2024-02-13ABBridgewayFunds_FYE_12_31_PRO
|
Statement
of Additional Information
May
1, 2024
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Tickers |
Share
Class |
A |
C |
Y |
R6 |
R5 |
Investor |
American
Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
AHLAX |
AHLCX |
AHLYX |
|
AHLIX |
AHLPX |
American
Beacon AHL Multi-Alternatives Fund |
AHMAX |
AHMCX |
AHMYX |
AHMRX |
|
|
American
Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund |
AHTAX |
AHACX |
AHTYX |
|
AHTIX |
AHTPX |
This
Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) should be read in conjunction with
the prospectus dated May 1, 2024
(the “Prospectus”) for the American
Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund, American Beacon AHL Multi-Alternatives
Fund, and American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund (each
individually a “Fund,” and collectively, the “Funds”), each a separate series of
the American Beacon Funds, a Massachusetts business trust. Copies
of the Prospectus may be obtained without charge by calling 1-800-658-5811. You
also may obtain copies of the Prospectus without charge by visiting
the Funds’ website at www.americanbeaconfunds.com. This SAI is incorporated by
reference into the Funds’ Prospectus. In other words, it is legally
a part of the Prospectus. This SAI is not a prospectus and is authorized for
distribution to prospective investors only if preceded or accompanied
by
the current Prospectus. Capitalized terms in this SAI have the same
definition as in the Prospectus, unless otherwise defined. Capitalized
terms that
are not otherwise defined in this SAI or the Prospectus are defined in Appendix
B.
ORGANIZATION
AND HISTORY OF THE FUNDS
Each
Fund is a separate series of the American Beacon Funds (the “Trust”), an
open-end management investment company organized as a Massachusetts
business trust on January 16, 1987. Each Fund constitutes a separate investment
portfolio with a distinct investment objective and distinct
purpose and strategy. Each Fund is “non-diversified” as that term is defined by
the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment
Company Act”). The Funds are comprised of multiple classes of shares designed to
meet the needs of different groups of investors. This SAI
relates to the A Class, C Class, Y Class, R5 Class, R6 Class, and Investor Class
shares of the Funds. Prior to February 28, 2020, the R5 Class shares
were
known as the Institutional Class shares.
NON-DIVERSIFIED
STATUS
As
noted above, the Funds are “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act,
which means that each Fund may invest a greater portion of its assets
in a more limited number of issuers than a diversified fund. An investment in a
Fund may present greater risk to an investor than an investment in
a diversified portfolio because changes in the financial condition or market
assessment of a single issuer, or the effects of a single economic, political
or
regulatory event, may cause greater fluctuations in the value of its shares.
Although each of those Funds is non-diversified under the Investment
Company
Act, it is subject to the diversification rules of the Internal Revenue Code
that apply to all regulated investment companies. These rules provide
that, among the requirements to maintain the favorable tax treatment applicable
to RICs, a Fund may not acquire a security if, as a result, with respect
to 50% of the value of its total assets, more than 5% of that value would be
invested in the securities of a single issuer or more than 10% of the
outstanding voting securities of an issuer would be held by a Fund. With respect
to the remaining 50% of its total asset value, a Fund is limited to holding
no more than 25% of that value in the securities of any one issuer, the
securities of any two or more issuers that a Fund controls (by owning
20%
or more of their voting power) and that are determined to be engaged in the
same, similar or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one
or more “qualified publicly traded partnerships”. These limits apply only as of
the end of each quarter of a Fund’s taxable (fiscal) year and do not
apply
to securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or
instrumentalities, or issued by other RICs.
ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION ABOUT INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS
The
investment objectives,
principal investment strategies,
and principal
risks
of each Fund are described in the Prospectus. This section contains additional
information about the Funds’ investment policies and risks and types of
investments a Fund may purchase. The composition of a Fund’s portfolio
and the strategies that a Fund may use in selecting investments may vary over
time. A Fund is not required to use all of the investment strategies
described below in pursuing its investment objectives. It may use some of the
investment strategies only at some times or it may not use them
at all. Investors should carefully consider their own investment goals and risk
tolerance before investing in a Fund. In the following table, Funds with
an “X” in a particular strategy/risk are more likely to use or be subject to
that strategy/risk than those without an “X”.
|
|
| |
Strategy/Risk |
American
Beacon AHL
Managed Futures
Strategy Fund |
American
Beacon AHL
Multi-Alternatives
Fund |
American
Beacon AHL
TargetRisk Fund |
Borrowing
Risk |
X |
X |
X |
Cash
Equivalents and Other Short-Term Investments |
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
X |
Commodity
Instruments |
X |
X |
X |
Cover
and Asset Segregation |
X |
X |
X |
Currencies
Risk |
X |
X |
X |
Cybersecurity
and Operational Risk |
X |
X |
X |
Derivatives |
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
X |
•
Non-Deliverable Currency Forwards |
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
X |
|
|
| |
Strategy/Risk |
American
Beacon AHL
Managed Futures
Strategy Fund |
American
Beacon AHL
Multi-Alternatives
Fund |
American
Beacon AHL
TargetRisk Fund |
•
Commodity Futures Contracts Risk |
X |
X |
X |
•
Futures Contracts on Security Indices |
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
|
|
|
X |
X |
X |
•
Commodities
Swaps |
X |
X |
X |
•
Credit Default Swaps |
X |
X |
X |
•
Currency Swaps |
X |
X |
X |
•
Equity Swaps |
X |
|
|
•
Interest Rate and Inflation Swaps |
X |
X |
X |
•
Total Return Swaps |
X |
X |
X |
Expense
Risk |
X |
X |
X |
Fixed-Income
Investments |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
|
X |
|
|
|
X |
Foreign
Debt Securities |
X |
X |
X |
Foreign
Securities |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
|
X |
|
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
|
X |
Illiquid
and Restricted Securities |
X |
X |
X |
Inflation-Indexed
Securities |
X |
X |
X |
Interfund
Lending |
X |
X |
X |
Issuer
Risk |
X |
X |
X |
Leverage
Risk |
X |
X |
X |
Model
and Data Risk |
X |
X |
X |
Other
Investment Company Securities and Exchange-Traded Products |
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
X |
Quantitative
Strategy Risk |
X |
X |
X |
Repurchase
Agreements |
X |
X |
X |
Reverse
Repurchase Agreements |
X |
X |
X |
Separately
Traded Registered Interest and Principal Securities and Other Zero-Coupon
Obligations |
X |
X |
X |
Sovereign
and Quasi-Sovereign Government and Supranational Debt |
X |
X |
X |
Time-Zone
Arbitrage |
X |
X |
X |
U.S.
Government Agency Securities |
X |
X |
X |
U.S.
Treasury Obligations |
X |
X |
X |
Valuation
Risk |
X |
X |
X |
When-Issued
and Forward Commitment Transactions |
|
|
X |
Borrowing
Risk
— A Fund may borrow money in an amount up to one-third of its total assets
(including the amount borrowed) from banks and other financial
institutions. A Fund may borrow for temporary purposes.
Borrowing may exaggerate changes in a Fund’s NAV and in its total return.
Interest expense
and other fees associated with borrowing may impact a Fund’s expenses and reduce
its returns. (See
“Cover and Asset Segregation” disclosure below.)
Cash
Equivalents and Other Short-Term Investments —
Cash equivalents and other short-term investments in which a Fund may invest
include the
investments set forth below. Certain
of these investments are issued by and provide exposure to banks. The activities
of U.S. banks and most foreign
banks are subject to comprehensive regulations. The enactment of new legislation
or regulations, as well as changes in interpretation and enforcement
of current laws, may affect the manner of operations and profitability of
domestic and foreign banks. Significant developments in the U.S. banking
industry have included increased competition from other types of financial
institutions, increased acquisition activity and geographic expansion.
Banks may be particularly susceptible to certain economic factors, such as
interest rate changes and adverse developments in the market for real
estate. Fiscal and monetary policy and general economic cycles can affect the
availability and cost of funds, loan demand and asset quality and thereby
impact the earnings and financial conditions of banks.
■ |
Bank
Deposit Notes.
Bank deposit notes are obligations of a bank that provide an alternative
to certificates of deposit. Similar to certificates of deposit,
deposit notes represent bank level investment and, therefore, are senior
to all holding company corporate debt. Bank deposit notes rank
junior
to domestic deposit liabilities of the bank and pari passu with other
senior, unsecured obligations of the bank. Typically, bank deposit notes
are not
insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other
insurer. |
■ |
Bankers’
Acceptances.
Bankers’ acceptances are short-term credit instruments designed to enable
businesses to obtain funds to finance commercial
transactions. Generally, an acceptance is a time draft drawn on a bank by
an exporter or an importer to obtain a stated amount of funds to
pay for specific merchandise. The draft is then “accepted” by a bank that,
in effect, unconditionally guarantees to pay the face value of the
instrument
on its maturity date. The acceptance may then be held by the accepting
bank as an earning asset or it may be sold in the secondary market
at the going rate of discount for a specific maturity. Most acceptances
have maturities of six months or less. Bankers’ acceptances rank junior
to
domestic deposit liabilities of the bank and pari passu with other senior,
unsecured obligations of the bank.
|
■ |
Bearer
Deposit
Notes.
Bearer deposit notes, or bearer bonds, are bonds or debt securities that
entitle the holder of the document to ownership or title
in the deposit. Such notes are typically unregistered, and whoever
physically holds the bond is presumed to be the owner of the instrument.
Recovery
of the value of a bearer bond in the event of its loss or destruction
usually is impossible. Interest is typically paid upon presentment of an
interest
coupon for payment. |
■ |
CDs.
CDs are negotiable certificates issued against funds deposited in an
eligible bank (including its domestic and foreign branches, subsidiaries
and agencies)
for a definite period of time and earning a specified rate of return. U.S.
dollar denominated CDs issued by banks abroad are known as Eurodollar
CDs. CDs issued by foreign branches of U.S. banks are known as Yankee
CDs. |
■ |
Commercial
Paper.
Commercial paper is a short-term debt security issued by a corporation,
bank, municipality, or other issuer, usually for purposes such
as financing current operations. A Fund may invest in commercial paper
that cannot be resold to the public without an effective registration
statement
under the Securities Act. While some restricted commercial paper normally
is deemed illiquid, in certain cases it may be deemed
liquid. |
■ |
Government
Money Market Funds. A
Fund may invest cash balances in money market funds that are registered as
investment companies under the
Investment Company Act, including money market funds that are advised by
the Manager. Money market funds invest in highly-liquid, short-term
instruments, which include cash and cash equivalents, and debt securities
with high credit ratings and short-term maturities, such as U.S.
Treasuries.
A “government money market fund” is required to invest at least 99.5% of
its total assets in cash, U.S. government securities, and/or repurchase
agreements that are fully collateralized by government securities or cash.
Government securities include any security issued or guaranteed
as to principal or interest by the U.S. government and its agencies or
instrumentalities. By investing in a money market fund, a Fund
becomes
a shareholder of that money market fund. As a result, Fund shareholders
indirectly bear their proportionate share of the expenses of the
money
market funds in which a Fund invests in addition to any fees and expenses
Fund shareholders directly bear in connection with a Fund’s own
operations.
These expenses may include, for example, advisory and administrative fees,
including advisory fees charged by the Manager to any applicable
money market funds advised by the Manager. These other fees and expenses
are reflected in the Fees and Expenses Table for a Fund in its
Prospectus,
if applicable. Shareholders also would be exposed to the risks associated
with money market funds and the portfolio investments of such money
market funds, including that a money market fund’s yield will be lower
than the return that a Fund would have derived from other investments
that would provide liquidity. Although a money market fund is designed to
be a relatively low risk investment, it is not free of risk. Despite
the short maturities and high credit quality of a money market fund’s
investments, increases in interest rates and deteriorations in the credit
quality
of the instruments the money market fund has purchased can cause the price
of a money market security to decrease and may reduce the money
market fund’s yield. In addition, a money market fund is subject to the
risk that the value of an investment may be eroded over time by
inflation.
Factors that could adversely affect the value of a money market fund’s
shares include, among other things, a sharp rise in interest rates, an
illiquid
market for the securities held by the money market fund, a high volume of
redemption activity in a money market fund’s shares, and a credit
event
or credit rating downgrade affecting one or more of the issuers of
securities held by the money market fund. There can be no assurance that a
money
market fund will maintain a $1.00 per share net asset value (“NAV”) at all
times. |
■ |
Government
Obligations.
Government obligations may include U.S. Treasury securities, Treasury
inflation-protected securities, and other debt instruments
backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, or debt
obligations of U.S. Government-sponsored
entities. |
■ |
Repurchase
Agreements.
Repurchase agreements are agreements pursuant to which a Fund purchases
securities from a bank that is a member of the
Federal Reserve System (or a foreign bank or U.S. branch or agency of a
foreign bank), or from a securities dealer, that agrees to repurchase the
securities
from a Fund at a higher price on a designated future date. Repurchase
agreements generally are for a short period of time, usually less
than
a week. Costs, delays, or losses could result if the selling party to a
repurchase agreement becomes bankrupt or otherwise
defaults. |
■ |
Short-term
Corporate
Debt Securities.
Short-term corporate debt securities are securities and bonds issued by
corporations with shorter terms to maturity.
Corporate securities generally bear a higher risk than U.S. government
bonds. |
■ |
Time
Deposits.
Time deposits, also referred to as “fixed time deposits,” are
non-negotiable deposits maintained at a banking institution for a
specified
period of time at a specified interest rate. Time deposits may be
withdrawn on demand by the investor, but may be subject to early
withdrawal
penalties which vary depending upon market conditions and the remaining
maturity of the obligation. There are no contractual restrictions
on the right to transfer a beneficial interest in a time deposit to a
third party, although there is no market for such
deposits. |
Commodity
Instruments
— Exposure to physical commodities may subject a Fund to greater
volatility than investments in traditional securities. The value
of such investments may be affected by overall market movements, commodity index
volatility, changes in interest rates, or factors affecting a particular
industry or commodity, such as supply and demand, drought, floods, weather,
embargoes, tariffs and international economic, political and regulatory
developments. Their value may also respond to investor perception of instability
in the national or international economy, whether or not justified
by the facts. However, these investments may help to moderate fluctuations in
the value of a Fund’s other holdings, because these investments may
not correlate with investments in traditional securities. Economic and other
events (whether real or perceived) can reduce the demand for commodities,
which may reduce market prices and cause the value of a Fund’s shares to fall.
The sub-advisor’s failure to anticipate these events may lead
to a Fund losing money on its commodity investments.
No
active trading market may exist for certain commodities investments, which may
impair the ability of a Fund to sell or realize the full value of such
investments
in the event of the need to liquidate such investments. Certain commodities are
subject to limited pricing flexibility because of supply and demand
factors. Others are subject to broad price fluctuations as a result of the
volatility of the prices for certain raw materials and the instability of
supplies
of other materials. These additional variables may create additional investment
risks and result in greater volatility than investments in traditional
securities. Because physical commodities do not generate investment income, the
return on such investments will be derived solely from the appreciation
or depreciation on such investments. Certain types of commodities instruments
(such as commodity-linked swaps and commodity-linked structured
notes) are subject to the risk that the counterparty to the instrument will not
perform or will be unable to perform in accordance with the terms
of the instrument.
A
Fund will not qualify as a “RIC” under the Internal Revenue Code in any taxable
year in which more than 10% of its annual gross income consists of certain
“non-qualifying” income, which includes gains resulting from selling physical
commodities (or options or futures contracts thereon unless the gain
is realized from certain hedging transactions) and certain other non-passive
income. See the section entitled “Tax Information.” A Fund’s investment
in securities or derivatives backed by, or in certain entities (such as
ETFs)
that invest in, physical commodities, other
than shares of a wholly-owned
subsidiary,
generally would produce income that would be subject to this 10% limitation. To
remain within this limitation, a Fund may hold
such an investment or sell it at a loss, or sell other investments, when for
investment reasons it would not otherwise do so. The availability of such
measures
does not guarantee that a Fund would be able to satisfy the requirements of the
Internal Revenue Code to continue to qualify as a RIC.
Cover
and Asset Segregation
— A Fund may borrow money, make investments or employ trading practices
that obligate a Fund, on a fixed or contingent
basis, to deliver an asset or make a cash payment to another party in the
future. A Fund will comply with rules and guidance from the SEC with
respect to coverage of certain investments and trading practices. A Fund’s
approach to asset coverage may vary depending on terms within its agreement
with a counterparty. With respect to certain investments under the agreement, a
Fund calculates the obligations of the parties to the agreement
on a “net basis” (i.e., the two payment streams are netted out with a Fund
receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the
two payments). Under such circumstances, a Fund’s current obligations will
generally be equal only to the net amount to be paid by a Fund based
on
the relative values of the positions held by each party to the agreement.
Earmarking or otherwise segregating a large percentage of a Fund’s assets
could
impede the management of the Fund’s portfolio or a Fund’s ability to meet
redemption requests or other current obligations, because a Fund may
be unable to promptly dispose of those assets.
Currencies
Risk
— A Fund may have significant exposure to foreign currencies for investment or
hedging purposes by making direct investments in non-U.S.
currencies or in securities denominated in non-U.S. currencies (including
emerging market currencies), or by purchasing or selling foreign currency
forward contracts, non-U.S. currency futures contracts, options on non-U.S.
currencies and non-U.S. currency futures and swaps for cross-currency
investments. Foreign currencies will fluctuate, and may decline, in value
relative to the U.S. dollar and affect a Fund’s investments in foreign
(non-U.S.) currencies, securities that trade in, and receive revenues in, or in
derivatives that provide exposure to, foreign (non-U.S.) currencies.
For
example, if the U.S. dollar appreciates against foreign currencies, the value of
Fund holdings generally would depreciate and vice versa.
Cybersecurity
and Operational Risk —
With the increased use of technologies such as the Internet and the dependence
on computer systems to perform
necessary business functions, the Funds, and their service providers, may
be prone to operational and information security risks resulting from
cyber-attacks.
In general, cyber incidents can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional
events. Cyber-attacks include, but are not limited to, stealing
or corrupting data maintained online or digitally (e.g., through “hacking,”
computer viruses or other malicious software coding), the theft and holding
for ransom of proprietary or confidential information or data (sometimes
referred to as “ransomware” attacks), denial of service attacks on websites,
“phishing” attempts and other social engineering techniques aimed at personnel
or systems, and the unauthorized release of confidential information.
Cyber-attacks affecting the Funds or the Manager, the
sub-advisor,
the Custodian
(as defined below),
the transfer agent, intermediaries and
other third-party service providers may adversely impact the Funds. For
instance, cyber-attacks may interfere with the processing of shareholder
transactions,
result in the loss or theft of shareholder data or funds, impact a Fund’s
ability to calculate NAV per share, cause the release of private shareholder
information or confidential business information, impede trading, subject the
Funds to regulatory fines or financial losses and/or cause reputational
damage. A cyber-attack may also result in shareholders or service providers
being unable to access electronic systems (“denial of services”),
loss or theft of proprietary information or corporate data, physical damage to a
computer or network system, or remediation costs associated
with system repairs. The Funds may also incur additional costs for cybersecurity
risk management purposes. Similar types of cybersecurity risks
are also present for issuers or securities in which the Funds may invest, which
could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may
cause a Fund’s investment in such companies to lose value. Adverse
consequences also could result from cybersecurity incidents affecting
counterparties
with which a Fund engages in transactions, governmental and other regulatory
authorities, exchanges and other financial market operators,
banks, brokers, dealers, insurance companies, other financial institutions and
other parties. A Fund’s service providers also may be negatively impacted
due to operational risks arising from non-cybersecurity related factors such as
processing errors and human errors, inadequate or failed internal
or external processes, failures in systems and technology errors or
malfunctions, changes in personnel, and errors caused by Fund service
providers
or counterparties.
In
addition, other events or circumstances — whether foreseeable, unforeseeable, or
beyond our control, such as acts of war, other conflicts, terrorism,
natural
disaster, widespread disease, pandemic or other public health crises may result
in, among other things, quarantines and travel restrictions, workforce
displacement and loss or reduction in Personnel and other resources. In the
above circumstances, the Funds and the Service Providers’
operations
may be significantly impacted, or even temporarily halted. The Funds’ securities
market counterparties or vendors may face the same or similar
systems failure, cybersecurity breaches and other business disruptions
risks.
Any
of these results could have a substantial adverse impact on a Fund and its
shareholders. For example, if a cybersecurity incident results in a denial
of
service, Fund shareholders could lose access to their electronic accounts and be
unable to buy or sell Fund shares for an unknown period of time, and
service providers could be unable to access electronic systems to perform
critical duties for a Fund, such as trading, NAV calculation, shareholder
accounting
or fulfillment of Fund share purchases and redemptions. Cybersecurity incidents
could cause a Fund or a service provider to incur regulatory penalties,
reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective
measures, or financial loss of a significant magnitude and could result
in allegations that a Fund or Fund service provider violated privacy and
other laws. There are inherent limitations in risk management systems
that
seek to reduce the risks associated with cybersecurity and business continuity
plans in the event there is a cybersecurity breach, including the possibility
that certain risks may not have been adequately identified or prepared for, in
large part because different or unknown threats may emerge in the
future. Furthermore, a Fund does not control the cybersecurity systems and plans
of the issuers of securities in which a Fund invests, third party service
providers, trading counterparties or any other service providers whose
operations may affect a Fund or its shareholders. The widespread use of
work-from-home
arrangements, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic, may increase operational and
information security risks.
Derivatives
— Generally a derivative is a financial instrument the value of which is based
on, or “derived” from, a traditional security, asset, currency, or
market index (collectively referred to as “reference assets”). A Fund may use
derivatives for hedging and efficient portfolio management purposes.
Derivative
instruments may allow for better management of exposure to certain asset
classes, as well as more efficient access to asset classes. There are
many
different types of derivatives and many different ways to use them. Some forms
of derivatives, such as exchange-traded futures, options on securities,
commodities, or indices, and certain forward contracts are traded on regulated
exchanges. These types of derivatives are standardized contracts
that can easily be bought and sold, and whose market values are determined and
published daily. Non-standardized derivatives, on the other hand,
tend to be more specialized or complex, and may be harder to value. Certain
derivative securities are described more accurately as index/structured
securities. Index/structured securities are derivative securities whose value or
performance is linked to other equity securities (such as depositary
receipts), currencies, interest rates, indices or other financial
indicators.
Derivatives
may involve significant risk. Many derivative instruments often require little
or no payment and therefore often create inherent economic leverage.
Some derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size
of a Fund’s initial investment. Not all derivative transactions require
a counterparty to post collateral, which may expose a Fund to greater
losses in the event of a default by a counterparty.
Derivatives
may be illiquid and may be more volatile than other types of investments. A Fund
may buy and sell derivatives that are neither centrally cleared
nor traded on an exchange. Such derivatives may be subject to heightened
counterparty, liquidity and valuation risk.
The
regulation of the U.S. and non-U.S. derivatives markets has undergone
substantial change in recent years and such change may continue. In particular,
effective August 19, 2022 (the “Compliance Date”), Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act
(the “Derivatives Rule”) replaced the asset segregation regime
of Investment Company Act Release No. 10666 (“Release 10666”) with a new
framework for the use of derivatives by registered funds. As of the
Compliance Date, the SEC rescinded Release 10666 and withdrew no-action letters
and similar guidance addressing a Fund’s use of derivatives and began
requiring a Fund to satisfy the requirements of the Derivatives Rule. As a
result, a Fund is no longer required to engage in “segregation” or “coverage”
techniques with respect to derivatives transactions and will instead comply with
the applicable requirements of the Derivatives Rule.
The
Derivatives Rule mandates that a Fund adopt and/or implement: (i) value-at-risk
limitations (“VaR”); (ii) a written derivatives risk management program;
(iii) new Board oversight responsibilities; and (iv) new reporting and
recordkeeping requirements. In the event that a Fund’s derivative exposure
is 10% or less of its net assets, excluding certain currency and interest rate
hedging transactions, it can elect to be classified as a limited derivatives
user (“Limited Derivatives User”) under the Derivatives Rule, in which case a
Fund is not subject to the full requirements of the Derivatives Rule.
Limited Derivatives Users are excepted from VaR testing, implementing a
derivatives risk management program, and certain Board oversight and
reporting
requirements mandated by the Derivatives Rule. However, a Limited Derivatives
User is still required to implement written compliance policies and
procedures reasonably designed to manage its derivatives risks. The Derivatives
Rule also provides special treatment for reverse repurchase agreements,
similar financing transactions and unfunded commitment agreements. Specifically,
a Fund may elect whether to treat reverse repurchase agreements
and similar financing transactions as “derivatives transactions” subject to the
requirements of the Derivatives Rule or as senior securities equivalent
to bank borrowings for purposes of Section 18 of the 1940 Act. In addition, a
Fund may invest in a security on a when-issued or forward-settling
basis, or with a non-standard settlement cycle, and the transaction will be
deemed not to involve a senior security, provided that: (i) a Fund
intends to physically settle the transaction; and (ii) the transaction will
settle within 35 days of its trade date.
The
enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act and similar global regulations resulted in
historic and comprehensive reform relating to derivatives, including the
manner
in which they are entered into, reported, recorded, executed, and settled or
cleared. Pursuant to these regulations, the SEC, CFTC and foreign regulators
have promulgated a broad range of regulations and guidance on the use of
derivatives, including use by registered investment companies. These
include regulations with respect to security-based swaps (e.g., derivatives
based on a single security or narrow-based securities index) that are
regulated
by the SEC in the U.S., and other swaps that are regulated by the CFTC and the
markets in which these instruments trade. In addition, regulations
adopted by the banking regulators require certain banks to include in a range of
financial contracts, including many derivatives contracts, terms
delaying or restricting default, termination and other rights in the event that
the bank and/or its affiliates become subject to certain types of resolution
or insolvency proceedings. The regulations could limit a Fund’s ability to
exercise a range of cross-default rights if its counterparty, or an affiliate
of the counterparty, is subject to bankruptcy or similar proceeding. Such
regulations could further negatively impact a Fund’s use of derivatives.
Under
CFTC Regulation 4.5, a Fund is excluded from registration as a CPO if its
investments in commodity interests (such as futures contracts, options
on
futures contracts, non-deliverable forwards and swaps), other than those used
for bona fide hedging purposes (as defined by the CFTC), are limited,
such
that the aggregate initial margin and premiums required to establish the
positions (after taking into account unrealized profits and unrealized
losses
on any such positions and excluding the amount by which options are
“in-the-money” at the time of purchase) do not exceed 5% of a Fund’s
NAV.
Alternatively, the aggregate net notional value of the positions, determined at
the time the most recent position was established, may not exceed 100%
of a Fund’s NAV, after taking into account unrealized profits and unrealized
losses on any such positions. Further, to qualify for the exclusion in
Regulation
4.5, a Fund must satisfy a marketing test, which requires, among other things,
that a Fund not hold itself out as a vehicle for trading commodity
interests. A Fund’s ability to use these instruments also may be limited by
federal income tax considerations. See the section entitled “Tax Information.”
As
the Funds cannot comply with the exemption from CPO registration provided for in
Regulation 4.5 above, the Manager is registered as a CPO with respect
to the Funds and the American Beacon Cayman Managed Futures Strategy Fund,
Ltd.,
American Beacon Cayman Multi-Alternatives Company, Ltd.
and American Beacon Cayman TargetRisk Company, Ltd., each a wholly-owned
subsidiary of the corresponding
Fund,
that are organized under the
laws of the Cayman Islands as an exempted company (the “Subsidiary”). As a
result, the Manager and the Funds are subject to regulation by the CFTC.
Further
information about the specific types of derivative instruments in which a Fund
may invest, including the risks involved in their use, are contained
under the description of each of these instruments in this SAI. A Fund may
invest in various types of derivatives, including among others:
■ |
Contracts
for Differences
— A contract for difference (“CFD”) is a contract in
which
one party agrees to pay the other party an amount of money based
on the difference between the current value of an asset
(such as a single security, a basket of securities or an index) and its
value on a specified
date in the future. CFDs allow
a Fund to take a long or short position without having to own the
reference security or index. A CFD is a privately
negotiated over-the-counter contract. Both buyer and seller generally are
required to post margin, which is adjusted daily, and adverse market
movements against the underlying asset
may require the buyer to make additional margin payments. The buyer may
also pay to the seller a financing
rate on the notional amount of the capital employed by the seller, less
the margin deposit. A CFD is usually terminated at the buyer’s
initiative.
By entering into a CFD transaction, a Fund could incur losses because it
would face many of the same types of risks as owning the underlying
asset
directly. As with other types of swap transactions, CFDs also carry
counterparty risk, which is the risk that the counterparty to the
CFD
transaction may be unable or unwilling to make payments to or otherwise
honor its financial obligations under the terms of the contract, that
the
parties may disagree as to the meaning or application of contractual
terms, or that the asset
may not perform as expected.
CFDs are similar to total
return swaps, except that payment only occurs once, on the contract
expiration date, whereas payment on total return swaps typically occurs at
agreed
upon intervals. |
■ |
Forward
Contracts. A Fund may enter into forward contracts. Forward contracts
are a type of derivative instrument that obligate the purchaser to take
delivery of, or cash settle a specific amount of, a commodity, security or
obligation underlying the contract at a specified time in the future for a
specified price. Likewise, the seller incurs an obligation to deliver the
specified amount of the underlying asset against receipt of the specified
price. Generally, forward contracts are traded through financial
institutions acting as market-makers, on certain securities exchanges, or
over-the-counter,and the protections afforded to investors may vary
depending on the trading environment. This is distinguishable from futures
contracts, which are traded on U.S. and foreign commodities exchanges.
|
|
Forward
contracts are often negotiated on an individual basis and are not
standardized. The market for forward contracts is substantially
unregulated, as there is no limit on daily price movements and speculative
position limits are not applicable. The principals who deal in certain
forward contract markets are not required to continue to make markets in
the underlying reference assets in which they trade and these markets can
experience periods of illiquidity, sometimes of significant duration.
There have been periods during which certain participants in forward
contract markets have refused to quote prices for certain underlying
references or have quoted prices with an unusually wide spread between the
price at which they were prepared to buy and that at which they were
prepared to sell. At or prior to maturity of a forward contract, a Fund
may enter into an offsetting contract and may incur a loss to the extent
there has been adverse movement in forward contract prices. The liquidity
of the markets for forward contracts depends on participants entering into
offsetting transactions rather than making or taking delivery. To the
extent participants make or take delivery, liquidity in the market for
forwards could be reduced. A relatively small price movement in a forward
contract may result insubstantial losses to a Fund, exceeding the amount
of the margin paid. Forward contracts can increase a Fund’s risk exposure
to underlying reference assets and their attendant
risks. |
|
A
Fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a
forward contract in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a
counterparty. If such a default occurs, a Fund may have contractual
remedies pursuant to the forward contract, but such remedies may be
subject to bankruptcy and insolvency laws which could affect a Fund’s
rights as a creditor. |
■ |
Forward
Foreign Currency Contracts. A
Fund may enter into forward foreign currency contracts (“forward currency
contracts”), which are a type of
derivative instrument, for a variety of reasons. A forward currency
contract involves an obligation to purchase or sell a specified currency
at a future
date, which may be any fixed number of days from the date of the contract
agreed upon by the parties at a price set at the time of the contract.
Because these forward currency contracts normally are settled through an
exchange of currencies, they are traded in the interbank market
directly
between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their
customers. |
|
Forward
currency contracts may serve as long hedges. For example, a Fund may
purchase a forward currency contract to lock in the U.S. dollar price
of
a security denominated in a foreign currency that it intends to acquire.
Forward currency contract transactions also may serve as short hedges. For
example,
a Fund may sell a forward currency contract to lock in the U.S. dollar
equivalent of the proceeds from the anticipated sale of a security or
from
a dividend or interest payment on a security denominated in a foreign
currency. |
|
A Fund
may enter into forward currency contracts to sell a foreign currency for a
fixed U.S. dollar amount approximating the value of some or all of
its
respective portfolio securities denominated in such foreign currency. In
addition, a Fund may use forward currency contracts when the sub-advisor
wishes
to “lock in” the U.S. dollar price of a security when a Fund is purchasing
or selling a security denominated in a foreign currency or anticipates
receiving
a dividend or interest payment denominated in a foreign
currency. |
|
A Fund
may enter into forward currency contracts for the purchase or sale of a
specified currency at a specified future date either with respect to
specific
transactions or with respect to portfolio positions in order to minimize
the risk to a Fund from adverse changes in the relationship between
the
U.S. dollar and foreign currencies. |
|
A Fund
may use forward currency contracts to seek to hedge against, or profit
from, changes in the value of a particular currency by using forward
currency
contracts on another foreign currency or a basket of currencies, the value
of which the sub-advisor believes will have a positive correlation
to
the values of the currency being hedged. When hedging, use of a different
foreign currency magnifies the risk that movements in the price of the
forward
contract will not correlate or will correlate unfavorably with the foreign
currency being hedged. |
|
In
addition, a Fund may use forward currency contracts to shift exposure to
foreign currency fluctuations from one country to another. For example,
if
a Fund owned securities denominated in a foreign currency that the
sub-advisor believed would decline relative to another currency, it might
enter into
a forward currency contract to sell an appropriate amount of the first
foreign currency, with payment to be made in the second currency.
Transactions
that involve two foreign currencies are sometimes referred to as “cross
hedging.” Use of a different foreign currency magnifies a Fund’s
exposure
to foreign currency exchange rate
fluctuations. |
|
A
Fund also may enter into forward currency contracts for non-hedging
purposes if a foreign currency is anticipated to appreciate or depreciate
in value,
but securities denominated in that currency do not present attractive
investment opportunities and are not held in a Fund’s investment
portfolio. |
|
The
cost to a Fund of engaging in forward currency contracts varies with
factors such as the currency involved, the length of the contract period
and the
market conditions then prevailing. Because forward currency contracts
usually are entered into on a principal basis, no fees or commissions are
involved.
When a Fund enters into a forward currency contract, it relies on the
counterparty to make or take delivery of the underlying currency at
the
maturity of the contract. Failure by the counterparty to do so would
result in the loss of any expected benefit of the
transaction. |
|
Sellers
or purchasers of forward currency contracts can enter into offsetting
closing transactions, similar to closing transactions on futures, by
purchasing
or selling, respectively, an instrument identical to the instrument sold
or bought, respectively. Secondary markets generally do not exist
for
forward currency contracts, however, with the result that closing
transactions generally can be made for forward currency contracts only by
negotiating
directly with the counterparty. Thus, there can be no assurance that a
Fund will in fact be able to close out a forward currency contract
at
a favorable price prior to maturity. In addition, in the event of
insolvency of the counterparty, a Fund might be unable to close out a
forward |
|
currency
contract at any time prior to maturity. In either event, a Fund would
continue to be subject to market risk with respect to the position, and
would
continue to be required to maintain a position in the securities or
currencies that are the subject of the hedge or to maintain cash or
securities. |
|
The
precise matching of forward currency contract amounts and the value of
securities whose U.S. dollar value is being hedged by those contracts
involved
generally will not be possible because the value of such securities,
measured in the foreign currency, will change after the forward currency
contract
has been established. Thus, a Fund might need to purchase or sell foreign
currencies in the spot (cash) market to the extent such foreign
currencies
are not covered by forward contracts. The projection of short-term
currency market movements is extremely difficult, and the successful
execution
of a short-term hedging strategy is highly
uncertain. |
|
A Fund
bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a
forward currency contract in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a
counterparty.
If such a default occurs, a Fund may have contractual remedies pursuant to
the forward currency contract, but such remedies may be subject
to bankruptcy and insolvency laws which could affect a Fund’s rights as a
creditor. |
|
At
the maturity of a forward contract, a Fund may sell the portfolio security
and make delivery of the foreign currency, or it may retain the security
and
either extend the maturity of the forward contract (by “rolling” that
contract forward) or may initiate a new forward contract. If a Fund
retains the
portfolio security and engages in an offsetting transaction, a Fund will
incur a gain or a loss (as described below) to the extent that there has
been
movement in forward contract prices. If a Fund engages in an offsetting
transaction, it may subsequently enter into a new forward contract to
sell
the foreign currency. |
|
Should
forward prices decline during the period between a Fund’s entering into a
forward contract for the sale of a foreign currency and the date it
enters
into an offsetting contract for the purchase of the foreign currency, a
Fund will realize a gain to the extent the price of the currency it has
agreed
to sell exceeds the price of the currency it has agreed to purchase.
