2022-12-27InternationalandGlobalEquityFunds-Retail
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
|
Fund |
Institutional
Class |
Allspring
Emerging Markets Equity Fund |
EMGNX |
Allspring
Emerging Markets Equity Income Fund |
EQIIX |
Allspring
International Equity Fund |
WFENX |
Allspring
Special Global Small Cap Fund (formerly Allspring Global Small Cap
Fund) |
EKGIX |
Allspring
Special International Small Cap Fund |
WICIX |
The U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") has not approved or disapproved these
securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this Prospectus. Anyone
who tells you
otherwise is committing a crime.
Table
of Contents
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42 |
Emerging
Markets Equity Fund Summary
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks long-term capital appreciation.
Fees
and Expenses
These
tables are intended to help you understand the various costs and expenses you
will pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of
the Fund.
|
|
Shareholder
Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
|
|
Maximum
sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
Maximum
deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
|
|
|
Management
Fees |
1.01% |
Distribution
(12b-1) Fees |
0.00% |
Other
Expenses |
0.20% |
Acquired
Fund Fees and Expenses |
0.00% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
1.21% |
Fee
Waivers |
(0.10)% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers2
|
% |
1. |
Expenses
have been adjusted as necessary from amounts incurred during the Fund's
most recent fiscal year to reflect current fees and
expenses.
|
2. |
The
Manager has contractually committed through February
29, 2024, to
waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary
to cap Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at
1.11%
for Institutional
Class. Brokerage commissions, stamp
duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses (if any), and
extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense
cap. Prior to or after the commitment expiration date, the cap may be
increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may
be terminated only with the approval of the Board of
Trustees. |
Example
of Expenses
The example
below is intended to help you compare the costs of investing in the Fund with
the costs of investing in other
funds. The example assumes a $10,000 initial investment, 5% annual total return,
and that fees and expenses remain the
same as in the tables above. To the extent that the Manager is waiving fees or
reimbursing expenses, the example
assumes that such waiver or reimbursement will only be in place through the date
noted above. Although your actual
costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would
be:
|
|
After:
|
|
1
Year |
$114 |
3
Years |
$377 |
5
Years |
$661 |
10
Years |
$1,468 |
Portfolio
Turnover
The Fund
pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities
(or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher
portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in
higher taxes when Fund shares are held in
a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating
expenses or in the example,
affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's
portfolio turnover rate was 5% of
the average
value of its portfolio.
2 |
|
International
and Global Equity Funds |
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund's net assets in emerging market equity
securities. |
We invest
principally in equity or other listed securities of emerging market companies.
We consider emerging market companies
to include companies that are traded in, have their primary operations in, are
domiciled in or derive a majority of
their revenue from emerging market countries as defined by the MSCI Emerging
Markets Index. We may use futures to
manage risk or to enhance return. The Fund may have exposure to stocks across
any capitalizations and styles and
will be diversified across countries and
sectors.
Utilizing a
bottom-up, research driven stock selection process, we seek to invest in quality
companies at prices below their
intrinsic value. From the available stock universe we focus only on those
quality companies that are able to sustain high
profitability over a long period of time for reasons we can understand. We
believe that quality companies create value for
investors from profitable investment of retained earnings and dividend payout
and preserve value in adversity. We further
believe that quality companies that embrace sustainable environmental, social
and governance (ESG) policies
are more likely to avoid permanent loss of capital than companies that do not.
Among the characteristics we seek in
high-quality companies are strong competitive position, demonstrable financial
strength and profitability, favorable
ESG attributes, quality management dedicated to public shareholders’ interest,
and favorable growth prospect
supported by major long-term trends. ESG information and research are integral
to the investment process for the
specific purpose of increasing our knowledge of companies, identifying and
evaluating risks and opportunities, and
engaging with companies to influence corporate behaviors, all of which can
impact the team’s assessment of a company’s
quality and long term intrinsic value. ESG factors represent broad categories,
and the team’s ESG research is
pragmatic and driven by bottom-up, company-specific issues that are important to
individual companies in our pool of quality
investments. In general, ESG research and engagement are broad and cover
environmental, social, and governance
issues as appropriate for each company, such as the environmental impact of a
proposed project, employee
protections in a supply chain, or composition of the board of directors. We also
focus on understanding each
company’s intrinsic value and will only invest when a company’s stock trades at
a meaningful discount to this value. We
do not attempt to anticipate or react to short term market fluctuations, but
instead seek to take advantage of periodic
market inefficiencies to buy the high quality companies at prices below our
assessment of their intrinsic value. We have a
disciplined approach to the monitoring and sale of holdings and our decisions to
trim or sell out of positions may be
triggered when a stock price exceeds its intrinsic value or when there is a
material deterioration in the fundamentals
of the company.
Principal
Investment Risks
An
investment in the Fund may lose money, is
not a deposit of a bank or its affiliates, is not insured or guaranteed by
the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental
agency, and is
primarily subject to the risks briefly
summarized below.
Market
Risk. The values
of, and/or the income generated by, securities held by the Fund may decline due
to general market
conditions or other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of
such securities. Securities markets are
volatile and may decline significantly in response to adverse issuer,
regulatory, political, or economic developments.
Different sectors of the market and different security types may react
differently to such developments.
Equity
Securities Risk. The values
of equity securities may experience periods of substantial price volatility and
may decline
significantly over short time periods. In general, the values of equity
securities are more volatile than those of debt
securities. Equity securities fluctuate in value and price in response to
factors specific to the issuer of the security, such as
management performance, financial condition, and market demand for the issuer's
products or services, as well as
factors unrelated to the fundamental condition of the issuer, including general
market, economic and political conditions.
Different parts of a market, industry and sector may react differently to
adverse issuer, market, regulatory, political,
and economic developments.
Foreign
Investment Risk. Foreign
investments may be subject to lower liquidity, greater price volatility and
risks related to adverse
political, regulatory, market or economic developments. Foreign investments may
involve exposure to changes in
foreign currency exchange rates and may be subject to higher withholding and
other taxes.
Emerging
Markets Risk. Emerging
market securities typically present even greater exposure to the risks described
under
"Foreign Investment Risk" and may be particularly sensitive to global economic
conditions. Emerging market securities
are also typically less liquid than securities of developed countries and could
be difficult to sell, particularly during a
market downturn.
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
|
3 |
Derivatives
Risk. The use of
derivatives, such as futures, options and swap agreements, can lead to losses,
including those
magnified by leverage, particularly when derivatives are used to enhance return
rather than mitigate risk. Certain derivative
instruments may be difficult to sell when the portfolio manager believes it
would be appropriate to do so, or the other
party to a derivative contract may be unwilling or unable to fulfill its
contractual obligations.
Futures
Contracts Risk. A Fund
that uses futures contracts, which are a type of derivative, is subject to the
risk of loss caused by
unanticipated market movements. In addition, there may at times be an imperfect
correlation between the movement in
the prices of futures contracts and the value of their underlying instruments or
indexes, and there may at times not
be a liquid secondary market for certain futures
contracts.
Growth/Value
Investing Risk. Securities
that exhibit growth or value characteristics tend to perform differently and
shift into
and out of favor with investors depending on changes in market and economic
sentiment and conditions.
Management
Risk. Investment
decisions, techniques, analyses or models implemented by a Fund's
manager or sub-adviser
in seeking to achieve the Fund's investment objective may not produce expected
returns, may cause the Fund's
shares to lose value or may cause the Fund to underperform other funds with
similar investment objectives.
Smaller
Company Securities Risk. Securities
of companies with smaller market capitalizations tend to be more volatile
and less
liquid than those of larger companies.
Performance
The
following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the
Fund by showing changes in the Fund's
performance from year to year. The Fund’s
average annual total returns are compared to the performance of one or more
indices. Past
performance before and after taxes is no guarantee of future
results. Current
month-end performance
is available on the Fund’s website at www.allspringglobal.com.
|
|
|
Calendar
Year Total Returns for Institutional Class as of 12/31 each
year |
|
Highest
Quarter: June
30,
2020 |
|
Lowest
Quarter: March
31,
2020 |
|
|
4 |
|
International
and Global Equity Funds |
|
|
|
|
|
Average
Annual Total Returns for the periods ended
12/31/2022 |
|
Inception
Date
of Share
Class |
1
Year |
5
Year |
10
Year |
Institutional
Class (before taxes) |
7/30/2010
|
-19.47% |
-1.47% |
1.29% |
Institutional
Class (after taxes on distributions) |
7/30/2010
|
-19.50% |
-1.50% |
1.22% |
Institutional
Class (after taxes on distributions and the sale of
Fund Shares) |
7/30/2010
|
-11.18% |
-0.94% |
1.13% |
MSCI
Emerging Markets Index (Net) (USD) (reflects no deduction
for fees, expenses, or taxes) |
|
-20.09% |
-1.40% |
1.44% |
After-tax
returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal
income tax rates and do not reflect the
impact of state, local or foreign taxes. Actual
after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from
those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to tax-exempt
investors or investors who hold their Fund
shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) Plans or Individual
Retirement Accounts.
Fund
Management
|
|
|
Manager
|
Sub-Adviser |
Portfolio
Manager, Title/Managed Since |
Allspring
Funds Management,
LLC |
Allspring
Global Investments,
LLC |
Derrick
Irwin, CFA,
Portfolio Manager/2011 Richard
Peck, CFA,
Portfolio Manager/2014 Yi
(Jerry) Zhang, Ph.D., CFA,
Portfolio Manager/2006 |
Purchase
and Sale of Fund Shares
Institutional shares
are generally available through intermediaries for the accounts of their
customers and directly to institutional
investors and individuals. Institutional investors may include corporations;
private banks and trust companies;
endowments and foundations; defined contribution, defined benefit and other
employer sponsored retirement
plans; institutional retirement plan platforms; insurance companies; registered
investment advisor firms; bank
trusts; 529 college savings plans; family offices; and funds of funds, including
those managed by Allspring
Funds Management.
In general, you can buy or sell shares of the Fund online or by mail, phone or
wire, on any day the New York Stock
Exchange is open for regular trading. You also may buy and sell shares through a
financial professional.
|
|
Minimum
Investments |
To
Buy or Sell Shares |
Minimum
Initial Investment Institutional
Class: $1 million (this amount may be reduced
or eliminated for certain eligible investors)
Minimum
Additional Investment Institutional
Class: None |
Mail:
Allspring
Funds P.O.
Box 219967 Kansas
City, MO 64121-9967 Online:
www.allspringglobal.com Phone
or Wire:
1-800-222-8222 Contact
your financial professional. |
Tax
Information
Any
distributions you receive from the Fund may be taxable as ordinary income or
capital gains, except when your investment
is in an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-advantaged investment plan. However,
subsequent withdrawals from such a tax-advantaged
investment plan may be subject to federal income tax. You should consult your
tax adviser about your specific
tax situation.
Payments
to Intermediaries
If you
purchase a Fund through an intermediary, 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 intermediary
and your financial professional to recommend the Fund over another investment.
Consult your financial professional
or visit your intermediary’s website for more information.
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
|
5 |
Emerging
Markets Equity Income Fund Summary
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks to achieve long-term capital appreciation and current
income.
Fees
and Expenses
These
tables are intended to help you understand the various costs and expenses you
will pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of
the Fund.
|
|
Shareholder
Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
|
|
Maximum
sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
Maximum
deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
|
|
|
Management
Fees |
1.05% |
Distribution
(12b-1) Fees |
0.00% |
Other
Expenses |
0.32% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
1.37% |
Fee
Waivers |
(0.15)% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers2
|
% |
1. |
Expenses
have been adjusted as necessary from amounts incurred during the Fund's
most recent fiscal year to reflect current fees and
expenses.
|
2. |
The
Manager has contractually committed through February
29, 2024, to
waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary
to cap Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at
1.22%
for Institutional
Class. Brokerage commissions, stamp
duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses (if any), and
extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense
cap. Prior to or after the commitment expiration date, the cap may be
increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may
be terminated only with the approval of the Board of
Trustees. |
Example
of Expenses
The example
below is intended to help you compare the costs of investing in the Fund with
the costs of investing in other
funds. The example assumes a $10,000 initial investment, 5% annual total return,
and that fees and expenses remain the
same as in the tables above. To the extent that the Manager is waiving fees or
reimbursing expenses, the example
assumes that such waiver or reimbursement will only be in place through the date
noted above. Although your actual
costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would
be:
|
|
After:
|
|
1
Year |
$124 |
3
Years |
$419 |
5
Years |
$736 |
10
Years |
$1,633 |
Portfolio
Turnover
The Fund
pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities
(or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher
portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in
higher taxes when Fund shares are held in
a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating
expenses or in the example,
affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's
portfolio turnover rate was 50%
of the
average value of its portfolio.
6 |
|
International
and Global Equity Funds |
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund's net assets in equity securities of companies in
emerging market countries;
and |
■ |
across
any market
capitalization. |
We consider
emerging market countries to be, among others, countries included in the MSCI
Emerging Markets Index. We look for
companies with sustainable dividend yields backed by strong company financials
and fundamentals, including
above-average sales and earnings growth, overall financial strength, competitive
advantages, and capable management.
We may sell a holding when it no longer has some or all of these traits. Our
investment strategy includes both a
top-down strategy, which takes account of overall economic and market trends in
each country, and a bottom-up
strategy, in which we use fundamental research for security selection. In order
to take advantage of the wide range
of possible opportunities in a variety of markets at different stages of
economic development, we construct the
portfolio with the potential for a portfolio dividend yield above the index
average while maintaining a controlled level of
risk.
We see
Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) considerations as a component of
fundamental analysis and in particular
climate change as a serious and complex risk. The accounting of sustainability
issues is integrated into the team’s
investment process: research, stock selection, portfolio construction, and
engagement with companies on ESG issues.
We reserve
the right to hedge the portfolio’s foreign currency exposure by purchasing or
selling currency futures and foreign
currency forward contracts. However, under normal circumstances, we will not
engage in extensive foreign currency
hedging.
Principal
Investment Risks
An
investment in the Fund may lose money, is
not a deposit of a bank or its affiliates, is not insured or guaranteed by
the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental
agency, and is
primarily subject to the risks briefly
summarized below.
Market
Risk. The values
of, and/or the income generated by, securities held by the Fund may decline due
to general market
conditions or other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of
such securities. Securities markets are
volatile and may decline significantly in response to adverse issuer,
regulatory, political, or economic developments.
Different sectors of the market and different security types may react
differently to such developments.
Equity
Securities Risk. The values
of equity securities may experience periods of substantial price volatility and
may decline
significantly over short time periods. In general, the values of equity
securities are more volatile than those of debt
securities. Equity securities fluctuate in value and price in response to
factors specific to the issuer of the security, such as
management performance, financial condition, and market demand for the issuer's
products or services, as well as
factors unrelated to the fundamental condition of the issuer, including general
market, economic and political conditions.
