STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Investor Class Shares, Trust Class Shares, Advisor Class Shares, Institutional Class Shares, Class A
Shares, Class C Shares, Class R3 Shares,  Class R6 Shares, and Class E Shares

Dated December 15, 2020, as Amended and Restated July 5, 2021

1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104

Shareholder Services

800.877.9700

Institutional Services

800.366.6264

www.nb.com

Neuberger Berman Dividend Growth Fund, Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Equity Income Fund, Neuberger Berman Focus Fund, Neuberger Berman Genesis Fund, Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund, Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Guardian Fund, Neuberger Berman Integrated Large Cap Fund (formerly, Neuberger Berman Global Equity Fund), Neuberger Berman International Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman International Select Fund, Neuberger Berman International Small Cap Fund, Neuberger Berman Intrinsic Value Fund, Neuberger Berman Large Cap Value Fund, Neuberger Berman Mid Cap Growth Fund, Neuberger Berman Mid Cap Intrinsic Value Fund, Neuberger Berman Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund, Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund, Neuberger Berman Small Cap Growth Fund, and Neuberger Berman Sustainable Equity Fund (each a “Fund”) are

mutual funds that offer shares pursuant to prospectuses dated December 15, 2020, with respect to all share classes except Class E shares, and July 5, 2021, with respect to Class E shares.

The prospectus and summary prospectus (together, the “Prospectus”) for your share class provide more information about your Fund that you should know before investing. You can get a free copy of the Prospectus, annual report and/or semi-annual report for your share class from Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC (“NBIA” or the “Manager”), 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104 or by calling the appropriate number listed above for your share class. You should read the Prospectus for your share class and consider the investment objective, risks, and fees and expenses of your Fund carefully before investing.

This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus and should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus for your share class.  This SAI is not an offer to sell any shares of any class of the Funds.  A written offer can be made only by a Prospectus.

Each Fund’s financial statements, notes thereto and the report of its independent registered public accounting firm are incorporated by reference from the Fund’s annual report to shareholders into (and are therefore legally part of) this SAI.

No person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations not contained in the Prospectuses or in this SAI in connection with the offering made by the Prospectuses, and, if given or made, such information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by a Fund or its distributor. The Prospectuses and this SAI do not constitute an offering by a Fund or its distributor in any jurisdiction in which such offering may not lawfully be made.

The “Neuberger Berman” name and logo and “Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC” are registered service marks of Neuberger Berman Group LLC. The individual Fund names in this SAI are either service marks or registered service marks of Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC. ^©2021 Neuberger Berman BD LLC, distributor. All rights reserved.

INVESTMENT INFORMATION		1
	Investment Policies and Limitations	2
	Cash Management and Temporary Defensive Positions	10
	Additional Investment Information	11
PERFORMANCE INFORMATION		81
TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS		81
	Information about the Board of Trustees	81
	Information about the Officers of the Trust	87
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION SERVICES		99
	Investment Manager and Administrator	99
	Management and Administration Fees	101
	Contractual Expense Limitations	109
	Voluntary Expense Limitations	116
	Sub-Adviser	118
	Portfolio Manager Information	118
	Other Investment Companies or Accounts Managed	131
	Codes of Ethics	132
	Management and Control of NBIA	132
	Management and Control of Green Court	132
DISTRIBUTION ARRANGEMENTS		133
	Distributor	134
	Additional Payments to Financial Intermediaries	142
	Distribution Plan (Trust Class Only)	143
	Distribution Plan (Advisor Class Only)	144
	Distribution Plan (Class A Only)	145
	Distribution Plan (Class C Only)	146
	Distribution Plan (Class R3 Only)	147
	Distribution Plan (Trust Class, Advisor Class, Class A, Class C and Class R3)	148
ADDITIONAL PURCHASE INFORMATION		149
	Share Prices and Net Asset Value	149
	Subscriptions in Kind	151
	Financial Intermediaries	151
	Automatic Investing and Dollar Cost Averaging	151
	Sales Charges	152
ADDITIONAL EXCHANGE INFORMATION		152
ADDITIONAL REDEMPTION INFORMATION		154
	Suspension of Redemptions	154

	Redemptions in Kind	154
CONVERSION INFORMATION		154
DIVIDENDS AND OTHER DISTRIBUTIONS		156
ADDITIONAL TAX INFORMATION		157
	Taxation of the Funds	157
	Taxation of the Funds’ Shareholders	164
	Special Tax Considerations Pertaining to Funds of Funds	166
FUND TRANSACTIONS		168
	Portfolio Turnover	178
	Proxy Voting	179
PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS DISCLOSURE		180
	Portfolio Holdings Disclosure Policy	180
	Selective Disclosure Procedures	181
	Portfolio Holdings Approved Recipients	182
REPORTS TO SHAREHOLDERS		183
ORGANIZATION, CAPITALIZATION AND OTHER MATTERS		183
CUSTODIAN AND TRANSFER AGENT		185
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRMS		185
LEGAL COUNSEL		185
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES		186
REGISTRATION STATEMENT		246
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS		246
APPENDIX A – LONG-TERM AND SHORT-TERM DEBT SECURITIES RATING DESCRIPTIONS		A-1
APPENDIX B – PROXY VOTING POLICY FOR NEUBERGER BERMAN INVESTMENT ADVISERS LLC		B-1
APPENDIX C – PROXY VOTING POLICY FOR GREEN COURT CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LIMITED		C-1

Each Fund is a separate operating series of Neuberger Berman Equity Funds (“Trust”), a Delaware statutory trust established on December 29, 1992.  The Trust is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) as an open-end management investment company.

Through December 15, 2000, the Advisor Class, Investor Class and Trust Class units of beneficial interest (“shares”) of each Fund (except those Funds identified in the next paragraph) and the Institutional Class shares of each Fund (except those Funds identified in the next paragraph and Neuberger Berman Genesis Fund) were organized as feeder funds in a master-feeder structure rather than as funds in a multiple-class structure. These feeder funds were series of Neuberger Berman Equity Assets, Neuberger Berman Equity Funds, Neuberger Berman Equity Trust, and Neuberger Berman Equity Series.

The following Funds commenced operations as separate series of the Trust on the dates shown next to the Fund names:  Neuberger Berman Dividend Growth Fund (December 15, 2015), Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Equity Fund (October 8, 2008); Neuberger Berman Equity Income Fund (November 2, 2006); Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund (December 30, 2014); Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund (July 17, 2013); Neuberger Berman Integrated Large Cap Fund (June 30, 2011); Neuberger Berman International Equity Fund (June 17, 2005); Neuberger Berman International Select Fund (August 1, 2006); Neuberger Berman International Small Cap Fund (December 8, 2016); Neuberger Berman Intrinsic Value Fund (May 10, 2010); Neuberger Berman Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund (November 2, 2006); and Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund (May 1, 2002).

The following information supplements the discussion of the Funds’ investment objectives, policies, and limitations in the Prospectuses. The investment objective and, unless otherwise specified, the investment policies and limitations of each Fund are not fundamental. Any investment objective, policy, or limitation that is not fundamental may be changed by the trustees of the Trust (“Fund Trustees”) without shareholder approval. The fundamental investment policies and limitations of a Fund may not be changed without the approval of the lesser of:

(1)   67% of the shares of the Fund present at a meeting at which more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund are present or represented, or

(2)   a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund.

These percentages are required by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (“1940 Act”), and are referred to in this SAI as a “1940 Act majority vote.”

The policy of a Fund permitting it to operate as a non-diversified investment company under the 1940 Act may also change by operation of law.  Specifically, Rule 13a-1 under the 1940 Act provides in effect that, if a fund’s investment portfolio actually meets the standards of a diversified fund for three consecutive years, the fund’s status will change to that of a diversified fund.  By operation of law, each of Neuberger Berman Focus Fund, Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund, and Neuberger Berman Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund currently operates as a diversified investment company.

Each Fund, except Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund and Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund, operates as a diversified investment company.  Each of Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund and Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund currently operates as a non-diversified investment company.

NBIA is responsible for the day-to-day management of each Fund, except Neuberger Berman Great China Equity Fund.  Throughout this SAI, the term “Manager” refers to NBIA with respect to each Fund, except Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund.  NBIA has delegated to Green Court Capital Management Limited (“Green Court”) day-to-day investment management of Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund.  Throughout this SAI, the term “Manager” refers to NBIA or Green Court, as appropriate, with respect to Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund.

Except as set forth in the investment limitation on borrowing and the investment limitation on illiquid securities, any investment policy or limitation that involves a maximum percentage of securities or assets will not be considered exceeded unless the percentage limitation is exceeded immediately after, and because of, a transaction by a Fund. If events subsequent to a transaction result in a Fund exceeding the percentage limitation on illiquid securities, the Manager will take appropriate steps to reduce the percentage held in illiquid securities, as may be required by law, within a reasonable amount of time.

The following investment policies and limitations are fundamental and apply to all Funds unless otherwise indicated:

1. Borrowing (All Funds except Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Integrated Large Cap Fund, Neuberger Berman International Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman International Select Fund, and Neuberger Berman International Small Cap Fund).  No Fund may borrow money, except that a Fund may (i) borrow money from banks for temporary or emergency purposes and not for leveraging or investment and (ii) enter into reverse repurchase agreements for any purpose; provided that (i) and (ii) in combination do not exceed 33-1/3% of the value of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings). If at any time borrowings exceed 33‑1/3% of the value of a Fund’s total assets, that Fund will reduce its borrowings within three days (excluding Sundays and holidays) to the extent necessary to comply with the 33-1/3% limitation.

Borrowing (Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Integrated Large Cap Fund, Neuberger Berman International Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman International Select Fund, and Neuberger Berman International Small Cap Fund).  No Fund may borrow money, except that a Fund may (i) borrow money from banks for temporary or emergency purposes and for leveraging or investment and (ii) enter into reverse repurchase agreements for any purpose; provided that (i) and (ii) in combination do not exceed 33-1/3% of the value of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings). If at any time borrowings exceed 33‑1/3% of the value of a Fund’s total assets, that Fund will reduce its borrowings within three days (excluding Sundays and holidays) to the extent necessary to comply with the 33-1/3% limitation.

2. Commodities (All Funds except Neuberger Berman Dividend Growth Fund, Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund, Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Integrated Large Cap Fund, Neuberger Berman International Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman International Select Fund, and Neuberger Berman International Small Cap Fund).  No Fund may purchase physical commodities or contracts thereon, unless acquired as a result of the ownership of securities or instruments, but this restriction shall not prohibit a Fund from purchasing futures contracts or options (including options on futures contracts, but excluding options or futures contracts on physical commodities) or from investing in securities of any kind.

Commodities (Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Integrated Large Cap Fund, Neuberger Berman International Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman International Select Fund, and Neuberger Berman International Small Cap Fund).  No Fund may purchase physical commodities or contracts thereon, unless acquired as a result of the ownership of securities or instruments, but this restriction shall not prohibit a Fund from purchasing futures contracts, options (including options on futures contracts, but excluding options or futures contracts on physical commodities), foreign currencies or forward contracts, or from investing in securities of any kind.

Commodities (Neuberger Berman Dividend Growth Fund and Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund). The Fund may not purchase physical commodities, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations thereunder and any applicable exemptive relief or unless acquired as a result of the ownership of securities or instruments, but this restriction shall not prohibit the Fund from purchasing futures contracts, options, foreign currencies or forward contracts, swaps, caps, collars, floors and other financial instruments or from investing in securities of any kind.

3. Diversification (All Funds except Neuberger Berman Focus Fund, Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund, Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund, and Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund).  No Fund may, with respect to 75% of the value of its total assets, purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities (“U.S. Government and Agency Securities”), or securities issued by other investment companies) if, as a result, (i) more than 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets would be invested in the securities of that issuer or (ii) the Fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer.

Diversification (Neuberger Berman Focus Fund, Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund, and Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund). Each Fund is non-diversified under the 1940 Act.

Notwithstanding the foregoing investment limitation, by operation of law, each of Neuberger Berman Focus Fund and Neuberger Berman Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund currently operates as a diversified investment company.

4.  Industry Concentration (All Funds except Neuberger Berman Dividend Growth Fund, Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund, Neuberger Berman International Small Cap Fund and Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund).  No Fund may purchase any security if, as a result, 25% or

more of its total assets (taken at current value) would be invested in the securities of issuers having their principal business activities in the same industry. This limitation does not apply to U.S. Government and Agency Securities.

Industry Concentration (Neuberger Berman Dividend Growth Fund and Neuberger Berman International Small Cap Fund).  The Fund may not purchase any security if, as a result, 25% or more of its total assets (taken at current value) would be invested in the securities of issuers having their principal business activities in the same industry. This limitation does not apply to U.S. Government and Agency Securities, securities of other investment companies and tax-exempt securities or such other securities as may be excluded for this purpose under the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations thereunder and any applicable exemptive relief.

Industry Concentration (Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund).  The Fund may not purchase any security if, as a result, 25% or more of its total assets (taken at current value) would be invested in the securities of issuers having their principal business activities in the same industry, except that the Fund will invest greater than 25% of its total assets in the real estate industry. This limitation does not apply to U.S. Government and Agency Securities, securities of other investment companies and tax-exempt securities or such other securities as may be excluded for this purpose under the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations thereunder and any applicable exemptive relief.

Industry Concentration (Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund).  The Fund may not purchase any security if, as a result, 25% or more of its total assets (taken at current value) would be invested in the securities of issuers having their principal business activities in the same industry, except that the Fund will invest greater than 25% of its total assets in the real estate industry. This limitation does not apply to U.S. Government and Agency Securities.

5.  Lending (All Funds except Neuberger Berman Dividend Growth Fund, Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund and Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund).  No Fund may lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than 33-1/3% of its total assets (taken at current value) would be lent to other parties, except, in accordance with its investment objective, policies, and limitations, (i) through the purchase of a portion of an issue of debt securities or (ii) by engaging in repurchase agreements.

Lending (Neuberger Berman Dividend Growth Fund and Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund). No Fund may lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than 33-1/3% of its total assets (taken at current value) would be lent to other parties, except, in accordance with its investment objective, policies, and limitations, (i) through the purchase of all or a portion of an issue of debt securities, loans, loan participations or other forms of direct debt instruments or (ii) by engaging in repurchase agreements.

Lending (Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund). The Fund may not lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than 33-1/3% of its total assets (taken at current value) would be lent to other parties, except, in accordance with its investment objective, policies, and limitations, (i) through the purchase of all or a portion of an issue of debt securities or (ii) by engaging in repurchase agreements.

6.  Real Estate (All Funds except Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Equity Income Fund, Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Integrated Large Cap Fund, Neuberger Berman International Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman International Select Fund, Neuberger Berman International Small Cap Fund, Neuberger Berman Intrinsic Value Fund, and Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund).  No Fund may purchase real estate unless acquired as a result of the ownership of securities or instruments, but this restriction shall not prohibit a Fund from purchasing securities issued by entities or investment vehicles that own or deal in real estate or interests therein or instruments secured by real estate or interests therein.

Real Estate (Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Integrated Large Cap Fund, Neuberger Berman International Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman International Select Fund and Neuberger Berman International Small Cap Fund).  No Fund may invest any part of its total assets in real estate or interests in real estate unless acquired as a result of the ownership of securities or instruments, but this restriction shall not prohibit a Fund from purchasing readily marketable securities issued by entities or investment vehicles that own or deal in real estate or interests therein or instruments secured by real estate or interests therein.

Real Estate (Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund).  The Fund may not purchase real estate unless acquired as a result of the ownership of securities or instruments, except that the Fund may (i) invest in securities of issuers that mortgage, invest or deal in real estate or interests therein, (ii) invest in securities that are secured by real estate or interests therein, (iii) purchase and sell mortgage-related securities, (iv) hold and sell real estate acquired by the Fund as a result of the ownership of securities, and (v) invest in real estate investment trusts of any kind.

Real Estate (Neuberger Berman Equity Income Fund and Neuberger Berman Intrinsic Value Fund).  The Fund may not purchase real estate unless acquired as a result of the ownership of securities or instruments, except that the Fund may (i) invest in securities of issuers a principal business of which is mortgaging, investing, and/or dealing in real estate or interests therein, (ii) invest in instruments that are secured by real estate or interests therein, (iii) purchase and sell mortgage-related securities, (iv) hold and sell real estate acquired by the Fund as a result of the ownership of securities, and (v) invest in real estate investment trusts of any kind.

7. Senior Securities.  No Fund may issue senior securities, except as permitted under the 1940 Act.

8. Underwriting.  No Fund may underwrite securities of other issuers, except to the extent that a Fund, in disposing of portfolio securities, may be deemed to be an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“1933 Act”).

Each of Neuberger Berman Dividend Growth Fund, Neuberger Berman Focus Fund, Neuberger Berman Genesis Fund, Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund, Neuberger Berman Guardian Fund, Neuberger Berman Large Cap Value Fund, Neuberger Berman Mid Cap Growth Fund, Neuberger Berman Mid Cap Intrinsic Value Fund and Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund has the following fundamental investment policy:

Notwithstanding any other investment policy of the Fund, the Fund may invest all of its investable assets (cash, securities, and receivables relating to securities) in an open‑end management investment company having substantially the same investment objective, policies, and limitations as the Fund.

Each of Neuberger Berman Equity Income Fund, Neuberger Berman International Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman International Select Fund, Neuberger Berman International Small Cap Fund, and Neuberger Berman Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund has the following fundamental investment policy:

Notwithstanding any other investment policy of the Fund, the Fund may invest all of its net investable assets in an open‑end management investment company having substantially the same investment objective, policies, and limitations as the Fund.

Each of Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Integrated Large Cap Fund and Neuberger Berman Intrinsic Value Fund has the following fundamental investment policy:

Notwithstanding any other investment policy of the Fund, the Fund may invest all of its investable assets in an open‑end management investment company having substantially the same investment objective, policies, and limitations as the Fund.

Each of Neuberger Berman Small Cap Growth Fund and Neuberger Berman Sustainable Equity Fund has the following fundamental investment policy:

Notwithstanding any other investment policy of the Fund, the Fund may invest all of its net investable assets (cash, securities, and receivables relating to securities) in an open‑end management investment company having substantially the same investment objective, policies, and limitations as the Fund.

For purposes of the investment limitation on commodities, the Funds do not consider foreign currencies or forward contracts to be physical commodities. Also, this limitation does not prohibit the Funds from purchasing securities backed by physical commodities, including interests in exchange-traded investment trusts and other similar entities, or derivative instruments, or Neuberger Berman Dividend Growth Fund or Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund from purchasing physical commodities.

For purposes of the investment limitation on concentration in a particular industry, industry classifications are determined for each Fund (except Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund and Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund) in accordance with the industry or sub-industry classifications established by the Global Industry Classification Standard; industry classifications are determined for Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund in accordance with the classifications of the FTSE EPRA/Nareit Developed Index, and industry classifications are determined for Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund in accordance with the classifications of the FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs Index.  The more narrowly industries are defined, the more likely it is that multiple industries will be affected in a similar fashion by a single economic or regulatory development.

The following investment policies and limitations are non-fundamental and apply to all Funds unless otherwise indicated:

1. Borrowing (All Funds except Neuberger Berman Dividend Growth Fund, Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund, Neuberger Berman Integrated Large Cap Fund, Neuberger Berman International Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman International Select Fund, Neuberger Berman International Small Cap Fund, Neuberger Berman Large Cap Value Fund, Neuberger Berman Mid Cap Intrinsic Value Fund and Neuberger Berman Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund).  No Fund may purchase securities if outstanding borrowings, including any reverse repurchase agreements, exceed 5% of its total assets.

Borrowing (Neuberger Berman Large Cap Value Fund, Neuberger Berman Mid Cap Intrinsic Value Fund and Neuberger Berman Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund).  No Fund may purchase securities if outstanding borrowings of money, including any reverse repurchase agreements, exceed 5% of its total assets.

2. Lending (All Funds except Neuberger Berman Dividend Growth Fund and Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund).  Except for the purchase of debt securities and engaging in repurchase agreements, no Fund may make any loans other than securities loans.

Lending (Neuberger Berman Dividend Growth Fund and Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund).  Except for the purchase of debt securities, loans, loan participations or other forms of direct debt instruments and engaging in repurchase agreements, the Fund may not make any loans other than securities loans.

3. Margin Transactions.  No Fund may purchase securities on margin from brokers or other lenders, except that a Fund may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of securities transactions. Margin payments in connection with transactions in futures contracts and options on futures contracts shall not constitute the purchase of securities on margin and shall not be deemed to violate the foregoing limitation.

4. Foreign Securities (Neuberger Berman Genesis Fund, Neuberger Berman Mid Cap Growth Fund and Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund).  No Fund may invest more than 10% of the value of its total assets in securities denominated in foreign currency.

Foreign Securities (Neuberger Berman Guardian Fund, Neuberger Berman Intrinsic Value Fund, Neuberger Berman Large Cap Value Fund, Neuberger Berman Mid Cap Intrinsic Value Fund, Neuberger Berman Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund, Neuberger Berman Small Cap Growth Fund, and Neuberger Berman Sustainable Equity Fund).  No Fund may invest more than 20% of the value of its total assets in securities denominated in foreign currency.

Foreign Securities (Neuberger Berman Equity Income Fund).  The Fund may not invest more than 30% of the value of its total assets in securities denominated in foreign currency.

These policies do not limit investment in American Depository Receipts (“ADRs”) and similar instruments denominated in U.S. dollars, where the underlying security may be denominated in a foreign currency.

5. Illiquid Securities.  No Fund may purchase any security if, as a result, more than 15% of its net assets would be invested in illiquid securities. An illiquid investment means any investment that a Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment.

6. Pledging (Neuberger Berman Genesis Fund and Neuberger Berman Guardian Fund).  Neither of these Funds may pledge or hypothecate any of its assets, except that (i) Neuberger Berman Genesis Fund may pledge or hypothecate up to 15% of its total assets to collateralize a borrowing permitted under fundamental policy 1 above or a letter of credit issued for a purpose set forth in that policy and (ii) each Fund may pledge or hypothecate up to 5% of its total assets in connection with its entry into any agreement or arrangement pursuant to which a bank furnishes a letter of credit to collateralize a capital commitment made by the Fund to a mutual insurance company of which the Fund is a member. The other Funds are not subject to any restrictions on their ability to pledge or hypothecate assets and may do so in connection with permitted borrowings.

7. Investments in Any One Issuer (Neuberger Berman Focus Fund, Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund, Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund and Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund).  At the close of each quarter of each Fund’s taxable year, (i) at least 50% of the value of the Fund’s total assets must be represented by cash and cash items, Government securities (as defined for purposes of Subchapter M of Chapter 1 of Subtitle A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (“Code”)), securities of other “regulated investment companies” (as defined in section 851(a) of the Code) (each, a “RIC”), and other securities limited, in respect of any one issuer, to an amount that does not exceed 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets and that does not represent more than 10% of the issuer’s outstanding voting securities, and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of its total assets may be invested in (a) securities (other than Government securities or securities of other RICs) of any one issuer, (b) securities (other than securities of other RICs) of two or more issuers the Fund controls that are determined to be engaged in the same, similar, or related trades or businesses, or (c) securities of one or more “qualified publicly traded partnerships” (as defined in the Code).

Notwithstanding the foregoing investment limitation, by operation of law, each of Neuberger Berman Focus Fund and Neuberger Berman Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund currently operates as a diversified investment company.

8. ESG criteria (Neuberger Berman Sustainable Equity Fund).  The Fund may not purchase securities of issuers that derive more than 5% of their total revenue from the production of alcohol, tobacco, weapons or nuclear power and may not purchase securities of issuers deriving more than 5% of total revenue from gambling.

See page 73 for a description of the Sustainable Equity Fund’s ESG criteria.

9. Equity Securities (All Funds except Neuberger Berman Dividend Growth Fund, Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund, Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Large Cap Value Fund, Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund, Neuberger Berman Small Cap Growth Fund, and Neuberger Berman Sustainable Equity Fund.  Each Fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities. Although this is a non-fundamental

policy, the Fund Trustees will not change this policy without at least 60 days’ notice to shareholders. (Only Neuberger Berman Integrated Large Cap Fund, Neuberger Berman International Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman International Select Fund, and Neuberger Berman International Small Cap Fund may borrow for investment purposes.)

Equity Securities that Pay Dividends (Neuberger Berman Dividend Growth Fund).  Under normal market circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities that pay dividends.  Although this is a non-fundamental policy, the Fund Trustees will not change this policy without at least 60 days’ notice to shareholders. (The Fund may not borrow for investment purposes.)

Equity Securities (Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Equity Fund).  The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities of issuers in emerging market countries.  Although this is a non-fundamental policy, the Fund Trustees will not change this policy without at least 60 days’ notice to shareholders.

Real Estate Equity Securities (Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund).  The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in U.S. and non-U.S. equity securities issued by real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) and common stocks and other securities issued by other real estate companies. Although this is a non-fundamental policy, the Fund Trustees will not change this policy without at least 60 days’ notice to shareholders.  (The Fund may not borrow for investment purposes.)

Equity Investments (Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund). The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity investments that are tied economically to the Greater China region.  Although this is a non-fundamental policy, the Fund Trustees will not change this policy without at least 60 days’ notice to shareholders. The Fund’s equity investments include both equity securities and equity-linked investments. (The Fund may not borrow for investment purposes.)

Large Cap Companies (Neuberger Berman Integrated Large Cap Fund and Neuberger Berman Large Cap Value Fund).  Each Fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities of large-capitalization companies. Although this is a non-fundamental policy, the Fund Trustees will not change this policy without at least 60 days’ notice to shareholders.  (Neuberger Berman Large Cap Value Fund may not borrow for investment purposes.)

Real Estate Equity Securities (Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund).  The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities issued by REITs and common stocks and other securities issued by other real estate companies. Although this is a non-fundamental policy, the Fund Trustees will not change this policy without at least 60 days’ notice to shareholders. (The Fund may not borrow for investment purposes.)

Small-Cap Companies (Neuberger Berman International Small Cap Fund and Neuberger Berman Small Cap Growth Fund).  Each Fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in small-capitalization companies. Although this is a non-fundamental policy, the Fund Trustees will not change this policy without at least 60

days’ notice to shareholders.  (Neuberger Berman Small Cap Growth Fund may not borrow for investment purposes.)

