests in securities and other obligations of issuers in the financials sector, the Portfolio will be vulnerable to events affecting companies in the financials industry. Examples of risks affecting the financials sector include changes in governmental regulation, issues relating to the availability and cost of capital, changes in interest rates and/or monetary policy, and price competition. In addition, financials companies are often more highly leveraged than other companies, making them inherently riskier.

DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS

A description of the Fund’s policies and procedures regarding disclosure of each Portfolio’s portfolio securities is available in the SAI. Portfolio holdings information as of each calendar quarter end is available to shareholders on the Fund’s website. This information is available no sooner than five (5) business days after the applicable calendar quarter end. Certain other additional information about the Fund’s Portfolios is available publicly on the website for AMG Funds, www.amgfunds.com.

 

  22  


Table of Contents

MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND

INVESTMENT ADVISER

Harding Loevner serves as investment adviser to the Fund’s Portfolios. Harding Loevner, established in 1989, is a registered investment adviser that provides global investment management for private investors and institutions. As of December 31, 2018, Harding Loevner managed approximately $58 billion in assets. Harding Loevner is located at 400 Crossing Boulevard, Fourth Floor, Bridgewater, New Jersey 08807.

Subject to the direction and authority of the Board of Directors, Harding Loevner provides investment advisory services to each Portfolio pursuant to investment advisory agreements (the “Investment Advisory Agreements”). Under the Investment Advisory Agreements, Harding Loevner is responsible for providing investment research and advice, determining which portfolio securities shall be purchased or sold by each Portfolio, purchasing and selling securities on behalf of the Portfolios, and determining how voting and other rights with respect to the portfolio securities of the Portfolios are exercised in accordance with each Portfolio’s investment objective, policies, and restrictions. Harding Loevner also provides office space, equipment, and personnel necessary to manage the Portfolios. Harding Loevner bears the expense of providing the above services to each Portfolio.

The aggregate annualized advisory fees paid by each Portfolio, excluding any applicable waivers or reimbursements, to Harding Loevner during the fiscal year ended October 31, 2018 as a percentage of each Portfolio’s average daily net assets were:

 

Portfolio   

Aggregate

Advisory Fees

 
Global Equity      0.80
International Equity      0.67
International Small Companies      1.15
Emerging Markets      1.12
Frontier Emerging Markets      1.35

Harding Loevner may make payments from its own resources to parties that provide distribution, recordkeeping, shareholder communication, and other services under mutual fund supermarket and other programs. See also “Distribution of Fund Shares” below.

ADVISORY CONTRACT APPROVAL

A discussion of the basis for the Board of Director’s approval of the Investment Advisory Agreement for the Portfolios is available in the Fund’s annual report to shareholders for the period ended October 31, 2018.

PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

Peter Baughan, CFA has been a co-lead portfolio manager since 2003 and an analyst since 1997. As an analyst, he focuses on consumer discretionary and industrials companies. Mr. Baughan graduated from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 1983 and joined Harding Loevner in 1997. Mr. Baughan serves as a co-lead portfolio manager for the Global Equity Portfolio.

Pradipta Chakrabortty has been a portfolio manager and an analyst since 2008. As an analyst, he focuses on frontier emerging market companies. Mr. Chakrabortty graduated from BIRLA Institute of Technology & Science (Pilani, India) in 1994, received an MBA in Finance and Marketing from XLRI School of Management (Jamshedpur, India) in 1998, and received an MBA in Finance from University of Pennsylvania, the Wharton School, in 2008. He joined Harding Loevner in 2008. Mr. Chakrabortty serves as a co-lead portfolio manager for the Frontier Emerging Markets Portfolio and as a portfolio manager for the Institutional Emerging Markets Portfolio and Emerging Markets Portfolio.

Scott Crawshaw has been a portfolio manager since 2014 and an analyst since 2015. As an analyst, he focuses on emerging markets companies. Mr. Crawshaw graduated from University of Bristol in 1995. From 2004 to 2014, Mr. Crawshaw was a senior portfolio manager and research analyst for Russell Investments. He joined Harding Loevner in 2014. Mr. Crawshaw serves as a co-lead portfolio manager for the Institutional Emerging Markets Portfolio and Emerging Markets Portfolio and a portfolio manager for the Global Equity Portfolio and International Equity Portfolio.

G. Rusty Johnson, CFA has been a portfolio manager since 1998, and an analyst since 1994. As an analyst, he focuses on emerging markets companies. He graduated from Washington and Lee University in 1986. He also studied at Fu Jen University in Taiwan and Chinese University in Hong Kong. Mr. Johnson joined Harding Loevner in 1994. Mr. Johnson serves as a portfolio manager for the Institutional Emerging Markets Portfolio and Emerging Markets Portfolio.

Jingyi Li has been a portfolio manager since 2019 and an analyst since 2010. As an analyst, he focuses on industrials, utilities, and Chinese companies. Mr. Li graduated from Shanghai Jiaotong University in 1998 and received an MBA from the Yale School of Management in 2005. He joined Harding Loevner in 2010. Mr. Li serves as a portfolio manager for the Global Equity Portfolio.

Bryan Lloyd, CFA has been a portfolio manager since 2014 and an analyst since 2011 when he joined Harding Loevner. As an analyst, he focuses on financials companies. Mr. Lloyd graduated from Lafayette College in 1996. Mr. Lloyd serves as a portfolio manager for the International Equity Portfolio.

Christopher Mack, CFA has been a portfolio manager since 2014 and an analyst since 2008. As an analyst, he

 

  23  


Table of Contents

focuses on information technology companies. Mr. Mack graduated from Lafayette College in 2004 and joined Harding Loevner that same year. Mr. Mack serves as a portfolio manager for the Global Equity Portfolio.

Babatunde Ojo, CFA has been a portfolio manager since 2014 and an analyst since 2012. As an analyst, he focuses on frontier emerging markets companies. Mr. Ojo graduated from University of Lagos in 2002. He received an MBA in Finance and Management from University of Pennsylvania, the Wharton School, in 2012 and joined Harding Loevner that same year. Mr. Ojo serves as a co-lead portfolio manager for the Frontier Emerging Markets Portfolio.

