2022-05-25USEquityFunds-Retail-August
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Fund |
Class
R |
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Allspring
Special Small Cap Value Fund (The Fund is closed to most new
investors) |
ESPHX |
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.
Special
Small Cap Value 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.
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Shareholder
Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
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Maximum
sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
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Maximum
deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
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Annual
Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage
of the value of your investment)
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Management
Fees |
0.77% |
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Distribution
(12b-1) Fees |
0.25% |
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Other
Expenses |
0.47% |
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Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
1.49% |
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Fee
Waivers |
0.00% |
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Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers1
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% |
| 1. |
The
Manager has contractually committed through July
31, 2023, to
waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to
cap Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at 1.56%
for Class
R. 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:
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After:
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1
Year |
$152 |
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3
Years |
$471 |
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5
Years |
$813 |
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10
Years |
$1,779 |
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 28%
of the
average value of its portfolio.
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
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■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in equity securities of
small-capitalization
companies. |
We invest
principally in equity securities of small-capitalization companies, which we
define as companies with market capitalizations
within the range of the Russell 2000® Index at
the time of purchase. The market capitalization range of the Russell
2000® Index
was $9.57 million to $10.28 billion as of June 30, 2022, and is
expected to change frequently.
We look for
undervalued companies that we believe have the potential for above average
capital appreciation with below
average risk. Rigorous fundamental research drives our search for companies with
favorable reward-to-risk ratios and that
possess, a long-term competitive advantage provided by a durable asset base,
strong balance sheets, and sustainable
and superior cash flows. Typical investments include stocks of companies that
are generally out of favor in the
marketplace, or are undergoing reorganization or other corporate action that may
create above-average price appreciation.
We regularly review the investments of the portfolio and may sell a portfolio
holding when a stock nears its price
target, downside risks increase considerably, the company’s fundamentals have
deteriorated, or we identify a more
attractive investment opportunity.
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.
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.
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 allspringglobal.com.
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Calendar
Year Total Returns for Class R as of 12/31 each year1
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Highest
Quarter:
December
31, 2020 |
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Lowest
Quarter:
March
31,
2020 |
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Year-to-date
total return
as of June
30,
2022 is
-15.82% |
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Inception
Date
of Share
Class |
1
Year |
5
Year |
10
Year |
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Class
R |
9/30/2015
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27.38% |
9.37% |
12.34% |
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Russell
2000® Value Index (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses, or taxes) |
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28.27% |
9.07% |
12.03% |
| 1. |
Historical
performance shown for the Class R shares prior to their inception reflects
the performance of the Institutional Class shares
adjusted to reflect the higher expenses applicable to the Class R
shares. |
Fund
Management
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Manager
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Sub-Adviser |
Portfolio
Manager, Title/Managed Since |
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Allspring
Funds Management, LLC
|
Allspring
Global Investments, LLC |
Brian
Martin, CFA
Portfolio Manager / 2020
James
M. Tringas, CFA,
Portfolio Manager
/ 2002
Bryant
VanCronkhite, CFA, CPA,
Portfolio
Manager / 2013 |
Purchase
and Sale of Fund Shares
Class
R shares generally are available only to certain retirement plans,
including: 401(k) plans, 457 plans, profit sharing and money
purchase pension plans, defined benefit plans, target benefit plans and
non-qualified deferred compensation
plans. Class
R shares also are generally available only to retirement plans where
plan level or omnibus accounts
are held on the books of the Fund. Class
R shares generally are not available to retail accounts.
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Institutions
Purchasing Fund Shares |
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Minimum
Initial Investment
Class
R: Eligible investors are not subject to a minimum initial investment
(intermediaries may require different minimum
investment amounts)
Minimum
Additional Investment
Class
R: None (intermediaries may require different minimum additional
investment amounts) |
The Fund is
closed to most new investors. For further information, please see the section
entitled “Additional Purchase and
Redemption Information” in the SAI.
Tax
Information
By
investing in a Fund through a tax-deferred retirement account, you will not be
subject to tax on dividends and capital
gains distributions from the Fund or the sale of Fund shares if those amounts
remain in the tax-deferred account.
Distributions
taken from retirement plan accounts generally are taxable as ordinary income.
For special rules concerning
tax-deferred retirement accounts, including applications, restrictions, tax
advantages, and potential sales charge
waivers, contact your investment professional. To determine if a retirement plan
may be appropriate for you and to
obtain further information, consult your tax adviser.