Equity Securities (Neuberger Berman Sustainable Equity Fund).  The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities selected in accordance with its ESG criteria. Although this is a non-fundamental policy, the Fund Trustees will not change this policy without at least 60 days’ notice to shareholders.  (The Fund may not borrow for investment purposes.)

10. Investment by a Fund of Funds. If shares of a Fund are purchased by another fund in reliance on Section 12(d)(1)(G) of the 1940 Act, for so long as shares of the Fund are held by such fund, the Fund will not purchase securities of registered open-end investment companies or registered unit investment trusts in reliance on Section 12(d)(1)(F) or Section 12(d)(1)(G) of the 1940 Act.

Senior Securities. Section 18(f)(1) of the 1940 Act prohibits an open-end investment company from issuing any class of senior security, or selling any class of senior security of which it is the issuer, except that the investment company may borrow from a bank provided that immediately after any such borrowing there is asset coverage of at least 300% for all of its borrowings.  The SEC has taken the position that certain instruments that create future obligations may be considered senior securities subject to provisions of the 1940 Act that limit the ability of investment companies to issue senior securities. Common examples include reverse repurchase agreements, short sales, futures and options positions, forward contracts and when-issued securities. However, the SEC has clarified that, if a fund segregates cash or liquid securities sufficient to cover such obligations or holds off-setting positions (or, in some cases, uses a combination of such strategies), the SEC will not raise senior securities issues under the 1940 Act.

For temporary defensive purposes, or to manage cash pending investment or payout, each Fund (except Neuberger Berman Dividend Growth Fund, Neuberger Berman Equity Income Fund, Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund, Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman International Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman International Select Fund, Neuberger Berman International Small Cap Fund, and Neuberger Berman Sustainable Equity Fund) may invest up to 100% of its total assets in cash or cash equivalents, U.S. Government and Agency Securities, commercial paper, and certain other money market instruments, as well as repurchase agreements collateralized by the foregoing.

For temporary defensive purposes, or to manage cash pending investment or payout, Neuberger Berman Dividend Growth Fund and Neuberger Berman Equity Income Fund may invest up to 100% of its total assets in cash or cash equivalents, U.S. Government and Agency Securities, commercial paper, short-term bank obligations, money market funds, and certain other money market instruments, as well as repurchase agreements collateralized by the foregoing.

For temporary defensive purposes, or to manage cash pending investment or payout, each of Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman International Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman International Select Fund, and Neuberger Berman International Small Cap Fund may invest up to 100% of its total assets in

short-term foreign and U.S. investments, such as cash or cash equivalents, commercial paper, short-term bank obligations, U.S. Government and Agency Securities, and repurchase agreements.

For temporary defensive purposes, or to manage cash pending investment or payout, Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund may invest up to 100% of its total assets in cash or cash equivalents, U.S. Government and Agency Securities, commercial paper, money market funds, and certain other money market instruments, as well as repurchase agreements collateralized by the foregoing.

For temporary defensive purposes, or to manage cash pending investment or payout, any part of Neuberger Berman Sustainable Equity Fund’s assets may be retained temporarily in U.S. Government and Agency Securities, investment grade fixed income securities of non-governmental issuers, repurchase agreements, money market instruments, commercial paper, and cash and cash equivalents. Generally, the foregoing temporary investments for Neuberger Berman Sustainable Equity Fund are selected with a concern for the social impact of each investment.  For instance, Neuberger Berman Sustainable Equity Fund may invest in certificates of deposits issued by community banks and credit unions.

A Fund may also invest in such instruments to increase liquidity or to provide collateral to be segregated.

These investments may prevent a Fund from achieving its investment objective.

In reliance on an SEC exemptive rule, a Fund may invest an unlimited amount of its uninvested cash and cash collateral received in connection with securities lending in shares of money market funds and unregistered funds that operate in compliance with Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act, whether or not advised by NBIA or an affiliate, under specified conditions.  Among other things, the conditions preclude an investing Fund from paying a sales charge, as defined in rule 2830(b) of the NASD Conduct Rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) (“sales charge”), or a service fee, as defined in that rule, in connection with its purchase or redemption of the money market fund’s or unregistered fund’s shares, or the Fund’s investment adviser must waive a sufficient amount of its advisory fee to offset any such sales charge or service fee. Money market funds and unregistered funds do not necessarily invest in accordance with Neuberger Berman Sustainable Equity Fund’s ESG criteria.

Unless otherwise indicated, the Funds may buy the types of securities and use the investment techniques described below, subject to any applicable investment policies and limitations. However, the Funds may not buy all of the types of securities or use all of the investment techniques described below.  Each Fund’s principal investment strategies and the principal risks of each Fund’s principal investment strategies are discussed in the Prospectuses.

In reliance on an SEC exemptive order, each Fund may invest in both affiliated and unaffiliated investment companies, including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), (“underlying funds”) in excess of the limits in Section 12 of the 1940 Act and the rules and regulations thereunder.  When a Fund invests in underlying funds, it is indirectly exposed to the investment practices of the underlying funds and,

therefore, is subject to all the risks associated with the practices of the underlying funds. This SAI is not an offer to sell shares of any underlying fund. Shares of an underlying fund are sold only through the currently effective prospectus for that underlying fund.  Unless otherwise noted herein, the investment practices and associated risks detailed below also include those to which a Fund indirectly may be exposed through its investment in an underlying fund. Unless otherwise noted herein, any references to investments made by a Fund include those that may be made both directly by the Fund and indirectly by the Fund through its investments in underlying funds.

Commercial Paper.  Commercial paper is a short-term debt security issued by a corporation, bank, municipality, or other issuer, usually for purposes such as financing current operations. A Fund may invest in commercial paper that cannot be resold to the public without an effective registration statement under the 1933 Act. While some restricted commercial paper normally is deemed illiquid, the Manager may in certain cases determine that such paper is liquid.

Commodities Related Investments. A Fund may purchase securities backed by physical commodities, including interests in exchange-traded investment trusts and other similar entities, the value of the shares of which relates directly to the value of physical commodities held by such an entity.  As an investor in such an entity, a Fund would indirectly bear its pro rata share of the entity’s expenses, which may include storage and other costs relating to the entity’s investments in physical commodities.  In addition, a Fund will not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year in which more than 10% of its gross income consists of “non-qualifying” income, which includes gains from selling physical commodities (or options or futures contracts thereon unless the gain is realized from certain hedging transactions) and certain other non-passive income.  A Fund’s investment in securities backed by, or in such entities that invest in, physical commodities would produce non-qualifying income, although investments in stock of a “controlled foreign corporation” that invests in physical commodities and annually distributes its net income and gains generally should not produce such income.  To remain within the 10% limitation, a Fund may need to hold such an investment or sell it at a loss, or sell other investments, when for investment reasons it would not otherwise do so.  The availability of such measures does not guarantee that a Fund would be able to satisfy that limitation.

Exposure to physical commodities may subject a Fund to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities.  The value of such investments may be affected by overall market movements, commodity index volatility, changes in interest rates, or factors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as supply and demand, drought, floods, weather, embargoes, tariffs and international economic, political and regulatory developments.  Their value may also respond to investor perception of instability in the national or international economy, whether or not justified by the facts.  However, these investments may help to moderate fluctuations in the value of a Fund’s other holdings, because these investments may not correlate with investments in traditional securities.  Economic and other events (whether real or perceived) can reduce the demand for commodities, which may reduce market prices and cause the value of a Fund’s shares to fall.  No active trading market may exist for certain commodities investments, which may impair the ability of a Fund to sell or realize the full value of such investments in the event of the need to liquidate such investments.  Certain commodities are subject to limited pricing flexibility because of supply and demand factors.  Others are subject to broad price fluctuations as a result of the volatility of the prices for certain raw materials and the instability of the supplies of other materials.  These additional variables may create additional investment risks and result in greater volatility than investments in traditional securities.  Because physical commodities do not generate investment income, the return on such investments will be derived solely

from the appreciation or depreciation on such investments.  Certain types of commodities instruments (such as commodity-linked swaps and commodity-linked structured notes) are subject to the risk that the counterparty to the instrument will not perform or will be unable to perform in accordance with the terms of the instrument.

Policies and Limitations.  For the Funds’ policies and limitations on commodities, see “Investment Policies and Limitations -- Commodities” above. In addition, a Fund does not intend to sell commodities related investments when doing so would cause it to fail to qualify as a RIC.

Convertible Securities.  A convertible security is a bond, debenture, note, preferred stock, or other security or debt obligation that may be converted into or exchanged for a prescribed amount of common stock of the same or a different issuer within a particular period of time at a specified price or formula. Convertible securities generally have features of, and risks associated with, both equity and fixed income instruments. As such, the value of most convertible securities will vary with changes in the price of, and will be subject to the risks associated with, the underlying common stock.  Additionally, convertible securities are also subject to the risk that the issuer may not be able to pay principal or interest when due and the value of the convertible security may change based on the issuer’s credit rating.  Convertible securities are considered equity securities for purposes of each Fund's non-fundamental policy to invest at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities.

A convertible security entitles the holder to receive the interest paid or accrued on debt or the dividend paid on preferred stock until the convertible security matures or is redeemed, converted or exchanged. Before conversion, such securities ordinarily provide a stream of income with generally higher yields than common stocks of the same or similar issuers, but lower than the yield on non-convertible debt. Convertible securities are usually subordinated to comparable-tier non-convertible securities and other senior debt obligations of the issuer, but rank senior to common stock in a company’s capital structure. The value of a convertible security is a function of (1) its yield in comparison to the yields of other securities of comparable maturity and quality that do not have a conversion privilege and (2) its worth if converted into the underlying common stock.

The price of a convertible security often reflects variations in the price of the underlying common stock in a way that non-convertible debt may not. Convertible securities may be issued by smaller capitalization companies whose stock prices may be more volatile than larger capitalization companies. A convertible security may have a mandatory conversion feature or a call feature that subjects it to redemption at the option of the issuer at a price established in the security’s governing instrument. If a convertible security held by a Fund is called for redemption, the Fund will be required to convert it into the underlying common stock, sell it to a third party or permit the issuer to redeem the security. Any of these actions could have an adverse effect on a Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objectives.

Policies and Limitations.  Neuberger Berman Sustainable Equity Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in convertible securities. Neuberger Berman Sustainable Equity Fund does not intend to purchase any convertible securities that are not investment grade.

Fixed Income Securities.  While the emphasis of each Fund’s investment program is on common stocks and other equity securities or equity investments, as applicable, each Fund may invest in money market instruments, U.S. Government and Agency Securities, and other fixed income securities. The debt securities in which a Fund may invest include variable rate securities, the interest rates on which reset at specified intervals to reflect current market rates as defined by a certain index or reference rate, and floating rate securities, the interest rates on which reset whenever the specified index or reference rate changes. Each Fund may invest in investment grade corporate bonds and debentures, and each of Neuberger Berman Dividend Growth Fund, Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Equity Income Fund, Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund, Neuberger Berman International Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman International Select Fund, Neuberger Berman International Small Cap Fund, Neuberger Berman Intrinsic Value Fund, Neuberger Berman Large Cap Value Fund, Neuberger Berman Mid Cap Intrinsic Value Fund, Neuberger Berman Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund, and Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund may also invest in corporate debt securities rated below investment grade (commonly known as “junk bonds”).

“U.S. Government Securities” are obligations of the Treasury Department backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. During times of market turbulence, investors may turn to the safety of securities issued or guaranteed by the Treasury Department, causing the prices of these securities to rise and their yields to decline.

“U.S. Government Agency Securities” are issued or guaranteed by U.S. Government agencies or by instrumentalities of the U.S. Government, such as Ginnie Mae (also known as the Government National Mortgage Association), Fannie Mae (also known as the Federal National Mortgage Association), Freddie Mac (also known as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation), SLM Corporation (formerly, the Student Loan Marketing Association) (commonly known as “Sallie Mae”), and the Tennessee Valley Authority. Some U.S. Government Agency Securities are supported by the full faith and credit of the United States, while others may be supported by the issuer’s ability to borrow from the Treasury Department, subject to the Treasury’s discretion in certain cases, or only by the credit of the issuer. U.S. Government Agency Securities include U.S. Government Agency mortgage-backed securities. The market prices of U.S. Government and Agency Securities are not guaranteed by the U.S. Government.

“Investment grade” debt securities are those receiving one of the four highest ratings from Moody’s, S&P, or another nationally recognized statistical rating organization (“NRSRO”) or, if unrated by any NRSRO, deemed by the Manager to be comparable to such rated securities (“Comparable Unrated Securities”). Securities rated by Moody’s in its fourth highest rating category (Baa) or Comparable Unrated Securities may be deemed to have speculative characteristics.

The ratings of an NRSRO represent its opinion as to the quality of securities it undertakes to rate. Ratings are not absolute standards of quality; consequently, securities with the same maturity, coupon, and rating may have different yields. Although the Funds may rely on the ratings of any NRSRO, the Funds refer primarily to ratings assigned by S&P and Moody’s, which are described in Appendix A to this SAI.

Fixed income securities are subject to the risk of an issuer’s inability to meet principal and interest payments on its obligations (“credit risk”) and are subject to price volatility due to such factors

as interest rate sensitivity (“interest rate risk”), market perception of the creditworthiness of the issuer, and market liquidity (“market risk”). The value of a Fund’s fixed income investments is likely to decline in times of rising market interest rates. Conversely, the value of a Fund’s fixed income investments is likely to rise in times of declining market interest rates. Typically, the longer the time to maturity of a given security, the greater is the change in its value in response to a change in interest rates. Foreign debt securities are subject to risks similar to those of other foreign securities.

Lower-rated securities are more likely to react to developments affecting market and credit risk than are more highly rated securities, which react primarily to movements in the general level of interest rates. Debt securities in the lowest rating categories may involve a substantial risk of default or may be in default. Changes in economic conditions or developments regarding the individual issuer are more likely to cause price volatility and weaken the capacity of the issuer of such securities to make principal and interest payments than is the case for higher-grade debt securities. An economic downturn affecting the issuer may result in an increased incidence of default. The market for lower-rated securities may be thinner and less active than for higher-rated securities. Pricing of thinly traded securities requires greater judgment than pricing of securities for which market transactions are regularly reported. The Manager will invest in lower-rated securities only when it concludes that the anticipated return on such an investment to Neuberger Berman Dividend Growth Fund, Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Equity Income Fund, Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund, Neuberger Berman Integrated Large Cap Fund, Neuberger Berman International Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman International Select Fund, Neuberger Berman International Small Cap Fund, Neuberger Berman Intrinsic Value Fund, Neuberger Berman Large Cap Value Fund, Neuberger Berman Mid Cap Intrinsic Value Fund, Neuberger Berman Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund, and Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund warrants exposure to the additional level of risk.

Policies and Limitations.  Each Fund normally may invest up to 20% of its net assets in debt securities.

Neuberger Berman Large Cap Value Fund and Neuberger Berman Mid Cap Intrinsic Value Fund each may invest up to 15% of its net assets in corporate debt securities rated below investment grade or Comparable Unrated Securities. Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Integrated Large Cap Fund, Neuberger Berman International Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman International Select Fund, and Neuberger Berman International Small Cap Fund each may invest in domestic and foreign debt securities of any rating, including those rated below investment grade and Comparable Unrated Securities.

Subsequent to its purchase by a Fund, an issue of debt securities may cease to be rated or its rating may be reduced, so that the securities would no longer be eligible for purchase by that Fund. In such a case, Neuberger Berman Small Cap Growth Fund and Neuberger Berman Sustainable Equity Fund each will engage in an orderly disposition of the downgraded securities. Each other Fund (except Neuberger Berman Dividend Growth Fund, Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Equity Income Fund, Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund, Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Integrated Large Cap Fund, Neuberger Berman International Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman International Select Fund, Neuberger Berman Intrinsic Value Fund, Neuberger Berman Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund, and Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund) will engage in an orderly disposition of the downgraded securities to the

extent necessary to ensure that the Fund’s holdings of securities rated below investment grade and Comparable Unrated Securities will not exceed 5% of its net assets (15% in the case of Neuberger Berman Large Cap Value Fund and Neuberger Berman Mid Cap Intrinsic Value Fund). The Manager will make a determination as to whether Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman International Equity Fund and Neuberger Berman International Select Fund should dispose of the downgraded securities.

There are no restrictions as to the ratings of debt securities Neuberger Berman Dividend Growth Fund, Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Equity Income Fund, Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund, Neuberger Berman Integrated Large Cap Fund, Neuberger Berman Intrinsic Value Fund, Neuberger Berman Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund, or Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund each may acquire or the portion of its assets each may invest in debt securities in a particular ratings category.

Foreign Securities.  A Fund may invest in U.S. dollar-denominated securities of foreign issuers and foreign branches of U.S. banks, including negotiable certificates of deposit (“CDs”), bankers’ acceptances, and commercial paper. Foreign issuers are issuers organized and doing business principally outside the United States and include banks, non-U.S. governments, and quasi-governmental organizations. Investments in foreign securities involve sovereign and other risks, in addition to the credit and market risks normally associated with domestic securities. These risks include the possibility of adverse political and economic developments (including political or social instability, nationalization, expropriation, or confiscatory taxation); the potentially adverse effects of the unavailability of public information regarding issuers, less governmental supervision and regulation of financial markets, reduced liquidity of certain financial markets, and the lack of uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting standards or the application of standards that are different or less stringent than those applied in the United States; different laws and customs governing securities tracking; and possibly limited access to the courts to enforce a Fund’s rights as an investor.  It may be difficult to invoke legal process or to enforce contractual obligations abroad, and it may be especially difficult to sue a foreign government in the courts of that country.

A Fund also may invest in equity, debt, or other securities that are denominated in or indexed to foreign currencies, including (1) common and preferred stocks, (2) CDs, commercial paper, fixed time deposits, and bankers’ acceptances issued by foreign banks, (3) obligations of other corporations, and (4) obligations of foreign governments and their subdivisions, agencies, and instrumentalities, international agencies, and supranational entities. Investing in foreign currency denominated securities involves the special risks associated with investing in non-U.S. issuers, as described in the preceding paragraph, and the additional risks of (a) adverse changes in foreign exchange rates, (b) nationalization, expropriation, or confiscatory taxation, and (c) adverse changes in investment or exchange control regulations (which could prevent cash from being brought back to the United States).  Additionally, dividends and interest payable on foreign securities (and gains realized on disposition thereof) may be subject to foreign taxes, including taxes withheld from those payments. Commissions on foreign securities exchanges are often at fixed rates and are generally higher than negotiated commissions on U.S. exchanges, although a Fund endeavors to achieve the most favorable net results on portfolio transactions.

Foreign securities often trade with less frequency and in less volume than domestic securities and therefore may exhibit greater price volatility. Additional costs associated with an investment in

foreign securities may include higher custodial fees than apply to domestic custody arrangements and transaction costs of foreign currency conversions.

Foreign markets also have different clearance and settlement procedures. In certain markets, there have been times when settlements have been unable to keep pace with the volume of securities transactions, making it difficult to conduct such transactions. Delays in settlement could result in temporary periods when a portion of the assets of a Fund are uninvested and no return is earned thereon. The inability of a Fund to make intended security purchases due to settlement problems could cause the Fund to miss attractive investment opportunities. Inability to dispose of portfolio securities due to settlement problems could result in losses to a Fund due to subsequent declines in value of the securities or, if the Fund has entered into a contract to sell the securities, could result in possible liability to the purchaser.  The inability of a Fund to settle security purchases or sales due to settlement problems could cause the Fund to pay additional expenses, such as interest charges.

Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by government authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging or less-developed market countries than in countries with more developed markets. Trading suspensions may be applied from time to time to the securities of individual issuers for reasons specific to that issuer, or may be applied broadly by exchanges or governmental authorities in response to market events. Suspensions may last for significant periods of time, during which trading in the securities and instruments that reference the securities, such as participatory notes (or “P-notes”) or other derivative instruments, may be halted. In the event that a Fund holds material positions in such suspended securities or instruments, the Fund’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Fund could incur significant losses.

Interest rates prevailing in other countries may affect the prices of foreign securities and exchange rates for foreign currencies. Local factors, including the strength of the local economy, the demand for borrowing, the government’s fiscal and monetary policies, and the international balance of payments, often affect interest rates in other countries. Individual foreign economies may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of gross national product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency, and balance of payments position.

A Fund may invest in American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), European Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”), Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”) and International Depositary Receipts (“IDRs”). ADRs (sponsored or unsponsored) are receipts typically issued by a U.S. bank or trust company evidencing its ownership of the underlying foreign securities. Most ADRs are denominated in U.S. dollars and are traded on a U.S. stock exchange. However, they are subject to the risk of fluctuation in the currency exchange rate if, as is often the case, the underlying securities are denominated in foreign currency. EDRs are receipts issued by a European bank evidencing its ownership of the underlying foreign securities and are often denominated in a foreign currency. GDRs are receipts issued by either a U.S. or non-U.S. banking institution evidencing its ownership of the underlying foreign securities and are often denominated in U.S. dollars. IDRs are receipts typically issued by a foreign bank or trust company evidencing its ownership of the underlying foreign securities. Depositary receipts involve many of the same risks of investing directly in foreign securities, including currency risks and risks of foreign investing.

Issuers of the securities underlying sponsored depositary receipts, but not unsponsored depositary receipts, are contractually obligated to disclose material information in the United States. Therefore, the market value of unsponsored depositary receipts is less likely to reflect the effect of such information.

Policies and Limitations.  For the Funds’ policies and limitations on investing in foreign currency denominated securities, see “Investment Policies and Limitations -- Foreign Securities” above. Within those limitations, however, none of the Funds is restricted in the amount it may invest in securities denominated in any one foreign currency.

Securities of Issuers in Emerging Market Countries.  The risks described above for foreign securities may be heightened in connection with investments in emerging market countries. Historically, the markets of emerging market countries have been more volatile than the markets of developed countries, reflecting the greater uncertainties of investing in less established markets and economies. In particular, emerging market countries may have less stable governments; may present the risks of nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership and prohibitions on the repatriation of assets; and may have less protection of property rights than more developed countries. The economies of emerging market countries may be reliant on only a few industries, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions and may suffer from high and volatile debt burdens or inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times.

In determining where an issuer of a security is based, the Manager may consider such factors as where the company is legally organized, maintains its principal corporate offices and/or conducts its principal operations.

Additional costs could be incurred in connection with a Fund’s investment activities outside the United States. Brokerage commissions may be higher outside the United States, and a Fund will bear certain expenses in connection with its currency transactions. Furthermore, increased custodian costs may be associated with maintaining assets in certain jurisdictions.

Certain risk factors related to emerging market countries include:

Currency fluctuations.  A Fund’s investments may be valued in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Certain emerging market countries’ currencies have experienced and may in the future experience significant declines against the U.S. dollar. For example, if the U.S. dollar appreciates against foreign currencies, the value of a Fund’s securities holdings would generally depreciate and vice versa. Consistent with its investment objective, a Fund can engage in certain currency transactions to hedge against currency fluctuations. See “Forward Foreign Currency Transactions.” After a Fund has distributed income, subsequent foreign currency losses may result in the Fund’s having distributed more income in a particular fiscal period than was available from investment income, which could result in a return of capital to shareholders.

Government regulation.  The political, economic and social structures of certain developing countries may be more volatile and less developed than those in the United States. Certain emerging market countries lack uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, have less

governmental supervision of financial markets than in the United States, and do not honor legal rights enjoyed in the United States. Certain governments may be more unstable and present greater risks of nationalization or restrictions on foreign ownership of local companies.

Repatriation of investment income, capital and the proceeds of sales by foreign investors may require governmental registration and/or approval in some emerging market countries. While a Fund will only invest in markets where these restrictions are considered acceptable by the Manager, a country could impose new or additional repatriation restrictions after the Fund’s investment. If this happened, a Fund’s response might include, among other things, applying to the appropriate authorities for a waiver of the restrictions or engaging in transactions in other markets designed to offset the risks of decline in that country. Such restrictions will be considered in relation to a Fund’s liquidity needs and all other positive and negative factors. Further, some attractive equity securities may not be available to a Fund, or a Fund may have to pay a premium to purchase those equity securities, due to foreign shareholders already holding the maximum amount legally permissible.

While government involvement in the private sector varies in degree among emerging market countries, such involvement may in some cases include government ownership of companies in certain sectors, wage and price controls or imposition of trade barriers and other protectionist measures. With respect to any emerging market country, there is no guarantee that some future economic or political crisis will not lead to price controls, forced mergers of companies, expropriation, or creation of government monopolies to the possible detriment of a Fund’s investments.

Less developed securities markets.  Emerging market countries may have less well developed securities markets and exchanges. These markets have lower trading volumes than the securities markets of more developed countries. These markets may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume. Consequently, these markets may be substantially less liquid than those of more developed countries, and the securities of issuers located in these markets may have limited marketability. These factors may make prompt liquidation of substantial portfolio holdings difficult or impossible at times.

Settlement risks.  Settlement systems in emerging market countries are generally less well organized than developed markets. Supervisory authorities may also be unable to apply standards comparable to those in developed markets. Thus, there may be risks that settlement may be delayed and that cash or securities belonging to a Fund may be in jeopardy because of failures of or defects in the systems. In particular, market practice may require that payment be made before receipt of the security being purchased or that delivery of a security be made before payment is received. In such cases, default by a broker or bank (the “counterparty”) through whom the transaction is effected might cause the Fund to suffer a loss. A Fund will seek, where possible, to use counterparties whose financial status is such that this risk is reduced. However, there can be no certainty that a Fund will be successful in eliminating this risk, particularly as counterparties operating in emerging market countries frequently lack the substance or financial resources of those in developed countries. There may also be a danger that, because of uncertainties in the operation of settlement systems in individual markets, competing claims may arise with respect to securities held by or to be transferred to a Fund.

Investor information.  A Fund may encounter problems assessing investment opportunities in certain emerging market securities markets in light of limitations on available information and different accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards. In such circumstances, the Manager

will seek alternative sources of information, and to the extent it may not be satisfied with the sufficiency of the information obtained with respect to a particular market or security, a Fund will not invest in such market or security.