Different parts of a market, industry and sector may react differently to
adverse issuer, market, regulatory, political,
and economic developments.
Foreign
Investment Risk. Foreign
investments may be subject to lower liquidity, greater price volatility and
risks related to adverse
political, regulatory, market or economic developments. Foreign investments may
involve exposure to changes in
foreign currency exchange rates and may be subject to higher withholding and
other taxes.
Emerging
Markets Risk. Emerging
market securities typically present even greater exposure to the risks described
under
"Foreign Investment Risk" and may be particularly sensitive to global economic
conditions. Emerging market securities
are also typically less liquid than securities of developed countries and could
be difficult to sell, particularly during a
market downturn.
Derivatives
Risk. The use of
derivatives, such as futures, options and swap agreements, can lead to losses,
including those
magnified by leverage, particularly when derivatives are used to enhance return
rather than mitigate risk. Certain derivative
instruments may be difficult to sell when the portfolio manager believes it
would be appropriate to do so, or the other
party to a derivative contract may be unwilling or unable to fulfill its
contractual obligations.
Foreign
Currency Contracts Risk. A Fund
that enters into forwards or other foreign currency contracts, which are a
type of
derivative, is subject to the risk that the portfolio manager may be incorrect
in his or her judgment of future exchange
rate changes.
Growth/Value
Investing Risk. Securities
that exhibit growth or value characteristics tend to perform differently and
shift into
and out of favor with investors depending on changes in market and economic
sentiment and conditions.
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
|
7 |
Management
Risk. Investment
decisions, techniques, analyses or models implemented by a Fund's
manager or sub-adviser
in seeking to achieve the Fund's investment objective may not produce expected
returns, may cause the Fund's
shares to lose value or may cause the Fund to underperform other funds with
similar investment objectives.
Smaller
Company Securities Risk. Securities
of companies with smaller market capitalizations tend to be more volatile
and less
liquid than those of larger companies.
Performance
The
following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the
Fund by showing changes in the Fund's
performance from year to year. The Fund’s
average annual total returns are compared to the performance of one or more
indices. Past
performance before and after taxes is no guarantee of future
results. Current
month-end performance
is available on the Fund’s website at www.allspringglobal.com.
|
|
|
Calendar
Year Total Returns for Institutional Class as of 12/31 each
year |
|
Highest
Quarter: December
31, 2020 |
|
Lowest
Quarter: March
31,
2020 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Average
Annual Total Returns for the periods ended
12/31/2022 |
|
Inception
Date
of Share
Class |
1
Year |
5
Year |
10
Year |
Institutional
Class (before taxes) |
5/31/2012
|
-17.92% |
-1.11% |
1.45% |
Institutional
Class (after taxes on distributions) |
5/31/2012
|
-18.15% |
-1.45% |
0.89% |
Institutional
Class (after taxes on distributions and the sale of
Fund Shares) |
5/31/2012
|
-9.95% |
-0.54% |
1.24% |
MSCI
Emerging Markets Index (Net) (USD) (reflects no deduction
for fees, expenses, or taxes) |
|
-20.09% |
-1.40% |
1.44% |
MSCI
Emerging Markets High Dividend Yield Index (Net) (USD)
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
|
|
-18.51% |
-2.01% |
-0.66% |
After-tax
returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal
income tax rates and do not reflect the
impact of state, local or foreign taxes. Actual
after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from
those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to tax-exempt
investors or investors who hold their Fund
shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) Plans or Individual
Retirement Accounts.
8 |
|
International
and Global Equity Funds |
Fund
Management
|
|
|
Manager
|
Sub-Adviser |
Portfolio
Managers, Title/Managed Since |
Allspring
Funds Management,
LLC |
Allspring
Global Investments,
LLC |
Alison
Shimada,
Portfolio Manager / 2012 Elaine
Tse,
Portfolio Manager / 2018 |
Purchase
and Sale of Fund Shares
Institutional shares
are generally available through intermediaries for the accounts of their
customers and directly to institutional
investors and individuals. Institutional investors may include corporations;
private banks and trust companies;
endowments and foundations; defined contribution, defined benefit and other
employer sponsored retirement
plans; institutional retirement plan platforms; insurance companies; registered
investment advisor firms; bank
trusts; 529 college savings plans; family offices; and funds of funds, including
those managed by Allspring
Funds Management.
In general, you can buy or sell shares of the Fund online or by mail, phone or
wire, on any day the New York Stock
Exchange is open for regular trading. You also may buy and sell shares through a
financial professional.
|
|
Minimum
Investments |
To
Buy or Sell Shares |
Minimum
Initial Investment Institutional
Class: $1 million (this amount may be reduced
or eliminated for certain eligible investors)
Minimum
Additional Investment Institutional
Class: None |
Mail:
Allspring
Funds P.O.
Box 219967 Kansas
City, MO 64121-9967 Online:
www.allspringglobal.com Phone
or Wire:
1-800-222-8222 Contact
your financial professional. |
Tax
Information
Any
distributions you receive from the Fund may be taxable as ordinary income or
capital gains, except when your investment
is in an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-advantaged investment plan. However,
subsequent withdrawals from such a tax-advantaged
investment plan may be subject to federal income tax. You should consult your
tax adviser about your specific
tax situation.
Payments
to Intermediaries
If you
purchase a Fund through an intermediary, 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 intermediary
and your financial professional to recommend the Fund over another investment.
Consult your financial professional
or visit your intermediary’s website for more information.
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
|
9 |
International
Equity Fund Summary
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks long-term capital appreciation.
Fees
and Expenses
These
tables are intended to help you understand the various costs and expenses you
will pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of
the Fund.
|
|
Shareholder
Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
|
|
Maximum
sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
Maximum
deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
|
|
|
Management
Fees |
0.80% |
Distribution
(12b-1) Fees |
0.00% |
Other
Expenses |
0.25% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
1.05% |
Fee
Waivers |
(0.21)% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers2
|
% |
1. |
Expenses
have been adjusted as necessary from amounts incurred during the Fund's
most recent fiscal year to reflect current fees and
expenses.
|
2. |
The
Manager has contractually committed through February
29, 2024, to
waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary
to cap Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at
0.84%
for Institutional
Class. Brokerage commissions, stamp
duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses (if any), and
extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense
cap. Prior to or after the commitment expiration date, the cap may be
increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may
be terminated only with the approval of the Board of
Trustees. |
Example
of Expenses
The example
below is intended to help you compare the costs of investing in the Fund with
the costs of investing in other
funds. The example assumes a $10,000 initial investment, 5% annual total return,
and that fees and expenses remain the
same as in the tables above. To the extent that the Manager is waiving fees or
reimbursing expenses, the example
assumes that such waiver or reimbursement will only be in place through the date
noted above. Although your actual
costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would
be:
|
|
After:
|
|
1
Year |
$87 |
3
Years |
$316 |
5
Years |
$564 |
10
Years |
$1,275 |
Portfolio
Turnover
The Fund
pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities
(or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher
portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in
higher taxes when Fund shares are held in
a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating
expenses or in the example,
affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's
portfolio turnover rate was 58%
of the
average value of its portfolio.
10 |
|
International
and Global Equity Funds |
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund's net assets in equity securities of foreign
issuers; |
■ |
up to
30% of the Fund's total assets in emerging market equity securities;
and |
■ |
in
securities of at least three different countries including the
U.S. |
The types
of securities in which we normally invest include common stock, preferred stock,
rights, warrants and American
Depositary Receipts (ADRs). We consider equity securities of foreign issuers (or
foreign securities) to be equity
securities: (1) issued by companies with their principal place of business or
principal office or both, as determined
in our reasonable discretion, in a country other than the U.S.; or (2) issued by
companies for which the principal
securities trading market is a country other than the U.S. We may use futures or
forward foreign currency contracts
to manage risk or to enhance return.
We use
bottom-up stock selection, based on in-depth fundamental research as the
cornerstone of our investment process.
During each stage of the process, we also consider the influence on the
investment theses of top-down factors
such as macroeconomic forecasts, real economic growth prospects, fiscal and
monetary policy, currency issues, and
demographic and political risks. Sector and country weights result from rather
than determine our stock-selection
decisions. Our investment process seeks both growth and value opportunities. For
growth investments, we target
companies that we believe have strong business franchises, experienced and
proven management, and accelerating
cash flow growth rates. For value investments, we target companies that we
believe are undervalued in the
marketplace compared to their intrinsic value. Additionally, we seek to identify
catalysts that will unlock value, which will
then be recognized by the market. We may purchase securities across any market
capitalization.
We conduct
ongoing review, research, and analysis of our portfolio holdings. We may sell a
stock if it achieves our investment
objective for the position, if a stock's fundamentals or price change
significantly, if we change our view of a country or
sector, or if the stock no longer fits within the risk characteristics
of the
Fund's portfolio.
Principal
Investment Risks
An
investment in the Fund may lose money, is
not a deposit of a bank or its affiliates, is not insured or guaranteed by
the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental
agency, and is
primarily subject to the risks briefly
summarized below.
Market
Risk. The values
of, and/or the income generated by, securities held by the Fund may decline due
to general market
conditions or other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of
such securities. Securities markets are
volatile and may decline significantly in response to adverse issuer,
regulatory, political, or economic developments.
Different sectors of the market and different security types may react
differently to such developments.
Equity
Securities Risk. The values
of equity securities may experience periods of substantial price volatility and
may decline
significantly over short time periods. In general, the values of equity
securities are more volatile than those of debt
securities. Equity securities fluctuate in value and price in response to
factors specific to the issuer of the security, such as
management performance, financial condition, and market demand for the issuer's
products or services, as well as
factors unrelated to the fundamental condition of the issuer, including general
market, economic and political conditions.
Different parts of a market, industry and sector may react differently to
adverse issuer, market, regulatory, political,
and economic developments.
Foreign
Investment Risk. Foreign
investments may be subject to lower liquidity, greater price volatility and
risks related to adverse
political, regulatory, market or economic developments. Foreign investments may
involve exposure to changes in
foreign currency exchange rates and may be subject to higher withholding and
other taxes.
Derivatives
Risk. The use of
derivatives, such as futures, options and swap agreements, can lead to losses,
including those
magnified by leverage, particularly when derivatives are used to enhance return
rather than mitigate risk. Certain derivative
instruments may be difficult to sell when the portfolio manager believes it
would be appropriate to do so, or the other
party to a derivative contract may be unwilling or unable to fulfill its
contractual obligations.
Emerging
Markets Risk. Emerging
market securities typically present even greater exposure to the risks described
under
"Foreign Investment Risk" and may be particularly sensitive to global economic
conditions. Emerging market securities
are also typically less liquid than securities of developed countries and could
be difficult to sell, particularly during a
market downturn.
Foreign
Currency Contracts Risk. A Fund
that enters into forwards or other foreign currency contracts, which are a
type of
derivative, is subject to the risk that the portfolio manager may be incorrect
in his or her judgment of future exchange
rate changes.
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
|
11 |
Futures
Contracts Risk. A Fund
that uses futures contracts, which are a type of derivative, is subject to the
risk of loss caused by
unanticipated market movements. In addition, there may at times be an imperfect
correlation between the movement in
the prices of futures contracts and the value of their underlying instruments or
indexes, and there may at times not
be a liquid secondary market for certain futures
contracts.
Growth/Value
Investing Risk. Securities
that exhibit growth or value characteristics tend to perform differently and
shift into
and out of favor with investors depending on changes in market and economic
sentiment and conditions.
Management
Risk. Investment
decisions, techniques, analyses or models implemented by a Fund's
manager or sub-adviser
in seeking to achieve the Fund's investment objective may not produce expected
returns, may cause the Fund's
shares to lose value or may cause the Fund to underperform other funds with
similar investment objectives.
Smaller
Company Securities Risk. Securities
of companies with smaller market capitalizations tend to be more volatile
and less
liquid than those of larger companies.
Performance
The
following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the
Fund by showing changes in the Fund's
performance from year to year. The Fund’s
average annual total returns are compared to the performance of one or more
indices. Past
performance before and after taxes is no guarantee of future
results. Current
month-end performance
is available on the Fund’s website at www.allspringglobal.com.
|
|
|
Calendar
Year Total Returns for Institutional Class as of 12/31 each
year |
|
Highest
Quarter: December
31, 2022 |
|
Lowest
Quarter: March
31,
2020 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Average
Annual Total Returns for the periods ended
12/31/2022 |
|
Inception
Date
of Share
Class |
1
Year |
5
Year |
10
Year |
Institutional
Class (before taxes) |
3/9/1998
|
-11.32% |
-1.12% |
3.75% |
Institutional
Class (after taxes on distributions) |
3/9/1998
|
-11.67% |
-1.50% |
3.19% |
Institutional
Class (after taxes on distributions and the sale of
Fund Shares) |
3/9/1998
|
-6.18% |
-0.68% |
3.02% |
MSCI
ACWI ex USA Index (Net) (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses, or taxes) |
|
-16.00% |
0.88% |
3.80% |
MSCI
ACWI ex USA Value Index (Net) (reflects no deduction for
fees, expenses, or taxes) |
|
-8.59% |
-0.05% |
2.72% |
After-tax
returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal
income tax rates and do not reflect the
impact of state, local or foreign taxes. Actual
after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from
those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to tax-exempt
investors or investors who hold their Fund
shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) Plans or Individual
Retirement Accounts.
12 |
|
International
and Global Equity Funds |
Fund
Management
|
|
|
Manager
|
Sub-Adviser |
Portfolio
Manager, Title/Managed Since |
Allspring
Funds Management,
LLC |
Allspring
Global Investments,
LLC |
Venkateshwar
(Venk) Lal,
Portfolio Manager/2017 Dale
A. Winner, CFA,
Portfolio Manager/2012 |
Purchase
and Sale of Fund Shares
Institutional shares
are generally available through intermediaries for the accounts of their
customers and directly to institutional
investors and individuals. Institutional investors may include corporations;
private banks and trust companies;
endowments and foundations; defined contribution, defined benefit and other
employer sponsored retirement
plans; institutional retirement plan platforms; insurance companies; registered
investment advisor firms; bank
trusts; 529 college savings plans; family offices; and funds of funds, including
those managed by Allspring
Funds Management.
In general, you can buy or sell shares of the Fund online or by mail, phone or
wire, on any day the New York Stock
Exchange is open for regular trading. You also may buy and sell shares through a
financial professional.
|
|
Minimum
Investments |
To
Buy or Sell Shares |
Minimum
Initial Investment Institutional
Class: $1 million (this amount may be reduced
or eliminated for certain eligible investors)
Minimum
Additional Investment Institutional
Class: None |
Mail:
Allspring
Funds P.O.
Box 219967 Kansas
City, MO 64121-9967 Online:
www.allspringglobal.com Phone
or Wire:
1-800-222-8222 Contact
your financial professional. |
Tax
Information
Any
distributions you receive from the Fund may be taxable as ordinary income or
capital gains, except when your investment
is in an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-advantaged investment plan. However,
subsequent withdrawals from such a tax-advantaged
investment plan may be subject to federal income tax. You should consult your
tax adviser about your specific
tax situation.