Should forward prices increase, a Fund will suffer a loss to the extent
the price
of the currency it has agreed to purchase exceeds the price of the
currency it has agreed to sell. |
|
Forward
currency contracts in which a Fund may engage include foreign exchange
forwards. The consummation of a foreign exchange forward requires
the actual exchange of the principal amounts of the two currencies in the
contract (i.e., settlement on a physical basis). Because foreign
exchange
forwards are physically settled through an exchange of currencies, they
are traded in the interbank market directly between currency traders
(usually large commercial banks) and their customers. A foreign exchange
forward generally has no deposit requirement, and no commissions
are charged at any stage for trades; foreign exchange dealers realize a
profit based on the difference (the spread) between the prices at
which
they are buying and the prices at which they are selling various
currencies. When a Fund enters into a foreign exchange forward, it
relies on the
counterparty to make or take delivery of the underlying currency at the
maturity of the contract. Failure by the counterparty to do so would
result
in the loss of any expected benefit of the
transaction. |
|
A
Fund may be required to obtain the currency that it must deliver under the
foreign exchange forward through the sale of portfolio securities
denominated
in such currency or through conversion of other assets of a Fund into such
currency. When a Fund engages in foreign currency transactions
for hedging purposes, it will not enter into foreign exchange forwards to
sell currency or maintain a net exposure to such contracts if their
consummation would obligate a Fund to deliver an amount of foreign
currency materially in excess of the value of its portfolio securities or
other
assets denominated in that currency. |
■ |
Non-Deliverable
Currency Forwards. A
Fund also may enter into NDFs. NDFs are cash-settled, short-term forward
contracts on foreign currencies
(each a “Reference Currency”), generally on currencies that are
non-convertible, and may be thinly traded or illiquid. NDFs involve an
obligation
to pay a U. S. dollar amount (the “Settlement Amount”) equal to the
difference between the prevailing market exchange rate for the
Reference
Currency and the agreed upon exchange rate (the “NDF Rate”), with respect
to an agreed notional amount. NDFs have a fixing date and
a settlement (delivery) date. The fixing date is the date and time at
which the difference between the prevailing market exchange rate and the
agreed
upon exchange rate is calculated. The settlement (delivery) date is the
date by which the payment of the Settlement Amount is due to the
party
receiving payment. Although
NDFs are similar to other forward currency contracts, NDFs do not require
physical delivery of a Reference Currency on the settlement date.
Rather, on the settlement date, one counterparty pays the Settlement
Amount. NDFs typically may have terms from one month up to two
years
and are settled in U.S. dollars. A Fund will typically use NDFs for
hedging purposes or for direct investment in a foreign country for income
or gain.
The use of NDFs for hedging or to increase income or gain may not be
successful, resulting in losses to a Fund, and the cost of such
strategies
may reduce a Fund’s returns. NDFs
are subject to many of the risks associated with derivatives in general
and forward currency transactions including risks associated with
fluctuations
in foreign currency and the risk that the counterparty will fail to
fulfill its obligations. In addition, pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act and
regulations
adopted by the CFTC in connection with implementing the Dodd-Frank Act,
NDFs are deemed to be swaps, and consequently commodity
interests for purposes of amended Regulation 4.5. Although NDFs have
historically been traded OTC, some are now exchange-traded pursuant
to the Dodd-Frank Act. Under such circumstances, they will be centrally
cleared and a secondary market for them will exist. All NDFs are
subject
to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the counterparty will not
perform as contractually required under the NDF. With respect to NDFs
that
are centrally-cleared, a Fund could lose margin payments it has deposited
with the clearing organization as well as the net amount of gains
not
yet paid by the clearing organization if it breaches its obligations under
the NDF, becomes insolvent or goes into bankruptcy. In the event of
bankruptcy
of the clearing organization, the investor may be entitled to the net
amount of gains the investor is entitled to receive plus the return
of
margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the
clearing organization’s other customers, potentially resulting in losses
to the investor.
NDFs that remain traded OTC will be subject to margin requirements for
uncleared swaps and counterparty risk common to other
swaps. |
■ |
Futures
Contracts. A
Fund may enter into futures contracts. Futures contracts are a type of
derivative instrument that obligate the purchaser to take
delivery of, or cash settle a specific amount of, a commodity, security or
other obligation underlying the contract at a specified time in the
future
for a specified price. Likewise, the seller incurs an obligation to
deliver the specified amount of the underlying obligation against receipt
of the specified
price. Futures are traded on both U.S. and foreign commodities exchanges.
The purchase of futures can serve as a long hedge, and the sale
of
futures can serve as a short hedge. No
price is paid upon entering into a futures contract. Instead, at the
inception of a futures contract, a Fund is required to deposit “initial
margin” consisting
of cash, U.S. Government securities, suitable money market instruments, or
liquid, high-grade debt securities in an amount set by the exchange
on which the contract is traded and varying based on the volatility of the
underlying asset. Margin must also be deposited when writing a
call
or put option on a futures contract, in accordance with applicable
exchange rules. Unlike margin in securities transactions, initial margin
on futures
contracts does not represent a borrowing, but rather is in the nature of a
performance bond or good-faith deposit that is returned to a Fund
at
the termination of the transaction if all contractual obligations have
been satisfied. Under certain circumstances, such as periods of high
volatility, a
Fund may be required by a futures exchange to increase the level of its
initial margin payment, and initial margin requirements might be increased
generally
in the future by regulatory action. Subsequent “variation margin” payments
(sometimes referred to as “maintenance margin” payments) are
made to and from the futures broker daily as the value of the futures
position varies, a process known as “marking-to-market.” Variation margin
does
not involve borrowing, but rather represents a daily settlement of a
Fund’s obligations to or from a futures broker. When a Fund purchases or
sells
a futures contract, it is subject to daily, or even intraday, variation
margin calls that could be substantial in the event of adverse price
movements.
If a Fund has insufficient cash to meet daily or intraday variation margin
requirements, it might need to sell securities at a time when such
sales are disadvantageous. Purchasers
and sellers of futures contracts can enter into offsetting closing
transactions, by selling or purchasing, respectively, an instrument
identical to
the instrument purchased or sold. Positions in futures contracts may be
closed only on a futures exchange or board of trade that trades that
contract.
A Fund intends to enter into futures contracts only on exchanges or boards
of trade where there appears to be a liquid secondary market. However,
there can be no assurance that such a market will exist for a particular
contract at a particular time. In such event, it may not be possible to
close
a futures contract. Although
many futures contracts by their terms call for the actual delivery or
acquisition of the underlying asset, in most cases the contractual
obligation
is fulfilled before the date of the contract without having to make or
take delivery of the securities or currency. The offsetting of a
contractual
obligation is accomplished by buying (or selling, as appropriate) on a
commodities exchange an identical futures contract calling for
delivery
in the same month. Such a transaction, which is effected through a member
of an exchange, cancels the obligation to make or take delivery
of
the securities or currency. Since all transactions in the futures market
are made, offset or fulfilled through a clearinghouse associated with the
exchange
on which the contracts are traded, a Fund will incur brokerage fees when
it purchases or sells futures contracts. If an offsetting purchase
price
is less than the original sale price, a Fund realizes a capital gain, or
if it is more, a Fund realizes a capital loss. Conversely, if an
offsetting sell price
is more than the original purchase price, a Fund realizes a capital gain,
or if it is less, a Fund realizes a capital loss. The Funds have no
current intent
to accept physical delivery in connection with the settlement of futures
contracts. Under
certain circumstances, futures exchanges may establish daily limits on the
amount that the price of a futures contract can vary from the previous
day’s settlement price; once that limit is reached, no trades may be made
that day at a price beyond the limit. Daily price limits do not limit
potential
losses because prices could move to the daily limit for several
consecutive days with little or no trading, thereby preventing liquidation
of unfavorable
positions. If a Fund were unable to liquidate a futures contract due to
the absence of a liquid secondary market or the imposition of price
limits, it could incur substantial losses. A Fund would continue to be
subject to market risk with respect to the position. In addition, a Fund
would
continue to be required to make daily variation margin payments and might
be required to maintain the position being hedged by the futures
contract
or option thereon or to maintain cash or securities in a segregated
account. The
ordinary spreads between prices in the cash and futures markets, due to
differences in the nature of those markets, are subject to distortions.
First,
all participants in the futures market are subject to initial deposit and
variation margin requirements. Rather than meeting additional variation
margin
deposit requirements, investors may close futures contracts through
offsetting transactions that could distort the normal relationship
between
the cash and futures markets. Second, the liquidity of the futures market
depends on participants entering into offsetting transactions rather
than making or taking delivery. To the extent participants decide to make
or take delivery, liquidity in the futures market could be reduced,
thus
producing distortion. Third, from the point of view of speculators, the
margin deposit requirements in the futures market are less onerous than
margin
requirements in the securities market. Therefore, increased participation
by speculators in the futures market may cause temporary price
distortions.
Due to the possibility of distortion, a correct forecast of securities
price or currency exchange rate trends by the sub-advisor may still not
result
in a successful transaction. Futures
contracts also entail other risks. Although the use of such contracts may
benefit a Fund, if investment judgment about the general direction
of,
for example, an index is incorrect, a Fund’s overall performance would be
worse than if it had not entered into any such contract. There are
differences
between the securities and futures markets that could result in an
imperfect correlation between the markets, causing a given transaction
not
to achieve its objectives. The degree of imperfection of correlation
depends on circumstances such as variations in speculative market demand
for
futures, including technical influences in futures trading, and
differences between the financial instruments being hedged and the
instruments underlying
the standard contracts available for trading in such respects as interest
rate levels, maturities, and creditworthiness of issuers. A decision
as
to whether, when and how to hedge involves the exercise of skill and
judgment, and even a well-conceived hedge may be unsuccessful to some
degree
because of market behavior or unexpected interest rate
trends. |
■ |
Commodity
Futures Contracts Risk—
There are several additional risks associated with transactions in
commodity futures contracts. Storage.
Unlike the financial futures markets, in the commodity futures markets
there are costs of physical storage associated with purchasing the
underlying
commodity. The price of the commodity futures contract will reflect the
storage costs of purchasing the physical commodity, including the
time value of money invested in the physical commodity. To the extent that
the storage costs for an underlying commodity change while a Fund
or its respective Subsidiary is invested in futures contracts on that
commodity, the value of the futures contract may change
proportionately. Reinvestment.
In the commodity futures markets, producers of the underlying commodity
may decide to hedge the price risk of selling the commodity
by selling futures contracts to lock in the price of the commodity at
delivery on a future date. In order to induce speculators to
|
|
purchase
the other side of the same futures contract, the commodity producer
generally must sell the futures contract at a lower price than the
expected
future spot price. Conversely, if most hedgers in the futures market are
purchasing futures contracts to hedge against a rise in prices,
then
speculators will only sell the other side of the futures contract at a
higher futures price than the expected future spot price of the commodity.
The
changing nature of the hedgers and speculators in the commodity markets
will influence whether futures prices are above or below the expected
future spot price, which can have significant implications for a Fund or
its respective Subsidiary. If the nature of hedgers and speculators
in
futures markets has shifted when it is time for a Fund to reinvest the
proceeds of a maturing contract in a new futures contract, a Fund or its
respective
Subsidiary might reinvest at higher or lower futures prices, or choose to
pursue other investments. Other
Economic Factors.
The commodities that underlie commodity futures contracts may be subject
to additional economic and non-economic variables,
such as drought, floods, weather, livestock disease, embargoes, tariffs,
and international economic, political and regulatory developments.
These factors may have a larger impact on commodity prices and
commodity-linked instruments, including futures contracts, than
on
traditional securities. Certain commodities are also subject to limited
pricing flexibility because of supply and demand factors. Others are
subject
to broad price fluctuations as a result of the volatility of the prices
for certain raw materials and the instability of supplies of other
materials.
These additional variables may create additional investment risks which
subject a Fund’s or its respective Subsidiary’s investments to
greater
volatility than investments in traditional
securities. |
■ |
Futures
Contracts on Security Indices. A
Fund may enter into contracts providing for the making and acceptance of a
cash settlement based upon
changes in the value of an index of securities (“Index Futures
Contracts”). The
Funds use Index Futures Contracts to take long and short positions
on indices based on the sub-advisor’s outlook on the direction of market
prices.
This
may permit a Fund to avoid potential market and liquidity
problems (e.g., driving up or forcing down the price by quickly purchasing
or selling a portfolio security) that may result from increases or
decreases
in positions already held by a Fund. In general, each hedging transaction
in Index Futures Contracts involves the establishment of a position
that will move in a direction opposite to that of the investment being
hedged. If these hedging transactions are successful, the futures
positions
taken for a Fund will rise in value by an amount that approximately
offsets the decline in value of the portion of a Fund’s investments
that
are being hedged. Should general market prices move in an unexpected
manner, the full anticipated benefits of Index Futures Contracts may
not
be achieved or a loss may be realized. Transactions in Index Futures
Contracts involve certain risks. These risks could include a lack of
correlation
between the Index Futures Contract and the relevant index, a potential
lack of liquidity in the market and incorrect assessments of market
trends, which may result in worse overall performance than if an Index
Futures Contract had not been entered into. Brokerage costs will be
incurred
and “margin” will be required to be posted and maintained as a good-faith
deposit against performance of obligations under Index Futures
Contracts written into by a Fund. |
■ |
Options.
A Fund may purchase and sell put options and call options, each a type of
derivative instrument, on securities and foreign currencies in
standardized
contracts traded on recognized securities exchanges, boards of trade, or
similar entities, or quoted on the NASDAQ National Market System.
A
Fund will only write (sell) covered call and put options.
A call option is “covered” if a Fund simultaneously holds an equivalent
position in the
security underlying the option. Where the underlying security is a
convertible bond, the call option is considered to be uncovered until the
option is
exercised. |
|
An
option is a contract that gives the purchaser (holder) of the option, in
return for a premium, the right to buy from (call) or sell to (put) the
seller (writer)
of the option the security or currency underlying the option at a
specified exercise price at any time during the term of the option
(normally not
exceeding nine months). The writer of an option has the obligation upon
exercise of the option to deliver or pay the value of the underlying
security
or currency upon payment of the exercise price or to pay the exercise
price upon delivery of the underlying security or
currency. |
|
When
a Fund writes a call option, it is obligated to sell a security to a
purchaser at a specified price at any time until a certain date if the
purchaser decides
to exercise the option. A Fund will receive a premium for writing a call
option. So long as the obligation of the call option continues, a Fund
may
be assigned an exercise notice, requiring it to deliver the underlying
security against payment of the exercise price. A Fund may be obligated to
deliver
securities underlying an option at less than the market price. By writing
a covered call option, a Fund forgoes, in exchange for the premium
less
the commission (“net premium”), the opportunity to profit during the
option period from an increase in the market value of the underlying
security
or currency above the exercise price. If a call option that a Fund has
written expires unexercised, a Fund will realize a gain in the amount of
the
premium; however, that gain may be offset by a decline in the market value
of the underlying security during the option period. If a call option is
exercised,
a Fund will realize a gain or loss from the sale of the underlying
security. |
|
When
a Fund writes a put option, it is obligated to acquire a security at a
certain price at any time until a certain date if the purchaser decides to
exercise
the option. A Fund will receive a premium for writing a put option. By
writing a put option, a Fund, in exchange for the net premium received,
accepts the risk of a decline in the market value of the underlying
security or currency below the exercise price. A Fund may terminate its
obligation
as the writer of a call or put option by purchasing a corresponding option
with the same exercise price and expiration date as the option
previously
written. If a put option that a Fund has written expires unexercised, a
Fund will realize a gain in the amount of the premium. When a Fund
writes
an option, an amount equal to the net premium received by a Fund is
included in the liability section of a Fund’s Statement of Assets and
Liabilities
as a deferred credit. The amount of the deferred credit will be
subsequently marked to market to reflect the current market value of the
option
written. The current market value of a traded option is the last sale
price or, in the absence of a sale, the mean between the closing bid and
asked
price. If an option expires unexercised on its stipulated expiration date
or if a Fund enters into a closing purchase transaction, a Fund will
realize
a gain (or loss if the cost of a closing purchase transaction exceeds the
premium received when the option was sold), and the deferred credit
related
to such option will be eliminated. |
|
A
closing purchase transaction for exchange-traded options may be made only
on a national securities exchange. It is impossible to predict the
volume
of trading that may exist in such options, and there can be no assurance
that viable exchange markets will develop or continue. There is no
assurance
that a liquid secondary market on an exchange will exist for a particular
option, or at any particular time, and for some options, such as
OTC
options, no secondary market on an exchange may exist. The hours of
trading for options may not conform to the hours during which the
underlying
securities are traded. To the extent that the option markets close before
the markets for the underlying securities, significant price and
|
|
rate
movements can take place in the underlying securities markets that cannot
be reflected in the option markets. A Fund may use NDOs which
are foreign
exchange products designed
to
assist in reducing the foreign exchange risk, in particular situations
when physical delivery of the underlying currencies
is not required or not possible. |
|
A
Fund may write (sell) and purchase covered call and put options on foreign
currencies for hedging or non-hedging purposes. A Fund may use
options
on foreign currencies to protect against decreases in the U.S. dollar
value of securities held or increases in the U.S. dollar cost of
securities to be
acquired by a Fund or to protect the U.S. dollar equivalent of dividends,
interest, or other payments on those securities. In addition, a Fund may
write
and purchase covered call and put options on foreign currencies for
non-hedging purposes (e.g., when the Manager or sub-advisor anticipates
that
a foreign currency will appreciate or depreciate in value, but securities
denominated in that currency do not present attractive investment
opportunities
and are not held in a Fund’s investment portfolio). A Fund may write
covered call and put options on any currency in order to realize
greater
income than would be realized on portfolio securities alone. Currency
options have characteristics and risks similar to those of securities
options,
as discussed herein. Certain options on foreign currencies are traded on
the OTC market and involve liquidity and credit risks that may not
be
present in the case of exchange-traded currency
options. |
■ |
Swap
Agreements.
A swap is a transaction in which a Fund and a counterparty agree to pay or
receive payments at specified dates based upon or calculated
by reference to changes in specified prices or rates (e.g., interest rates
in the case of interest rate swaps) or the performance of specified
securities
or indices based on a specified amount (the “notional” amount). Nearly any
type of derivative, including forward contracts, can be structured
as a swap. See “Derivatives” for a further discussion of derivatives
risks. Swap agreements can be structured to provide exposure to a
variety
of different types of investments or market factors. For example, in an
interest rate swap, fixed-rate payments may be exchanged for floating
rate
payments; in a currency swap, U.S. dollar-denominated payments may be
exchanged for payments denominated in a foreign currency; and in a
total
return swap, payments tied to the investment return on a particular asset,
group of assets or index may be exchanged for payments that are
effectively
equivalent to interest payments or for payments tied to the return on
another asset, group of assets, or index. Swaps may have a leverage
component,
and adverse changes in the value or level of the underlying asset,
reference rate or index can result in gains or losses that are
substantially
greater than the amount invested in the swap itself. Some swaps currently
are, and more in the future will be, centrally cleared. Swaps that
are centrally-cleared are exposed to the creditworthiness of the clearing
organizations (and, consequently, that of their members - generally,
banks
and broker-dealers) involved in the transaction. For example, an investor
could lose margin payments it has deposited with the clearing organization
as well as the net amount of gains not yet paid by the clearing
organization if it breaches its agreement with the investor or becomes
insolvent
or goes into bankruptcy. In the event of bankruptcy of the clearing
organization, the investor may be able to recover only a portion of the
net
amount of gains on its transactions and of the margin owed to it,
potentially resulting in losses to the investor. Swaps that are not
centrally cleared
involve the risk that a loss may be sustained as a result of the
insolvency or bankruptcy of the counterparty or the failure of the
counterparty to
make required payments or otherwise comply with the terms of the
agreement. If a counterparty’s creditworthiness declines, the value of the
swap
might decline, potentially resulting in losses to a Fund. Changing
conditions in a particular market area, whether or not directly related to
the referenced
assets that underlie the swap agreement, may have an adverse impact on the
creditworthiness of a counterparty. To mitigate this risk, a Fund
will only enter into swap agreements with counterparties considered by the
sub-advisor to present minimum risk of default, and a Fund normally
obtains collateral to secure its exposure. Swaps involve the risk that, if
the swap declines in value, additional margin would be required to
maintain
the margin level. The seller may require a Fund to deposit additional sums
to cover this, and this may be at short notice. If additional margin
is not provided in time, the seller may liquidate the positions at a loss,
which may cause a Fund to owe money to the seller. The centrally
cleared
and OTC swap agreements into which a Fund enters normally provide for the
obligations of a Fund and its counterparty in the event of a default
or other early termination to be determined on a net basis. Similarly,
periodic payments on a swap transaction that are due by each party on
the
same day normally are netted. The use of swap agreements requires special
skills, knowledge and investment techniques that differ from those
required
for normal portfolio management. Swaps may be considered illiquid
investments, and a Fund may be unable to sell a swap agreement to a
third
party at a favorable price; see “Illiquid and Restricted Securities” for a
description of liquidity risk. |
■ |
Commodities
Swaps.
In a commodities swap transaction, the parties agree to exchange cash
flows dependent upon the price of an underlying commodity.
For example, an investment in a commodity swap agreement may involve the
exchange of variable payments based upon market prices
for a commodity. In a total return commodity swap, a fund will receive the
price appreciation of a commodity index, a portion of the index,
or
a single commodity in exchange for paying an agreed-upon fee. If the
commodity swap is for one period, a fund may pay a fixed fee, established
at the outset of the swap. However, if the term of the commodity swap is
more than one period, with interim swap payments, a fund may
pay an adjustable or floating fee. With a “floating” rate, the fee may be
pegged to a base rate and be adjusted each period. Therefore, if
interest
rates increase over the term of the swap contract, a fund may be required
to pay a higher fee at each swap reset
date. |
■ |
Credit
Default Swaps.
In a credit default swap, one party (the seller) agrees to make a payment
to the other party (the buyer) in the event that a “credit
event,” such as a default or issuer insolvency, occurs with respect to one
or more underlying or “reference” bonds or other debt securities.
A
Fund may be either a seller or a buyer of credit protection under a credit
default swap. The purchaser pays a fee during the life of the swap. If
there
is a credit event with respect to a referenced debt security, the seller
under a credit default swap may be required to pay the buyer the par
amount
(or a specified percentage of the par amount) of that security in exchange
for receiving the referenced security (or a specified alternative
security)
from the buyer. Credit default swaps may be on a single security, a basket
of securities or on a securities index. Alternatively, the credit
default
swap may be cash settled, meaning that the seller will pay the buyer the
difference between the par value and the market value of the defaulted
bonds. If the swap is on a basket of securities (such as the CDX indices),
the notional amount of the swap is reduced by the par amount of
the defaulted bond, and the fixed payments are then made on the reduced
notional amount. Taking
a long position in (i.e., acting as the seller under) a credit default
swap increases the exposure to the specific issuers, and the seller could
experience
a loss if a credit event occurs and the credit of the reference entity or
underlying asset has deteriorated. As a seller, a Fund would effectively
add leverage because, in addition to its total net assets, a Fund would be
subject to investment exposure on the notional amount of the swap.
Taking a short position in (i.e., acting as the buyer under) a credit
default swap results in opposite exposures for a Fund. The risks of being
the
buyer of credit default swaps include the cost of paying for credit
protection if there are no credit events, pricing transparency when
assessing |
|
the
cost of a credit default swap, counterparty risk, and the need to fund any
delivery obligation, particularly in the event of adverse pricing when
purchasing
bonds to satisfy a delivery obligation. Credit default swap buyers are
also subject to counterparty risk since the ability of the seller to
make
required payments is dependent on its
creditworthiness. |
■ |
Currency
Swaps.
A currency swap involves the exchange of payments denominated in one
currency for payments denominated in another. Payments
are based on a notional principal amount, the value of which is fixed in
exchange rate terms at the swap’s inception. Currency swap agreements
may be entered into on a net basis or may involve the delivery of the
entire principal value of one designated currency in exchange for
the
entire principal value of another designated currency. In such cases, the
entire principal value of a currency swap is subject to the risk that the
counterparty
will default on its contractual delivery obligations. Currency swaps are
subject to currency risk. |
■ |
Equity
Swaps.
Equity swaps are contracts that allow one party to exchange the returns,
including any dividend income, on an equity security or group
of equity securities for another payment stream. Under an equity swap,
payments may be made at the conclusion of the equity swap or periodically
during its term. An equity swap may be used to invest in a market without
owning or taking physical custody of securities in circumstances
in which direct investment may be restricted for legal reasons or is
otherwise deemed impractical or disadvantageous. To the extent
that
there is an imperfect correlation between the return on a Fund’s
obligation to its counterparty under the equity swap and the return on
related
assets in its portfolio, the equity swap transaction may increase a Fund’s
financial risk. |
■ |
Interest
Rate and Inflation Swaps.
In an interest rate swap, the parties exchange payments based on fixed or
floating interest rates multiplied by
a hypothetical or “notional” amount. For example, one party might agree to
pay the other a specified fixed rate on the notional amount in
exchange
for recovering a floating rate on that notional amount. Interest rate swap
agreements entail both interest rate risk and counterparty risk.
The
purchase of an interest rate cap entitles the purchaser, to the extent
that a specified index exceeds a predetermined interest rate, to receive
payments
of interest on a notional principal amount from the party selling such
interest rate cap. The purchase of an interest rate floor entitles the
purchaser,
to the extent that a specified index falls below a predetermined interest
rate, to receive payments of interest on a notional principal amount
from the party selling such interest rate floor. There is a risk that
based on movements of interest rates, the payments made under a swap
agreement
will be greater than the payments received. A Fund may also invest in
inflation swaps, where an inflation rate index is used in place of
an
interest rate index. |
■ |
Total
Return Swaps.
In a total return swap transaction, one party agrees to pay the other
party an amount equal to the total return on a defined underlying
asset such as a security or basket of securities or on a referenced index
during a specified period of time. In return, the other party would
make periodic payments based on a fixed or variable interest rate or on
the total return from a different underlying asset or index. Total
return
swap agreements may be used to gain exposure to price changes in an
overall market or an asset. Total return swaps may effectively add
leverage
to a Fund’s portfolio because, in addition to its net assets, a Fund would
be subject to investment exposure on the notional amount of the
swap, which may exceed a Fund’s net assets. If a Fund is the total return
receiver in a total return swap, then the credit risk for an underlying
asset
is transferred to a Fund in exchange for its receipt of the return
(appreciation) on that asset or index. If a Fund is the total return
payer, it is hedging
the downside risk of an underlying asset or index but it is obligated to
pay the amount of any appreciation on that asset or index. Total
return
swaps could result in losses if the underlying asset or index does not
perform as anticipated. Written total return swaps can have the
potential
for unlimited losses. |
Expense
Risk
— Fund expenses are subject to a variety of factors, including fluctuations in a
Fund’s net assets. Accordingly, actual expenses may be greater
or less than those indicated. For example, to the extent that a Fund’s net
assets decrease due to market declines or redemptions, a Fund’s expenses
will increase as a percentage of Fund net assets. During periods of high market
volatility, these increases in a Fund’s expense ratio could be significant.
Fixed-Income
Investments
— A Fund may hold debt instruments, including government and corporate debt
instruments, and other fixed-income securities,
including derivative instruments that have fixed-income securities as reference
assets.
Typically, the values of fixed-income securities change inversely
with prevailing interest rates. Therefore, a fundamental risk of fixed-income
securities is interest rate risk, which is the risk that their value will
generally
decline as prevailing interest rates rise, which may cause a Fund’s NAV to
likewise decrease, and vice versa. How specific fixed-income securities
may react to changes in interest rates will depend on the specific
characteristics of each security. For example, while securities with longer
maturities
tend to produce higher yields, they also tend to be more sensitive to changes in
prevailing interest rates and are therefore more volatile than shorter-term
securities and are subject to greater market fluctuations as a result of changes
in interest rates. However, calculations of maturity and duration
may be based on estimates and may not reliably predict a security’s price
sensitivity to changes in interest rates. In addition, different interest
rate
measures (such as short- and long-term interest rates and U.S. and non-U.S.
interest rates), or interest rates on different types of securities or
securities
of different issuers, may not necessarily change in the same amount or in the
same direction. Investments in fixed-income securities with very low
or negative interest rates may diminish a Fund’s yield and performance.
Conversely, if rising interest rates cause a Fund to lose value, a Fund could
face
increased shareholder redemptions, which may lead to increased portfolio
turnover and transaction costs. An increase in shareholder redemptions
could
also force a Fund to liquidate investments at disadvantageous times or prices,
therefore adversely affecting a Fund as well as the value of your investment.
For fixed-income securities with variable or floating rates, the interest rates
reset when the specified index or reference rate changes. Fixed-income
securities are also subject to credit risk, which is the risk that the credit
strength of an issuer of a fixed-income security will weaken and/or that
the issuer will be unable or unwilling to make timely principal and interest
payments and that the security may go into default. In addition, there is
prepayment
risk, which is the risk that during periods of falling interest rates, certain
fixed-income securities with higher interest rates, such as mortgage-
and asset-backed securities, may be prepaid by their issuers thereby reducing
the amount of interest payments. This is similar to call risk,
which
is the risk that the issuer of a debt security may repay the security early.
This may result in a Fund not enjoying the increase in the security’s
market
price that usually accompanies a decline in rates, and also having to reinvest
its proceeds in lower yielding securities. Fixed-income securities may
also be subject to valuation risk and liquidity risk. Valuation risk is the risk
that one or more of the fixed-income securities in which a Fund invests
are
priced differently than the value realized upon such security’s sale. In times
of market instability, valuation may be more difficult. Liquidity risk is the
risk
that fixed-income securities may be difficult or impossible to sell at the time
that a Fund would like or at the price the sub-advisor believes the security
is currently worth. To the extent a Fund invests in fixed-income securities in a
particular industry or economic sector, its share values may fluctuate
in response to events affecting that industry or sector.
Securities
underlying mortgage and asset-backed securities, which may include
subprime mortgages, also may be subject to a higher degree of credit
risk,
valuation risk, and liquidity risk.
To
the extent that a Fund invests in derivatives tied to fixed-income securities,
such Fund may be more substantially
exposed to these risks than a portfolio that does not invest in such
derivatives.
Fixed-income
securities are also subject to market risk. The market for certain fixed-income
securities may become illiquid under adverse market or economic
conditions independent of any specific adverse changes in the conditions of a
particular issuer. Recent and potential future changes in government
monetary policy may also affect the level of interest rates. A Fund may be
subject to heightened interest rate risk in times of monetary policy
change and uncertainty, such as when the Federal Reserve ends a quantitative
easing program and/or raises interest rates. The end of quantitative
easing and/or rising interest rates may expose fixed-income markets to increased
volatility and may reduce the liquidity of certain investments.
These developments could cause a Fund’s NAV to fluctuate or make it more
difficult for a Fund to accurately value its securities. The amount
of assets deemed illiquid remaining within a Fund may also increase, making it
more difficult to meet shareholder redemptions and further adversely
affecting the value of a Fund.
In
addition, specific types of fixed-income securities in which a Fund may invest
are subject to the risks described elsewhere in this SAI. See
“High-Yield Bonds”
disclosure below for the risks associated with low-quality, high-risk corporate
bonds, a type of fixed-income security.
■ |
Corporate
Debt and Other Fixed-Income Securities.
Typically, the values of fixed income securities change inversely with
prevailing interest rates. Therefore,
a fundamental risk of fixed income securities is interest rate risk, which
is the risk that their value generally will decline as prevailing
interest
rates rise, which may cause a Fund’s NAV to likewise decrease, and vice
versa. How specific fixed income securities may react to changes in
interest
rates will depend on the specific characteristics of each security. For
example, while securities with longer maturities tend to produce higher
yields,
they also tend to be more sensitive to changes in prevailing interest
rates. They are therefore more volatile than shorter-term securities and
are subject
to greater market fluctuations as a result of changes in interest rates.
Fixed income securities are also subject to credit risk, which is the risk
that
the credit strength of an issuer of a fixed income security will weaken
and/or that the issuer will be unable to make timely principal and
interest payments,
and that the security may go into
default. |
■ |
High-Yield
Bonds.
High-yield, non-investment grade bonds (also known as “junk bonds”) are
low-quality, high-risk corporate bonds that generally offer
a high level of current income. These bonds are considered speculative
with respect to the issuer’s ability to pay interest and repay principal
by rating
organizations. For example, Moody’s, S&P Global, and Fitch, Inc.
currently rate them below Baa3, BBB- and BBB-, respectively. Please see
“Appendix
A: Ratings Definitions” below for an explanation of the ratings applied to
high-yield bonds. High-yield bonds are often issued as a result
of
corporate restructurings, such as leveraged buyouts, mergers,
acquisitions, or other similar events. They may also be issued by smaller,
less creditworthy
companies or by highly leveraged firms, which are generally less able to
make scheduled payments of interest and principal than more financially
stable firms. Because of their lower credit quality, high-yield bonds must
pay higher interest to compensate investors for the substantial
credit
risk they assume. Lower-rated securities are subject to certain risks that
may not be present with investments in higher-grade securities.
Investors
should consider carefully their ability to assume the risks associated
with lower-rated securities before investing in a Fund. The lower rating
of
certain high-yield corporate income securities reflects a greater
possibility that the financial condition of the issuer or adverse changes
in general economic
conditions may impair the ability of the issuer to pay income and
principal. Changes by rating agencies in their ratings of a fixed-income
security
also may affect the value of these investments; however, allocating
investments in a Fund among securities of different issuers should reduce
the
risks of owning any such securities separately. The prices of these
high-yield securities tend to be less sensitive to interest rate changes
than higher-rated
investments, but more sensitive to adverse economic changes or individual
corporate developments. During economic downturns, periods
of rising interest rates, or when inflation or deflation occurs, highly
leveraged issuers may experience financial stress that adversely affects
their
ability to service principal and interest payment obligations, to meet
projected business goals or to obtain additional financing, and the
markets for
their securities may be more volatile. They may also not have more
traditional methods of financing available to them and may be unable to
repay
debt at maturity by refinancing. In addition, lower-rated securities may
experience substantial price declines when there is an expectation that
issuers
of such securities might experience financial difficulties. As a result,
the yields on lower-rated securities can rise dramatically. However, the
higher
yields of high-yield securities may not reflect the value of the income
stream that holders of such securities may expect, but rather the risk
that
such securities may lose a substantial portion of their value as a result
of their issuer’s financial restructuring or default. If an issuer
defaults, a Fund
may incur additional expenses to seek recovery. Additionally, accruals of
interest income for a Fund may have to be adjusted in the event of
default.
In the event of an issuer’s default, a Fund may write off prior income
accruals for that issuer, resulting in a reduction in a Fund’s current
dividend
payment. In the event of an in court or out of court restructuring of
high-yield bond in which a Fund invests, a Fund may acquire (and
subsequently
sell) equity securities or exercise warrants that it receives. In
addition, the market for high-yield securities generally is less robust
and active
than that for higher-rated securities, which may limit a Fund’s ability to
sell such securities at fair value in response to changes in the economy
or
financial markets and could make the valuation of these portfolio
securities more difficult. |
Foreign
Debt Securities —
A Fund may invest in foreign fixed and floating rate income
securities (including
emerging market securities),
all or a portion
of which may be non-U.S. dollar denominated and which include: (a) debt
obligations issued or guaranteed by foreign national, provincial, state,
municipal or other governments with taxing authority or by their agencies or
instrumentalities, including Brady Bonds; (b) debt obligations of supranational
entities; (c) debt obligations of the U.S. Government issued in non-dollar
securities; (d) debt obligations and other fixed-income securities of
foreign corporate issuers (both dollar and non-dollar denominated); and (e) debt
obligations of U.S. corporate issuers (both Eurodollar and non-dollar
denominated). Foreign debt securities may be structured as fixed-, variable- or
floating-rate obligations, or as zero-coupon, pay-in-kind and step-coupon
securities. There
is no minimum rating criteria for a Fund’s investments in such
securities.
The cost of servicing foreign debt will generally be
adversely affected by rising international interest rates, because many external
debt obligations bear interest at rates which are adjusted based upon
international
interest rates. A Fund’s foreign debt securities may be held outside of the
United States in the primary market for the securities in the custody
of certain eligible foreign banks and trust companies, as permitted under the
Investment Company Act. Investing in the securities of foreign
issuers
involves special considerations that are not typically associated with investing
in the securities of U.S. issuers and the risks similar to those of foreign
securities, such as the fact that foreign markets can be extremely volatile,
foreign debt securities may be less liquid than securities of U.S. issuers,
and transaction fees, custodial costs, currency conversion costs and other fees
are generally higher for foreign debt securities. See
“Foreign
Securities”
and “Fixed-Income Investments” for a further discussion of these and other
risks.
In
addition, emerging markets are markets that have risks that
are different and higher than those in more developed markets.
See
“Foreign Securities - Emerging Market Securities” for a further discussion of
those
risks.
Foreign
Securities
— A Fund may invest in U.S. dollar-denominated and non-U.S.
dollar-denominated equity and debt securities of foreign issuers and
foreign
branches of U.S. banks, including negotiable CDs, bankers’ acceptances, and
commercial paper. Foreign issuers are issuers organized and doing business
principally outside the United States and include corporations, banks, non-U.S.
governments, and quasi-governmental organizations. While investments
in foreign securities are intended to reduce risk by providing further
diversification, such investments involve sovereign and other risks, in
addition
to the credit and market risks normally associated with domestic securities.
