THE ADVISORS’ INNER CIRCLE FUND
Acadian Emerging Markets Portfolio
(Investor Class: )
(Y Class: )
(I Class: )
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INVESTOR
CLASS, Y CLASS AND |
PROSPECTUS March 1, 2022 |
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Investment Adviser:
ACADIAN ASSET MANAGEMENT LLC |
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
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Table of Contents |
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Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries |
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The Acadian Emerging Markets Portfolio (the “Fund”) seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in common stocks of emerging market country issuers.
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.
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Redemption Fee |
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As a percentage of amount redeemed, if redeemed within 30 days of purchase1 |
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| Redemption Fee (As a percentage of Amount Redeemed) |
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Investor
Class |
Y
Class |
I
Class |
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Management Fees |
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Other Expenses |
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Shareholder Servicing Fees |
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Other Operating Expenses |
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Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
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Investor Class Shares
Y Class Shares
I Class Shares
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has
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a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
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1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
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Investor Class Shares |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Y Class Shares |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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I Class Shares |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
The
Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells
securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may
indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund
shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in
total annual Fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s
performance. During its most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover
rate was
The Fund will invest primarily in common stocks but also may invest in other types of equity securities, including preferred stock. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities of issuers that at the time of initial purchase:
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Have their principal securities trading market in an emerging market country; |
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Alone or on a consolidated basis derive 50% or more of annual revenue from goods produced, sales made or services performed in emerging market countries; or |
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Are organized under the laws of, and have a principal office in, an emerging market country. |
This investment policy may be changed by the Fund upon 60 days’ prior written notice to shareholders.
An “emerging market country” is any country that is included in the Morgan Stanley Capital International Emerging Markets Index (the “Index”) or that is publicly announced to be added to the Index. The Fund may also invest in securities of issuers located in industrialized countries.
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Foreign securities include securities of companies located outside the United States, American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”) and exchange traded funds that invest in foreign securities. ADRs are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer that are issued by depositary banks and traded on U.S. exchanges. GDRs are similar to ADRs, except that European banks or trust companies typically issue them. The Fund also may invest in securities issued by small capitalization companies.
In selecting investments for the Fund, Acadian Asset Management LLC (the “Adviser” or “Acadian”) pursues an active, disciplined investment approach that forecasts markets and securities using a range of quantitative factors related to valuation, earnings, quality, price patterns, economic data and risk. Buy and sell decisions are made objectively and driven by changes in expected returns on investments. In making buy and sell decisions, Acadian analyzes the risk and expected return characteristics of the portfolio’s current holdings as compared to the entire universe of institutionally investable companies with sufficient liquidity and data availability. Less attractive securities are discarded from the portfolio while more attractive securities are added, provided that the cost of the purchase and sale of such securities do not exceed the expected value added to the portfolio of such investment decisions.
As
with all mutual funds, there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its
investment objective.
Active Management Risk – The Fund is subject to the risk that the Adviser’s judgments about the attractiveness, value, or potential appreciation of the Fund’s investments may prove to be incorrect. If the investments selected and strategies employed by the Fund fail to produce the intended results, the Fund could underperform in comparison to other funds with similar objectives and investment strategies.
Equity Risk – Since it purchases equity securities, the Fund is subject to the risk that stock prices may fall over short or extended periods of time. Historically, the equity markets have moved in cycles, and the value of the Fund’s equity securities may fluctuate drastically from day-to-day. Individual companies may report poor results or be negatively affected
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by industry and/or economic trends and developments. The prices of securities issued by such companies may suffer a decline in response. In addition, the impact of any epidemic, pandemic or natural disaster, or widespread fear that such events may occur, could negatively affect the global economy, as well as the economies of individual countries, the financial performance of individual companies and sectors, and the markets in general in significant and unforeseen ways. Any such impact could adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the securities and other instruments in which the Fund invests, which in turn could negatively impact the Fund’s performance and cause losses on your investment in the Fund. These factors contribute to price volatility, which is the principal risk of investing in the Fund. This risk is greater for small- and medium-sized companies, which tend to be more vulnerable to adverse developments than larger companies.
Emerging Markets Securities Risk – Investments in emerging markets securities are considered speculative and subject to heightened risks in addition to the general risks of investing in non-U.S. securities. Unlike more established markets, emerging markets may have governments that are less stable, markets that are less liquid and economies that are less developed. Securities of foreign companies may not be registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and foreign companies are generally not subject to the regulatory controls imposed on U.S. issuers and, as a consequence, there is generally less publicly available information about foreign securities than is available about domestic securities. Income from foreign securities owned by the Fund may be reduced by a withholding tax at the source, which tax would reduce income received from the securities comprising the portfolio. In addition, emerging markets securities may be issued by companies with smaller market capitalizations and may suffer periods of relative illiquidity, significant price volatility, restrictions on foreign investment, and possible restrictions on repatriation of investment income and capital. Furthermore, emerging market governments may have limited ability to raise taxes or authorize appropriations for debt repayment. In addition, foreign investors may be required to register the proceeds of sales, and future economic or political crises could lead to price controls, forced mergers, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, seizure, nationalization or creation of government monopolies.
Small Capitalization Company Risk – The smaller capitalization companies that the Fund invests in may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies. In particular, investments in these small companies may pose additional risks, including liquidity risk, because these companies tend to have limited
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product lines, markets and financial resources, and may depend upon a relatively small management group. Therefore, small capitalization stocks may be more volatile than those of larger companies. These securities may be traded over-the-counter or listed on an exchange. The Fund is also subject to the risk that the Adviser’s particular investment style, which focuses on small capitalization stocks, may underperform other segments of the equity market or the equity market as a whole.
Foreign Company Risk – Investing in foreign companies, whether through investments made in foreign markets or made through the purchase of ADRs and GDRs, which are traded on exchanges and represent an ownership in a foreign security, poses additional risks since political and economic events unique to a country or region will affect those markets and their issuers. Political events (civil unrest, national elections, changes in political conditions and foreign relations, imposition of exchange controls and repatriation restrictions), social and economic events (labor strikes, rising inflation) and natural disasters occurring in a country where the Fund invests could cause the Fund’s investments in that country to experience gains or losses. These risks will not necessarily affect the U.S. economy or similar issuers located in the United States. In addition, investments in foreign companies are generally denominated in a foreign currency. As a result, changes in the value of those currencies compared to the U.S. dollar may affect (positively or negatively) the value of the Fund’s investments. These currency movements may occur separately from, and in response to, events that do not otherwise affect the value of the security in the issuer’s home country. In addition, periodic U.S. Government restrictions on investments in issuers from certain foreign countries may require the Fund to sell such investments at inopportune times, which could result in losses to the Fund. While ADRs and GDRs provide an alternative to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their respective national markets and currencies, investments in ADRs and GDRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities.
Foreign Currency Risk – Because non-U.S. securities are usually denominated in currencies other than the dollar, the value of the Fund’s portfolio may be influenced by currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations. The currencies of emerging market countries may experience significant declines against the U.S. dollar, and devaluation may occur subsequent to investments in these currencies by the Fund. Inflation and rapid fluctuations in inflation rates have had, and may continue to have, negative effects on the economies and securities markets of certain emerging market countries.
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Geographic Focus Risk – To the extent that it focuses its investments in a particular country or region, the Fund may be more susceptible to economic, political, regulatory or other events or conditions affecting issuers and countries within that country or region. As a result, the Fund may be subject to greater price volatility and risk of loss than a fund holding more geographically diverse investments.
Prior to October 31, 2016, the Fund’s Investor Class Shares were called “Institutional Class Shares,” and were not subject to the shareholder servicing fees currently applicable to Investor Class Shares. The Investor Class Shares performance provided below for the periods prior to October 31, 2016 represents the performance of Investor Class Shares when they were called Institutional Class Shares and does not include the shareholder servicing fees currently applicable to Investor Class Shares.
Updated
performance information is available by calling
| Year | Percent |
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2013 |
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| 2018 | ( |
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| 2021 |
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This table compares the Fund’s average annual total returns for the periods ended December 31, 2021 to those of an appropriate broad based index.