Taxation.  Taxation of dividends received, and net capital gains realized, by non-residents on securities issued in emerging market countries varies among those countries, and, in some cases, the applicable tax rate is comparatively high. In addition, emerging market countries typically have less well-defined tax laws and procedures than developed countries, and such laws and procedures may permit retroactive taxation, so that a Fund could in the future become subject to local tax liability that it had not reasonably anticipated in conducting its investment activities or valuing its assets.

Litigation.  A Fund and its shareholders may encounter substantial difficulties in obtaining and enforcing judgments against non-U.S. resident individuals and companies.

Fraudulent securities.  Securities purchased by a Fund may subsequently be found to be fraudulent or counterfeit, resulting in a loss to the Fund.

Risks of Investing in Frontier Emerging Market Countries. Frontier emerging market countries are countries that have smaller economies or less developed capital markets than traditional emerging markets.  Frontier emerging market countries tend to have relatively low gross national product per capita compared to the larger traditionally-recognized emerging markets. The frontier emerging market countries include the least developed countries even by emerging markets standards.  The risks of investments in frontier emerging market countries include all the risks described above for investment in foreign securities and emerging markets, although these risks are magnified in the case of frontier emerging market countries.

Fund of Funds Structure.  Section 12(d)(1)(A) of the 1940 Act, in relevant part, prohibits a registered investment company from acquiring shares of an investment company if after such acquisition the securities represent more than 3% of the total outstanding voting stock of the acquired company, more than 5% of the total assets of the acquiring company, or, together with the securities of any other investment companies, more than 10% of the total assets of the acquiring company except in reliance on certain exceptions contained in the 1940 Act and the rules and regulations thereunder.  Pursuant to an exemptive order from the SEC, each Fund is permitted to invest in both affiliated and unaffiliated investment companies, including ETFs (“underlying funds”) in excess of the limits in Section 12 of the 1940 Act subject to the terms and conditions of such order.  Even in the absence of an exemptive order, a Fund may exceed these limits when investing in shares of an ETF, subject to the terms and conditions of an exemptive order from the SEC obtained by the ETF that permits an investing fund, such as a Fund, to invest in the ETF in excess of the limits described above.

The Manager may be deemed to have a conflict of interest when determining whether to invest or maintain a Fund’s assets in affiliated underlying funds.  The Manager would seek to mitigate this conflict of interest, however, by undertaking to waive a portion of a Fund’s advisory fee equal to the advisory fee it receives from affiliated underlying funds on the Fund’s assets invested in those affiliated underlying funds. The Manager and its affiliates may derive indirect benefits such as increased assets under management from investing Fund assets in an affiliated underlying fund, which benefits would not be present if investments were made in unaffiliated underlying funds.  In addition, although the Manager will waive a portion of a Fund’s advisory fee (as previously described), the

Fund will indirectly bear its pro rata share of an affiliated underlying fund’s other fees and expenses, and such fees and expenses may be paid to the Manager or its affiliates or a third party.

Futures Contracts, Options on Futures Contracts, Options on Securities and Indices, Forward Currency Contracts, Options on Foreign Currencies, and Swap Agreements (collectively, “Financial Instruments”). Financial Instruments are instruments whose value is dependent upon the value of an underlying asset or assets, which may include stocks, bonds, commodities, interest rates, currency exchange rates, or related indices.  As described below, Financial Instruments may be used for "hedging" purposes, meaning that they may be used in an effort to offset a decline in value in a Fund's other investments, which could result from changes in interest rates, market prices, currency fluctuations, or other market factors.  Financial Instruments may also be used for non-hedging purposes in an effort to implement a cash management strategy, to enhance income or gain, to manage or adjust the risk profile of a Fund or the risk of individual positions, to gain exposure more efficiently than through a direct purchase of the underlying security, or to gain exposure to securities, markets, sectors or geographical areas.

The Dodd-Frank Act requires the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) to establish new regulations with respect to derivatives defined as security-based swaps (e.g., derivatives based on an equity or a narrowly based equity index) and swaps (e.g., derivatives based on a broad-based index or commodity), respectively, and the markets in which these instruments trade. In addition, it subjected all security-based swaps and swaps to SEC and CFTC jurisdiction, respectively.

The SEC recently voted to adopt Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act which will regulate the use of derivatives for certain funds registered under the Investment Company Act (‘‘Rule 18f-4’’). Unless the Fund qualifies as a ‘‘limited derivatives user’’ as defined in Rule 18f-4, Rule 18f-4 would, among other things, require the Fund to establish a comprehensive derivatives risk management program, to comply with certain value-at-risk based leverage limits, to appoint a derivatives risk manager and to provide additional disclosure both publicly and to the SEC regarding its derivatives positions. For funds that qualify as limited derivatives users, Rule 18f-4 requires a fund to have policies and procedures to manage its aggregate derivatives risk. These requirements could have an impact on the Fund, including a potential increase in cost to enter into derivatives transactions. The full impact of Rule 18f-4 on the Fund remains uncertain, however, due to the compliance timeline within Rule 18f-4, it is unlikely that the Fund will be required to fully comply with the requirements until 2022.

Futures Contracts and Options on Futures Contracts. A Fund may purchase and sell futures contracts (sometimes referred to as “futures”) and options thereon for hedging purposes (i.e., to attempt to offset against changes in the prices of securities or, in the case of foreign currency futures and options thereon, to attempt to offset against changes in prevailing currency exchange rates) or non-hedging purposes.

A “purchase” of a futures contract (or entering into a “long” futures position) entails the buyer’s assumption of a contractual obligation to take delivery of the instrument underlying the contract at a specified price at a specified future time. A “sale” of a futures contract (or entering into a “short” futures position) entails the seller’s assumption of a contractual obligation to make delivery of the instrument underlying the contract at a specified price at a specified future time.

The value of a futures contract tends to increase or decrease in tandem with the value of its underlying instrument. Therefore, purchasing futures contracts will tend to increase a Fund’s exposure to positive and negative price fluctuations in the underlying instrument, much as if the Fund had purchased the underlying instrument directly. A Fund may purchase futures contracts to fix what the Manager believes to be a favorable price for securities the Fund intends to purchase. When a Fund sells a futures contract, by contrast, the value of its futures position will tend to move in a direction contrary to the market for the underlying instrument. Selling futures contracts, therefore, will tend to offset both positive and negative market price changes, much as if the Fund had sold the underlying instrument. A Fund may sell futures contracts to offset a possible decline in the value of its portfolio securities. In addition, a Fund may purchase or sell futures contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge to attempt to compensate for anticipated differences in volatility between positions a Fund may wish to hedge and the standardized futures contracts available to it, although this may not be successful in all cases.  Further, a loss incurred on a particular transaction being used as a hedge does not mean that it failed to achieve its objective, if the goal was to prevent a worse loss that may have resulted had a particular securities or cash market investment suffered a substantial loss and there were no offsetting hedge.

Certain futures, including index futures and futures not calling for the physical delivery or acquisition of the instrument underlying the contract, are settled on a net cash payment basis rather than by the delivery of the underlying instrument.  In addition, although futures contracts by their terms may call for the physical delivery or acquisition of the instrument underlying the contract, in most cases the contractual obligation is extinguished by being closed out before the expiration of the contract. A futures position is closed out by buying (to close out an earlier sale) or selling (to close out an earlier purchase) an identical futures contract calling for delivery in the same month. This may result in a profit or loss. While futures contracts entered into by a Fund will usually be liquidated in this manner, a Fund may instead make or take delivery of the underlying instrument or utilize the cash settlement process whenever it appears economically advantageous for it to do so.

Because the futures markets may be more liquid than the cash markets, the use of futures contracts permits a Fund to enhance portfolio liquidity and maintain a defensive position without having to sell portfolio securities. For example, (i) futures contracts on single stocks, interest rates and indices (including on narrow-based indices) and options thereon may be used as a maturity or duration management device and/or a device to reduce risk or preserve total return in an adverse environment for the hedged securities, and (ii) foreign currency futures and options thereon may be used as a means of establishing more definitely the effective return on, or the purchase price of, securities denominated in foreign currencies that are held or intended to be acquired by a Fund.

For purposes of managing cash flow, a Fund may use futures and options thereon to increase its exposure to the performance of a recognized securities index.

With respect to currency futures, a Fund may sell a currency futures contract or a call option thereon, or may purchase a put option on a currency futures contract, if the Manager anticipates that exchange rates for a particular currency will fall. Such a transaction will be used as a hedge (or, in the case of a sale of a call option, a partial hedge) against a decrease in the value of portfolio securities denominated in that currency. If the Manager anticipates that exchange rates for a particular currency will rise, a Fund may purchase a currency futures contract or a call option thereon to protect against an increase in the price of securities that are denominated in that currency and that the Fund intends

to purchase. A Fund also may purchase a currency futures contract or a call option thereon for non-hedging purposes when the Manager anticipates that a particular currency will appreciate in value, but securities denominated in that currency do not present attractive investment opportunities and are not held in the Fund’s investment portfolio.

“Initial Margin” with respect to a futures contract is the amount of assets that must be deposited by a Fund with, or for the benefit of, a futures commission merchant or broker in order to initiate the Fund’s futures positions.  Initial margin is the margin deposit made by a Fund when it enters into a futures contract; it is intended to assure performance of the contract by the Fund. If the value of the Fund’s futures account declines by a specified amount, the Fund will receive a margin call and be required to post assets sufficient to restore the equity in the account to the initial margin level.  (This is sometimes referred to as “variation margin;” technically, variation margin refers to daily payments that a clearing member firm is required to pay to the clearing organization based upon marking to market of the firm’s portfolio.)  However, if favorable price changes in the futures account cause the margin deposit to exceed the required initial margin level, the excess margin may be transferred to the Fund. The futures commission merchant or clearing member firm through which a Fund enters into and clears futures contracts may require a margin deposit in excess of exchange minimum requirements based upon its assessment of a Fund’s creditworthiness.  In computing its NAV, a Fund will mark to market the value of its open futures positions.  A Fund also must make margin deposits with respect to options on futures that it has written (but not with respect to options on futures that it has purchased, if the Fund has paid the required premium in full at the outset). If the futures commission merchant or broker holding the margin deposit or premium goes bankrupt, a Fund could suffer a delay in recovering excess margin or other funds and could ultimately suffer a loss.

Because of the low margin deposits required, futures trading involves an extremely high degree of leverage; as a result, a relatively small price movement in a futures contract may result in immediate and substantial loss, or gain, to the investor. Losses that may arise from certain futures transactions are potentially unlimited, and may exceed initial margin deposits as well as deposits made in response to subsequent margin calls.

A Fund may enter into futures contracts and options thereon that are traded on exchanges regulated by the CFTC or on non-U.S. exchanges. U.S. futures contracts are traded on exchanges that have been designated as “contract markets” by the CFTC; futures transactions must be executed through a futures commission merchant that is a member of the relevant contract market.  Futures executed on regulated futures exchanges have minimal counterparty risk to a Fund because the exchange's clearing organization assumes the position of the counterparty in each transaction. Thus, a Fund is exposed to risk only in connection with the clearing organization and not in connection with the original counterparty to the transaction.  However, if a futures customer defaults on a futures contract and the futures commission merchant carrying that customer’s account cannot cover the defaulting customer’s obligations on its futures contracts, the clearing organization may use any or all of the collateral in the futures commission merchant’s customer omnibus account — including the assets of the futures commission merchant’s other customers, such as a Fund — to meet the defaulting customer’s obligations.  This is sometimes referred to as "fellow customer risk."  Trading on non-U.S. exchanges is subject to the legal requirements of the jurisdiction in which the exchange is located and to the rules of such exchange, and may not involve a clearing mechanism and related guarantees. Funds deposited in connection with such trading may also be subject to the bankruptcy laws of such other

jurisdiction, which may result in a delay in recovering such funds in a bankruptcy and could ultimately result in a loss.

An option on a futures contract gives the purchaser the right, in return for the premium paid, to assume a position in the contract (a long position if the option is a call and a short position if the option is a put) at a specified exercise price at any time during the option exercise period. The writer of the option is required upon exercise to assume a short futures position (if the option is a call) or a long futures position (if the option is a put). Upon exercise of the option, the accumulated cash balance in the writer’s futures margin account is delivered to the holder of the option. That balance represents the amount by which the market price of the futures contract at exercise exceeds, in the case of a call, or is less than, in the case of a put, the exercise price of the option. Options on futures have characteristics and risks similar to those of securities options, as discussed herein.

Although a Fund believes that the use of futures contracts and options may benefit it, if the Manager’s judgment about the general direction of the markets or about interest rate or currency exchange rate trends is incorrect, the Fund’s overall return would be lower than if it had not entered into any such contracts. The prices of futures contracts and options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in interest or currency exchange rates, which in turn are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political and economic events. At best, the correlation between changes in prices of futures contracts or options and of securities being hedged can be only approximate due to differences between the futures and securities markets or differences between the securities or currencies underlying a Fund’s futures or options position and the securities held by or to be purchased for the Fund. The currency futures or options market may be dominated by short-term traders seeking to profit from changes in exchange rates. This would reduce the value of such contracts used for hedging purposes over a short-term period. Such distortions are generally minor and would diminish as the contract approaches maturity.

Under certain circumstances, futures exchanges may limit the amount of fluctuation in the price of a futures contract or option thereon during a single trading day; once the daily limit has been reached, no trades may be made on that day at a price beyond that limit. Daily limits govern only price movements during a particular trading day, however; they do not limit potential losses. In fact, a daily limit may increase the risk of loss, because prices can move to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing liquidation of unfavorable futures and options positions and subjecting traders to substantial losses.  If this were to happen with respect to a position held by a Fund, it could (depending on the size of the position) have an adverse impact on the Fund’s NAV. In addition, a Fund would continue to be subject to margin calls and might be required to maintain the position being hedged by the futures contract or option thereon or to maintain cash or securities in a segregated account.

Many electronic trading facilities that support futures trading are supported by computer-based component systems for the order, routing, execution, matching, registration or clearing of trades. A Fund’s ability to recover certain losses may be subject to limits on liability imposed by the system provider, the market, the clearing house or member firms.

Call Options on Securities. A Fund may write (sell) covered call options and purchase call options on securities for hedging purposes (i.e., to attempt to reduce, at least in part, the effect on the Fund’s NAV of price fluctuations of securities held by the Fund) or non-hedging purposes. When

writing call options, a Fund writes only “covered” call options. A call option is “covered” if a Fund simultaneously holds an equivalent position in the security underlying the option.  Portfolio securities on which a Fund may write and purchase call options are purchased solely on the basis of investment considerations consistent with the Fund’s investment objective.

When a Fund writes a call option, it is obligated to sell a security to a purchaser at a specified price at any time until a certain date if the purchaser decides to exercise the option. A Fund will receive a premium for writing a call option. So long as the obligation of the call option continues, a Fund may be assigned an exercise notice, requiring it to deliver the underlying security against payment of the exercise price. A Fund may be obligated to deliver securities underlying an option at less than the market price.

The writing of covered call options is a conservative investment technique that is believed to involve relatively little risk (in contrast to the writing of “naked” or uncovered call options, which the Funds will not do), but is capable of enhancing a Fund’s total return. When writing a covered call option, a Fund, in return for the premium, gives up the opportunity for profit from a price increase in the underlying security above the exercise price, but retains the risk of loss should the price of the security decline.

If a call option that a Fund has written expires unexercised, the Fund will realize a gain in the amount of the premium; however, that gain may be offset by a decline in the market value of the underlying security during the option period. If a call option that a Fund has written is exercised, the Fund will realize a gain or loss from the sale of the underlying security.

When a Fund purchases a call option, it pays a premium to the writer for the right to purchase a security from the writer for a specified amount at any time until a certain date. A Fund generally would purchase a call option to offset a previously written call option or to protect itself against an increase in the price of a security it intends to purchase.

Put Options on Securities. A Fund may write (sell) and purchase put options on securities for hedging purposes (i.e., to attempt to reduce, at least in part, the effect on the Fund’s NAV of price fluctuations of securities held by the Fund) or non-hedging purposes. Portfolio securities on which a Fund may write and purchase put options are purchased solely on the basis of investment considerations consistent with the Fund’s investment objective.

When a Fund writes a put option, it is obligated to acquire a security at a certain price at any time until a certain date if the purchaser decides to exercise the option. A Fund will receive a premium for writing a put option. When writing a put option, a Fund, in return for the premium, takes the risk that it must purchase the underlying security at a price that may be higher than the current market price of the security. If a put option that a Fund has written expires unexercised, the Fund will realize a gain in the amount of the premium.

When a Fund purchases a put option, it pays a premium to the writer for the right to sell a security to the writer for a specified amount at any time until a certain date. A Fund generally would purchase a put option to protect itself against a decrease in the market value of a security it owns.

Low Exercise Price Options. A Fund may use non-standard warrants, including low exercise price options (“LEPOs”), to gain exposure to issuers in certain countries. These securities are issued by banks and other financial institutions. LEPOs are different from standard warrants in that they do not give their holders the right to receive a security of the issuer upon exercise. Rather, LEPOs pay the holder the difference in price of the underlying security between the date the LEPO was purchased and the date it is sold. By purchasing LEPOs, a Fund could incur losses because it would face many of the same types of risks as owning the underlying security directly. Additionally, LEPOs entail the same risks as other over-the-counter derivatives. These include the risk that the counterparty or issuer of the LEPO may be unable or unwilling to make payments or to otherwise honor its obligations, that the parties to the transaction may disagree as to the meaning or application of contractual terms, or that the instrument may not perform as expected. Additionally, while LEPOs may be listed on an exchange, there is no guarantee that a liquid market will exist or that the counterparty or issuer of a LEPO will be willing to repurchase such instrument when a Fund wishes to sell it.

General Information About Options on Securities. The exercise price of an option may be below, equal to, or above the market value of the underlying security at the time the option is written. Options normally have expiration dates between three and nine months from the date written. American-style options are exercisable at any time prior to their expiration date. European-style options are exercisable only immediately prior to their expiration date. The obligation under any option written by a Fund terminates upon expiration of the option or, at an earlier time, when the Fund offsets the option by entering into a “closing purchase transaction” to purchase an option of the same series. If an option is purchased by a Fund and is never exercised or closed out, the Fund will lose the entire amount of the premium paid.

Options are traded both on U.S. national securities exchanges and in the over-the-counter (“OTC”) market. Options also are traded on non-U.S. exchanges. Exchange-traded options are issued by a clearing organization affiliated with the exchange on which the option is listed; the clearing organization in effect guarantees completion of every exchange-traded option. In contrast, OTC options are contracts between a Fund and a counterparty, with no clearing organization guarantee. Thus, when a Fund sells (or purchases) an OTC option, it generally will be able to “close out” the option prior to its expiration only by entering into a closing transaction with the dealer to whom (or from whom) the Fund originally sold (or purchased) the option. There can be no assurance that a Fund would be able to liquidate an OTC option at any time prior to expiration. Unless a Fund is able to effect a closing purchase transaction in a covered OTC call option it has written, it will not be able to liquidate securities used as cover until the option expires or is exercised or until different cover is substituted. In the event of the counterparty’s insolvency, a Fund may be unable to liquidate its options position and the associated cover. The Manager monitors the creditworthiness of dealers with which a Fund may engage in OTC options transactions.

The premium a Fund receives (or pays) when it writes (or purchases) an option is the amount at which the option is currently traded on the applicable market. The premium may reflect, among other things, the current market price of the underlying security, the relationship of the exercise price to the market price, the historical price volatility of the underlying security, the length of the option period, the general supply of and demand for credit, and the interest rate environment. The premium

a Fund receives when it writes an option is recorded as a liability on the Fund’s statement of assets and liabilities. This liability is adjusted daily to the option’s current market value.

Closing transactions are effected in order to realize a profit (or minimize a loss) on an outstanding option, to prevent an underlying security from being called, or to permit the sale or the put of the underlying security. Furthermore, effecting a closing transaction permits a Fund to write another call option on the underlying security with a different exercise price or expiration date or both. There is, of course, no assurance that a Fund will be able to effect closing transactions at favorable prices. If a Fund cannot enter into such a transaction, it may be required to hold a security that it might otherwise have sold (or purchase a security that it might otherwise not have bought), in which case it would continue to be at market risk on the security.

A Fund will realize a profit or loss from a closing purchase transaction if the cost of the transaction is less or more than the premium received from writing the call or put option. Because increases in the market price of a call option generally reflect increases in the market price of the underlying security, any loss resulting from the repurchase of a call option is likely to be offset, in whole or in part, by appreciation of the underlying security owned by the Fund; however, the Fund could be in a less advantageous position than if it had not written the call option.

A Fund pays brokerage commissions or spreads in connection with purchasing or writing options, including those used to close out existing positions. From time to time, a Fund may purchase an underlying security for delivery in accordance with an exercise notice of a call option assigned to it, rather than deliver the security from its inventory. In those cases, additional brokerage commissions are incurred.

The hours of trading for options may not conform to the hours during which the underlying securities are traded. To the extent that the options markets close before the markets for the underlying securities close, significant price and rate movements can take place in the underlying markets that cannot be reflected in the options markets.

Policies and Limitations. The assets used as cover (or segregated) for illiquid OTC options written by a Fund will be considered illiquid and thus subject to the Fund’s 15% limitation on illiquid securities, unless such OTC options are sold to qualified dealers who agree that the Fund may repurchase such OTC options it writes at a maximum price to be calculated by a formula set forth in the option agreement. The cover for an illiquid OTC call option written subject to this procedure will be considered illiquid only to the extent that the maximum repurchase price under the formula exceeds the intrinsic value of the option.

Put and Call Options on Securities Indices and Other Financial Indices. A Fund may write (sell) and purchase put and call options on securities indices and other financial indices for hedging or non-hedging purposes. In so doing, a Fund can pursue many of the same objectives it would pursue through the purchase and sale of options on individual securities or other instruments.

Options on securities indices and other financial indices are similar to options on a security or other instrument except that, rather than settling by physical delivery of the underlying instrument, options on indices settle by cash settlement; that is, an option on an index gives the holder the right to receive, upon exercise of the option, an amount of cash if the closing level of the index upon which

the option is based is greater than, in the case of a call, or is less than, in the case of a put, the exercise price of the option (except if, in the case of an OTC option, physical delivery is specified). This amount of cash is equal to the difference between the closing price of the index and the exercise price of the option times a specified multiple (multiplier), which determines the total dollar value for each point of such difference. The seller of the option is obligated, in return for the premium received, to make delivery of this amount.

A securities index fluctuates with changes in the market values of the securities included in the index.  The gain or loss on an option on an index depends on price movements in the instruments comprising the market, market segment, industry or other composite on which the underlying index is based, rather than price movements in individual securities, as is the case with respect to options on securities. The risks of investment in options on indices may be greater than the risks of investment in options on securities.

The effectiveness of hedging through the purchase of securities index options will depend upon the extent to which price movements in the securities being hedged correlate with price movements in the selected securities index. Perfect correlation is not possible because the securities held or to be acquired by a Fund will not exactly match the composition of the securities indices on which options are available.

For purposes of managing cash flow, a Fund may purchase put and call options on securities indices to increase its exposure to the performance of a recognized securities index.

Securities index options have characteristics and risks similar to those of securities options, as discussed herein. Certain securities index options are traded in the OTC market and involve liquidity and credit risks that may not be present in the case of exchange-traded securities index options.

Options on Foreign Currencies. A Fund may write (sell) and purchase covered call and put options on foreign currencies for hedging or non-hedging purposes. A Fund may use options on foreign currencies to protect against decreases in the U.S. dollar value of securities held or increases in the U.S. dollar cost of securities to be acquired by the Fund or to protect the U.S. dollar equivalent of dividends, interest, or other payments on those securities. In addition, a Fund may write and purchase covered call and put options on foreign currencies for non-hedging purposes (e.g., when the Manager anticipates that a foreign currency will appreciate or depreciate in value, but securities denominated in that currency do not present attractive investment opportunities and are not held in the Fund’s investment portfolio). A Fund may write covered call and put options on any currency in order to realize greater income than would be realized on portfolio securities alone.

Currency options have characteristics and risks similar to those of securities options, as discussed herein. Certain options on foreign currencies are traded on the OTC market and involve liquidity and credit risks that may not be present in the case of exchange-traded currency options.

Forward Foreign Currency Transactions. A Fund may enter into contracts for the purchase or sale of a specific currency at a future date, which may be any fixed number of days in excess of two days from the date of the contract agreed upon by the parties, at a price set at the time of the contract (“forward currency contracts”) for hedging or non-hedging purposes. A Fund also may engage in

foreign currency transactions on a spot basis (i.e., cash transaction that results in actual delivery within two days) at the spot rate prevailing in the foreign currency market.

A Fund may enter into forward currency contracts in an attempt to hedge against changes in prevailing currency exchange rates (i.e., as a means of establishing more definitely the effective return on, or the purchase price of, securities denominated in foreign currencies). A Fund may also enter into forward currency contracts to protect against decreases in the U.S. dollar value of securities held or increases in the U.S. dollar cost of securities to be acquired by a Fund or to protect the U.S. dollar equivalent of dividends, interest, or other payments on those securities. In addition, a Fund may enter into forward currency contracts for non-hedging purposes when the Manager anticipates that a foreign currency will appreciate or depreciate in value, but securities denominated in that currency do not present attractive investment opportunities and are not held in the Fund’s investment portfolio.  The cost to a Fund of engaging in forward currency contracts varies with factors such as the currency involved, the length of the contract period, and the market conditions then prevailing.

Sellers or purchasers of forward currency contracts can enter into offsetting closing transactions, similar to closing transactions on futures, by purchasing or selling, respectively, an instrument identical to the instrument sold or bought, respectively. Secondary markets generally do not exist for forward currency contracts, however, with the result that closing transactions generally can be made for forward currency contracts only by negotiating directly with the counterparty. Thus, there can be no assurance that a Fund will in fact be able to close out a forward currency contract at a favorable price prior to maturity. In addition, in the event of insolvency of the counterparty, a Fund might be unable to close out a forward currency contract at any time prior to maturity. In either event, the Fund would continue to be subject to market risk with respect to the position, and would continue to be required to maintain a position in the securities or currencies that are the subject of the hedge or to maintain cash or securities.