These additional risks may include: the possibility of adverse political
and economic developments (including political or social instability,
nationalization, expropriation, or confiscatory taxation);
the impact of economic,
political, social, diplomatic or other conditions or events (including, for
example, military confrontations and actions, war, other conflicts, terrorism,
and disease/virus outbreaks and epidemics); the potentially adverse effects of
unavailability of public information regarding issuers, less or less
reliable information about the securities and business operations of foreign
issuers, less governmental supervision and regulation of financial markets,
reduced liquidity of certain financial markets, and the lack of uniform
accounting, auditing, and financial reporting standards or the application
of standards that are different or less stringent than those applied in the
United States; different laws and customs governing securities purchases,
tracking and custody; the difficulty of predicting international trade patterns
and the possibility of exchange controls or limitations on the removal
of funds or assets; the impact of economic, political, social, diplomatic or
other conditions or events (including, for example, military confrontations
and actions, war, other conflicts, terrorism, and disease/virus outbreaks and
epidemics); and possibly more limited legal remedies and access
to the courts available to enforce a Fund’s rights as an investor. The prices of
such securities may be more volatile than those of domestic securities.
Equity securities may trade at price/earnings multiples higher than comparable
U.S. securities, and such levels may not be sustainable. The economies
of many of the countries in which a Fund may invest are not as developed as the
U.S. economy, and individual foreign economies can differ favorably
or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of gross
national product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency,
and balance of payments position. Certain such economies may rely heavily on
particular industries or foreign capital and are more vulnerable
to diplomatic developments, the imposition of economic sanctions against a
particular country or countries, changes in international trading patterns,
trade barriers, and other protectionist or retaliatory
measures.
Foreign
stock markets are generally not as developed or efficient as, and may be more
volatile than, those in the United States. While growing in volume,
they usually have substantially less trading volume than U.S. markets. As a
result, foreign securities may trade with less frequency and in less
volume
than domestic securities and therefore may exhibit greater or lower price
volatility. A Fund may be exposed to risks in the process of clearing
and
settling trades and the holding of securities by foreign banks, agents and
depositories. Governments or trade groups may compel local agents to
hold
securities in designated depositories that are not subject to independent
evaluation. Additional costs associated with an investment in foreign
securities
may include higher custodial fees than apply to domestic custody arrangements
and transaction costs of foreign currency conversions. Investments
in emerging markets may be subject to greater custody risks than investments in
more developed markets. Foreign markets also have different
clearance and settlement procedures. In certain markets, there have been times
when settlements have been unable to keep pace with the volume
of securities transactions, making it difficult to conduct such transactions.
Delays in settlement could result in temporary periods when a portion
of the assets of a Fund is not invested and no return is earned thereon. The
inability of a Fund to make intended security purchases due to settlement
problems could cause a Fund to miss attractive investment opportunities.
Inability to dispose of portfolio securities due to settlement problems
could result in losses to a Fund due to subsequent declines in value of the
securities or, if a Fund has entered into a contract to sell the securities,
could result in possible liability to the purchaser. In addition, certain
foreign markets may institute share blocking, which is a practice under
which
an issuer’s securities are blocked from trading at the custodian or
sub-custodian level for a specified number of days before and, in certain
instances,
after a shareholder meeting where a vote of shareholders takes place. The
blocking period can last up to several weeks. Share blocking may prevent
a Fund from buying or selling securities during this period, because during the
time shares are blocked, trades in such securities will not settle. It
may be difficult or impossible to lift blocking restrictions, with the
particular requirements varying widely by country. As a consequence of these
restrictions,
the sub-advisor, on behalf of a Fund, may elect not to vote proxies in
markets that require share blocking. Interest rates prevailing in other
countries
may affect the prices of foreign securities and exchange rates for foreign
currencies. Local factors, including the strength of the local economy,
the demand for borrowing, the government’s fiscal and monetary policies, and the
international balance of payments, often affect interest rates
in other countries.
Economic
sanctions and other similar governmental actions could, among other things,
effectively restrict or eliminate a Fund’s ability to purchase or sell
foreign securities, and thus may prevent the Fund from making investments or
make the Fund’s investments in such securities less liquid or more difficult
to value. In addition, as a result of economic sanctions, a Fund may be forced
to sell or otherwise dispose of investments at inopportune times or
prices, which could result in losses to the Fund and increased transaction
costs. These conditions may be in place for a substantial period of time and
enacted
with limited advance notice to a Fund. The risks posed by sanctions against a
particular foreign country, its nationals or industries or businesses
within
the country may be heightened to the extent a Fund invests significantly in the
affected country or region or in issuers from the affected country that
depend on global markets.
Investing
in foreign currency denominated securities involves not only the special risks
associated with investing in non-U.S. issuers, as described above, but
also the additional risks of adverse changes in foreign exchange rates and
investment or exchange control regulations, which could prevent cash
from
being brought back to the United States. Additionally, dividends and interest
payable on foreign securities (and gains realized on disposition thereof)
may be subject to foreign taxes, including taxes withheld from those payments.
Some governments may impose a tax on purchases by foreign investors
of certain securities that trade in their country. Countries may amend or revise
their existing tax laws, regulations and/or procedures in the future,
possibly with retroactive effect. Changes in or uncertainties regarding the
laws, regulations or procedures of a country could reduce the after-tax
profits of a Fund, directly or indirectly, including by reducing the after-tax
profits of companies located in such countries in which a Fund invests,
or result in unexpected tax liabilities for a Fund. Commissions on foreign
securities exchanges are often at fixed rates and are generally higher
than
those negotiated commissions on U.S. exchanges, although the sub-advisor
endeavors to achieve the most favorable net results on portfolio transactions.
A
Fund may also invest in foreign “market access” investments, such as
participatory notes, low-exercise price options or warrants, equity-linked
notes, or
equity swaps. These investments may provide economic exposure to an issuer
without directly holding its securities. For example, market access investments
may be used where regulatory or exchange restrictions make it difficult or
undesirable for a Fund to invest directly in an issuer’s common stock.
Use
of market access investments may involve risks associated with derivative
investments, which are discussed in “Derivatives.” Market
access investments
can be either exchange-traded or over-the-counter. Certain market access
investments can be subject to the credit risk of both the underlying
issuer and a counterparty. Holders of certain market access investments might
not have voting, dividend, or other rights associated with shareholders
of the referenced securities. Holders of market access investments might not
have any right to make a claim against an issuer or counterparty
in the event of their bankruptcy or other restructuring. It may be more
difficult or time consuming to dispose of certain market access investments
than the referenced security.
A
Fund may be subject to the risk that its share price may be exposed to arbitrage
attempts by investors seeking to capitalize on differences in the values
of foreign securities trading on foreign exchanges that may close before the
time a Fund’s net asset value is determined. If such arbitrage attempts
are successful, a Fund’s net asset value might be diluted.
The
use of fair value pricing in certain circumstances may help deter such arbitrage
activities. The effect of such fair value pricing is that foreign securities
may not be priced on the basis of quotations from the primary foreign securities
market in which they are traded, but rather may be fair valued.
As such, fair value pricing is based on subjective judgment and it is possible
that fair value may differ materially from the value realized on a sale
of a foreign security. It is also possible that use of fair value pricing will
limit an investment adviser’s ability to implement a Fund’s investment
strategy
(e.g., reducing the volatility of a Fund’s share price) or achieve its
investment objective. The
Funds’ market timing and frequent trading policies and
procedures also are intended to help deter arbitrage activities.
■ |
Emerging
Market Securities. A
Fund may invest in emerging market securities. A Fund may consider a
country to be an emerging market country based
on a number of factors including, but not limited to, if the country is
classified as an emerging or developing economy by any supranational
organization
such as the World Bank, International Finance Corporation or the United
Nations, or related entities, or if the country is considered an
emerging
market country for purposes of constructing emerging markets indices.
Investments in emerging market country securities involve special
risks.
The economies, markets and political structures of a number of the
emerging market countries in which a Fund can invest do not compare
favorably
with the United States and other mature economies in terms of wealth and
stability. Therefore, investments in these countries may be riskier,
and will be subject to erratic and abrupt price movements. These risks are
discussed below. Economies:
The economies of emerging market countries may differ favorably or
unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of
gross
domestic product, rate of inflation, currency depreciation, reliable
access to capital, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency,
balance of payments
and trade difficulties. Some economies are less well developed and less
diverse (for example, Latin America, Eastern Europe and certain
Asian
countries), and may be heavily dependent upon international trade, as well
as the economic conditions in the countries with which they trade.
Such
economies accordingly have been, and may continue to be, adversely
affected by trade barriers, exchange controls, managed adjustments in
relative
currency values and other protectionist or retaliatory measures imposed or
negotiated by the countries with which they trade. Similarly, many
of
these countries have historically experienced, and may continue to
experience, high rates of inflation, high interest rates, exchange rate
fluctuations,
large amounts of national and external debt, severe recession, and extreme
poverty and unemployment. The economies of emerging market
countries may be based predominately on only a few industries or may be
dependent on revenues from participating commodities or on international
aid or developmental assistance. Emerging market economies may develop
unevenly or may never fully develop. Investments in countries
that have recently begun moving away from central planning and state-owned
industries toward free markets, such as the Eastern European,
Russian or Chinese economies, should be regarded as
speculative. Governments:
Emerging markets may have uncertain national policies and social,
political and economic instability. While government involvement
in
the private sector varies in degree among emerging market countries, such
involvement may in some cases include government ownership of companies
in certain sectors, wage and price controls or imposition of trade
barriers and other protectionist measures. In the past, governments of
such
nations have expropriated substantial amounts of private property, and
most claims of the property owners have never been fully settled. There
is
no assurance that such expropriations will not reoccur. In addition, there
is no guarantee that some future economic or political crisis will not
lead to
price controls, forced mergers of companies, confiscatory taxation or
creation of government monopolies to the possible detriment of a Fund’s
investments.
In such event, it is possible that a Fund could lose the entire value of
its investments in the affected markets. Emerging
market countries may have national policies that limit a Fund’s investment
opportunities such as restrictions on investment in issuers or
industries
deemed sensitive to national interests. Repatriation of investment income,
capital and the proceeds of sales by foreign investors may require
governmental registration and/or approval in some emerging market
countries. In addition, if a Fund invests in a market where restrictions
are
considered acceptable, a country could impose new or additional
repatriation restrictions after investment that are unacceptable. This
might require,
among other things, applying to the appropriate authorities for a waiver
of the restrictions or engaging in transactions in other markets
designed
to offset the risks of decline in that country. Further, some attractive
securities may not be available, or may require a premium for purchase,
due to foreign shareholders already holding the maximum amount legally
permissible. In addition to withholding taxes on investment income,
some countries with emerging capital markets may impose differential
capital gain taxes on foreign investors. An
issuer or governmental authority that controls the repayment of an
emerging market country’s debt may not be able or willing to repay the
principal
and/or interest when due in accordance with the terms of such debt. A
debtor’s willingness or ability to repay principal and interest due in a
timely
manner may be affected by, among other factors, its cash flow situation,
and, in the case of a government debtor, the extent of its foreign
reserves,
the availability of sufficient foreign exchange on the date a payment is
due, the relative size of the debt service burden to the economy as a
whole
and the political constraints to which a government debtor may be subject.
Government debtors may default on their debt and may also be dependent
on expected disbursements from foreign governments, multilateral agencies
and others abroad to reduce principal and interest arrearages
on their debt. Holders of government debt may be requested to participate
in the rescheduling of such debt and to extend further loans to
government debtors. There may be limited legal recourse against the issuer
and/or guarantor. Remedies must, in some cases, be pursued in the
courts
of the defaulting party itself, and the ability of the holder of foreign
government fixed-income securities to obtain recourse may be subject to
the
political climate in the relevant country. In addition, no assurance can
be given that the holders of commercial bank debt will not contest
|
|
payments
to the holders of other foreign government debt obligations in the event
of default under their commercial bank loan agreements. Capital
Markets:
The capital markets in emerging market countries may be underdeveloped.
They may have low or non-existent trading volume, resulting
in a lack of liquidity and increased volatility in prices for such
securities, as compared to securities from more developed capital markets.
Emerging
market securities may be substantially less liquid and more volatile than
those of mature markets, and securities may be held by a limited
number
of investors. This may adversely affect the timing and pricing of a Fund’s
acquisition or disposal of securities. There may be less publicly
available
information about emerging markets than would be available in more
developed capital markets, and such issuers may not be subject to
accounting,
auditing and financial reporting standards and requirements comparable to
those to which U.S. companies are subject. In certain countries
with emerging capital markets, reporting standards vary widely. As a
result, traditional investment measurements used in the U.S., may not
be
applicable. Investing in certain countries with emerging capital markets
may entail purchasing securities issued by or on behalf of entities that
are insolvent,
bankrupt, in default or otherwise engaged in an attempt to reorganize or
reschedule their obligations, and in entities that have little or no
proven
credit rating or credit history. In any such case, the issuer’s poor or
deteriorating financial condition may increase the likelihood that the
investing
Fund will experience losses or diminution in available gains due to
bankruptcy, insolvency or fraud. There may also be custodial restrictions
or
other non-U.S. or U.S. governmental laws or restrictions applicable to
investments in emerging market countries. Practices
in relation to settlement of securities transactions in emerging markets
involve higher risks than those in developed markets, in part because
a Fund may use brokers and counterparties that are less well capitalized,
and custody and registration of assets in some countries may be
unreliable.
Supervisory authorities also may be unable to apply standards comparable
to those in developed markets. Thus, there may be risks that settlement
may be delayed and that cash or securities belonging to a Fund may be in
jeopardy because of failures of or defects in the systems. In particular,
market practice may require that payment be made before receipt of the
security being purchased or that delivery of a security be made
before
payment is received. In such cases, default by a broker or bank (the
“counterparty”) through whom the transaction is effected might
cause a Fund
to suffer a loss. There can be no certainty that a Fund will be
successful in eliminating counterparty risk, particularly as
counterparties operating in
emerging market countries frequently lack the substance or financial
resources of those in developed countries. There may also be a danger
that, because
of uncertainties in the operation of settlement systems in individual
markets, competing claims may arise with respect to securities held by
or
to be transferred to a Fund. Regulatory
authorities in some emerging markets currently do not provide the Public
Company Accounting Oversight Board with the ability to inspect
public accounting firms as required by U.S. law, including sufficient
access to inspect audit work papers and practices, or otherwise do not
cooperate
with U.S. regulators, which potentially could expose investors to
significant risks. Legal
Systems:
Investments in emerging market countries may be affected by the lack, or
relatively early development, of legal structures governing private
and foreign investments and private property. Such capital markets are
emerging in a dynamic political and economic environment brought
about
by events over recent years that have reshaped political boundaries and
traditional ideologies. Many emerging market countries have little
experience
with the corporate form of business organization and may not have
well-developed corporation and business laws or concepts of fiduciary
duty in the business context. The organizational structures of certain
issuers in emerging markets may limit investor rights and
recourse. A Fund
may encounter substantial difficulties in obtaining and enforcing
judgments against individuals and companies located in certain emerging
market
countries, either individually or in combination with other shareholders.
It may be difficult or impossible to obtain or enforce legislation or
remedies
against governments, their agencies and sponsored entities. Additionally,
in certain emerging market countries, fraud, corruption and attempts
at market manipulation may be more prevalent than in developed market
countries. Shareholder claims that are common in the U.S. and are
generally viewed as determining misconduct, including class action
securities law and fraud claims, generally are difficult or impossible to
pursue as
a matter of law or practicality in many emerging markets. The
laws in certain countries with emerging capital markets may be based upon
or be highly influenced by religious codes or rules. The interpretation
of how these laws apply to certain investments may change over time, which
could have a negative impact on those investments and a
Fund. Russia
launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The
extent and duration of the military action, resulting sanctions and
resulting
future market disruptions, including declines in its stock markets and the
value of the ruble against the U.S. dollar, are impossible to predict,
but
could be significant. Any such disruptions caused by Russian military
action or other actions (including cyberattacks and espionage) or
resulting actual
and threatened responses to such activity, including purchasing and
financing restrictions, boycotts or changes in consumer or purchaser
preferences,
sanctions, tariffs or cyberattacks on the Russian government, Russian
companies or Russian individuals, including politicians, may impact
Russia’s
economy and Russian issuers of securities in which a Fund invests. Actual
and threatened responses to such activity, including purchasing
restrictions,
sanctions, tariffs or cyberattacks on the Russian government or Russian
companies, may impact Russia’s economy and Russian issuers of securities
in which a Fund invests. Actual and threatened responses to such military
action may also impact the markets for certain Russian commodities,
such as oil and natural gas, as well as other sectors of the Russian
economy, and may likely have collateral impacts on such sectors
globally,
and may negatively affect global supply chains, inflation and global
growth. These and any related events could significantly impact a Fund’s
performance
and the value of an investment in a Fund, even if a Fund does not have
direct exposure to Russian issuers or issuers in other countries
affected
by the invasion. Governments
in the United States and many other countries (collectively, the
“Sanctioning Bodies”) have imposed economic sanctions, which can
consist
of prohibiting certain securities trades, certain private transactions in
the energy sector, asset freezes and prohibition of all business, against
certain
Russian individuals, including politicians, and Russian corporate and
banking entities. The Sanctioning Bodies, or others, could also institute
broader
sanctions on Russia, including banning Russia from global payments systems
that facilitate cross-border payments. These sanctions, or even
the
threat of further sanctions, may result in the decline of the value and
liquidity of Russian securities, a weakening of the ruble or other adverse
consequences
to the Russian economy. These sanctions could also result in the immediate
freeze of Russian securities and/or funds invested in prohibited
assets, impairing the ability of a Fund to buy, sell, receive or deliver
those securities and/or assets. Sanctions could also result in Russia
taking
counter measures or retaliatory actions which may further impair the value
and liquidity of Russian securities. |
■ |
European
Securities.
A Fund’s performance may be affected by political, social and economic
conditions in Europe, such as the
growth
of the
economic
output (the gross national product
of the countries in the region),
the rate of inflation, the rate at which capital is reinvested into
European economies,
the success of governmental actions to reduce budget deficits, the
resource self-sufficiency of European countries,
interest rates in |
|
European
countries, monetary exchange rates between European countries, and
conflict between European countries. The
Economic and Monetary Union (“EMU”)
of the European Union (“EU”)
is comprised of EU members that have adopted the euro currency.
By
adopting
the euro as its currency, a member state relinquishes control of
its
own monetary policies
and is subject to fiscal and monetary controls.
The
EMU requires Eurozone countries to comply with restrictions on interest
rates, deficits, debt levels, and inflation rates,
fiscal and monetary controls,
and other factors.
Although the EMU has adopted a common currency and central bank, there is
no fiscal union; therefore, money does not
automatically flow from countries with surpluses to those with deficits.
These restrictions and characteristics may limit the ability of EMU
member
countries to implement monetary policy to address regional economic
conditions and
significantly impact every European country and their economic
partners, including those countries that are not members of the EMU.
In
addition, those EU member states that are not currently in the
Eurozone
(Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and
Sweden), excluding Denmark, are required to seek to comply with
convergence criteria to permit entry to the Eurozone. The economies and
markets of European countries are often closely connected and interdependent,
and events in one country in Europe can have an adverse impact on other
European countries. Decreasing
imports or exports, changes
in governmental or other
regulations on trade, changes in the exchange rate of the euro
or
other European currency,
the threat of default or
actual default by one or more EU member countries,
or other European countries,
on its sovereign debt, and/or an economic recession in one or more
European
countries
may have a significant adverse effect on the economies of other
European
countries and major trading partners outside Europe. The
European financial markets have experienced and may continue to experience
volatility and adverse trends due to concerns relating to economic
downturns;
rising government debt levels and national
unemployment; the
possible default of
government debt
in several European countries;
public
health crises; political unrest; economic sanctions; inflation; energy
crises; the future of the euro as a common currency; and war and military
conflict,
such as the
Russian invasion of Ukraine. These events have adversely affected the
exchange rate of the euro and may continue to significantly
affect European countries. Responses to financial problems by European
governments, central banks, and others, including austerity measures
and other reforms, may not produce the desired results, may result in
social unrest and may limit future growth and economic recovery or
may
have unintended consequences. In order
to prevent further economic deterioration, certain countries, without
prior warning, can institute “capital
controls.” Countries may use these controls to restrict volatile movements
of capital entering and exiting their country. Such controls may
negatively
affect a Fund’s investments. In addition,
one or more countries may abandon the euro and/or withdraw from the EU.
The impact of these actions,
especially if they occur in a disorderly fashion, could be significant and
far-reaching. Many European
nations are susceptible to economic risks
associated with high levels of debt. Non-governmental issuers, and even
certain governments, have defaulted on, or been forced to restructure,
their
debts, and other issuers have faced difficulties obtaining credit or
refinancing existing obligations. A default or debt restructuring by any
European
country could adversely impact holders of that country’s debt and sellers
of credit default swaps linked to that country’s creditworthiness,
which
may be located in other countries. Such a default or debt restructuring
could affect exposures to other European
countries and their financial
companies
as well. Further defaults on, or restructurings of, the debt of
governments or other entities could have additional adverse effects on
economies,
financial markets and asset valuations around the world. In addition,
issuers may
face
difficulties obtaining credit or refinancing existing obligations;
financial institutions may
require
government or central bank support, or
need
to raise capital,
and/or be
impaired in their ability to extend
credit.
Furthermore, certain European
countries have had to accept assistance from supranational agencies such
as the International Monetary
Fund, the European Stability Mechanism or others. The European Central
Bank has also intervened to purchase Eurozone debt in an attempt
to stabilize markets and reduce borrowing costs. There can be no assurance
that any creditors or supranational agencies will continue to intervene
or provide further assistance, and markets may react adversely to any
expected reduction in the financial support provided by these creditors.
Certain European countries have also
developed increasingly strained relationships with the U.S., and if these
relationships were to worsen, they
could adversely affect European issuers that rely on the U.S. for
trade. In
addition, the national politics of European countries have been
unpredictable and subject to influence by disruptive political groups,
ideologies, and
polarizing political events
such as the conflict
between Israel and Hamas. Secessionist movements,
as well as government or other responses to such
movements, may create instability and uncertainty in a
country or region. European
governments may be subject to change and such countries may
experience social and political unrest. Unanticipated or sudden political
or social developments may result in sudden and significant investment
losses.
The occurrence of terrorist incidents throughout Europe and
in the Middle East also
could impact financial markets,
as could military conflicts. For
example, Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of
Aden, and retaliatory action, may disrupt supply chains and cause
difficulties
for impacted businesses, including those that wish to ship goods through
that route.
The impact of these kinds
of events
could be significant
and far-reaching and materially impact the value and liquidity of a Fund’s
investments. Russia’s war with Ukraine has negatively impacted
European
economic activity. The Russia/Ukraine
war and Russia’s response to sanctions imposed by the U.S. and other
countries are impossible to predict,
but have severely
impacted the performance of the economies of European and other countries,
including through adverse effects to global financial
and energy markets, global supply chains and global growth, and
consequential inflation. Investments in companies with contractual
relationships
with Russian counterparties, or with significant operations and/or assets
in Russia could be adversely impacted by the new legal, political,
and regulatory environment, whether by increased costs or the termination
of business plans or operations due to sanctions. Various companies
operating in Russia, or with Russian counterparties, have faced
difficulties enforcing Russian debts or contractual reliefs due to the
Russian
court’s hostility towards European companies in response to
sanctions. Certain
countries have applied to become new member countries of the EU, and these
candidate countries’ accessions may become more controversial
to the existing EU members. Some member states may repudiate certain
candidate countries joining the EU due to concerns about the possible
economic, immigration and cultural implications. Certain other countries
have applied to join or, in the case of Finland and Sweden, have
recently
joined, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (“NATO”). Russia is
understood to oppose certain expansions, or potential expansions, of
NATO
and the EU, and its reaction to such developments could negatively impact
European economic activity. The United Kingdom withdrew from the
European Union on January 31, 2020 and entered into a transition period,
which ended on December 31, 2020. The longer-term economic, legal,
and political framework between the United Kingdom and the EU is still
developing and may lead to ongoing political and economic uncertainty
in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the global market. Investments in
companies with significant operations and/or assets in the United
Kingdom
could be adversely impacted by the new legal, political, and regulatory
environment, whether by increased costs or impediments to the
|
|
implementation
of business plans. The uncertainty resulting from any further exits from
the EU, or the possibility of such exits, would also be likely to
cause
market disruption in the EU and more broadly across the global economy, as
well as introduce further legal, political, and regulatory uncertainty
in Europe. |
■ |
Japan
Investment Risk. A
Fund’s investments in the securities of Japanese issuers mean that the
Fund is susceptible to changes in Japanese economic
and political conditions, the reliability of financial information
available concerning these issuers, and the legal, tax and regulatory
environment
surrounding these issuers. The Japanese economy is heavily dependent upon
international trade and may be adversely affected by global
competition, trade tariffs, embargos, boycotts and other government
interventions and protectionist measures, excessive regulation, changes
in
international trade agreements, impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic,
including supply chain issues, the economic conditions of its trading
partners, the
performance of the global economy, and regional and global
conflicts. The
domestic Japanese economy faces several concerns, including large
government deficits, workforce shortages, and inflation. Japan also has an
aging
workforce and has experienced a significant population decline in recent
years. Japan’s labor market appears to be undergoing fundamental
structural
changes, as a labor market traditionally accustomed to lifetime employment
adjusts to meet the need for increased labor mobility, which may
adversely affect Japan’s economic competitiveness. Japan’s financial
system faces several concerns, including extensive cross-ownership by
major corporations,
a changing corporate governance structure, and large government deficits,
each of which may cause a slowdown of the Japanese economy.
In addition, the Japanese economic growth rate could be impacted by Bank
of Japan monetary policies, rising interest rates, tax increases,
budget
deficits, consumer confidence and volatility in the Japanese yen. The
Japanese government tax and fiscal policies may also have negative
impacts
on the Japanese economy. Currency
fluctuations, which have been significant at times, can have a
considerable impact on exports and the overall Japanese economy. The
Japanese
yen has fluctuated widely during recent periods and may be affected by
currency volatility elsewhere in Asia, especially Southeast Asia. In
addition,
the yen has had a history of unpredictable and volatile movements against
the U.S. dollar. Japanese intervention in the currency markets
could
cause the value of the yen to fluctuate sharply and unpredictably and
could cause losses to investors. A weak yen is disadvantageous to U.S.
shareholders
investing in yen-denominated securities. A strong yen, however, could be
an impediment to strong continued exports and economic recovery
because it makes Japanese goods sold in other countries more expensive and
reduces the value of foreign earnings repatriated to
Japan. Japan
is located in a part of the world that has historically been prone to
natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons and volcanic
eruptions,
which may have a significant impact on the business operations of Japanese
companies in the affected regions and Japan’s economy. Japan
has one of the world’s highest population densities, with a significant
percentage of its total population concentrated in the metropolitan
areas
of Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya. A natural disaster centered in or very near
to one of these cities could have a particularly devastating effect on
Japan’s
financial markets. Japan also faces risks associated with climate change
and transitioning to a lower-carbon economy. Relations
with its neighbors, particularly China, North Korea, South Korea and
Russia, have at times been strained due to territorial disputes,
historical
animosities and defense concerns. Political tensions between Japan and its
trading partners could adversely affect the economy, especially
the
export sector, and destabilize the region as a whole. In addition, Japan’s
high volume of exports has cause trade tensions with Japan’s trading
partners,
particularly the United States. Japan’s
export industry, its most important economic sector, depends heavily on
imported raw materials and fuels, including iron ore, copper, oil and
many
forest products. A significant portion of Japan’s trade is conducted with
emerging market countries, almost all of which are located in East and
Southeast
Asia, and it can be affected by conditions in these other countries and
currency fluctuations. Because of the concentration of Japanese
exports
in highly visible products such as automobiles and technology, and the
large trade surpluses ensuing therefrom, Japan has historically
depended
on oil for most of its energy requirements. Almost all of its oil is
imported, the majority from the Middle East. In the past, oil prices have
had
a major impact on the domestic economy, but more recently Japan has worked
to reduce its dependence on oil by encouraging energy conservation
and use of alternative fuels. In addition, a restructuring of industry,
with emphasis shifting from basic industries to processing and
assembly
type industries, has contributed to the reduction of oil consumption.
However, there is no guarantee that this trend will continue, and
Japan
remains sensitive to fluctuations in commodity prices, and a substantial
rise in world oil or commodity prices could have a negative effect on
its
economy. |
Illiquid
and Restricted Securities
— Generally, an illiquid asset is an asset that a Fund reasonably expects cannot
be sold or disposed of in current market
conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition
significantly changing the market value of the investment. Historically,
illiquid
securities have included securities that have not been registered under the
Securities Act, securities that are otherwise not readily marketable,
and
repurchase agreements having a remaining maturity of longer than seven calendar
days.
Securities
that have not been registered under the Securities Act are referred to as
private placements or restricted securities and are purchased directly
from
the issuer or in the secondary market. Such securities include those sold in
private placement offerings made in reliance on the “private placement”
exemption from registration afforded by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act,
and resold to qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A
under the Securities Act (“Section 4(a)(2) securities”). Such securities are
restricted as to disposition under the federal securities laws, and generally
are sold to institutional investors, such as a Fund, that agree they are
purchasing the securities for investment and not with an intention to
distribute
to the public. These securities may be sold only in a privately negotiated
transaction or pursuant to an exemption from registration.
A
large institutional market exists for certain securities that are not registered
under the Securities Act, including repurchase agreements, commercial
paper,
foreign securities, municipal securities and corporate bonds and notes. Section
4(a)(2) securities normally are resold to other institutional investors
through or with the assistance of the issuer or dealers that make a market in
the Section 4(a)(2) securities, thus providing liquidity. Institutional
investors depend on an efficient institutional market in which the unregistered
security can be readily resold or on an issuer’s ability to honor
a demand for repayment. Rule 144A under the Securities Act is designed to
facilitate efficient trading among institutional investors by permitting
the sale of certain unregistered securities to qualified institutional buyers.
To the extent privately placed securities held by a Fund qualify under
Rule 144A and an institutional market develops for those securities, a Fund
likely will be able to dispose of the securities without registering
them
under the Securities Act. To the extent that institutional buyers are
uninterested in purchasing restricted securities, a Fund’s investment in such
securities
could have the effect of reducing a Fund’s liquidity. A determination could be
made that certain securities qualified for trading under Rule
144A
are liquid. In addition to Rule 144A, Regulation S under the Securities Act
permits the sale abroad of securities that are not registered for sale in
the
United States and includes a provision for U.S. investors, such as a Fund, to
purchase such unregistered securities if certain conditions are
met.
Limitations
on resale may have an adverse effect on the marketability of portfolio
securities, and a Fund might be unable to dispose of restricted or other
illiquid securities promptly or at reasonable prices and might thereby
experience difficulty satisfying redemptions within seven calendar days.
However,
the fact that there are contractual or legal restrictions on resale of such
investments to the general public or to certain institutions may not be
indicative
of their liquidity. In addition, a Fund may get only limited information about
an issuer of such a security, so it may be less able to predict a loss.
A Fund also might have to register such restricted securities in order to
dispose of them, resulting in additional expense and delay. Adverse market
conditions
could impede such a public offering of securities. The illiquidity of the
market, as well as the lack of publicly available information regarding
these
securities, also may make it difficult to determine a fair value for certain
securities for purposes of computing a Fund’s NAV.
Inflation-Indexed
Securities
— Inflation-indexed securities, also known as “inflation-protected
securities,” are fixed-income instruments structured such
that their interest payments and principal amounts are adjusted to keep up with
inflation. Two structures are common. The U.S. Treasury and some
other issuers use a structure that accrues inflation into the principal value of
the bond. Other issuers pay out the index-based accruals as part of its
coupon. The U.S. Treasury is obligated to repay at least the greater of the
original principal value or accrued principal value at maturity for inflation-indexed
securities issued directly by the U.S. Government, which are referred to as
“U.S. Treasury Inflation Protected Securities,” or “TIPS,” and
are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. However,
inflation-indexed securities of other issuers may or may not have the
same
principal guarantee and may repay an amount less than the original principal
value at maturity. If inflation is lower than expected during the period
a Fund holds the security, a Fund may earn less on it than on a conventional
bond. Inflation-indexed securities are expected to react primarily to
changes
in the “real” interest rate (i.e., the nominal, or stated, rate less the rate of
inflation), while a typical bond reacts to changes in the nominal interest
rate. Accordingly, inflation-indexed securities have characteristics of
fixed-rate U.S. Treasury securities having a shorter duration. Changes in
market
interest rates from causes other than inflation will likely affect the market
prices of inflation-indexed securities in the same manner as conventional
bonds. Any increase in the principal amount of an inflation-indexed debt
security will be considered ordinary income, even though a Fund will
not receive the principal until maturity. Thus, a Fund could be required, at
times, to liquidate other investments in order to satisfy its distribution
requirements.
There
can be no assurance that the inflation index used will accurately measure the
real rate of inflation in the prices of goods and services. A Fund’s
investments
in inflation-indexed securities may lose value in the event that the actual rate
of inflation is different than the rate of the inflation index. In addition,
inflation-indexed securities are subject to risks related to the
discontinuation, substitution or fundamental alteration of the Consumer Price
Index
for All Urban Consumers (the index used for U.S. TIPS) or other relevant pricing
indices. Such alteration, which could be effected by legislation or Executive
Order, could be materially adverse to the interests of an investor in the
securities or substituted with an alternative index. In periods of deflation
when the inflation rate is declining, the principal value of an
inflation-indexed security will be adjusted downward. This will result in a
decrease
in the interest payments thereon, but holders at maturity receive no less than
par value. However, if a Fund purchases inflation-indexed securities
in the secondary market whose principal values have been adjusted upward due to
inflation since issuance, a Fund may experience a loss if there
is a subsequent period of deflation.
Interfund
Lending
— Pursuant to an order issued by the SEC, the Funds may participate in a credit
facility whereby each Fund, under certain conditions,
is permitted to lend money directly to and borrow directly from other funds
under the Manager’s management for temporary purposes. The credit
facility is administered by a credit facility team consisting of professionals
from the Manager’s asset management, compliance, and accounting departments,
who report on credit facility activities to the Board. The credit facility can
provide a borrowing fund with savings at times when the cash position
of a Fund is insufficient to meet temporary cash requirements. This situation
could arise when shareholder redemptions exceed anticipated volumes
and a Fund has insufficient cash on hand to satisfy such redemptions, or when
sales of securities do not settle as expected, resulting in a cash shortfall
for a Fund. When a Fund liquidates portfolio securities to meet redemption
requests, it often does not receive payment in settlement for up to two
days (or longer for certain foreign transactions). However, redemption requests
normally are satisfied the next business day. The credit facility provides
a source of immediate, short-term liquidity pending settlement of the sale of
portfolio securities. Although the credit facility may reduce a Fund’s
need to borrow from banks, a Fund remains free to establish and utilize lines of
credit or other borrowing arrangements with banks.
Issuer
Risk
— The value of an investment may decline for a number of reasons which directly
relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial
leverage and reduced demand for the issuer’s goods or services, as well as the
historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of
its assets.
Leverage
Risk —
Borrowing transactions, reverse repurchase agreements, certain derivatives
transactions, securities lending transactions and other investment
transactions such as when-issued, delayed-delivery, or forward commitment
transactions may create investment leverage. When a Fund engages
in transactions that have a leveraging effect on a Fund’s investment, the value
of a Fund will be potentially more volatile and all other risks will
tend
to be compounded. This is because leverage generally creates investment risk
with respect to a larger base of assets than a Fund would otherwise have
and so magnifies the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of a Fund’s
underlying assets. The use of leverage is considered to be a speculative
investment practice and may result in losses to a Fund. Certain derivatives have
the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of the initial
investment. The use of leverage may cause a Fund to liquidate positions when it
may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy repayment, interest payment,
or margin obligations or to meet asset segregation or coverage
requirements.
Model
and Data Risk
— The sub-advisor relies heavily on proprietary mathematical quantitative models
(each, a “Model”) and data developed both by
the sub-advisor and those supplied by third parties (collectively, “Data”)
rather than granting trade-by-trade discretion to the sub-advisor’s investment
professionals. In combination, Models and Data are used to construct investment
decisions, to value both
current and potential investments (including,
without limitation
for trading purposes),
to provide risk management insights and to assist in hedging a
Fund’s positions and investments. Models
and Data are known to have errors, omissions, imperfections and malfunctions
(collectively, “System Events”).
The
sub-advisor seeks to reduce the incidence and impact of System Events, to the
extent feasible, through a combination of internal testing, simulation,
real-time monitoring, and
use
of independent safeguards in the overall portfolio management process and often
in the software code itself.