Payments
to Intermediaries
If you
purchase a Fund through an intermediary, 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 intermediary
and your financial professional to recommend the Fund over another investment.
Consult your financial professional
or visit your intermediary’s website for more information.
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
|
13 |
Special
Global Small Cap Fund Summary
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks long-term capital appreciation.
Fees
and Expenses
These
tables are intended to help you understand the various costs and expenses you
will pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of
the Fund.
|
|
Shareholder
Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
|
|
Maximum
sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
Maximum
deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
|
|
|
Management
Fees |
0.95% |
Distribution
(12b-1) Fees |
0.00% |
Other
Expenses |
0.24% |
Acquired
Fund Fees and Expenses |
0.00% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
1.19% |
Fee
Waivers |
(0.04)% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers2
|
% |
1. |
Expenses
have been adjusted as necessary from amounts incurred during the Fund's
most recent fiscal year to reflect current fees and
expenses.
|
2. |
The
Manager has contractually committed through February
29, 2024, to
waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary
to cap Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at
1.15%
for Institutional
Class. Brokerage commissions, stamp
duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses (if any), and
extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense
cap. Prior to or after the commitment expiration date, the cap may be
increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may
be terminated only with the approval of the Board of
Trustees. |
Example
of Expenses
The example
below is intended to help you compare the costs of investing in the Fund with
the costs of investing in other
funds. The example assumes a $10,000 initial investment, 5% annual total return,
and that fees and expenses remain the
same as in the tables above. To the extent that the Manager is waiving fees or
reimbursing expenses, the example
assumes that such waiver or reimbursement will only be in place through the date
noted above. Although your actual
costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would
be:
|
|
After:
|
|
1
Year |
$118 |
3
Years |
$377 |
5
Years |
$656 |
10
Years |
$1,451 |
Portfolio
Turnover
The Fund
pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities
(or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher
portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in
higher taxes when Fund shares are held in
a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating
expenses or in the example,
affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's
portfolio turnover rate was 47%
of the
average value of its portfolio.
14 |
|
International
and Global Equity Funds |
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund's total assets in equity securities of
small-capitalization
companies; |
■ |
in
the securities of companies located in no fewer than three countries,
which may include the U.S., and we may invest
more than 25% of the Fund's total assets in any one country;
and |
■ |
up to
10% of the Fund's total assets in emerging market equity
securities. |
We invest
principally in equity securities of small-capitalization companies, which we
define as companies with market capitalizations
within the range of the MSCI World Small Cap Index at the time of purchase. The
market capitalization range of
the MSCI World Small Cap Index was approximately $93 million
to $13.91
billion, as of January 31,
2023, and is expected
to change frequently. We consider foreign securities to be securities: (1)
issued by companies with their principal
place of business or principal office or both, as determined in our reasonable
discretion, in a country other than the
U.S.; or (2) issued by companies for which the principal securities trading
market is a country other than the U.S.
Furthermore, we may use futures, options or forward foreign currency contracts
to manage risk or to enhance return.
In
selecting equity investments for the Fund, the portfolio managers attempt to
identify companies that are well managed,
have flexible balance sheets, sustainable cash flows and that are undervalued
companies relative to an assessment
of their intrinsic value. We believe the global small-capitalization markets are
inefficient and that stocks are often
inappropriately valued. Our process utilizes both fundamentally based, bottom-up
techniques with top-down, industry
and sector analysis to identify global opportunities. Furthermore, an analysis
of the risk materiality and management
of environmental, social and governance risks are considered within the stock
selection process and a stock could
be excluded from consideration and/or sold from the portfolio as a result of
these risks. We conduct ongoing
review, research, and analysis of our portfolio holdings. We may sell a stock if
it achieves our investment objective
for the position, if a stock's fundamentals or price change significantly, if we
change our view of a country or sector, or
if the stock no longer fits within the risk characteristics of the Fund's
portfolio. We reserve the right to hedge the
portfolio's foreign currency exposure by purchasing or selling currency futures
and foreign currency forward contracts.
However, under normal circumstances, we will not engage in extensive foreign
currency hedging.
Principal
Investment Risks
An
investment in the Fund may lose money, is
not a deposit of a bank or its affiliates, is not insured or guaranteed by
the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental
agency, and is
primarily subject to the risks briefly
summarized below.
Market
Risk. The values
of, and/or the income generated by, securities held by the Fund may decline due
to general market
conditions or other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of
such securities. Securities markets are
volatile and may decline significantly in response to adverse issuer,
regulatory, political, or economic developments.
Different sectors of the market and different security types may react
differently to such developments.
Equity
Securities Risk. The values
of equity securities may experience periods of substantial price volatility and
may decline
significantly over short time periods. In general, the values of equity
securities are more volatile than those of debt
securities. Equity securities fluctuate in value and price in response to
factors specific to the issuer of the security, such as
management performance, financial condition, and market demand for the issuer's
products or services, as well as
factors unrelated to the fundamental condition of the issuer, including general
market, economic and political conditions.
Different parts of a market, industry and sector may react differently to
adverse issuer, market, regulatory, political,
and economic developments.
Smaller
Company Securities Risk. Securities
of companies with smaller market capitalizations tend to be more volatile
and less
liquid than those of larger companies.
Foreign
Investment Risk. Foreign
investments may be subject to lower liquidity, greater price volatility and
risks related to adverse
political, regulatory, market or economic developments. Foreign investments may
involve exposure to changes in
foreign currency exchange rates and may be subject to higher withholding and
other taxes.
Derivatives
Risk. The use of
derivatives, such as futures, options and swap agreements, can lead to losses,
including those
magnified by leverage, particularly when derivatives are used to enhance return
rather than mitigate risk. Certain derivative
instruments may be difficult to sell when the portfolio manager believes it
would be appropriate to do so, or the other
party to a derivative contract may be unwilling or unable to fulfill its
contractual obligations.
Emerging
Markets Risk. Emerging
market securities typically present even greater exposure to the risks described
under
"Foreign Investment Risk" and may be particularly sensitive to global economic
conditions. Emerging market
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
|
15 |
securities
are also typically less liquid than securities of developed countries and could
be difficult to sell, particularly during a
market downturn.
Foreign
Currency Contracts Risk. A Fund
that enters into forwards or other foreign currency contracts, which are a
type of
derivative, is subject to the risk that the portfolio manager may be incorrect
in his or her judgment of future exchange
rate changes.
Futures
Contracts Risk. A Fund
that uses futures contracts, which are a type of derivative, is subject to the
risk of loss caused by
unanticipated market movements. In addition, there may at times be an imperfect
correlation between the movement in
the prices of futures contracts and the value of their underlying instruments or
indexes, and there may at times not
be a liquid secondary market for certain futures
contracts.
Geographic
Emphasis Risk. A Fund
that invests a significant portion of its assets in one country or geographic
region will be
more vulnerable than a fund that invests its assets more broadly to the
economic, financial, political or other developments
affecting that country or region. Such developments may have a significant
impact on the Fund’s investment
performance causing such performance to be more volatile than the investment
performance of a more geographically
diversified fund.
Growth/Value
Investing Risk. Securities
that exhibit growth or value characteristics tend to perform differently and
shift into
and out of favor with investors depending on changes in market and economic
sentiment and conditions.
Management
Risk. Investment
decisions, techniques, analyses or models implemented by a Fund's
manager or sub-adviser
in seeking to achieve the Fund's investment objective may not produce expected
returns, may cause the Fund's
shares to lose value or may cause the Fund to underperform other funds with
similar investment objectives.
Options
Risk. A Fund
that purchases options, which are a type of derivative, is subject to the risk
of a loss of premiums without
offsetting gains. A Fund that writes options receives a premium that may be
small relative to the loss realized in the event
of adverse changes in the value of the underlying
instruments.
Performance
The
following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the
Fund by showing changes in the Fund's
performance from year to year. The Fund’s
average annual total returns are compared to the performance of one or more
indices. Past
performance before and after taxes is no guarantee of future
results. Current
month-end performance
is available on the Fund’s website at www.allspringglobal.com.
|
|
|
Calendar
Year Total Returns for Institutional Class as of 12/31 each
year |
|
Highest
Quarter: December
31, 2020 |
|
Lowest
Quarter: March
31,
2020 |
|
|
16 |
|
International
and Global Equity Funds |
|
|
|
|
|
Average
Annual Total Returns for the periods ended
12/31/2022 |
|
Inception
Date
of Share
Class |
1
Year |
5
Year |
10
Year |
Institutional
Class (before taxes) |
7/30/2010
|
-24.47% |
2.42% |
7.84% |
Institutional
Class (after taxes on distributions) |
7/30/2010
|
-25.16% |
0.58% |
5.75% |
Institutional
Class (after taxes on distributions and the sale of
Fund Shares) |
7/30/2010
|
-13.98% |
1.62% |
5.90% |
MSCI
World Small Cap Index (Net) (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses, or taxes) |
|
-18.75% |
3.46% |
8.22% |
S&P
Developed SmallCap Index (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses, or taxes) |
|
-18.31% |
3.52% |
8.36% |
After-tax
returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal
income tax rates and do not reflect the
impact of state, local or foreign taxes. Actual
after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from
those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to tax-exempt
investors or investors who hold their Fund
shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) Plans or Individual
Retirement Accounts.
Fund
Management
|
|
|
Manager
|
Sub-Adviser |
Portfolio
Managers, Title/Managed Since |
Allspring
Funds Management,
LLC |
Allspring
Global Investments,
LLC |
Stephen
Giggie, CFA,
Portfolio Manager/2020 Oleg
Makhorine, Portfolio
Manager/2012 Brian
Martin, CFA,
Portfolio Manager/2020 James
M. Tringas, CFA,
Portfolio Manager/2008 Bryant
VanCronkhite, CFA, CPA,
Portfolio Manager/2013 |
Purchase
and Sale of Fund Shares
Institutional shares
are generally available through intermediaries for the accounts of their
customers and directly to institutional
investors and individuals. Institutional investors may include corporations;
private banks and trust companies;
endowments and foundations; defined contribution, defined benefit and other
employer sponsored retirement
plans; institutional retirement plan platforms; insurance companies; registered
investment advisor firms; bank
trusts; 529 college savings plans; family offices; and funds of funds, including
those managed by Allspring
Funds Management.
In general, you can buy or sell shares of the Fund online or by mail, phone or
wire, on any day the New York Stock
Exchange is open for regular trading. You also may buy and sell shares through a
financial professional.
|
|
Minimum
Investments |
To
Buy or Sell Shares |
Minimum
Initial Investment Institutional
Class: $1 million (this amount may be reduced
or eliminated for certain eligible investors)
Minimum
Additional Investment Institutional
Class: None |
Mail:
Allspring
Funds P.O.
Box 219967 Kansas
City, MO 64121-9967 Online:
www.allspringglobal.com Phone
or Wire:
1-800-222-8222 Contact
your financial professional. |
Tax
Information
Any
distributions you receive from the Fund may be taxable as ordinary income or
capital gains, except when your investment
is in an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-advantaged investment plan. However,
subsequent withdrawals from such a tax-advantaged
investment plan may be subject to federal income tax. You should consult your
tax adviser about your specific
tax situation.
Payments
to Intermediaries
If you
purchase a Fund through an intermediary, 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 intermediary
and your financial professional to recommend the Fund over another investment.
Consult your financial professional
or visit your intermediary’s website for more information.
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
|
17 |
Special
International Small Cap Fund Summary
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks long-term capital appreciation.
Fees
and Expenses
These
tables are intended to help you understand the various costs and expenses you
will pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of
the Fund.
|
|
Shareholder
Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
|
|
Maximum
sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
Maximum
deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
|
|
|
Management
Fees |
0.95% |
Distribution
(12b-1) Fees |
0.00% |
Other
Expenses |
0.32% |
Acquired
Fund Fees and Expenses |
0.01% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
1.28% |
Fee
Waivers |
(0.22)% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers2
|
% |
1. |
Expenses
have been adjusted as necessary from amounts incurred during the Fund's
most recent fiscal year to reflect current fees and
expenses.
|
2. |
The
Manager has contractually committed through February
29, 2024, to
waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary
to cap Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at
1.05%
for Institutional
Class. Brokerage commissions, stamp
duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses (if any), and
extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense
cap. Prior to or after the commitment expiration date, the cap may be
increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may
be terminated only with the approval of the Board of
Trustees. |
Example
of Expenses
The example
below is intended to help you compare the costs of investing in the Fund with
the costs of investing in other
funds. The example assumes a $10,000 initial investment, 5% annual total return,
and that fees and expenses remain the
same as in the tables above. To the extent that the Manager is waiving fees or
reimbursing expenses, the example
assumes that such waiver or reimbursement will only be in place through the date
noted above. Although your actual
costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would
be:
|
|
After:
|
|
1
Year |
$108 |
3
Years |
$384 |
5
Years |
$681 |
10
Years |
$1,526 |
Portfolio
Turnover
The Fund
pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities
(or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher
portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in
higher taxes when Fund shares are held in
a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating
expenses or in the example,
affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's
portfolio turnover rate was 26%
of the
average value of its portfolio.
18 |
|
International
and Global Equity Funds |
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in equity securities of
small-capitalization
companies; |
■ |
less
than 10% of the Fund’s total assets in emerging market equity securities;
and |
■ |
in a
number of countries throughout the world and may invest more than 25% of
the Fund’s total assets in any one country. |
We invest
principally in equity securities of small-capitalization companies of foreign
issuers, which we define as companies
with market capitalizations within the range of the MSCI World ex USA Small Cap
Index at the time of purchase.
The market capitalization range of the MSCI World ex-U.S. Small Cap Index was
approximately $128 million
to
$11.90
billion, as of January 31,
2023, and is expected to change frequently. We consider foreign securities to be
securities:
(1) issued by companies with their principal place of business or principal
office or both, as determined in our
reasonable discretion, in a country other than the U.S.; or (2) issued by
companies for which the principal securities trading
market is a country other than the U.S.
In
selecting equity investments for the Fund, the portfolio managers attempt to
identify companies that are well managed,
have flexible balance sheets and sustainable cash flows, and that are
undervalued companies relative to an assessment
of their intrinsic value. A flexible balance sheet is supported by several
metrics including, but not limited to, the
quantity of debt relative to the cash flows of the enterprise, the location of
debt within the capital structure, the maturity
profile of existing debt, the type of debt and any debt covenant restrictions.
We believe the international small-capitalization
markets are inefficient and that stocks are often inappropriately valued. Our
process utilizes both fundamentally
based, bottom-up techniques with top-down, industry and sector analysis to
identify global opportunities.