Jafar Rizvi, CFA has been a portfolio manager since 2011 and an analyst since 2008. As an analyst, he focuses on communication services, consumer discretionary, and international small companies. Mr. Rizvi graduated from Aligarh University in 1988 and from J Nehru University in 1990. He received an MBA from Baruch College, The City University of New York in 1998 and an MPA from Columbia University’s School of International & Public Affairs in 2010. He joined Harding Loevner in 2008. Mr. Rizvi serves as a co-lead portfolio manager for the International Small Companies Portfolio.

Ferrill Roll, CFA has been a co-lead portfolio manager since 2001 an analyst since 1996, and the Co-Chief Investment Officer since 2016. As an analyst, he focuses on financials companies. Mr. Roll graduated from Stanford University in 1980 and joined Harding Loevner in 1996. Mr. Roll serves as a co-lead portfolio manager for the Global Equity Portfolio and International Equity Portfolio.

Richard Schmidt, CFA has been a portfolio manager and analyst since 2011. As an analyst, he focuses on consumer staples companies. Mr. Schmidt graduated from Georgetown University in 1986. He joined Harding Loevner in 2011. Mr. Schmidt serves as a portfolio manager for the Global Equity Portfolio, Institutional Emerging Markets Portfolio, and Emerging Markets Portfolio.

Craig Shaw, CFA has been a portfolio manager since 2006 and an analyst since 2001. As an analyst, he focuses on energy companies. Mr. Shaw graduated from Concordia College in 1986, and received an MIM in International Management from Thunderbird/Garvin School of International Management in 1989. He joined Harding Loevner in 2001. Mr. Shaw serves as a co-lead portfolio manager for the Institutional Emerging Markets Portfolio and Emerging Markets Portfolio.

Patrick Todd, CFA has been a portfolio manager since 2017 and an analyst since 2012 when he joined Harding Loevner. As an analyst, he focuses on health care and real estate companies. Mr. Todd graduated from Harvard University in 2002 and received an MBA in Applied Value Investing from Columbia Business School in 2011. Mr. Todd serves as a portfolio manager for the International Equity Portfolio.

Anix Vyas, CFA has been a portfolio manager since 2018 and an analyst since 2013. As an analyst, he focuses on industrials and materials companies. Mr. Vyas graduated from Fordham University in 2002 and received an MBA in Finance from University of Pennsylvania, the Wharton School, in 2010. He joined Harding Loevner in 2013. Mr. Vyas serves as a co-lead portfolio manager for the International Small Companies Portfolio.

Alexander Walsh, CFA has been a portfolio manager since 2001 and an analyst since 1994. As an analyst, he focuses on health care companies. Mr. Walsh graduated from McGill University in 1978 and joined Harding Loevner in 1994. Mr. Walsh serves as a portfolio manager for the International Equity Portfolio.

Andrew West, CFA has been a portfolio manager since 2014 and an analyst since 2006. From 2011 to 2019, he also served as Manager of Investment Research. As an analyst, he focuses on consumer discretionary and industrials companies. Mr. West graduated from the University of Central Florida in 1991 and received an MBA in Finance and International Business from New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, in 2003. He joined Harding Loevner in 2006. Mr. West serves as a co-lead portfolio manager for the International Equity Portfolio and a portfolio manager for the Global Equity Research Portfolio, International Equity Research Portfolio, and Emerging Markets Research Portfolio.

Additional information regarding the portfolio managers’ compensation, their management of other funds and their ownership of the Fund can be found in the SAI.

PORTFOLIO EXPENSES

Each Portfolio pays for all of its expenses out of its own assets. Harding Loevner or other service providers may waive all or any portion of their fees and reimburse certain expenses to each Portfolio. Any fee waiver or expense reimbursement would increase the investment performance of each Portfolio for the period during which the waiver or reimbursement is in effect.

 

  24  


Table of Contents

SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION

DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE

The “net asset value” per share (“NAV”) of the Portfolios is calculated as of the close of business (normally 4:00 p.m. New York Time) on days when the New York Stock Exchange is open for business, except when trading is restricted (a “Business Day”). Each Class or Portfolio determines its NAV per share by subtracting that Class or Portfolio’s liabilities (including accrued expenses and dividends payable) from the total value of the Portfolio’s investments or the portion of a Portfolio’s investments attributable to a Class and other assets and dividing the result by the total issued and outstanding shares of the Class or Portfolio. Because the Portfolios may invest in foreign securities that are primarily listed on foreign exchanges that may trade on weekends or other days when the Portfolios do not price their shares, the value of the Portfolios’ assets may be affected on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or redeem the Portfolios’ shares.

Each Portfolio’s investments are valued based on market quotations, or if market quotations are not readily available or are deemed unreliable, the fair value of the Portfolio’s investments may be determined in good faith under procedures established by the Board of Directors as discussed below.

Fair Valuation. Since trading in many foreign securities is normally completed before the time at which a Portfolio calculates its NAV, the effect on the value of such securities held by a Portfolio of events that occur between the close of trading in the security and the time at which the Portfolio prices its securities would not be reflected in the Portfolio’s calculation of its NAV if foreign securities were generally valued at their closing prices.

To address this issue, the Board of Directors has approved the daily use of independently provided quantitative models that may adjust the closing prices of certain foreign equity securities based on information that becomes available after the foreign market closes, through the application of an adjustment factor to such securities’ closing price. Adjustment factors may be greater than, less than, or equal to 1. Thus, use of these quantitative models could cause the Portfolio’s NAV per share to differ significantly from that which would have been calculated using closing market prices. The use of these quantitative models is also intended to decrease the opportunities for persons to engage in “time zone arbitrage,” i.e., trading intended to take advantage of stale closing prices in foreign markets that could affect the NAV of the Portfolios.

Additionally, any securities for which market quotations are not readily available, such as when a foreign market is closed, or for which available prices are deemed unreliable, are priced by Harding Loevner at “fair value as determined in good faith” in accordance with procedures established by and under the general supervision of the Board of Directors.

PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION OF SHARES

Purchases. The minimum initial investment in the Investor Class of the International Equity Portfolio, the International Small Companies Portfolio, and the Frontier Emerging Markets Portfolio, and the Advisor Class of the Global Equity Portfolio and the Emerging Markets Portfolio of the Fund is $5,000. Additional purchases or redemptions may be of any amount. Individuals may satisfy the minimum investment by aggregating their fiduciary accounts. The Fund reserves the right to waive the minimum initial investment amount for any Portfolio.

The Fund has authorized one or more brokers to receive purchase orders on its behalf. Such brokers are authorized to designate other intermediaries to accept purchase orders on the Fund’s behalf. The Fund will be deemed to have received a purchase order when an authorized broker or, if applicable, a broker’s authorized agent receives the order in proper form. Share purchase orders placed through an authorized broker or the broker’s authorized designee will be priced at the NAV per share next determined after they are received in proper form by an authorized broker or the broker’s authorized designee and accepted by the Fund. With respect to purchases of Portfolio shares through certain brokers: (1) a broker may charge transaction fees, brokerage commissions, or other different, or additional fees; (2) duplicate mailings of Fund material to shareholders who reside at the same address may be eliminated; and (3) the minimum initial investment through certain brokers may be less than a direct purchase with the Fund.

The offering of shares of a Portfolio is continuous and purchases of shares of a Portfolio may be made on any Business Day. The Fund offers shares of each Portfolio at a public offering price equal to the NAV per share next determined after receipt of a purchase order.

Shares of the Emerging Markets Portfolio may not be available for purchase by all investors.

Generally, shares will be available for purchase by new and existing shareholders, including investors who purchase shares directly from the Portfolio or through financial intermediaries, and by participants in retirement or employee benefit plans. However, the Fund reserves the right to: (1) limit an investor’s ability to purchase shares through certain financial intermediaries; (2) limit the ability of financial intermediaries to acquire shares on behalf of their customers; and (3) prohibit any financial intermediary from increasing the allocation to the Emerging Markets Portfolio in model portfolios. In each case, the

Fund will consider whether additional purchases are expected to negatively impact the Portfolio or its shareholders as a whole.

 

  25  


Table of Contents

If you are purchasing shares of the Emerging Markets Portfolio through a financial intermediary, please consult with an appropriate representative to confirm your eligibility to invest in the Portfolio.

Investors may be required to demonstrate eligibility to buy shares of the Portfolio before an investment is accepted.

The Fund and Harding Loevner may make exceptions or otherwise modify this policy at any time. For questions about qualifying to purchase shares of the Portfolio, please call (877) 435-8105.

You may purchase shares of a Portfolio utilizing the following methods:

Wire Transfer: Purchases of shares may be made by wire transfer of Federal funds. Share purchase orders are effective on the date when the Transfer Agent receives a completed Account Application Form (and other required documents) and Federal funds become available to the Fund in the Fund’s account with the Transfer Agent as set forth below. The shareholder’s bank may impose a charge to execute the wire transfer. Please call the Transfer Agent at (877) 435-8105 for instructions and policies on purchasing shares by wire.

In order to purchase shares on a particular Business Day, a purchaser must call the Transfer Agent as soon as possible, but no later than by the close of business (normally 4:00 p.m. New York Time), to inform the Fund of the incoming wire transfer and clearly indicate the name of the Portfolio and which class of shares is to be purchased. If Federal funds are received by the Fund that same day, the order will be effective on that day. If the Fund receives trade instructions after the above-mentioned cut-off time, or if the Transfer Agent does not receive Federal funds, such purchase order shall be executed as of the date that Federal funds are received. Portfolio shares are normally issued upon receipt of payment by cash, check, or wire transfer.

Check: A check used to purchase shares in a Portfolio must be payable to the Portfolio in which you wish to purchase shares, and must be drawn against funds on deposit at a U.S. bank. For a new account, the order must include a completed Account Application Form (and other required documents, if any). For an existing account, the order should include the account number from your statement. In all cases, the purchase price is based on the NAV per share next determined after the purchase order and check are received and deposited in good order. The Fund or the Transfer Agent reserves the right to reject any check. All checks for share purchases should be sent to the Fund’s Transfer Agent at:

Regular Mail:

Harding, Loevner Funds, Inc.

c/o The Northern Trust Company

P.O. Box 4766

Chicago, Illinois 60680-4766

Overnight Delivery:

The Northern Trust Company

Attn: Harding, Loevner Funds, Inc.

801 S. Canal St.

Attn: Funds Center C5S

Chicago, Illinois 60607

The Fund reserves the right in its sole discretion: (i) to suspend or modify the offering of a Portfolio’s shares, (ii) to reject purchase orders, and (iii) to modify or eliminate the minimum initial investment in Portfolio shares. Purchase orders may be refused if, for example, they are of a size that could disrupt management of a Portfolio.

Please note that in compliance with the USA Patriot Act of 2001, the Fund’s Transfer Agent will verify certain information on your account application as part of the Fund’s anti-money laundering compliance program. If you do not supply the necessary information, the Fund’s Transfer Agent may not be able to open your account. Additionally, if the Fund’s Transfer Agent is unable to verify your identity or that of another person authorized to act on your behalf, or if it believes it has identified potentially criminal activity, the Fund reserves the right to close your account or take any other action it deems reasonable or required by law.

Redemptions. Upon the request of a shareholder, the Fund will redeem all or any part of the shares held through the account. The redemption price is the NAV per share next determined after receipt by the Transfer Agent of proper notice of redemption as described below. If the Transfer Agent receives such notice by the close of business (normally 4:00 p.m. New York Time) on any Business Day, the redemption will be effective on the date of receipt.

Payment of redemption proceeds made by check or wire will normally be made within one to three Business Days following receipt of the redemption request, or at other times in accordance with the requirements of your intermediary.

For Shares held directly with the Fund, payment of redemption proceeds by wire will normally be made on the next Business Day following receipt of the redemption order. For payment by check, the Portfolios typically expect to mail the check on the next Business Day following receipt of the redemption order.