Despite
such testing, monitoring and independent safeguards, System Events will result
in, among other things, the execution of unanticipated trades, the
failure to execute anticipated trades, delays in the execution of anticipated
trades, the failure to properly allocate trades, the failure to properly
gather
and organize available data, the failure to take certain hedging or risk
reducing actions and/or the taking of actions which increase certain risk(s)
-
all of which may have materially adverse effects on a Fund. System Events
in third-party provided Data are generally entirely outside of the control of
the
sub-advisor. The research and modeling processes engaged in by the sub-advisor
on behalf of a Fund are extremely complex and involve the use of
financial,
economic, econometric and statistical theories, research and modeling; the
results of this investment approach must then be translated into computer
code. Although the sub-advisor seeks to hire individuals skilled in each of
these functions and to provide appropriate levels of oversight and employ
other mitigating measures and processes, the complexity of the individual tasks,
the difficulty of integrating such tasks, and the limited ability to
perform “real world” testing of the end product, even with simulations and
similar methodologies, raise the chances that Model code may contain
one
or more coding errors, thus potentially resulting in a System Event and further,
one or more of such coding errors could adversely affect a
Fund’s investment
performance.
The
investment strategies of the sub-advisor are highly reliant on the gathering,
cleaning, culling and performing of analysis of large amounts of Data.
Accordingly,
Models rely heavily on appropriate Data inputs. However, it is impossible and
impracticable to factor all relevant, available Data into forecasts,
investment decisions and other parameters of the Models. The sub-advisor will
use its discretion to determine what Data to gather with respect
to each investment strategy and what subset of that Data the Models take into
account to produce forecasts which may have an impact on ultimate
investment decisions. In addition, due to the automated nature of Data
gathering, the volume and depth of Data available, the complexity and
often manual nature of Data cleaning, and the fact that the substantial majority
of Data comes from third-party sources, it is inevitable that not all
desired
and/or relevant Data will be available to, or processed by, the sub-advisor at
all times. Irrespective of the merit, value and/or strength of a particular
Model, it will not perform as designed if incorrect Data is fed into it which
may lead to a System Event potentially subjecting a Fund to a loss.
Further,
even if Data is input correctly, “model prices” anticipated by the Data through
the Models may differ substantially from market prices, especially
for financial instruments with complex characteristics, such as derivatives, in
which a Fund may invest. Where incorrect or incomplete Data is
available,
the sub-advisor may, and often will, continue to generate forecasts and make
investment decisions based on the Data available to it. Additionally,
the sub-advisor may determine that certain available Data, while potentially
useful in generating forecasts and/or making investment decisions,
is not cost effective to gather due to, among other factors, the technology
costs or third-party vendor costs and, in such cases, the sub-advisor
will not utilize such Data. The sub-advisor has full discretion to select the
Data it utilizes. The sub-advisor may elect to use or may refrain from
using any specific Data or type of Data in generating forecasts or making
trading decisions with respect to the Models. The Data utilized in generating
forecasts or making trading decisions underlying the Models may not be (i) the
most accurate data available or (ii) free of errors. The Data set
used in connection with the Models is limited. The foregoing risks associated
with gathering, cleaning, culling and analysis of large amounts of Data
are an inherent part of investing with a quantitative, process-driven,
systematic adviser such as the sub-advisor.
When
Models and Data prove to be incorrect, misleading or incomplete, any decisions
made in reliance thereon expose a Fund to potential losses and
such
losses may be compounded over time. For example, by relying on Models and Data,
the sub-advisor may be induced to buy certain investments at prices
that are too high, to sell certain other investments at prices that are too low,
or to miss favorable opportunities altogether. Similarly, any hedging
based
on faulty Models and Data may be
unsuccessful and when determining the net
asset value
of
a Fund, any valuations of a Fund’s investments that
are based on valuation Models may prove to be incorrect. In addition, Models may
incorrectly forecast future behavior, leading to potential losses on
a cash flow and/or a mark-to-market basis. Furthermore, in unforeseen or certain
low-probability scenarios (often involving a market event or disruption
of some kind), Models may produce unexpected results which may or may not be
System Events. Errors in Models and Data are often extremely
difficult to detect, and, in the case of Models, the difficulty of detecting
System Events may be exacerbated by the lack of design documents or
specifications. Regardless of how difficult their detection appears in
retrospect, some System Events may go undetected for long periods of time and
some
may never be detected. When a System Event is detected, a review and analysis of
the circumstances that may have caused a reported System Event
will be completed and is overseen by an escalation committee made up of
appropriate senior personnel. Following this review, the sub-advisor in
its
sole discretion may choose not to address or fix such System Event, and the
third party software will lead to System Events known to the sub-advisor
that
it chooses, in its sole discretion, not to address or fix. The degradation or
impact caused by these System Events can compound over time. When a System
Event is detected, the sub-advisor generally will not, as part of the review of
circumstances leading to the System Event, perform a materiality analysis
on the potential impact of a System Event. The sub-advisor believes that the
testing and monitoring performed on Models and the controls adopted
to ensure processes are undertaken with care will enable the sub-advisor to
identify and address those System Events that a prudent person managing
a quantitative, systematic and computerized investment program would identify
and address by correcting the underlying issue(s) giving rise to
the System Events, but there is no guarantee of the success of such processes.
Investors
should assume that System Events and their ensuing risks and
impact are an inherent part of investing with a process-driven, systematic
investment
manager
such as the sub-advisor.
Accordingly, the sub-advisor
does not expect to disclose discovered System Events to the Fund or to
shareholders.
Other
Investment Company Securities and Exchange-Traded Products
— Investments in the securities of other investment companies may involve
duplication of advisory fees and certain other expenses. By investing in another
investment company, a Fund becomes a shareholder of that investment
company. As a result, Fund shareholders indirectly will bear a Fund’s
proportionate share of the fees and expenses paid by shareholders of
the
other investment company, in addition to the fees and expenses Fund shareholders
directly bear in connection with a Fund’s own operations. Any
such
fees and expenses are reflected in the Fees and Expenses Table for a Fund in its
Prospectus.
To the extent a Fund invests
in investment company securities
advised by the Manager, shareholders
could pay fees charged by the Manager to such investment company. A Fund’s
investment in securities of
other investment companies, except for money market funds, is generally limited
to (i) 3% of the total voting stock of any one investment company, (ii)
5% of a Fund’s total assets with respect to any one investment company and (iii)
10% of a Fund’s total assets in all investment companies in the aggregate.
However, currently a Fund may exceed these limits when investing in shares of an
ETF or other investment company subject to a statutory exemption
or to the terms and conditions of an exemptive order from the SEC obtained by
the ETF or other investment company that permits an investing
fund, such as a Fund, to invest in the ETF or other investment company in excess
of the limits described above. Rule 12d1-4 under the Investment
Company Act and revisions to other rules permitting funds to invest in other
investment companies, which are intended to streamline and enhance
the regulatory framework applicable to fund of funds arrangements, took effect
on January 19, 2022. While Rule 12d1-4 permits more types
of
fund of fund arrangements without an exemptive order, and supersedes many prior
exemptive orders, it imposes new conditions, including limits on control
and voting of acquired funds’ shares, evaluations and findings by investment
advisers, fund investment agreements, and limits on most three-tier
fund structures.
A
Fund at times may invest in shares of other investment companies and
exchange-traded products, which, in addition to the general risks of
investments
in other investment companies described above, include the following
risks:
■ |
Money
Market Funds. A
Fund can invest free cash balances in registered open-end investment
companies regulated as money market funds under the
Investment Company Act, to provide liquidity or for defensive
purposes. A Fund would invest in money market funds rather
than purchasing individual
short-term investments. Although a money market fund is designed to be a
relatively low risk investment, it is not free of risk. Despite the
short
maturities and high credit quality of a money market fund’s investments,
increases in interest rates and deteriorations in the credit quality of
the
instruments the money market fund has purchased may reduce the money
market fund’s yield and can cause the price of a money market security
to decrease. In addition, a money market fund is subject to the risk that
the value of an investment may be eroded over time by inflation. If
the
liquidity of a money market fund’s portfolio deteriorates below certain
levels, the money market fund may suspend redemptions (i.e., impose a
redemption
gate) and thereby prevent a Fund from selling its investment in the money
market fund, or impose a fee of up to 2% on amounts redeemed
from the money market fund. |
Quantitative
Strategy Risk
— The success of a Fund’s investment strategy may depend in part on the
effectiveness of the sub-advisor’s quantitative tools
for screening securities. Securities selected using quantitative analysis can
react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments
than
the market as a whole or securities selected using only fundamental analysis,
which could adversely affect their value. The sub-advisor’s quantitative
tools may use factors that may not be predictive of a security’s value, and any
changes over time in the factors that affect a security’s value may
not be reflected in the quantitative model. The sub-advisor’s stock
selection can be adversely affected if it relies on insufficient, erroneous or
outdated
data or flawed models or computer systems. Data for some companies, particularly
non-U.S. companies, may be less available and/or less current
than data for other companies.
Repurchase
Agreements
— A repurchase agreement is an agreement between a Fund as purchaser and an
approved counterparty as seller. The agreement
is backed by collateral in the form of securities and/or cash transferred by the
seller to the buyer, sometimes to be held by an eligible third-party
custodian. Under the agreement, a Fund acquires securities from the seller and
the seller simultaneously commits to repurchase the securities
at an agreed upon price and date, normally within a week or on demand. The price
for the seller to repurchase the securities is greater than a Fund’s
purchase price, reflecting an agreed upon rate that is the equivalent of
interest. During the term of the repurchase agreement, a Fund monitors
on
a daily basis the market value of the collateral subject to the agreement and,
if the market value of the securities falls below the seller’s repurchase
amount
provided under the repurchase agreement, the seller is required to transfer
additional securities or cash collateral equal to the amount by which
the market value of the securities falls below the repurchase amount. Because a
repurchase agreement permits a Fund to invest temporarily available
cash on a fully-collateralized basis, repurchase agreements permit a Fund to
earn income while retaining flexibility in pursuit of longer-term investments.
Repurchase agreements may exhibit the economic characteristics of loans by a
Fund.
The
obligation of the seller under the repurchase agreement is not guaranteed, and
there is a risk that the seller may fail to repurchase the underlying
securities,
whether because of the seller’s bankruptcy or otherwise. In such event, a Fund
would attempt to exercise its rights with respect to the underlying
collateral, including possible sale of the securities. A Fund may incur various
expenses in the connection with the exercise of its rights and may
be subject to various delays and risks of loss, including (a) possible declines
in the value of the underlying collateral, (b) possible reduction in levels
of
income and (c) lack of access to the securities (if they are held through a
third-party custodian) and possible inability to enforce a Fund’s rights. The
Board
has established procedures pursuant to which the sub-advisor monitors the
creditworthiness of the counterparties with which a Fund enters into
repurchase
agreement transactions.
A
Fund may enter into repurchase agreements with member banks of the Federal
Reserve System or registered broker-dealers who, in the opinion of the
sub-advisor, present a minimal risk of default during the term of the agreement.
The underlying securities which serve as collateral for repurchase agreements
may include fixed-income and equity securities such as U.S. Government and
agency securities, municipal obligations, corporate obligations,
asset-backed securities, mortgage-backed securities, common and preferred stock,
depositary receipts, ETFs, municipal obligations, corporate
obligations and convertible securities.
Reverse
Repurchase Agreements
— A Fund may borrow funds by entering into reverse repurchase agreements.
Pursuant to such agreements, a Fund
sells portfolio securities to financial institutions such as banks and
broker/dealers and agrees to repurchase them at a mutually agreed-upon date
and
price. At the time a Fund enters into a reverse repurchase agreement, it will
place, in a segregated custodial account, assets such as liquid high
quality
debt securities having a value not less than 100% of the repurchase price
(including accrued interest), and will subsequently monitor the account
to ensure that such required value is maintained. The assets maintained in the
segregated accounts or earmarked will be marked-to-market daily
and additional assets will be placed in such account or earmarked, as
applicable, on any day in which the assets fall below the repurchase price
(plus
accrued interest). Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the
market value of the securities sold by a Fund may decline below the price
at which a Fund is obligated to repurchase the securities. Reverse repurchase
agreements also involve the risk that the buyer of the securities sold
by
a Fund might be unable or unwilling to deliver them when a Fund seeks to
repurchase, which may result in losses to a Fund. Reverse repurchase
agreements
are considered to be borrowings by an investment company under the Investment
Company Act.
Separately
Traded Registered Interest and Principal Securities and Other Zero-Coupon
Obligations
— Separately traded registered interest and
principal securities or “STRIPS” and other zero-coupon obligations are
securities that do not make regular interest payments
prior to their maturity date
or another specified date in the future.
Instead, they are sold at a discount from their face value
and accrue interest over the life of the bond. While
interest payments are not made on such securities, holders of such securities
are deemed to have received income (“phantom income”) annually, notwithstanding
that cash may not be received currently. The effect of owning instruments that
do not make current interest payments is that a fixed yield
is earned not only on the original investment but also, in effect, on all
discount accretion during the life of the obligations.
Because they do not
pay
coupon income, the prices of STRIPS and zero-coupon obligations can be very
volatile when interest rates change, their
values may fluctuate more than
the value of similar securities that pay interest periodically,
and they may be less liquid than similar securities that pay interest
periodically.
STRIPS are
zero-coupon bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury.
A
Fund accrues income with respect to these securities for federal income tax and
accounting purposes prior to the receipt of cash payments. Further, to
maintain its qualification for pass-through treatment under the federal tax
laws, a Fund is required to distribute income to its shareholders and,
consequently,
may have to dispose of other, more liquid portfolio securities under
disadvantageous circumstances in order to generate the cash to satisfy
these distributions. The required distributions may result in an increase in a
Fund’s exposure to zero coupon securities.
Sovereign
and Quasi-Sovereign Government and Supranational Debt
— Sovereign debt securities may include: debt securities issued or guaranteed
by governments, governmental agencies or instrumentalities and political
subdivisions located in emerging market countries; debt securities
issued by government owned, controlled or sponsored entities located in emerging
market countries; interests in entities organized and operated
for the purpose of restructuring the investment characteristics of instruments
issued by any of the above issuers; participations in loans between
emerging market governments and financial institutions; and Brady Bonds, which
are debt securities issued under the framework of the Brady Plan
as a means for debtor nations to restructure their outstanding external
indebtedness.
Investments
in debt securities issued or guaranteed by foreign governments and their
political subdivisions or agencies involve special risks not present
in
corporate debt obligations. Sovereign debt is subject to risks in addition to
those relating to non-U.S. investments generally. The issuer of the debt or
the
governmental authorities that control the repayment of the debt may be unable or
unwilling to repay principal and/or interest when due in accordance
with the terms of such debt, and a Fund may have limited legal recourse in
the event of a default. As a sovereign entity, the issuing government
may be immune from lawsuits in the event of its failure or refusal to pay the
obligations when due.
Sovereign
debt differs from debt obligations issued by private entities in that,
generally, remedies for defaults must be pursued in the courts of the
defaulting
party. Legal recourse is therefore somewhat diminished when the issuer is a
foreign government or its political subdivisions or agencies. Political
conditions, especially a sovereign entity’s willingness to meet the terms of its
debt obligations, are of considerable significance. Also, holders of
commercial
bank debt issued by the same sovereign entity may contest payments to the
holders of sovereign debt in the event of default under commercial
bank loan agreements.
A
sovereign debtor’s willingness or ability to repay principal and interest due in
a timely manner may be affected by, among other factors, its cash flow
situation,
insufficient foreign currency reserves, the availability of sufficient non-U.S.
exchange on the date a payment is due, the relative size of the debt
service burden to the economy as a whole, the sovereign debtor’s policy toward
principal international lenders, the failure to implement economic reforms
required by the International Monetary Fund or other multilateral agencies and
the political constraints to which a sovereign debtor may be subject.
Increased protectionism on the part of a country’s trading partners or political
changes in those countries could also adversely affect its exports. Such
events could diminish a country’s trade account surplus, if any, or the credit
standing of a particular local government or agency.
Sovereign
debtors’ ability to repay their obligations may also be dependent on
disbursements or assistance from foreign governments or multinational
agencies,
the country’s access to trade and other international credits, and the country’s
balance of trade. The receipt of assistance from other governments
or multinational agencies is not assured. Assistance may be dependent on a
country’s implementation of austerity measures and reforms, which
may be politically difficult to implement. These measures may limit or be
perceived to limit economic growth and recovery. In the past, some sovereign
debtors have rescheduled their debt payments, declared moratoria on payments or
restructured their debt to effectively eliminate portions of it,
and similar occurrences may happen in the future. There is no bankruptcy
proceeding by which sovereign debt on which governmental entities have
defaulted
may be collected in whole or in part.
The
occurrence of political, social or diplomatic changes in one or more of the
countries issuing sovereign debt could adversely affect a Fund’s
investments.
Political changes or a deterioration of a country’s domestic economy or balance
of trade may affect the willingness of countries to service their
sovereign debt. While the Manager and sub-advisors endeavor to manage
investments in a manner that will minimize the exposure to such risks,
there
can be no assurance that adverse political changes will not cause a Fund
to suffer a loss of interest or principal on any of its holdings.
Brady
Bonds. Brady Bonds may be collateralized or uncollateralized and issued in
various currencies (although most are dollar-denominated), and they are
actively traded in the over-the-counter secondary market. U.S.
dollar-denominated, collateralized Brady Bonds, which may be fixed rate par
bonds or
floating rate discount bonds, are generally collateralized in full as to
principal by U.S. Treasury zero coupon bonds having the same maturity as the
Brady
Bonds. Brady Bonds are not, however, considered to be U.S. Government
securities. Interest payments on Brady Bonds are often collateralized by
cash
or securities in an amount that, in the case of fixed rate bonds, is equal to at
least one year of rolling interest payments or, in the case of floating
rate
bonds, initially is equal to at least one year’s rolling interest payments based
on the applicable interest rate at that time and is adjusted at regular
intervals
thereafter. Certain Brady Bonds are entitled to “value recovery payments” in
certain circumstances, which in effect constitute supplemental interest
payments, but generally are not collateralized. Brady Bonds are often viewed as
having three or four valuation components: (i) collateralized repayment
of principal at final maturity; (ii) collateralized interest payments; (iii)
uncollateralized interest payments; and (iv) any uncollateralized repayment
of principal at maturity (these uncollateralized amounts constitute the
“residual risk”). In the event of a default with respect to Collateralized
Brady Bonds as a result of which the payment obligations of the issuer are
accelerated, the U.S. Treasury zero coupon obligations held as collateral
for the payment of principal will not be distributed to investors, nor will such
obligations be sold and the proceeds distributed. The collateral will
be held by the collateral agent to the scheduled maturity of the defaulted Brady
Bonds, which will continue to be outstanding, at which time the face
amount of the collateral will equal the principal payments which would have been
due on the Brady Bonds in the normal course. Brady Bonds involve
various risk factors including residual risk and the history of defaults with
respect to commercial bank loans by public and private entities of countries
issuing Brady Bonds. There can be no assurance that Brady Bonds in which a Fund
may invest will not be subject to restructuring arrangements
or to requests for new credit, which may cause a Fund to suffer a loss of
interest or principal on any of its holdings.
Supranational
entities may also issue debt securities. Supranational organizations are
entities designated or supported by a government or governmental
group to promote economic development. Included among these organizations are
the Asian Development Bank, the European
Investment
Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the
United Nations, the World Bank and the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development. Supranational organizations have no taxing
authority and are dependent on their members for payments of interest
and principal to the extent their assets are insufficient. Further, the lending
activities of such entities are limited to a percentage of their total
capital,
reserves and net income. Obligations of supranational entities are subject to
the risk that the governments on whose support the entity depends
for its financial backing or repayment may be unable or unwilling to provide
that support. Obligations of a supranational entity that are denominated
in foreign currencies will also be subject to the risks associated with
investments in foreign currencies, as described above in the section
“Currencies
Risk.”
Time-Zone
Arbitrage
— Investing in foreign securities may involve a greater risk for excessive
trading due to “time-zone arbitrage.” If an event occurring
after the close of a foreign market, but before the time a Fund computes its
current NAV per share, causes a change in the price of the foreign
securities and such price is not reflected in a Fund’s current NAV per share,
investors may attempt to take advantage of anticipated price movements
in securities held by a Fund based on such pricing discrepancies.
U.S.
Government Agency Securities
— U.S. Government agency securities are issued or guaranteed by the U.S.
Government or its agencies or instrumentalities
or sponsored enterprises.
Some obligations issued by U.S. Government agencies and
instrumentalities,
such as those of the Government
National Mortgage Association (“GNMA”),
are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury;
others,
such as those of the Federal
Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) or the Federal Farm Credit Bank (“FFCB”),
by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury; others,
such as
those of the Federal National Mortgage Association (‘‘Fannie Mae’’), Federal
Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (‘‘Freddie Mac’’), by the
discretionary authority
of the U.S. Government to purchase certain obligations of the agency or
instrumentality; and others,
such as those of the Federal Farm Credit Bureau,
only by the credit of the agency or instrumentality. U.S. Government securities
bear fixed, floating or variable rates of interest. The market prices
of U.S. government agency securities are not guaranteed by the U.S. Government.
While the U.S. Government currently provides financial support
to certain U.S. Government-sponsored agencies or instrumentalities, no assurance
can be given that it will always do so, since it is not so obligated
by law. U.S. Government securities include U.S. Treasury bills, notes and bonds,
obligations
of GNMA, FHLB, FFCB, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the
Federal Farm Credit Bureau, other
U.S. Government agency obligations and repurchase agreements secured thereby.
U.S. Government agency securities
are subject to credit risk,
interest rate risk
and market risk.
U.S.
Treasury Obligations
— U.S. Treasury obligations may
differ in their interest rates, maturities, times of issuance and other
characteristics, and include
bills (initial maturities of one year or less), notes (initial maturities
between two and ten years), and bonds (initial maturities over ten years)
issued
by the U.S. Treasury,
separately traded registered interest and principal component parts of such
obligations (known as “STRIPS”),
which are traded
independently, and Treasury inflation-protected securities, whose principal
value is periodically adjusted according to the rate of inflation.
The prices
of these securities (like all debt securities) change between issuance and
maturity in response to fluctuating market interest rates and credit
ratings.
U.S. Treasury obligations are subject to credit risk and interest rate risk.
The
total amount of debt the Treasury is authorized to incur is subject to
a statutory limit. Once the Treasury reaches the debt limit, Congress must
raise, extend or otherwise modify the limit to enable the Treasury to incur
additional
debt to pay the obligations of the U.S. government, including principal and
interest payments on certain U.S. Treasury obligations (such as Treasury
bills, notes and bonds). Failure to, or potential failure to, increase the
statutory debt limit could: increase the risk that the U.S. government
defaults
on payments on certain U.S. Treasury obligations; cause the credit rating of the
U.S. government to be downgraded or increase volatility in both
stock and bond markets; result in higher debt servicing payments by the U.S.
government; reduce prices of Treasury securities; and/or increase the
costs
of certain kinds of debt. Treasury
inflation-indexed securities are
U.S. Government securities whose principal value is periodically adjusted
according
to the rate of inflation (by reference to the Consumer Price Index for All Urban
Consumers (“CPI-U”), which is calculated by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics a part of the Department of Labor). The CPI-U is a measurement of
changes in the cost of living, made up of components such as housing,
food, transportation and energy. There can be no assurance that the CPI-U or any
non-U.S. inflation index will accurately measure the real rate
of inflation in the prices of goods and services. The three-month lag in
calculating the CPI-U for purposes of adjusting the principal value of U.S.
TIPS
may give rise to risks under certain circumstances. The interest rate on TIPS is
fixed at issuance, but over the life of the security this interest may be
paid
on an increasing or decreasing principal value that has been adjusted for
inflation (but not below par value). Although repayment of the original
principal
upon maturity is guaranteed, the market value of TIPS is not guaranteed and will
fluctuate. The values of TIPS generally fluctuate in response to
changes in real interest rates, which are in turn tied to the relationship
between nominal interest rates and the rate of inflation. If inflation were to
rise
at a faster rate than nominal interest rates, real interest rates might decline,
leading to an increase in the value of TIPS. In contrast, if nominal
interest
rates were to increase at a faster rate than inflation, real interest rates
might rise, leading to a decrease in the value of TIPS. If inflation is lower
than
expected during the period a Fund holds TIPS, a Fund may earn less on the TIPS
than on a conventional bond. Because the coupon rate on TIPS is lower
than fixed-rate Treasury Department securities, the CPI-U would have to rise at
least to the amount of the difference between the coupon rate of the
fixed-rate Treasury Department issues and the coupon rate of the TIPS, assuming
all other factors are equal, in order for such securities to match the
performance of the fixed-rate Treasury Department securities. If interest rates
rise due to reasons other than inflation, (for example, due to changes
in
the currency exchange rates), investors in TIPS may not be protected to the
extent that the increase is not reflected in the bonds’ inflation measure.
In
periods of deflation when the inflation rate is declining, the principal value
of an inflation-indexed security will be adjusted downward. This will
result
in a decrease in the interest payments thereon, but holders at maturity receive
no less than par value. However, if a Fund purchases inflation-indexed
securities in the secondary market whose principal values have been adjusted
upward due to inflation since issuance, a Fund may experience
a loss if there is a subsequent period of deflation. Any increase in principal
value of TIPS caused by an increase in the CPI is taxable in the year
the increase occurs, even though the holder will not receive cash representing
the increase at that time. As a result, a Fund could be required at times
to liquidate other investments, including when it is not advantageous to do so,
in order to satisfy its distribution requirements as a “regulated investment
company.” See “Tax Information.” If a Fund invests in TIPS, it will be required
to treat as original issue discount (“OID”) any increase in the principal
amount of the securities that occurs during the course of its taxable year. If a
Fund purchases such securities that are issued in stripped form either
as stripped bonds or coupons, it will be treated as if it had purchased a newly
issued debt instrument having OID. Because a Fund is required to distribute
substantially all of its net investment income (including accrued OID), its
investment in either zero coupon bonds or TIPS may require it to distribute
to shareholders an amount greater than the total cash income it actually
receives. Accordingly, in order to make the required distributions, a
Fund
may be required to borrow or liquidate securities.
Valuation
Risk
— This is the risk that certain securities may be valued at a price different
from the price at which they can be sold. This risk may be especially
pronounced for investments, such as certain credit-linked notes and other
derivatives, which may be illiquid or which may become illiquid, and
for securities that trade in relatively thin markets and/or markets that
experience extreme volatility. The valuation of a Fund’s investments in an
accurate
and timely manner may be impacted by technological issues and/or errors by third
party service providers, such as pricing services or accounting
agents. If market or other conditions make it difficult to value certain
investments, SEC rules and applicable accounting protocols may require
the valuation of these investments using more subjective methods, such as
fair-value methodologies. Using fair value methodologies to price investments
may result in a value that is different from an investment’s most recent closing
price and from the prices used by others for the same investment.
No assurance can be given that such prices accurately reflect the price a Fund
would receive upon sale of a security. An investment’s valuation
may differ depending on the method used for determining value. Investors who
purchase or redeem Fund shares on days when a Fund is holding
fair-valued securities may receive fewer or more shares, or lower or higher
redemption proceeds, than they would have received if the securities
had
not been fair valued or a different valuation methodology had been used. The
value of foreign securities, certain fixed-income securities and currencies,
as applicable, may be materially affected by events after the close of the
markets on which they are traded, but before a Fund determines its
NAV.
When-Issued
and Forward Commitment Transactions
— These transactions involve a commitment by a Fund to purchase or sell
securities with payment
and delivery to take place at a future date, typically one to two months after
the date of the transaction. The payment obligations and interest
rate are fixed at the time the buyer enters into the transaction. These
transactions enable a Fund to “lock-in” what the Manager or
the sub-advisor,
as applicable,
believes to be an attractive price or yield on a particular security for a
period of time, regardless of future changes in interest rates.
For instance, in periods of rising interest rates and falling prices, a Fund
might sell securities it owns on a forward commitment basis to limit its
exposure
to falling prices. In periods of falling interest rates and rising prices, a
Fund might purchase a security on a when-issued or forward commitment
basis and sell a similar security to settle such purchase, thereby obtaining the
benefit of currently higher yields. Forward commitment transactions
are executed for existing obligations, whereas in a when-issued transaction, the
obligations have not yet been issued.
The
value of securities purchased on a when-issued or forward commitment basis and
any subsequent fluctuations in their value are reflected in the computation
of a Fund’s NAV starting on the date of the agreement to purchase the
securities. Because a Fund has not yet paid for the securities, this
produces
an effect similar to leverage. A Fund does not earn interest on securities it
has committed to purchase until the securities are paid for and delivered
on the settlement date. When a Fund makes a forward commitment to sell
securities it owns, the proceeds to be received upon settlement are
included in its assets. Fluctuations in the market value of the underlying
securities are not reflected in a Fund’s NAV as long as the commitment to
sell
remains in effect.
When
entering into a when-issued or forward commitment transaction, a Fund will
rely on the other party to consummate the transaction; if the other party
fails to do so, a Fund may be disadvantaged. If the other party fails to
complete the trade, a Fund may lose the opportunity to obtain a favorable
price.
For purchases on a when-issued basis, the price of the security is fixed at the
date of purchase, but delivery of and payment for the securities is not
set until after the securities are issued. The value of when-issued securities
is subject to market fluctuation during the interim period and no income
accrues
to a Fund until settlement takes place. Such transactions therefore involve a
risk of loss if the value of the security to be purchased declines prior
to the settlement date or if the value of the security to be sold increases
prior to the settlement date. A sale of a when-issued security also involves
the risk that the other party will be unable to settle the transaction.
When-issued, delayed-delivery and forward commitment transactions may
cause
a Fund to liquidate positions when it may not be advantageous to do so in order
to satisfy its purchase or sale obligations.
Pursuant
to Rule 18f-4 under the Investment Company Act, when-issued, delayed-delivery
and forward commitment transactions will be deemed not to
involve a senior security, provided that: a Fund intends to physically settle
the transaction; and the transaction will settle within 35 days of its trade
date.
If such transactions are deemed senior securities, a Fund will maintain with its
Custodian
segregated (or earmarked) liquid securities in an amount at
least equal to the when-issued or forward commitment transaction. Earmarking or
otherwise segregating a large percentage of a Fund’s assets could impede
the sub-advisor’s ability to manage a Fund’s portfolio.
OTHER
INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS
In
addition to the investment strategies and risks described in the Prospectus,
each Fund may (except where otherwise indicated):
1 |
Engage
in dollar rolls or purchase or sell securities on a when-issued or forward
commitment basis. The purchase or sale of when-issued securities
enables
an investor to hedge against anticipated changes in interest rates and
prices by locking in an attractive price or yield. The price of
when-issued
securities is fixed at the time the commitment to purchase or sell is
made, but delivery and payment for the when-issued securities takes
place at a later date, normally one to two months after the date of
purchase. During the period between purchase and settlement, no
payment
is made by the purchaser to the issuer and no interest accrues to the
purchaser. Such transactions therefore involve a risk of loss if the
value
of the security to be purchased declines prior to the settlement date or
if the value of the security to be sold increases prior to the settlement
date.
A sale of a when-issued security also involves the risk that the other
party will be unable to settle the transaction. Dollar rolls are a type of
forward
commitment transaction. Purchases and sales of securities on a forward
commitment basis involve a commitment to purchase or sell securities
with payment and delivery to take place at some future date, normally one
to two months after the date of the transaction. As with when-issued
securities, these transactions involve certain risks, but they also enable
an investor to hedge against anticipated changes in interest rates
and prices. Forward commitment transactions are executed for existing
obligations, whereas in a when-issued transaction, the obligations
have
not yet been issued. |
2 |
Invest
in other investment companies (including affiliated investment companies)
to the extent permitted by the Investment Company Act, or exemptive
relief granted by the SEC. |
3 |
Loan
securities to broker-dealers or other institutional investors. Securities
loans will not be made if, as a result, the aggregate amount of all
|
| outstanding
securities loans by a Fund exceeds 33¹/3%
of its total assets (including the market value of collateral received).
For purposes of complying
with a Fund’s investment policies and restrictions, collateral received in
connection with securities loans is deemed an asset of a Fund to
the
extent required by law. |
4 |
Enter
into repurchase agreements. A repurchase agreement is an agreement under
which securities are acquired by a Fund from a securities dealer
or
bank subject to resale at an agreed upon price on a later date. The
acquiring Fund bears a risk of loss in the event that the other party to a
repurchase
agreement defaults on its obligations and a Fund is delayed or prevented
from exercising its rights to dispose of the collateral securities.
However,
the Manager or the sub-advisor, as applicable, attempts to minimize this
risk by entering into repurchase agreements only with financial
institutions
that are deemed to be of good financial
standing. |
5 |
Purchase
securities sold in private placement offerings made in reliance on the
“private placement” exemption from registration afforded by Section
4(a)(2)
of the Securities Act, and resold to qualified institutional buyers under
Rule 144A under the Securities Act. A Fund will not invest more than
15%
of its net assets in Section 4(a)(2) securities and illiquid securities
unless the Manager or the sub-advisor, as applicable, determines that any
Section
4(a)(2) securities held by such Fund in excess of this level are
liquid. |
INVESTMENT
RESTRICTIONS
Fundamental
Policies.
Each Fund has the following fundamental investment policy that enables it to
invest in another investment company or series thereof
that has substantially similar investment objectives and policies:
Notwithstanding
any other limitation, each Fund may invest all of its investable assets in an
open-end management investment company with substantially
the same investment objectives, policies and limitations as the Fund. For this
purpose, “all of a Fund’s investable assets” means that the only
investment securities that will be held by the Fund will be a Fund’s interest in
the investment company.
The
American Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund, American Beacon AHL
Multi-Alternatives
Fund, and American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund
have
no current intention to convert to a master-feeder structure, as permitted by
the foregoing policy.
Fundamental
Investment Restrictions. The
following discusses the investment policies of each Fund.
The
following restrictions have been adopted by each Fund and may be changed with
respect to any such Fund only by the majority vote of the Fund’s outstanding
voting securities. “Majority of the outstanding voting securities” under the
Investment Company Act and as used herein means, with respect
to each Fund, the lesser of (a) 67% of the shares of the Fund present at the
meeting if the holders of more than 50% of the shares are present and
represented at the shareholders’ meeting or (b) more than 50% of the shares of
the Fund.
No
Fund may:
1 |
Purchase
or sell real estate or real estate limited partnership interests,
provided, however, that the Fund may dispose of real estate acquired as a
result
of the ownership of securities or other instruments and invest in
securities secured by real estate or interests therein or issued by
companies which
invest in real estate or interests therein when consistent with the other
policies and limitations described in the
Prospectus. |
2 |
Invest
in physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of
securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the Fund from
purchasing
or selling foreign currency, options, futures contracts, options on
futures contracts, forward contracts, swaps, caps, floors, collars,
securities
on a forward-commitment or delayed-delivery basis, and other similar
financial instruments or commodity pools or other entities that
purchase
and sell commodities and commodity contracts). |
3 |
Engage
in the business of underwriting securities issued by others, except to the
extent that, in connection with the disposition of securities, the
Fund
may be deemed an underwriter under federal securities
law. |
4 |
Lend
any security or make any other loan except: (i) as otherwise permitted
under the Investment Company Act, (ii) pursuant to a rule, order or
interpretation
issued by the SEC or its staff, (iii) through the purchase of a portion of
an issue of debt securities in accordance with the Fund’s investment
objective, policies and limitations, or (iv) by engaging in repurchase
agreements. |
5 |
Issue
any senior security except as otherwise permitted (i) under the Investment
Company Act or (ii) pursuant to a rule, order or interpretation
issued
by the SEC or its staff. |
6 |
Borrow
money, except as otherwise permitted under the Investment Company Act or
pursuant to a rule, order or interpretation issued by the SEC or
its staff, including (i) as a temporary measure, (ii) by entering into
reverse repurchase agreements, and (iii) by lending portfolio securities
as collateral.
For purposes of this investment limitation, the purchase or sale of
options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, forward
contracts,
swaps, caps, floors, collars and other similar financial instruments and
margin deposits, security interests, liens and collateral arrangements
with respect to such instruments shall not constitute
borrowing. |
7 |
Invest
more than 25% of its total assets in the securities of companies primarily
engaged in any particular industry or group of industries provided
that
this limitation does not apply to: (i) obligations issued or guaranteed by
the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities; and (ii)
tax-exempt
securities issued by municipalities and their agencies and
authorities. |
The
above percentage limits (except the limitation on borrowings) are based upon
asset values at the time of the applicable transaction; accordingly, a
subsequent
change in asset values will not affect a transaction that was in compliance with
the investment restrictions at the time such transaction was affected.
For purposes of each Fund’s policy relating to commodities set forth in (2)
above, the Funds do not consider foreign currencies or forward contracts
to be physical commodities.
For
purposes of each Fund’s policy relating to commodities set forth in (2) above,
the restriction does not prevent the Funds from investing in a wholly
owned
subsidiary, thereby indirectly gaining exposure to the investment returns of
commodities markets within the limitations of federal income tax requirements,
or from investing in commodity-linked derivative instruments.
For
purposes of each Fund’s policy relating to making loans set forth in (4) above,
securities loans will not be made if, as a result, the aggregate amount
of
all outstanding securities loans by the Fund exceeds 33¹/3%
of its total assets (including the market value of collateral
received).