Furthermore, an analysis of the risk materiality and management of
environmental, social and governance
risks are considered within the stock selection process and a stock could be
excluded from consideration and/or sold
from the portfolio as a result of these risks. We conduct ongoing review,
research, and analysis of our portfolio
holdings. We may sell a stock if it achieves our investment objective for the
position, if a stock’s fundamentals or price
change significantly, if we change our view of a country or sector, or if the
stock no longer fits within the risk characteristics
of the Fund’s portfolio.
Principal
Investment Risks
An
investment in the Fund may lose money, is
not a deposit of a bank or its affiliates, is not insured or guaranteed by
the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental
agency, and is
primarily subject to the risks briefly
summarized below.
Market
Risk. The values
of, and/or the income generated by, securities held by the Fund may decline due
to general market
conditions or other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of
such securities. Securities markets are
volatile and may decline significantly in response to adverse issuer,
regulatory, political, or economic developments.
Different sectors of the market and different security types may react
differently to such developments.
Equity
Securities Risk. The values
of equity securities may experience periods of substantial price volatility and
may decline
significantly over short time periods. In general, the values of equity
securities are more volatile than those of debt
securities. Equity securities fluctuate in value and price in response to
factors specific to the issuer of the security, such as
management performance, financial condition, and market demand for the issuer's
products or services, as well as
factors unrelated to the fundamental condition of the issuer, including general
market, economic and political conditions.
Different parts of a market, industry and sector may react differently to
adverse issuer, market, regulatory, political,
and economic developments.
Smaller
Company Securities Risk. Securities
of companies with smaller market capitalizations tend to be more volatile
and less
liquid than those of larger companies.
Foreign
Investment Risk. Foreign
investments may be subject to lower liquidity, greater price volatility and
risks related to adverse
political, regulatory, market or economic developments. Foreign investments may
involve exposure to changes in
foreign currency exchange rates and may be subject to higher withholding and
other taxes.
Emerging
Markets Risk. Emerging
market securities typically present even greater exposure to the risks described
under
"Foreign Investment Risk" and may be particularly sensitive to global economic
conditions. Emerging market securities
are also typically less liquid than securities of developed countries and could
be difficult to sell, particularly during a
market downturn.
Geographic
Emphasis Risk. A Fund
that invests a significant portion of its assets in one country or geographic
region will be
more vulnerable than a fund that invests its assets more broadly to the
economic, financial, political or other
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
|
19 |
developments
affecting that country or region. Such developments may have a significant
impact on the Fund’s investment
performance causing such performance to be more volatile than the investment
performance of a more geographically
diversified fund.
Growth/Value
Investing Risk. Securities
that exhibit growth or value characteristics tend to perform differently and
shift into
and out of favor with investors depending on changes in market and economic
sentiment and conditions.
Management
Risk. Investment
decisions, techniques, analyses or models implemented by a Fund's
manager or sub-adviser
in seeking to achieve the Fund's investment objective may not produce expected
returns, may cause the Fund's
shares to lose value or may cause the Fund to underperform other funds with
similar investment objectives.
New Fund
Risk. The Fund
is a new fund, with a limited or no operating history and a small asset base.
There can be no assurance
that the Fund will grow to or maintain a viable size. Due to the Fund’s small
asset base, certain of the Fund’s expenses
and its portfolio transaction costs may be higher than those of a fund with a
larger asset base. To the extent that the
Fund does not grow to or maintain a viable size, it may be liquidated, and the
expenses, timing and tax consequences
of such liquidation may not be favorable to some
shareholders.
Performance
The
following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the
Fund by showing changes in the Fund's
performance from year to year. The Fund’s
average annual total returns are compared to the performance of one or more
indices. Past
performance before and after taxes is no guarantee of future
results. Current
month-end performance
is available on the Fund’s website at www.allspringglobal.com.
|
|
|
Calendar
Year Total Returns for Institutional Class as of 12/31 each
year |
|
Highest
Quarter: June
30,
2020 |
|
Lowest
Quarter: March
31,
2020 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Average
Annual Total Returns for the periods ended
12/31/2022 |
|
Inception
Date
of Share
Class |
1
Year |
5
Year |
Since
Inception |
Institutional
Class (before taxes) |
5/31/2019
|
-21.38% |
-- |
2.74% |
Institutional
Class (after taxes on distributions) |
5/31/2019
|
-21.53% |
-- |
2.32% |
Institutional
Class (after taxes on distributions and the
sale of Fund Shares) |
5/31/2019
|
-12.43% |
-- |
2.07% |
MSCI
World ex U.S. Small Cap Index (Net) (reflects no
deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes) |
|
-20.58% |
-- |
4.13% |
After-tax
returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal
income tax rates and do not reflect the
impact of state, local or foreign taxes. Actual
after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from
those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to tax-exempt
investors or investors who hold their Fund
shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) Plans or Individual
Retirement Accounts.
20 |
|
International
and Global Equity Funds |
Fund
Management
|
|
|
Manager
|
Sub-Adviser |
Portfolio
Manager, Title/Managed Since |
Allspring
Funds Management,
LLC |
Allspring
Global Investments,
LLC |
Stephen
Giggie, CFA,
Portfolio Manager / 2020 Oleg
Makhorine,
Portfolio Manager / 2019 James
M. Tringas, CFA,
Portfolio Manager / 2019 Bryant
VanCronkhite, CFA, CPA,
Portfolio Manager / 2019 |
Purchase
and Sale of Fund Shares
Institutional shares
are generally available through intermediaries for the accounts of their
customers and directly to institutional
investors and individuals. Institutional investors may include corporations;
private banks and trust companies;
endowments and foundations; defined contribution, defined benefit and other
employer sponsored retirement
plans; institutional retirement plan platforms; insurance companies; registered
investment advisor firms; bank
trusts; 529 college savings plans; family offices; and funds of funds, including
those managed by Allspring
Funds Management.
In general, you can buy or sell shares of the Fund online or by mail, phone or
wire, on any day the New York Stock
Exchange is open for regular trading. You also may buy and sell shares through a
financial professional.
|
|
Minimum
Investments |
To
Buy or Sell Shares |
Minimum
Initial Investment Institutional
Class: $1 million (this amount may be reduced
or eliminated for certain eligible investors)
Minimum
Additional Investment Institutional
Class: None |
Mail:
Allspring
Funds P.O.
Box 219967 Kansas
City, MO 64121-9967 Online:
www.allspringglobal.com Phone
or Wire:
1-800-222-8222 Contact
your financial professional. |
Tax
Information
Any
distributions you receive from the Fund may be taxable as ordinary income or
capital gains, except when your investment
is in an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-advantaged investment plan. However,
subsequent withdrawals from such a tax-advantaged
investment plan may be subject to federal income tax. You should consult your
tax adviser about your specific
tax situation.
Payments
to Intermediaries
If you
purchase a Fund through an intermediary, 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 intermediary
and your financial professional to recommend the Fund over another investment.
Consult your financial professional
or visit your intermediary’s website for more information.
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
|
21 |
Details
About the Funds
Emerging
Markets Equity Fund
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks long-term capital appreciation.
The Fund's
Board of Trustees can change this investment objective without a shareholder
vote.
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund's net assets in emerging market equity
securities. |
We invest
principally in equity or other listed securities of emerging market companies.
We consider emerging market companies
to include companies that are traded in, have their primary operations in, are
domiciled in or derive a majority of
their revenue from emerging market countries as defined by the MSCI Emerging
Markets Index. We may use futures to
manage risk or to enhance return. The Fund may have exposure to stocks across
any capitalizations and styles and
will be diversified across countries and sectors.
Utilizing a
bottom-up, research driven stock selection process, we seek to invest in quality
companies at prices below their
intrinsic value. From the available stock universe we focus only on those
quality companies that are able to sustain high
profitability over a long period of time for reasons we can understand. We
believe that quality companies create value for
investors from profitable investment of retained earnings and dividend payout
and preserve value in adversity. We further
believe that quality companies that embrace sustainable environmental, social
and governance (ESG) policies
are more likely to avoid permanent loss of capital than companies that do not.
Among the characteristics we seek in
high-quality companies are strong competitive position, demonstrable financial
strength and profitability, favorable
ESG attributes, quality management dedicated to public shareholders’ interest,
and favorable growth prospect
supported by major long-term trends. ESG information and research are integral
to the investment process for the
specific purpose of increasing our knowledge of companies, identifying and
evaluating risks and opportunities, and
engaging with companies to influence corporate behaviors, all of which can
impact the team’s assessment of a company’s
quality and long term intrinsic value. ESG factors represent broad categories,
and the team’s ESG research is
pragmatic and driven by bottom-up, company-specific issues that are important to
individual companies in our pool of quality
investments. In general, ESG research and engagement are broad and cover
environmental, social, and governance
issues as appropriate for each company, such as the environmental impact of a
proposed project, employee
protections in a supply chain, or composition of the board of directors. We also
focus on understanding each
company’s intrinsic value and will only invest when a company’s stock trades at
a meaningful discount to this value. We
do not attempt to anticipate or react to short term market fluctuations, but
instead seek to take advantage of periodic
market inefficiencies to buy the high quality companies at prices below our
assessment of their intrinsic value. We have a
disciplined approach to the monitoring and sale of holdings and our decisions to
trim or sell out of positions may be
triggered when a stock price exceeds its intrinsic value or when there is a
material deterioration in the fundamentals
of the company.
We may
actively trade portfolio securities, which may lead to higher transaction costs
that may affect the Fund's performance.
In addition, active trading of portfolio securities may lead to higher taxes if
your shares are held in a taxable
account.
The Fund
may hold some of its assets in cash or in money market instruments, including
U.S. Government obligations, shares of
other funds and repurchase agreements, or make other short-term investments for
purposes of maintaining liquidity
or for short-term defensive purposes when we believe it is in the best interests
of the shareholders to do so. During such
periods, the Fund may not achieve its objective.
Principal
Investment Risks
The Fund is
primarily subject to the risks mentioned below.
22 |
|
International
and Global Equity Funds |
These and
other risks could cause you to lose money in your investment in the Fund and
could adversely affect the Fund's net
asset value and total return. These risks are described in the "Description of
Principal Investment Risks" section.
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
|
23 |
Emerging
Markets Equity Income Fund
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks to achieve long-term capital appreciation and current income.
The Fund's
Board of Trustees can change this investment objective without a shareholder
vote.
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund's net assets in equity securities of companies in
emerging market countries; and |
■ |
across
any market capitalization. |
We consider
emerging market countries to be, among others, countries included in the MSCI
Emerging Markets Index. We look for
companies with sustainable dividend yields backed by strong company financials
and fundamentals, including
above-average sales and earnings growth, overall financial strength, competitive
advantages, and capable management.
We may sell a holding when it no longer has some or all of these traits. Our
investment strategy includes both a
top-down strategy, which takes account of overall economic and market trends in
each country, and a bottom-up
strategy, in which we use fundamental research for security selection. In order
to take advantage of the wide range
of possible opportunities in a variety of markets at different stages of
economic development, we construct the
portfolio with the potential for a portfolio dividend yield above the index
average while maintaining a controlled level of
risk.
We see
Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) considerations as a component of
fundamental analysis and in particular
climate change as a serious and complex risk. The accounting of sustainability
issues is integrated into the team’s
investment process: research, stock selection, portfolio construction, and
engagement with companies on ESG issues.
We reserve
the right to hedge the portfolio’s foreign currency exposure by purchasing or
selling currency futures and foreign
currency forward contracts. However, under normal circumstances, we will not
engage in extensive foreign currency
hedging.
We may
actively trade portfolio securities, which may lead to higher transaction costs
that may affect the Fund's performance.
In addition, active trading of portfolio securities may lead to higher taxes if
your shares are held in a taxable
account.
The Fund
may hold some of its assets in cash or in money market instruments, including
U.S. Government obligations, shares of
other funds and repurchase agreements, or make other short-term investments for
purposes of maintaining liquidity
or for short-term defensive purposes when we believe it is in the best interests
of the shareholders to do so. During such
periods, the Fund may not achieve its objective.
Principal
Investment Risks
The Fund is
primarily subject to the risks mentioned below.
These and
other risks could cause you to lose money in your investment in the Fund and
could adversely affect the Fund's net
asset value and total return. These risks are described in the "Description of
Principal Investment Risks" section.
24 |
|
International
and Global Equity Funds |
International
Equity Fund
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks long-term capital appreciation.
The Fund's
Board of Trustees can change this investment objective without a shareholder
vote.
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund's net assets in equity securities of foreign
issuers; |
■ |
up to
30% of the Fund's total assets in emerging market equity securities;
and |
■ |
in
securities of at least three different countries including the
U.S. |
The types
of securities in which we normally invest include common stock, preferred stock,
rights, warrants and American
Depositary Receipts (ADRs). We consider equity securities of foreign issuers (or
foreign securities) to be equity
securities: (1) issued by companies with their principal place of business or
principal office or both, as determined
in our reasonable discretion, in a country other than the U.S.; or (2) issued by
companies for which the principal
securities trading market is a country other than the U.S. We may use futures or
forward foreign currency contracts
to manage risk or to enhance return.
We use
bottom-up stock selection, based on in-depth fundamental research as the
cornerstone of our investment process.
During each stage of the process, we also consider the influence on the
investment theses of top-down factors
such as macroeconomic forecasts, real economic growth prospects, fiscal and
monetary policy, currency issues, and
demographic and political risks. Sector and country weights result from rather
than determine our stock-selection
decisions. Our investment process seeks both growth and value opportunities. For
growth investments, we target
companies that we believe have strong business franchises, experienced and
proven management, and accelerating
cash flow growth rates. For value investments, we target companies that we
believe are undervalued in the
marketplace compared to their intrinsic value. Additionally, we seek to identify
catalysts that will unlock value, which will
then be recognized by the market. We may purchase securities across any market
capitalization.
We conduct
ongoing review, research, and analysis of our portfolio holdings. We may sell a
stock if it achieves our investment
objective for the position, if a stock's fundamentals or price change
significantly, if we change our view of a country or
sector, or if the stock no longer fits within the risk characteristics
of the Fund's portfolio.
We may
actively trade portfolio securities, which may lead to higher transaction costs
that may affect the Fund's performance.
In addition, active trading of portfolio securities may lead to higher taxes if
your shares are held in a taxable
account.
The Fund
may hold some of its assets in cash or in money market instruments, including
U.S. Government obligations, shares of
other funds and repurchase agreements, or make other short-term investments for
purposes of maintaining liquidity
or for short-term defensive purposes when we believe it is in the best interests
of the shareholders to do so. During such
periods, the Fund may not achieve its objective.
Principal
Investment Risks
The Fund is
primarily subject to the risks mentioned below.
These and
other risks could cause you to lose money in your investment in the Fund and
could adversely affect the Fund's net
asset value and total return. These risks are described in the "Description of
Principal Investment Risks" section.
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
|
25 |
Special
Global Small Cap Fund
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks long-term capital appreciation.
The Fund's
Board of Trustees can change this investment objective without a shareholder
vote.