For Shares held through financial intermediaries, the length of time that the Portfolios typically expect to pay redemption proceeds depends on the method of payment and the agreement between the financial intermediary and the Portfolio. For redemption proceeds that are paid directly to you by a Portfolio, the Portfolio typically expects to make payments by wire or by mailing a check on the next Business Day following the Portfolio’s receipt of a redemption order from the financial intermediary. For payments that are made to your financial intermediary for transmittal to you, the Portfolios expect to pay redemption proceeds to the financial intermediary within one to three Business Days following the

 

  26  


Table of Contents

Portfolio’s receipt of the redemption order from the financial intermediary.

Payment of redemption proceeds may take longer than the time a Portfolio typically expects and may take up to seven days, as permitted by the 1940 Act.

For redemption orders that settle on federal bank holidays, your redemption proceeds will be sent on the next Business Day following the holiday.

If you are redeeming shares recently purchased by check or electronic transaction, your redemption may not be paid until your check or electronic transaction has cleared. This may delay your payment for up to 10 days. If the notice is received on a day that is not a Business Day or after the above-mentioned cut-off time, the redemption notice will be deemed received as of the next Business Day.

The Fund has authorized one or more brokers to receive redemption orders on its behalf. Such brokers are authorized to designate other intermediaries to receive redemption orders on the Fund’s behalf. The Fund will be deemed to have received a redemption order when an authorized broker or, if applicable, a broker’s authorized agent receives the order in proper form. Share redemption orders placed through an authorized broker or the broker’s authorized designee will be priced at the Portfolio’s NAV per share next determined after they are received in good order by an authorized broker or the broker’s authorized designee.

Other than the redemption fee assessed on short-term redemptions, as described below, the Fund imposes no charge to redeem shares; however, a shareholder’s or broker’s bank may impose its own wire transfer fee for receipt of a wire. Redemptions may be executed in any amount requested by the shareholder up to the amount the shareholder has invested in the Portfolio. When a shareholder’s account balance falls below $5,000 following a redemption, the Portfolio may close the account. Such shareholders will be notified that the minimum account balance is not being maintained and will be allowed 60 days to make additional investments before the account is closed.

To redeem shares, a shareholder or any authorized agent (so designated on the Account Application Form) must provide the Transfer Agent with the dollar or share amount to be redeemed, the account to which the redemption proceeds should be wired (which account shall have been previously designated by the shareholder on its Account Application Form), the name of the shareholder, and the shareholder’s account number. Shares that are redeemed prior to the record date of a distribution do not receive dividends.

Certain requests or changes must be made in writing to the Transfer Agent and must include a signature guaranteed by a national bank that is a member of the Medallion Signature Program, using the specific Medallion “Guaranteed” stamp. Notarized signatures are not sufficient. Further documentation may be required

when the Transfer Agent deems it appropriate. Requests or changes must include a Signature Guarantee if a shareholder:

 

 

wishes to change its authorized agent;

 

 

wishes to redeem shares within 10 Business Days of changing the account address of record;

 

 

wishes to change the account designated to receive redemption proceeds; or

 

 

requests that a check be mailed to a different address than the record address.

A shareholder may request redemption by calling the Transfer Agent (toll-free) at (877) 435-8105. Telephone redemption privileges are made available to shareholders of the Fund on the Account Application Form. The Fund or the Transfer Agent employ reasonable procedures designed to confirm that instructions communicated by telephone are genuine. The Fund or the Transfer Agent may require personal identification codes and will only wire funds according to pre-existing bank account instructions. No bank account instruction changes will be accepted via telephone.

Generally, all redemptions will be for cash. Periodically, the Portfolios may satisfy redemption requests by accessing a line of credit or overdraft facility. On a less regular basis, under stressed market conditions, as well as for other temporary or emergency purposes, the Portfolios may satisfy redemption requests by distributing redemption proceeds in-kind (instead of cash) or by borrowing through other sources. While the Portfolios do not generally use redemptions in-kind, the Fund reserves the right to redeem from any Portfolio in-kind to manage the impact of large redemptions on the Portfolios. Redemption in-kind proceeds will typically be made by delivering a pro-rata amount of a Portfolio’s holdings that are readily marketable securities to the redeeming shareholder within seven days after the Portfolio’s receipt of the redemption order.

Redemption proceeds will only be paid to the shareholder of record, to a financial intermediary holding an account in the name of the shareholder of record, or to a court-appointed guardian or executor of the shareholder of record.

Restrictions on Frequent Trading. Frequent purchases and sales of a Portfolio’s shares can harm shareholders in various ways, including reducing the returns to long-term shareholders by increasing costs (such as brokerage commissions) to the Portfolio and by disrupting portfolio management strategies. Accordingly, the Board of Directors has adopted policies and procedures to discourage frequent trading of Portfolio shares. The Fund uses fees on short-term redemptions and fair value pricing of securities to discourage frequent trading and eliminate the opportunity for time zone arbitrage. A redemption fee of 2% of the value of the shares redeemed, paid to the Portfolio, is imposed on shares of a Portfolio redeemed 90 days or less after their date of purchase. The redemption fee is intended to discourage frequent trading and, to the extent that frequent trading

 

  27  


Table of Contents

occurs, to impose the cost of that activity on the shareholders who engage in it. While the Fund is committed to preventing market timing and disruptive frequent trading in the Portfolios, there is no guarantee that the Fund or its agents will be able to detect all instances of time zone arbitrage and frequent trading.

The short-term redemption fee does not apply to the following transactions:

 

 

Redemptions due to processing errors.

 

 

Redemptions due to death or disability.

 

 

Redemptions due to a qualified domestic relations order or a divorce decree.

 

 

401(k) or 403(b) account transactions, including: minimum required distributions, redemptions pursuant to systematic withdrawal programs, redemptions in connection with termination of employment, involuntary distribution, forfeitures, loans, and return of excess contribution amounts.

 

 

529 Plan transactions.

 

 

Redemptions by other funds.

 

 

Redemptions by accounts participating in certain wealth management programs (including wrap

   

programs and automatic rebalancing programs) that have represented to the Fund that (i) their investment strategy is not expected to result in frequent trading; and (ii) they have adopted procedures reasonably designed to detect and deter frequent trading.