The precise matching of forward currency contract amounts and the value of the securities involved generally will not be possible because the value of such securities, measured in the foreign currency, will change after the forward currency contract has been established. Thus, a Fund might need to purchase or sell foreign currencies in the spot (cash) market to the extent such foreign currencies are not covered by forward currency contracts. The projection of short-term currency market movements is extremely difficult, and the successful execution of a short-term hedging strategy is highly uncertain.

The Manager believes that the use of foreign currency hedging techniques, including “proxy-hedges,” can provide significant protection of NAV in the event of a general increase or decrease in the value of the U.S. dollar against foreign currencies. For example, the return available from securities denominated in a particular foreign currency would decline if the value of the U.S. dollar increased against that currency. Such a decline could be partially or completely offset by an increase in the value of a hedge involving a forward currency contract to sell that foreign currency or a proxy-hedge involving a forward currency contract to sell a different foreign currency whose behavior is expected to resemble the behavior of the currency in which the securities being hedged are denominated but which is available on more advantageous terms.

However, a hedge or a proxy-hedge cannot protect against exchange rate risks perfectly and, if the Manager is incorrect in its judgment of future exchange rate relationships, a Fund could be in a

less advantageous position than if such a hedge had not been established.  If a Fund uses proxy-hedging, it may experience losses on both the currency in which it has invested and the currency used for hedging if the two currencies do not vary with the expected degree of correlation. Using forward currency contracts to protect the value of a Fund’s securities against a decline in the value of a currency does not eliminate fluctuations in the prices of the underlying securities. Because forward currency contracts may not be traded on an exchange, the assets used to cover such contracts may be illiquid. A Fund may experience delays in the settlement of its foreign currency transactions.

Forward currency contracts in which a Fund may engage include foreign exchange forwards. The consummation of a foreign exchange forward requires the actual exchange of the principal amounts of the two currencies in the contract (i.e., settlement on a physical basis).  Because foreign exchange forwards are physically settled through an exchange of currencies, they are traded in the interbank market directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. A foreign exchange forward generally has no deposit requirement, and no commissions are charged at any stage for trades; foreign exchange dealers realize a profit based on the difference (the spread) between the prices at which they are buying and the prices at which they are selling various currencies. When a Fund enters into a foreign exchange forward, it relies on the counterparty to make or take delivery of the underlying currency at the maturity of the contract. Failure by the counterparty to do so would result in the loss of any expected benefit of the transaction.

A Fund may be required to obtain the currency that it must deliver under the foreign exchange forward through the sale of portfolio securities denominated in such currency or through conversion of other assets of the Fund into such currency. When a Fund engages in foreign currency transactions for hedging purposes, it will not enter into foreign exchange forwards to sell currency or maintain a net exposure to such contracts if their consummation would obligate the Fund to deliver an amount of foreign currency materially in excess of the value of its portfolio securities or other assets denominated in that currency.

Forward currency contracts in which a Fund may engage also include non-deliverable forwards (“NDFs”). NDFs are cash-settled, short-term forward contracts on foreign currencies (each a “Reference Currency”) that are non-convertible and that may be thinly traded or illiquid.  NDFs involve an obligation to pay an amount (the “Settlement Amount”) equal to the difference between the prevailing market exchange rate for the Reference Currency and the agreed upon exchange rate (the “NDF Rate”), with respect to an agreed notional amount.  NDFs have a fixing date and a settlement (delivery) date.  The fixing date is the date and time at which the difference between the prevailing market exchange rate and the agreed upon exchange rate is calculated. The settlement (delivery) date is the date by which the payment of the Settlement Amount is due to the party receiving payment.

Although NDFs are similar to forward exchange forwards, NDFs do not require physical delivery of the Reference Currency on the settlement date. Rather, on the settlement date, the only transfer between the counterparties is the monetary settlement amount representing the difference between the NDF Rate and the prevailing market exchange rate. NDFs typically may have terms from one month up to two years and are settled in U.S. dollars.

NDFs are subject to many of the risks associated with derivatives in general and forward currency transactions, including risks associated with fluctuations in foreign currency and the risk that

the counterparty will fail to fulfill its obligations.  Although NDFs have historically been traded OTC, in the future, pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, they may be exchange-traded.  Under such circumstances, they may be centrally cleared and a secondary market for them will exist.  With respect to NDFs that are centrally-cleared, an investor could lose margin payments it has deposited with the clearing organization as well as the net amount of gains not yet paid by the clearing organization if the clearing organization breaches its obligations under the NDF, becomes insolvent or goes into bankruptcy. In the event of bankruptcy of the clearing organization, the investor may be entitled to the net amount of gains the investor is entitled to receive plus the return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the clearing organization’s other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the investor.  Even if some NDFs remain traded OTC, they will be subject to margin requirements for uncleared swaps and counterparty risk common to other swaps, as discussed below.

A Fund may purchase securities of an issuer domiciled in a country other than the country in whose currency the securities are denominated.

Swap Agreements.  A Fund may enter into swap agreements to manage or gain exposure to particular types of investments (including commodities, equity securities, interest rates or indices of equity securities in which the Fund otherwise could not invest efficiently).

Swap agreements historically have been individually negotiated and structured to include exposure to a variety of different types of investments or market factors. Swap agreements are two party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors. Swap agreements can vary in term like other fixed-income investments. Most swap agreements are currently traded over-the-counter. In a standard “swap” transaction, two parties agree to exchange one or more payments based, for example, on the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments (such as securities, indices, or other financial or economic interests). The gross payments to be exchanged (or “swapped”) between the parties are calculated with respect to a notional amount, which is the predetermined dollar principal of the trade representing the hypothetical underlying quantity upon which payment obligations are computed. If a swap agreement provides for payment in different currencies, the parties may agree to exchange the principal amount. A swap also includes an instrument that is dependent on the occurrence, nonoccurrence or the extent of the occurrence of an event or contingency associated with a potential financial, economic or commercial consequence, such as a credit default swap.

Depending on how they are used, swap agreements may increase or decrease the overall volatility of a Fund’s investments and its share price and yield. Swap agreements are subject to liquidity risk, meaning that a Fund may be unable to sell a swap agreement to a third party at a favorable price. Swap agreements may involve leverage and may be highly volatile; depending on how they are used, they may have a considerable impact on a Fund’s performance. The risks of swap agreements depend upon a Fund’s ability to terminate its swap agreements or reduce its exposure through offsetting transactions. Swaps are highly specialized instruments that require investment techniques and risk analyses different from those associated with stocks, bonds, and other traditional investments.

Some swaps currently are, and more in the future will be, centrally cleared. Swaps that are centrally cleared are subject to the creditworthiness of the clearing organization involved in the transaction. For example, an investor could lose margin payments it has deposited with its futures

commission merchant as well as the net amount of gains not yet paid by the clearing organization if the clearing organization becomes insolvent or goes into bankruptcy. In the event of bankruptcy of the clearing organization, the investor may be entitled to the net amount of gains the investor is entitled to receive plus the return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the clearing organization’s other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the investor.

To the extent a swap is not centrally cleared, the use of a swap involves the risk that a loss may be sustained as a result of the insolvency or bankruptcy of the counterparty or the failure of the counterparty to make required payments or otherwise comply with the terms of the agreement. If a counterparty’s creditworthiness declines, the value of the swap might decline, potentially resulting in losses to a Fund. Changing conditions in a particular market area, whether or not directly related to the referenced assets that underlie the swap agreement, may have an adverse impact on the creditworthiness of the counterparty. If a default occurs by the counterparty to such a transaction, a Fund may have contractual remedies pursuant to the agreements related to the transaction.

The swaps market was largely unregulated prior to the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act on July 21, 2010. It is possible that developments in the swaps market, including the issuance of final implementing regulations under the Dodd-Frank Act, could adversely affect a Fund’s ability to enter into swaps in the OTC market (or require that certain of such instruments be exchange-traded and centrally-cleared), or require that a Fund support those trades with collateral, terminate new or existing swap agreements, or realize amounts to be received under such instruments. As discussed below, regulations have been adopted by the CFTC and banking regulators that will require a Fund to post margin on OTC swaps, and these regulations are currently being phased in and clearing organizations and exchanges will set minimum margin requirements for exchange-traded and cleared swaps. Due to these regulations, a Fund could be required to engage in greater documentation and recordkeeping with respect to swap agreements.

In late October of 2015, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Farm Credit Administration and the Federal Housing Financing Authority issued final rules that will require banks subject to their supervision to post and collect variation and initial margin in respect of their obligations arising under uncleared swap agreements. The CFTC soon after issued similar rules that would apply to CFTC registered swap dealers and major swap participants that are not banks. Such rules, which became effective on March 1, 2017, will generally require a Fund to segregate additional assets in order to meet the new variation margin requirements when they enter into uncleared swap agreements. The European Supervisory Authorities (“ESA”), various national regulators in Europe, the Australian Securities & Investment Commission, the Japanese Financial Services Agency and the Canadian Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions adopted rules and regulations that are similar to that of the Federal Reserve.

Separately, the CFTC also provided no-action relief allowing investment advisers for registered investment companies and other institutional investors to apply a minimum transfer amount (“MTA”) of variation margin based upon the separately managed investment account or sleeve (“Sleeve”) that the adviser is responsible for, rather than having to calculate the MTA across all accounts of the investor. This relief is not time limited, and provides that the CFTC staff will not recommend an enforcement action against a swap dealer that does not comply with the MTA requirements in the CFTC’s regulations with respect to one or more swaps with any legal entity that is the owner of more than one Sleeve, subject to the following conditions: (1) any such swaps are

entered into with the swap dealer by an asset manager on behalf of a Sleeve owned by the legal entity pursuant to authority granted under an investment management agreement; (2) the swaps of such Sleeve are subject to a master netting agreement that does not permit netting of initial or variation margin obligations across Sleeves of the legal entity that have swaps outstanding with the swap dealer; and (3) the swap dealer applies an MTA no greater than $50,000 to the initial and variation margin collection and posting obligations required of such Sleeve. The banking regulators have not provided similar relief, although swaps dealers subject to a banking regulator are expected to act in a manner consistent with the relief provided by the CFTC.

Swap agreements can take many different forms and are known by a variety of names including, but not limited to, interest rate swaps, mortgage swaps, total return swaps, inflation swaps, asset swaps (where parties exchange assets, typically a debt security), currency swaps, equity swaps, credit default swaps, commodity-linked swaps, and contracts for differences. A Fund may also write (sell) and purchase options on swaps (swaptions).

Interest Rate Swaps, Mortgage Swaps, and Interest Rate “Caps,” “Floors,” and “Collars.” In a typical interest rate swap agreement, one party agrees to make regular payments equal to a floating rate on a specified amount in exchange for payments equal to a fixed rate, or a different floating rate, on the same amount for a specified period. Mortgage swap agreements are similar to interest rate swap agreements, except the notional principal amount is tied to a reference pool of mortgages or index of mortgages. In an interest rate cap or floor, one party agrees, usually in return for a fee, to make payments under particular circumstances. For example, the purchaser of an interest rate cap has the right to receive payments to the extent a specified interest rate exceeds an agreed level; the purchaser of an interest rate floor has the right to receive payments to the extent a specified interest rate falls below an agreed level. An interest rate collar entitles the purchaser to receive payments to the extent a specified interest rate falls outside an agreed range.

Among other techniques, a Fund may use interest rate swaps to offset declines in the value of fixed income securities held by the Fund.  In such an instance, a Fund may agree with a counterparty to pay a fixed rate (multiplied by a notional amount) and the counterparty to pay a floating rate multiplied by the same notional amount. If long-term interest rates rise, resulting in a diminution in the value of a Fund’s portfolio, the Fund would receive payments under the swap that would offset, in whole or in part, such diminution in value; if interest rates fall, the Fund would likely lose money on the swap transaction. A Fund may also enter into constant maturity swaps, which are a variation of the typical interest rate swap. Constant maturity swaps are exposed to changes in long-term interest rate movements.

Total Return Swaps.  A Fund may enter into total return swaps (“TRS”) to obtain exposure to a security or market without owning or taking physical custody of such security or market. A Fund may be either a total return receiver or a total return payer. Generally, the total return payer sells to the total return receiver an amount equal to all cash flows and price appreciation on a defined security or asset payable at periodic times during the swap term (i.e., credit risk) in return for a periodic payment from the total return receiver based on a designated index (e.g., the London Interbank Offered Rate, known as LIBOR) and spread, plus the amount of any price depreciation on the reference security or asset. The total return payer does not need to own the underlying security or asset to enter into a total return swap. The final payment at the end of the swap term includes final settlement of the current

market price of the underlying reference security or asset, and payment by the applicable party for any appreciation or depreciation in value. Usually, collateral must be posted by the total return receiver to secure the periodic interest-based and market price depreciation payments depending on the credit quality of the underlying reference security and creditworthiness of the total return receiver, and the collateral amount is marked-to-market daily equal to the market price of the underlying reference security or asset between periodic payment dates.

TRS may effectively add leverage to a Fund’s portfolio because, in addition to its net assets, the Fund would be subject to investment exposure on the notional amount of the swap. If a Fund is the total return receiver in a TRS, then the credit risk for an underlying asset is transferred to the Fund in exchange for its receipt of the return (appreciation) on that asset. If a Fund is the total return payer, it is hedging the downside risk of an underlying asset but it is obligated to pay the amount of any appreciation on that asset.

Inflation Swaps. In an inflation swap, one party agrees to pay the cumulative percentage increase in a price index, such as the Consumer Price Index, over the term of the swap (with some lag on the referenced inflation index) and the other party agrees to pay a compounded fixed rate. Inflation swaps may be used to protect a Fund’s NAV against an unexpected change in the rate of inflation measured by an inflation index.

Currency Swaps.  A currency swap involves the exchange by a Fund and another party of the cash flows on a notional amount of two or more currencies based on the relative value differential among them, such as exchanging a right to receive a payment in foreign currency for the right to receive U.S. dollars. A Fund may enter into currency swaps (where the parties exchange their respective rights to make or receive payments in specified currencies). Currency swap agreements may be entered into on a net basis or may involve the delivery of the entire principal value of one designated currency in exchange for the entire principal value of another designated currency. In such cases, the entire principal value of a currency swap is subject to the risk that the counterparty will default on its contractual delivery obligations.

Equity Swaps. Equity swaps are contracts that allow one party to exchange the returns, including any dividend income, on an equity security or group of equity securities for another payment stream. Under an equity swap, payments may be made at the conclusion of the equity swap or periodically during its term. An equity swap may be used to invest in a market without owning or taking physical custody of securities in circumstances in which direct investment may be restricted for legal reasons or is otherwise deemed impractical or disadvantageous. Furthermore, equity swaps may be illiquid and a Fund may be unable to terminate its obligations when desired. In addition, the value of some components of an equity swap (such as the dividends on a common stock) may also be sensitive to changes in interest rates.

Credit Default Swaps. In a credit default swap, the credit default protection buyer makes periodic payments, known as premiums, to the credit default protection seller. In return, the credit default protection seller will make a payment to the credit default protection buyer upon the occurrence of a specified credit event. A credit default swap can refer to a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets, each known as the reference entity or underlying asset. A Fund may act as either the buyer or the seller of a credit default swap. A Fund may buy or sell credit default protection

on a basket of issuers or assets, even if a number of the underlying assets referenced in the basket are lower-quality debt securities. In an unhedged credit default swap, a Fund buys credit default protection on a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets without owning the underlying asset or debt issued by the reference entity. Credit default swaps involve greater and different risks than investing directly in the referenced asset, because, in addition to market risk, credit default swaps include liquidity, counterparty and operational risk.

Credit default swaps allow a Fund to acquire or reduce credit exposure to a particular issuer, asset or basket of assets. If a swap agreement calls for payments by a Fund, the Fund must be prepared to make such payments when due. If a Fund is the credit default protection seller, the Fund will experience a loss if a credit event occurs and the credit of the reference entity or underlying asset has deteriorated. If a Fund is the credit default protection buyer, the Fund will be required to pay premiums to the credit default protection seller. In the case of a physically settled credit default swap in which a Fund is the protection seller, the Fund must be prepared to pay par for and take possession of debt of a defaulted issuer delivered to the Fund by the credit default protection buyer. Any loss would be offset by the premium payments a Fund receives as the seller of credit default protection. If a Fund sells (writes) a credit default swap, it currently intends to segregate the full notional value of the swap, except if the Fund sells a credit default swap on an index with certain characteristics (i.e., on a broad based index and cash settled) where the Manager believes segregating only the amount out of the money more appropriately represents the Fund’s exposure.

Commodity-Linked Swaps.  Commodity-linked swaps are two party contracts in which the parties agree to exchange the return or interest rate on one instrument for the return of a particular commodity, commodity index or commodity futures or options contract. The payment streams are calculated by reference to an agreed upon notional amount. A one-period swap contract operates in a manner similar to a forward or futures contract because there is an agreement to swap a commodity for cash at only one forward date. A Fund may engage in swap transactions that have more than one period and therefore more than one exchange of payments. A Fund may invest in total return commodity swaps to gain exposure to the overall commodity markets. In a total return commodity swap, a Fund will receive the price appreciation of a commodity index, a portion of the index, or a single commodity in exchange for paying an agreed-upon fee. If a commodity swap is for one period, a Fund will pay a fixed fee, established at the outset of the swap. However, if the term of a commodity swap is more than one period, with interim swap payments, a Fund will pay an adjustable or floating fee. With “floating” rate, the fee is pegged to a base rate such as LIBOR, and is adjusted each period. Therefore, if interest rates increase over the term of the swap contract, a Fund may be required to pay a higher fee at each swap reset date.

Contracts for Differences.  A Fund may purchase contracts for differences (“CFDs”). A CFD is a form of equity swap in which its value is based on the fluctuating value of some underlying instrument (e.g., a single security, stock basket or index). A CFD is a privately negotiated contract between two parties, buyer and seller, stipulating that the seller will pay to or receive from the buyer the difference between the nominal value of the underlying instrument at the opening of the contract and that instrument’s value at the end of the contract. The buyer and seller are both required to post margin, which is adjusted daily, and adverse market movements against the underlying instrument may require the buyer to make additional margin payments. The buyer will also pay to the seller a

financing rate on the notional amount of the capital employed by the seller less the margin deposit. A CFD is usually terminated at the buyer’s initiative.

A CFD can be set up to take either a short or long position on the underlying instrument and enables a Fund to potentially capture movements in the share prices of the underlying instrument without the need to own the underlying instrument. By entering into a CFD transaction, a Fund could incur losses because it would face many of the same types of risks as owning the underlying instrument directly.

As with other types of swap transactions, CFDs also carry counterparty risk, which is the risk that the counterparty to the CFD transaction may be unable or unwilling to make payments or to otherwise honor its financial obligations under the terms of the contract, that the parties to the transaction may disagree as to the meaning or application of contractual terms, or that the instrument may not perform as expected. If the counterparty were to do so, the value of the contract, and of a Fund’s shares, may be reduced.

Options on Swaps (Swaptions). A swaption is an option to enter into a swap agreement. The purchaser of a swaption pays a premium for the option and obtains the right, but not the obligation, to enter into an underlying swap on agreed-upon terms. The seller of a swaption, in exchange for the premium, becomes obligated (if the option is exercised) to enter into an underlying swap on agreed-upon terms. Depending on the terms of the particular option agreement, a Fund generally will incur a greater degree of risk when it writes a swaption than when it purchases a swaption. When a Fund purchases a swaption, it risks losing only the amount of the premium it has paid should it decide to let the option expire unexercised.

Policies and Limitations. In accordance with SEC staff requirements, a Fund will segregate cash or appropriate liquid assets in an amount equal to its obligations under security-based swap agreements.

Combined Transactions.  A Fund may enter into multiple transactions, which may include multiple options transactions, multiple interest rate transactions and any combination of options and interest rate transactions, instead of a single Financial Instrument, as part of a single or combined strategy when, in the judgment of the Manager, it is in the best interests of the Fund to do so. A combined transaction will usually contain elements of risk that are present in each of its component transactions. Although a Fund will normally enter into combined transactions based on the Manager’s judgment that the combined transactions will reduce risk or otherwise more effectively achieve the desired portfolio management goal, it is possible that the combined transactions will instead increase risk or hinder achievement of the desired portfolio management goal.

The CFTC has adopted regulations that subject registered investment companies and/or their investment advisors to regulation by the CFTC if the registered investment company invests more than a prescribed level of its NAV in commodity futures, options on commodities or commodity futures, swaps, or other financial instruments regulated under the Commodities and Exchange Act, or if the

registered investment company is marketed as a vehicle for obtaining exposure to such commodity interests.

As discussed in more detail below, the Advisor has claimed an exclusion from CPO registration pursuant to CFTC Rule 4.5, with respect to all of the Funds. To remain eligible for this exclusion, a Fund must comply with certain limitations, including limits on trading in commodity interests, and restrictions on the manner in which the Fund markets its commodity interests trading activities. These limitations may restrict a Fund’s ability to pursue its investment strategy, increase the costs of implementing its strategy, increase its expenses and/or adversely affect its total return.

To qualify for the CFTC Rule 4.5 exclusion, a Fund is permitted to engage in unlimited “bona fide hedging” (as defined by the CFTC), but if a Fund uses commodity interests other than for bona fide hedging purposes, the aggregate initial margin and premiums required to establish these positions, determined at the time the most recent position was established, may not exceed 5% of the Fund’s NAV (after taking into account unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions and excluding the amount by which options that are “in-the-money” at the time of purchase are “in-the-money”) or, alternatively, the aggregate net notional value of non-bona fide hedging commodity interest positions, determined at the time the most recent position was established, may not exceed 100% of the Fund’s NAV (after taking into account unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions). In addition to complying with these de minimis trading limitations, to qualify for the exclusion, a Fund must satisfy a marketing test, which requires, among other things, that a Fund not hold itself out as a vehicle for trading commodity interests.

A Fund may be exposed to commodity interests indirectly in excess of the de minimis trading limitations described above. Such exposure may result from a Fund’s investment in other investment vehicles, such as real estate investment trusts, collateralized loan obligations, collateralized debt obligations and other securitization vehicles that may invest directly in commodity interests. These investment vehicles are referred to collectively as “underlying investment vehicles.” The CFTC treats a fund as a commodity pool whether it invests in commodity interests directly or indirectly through its investments in underlying investment vehicles. The CFTC staff has issued a no-action letter permitting the manager of a fund that invests in such underlying investment vehicles to defer registering as a CPO or claiming the exclusion from the CPO definition until six months from the date on which the CFTC issues additional guidance on the application of the calculation of the de minimis trading limitations in the context of the CPO exemption in CFTC Regulation 4.5 (the "Deadline"). Such guidance is expected to clarify how to calculate compliance with the de minimis trading limitations given a fund's investments in underlying investment vehicles that may cause the fund to be deemed to be indirectly trading commodity interests. The Manager has filed the required notice to claim this no-action relief with respect to each Fund.  In addition, the Manager has claimed an exclusion (under CFTC Regulation 4.5) from the CPO definition with respect to each Fund. As a result, at this time the Manager is not required to register as a CPO with respect to any Fund and need not generally comply with the regulatory requirements otherwise applicable to a registered CPO.  Prior to the Deadline, however, the Manager will determine with respect to each Fund whether it must operate as a registered CPO or whether it can rely on an exemption or exclusion from the CPO definition. If the Manager determines that it can rely on the exclusion in CFTC Regulation 4.5 with respect to a Fund, then the Manager, in its management of that Fund, will comply with one of the two alternative de minimis trading limitations in that regulation. Complying with the de minimis trading limitations may restrict the Manager's ability to use derivatives as part of a Fund’s investment strategies. Although the Manager believes that it will

be able to execute each Fund’s investment strategies within the de minimis trading limitations, a Fund’s performance could be adversely affected. If the Manager determines that it cannot rely on the exclusion in CFTC Regulation 4.5 with respect to a Fund, then the Manager will serve as a registered CPO with respect to that Fund. CPO regulation would increase the regulatory requirements to which a Fund is subject and it is expected that it would increase costs for a Fund.

Pursuant to authority granted under the Dodd-Frank Act, the Treasury Department issued a notice of final determination stating that foreign exchange forwards and foreign exchange swaps, as defined in the Dodd-Frank Act and described above, should not be considered swaps for most purposes.  Thus, foreign exchange forwards and foreign exchange swaps are not deemed to be commodity interests.  Therefore, if the Manager determines that it can rely on the exclusion in CFTC Regulation 4.5 with respect to a Fund, the Fund may enter into foreign exchange forwards and foreign exchange swaps without such transactions counting against the de minimis trading limitations discussed above.  Notwithstanding the Treasury Department determination, foreign exchange forwards and foreign exchange swaps (1) must be reported to swap data repositories, (2) may be subject to business conduct standards, and (3) are subject to antifraud and anti-manipulation proscriptions of swap execution facilities.  In addition, for purposes of determining whether any Fund may be subject to initial margin requirements for uncleared swaps, the average daily aggregate notional amount of a foreign exchange forward or a foreign exchange swap must be included in the calculation of whether such Fund has a “material swaps exposure” as defined in the regulations.

In addition, pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act and regulations adopted by the CFTC in connection with implementing the Dodd-Frank Act, NDFs are deemed to be commodity interests, including for purposes of amended CFTC Regulation 4.5, and are subject to the full array of regulations under the Dodd-Frank Act. Therefore, if the Manager determines that it can rely on the exclusion in CFTC Regulation 4.5 with respect to a Fund, the Fund will limit its investment in NDFs as discussed above.

The staff of the CFTC has issued guidance providing that, for purposes of determining compliance with CFTC Regulation 4.5, and the de minimis trading limitations discussed above, swaps that are centrally-cleared on the same clearing organization may be netted where appropriate, but no such netting is permitted for uncleared swaps.  To the extent some NDFs remain traded OTC and are not centrally-cleared, the absolute notional value of all such transactions, rather than the net notional value, would be counted against the de minimis trading limitations discussed above.