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.
Special
Small Cap Value 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. |
We invest
principally in equity securities of small-capitalization companies, which we
define as companies with market capitalizations
within the range of the Russell 2000® Index at
the time of purchase. The market capitalization range of the Russell
2000® Index
was $9.57 million to $10.28 billion as of June 30, 2022, and is
expected to change frequently.
We look for
undervalued companies that we believe have the potential for above average
capital appreciation with below
average risk. Rigorous fundamental research drives our search for companies with
favorable reward-to-risk ratios and that
possess, a long-term competitive advantage provided by a durable asset base,
strong balance sheets, and sustainable
and superior cash flows. Typical investments include stocks of companies that
are generally out of favor in the
marketplace, or are undergoing reorganization or other corporate action that may
create above-average price appreciation.
We regularly review the investments of the portfolio and may sell a portfolio
holding when a stock nears its price
target, downside risks increase considerably, the company’s fundamentals have
deteriorated, or we identify a more
attractive investment opportunity.
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.
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.
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.
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 the 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Fund’s
Statement of Additional Information.
Pricing Fund
Shares
The Fund’s 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 the 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 the 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,
the Fund may
elect to remain open even on
days that the NYSE is closed or closes early. To the extent
that the 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 the Fund’s
assets may not occur on days when the Fund is
open.
With
respect to any portion of the 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 the 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 the 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 the 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 the 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 the Fund’s
securities and other assets is determined in good faith pursuant to policies and
procedures adopted by
the Fund’s
Board of Trustees. 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.
Management
of the Funds
The
Manager
Allspring
Funds Management, LLC (“Allspring
Funds Management”), headquartered at 525 Market Street, San Francisco,
CA 94105, provides advisory
and Fund level administrative services to the Fund
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 Fund.
Allspring
Funds Management’s investment professionals review and analyze the Fund’s
performance, including relative to peer
funds, and monitor the Fund’s
compliance with its
investment objectives and strategies. Allspring
Funds Management
is responsible for reporting to the Board on investment performance and other
matters affecting the Fund. 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 Fund, which
include,
among others, providing such services in connection with the Fund’s
operations; developing and implementing
procedures for monitoring compliance with regulatory requirements and compliance
with the Fund’s
investment
objectives, policies and restrictions; and providing any
other Fund-level
administrative services reasonably necessary
for the operation of the Fund, other
than those services that are provided by the Fund’s transfer
and dividend disbursing
agent, custodian and fund accountant.
To assist
Allspring
Funds Management in implementing the investment objectives and strategies of the
Fund,
Allspring
Funds
Management may contract with one or more sub-advisers to provide day-to-day
portfolio management services to the
Fund.
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 Fund.
A
discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of
the Management
Agreement and any applicable sub-advisory
agreements for the Fund is
available in the Fund’s semi-annual
report for the period ended September
30th.
For the 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:
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Management
Fees Paid |
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As
a % of average daily net assets |
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Special
Small Cap Value Fund |
0.77% |
The
Sub-Adviser and Portfolio Managers
The
following sub-adviser
and portfolio
managers provide day-to-day portfolio management services to the
master portfolios
in which the Fund invest
substantially all of their assets. These services include making purchases and
sales of
securities and other investment assets for the master portfolios, selecting
broker-dealers, negotiating brokerage commission
rates and maintaining portfolio transaction records. The sub-adviser is compensated
for its services by Allspring
Funds Management from the fees Allspring
Funds Management receives for its services as investment adviser to the
master portfolios. 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 Fund.
Allspring
Global Investments, LLC
(“Allspring Investments”) is a registered investment adviser located at 525
Market Street, San
Francisco, CA 94105. 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.
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Brian
Martin, CFA
Special
Small Cap Value 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. |
|
James
M. Tringas, CFA
Special
Small Cap Value 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. |
|
Bryant
VanCronkhite, CFA, CPA
Special
Small Cap Value 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. |
Multi-Manager
Arrangement
The Fund 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 Fund, 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 Fund is not
required to disclose the individual fees that Allspring
Funds Management pays to a Multi-Manager Sub-Adviser.
Account
Information
Share
Class Eligibility
Class R
shares generally are available only to certain retirement plans, including:
401(k) plans, 457 plans, profit sharing and money
purchase pension plans, defined benefit plans, target benefit plans and
non-qualified deferred compensation
plans. Class R shares also are generally available only to retirement plans
where plan level or omnibus accounts
are held on the books of the Fund. Class R shares generally are not available to
retail accounts.