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Acadian Emerging Markets
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1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years |
Since
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Fund Returns Before Taxes |
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Investor Class Shares |
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Y Class Shares |
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I Class Shares |
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Fund Returns After Taxes on Distributions |
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Investor Class Shares |
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Fund Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
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Investor Class Shares |
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MSCI Emerging Markets Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes) |
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Investment Adviser
Acadian Asset Management LLC
Portfolio Managers
Brendan Bradley, Ph.D., Chief Investment Officer, has managed the Fund since 2013.
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Ryan Taliaferro, Ph.D., Director of Equity Strategies, has managed the Fund since 2018.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
To purchase shares of the Fund for the first time, you must invest at least $2,500 for Investor Class Shares, $100,000 for Y Class Shares and $1,000,000 for I Class Shares. Subsequent investments must be at least $1,000 for Investor Class Shares. There are no minimums for subsequent investments in Y Class Shares or I Class Shares.
If you own shares directly, you may sell your shares on any day that the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) is open for business (a “Business Day”) via Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) (subject to certain account minimums) or by contacting the Fund directly by mail at Acadian Emerging Markets Portfolio, P.O. Box 219009, Kansas City, MO 64121-9009 (Express Mail Address: Acadian Emerging Markets Portfolio, c/o DST Systems, Inc., 430 West 7th Street, Kansas City, MO 64105) or by telephone at 1-866-AAM-6161 (1-866-226-6161).
If you own your shares through an account with a broker or other institution, contact that broker or institution to sell your shares. Your broker or institution may charge a fee for its services in addition to the fees charged by the Fund.
Tax Information
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or IRA, in which case your distributions will be taxed when withdrawn from the tax-deferred account.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s web site for more information.
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Investing With The Fund |
This section tells you how to purchase, sell (sometimes called “redeem”) and exchange Investor Class Shares, Y Class Shares and I Class Shares of the Fund.
For information regarding the federal income tax consequences of transactions in shares of the Fund, including information about cost basis reporting, see “Federal Taxes.”
How to Choose a Share Class
The Fund offers three classes of shares to investors, Investor Class Shares, Y Class Shares and I Class Shares. Each share class has its own investment minimums, cost structure and other features. The following summarizes the primary features of Investor Class Shares, Y Class Shares and I Class Shares. Contact your financial intermediary or the Fund for more information about the Fund’s share classes and how to choose between them.
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Class Name |
Investment Minimums |
Fees |
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Investor Class Shares |
Initial – $2,500
Subsequent – $1,000 |
0.25% Shareholder Servicing Fee |
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Y Class Shares |
Initial – $100,000
Subsequent – None |
0.10% Shareholder Servicing Fee |
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I Class Shares |
Initial – $1,000,000
Subsequent – None |
No Shareholder Servicing Fee |
Investor Class Shares, Y Class Shares and I Class Shares are offered to investors who purchase shares directly from the Fund or through certain financial intermediaries such as financial planners, investment advisors, broker-dealers or other financial institutions. An investor is eligible to purchase any class of shares for which it meets the minimum investment requirements. An investor may be eligible to purchase more than one share class. However, if you purchase shares through a financial intermediary, you may only purchase that class of shares which your financial intermediary sells or services. Your financial intermediary can tell you which class of shares is available through the intermediary.
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The Fund reserves the right to change the criteria for eligible investors and waive or reduce the minimum investment requirements for any share class in its sole discretion.
Buying Shares
All investments must be made by check, wire or ACH Transfer. All checks must be made payable in U.S. dollars and drawn on U.S. financial institutions. The Fund does not accept purchases made by third-party checks, credit cards, credit card checks, cash, traveler’s checks, money orders or cashier’s checks.
The Fund reserves the right to suspend all sales of new shares or to reject any specific purchase order, including exchange purchases, for any reason. The Fund is not intended for excessive trading by shareholders in response to short-term market fluctuations. For more information about the Fund’s policy on excessive trading, see “Excessive Trading Policies and Procedures.”
The Fund does not generally accept investments by non-U.S. persons. Non-U.S. persons may be permitted to invest in the Fund subject to the satisfaction of enhanced due diligence. Please contact the Fund for more information.
By Mail
You can open an account with the Fund by sending a check and your account application to the address below. You can add to an existing account by sending the Fund a check and, if possible, the “Invest by Mail” stub that accompanies your confirmation statement. Be sure your check identifies clearly your name, your account number, the Fund name and share class. Make your check payable to “Acadian Emerging Markets Portfolio.”
Regular Mail Address
Acadian
Emerging Markets Portfolio
P.O. Box 219009
Kansas City, MO 64121-9009
Express Mail Address
Acadian
Emerging Markets Portfolio
c/o DST Systems, Inc.
430 West 7th Street
Kansas City, MO 64105
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The Fund does not consider the U.S. Postal Service or other independent delivery services to be its agents. Therefore, deposit in the mail or with such services of purchase orders does not constitute receipt by the Fund’s transfer agent. The share price used to fill the purchase order is the next price calculated by the Fund after the Fund’s transfer agent receives the order in proper form at the P.O. Box provided for regular mail delivery or the office address provided for express mail delivery.
By Wire
To open an account by wire, call 1-866-AAM-6161 (1-866-226-6161) for details. To add to an existing account by wire, wire your money using the wiring instructions set forth below (be sure to include your account number).
Wiring Instructions
UMB
Bank, N.A.
ABA #: 101000695
Acadian Emerging Markets Portfolio
DDA
Acct. #: 9871063178
Ref: account number/account name/share class
By Automatic Investment Plan (via ACH) (Investor Class Shares Only)
You may not open an account via ACH. However, once you have established an account, you can set up an automatic investment plan by mailing a completed application to the Fund. Purchases can be made monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually in amounts of at least $1,000 to meet the minimum investment amount. To cancel or change a plan, write to the Fund at: Acadian Emerging Markets Portfolio, P.O. Box 219009, Kansas City, MO 64121 (Express Mail Address: Acadian Emerging Markets Portfolio, c/o DST Systems, Inc., 430 West 7th Street, Kansas City, MO 64105). Please allow up to 15 days to create the plan and 3 days to cancel or change it.
Purchases In-Kind
Subject to the approval of the Fund, an investor may purchase shares of the Fund with liquid securities and other assets that are eligible for purchase by the Fund (consistent with the Fund’s investment policies and restrictions) and that have a value that is readily ascertainable in accordance with the Fund’s valuation policies. These transactions will be effected only if the Adviser deems the security to be an appropriate investment for the Fund. Assets purchased by the Fund in such a
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transaction will be valued in accordance with procedures adopted by the Fund. The Fund reserves the right to amend or terminate this practice at any time.
Minimum Purchases
To purchase shares of the Fund for the first time, you must invest at least $2,500 for Investor Class Shares, $100,000 for Y Class Shares and $1,000,000 for I Class Shares. Subsequent investments must be at least $1,000 for Investor Class Shares. There are no minimums for subsequent investments in Y Class Shares or I Class Shares. The Fund reserves the right to waive the minimum investment amounts in its sole discretion.
Fund Codes
The Fund’s reference information, which is listed below, will be helpful to you when you contact the Fund to purchase shares, exchange shares, check daily net asset value per share (“NAV”) or obtain additional information.
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Fund Name |
Share Class |
Ticker
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CUSIP |
Fund
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Acadian Emerging Markets |
Investor Class Shares |
AEMGX |
00758M162 |
1260 |
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Portfolio |
Y Class Shares |
AEMVX |
00769G196 |
1360 |
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I Class Shares |
AEMZX |
00769G188 |
1960 |
Redeeming Shares
Payment of Redemption Proceeds
Redemption proceeds can be mailed to your account address, sent to your bank by ACH transfer or wired to your bank account (provided that your bank information is already on file). Normally, the Fund will send your sale proceeds within one Business Day after it receives your redemption request in proper form, meaning that it is complete, contains all necessary information, and has all supporting documentation (such as proper signature guarantees, IRA rollover forms, etc.). The Fund, however, may take up to seven days to pay redemption proceeds.