For
purposes of each Fund’s policy relating to issuing senior securities set forth
in (5) above, “senior securities” are defined as Fund obligations that
have
a priority over the Funds’ shares with respect to the payment of dividends or
the distribution of Fund assets. The Investment Company Act prohibits
the Funds from issuing any class of senior securities or selling any senior
securities of which it is the issuer, except that the Funds are permitted
to
borrow from a bank so long as, immediately after such borrowings, there is an
asset coverage of at least 300% for all borrowings of each Fund (not
including
borrowings for temporary purposes in an amount not exceeding 5% of the value of
the Fund’s total assets). In the event that such asset coverage
falls below this percentage, each Fund is required to reduce the amount of its
borrowings within three days (not including Sundays and holidays)
so that the asset coverage is restored to at least 300%. Consistent with
guidance issued by the SEC and its staff, the requisite asset coverage
may
vary among different types of instruments. The policy in (5) above will be
interpreted not to prevent collateral arrangements with respect to swaps,
options, forward or futures contracts or other derivatives, or the posting of
initial or variation margin.
For
purposes of each Fund’s industry concentration policy set forth above, the
Manager may analyze the characteristics of a particular issuer and instrument
and may assign an industry classification consistent with those characteristics.
The Manager may, but need not, consider industry classifications
provided by third parties, and the classifications applied to Fund investments
will be informed by applicable law. A large economic or market
sector shall not be construed as a single industry or group of industries. The
Manager currently considers securities issued by a foreign government
(but not the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities) to be an
“industry” subject to the 25% limitation. Thus, not more than 25%
of a Fund’s total assets will be invested in securities issued by any one
foreign government or supranational organization. A Fund might invest in
certain
securities issued by companies in a particular industry whose obligations are
guaranteed by a foreign government. The Manager could consider such
a company to be within the particular industry and, therefore, a Fund will
invest in the securities of such a company only if it can do so under its
industry
concentration policy.
Non-Fundamental
Investment Restrictions.
The following non-fundamental investment restrictions apply to each Fund (except
where noted otherwise)
and may be changed with respect to each Fund by a vote of a majority of the
Board. Each Fund may not:
1 |
Invest
more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities, including time
deposits and repurchase agreements that mature in more than seven
days;
or |
2 |
Purchase
securities on margin, except that (1) a Fund may obtain such short term
credits necessary for the clearance of transactions, and (2) a Fund
may
make margin payments in connection with foreign currency, futures
contracts, options, forward contracts, swaps, caps, floors, collars,
securities
purchased or sold on a forward-commitment or delayed-delivery basis or
other financial instruments. |
All
percentage limitations on investments will apply at the time of the making of an
investment and shall not be considered violated unless an excess or deficiency
occurs or exists immediately after and as a result of such investment. Except
for the investment restrictions listed above as fundamental or to the
extent designated as such in the Prospectus with respect to each Fund, the other
investment policies described in this SAI are not fundamental and may
be changed by approval of the Trustees.
TEMPORARY
OR DEFENSIVE INVESTMENTS
In
times of unstable or adverse market, economic, political or other conditions,
where the Manager or the sub-advisor believes it is appropriate and in a
Fund’s
best interest, a Fund can invest up to 100% in cash and other types of
securities for defensive or temporary purposes. It can also hold cash or
purchase
these types of securities for liquidity purposes to meet cash needs due to
redemptions of Fund shares, or to hold while waiting to invest cash received
from purchases of Fund shares or the sale of other portfolio
securities.
These
temporary investments can include: (i) obligations issued or guaranteed by the
U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities; (ii) commercial paper
rated in the highest short-term category by a rating organization; (iii)
domestic, Yankee and Eurodollar certificates of deposit or bankers’ acceptances
of banks rated in the highest short-term category by a rating organization; (iv)
any of the foregoing securities that mature in one year or less
(generally known as “cash equivalents”); (v) other short-term corporate debt
obligations; (vi) repurchase agreements; (vii) futures; or (viii) shares of
money
market funds, including funds advised by the Manager or the
sub-advisor.
PORTFOLIO
TURNOVER
Portfolio
turnover is a measure of trading activity in a portfolio of securities, usually
calculated over a period of one year. The rate is calculated by dividing
the lesser amount of purchases or sales of securities by the average amount of
securities held over the period. A portfolio turnover rate of 100%
would indicate that a Fund sold and replaced the entire value of its securities
holdings during the period. High portfolio turnover can increase a Fund’s
transaction costs and generate additional capital gains or losses.
Portfolio
turnover may vary significantly from year to year due to a variety of factors,
including fluctuating volume of shareholder purchase and redemption
orders, market conditions, investment strategy changes, and/or changes in the
sub-advisor’s investment outlook.
DISCLOSURE
OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
Each Fund
publicly discloses portfolio holdings information as follows:
1 |
a
complete list of holdings for each Fund on an annual and semi-annual basis
in the reports to shareholders within sixty days of the end of each
fiscal
semi-annual period and in publicly available filings of Form N-CSR with
the SEC within ten days thereafter (available on the SEC’s website at
www.sec.gov); |
2 |
a
complete list of holdings for each Fund as of the end of each fiscal
quarter in publicly available filings of Form N-PORT with the SEC within
sixty days
of the end of the fiscal quarter (available on the SEC’s website at
www.sec.gov); |
3 |
a
complete list of holdings for each Fund as of the end of each
calendar quarter on the Funds’ website (www.americanbeaconfunds.com)
approximately
sixty days after the end of the calendar quarter;
and |
4 |
ten
largest holdings for each Fund as of the end of each calendar
quarter on the Funds’ website (www.americanbeaconfunds.com) and in sales
materials
approximately fifteen days after the end of the calendar
quarter. |
Public
disclosure of a Fund’s holdings on the website and in sales materials may be
delayed when an investment manager informs the Fund that such disclosure
could be harmful to the Fund. In addition, individual holdings may be omitted
from website and sales material disclosure, when such omission
is deemed to be in a Fund’s best interest. Disclosure of a Fund’s ten largest
holdings may exclude U.S. Treasury securities and cash equivalent assets,
although such holdings will be included in each Fund’s complete list of
holdings.
Disclosure
of Nonpublic Holdings.
Occasionally, certain interested parties - including individual investors,
institutional investors, intermediaries that distribute
shares of the Funds, third-party service providers, rating and ranking
organizations, and others - may request portfolio holdings information
that
has not yet been publicly disclosed by the Funds. The Funds’ policy is to
control the disclosure of nonpublic portfolio holdings information in an
attempt
to prevent parties from utilizing such information to engage in trading activity
harmful to Fund shareholders. To this end, the Board has adopted
the Holdings Policy. The purpose of the Holdings Policy is to define those
interested parties who are authorized to receive nonpublic portfolio
holdings
information on a selective basis and to set forth conditions upon which such
information may be provided. In general, nonpublic portfolio holdings
may be disclosed on a selective basis only when it is determined that (i) there
is a legitimate business purpose for the information; (ii) recipients
are subject to a duty of confidentiality, including a duty not to trade on the
nonpublic information; and (iii) disclosure is in the best interests
of
Fund shareholders. The Holdings Policy does not restrict a Fund from disclosing
that a particular security is not a holding of the Fund. The Holdings
Policy
is summarized below.
A
variety of third party service providers require access to Fund holdings to
provide services to the Funds or to assist the Manager and the sub-advisor
in
managing the Funds (“service providers”). The service providers have a duty to
keep the Funds’ nonpublic information confidential either through written
contractual arrangements with the Funds (or another Fund service provider) or by
the nature of their role with respect to the Funds (or the service
provider). The Funds have determined that disclosure of nonpublic holdings
information to service providers fulfills a legitimate business purpose
and
is in the best interest of shareholders. In addition, the Funds have determined
that disclosure of nonpublic holdings information to members of the Board
fulfills a legitimate business purpose, is in the best interest of Fund
shareholders, and each Trustee is subject to a duty of
confidentiality.
The
Funds have ongoing
arrangements to provide nonpublic holdings information to the following service
providers,
whose affiliates may also have access
to such information:
|
| |
Service
Provider |
Service |
Holdings
Access |
Manager |
Investment
management and administrator |
Complete
list on intraday basis with no lag |
Sub-Advisor |
Investment
management |
Holdings
under sub-advisor’s management on intraday
basis with no lag |
State
Street Bank and Trust Co. (“State Street”) and
its designated foreign sub-custodians |
Securities
lending agent for Funds that participate
in securities lending, Funds’ custodian and
foreign custody manager, sub-administrator, fund
administration service provider, and foreign sub-custodian |
Complete
list on intraday basis with no lag |
PricewaterhouseCoopers
LLP |
Funds’
independent registered public accounting firm |
Complete
list on annual basis with no lag |
ACA
Compliance Group |
Sub-Advisor
third-party compliance testing |
Complete
list upon request with lag |
Bloomberg,
L.P. |
Performance
and portfolio analytics reporting |
Complete
list on daily basis with no lag |
ENSO
LP acting by its general partner, ENSO FINANCIAL
MANAGEMENT LLP |
Manage
exposure across brokers, monitor initial margin,
variation margin, and total equity of Sub-advisor. |
Complete
list on daily basis with no lag |
FactSet
Research Systems, Inc. |
Performance
and portfolio analytics reporting for the
Manager |
Complete
list on daily basis with no lag |
KPMG
International |
Service
provider to State Street |
Complete
list on annual basis with lag |
Certain
third parties are provided with nonpublic holdings information (either complete
or partial lists) by the Manager or another service provider on an
ad hoc basis
in the ordinary course of business.
These third parties include broker-dealers, prospective sub-advisors, borrowers
of the Funds’ portfolio
securities, pricing services, legal counsel, and issuers (or their agents).
Broker-dealers utilized by the Funds in the process of purchasing and
selling
portfolio securities or providing market quotations receive limited holdings
information on a current basis with no lag. The Manager provides current
holdings to investment managers being considered for appointment as a
sub-advisor to the Funds. If the Funds participate in securities lending
activities,
potential borrowers of the Funds’ securities receive information pertaining to
the Funds’ securities available for loan. Such information is provided
on a current basis with no lag. The Funds utilize various pricing services to
supply market quotations and evaluated prices to State Street. State
Street and the Manager may disclose current nonpublic holdings to those pricing
services. The
Manager or a sub-advisor
may provide holdings information
to legal counsel when seeking advice regarding those holdings. From time to
time, an issuer (or its agent) may contact the Funds requesting
confirmation of ownership of the issuer’s securities. Such holdings information
is provided to the issuer (or its agent) as of the date requested.
The Funds do not have written contractual arrangements with these third parties
regarding the confidentiality of the holdings information. However,
the Funds would not continue to utilize a third party that the Manager
determined to have misused nonpublic holdings information.
The
Funds have ongoing arrangements to provide periodic holdings information to
certain organizations that publish ratings and/or rankings for the Funds
or that redistribute the Funds’ holdings to financial intermediaries to
facilitate their analysis of the Funds. The Funds have determined that
disclosure
of holdings information to such organizations fulfills a legitimate business
purpose and is in the best interest of shareholders, as it provides
existing
and potential shareholders with an independent basis for evaluating the Funds in
comparison to other mutual funds. As of the date of this SAI, all
such organizations receive holdings information after it has been made public on
the Funds’ website.
No
compensation or other consideration may be paid to the Funds, the Funds’ service
providers, or any other party in connection with the disclosure of portfolio
holdings information.
Under
the Holdings Policy, disclosure of nonpublic portfolio holdings information to
parties other than those discussed above must meet all of the following
conditions:
1 |
Recipients
of portfolio holdings information must agree in writing to keep the
information confidential until it has been posted to the Funds’
website
and not to trade based on the information; |
2 |
Holdings
may only be disclosed as of a month-end date; |
3 |
No
compensation may be paid to the Funds, the Manager or any other party in
connection with the disclosure of information about portfolio securities;
and |
4 |
A
member of the Manager’s Compliance staff must approve requests for
nonpublic holdings information. |
In
determining whether to approve a request for portfolio holdings disclosure by
the Manager, Compliance staff generally considers the type of requestor
and its relationship to the Funds, the stated reason for the request, any
historical pattern of requests from that same individual or entity, the
style
and strategy of the Fund for which holdings have been requested (e.g., passive
versus active management), whether a Fund is managed by one or
multiple
investment managers, and any other factors it deems relevant. Any potential
conflicts between shareholders and affiliated persons of the Funds
that arise as a result of a request for portfolio holdings information shall be
decided by the Manager in the best interests of shareholders.
However,
if a conflict exists between the interests of shareholders and the Manager, the
Manager may present the details of the request to the Board for
a determination to either approve or deny the request. On a quarterly basis, the
Manager will prepare a report for the Board outlining any instances of
disclosures of nonpublic holdings during the period that did not comply with the
Holdings Policy.
The
Compliance staff generally determines whether a historical pattern of requests
by the same individual or entity constitutes an “ongoing arrangement”
and should be disclosed in the Funds’ SAI.
The
Manager and sub-advisors to the Funds may manage substantially similar
portfolios for clients other than the Funds. Those other clients may
receive
and publicly disclose their portfolio holdings information prior to public
disclosure by the Funds. The Holdings Policy is not intended to limit the
Manager
or the sub-advisors from making such disclosures to their
clients.
LENDING
OF PORTFOLIO SECURITIES
A Fund
may lend securities from its portfolio to brokers, dealers and other financial
institutions needing to borrow securities to complete certain transactions.
In connection with such loans, a Fund remains the beneficial owner of the loaned
securities and continues to be entitled to payments in amounts
approximately equal to the interest, dividends or other distributions payable on
the loaned securities. A Fund also has the right to terminate a loan
at any time. A Fund
does not have the right to vote on securities while they are on loan. However,
it is a
Fund’s
policy to attempt to terminate loans
in time to vote those proxies that a Fund determines are material to its
interests. Loans of portfolio securities may not exceed 33¹/3%
of the value of
a Fund’s total assets (including the value of all assets received as collateral
for the loan). A
Fund
will receive collateral consisting of cash in the form of
cash or cash equivalents, securities of the U.S. Government and its agencies and
instrumentalities, approved bank letters of credit, or other forms of
collateral
that are permitted by the SEC for registered investment companies, which will be
maintained at all times in an amount equal to at least 100%
of the current market value of the loaned securities. If the collateral consists
of cash, a Fund will reinvest the cash and may pay the borrower a pre-negotiated
fee or “rebate” for the use of that cash collateral. Under the terms of the
securities loan agreement between the Funds and State Street,
their securities lending agent, State Street indemnifies the Funds for
certain losses resulting from a borrower default. However, should the
borrower
of the securities fail financially, a
Fund may experience delays in recovering the loaned securities or exercising its
rights in the collateral. In a loan
transaction, a Fund will also bear the risk of any decline in value of
securities acquired with cash collateral. A Fund seeks to minimize this risk by
normally
limiting the investment of cash collateral to registered money market funds,
including money market funds advised by the Manager that invest
in U.S. Government and agency securities.
For
all funds that engage in securities lending, the Manager receives compensation
for administrative and oversight functions with respect to securities
lending,
including oversight of the securities lending agent. The amount of such
compensation depends on the income generated by the loan of the securities.
As
of the date of this SAI, the Funds do not intend to engage in securities lending
activities.
TRUSTEES
AND OFFICERS OF THE TRUST
The
Board of Trustees
The
Trust is governed by its Board of Trustees. The Board is responsible for and
oversees the overall management and operations of the Trust and the Funds,
which includes the general oversight and review of the Funds’ investment
activities, in accordance with federal law and the law of the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts as well as the stated policies of the Funds. The Board oversees
the Trust’s officers and service providers, including American
Beacon, which is responsible for the management of the day-to-day operations of
the Funds based on policies and agreements reviewed and approved
by the Board. In carrying out these responsibilities, the Board regularly
interacts with and receives reports from senior personnel of service
providers,
including American Beacon’s investment personnel and the Trust’s CCO. The Board
also is assisted by the Trust’s independent registered public
accounting firm (which reports directly to the Trust’s Audit and Compliance
Committee), independent counsel and other experts as appropriate, all
of whom are selected by the Board.
Risk
Oversight
Consistent
with its responsibility for oversight of the Trust and the Funds, the Board
oversees the management of risks relating to the administration and
operation of the Trust and the Funds. American Beacon, as part of its
responsibilities for the day-to-day operations of the Funds, is responsible for
day-to-day
risk management for the Funds. The Board, in the exercise of its reasonable
business judgment, also separately considers potential risks that may
impact the Funds. The Board performs this risk management oversight directly
and, as to certain matters, through its committees (described below)
and through the Board members who are not “interested persons” of the Trust as
defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Investment Company Act (“Independent
Trustees”). The following provides an overview of the principal, but not all,
aspects of the Board’s oversight of risk management for the Trust
and the Funds.
In
general, a Fund’s risks include, among others, investment risk, credit risk,
liquidity risk, securities selection risk and valuation risk. The Board has
adopted,
and periodically reviews, policies and procedures designed to address these and
other risks to the Trust and the Funds. In addition, under the general
oversight of the Board, American Beacon, each Fund’s investment adviser, and
other service providers to the Funds have themselves adopted a variety
of policies, procedures and controls designed to address particular risks to the
Funds. Different processes, procedures and controls are employed with
respect to different types of risks. Further, American Beacon as manager of the
Funds oversees and regularly monitors the investments, operations and
compliance of the Funds’ investment advisers.
The
Board also oversees risk management for the Trust and the Funds through review
of regular reports, presentations and other information from officers
of the Trust and other persons. Senior officers of the Trust, and senior
officers of American Beacon, and the Funds’ CCO regularly report to the
Board
on a range of matters, including those relating to risk management. The Board
and the Investment Committee also regularly receive reports from American
Beacon with respect to the investments, securities trading and securities
lending activities of the Funds, as applicable. In addition to regular
reports
from American Beacon, the Board also receives reports regarding other service
providers to the Trust, either directly or through American Beacon
or the Funds’ CCO, on a periodic or regular basis. At least annually, the Board
receives a report from the Funds’ CCO regarding the effectiveness
of the Funds’ compliance program. Also, typically on an annual basis, the Board
receives reports, presentations and other information from
American Beacon in connection with the Board’s consideration of the renewal of
each of the Trust’s agreements with American Beacon and the Trust’s
distribution plans under Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company
Act.
Senior
officers of the Trust and American Beacon also report regularly to the Audit and
Compliance Committee on Fund valuation matters and on the Trust’s
internal controls and accounting and financial reporting policies and practices.
In addition, the Audit and Compliance Committee receives regular
reports from the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm on
internal control and financial reporting matters. On at least a quarterly
basis, the Audit and Compliance Committee meets with the Funds’ CCO to discuss
matters relating to the Funds’ compliance program.
Board
Structure and Related Matters
Independent
Trustees constitute at least three-quarters of the Board. Brenda A. Cline, an
Independent Trustee, serves as Independent Chair of the Board.
The Independent Chair’s responsibilities include: setting an agenda for each
meeting of the Board; presiding at all meetings of the Board and Independent
Trustees; and serving as a liaison with other Trustees, the Trust’s officers and
other management personnel, and counsel to the Funds. The Independent
Chair shall perform such other duties as the Board may from time to time
determine.
The
Trustees discharge their responsibilities collectively as a Board, as well as
through Board committees, each of which operates pursuant to a charter
approved
by the Board that delineates the responsibilities of that committee. The Board
has established three standing committees: the Audit and Compliance
Committee, the Investment Committee and the Nominating and Governance Committee.
For example, the Investment Committee is responsible
for oversight of the process, typically performed annually, by which the Board
considers and approves each Fund’s investment advisory agreement
with American Beacon, while specific matters related to oversight of the Funds’
independent auditors have been delegated by the Board to its
Audit and Compliance Committee, subject to approval of the Audit and Compliance
Committee’s recommendations by the Board. The members and
responsibilities of each Board committee are summarized below.
The
Board periodically evaluates its structure and composition as well as various
aspects of its operations. The Board believes that its leadership structure,
including its Independent Chair position and its committees, is appropriate for
the Trust in light of, among other factors, the asset size and nature
of the funds in the Trust, the number of series of the American Beacon Funds
Complex overseen by the Board, the arrangements for the conduct
of the Funds’ operations, the number of Trustees, and the Board’s
responsibilities. On an annual basis, the Board conducts a self-evaluation
that
considers, among other matters, whether the Board and its committees are
functioning effectively and whether, given the size and composition of
the
Board and each of its committees, the Trustees are able to oversee effectively
the number of Funds in the complex.
The
Trust is part of the American Beacon Funds Complex, which is comprised of
24 series
within the American Beacon Funds, 1 series within the American
Beacon Institutional Funds Trust, and 3 series
within the American Beacon Select Funds. The same persons who constitute the
Board of the Trust
also constitute the Board of the American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust and
the American Beacon Select Funds and each Trustee oversees the Trusts’
combined 28
series.
The
Board holds five (5) regularly scheduled meetings each year. The Board may hold
special meetings, as needed, either in person or by telephone, to address
matters arising between regular meetings. The Independent Trustees also hold at
least one in-person meeting each year during a portion of which
management is not present and may hold special meetings, as needed, either in
person or by telephone.
The
Trustees of the Trust are identified in the tables below, which provide
information as to their principal business occupations and directorships held
during
the last five years and certain other information. Subject to the Trustee
Retirement Plan described below, a Trustee serves until his or her successor
is elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation or
removal. The address of each Trustee listed below is 220 East Las Colinas
Boulevard, Suite 1200, Irving, Texas 75039. Each Trustee serves for an
indefinite term or until his or her removal, resignation, or
retirement.*
|
|
| |
Name
and Year of
Birth*
|
Position
and Length
of Time Served
on the American
Beacon Funds
and American
Beacon Select
Funds |
Position
and Length
of Time Served
on the American
Beacon Institutional
Funds
Trust |
Principal
Occupation(s) and Directorships During Past 5 Years |
INTERESTED
TRUSTEE |
|
|
|
Eugene
J. Duffy (1954)**
|
Trustee
since 2008 |
Trustee
since 2017 |
Managing
Director, Global Investment Management Distribution, Mesirow Financial
Administrative
Corporation (2016-Present); Trustee, American Beacon Sound Point
Enhanced
Income Fund (2018-2021); Trustee, American Beacon Apollo Total Return Fund
(2018-2021). |
NON-INTERESTED
TRUSTEES |
|
|
|
Gilbert
G. Alvarado (1969) |
Trustee
since 2015 |
Trustee
since 2017 |
Chief
Financial Officer, The Conrad Prebys Foundation (2022-Present); President,
SJVIIF, LLC, Impact
Investment Fund (2018-2022); Executive
Vice President/COO, Sierra Health Foundation (health conversion
private
foundation) (2022), Senior Vice President/CFO, Sierra Health Foundation
(health conversion
private foundation) (2006-2022); Executive Vice President/COO, Sierra
Health Foundation:
Center for Health Program Management (California public benefit
corporation) (2022),
Senior Vice President/CFO, Sierra Health Foundation: Center for Health
Program Management
(California public benefit corporation) (2012-2022); Director, Trustee,
American
Beacon Sound Point Enhanced Income Fund (2018-2021); Trustee, American
Beacon
Apollo Total Return Fund (2018-2021). |
Joseph
B. Armes (1962) |
Trustee
since 2015 |
Trustee
since 2017 |
Director,
Switchback Energy Acquisition (2019-2021); Chairman & CEO, CSW
Industrials f/k/a
Capital Southwest Corporation (investment company)
(2015-Present); President & CEO,
JBA Investment Partners (family investment vehicle)
(2010-Present); Trustee, American Beacon
Sound Point Enhanced Income Fund (2018-2021); Trustee, American Beacon
Apollo Total
Return Fund (2018-2021). |
Gerard
J. Arpey (1958) |
Trustee
since 2012 |
Trustee
since 2017 |
Partner,
Emerald Creek Group (private equity firm) (2011-Present); Director, S.C.
Johnson & Son,
Inc. (privately held company) (2008-Present); Director, The Home Depot,
Inc. (NYSE: HD)
(2015-Present); Trustee, American Beacon Sound Point Enhanced Income Fund
(2018-2021);
Trustee, American Beacon Apollo Total Return Fund
(2018-2021). |
Brenda
A. Cline (1960) |
Chair
since 2019
Vice
Chair 2018
Trustee
since 2004 |
Chair
since 2019
Vice
Chair 2018
Trustee
since 2017 |
Chief
Financial Officer, Treasurer and Secretary, Kimbell Art Foundation
(1993-Present); Director,
Tyler Technologies, Inc. (public sector software solutions company)
(2014-Present); Director,
Range Resources Corporation (oil and natural gas company) (2015-Present);
Trustee,
Cushing Closed-End (2) and Open-End Funds (3) (2017-2021); Chair, American
Beacon
Sound Point Enhanced Income Fund (2019-2021), Vice Chair (2018), Trustee
(2018-2021);
Chair, American Beacon Apollo Total Return Fund (2019-2021), Vice Chair
(2018),
Trustee (2018-2021). |
Claudia
A. Holz (1957) |
Trustee
since 2018 |
Trustee
since 2018 |
Independent
Director, Blue Owl Capital Inc. (2021-Present); Partner, Trustee,
American Beacon Sound Point Enhanced Income Fund (2018-2021); Trustee,
American Beacon Apollo Total Return Fund (2018-2021). |
Douglas
A. Lindgren (1961) |
Trustee
since 2018 |
Trustee
since 2018 |
Director,
JLL Income Property Trust (2022-Present); Consultant,
Carne Financial Services (2017-2019); Trustee,
American Beacon Sound Point Enhanced Income
Fund (2018-2021); Trustee, American Beacon Apollo Total Return Fund
(2018-2021). |
Barbara
J. McKenna (1963) |
Trustee
since 2012 |
Trustee
since 2017 |
President
and Managing Principal, Longfellow Investment Management Company
(2005-Present,
President since 2009); Member, External Diversity Council of the Federal
Reserve
Bank of Boston (2021-2023); Board Advisor, United States Tennis
Association (2021-Present);
Trustee, American Beacon Sound Point Enhanced Income Fund (2018-2021);
Trustee, American Beacon Apollo Total Return Fund
(2018-2021). |
* |
The
Board has adopted a retirement policy that requires Trustees to retire no
later than the last day of the calendar year in which they reach the age
of 75. |
** |
Mr.
Duffy is deemed to be an “interested person” of the Trust, as defined by
the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, by virtue of his position
with Mesirow Financial, Inc., a broker-dealer. |
In
addition to the information set forth in the tables above and other relevant
qualifications, experience, attributes or skills applicable to a particular
Trustee,
the following provides further information about the qualifications and
experience of each Trustee.
Gilbert
G. Alvarado: Mr. Alvarado has extensive organizational management and financial
experience as executive
vice president and chief financial officer
in public charities and private foundations, service as director of private
companies and non-profit organizations, service as president of non-profit
institutional investment fund, an adjunct professor for a non-profit school of
management at University of San Francisco, and multiple years of
service as a Trustee.
Joseph
B. Armes: Mr. Armes has extensive financial, investment and organizational
management experience as chairman of the board of directors, president
and chief executive officer of an investment company listed on NASDAQ, president
and chief executive officer of a private family investment vehicle,
chief operating officer of a private holding company for a family office,
president, chief executive officer, chief financial officer and director of a
special
purpose acquisition company listed on the American Stock Exchange, a director
and audit committee chair of an oil and gas exploration and production
company listed on the New York Stock Exchange and as an officer of public
companies and as a director and officer of private companies, and
multiple years of service as a Trustee.
Gerard
J. Arpey: Mr. Arpey has extensive organizational management, financial and
international experience serving as chairman, chief executive officer,
and chief financial officer of one of the largest global airlines, service as a
director of public and private companies, service to several charitable
organizations,
and multiple years of service as a Trustee.
Brenda
A. Cline: Ms. Cline has extensive organizational management, financial and
investment experience as chief
financial officer, secretary and treasurer
to a private foundation, service as a director, trustee, audit committee chair,
and member of the nominating and governance committees of various
publicly held companies and mutual funds, service as a trustee to a private
university, and several charitable boards, including acting as a member
of their investment and/or audit committees, extensive experience as an audit
senior manager with a large public accounting firm, and multiple
years of service as a Trustee.
Eugene
J. Duffy: Mr. Duffy has extensive experience in the investment management
business and organizational management experience as a member of
senior management, service as a director of a bank, service as a chairman of a
charitable fund and as a trustee to an association, service on the board
of a private university and non-profit organization, service as chair to a
financial services industry association, and multiple years of service as a
Trustee.
Claudia
A. Holz: Ms. Holz has extensive financial audit and organizational management
experience obtained as an audit partner with a major public accounting
firm for over 27 years. Prior to her retirement, she led audits of large public
investment company complexes and held several management roles
in the firm’s New York and national offices.
Douglas
A. Lindgren: Mr. Lindgren has extensive senior management experience in the
asset management industry, having overseen several organizations
and numerous fund structures and having served as an Adjunct Professor of
Finance at Columbia Business School.
Barbara
J. McKenna: Ms. McKenna has extensive experience in the investment management
industry, organizational management experience as a member
of senior management, service as a director of an investment manager, member of
numerous financial services industry associations, and multiple
years of service as a Trustee.
Committees
of the Board
The
Trust has an Audit and Compliance Committee (“Audit Committee”).
The
Audit Committee consists of Mses. Holz (Chair) and McKenna
and Messrs.
Armes and
Arpey.
Ms. Cline, as Chair of the Board, serves on the Audit Committee in an ex-officio
non-voting capacity. As set forth in its charter,
the primary purposes
of the Trust’s Audit Committee are: (a) to oversee the accounting and financial
reporting processes of the Trust and the Funds
and their internal controls and, as the Audit
Committee
deems appropriate, to inquire into the internal controls of certain third-party
service providers;
(b) to oversee the quality and integrity of the Trust’s financial statements and
the independent audit thereof; (c) to approve, prior to appointment,
the engagement of the Trust’s independent auditors and, in connection therewith,
to review and evaluate the qualifications, independence
and performance of the Trust’s independent auditors; (d) to oversee the Trust’s
compliance with all regulatory obligations arising under applicable
federal securities laws, rules and regulations and oversee management’s
implementation and enforcement of the Trust’s compliance policies and
procedures (“Compliance Program”); (e)
to coordinate the Board’s oversight of the Trust’s CCO in connection with his or
her implementation of the
Trust’s Compliance Program;
and (f) to assist the Board with the aspects of risk oversight of the Trust that
are relevant to the Audit Committee, including,
but not limited to, valuation, operational, and compliance risks. All members of
the Audit Committee are Independent Trustees.
The Audit Committee
met four (4)
times
during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.
The
Trust has a Nominating and Governance Committee (“Nominating Committee”) that is
comprised of Messrs. Armes (Chair) and Arpey,
and Mses. Cline
and McKenna. As set forth in its charter, the Nominating Committee’s primary
purposes
are: (a) to make recommendations regarding the nomination
of non-interested Trustees to the Board; (b) to make recommendations regarding
the appointment of an Independent Trustee as Chair of the
Board; (c) to evaluate qualifications of potential “interested” members of the
Board and Trust officers; (d) to review shareholder recommendations for
nominations to fill vacancies on the Board; (e) to make recommendations to the
Board for nomination for membership on all committees of the Board;
(f) to consider and evaluate the structure, composition and operation of the
Board; (g) to review shareholder recommendations for proposals to be
submitted for consideration during a meeting of Fund shareholders; and (h) to
consider and make recommendations relating to the compensation of
Independent Trustees and of those officers as to whom the Board is charged with
approving compensation. Shareholder recommendations for Trustee
candidates may be mailed in writing, including a comprehensive resume and any
supporting documentation, to the Nominating Committee in care
of the Secretary of the Funds, and must otherwise comply with the Declaration of
Trust and By-Laws of the Trust. The Nominating and Governance
Committee met four (4) times during the fiscal year ended December 31,
2023.
The
Trust has an Investment Committee that is comprised of Messrs. Lindgren (Chair),
Alvarado,
and Duffy.
Ms. Cline, as Chair of the Board, serves on the
Investment Committee in an ex-officio non-voting capacity. As set forth in its
charter, the Investment Committee’s primary purposes
are: (a) to review
and evaluate the short- and long-term investment performance of the Manager and
each of the designated sub-advisors to the Funds; (b) to evaluate
recommendations by the Manager regarding the hiring or removal of designated
sub-advisors to the Funds; (c) to review material changes
recommended
by the Manager to the allocation of Fund assets to a sub-advisor; (d) to review
proposed changes recommended by the Manager to the investment
objectives or principal investment strategies of the Funds; (e)
to review proposed changes recommended by the Manager to the material
provisions
of the advisory agreement with a sub-advisor, including, but not limited to,
changes to the provision regarding compensation;
and (f) to assist
the Board with the aspects of risk oversight of the Trust that are relevant to
the Investment Committee, including, but not limited to counterparty,
investment and liquidity risks.
The Investment Committee met four (4) times during the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2023.
Trustee
Ownership in the Funds
The
following tables show the amount of equity securities owned in the Funds and all
series of the American Beacon Funds Complex by the Trustees as of
the calendar year ended December
31, 2023.
| |
|
INTERESTED
TRUSTEE |
|
Duffy |
American
Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
None |
American
Beacon AHL Multi-Alternatives Fund |
None |
American
Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund |
None |
Aggregate
Dollar Range of Equity Securities in all Trusts (27
Funds as of December 31, 2023) |
$10,001
- $50,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
NON-INTERESTED
TRUSTEES |
|
Alvarado |
Armes |
Arpey |
Cline |
Holz |
Lindgren |
McKenna |
American
Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
$1
- 10,000 |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
$50,001
- $100,000 |
American
Beacon AHL Multi-Alternatives Fund |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
None |
American
Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund |
$10,001
- $50,000 |
Over
$100,000 |
None |
None |
None |
Over
$100,000 |
None |
Aggregate
Dollar Range of Equity Securities in all Trusts (27
Funds as of December 31, 2023) |
Over
$100,000 |
Over
$100,000 |
Over
$100,000 |
Over
$100,000 |
Over
$100,000 |
Over
$100,000 |
Over
$100,000 |
Trustee
Compensation
As
compensation for their service to the American Beacon Funds Complex, including
the Trust (collectively, the “Trusts”), each Trustee is compensated from
the Trusts as follows: (1) an annual retainer of $140,000;
(2) meeting attendance fee (for attendance in person or via teleconference) of
(a) $12,000
for in-person attendance, or $5,000 for telephonic attendance, by Board members
for each regularly scheduled or special Board meeting, (b) $2,500
for attendance by Committee members at meetings of the Audit Committee and the
Investment Committee, (c) $1,000 for attendance by Committee
members at meetings of the Nominating and Governance Committee; and (d) $2,500
for attendance by Board members for each special telephonic
Board meeting; and (3) reimbursement of reasonable expenses incurred in
attending Board meetings, Committee meetings, and relevant educational
seminars. For this purpose, the Board considers attendance at regular meetings
held by videoconference to constitute in-person attendance
at a Board meeting. The Trustees also may be compensated for attendance at
special Board and/or Committee meetings from time to time.
For
her service as Board Chair, Ms. Cline receives an additional annual retainer of
$50,000. Although she attends several committee meetings at each quarterly
Board meeting, she receives a single $2,500 fee each quarter for her attendance
at the Audit Committee and Investment Committee meetings.
The chairpersons of the Audit Committee and the Investment Committee each
receive an additional annual retainer of $25,000 and the Chair
of the Nominating and Governance Committee receives an additional annual
retainer of $10,000.
|
| |
The
following table shows total compensation (excluding reimbursements) paid
by the Trusts to each Trustee for the fiscal year ended December 31,
2023. |
Name
of Trustee |
Aggregate
Compensation from the Trust |
Total
Compensation from the Trusts |
INTERESTED
TRUSTEE |
|
|
Eugene
J. Duffy |
$188,509 |
$200,000 |
NON-INTERESTED
TRUSTEES |
|
|
Gilbert
G. Alvarado |
$203,589 |
$216,000 |
Joseph
B. Armes |
$201,704 |
$214,000 |
Gerard
J. Arpey |
$199,819 |
$212,000 |
Brenda
A. Cline1
|
$250,717 |
$266,000 |
Claudia
A. Holz |
$223,383 |
$237,000 |
Douglas
A. Lindgren |
$223,383 |
$237,000 |
Barbara
J. McKenna |
$203,589 |
$216,000 |
1 |
Upon
her retirement from the Board, Ms. Cline is eligible for flight benefits
afforded to Eligible Trustees who served on the Boards prior to September
12, 2008 as described
below. |
The
Boards have adopted a Trustee Retirement Plan. The Trustee Retirement Plan
provides that a Trustee who has served on the Boards prior to September
12, 2008, and who has reached a mandatory retirement age established by the
Board (currently 75) is eligible to elect Trustee Emeritus status
(“Eligible Trustees”). Eligible Trustees who have served on the Board of one or
more Trusts for at least five years may elect to retire from the Board
at an earlier age and immediately assume Trustee Emeritus status. The Board has
determined that, other than the Trustee Retirement Plan established
for Eligible Trustees, no other retirement benefits will accrue for current or
future Trustees. Ms. Cline is the only Eligible Trustee.