Omnibus accounts are maintained by intermediaries acting on behalf of multiple shareholders. These intermediaries may currently be unable to assess redemption fees. Since individual trades in omnibus accounts are not ordinarily disclosed to the Fund, the Fund may be unable to detect or deter frequent trading by participants in such omnibus accounts.

Exchange Privilege. Investor Class and Advisor Class shares of the Portfolios may be exchanged for shares of another Portfolio or class of the Fund (excluding Institutional Class Z) based on the respective NAV of the shares involved in the exchange, if: (i) the shareholder wishing to exchange shares resides in a state where the Portfolio and class of shares to be acquired are qualified for sale; and (ii) the investment meets the minimum initial investment requirement for the Portfolio and class of shares to be acquired. The following table includes the minimum initial investment required by each class of each Portfolio.

 

Portfolio

   Minimum Initial Investment
(by Class)
   $5,000    $100,000    $500,000    $10,000,000    $25,000,000
Global Equity    Advisor Class    Institutional Class         
International Equity    Investor Class    Institutional Class         
International Small Companies    Investor Class    Institutional Class         
Institutional Emerging Markets†‡          Institutional  Class†‡      
Emerging Markets    Advisor  Class            
Frontier Emerging Markets    Investor Class    Institutional Class  I       Institutional Class  II   

 

  

Not offered in this Prospectus.

 

Shares of the Portfolio may not be available for purchase by all investors. For more information, see the section “Shareholder Information—Purchase and Redemption of Shares” in the Portfolio’s Prospectus.

 

An exchange order is treated for tax purposes the same as a redemption (on which a taxable gain or loss may be realized) followed by a purchase and may be subject to federal income tax. Investors who wish to make exchanges should telephone the Transfer Agent (toll-free) at (877) 435-8105.

In addition, a shareholder holding shares of a Portfolio through fee-based (advisory) programs of certain intermediaries may decide to transfer such shares to a brokerage (non-advisory) account of such intermediaries. The shareholder may have these shares exchanged by their intermediary to a different class of shares of the same Portfolio as a result of the transfer of the shares to a brokerage account with the intermediary. Such exchanges will be effected on the basis of the relative

NAV of the two share classes, without the imposition of any redemption fee or other charges by the relevant Portfolio. The fees and expenses of the new class may be higher than those of the previously held class. It is expected that the intermediary will treat the exchange as a non-taxable event. Shareholders should carefully review information in the applicable Prospectus regarding share class features, including exchanges, or contact their intermediary for more information. The relevant share class may be described in a separate Prospectus for each Portfolio.

Share Class Conversions. On the request of shareholders, the Investor Class or Advisor Class shares of a Portfolio may be converted to Institutional Class or Institutional Class I shares (which are not offered in this Prospectus) of the

 

  28  


Table of Contents

same Portfolio if the account balance of the shareholder requesting conversion is at least $100,000, at which time the shareholder’s account will be subject to the requirements of Institutional Class or Institutional Class I shares. Any such conversion will occur at the relative NAV of the two share classes, without the imposition of any fees or other charges if the accounts are held directly with the Fund. A conversion between share classes of the same Portfolio is generally not a taxable event. Investors who wish to request a conversion should telephone the Transfer Agent (toll-free) at (877) 435-8105 or their salesperson.

DIVIDENDS

Each class of the Portfolios will declare a dividend from its net investment income and distributions from its realized net short-term and net long-term capital gains, if any, at least annually, and (unless a shareholder has elected to receive cash) pay such dividends and distributions by automatically reinvesting in additional shares of the Portfolio at the NAV per share on the ex-date of the dividends or distributions.

TAX CONSIDERATIONS

The following discussion is for general information only. An investor should consult with his or her own tax adviser as to the tax consequences of an investment in a Portfolio, including the status of distributions from each Portfolio under applicable state or local law.

Federal Income Taxes. Each Class or Portfolio intends to distribute all of its taxable income by automatically reinvesting dividends in additional shares of the same Class or Portfolio and distributing those shares to its shareholders, unless a shareholder elects on the Account Application Form to receive cash payments for such distributions. Shareholders receiving distributions from a Portfolio in the form of additional shares will be treated for federal income tax purposes as receiving a distribution of the amount of cash that they would have received had they elected to receive the distribution in cash.

Dividends paid by a Portfolio from its investment company taxable income (including interest and net short-term capital gains) will be taxable to a U.S. shareholder as ordinary income, whether received in cash or in additional shares. Distributions of net capital gains (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses) are generally taxable to shareholders at the applicable capital gains rates, regardless of how long they have held their shares. If a portion of a Portfolio’s income consists of qualifying dividends paid by corporations, a portion of the dividends paid by the Portfolio may be eligible for either the corporate dividends-received deduction or the lower individual tax rate on qualified dividends if both the Portfolio and shareholder satisfy applicable holding period requirements. The maximum individual rate applicable to “qualified dividend income” and long-term capital gains is currently generally either 15% or 20%, depending on whether the individual’s income exceeds certain threshold amounts. An additional 3.8% Medicare

tax is imposed on certain net investment income (including ordinary dividends and capital gain distributions received from the Portfolio and net gains from redemptions or other taxable dispositions of Portfolio shares) of U.S. individuals, estates, and trusts to the extent that such person’s “modified adjusted gross income” (in the case of an individual) or “adjusted gross income” (in the case of an estate or trust) exceeds certain threshold amounts.

The sale or exchange of Portfolio shares is a taxable transaction for federal income tax purposes. Each shareholder will generally recognize a gain or loss on such transactions equal to the difference, if any, between the amount of the net sales proceeds and the shareholder’s tax basis in the Portfolio shares. Such gain or loss will be capital gain or loss if the shareholder held its Portfolio shares as a capital asset. Any capital gain or loss will generally be treated either as long-term capital gain or loss if the shareholder held the Portfolio shares for more than one year at the time of the sale or exchange, or otherwise as short-term capital gain or loss.

If a shareholder buys shares of a Portfolio before a distribution, the shareholder will be subject to tax on the entire amount of the taxable distribution received. Distributions are taxable to shareholders even if they are paid from income or gain earned by the Portfolio before their investment (and thus were included in the price they paid for their Portfolio shares).