The Fund typically expects to sell portfolio assets and/or hold cash or cash equivalents to meet redemption requests. On a less regular basis, the Fund may also meet redemption requests by drawing on a
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line of credit, using short-term borrowings from its custodian and/or redeeming shares in-kind (as described below). These methods may be used during both normal and stressed market conditions.
Certain redemption requests will require a signature guarantee by an eligible guarantor institution. Eligible guarantors include commercial banks, savings and loans, savings banks, trust companies, credit unions, member firms of a national stock exchange, or any other member or participant of an approved signature guarantor program. For example, signature guarantees may be required if your address of record has changed in the last 30 days, if you want the proceeds sent to a bank other than the bank of record on your account, or if you ask that the proceeds be sent to a different person or address. Please note that a notary public is not an acceptable provider of a signature guarantee and that the Fund must be provided with the original guarantee. Signature guarantees are for the protection of Fund shareholders. Before it grants a redemption request, the Fund may require a shareholder to furnish additional legal documents to ensure proper authorization.
Accounts held by a corporation, trust, fiduciary or partnership, may require additional documentation along with a signature guaranteed letter of instruction. The Fund participates in the Paperless Legal Program (the “Program”), which eliminates the need for accompanying paper documentation on legal securities transfers. Requests received with a Medallion Signature Guarantee will be reviewed for the proper criteria to meet the guidelines of the Program and may not require additional documentation. Please contact Shareholder Services at 1-866-226-6161 for more information.
If you redeem shares that were purchased by check or through ACH, you will not receive your redemption proceeds until the check has cleared or the ACH transaction has been completed, which may take up to 15 days from the purchase date.
By Mail
You may contact the Fund directly by mail at: Acadian Emerging Markets Portfolio, P.O. Box 219009, Kansas City, MO 64121 (Express Mail Address: Acadian Emerging Markets Portfolio, c/o DST Systems, Inc., 430 West 7th Street, Kansas City, MO 64105). Send a letter to the Fund signed by all registered parties on the account specifying:
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The Fund name; |
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The share class; |
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The account number; |
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The dollar amount or number of shares you wish to redeem; |
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The account name(s); and |
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The address to which redemption (sale) proceeds should be sent. |
All registered share owner(s) must sign the letter in the exact name(s) in which their account is registered and must designate any special capacity in which they are registered.
Certain shareholders may need to include additional documents or provide a signature guarantee to redeem shares.
The Fund does not consider the U.S. Postal Service or other independent delivery services to be its agents. Therefore, deposit in the mail or with such services of sell orders does not constitute receipt by the Fund’s transfer agent. The share price used to fill the sell order is the next price calculated by the Fund after the Fund’s transfer agent receives the order in proper form at the P.O. Box provided for regular mail delivery or the office address provided for express mail delivery.
By Telephone
You must first establish the telephone redemption privilege (and, if desired, the wire or ACH redemption privilege) by completing the appropriate sections of the account application.
Call 1-866-AAM-6161 to redeem your shares. Based on your instructions, the Fund will mail your proceeds to you or send them to your bank by either Fed wire or ACH.
By Systematic Withdrawal Plan (via ACH) (Investor Class Shares Only)
If your account balance is at least $10,000, you may transfer as little as $100 per month from your account to another financial institution. To participate in this service, you must complete the appropriate sections of the account application and mail it to the Fund.
Redemptions In-Kind
The Fund generally pays sale (redemption) proceeds in cash. However, under unusual conditions that make the payment of cash unwise and for the protection of the Fund’s remaining shareholders, the Fund might pay all or part of your redemption proceeds in liquid securities with a market value equal to the redemption price (redemption in-kind). It is highly unlikely that your shares would ever be redeemed in-kind, but if they were you would have to pay transaction costs to sell
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the securities distributed to you, as well as taxes on any capital gains from the sale, as with any redemption. In addition, you would continue to be subject to the risks of any market fluctuation in the value of the securities you receive in-kind until the securities are sold.
Exchanging Shares
At no charge, you may exchange one class of shares of the Fund directly to another class of shares of the Fund by writing to or calling the Fund, subject to the eligibility requirements and the fees and expenses of such other class of shares, as set forth in this Prospectus. You may only exchange shares between accounts with identical registrations (i.e., the same names and addresses). An exchange between share classes of the Fund is not a taxable event.
Transaction Policies
Calculating Your Share Price
You may buy or sell shares of the Fund on any Business Day at a price equal to the Fund’s NAV next computed after it, or an authorized institution (as defined below), receives and accepts your order in proper form. The Fund calculates NAV once each Business Day as of the close of normal trading on the NYSE (normally, 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time). To receive the current Business Day’s NAV, the Fund or an authorized institution must receive your order in proper form (meaning that it is complete, contains all necessary information, and has all supporting documentation such as proper signature guarantees, IRA rollover forms, etc.) before the close of trading on the NYSE that day. Otherwise, you will receive the NAV that is calculated at the close of trading on the following Business Day. If the NYSE closes early – as in the case of scheduled half-day trading or unscheduled suspensions of trading – the Fund will calculate NAV as of the earlier closing time. Shares will only be priced on Business Days.
The NAV of a class of the Fund’s shares is determined by dividing the total value of the Fund’s portfolio investments and other assets attributable to the class, less any liabilities attributable to the class, by the total number of shares outstanding of the class. In calculating NAV, the Fund generally values its investment portfolio at market price. If market prices are not readily available or the Fund reasonably believes that they are unreliable, such as in the case of a security value that has been materially affected by events occurring after the relevant market closes, the Fund is required to price those securities at fair value as determined in good faith using methods approved by the Board of
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Trustees (the “Board”) of The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund (the “Trust”). Pursuant to the policies adopted by, and under the ultimate supervision of the Board, these methods are implemented through the Trust’s Fair Value Pricing Committee, members of which are appointed by the Board. The Fund’s determination of a security’s fair value price often involves the consideration of a number of subjective factors, and is therefore subject to the unavoidable risk that the value that the Fund assigns to a security may be higher or lower than the security’s value would be if a reliable market quotation for the security was readily available.
With respect to any non-U.S. securities held by the Fund, the Fund may take factors influencing specific markets or issuers into consideration in determining the fair value of a non-U.S. security. International securities markets may be open on days when the U.S. markets are closed. In such cases, the value of any international securities owned by the Fund may be significantly affected on days when investors cannot buy or sell shares. In addition, due to the difference in times between the close of the international markets and the time the Fund prices its shares, the value the Fund assigns to securities generally will not be the same as the quoted or published prices of those securities on their primary markets or exchanges. In determining fair value prices, the Fund may consider the performance of securities on its primary exchange, foreign currency appreciation/depreciation, securities market movements in the United States, or other relevant information as related to the securities.
There may be limited circumstances in which the Fund would price securities at fair value for stocks of U.S. companies that are traded on U.S. exchanges – for example, if the exchange on which a portfolio security is principally traded closed early or if trading in a particular security was halted during the day and did not resume prior to the time the Fund calculated its NAV.
Other assets for which market quotations are not readily available will be valued at their fair value as determined in good faith by or under the direction of the Board.
Buying or Selling Shares through a Financial Intermediary
In addition to being able to buy and sell Fund shares directly from the Fund through its transfer agent, you may also buy or sell shares of the Fund through accounts with financial intermediaries such as brokers and other institutions that are authorized to place trades in Fund shares for their customers. When you purchase or sell Fund
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shares through a financial intermediary (rather than directly from the Fund), you may have to transmit your purchase and sale requests to the financial intermediary at an earlier time for your transaction to become effective that day. This allows the financial intermediary time to process your requests and transmit them to the Fund prior to the time the Fund calculates its NAV that day. Your financial intermediary is responsible for transmitting all purchase and redemption requests, investment information, documentation and money to the Fund on time. If your financial intermediary fails to do so, it may be responsible for any resulting fees or losses. Unless your financial intermediary is an authorized institution, orders transmitted by the financial intermediary and received by the Fund after the time NAV is calculated for a particular day will receive the following day’s NAV.