Each
Eligible Trustee and his or her spouse (or designated companion) may receive
annual flight benefits from the Trusts of up to $40,000 combined, on
a tax-grossed up basis, on American Airlines (a subsidiary of the Manager’s
former parent company) for a maximum period of 10 years, depending upon
length of service prior to September 12, 2008. Eligible Trustees may opt to
receive instead an annual retainer of $20,000 from the Trusts in lieu
of
flight benefits. No retirement benefits are accrued for Board service after
September 12, 2008.
A
Trustee Emeritus must be reasonably available to provide advice, counseling and
assistance to the Trustees and American Beacon as needed, as agreed
to from time to time by the parties involved; however, a Trustee Emeritus does
not have any voting rights at Board meetings and is not subject to
election by shareholders of the Funds. Currently, three individuals who
retired from the Board and accrued retirement benefits for periods prior to
September
12, 2008, have assumed Trustee Emeritus status. Two individuals and their
spouses receive annual flight benefits of up to $40,000 combined,
on a tax-grossed up basis, on American Airlines. The other individual receives
an annual retainer of $20,000 from the Trusts in lieu of flight benefits.
Principal
Officers of the Trust
The
Officers of the Trust conduct and supervise its daily business. As of the date
of this SAI, the Officers of the Trust, their ages, their business address
and
their principal occupations and directorships during the past five years are as
set forth below. The address of each Officer is 220 East Las Colinas
Boulevard,
Suite 1200, Irving, Texas 75039. Each Officer serves for a term of one year or
until his or her resignation, retirement, or removal. Each Officer
has and continues to hold the same position with the American Beacon Funds, the
American Beacon Select Funds, and the American Beacon Institutional
Funds Trust.
|
|
| |
Name
and Year of
Birth |
Position
and Length
of Time Served
on the American
Beacon Funds
and American
Beacon Select
Funds |
Position
and Length
of Time Served
on the American
Beacon Institutional
Funds
Trust |
Principal
Occupation(s) and Directorships During Past 5 Years |
OFFICERS |
|
|
|
Rebecca
L. Harris (1966) |
President Since
May 2024
Vice
President 2022-2024 |
President Since
May 2024
Vice
President 2022-2024 |
President
(2024-Present); Senior Vice President (2021-2024), Vice President
(2011-2021), American
Beacon Advisors, Inc.; President (2021-2024), Senior Vice President
(2021-2024), Vice
President (2017-2021), Resolute Investment Managers, Inc.; President
(2024-Present); Senior
Vice President (2021-2024), Vice President (2017-2021), Resolute
Investment Services,
Inc.; Vice President, Alpha Quant Advisors, LLC (2016-2020); Vice
President (2018-2022),
Director (2022) Continuous Capital, LLC; Director (2022-Present) National
Investment
Services of America, LLC; Director (2022-Present) RSW Investments Holdings
LLC;
Director (2022-Present) Shapiro Capital Management LLC; Director
(2022-Present) SSI Investment
Management LLC; Assistant Secretary, American Beacon Sound Point Enhanced
Income
Fund (2018-2021); Assistant Secretary, American Beacon Apollo Total Return
Fund (2018-2021);
Assistant Secretary, American Beacon Funds (2010 – 2022); Assistant
Secretary,
American Beacon Select Funds (2010 – 2022); Assistant Secretary, American
Beacon
Institutional Funds Trust (2017 – 2022). |
Rosemary
K. Behan (1959) |
Vice
President, Secretary
and Chief
Legal Officer since
2006 |
Vice
President, Secretary
and Chief
Legal Officer since
2017 |
Senior
Vice President (2021-Present), Vice President (2006-2021), Secretary and
General Counsel
(2006-Present), American Beacon Advisors, Inc.; Secretary, Resolute
Investment Holdings,
LLC (2015-Present); Secretary, Resolute Topco, Inc. (2015-Present);
Secretary, Resolute
Acquisition, Inc. (2015-Present); Senior Vice President (2021-Present),
Vice President
(2015-2021), Secretary and General Counsel (2015-Present), Resolute
Investment Managers,
Inc.; Secretary, Resolute Investment Distributors, Inc. (2017-Present);
Senior Vice President
(2021-Present), Vice President (2017-2021), Secretary and General Counsel
(2017-Present),
Resolute Investment Services, Inc.; Secretary, American Private Equity
Management,
LLC (2008-2024); Secretary and General Counsel, Alpha Quant Advisors, LLC
(2016-2020);
Vice President and Secretary, Continuous Capital, LLC (2018-2022);
Secretary, Green
Harvest Asset Management, LLC (2019-2021); Secretary, American
Beacon Cayman Managed
Futures Strategy Fund, Ltd. (2014-Present); Secretary, American Beacon
Cayman TargetRisk
Company, Ltd (2018-Present); Secretary, American Beacon Cayman
Multi-Alternatives
Company, Ltd. (2023-Present); Secretary, American Beacon Cayman
Trend
Company, Ltd. (2023-Present); Vice President, Secretary, and Chief Legal
Officer, American
Beacon Sound Point Enhanced Income Fund (2018-2021); Vice President,
Secretary,
and Chief Legal Officer, American Beacon Apollo Total Return Fund
(2018-2021). |
Paul
B. Cavazos (1969) |
Vice
President since
2016 |
Vice
President since
2017 |
Chief
Investment Officer and Senior Vice President, American Beacon Advisors,
Inc. (2016-Present);
Vice President, American Private Equity Management, L.L.C. (2017-2024);
Vice
President, American Beacon Sound Point Enhanced Income Fund (2018-2021);
Vice President,
American Beacon Apollo Total Return Fund
(2018-2021). |
|
|
| |
Name
and Year of
Birth |
Position
and Length
of Time Served
on the American
Beacon Funds
and American
Beacon Select
Funds |
Position
and Length
of Time Served
on the American
Beacon Institutional
Funds
Trust |
Principal
Occupation(s) and Directorships During Past 5 Years |
Erica
B. Duncan (1970) |
Vice
President since
2011 |
Vice
President since
2017 |
Vice
President, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (2011-Present); Vice President,
Resolute Investment
Managers, Inc. (2018-Present); Vice President, Resolute Investment
Services, Inc. (2018-Present);
Vice President, American Beacon Sound Point Enhanced Income Fund
(2018-2021);
Vice President, American Beacon Apollo Total Return Fund
(2018-2021). |
Terri
L. McKinney (1963) |
Vice
President since
2010 |
Vice
President since
2017 |
Senior
Vice President, (2021-Present) Vice President, (2009-2021), American
Beacon Advisors,
Inc.; Senior Vice President (2021-Present), Vice President (2017-2021),
Resolute Investment
Managers, Inc.; Senior Vice President (2021-Present), Vice President
(2018-2021),
Resolute Investment Services, Inc.; Vice President, Alpha Quant Advisors,
LLC (2016-2020);
Vice President, Continuous Capital, LLC (2018-2022); Vice President,
American
Beacon Sound Point Enhanced Income Fund (2018-2021); Vice President,
American
Beacon Apollo Total Return Fund (2018-2021). |
Samuel
J. Silver (1963) |
Vice
President since
2011 |
Vice
President since
2017 |
Vice
President (2011-Present), Chief Fixed Income Officer (2016-Present),
American Beacon Advisors,
Inc.; Vice President, American Beacon Sound Point Enhanced Income Fund
(2018-2021);
Vice President, American Beacon Apollo Total Return Fund
(2018-2021). |
Melinda
G. Heika (1961) |
Vice
President since
2021 |
Vice
President since
2021 |
Senior
Vice President (2021-Present), Treasurer and CFO (2010-Present), American
Beacon Advisors,
Inc.; Treasurer, Resolute Topco, Inc. (2015-Present); Treasurer, Resolute
Investment Holdings,
LLC (2015-Present); Treasurer, Resolute Acquisition, Inc. (2015-Present);
Senior Vice
President (2021-Present), Treasurer and CFO (2017-Present), Resolute
Investment Managers,
Inc.; Senior Vice President (2021-Present), Treasurer and CFO
(2017-Present), Resolute
Investment Services, Inc.; Treasurer, American Private Equity Management,
L.L.C. (2012-2024);
Treasurer and CFO, Alpha Quant Advisors, LLC (2016-2020); Treasurer,
Continuous
Capital, LLC (2018-2022); Director (2014-Present), Vice President
(2022-Present)
and Treasurer (2014-2022), American Beacon Cayman Managed Futures
Strategy
Fund, Ltd.; Director and Vice President (2022-Present), and Treasurer
(2018-2022), American
Beacon Cayman TargetRisk Company, Ltd.; Director and Vice President,
American Beacon
Cayman Multi-Alternatives Company, Ltd. (2023-Present); Director and Vice
President,
American Beacon Cayman Trend Company, Ltd. (2023-Present); Principal
Accounting
Officer and Treasurer, American Beacon Funds (2010-2021); Principal
Accounting
Officer and Treasurer, American Beacon Select Funds (2010-2021); Principal
Accounting
Officer and Treasurer, American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust
(2017-2021); Principal
Accounting Officer and Treasurer (2018-2021), Vice President (2021),
American Beacon
Sound Point Enhanced Income Fund; Principal Accounting Officer and
Treasurer (2018-2021),
Vice President (2021), American Beacon Apollo Total Return Fund.
|
Gregory
Stumm (1981) |
Vice
President since
2022 |
Vice
President since
2022 |
Senior
Vice President, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (2022-Present); Senior Vice
President, Resolute
Investment Managers, Inc. (2022-Present); Senior Vice President, Resolute
Investment
Services, Inc. (2022-Present); President (2024-Present), Director and
Senior Vice President
(2022-2024), Resolute Investment Distributors, Inc. |
Sonia
L. Bates (1956) |
Principal
Accounting
Officer
and Treasurer since
2021 |
Principal
Accounting
Officer
and Treasurer since
2021 |
Assistant
Treasurer, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (2023-Present); Vice President,
Fund and Tax
Reporting (2023-Present), Director, Fund and Tax Reporting (2011-2023),
Resolute Investment
Services, Inc; Assistant Treasurer, American Private Equity Management,
L.L.C. (2012-2024);
Treasurer, American Beacon Cayman Managed Futures Strategy Fund, Ltd.
(2022-Present);
Treasurer (2022-Present) and Assistant Treasurer (2018-2022), American
Beacon
Cayman TargetRisk Company, Ltd.; Treasurer, American Beacon Cayman
Multi-Alternatives
Company, Ltd. (2023-Present); Treasurer, American Beacon Cayman
Trend
Company, Ltd. (2023-Present); Assistant Treasurer (2018-2021), Principal
Accounting Officer
and Treasurer (2021), American Beacon Sound Point Enhanced Income Fund;
Assistant
Treasurer (2019-2021), Principal Accounting Officer and Treasurer (2021),
American
Beacon Apollo Total Return Fund; Assistant Treasurer, American Beacon
Funds (2011-2021);
Assistant Treasurer, American Beacon Select Funds (2011-2021); Assistant
Treasurer,
American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust
(2017-2021). |
|
|
| |
Name
and Year of
Birth |
Position
and Length
of Time Served
on the American
Beacon Funds
and American
Beacon Select
Funds |
Position
and Length
of Time Served
on the American
Beacon Institutional
Funds
Trust |
Principal
Occupation(s) and Directorships During Past 5 Years |
Christina
E. Sears (1971) |
Chief
Compliance
Officer since
2004
Assistant
Secretary since
1999 |
Chief
Compliance
Officer
and Assistant
Secretary since
2017 |
Chief
Compliance Officer (2004-Present), Vice President (2019-Present), American
Beacon Advisors,
Inc.; Vice President, Resolute Investment Managers, Inc. (2017-Present);
Vice President,
Resolute Investment Distributors, Inc. (2017-Present); Vice President,
Resolute Investment
Services, Inc. (2019-Present); Chief Compliance Officer, American Private
Equity Management,
LLC (2012-2024); Chief Compliance Officer, Green Harvest Asset
Management,
LLC (2019-2021); Chief Compliance Officer, RSW Investments Holdings, LLC
(2019-Present);
Chief Compliance Officer (2016-2019), Vice President (2016-2020), Alpha
Quant
Advisors, LLC; Chief Compliance Officer (2018-2019), Vice President
(2018-2022), Continuous
Capital, LLC.; Chief Compliance Officer and Assistant Secretary, American
Beacon
Sound Point Enhanced Income Fund (2018-2021); Chief Compliance Officer and
Assistant
Secretary, American Beacon Apollo Total Return Fund
(2018-2021). |
Shelley
L. Dyson (1969) |
Assistant
Treasurer since
2021 |
Assistant
Treasurer since
2021 |
Fund
Tax Director (2024-Present), Fund Tax Manager (2020-2024), Manager, Tax
(2014-2020),
Resolute Investment Services, Inc.; Assistant Treasurer, American Beacon
Cayman
Managed Futures Strategy Fund, Ltd. (2022-Present); Assistant Treasurer,
American Beacon
Cayman TargetRisk Company, Ltd (2022-Present); Assistant Treasurer,
American Beacon
Cayman Multi-Alternatives Company, Ltd. (2023-Present); Assistant
Treasurer, American
Beacon Cayman Trend Company, Ltd. (2023-Present); Assistant Treasurer,
American
Beacon Sound Point Enhanced Income Fund (2021); Assistant Treasurer,
American Beacon
Apollo Total Return Fund (2021). |
Shelley
D. Abrahams (1974) |
Assistant
Secretary since
2008 |
Assistant
Secretary since
2017 |
Corporate
Governance Manager (2023-Present), Senior Corporate Governance &
Regulatory
Specialist (2020-2023), Corporate Governance & Regulatory Specialist
(2017-2020),
Resolute Investment Services, Inc.; Assistant Secretary, American Beacon
Cayman
Managed Futures Strategy Fund, Ltd. (2022-Present); Assistant Secretary,
American Beacon
Cayman TargetRisk Company, Ltd (2022-Present); Assistant Secretary,
American Beacon
Cayman Multi-Alternatives Company, Ltd. (2023-Present); Assistant
Secretary, American
Beacon Cayman Trend Company, Ltd. (2023-Present); Assistant Secretary,
American
Beacon Sound Point Enhanced Income Fund (2018-2021); Assistant Secretary,
American
Beacon Apollo Total Return Fund (2018-2021). |
Teresa
A. Oxford (1958) |
Assistant
Secretary since
2015 |
Assistant
Secretary since
2017 |
Deputy
General Counsel (2024-Present), Assistant Secretary (2015-Present),
Associate General
Counsel (2015-2024), American Beacon Advisors, Inc.; Assistant Secretary
(2018-2021)
(2024-Present), Resolute Investment Distributors, Inc.; Deputy General
Counsel (2024-Present),
Assistant Secretary (2017-Present), Associate General Counsel (2017-2024),
Resolute
Investment Managers, Inc.; Deputy General Counsel (2024-Present),
Assistant Secretary
(2018-Present), Associate General Counsel (2018-2024), Resolute Investment
Services,
Inc.; Assistant Secretary (2016-2020), Alpha Quant Advisors, LLC;
Assistant Secretary
(2020-2022), Continuous Capital, LLC.; Assistant Secretary, American
Beacon Sound
Point Enhanced Income Fund (2018-2021); Assistant Secretary, American
Beacon Apollo
Total Return Fund (2018-2021). |
CODE
OF ETHICS
The
Manager, the Trust, the
Distributor,
and
the sub-advisor each have adopted a Code of Ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the
Investment Company Act. Each
Code of Ethics significantly restricts the personal trading of all employees
with access to non-public portfolio information. For example, each Code
of
Ethics generally requires pre-clearance of all personal securities trades (with
limited exceptions) and prohibits employees from purchasing or selling a
security
that is being purchased or sold or being considered for purchase (with limited
exceptions) or sale by any Fund. In addition, the Manager’s and the
Trust’s Code of Ethics requires employees to report trades in shares of the
Trusts. Each Code of Ethics is on public file with, and may be obtained
from,
the SEC.
PROXY
VOTING POLICIES
Each
Fund invests exclusively in non-voting securities and is therefore not expected
to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities. If a Fund were to vote
any
proxies, the proxy voting record for the most recent year ended June 30 is
available as of August 31 of each year upon request and without charge
by
calling 1-800-967-9009 or by visiting the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.
The proxy voting record can be found in Form N-PX on the SEC’s website.
CONTROL
PERSONS AND 5% SHAREHOLDERS
A
principal shareholder is any person who owns of record or beneficially 5% or
more of any class of a Fund’s outstanding shares. A control person is a
shareholder
that owns beneficially or through controlled companies more than 25% of the
voting securities of a company or acknowledges the existence
of control. Shareholders owning voting securities in excess of 25% may determine
the outcome of any matter affecting and voted on by
shareholders
of a Fund. The actions of an entity or person that controls a Fund could have an
effect on other shareholders. For instance, a control person
may have effective voting control over a Fund or large redemptions by a control
person could cause a Fund’s other shareholders to pay a higher pro
rata portion of a Fund’s expenses.
Set
forth below are entities or persons that own 5% or more of the outstanding
shares of a class of the Funds as of April 1, 2024. The Trustees and
officers
as a group own 2.97% of the R5 Class shares and 6.11% of the Investor Class
shares of the American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund. The Trustees
and officers of the Trusts, as a group, owned less than 1% of all other classes
of each Fund’s shares outstanding.
American
Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Shareholder
Address |
Fund
Percentage (listed
if over 25%) |
A
CLASS |
C
CLASS |
Y
CLASS |
R5
CLASS |
Investor
CLASS |
CHARLES
SCHWAB & CO INC*
|
|
|
|
12.64% |
|
64.73% |
SPECIAL
CUST A/C |
|
|
|
|
|
|
EXCLUSIVE
BENEFIT OF CUSTOMERS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ATTN
MUTUAL FUNDS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
211
MAIN ST |
|
|
|
|
|
|
SAN
FRANCISCO CA 94105-1901 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
J.P.
MORGAN SECURITIES LLC OMNIBUS* |
|
|
7.48% |
|
51.58% |
|
ACCT
FOR THE EXCLUSIVE BEN OF CUST |
|
|
|
|
|
|
4
CHASE METROTECH CTR FL 3RD |
|
|
|
|
|
|
BROOKLYN
NY 11245-0003 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
LPL
FINANCIAL* |
|
|
6.47% |
|
|
|
4707
EXECUTIVE DR |
|
|
|
|
|
|
SAN
DIEGO CA 92121-3091 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
MERRILL
LYNCH PIERCE FENNER &* |
|
|
5.03% |
|
|
|
SMITH
INC (HOUSE ACCOUNT) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
THE
AMERICAN BEACON FUNDS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
4800
DEER LAKE DR EAST |
|
|
|
|
|
|
JACKSONVILLE
FL 32246-6484 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
MORGAN
STANLEY SMITH BARNEY LLC* |
28.37% |
11.76% |
35.53% |
38.41% |
0.05% |
0.45% |
FOR
THE EXCLUSIVE BENE OF ITS CUST |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
NEW YORK PLZ FL 12 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
NEW
YORK NY 10004-1965 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
NATIONAL
FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC* |
|
75.77% |
|
17.19% |
|
19.82% |
FOR
EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF OUR |
|
|
|
|
|
|
CUSTOMERS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ATTN
MUTUAL FUNDS DEPT 4TH FLOOR |
|
|
|
|
|
|
499
WASHINGTON BLVD |
|
|
|
|
|
|
JERSEY
CITY NJ 07310-1995 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
PERSHING
LLC* |
|
|
27.31% |
|
|
5.84% |
1
PERSHING PLZ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
JERSEY
CITY NJ 07399-0001 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
WELLS
FARGO CLEARING SERVICES LLC* |
|
|
9.52% |
9.13% |
|
|
SPECIAL
CUSTODY ACCT FOR THE |
|
|
|
|
|
|
EXCLUSIVE
BENEFIT OF CUSTOMERS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2801
MARKET ST |
|
|
|
|
|
|
SAINT
LOUIS MO 63103-2523 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
SAXON
& CO.* |
|
|
|
|
13.36% |
|
PO
BOX 94597 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
CLEVELAND
OH 44101-4597 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
SEI
PRIVATE TRUST COMPANY* |
|
|
|
|
16.11% |
|
C/O
REGIONS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Shareholder
Address |
Fund
Percentage (listed
if over 25%) |
A
CLASS |
C
CLASS |
Y
CLASS |
R5
CLASS |
Investor
CLASS |
1
FREEDOM VALLEY DRIVE |
|
|
|
|
|
|
OAKS
PA 19456-9989 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
* |
Denotes
record owner of Fund shares only |
American
Beacon AHL Multi-Alternatives Fund
|
|
|
|
| |
Shareholder
Address |
Fund
Percentage
(listed
if over
25%) |
A
CLASS |
C
CLASS |
Y
CLASS |
R6
CLASS |
NATIONAL
FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC*
|
|
|
|
98.26% |
|
FOR
EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF |
|
|
|
|
|
OUR
CUSTOMERS |
|
|
|
|
|
ATTN
MUTUAL FUNDS DEPT 4TH FLOOR |
|
|
|
|
|
499
WASHINGTON BLVD |
|
|
|
|
|
JERSEY
CITY NJ 07310-1995 |
|
|
|
|
|
AMERICAN
BEACON ADVISORS |
|
100.00% |
100.00% |
|
19.26% |
220
LAS COLINAS BLVD E STE 1200 |
|
|
|
|
|
IRVING
TX 75039-5500 |
|
|
|
|
|
MAN
INVESTMENTS FINANCE INC |
62.05% |
|
|
|
80.74% |
452
5TH AVE FL 26 |
|
|
|
|
|
NEW
YORK NY 10018-2782 |
|
|
|
|
|
* |
Denotes
record owner of Fund shares only |
American
Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Shareholder
Address |
Fund
Percentage (listed
if over 25%) |
A
CLASS |
C
CLASS |
Y
CLASS |
R5
CLASS |
Investor
CLASS |
CHARLES
SCHWAB & CO INC*
|
32.48% |
16.50% |
|
35.76% |
7.52% |
56.21% |
SPECIAL
CUST A/C |
|
|
|
|
|
|
EXCLUSIVE
BENEFIT OF CUSTOMERS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ATTN
MUTUAL FUNDS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
211
MAIN ST |
|
|
|
|
|
|
SAN
FRANCISCO CA 94105-1901 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
LPL
FINANCIAL* |
|
11.04% |
16.57% |
7.11% |
|
|
4707
EXECUTIVE DR |
|
|
|
|
|
|
SAN
DIEGO CA 92121-3091 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
MORGAN
STANLEY SMITH BARNEY LLC* |
|
52.08% |
52.00% |
25.38% |
|
|
FOR
THE EXCLUSIVE BENE OF ITS CUST |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
NEW YORK PLZ FL 12 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
NEW
YORK NY 10004-1965 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
NATIONAL
FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC* |
|
|
7.39% |
6.89% |
57.11% |
28.30% |
FOR
EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF OUR |
|
|
|
|
|
|
CUSTOMERS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ATTN
MUTUAL FUNDS DEPT 4TH FLOOR |
|
|
|
|
|
|
499
WASHINGTON BLVD |
|
|
|
|
|
|
JERSEY
CITY NJ 07310-1995 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
PERSHING
LLC* |
|
16.55% |
14.54% |
5.81% |
|
8.89% |
1
PERSHING PLZ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
JERSEY
CITY NJ 07399-0001 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
RAYMOND
JAMES* |
|
|
|
11.99% |
|
|
OMNIBUS
FOR MUTUAL FUNDS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ATTN
COURTNEY WALLER |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Shareholder
Address |
Fund
Percentage (listed
if over 25%) |
A
CLASS |
C
CLASS |
Y
CLASS |
R5
CLASS |
Investor
CLASS |
880
CARILLON PKWY |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ST
PETERSBURG FL 33716-1100 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
GENERAL
MOTORS SAVINGS PLANS MASTER |
|
|
|
|
6.46% |
|
TRUST |
|
|
|
|
|
|
C/O
STATE STREET BANK AND TRUST CO |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1776
HERITAGE DR |
|
|
|
|
|
|
QUINCY
MA 02171-2119 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
MATRIX
TRUST COMPANY CUST FBO |
|
|
|
|
5.92% |
|
HOUSING
AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF SA |
|
|
|
|
|
|
PO
BOX 52129 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
PHOENIX
AZ 85072-2129 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
RELIANCE
TRUST CO FBO |
|
|
|
|
12.41% |
|
FIDUCIARY
TRUST C/R |
|
|
|
|
|
|
PO
BOX 570788 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ATLANTA
GA 30357-3114 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
SEI
PRIVATE TRUST COMPANY |
|
|
|
|
5.07% |
|
C/O
BANKERS SWP |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
FREEDOM VALLEY DRIVE |
|
|
|
|
|
|
OAKS
PA 19456-9989 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
* |
Denotes
record owner of Fund shares only |
INVESTMENT
ADVISORY AGREEMENT
The
Funds’ sub-advisor is listed below with information regarding its controlling
persons or entities. According to the Investment Company Act, a person
or entity with control with respect to an investment advisor has “the power to
exercise a controlling influence over the management or policies of
a company, unless such power is solely the result of an official position with
such company.” Persons and entities affiliated with the sub-advisor may
be
considered affiliates of the Funds.
|
| |
AHL
Partners LLP (“AHL”) |
Controlling
Person/Entity |
Basis
of Control |
Nature
of Controlling Person/Entity’s Business |
Man
Investments Limited |
Managing
Member holding over 50.1% of the voting rights |
Investment
management firm founded in 1987 |
Man
Group plc |
Ultimate
Parent Company |
Investment
management firm |
The
Trust, on behalf of the American Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund, and
the Manager have entered into an Investment Advisory Agreement
with AHL pursuant to which the Fund has agreed to pay AHL an annualized
sub-advisory fee that is calculated and accrued daily equal to 1.00%
of the Fund’s average daily net assets.
The
Trust, on behalf of the American Beacon AHL Multi-Alternatives
Fund, and the Manager have entered into an Investment Advisory Agreement with
AHL
pursuant to which the Fund has agreed to pay AHL an annualized sub-advisory fee
that is calculated and accrued daily equal to 0.775%
of average
daily net assets
on the first $500 million, 0.75%
of average daily net asset
on the next $500 million, 0.725%
of average daily net assets
on the next
$500 million,
and 0.70%
of average daily net assets over $1.5 billion
thereafter of the Fund’s average daily net assets.
The
Trust, on behalf of the American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund, and the Manager
have entered into an Investment Advisory Agreement with AHL pursuant
to which the Fund has agreed to pay AHL an annualized sub-advisory fee that is
calculated and accrued daily equal to 0.55% on the first $500
million, 0.50% on the next $500 million, 0.45% on the next $500
million, and 0.40% thereafter of the Fund’s average daily net
assets.
Pursuant
to a separate agreement, AHL also serves as the sub-advisor of the Subsidiaries.
AHL does not receive additional compensation for its management
of the Subsidiaries.
In
rendering investment advisory services to the Funds, the sub-advisor may use the
resources of one or more foreign (non-U.S.) affiliates that are not registered
under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment
Sub-Advisor’s Foreign Affiliates”) to provide portfolio management,
research and trading services to the Funds. Under a Participating Affiliate
Agreement, each of the Investment Sub-Advisor’s Foreign Affiliates
are considered Participating Affiliates of the sub-advisor pursuant to
applicable guidance from the staff of the SEC allowing U.S. registered
advisers
to use investment advisory and trading resources of unregistered advisory
affiliates subject to the regulatory supervision of the registered adviser.
Each Participating Affiliate and any of their respective employees who provide
services to the Funds are considered under the Participating Affiliate
Agreement to be “supervised persons” of the sub-advisor as that term is defined
in the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended.
MANAGEMENT,
ADMINISTRATIVE, SECURITIES LENDING, AND DISTRIBUTION SERVICES
The
Manager
The
Manager, located at 220 East Las Colinas Boulevard, Suite 1200, Irving, Texas
75039,
is a Delaware corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Resolute
Investment Managers, Inc. (“RIM”).
RIM is, in turn, a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Resolute Acquisition, Inc., a
wholly-owned subsidiary of
Resolute
Topco, Inc.
(“Topco”).
Topco
is owned primarily by various
institutional investment funds that are managed by financial institutions and
other investment
advisory firms. No owner of Topco owns 25% or more of the outstanding equity or
voting interests of Topco.
The address of Topco
is 220 East
Las Colinas Boulevard, Suite 1200, Irving, TX 75039.
Listed
below are individuals and entities that may be deemed control persons of the
Manager.
|
| |
Controlling
Person/Entity |
Basis
of Control |
Nature
of Controlling Person/Entity’s Business |
Resolute
Topco, Inc. |
Parent
Company |
Holding
Company – Founded in 2015 |
The
Manager is paid a management fee as compensation for providing each Fund
with management and administrative services. The expenses are allocated
daily to each class of shares of a Fund based upon the relative proportion
of net assets represented by such class.
The
American Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund’s Management Agreement with
the Manager provides for the Fund to pay the Manager an annualized
management fee equal to 0.35% of the average daily net assets of the
Fund.
The
American Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund's and American Beacon AHL Multi-Alternatives
Fund’s Management
Agreement with the Manager provides for each Fund to pay
the Manager an annualized management fee based on a percentage of each
Fund’s
average daily net assets that is calculated and accrued daily according to the
following schedule:
| |
First
$5 billion |
0.35% |
Next
$5 billion |
0.325% |
Next
$10 billion |
0.30% |
Over
$20 billion |
0.275% |
Operating
expenses directly attributable to a specific class are charged against the
assets of that class. Pursuant to the Management Agreement, the Manager
provides the Trust with office space, office equipment and personnel necessary
to manage and administer the Trust’s operations. This includes:
■ |
complying
with reporting requirements; |
■ |
corresponding
with shareholders; |
■ |
maintaining
internal bookkeeping, accounting and auditing services and
records; |
■ |
supervising
the provision of services to the Trust by third parties;
and |
■ |
administering
the Funds’ interfund lending facility and lines of credit, if
applicable. |
Each Fund
is responsible for expenses not otherwise assumed by the Manager, including the
following: audits by independent auditors; transfer agency,
Custodian,
dividend disbursing agent and shareholder recordkeeping services; taxes, if any,
and the preparation of a Fund’s tax returns; interest;
costs of Trustee and shareholder meetings; preparing, printing and mailing
prospectuses and reports to existing shareholders; fees for filing reports
with regulatory bodies and the maintenance of a Fund’s existence; legal fees;
fees to federal and state authorities for the registration of shares;
fees
and expenses of Trustees; insurance and fidelity bond premiums; fees paid to
service providers providing reports regarding adherence by the
sub-advisor
to the investment style of each Fund;
fees paid for brokerage commission analysis for the purpose of monitoring best
execution practices of
the sub-advisor;
and any extraordinary expenses of a nonrecurring nature.
The
Manager may
contractually agree
from time to time to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses for a
Fund in order to maintain competitive expense ratios
for a
Fund. The contractual expense reimbursement can be changed or terminated only in
the discretion and with the approval of a majority of a Fund’s
Board of Trustees. The Manager will itself waive fees and/or reimburse expenses
of a Fund to maintain the contractual expense ratio caps for each
applicable class of shares or make arrangements with other service providers to
do so. The Manager may also, from time to time, voluntarily waive
fees and/or reimburse expenses of a Fund. The Board approved a policy whereby
the Manager may seek repayment for such fee waivers and expense
reimbursements. Under the policy, the Manager can be reimbursed by a Fund for
any contractual or voluntary fee waivers or expense reimbursements
if reimbursement to the Manager (a) occurs within three years from the date of
the Manager’s waiver/reimbursement and (b) does not cause
a
Fund’s Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses to exceed the lesser of the
contractual percentage limit in effect at the time of the waiver/reimbursement
or the time of recoupment.
Pursuant
to a separate agreement, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. also serves as the
manager
of the Subsidiaries. The Manager does not receive additional
compensation for its management of the Subsidiaries.
The
following tables show the total management fees paid to the Manager for
management and administrative services, and the investment advisory fees
paid to the sub-advisor based on a Fund’s average daily net assets. With respect
to the American Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund and American
Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund, these figures are shown for each of the Fund’s three
most recent fiscal years ended December 31. With respect to
the American Beacon AHL Multi-Alternatives
Fund, these figures are shown for the period from the Fund’s commencement of
operations, August
17,
2023,
through the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.
The
following tables also show the management fees waived or recouped by the Manager
and the sub-advisory fees waived by the sub-advisor, if applicable.
The fees paid to the Manager were equal to 0.35% of each Fund’s average daily
net assets. In the tables below, the fees paid to the sub-advisors
are expressed both as a dollar amount and percentage of a Fund’s average daily
net assets.
|
|
| |
Management
Fees Paid to American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (Gross) |
|
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
American
Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
$5,924,218 |
$11,756,849 |
$12,584,155 |
American
Beacon AHL Multi-Alternatives Fund |
N/A |
N/A |
$38,097 |
American
Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund |
$3,098,005 |
$2,537,208 |
$1,265,963 |
|
|
| |
Sub-Advisor
Fees (Gross) |
|
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
American
Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
$16,965,092 |
33,687,648 |
$35,940,884 |
|
1.00% |
1.00% |
1.00% |
American
Beacon AHL Multi-Alternatives Fund |
N/A |
N/A |
$84,358 |
|
N/A |
N/A |
0.78% |
American
Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund |
$4,680,526 |
$3,869,157 |
$2,008,323 |
|
0.55% |
0.53% |
0.55% |
|
|
| |
Management
Fees (Waived)/Recouped |
|
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
American
Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
$(4,376) |
$(12,575) |
$0 |
American
Beacon AHL Multi-Alternatives Fund |
N/A |
N/A |
$(38,097) |
American
Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
The
sub-advisor has not waived any fees for the Funds during the three most recent
fiscal years ended December 31.
Distribution
Fees
The
Manager (or another entity approved by the Board) under a distribution plan
adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act, is
paid up to 0.25% per annum of the average daily net assets of the A Class shares
and up to 1.00% per annum of the average daily net assets of the C
Class shares of the Funds for distribution and shareholder servicing related
services, including expenses relating to selling efforts of various broker-dealers,
shareholder servicing fees and the preparation and distribution of A Class and C
Class shares advertising material and sales literature. The
Manager will receive Rule 12b-1 fees from the A Class and C Class shares
regardless of the amount of the Manager’s actual expenses related to
distribution
and shareholder servicing efforts on behalf of each Class. Thus, the Manager may
realize a profit or a loss based upon its actual distribution and
shareholder servicing related expenditures for the A Class and C Class shares.
The Manager anticipates that the Rule 12b-1 plan will benefit shareholders
by providing broader access to a Fund through broker-dealers and other financial
intermediaries who require compensation for their expenses
in order to offer shares of the Funds. The Board has not authorized Y
Class, R6 Class, R5 Class or Investor Class shares of the Funds to pay
any
fees pursuant to a distribution plan. Distribution fees pursuant to Rule 12b-1
under the Investment Company Act for the fiscal year ended December
31, 2023
were:
| |
Distribution
Fees |
|
Fund |
A
Class |
American
Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
$418,605 |
American
Beacon AHL Multi-Alternatives Fund |
$94*
|
American
Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund |
$8,279 |
* |
The
American Beacon AHL Multi-Alternatives Fund commenced operations on August
17, 2023. Therefore, fees are reported for the period August 17, 2023
through December
31, 2023. |
| |
Distribution
Fees |
Fund |
C
Class |
American
Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
$347,398 |
American
Beacon AHL Multi-Alternatives Fund |
$375*
|
American
Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund |
$100,098 |
* |
The
American Beacon AHL Multi-Alternatives Fund commenced operations on August
17, 2023. Therefore, fees are reported for the period August 17, 2023
through December
31, 2023. |
Certain
sub-advisors of the Funds or other series of the American Beacon Funds
Complex
contribute
to the Manager to support distribution
activities.
Service
Plan Fees
The
A Class, C Class, and Investor Class have each adopted a Service Plan
(collectively, the “Service Plans”). The Service Plans authorize the payment to
the
Manager (or another entity approved by the Board) of up to 0.375% per annum of
the average daily net assets of the Investor Class shares, up to 0.25%
per annum of the average daily net assets of the A Class shares and up to 0.25%
per annum of the average daily net assets of the C Class
shares.
In addition, a Fund may reimburse the Manager for certain non-distribution
shareholder services provided by financial intermediaries attributable
to Y Class and R5 Class shares,
but not R6 Class shares.