Cover for Financial Instruments.  Transactions using Financial Instruments, other than purchased options, expose a Fund to an obligation to another party. A Fund will not enter into any such transactions unless it owns either (1) an offsetting (“covering”) position in securities, currencies or other options, futures contracts, forward contracts, or swaps, or (2) cash and liquid assets held in a segregated account, or designated on its records as segregated, with a value, marked-to-market daily, sufficient to cover its potential obligations to the extent not covered as provided in (1) above. Each Fund will comply with SEC guidelines regarding “cover” for Financial Instruments and, if the guidelines so require, segregate the prescribed amount of cash or appropriate liquid assets.

Assets used as cover or held in a segregated account cannot be sold while the position in the corresponding Financial Instrument is outstanding, unless they are replaced with other suitable assets. As a result, the segregation of a large percentage of a Fund’s assets could impede Fund management

or a Fund’s ability to meet redemption requests or other current obligations. A Fund may be unable to promptly dispose of assets that cover, or are segregated with respect to, an illiquid futures, options, forward, or swap position; this inability may result in a loss to the Fund.

General Risks of Financial Instruments. The primary risks in using Financial Instruments are:  (1) imperfect correlation or no correlation between changes in market value of the securities or currencies held or to be acquired by a Fund and the prices of Financial Instruments; (2) possible lack of a liquid secondary market for Financial Instruments and the resulting inability to close out Financial Instruments when desired; (3) the fact that the skills needed to use Financial Instruments are different from those needed to select a Fund’s securities; (4) the fact that, although use of Financial Instruments for hedging purposes can reduce the risk of loss, they also can reduce the opportunity for gain, or even result in losses, by offsetting favorable price movements in hedged investments; (5) the possible inability of a Fund to purchase or sell a portfolio security at a time that would otherwise be favorable for it to do so, or the possible need for a Fund to sell a portfolio security at a disadvantageous time, due to its need to maintain cover or to segregate securities in connection with its use of Financial Instruments; and (6) when traded on non-U.S. exchanges, Financial Instruments may not be regulated as rigorously as in the United States. There can be no assurance that a Fund’s use of Financial Instruments will be successful.

In addition, Financial Instruments may contain leverage to magnify the exposure to the underlying asset or assets.

A Fund’s use of Financial Instruments may be limited by the provisions of the Code and Treasury Department regulations with which it must comply to continue to qualify as a RIC. See “Additional Tax Information.” Financial Instruments may not be available with respect to some currencies, especially those of so-called emerging market countries.

Policies and Limitations. When hedging, the Manager intends to reduce the risk of imperfect correlation by investing only in Financial Instruments whose behavior is expected to resemble or offset that of a Fund’s underlying securities or currency. The Manager intends to reduce the risk that a Fund will be unable to close out Financial Instruments by entering into such transactions only if the Manager believes there will be an active and liquid secondary market.

Illiquid Securities.  Generally, an illiquid security is any investment that may not reasonably be expected to be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment. Illiquid securities may include unregistered or other restricted securities and repurchase agreements maturing in greater than seven days. Illiquid securities may also include commercial paper under section 4(2) of the 1933 Act, and Rule 144A securities (restricted securities that may be traded freely among qualified institutional buyers pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the securities laws); these securities are considered illiquid unless the Manager determines they are liquid. Most such securities held by the Funds are deemed liquid. Generally, foreign securities freely tradable in their principal market are not considered restricted or illiquid even if they are not registered in the United States. Illiquid securities may be difficult for a Fund to value or dispose of due to the absence of an active trading market. The sale of some illiquid securities by a Fund may be subject to legal restrictions, which could be costly to the Fund.

Policies and Limitations.  For the Funds’ policies and limitations on illiquid securities, see “Investment Policies and Limitations -- Illiquid Securities” above.

Indexed Securities. A Fund may invest in indexed securities whose values are linked to currencies, interest rates, commodities, indices, or other financial indicators, domestic or foreign. Most indexed securities are short- to intermediate-term fixed income securities whose values at maturity or interest rates rise or fall according to the change in one or more specified underlying instruments. The value of indexed securities may increase or decrease if the underlying instrument appreciates, and they may have return characteristics similar to direct investment in the underlying instrument. An indexed security may be more volatile than the underlying instrument itself.

Inflation-Indexed Securities. Inflation indexed bonds are fixed income securities whose principal value or coupon (interest payment) is periodically adjusted according to the rate of inflation.  A Fund may invest in inflation indexed securities issued in any country. Two structures are common. The Treasury Department and some other issuers use a structure that accrues inflation into the principal value of the bond.  Other issuers pay out the index-based accruals as part of a semiannual coupon.

A Fund may invest in Treasury Department inflation-indexed securities, formerly called “U.S. Treasury Inflation Protected Securities” (“U.S. TIPS”), which are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government.  The periodic adjustment of U.S. TIPS is currently tied to the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (“CPI-U”), which is calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which is part of the Labor Department. The CPI-U is a measurement of changes in the cost of living, made up of components such as housing, food, transportation and energy. Inflation-indexed bonds issued by a non-U.S. government are generally adjusted to reflect a comparable inflation index, calculated by that government. There can be no assurance that the CPI-U or any non-U.S. inflation index will accurately measure the real rate of inflation in the prices of goods and services. In addition, there can be no assurance that the rate of inflation in a non-U.S. country will be correlated to the rate of inflation in the United States. The three-month lag in calculating the CPI-U for purposes of adjusting the principal value of U.S. TIPS may give rise to risks under certain circumstances.

Interest is calculated on the basis of the current adjusted principal value. The principal value of inflation-indexed securities declines in periods of deflation, but holders at maturity receive no less than par. However, if a Fund purchases inflation-indexed securities in the secondary market whose principal values have been adjusted upward due to inflation since issuance, the fund may experience a loss if there is a subsequent period of deflation. If inflation is lower than expected during the period a Fund holds the security, the Fund may earn less on it than on a conventional bond. A Fund may also invest in other inflation-related bonds which may or may not provide a guarantee of principal. If a guarantee of principal is not provided, the adjusted principal value of the bond repaid at maturity may be less than the original principal amount.

Because the coupon rate on inflation-indexed securities is lower than fixed-rate Treasury Department securities, the CPI-U would have to rise at least to the amount of the difference between the coupon rate of the fixed-rate Treasury Department issues and the coupon rate of the inflation-indexed securities, assuming all other factors are equal, in order for such securities to match the performance of the fixed-rate Treasury Department securities.

Inflation-indexed securities are expected to react primarily to changes in the “real” interest rate (i.e., the nominal (or stated) rate less the rate of inflation), while a typical bond reacts to changes in the nominal interest rate. Accordingly, inflation-indexed securities have characteristics of fixed-rate Treasury Department securities having a shorter duration. Changes in market interest rates from causes other than inflation will likely affect the market prices of inflation-indexed securities in the same manner as conventional bonds.

Any increase in the principal value of an inflation-indexed security is taxable in the year the increase occurs, even though its holders do not receive cash representing the increase until the security matures. Because a Fund must distribute substantially all of its net investment income (including non-cash income attributable to those principal value increases) and net realized gains to its shareholders each taxable year to continue to qualify for treatment as a RIC and to minimize or avoid payment of federal income and excise taxes, a Fund may have to dispose of other investments under disadvantageous circumstances to generate cash, or may be required to borrow, to satisfy its distribution requirements.

The Treasury Department began issuing inflation-indexed bonds in 1997. Certain non-U.S. governments, such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, have a longer history of issuing inflation indexed bonds, and there may be a more liquid market in certain of these countries for these securities.

Investments by Funds of Funds or Other Large Shareholders. A Fund may experience large redemptions or investments due to transactions in Fund shares by funds of funds, other large shareholders, or similarly managed accounts. While it is impossible to predict the overall effect of these transactions over time, there could be an adverse impact on a Fund’s performance. In the event of such redemptions or investments, a Fund could be required to sell securities or to invest cash at a time when it may not otherwise desire to do so. Such transactions may increase a Fund’s brokerage and/or other transaction costs and affect the liquidity of a Fund’s portfolio. In addition, when funds of funds or other investors own a substantial portion of a Fund’s shares, a large redemption by such an investor could cause actual expenses to increase, or could result in the Fund’s current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the Fund’s expense ratio. Redemptions of Fund shares could also accelerate a Fund’s realization of capital gains (which would be taxable to its shareholders when distributed to them) if sales of securities needed to fund the redemptions result in net capital gains. The impact of these transactions is likely to be greater when a fund of funds or other significant investor purchases, redeems, or owns a substantial portion of a Fund’s shares. A high volume of redemption requests can impact a Fund the same way as the transactions of a single shareholder with substantial investments.

Investing in the Greater China Region. Investing in the Greater China region, consisting of Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, among other locations, involves a high degree of risk and special considerations not typically associated with investing in more established economies or securities markets. Such risks may include: (a) social, economic and political uncertainty (including the risk of armed conflict); (b) the risk of nationalization or expropriation of assets or confiscatory taxation; (c) dependency on exports and the corresponding importance of international trade; (d) increasing competition from Asia’s low-cost emerging economies; (e) greater price volatility and significantly smaller market capitalization of securities markets; (f) substantially less liquidity, particularly of certain share classes of mainland China-listed securities; (g) currency exchange rate fluctuations and

the lack of available currency hedging instruments; (h) higher rates of inflation; (i) controls on foreign investment and limitations on repatriation of invested capital and on a Fund’s ability to exchange local currencies for U.S. dollars; (j) greater governmental involvement in and control over the economy; (k) uncertainty regarding the Chinese government’s commitment to economic reforms; (l) the fact that some Chinese companies may be smaller, less seasoned and newly-organized companies; (m) the differences in, or lack of, auditing and financial reporting standards which may result in unavailability of material information about issuers; (n) the fact that statistical information regarding the economy of the Greater China region may be inaccurate or not comparable to statistical information regarding the U.S. or other economies; (o) less extensive, and still developing, legal systems and regulatory frameworks regarding the securities markets, business entities and commercial transactions; (p) the fact that the settlement period of securities transactions in foreign markets may be longer; (q) the fact that it may be more difficult, or impossible, to obtain and/or enforce a judgment than in other countries; (r) the rapid and erratic nature of growth, particularly in mainland China, resulting in inefficiencies and dislocations; (s) economies characterized by over-extension of credit and rising unemployment; and (t) the risk that, because of the degree of interconnectivity between the economies and financial markets of mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, any sizable reduction in the demand for goods, or an economic downturn, could negatively affect the surrounding economies and financial markets, as well.

Mainland China is dominated by the one-party rule of the Communist Party. Investments in China involve the risk of greater control over the economy, political and legal uncertainties and currency fluctuations or blockage. The Chinese government exercises significant control over economic growth through the allocation of resources, controlling payment of foreign currency denominated obligations, setting monetary policy, and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies. For over three decades, the Chinese government has been reforming economic and market practices and providing a larger sphere for private ownership of property. While currently contributing to growth and prosperity, the government may decide not to continue to support these economic reform programs and could possibly return to the completely centrally planned economy that existed prior to 1978.

As with all transition economies, mainland China’s ability to develop and sustain a credible legal, regulatory, monetary, and socioeconomic system could influence the course of outside investment. The real estate market, once rapidly growing in major cities, has slowed down since the imposition of tighter government controls. Additionally, local government debt is still very high, and local governments have few viable means to raise revenue, especially with the fall in demand for housing in certain areas. Moreover, although the government has tried to restructure its economy towards consumption, it remains somewhat dependent on exports and is therefore susceptible to downturns abroad which may weaken demand for its exports and reduce foreign investments in the country. In particular, the economy faces the prospect of prolonged weakness in demand for exports as its major trading partners, such as the U.S., Japan, and Europe, continue to experience economic uncertainty stemming from the global financial crisis and European crisis, among other things. Over the long term, China’s aging infrastructure, worsening environmental conditions, rapid and inequitable urbanization, and quickly widening urban and rural income gap, which all carry political and economic implications, are among the country’s major challenges. In addition, China continues to exercise some control over the value of its currency, rather than allowing the value of the currency to be determined

entirely by market forces. This type of currency regime may experience sudden and significant currency adjustments, which may adversely impact investment returns.

The willingness and ability of the mainland Chinese government to support the Greater China region markets is uncertain. Taiwan and Hong Kong do not exercise the same level of control over their economies as mainland China does, but changes to their political and economic relationships with mainland China could adversely impact investments in Taiwan and Hong Kong. An investment in the Fund involves risk of a total loss. The political reunification of mainland China and Taiwan is a highly problematic issue and is unlikely to be settled in the near future. This situation poses a threat to Taiwan’s economy and could negatively affect its stock market. Hong Kong is closely tied to mainland China, economically and through its 1997 designation as a Special Administrative Region. The Chinese government has committed by treaty to preserve Hong Kong’s autonomy and its economic, political and social freedoms until 2047. However, if the Chinese government exerts its authority so as to alter the economic, political or legal structures or the existing social policy of Hong Kong, such as when the Chinese Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People’s Republic of China rather than the Hong Kong Legislative Council directly enacted the Hong Kong national security law (officially the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region) on June 30, 2020, investor and business confidence in Hong Kong could be negatively affected, which in turn could negatively affect markets and business performance. Hong Kong’s success depends, in large part, on its ability to retain the legal, financial, and monetary systems that allow economic freedom and market expansion.

There has been increased attention from the SEC and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) with regard to international auditing standards of U.S.-listed companies with operations in China as well as PCAOB-registered auditing firms in China. Currently, the SEC and PCAOB are only able to get limited information about these auditing firms and are restricted from inspecting the audit work and practices of registered accountants in China. These restrictions may result in the unavailability of material information about issuers in China or an issuer’s operations in China.

The Greater China region has historically been prone to natural disasters such as earthquakes, droughts, floods and tsunamis and is economically sensitive to environmental events. Any such event could cause a significant impact on the economy of, or investments in, the Greater China region.

Japanese Investments. A Fund may invest in foreign securities, including securities of Japanese issuers. The performance of a Fund may therefore be affected by events influencing Japan’s economy and the exchange rate between the Japanese yen and the U.S. dollar, generally. Japan’s economy fell into a long recession in the 1990s. Japan’s economic growth rate has generally remained low in the 2000s and thereafter. At present, Japan’s economy may be recovering from this long recession, although, the long-term outlook remains uncertain and the economic growth rate could remain low in the future. This economic recession was likely compounded by Japan’s massive government debt, the aging and shrinking of the population, low domestic consumption, and certain corporate structural weaknesses, which remain some of the major long-term problems of the Japanese economy.

International trade is important to Japan’s economy and Japan’s economic growth is significantly driven by its exports. Japan also heavily depends on large imports of fuels, raw materials and agricultural products. Domestic or foreign trade sanctions or other protectionist measures could harm Japan’s economy. Currency fluctuations, which have been significant at times, also have considerable impacts on exports in particular, and overall Japanese economy. In addition, Japan is particularly susceptible to slowing economic growth in China, Japan’s second largest export market. Japan’s economic prospects may also be affected by the political and military situations of its near neighbors, notably North and South Korea, China, and Russia.

Natural disasters, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons and volcanic eruptions, could occur in Japan, which may have a significant impact on the business operations of Japanese companies in the affected regions and Japan’s economy.

Leverage.  A Fund may engage in transactions that have the effect of leverage.  Although leverage creates an opportunity for increased total return, it also can create special risk considerations. For example, leverage from borrowing may amplify changes in a Fund’s NAV. Although the principal of such borrowings will be fixed, a Fund’s assets may change in value during the time the borrowing is outstanding. Leverage from borrowing creates interest expenses for a Fund. To the extent the income derived from securities purchased with borrowed funds is sufficient to cover the cost of leveraging, the net income of a Fund will be greater than it would be if leverage were not used. Conversely, to the extent the income derived from securities purchased with borrowed funds is not sufficient to cover the cost of leveraging, the net income of a Fund will be less than it would be if leverage were not used and, therefore, the amount (if any) available for distribution to the Fund’s shareholders as dividends will be reduced. Reverse repurchase agreements, securities lending transactions, when issued and delayed-delivery transactions, certain Financial Instruments (as defined above), and short sales, among others, may create leverage.

Policies and Limitations.  For the Funds’ policies and limitations on borrowing, see “Investment Policies and Limitations -- Borrowing” above. In addition, each Fund may borrow to purchase securities needed to close out short sales entered into for hedging purposes and to facilitate other hedging transactions.

Each of Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Integrated Large Cap Fund, Neuberger Berman International Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman International Select Fund, and Neuberger Berman International Small Cap Fund may make investments while borrowings are outstanding.

LIBOR Rate Risk. Many debt securities, derivatives and other financial instruments, including some of the Funds’ investments, utilize the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) as the reference or benchmark rate for variable interest rate calculations. However, concerns have arisen regarding LIBOR’s viability as a benchmark, due to manipulation allegations dating from about 2012 and, subsequently, reduced activity in the financial markets that it measures. In 2017, the UK Financial Conduct Authority announced that after 2021 it would cease its active encouragement of UK banks to provide the quotations needed to sustain LIBOR. Thus, there is a risk that LIBOR may cease to be published after that time or, possibly, before.

Also in 2017, the Alternative Reference Rates Committee, a group of large US banks working with the Federal Reserve, announced its selection of a new Secured Overnight Funding Rate (“SOFR”), which is a broad measure of the cost of overnight borrowings secured by Treasury Department securities, as an appropriate replacement for LIBOR. Bank working groups and regulators in other countries have suggested other alternatives for their markets, including the Sterling Overnight Interbank Average Rate (“SONIA”) in England.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York began publishing SOFR in April, 2018, with the expectation that it could be used on a voluntary basis in new instruments and for new transactions under existing instruments. However, SOFR is fundamentally different from LIBOR. It is a secured, nearly risk-free rate, while LIBOR is an unsecured rate that includes an element of bank credit risk. Also, SOFR is strictly an overnight rate, while LIBOR historically has been published for various maturities, ranging from overnight to one year. Thus, LIBOR may be expected to be higher than SOFR, and the spread between the two is likely to widen in times of market stress.

Various financial industry groups have begun planning for the transition from LIBOR to SOFR or another new benchmark, but there are obstacles to converting certain longer term securities and transactions. Transition planning is at a relatively early stage, and neither the effect of the transition process nor its ultimate success can yet be known. The transition process might lead to increased volatility and illiquidity in markets that currently rely on the LIBOR to determine interest rates. It also could lead to a reduction in the value of some LIBOR-based investments and reduce the effectiveness of new hedges placed against existing LIBOR-based instruments. Since the usefulness of LIBOR as a benchmark could deteriorate during the transition period, these effects could occur prior to the end of 2021.

Master Limited Partnerships. Master limited partnerships (“MLPs”) are limited partnerships (or similar entities, such as limited liability companies) in which the ownership units (e.g., limited partnership interests) are publicly traded. MLP units are registered with the SEC and are freely traded on a securities exchange or in the OTC market. Many MLPs operate in oil and gas related businesses, including energy processing and distribution. Many MLPs are pass-through entities that generally are taxed at the unitholder level and are not subject to federal or state income tax at the entity level. Annual income, gains, losses, deductions and credits of such an MLP pass through directly to its unitholders. Distributions from an MLP may consist in part of a return of capital. Generally, an MLP is operated under the supervision of one or more general partners. Limited partners are not involved in the day-to-day management of an MLP.

Investing in MLPs involves certain risks related to investing in their underlying assets and risks associated with pooled investment vehicles. MLPs holding credit-related investments are subject to interest rate risk and the risk of default on payment obligations by debt issuers. MLPs that concentrate in a particular industry or a particular geographic region are subject to risks associated with such industry or region. Investments held by MLPs may be relatively illiquid, limiting the MLPs’ ability to vary their portfolios promptly in response to changes in economic or other conditions. MLPs may have limited financial resources, their securities may trade infrequently and in limited volume, and they may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than securities of larger or more broadly based companies.

The risks of investing in an MLP are generally those inherent in investing in a partnership as opposed to a corporation. For example, state law governing partnerships is different than state law governing corporations. Accordingly, there may be fewer protections afforded investors in an MLP than investors in a corporation. For example, although unitholders of an MLP are generally limited in their liability, similar to a corporation’s shareholders, creditors typically have the right to seek the return of distributions made to unitholders if the liability in question arose before the distributions were paid. This liability may stay attached to a unitholder even after it sells its units.

Policies and Limitations. Under certain circumstances, an MLP could be deemed an investment company. If that occurred, a Fund’s investment in the MLP’s securities would be limited by the 1940 Act. See “Securities of Other Investment Companies.”

Mortgage-Backed Securities.  Mortgage-backed securities represent direct or indirect participations in, or are secured by and payable from, pools of mortgage loans. Those securities may be guaranteed by a U.S. Government agency or instrumentality (such as by Ginnie Mae); issued and guaranteed by a government-sponsored stockholder-owned corporation, though not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States (such as by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (collectively, the “GSEs”), and described in greater detail below); or issued by fully private issuers. Private issuers are generally originators of and investors in mortgage loans and include savings associations, mortgage bankers, commercial banks, investment bankers, and special purpose entities. Private mortgage-backed securities may be backed by U.S. Government agency supported mortgage loans or some form of non-governmental credit enhancement.

Government-related guarantors (i.e., not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government) include Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Fannie Mae is a government-sponsored corporation owned by stockholders. It is subject to general regulation by the Federal Housing Finance Authority (“FHFA”). Fannie Mae purchases residential mortgages from a list of approved seller/servicers that include state and federally chartered savings and loan associations, mutual savings banks, commercial banks, credit unions and mortgage bankers. Fannie Mae guarantees the timely payment of principal and interest on pass-through securities that it issues, but those securities are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government.

Freddie Mac is a government-sponsored corporation formerly owned by the twelve Federal Home Loan Banks and now owned by stockholders. Freddie Mac issues Participation Certificates (“PCs”), which represent interests in mortgages from Freddie Mac’s national portfolio. Freddie Mac guarantees the timely payment of interest and ultimate collection of principal on the PCs it issues, but those PCs are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government.

The Treasury Department has historically had the authority to purchase obligations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. However, in 2008, due to capitalization concerns, Congress provided the Treasury Department with additional authority to lend the GSEs emergency funds and to purchase their stock. In September 2008, those capital concerns led the Treasury Department and the FHFA to announce that the GSEs had been placed in conservatorship.

Since that time, the GSEs have received significant capital support through Treasury Department preferred stock purchases as well as Treasury Department and Federal Reserve purchases of their mortgage backed securities (“MBS”). While the MBS purchase programs ended in 2010, the

Treasury Department announced in December 2009 that it would continue its support for the entities’ capital as necessary to prevent a negative net worth. However, no assurance can be given that the Federal Reserve, Treasury Department, or FHFA initiatives will ensure that the GSEs will remain successful in meeting their obligations with respect to the debt and MBS they issue into the future.

In 2012, the FHFA initiated a strategic plan to develop a program related to credit risk transfers intended to reduce Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s overall risk through the creation of credit risk transfer assets (“CRTs”). CRTs come in two primary series: Structured Agency Credit Risk (“STACRs”) for Freddie Mac and Connecticut Avenue Securities (“CAS”) for Fannie Mae, although other series may be developed in the future. CRTs are typically structured as unsecured general obligations of either entities guaranteed by a government-sponsored stockholder-owned corporation, though not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States (such as by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (collectively, the “GSEs”) or special purpose entities), and their cash flows are based on the performance of a pool of reference loans.  Unlike traditional residential MBS securities, bond payments typically do not come directly from the underlying mortgages.  Instead, the GSEs either make the payments to CRT investors, or the GSEs make certain payments to the special purpose entities and the special purpose entities make payments to the investors.  In certain structures, the special purpose entities make payments to the GSEs upon the occurrence of credit events with respect to the underlying mortgages, and the obligation of the special purpose entity to make such payments to the GSE is senior to the obligation of the special purpose entity to make payments to the CRT investors.   CRTs are typically floating rate securities and may have multiple tranches with losses first allocated to the most junior or subordinate tranche. This structure results in increased sensitivity to dramatic housing downturns, especially for the subordinate tranches. Many CRTs also have collateral performance triggers (e.g., based on credit enhancement, delinquencies or defaults, etc.) that could shut off principal payments to subordinate tranches. Generally, GSEs have the ability to call all of the CRT tranches at par in 10 years.

In addition, the future of the GSEs is in serious question as the U.S. Government is considering multiple options, ranging on a spectrum from significant reform, nationalization, privatization, consolidation, or abolishment of the entities.

The FHFA and the Treasury Department (through its agreement to purchase GSE preferred stock) have imposed strict limits on the size of GSEs’ mortgage portfolios. In August 2012, the Treasury Department amended its preferred stock purchase agreements to provide that the GSEs’ portfolios would be wound down at an annual rate of 15 percent (up from the previously agreed annual rate of 10 percent), requiring the GSEs to reach the $250 billion target by December 31, 2018. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were below the $250 billion cap for year-end 2018.  On December 21, 2017, a letter agreement between the Treasury and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac changed the terms of the senior preferred stock certificates to permit the GSEs each to retain a $3 billion capital reserve, quarterly. Under the 2017 letter, each GSE paid a dividend to Treasury equal to the amount that its net worth exceeded $3 billion at the end of each quarter. On September 30, 2019, the Treasury and the FHFA, acting as conservator to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, announced amendments to the respective senior preferred stock certificates that will permit the GSEs to retain earnings beyond the $3 billion capital reserves previously allowed through the 2017 letter agreements. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now permitted to maintain capital reserves of $25 billion and $20 billion, respectively.

Natural Disasters and Adverse Weather Conditions. Certain areas of the world historically have been prone to major natural disasters, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, typhoons, flooding, tidal waves, tsunamis, erupting volcanoes, wildfires or droughts, and have been economically sensitive to environmental events. Such disasters, and the resulting damage, could have a severe and negative impact on a Fund’s investment portfolio and, in the longer term, could impair the ability of issuers in which a Fund invests to conduct their businesses in the manner normally conducted. Adverse weather conditions may also have a particularly significant negative effect on issuers in the agricultural sector and on insurance companies that insure against the impact of natural disasters.