Certain financial intermediaries, including certain broker-dealers and shareholder organizations, are authorized to act as agent on behalf of the Fund with respect to the receipt of purchase and redemption orders for Fund shares (“authorized institutions”). Authorized institutions are also authorized to designate other intermediaries to receive purchase and redemption orders on the Fund’s behalf. The Fund will be deemed to have received a purchase or redemption order when an authorized institution or, if applicable, an authorized institution’s designee, receives the order. Orders will be priced at the Fund’s NAV next computed after they are received by an authorized institution or an authorized institution’s designee. To determine whether your financial intermediary is an authorized institution or an authorized institution’s designee such that it may act as agent on behalf of the Fund with respect to purchase and redemption orders for Fund shares, you should contact your financial intermediary directly.
If you deal directly with a financial intermediary, you will have to follow its procedures for transacting with the Fund. Your financial intermediary may charge a fee for your purchase and/or redemption transactions. For more information about how to purchase or sell Fund shares through a financial intermediary, you should contact your financial intermediary directly.
Redemption Fee
In an effort to discourage short-term trading and defray costs incurred by shareholders as a result of short-term trading, the Fund charges a 2.00% redemption fee on redemptions of shares that have been held for less than 30 days. The redemption fee is deducted from the Fund’s sale proceeds and cannot be paid separately, and any proceeds of the fee are credited to the assets of the Fund. The fee does not apply to shares
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purchased with reinvested dividends or distributions. In determining how long shares of the Fund have been held, the Fund assumes that shares held by the investor the longest period of time will be sold first.
The redemption fee is applicable to Fund shares purchased either directly or through a financial intermediary, such as a broker-dealer. Transactions through financial intermediaries typically are placed with the Fund on an omnibus basis and include both purchase and sale transactions placed on behalf of multiple investors. The Fund requests that financial intermediaries assess the redemption fee on customer accounts and collect and remit the proceeds to the Fund. However, the Fund recognizes that, due to operational requirements, the intermediaries’ methods for tracking and calculating the fee may be inadequate or differ in some respects from the Fund’s.
The Fund reserves the right to reduce all or a portion of the redemption fee in its discretion when it believes such reduction is in the best interests of the Fund, including with respect to certain categories of redemptions that the Fund reasonably believes may not raise frequent trading or market timing concerns. These categories include, but are not limited to, the following: (i) participants in certain group retirement plans whose processing systems are incapable of properly applying the redemption fee to underlying shareholders; (ii) redemptions resulting from certain transfers upon the death of a shareholder; (iii) redemptions by certain pension plans as required by law or by regulatory authorities; (iv) systematic redemptions; and (v) retirement loans and withdrawals.
Telephone Transactions
Purchasing, selling and exchanging Fund shares over the telephone is extremely convenient, but not without risk. Although the Fund has certain safeguards and procedures to confirm the identity of callers and the authenticity of instructions, the Fund is not responsible for any losses or costs incurred by following telephone instructions the Fund reasonably believes to be genuine. If you or your financial institution transact with the Fund over the telephone, you will generally bear the risk of any loss.
Rights Reserved by the Fund
Purchases
At any time and without notice, the Fund may:
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Stop offering shares; |
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Reject any purchase order; or |
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Bar an investor engaged in a pattern of excessive trading from buying shares. Excessive trading can hurt performance by disrupting management and increasing expenses. The Fund will consider various factors in determining whether an investor has engaged in excessive trading. These factors include, but are not limited to, the investor’s historic trading patterns, the number of transactions, the size of the transactions, the time between transactions and the percentage of the investor’s account involved in each transaction. For more information about the Fund’s policies on excessive trading, see “Excessive Trading Policies and Procedures.” |
Redemptions
At any time, and without notice, the Fund may change or eliminate any of the redemption methods described above, except redemption by mail. The Fund may suspend your right to redeem your shares or delay payment of redemption proceeds for more than seven days during times when the NYSE is closed, other than during customary weekends or holidays, or as otherwise permitted by the SEC. More information about this is in the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).
For information regarding the federal income tax consequences of transactions in shares of the Fund, including information about cost basis reporting, see “Federal Taxes.”
Account Policies
Excessive Trading Policies and Procedures
The Fund is intended for long-term investment purposes only and discourages shareholders from engaging in “market timing” or other types of excessive short-term trading. This frequent trading into and out of the Fund may present risks to the Fund’s long-term shareholders and could adversely affect shareholder returns. The risks posed by frequent trading include interfering with the efficient implementation of the Fund’s investment strategies, triggering the recognition of taxable gains and losses on the sale of Fund investments, requiring the Fund to maintain higher cash balances to meet redemption requests, and experiencing increased transaction costs.
Because the Fund invests in foreign securities traded primarily on markets that close prior to the time the Fund determines its NAV, the risks posed by frequent trading may have a greater potential to dilute
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the value of Fund shares held by long-term shareholders than a fund investing exclusively in U.S. securities. In instances where a significant event that affects the value of one or more foreign securities held by the Fund takes place after the close of the primary foreign market, but before the time that the Fund determines its NAV, certain investors may seek to take advantage of the fact that there will be a delay in the adjustment of the market price for a security caused by this event until the foreign market reopens (sometimes referred to as “price” or “time zone” arbitrage). Shareholders who attempt this type of arbitrage may dilute the value of the Fund’s shares by virtue of their Fund share transaction, if those prices reflect the fair value of the foreign securities. Although the Fund has procedures designed to determine the fair value of foreign securities for purposes of calculating its NAV when such an event has occurred, fair value pricing, because it involves judgments which are inherently subjective, may not always eliminate the risk of price arbitrage. For more information about how the Fund uses fair value pricing, see “Calculating Your Share Price.”
In addition, because the Fund invests in small capitalization securities, which often trade in lower volumes and may be less liquid, the Fund may be more susceptible to the risks posed by frequent trading because frequent transactions in the Fund’s shares may have a greater impact on the market prices of these types of securities.
The Fund’s service providers will take steps reasonably designed to detect and deter frequent trading by shareholders pursuant to the Fund’s policies and procedures described in this Prospectus and approved by the Board. For purposes of applying these policies, the Fund’s service providers may consider the trading history of accounts under common ownership or control. The Fund’s policies and procedures include:
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Shareholders are restricted from making more than five “round trips” into or out of the Fund per calendar year. If a shareholder exceeds this amount, the Fund and/or its service providers may, at their discretion, reject any additional purchase orders. The Fund defines a “round trip” as a purchase into the Fund by a shareholder, followed by a subsequent redemption out of the Fund, of an amount the Adviser reasonably believes would be harmful or disruptive to the Fund. |
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The Fund assesses a redemption fee of 2.00% on redemptions by shareholders of Fund shares held for less than 30 days (subject to certain exceptions as discussed in “Redemption Fee”). |
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The Fund reserves the right to reject any purchase request by any investor or group of investors for any reason without prior notice, including, in particular, if the Fund or the Adviser reasonably believes that the trading activity would be harmful or disruptive to the Fund. |
The Fund and/or its service providers seek to apply these policies to the best of their abilities uniformly and in a manner they believe is consistent with the interests of the Fund’s long-term shareholders. The Fund does not knowingly accommodate frequent purchases and redemptions by Fund shareholders. Although these policies are designed to deter frequent trading, none of these measures alone nor all of them taken together eliminate the possibility that frequent trading in the Fund will occur. Systematic purchases and redemptions are exempt from these policies.
Financial intermediaries (such as investment advisers and broker-dealers) often establish omnibus accounts in the Fund for their customers through which transactions are placed. The Fund has entered into “information sharing agreements” with these financial intermediaries, which permit the Fund to obtain, upon request, information about the trading activity of the intermediary’s customers that invest in the Fund. If the Fund or its service providers identify omnibus account level trading patterns that have the potential to be detrimental to the Fund, the Fund or its service providers may, in their sole discretion, request from the financial intermediary information concerning the trading activity of its customers. Based upon a review of that information, if the Fund or its service providers determine that the trading activity of any customer may be detrimental to the Fund, they may, in their sole discretion, request the financial intermediary to restrict or limit further trading in the Fund by that customer. If the Fund is not satisfied that the intermediary has taken appropriate action, the Fund may terminate the intermediary’s ability to transact in Fund shares. When information regarding transactions in the Fund’s shares is requested by the Fund and such information is in the possession of a person that is itself a financial intermediary to a financial intermediary (an “indirect intermediary”), any financial intermediary with whom the Fund has an information sharing agreement is obligated to obtain transaction information from the indirect intermediary or, if directed by the Fund, to restrict or prohibit the indirect intermediary from purchasing shares of the Fund on behalf of other persons.