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund's total assets in equity securities of
small-capitalization companies; |
■ |
in
the securities of companies located in no fewer than three countries,
which may include the U.S., and we may invest
more than 25% of the Fund's total assets in any one country;
and |
■ |
up to
10% of the Fund's total assets in emerging market equity
securities. |
We invest
principally in equity securities of small-capitalization companies, which we
define as companies with market capitalizations
within the range of the MSCI World Small Cap Index at the time of purchase. The
market capitalization range of
the MSCI World Small Cap Index was approximately $93 million
to $13.91
billion, as of January 31,
2023, and is expected
to change frequently. We consider foreign securities to be securities: (1)
issued by companies with their principal
place of business or principal office or both, as determined in our reasonable
discretion, in a country other than the
U.S.; or (2) issued by companies for which the principal securities trading
market is a country other than the U.S.
Furthermore, we may use futures, options or forward foreign currency contracts
to manage risk or to enhance return.
In
selecting equity investments for the Fund, the portfolio managers attempt to
identify companies that are well managed,
have flexible balance sheets, sustainable cash flows and that are undervalued
companies relative to an assessment
of their intrinsic value. We believe the global small-capitalization markets are
inefficient and that stocks are often
inappropriately valued. Our process utilizes both fundamentally based, bottom-up
techniques with top-down, industry
and sector analysis to identify global opportunities. Furthermore, an analysis
of the risk materiality and management
of environmental, social and governance risks are considered within the stock
selection process and a stock could
be excluded from consideration and/or sold from the portfolio as a result of
these risks. We conduct ongoing
review, research, and analysis of our portfolio holdings. We may sell a stock if
it achieves our investment objective
for the position, if a stock's fundamentals or price change significantly, if we
change our view of a country or sector, or
if the stock no longer fits within the risk characteristics of the Fund's
portfolio. We reserve the right to hedge the
portfolio's foreign currency exposure by purchasing or selling currency futures
and foreign currency forward contracts.
However, under normal circumstances, we will not engage in extensive foreign
currency hedging.
We may
actively trade portfolio securities, which may lead to higher transaction costs
that may affect the Fund's performance.
In addition, active trading of portfolio securities may lead to higher taxes if
your shares are held in a taxable
account.
The Fund
may hold some of its assets in cash or in money market instruments, including
U.S. Government obligations, shares of
other funds and repurchase agreements, or make other short-term investments for
purposes of maintaining liquidity
or for short-term defensive purposes when we believe it is in the best interests
of the shareholders to do so. During such
periods, the Fund may not achieve its objective.
Principal
Investment Risks
The Fund is
primarily subject to the risks mentioned below.
These and
other risks could cause you to lose money in your investment in the Fund and
could adversely affect the Fund's net
asset value and total return. These risks are described in the "Description of
Principal Investment Risks" section.
26 |
|
International
and Global Equity Funds |
Special
International Small Cap Fund
Investment
Objective
The Fund
seeks long-term capital appreciation.
The Fund's
Board of Trustees can change this investment objective without a shareholder
vote.
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in equity securities of
small-capitalization companies; |
■ |
less
than 10% of the Fund’s total assets in emerging market equity securities;
and |
■ |
in a
number of countries throughout the world and may invest more than 25% of
the Fund’s total assets in any one country. |
We invest
principally in equity securities of small-capitalization companies of foreign
issuers, which we define as companies
with market capitalizations within the range of the MSCI World ex USA Small Cap
Index at the time of purchase.
The market capitalization range of the MSCI World ex-U.S. Small Cap Index was
approximately $128 million
to
$11.90
billion, as of January 31,
2023, and is expected to change frequently. We consider foreign securities to be
securities:
(1) issued by companies with their principal place of business or principal
office or both, as determined in our
reasonable discretion, in a country other than the U.S.; or (2) issued by
companies for which the principal securities trading
market is a country other than the U.S.
In
selecting equity investments for the Fund, the portfolio managers attempt to
identify companies that are well managed,
have flexible balance sheets and sustainable cash flows, and that are
undervalued companies relative to an assessment
of their intrinsic value. A flexible balance sheet is supported by several
metrics including, but not limited to, the
quantity of debt relative to the cash flows of the enterprise, the location of
debt within the capital structure, the maturity
profile of existing debt, the type of debt and any debt covenant restrictions.
We believe the international small-capitalization
markets are inefficient and that stocks are often inappropriately valued. Our
process utilizes both fundamentally
based, bottom-up techniques with top-down, industry and sector analysis to
identify global opportunities.
Furthermore, an analysis of the risk materiality and management of
environmental, social and governance
risks are considered within the stock selection process and a stock could be
excluded from consideration and/or sold
from the portfolio as a result of these risks. We conduct ongoing review,
research, and analysis of our portfolio
holdings. We may sell a stock if it achieves our investment objective for the
position, if a stock’s fundamentals or price
change significantly, if we change our view of a country or sector, or if the
stock no longer fits within the risk characteristics
of the Fund’s portfolio.
We may
actively trade portfolio securities, which may lead to higher transaction costs
that may affect the Fund's performance.
In addition, active trading of portfolio securities may lead to higher taxes if
your shares are held in a taxable
account.
The Fund
may hold some of its assets in cash or in money market instruments, including
U.S. Government obligations, shares of
other funds and repurchase agreements, or make other short-term investments for
purposes of maintaining liquidity
or for short-term defensive purposes when we believe it is in the best interests
of the shareholders to do so. During such
periods, the Fund may not achieve its objective.
Principal
Investment Risks
The Fund is
primarily subject to the risks mentioned below.
These and
other risks could cause you to lose money in your investment in the Fund and
could adversely affect the Fund's net
asset value and total return. These risks are described in the "Description of
Principal Investment Risks" section.
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
|
27 |
Description
of Principal Investment Risks
Understanding
the risks involved in fund investing will help you make an informed decision
that takes into account your risk
tolerance and preferences. The risks that are most likely to have a material
effect on a particular Fund as
a whole are called
"principal risks." The principal risks for each Fund have
been previously identified and are described below (in alphabetical
order). Additional information about the principal risks is included in the
Statement of Additional Information.
Derivatives
Risk. The use of
derivatives, such as futures, options and swap agreements, presents risks
different from, and
possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in
traditional securities. The use of derivatives can lead to
losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the derivatives’
underlying assets, indexes or rates and
the derivatives themselves, which may be magnified by certain features of the
derivatives. These risks are heightened
when derivatives are used to enhance a Fund's return or as a substitute for a
position or security, rather than solely
to hedge (or mitigate) the risk of a position or security held by the Fund. The
success of a derivative strategy will be
affected by the portfolio manager's ability to assess and predict market or
economic developments and their impact on
the derivatives’ underlying assets, indexes or reference rates, as well as the
derivatives themselves. Certain derivative
instruments may become illiquid and, as a result, may be difficult to sell when
the portfolio manager believes it would be
appropriate to do so. Certain derivatives create leverage, which can magnify the
impact of a decline in the value of
their underlying assets, indexes or reference rates, and increase the volatility
of the Fund’s net asset value. Certain
derivatives (e.g., over-the-counter swaps) are also subject to the risk that the
counterparty to the derivative contract
will be unwilling or unable to fulfill its contractual obligations, which may
cause a Fund to lose money, suffer delays or
incur costs arising from holding or selling an underlying asset. Changes in laws
or regulations may make the use of
derivatives more costly, may limit the availability of derivatives, or may
otherwise adversely affect the use, value or
performance of derivatives.
Emerging
Markets Risk. Emerging
market securities typically present even greater exposure to the risks described
under
"Foreign Investment Risk" and may be particularly sensitive to global economic
conditions. For example, emerging
market countries are typically more dependent on exports and are, therefore,
more vulnerable to recessions in other
countries. Emerging markets tend to have less developed legal and financial
systems and a smaller market capitalization
than markets in developed countries. Some emerging markets are subject to
greater political instability. Additionally,
emerging markets may have more volatile currencies and be more sensitive than
developed markets to a variety of
economic factors, including inflation. Emerging market securities are also
typically less liquid than securities of
developed countries and could be difficult to sell, particularly during a market
downturn.
Equity
Securities Risk. The values
of equity securities may experience periods of substantial price volatility and
may decline
significantly over short time periods. In general, the values of equity
securities are more volatile than those of debt
securities. Equity securities fluctuate in value and price in response to
factors specific to the issuer of the security, such as
management performance, financial condition, and market demand for the issuer's
products or services, as well as
factors unrelated to the fundamental condition of the issuer, including general
market, economic and political conditions.
Investing in equity securities poses risks specific to an issuer, as well as to
the particular type of company issuing the
equity securities. For example, investing in the equity securities of small- or
mid-capitalization companies can involve
greater risk than is customarily associated with investing in stocks of larger,
more-established companies. Different
parts of a market, industry and sector may react differently to adverse issuer,
market, regulatory, political, and economic
developments. Negative news or a poor outlook for a particular industry or
sector can cause the share prices of
securities of companies in that industry or sector to decline. This risk may be
heightened for a Fund that invests a substantial
portion of its assets in a particular industry or sector.
Foreign
Currency Contracts Risk. A Fund
that enters into forwards or other foreign currency contracts, which are a
type of
derivative, is subject to the risk that the portfolio manager may be incorrect
in his or her judgment of future exchange
rate changes. The Fund's gains from positions in foreign currency contracts may
accelerate and/or lead to recharacterization
of the Fund's income or gains and its distributions to shareholders. The Fund's
losses from such positions
may also lead to recharacterization of the Fund's income and its distributions
to shareholders and may cause a return of
capital to Fund shareholders.
Foreign
Investment Risk. Foreign
investments may be subject to lower liquidity, greater price volatility and
risks related to adverse
political, regulatory, market or economic developments. Foreign companies may be
subject to significantly higher
levels of taxation than U.S. companies, including potentially confiscatory
levels of taxation, thereby reducing the earnings
potential of such foreign companies. Foreign investments may involve exposure to
changes in foreign currency
exchange rates. Such changes may reduce the U.S. dollar value of the
investments. Foreign investments may be subject
to additional risks, such as potentially higher withholding and other taxes, and
may also be subject to
28 |
|
International
and Global Equity Funds |
greater
trade settlement, custodial, and other operational risks than domestic
investments. Certain foreign markets may also be
characterized by less stringent investor protection and disclosure
standards.
Futures Contracts
Risk. A Fund
that uses futures contracts, which are a type of derivative, is subject to the
risk of loss caused by
unanticipated market movements. In addition, there may at times be an imperfect
correlation between the movement in
the prices of futures contracts and the value of their underlying instruments or
indexes, and there may at times not
be a liquid secondary market for certain futures contracts.
Geographic
Emphasis Risk. A Fund
that invests a significant portion of its assets in one country or geographic
region will be
more vulnerable than a fund that invests its assets more broadly to the
economic, financial, political or other developments
affecting that country or region. Such developments may have a significant
impact on the Fund’s investment
performance causing such performance to be more volatile than the investment
performance of a more geographically
diversified fund.
Growth/Value
Investing Risk. Securities
that exhibit certain characteristics, such as growth characteristics or value
characteristics,
tend to perform differently and shift into and out of favor with investors
depending on changes in market and
economic sentiment and conditions. As a result, a Fund's performance may at
times be worse than the performance
of other mutual funds that invest more broadly or in securities that exhibit
different characteristics.
Management
Risk. Investment
decisions, techniques, analyses or models implemented by a Fund's manager or
sub-adviser
in seeking to achieve the Fund's investment objective may not produce the
returns expected, may cause the Fund's
shares to lose value or may cause the Fund to underperform other funds with
similar investment objectives.
Market
Risk. The values
of, and/or the income generated by, securities held by a Fund may decline due to
general market
conditions or other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of
such securities. Securities markets are
volatile and may decline significantly in response to adverse issuer,
regulatory, political, or economic developments.
Different sectors of the market and different security types may react
differently to such developments. Political,
geopolitical, natural and other events, including war, terrorism, trade
disputes, government shutdowns, market
closures, natural and environmental disasters, epidemics, pandemics and other
public health crises and related events have
led, and in the future may lead, to economic uncertainty, decreased economic
activity, increased market volatility
and other disruptive effects on U.S. and global economies and markets. Such
events may have significant adverse
direct or indirect effects on a Fund and its investments. In addition, economies
and financial markets throughout
the world are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the
likelihood that events or conditions
in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other
countries or regions.
New Fund
Risk. The Fund
is a new fund, with a limited or no operating history and a small asset base.
There can be no assurance
that the Fund will grow to or maintain a viable size. Due to the Fund’s small
asset base, certain of the Fund’s expenses
and its portfolio transaction costs may be higher than those of a fund with a
larger asset base. To the extent that the
Fund does not grow to or maintain a viable size, it may be liquidated, and the
expenses, timing and tax consequences
of such liquidation may not be favorable to some shareholders.
Options
Risk. A Fund
that purchases options, which are a type of derivative, is subject to the risk
that gains, if any, realized on
the position, will be less than the amount paid as premiums to the writer of the
option. A Fund that writes options
receives a premium that may be small relative to the loss realized in the event
of adverse changes in the value of the
underlying instruments. A Fund that writes covered call options gives up the
opportunity to profit from any price increase in
the underlying security above the option exercise price while the option is in
effect. Options may be more volatile
than the underlying instruments. In addition, there may at times be an imperfect
correlation between the movement in
values of options and their underlying securities, and there may at times not be
a liquid secondary market for certain
options.
Smaller
Company Securities Risk. Securities
of companies with smaller market capitalizations tend to be more volatile
and less
liquid than those of larger companies. Smaller companies may have no or
relatively short operating histories, limited
financial resources or may have recently become public companies. Some of these
companies have aggressive capital
structures, including high debt levels, or are involved in rapidly growing or
changing industries and/or new technologies.
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
|
29 |
Portfolio
Holdings Information
A
description of the Allspring
Funds’ policies and procedures with respect to disclosure of the Allspring
Funds’ portfolio
holdings is available in the Funds'
Statement of Additional Information.
Pricing Fund
Shares
A Fund's net
asset value ("NAV") is the value of a single share. The NAV is calculated as of
the close of regular trading on the New
York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day that
the NYSE is open, although a Fund may
deviate from this calculation time under unusual or unexpected
circumstances. The NAV
is calculated
separately for each class of shares of a multiple-class Fund. The most recent
NAV for each class of a Fund is available
at allspringglobal.com. To calculate the NAV of a Fund's
shares, the Fund's
assets are valued and totaled, liabilities
are subtracted, and the balance, called net assets, is divided by the number of
shares outstanding. The price at which a
purchase or redemption request is processed is based on the next NAV calculated
after the request is received in
good order. Generally, NAV is not calculated, and purchase and redemption
requests are not processed, on days that
the NYSE is closed for trading; however, under unusual or unexpected
circumstances, a Fund may
elect to remain open
even on days that the NYSE is closed or closes early. To the extent
that a Fund's
assets are traded in various
markets on days when the Fund is
closed, the value of the Fund's
assets may be affected on days when you are unable to
buy or sell Fund
shares. Conversely, trading in some of a Fund's
assets may not occur on days when the Fund
is
open.