Operational and Cybersecurity Risk.  With the increased use of technologies such as the Internet and the dependence on computer systems to perform necessary business functions, the Funds and their service providers, and your ability to transact with the Funds, may be negatively impacted due to operational matters arising from, among other problems, human errors, systems and technology disruptions or failures, or cybersecurity incidents. A cybersecurity incident may refer to intentional or unintentional events that allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data, or proprietary information, or cause a Fund or Fund service providers (including, but not limited to, the Funds’ manager, distributor, fund accountants, custodian, transfer agent, sub-advisers (if applicable), and financial intermediaries), as well as the securities trading venues and their service providers, to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality. A cybersecurity incident could, among other things, result in the loss or theft of customer data or funds, customers or employees being unable to access electronic systems (“denial of services”), loss or theft of proprietary information or corporate data, physical damage to a computer or network system, or remediation costs associated with system repairs.  Any of these results could have a substantial adverse impact on the Funds and their shareholders. For example, if a cybersecurity incident results in a denial of service, Fund shareholders could lose access to their electronic accounts and be unable to buy or sell Fund shares for an unknown period of time, and employees could be unable to access electronic systems to perform critical duties for the Funds, such as trading, net asset value (“NAV”) calculation, shareholder accounting or fulfillment of Fund share purchases and redemptions.

A Fund’s service providers may also be negatively impacted due to operational risks arising from factors such as processing errors and human errors, inadequate or failed internal or external processes, failures in systems and technology, changes in personnel, and errors caused by third-party service providers or trading counterparties. In particular, these errors or failures as well as other technological issues may adversely affect the Funds’ ability to calculate their net asset values in a timely manner, including over a potentially extended period.

The occurrence of an operational or cybersecurity incident could result in regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures, or financial loss of a significant magnitude and could result in allegations that the Fund or Fund service provider violated privacy and other laws. Similar adverse consequences could result from incidents affecting issuers of securities in which a Fund invests, counterparties with which a Fund engages in transactions, governmental and other regulatory authorities, exchange and other financial market operators, banks, brokers, dealers, insurance companies, and other financial institutions and other parties. Although the Funds and their Manager endeavor to determine that service providers have established risk management systems that seek to reduce these operational and cybersecurity risks, and business continuity plans in the event there is an incident, there are inherent limitations in these systems and plans, including the possibility that certain risks may not have been identified, in large part because

different or unknown threats may emerge in the future. Furthermore, the Funds do not control the operational and cybersecurity systems and plans of the issuers of securities in which the Funds invest or the Funds’ third party service providers or trading counterparties or any other service providers whose operations may affect a Fund or its shareholders.

Preferred Stock. Unlike interest payments on debt securities, dividends on preferred stock are generally payable at the discretion of the issuer’s board of directors. Preferred shareholders may have certain rights if dividends are not paid but generally have no legal recourse against the issuer. Shareholders may suffer a loss of value if dividends are not paid. The market prices of preferred stocks are generally more sensitive to changes in the issuer’s creditworthiness than are the prices of debt securities.

Private Companies and Pre-IPO Investments.  Investments in private companies, including companies that have not yet issued securities publicly in an IPO (“Pre-IPO shares”) involve greater risks than investments in securities of companies that have traded publicly on an exchange for extended periods of time. Investments in these companies are generally less liquid than investments in securities issued by public companies and may be difficult for a Fund to value.  Compared to public companies, private companies may have a more limited management group and limited operating histories with narrower, less established product lines and smaller market shares, which may cause them to be more vulnerable to competitors’ actions, market conditions and consumer sentiment with respect to their products or services, as well as general economic downturns.  In addition, private companies may have limited financial resources and may be unable to meet their obligations.  This could lead to bankruptcy or liquidation of such private company or the dilution or subordination of a Fund’s investment in such private company. Additionally, there is significantly less information available about private companies’ business models, quality of management, earnings growth potential and other criteria used to evaluate their investment prospects and the little public information available about such companies may not be reliable. Because financial reporting obligations for private companies are not as rigorous as public companies, it may be difficult to fully assess the rights and values of certain securities issued by private companies. A Fund may only have limited access to a private company’s actual financial results and there is no assurance that the information obtained by the Fund is reliable. Although there is a potential for pre-IPO shares to increase in value if the company does issue shares in an IPO, IPOs are risky and volatile and may cause the value of a Fund’s investment to decrease significantly. Moreover, because securities issued by private companies are generally not freely or publicly tradable, a Fund may not have the opportunity to purchase or the ability to sell these shares in the amounts or at the prices the Fund desires. The private companies a Fund may invest in may not ever issue shares in an IPO and a liquid market for their pre-IPO shares may never develop, which may negatively affect the price at which the Fund can sell these shares and make it more difficult to sell these shares, which could also adversely affect the Fund’s liquidity. Furthermore, these investments may be subject to additional contractual restrictions on resale that would prevent the Fund from selling the company’s securities for a period of time following any IPO. A Fund’s investment in a private company’s securities will involve investing in restricted securities. See “Restricted Securities and Rule 144A Securities” for risks related to restricted securities. If a Fund invests in private companies or issuers, there is a possibility that NBIA may obtain access to material non-public information about an issuer of private placement securities, which may limit NBIA’s ability to sell such securities, could negatively impact NBIA’s ability to manage the Fund since NBIA may be required to sell other securities to meet redemptions, or could adversely impact a Fund’s performance.

Private Investments in Public Equity (PIPEs). A Fund may invest in securities issued in private investments in public equity transactions, commonly referred to as “PIPEs.” A PIPE investment involves the sale of equity securities, or securities convertible into equity securities, in a private placement transaction by an issuer that already has outstanding, publicly traded equity securities of the same class. Shares acquired in PIPEs are commonly sold at a discount to the current market value per share of the issuer’s publicly traded securities.

Securities acquired in PIPEs generally are not registered with the SEC until after a certain period of time from the date the private sale is completed, which may be months and perhaps longer. PIPEs may contain provisions that require the issuer to pay penalties to the holder if the securities are not registered within a specified period. Until the public registration process is completed, securities acquired in PIPEs are restricted and, like investments in other types of restricted securities, may be illiquid. Any number of factors may prevent or delay a proposed registration. Prior to or in the absence of registration, it may be possible for securities acquired in PIPEs to be resold in transactions exempt from registration under the 1933 Act. There is no guarantee, however, that an active trading market for such securities will exist at the time of disposition, and the lack of such a market could hurt the market value of a Fund’s investments. Even if the securities acquired in PIPEs become registered, or a Fund is able to sell the securities through an exempt transaction, a Fund may not be able to sell all the securities it holds on short notice and the sale could impact the market price of the securities.  See “Restricted Securities and Rule 144A Securities” for risks related to restricted securities.

Real Estate-Related Instruments.  A Fund will not invest directly in real estate, but a Fund may invest in securities issued by real estate companies.  Investments in the securities of companies in the real estate industry subject a Fund to the risks associated with the direct ownership of real estate. These risks include declines in the value of real estate, risks associated with general and local economic conditions, possible lack of availability of mortgage funds, overbuilding, extended vacancies of properties, increased competition, increase in property taxes and operating expenses, changes in zoning laws, losses due to costs resulting from the clean-up of environmental problems, liability to third parties for damages resulting from environmental problems, casualty or condemnation losses, limitation on rents, changes in neighborhood values and the appeal of properties to tenants, and changes in interest rates. In addition, certain real estate valuations, including residential real estate values, are influenced by market sentiments, which can change rapidly and could result in a sharp downward adjustment from current valuation levels.

Real estate-related instruments include securities of real estate investment trusts (also known as “REITs”), commercial and residential mortgage-backed securities and real estate financings. Such instruments are sensitive to factors such as real estate values and property taxes, interest rates, cash flow of underlying real estate assets, overbuilding, and the management skill and creditworthiness of the issuer. Real estate-related instruments may also be affected by tax and regulatory requirements, such as those relating to the environment.

REITs are sometimes informally characterized as equity REITs, mortgage REITs and hybrid REITs. An equity REIT invests primarily in the fee ownership or leasehold ownership of land and buildings and derives its income primarily from rental income. An equity REIT may also realize capital gains (or losses) by selling real estate properties in its portfolio that have appreciated (or depreciated) in value. A mortgage REIT invests primarily in mortgages on real estate, which may secure construction, development or long-term loans, and derives its income primarily from interest payments

on the credit it has extended. A hybrid REIT combines the characteristics of equity REITs and mortgage REITs, generally by holding both ownership interests and mortgage interests in real estate.

REITs (especially mortgage REITs) are subject to interest rate risk. Rising interest rates may cause REIT investors to demand a higher annual yield, which may, in turn, cause a decline in the market price of the equity securities issued by a REIT. Rising interest rates also generally increase the costs of obtaining financing, which could cause the value of a Fund’s REIT investments to decline. During periods when interest rates are declining, mortgages are often refinanced. Refinancing may reduce the yield on investments in mortgage REITs. In addition, because mortgage REITs depend on payment under their mortgage loans and leases to generate cash to make distributions to their shareholders, investments in such REITs may be adversely affected by defaults on such mortgage loans or leases.

REITs are dependent upon management skill, are not diversified, and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency, defaults by borrowers, and self-liquidation. Domestic REITs are also subject to the possibility of failing to qualify for tax-free “pass-through” of distributed net income and net realized gains under the Code and failing to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act.

REITs are subject to management fees and other expenses. Therefore, investments in REITs will cause a Fund to bear its proportionate share of the costs of the REITs’ operations. At the same time, a Fund will continue to pay its own management fees and expenses with respect to all of its assets, including any portion invested in REITs.

Policies and Limitations.  For Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund’s and Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund’s policies and limitations on real estate-related instruments, see “Investment Policies and Limitations -- Real Estate Equity Securities” above.

Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund defines a real estate company as one that derives at least 50% of its revenue or profits from real estate, or has at least 50% of its assets invested in real estate.

For Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund, a company is “principally engaged” in the real estate industry if it derives at least 50% of its revenues or profits from the ownership, construction, management, financing or sale of residential, commercial or industrial real estate.  It is anticipated, although not required, that under normal circumstances a majority of Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund’s investments will consist of shares of equity REITs.

Recent Market Conditions.  Certain illnesses spread rapidly and have the potential to significantly and adversely affect the global economy. Outbreaks such as the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, or other similarly infectious diseases may have material adverse impacts on a Fund. Epidemics and/or pandemics, such as the coronavirus, have and may further result in, among other things, closing borders, extended quarantines and stay-at-home orders, order cancellations, disruptions to supply chains and customer activity, widespread business closures and layoffs, as well as general concern and uncertainty. The impact of this virus, and other epidemics and/or pandemics that may arise in the future, has negatively affected and may continue to affect the economies of many nations, individual companies and the global securities and commodities markets, including their liquidity, in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time.  Widespread layoffs and job furloughs

may negatively affect the value of many mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities.  The impact of the outbreak may last for an extended period of time. Governments and central banks have moved to limit these negative economic effects with interventions that are unprecedented in size and scope and may continue to do so, but the ultimate impact of these efforts is uncertain. Governments’ efforts to limit potential negative economic effects of the pandemic may be altered, delayed, or eliminated at inopportune times for political, policy or other reasons.   The impact of infectious diseases may be greater in countries that do not move effectively to control them, which may occur for political reasons or because of a lack of health care or economic resources. Health crises caused by the recent coronavirus outbreak may exacerbate other pre-existing political, social and economic risks in certain countries. Although promising vaccines have been announced, it may be many months before vaccinations are sufficiently widespread to allow the restoration of full economic activity.

High public debt in the U.S. and other countries creates ongoing systemic and market risks and policymaking uncertainty and there may be a further increase in the amount of debt due to the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing public health measures. Interest rates have been unusually low in recent years in the U.S. and abroad, and central banks have reduced rates further in an effort to combat the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Extremely low or negative interest rates may become more prevalent. In that event, to the extent a Fund has a bank deposit, holds a debt instrument with a negative interest rate, or invests its cash in a money market fund holding such instruments, the Fund would generate a negative return on that investment. Because there is little precedent for this situation, it is difficult to predict the impact on various markets of a significant rate increase or other significant policy changes, whether brought about by U.S. policy makers or by dislocations in world markets.  For example, because investors may buy equity securities or other investments with borrowed money, a significant increase in interest rates may cause a decline in the markets for those investments. Also, regulators have expressed concern that rate increases may cause investors to sell fixed income securities faster than the market can absorb them, contributing to price volatility. Over the longer term, rising interest rates may present a greater risk than has historically been the case due to the current period of relatively low rates and the effect of government fiscal and monetary policy initiatives and potential market reaction to those initiatives or their alteration or cessation.

During times of market turmoil, investors tend to look to the safety of securities issued or backed by the Treasury Department, causing the prices of these securities to rise and the yield to decline. Reduced liquidity in fixed income and credit markets may negatively affect many issuers worldwide and make it more difficult for borrowers to obtain financing on attractive terms, if at all.  Historical patterns of correlation among asset classes may break down in unanticipated ways during times of market turmoil, disrupting investment programs and potentially causing losses.

National economies are increasingly interconnected, as are global financial markets, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers in a different country or region. A rise in protectionist trade policies, tariff “wars,” changes to some major international trade agreements and the potential for changes to others, could affect international trade and the economies of many nations in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time. Equity markets in the U.S. and China have been very sensitive to the outlook for resolving the U.S.-China “trade war,” a trend that may continue in the future.

The impact of the United Kingdom’s (“UK”) vote to leave the European Union (the “EU”), commonly referred to as “Brexit,” is impossible to know for sure until it is more completely implemented. The effect on the economies of the United Kingdom and the EU will likely depend on the nature of trade relations between the UK and the EU and other major economies following Brexit, which are subject to negotiation and the political processes of the nations involved. Although the UK formally left the EU on January 31, 2020, the parties are continuing to trade under the established rules while a new agreement is negotiated. The UK government has insisted that this agreement must be completed by December 31, 2020, which may be difficult to achieve. Thus, there is still a possibility that the parties will enter 2021 without a trade agreement, which could be disruptive to the economies of both regions.

Funds and their advisers, as well as many of the companies in which they invest, are subject to regulation by the federal government.  Over the past several years, the U.S. has moved away from tighter legislation and industry regulation impacting businesses and the financial services industry.  There is a potential for a materially different legislative and regulatory, including tax, environment in the future.  These changes, should they occur, may impose added costs on the Fund and its service providers and affect the businesses of various portfolio companies, in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time.  Unexpected political, regulatory and diplomatic events within the U.S. and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy.

Climate Change. Economists and others have expressed increasing concern about the potential effects of global climate change on property and security values.  A rise in sea levels, an increase in powerful windstorms and/or a climate-driven increase in flooding could cause coastal properties to lose value or become unmarketable altogether.  Economists warn that, unlike previous declines in the real estate market, properties in affected coastal zones may not ever recover their value.  Large wildfires driven by high winds and prolonged drought may devastate businesses and entire communities and may be very costly to any business found to be responsible for the fire. Regulatory changes and divestment movements tied to concerns about climate change could adversely affect the value of certain land and the viability of industries whose activities or products are seen as accelerating climate change.

These losses could adversely affect corporate issuers and mortgage lenders, the value of mortgage-backed securities, the bonds of municipalities that depend on tax or other revenues and tourist dollars generated by affected properties, and insurers of the property and/or of corporate, municipal or mortgage-backed securities.  Since property and security values are driven largely by buyers’ perceptions, it is difficult to know the time period over which these market effects might unfold.

LIBOR Transition. Trillions of dollars’ worth of financial contracts around the world specify rates that are based on the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). LIBOR is produced daily by averaging the rates for inter-bank lending reported by a number of banks. Current plans call for LIBOR to be phased out by the end of 2021. There are risks that the financial services industry will not have a suitable substitute in place by that time and that there will not be time to perform the substantial work necessary to revise the many existing contracts that rely on LIBOR. The transition process, or a failure of the industry to transition properly, might lead to increased volatility and illiquidity in markets

that currently rely on LIBOR. It also could lead to a reduction in the value of some LIBOR-based investments and reduce the effectiveness of new hedges placed against existing LIBOR-based instruments. Since the usefulness of LIBOR as a benchmark could deteriorate during the transition period, these effects could occur prior to the end of 2021.

Repurchase Agreements.  In a repurchase agreement, a Fund purchases securities from a bank that is a member of the Federal Reserve System (or, in the case of Neuberger Berman Dividend Growth Fund, Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund, Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman International Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman International Select Fund, and Neuberger Berman International Small Cap Fund, also from a foreign bank or from a U.S. branch or agency of a foreign bank) or from a securities dealer that agrees to repurchase the securities from the Fund at a higher price on a designated future date. Repurchase agreements generally are for a short period of time, usually less than a week. Costs, delays, or losses could result if the selling party to a repurchase agreement becomes bankrupt or otherwise defaults. The Manager monitors the creditworthiness of sellers. If Neuberger Berman Dividend Growth Fund, Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund, Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman International Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman International Select Fund or Neuberger Berman International Small Cap Fund enters into a repurchase agreement subject to foreign law and the counter-party defaults, that Fund may not enjoy protections comparable to those provided to certain repurchase agreements under U.S. bankruptcy law and may suffer delays and losses in disposing of the collateral as a result.

Policies and Limitations.  Repurchase agreements with a maturity or demand of more than seven days are considered to be illiquid securities. No Fund may enter into a repurchase agreement with a maturity or demand of more than seven days if, as a result, more than 15% of the value of its net assets would then be invested in such repurchase agreements and other illiquid securities. A Fund may enter into a repurchase agreement only if (1) the underlying securities (excluding maturity and duration limitations, if any) are of a type that the Fund’s investment policies and limitations would allow it to purchase directly, (2) the market value of the underlying securities, including accrued interest, at all times equals or exceeds the repurchase price, and (3) payment for the underlying securities is made only upon satisfactory evidence that the securities are being held for the Fund’s account by its custodian or a bank acting as the Fund’s agent.

Restricted Securities and Rule 144A Securities.  A Fund may invest in “restricted securities,” which generally are securities that may be resold to the public only pursuant to an effective registration statement under the 1933 Act or an exemption from registration.  Regulation S under the 1933 Act is an exemption from registration that permits, under certain circumstances, the resale of restricted securities in offshore transactions, subject to certain conditions, and Rule 144A under the 1933 Act is an exemption that permits the resale of certain restricted securities to qualified institutional buyers.

Since its adoption by the SEC in 1990, Rule 144A has facilitated trading of restricted securities among qualified institutional investors.  To the extent restricted securities held by a Fund qualify under Rule 144A and an institutional market develops for those securities, the Fund expects that it will be able to dispose of the securities without registering the resale of such securities under the 1933 Act.  However, to the extent that a robust market for such 144A securities does not develop, or a market

develops but experiences periods of illiquidity, investments in Rule 144A securities could increase the level of a Fund’s illiquidity.

Where an exemption from registration under the 1933 Act is unavailable, or where an institutional market is limited, a Fund may, in certain circumstances, be permitted to require the issuer of restricted securities held by the Fund to file a registration statement to register the resale of such securities under the 1933 Act. In such case, the Fund will typically be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expenses, and a considerable period may elapse between the decision to sell and the time the Fund may be permitted to resell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, or the value of the security were to decline, the Fund might obtain a less favorable price than prevailed when it decided to sell. Restricted securities for which no market exists are priced by a method that the Fund Trustees believe accurately reflects fair value.

Policies and Limitations.  To the extent restricted securities, including Rule 144A securities, are deemed illiquid, purchases thereof will be subject to a Fund’s 15% limitation on investments in illiquid securities.

Reverse Repurchase Agreements.  In a reverse repurchase agreement, a Fund sells portfolio securities to another party and agrees to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon price and date, which reflects an interest payment. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the other party will fail to return the securities in a timely manner, or at all, which may result in losses to a Fund.  A Fund could lose money if it is unable to recover the securities and the value of the collateral held by the Fund is less than the value of the securities. These events could also trigger adverse tax consequences to a Fund. Reverse repurchase agreements also involve the risk that the market value of the securities sold will decline below the price at which a Fund is obligated to repurchase them. Reverse repurchase agreements may be viewed as a form of borrowing by a Fund. When a Fund enters into a reverse repurchase agreement, any fluctuations in the market value of either the securities transferred to another party or the securities in which the proceeds may be invested would affect the market value of the Fund’s assets. During the term of the agreement, a Fund may also be obligated to pledge additional cash and/or securities in the event of a decline in the fair value of the transferred security. The Manager monitors the creditworthiness of counterparties to reverse repurchase agreements. For the Funds’ policies and limitations on borrowing, see “Investment Policies and Limitations -- Borrowing” above.

Policies and Limitations.  Reverse repurchase agreements are considered borrowings for purposes of a Fund’s investment policies and limitations concerning borrowings. While a reverse repurchase agreement is outstanding, a Fund will deposit in a segregated account with its custodian, or designate on its records as segregated, cash or appropriate liquid securities, marked to market daily, in an amount at least equal to that Fund’s obligations under the agreement.

Risks of Investments in China A-shares through the Stock Connect Programs.  There are significant risks inherent in investing in China A-shares through “Connect Programs” of local stock exchanges in China, such as the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect program (“Shanghai Connect Program”) and the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect Program (“Shenzhen Connect Program”). The Connect Programs are subject to daily quota limitations and an investor cannot purchase and sell the same security on the same trading day, which may restrict a Fund’s ability to invest in China A-

shares through the Connect Programs and to enter into or exit trades on a timely basis. A Chinese stock exchange may be open at a time when the relevant Connect Program is not trading (i.e. the Shanghai Stock Exchange under the Shanghai Connect Program or the Shenzhen Stock Exchange under the Shenzhen Connect Program), with the result that prices of China A-shares may fluctuate at times when a Fund is unable to add to or exit its position.  Only certain China A-shares are eligible to be accessed through the Connect Programs. Such securities may lose their eligibility at any time, in which case they could be sold but could no longer be purchased through the Connect Programs. The future impact of this integration of Chinese and foreign markets is unclear and the actual effect on the market for trading China A-shares with the introduction of large numbers of foreign investors is unknown. In addition, there is no assurance that the necessary systems required to operate the Connect Programs will function properly or will continue to be adapted to changes and developments in both markets.  In the event that the relevant systems do not function properly, trading through the Connect Programs could be disrupted.

The Connect Programs are subject to regulations promulgated by regulatory authorities for both the Chinese and the Hong Kong stock exchanges and further regulations or restrictions, such as limitations on redemptions or suspension of trading, may adversely impact the Connect Programs, if the authorities believe it is necessary to assure orderly markets or for other reasons. The relevant regulations are relatively new and are subject to change, and there is no certainty as to how they will be applied and Chinese securities trading law can change on a frequent basis. Further, there is no guarantee that the relevant Chinese stock exchange (i.e. Shanghai Stock Exchange or Shenzhen Stock Exchange) involved in a particular Connect Program and the Hong Kong stock exchange will continue to support such Connect Program in the future. Investments in China A-shares may not be covered by the securities investor protection programs of the Chinese and/or the Hong Kong stock exchanges and, without the protection of such programs, will be subject to the risk of default by the broker. In the event that China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation Limited (“ChinaClear”), the depository of the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, defaulted, the Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company Limited, being the nominee under the Connect Programs, has limited responsibility to assist clearing participants in pursuing claims against ChinaClear. Currently, there is little precedent that the applicable courts in mainland China would accept beneficial owners, rather than the nominee, under the Connect Programs to pursue claims directly against ChinaClear on mainland China. Therefore, a Fund may not be able to recover fully its losses from ChinaClear or may be delayed in receiving proceeds as part of any recovery process. A Fund also may not be able to exercise the rights of a shareholder and may be limited in its ability to pursue claims against the issuer of China A-shares.  A Fund may not be able to participate in corporate actions affecting China A-shares held through the Connect Programs due to the fact that the Fund only holds such China A-shares beneficially, time constraints or for other operational reasons. Similarly, a Fund may not be able to appoint proxies or participate in shareholders’ meetings due to the fact that the Fund only holds such China A shares beneficially as well as current limitations on the use of multiple proxies in China. Because all trades on the Connect Programs in respect of eligible China A-shares must be settled in Renminbi (“RMB”), the Chinese currency, investors must have timely access to a reliable supply of offshore RMB, which cannot be guaranteed.

Trades on the Connect Programs may be subject to certain operational requirements prior to trading, which may restrict the ability of the Fund to sell China A-shares on that trading day if such requirements are not completed prior to the market opening. For example, certain local custodians offer a “bundled brokerage/custodian” solution to address such requirements but this may limit the

number of brokers that a Fund may use to execute trades. An enhanced model has also been implemented by the Hong Kong stock exchange, but there are operational and practical challenges for an investor to utilize such enhanced model. If an investor holds 5% or more of the total shares issued by a China-A share issuer, the investor must return any profits obtained from the purchase and sale of those shares if both transactions occur within a six-month period. If a Fund holds 5% or more of the total shares of a China-A share issuer through its Connect Program investments, its profits may be subject to these limitations.  In addition, it is not currently clear whether all accounts managed by NBIA and/or its affiliates will be aggregated for purposes of this limitation. If that is the case, it makes it more likely that a Fund’s profits may be subject to these limitations.

Issuers of China A-shares have a foreign ownership limit of not more than 10% per individual and 30% in the aggregate. In the event that the ownership limit is breached, it is unlikely that an investor would be notified until the end of the trading day, after which a forced sale procedure would be implemented to bring the foreign ownership percentage back below 10% or 30%, as applicable. This is operationally complicated and may adversely impact the Fund’s performance.

The focus of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets are somewhat different.  The Shenzhen Stock Exchange tends to focus on small- and mid-cap “growth stocks” in fast-growing sectors such as information technology, consumer cyclicals, and healthcare whereas the Shanghai Stock Exchange is dominated by relatively large-cap enterprises and has a strong focus on finance and industrial sectors.