The Portfolios (or their administrative agents) are required to report to the Internal Revenue Service and furnish to shareholders the cost basis information for sale transactions of shares purchased on or after January 1, 2012. Shareholders may elect to have one of several cost basis methods applied to their account when calculating the cost basis of shares sold, including average cost, first-in, first-out or some other specific identification method. Unless you instruct otherwise, the Portfolios will use average cost as their default cost basis method, and will treat sales as first coming from shares purchased prior to January 1, 2012. If average cost is used for the first sale of shares covered by these new rules, the shareholder may only use an alternative cost method for shares purchased prospectively. Shareholders should consult with their tax advisors to determine the best cost basis method for their tax situation. Shareholders that hold their shares through a financial intermediary should contact such financial intermediary with respect to reporting of cost basis and available elections for their accounts.

A distribution will be treated as paid on December 31 of the current calendar year if it is declared by a Portfolio in October, November or December with a record date in any such month and paid by the Portfolio during January of the following calendar year. Such distributions will be taxable to shareholders in the calendar year in which the distributions are declared, rather than the calendar year in which the distributions are received. The Fund will inform shareholders of the amount and tax status of all amounts treated as distributed to them after the close of each calendar year.

 

  29  


Table of Contents

If more than 50% of the value of a Portfolio’s total assets at the close of any taxable year consists of securities of foreign corporations, the Portfolio will be eligible to file an election with the Internal Revenue Service that would generally enable its shareholders to benefit from any foreign tax credit or deduction available for any foreign taxes the Portfolio pays. Pursuant to this election, a shareholder will be required to include in gross income (in addition to dividends actually received) its pro rata share of the foreign taxes paid by a Portfolio, and may be entitled either to deduct its pro rata share of the foreign taxes in computing its taxable income or to use the amount as a foreign tax credit against its U.S. federal income tax liability (subject to certain holding period and other requirements). The consequences of such an election are discussed in more detail in the SAI.

The Portfolios may be required to withhold U.S. federal income tax at the applicable rate on all distributions payable to shareholders if they fail to provide the Portfolios with their correct taxpayer identification number or to make required certifications, or if they have been notified by the IRS that they are subject to backup withholding. Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld may be credited against U.S. federal income tax liability.

Foreign shareholders may be subject to different U.S. federal income tax treatment, including withholding tax at the rate of 30% on amounts treated as ordinary dividends from the Portfolios, as discussed in more detail in the SAI.

State and Local Taxes. A Portfolio may be subject to state, local, or foreign taxation in any jurisdiction in which the Portfolio may be deemed to be doing business.

Portfolio distributions may be subject to state and local taxes. Shareholders should consult their own tax advisers regarding the particular tax consequences of an investment in a Portfolio.

The foregoing discussion is only a brief summary of the important federal tax considerations generally affecting the Fund and its shareholders. No attempt is made to present a detailed explanation of the federal, state or, local income tax treatment of the Fund or its shareholders, and this discussion is not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning. Accordingly, potential investors should consult their tax advisers with specific reference to their own tax situation.

SHAREHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS

Inquiries concerning the Fund may be made by writing to Harding, Loevner Funds, Inc., c/o The Northern Trust Company, Attn: Funds Center C5S 801 South Canal Street, Chicago, Illinois 60607 or by calling the Fund (toll-free) at (877) 435-8105.

When the Fund sends financial reports, prospectuses, and other regulatory materials to shareholders, we attempt to reduce the volume of mail you receive by sending one copy of these documents to two or more account holders

who share the same address. This will continue indefinitely, unless you notify us otherwise. Should you wish to receive individual copies of materials, please call the Transfer Agent at (877) 435-8105. Once we have received your instructions, you will begin receiving individual copies for each account at the same address within 30 days.

 

  30  


Table of Contents

DISTRIBUTION OF FUND SHARES

Shares of the Fund are distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC (“Quasar” or the “Distributor”) pursuant to a distribution agreement (the “Distribution Agreement”) between Harding Loevner, the Fund, and Quasar, under which Quasar serves as the exclusive distributor of the Fund.

The Fund has agreements with various financial intermediaries under which customers of these intermediaries may purchase and hold shares of the Portfolios. These intermediaries assess fees in consideration for providing certain account maintenance, record keeping and transactional services. In recognition of the savings of expenses to the Fund arising from the intermediaries’ assumption of non-distribution related functions that the Fund would otherwise perform, such as providing sub-accounting and related shareholder services, each Portfolio or Class (except Institutional Class Z which is not offered in this Prospectus) is authorized, pursuant to a Shareholder Servicing Plan, to pay to each intermediary up to 0.25% of its average daily net assets attributable to that intermediary (subject to any applicable fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement). Because of the fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements applicable to the Portfolios during the fiscal year ended October 31, 2018, Harding Loevner paid a portion of the Portfolios’ share of these fees during that period.

In addition, Harding Loevner may, at its own expense and out of its own legitimate profits, provide additional cash payments to financial intermediaries that distribute shares of the Portfolios or provide account maintenance, record keeping and transactional services. Harding Loevner may also share with financial advisors and 529 Plan managers and/or administrators certain marketing expenses or pay for the opportunity to distribute the Portfolios, sponsor informational meetings, seminars, client awareness events, support for marketing materials, or business building programs. These payments, sometimes referred to as “revenue sharing,” do not change the price paid by investors to purchase the Fund’s shares or the amount the Portfolios receive as proceeds from such sales. Such payments may differ as to amount among financial intermediaries based on various factors, including levels of assets and/or sales (based on gross or net sales) or some other criteria. In some circumstances, the payments may relate to the Portfolios’ inclusion on a financial intermediary’s preferred list of funds offered to its clients and may create an incentive for a broker-dealer, or other financial intermediary, or its representatives to recommend or offer shares of the Portfolios to its customers over other funds that do not have sponsors making similar payments. You may wish to consider whether such arrangements exist when evaluating any recommendations to purchase or sell shares of the Portfolios. The Fund may enter into additional similar arrangements in the future. Further information concerning these arrangements is included in the SAI.