The Fund and its service providers will use reasonable efforts to work with financial intermediaries to identify excessive short-term trading in omnibus accounts that may be detrimental to the Fund. However,
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there can be no assurance that the monitoring of omnibus account level trading will enable the Fund to identify or prevent all such trading by a financial intermediary’s customers. Please contact your financial intermediary for more information.
Customer Identification and Verification
To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an account.
What this means to you: When you open an account, the Fund will ask your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow the Fund to identify you. This information is subject to verification to ensure the identity of all persons opening a mutual fund account.
The Fund is required by law to reject your new account application if the required identifying information is not provided.
In certain instances, the Fund is required to collect documents to fulfill its legal obligation. Documents provided in connection with your application will be used solely to establish and verify your identity.
Attempts to collect the missing information required on the application will be performed by either contacting you or, if applicable, your broker. If this information is unable to be obtained within a reasonable timeframe established in the sole discretion of the Fund, your application will be rejected.
Upon receipt of your application in proper form (meaning that it is complete, contains all necessary information, and has all supporting documentation such as proper signature guarantees, IRA rollover forms, etc.), or upon receipt of all identifying information required on the application, your investment will be received and your order will be processed at the next-determined NAV.
The Fund reserves the right to close or liquidate your account at the next-determined NAV and remit proceeds to you via check if it is unable to verify your identity. Attempts to verify your identity will be performed within a reasonable timeframe established in the sole discretion of the Fund. Further, the Fund reserves the right to hold your proceeds until your original check clears the bank, which may take up to 15 days from the date of purchase. In such an instance, you may be subject to a gain or loss on Fund shares and will be subject to corresponding tax implications.
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Anti-Money Laundering Program
Customer identification and verification are part of the Fund’s overall obligation to deter money laundering under federal law. The Fund has adopted an Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Program designed to prevent the Fund from being used for money laundering or the financing of illegal activities. In this regard, the Fund reserves the right to: (i) refuse, cancel or rescind any purchase or exchange order; (ii) freeze any account and/or suspend account services; or (iii) involuntarily close your account in cases of threatening conduct or suspected fraudulent or illegal activity. These actions will be taken when, in the sole discretion of Fund management, they are deemed to be in the best interest of the Fund or in cases when the Fund is requested or compelled to do so by governmental or law enforcement authority. If your account is closed at the request of governmental or law enforcement authority, you may not receive proceeds of the redemption if the Fund is required to withhold such proceeds.
Unclaimed Property
Each state has unclaimed property rules that generally provide for escheatment (or transfer) to the state of unclaimed property under various circumstances. Such circumstances include inactivity (e.g., no owner-initiated contact for a certain period), returned mail (e.g., when mail sent to a shareholder is returned by the post office, or “RPO,” as undeliverable), or a combination of both inactivity and returned mail. Once it flags property as unclaimed, the Fund will attempt to contact the shareholder, but if that attempt is unsuccessful, the account may be considered abandoned and escheated to the state.
Shareholders that reside in the state of Texas may designate a representative to receive escheatment notifications by completing and submitting a designation form that can be found on the website of the Texas Comptroller. While the designated representative does not have any rights to claim or access the shareholder’s account or assets, the escheatment period will cease if the representative communicates knowledge of the shareholder’s location and confirms that the shareholder has not abandoned his or her property. A completed designation form may be mailed to the Fund (if shares are held directly with the Fund) or to the shareholder’s financial intermediary (if shares are not held directly with the Fund).
More information on unclaimed property and how to maintain an active account is available through your state or by calling 1-866-AAM-6161 (1-866-226-6161).
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Small Accounts
The Fund may redeem your shares without your permission if the value of your account falls below $1,250 for Investor Class Shares, $50,000 for Y Class Shares or $500,000 for I Class Shares. This provision does not apply:
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To retirement accounts and certain other accounts for which the minimum initial investment amount has been waived; or |
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When the value of your account falls because of market fluctuations and not your redemptions. |
The Fund will provide you at least 30 days’ written notice to allow you time to add to your account and avoid the sale of your shares. If your Fund shares are redeemed for this reason within 30 calendar days of their purchase, the redemption fee will not be applied.
Dividends and Distributions
Normally, the Fund distributes its net investment income and its net capital gains, if any, at least once a year. The Fund will automatically reinvest dividends and distributions in additional shares of the Fund, unless you elect on your account application to receive them in cash.
Federal Taxes
The following is a summary of the U.S. federal income tax consequences of investing in the Fund. This summary does not apply to shares held in an IRA or other tax-qualified plans, which are generally not subject to current tax. Transactions relating to shares held in such accounts may, however, be taxable at some time in the future. You should always consult your tax advisor for specific guidance regarding the federal, state and local tax effects of your investment in the Fund.
The Fund has elected and intends to qualify each year for treatment as a regulated investment company (“RIC”). If it meets certain minimum distribution requirements, a RIC is not subject to tax at the fund level on income and gains from investments that are timely distributed to shareholders. However, the Fund’s failure to qualify as a RIC or to meet minimum distribution requirements would result (if certain relief provisions were not available) in fund-level taxation and, consequently, a reduction in income available for distribution to shareholders.
The Fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains, if any. The dividends and distributions you receive, whether in cash or reinvested in additional shares of the Fund, may be subject to federal, state, and local taxation,
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depending upon your tax situation. Income distributions, including distributions of net short-term capital gains but excluding distributions of qualified dividend income, are generally taxable at ordinary income tax rates. Long-term capital gains distributions and distributions that are reported by the Fund as qualified dividend income are generally taxable at the rates applicable to long-term capital gains currently set at a maximum tax rate for individuals at 20% (lower rates apply to individuals in lower tax brackets). Qualified dividend income is, in general, dividend income from taxable domestic corporations and certain foreign corporations (e.g., foreign corporations incorporated in a possession of the United States or in certain foreign countries with a comprehensive tax treaty with the United States, or the stock of which is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States). Once a year the Fund (or its administrative agent) will send you a statement showing the types and total amount of distributions you received during the previous year. The Fund’s investment strategy may limit its ability to make distributions eligible for the reduced tax rates applicable to qualified dividend income.
The Fund (or its administrative agent) must report to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and furnish to Fund shareholders cost basis information for Fund shares. In addition to reporting the gross proceeds from the sale of Fund shares, the Fund (or its administrative agent) is also required to report the cost basis information for such shares and indicate whether these shares have a short-term or long-term holding period. For each sale of Fund shares, the Fund will permit shareholders to elect from among several IRS-accepted cost basis methods, including the average cost basis method. In the absence of an election, the Fund will use the average cost basis method as the default cost basis method. The cost basis method elected by the Fund shareholder (or the cost basis method applied by default) for each sale of Fund shares may not be changed after the settlement date of each such sale of Fund shares. Fund shareholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the best IRS-accepted cost basis method for their tax situation and to obtain more information about cost basis reporting. Shareholders also should carefully review any cost basis information provided to them and make any additional basis, holding period or other adjustments that are required when reporting these amounts on their federal income tax returns.
You should note that if you purchase shares just before a distribution, the purchase price would reflect the amount of the upcoming distribution. In this case, you would be taxed on the entire amount of the distribution received, even though, as an economic matter,
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the distribution simply constitutes a return of your investment. This is known as “buying a dividend” and should be avoided by taxable investors. Call 1-866-AAM-6161 (1-866-226-6161) to find out when the Fund expects to make a distribution to shareholders.
Each sale of shares of the Fund may be a taxable event. A sale may result in a capital gain or loss to you. The gain or loss generally will be treated as short-term if you held the shares 12 months or less and long-term if you held the shares for longer. Any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Fund shares held for six months or less will be treated as long-term, rather than short-term, to the extent of any long-term capital gain distributions received (or deemed received) by you with respect to the Fund shares. All or a portion of any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Fund shares will be disallowed if you purchase other substantially identical shares within 30 days before or after the disposition. In such a case, the basis of the newly purchased shares will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss.