With
respect to any portion of a Fund's
assets that may be invested in other mutual funds, the value of
the Fund's
shares is based on
the NAV of the shares of the other mutual funds in which
the Fund
invests. The valuation methods used by mutual
funds in pricing their shares, including the circumstances under which they will
use fair value pricing and the effects of
using fair value pricing, are included in the prospectuses of such funds. To the
extent a Fund
invests a portion of its
assets in non-registered investment vehicles, the Fund's
interests in the non-registered vehicles are fair valued at NAV.
With
respect to a Fund's
assets invested directly in securities, the Fund's
investments are generally valued at current market
prices. Equity securities, options and futures are generally valued at the
official closing price or, if none, the last reported
sales price on the primary exchange or market on which they are listed (closing
price). Equity securities that are not
traded primarily on an exchange are generally valued at the quoted bid price
obtained from a broker-dealer.
Debt
securities are valued at the evaluated bid price provided by an independent
pricing service or, if a reliable price is not
available, the quoted bid price from an independent broker-dealer.
We are
required to depart from these general valuation methods and use fair value
pricing methods to determine the values of
certain investments if we believe that the closing price or the quoted bid price
of a security, including a security
that trades primarily on a foreign exchange, does not accurately reflect its
current market value as of the time a Fund
calculates its NAV. The closing price or the quoted bid price of a security may
not reflect its current market value if,
among other things, a significant event occurs after the closing price or quoted
bid price are made available, but before
the time as of which a Fund
calculates its NAV, that materially affects the value of the security. We use
various
criteria, including a systemic evaluation of U.S. market moves after the close
of foreign markets, in deciding whether a
foreign security’s market price is still reliable and, if not, what fair market
value to assign to the security. In addition,
we use fair value pricing to determine the value of investments in securities
and other assets, including illiquid
securities, for which current market quotations or evaluated prices from a
pricing service or broker-dealer are not readily
available.
The fair
value of a Fund's
securities and other assets is determined in good faith pursuant to policies and
procedures adopted by
the Fund's
Board of Trustees. Pursuant to such policies and procedures, the Board has
appointed the Manager as
the Fund’s valuation designee (the “Valuation Designee”) to perform all fair
valuations of the Fund’s portfolio
investments, subject to the Board’s oversight. As the Valuation Designee, the
Manager has established procedures
for its fair valuation of the Fund’s portfolio investments. These procedures
address, among other things, determining
when market quotations are not readily available or reliable and the
methodologies to be used for determining
the fair value of investments, as well as the use and oversight of third-party
pricing services for fair valuation.
In light of the judgment involved in making fair value decisions, there can be
no assurance that a fair value assigned to
a particular security is accurate or that it reflects the price that the
Fund could
obtain for such security if it were to
sell the security at the time as of which fair value pricing is determined. Such
fair value pricing may result in NAVs that
are higher or lower than NAVs based on the closing price or quoted bid price.
See the Statement of Additional
Information for additional details regarding the determination of
NAVs.
30 |
|
International
and Global Equity Funds |
Management
of the Funds
The
Manager
Allspring
Funds Management, LLC ("Allspring
Funds Management"), headquartered at 1415 Vantage Park Drive, 3rd Floor,
Charlotte, NC 28203, provides advisory
and fund-level administrative services to the Funds
pursuant to an investment
management agreement (the "Management Agreement"). Allspring
Funds Management is a wholly owned subsidiary
of Allspring Global Investments Holdings, LLC, a holding company indirectly
owned by certain private funds of GTCR LLC
and Reverence Capital Partners, L.P. Allspring Funds Management is a registered
investment adviser that provides
advisory services for registered mutual funds, closed-end funds and other funds
and accounts.
Allspring
Funds Management is responsible for implementing the investment objectives and
strategies of the Funds.
Allspring
Funds Management's investment professionals review and analyze the Funds'
performance, including relative to peer
funds, and monitor the Funds'
compliance with their
investment objectives and strategies. Allspring
Funds Management
is responsible for reporting to the Board on investment performance and other
matters affecting the Funds. When
appropriate, Allspring
Funds Management recommends to the Board enhancements to Fund features,
including
changes to Fund investment objectives, strategies and policies. Allspring
Funds Management also communicates
with shareholders
and intermediaries about Fund performance and features.
Allspring
Funds Management is also responsible for providing fund-level
administrative services to the Funds,
which include,
among others, providing such services in connection with the Funds'
operations; developing and implementing
procedures for monitoring compliance with regulatory requirements and compliance
with the Funds'
investment
objectives, policies and restrictions; and providing any
other fund-level
administrative services reasonably necessary
for the operation of the Funds,
other than those services that are provided by the Funds' transfer
and dividend
disbursing agent, custodian and fund accountant.
To assist
Allspring
Funds Management in implementing the investment objectives and strategies of the
Funds,
Allspring
Funds
Management may contract with one or more sub-advisers to provide day-to-day
portfolio management services to the
Funds.
Allspring
Funds Management employs a team of investment professionals who identify and
recommend the initial
hiring of any sub-adviser and oversee and monitor the activities of any
sub-adviser on an ongoing basis. Allspring
Funds Management retains overall responsibility for the investment activities of
the Funds.
A
discussion regarding the basis for the Board's approval of
the Management
Agreement and any applicable sub-advisory
agreements for each Fund is
available in the Fund's Annual
report for the period ended October
31st.
For each Fund's most
recent fiscal year end, the Management
Fee paid to Allspring
Funds Management pursuant to the Management
Agreement, net of any applicable waivers and reimbursements, was as
follows:
|
|
Management
Fees Paid |
|
As
a % of average daily net assets |
Emerging
Markets Equity Fund |
0.92% |
Emerging
Markets Equity Income Fund |
0.97% |
International
Equity Fund |
0.64% |
Special
Global Small Cap Fund |
0.94% |
Special
International Small Cap Fund |
0.79% |
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
|
31 |
The
Sub-Advisers and Portfolio Managers
The
following Sub-Advisers
and Portfolio
Managers provide day-to-day portfolio management services to the Funds. These
services include making purchases and sales of securities and other investment
assets for the Funds,
selecting
broker-dealers, negotiating brokerage commission rates and maintaining portfolio
transaction records. The Sub-Advisers are
compensated for its
services by Allspring
Funds Management from the fees Allspring
Funds Management receives
for its services as Manager to
the Funds. The
Statement of Additional Information provides additional
information about the Portfolio
Managers' compensation, other accounts managed by the Portfolio
Managers and
the Portfolio
Managers' ownership of securities in the Funds.
Allspring
Global Investments, LLC
(“Allspring Investments”) is a registered investment adviser located
at 1415 Vantage Park Drive,
3rd Floor, Charlotte, NC 28203. Allspring Investments, an affiliate of Allspring
Funds Management and wholly
owned subsidiary of Allspring Global Investments Holdings, LLC, is a
multi-boutique asset management firm committed
to delivering superior investment services to institutional clients, including
mutual funds.
|
|
Stephen
Giggie, CFA Special
Global Small Cap Fund Special
International Small Cap
Fund |
Mr.
Giggie joined Allspring Investments or one of its predecessor firms in
2007, where
he currently serves as a Portfolio Manager for the Special Global Equity
team. |
Derrick
Irwin, CFA Emerging
Markets Equity Fund |
Mr.
Irwin joined Allspring Investments or one of its predecessor firms in
2005, where
he currently serves as a Portfolio Manager for the Intrinsic Emerging
Markets
Equity team. |
Venkateshwar
(Venk) Lal International
Equity Fund |
Mr.
Lal joined Allspring Global Investments in 2012, where he currently serves
as Portfolio
Manager and Head of Investment Risk and Strategy for the Focused
Global
Equity team. Prior to joining Allspring Global Investments, Mr. Lal was a
Partner
and head of risk and trading at EverKey Global Partners, an investment
firm
he co-founded in 2007. |
Oleg
Makhorine Special
Global Small Cap Fund Special
International Small Cap
Fund |
Mr.
Makhorine joined Allspring Investments or one of its predecessor firms in
2005,
where he currently serves as a Portfolio Manager for the Special Global
Equity
team. |
Brian
Martin, CFA Special
Global Small Cap Fund |
Mr.
Martin joined Allspring Investments or one of its predecessor firms in
2004, where
he currently serves as a Portfolio Manager for the Special Global Equity
team. |
Richard
Peck, CFA Emerging
Markets Equity Fund |
Mr.
Peck joined Allspring Investments in 2010, where he currently serves as a
Portfolio
Manager for the Berkeley Street Emerging Markets Equity
team. |
Alison
Shimada Emerging
Markets Equity Income
Fund |
Ms.
Shimada joined Allspring Investments in 2003, where she currently serves
as a
Senior Portfolio Manager and head of the Total Emerging Markets
team. |
James
M. Tringas, CFA Special
Global Small Cap Fund Special
International Small Cap
Fund |
Mr.
Tringas joined Allspring Investments or one of its predecessor firms in
1994, where
he currently serves as a Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager
for
the Special Global Equity team. |
Elaine
Tse Emerging
Markets Equity Income
Fund |
Ms.
Tse joined Allspring Investments in 2000, where she currently serves as a
Portfolio
Manager on the Total Emerging Markets team. |
Bryant
VanCronkhite, CFA, CPA Special
Global Small Cap Fund Special
International Small Cap
Fund |
Mr.
VanCronkhite joined Allspring Investments or one of its predecessor firms
in 2003,
where he currently serves as a Managing Director and Senior Portfolio
Manager
for the Special Global Equity team. |
Dale
A. Winner, CFA International
Equity Fund |
Mr.
Winner joined Allspring Global Investments in 2012, where he is a Senior
Portfolio
Manager for the Focused Global Equity team. Prior to joining Allspring
Global
Investments, Mr. Winner was a Partner and portfolio manager at EverKey
Global
Partners, an investment firm he co-founded in 2007. |
Yi
(Jerry) Zhang, Ph.D., CFA Emerging
Markets Equity Fund |
Mr.
Zhang joined Allspring Investments or one of its predecessor firms in
2004, where
he currently serves as a Senior Portfolio Manager and Head of the
Intrinsic Emerging
Markets Equity team. |
32 |
|
International
and Global Equity Funds |
Multi-Manager
Arrangement
The Funds and
Allspring
Funds Management have obtained an exemptive order from the SEC that
permits Allspring
Funds
Management, subject to Board approval, to select certain sub-advisers and enter
into or amend sub-advisory agreements
with them, without obtaining shareholder approval. The SEC order extends to
sub-advisers that are not otherwise
affiliated with Allspring
Funds Management or the Funds, as
well as sub-advisers that are wholly-owned subsidiaries
of Allspring
Funds Management or of a company that wholly owns Allspring
Funds Management. In addition,
the SEC staff, pursuant to no-action relief, has extended multi-manager relief
to any affiliated sub-adviser, such as
affiliated sub-advisers that are not wholly-owned subsidiaries of Allspring
Funds Management or of a company that wholly
owns Allspring
Funds Management, provided certain conditions are satisfied (all such
sub-advisers covered by the
order or relief, “Multi-Manager Sub-Advisers”).
As such,
Allspring
Funds Management, with Board approval, may hire or replace Multi-Manager
Sub-Advisers for each Fund that
is eligible to rely on the order or relief. Allspring
Funds Management, subject to Board oversight, has the responsibility
to oversee Multi-Manager Sub-Advisers and to recommend their hiring, termination
and replacement. If a new
sub-adviser is hired for a Fund pursuant to the order or relief, the Fund is
required to notify shareholders within 90 days.
The Funds are not
required to disclose the individual fees that Allspring
Funds Management pays to a Multi-Manager
Sub-Adviser.
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
|
33 |
Account
Information
Share
Class Eligibility
Institutional
Class shares are generally available through intermediaries for the accounts of
their customers and directly to
institutional investors and individuals. Institutional investors may include
corporations; private banks; trust companies;
endowments and foundations; defined contribution, defined benefit and other
employer sponsored retirement
plans; institutional retirement plan platforms; insurance companies; registered
investment advisor firms; bank
trusts; 529 college savings plans; family offices; and funds of funds, including
those managed by Allspring
Funds Management.
The following investors may purchase Institutional Class shares and are not
subject to a minimum initial investment
amount except as noted below:
■ |
Employee
benefit plan programs; |
■ |
Broker-dealer
managed account or wrap programs that charge an asset-based
fee; |
■ |
Registered
investment adviser mutual fund wrap programs or other accounts that charge
a fee for advisory, investment,
consulting or similar services; |
■ |
Private
bank and trust company managed accounts or wrap programs that charge an
asset-based fee; |
■ |
Internal
Revenue Code Section 529 college savings plan
accounts; |
■ |
Funds
of funds, including those advised by Allspring
Funds Management; |
■ |
Endowments,
non-profits, and charitable organizations who invest a minimum initial
investment amount of $500,000 in a
Fund; |
■ |
Any
other institutions or customers of intermediaries who invest a minimum
initial investment amount of $1 million in a
Fund; |
■ |
Individual
investors who invest a minimum initial investment amount of $1 million
directly in a Fund; |
■ |
Certain
investors and related accounts as detailed in the Statement of Additional
Information; |
■ |
Investors
purchasing shares through an intermediary, acting solely as a broker on
behalf of its customers, that holds such
shares in an omnibus account and charges investors a transaction based
commission outside of the Fund. In order
to offer Fund shares, an intermediary must have an agreement with the
Fund’s distributor authorizing the use of
the share class within this type of
platform; |
■ |
Current
and retired employees, directors/trustees and officers
of: |
• |
Allspring
Funds (including any predecessor funds); |
• |
Allspring
Global Investments Holdings, LLC and its affiliates;
and |
• |
family
members (spouse, domestic partner, parents, grandparents, children,
grandchildren and siblings(including step
and in-law)) of any of the foregoing; and |
• |
a
Fund’s sub-adviser(s), but only for the Fund(s) for which such sub-adviser
provides investment advisory services. |
Eligibility
requirements for Institutional Class shares may be modified or discontinued at
any time.
Your Fund
may offer other classes of shares in addition to those offered through this
Prospectus. You may be eligible to invest in
one or more of these other classes of shares. Each share class bears varying
expenses and may differ in other features.
Consult your financial professional for more information regarding a Fund’s
available share classes.
The
information in this Prospectus is not intended for distribution to, or use by,
any person or entity in any non-U.S. jurisdiction
or country where such distribution or use would be contrary to any law or
regulation, or which would subject
Fund shares to any registration requirement within such jurisdiction or
country.