Class Expenses and Distribution Plan. Investor Class shares are subject to a 12b-1 (Distribution) fee of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets attributed to such shares.

The Board of Directors has approved a Distribution Plan with respect to the Investor Class shares. Under the Distribution Plan, the Distributor is entitled to receive a fee (as set forth above), which the Distributor may in turn allocate among and remit to selected dealers and others (each, an “Agent”) as compensation attributable to the assets contributed to the applicable Investor Class by shareholders who are customers of the Agent. Because these fees are paid out of Investor Class assets on an ongoing basis, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges, such as front-end loads that may be charged by other funds.

 

  31  


Table of Contents

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

 

The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand each Portfolio’s financial performance for the past five years or since inception, if less than five years. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share of a Class. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned or lost on an investment in a Class or Portfolio (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been derived from the Fund’s financial

statements, which have been audited by KPMG LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the Fund’s financial statements, are included in the annual report, which is incorporated by reference in this Prospectus and the SAI. Information on how to obtain the semi-annual and audited annual reports for the Fund is found on the back cover of this Prospectus.

 

    GLOBAL EQUITY PORTFOLIO – ADVISOR CLASS  
   

For the Fiscal
Year Ended
Oct. 31, 2018
 
 
 
   

For the Fiscal
Year Ended
Oct. 31, 2017
 
 
 
   

For the Fiscal
Year Ended
Oct. 31, 2016
 
 
 
   

For the Fiscal
Year Ended
Oct. 31, 2015
 
 
 
   

For the Fiscal
Year Ended
Oct. 31, 2014
 
 
 
Net asset value, beginning of year   $ 40.78     $ 32.47     $ 32.38     $ 32.92     $ 29.80  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets from Operations:          

Net investment income (loss)(1)

    0.07       0.01       0.05       0.04       0.05  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments and foreign currency-related transactions

    (0.15     8.73       0.91       0.68       3.27  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Net increase (decrease) from investment operations     (0.08     8.74       0.96       0.72       3.32  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Distributions to Shareholders from:          
Net investment income     (0.08     (0.04     (0.03     (0.03     (0.07
Net realized gain from investments     (5.02     (0.39     (0.84     (1.23     (0.13
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Total distributions     (5.10     (0.43     (0.87     (1.26     (0.20
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Net asset value, end of year   $ 35.60     $ 40.78     $ 32.47     $ 32.38     $ 32.92  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Total Return     (0.57)%       27.28%       3.12%       2.28%       11.19%  
Ratios/Supplemental Data:          

Net assets, end of year (000’s)

  $ 90,567     $ 75,244     $ 56,698     $ 64,726     $ 81,507  

Expenses to average net assets

    1.14%       1.14%       1.19%       1.18%       1.20%  

Expenses to average net assets (net of fees waived/reimbursed)

    1.14%       1.14%       1.19%       1.18%       1.20%  

Net investment income to average net assets

    0.18%       0.02%       0.15%       0.13%       0.16%  

Portfolio turnover rate

    42%       33%       24%       45%       30%  

 

(1)  

Net investment income per share was calculated using the average shares outstanding method.

 

  32  


Table of Contents
    INTERNATIONAL EQUITY PORTFOLIO – INVESTOR CLASS  
   

For the Fiscal
Year Ended
Oct. 31, 2018
 
 
 
   

For the Fiscal
Year Ended
Oct. 31, 2017
 
 
 
   

For the Fiscal
Year Ended
Oct. 31, 2016
 
 
 
   

For the Fiscal
Year Ended
Oct. 31, 2015
 
 
 
   

For the Fiscal
Year Ended
Oct. 31, 2014
 
 
 
Net asset value, beginning of year   $ 22.55     $ 18.30     $ 17.62     $ 18.23     $ 17.89  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets from Operations:          

Net investment income (loss)(1)

    0.21       0.19       0.14       0.15       0.13  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments and foreign currency-related transactions

    (1.80     4.18       0.66       (0.64     0.29  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Net increase (decrease) from investment operations     (1.59     4.37       0.80       (0.49     0.42  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Distributions to Shareholders from:          
Net investment income     (0.13     (0.12     (0.12     (0.12     (0.08
Net realized gain from investments     (0.18                        
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Total distributions     (0.31     (0.12     (0.12     (0.12     (0.08
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Net asset value, end of year   $ 20.65     $ 22.55     $ 18.30     $ 17.62     $ 18.23  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Total Return     (7.16)%       24.04%       4.63%       (2.76)%       2.36%  
Ratios/Supplemental Data:          

Net assets, end of year (000’s)

  $ 411,712     $ 644,243     $ 433,765     $ 405,101     $ 443,029  

Expenses to average net assets

    1.14%       1.14%       1.15%       1.17%       1.17%  

Expenses to average net assets (net of fees waived/reimbursed)

    1.14%       1.14%       1.15%       1.17%       1.17%  

Net investment income to average net assets

    0.92%       0.95%       0.83%       0.83%       0.72%  

Portfolio turnover rate

    10%       12%       22%       12%       10%  

 

(1)  

Net investment income per share was calculated using the average shares outstanding method.

 

  33  


Table of Contents
    INTERNATIONAL SMALL COMPANIES PORTFOLIO – INVESTOR CLASS  
   

For the Fiscal
Year Ended
Oct. 31, 2018
 
 
 
   

For the Fiscal
Year Ended
Oct. 31, 2017
 
 
 
   

For the Fiscal
Year Ended
Oct. 31, 2016
 
 
 
   

For the Fiscal
Year Ended
Oct. 31, 2015
 
 
 
   

For the Fiscal
Year Ended
Oct. 31, 2014
 
 
 
Net asset value, beginning of year   $ 16.55     $ 13.64     $ 13.33     $ 13.80     $ 14.45  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets from Operations:          

Net investment income (loss)(1)

    0.10       0.05       0.16       0.08       0.05  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments and foreign currency-related transactions