U.S. individuals with income exceeding $200,000 ($250,000 if married and filing jointly) are subject to a 3.8% tax on their “net investment income,” including interest, dividends, and capital gains (including capital gains realized on the sale of shares of the Fund).
Because the Fund invests in foreign securities, it may be subject to foreign withholding taxes with respect to dividends or interest the Fund receives from sources in foreign countries. If more than 50% of the total assets of the Fund consist of foreign securities, the Fund will be eligible to elect to treat some of those taxes as a distribution to shareholders, which would allow shareholders to offset some of their U.S. federal income tax. The Fund (or its administrative agent) will notify you if it makes such an election and provide you with the information necessary to reflect foreign taxes paid on your income tax return.
Because each shareholder’s tax situation is different, you should consult your tax advisor about the tax implications of an investment in the Fund.
More information about taxes is in the SAI.
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More Information about Fund Investments and Risks |
The investment objective of the Fund is to seek long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in common stocks of emerging market country issuers. The Fund may change its investment objective without shareholder approval.
Principal Risks
Investing in the Fund involves risk and there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its goals. The Adviser’s judgments about the markets, the economy, or companies may not anticipate actual market movements, economic conditions or company performance, and these judgments may affect the return on your investment. In fact, no matter how good of a job the Adviser does, you could lose money on your investment in the Fund, just as you could with similar investments.
The value of your investment in the Fund is based on the value of the securities the Fund holds. These prices change daily due to economic and other events that affect particular companies and other issuers. These price movements, sometimes called volatility, may be greater or lesser depending on the types of securities the Fund owns and the markets in which they trade. The effect on the Fund of a change in the value of a single security will depend on how widely the Fund diversifies its holdings. Certain of the Fund’s principal risks are summarized below.
Equity Securities
Equity securities include publicly and privately issued equity securities, common and preferred stocks, warrants, rights to subscribe to common stock and convertible securities, as well as instruments that attempt to track the price movement of equity indices. Equity securities also include ADRs and GDRs, which are traded on U.S. exchanges and represent an ownership in a foreign security. Investments in equity securities in general are subject to market risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate over time. The value of securities convertible into equity securities, such as warrants or convertible debt, is also affected by prevailing interest rates, the credit quality of the issuer and any call provision. In addition, the impact of any epidemic, pandemic or natural disaster, or widespread fear that such events may occur, could negatively affect the global economy, as well as the economies
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of individual countries, the financial performance of individual companies and sectors, and the markets in general in significant and unforeseen ways. Any such impact could adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the securities and other instruments in which the Fund invests, which in turn could negatively impact the Fund’s performance and cause losses on your investment in the Fund. Recent examples include pandemic risks related to COVID-19 and aggressive measures taken worldwide in response by governments, including closing borders, restricting international and domestic travel, and the imposition of prolonged quarantines of large populations, and by businesses, including changes to operations and reducing staff. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic may be short term or may last for an extended period of time, and in either case could result in a substantial economic downturn or recession. Fluctuations in the value of the equity securities in which a mutual fund invests will cause the fund’s NAV to fluctuate. An investment in a portfolio of equity securities may be more suitable for long-term investors who can bear the risk of these share price fluctuations.
Foreign Securities
Investments in securities of foreign companies (including direct investments as well as investments through ADRs) can be more volatile than investments in U.S. companies. Diplomatic, political, or economic developments, including nationalization or appropriation, could affect investments in foreign companies. Foreign securities markets generally have less trading volume and less liquidity than U.S. markets. In addition, the value of securities denominated in foreign currencies, and of dividends from such securities, can change significantly when foreign currencies strengthen or weaken relative to the U.S. dollar. Foreign companies or governments generally are not subject to uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting standards comparable to those applicable to domestic U.S. companies or governments. Transaction costs are generally higher than those in the United States and expenses for custodial arrangements of foreign securities may be somewhat greater than typical expenses for custodial arrangements of similar U.S. securities. Some foreign governments levy withholding taxes against dividend and interest income. Although in some countries a portion of these taxes are recoverable, the non-recovered portion will reduce the income received from the securities comprising the portfolio. Additionally, periodic U.S. Government restrictions on investments in issuers from certain foreign countries may result in the Fund having to sell such prohibited securities at inopportune times. Such prohibited securities may have less liquidity
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as a result of such U.S. Government designation and the market price of such prohibited securities may decline, which may cause the Fund to incur losses. While ADRs and GDRs provide an alternative to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their respective national markets and currencies, investments in ADRs and GDRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities. Investment in emerging markets subjects the Fund to a greater risk of loss than investments in a developed market. This is due to, among other things, greater market volatility, lower trading volume, political and economic instability, high levels of inflation, deflation or currency devaluation, greater risk of market shut down, and more governmental limitations on foreign investment policy than those typically found in a developed market. In addition, the financial stability of issuers (including governments) in emerging market countries may be more precarious than in other countries. As a result, there will tend to be an increased risk of price volatility in the Fund’s investments in emerging market countries.
Other Risks
In addition to the principal risks identified above, an investment in the Fund may be subject to other, non-principal risks. Set forth below are summaries of certain other risks associated with investing in the Fund.
Derivatives
The Fund may invest in derivatives, a category of investments that includes forward foreign currency exchange contracts, futures, options and swaps to protect its investments against changes resulting from market conditions (a practice called “hedging”), to reduce transaction costs or to manage cash flows. Forward foreign currency exchange contracts, futures and options are called derivatives because their value is based on an underlying asset or economic factor. Derivatives are often more volatile than other investments and may magnify the Fund’s gains or losses. Derivatives also may be difficult or impossible to sell at the time and the price that the Fund would like. The Fund may have to liquidate portfolio positions when it would not be advantageous to do so in order to satisfy its obligations under a derivatives transaction. There are various factors that affect the Fund’s ability to achieve its objectives with derivatives. Successful use of a derivative depends on the degree to which prices of the underlying assets correlate with price movements in the derivatives the Fund buys or sells. The Fund could be negatively affected if the change in market value of its securities fails to correlate perfectly or at all with the values of the derivatives it purchased or sold. The Fund’s investments in forward foreign
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currency exchange contracts and swaps also may be subject to credit risk and valuation risk. Credit risk is the risk that the counterparty to a derivative contract will default or otherwise become unable to honor a financial obligation. Valuation risk is the risk that the derivative may be difficult to value.
The Fund may use derivatives as a hedging technique to reduce the risks of its investments in equity securities. However, hedging will not necessarily fully protect the Fund against all anticipated risks. Moreover, hedging transactions involve costs and risks of their own. If the Fund employs a hedge and the market rises, the Fund may lose money or forego the opportunity to capitalize on market increases. As a result, hedging may not improve the Fund’s performance either on an absolute or risk-adjusted basis.
Other Investments
The investments and strategies described in this Prospectus are those that the Fund uses under normal circumstances. During unusual economic, market, political or other circumstances, the Fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in short-term, high quality debt instruments, such as U.S. government securities. These instruments would not ordinarily be consistent with the Fund’s principal investment strategy, and may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective. The Fund will use temporary strategies if the Adviser believes that pursuing the Fund’s investment objective will subject it to a significant risk of loss. The Fund has a policy requiring it to invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, at the time of initial purchase, in particular types of securities as described in the Fund’s principal investment strategy and will not change this policy without 60 days’ prior written notice to shareholders. In addition to the temporary defensive measures discussed above, the Fund may also temporarily deviate from this 80% policy in other limited, appropriate circumstances, such as if the Fund experiences unusually large cash inflows or redemptions. When the Adviser pursues a temporary defensive strategy, the Fund may not profit from favorable developments that it would have otherwise profited from if it were pursuing its normal strategies.
The Fund may also employ investment practices that this Prospectus does not describe, such as participating in repurchase agreements, when-issued and forward commitment transactions, lending of securities, borrowing and other techniques. For more information concerning these and any of the Fund’s other investment practices and their risks, please read the SAI.