Share
Class Features
The table
below summarizes the key features of the share class offered through this
Prospectus. Please note that if you purchase
shares through an intermediary that acts as a broker on your behalf, you may be
required to pay a commission
to your intermediary in an amount determined and separately disclosed to you by
the intermediary. Consult
your financial professional for further details.
|
|
|
|
Institutional
Class |
Front-End
Sales Charge |
|
None |
Contingent
Deferred Sales Charge ("CDSC") |
|
None |
Ongoing
Distribution ("12b-1") Fees |
|
None |
34 |
|
International
and Global Equity Funds |
Information
regarding sales charges, breakpoint levels, reductions and waivers is also
available free of charge on our website at
www.allspringglobal.com.
You may wish to discuss your choice of share class with your financial
professional.
Compensation
to Financial Professionals and Intermediaries
In addition
to dealer reallowances and payments made by certain classes
of each Fund
for distribution and shareholder servicing,
the Fund's manager, the distributor or their affiliates make additional payments
("Additional Payments") to certain
financial professionals and intermediaries for selling shares and providing
shareholder services, which include broker-dealers
and 401(k) service providers and record keepers. These Additional Payments,
which may be significant, are paid by
the Fund's manager, the distributor or their affiliates, out of their revenues,
which generally come directly or indirectly
from Fund fees.
In return
for these Additional Payments, each Fund's
manager and distributor expect the Fund to receive certain marketing
or servicing considerations that are not generally available to mutual funds
whose sponsors do not make such
payments. Such considerations are expected to include, without limitation,
placement of the Fund on a list of mutual
funds offered as investment options to the intermediary's clients (sometimes
referred to as "Shelf Space"); access to
the intermediary's financial professionals; and/or the ability to assist in
training and educating the intermediary's
financial professionals.
The
Additional Payments may create potential conflicts of interest between an
investor and a financial professional or intermediary
who is recommending or making available a particular mutual fund over other
mutual funds. Before investing,
you should consult with your financial professional and review carefully any
disclosure by the intermediary as to what
compensation the intermediary receives from mutual fund sponsors, as well as how
your financial professional is
compensated.
The
Additional Payments are typically paid in fixed dollar amounts, based on the
number of customer accounts maintained
by an intermediary, or based on a percentage of sales and/or assets under
management, or a combination of the
above. The Additional Payments are either up-front or ongoing or both and differ
among intermediaries. In a given year,
Additional Payments to an intermediary that is compensated based on its
customers' assets typically range between
0.02% and 0.25% of assets invested in a Fund by the intermediary's customers.
Additional Payments to an intermediary
that is compensated based on a percentage of sales typically range between 0.10%
and 0.25% of the gross sales
of a Fund attributable to the financial intermediary.
More
information on the FINRA member firms that have received the Additional Payments
described in this section is available
in the Statement of Additional Information, which is on file with the SEC and is
also available on the Allspring
Funds
website at www.allspringglobal.com.
Buying
and Selling Fund Shares
For more
information regarding buying and selling Fund shares, please visit www.allspringglobal.com.
You may buy (purchase)
and sell (redeem) Fund shares as follows:
|
|
|
|
Opening
an Account |
Adding
to an Account or Selling Fund Shares |
Through
Your Financial Professional |
Contact
your financial
professional.
Transactions
will be subject to the terms
of your account with your intermediary. |
Contact
your financial professional.
Transactions
will be subject to the terms of
your account with your intermediary. |
Through
Your Retirement Plan |
Contact
your retirement plan administrator.
Transactions
will be subject to the terms
of your retirement plan account. |
Contact
your retirement plan administrator.
Transactions
will be subject to the terms of
your retirement plan account. |
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
|
35 |
|
|
|
|
Opening
an Account |
Adding
to an Account or Selling Fund Shares |
Online |
New
accounts cannot be opened online.
Contact your financial professional
or retirement plan administrator,
or refer to the section on
opening an account by mail. |
Visit
www.allspringglobal.com.
Online
transactions are limited to a maximum
of $100,000. You may be eligible
for an exception to this maximum.
Please call Investor Services at
1-800-222-8222 for more information. |
By
Telephone |
Call
Investor Services at 1-800-222-8222.
Available
only if you have another Allspring
Fund account with your bank
information on file. |
Call
Investor Services at 1-800-222-8222.
Redemption
requests may not be made by
phone if the address on your account was
changed in the last 15 days. In this event,
you must request your redemption
by mail. For joint accounts, telephone
requests generally require only
one of the account owners to call unless
you have instructed us otherwise. |
By
Mail |
Complete
an account application and
submit it according to the instructions
on the application.
Account
applications are available online
at www.allspringglobal.com
or by
calling Investor Services at 1-800-222-8222. |
Send
the items required under "Requests
in Good Order" below to:
Regular
Mail Allspring
Funds P.O.
Box 219967 Kansas
City, MO 64121-9967
Overnight
Only Allspring
Funds 430 W
7th Street STE 219967 Kansas
City, MO 64105-1407 |
Requests
in “Good Order”. All
purchase and redemption requests must be received in “good order.” This means
that a request
generally must include:
■ |
The
Fund name(s), share class(es) and account
number(s); |
■ |
The
amount (in dollars or shares) and type (purchase or redemption) of the
request; |
■ |
If by
mail, the signature of each registered owner as it appears in the account
application; |
■ |
For
purchase requests, payment of the full amount of the purchase request (see
“Payment” below); and |
■ |
Any
supporting legal documentation that may be
required. |
Purchase
and redemption requests in good order will be processed at the next NAV
calculated after the Fund’s transfer agent or an
authorized intermediary1 receives
your request. If your request is not received in good order, additional
documentation
may be required to process your transaction. We reserve the right to waive any
of the above requirements.
1. |
The
Fund's shares may be purchased through an intermediary that has entered
into a dealer agreement with the Fund’s distributor. The
Fund has approved the acceptance of a purchase or redemption request
effective as of the time of its receipt by such an authorized
intermediary or its designee, as long as the request is received by one of
those entities prior to the Fund's closing time. These
intermediaries may charge transaction fees. We reserve the right to adjust
the closing time in certain circumstances. |
Payment. Payment
for Fund shares may be made as follows:
|
|
By
Wire |
Purchases
into a new or existing account may be funded by using the following
wire
instructions:
State
Street Bank & Trust Boston,
MA Bank
Routing Number: ABA 011000028 Wire
Purchase Account: 9905-437-1 Attention:
Allspring
Funds (Name
of Fund, Account Number and any applicable share class) Account
Name: Provide your name as registered on the Fund account or as
included
in your account application. |
By
Check |
Make
checks payable to Allspring
Funds. |
36 |
|
International
and Global Equity Funds |
|
|
By
Exchange |
Identify
an identically registered Allspring
Fund account from which you wish to exchange
(see "Exchanging Fund Shares" below for restrictions on
exchanges). |
By
Electronic Funds Transfer ("EFT") |
Additional
purchases for existing accounts may be funded by EFT using your
linked
bank account. |
All
payments must be in U.S. dollars, and all checks and EFTs must be drawn on U.S.
banks. You will be charged a $25.00 fee
for every check or EFT that is returned to us as unpaid.
Form of
Redemption Proceeds. You may
request that your redemption proceeds be sent to you by check, by EFT into a
linked bank
account, or by wire to a linked bank account. Please call Investor Services at
1-800-222-8222 regarding the requirements
for linking bank accounts or for wiring funds. Under normal circumstances, we
expect to meet redemption
requests either by using uninvested cash or cash equivalents or by using the
proceeds from the sale of portfolio
securities, at the discretion of the portfolio manager(s). The Allspring
Funds may also borrow through a bank line of
credit for the purpose of meeting redemption requests, although we do not expect
to draw funds from this source on a
regular basis. In lieu of making cash payments, we reserve the right to
determine in our sole discretion, including
under stressed market conditions, whether to satisfy one or more redemption
requests by making payments in
securities. In such cases, we may meet all or part of a redemption request by
making payment in securities equal in value to
the amount of the redemption payable to you as permitted under the 1940 Act, and
the rules thereunder, in which case
the redeeming shareholder should expect to incur transaction costs upon the
disposition of any securities received.
Timing
of Redemption Proceeds. We
normally will send out redemption proceeds within one business day after we
accept your
request to redeem. We reserve the right to delay payment for up to seven days.
If you wish to redeem shares
purchased by check, by EFT or through the Automatic Investment Plan within seven
days of purchase, you may be asked to
resubmit your redemption request if your payment has not yet cleared. Payment of
redemption proceeds may be
delayed for longer than seven days under extraordinary circumstances or as
permitted by the SEC in order to protect
remaining shareholders. Such extraordinary circumstances are discussed further
in the Statement of Additional Information.
Retirement
Plans and Other Products. If you
purchased shares through a packaged investment product or retirement
plan, read
the directions for redeeming shares provided by the product or plan. There may
be special requirements that
supersede or are in addition to the requirements in this
Prospectus.
Exchanging
Fund Shares
Exchanges
between two funds involve two transactions: (1) the redemption of shares of one
fund; and (2) the purchase of shares
of another. In general, the same rules and procedures described under “Buying
and Selling Fund Shares” apply to
exchanges. There are, however, additional policies and considerations you should
keep in mind while making or
considering an exchange:
■ |
In
general, exchanges may be made between like share classes of any fund in
the Allspring
Funds complex offered to
the general public for investment (i.e., a fund not closed to new
accounts), with the following exceptions: (1) Class A
shares of non-money market funds may also be exchanged for Service Class
shares of any retail or government money
market fund; (2) Service Class shares may be exchanged for Class A shares
of any non-money market fund; and
(3) no exchanges are allowed into institutional money market
funds. |
■ |
If
you make an exchange between Class A shares of a money market fund or
Class A2 or Class A shares of a non-money
market fund, you will buy the shares at the public offering price of the
new fund, unless you are otherwise
eligible to buy shares at NAV. |
■ |
Same-fund
exchanges between share classes are permitted subject to the following
conditions: (1) the shareholder must
meet the eligibility guidelines of the class being purchased in the
exchange; (2) exchanges out of Class A and Class
C shares would not be allowed if shares are subject to a CDSC; and (3) for
non-money market funds, in order to exchange
into Class A shares, the shareholder must be able to qualify to purchase
Class A shares at NAV based on current
Prospectus guidelines. |
■ |
An
exchange request will be processed on the same business day, provided that
both funds are open at the time the request
is received. If one or both funds are closed, the exchange will be
processed on the following business day. |
■ |
You
should carefully read the Prospectus for the Fund into which you wish to
exchange. |
■ |
Every
exchange involves redeeming fund shares, which may produce a capital gain
or loss for tax purposes. |
■ |
If
you are making an initial investment into a fund through an exchange, you
must exchange at least the minimum |
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
|
37 |
|
initial
investment amount for the new fund, unless your balance has fallen below
that amount due to investment performance. |
■ |
If
you are making an additional investment into a fund that you already own
through an exchange, you must exchange
at least the minimum subsequent investment amount for the fund you are
exchanging into. |
■ |
Class
A and Class C share exchanges will not trigger a CDSC. The new shares
received in the exchange will continue to
age according to the original shares’ CDSC schedule and will be charged
the CDSC applicable to the original shares
upon redemption. |
Generally,
we will notify you at least 60 days in advance of any changes in the above
exchange policies.
Frequent
Purchases and Redemptions of Fund Shares
Allspring
Funds reserves the right to reject any purchase or exchange order for any
reason. If a shareholder redeems $20,000 or
more (including redemptions that are part of an exchange transaction) from a
Covered Fund (as defined below),
that shareholder is “blocked” from purchasing shares of that Covered Fund
(including purchases that are part of an
exchange transaction) for 30 calendar days after the redemption.
Excessive
trading by Fund shareholders can negatively impact a Fund and its long-term
shareholders in several ways, including
disrupting Fund investment strategies, increasing transaction costs, decreasing
tax efficiency, and diluting the value
of shares held by long-term shareholders. Excessive trading in Fund shares can
negatively impact a Fund's long-term
performance by requiring it to maintain more assets in cash or to liquidate
portfolio holdings at a disadvantageous
time. Certain Funds may be more susceptible than others to these negative
effects. For example, Funds that
have a greater percentage of their investments in non-U.S. securities may be
more susceptible than other Funds to
arbitrage opportunities resulting from pricing variations due to time zone
differences across international financial
markets. Similarly, Funds that have a greater percentage of their investments in
small company securities may be more
susceptible than other Funds to arbitrage opportunities due to the less liquid
nature of small company securities.
Both types of Funds also may incur higher transaction costs in liquidating
portfolio holdings to meet excessive
redemption levels. Fair value pricing may reduce these arbitrage opportunities,
thereby reducing some of the
negative effects of excessive trading.
Allspring
Funds, other than the Adjustable Rate Government Fund, Conservative Income Fund,
Ultra Short-Term Income
Fund and Ultra Short-Term Municipal Income Fund ("Ultra-Short Funds") and the
money market funds, (the "Covered
Funds"). The
Covered Funds are not designed to serve as vehicles for frequent trading. The
Covered Funds actively
discourage and take steps to prevent the portfolio disruption and negative
effects on long-term shareholders that can
result from excessive trading activity by Covered Fund shareholders. The Board
has approved the Covered Funds'
policies and procedures, which provide, among other things, that Allspring
Funds Management may deem trading
activity to be excessive if it determines that such trading activity would
likely be disruptive to a Covered Fund by
increasing expenses or lowering returns. In this regard, the Covered Funds take
steps to avoid accommodating frequent
purchases and redemptions of shares by Covered Fund shareholders. Allspring
Funds Management monitors available
shareholder trading information across all Covered Funds on a daily basis. If a
shareholder redeems $20,000 or more
(including redemptions that are part of an exchange transaction) from a Covered
Fund, that shareholder is "blocked"
from purchasing shares of that Covered Fund (including purchases that are part
of an exchange transaction) for 30
calendar days after the redemption. This policy does not apply to:
■ |
Dividend
reinvestments; |
■ |
Systematic
investments or exchanges where the financial intermediary
maintaining the shareholder account identifies
the transaction as a systematic redemption or purchase at the time of the
transaction; |
■ |
Rebalancing
transactions within certain asset allocation or "wrap" programs where the
financial intermediary maintaining
a shareholder account is able to identify the transaction as part of an
asset allocation program approved by
Allspring
Funds Management; |
■ |
Rebalancing
transactions by an institutional client of Allspring
Funds Management or its affiliate following a model
portfolio
offered by Allspring
Funds Management or its
affiliate; |
■ |
Transactions
initiated by a "fund of funds" or Section 529 Plan into an underlying fund
investment; |
■ |
Permitted
exchanges between share classes of the same
Fund; |
■ |
Certain
transactions involving participants in employer-sponsored retirement
plans, including: participant withdrawals
due to mandatory distributions, rollovers and hardships, withdrawals of
shares acquired by participants through
payroll deductions, and shares acquired or sold by a participant in
connection with plan loans; and |
38 |
|
International
and Global Equity Funds |
■ |
Purchases
below $20,000 (including purchases that are part of an exchange
transaction). |
The
money market funds and the Ultra-Short Funds. Because
the money market funds and Ultra-Short Funds are often used for
short-term investments, they are designed to accommodate more frequent purchases
and redemptions than the Covered
Funds. As a result, the money market funds and Ultra-Short Funds do not
anticipate that frequent purchases
and redemptions, under normal circumstances, will have significant adverse
consequences to the money market
funds or Ultra-Short Funds or their shareholders. Although the money market
funds and Ultra-Short Funds do not
prohibit frequent trading, Allspring
Funds Management will seek to prevent an investor from utilizing the
money market
funds and Ultra-Short Funds to facilitate frequent purchases and redemptions of
shares in the Covered Funds in contravention
of the policies and procedures adopted by the Covered Funds.