Risks Associated with Sci-Tech Innovation Board (Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund).  The Greater China Equity Fund may invest in companies listed on the Science-technology Innovation Board (“Sci-tech Board”) of the Shanghai Stock Exchange (“SSE”). Investments in companies listed on the Sci-tech Board may result in significant losses for the Fund and its investors. The following additional risks apply to investments in companies listed on the Sci-tech Board:

Regulatory Risk.  The Sci-tech Board was newly implemented in March 2019 and it is novel in nature. The listing rules and implementation thereof are untested and are subject to amendments by regulatory authorities in China from time to time in order to respond to any new issues arising thereof. Any such revision or promulgation may adversely impact the Fund.

Lower Listing Thresholds.  The Sci-tech Board adopts a registration system, as opposed to approval system for the main board of SSE, for listing procedures. As such, there will be less regulatory scrutiny on pre-listing review by the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the SSE. Furthermore, the companies listed on the Sci-tech Board are subject to less stringent listing requirements or thresholds as compared to that of the main board. The applicants are not required to be profitable before listing, and they may not be profitable and unable to distribute dividends after listing.

Unstable Profit-making Capability.  The Sci-tech Board mainly attracts the companies in high-tech and strategically emerging sectors such as new generation information technology, advanced equipment, new materials and energy, and biomedicine. The companies in such business sectors typically require significant research and development investment, have a long operational cycle to be profitable, are vulnerable to rapid change or replacement of technology, depend heavily on certain key technologies, key projects or key technical personnel and/or have a relatively small pool of qualified

suppliers. The relevant company’s ability to make or maintain profit and the sustainability of the companies or even the industries concerned are uncertain. The Fund’s investment in such companies is subject to higher risk than the companies of traditional industries.

Higher Fluctuation on Stock Prices.  The trading of shares listed on the Sci-tech Board is subject to less stringent trading limitations as compared to that of the main board. No trading price fluctuation limitation is set for the first five days of listing and the trading thereafter is subject to a daily price fluctuation limitation of 20% (as opposed to 10% for the main board). Furthermore, listed companies on the Sci-tech Board are usually of emerging nature with a smaller operating scale. Hence, they are subject to higher fluctuation in stock prices and liquidity and have higher risks and turnover ratios than companies listed on the main board of the SSE.

Over-valuation Risk.  The companies listed on the Sci-tech Board may not have comparable companies on the market due to their emerging nature, novel technology, unstable profitability and high operation risk. The traditional evaluation methods may not apply to such companies. Stocks listed on the Sci-tech Board may be overvalued and such exceptionally high valuation may not be sustainable.

Delisting Risk.  The relevant rules of the Sci-tech Board embrace stricter conditions for delisting as compared to the main board. Under such rules, the listed companies are subject to expanded circumstances that may lead to faster forced delisting, such as the failure to maintain business growth, faulty information disclosure or business operation. A listed company, which lacks sustainable operations, relies on trading activities that are unrelated to its core business or derives its revenues mainly on related parties’ transactions without substantial commercial content, may be forced to delist.  It can be anticipated that the listed companies of the Sci-tech Board will be subject to more frequent and faster delisting. The Fund may suffer severe losses if the companies in which it invests are no longer listed and, presumably, have reduced secondary market liquidity.

Weighted Voting Rights Structure.  The relevant rules for the Sci-tech Board allow the listed company to adopt weighted voting rights structure where the voting rights of certain shareholders are disproportionate to their shareholdings. Such voting rights structure may lead to concentrated management of the company concerned and, with superior voting power held by a group of associated persons, increase the risk that the management may pursue projects that are not in the best interests of the company but for their own good. Such governance structures may also make the management less accountable for their behavior. With inferior voting rights, the majority shareholders will lack the power to remove the management for unsatisfactory performance. More importantly, shareholders may lose the opportunity to consider lucrative takeover offers from outsiders if the founders/management take an anti-takeover stance. The business operation of the company concerned is more vulnerable to the manipulation of the shareholders with superior voting power.

Stock Option Plan.  The listed companies of the Sci-tech Board are allowed to adopt stock option or stock incentive plans with more flexible terms of price, upper limit of ratio and qualified optionees. The implementation of such stock option plans may increase the number of shares of the company concerned and dilute the interest of the Fund in such company.

Risks of Reliance on Computer Programs or Codes.  Many processes used in Fund management, including security selection, rely, in whole or in part, on the use of computer programs

or codes, some of which are created or maintained by the Manager or its affiliates and some of which are created or maintained by third parties. Errors in these programs or codes may go undetected, possibly for quite some time, which could adversely affect a Fund’s operations or performance.  Computer programs or codes are susceptible to human error when they are first created and as they are developed and maintained.

While efforts are made to guard against problems associated with computer programs or codes, there can be no assurance that such efforts will always be successful. The Funds have limited insight into the computer programs and processes of some service providers and may have to rely on contractual assurances or business relationships to protect against some errors in the service providers’ systems.

Sector Risk. From time to time, based on market or economic conditions, a Fund may have significant positions in one or more sectors of the market. To the extent a Fund invests more heavily in one sector, industry, or sub-sector of the market, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors, industries, or sub-sectors. An individual sector, industry, or sub-sector of the market may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. The industries that constitute a sector may all react in the same way to economic, political or regulatory events. A Fund’s performance could also be affected if the sectors, industries, or sub-sectors do not perform as expected. Alternatively, the lack of exposure to one or more sectors or industries may adversely affect performance.

Communication Services Sector. The communication services sector, particularly telephone operating companies, are subject to both federal and state government regulations. Many telecommunications companies intensely compete for market share and can be impacted by technology changes within the sector such as the shift from wired to wireless communications. In September 2018, the communication services sector was redefined to also include media, entertainment and select internet-related companies. Media and entertainment companies can be subject to the risk that their content may not be purchased or subscribed to.  Internet-related companies may be subject to greater regulatory oversight given increased cyberattack risk and privacy concerns.  Additionally, internet-related companies may not achieve investor expectations for higher growth levels, which can result in stock price declines.

Consumer Discretionary Sector. The consumer discretionary sector can be significantly affected by the performance of the overall economy, interest rates, competition, and consumer confidence. Success can depend heavily on disposable household income and consumer spending. Changes in demographics and consumer tastes can also affect the demand for, and success of, consumer discretionary products.

Consumer Staples Sector. The consumer staples sector can be significantly affected by demographic and product trends, competitive pricing, food fads, marketing campaigns, and environmental factors, as well as the performance of the overall economy, interest rates, consumer confidence, and the cost of commodities. Regulations and policies of various domestic and foreign governments affect agricultural products as well as other consumer staples.

Energy Sector. The energy sector can be significantly affected by fluctuations in energy prices and supply and demand of energy fuels caused by geopolitical events, energy conservation, the success

of exploration projects, weather or meteorological events, and tax and other government regulations. In addition, companies in the energy sector are at risk of civil liability from accidents resulting in pollution or other environmental damage claims. In addition, since the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, the U.S. government has issued public warnings indicating that energy assets, specifically those related to pipeline infrastructure and production, transmission, and distribution facilities, might be future targets of terrorist activity. Further, because a significant portion of revenues of companies in this sector are derived from a relatively small number of customers that are largely composed of governmental entities and utilities, governmental budget constraints may have a significant impact on the stock prices of companies in this sector.

Financials Sector. The financials sector is subject to extensive government regulation, which can limit both the amounts and types of loans and other financial commitments that companies in this sector can make, and the interest rates and fees that these companies can charge. Profitability can be largely dependent on the availability and cost of capital and the rate of corporate and consumer debt defaults, and can fluctuate significantly when interest rates change. Financial difficulties of borrowers can negatively affect the financials sector. Insurance companies can be subject to severe price competition. The financials sector can be subject to relatively rapid change as distinctions between financial service segments become increasingly blurred.

Health Care Sector. The health care sector is subject to government regulation and reimbursement rates, as well as government approval of products and services, which could have a significant effect on price and availability. Furthermore, the types of products or services produced or provided by health care companies quickly can become obsolete. In addition, pharmaceutical companies and other companies in the health care sector can be significantly affected by patent expirations.

Industrials Sector. The industrials sector can be significantly affected by general economic trends, including employment, economic growth, and interest rates, changes in consumer sentiment and spending, commodity prices, legislation, government regulation and spending, import controls, and worldwide competition. Companies in this sector also can be adversely affected by liability for environmental damage, depletion of resources, and mandated expenditures for safety and pollution control.

Information Technology Sector. The information technology sector can be significantly affected by obsolescence of existing technology, short product cycles, falling prices and profits, competition from new market entrants, and general economic conditions. The issuers of technology securities also may be smaller or newer companies, which may lack depth of management, be unable to generate funds necessary for growth or potential development, or be developing or marketing new products or services for which markets are not yet established and may never become established.

Materials Sector. The materials sector can be significantly affected by the level and volatility of commodity prices, the exchange value of the dollar, import and export controls, and worldwide competition. At times, worldwide production of materials has exceeded demand as a result of over-building or economic downturns, which has led to commodity price declines and unit price reductions. Companies in this sector also can be adversely affected by liability for environmental damage, depletion of resources, and mandated expenditures for safety and pollution control.

Utilities Sector. The utilities sector can be significantly affected by government regulation, interest rate changes, financing difficulties, supply and demand of services or fuel, changes in taxation, natural resource conservation, intense competition, and commodity price fluctuations.

Securities Loans. A Fund may lend portfolio securities to banks, brokerage firms, and other institutional investors, provided that cash or equivalent collateral, initially equal to at least 102% (105% in the case of foreign securities) of the market value of the loaned securities, is maintained by the borrower with the Fund or with the Fund’s lending agent, who holds the collateral on the Fund’s behalf. Thereafter, cash or equivalent collateral, equal to at least 100% of the market value of the loaned securities, is to be continuously maintained by the borrower with the Fund. A Fund may invest the cash collateral and earn income, or it may receive an agreed upon amount of interest income from a borrower that has delivered equivalent collateral. During the time securities are on loan, the borrower will pay the Fund an amount equivalent to any dividends or interest paid on such securities. These loans are subject to termination at the option of the Fund or the borrower. A Fund may pay reasonable administrative and custodial fees in connection with a loan and may pay a negotiated portion of the interest earned on the cash or equivalent collateral to the borrower. A Fund does not have the right to vote on securities while they are on loan. However, it is each Fund’s policy to attempt to terminate loans in time to vote those proxies that the Fund has determined are material to the interests of the Fund. The Manager believes the risk of loss on these transactions is slight because if a borrower were to default for any reason, the collateral should satisfy the obligation. However, as with other extensions of secured credit, loans of portfolio securities involve some risk of loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially. A Fund may loan securities through third parties not affiliated with Neuberger Berman BD LLC (“Neuberger Berman”) that would act as agent to lend securities to principal borrowers.

Policies and Limitations.  A Fund may lend portfolio securities with a value not exceeding 33-1/3% of its total assets (taken at current value) to banks, brokerage firms, or other institutional investors. The Funds have authorized State Street to effect loans of available securities of the Funds with entities on State Street’s approved list of borrowers, which includes State Street and its affiliates.  The Funds may obtain a list of these approved borrowers. Borrowers are required continuously to secure their obligations to return securities on loan from a Fund by depositing collateral in a form determined to be satisfactory by the Fund Trustees. The collateral, which must be marked to market daily, must be initially equal to at least 102% (105% in the case of foreign securities) of the market value of the loaned securities, which will also be marked to market daily. Thereafter, the collateral must be equal to at least 100% of the market value of the loaned securities. See the section entitled “Cash Management and Temporary Defensive Positions” for information on how a Fund may invest the collateral obtained from securities lending. A Fund does not count uninvested collateral for purposes of any investment policy or limitation that requires the Fund to invest specific percentages of its assets in accordance with its principal investment program.

The following tables show the dollar amounts of income, and dollar amounts of fees and/or compensation paid, relating to the securities lending activities during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2020 of Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Focus Fund, Neuberger Berman Guardian Fund, Neuberger Berman International Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman International Select Fund, Neuberger Berman International Small Cap Fund, Neuberger Berman Large Cap Value Fund, Neuberger Berman Mid Cap Growth Fund, and Neuberger Berman Small Cap Growth Fund.

Securities of ETFs and Other Exchange-Traded Investment Vehicles.  A Fund may invest in the securities of ETFs and other pooled investment vehicles that are traded on an exchange and that hold a portfolio of securities or other financial instruments (collectively, “exchange-traded investment vehicles”). When investing in the securities of exchange-traded investment vehicles, a Fund will be indirectly exposed to all the risks of the portfolio securities or other financial instruments they hold.   The performance of an exchange-traded investment vehicle will be reduced by transaction and other expenses, including fees paid by the exchange-traded investment vehicle to service providers.  ETFs are investment companies that are registered as open-end management companies or unit investment trusts. The limits that apply to a Fund’s investment in securities of other investment companies generally apply also to a Fund’s investment in securities of ETFs.  See “Securities of Other Investment Companies.”

Shares of exchange-traded investment vehicles are listed and traded in the secondary market. Many exchange-traded investment vehicles are passively managed and seek to provide returns that track the price and yield performance of a particular index or otherwise provide exposure to an asset class (e.g., currencies or commodities).  Although such exchange-traded investment vehicles may invest in other instruments, they largely hold the securities (e.g., common stocks) of the relevant index or financial instruments that provide exposure to the relevant asset class. The share price of an exchange-traded investment vehicle may not track its specified market index, if any, and may trade below its NAV. An active secondary market in the shares of an exchange-traded investment vehicle may not develop or be maintained and may be halted or interrupted due to actions by its listing exchange, unusual market conditions, or other reasons. There can be no assurance that the shares of an exchange-traded investment vehicle will continue to be listed on an active exchange.

A Fund also may effect short sales of exchange-traded investment vehicles and may purchase and sell options on shares of exchange-traded investment vehicles.  If a Fund effects a short sale of an exchange-traded investment vehicle, it may take long positions in individual securities held by the exchange-traded investment vehicle to limit the potential loss in the event of an increase in the market price of the exchange-traded investment vehicle sold short.

Securities of Other Investment Companies.  As indicated above, investments by a Fund in shares of other investment companies are subject to the limitations of the 1940 Act and the rules and regulations thereunder.  However, pursuant to an exemptive order from the SEC, a Fund is permitted to invest in shares of certain investment companies beyond the limits contained in the 1940 Act and the rules and regulations thereunder subject to the terms and conditions of the order. A Fund may invest in the securities of other investment companies, including open-end management companies, closed-end management companies (including business development companies (“BDCs”)) and unit investment trusts, that are consistent with its investment objectives and policies.  Such an investment may be the most practical or only manner in which a Fund can invest in certain asset classes or participate in certain markets, such as foreign markets, because of the expenses involved or because other vehicles for investing in those markets may not be available at the time the Fund is ready to make an investment.  When investing in the securities of other investment companies, a Fund will be indirectly exposed to all the risks of such investment companies' portfolio securities.  In addition, as a shareholder in an investment company, a Fund would indirectly bear its pro rata share of that investment company’s advisory fees and other operating expenses.  Fees and expenses incurred indirectly by a Fund as a result of its investment in shares of one or more other investment companies generally are referred to as “acquired fund fees and expenses” and may appear as a separate line item

in a Fund’s prospectus fee table. For certain investment companies, such as BDCs, these expenses may be significant. The 1940 Act imposes certain restraints upon the operations of a BDC. For example, BDCs are required to invest at least 70% of their total assets primarily in securities of private companies or thinly traded U.S. public companies, cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and high quality debt investments that mature in one year or less. As a result, BDCs generally invest in less mature private companies, which involve greater risk than well established, publicly-traded companies. In addition, the shares of closed-end management companies may involve the payment of substantial premiums above, while the sale of such securities may be made at substantial discounts from, the value of such issuers' portfolio securities. Historically, shares of closed-end funds, including BDCs, have frequently traded at a discount to their net asset value, which discounts have, on occasion, been substantial and lasted for sustained periods of time.

Certain money market funds that operate in accordance with Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act float their NAV while others seek to preserve the value of investments at a stable NAV (typically $1.00 per share). An investment in a money market fund, even an investment in a fund seeking to maintain a stable NAV per share, is not guaranteed, and it is possible for a Fund to lose money by investing in these and other types of money market funds. If the liquidity of a money market fund’s portfolio deteriorates below certain levels, the money market fund may suspend redemptions (i.e., impose a redemption gate) and thereby prevent a Fund from selling its investment in the money market fund or impose a fee of up to 2% on amounts a Fund redeems from the money market fund (i.e., impose a liquidity fee).

Policies and Limitations.  For cash management purposes, a Fund may invest an unlimited amount of its uninvested cash and cash collateral received in connection with securities lending in shares of money market funds and unregistered funds that operate in compliance with Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act, whether or not advised by the Manager or an affiliate, under specified conditions. See “Cash Management and Temporary Defensive Positions.”

Otherwise, a Fund’s investment in securities of other investment companies is generally limited to (i) 3% of the total voting stock of any one investment company, (ii) 5% of the Fund’s total assets with respect to any one investment company and (iii) 10% of the Fund’s total assets in all investment companies in the aggregate.  However, a Fund may exceed these limits when investing in shares of an ETF, subject to the terms and conditions of an exemptive order from the SEC obtained by the ETF that permits an investing fund, such as a Fund, to invest in the ETF in excess of the limits described above.  In addition, each Fund may exceed these limits when investing in shares of certain other investment companies, subject to the terms and conditions of an exemptive order from the SEC.

Each Fund is also able to invest up to 100% of its total assets in a master portfolio with the same investment objectives, policies and limitations as the Fund.

Short Sales. A Fund may use short sales for hedging and non-hedging purposes. To effect a short sale, a Fund borrows a security from or through a brokerage firm to make delivery to the buyer. The Fund is then obliged to replace the borrowed security by purchasing it at the market price at the time of replacement. Until the security is replaced, the Fund is required to pay the lender any dividends on the borrowed security and may be required to pay loan fees or interest.

A Fund may realize a gain if the security declines in price between the date of the short sale and the date on which the Fund replaces the borrowed security. A Fund will incur a loss if the price of the security increases between those dates. The amount of any gain will be decreased, and the amount of any loss will be increased, by the amount of any premium or interest a Fund is required to pay in connection with a short sale. A short position may be adversely affected by imperfect correlation between movements in the prices of the securities sold short and the securities being hedged.

A Fund may also make short sales against-the-box, in which it sells short securities only if it owns or has the right to obtain without payment of additional consideration an equal amount of the same type of securities sold.

The effect of short selling is similar to the effect of leverage. Short selling may amplify changes in a Fund’s NAV. Short selling may also produce higher than normal portfolio turnover, which may result in increased transaction costs to a Fund.

When a Fund is selling stocks short, it must maintain a segregated account of cash or high-grade securities that, together with any collateral (exclusive of short sale proceeds) that it is required to deposit with the securities lender or the executing broker, is at least equal to the value of the shorted securities, marked to market daily. As a result, a Fund may need to maintain high levels of cash or liquid assets (such as Treasury Department bills, money market accounts, repurchase agreements, certificates of deposit, high quality commercial paper and long equity positions).

Policies and Limitations. A Fund’s ability to engage in short sales may be impaired by any temporary prohibitions on short selling imposed by domestic and certain foreign government regulators.

Special Purpose Acquisition Companies.  A Fund may invest in stock, warrants or other securities of special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”) or similar special purpose entities that pool funds to seek potential acquisition opportunities. Unless and until an acquisition is completed, a SPAC or similar entity generally maintains assets (less a portion retained to cover expenses) in a trust account comprised of U.S. Government securities, money market securities, and cash. If an acquisition is not completed within a pre-established period of time, the invested funds are returned to the entity’s shareholders. Because SPACs and similar entities are in essence blank-check companies without an operating history or ongoing business other than seeking acquisitions, the value of their securities is particularly dependent on the ability of the entity’s management to identify and complete a profitable acquisition. More recently, SPACs have provided an opportunity for startups to go public without going through the traditional IPO process. This presents the risk that startups may become publicly traded with potentially less due diligence than what is typical in a traditional IPO through an underwriter. Since SPAC sponsors often stand to earn equity in the company if a deal is completed, SPAC sponsors may have a potential conflict of interest in completing a deal that may be unfavorable for other investors in the SPAC. SPACs may allow shareholders to redeem their pro rata investment immediately after the SPAC announces a proposed acquisition, sometimes including interest, which may prevent the entity’s management from completing the transaction. Some SPACs may pursue acquisitions only within certain industries or regions, which may increase the volatility of their prices. In addition, investments in SPACs may include private placements, including PIPEs, and, accordingly, may be considered illiquid and/or be subject to restrictions on resale.

Structured Notes.  A Fund may invest in structured notes, such as participatory notes, issued by banks or broker-dealers that are designed to replicate the performance of an underlying indicator.  Underlying indicators may include a security or other financial instrument, asset, currency, interest rate, credit rating, commodity, volatility measure or index. Generally, investments in such notes are used as a substitute for positions in underlying indicators.  Structured notes are a type of equity-linked derivative which generally are traded over-the-counter (“OTC”). The performance results of structured notes will not replicate exactly the performance of the underlying indicator that the notes seek to replicate due to transaction costs and other expenses.

Investments in structured notes involve the same risks associated with a direct investment in the underlying indicator the notes seek to replicate. The return on a structured note that is linked to a particular underlying indicator generally is increased to the extent of any dividends paid in connection with the underlying indicator. However, the holder of a structured note typically does not receive voting rights and other rights as it would if it directly owned the underlying indicator. In addition, structured notes are subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the broker-dealer or bank that issues the notes will not fulfill its contractual obligation to complete the transaction with a Fund. Structured notes constitute general unsecured contractual obligations of the banks or broker-dealers that issue them, and a Fund is relying on the creditworthiness of such banks or broker-dealers and has no rights under a structured note against the issuer of an underlying indicator. Structured notes involve transaction costs. Structured notes may be considered illiquid and, therefore, structured notes considered illiquid will be subject to a Fund’s percentage limitation on investments in illiquid securities.

Terrorism Risks.  The terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, had a disruptive effect on the U.S. economy and financial markets. Terrorist attacks and other geopolitical events have led to, and may in the future lead to, increased short-term market volatility and may have long-term effects on U.S. and world economies and financial markets. Those events could also have an acute effect on individual issuers, related groups of issuers, or issuers concentrated in a single geographic area. A similar disruption of the financial markets or other terrorist attacks could adversely impact interest rates, auctions, secondary trading, ratings, credit risk, inflation and other factors relating to portfolio securities and adversely affect Fund service providers and the Funds’ operations.

Thermal Coal Policy.  The Funds (except for Neuberger Berman Greater China Fund and Neuberger Berman Sustainable Equity Fund) prohibit the initiation of new investments in securities issued by companies that have more than 25% of revenue derived from thermal coal mining or are expanding new thermal coal power generation, as determined by internal screens. The policy outlined above does not apply to securities issued by foreign governments. For securities issued by quasi-sovereign entities, the foreign government is not considered the issuer of the security.

Warrants and Rights. Warrants and rights may be acquired by a Fund in connection with other securities or separately.  Warrants are securities permitting, but not obligating, their holder to subscribe for other securities or commodities and provide a Fund with the right to purchase at a later date other securities of the issuer.  Rights are similar to warrants but typically are issued by a company to existing holders of its stock and provide those holders the right to purchase additional shares of stock at a later date.  Rights also normally have a shorter duration than warrants.  Warrants and rights do not carry with them the right to dividends or voting rights with respect to the securities that they entitle their holder to purchase, and they do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuer. Warrants

and rights may be more speculative than certain other types of investments and entail risks that are not associated with a similar investment in a traditional equity instrument.  While warrants and rights are generally considered equity securities, because the value of a warrant or right is derived, at least in part, from the value of the underlying securities, they may be considered hybrid instruments that have features of both equity securities and derivative instruments.  However, there are characteristics of warrants and rights that differ from derivatives, including that the value of a warrant or right does not necessarily change with the value of the underlying securities.  The purchase of warrants and rights involves the risk that a Fund could lose the purchase value of the warrants or rights if the right to subscribe to additional shares is not exercised prior to the warrants’ or rights’ expiration date because warrants and rights cease to have value if they are not exercised prior to their expiration date. Also, the purchase of warrants and rights involves the risk that the effective price paid for the warrants or rights added to the subscription price of the related security may exceed the value of the subscribed security’s market price such as when there is no movement in the price of the underlying security.  The market for warrants or rights may be very limited and it may be difficult to sell them promptly at an acceptable price.

When-Issued and Delayed-Delivery Securities and Forward Commitments.  A Fund may purchase securities on a when-issued or delayed-delivery basis and may purchase or sell securities on a forward commitment basis. These transactions involve a commitment by a Fund to purchase or sell securities at a future date (ordinarily within two months, although a Fund may agree to a longer settlement period). These transactions may involve mortgage-backed securities such as GNMA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac certificates. The price of the underlying securities (usually expressed in terms of yield) and the date when the securities will be delivered and paid for (the settlement date) are fixed at the time the transaction is negotiated. When-issued and delayed-delivery purchases and forward commitment transactions are negotiated directly with the other party, and such commitments are not traded on exchanges.

When-issued and delayed-delivery purchases and forward commitment transactions enable a Fund to “lock in” what the Manager believes to be an attractive price or yield on a particular security for a period of time, regardless of future changes in interest rates. For instance, in periods of rising interest rates and falling prices, a Fund might sell securities it owns on a forward commitment basis to limit its exposure to falling prices. In periods of falling interest rates and rising prices, a Fund might purchase a security on a when-issued, delayed-delivery or forward commitment basis and sell a similar security to settle such purchase, thereby obtaining the benefit of currently higher yields. When-issued, delayed-delivery and forward commitment transactions are subject to the risk that the counterparty may fail to complete the purchase or sale of the security. If this occurs, a Fund may lose the opportunity to purchase or sell the security at the agreed upon price. To reduce this risk, a Fund will enter into transactions with established counterparties and the Manager will monitor the creditworthiness of such counterparties.