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Information about Portfolio Holdings |
A description of the Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the circumstances under which the Fund discloses its portfolio securities is available in the SAI.
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Investment Management |
Investment Adviser
Acadian Asset Management LLC is an SEC-registered investment adviser and a Delaware limited liability company located at 260 Franklin Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02110. Acadian serves as the Fund’s investment adviser. Acadian was founded in 1986 and is an indirectly wholly-owned subsidiary of US-based BrightSphere Investment Group Inc., a Delaware corporation publicly listed on the NYSE. As of December 31, 2021, the Adviser had approximately $117 billion in assets under management.
The Adviser manages and supervises the investment of the Fund’s assets on a discretionary basis, subject to the oversight of the Board. For its services to the Fund, the Adviser is entitled to a fee, which is calculated daily and paid monthly, at an annual rate of 1.00% based on the average daily net assets of the Fund. The Adviser has voluntarily agreed to reduce fees and reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to keep total annual Fund operating expenses (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses, and extraordinary expenses) from exceeding 2.50% of the Fund’s average daily net assets. The Adviser intends to continue these voluntary fee reductions and expense reimbursements until further notice, but may discontinue all or part of them at any time.
For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2021, the Adviser received advisory fees in the amount of 1.00% of the Fund’s average daily net assets.
A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of the Fund’s investment advisory agreement is available in the Fund’s annual report dated October 31, 2021, which covers the period from November 1, 2020 to October 31, 2021.
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Portfolio Managers
The following portfolio managers are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.
Brendan Bradley, Ph.D., Chief Investment Officer, joined Acadian in 2004. Brendan previously served as Director of Portfolio Management, overseeing portfolio management policy, and also as the Director of Acadian’s Managed Volatility strategies. Brendan is a member of several oversight committees at Acadian, including the Board of Managers, Executive Management Team, Executive Committee, and Responsible Investing Committee.
Ryan Taliaferro, Ph.D., Director of Equity Strategies, joined Acadian in 2011. He is also a member of the Acadian Executive Committee. Ryan previously serviced as the Director of Acadian’s Managed Volatility strategies.
The SAI provides additional information about the portfolio managers’ compensation, other accounts managed, and ownership of Fund shares.
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Payments to Financial Intermediaries |
The Fund and/or the Adviser may compensate financial intermediaries for providing a variety of services to the Fund and/or its shareholders. Financial intermediaries include affiliated or unaffiliated brokers, dealers, banks (including bank trust departments), trust companies, registered investment advisers, financial planners, retirement plan administrators, insurance companies, and any other institution having a service, administration, or any similar arrangement with the Fund, its service providers or their respective affiliates. This section briefly describes how financial intermediaries may be paid for providing these services. For more information please see “Payments to Financial Intermediaries” in the SAI.
Shareholder Servicing Plan
The Fund has adopted a shareholder servicing plan that provides that the Fund may pay financial intermediaries for shareholder services in an annual amount not to exceed 0.25% based on the average daily net assets of the Fund’s Investor Class Shares and 0.10% based on the average daily net assets of the Fund’s Y Class Shares. The services for
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which financial intermediaries are compensated may include record-keeping, transaction processing for shareholders’ accounts and other shareholder services.
Other Payments by the Fund
The Fund may enter into agreements with financial intermediaries pursuant to which the Fund may pay financial intermediaries for non-distribution-related sub-transfer agency, administrative, sub-accounting, and other shareholder services. Payments made pursuant to such agreements are generally based on either (1) a percentage of the average daily net assets of Fund shareholders serviced by a financial intermediary, or (2) the number of Fund shareholders serviced by a financial intermediary. Any payments made pursuant to such agreements may be in addition to, rather than in lieu of, shareholder services fees the Fund may pay to financial intermediaries pursuant to the Fund’s shareholder servicing plan.
Payments by the Adviser
From time to time, the Adviser and/or its affiliates, in their discretion, may make payments to certain affiliated or unaffiliated financial intermediaries to compensate them for the costs associated with distribution, marketing, administration and shareholder servicing support for the Fund. These payments are sometimes characterized as “revenue sharing” payments and are made out of the Adviser’s and/or its affiliates’ own legitimate profits or other resources, and may be in addition to any payments made to financial intermediaries by the Fund. A financial intermediary may provide these services with respect to Fund shares sold or held through programs such as retirement plans, qualified tuition programs, fund supermarkets, fee-based advisory or wrap fee programs, bank trust programs, and insurance (e.g., individual or group annuity) programs. In addition, financial intermediaries may receive payments for making shares of the Fund available to their customers or registered representatives, including providing the Fund with “shelf space,” placing it on a preferred or recommended fund list, or promoting the Fund in certain sales programs that are sponsored by financial intermediaries. To the extent permitted by SEC and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) rules and other applicable laws and regulations, the Adviser and/or its affiliates may pay or allow other promotional incentives or payments to financial intermediaries.
The level of payments made by the Adviser and/or its affiliates to individual financial intermediaries varies in any given year and may be negotiated on the basis of sales of Fund shares, the amount of
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Fund assets serviced by the financial intermediary or the quality of the financial intermediary’s relationship with the Adviser and/or its affiliates. These payments may be more or less than the payments received by the financial intermediaries from other mutual funds and may influence a financial intermediary to favor the sales of certain funds or share classes over others. In certain instances, the payments could be significant and may cause a conflict of interest for your financial intermediary. Any such payments will not change the NAV or price of the Fund’s shares. Please contact your financial intermediary for information about any payments it may receive in connection with the sale of Fund shares or the provision of services to Fund shareholders.
In addition to these payments, your financial intermediary may charge you account fees, commissions or transaction fees for buying or redeeming shares of the Fund, or other fees for servicing your account. Your financial intermediary should provide a schedule of its fees and services to you upon request.
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Additional Information |
The Trust enters into contractual arrangements with various parties, including, among others, the Fund’s investment adviser, custodian, transfer agent, accountants, administrator and distributor, who provide services to the Fund. Shareholders are not parties to, or intended (or “third-party”) beneficiaries of, any of those contractual arrangements, and those contractual arrangements are not intended to create in any individual shareholder or group of shareholders any right to enforce the terms of the contractual arrangements against the service providers or to seek any remedy under the contractual arrangements against the service providers, either directly or on behalf of the Trust.
This Prospectus and the SAI provide information concerning the Trust and the Fund that you should consider in determining whether to purchase shares of the Fund. The Fund may make changes to this information from time to time. Neither this Prospectus, the SAI or any document filed as an exhibit to the Trust’s registration statement, is intended to, nor does it, give rise to an agreement or contract between the Trust or the Fund and any shareholder, or give rise to any contract or other rights in any individual shareholder, group of shareholders or other person other than any rights conferred explicitly by federal or state securities laws that may not be waived.
34
|
Financial Highlights |
The tables that follow present performance information about each class of the Fund. The information is intended to help you understand the Fund’s financial performance for the past five fiscal years. Some of this information reflects financial information for a single Fund share. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in the Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). The information provided below has been audited by BBD, LLP, independent registered public accounting firm whose report, along with the Fund’s financial statements, is included in the Fund’s Annual Report. You can obtain the Annual Report, which contains more performance information, at no charge by calling 1-866-AAM-6161 (1-866-226-6161).