All
Allspring
Funds. In
addition, Allspring
Funds Management reserves the right to accept purchases, redemptions
and exchanges
made in excess of applicable trading restrictions in designated accounts held by
Allspring
Funds Management or
its affiliate that are used at all times exclusively for addressing operational
matters related to shareholder
accounts, such as testing of account functions, and are maintained at low
balances that do not exceed specified
dollar amount limitations.
In the
event that an asset allocation or "wrap" program is unable to implement the
policy outlined above, Allspring
Funds
Management may grant a program-level exception to this policy. A
financial intermediary relying on the exception
is required to provide Allspring
Funds Management with specific information regarding its program and
ongoing
information about its program upon request.
A financial
intermediary through whom you may purchase shares of the Fund may independently
attempt to identify excessive
trading and take steps to deter such activity. As a result, a financial
intermediary may on its own limit or permit
trading activity of its customers who invest in Fund shares using standards
different from the standards used by Allspring
Funds Management and discussed in this Prospectus. Allspring
Funds Management may permit a financial intermediary
to enforce its own internal policies and procedures concerning frequent trading
rather than the policies set forth
above in instances where Allspring
Funds Management reasonably believes that the intermediary's policies
and
procedures effectively discourage disruptive trading activity. If you purchase
Fund shares through a financial intermediary,
you should contact the intermediary for more information about whether and how
restrictions or limitations
on trading activity will be applied to your account.
Account
Policies
Advance
Notice of Large Transactions. We
strongly urge you to make all purchases and redemptions of Fund shares
as early in
the day as possible and to notify us or your intermediary at least one day in
advance of transactions in Fund shares in
excess of $1 million. This will help us to manage the Funds most effectively.
When you give this advance notice,
please provide your name and account number.
Householding. To help
keep Fund expenses low, a single copy of a Prospectus or shareholder report may
be sent to shareholders
of the same household. If your household currently receives a single copy of a
Prospectus or shareholder report and
you would prefer to receive multiple copies, please call Investor Services at
1-800-222-8222 or contact your financial
professional.
Retirement
Accounts. We offer a
variety of retirement account types for individuals and small businesses. There
may be special
distribution requirements for a retirement account, such as required
distributions or mandatory Federal income tax
withholdings. For more information about the retirement accounts listed below,
including any distribution requirements,
call Investor Services at 1-800-222-8222. For retirement accounts held directly
with a Fund, certain fees may apply
including an annual account maintenance fee.
The
retirement accounts available for individuals and small businesses
are:
■ |
Individual
Retirement Accounts, including Traditional IRAs and Roth
IRAs. |
■ |
Small
business retirement accounts, including Simple IRAs and SEP
IRAs. |
Small
Account Redemptions. We reserve
the right to redeem accounts that have values that fall below a Fund’s
minimum
initial investment amount due to shareholder redemptions (as opposed to market
movement). Before doing so, we will
give you approximately 60 days to bring your account value above the Fund’s
minimum initial investment amount.
Please call Investor Services at 1-800-222-8222 or contact your financial
professional for further details.
Transaction
Authorizations. We may
accept telephone, electronic, and clearing agency transaction instructions from
anyone who
represents that he or she is a shareholder and provides reasonable confirmation
of his or her identity.
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
|
39 |
Neither we
nor Allspring
Funds will be liable for any losses incurred if we follow such instructions we
reasonably believe to be
genuine. For transactions through our website, we may assign personal
identification numbers (PINs) and you will need to
create a login ID and password for account access. To safeguard your account,
please keep these credentials confidential.
Contact us immediately if you believe there is a discrepancy on your
confirmation statement or if you believe
someone has obtained unauthorized access to your online access
credentials.
Identity
Verification. We are
required by law to obtain from you certain personal information that will be
used to verify your
identity. If you do not provide the information, we will not be able to open
your account. In the rare event that we are unable
to verify your identity as required by law, we reserve the right to redeem your
account at the current NAV of the Fund’s
shares. You will be responsible for any losses, taxes, expenses, fees, or other
results of such a redemption.
Right to
Freeze Accounts, Suspend Account Services or Reject or Terminate an
Investment. We reserve
the right, to the extent
permitted by law and/or regulations, to freeze any account or suspend account
services when we have received
reasonable notice (written or otherwise) of a dispute between registered or
beneficial account owners or when we
believe a fraudulent transaction may occur or has occurred. Additionally, we
reserve the right to reject any purchase or
exchange request and to terminate a shareholder's investment, including closing
the shareholder’s account.
Distributions
The Funds,
except the Emerging Markets Equity Income Fund and the International Equity
Fund, generally make distributions
of any net investment income and any realized net capital gains at least
annually. The International Equity Fund
generally distributes net investment income quarterly and realized net capital
gains, if any, at least annually. The Emerging
Markets Equity Income Fund generally distributes net investment income monthly.
The amount distributed by the
Emerging Markets Equity Income Fund in a month may either be less than the
amount earned in that month or more than
the amount earned in that month if it includes amounts earned in a previous
month but retained for later distribution.
The Emerging Markets Equity Income Fund generally distributes realized net
capital gains, if any, at least annually.
Please note, distributions have the effect of reducing the NAV per share by the
amount distributed.
We offer
the following distribution options. To change your current option for payment of
distributions, please call Investor
Services at 1-800-222-8222.
■ |
Automatic
Reinvestment Option—Allows you to use distributions to buy new shares of
the same class of the Fund that
generated the distributions. The new shares are purchased at NAV generally
on the day the distribution is paid. This
option is automatically assigned to your account unless you specify
another option. |
■ |
Check
Payment Option—Allows you to receive distributions via checks mailed to
your address of record or to another
name and address which you have specified in written instructions. A
Medallion Guarantee may also be required.
If checks remain uncashed for six months or are undeliverable by the Post
Office, we will reinvest the distributions
at the earliest date possible, and future distributions will be
automatically reinvested. |
■ |
Bank
Account Payment Option—Allows you to receive distributions directly in a
checking or savings account through
EFT. The bank account must be linked to your Allspring
Fund account. Any distribution returned to us due to an
invalid banking instruction will be sent to your address of record by
check at the earliest date possible, and future distributions
will be automatically reinvested. |
■ |
Directed
Distribution Purchase Option—Allows you to buy shares of a different
Allspring
Fund of the same share class.
The new shares are purchased at NAV generally on the day the distribution
is paid. In order to use this option, you
need to identify the Fund and account the distributions are coming from,
and the Fund and account to which the
distributions are being directed. You must meet any required minimum
investment amounts in both Funds prior to
using this option. |
You are
eligible to earn distributions beginning on the business day after the Fund’s
transfer agent or an authorized intermediary
receives your purchase request in good order.
40 |
|
International
and Global Equity Funds |
Other
Information
Taxes
The
following discussion regarding federal income taxes is based on laws that were
in effect as of the date of this Prospectus
and summarizes only some of the important federal income tax considerations
affecting the Fund and you as a
shareholder. It does not apply to foreign or tax-exempt shareholders or those
holding Fund shares through a tax-advantaged
account, such as a 401(k) Plan or IRA. This discussion is not intended as a
substitute for careful tax planning.
You should consult your tax adviser about your specific tax situation. Please
see the Statement of Additional Information
for additional federal income tax information.
The Fund
elected to be treated, and intends to qualify each year, as a regulated
investment company (“RIC”) under the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. A RIC is not subject to tax at the corporate
level on income and gains from
investments that are distributed in a timely manner to shareholders. However,
the Fund’s failure to qualify as a RIC would
result in corporate level taxation, and consequently, a reduction in income
available for distribution to you as a shareholder.
We will
pass on to a Fund’s shareholders substantially all of the Fund’s net investment
income and realized net capital gains, if
any. Distributions from a Fund’s ordinary income and net short-term capital
gains, if any, generally will be taxable to
you as ordinary income. Distributions from a Fund’s net long-term capital gains,
if any, generally will be taxable to
you as long-term capital gains. If you are an individual and meet certain
holding period requirements with respect to
your Fund shares, you may be eligible for reduced tax rates on qualified
dividend income, if any, distributed by the
Fund.
Corporate
shareholders may be able to deduct a portion of their distributions when
determining their taxable income.
Individual
taxpayers are subject to a maximum tax rate of 37% on ordinary income and a
maximum tax rate on long-term
capital gains and qualified dividends of 20%. 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
"net investment income," including
interest, dividends, and capital gains. Corporations are subject to tax on all
income and gains at a tax rate of 21%.
However, a RIC is not subject to tax at the corporate level on income and gains
from investments that are distributed
in a timely manner to shareholders.
Distributions
from a Fund normally will be taxable to you when paid, whether you take
distributions in cash or automatically
reinvest them in additional Fund shares. Following the end of each year, we will
notify you of the federal income tax
status of your distributions for the year.
If you buy
shares of a Fund shortly before it makes a taxable distribution, your
distribution will, in effect, be a taxable return of
part of your investment. Similarly, if you buy shares of a Fund when it holds
appreciated securities, you will receive a
taxable return of part of your investment if and when the Fund sells the
appreciated securities and distributes the gain.
The Fund has built up, or has the potential to build up, high levels of
unrealized appreciation.
Your
redemptions (including redemptions in-kind) and exchanges of Fund shares
ordinarily will result in a taxable capital
gain or loss, depending on the amount you receive for your shares (or are deemed
to receive in the case of exchanges)
and the amount you paid (or are deemed to have paid) for them. Such capital gain
or loss generally will be long-term
capital gain or loss if you have held your redeemed or exchanged Fund shares for
more than one year at the time of
redemption or exchange. In certain circumstances, losses realized on the
redemption or exchange of Fund shares may
be disallowed.
When you
receive a distribution from a Fund or redeem shares, you may be subject to
backup withholding.
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
|
41 |
Financial
Highlights
The
following tables are intended
to help you understand a Fund’s financial performance for the past five years
(or since inception,
if shorter). Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund
share. Total returns represent the rate you
would have earned (or lost) on an investment in each Fund
(assuming reinvestment of all distributions). The information
in the following tables has
been derived from the Funds'
financial statements
which have been
audited by KPMG LLP,
the Funds' independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along
with each Fund's
financial statements,
is also included in each Fund's
annual report, a copy of which is available upon request.
Emerging
Markets Equity Fund
For a share
outstanding throughout each period
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year
ended October 31 |
Institutional
Class |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
2020 |
|
2019 |
|
2018 |
Net
asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
from investment operations |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Distributions
to shareholders from |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
asset value, end of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Total
return |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ratios
to average net assets (annualized) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Supplemental
data |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Portfolio
turnover rate |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
assets, end of period (000s omitted) |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
1 |
Calculated
based upon average shares outstanding |
42 |
|
International
and Global Equity Funds |
Emerging
Markets Equity Income Fund
For a share
outstanding throughout each period
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year
ended October 31 |
Institutional
Class |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
2020 |
|
2019 |
|
2018 |
Net
asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
from investment operations |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Distributions
to shareholders from |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
asset value, end of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Total
return |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ratios
to average net assets (annualized) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Supplemental
data |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Portfolio
turnover rate |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
assets, end of period (000s omitted) |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
1 |
Calculated
based upon average shares outstanding |
International
Equity Fund
For a share
outstanding throughout each period
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year
ended October 31 |
Institutional
Class |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
2020 |
|
2019 |
|
2018 |
Net
asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
from investment operations |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Distributions
to shareholders from |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tax
basis return of capital |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
distributions to shareholders |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
asset value, end of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Total
return |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ratios
to average net assets (annualized) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Supplemental
data |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Portfolio
turnover rate |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
assets, end of period (000s omitted) |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
1 |
Calculated
based upon average shares outstanding |
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
|
43 |
Special
Global Small Cap Fund
For a share
outstanding throughout each period
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year
ended October 31 |
Institutional
Class |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
2020 |
|
2019 |
|
2018 |
Net
asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Net
investment income (loss) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
from investment operations |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Distributions
to shareholders from |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
realized gains |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
distributions to shareholders |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
asset value, end of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Total
return |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ratios
to average net assets (annualized) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income (loss) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Supplemental
data |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Portfolio
turnover rate |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
assets, end of period (000s omitted) |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
1 |
Calculated
based upon average shares outstanding |
Special
International Small Cap Fund
For a share
outstanding throughout each period
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year
ended October 31 |
Institutional
Class |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
2020 |
|
20191
|
Net
asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
from investment operations |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Distributions
to shareholders from |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
realized gains |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
distributions to shareholders |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
asset value, end of period |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
Total
return3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ratios
to average net assets (annualized) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Supplemental
data |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Portfolio
turnover rate |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
assets, end of period (000s omitted) |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
1 |
For
the period from May 31, 2019 (commencement of class operations) to October
31, 2019 |
2 |
Calculated
based upon average shares outstanding |
3 |
Returns
for periods of less than one year are not
annualized. |
44 |
|
International
and Global Equity Funds |
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
|
45 |
46 |
|
International
and Global Equity Funds |
|
|
FOR
MORE INFORMATION
More
information on a Fund is available free upon request, including
the following documents:
Statement
of Additional Information ("SAI") Supplements
the disclosures made by this Prospectus. The
SAI, which has been filed with the SEC, is incorporated
by reference into this Prospectus and therefore
is legally part of this Prospectus.
Annual/Semi-Annual
Reports Provide
financial and other important information, including
a discussion of the market conditions and
investment strategies that significantly affected Fund
performance over the reporting period.
To
obtain copies of the above documents or for more information
about Allspring
Funds, contact us:
By
telephone: Individual
Investors: 1-800-222-8222 Retail
Investment Professionals: 1-888-877-9275 Institutional
Investment Professionals: 1-800-260-5969 |
By
mail: Allspring
Funds P.O.
Box 219967 Kansas
City, MO 64121-9967
Online: www.allspringglobal.com
From
the SEC: Visit
the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC
(phone 1-202-551-8090 for operational information
for the SEC's Public Reference Room) or the
SEC's website at sec.gov.
To
obtain information for a fee, write or email:SEC's
Public Reference Section100
"F" Street, NEWashington,
DC 20549-0102[email protected]The
Allspring
Funds are distributed byAllspring
Funds Distributor, LLC, a member of
FINRA. |
|
|
©
2023
Allspring Global Investments Holdings, LLC. All rights
reserved. |
PRO4146
03-23 www.allspringglobal.com |