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 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.
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Class
R |
|
Initial
Sales Charge |
|
None |
|
Contingent
Deferred Sales Charge (CDSC) |
|
None |
|
Ongoing
Distribution (12b-1) Fees |
|
0.25% |
|
Shareholder
Servicing Fee |
|
0.25% |
Compensation
to Financial Professionals and Intermediaries
Distribution
Plan
The Fund
has adopted a distribution plan (12b-1 Plan) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the
Investment Company Act of 1940 (the
“1940 Act”), for the classes indicated below. The 12b-1 Plan authorizes the Fund
to make payments for services
and activities that are primarily intended to result in the sale of Fund shares
and to reimburse expenses incurred in
connection with such services and activities. The 12b-1 Plan provides that, to
the extent any shareholder servicing
payments are deemed to be payments for the financing of any activity primarily
intended to result in the sale of Fund
shares, such payments are deemed to have been approved under the 12b-1 Plan.
Under the 12b-1 Plan, fees are paid up
to the following amounts:
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|
Fund
|
Class
R |
|
Special
Small Cap Value Fund |
0.25% |
These fees
are paid out of the relevant Class’s assets on an ongoing basis. Over time,
these fees will increase the cost of your
investment and may cost you more than other types of sales charges.
Shareholder
Servicing Plan
The Fund
has adopted a shareholder servicing plan (“Servicing Plan”). The Servicing Plan
authorizes the Fund to enter into
agreements with the Fund’s distributor, manager, or any of their affiliates to
provide or engage other entities to provide
certain shareholder services, including establishing and maintaining shareholder
accounts, processing and verifying
purchase,
redemption and exchange transactions, and providing such other shareholder
liaison or related services as
may reasonably be requested. Under the Servicing Plan, fees are paid up to the
following amounts:
|
|
|
Fund
|
Class
R |
|
Special
Small Cap Value Fund |
0.25% |
Additional
Payments to Financial Professionals and Intermediaries
In addition
to dealer reallowances and payments made by certain classes
of the 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, the 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 allspringglobal.com.
Buying
and Selling Fund Shares
Eligible
retirement plans may make Class
R shares available to plan participants by contacting certain
intermediaries that have
dealer agreements with the distributor. These entities may impose transaction
charges. Plan participants may purchase
shares through their retirement plan’s administrator or record-keeper by
following the process outlined in the terms of
their plan.
Redemption
requests received by a retirement plan’s administrator or record-keeper from the
plan’s participants will be processed
according to the terms of the plan’s account with its intermediary. Plan
participants should follow the process for
selling fund shares outlined in the terms of their plan.
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; |
|
■ |
For
purchase requests, payment of the full amount of the purchase request;
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. |
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.
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.
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 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
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, 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 |
|
■ |
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 intermediary.
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. 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 Fund
generally makes distributions of any net investment income and any realized net
capital gains at least annually.
Please contact your institution for distribution options. Please note,
distributions have the effect of reducing the NAV per
share by the amount distributed.
Other
Information
Taxes
By
investing in the Fund through a tax-deferred retirement account, you will not be
subject to tax on dividends and capital
gains distributions from the Fund or the sale of Fund shares if those amounts
remain in the tax-deferred account.
Distributions taken from retirement plan accounts generally are taxable as
ordinary income. For special rules concerning
tax-deferred retirement accounts, including applications, restrictions, tax
advantages, and potential sales charge
waivers, contact your investment professional. To determine if a retirement plan
may be appropriate for you and to
obtain further information, consult your tax advisor. Please see the Statement
of Additional Information for additional
federal income tax information.
Financial
Highlights
The
following table is 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 the Fund
(assuming reinvestment of all distributions). The information
in the following table has
been derived from the Fund’s
financial statement
which has been
audited by KPMG LLP,
the Funds’ independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along
with the Fund’s
financial statement,
is also included in the Fund’s
annual report, a copy of which is available upon request.
Special
Small Cap Value Fund
For a share
outstanding throughout each period
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year
ended March 31 |
|
Class
R |
|
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) |
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
|
|
|
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:
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. |
|
|
|
©
2022
Allspring Global Investments Holdings, LLC. All rights
reserved. |
082SCNR/P207
www.allspringglobal.com |