35
Selected
Per Share Data & Ratios
For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Year
|
|
Years Ended October 31, |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
Investor Class Shares |
2021 |
2020 |
2019 |
2018 |
2017 |
|||||||||||||||
|
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Year |
$ | 19.65 | $ | 19.41 | $ | 18.35 | $ | 21.83 | $ | 17.42 | ||||||||||
|
Income from Operations: |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Net Investment Income* |
0.47 | 0.29 | 0.39 | 0.36 | 0.23 | |||||||||||||||
|
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) |
4.10 | 0.32 | 1.00 | (3.55 | ) | 4.51 | ||||||||||||||
|
Total from Operations |
4.57 | 0.61 | 1.39 | (3.19 | ) | 4.74 | ||||||||||||||
|
Redemption Fees |
— | 0.00 | ^ | 0.00 | ^ | 0.00 | ^ | 0.00 | ^ | |||||||||||
|
Dividends and Distributions from: |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Net Investment Income . |
(0.29 | ) | (0.37 | ) | (0.33 | ) | (0.29 | ) | (0.33 | ) | ||||||||||
|
Total Dividends and Distributions |
(0.29 | ) | (0.37 | ) | (0.33 | ) | (0.29 | ) | (0.33 | ) | ||||||||||
|
Net Asset Value, End of Year |
$ | 23.93 | $ | 19.65 | $ | 19.41 | $ | 18.35 | $ | 21.83 | ||||||||||
|
Total Return † |
23.35 | % | 3.04 | % | 7.72 | % | (14.85 | )% | 27.84 | % | ||||||||||
|
Ratios and Supplemental Data |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Net Assets, End of Period (Thousands) |
$ | 580,640 | $ | 674,360 | $ | 625,488 | $ | 789,483 | $ | 739,686 | ||||||||||
|
Ratio of Expenses to Average Net Assets(1) |
1.43 | % | 1.40 | % | 1.40 | % | 1.40 | % | 1.42 | % | ||||||||||
|
Ratio of Net Investment Income to Average Net Assets |
1.97 | % | 1.56 | % | 2.07 | % | 1.66 | % | 1.23 | % | ||||||||||
|
Portfolio Turnover Rate |
70 | % | 55 | % | 48 | % | 32 | % | 40 | % | ||||||||||
|
* |
Per share amounts for the period are based on average outstanding shares. |
|
^ |
Amount was less than $0.005 per share. |
|
† |
Returns shown do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Portfolio distributions or the redemption of Portfolio shares. |
|
(1) |
The Ratio of Expenses to Average Net Assets excludes the effect of fees paid indirectly. If these expense offsets were included, the ratio would have been the same as the ratio reported. |
36
Selected
Per Share Data & Ratios
For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Year
|
|
Years Ended October 31, |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
I Class Shares |
2021 |
2020 |
2019 |
2018 |
2017 |
|||||||||||||||
|
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Year |
$ | 19.67 | $ | 19.43 | $ | 18.38 | $ | 21.85 | $ | 17.42 | ||||||||||
|
Income from Operations: |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Net Investment Income* |
0.53 | 0.29 | 0.41 | 0.42 | 0.36 | |||||||||||||||
|
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) |
4.09 | 0.35 | 1.00 | (3.56 | ) | 4.41 | ||||||||||||||
|
Total from Operations |
4.62 | 0.64 | 1.41 | (3.14 | ) | 4.77 | ||||||||||||||
|
Redemption Fees |
— | 0.00 | ^ | 0.00 | ^ | 0.00 | ^ | 0.00 | ^ | |||||||||||
|
Dividends and Distributions from: |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Net Investment Income |
(0.32 | ) | (0.40 | ) | (0.36 | ) | (0.33 | ) | (0.34 | ) | ||||||||||
|
Total Dividends and Distributions |
(0.32 | ) | (0.40 | ) | (0.36 | ) | (0.33 | ) | (0.34 | ) | ||||||||||
|
Net Asset Value, End of Year |
$ | 23.97 | $ | 19.67 | $ | 19.43 | $ | 18.38 | $ | 21.85 | ||||||||||
|
Total Return † |
23.61 | % | 3.20 | % | 7.86 | % | (14.63 | )% | 28.01 | % | ||||||||||
|
Ratios and Supplemental Data |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Net Assets, End of Period (Thousands) |
$ | 396,786 | $ | 330,942 | $ | 496,662 | $ | 497,707 | $ | 446,374 | ||||||||||
|
Ratio of Expenses to Average Net Assets(1) |
1.22 | % | 1.24 | % | 1.25 | % | 1.20 | % | 1.21 | % | ||||||||||
|
Ratio of Net Investment Income to Average Net Assets |
2.21 | % | 1.53 | % | 2.13 | % | 1.96 | % | 1.81 | % | ||||||||||
|
Portfolio Turnover Rate |
70 | % | 55 | % | 48 | % | 32 | % | 40 | % | ||||||||||
|
* |
Per share amounts for the period are based on average outstanding shares. |
|
^ |
Amount was less than $0.005 per share. |
|
† |
Returns shown do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Portfolio distributions or the redemption of Portfolio shares. |
|
(1) |
The Ratio of Expenses to Average Net Assets excludes the effect of fees paid indirectly. If these expense offsets were included, the ratio would have been the same as the ratio reported. |
37
Selected
Per Share Data & Ratios
For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Year
|
|
Years Ended October 31, |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
Y Class Shares |
2021 |
2020 |
2019 |
2018 |
2017‡ |
|||||||||||||||
|
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Year |
$ | 19.63 | $ | 19.40 | $ | 18.34 | $ | 21.85 | $ | 17.42 | ||||||||||
|
Income from Operations: |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Net Investment Income* |
0.50 | 0.25 | 0.43 | 0.62 | 0.40 | |||||||||||||||
|
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) |
4.11 | 0.38 | 0.98 | (3.82 | ) | 4.37 | ||||||||||||||
|
Total from Operations |
4.61 | 0.63 | 1.41 | (3.20 | ) | 4.77 | ||||||||||||||
|
Redemption Fees |
— | 0.00 | ^^ | — | 0.02 | — | ||||||||||||||
|
Dividends and Distributions from: |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Net Investment Income |
(0.32 | ) | (0.40 | ) | (0.35 | ) | (0.33 | ) | (0.34 | ) | ||||||||||
|
Total Dividends and Distributions |
(0.32 | ) | (0.40 | ) | (0.35 | ) | (0.33 | ) | (0.34 | ) | ||||||||||
|
Net Asset Value, End of Period |
$ | 23.92 | $ | 19.63 | $ | 19.40 | $ | 18.34 | $ | 21.85 | ||||||||||
|
Total Return † |
23.61 | % | 3.15 | % | 7.89 | % | (14.81 | )% | 28.01 | % | ||||||||||
|
Ratios and Supplemental Data |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Net Assets, End of Period (Thousands) |
$ | 6,982 | $ | 8,334 | $ | 20,363 | $ | 24,988 | $ | — | ^ | |||||||||
|
Ratio of Expenses to Average Net Assets(1) |
1.24 | % | 1.24 | % | 1.25 | % | 1.27 | % | 0.68 | %†† | ||||||||||
|
Ratio of Net Investment Income to Average Net Assets |
2.10 | % | 1.34 | % | 2.26 | % | 3.12 | % | 2.08 | % | ||||||||||
|
Portfolio Turnover Rate |
70 | % | 55 | % | 48 | % | 32 | % | 40 | % | ||||||||||
|
* |
Per share amounts for the period are based on average outstanding shares. |
|
^ |
Amount rounds to less than one thousand. |
|
^^ |
Amount was less than $0.005 per share. |
|
† |
Returns shown do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Portfolio distributions or the redemption of Portfolio shares. |
|
†† |
Had assets been contributed, the ratio would have been 1.31%. |
|
(1) |
The Ratio of Expenses to Average Net Assets excludes the effect of fees paid indirectly. If these expense offsets were included, the ratio would have been the same as the ratio reported. |
38
The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund
Acadian Emerging Markets Portfolio
Investors who would like more information about the Fund should read the Fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports and the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information dated March 1, 2022, as it may be amended from time to time (“SAI”). The Annual and Semi-Annual Reports of the Fund provide additional information about its investments. In the Annual Report, you will also find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the performance of the Fund during the last fiscal year. The SAI contains additional detailed information about The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund and the Fund and is incorporated by reference into (is legally part of) this Prospectus.
Investors can receive free copies of the SAI, shareholder reports and other information about the Fund at https://www.acadian-asset.com/emfund. Investors can also receive these documents, as well as make shareholder inquiries, by writing to or calling:
|
Acadian
Emerging Markets Portfolio |
You can also obtain the SAI or the Annual and Semi-Annual Reports, as well as other information about The Advisors’ Inner Circle Fund, from the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s website at: http://www.sec.gov. You may also obtain this information, upon payment of a duplicating fee, by e-mailing the SEC at the following address: [email protected].
The Trust’s Investment Company Act of 1940 file number is 811-06400.
ACA-PS-001-2200