The Manager or other approved entities may spend such amounts on any activities
or
expenses primarily intended to result in or relate to the servicing of A Class,
C Class, Y Class, R5 Class, and Investor Class shares including, but not
limited
to, payment of shareholder service fees and transfer agency or sub-transfer
agency expenses. The fees, which are included as part of each Fund’s
“Other Expenses” in the Table of Fees and Expenses in the Prospectus, will be
payable monthly in arrears. The primary non-distribution shareholder
fees paid to financial intermediaries, such as plan sponsors and broker-dealers,
generally include shareholder servicing, record keeping and servicing
fees. Service Plan fees paid by the A Class, C Class, and Investor Class shares
of each Fund pursuant to the applicable Service Plan for the three
most recent fiscal years ended December 31 are set forth
below.
|
|
| |
Service
Fees |
A
Class |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
American
Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
$6,512 |
$58,746 |
$264,623 |
American
Beacon AHL Multi-Alternatives Fund |
N/A |
N/A |
$64*
|
American
Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund |
$3,151 |
$2,723 |
$8,265 |
C
Class |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
American
Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
$8,484 |
$15,802 |
$18,915 |
American
Beacon AHL Multi-Alternatives Fund |
N/A |
N/A |
$63*
|
American
Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund |
$13,317 |
$12,855 |
$7,262 |
Investor
Class |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
American
Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
$137,105 |
$212,113 |
$204,138 |
American
Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund |
$61,612 |
$51,928 |
$26,663 |
* |
The
American Beacon AHL Multi-Alternatives Fund commenced operations on August
17, 2023. Therefore, fees are reported for the period August 17, 2023
through December
31, 2023. |
Securities
Lending Fees
As
compensation for services provided by the Manager in connection with securities
lending activities conducted by a
Fund, the lending Fund pays
to the
Manager, with respect to cash collateral posted by borrowers, a fee of 10% of
the net monthly investment
income (the income
earned in the form of
interest, dividends and realized capital gains from
the investment of cash collateral, plus
any negative rebate fees paid by borrowers, less the rebate
amount
paid to borrowers as
well as
related expenses) and,
with respect to collateral
other than cash, a fee up to 10% of loan
fees
and demand premiums
paid by borrowers.
Securities
lending income is generated from the demand premium (if any) paid by the
borrower to borrow a specific security and from the return on investment
of cash collateral, reduced by negotiated rebate fees paid to the borrower and
transaction costs. To the extent that a loan is secured by non-cash
collateral, securities lending income is generated as a demand premium reduced
by transaction costs.
The
Manager has not received any fees from securities lending activities of the
Funds within the last three fiscal years.
As
of the date of this SAI, the Funds do not intend to engage in
securities lending activities.
The
SEC has granted exemptive relief that permits each Fund to invest cash
collateral received from securities lending transactions in shares of one or
more
private or registered investment companies managed by the Manager.
The Distributor
Resolute
Investment Distributors, Inc. (“RID” or “Distributor”) is the Funds’ distributor
and principal underwriter of the Funds’ shares.
RID,
located at 220 East Las Colinas Blvd., Suite 1200, Irving, Texas 75039, is a
registered broker-dealer and is a member of FINRA. The Distributor is
affiliated
with the Manager through common ownership. Under a Distribution Agreement with
the Trust, the Distributor acts as the distributor and principal
underwriter of the Trust in connection with the continuous offering of shares of
the Funds. The Distributor continually distributes shares of the Funds
on a best efforts basis. The Distributor has no obligation to sell any specific
quantity of the Funds’ shares. Pursuant to the Distribution Agreement,
to the extent applicable, the Distributor receives, and may re-allow to
broker-dealers, all or a portion of the sales charge paid by the purchasers
of A Class and C Class shares. For A Class and C Class shares, the Distributor
receives commission revenue consisting of the portion of the A
Class and C Class sales charge remaining after the allowances by the Distributor
to the broker-dealers. The Distributor retains any portion of the commission
fees that are not paid to the broker-dealers for use solely to pay distribution
related expenses.
The
aggregate sales charges paid to, or retained by, the Distributor from the sale
of shares and the CDSC retained by the Distributor on the redemption
of shares during the three most recent fiscal years ended December 31 are
shown in the table below:
|
|
|
|
| |
American
Beacon Fund |
|
Sales
Charge Revenue |
Deferred
Sales Charge Revenue |
|
Fiscal
Year |
Amount
Paid to Distributor |
Amount
Retained
by Distributor |
Amount
Paid to Distributor |
Amount
Retained
by Distributor |
American
Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
2023 |
$144,154 |
$14,198 |
$4,337 |
$0 |
|
2022 |
$372,732 |
$32,508 |
$4,844 |
$0 |
|
2021 |
$115,035 |
$8,324 |
$385 |
$0 |
American
Beacon AHL Multi-Alternatives Fund*
|
2023 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
|
2022 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
2021 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
American
Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund |
2023 |
$4,606 |
$612 |
$50 |
$0 |
|
2022 |
$27,628 |
$68 |
$1,215 |
$0 |
|
2021 |
$65,138 |
$2,490 |
$5,289 |
$0 |
* |
The
American Beacon AHL Multi-Alternatives Fund commenced operations on August
17, 2023. Therefore, fees are reported for the period August 17, 2023
through December
31, 2023. |
RID
does not receive compensation on redemptions and repurchases, brokerage
commissions, or other compensation. However, as shown in a separate chart,
RID may receive distribution fees (i.e., Rule 12b-1 fees) from certain share
classes of the Funds.
OTHER
SERVICE PROVIDERS
State
Street, located at One Congress
Street, Suite
1, Boston,
Massachusetts 02114-2016,
serves as custodian for the Funds and the Subsidiaries. State Street
also serves as the Funds’ Foreign Custody Manager pursuant to rules adopted
under the Investment Company Act, whereby it selects and monitors
eligible foreign sub-custodians. The Manager also has entered into a
sub-administration agreement with State Street. Under the sub-administration
agreement, State Street provides each Fund with certain financial reporting and
tax services.
Pursuant
to an administrative services agreement among the Manager, the Trust, American
Beacon Institutional Funds Trust and Parametric Portfolio Associates
LLC (“Parametric”), located at 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2800, Seattle, Washington
98104, Parametric provides certain administrative services related
to the equitization of cash balances for certain series of the American Beacon
Funds Complex.
SS&C
GIDS, Inc., located at 2000 Crown Colony Drive, Quincy, Massachusetts 02169 is
the transfer agent and dividend paying agent for the Trust and provides
these services to Fund shareholders.
The
Funds’ independent registered public accounting firm is PricewaterhouseCoopers
LLP, which is located at 101 Seaport Blvd., Suite 500, Boston, MA 02210.
K&L
Gates LLP, 1601 K Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20006, serves as legal counsel to
the Funds.
PORTFOLIO
MANAGERS
The
portfolio managers to each Fund (the “Portfolio Managers”) have responsibility
for the day-to-day management of accounts other than the respective
Fund. Information regarding these other accounts has been provided by the
sub-advisor and is set forth below. The number of accounts and assets
is shown as of December 31, 2023.
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Number
of Other Accounts Managed and
Assets by Account Type |
Number
of Accounts and Assets for Which Advisory
Fee is Performance-Based |
Name
of Investment
Advisor and
Portfolio Manager |
Registered
Investment
Companies |
Other
Pooled Investment
Vehicles |
Other
Accounts |
Registered
Investment
Companies |
Other
Pooled Investment
Vehicles |
Other
Accounts |
Russell
Korgaonkar |
3
($3.5 bil) |
30
($14.3 bil) |
19
($15.4 bil) |
None |
20
($7.6 bil) |
17
($15.2 bil) |
Otto
van Hemert |
3
($3.5 bil) |
10
($1.6 bil) |
6
($2.2 bil) |
None |
3
($1.0 bil) |
3
($0.5 bil) |
Conflicts
of Interest
As
noted in the table above, the Portfolio Managers manage accounts other than the
Funds. This side-by-side management may present potential conflicts
between a Portfolio Manager’s management of the Funds’ investments, on the one
hand, and the investments of the other accounts, on the other
hand. Set forth below is a description by the sub-advisor of any foreseeable
material conflicts of interest that may arise from the concurrent management
of a Fund and other accounts. The information regarding potential conflicts of
interest was provided by the sub-advisor as of December 31,
2023.
The
portfolio managers, in performing their duties with the sub-advisor, manage
accounts other than the Fund (collectively with other accounts managed
by the sub-advisor and its affiliates, “Other Accounts”). The Fund has no
interest in these activities. It is possible that conflicts of interest may
arise
in connection with the portfolio managers’ management of the Fund’s investments
on the one hand and the investments of Other Accounts for which
the portfolio managers are responsible for on the other. For example, a
portfolio manager may have conflicts of interest in allocating
management
time, resources and investment opportunities among the Fund and Other Accounts
he advises. In addition, due to differences in the investment
strategies or restrictions between the Fund and the Other Accounts, a portfolio
manager may take action with respect to another account that
differs from the action taken with respect to the Fund. In some cases, another
account managed by a portfolio manager may compensate the investment
adviser based on the performance of the securities held by that account. The
existence of such a performance based fee may create additional
conflicts of interest for the portfolio manager in the allocation of management
time, resources and investment opportunities. Whenever conflicts
of interest arise, the portfolio manager will report such potential conflict to
the compliance department in accordance with the policies and procedures
of the sub-advisor.
Compensation
Portfolio
managers at the sub-advisor are compensated through a base salary and
discretionary bonus. Base salaries are benchmarked against key competitors,
using external market data providers. Annual discretionary bonuses are based on
assessments of personal, team and company performance. Portfolio managers’
discretionary bonus compensation therefore is based upon the profitability of
the sub-advisor and the wider Man Group. Portfolio managers will typically have
part of their discretionary bonus mandatorily deferred, with the proportion
deferred increasing as total compensation increases. A share and/or fund award
is granted in respect of the deferred portion and will typically be subject to a
three- or five-year vesting period. The share awards grant participants a
conditional right over Man Group plc shares and the fund awards grant a
conditional right to receive a cash sum at a future date which is equal to the
market value of units in the selected investment products managed by Man Group
entities. For portfolio managers at the sub-advisor whose deferred award is
above $40,000, at least 25% of the deferred portion is mandatorily deferred into
one of the investment products that they manage and they can elect that up to
100% of the deferred portion is deferred into units of investment products
managed by Man Group entities (or up to 75% for portfolio managers who are
members of the Man Group executive committee). The remainder of the deferred
portion will be deferred into share awards. There are no other special
compensation schemes for the portfolio managers.
Ownership
of the Funds
A
Portfolio Manager’s beneficial ownership of a Fund is defined as the Portfolio
Manager having the opportunity to share in any profit from transactions
in the Fund, either directly or indirectly, as the result of any contract,
understanding, arrangement, relationship or otherwise. Therefore, ownership
of Fund shares by members of the Portfolio Manager’s immediate family or by a
trust of which the Portfolio Manager is a trustee could be considered
ownership by the Portfolio Manager. The tables below set forth each Portfolio
Manager’s beneficial ownership of the Fund(s) under that Portfolio
Manager’s management as provided by the sub-advisor as of December 31,
2023.
|
|
| |
Name
of Investment Advisor and Portfolio Managers |
American
Beacon AHL
Managed Futures
Strategy Fund |
American
Beacon AHL
Multi-Alternatives
Fund |
American
Beacon AHL
TargetRisk Fund |
AHL
Partners LLP |
|
|
|
Russell
Korgaonkar |
None |
None |
None |
Otto
van Hemert |
None |
None |
None |
PORTFOLIO
SECURITIES TRANSACTIONS
In
selecting brokers or dealers to execute particular transactions, the Manager and
the sub-advisor, where appropriate and permitted by law, may consider
“brokerage and research services” (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended), provision of
statistical quotations (including the quotations necessary to determine a Fund’s
NAV), and other information provided to the Funds,
to the Manager and/or
to the sub-advisor (or their affiliates), provided, however, that the Manager or
the sub-advisor must always seek best execution. Research and brokerage
services may include information on portfolio companies, economic analyses, and
other investment research services. The Trust does not allow
the Manager or sub-advisor to enter arrangements to direct transactions to
broker-dealers as compensation for the promotion or sale of Trust shares
by those broker-dealers. The Manager and the sub-advisor, where appropriate and
permitted by law, are also authorized to cause a Fund to pay a
commission (as defined in SEC interpretations) to a broker or dealer who
provides such brokerage and research services for executing a portfolio
transaction
which is in excess of the amount of the commission another broker or dealer
would have charged for effecting that transaction. The Manager
or the sub-advisor, as appropriate, must determine in good faith, however, that
such commission was reasonable in relation to the value of the
services provided, viewed in terms of that particular transaction or, where
appropriate and permitted by law, in terms of all the accounts over which
the Manager or the sub-advisor exercises investment discretion. The fees of the
sub-advisor are not reduced by reason of receipt of such brokerage
and research services. However, with disclosure to and pursuant to written
guidelines approved by the Board, as applicable, the Manager, or the
sub-advisor (or a broker-dealer affiliated with them), where appropriate and
permitted by law, may execute portfolio transactions and receive usual
and
customary brokerage commissions (within the meaning of Rule 17e-1 under the
Investment Company Act) for doing so. Brokerage and research services
obtained with Fund commissions might be used by the Manager and/or the
sub-advisor, as applicable and where appropriate and permitted by law,
to benefit their other accounts under management.
The
Manager and the sub-advisor will place their own orders to execute securities
transactions that are designed to implement the Funds’
investment objective
and policies. In placing such orders, the sub-advisor will seek best execution.
The full range and quality of services offered by the executing broker
or dealer will be considered when making these determinations. Pursuant to
written guidelines approved by the Board, as appropriate and permitted
by law, the sub-advisor of a Fund, or its affiliated broker-dealer, may execute
portfolio transactions and receive usual and customary brokerage
commissions (within the meaning of Rule 17e-1 of the Investment Company Act) for
doing so. A Fund’s turnover rate, or the frequency of
portfolio
transactions, will vary from year to year depending on market conditions and a
Fund’s cash flows. High portfolio turnover increases a Fund’s transaction
costs, including brokerage commissions, and may result in a greater amount of
recognized capital gains.
The
Investment Advisory Agreement
provides,
in substance, that in executing portfolio transactions and selecting brokers or
dealers, the principal objective
of the sub-advisor is to seek best execution. In assessing available execution
venues, the sub-advisor shall consider all factors it deems relevant,
including the breadth of the market in the security, the price of the security,
the value of any eligible research, the financial condition and execution
capability of the broker or dealer and the reasonableness of the commission, if
any, for the specific transaction and on a continuing basis. Transactions
with respect to the securities of small and emerging growth companies in
which
a Fund may invest may involve specialized services on the part
of the broker or dealer and thereby may entail higher commissions or spreads
than would be the case with transactions involving more widely traded
securities.
Each
Fund may establish brokerage commission recapture arrangements with certain
brokers or dealers. If the sub-advisor chooses to execute a transaction
through a participating broker, the broker rebates a portion of the commission
back to a Fund. Any collateral benefit received through participation
in the commission recapture program is directed exclusively to a Fund.
Neither the Manager nor the sub-advisor receives any benefits from the
commission recapture program. The sub-advisor’s participation in the brokerage
commission recapture program is optional. The sub-advisor retains full
discretion in selecting brokerage firms for securities transactions and is
instructed to use the commission recapture program for a transaction only if
it
is consistent with the sub-advisor’s obligation to seek the best execution
available.
Commission
Recapture
For
the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023,
each Fund received $0 as a result of participation in a commission recapture
program.
Brokerage
Commissions
For
the Funds’ three most recent fiscal years ended December 31, as
applicable, the following brokerage commissions were paid by the Funds.
Fluctuations
in brokerage commissions from year to year were primarily due to increases or
decreases in Fund assets resulting in increased trading. Shareholders
of these Funds bear only their pro-rata portion of such expenses.
|
|
| |
|
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
American
Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund |
$1,061,420 |
$1,560,167 |
$2,443,240 |
American
Beacon AHL Multi-Alternatives Fund*
|
N/A |
N/A |
$5,091 |
American
Beacon AHL TargetRisk Fund |
$194,818 |
$96,546 |
$65,852 |
* |
The
American Beacon AHL Multi-Alternatives Fund commenced operations on August
17, 2023. Therefore, fees are reported for the period August 17, 2023
through December
31, 2023. |
Affiliated
Broker Commissions
For
the three most recent fiscal years ended December 31, no brokerage commissions
were paid to affiliated brokers by any of the Funds.
Soft
Dollars
For
the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023,
the Funds did not direct any transactions to brokers for research
services.
Securities
Issued by Top 10 Brokers
For
the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023,
the Funds did not hold securities issued by a broker-dealer (or by its parent)
that was one of the top ten brokers
or dealers through which a Fund executed transactions or sold
shares.
ADDITIONAL
PURCHASE AND SALE INFORMATION FOR A CLASS SHARES
Sales Charge Reductions and
Waivers
As
described in the Prospectus, there are various ways to reduce your sales charge
when purchasing A Class shares. Additional information about A Class
sales charge reductions is provided below.
LOI.
The LOI may be revised upward at any time during the 13-month period of the LOI
(“LOI Period”), and such a revision will be treated as a new LOI, except
that the LOI Period during which the purchases must be made will remain
unchanged. Purchases made from the date of revision will receive the
reduced
sales charge, if any, resulting from the revised LOI. The LOI will be considered
completed if the shareholder dies within the 13-month LOI Period.
Commissions to dealers will not be adjusted or paid on the difference between
the LOI amount and the amount invested before the shareholder’s
death.
All
dividends and other distributions on shares held in escrow will be credited to
the shareholder’s account in shares (or paid in cash, if requested). If
the
intended investment is not completed within the specified LOI Period, the
purchaser may be required to remit to the transfer agent the difference
between
the sales charge actually paid and the sales charge which would have been paid
if the total of such purchases had been made at a single time.
Any dealers assigned to the shareholder’s account at the time a purchase was
made during the LOI Period will receive a corresponding commission
adjustment if appropriate. If the difference is not paid by the close of the LOI
Period, the appropriate number of shares held in escrow will be
redeemed to pay such difference. If the proceeds from this redemption are
inadequate, the purchaser may be liable to the Funds for the balance still
outstanding.
Rights of
Accumulation.
Subject to the limitations described in the aggregation policy, you may take
into account your accumulated holdings in any class
of the American Beacon Funds to determine your sales charge for A Class shares
on investments in accounts eligible to be aggregated. If you make
a gift of A Class shares, upon your request, you may purchase the shares at the
sales charge discount allowed under rights of accumulation of all of
your investments in any class of the American Beacon Funds.
Aggregation.
Qualifying investments for aggregation include those made by you and your
“immediate family” as defined in the Prospectus, if all parties
are purchasing shares for their own accounts and/or:
■ |
individual-type
employee benefit plans, such as an IRA, individual 403(b) plan or
single-participant Keogh-type plan; |
■ |
business
accounts solely controlled by you or your immediate family (for example,
you own the entire business); |
■ |
trust
accounts established by you or your immediate family (for trusts with only
one primary beneficiary, upon the trustor’s death the trust account
may
be aggregated with such beneficiary’s own accounts; for trusts with
multiple primary beneficiaries, upon the trustor’s death the trustees of
the trust
may instruct the Funds’ transfer agent to establish separate trust
accounts for each primary beneficiary; each primary beneficiary’s separate
trust account
may then be aggregated with such beneficiary’s own
accounts); |
■ |
endowments
or foundations established and controlled by you or your immediate family;
or |
■ |
529
accounts, which will be aggregated at the account owner level (Class 529-E
accounts may only be aggregated with an eligible employer
plan). |
Individual
purchases by a trustee(s) or other fiduciary(ies) may also be aggregated if the
investments are:
■ |
for
a single trust estate or fiduciary account, including employee benefit
plans other than the individual-type employee benefit plans described
above; |
■ |
made
for two or more employee benefit plans of a single employer or of
affiliated employers as defined in the Investment Company Act, excluding
the
individual-type employee benefit plans described
above; |
■ |
for
nonprofit, charitable or educational organizations, or any endowments or
foundations established and controlled by such organizations, or any
employer-sponsored
retirement plans established for the benefit of the employees of such
organizations, their endowments, or their foundations;
or |
■ |
for
individually established participant accounts of a 403(b) plan that is
treated similarly to an employer-sponsored plan for sales charge purposes
(see
“Purchases by certain 403(b) plans” under “Sales Charges” above), or made
for two or more such 403(b) plans that are treated similarly to
employer-sponsored
plans for sales charge purposes, in each case of a single employer or
affiliated employers as defined in the Investment Company Act.
Purchases made for nominee or street name accounts (securities held in the
name of a broker-dealer or another nominee such as a bank trust
department
instead of the customer) may not be aggregated with those made for other
accounts and may not be aggregated with other nominee or
street name accounts unless otherwise qualified as described
above. |
Concurrent
Purchases.
As described in the Prospectus, you may reduce your A Class sales charge by
combining simultaneous purchases in any of the American
Beacon Funds.
Other Purchases.
Pursuant to a determination of eligibility by the Manager, A Class shares of a
Fund may be sold at NAV per share (without the imposition
of a front-end sales charge) to:
1 |
current
or retired trustees, and officers of the American Beacon Funds family,
current or retired employees and directors of the Manager and its
affiliated
companies, certain family members and employees of the above persons, and
trusts or plans primarily for such persons; |
2 |
currently
registered representatives and assistants directly employed by such
representatives, retired registered representatives with respect to
accounts
established while active, or full-time employees (collectively, “Eligible
Persons”) (and their spouses, and children, including children in step
and
adoptive relationships, sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, if the Eligible
Persons or the spouses or children of the Eligible Persons are listed in
the
account registration with the spouse or parent) of broker-dealers who have
sales agreements with the Distributor (or who clear transactions
through
such dealers), plans for the dealers, and plans that include as
participants only the Eligible Persons, their spouses and/or
children; |
3 |
companies
exchanging securities with the Funds through a merger, acquisition or
exchange offer; |
4 |
insurance
company separate accounts; |
5 |
accounts
managed by the Manager, a sub-advisor to the Funds and their affiliated
companies; |
6 |
the
Manager or a sub-advisor to the Funds and their affiliated
companies; |
7 |
an
individual or entity with a substantial business relationship with, which
may include the officers and employees of the Funds’ custodian or
transfer
agent, the Manager or a sub-advisor to the Funds and their affiliated
companies, or an individual or entity related or relating to such
individual
or entity; |
8 |
full-time
employees of banks that have sales agreements with the Distributor, who
are solely dedicated to directly supporting the sale of mutual
funds; |
9 |
directors,
officers and employees of financial institutions that have a selling group
agreement with the Distributor; |
10 |
banks,
broker-dealers and other financial institutions (including registered
investment advisors and financial planners) that have entered into an
agreement
with the Distributor or one of its affiliates, purchasing shares on behalf
of clients participating in a fund supermarket or in a wrap program,
asset allocation program or other program in which the clients pay an
asset-based fee; |
11 |
clients
of authorized dealers purchasing shares in fixed or flat fee brokerage
accounts; |
12 |
Employer-sponsored
defined contribution - type plans, including 401(k) plans, 457 plans,
employer sponsored 403(b) plans, profit-sharing and money
purchase pension plans, defined benefit plans and non-qualified deferred
compensation plans, and IRA rollovers involving retirement plan
assets
invested in a Fund in the American Beacon Funds fund family;
and |
13 |
Employee
benefit and retirement plans for the Manager and its
affiliates. |
Shares
are offered at NAV per share to these persons and organizations due to
anticipated economies in sales effort and expense. Once an account is
established
under this NAV per share privilege, additional investments can be made
at NAV per share for the life of the account.
It
is possible that a broker-dealer may not be able to offer one or more of these
waiver categories. If this situation occurs, it is possible that the investor
would
need to invest through another broker-dealer in order to take advantage of these
waiver categories. The Funds may terminate or amend the terms
of these sales charge waivers at any time.
Moving Between
Accounts.
Investments in certain account types may be moved to other account types without
incurring additional A Class sales charges.
These transactions include, for example:
■ |
redemption
proceeds from a non-retirement account (for example, a joint tenant
account) used to purchase Fund shares in an IRA or other individual-type
retirement account; |
■ |
“required
minimum distributions” (as described in Section 401(a)(9) of the Internal
Revenue Code) from an IRA or other individual-type retirement
account
used to purchase Fund shares in a non-retirement account;
and |
■ |
death
distributions paid to a beneficiary’s account that are used by the
beneficiary to purchase Fund shares in a different
account. |
It
is possible that a broker-dealer may not be able to offer the ability to move
between accounts. If this situation occurs, it is possible that the investor
would
need to invest through another broker-dealer in order to take advantage of this
privilege. Please contact your financial intermediary for additional
information.
ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION REGARDING CONTINGENT DEFERRED SALES CHARGES
As
discussed in the Prospectus, the redemption of C Class shares may be subject to
a CDSC if you redeem your shares within 12 months of purchase. If you
purchased $1,000,000 or more of A Class shares of a Fund (and therefore paid no
initial sales charges) and subsequently redeem your shares within
18 months of your purchase, you may be charged a CDSC upon redemption. In
determining whether the CDSC is payable, it is assumed that shares
not subject to the CDSC are the first redeemed followed by other shares held for
the longest period of time. The CDSC will not be imposed upon
shares representing reinvested dividends or other distributions, or upon amounts
representing share appreciation. As described in the Prospectus, there
are various circumstances under which the CDSC will be waived. Additional
information about CDSC waivers is provided below.
The
CDSC is waived under the following circumstances:
■ |
Any
partial or complete redemption following death or “disability” (as defined
in the Internal Revenue Code) of a shareholder (including one who
owns
the shares with his or her spouse as a joint tenant with rights of
survivorship) from an account in which the deceased or disabled is named.
The
Manager or a Fund’s transfer agent may require documentation prior to
waiver of the charge, including death certificates, physicians’
certificates,
etc. |
■ |
Redemptions
from a systematic withdrawal plan. If the systematic withdrawal plan is
based on a fixed dollar amount or number of shares, systematic
withdrawal
redemptions are limited to no more than 10% of your account value or
number of shares per year, as of the date the Manager or a Fund’s
transfer agent receives your request. If the systematic withdrawal plan is
based on a fixed percentage of your account value, each redemption
is
limited to an amount that would not exceed 10% of your annual account
value at the time of withdrawal. |
■ |
Redemptions
from retirement plans qualified under Section 401 of the Internal Revenue
Code. The CDSC will be waived for benefit payments made by
American Beacon Funds directly to plan participants. Benefit payments
include, but are not limited to, payments resulting from death,
“disability,” “retirement,”
“separation from service” (each as defined in the Internal Revenue Code),
“required minimum distributions” (as described in Section 401(a)(9)
of the Internal Revenue Code), in-service distributions, hardships, loans
and qualified domestic relations orders. The CDSC waiver will not
apply
in the event of termination of the plan or transfer of the plan to another
financial institution. |
■ |
Redemptions
that are required minimum distributions from a traditional IRA as required
by the Internal Revenue Service. |
■ |
Involuntary
redemptions as a result of your account not meeting the minimum balance
requirements, the termination and liquidation of the Fund, or other
actions by the Fund. |
■ |
Distributions
from accounts for which the broker-dealer of record has entered into a
written agreement with the Distributor (or Manager) allowing this
waiver. |
■ |
To
return excess contributions made to a retirement
plan. |
■ |
To
return contributions made due to a mistake of
fact. |
The
following example illustrates the operation of the CDSC. Assume that you open an
account and purchase 1,000 shares at $10 per share and that six
months later the NAV per share is $12 and, during such time, you have acquired
50 additional shares through reinvestment of distributions. If at such
time you should redeem 450 shares (proceeds of $5,400), 50 shares will not be
subject to the charge because of dividend reinvestment. With respect
to the remaining 400 shares, the charge is applied only to the original cost of
$10 per share and not to the increase in NAV per share of $2 per share.
Therefore, $4,000 of the $5,400 redemption proceeds will pay the charge. At the
rate of 1.00%, the CDSC would be $40 for redemptions of C Class
shares. In determining whether an amount is available for redemption without
incurring a deferred sales charge, the purchase payments made for
all shares in your account are aggregated.
REDEMPTIONS
IN KIND
Although
each Fund intends to redeem shares in cash, each Fund reserves the right to pay
the redemption price in whole or in part by a distribution of securities
or other assets. However, shareholders always will be entitled to redeem shares
for cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of the applicable Fund’s
net asset value during any 90-day period. Redemption in kind is not as liquid as
a cash redemption. In addition, to the extent a Fund redeems its shares
in this manner, the shareholder assumes the risk of a subsequent change in the
market value of those securities, the cost of liquidating the securities
and the possibility of a lack of a liquid market for those
securities.
TAX
INFORMATION
The
tax information in the Prospectus and in this section relates solely to the
federal income tax law and assumes that each Fund
will continue to qualify
each taxable year as a “regulated investment company” (“RIC”) under the Internal
Revenue Code (as discussed below). The tax information in this
section is only a summary of certain key federal tax considerations affecting
the Funds and their shareholders and is in addition to the tax
information
provided in the Prospectus. No attempt has been made to present a complete
explanation of the federal income tax treatment of the Funds
or the tax implications to their
shareholders. The discussions here and in the Prospectus are not intended as
substitutes for careful tax planning. The
tax information is based on the Internal Revenue Code and applicable regulations
in effect, and administrative pronouncements and judicial decisions
publicly available, on the date of this SAI. Future legislative, regulatory or
administrative changes or court decisions may significantly change the
tax rules applicable to each
Fund and its
shareholders. Any of these changes or court decisions may have a retroactive
effect.
Taxation of the
Funds
Each
Fund intends to continue to qualify each taxable year for treatment as a
RIC under Subchapter M of Chapter 1 of Subtitle A of the Internal Revenue
Code. To so qualify, a
Fund (which is treated as a separate corporation for these purposes) must, among
other requirements:
■ |
Derive
at least 90% of its gross income each taxable year from (1) dividends,
interest, payments with respect to securities loans and gains from the
sale
or other disposition of securities or foreign currencies (together with
Qualifying Other Income (as defined below), “Qualifying Income”), or other
income,
including gains from options, futures or forward contracts, derived with
respect to its business of investing in securities or those currencies
(“Qualifying
Other Income”) and (2) net income derived from an interest in a “qualified
publicly traded partnership” (“QPTP”) (“Gross Income Requirement”).
A QPTP is a “publicly traded partnership” (that is, a partnership the
interests in which are “traded on an established securities market”
or “readily tradable on a secondary market (or the substantial equivalent
thereof)” (a “PTP”)) that meets certain qualifying income requirements
other than a partnership at least 90% of the gross income of which is
Qualifying Income; |
■ |
Diversify
its investments so that, at the close of each quarter of its taxable year,
(1) at least 50% of the value of its total assets is represented by cash
and
cash items, Government securities, securities of other RICs, and other
securities, with those other securities limited, in respect of any one
issuer, to
an amount that does not exceed 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets
and that does not represent more than 10% of the issuer’s outstanding
voting securities (equity securities of QPTPs being considered voting
securities for these purposes), and (2) not more than 25% of the
value
of its total assets is invested in (a) the securities (other than
Government securities or securities of other RICs) of any one
issuer, (b) the securities
(other than securities of other RICs) of two or more issuers the Fund
controls (by owning 20% or more of their voting power) that are
determined
to be engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses, or (c)
the securities of one or more QPTPs (“Diversification Requirements”);
and |
■ |
Distribute
annually to its shareholders at least the sum of 90% of its investment
company taxable income (generally, net investment income, the excess
(if any) of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss,
and net gains and losses (if any) from certain foreign currency
transactions,
all determined without regard to any deduction for dividends paid) and 90%
of its net exempt interest income (“Distribution Requirement”). |
By
qualifying for treatment as a RIC, a Fund (but not its shareholders) will be
relieved of federal income tax on the part of its investment company
taxable
income and net capital gain (i.e., the excess of net long-term capital gain over
net short-term capital loss) that it distributes to its shareholders.
If
for any taxable year a Fund does not qualify for that treatment - either (1) by
failing to satisfy the Distribution Requirement, even if it satisfies the
Gross
Income and Diversification Requirements (“Other Requirements”), or (2) by
failing to satisfy any of the Other Requirements and is unable to, or
determines
not to, avail itself of Internal Revenue Code provisions that enable a RIC to
cure a failure to satisfy any of the Other Requirements as long as the
failure “is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect” and the RIC
pays a deductible tax calculated in accordance with those provisions
and
meets certain other requirements - then for federal tax purposes, all of its
taxable income (including its net capital gain) would be subject to tax at
the
regular corporate rate without any deduction for dividends paid to its
shareholders, and the dividends it pays would be taxable to its shareholders
as
ordinary income (or possibly, (a) for individual and certain other non-corporate
shareholders (each, an “individual”), as “qualified dividend income”
(as
described in the Prospectus) (“QDI”), and/or (b) in the case of corporate
shareholders that meet certain holding period and other requirements
regarding
their Fund shares, as eligible for the dividends-received deduction (“DRD”)) to
the extent of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and
profits. Failure to qualify for RIC treatment would therefore have a negative
impact on a Fund’s income and performance. Furthermore, a Fund could
be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest,
and make substantial distributions before requalifying for RIC treatment.
It is possible that a Fund will not qualify as a RIC in any given taxable
year.
A
Fund will be subject to a nondeductible 4% federal excise tax (“Excise Tax”) to
the extent it fails to distribute by the end of any calendar year substantially
all of its ordinary income for that year and substantially all of its “capital
gain net income” for the one-year period ending on
December 31
of that year, plus certain other amounts. Each Fund intends to make sufficient
distributions by the end of each calendar year to avoid liability for the
Excise
Tax.
Taxation of Certain Investments and
Strategies
Hedging
strategies, such as entering into forward contracts and selling (writing) and
purchasing options and futures contracts, involve complex rules that
will determine for federal income tax purposes the amount, character and timing
of recognition of gains and losses a Fund may realize in connection
therewith. In general, a Fund’s (1) gains from the disposition of foreign
currencies and (2) gains from such contracts will be treated as Qualifying
Income under the Gross Income Requirement.
Dividends
and interest a Fund receives, and gains it realizes, on foreign securities may
be subject to income, withholding or other taxes imposed by foreign
countries and U.S. possessions (collectively, “foreign taxes”) that would
reduce the yield and/or total return on its securities. Tax treaties
between
certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate foreign taxes,
however, and many foreign countries do not impose taxes on capital
gains realized on investments by foreign investors. It is impossible to
determine the effective rate of a Fund’s foreign tax in advance, since the
amount
of its assets to be invested in various countries is not known.
Some
futures contracts, foreign currency contracts, and “non-equity” options (i.e.,
certain listed options, such as those on a “broad-based” securities index)
- except any “securities futures contract” that is not a “dealer securities
futures contract” (both as defined in the Internal Revenue Code) and
any
interest rate swap, currency swap, basis swap, interest rate cap, interest rate
floor, commodity swap, equity swap, equity index swap, credit default
swap,
or similar agreement - in which a Fund invests may be subject to Internal
Revenue Code section 1256 (collectively, “Section 1256 contracts”).
Any
Section 1256 contract a Fund holds at the end of its taxable year must be
“marked-to-market” (that is, treated as having been sold at that time
for
its fair market value) for federal income tax purposes, with the result that
unrealized gains or losses will be treated as though they were realized.
Sixty
percent of any net gain or loss realized on these deemed sales, and 60% of any
net realized gain or loss from any actual sales of Section 1256 contracts,
will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss, and the balance will be
treated as short-term capital gain or loss. Section 1256 contracts also
may be marked-to-market for purposes of the Excise Tax. These rules may operate
to increase the amount that a Fund must distribute to satisfy the
Distribution Requirement (i.e., with respect to the portion treated as
short-term capital gain), which will be taxable to its shareholders as ordinary
income
when distributed to them, and to increase the net capital gain a Fund
recognizes, without in either case increasing the cash available to
it.
Under
Internal Revenue Code section 988, a gain or loss (1) from the disposition of
foreign currencies, (2) except in certain circumstances, from options,
futures, and forward contracts on foreign currencies (and on financial
instruments involving foreign currencies) and from notional principal
contracts
(e.g., swaps, caps, floors, and collars) involving payments denominated in
foreign currencies, (3) on the disposition of each foreign-currency-denominated
debt security that is attributable to fluctuations in the value of the foreign
currency between the dates of acquisition and
disposition of the security, and (4) that is attributable to exchange rate
fluctuations between the time a Fund accrues interest, dividends, or other
receivables
or expenses or other liabilities denominated in a foreign currency and the time
it actually collects the receivables or pays the liabilities generally
will be treated as ordinary income or loss. These gains or losses will increase
or decrease the amount of a Fund’s investment company taxable income
to be distributed to its shareholders as ordinary income, rather than affecting
the amount of its net capital gain. If a Fund’s section 988 losses exceed
its other investment company taxable income for a taxable year, a Fund would not
be able to distribute any dividends, and any distributions made
during that year (including those made before the losses were realized) would be
characterized as a non-taxable “return of capital” to shareholders,
rather than as a dividend, thereby reducing each shareholder’s basis in his or
her Fund shares and treating any part of such distribution exceeding
that basis as gain from the disposition of those shares.