    (1.29     3.42       0.35       (0.26     0.22  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Net increase (decrease) from investment operations     (1.19     3.47       0.51       (0.18     0.27  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Distributions to Shareholders from:          
Net investment income     (0.05     (0.15     (0.07     (0.03     (0.05
Net realized gain from investments     (0.15     (0.41     (0.13     (0.26     (0.87
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Total distributions     (0.20     (0.56     (0.20     (0.29     (0.92
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Net asset value, end of year   $ 15.16     $ 16.55     $ 13.64     $ 13.33     $ 13.80  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Total Return     (7.35)%       26.71%       3.92%       (1.29)%       1.97%  
Ratios/Supplemental Data:          

Net assets, end of year (000’s)

  $ 57,912     $ 50,292     $ 44,363     $ 50,164     $ 62,828  

Expenses to average net assets

    1.75%       1.80%       1.90%       1.93%       1.88%  

Expenses to average net assets (net of fees waived/reimbursed)

    1.40%       1.40%       1.50%       1.55%       1.55%  

Net investment income to average net assets

    0.58%       0.37%       1.18%       0.58%       0.32%  

Portfolio turnover rate

    52%       19%       49%       38%       36%  

 

(1)  

Net investment income per share was calculated using the average shares outstanding method.

 

  34  


Table of Contents
    EMERGING MARKETS PORTFOLIO – ADVISOR CLASS  
   

For the Fiscal
Year Ended
Oct. 31, 2018
 
 
 
   

For the Fiscal
Year Ended
Oct. 31, 2017
 
 
 
   

For the Fiscal
Year Ended
Oct. 31, 2016
 
 
 
   

For the Fiscal
Year Ended
Oct. 31, 2015
 
 
 
   

For the Fiscal
Year Ended
Oct. 31, 2014
 
 
 
Net asset value, beginning of year   $ 57.46     $ 46.27     $ 42.02     $ 50.88     $ 50.76  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets from Operations:          

Net investment income (loss)(1)

    0.42       0.43       0.30       0.26       0.49  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments and foreign currency-related transactions

    (9.24     11.02       4.17       (6.80     1.32  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Net increase (decrease) from investment operations     (8.82     11.45       4.47       (6.54     1.81  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Distributions to Shareholders from:          
Net investment income     (0.40     (0.26     (0.22     (0.39     (0.40
Net realized gain from investments     (0.03           (2)       (1.93     (1.29
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Total distributions     (0.43     (0.26     (0.22     (2.32     (1.69
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Net asset value, end of year   $ 48.21     $ 57.46     $ 46.27     $ 42.02     $ 50.88  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Total Return     (15.47)%       24.93%       10.73%       (13.17)%       3.79%  
Ratios/Supplemental Data:          

Net assets, end of year (000’s)

  $ 3,459,157     $ 4,014,977     $ 2,998,484     $ 2,381,671     $ 2,545,517  

Expenses to average net assets

    1.40%       1.42%       1.42%       1.45%       1.45%  

Expenses to average net assets (net of fees waived/reimbursed)

    1.40%       1.42%       1.42%       1.45%       1.45%  

Net investment income to average net assets

    0.73%       0.84%       0.72%       0.57%       0.98%  

Portfolio turnover rate

    24%       17%       26%       30%       28%  

 

(1)  

Net investment income per share was calculated using the average shares outstanding method.

(2) 

Amount was less than $0.005 per share.

 

  35  


Table of Contents
    FRONTIER EMERGING MARKETS PORTFOLIO – INVESTOR CLASS  
   

For the Fiscal
Year Ended
Oct. 31, 2018
 
 
 
   

For the Fiscal
Year Ended
Oct. 31, 2017
 
 
 
   

For the Fiscal
Year Ended
Oct. 31, 2016
 
 
 
   

For the Fiscal
Year Ended
Oct. 31, 2015
 
 
 
   

For the Fiscal
Year Ended
Oct. 31, 2014
 
 
 
Net asset value, beginning of year   $ 8.43     $ 7.28     $ 7.55     $ 9.41     $ 8.40  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets from Operations:          

Net investment income (loss)(1)

    0.07       0.04       0.07       0.06       0.04  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments and foreign currency-related transactions

    (0.79     1.15       (0.30     (1.80     0.98  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Net increase (decrease) from investment operations     (0.72     1.19       (0.23     (1.74     1.02  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Distributions to Shareholders from:          
Net investment income     (0.14     (0.04     (0.04     (0.02     (0.01
Net realized gain from investments                       (0.10      
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Total distributions     (0.14     (0.04     (0.04     (0.12     (0.01
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Net asset value, end of year   $ 7.57     $ 8.43     $ 7.28     $ 7.55     $ 9.41  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Total Return     (8.75)%       16.40%       (3.01)%       (18.64)%       12.15%  
Ratios/Supplemental Data:          

Net assets, end of year (000’s)

  $ 25,388     $ 30,981     $ 32,771     $ 45,622     $ 78,712  

Expenses to average net assets

    2.06%       2.13%       2.23%       2.20%       2.22%  

Expenses to average net assets (net of fees waived/reimbursed)

    2.00%       2.00%       2.23%       2.20%       2.22%  

Net investment income to average net assets

    0.87%       0.48%       1.02%       0.75%       0.38%  

Portfolio turnover rate

    20%       28%       47%       38%       37%  

 

(1)  

Net investment income per share was calculated using the average shares outstanding method.

 

  36  


Table of Contents

HARDING, LOEVNER FUNDS,

INC. (THE “FUND”)

PRIVACY NOTICE

 

The Fund collects nonpublic personal information about you from the following sources:

 

   

Information, such as your name, address, social security number, assets, and income, submitted by you on applications, forms, or in other written or verbal customer communications. This information may also be provided by a consultant or intermediary acting on your behalf.

 

   

Information that results from any transaction performed by us for you.

The Fund will not disclose any nonpublic personal information about you or its former customers to anyone except as permitted or required by law.

If you decide to close your account(s) or become an inactive customer, the Fund will adhere to the privacy policies and practices as described in this notice.

The Fund restricts access to your personal and account information to only those employees who need to know that information to provide products or services to you. The Fund maintains physical, administrative and technical safeguards to protect your nonpublic personal information.

 

[This page is not part of the Prospectus]

 

  37  


Table of Contents

LOGO