Offsetting
positions a Fund enters into or holds in any actively traded option, futures or
forward contract may constitute a “straddle” for federal income
tax purposes. Straddles are subject to certain rules that may affect the amount,
character and timing of recognition of a Fund’s gains and losses with
respect to positions of the straddle by requiring, among other things, that (1)
losses realized on disposition of one position of a straddle be deferred
to the extent of any unrealized gain in an offsetting position until the latter
position is disposed of, (2) a Fund’s holding period in certain straddle
positions not begin until the straddle is terminated (possibly resulting in gain
being treated as short-term rather than long-term capital gain), and
(3) losses recognized with respect to certain straddle positions, that otherwise
would constitute short-term capital losses, be treated as long-term capital
losses. Applicable regulations also provide certain “wash sale” rules, which
apply to transactions where a position is sold at a loss and a new offsetting
position is acquired within a prescribed period, and “short sale” rules
applicable to straddles. Different elections are available, which may
mitigate
the effects of the straddle rules, particularly with respect to a “mixed
straddle” (i.e., a straddle at least one, but not all, positions of which are
Section
1256 contracts).
When
a covered call option written (sold) by a Fund expires, a Fund will realize a
short-term capital gain equal to the amount of the premium it received
for writing the option. When a Fund terminates its obligations under such an
option by entering into a closing transaction, it will realize a short-term
capital gain (or loss), depending on whether the cost of the closing transaction
is less (or more) than the premium it received when it wrote the
option. When a covered call option written by a Fund is exercised, it
will be treated as having sold the underlying security, producing long-term or
short-term
capital gain or loss, depending on the holding period of the underlying security
and whether the sum of the option price received on the exercise
plus the premium received when it wrote the option is more or less than the
underlying security’s basis.
If
a Fund has an “appreciated financial position” - generally, any position
(including an interest through an option, futures or forward contract or short
sale)
with respect to any stock, debt instrument (other than “straight debt”) or
partnership interest the fair market value of which exceeds its adjusted
basis—and
enters into a “constructive sale” of the position, a Fund will be treated as
having made an actual sale thereof, with the result that it will recognize
gain at that time. A constructive sale generally consists of a short sale, an
offsetting notional principal contract or a futures or forward contract
a Fund or a related person enters into with respect to the same or substantially
identical property. In addition, if the appreciated financial position
is itself a short sale or such a contract, acquisition of the underlying
property or substantially identical property will be deemed a constructive
sale.
The foregoing will not apply, however, to any transaction of a Fund during any
taxable year that otherwise would be treated as a constructive sale if
the transaction is closed within 30 days after the end of that year and a Fund
holds the appreciated financial position unhedged for 60 days after that
closing (i.e., at no time during that 60-day period is a Fund’s risk of loss
regarding that position reduced by reason of certain specified transactions
with
respect to substantially identical or related property, such as having an option
to sell, being contractually obligated to sell, making a short sale or
granting
an option to buy substantially identical stock or securities).
Certain
aspects of the tax treatment of derivative instruments are currently unclear and
may be affected by changes in legislation, regulations, administrative
rules, and/or other legally binding authority that could affect the treatment of
income from those instruments and the character, timing of
recognition and amount of a Fund’s taxable income or net realized gains and
distributions. If the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) were to assert
successfully
that income a Fund derives from those investments does not constitute Qualifying
Other Income, a Fund might cease to qualify as a RIC (with
the consequences described above under “Taxation of the Funds”) or might be
required to reduce its exposure to such investments.
The Subsidiary
Each
of the American Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund and the American Beacon
AHL TargetRisk Fund invests a portion of its assets (not exceeding
the amount permitted by the 25% Diversification Requirement) in its respective
Subsidiary, which is each classified as a corporation for federal
tax purposes. A foreign corporation, such as a Subsidiary, generally is not
subject to federal income tax unless it is engaged in the conduct of a
trade
or business in the United States. Each Subsidiary is and will be operated in a
manner that is expected to meet the requirements of a safe harbor under
Section 864(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, under which it can trade in
certain commodities or stocks or securities for its own account without
being deemed to be so engaged. If, however, certain of a Subsidiary’s activities
do not meet those safe harbor requirements, it might be considered
as engaging in the conduct of such a trade or business. Even if a Subsidiary is
not so engaged, and thus does not have income “effectively connected”
with such conduct, it could be subject to a withholding tax at a rate of 30% on
all or a portion of its U.S.-source gross income.
Each
Subsidiary is treated as a “controlled foreign corporation” (a “CFC”), and each
applicable Fund is a “United States shareholder” of its Subsidiary (as
both terms are defined in the Internal Revenue Code). As a result, a Fund
utilizing a Subsidiary is required to include in its gross income each taxable
year
all of its Subsidiary’s “subpart F income,” which generally is treated as
ordinary income; it is expected that virtually all of that Subsidiary’s income
will
be “subpart F income.” If a Subsidiary realizes a net loss, that loss will not
be available to offset the respective Fund’s income. A Fund’s inclusion of
the
respective Subsidiary’s “subpart F income” in its gross income increases that
Fund’s tax basis in its shares of that Subsidiary. Distributions by a
Subsidiary
to a Fund are not taxable to the extent of its previously undistributed “subpart
F income” and reduce the Fund’s tax basis in those shares.
Although
income derived directly from commodities, including certain commodity-linked
derivative instruments, is not considered Qualifying Other Income,
the IRS issued numerous private letter rulings (“PLRs”) beginning in 2006 that a
RIC’s inclusion of “subpart F income” from a wholly owned CFC
(such as the Subsidiary) is Qualifying Other Income. A PLR may be cited as
precedent, however, only by the taxpayer(s) to which it is issued. Moreover,
in July 2011, the IRS suspended the issuance of new such PLRs. Treasury
regulations published on March 19, 2019, provide that the income a
RIC is deemed under the Internal Revenue Code to constructively derive from a
CFC in which the RIC invests as part of its business of investing in
stock
and securities will be Qualifying Other Income. Additionally, distributions the
CFC makes to the RIC out of its associated earnings and profits for the
applicable taxable year (“Annual E&P”) will qualify as dividends and,
therefore, Qualifying Income for a RIC.
In
2016, the IRS issued a revenue procedure, which provides that the IRS will not
“ordinarily” issue PLRs on any issue relating to the treatment of a corporation
as a RIC that requires a determination of whether a financial instrument or
position is a “security.” Accordingly, future PLRs regarding the status
of commodity-linked notes and other commodity-linked derivative instruments will
be rarely issued, if at all. The federal income tax treatment of each
applicable Fund’s income from its Subsidiary also may be adversely affected
further by future legislation, other Treasury regulations, and/or other
guidance
issued by the IRS that could affect the character, timing of recognition, and/or
amount of a Fund’s taxable income and/or net capital gain and,
therefore, the distributions it makes. See “-Taxation of the Funds” above
regarding the federal income tax consequences if a Fund failed to qualify
as
a RIC for any taxable year.
Taxation of the Funds’
Shareholders
General
-For
United States federal income tax purposes, distributions paid out of a Fund’s
current or accumulated earnings and profits will, except in the
case of distributions of qualified dividend income and capital gain dividends
described below, be taxable as ordinary dividend income. Certain income
distributions paid by a Fund (whether paid in cash or reinvested in additional
Fund shares) to individual taxpayers are taxed at rates applicable to
net long-term capital gains (currently 20%, 15% or 0%, depending on an
individual’s tax bracket). This tax treatment applies only if certain holding
period
requirements and other requirements are satisfied by the shareholder and the
dividends are attributable to qualified dividend income received by the
Fund itself. There can be no assurance as to what portion of a Fund’s dividend
distributions will qualify as qualified dividend income.
Distributions
of net capital gain, if any, reported as capital gains dividends are taxable to
a shareholder as long-term capital gains, regardless of how long
the shareholder has held Fund shares. (Net capital gain is the excess (if any)
of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss.) A Fund
may
elect to retain its net capital gain or a portion thereof for investment and be
taxed at corporate rates on the amount retained. In such case, it may
designate
the retained amount as undistributed capital gains in a notice to its
shareholders who will be treated as if each received a distribution of its
pro
rata share of such gain, with the result that each shareholder will: (i) be
required to report its pro rata share of such gain on its tax return as
long-term
capital gain; (ii) receive a refundable tax credit for his pro rata share of tax
paid by the Fund on the gain; and (iii) increase the tax basis for its
shares
by an amount equal to the deemed distribution less the tax credit.
Dividends
and other distributions a Fund declares in the last quarter of any calendar year
that are payable to shareholders of record on a date in that quarter
will be deemed to have been paid by the Fund and received by those shareholders
on or before December 31 of that year even if the Fund pays
the distributions during the following January. Accordingly, those distributions
will be reportable by, and taxed to, those shareholders for the taxable
year in which that December 31 falls.
If
a Fund makes a “return of capital” distribution to its shareholders – i.e., a
distribution in excess of its current and accumulated earnings and profits –
the
excess will (a) reduce each shareholder’s tax basis in its shares (thus reducing
any loss or increasing any gain on a shareholder’s subsequent taxable
disposition
of the shares) and (b) if for any shareholder the excess is greater than that
basis, be treated as realized capital gain.
Selling
shareholders will generally recognize gain or loss in an amount equal to the
difference between the shareholder’s adjusted tax basis in the shares
sold and the sale proceeds. If the shares are held as a capital asset, the gain
or loss will be a capital gain or loss. The maximum tax rate applicable
to net capital gains recognized by individuals and other non-corporate taxpayers
is: (i) the same as the maximum ordinary income tax rate for
gains recognized on the sale of capital assets held for one year or less; or
(ii) 20% for gains recognized on the sale of capital assets held for more
than
one year (as well as certain capital gain distributions) (15% or 0% for
individuals in certain tax brackets).
If
Fund shares are redeemed at a loss after being held for six months or less, the
loss will be treated as long-term, instead of short-term, capital loss to
the
extent of any capital gain distributions received on those shares. In addition,
any loss a shareholder realizes on a redemption of Fund shares will be
disallowed
to the extent the shares are replaced within a 61-day period beginning 30 days
before and ending 30 days after the redemption; in that case,
the basis in the acquired shares will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed
loss. Investors also should be aware that the price of Fund shares at any
time
may reflect the amount of a forthcoming dividend or other distribution; so if
they purchase Fund shares shortly before the record date for a distribution,
they will pay full price for the shares and receive some part of the price back
as a taxable distribution, even though it represents a partial return
of invested capital.
For
U.S. individuals with income exceeding $200,000 ($250,000 if married and filing
jointly), a 3.8% Medicare contribution tax will apply on all or a portion
of their “net investment income,” including interest, dividends, and capital
gains, which generally includes taxable distributions received from a
Fund
and taxable gains on the disposition of shares of a Fund. This 3.8% tax also
applies to all or a portion of the undistributed net investment income
of
certain shareholders that are estates and trusts.
An
investor also should be aware that the benefits of the reduced tax rate
applicable to long-term capital gains may be impacted by the application of
the
alternative minimum tax to individual shareholders.
Special
tax rules apply to investments through defined contribution plans and other
tax-qualified plans. Shareholders should consult their tax advisor to
determine
the suitability of shares of a Fund as an investment through such
plans.
If
more than 50% of the value of a Fund’s total assets at the close of any taxable
year consists of securities of foreign corporations, it will be eligible to
file
an election for that year with the IRS that would enable its shareholders to
benefit from any foreign tax credit or deduction available with respect to
any
foreign taxes it pays. Pursuant to the election, the Fund(s) would treat those
taxes as dividends paid to its shareholders and each shareholder (1)
would
be required to include in gross income, and treat as paid by the shareholder,
the shareholder’s proportionate share of those taxes, (2) would be required
to treat that share of those taxes and of any dividend the Fund paid that
represents income from foreign or U.S. possessions sources (“foreign-source
income”) as the shareholder’s own income from those sources, and (3) could
either use the foregoing information in calculating the foreign
tax credit against the shareholder’s federal income tax or, alternatively,
deduct the foreign taxes deemed paid by the shareholder in computing
taxable
income. If a Fund makes this election for a taxable year, it will report to its
shareholders shortly after that year their respective shares of the foreign
taxes it paid and its foreign-source income for that year.
An
individual shareholder of a Fund who, for a taxable year, have no more than $300
($600 for married persons filing jointly) of creditable foreign taxes
included on IRS Forms 1099 and all of whose foreign-source income is “qualified
passive income” may elect for that year to be exempt from the extremely
complicated foreign tax credit limitation for federal income tax purposes (about
which shareholders may wish to consult their tax advisers), in which
event the shareholder would be able to claim a foreign tax credit without having
to file the detailed Form 1116 that otherwise is required. A shareholder
will not be entitled to credit or deduct its portion of foreign taxes a Fund
paid that is allocable to Fund shares the shareholder has not held for
at least 16 days during the 31-day period beginning 15 days before the
ex-distribution date for those shares. The minimum holding period will be
extended
if the shareholder’s risk of loss with respect to those shares is reduced by
reason of holding an offsetting position. No deduction for foreign taxes
may be claimed by a shareholder who does not itemize deductions. A foreign
shareholder may not deduct or claim a credit for foreign taxes in determining
its federal income tax liability unless Fund dividends paid to it are
effectively connected with the shareholder’s conduct of a U.S. trade or
business.
Basis
Election and Reporting
- A Fund shareholder who wants to use an acceptable method for basis
determination with respect to Fund shares other
than the average basis method (the Funds’ default method), must elect to do so
in writing (which may be electronic). The basis determination
method
a Fund shareholder elects may not be changed with respect to a redemption
(including a redemption that is part of an exchange) of Fund shares
after the settlement date of the redemption.
In
addition to the requirement to report the gross proceeds from redemptions of
Fund shares, each Fund (or its administrative agent) must report to the
IRS
and furnish to its shareholders the basis information for Fund shares that are
redeemed or exchanged and indicate whether they had a short-term (one
year or less) or long-term (more than one year) holding period. Fund
shareholders should consult with their tax advisers to determine the best
IRS-accepted
basis determination method for their tax situation and to obtain more
information about how the basis reporting law applies to them. Fund
shareholders who acquire and hold Fund shares through a financial intermediary
should contact their financial intermediary for information related
to the basis election and reporting.
Backup
Withholding
- A Fund is required to withhold and remit to the U.S. Treasury 24% of
dividends, capital gain distributions, and redemption proceeds
(regardless of the extent to which gain or loss may be realized) otherwise
payable to any individual who fails to certify that the taxpayer identification
number furnished to the Fund is correct or who furnishes an incorrect number
(together with the withholding described in the next sentence,
“backup withholding”). Withholding at that rate also is required from each
Fund’s dividends and capital gain distributions otherwise payable to
such a shareholder who (1) is subject to backup withholding for failure to
report the receipt of interest or dividend income properly or (2) fails to
certify
to the Fund that he or she is not subject to backup withholding or that it
is a corporation or other “exempt recipient.” Backup withholding is not
an additional tax; rather, any amounts so withheld may be credited against the
shareholder’s federal income tax liability or refunded if proper documentation
is submitted to the IRS.
Non-U.S.
Shareholders
- Dividends a Fund pays to a shareholder who is a nonresident alien
individual or foreign entity (each a “non-U.S. shareholder”)
- other than (1) dividends paid to a non-U.S. shareholder whose ownership of the
Fund’s shares is effectively connected with a trade or business
within the United States the shareholder conducts and (2) capital gain
distributions paid to a nonresident alien individual who is physically
present
in the United States for no more than 182 days during the taxable year -
generally are subject to 30% federal withholding tax (unless a reduced
rate of withholding or a withholding exemption is provided under an applicable
treaty). However, two categories of dividends a Fund might pay,
“short-term capital gain dividends” and “interest-related dividends,” to
non-U.S. shareholders (with certain exceptions) and reported by it in
writing
to its shareholders are exempt from that tax. “Short-term capital gain
dividends” are dividends that are attributable to net short-term gain,
computed
with certain adjustments. “Interest-related dividends” are dividends that are
attributable to “qualified net interest income” (i.e., “qualified interest
income,” which generally consists of certain OID, interest on obligations “in
registered form,” and interest on deposits, less allocable deductions)
from sources within the United States. Non-U.S. shareholders are urged to
consult their own tax advisers concerning the applicability of that
withholding tax.
Foreign
Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) -
Under FATCA, “foreign financial institutions” (“FFIs”) and “non-financial
foreign entities” (“NFFEs”)
that are Fund shareholders may be subject to a generally nonrefundable 30%
withholding tax on income dividends a Fund pays. As discussed
more fully below, the FATCA withholding tax generally can be avoided (a) by an
FFI, if it reports certain information regarding direct and indirect
ownership of financial accounts U.S. persons hold with the FFI, and (b) by an
NFFE that certifies its status as such and, in certain circumstances,
information
regarding substantial U.S. owners. Proposed regulations (having current effect)
have been issued to eliminate certain FATCA withholding taxes,
including the withholding tax on investment sale proceeds that was scheduled to
begin in 2019, and to defer the effective date of other
taxes.
The
U.S. Treasury has negotiated intergovernmental agreements (“IGAs”) with certain
countries and is in various stages of negotiations with other foreign
countries with respect to alternative approaches to implement FATCA. An entity
in one of those countries may be required to comply with the terms
of the IGA instead of U.S. Treasury regulations. An FFI resident in a country
that has entered into a Model I IGA with the United States must report
to that country’s government (pursuant to the terms of the applicable IGA and
applicable law), which will, in turn, report to the IRS. An FFI resident
in a Model II IGA country generally must comply with U.S. regulatory
requirements, with certain exceptions, including the treatment of recalcitrant
accountholders. An FFI resident in one of those countries that complies with
whichever of the foregoing applies will be exempt from FATCA withholding.
An
FFI can avoid FATCA withholding by becoming a “participating FFI,” which
requires the FFI to enter into a tax compliance agreement with the IRS
under
the Internal Revenue Code. Under such an agreement, a participating FFI agrees
to (1) verify and document whether it has U.S. accountholders, (2)
report certain information regarding their accounts to the IRS, and (3) meet
certain other specified requirements.
An
NFFE that is the beneficial owner of a payment from a Fund can avoid FATCA
withholding generally by certifying its status as such and, in certain
circumstances,
either that (1) it does not have any substantial U.S. owners or (2) it does have
one or more such owners and reports the name, address, and
taxpayer identification number of each such owner. The NFFE will report to a
Fund or other applicable withholding agent, which may, in turn, report
information to the IRS.
Those
foreign shareholders also may fall into certain exempt, excepted, or deemed
compliant categories established by U.S. Treasury regulations, IGAs,
and
other guidance regarding FATCA. An FFI or NFFE that invests in a Fund will need
to provide it with documentation properly certifying the entity’s status
under FATCA to avoid FATCA withholding. The requirements imposed by FATCA are
different from, and in addition to, the tax certification rules to
avoid backup withholding described above. Foreign investors are urged to consult
their tax advisers regarding the application of these requirements to
their own situation and the impact thereof on their investment in a
Fund.
Other
Taxes
- Statutory rules and regulations regarding state and local taxation of ordinary
income dividends, QDI dividends and
net capital and foreign
currency gain distributions may differ from the federal income taxation rules
described above. Distributions may also be subject to additional state,
local and foreign taxes depending on each shareholder’s situation.
Investors
should consult their own tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences to
them of an investment in a Fund based on their particular circumstances.
The
Funds do not expect
to receive a ruling from any tax authority or an opinion of tax counsel with
respect to its treatment of any tax positions.
Tax consequences of transactions are not the primary consideration of a Fund in
implementing its investment strategy.
DESCRIPTION
OF THE TRUST
The
Trust is an entity of the type commonly known as a “Massachusetts business
trust.” Under Massachusetts law, shareholders of such a trust may, under
certain circumstances, be held personally liable for its obligations. However,
the Trust’s Declaration of Trust contains an express disclaimer of shareholder
liability for acts or obligations of the Trust and provides for indemnification
and reimbursement of expenses out of Trust property for any shareholder
held personally liable for the obligations of the Trust. The Declaration of
Trust also provides that the Trust may maintain appropriate insurance
(e.g., fidelity bonding) for the protection of the Trust, its shareholders,
Trustees, officers, employees and agents to cover possible tort and other
liabilities. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss due to
shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which both inadequate
insurance
existed and the Trust itself was unable to meet its obligations. The Trust has
not engaged in any other business.
The
Trust was originally created to manage money for large institutional investors.
The following individuals (and members of that individual’s “immediate
family”) are eligible to purchase shares of the R5 Class with an initial
investment of less than $250,000: (i) employees of the Manager, or its
parent company, Resolute Investment Managers, Inc. (“RIM”), (ii) employees of a
sub-advisor for Funds where it serves as sub-advisor, (iii) members of
the Board, and
(iv)
members of the Manager’s Board of Directors. The term “immediate family” refers
to one’s spouse, children, grandchildren, grandparents,
parents, parents-in-law, brothers and sisters, sons- and daughters-in-law, a
sibling’s spouse, a spouse’s sibling, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews;
relatives by virtue of remarriage (step-children, step-parents, etc.) are
included. Any shareholders that the Manager transfers to the R5 Class
upon
termination of the class of shares in which the shareholders were originally
invested is also eligible for purchasing shares of the R5 Class with an
initial
investment of less than $250,000.
The
Investor Class was created to give individuals and other smaller investors an
opportunity to invest in the American Beacon Funds. The R5 and Y Classes
were created to manage money for large institutional investors, including
pension and 401(k) plans. The A Class and C Class were created for investors
investing in the American Beacon Funds through their broker-dealers or other
financial intermediaries. The R6 Class was created to provide third
party intermediaries an investment option for the large 401(k) plans that does
not charge 12b-1 or sub-transfer agency fees.
FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS
The
Funds’ independent registered public accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers
LLP, audits and reports on the Funds’ annual financial statements. The
audited financial statements include the schedule of investments, statement of
assets and liabilities, statement of operations, statements of changes
in net assets, financial highlights, notes and report of independent registered
public accounting firm.
APPENDIX
A
Ratings
Definitions
Below
are summaries of the ratings definitions used by some of the rating
organizations. Those ratings represent the opinion of the rating organizations
as to the credit quality of the issues that they rate. The summaries are based
upon publicly available information provided by the rating organizations.
Ratings of Long-Term Obligations and
Preferred Stocks
— A Fund utilizes ratings provided by rating organizations in order to determine
eligibility of long-term
obligations. The ratings described in this section may also be used for
evaluating the credit quality for preferred stocks.
Credit
ratings typically evaluate the safety of principal and interest payments, not
the market value risk of bonds. The rating organizations may fail to
update
a credit rating on a timely basis to reflect changes in economic or financial
conditions that may affect the market value of the security. For these
reasons, credit ratings may not be an accurate indicator of the market value of
a bond.
The
four highest Moody’s ratings for long-term obligations (or issuers thereof) are
Aaa, Aa, A and Baa. Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest
quality,
subject to the lowest level of credit risk. Obligations rated Aa are judged to
be of high quality and are
subject
to very low credit risk. Obligations
rated A are judged to be upper-medium grade and are
subject
to low credit risk. Obligations rated Baa are judged to be medium-grade
and
subject to moderate credit risk and, as such, may possess certain speculative
characteristics.
Moody’s
ratings of Ba, B, Caa, Ca and C are considered below investment grade.
Obligations rated Ba are judged to be
speculative and
are subject to substantial
credit risk. Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are
subject
to high credit risk. Obligations rated Caa are judged to be speculative,
of
poor standing and subject to very high credit risk. Obligations rated Ca are
highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some
prospect of recovery of principal and interest. Obligations rated C are the
lowest rated and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery
of
principal or interest. Moody’s appends
numerical modifiers 1, 2, and 3 to each generic rating classification from Aa
through Caa. The modifier 1 indicates
that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the
modifier 2 indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier 3 indicates
a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category. Additionally, a
“(hyb)” indicator is appended to all ratings of hybrid securities issued
by banks, insurers, finance companies, and securities firms. By their terms,
hybrid securities allow for the omission of scheduled dividends, interest,
or principal payments, which can potentially result in impairment if such an
omission occurs. Hybrid securities may also be subject to contractually
allowable write-downs of principal that could result in impairment. Together
with the hybrid indicator, the long-term obligation rating assigned
to a hybrid security is an expression of the relative credit risk associated
with that security.
The
four highest S&P Global ratings for long-term obligations are AAA, AA, A and
BBB. An obligation rated AAA has the highest rating assigned by S&P
Global and indicates that the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial
commitments on the obligation is extremely strong. An obligation rated AA
differs
from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligor’s
capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is very
strong.
An obligation rated A is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of
changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations
in higher-rated categories. However, the obligor’s capacity to meet its
financial commitments on the obligation is still strong. An obligation
rated
BBB exhibits adequate protection parameters; however, adverse economic
conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to weaken the obligor’s
capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.
S&P
Global ratings of BB, B, CCC, CC, and
C
are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. BB indicates the
least degree of speculation and
C the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and
protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties
or
major exposure to adverse conditions. An obligation rated BB is less vulnerable
to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major
ongoing
uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions
that
could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its
financial commitments on the obligation. An obligation rated B is more
vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated BB, but the obligor currently
has the capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation. Adverse
business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligor’s
capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitments on the obligation. An
obligation rated CCC is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and
is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the
obligor to meet its financial commitments on the obligation. In the
event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not
likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitments on the
obligation.
An obligation rated CC is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The CC
rating is used when a default has not yet occurred but S&P Global
expects default to be a virtual certainty, regardless of the anticipated time to
default. An obligation rated C is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment,
and the obligation is expected to have lower relative seniority or lower
ultimate recovery compared with obligations that are rated higher. An
obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For
non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments
on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless S&P Global believes
that such payments will be made within the
next five
business days
in the absence of a stated grace period or within the earlier of the stated
grace period or the next 30 calendar days. The D rating also will be used
upon
the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where
default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic
stay provisions. A
rating on an obligation
is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed debt restructuring. An SD
(selective default) rating is assigned
when S&P Global believes that the obligor has selectively defaulted on a
specific issue or class of obligations but it will continue to meet its
payment
obligations on other issues or classes of obligations in a timely manner. The
ratings from AA to CCC may be modified by the addition of a plus
(+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the rating
categories.
The
four highest ratings for long-term obligations by Fitch Ratings are AAA, AA, A
and BBB. Obligations rated AAA are deemed to be of the highest credit
quality. AAA ratings denote the lowest expectation of credit risk. They are
assigned only in cases of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of
financial
commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by
foreseeable events. Obligations rated AA are deemed to be of very high
credit quality. AA ratings denote expectations of very low credit risk. They
indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This
capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events. Obligations
rated A are deemed to be of high credit quality. An A rating denotes
expectations
of low credit risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is
considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable
to adverse
business or
economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings. Obligations rated BBB
are deemed to be of good credit
quality.
BBB ratings indicate that expectations of credit
risk are currently low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is
considered adequate,
but adverse business or economic conditions are more likely to impair this
capacity. This is the lowest investment grade category.
Fitch’s
ratings of BB, B, CCC, CC, C, RD and D are considered below investment grade or
speculative grade. Obligations rated BB are deemed to be speculative.
BB ratings indicate an elevated vulnerability to credit risk, particularly in
the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over
time; however, business or financial alternatives may be available to allow
financial commitments to be met. Obligations rated B are deemed to be
highly
speculative. B ratings indicate that material credit risk is present, but a
limited margin of safety remains. Financial commitments are currently
being
met; however, the capacity for continued payment is vulnerable to deterioration
in the business and economic environment. CCC ratings indicate
that substantial credit risk is present. CC ratings indicate very high levels of
credit risk. C indicates exceptionally high levels of credit risk Obligations
rated C indicate a default or default-like process had begun, or the issuer is
in standstill, or for a closed funding vehicle, payment capacity is
irrevocably impaired. Ratings in the categories of ‘CCC’, ‘CC’, and ‘C’ can also
relate to obligations or issuers that are in default. In this case, the
rating
does not opine on default risk but reflects the recovery expectation only.
Conditions that are indicative of a C category rating for an issuer include:
(a) the issuer has entered into a grace or cure period following non-payment of
a material financial obligation; (b) the issuer has entered into a temporary
negotiated waiver or standstill agreement following a payment default on a
material financial obligation; (c) the formal announcement by the
issuer or their agent of a distressed debt exchange; or (d) a closed financing
vehicle where payment capacity is irrevocably impaired such that it is
not
expected to pay interest and/or principal in full during the life of the
transaction, but where no payment default is imminent. Obligations rated RD
indicate
an issuer that, in Fitch Ratings’ opinion, has experienced an uncured payment
default or distressed debt exchange on a bond, loan or other material
financial obligation but which has not entered into bankruptcy filings,
administration, receivership, liquidation or other formal winding-up
procedure,
and which has not otherwise ceased operating. This would include: (a) the
selective payment default on a specific class or currency of debt; (b)
the uncured expiry of any applicable grace period, cure period or default
forbearance period following a payment default on a bank loan, capital
markets
security or other material financial obligation; (c) the extension of multiple
waivers or forbearance periods upon a payment default on one or more
material financial obligations, either in series or in parallel; or (d) ordinary
execution of a distressed debt exchange on one or more material financial
obligations. Obligations rated D indicate an issuer that, in Fitch Ratings’
opinion, has entered into bankruptcy filings, administration, receivership,
liquidation or other formal winding-up procedure or that has otherwise ceased
business. Default ratings are not assigned prospectively to entities
or their obligations; within this context, non-payment on an instrument that
contains a deferral feature or grace period will generally not be considered
a default until after the expiration of the deferral or grace period, unless a
default is otherwise driven by bankruptcy or other similar circumstance,
or by a distressed debt exchange. In all cases, the assignment of a default
rating reflects the agency’s opinion as to the most appropriate rating
category consistent with the rest of its universe of ratings and may differ from
the definition of default under the terms of an issuer’s financial obligations
or local commercial practice. The modifiers “+” or “-” may be appended to a
rating to denote relative status within major rating categories.
Such suffixes are not added to the AAA obligation rating category, or to
corporate finance obligation ratings in the categories below CCC.
Ratings of Municipal
Obligations
— Moody’s ratings for short-term investment-grade municipal obligations are
designated Municipal Investment Grade (MIG
or VMIG in the case of variable rate demand obligations) and are divided into
three levels — MIG/VMIG 1, MIG/VMIG 2, and
MIG/VMIG
3.
The MIG/VMIG
1 designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded
by established
cash flows, highly reliable liquidity support, or demonstrated
broad-based access to the market for refinancing.
The MIG/VMIG 2 designation denotes strong credit quality. Margins
of protection are ample,
although not as large as in the preceding group. The MIG/VMIG 3 designation
denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash-flow protection
may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less
well-established. An SG designation denotes speculative-grade credit
quality.
Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of
protection.
S&P
Global uses SP-1, SP-2, SP-3, and D to rate short-term municipal obligations. A
rating of SP-1 denotes a strong capacity to pay principal and interest.
An issue determined to possess a very strong capacity to pay debt service is
given a plus (+) designation. A rating of SP-2 denotes a satisfactory
capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse
financial and economic changes over the term of the notes. A rating
of SP-3 denotes a speculative capacity to pay principal and interest. A rating
of D is assigned upon failure to pay the note when due, completion of
a distressed debt restructuring, or the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the
taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual
certainty,
for example due to automatic stay provisions.
Ratings of Short-Term
Obligations
— Moody’s short-term ratings, designated as P-1, P-2, P-3, or NP, are opinions
of the ability of issuers to honor short-term
financial obligations that generally have an original maturity not exceeding
thirteen months. The rating P-1 (Prime-1) is the highest short-term
rating assigned by Moody’s and it denotes an issuer (or supporting institution)
that has a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
The rating P-2 (Prime-2) denotes an issuer (or supporting institution) that has
a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations. The rating
P-3 (Prime-3) denotes an issuer (or supporting institution) that has an
acceptable ability to
repay
short-term obligations.
The rating NP (Not Prime)
denotes an issuer (or supporting institution) that does not fall within any of
the Prime rating categories.
S&P
Global short-term ratings are generally assigned to those obligations considered
short-term in the relevant market. In the U.S., for example, that typically
means
obligations with an original maturity of no more than 365 days.
A short-term obligation rated A-1 is rated in the highest category by
S&P
Global and indicates that the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial
commitments on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain
obligations
are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligor’s capacity
to meet its financial commitments on these obligations is extremely
strong. A short-term obligation rated A-2 is somewhat more susceptible to the
adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions
than obligations in higher
rating categories.
However, the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the
obligation is satisfactory.
A short-term obligation rated A-3 exhibits adequate protection parameters.
However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances
are more likely to weaken the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial
commitments on the obligation. A short-term obligation rated B is regarded
as vulnerable and has significant speculative characteristics. The obligor
currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments; however,
it faces major ongoing uncertainties that
could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial
commitments.
A short-term obligation
rated C is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable
business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to
meet its financial commitments on the obligation. A short-term obligation rated
D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital
instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are
not made on the date due, unless S&P Global believes that such
payments
will be made within any stated grace period. However, any stated grace period
longer than five business days will be treated as five business days.
The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the
taking of a similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual
certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligation’s rating
is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed debt restructuring. An
SD
rating is assigned when S&P Global believes that the obligor has selectively
defaulted on a specific issue or class of obligations but it will continue to
meet
its payment obligations on other issues or classes of obligations in a timely
manner.
Fitch
Rating’s Short-Term Ratings are assigned to obligations whose initial maturity
is viewed as “short term” based on market convention (a long-term rating
can also be used to rate an issue with short maturity). Typically, this means
a
timeframe of up
to 13 months for corporate, sovereign, and structured
obligations and up to 36 months for obligations in U.S. public finance markets.
A short-term
issuer or obligation rating is based in all cases on
the short-term vulnerability to default of the rated entity and relates to the
capacity to meet financial obligations in accordance with the documentation
governing the relevant obligation. Short-term deposit ratings may be adjusted
for loss severity. A rating of
F1 denotes an obligation of the
highest short-term credit quality. It indicates the strongest intrinsic capacity
for timely payment of financial commitments and may have an added “+”
to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature. A rating of F2 denotes good
short-term credit quality. It indicates a good intrinsic capacity for
timely
payment of financial commitments. A rating of F3 denotes fair short-term credit
quality. It
indicates that the
intrinsic capacity for timely payment of
financial commitments is adequate. A rating of B denotes an obligation that is
of speculative short-term credit quality, indicating minimal capacity
for
timely payment of financial commitments as well as heightened vulnerability to
near term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions. A rating
of C denotes a high short-term default risk,
and indicates that default
is a real possibility. A rating of RD indicates an entity that has defaulted on
one
or more of its financial commitments, although it continues to meet other
financial obligations. RD is typically applicable to entity ratings only. A
rating
of D indicates a broad-based default event for an entity,
or the default of a short-term obligation.
APPENDIX
B
GLOSSARY
| |
American
Beacon or the Manager |
American
Beacon Advisors, Inc. |
Beacon
Funds or Trust |
American
Beacon Funds |
Board |
Board
of Trustees |
Brexit |
The
United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union |
CCO |
Chief
Compliance Officer |
CDSC |
Contingent
Deferred Sales Charge |
CFTC |
Commodity
Futures Trading Commission |
CPO |
Commodity
Pool Operator |
Denial
of Services |
A
cybersecurity incident that results in customers or employees being
unable
to access electronic systems |
Dividends |
Distributions
from a Fund’s net investment income |
Dodd-Frank
Act |
Dodd-Frank
Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act |
DRD |
Dividends-received
deduction. |
ETF |
Exchange-Traded
Fund |
ETN |
Exchange-Traded
Note |
EU |
European
Union |
FINRA |
Financial
Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. |
Forwards |
Forward
Currency Contracts |
Holdings
Policy |
Policies
and Procedures for Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings |
Internal
Revenue Code |
Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended |
Investment
Company Act |
Investment
Company Act of 1940, as amended |
IRA |
Individual
Retirement Account |
IRS |
Internal
Revenue Service |
Junk
Bonds |
High
yield, non-investment grade bonds |
LIBOR |
ICE
LIBOR |
LOI |
Letter
of Intent |
Management
Agreement |
A
Fund’s Management Agreement with the Manager |
Manager |
American
Beacon Advisors, Inc. |
Moody’s |
Moody’s
Investors Service, Inc. |
NAV |
Net
asset value |
NDF |
Non-deliverable
forward contracts |
NYSE |
New
York Stock Exchange |
OID |
Original
Issue Discount |
OTC |
Over-the-Counter |
Proxy
Policy |
Proxy
Voting Policy and Procedures |
QDI |
Qualified
Dividend Income |
RIC |
Regulated
Investment Company |
S&P
Global |
S&P
Global Ratings |
SAI |
Statement
of Additional Information |
SEC |
Securities
and Exchange Commission |
Securities
Act |
Securities
Act of 1933, as amended |
State
Street |
State
Street Bank and Trust Co. |
TIPS |
Treasury
Inflation Protected Securities |
Trustee
Retirement Plan |
Trustee
Retirement and Trustee Emeritus and Retirement Plan |
UK |
United
Kingdom |