The value of securities purchased on a when-issued, delayed-delivery or forward commitment basis and any subsequent fluctuations in their value are reflected in the computation of a Fund’s NAV starting on the date of the agreement to purchase the securities. Because a Fund has not yet paid for the securities, this produces an effect similar to leverage. A Fund does not earn interest on securities it has committed to purchase until the securities are paid for and delivered on the settlement date. Because a Fund is committed to buying them at a certain price, any change in the value of these securities, even prior to their issuance, affects the value of the Fund’s interests. The purchase of

securities on a when-issued or delayed-delivery basis also involves a risk of loss if the value of the security to be purchased declines before the settlement date. When a Fund makes a forward commitment to sell securities it owns, the proceeds to be received upon settlement are included in that Fund’s assets. Fluctuations in the market value of the underlying securities are not reflected in a Fund’s NAV as long as the commitment to sell remains in effect.

When-issued, delayed-delivery and forward commitment transactions may cause a Fund to liquidate positions when it may not be advantageous to do so in order to satisfy its purchase or sale obligations.

Policies and Limitations.  A Fund will purchase securities on a when-issued or delayed-delivery basis or purchase or sell securities on a forward commitment basis only with the intention of completing the transaction and actually purchasing or selling the securities. If deemed advisable as a matter of investment strategy, however, a Fund may dispose of or renegotiate a commitment after it has been entered into. A Fund also may sell securities it has committed to purchase before those securities are delivered to the Fund on the settlement date. A Fund may realize capital gains or losses in connection with these transactions.

When a Fund purchases securities on a when-issued, delayed-delivery or forward commitment basis, the Fund will deposit in a segregated account with its custodian, or designate on its records as segregated, until payment is made, appropriate liquid securities having a value (determined daily) at least equal to the amount of the Fund’s purchase commitments. In the case of a forward commitment to sell portfolio securities, the portfolio securities will be held in a segregated account, or the portfolio securities will be designated on a Fund’s records as segregated, while the commitment is outstanding. These procedures are designed to ensure that a Fund maintains sufficient assets at all times to cover its obligations under when-issued and delayed-delivery purchases and forward commitment transactions.

Zero Coupon Securities, Step Coupon Securities, Pay-in-Kind Securities and Discount Obligations. A Fund may invest in zero coupon securities, step coupon securities and pay-in-kind securities. These securities are debt obligations that do not entitle the holder to any periodic payment of interest prior to maturity or that specify a future date when the securities begin to pay current interest. A Fund may also acquire certain debt securities at a discount. These discount obligations involve special risk considerations. Zero coupon securities and step coupon securities are issued and traded at a discount from their face amount or par value (known as “original issue discount” or “OID”). OID varies depending on prevailing interest rates, the time remaining until cash payments begin, the liquidity of the security, and the perceived credit quality of the issuer.

Zero coupon securities and step coupon securities are redeemed at face value when they mature.  Accrued OID must be included in a Fund’s gross income for federal tax purposes ratably each taxable year prior to the receipt of any actual payments. Pay-in-kind securities pay “interest” through the issuance of additional securities.

Because each Fund must distribute substantially all of its net investment income (including non-cash income attributable to OID and “interest” on pay-in-kind securities) and net realized gains to its shareholders each taxable year to continue to qualify for treatment as a RIC and to minimize or avoid payment of federal income and excise taxes, a Fund may have to dispose of portfolio securities

under disadvantageous circumstances to generate cash, or may be required to borrow, to satisfy the distribution requirements. See “Additional Tax Information – Taxation of the Funds.”

The market prices of zero coupon securities, step coupon securities, pay-in-kind securities and discount obligations generally are more volatile than the prices of securities that pay cash interest periodically. Those securities and obligations are likely to respond to changes in interest rates to a greater degree than other types of debt securities having a similar maturity and credit quality.

ESG Criteria

Neuberger Berman Sustainable Equity Fund believes that corporate responsibility is a hallmark of quality and has the potential to produce positive investment results. The Fund is designed to allow investors to put their money to work and also support companies that follow principles of good corporate citizenship. The Fund seeks long-term growth of capital by investing primarily in securities of companies that meet its value-oriented financial and environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria. The Fund focuses on companies that are responsive to environmental issues; are agents of favorable change in workplace policies (particularly for women and minorities); are committed to upholding universal human rights standards; and are good corporate citizens. In addition, the Fund avoids companies with products with negative public health implications.

The Fund looks for companies that show leadership in their environmental and workplace practices.  The Fund seeks to invest in companies that demonstrate ESG policies in the following areas:

In addition to examining ESG practices, the Fund endeavors to avoid companies that derive revenue from gambling or the production of:

The Fund may also consider public health issues, externalities associated with a company’s products, and general corporate citizenship in making its investment decisions.

Interpretation of ESG Criteria

The Fund’s ESG Criteria require interpretation in their application and are at the discretion of the portfolio management team. The following discussion provides further detail about the interpretation of the Fund’s ESG Criteria.

Manufacturers. The Fund does not buy or hold companies that derive 5% or more of revenues from the manufacture of tobacco products. This primarily excludes producers of cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, and smokeless tobacco products (snuff and chewing tobacco).

Processors and Suppliers. The Fund does not buy or hold companies that are in the business of processing tobacco and supplying tobacco to these manufacturers.

Retail Sales. The Fund does not buy or hold companies that derive a majority of revenues from the retail sale of tobacco products.

Tobacco-Related Products. The Fund does not buy or hold companies that derive a majority of revenues from the sale of goods used in the actual manufacture of tobacco products, such as cigarette papers and filters.

The Fund may buy or hold companies that sell certain key products to the tobacco industry. These items include: cigarette packets, boxes, or cartons; the paperboard used in the manufacture of cigarette boxes or cartons; the cellophane wrap used to enclose cigarette packets or boxes; magazine or newspaper space sold for cigarette advertisements; and billboard space rented for cigarette advertisements. In general, the Fund does not exclude such companies from investment, although it may reconsider companies that derive substantial revenues from these activities on a case-by-case basis.

Manufacturers and Producers. The Fund does not buy or hold companies that derive 5% or more of revenues from the manufacture of alcoholic beverages. This primarily excludes distillers of hard liquors, brewers, and vintners.

Retail Sales. The Fund does not buy or hold companies that derive a majority of revenues from the retail sale of alcoholic beverages. This relates primarily to restaurant chains and convenience stores.

The Fund may buy or hold:

Owners and Operators. The Fund does not buy or hold companies that derive 5% or more of revenues from the provision of gaming services. This primarily excludes owners and operators of casinos, riverboat gambling facilities, horse tracks, dog tracks, bingo parlors, or other betting establishments.

Manufacturers of Gaming Equipment. The Fund does not buy or hold companies that derive 5% or more of revenues from the manufacture of gaming equipment or the provision of goods and services to lottery operations.

The Fund may buy or hold companies that:

Majority Owners and Operators. The Fund does not buy or hold companies that are majority owners or operators of nuclear power plants. This primarily excludes major electric utility companies.

The Fund may buy or hold:

Major Prime Contractors. The Fund does not buy or hold companies that derive 5% or more of revenues from weapons related contracts. Although the Fund may invest in companies that derive less than 5% of revenues from weapons contracts, the Fund generally avoids large military contractors that have weapons-related contracts that total less than 5% of revenues but are, nevertheless, substantial in dollar value and designed exclusively for weapons-related activities. While it is often difficult to obtain precise weapons contracting figures, the Fund will make a good faith effort to do so.

Non-Weapons-Related Sales to the Department of Defense. The Fund does not buy or hold companies that derive their total revenue primarily from non-consumer sales to the Department of Defense (“DoD”).

In some cases, it is difficult to clearly distinguish between contracts that are weapons-related and those that are not. The Fund will use its best judgment in making such determinations.

The Fund may buy or hold companies that:

Manufacturers. The Fund does not buy or hold companies that produce firearms such as pistols, revolvers, rifles, shotguns, or sub-machine guns. The Fund will also not buy or hold companies that produce small arms ammunition. Likewise, the Fund seeks to avoid companies directly involved with the production of controversial weapons, including anti-personnel landmines, cluster munitions, and depleted uranium weapons.

Retailers. The Fund does not buy or hold companies that derive a majority of revenues from the wholesale or retail distribution of firearms or small arms ammunition.

The Fund does not buy or hold companies that are involved in the operation of for-profit prisons or the provision of integral services to these types of facilities, given significant social controversy, reputational risks, dependency on Department of Justice policies, and facilities which are not easily reconfigurable for alternate uses.

Best of Class Approach

The Fund seeks to invest in companies that have demonstrated a commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability through either minimizing their environmental footprint or producing products and services that have a direct environmental benefit. Among other things, it will look for companies:

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have minimized penalties, liabilities and contingencies and are operationally sustainable; and

The Fund seeks to avoid companies whose products it has determined pose unacceptable levels of environmental risk. To that end, the Fund does not buy or hold companies that:

The Fund may hold companies with exposure to fossil fuels such as natural gas and oil.

In addition, for companies that are power generators (with more than 10% of revenue from power generation) the Fund seeks to invest in companies that are aligned with a lower carbon emissions economy. Specifically:

The Fund seriously considers a company’s environmental liabilities, both accrued and unaccrued, as a measure of environmental risk. It views public disclosure of these liabilities as a positive step.

The Fund seeks to avoid companies with involvement in major environmental controversies. It will look at a combination of factors in this area and will decide if, on balance, a company qualifies for investment. Negative factors may include:

Positive factors may include:

If a company already held in the Fund becomes involved in an environmental controversy, the Fund will communicate with the company to press for positive action. The Fund will not necessarily divest the company’s shares if it perceives a path to remediation and policies and procedures are implemented to mitigate risk of recurrence.

The Fund endeavors to invest in companies whose employment and workplace practices are considered progressive. Among other things, it will look for companies that:

The Fund will seek to avoid investing in companies that have:

Although the Fund is deeply concerned about the labor practices of companies with international operations, it may buy or hold companies that are currently or have been involved in related controversies. The Fund recognizes that it is often difficult to obtain accurate and consistent information in this area; however, it will seek to include companies that are complying with or exceeding International Labour Organization (ILO) standards.

The Fund strives to invest in companies that are leaders in promoting diversity in the workplace. Among other factors, it will look for companies that:

The Fund attempts to avoid companies with recent major discrimination lawsuits related to gender, race, disability, or sexual orientation. In general, the Fund does not buy companies:

Although the Fund views companies involved in non-class action discrimination lawsuits and/or lawsuits that have been settled or ruled upon with some concern, it may buy or hold such companies. These types of lawsuits will be given particular weight if a company does not have a strong record of promoting diversity in the workplace.

While the Fund encourages companies to have diverse boards of directors and senior management, the absence of women and minorities in these positions does not warrant a company’s exclusion from the Fund.

The Fund believes that it is important for companies to have positive relations with the communities in which they are located inclusive of all races and socio-economic status. It will seek to invest in companies that:

The Fund seeks to avoid companies with involvement in recent environmental controversies that have significantly affected entire communities (See “Environmental Risk” and “Regulatory Problems” above). The Fund will be particularly stringent with those companies of which the managers are aware that do not have positive relations with the communities in which they operate.

If a company already held in the Fund becomes involved in a discrimination controversy or community controversy, the Fund will communicate with the company to press for positive action. The Fund will not necessarily divest the company’s shares if it perceives a path to remediation and policies and procedures are implemented to mitigate risk of recurrence.

The Fund endeavors to invest in companies aligned with the United Nations Global Compact, which recognizes universal human rights standards supported by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the ILO system of standards. We look for companies that:

The Fund seeks to avoid companies whose products have negative public health implications. Among other things, the Fund will consider:

The Fund seeks companies with well-managed supply chain systems that meet or exceed reliability, efficiency, product quality and regulatory standards. Among other things, the Fund will consider:

The Fund seeks companies that demonstrate a commitment to:

Corporate Actions. If a company held in the Fund subsequently becomes involved in tobacco, alcohol, gambling, weapons, or nuclear power (as described above) through a corporate acquisition or change of business strategy, and lacking a credible path to remediation no longer satisfies the ESG Criteria, the Fund will eliminate the position at the time deemed appropriate by the Fund given market conditions. The Fund will divest such companies’ shares whether or not they have taken strong positive initiatives in the other ESG areas that the Fund considers.

Ownership. The Fund does not buy or hold companies that are majority owned by companies that are excluded by its ESG Criteria.

Neuberger Berman Genesis Fund does not buy or hold companies that manufacture firearms or ammunition for civilian use as determined by a screen provided by a third party provider.

Each Fund’s performance figures are based on historical results and are not intended to indicate future performance. The share price and total return of each Fund will vary, and an investment in a Fund, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than an investor’s original cost.

The following tables set forth information concerning the Fund Trustees and Officers of the Trust. All persons named as Fund Trustees and Officers also serve in similar capacities for other funds administered or managed by NBIA. A Fund Trustee who is not an “interested person” of NBIA (including its affiliates) or the Trust is deemed to be an independent Fund Trustee (“Independent Fund Trustee”).

The Board of Trustees (“Board”) is responsible for managing the business and affairs of the Trust. Among other things, the Board generally oversees the portfolio management of each Fund and reviews and approves each Fund’s investment advisory and sub-advisory contracts and other principal contracts.

The Board has appointed an Independent Fund Trustee to serve in the role of Chairman of the Board.  The Chair’s primary responsibilities are (i) to participate in the preparation of the agenda for meetings of the Board and in the identification of information to be presented to the Board; (ii) to preside at all meetings of the Board; (iii) to act as the Board’s liaison with management between meetings of the Board; and (iv) to act as the primary contact for board communications.  The Chair may perform such other functions as may be requested by the Board from time to time.  Except for any duties specified herein or pursuant to the Trust’s Declaration of Trust or By-laws, the designation as Chair does not impose on such Independent Fund Trustee any duties, obligations or liability that is greater than the duties, obligations or liability imposed on such person as a member of the Board, generally.

As described below, the Board has an established committee structure through which the Board considers and addresses important matters involving the Funds, including those identified as presenting conflicts or potential conflicts of interest for management.  The Independent Fund Trustees also regularly meet outside the presence of management and are advised by experienced independent legal counsel knowledgeable in matters of investment company regulation.  The Board periodically evaluates its structure and composition as well as various aspects of its operations.  The Board believes that its leadership structure, including its Independent Chair and its committee structure, is appropriate in light of, among other factors, the asset size of the fund complex overseen by the Board, the nature and number of funds overseen by the Board, the number of Fund Trustees, the range of experience represented on the Board, and the Board’s responsibilities.

In choosing each Fund Trustee to serve, the Board was generally aware of each Fund Trustee’s skills, experience, judgment, analytical ability, intelligence, common sense, previous profit and not-for-profit board membership and, for each Independent Fund Trustee, his or her demonstrated willingness to take an independent and questioning stance toward management.  Each Fund Trustee also now has considerable familiarity with the Trust and each Fund of the Trust, their investment manager, sub-advisers, administrator and distributor, and their operations, as well as the special regulatory requirements governing regulated investment companies and the special responsibilities of investment company directors, and in the case of each Trustee who has served on the Board over multiple years, as a result of his or her substantial prior service as a Trustee of the Trust.  No particular qualification, experience or background establishes the basis for any Fund Trustee’s position on the Board and the Governance and Nominating Committee and individual Board members may have attributed different weights to the various factors.

In addition to the information set forth in the table above and other relevant qualifications, experience, attributes or skills applicable to a particular Fund Trustee, the following provides further information about the qualifications and experience of each Fund Trustee.

Independent Fund Trustees

 Michael J. Cosgrove: Mr. Cosgrove is President of an asset management consulting firm. He has experience as President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Financial Officer of the asset management division of a major multinational corporation. He also has experience as a President of institutional sales and marketing for the asset management division of the same corporation, where he

was responsible for all distribution, marketing, and development of mutual fund products. He also has served as a member of the boards of various not-for-profit organizations. He has served as a Fund Trustee for multiple years.

Marc Gary: Mr. Gary has legal and investment management experience as executive vice president and general counsel of a major asset management firm. He also has experience as executive vice president and general counsel at a large corporation, and as national litigation practice chair at a large law firm. He has served as a member of the boards of various profit and not-for-profit organizations. He currently is a trustee and the executive vice chancellor and COO of a religious seminary where he oversees the seminary’s institutional budget. He has served as a Fund Trustee for multiple years.

Martha Clark Goss:  Ms. Goss has experience as chief operating and financial officer of an insurance holding company.  She has experience as an investment professional, head of an investment unit and treasurer for a major insurance company, experience as the Chief Financial Officer of two consulting firms, and experience as a lending officer and credit analyst at a major bank.  She has experience managing a personal investment vehicle.  She has served as a member of the boards of various profit and not-for-profit organizations and a university.  She has served as a Fund Trustee for multiple years.

Michael M. Knetter:  Dr. Knetter has organizational management experience as a dean of a major university business school and as President and CEO of a university supporting foundation.  He also has responsibility for overseeing management of the university’s endowment.  He has academic experience as a professor of international economics.  He has served as a member of the boards of various public companies and another mutual fund.  He has served as a Fund Trustee for multiple years.

Deborah C. McLean: Ms. McLean has experience in the financial services industry. She is currently involved with a high net worth private wealth management membership practice and an angel investing group, where she is active in investment screening and deal leadership and execution. For many years she has been engaged in numerous roles with a variety of not-for-profit and private company boards and has taught corporate finance at the graduate and undergraduate levels. She commenced her professional training at a major financial services corporation, where she was employed for multiple years. She has served as a Fund Trustee for multiple years.

George W. Morriss:  Mr. Morriss has experience in senior management and as chief financial officer of a financial services company. He has investment management experience as a portfolio manager managing personal and institutional funds. He has served as a member of a committee of representatives from companies listed on NASDAQ. He has served on the board of another mutual fund complex. He has served as a member of the board of funds of hedge funds. He has an advanced degree in finance. He has served as a Fund Trustee for multiple years.

Tom D. Seip:  Mr. Seip has experience in senior management and as chief executive officer and director of a financial services company overseeing other mutual funds and brokerage. He has experience as director of an asset management company. He has experience in management of a private investment partnership. He has served as a Fund Trustee for multiple years and as Independent Chair and/or Lead Independent Trustee of the Board.

James G. Stavridis: Admiral Stavridis has organizational management experience as a dean of a major university school of law and diplomacy. He also held many leadership roles with the United States Navy over the span of nearly four decades, including serving as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe and serving at the Pentagon at different periods of time as a strategic and long range planner on the staffs of the chief of Naval Operations, as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and as Commander, U.S. Southern Command. He has also served as an advisor to private and public companies on geopolitical and cybersecurity matters. He has served as a Fund Trustee for multiple years.

Peter P. Trapp:  Mr. Trapp has experience in senior management of a credit company and several insurance companies. He has served as a member of the board of other mutual funds. He is a Fellow in the Society of Actuaries. He has served as a Fund Trustee for multiple years.

Fund Trustees who are “Interested Persons”

Joseph V. Amato:  Mr. Amato has investment management experience as an executive with Neuberger Berman and another financial services firm.  Effective July 1, 2018, Mr. Amato serves as Managing Director of Neuberger Berman and President–Mutual Funds of NBIA. He also serves as Neuberger Berman’s Chief Investment Officer for equity investments.  He has experience in leadership roles within Neuberger Berman and its affiliated entities.  He has served as a member of the board of a major university business school.  He has served as a Fund Trustee since 2009.

The Board has established several standing committees to oversee particular aspects of the Funds’ management. The standing committees of the Board are described below.

Audit Committee. The Audit Committee’s purposes are: (a) in accordance with exchange requirements and Rule 32a-4 under the 1940 Act, to oversee the accounting and financial reporting processes of the Funds and, as the Committee deems appropriate, to inquire into the internal control over financial reporting of service providers; (b) in accordance with exchange requirements and Rule 32a-4 under the 1940 Act, to oversee the quality and integrity of the Funds’ financial statements and the independent audit thereof; (c) in accordance with exchange requirements and Rule 32a-4 under the 1940 Act, to oversee, or, as appropriate, assist Board oversight of, the Funds’ compliance with legal and regulatory requirements that relate to the Funds’ accounting and financial reporting, internal control over financial reporting and independent audits; (d) to approve prior to appointment the engagement of the Funds’ independent registered public accounting firms and, in connection therewith, to review and evaluate the qualifications, independence and performance of the Funds’ independent registered public accounting firms; (e) to act as a liaison between the Funds’ independent registered public accounting firms and the full Board; (f) to monitor the operation of policies and procedures reasonably designed to ensure that each portfolio holding is valued in an appropriate and timely manner, reflecting information known to management about the issuer, current market

conditions, and other material factors (“Pricing Procedures”); (g) to consider and evaluate, and recommend to the Board when the Committee deems it appropriate, amendments to the Pricing Procedures proposed by management, counsel, the auditors and others; and (h) from time to time, as required or permitted by the Pricing Procedures, to establish or ratify a method of determining the fair value of portfolio securities for which market prices are not readily available. Its members are Michael J. Cosgrove (Chair), Martha C. Goss (Vice Chair), Deborah C. McLean, and Peter P. Trapp. All members are Independent Fund Trustees. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2020, the Committee met 7 times.

Contract Review Committee. The Contract Review Committee is responsible for overseeing and guiding the process by which the Independent Fund Trustees annually consider whether to approve or renew the Trust’s principal contractual arrangements and Rule 12b-1 plans. Its members are Marc Gary, Deborah C. McLean (Chair), and George W. Morriss (Vice Chair). All members are Independent Fund Trustees. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2020, the Committee met 4 times.

Ethics and Compliance Committee. The Ethics and Compliance Committee generally oversees: (a) the Trust’s program for compliance with Rule 38a-1 and the Trust’s implementation and enforcement of its compliance policies and procedures; (b) the compliance with the Trust’s Code of Ethics, which restricts the personal securities transactions, including transactions in Fund shares, of employees, officers, and trustees; (c) the activities of the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”); (d) the activities of management personnel responsible for identifying, prioritizing, and managing compliance risks; (e) the adequacy and fairness of the arrangements for securities lending, if any, in a manner consistent with applicable regulatory requirements, with special emphasis on any arrangements in which a Fund deals with the manager or any affiliate of the manager as principal or agent; (f) the program by which the manager seeks to monitor and improve the quality of execution for portfolio transactions; and (g) the quarterly and annual management reports on contractual arrangements with third party intermediaries, including payments to, and the nature and quality of the services provided by such parties. The Committee shall not assume oversight duties to the extent that such duties have been assigned by the Board expressly to another Committee of the Board (such as oversight of internal controls over financial reporting, which has been assigned to the Audit Committee.) The Committee’s primary function is oversight. Each investment adviser, subadviser, principal underwriter, administrator, custodian and transfer agent (collectively, “Service Providers”) is responsible for its own compliance with the federal securities laws and for devising, implementing, maintaining and updating appropriate policies, procedures and codes of ethics to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations and their contracts with the Funds. The CCO is responsible for administering each Fund’s Compliance Program, including devising and implementing appropriate methods of testing compliance by the Fund and its Service Providers. Its members are Marc Gary (Chair), Michael M. Knetter, Tom D. Seip, and James G. Stavridis. All members are Independent Fund Trustees. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2020, the Committee met 4 times. The entire Board will receive at least annually a report on the compliance programs of the Trust and service providers and the required annual reports on the administration of the Code of Ethics and the required annual certifications from the Trust, NBIA and Green Court.

Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is responsible for acting in an emergency when a quorum of the Board of Trustees is not available; the Committee has all the powers of the Board of Trustees when the Board is not in session to the extent permitted by Delaware law. Its

members are Joseph V. Amato (Vice Chair), Michael J. Cosgrove, Marc Gary, Martha C. Goss, Michael M. Knetter, Deborah C. McLean, George W. Morriss, and Tom D. Seip (Chair). All members, except for Mr. Amato, are Independent Fund Trustees. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2020, the Committee met 1 time.

Governance and Nominating Committee. The Governance and Nominating Committee is responsible for: (a) considering and evaluating the structure, composition and operation of the Board of Trustees and each committee thereof, including the operation of the annual self-evaluation by the Board; (b) evaluating and nominating individuals to serve as Fund Trustees including as Independent Fund Trustees, as members of committees, as Chair of the Board and as officers of the Trust; (c) recommending for Board approval any proposed changes to Committee membership and recommending for Board and Committee approval any proposed changes to the Chair and Vice Chair appointments of any Committee following consultation with members of each such Committee; and (d) considering and making recommendations relating to the compensation of Independent Fund Trustees. Its members are Martha C. Goss (Chair), Michael M. Knetter, Tom D. Seip, and James G. Stavridis (Vice Chair). All members are Independent Fund Trustees. The selection and nomination of candidates to serve as independent trustees is committed to the discretion of the current Independent Fund Trustees. The Committee will consider nominees recommended by shareholders; shareholders may send resumes of recommended persons to the attention of Claudia A. Brandon, Secretary, Neuberger Berman Equity Funds, 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2020, the Committee met 4 times.

Investment Performance Committee. The Investment Performance Committee is responsible for overseeing and guiding the process by which the Board reviews Fund performance and interfacing with management personnel responsible for investment risk management. Each Fund Trustee is a member of the Committee. Michael M. Knetter and Peter P. Trapp are the Chair and the Vice Chair, respectively, of the Committee. All members, except for Mr. Amato, are Independent Fund Trustees.  During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2020, the Committee met 4 times.

As an integral part of its responsibility for oversight of the Funds in the interests of shareholders, the Board oversees risk management of the Funds’ administration and operations. The Board views risk management as an important responsibility of management.

A Fund faces a number of risks, such as investment risk, counterparty risk, valuation risk, liquidity risk, reputational risk, risk of operational failure or lack of business continuity, cybersecurity risk, and legal, compliance and regulatory risk.  Risk management seeks to identify and address risks, i.e., events or circumstances that could have material adverse effects on the business, operations, shareholder services, investment performance or reputation of a Fund. Under the overall supervision of the Board, the Funds, the Funds’ investment manager, a Fund’s sub-adviser (as applicable), and the affiliates of the investment manager and the sub-adviser, or other service providers to the Funds, employ a variety of processes, procedures and controls to identify various of those possible events or circumstances, to lessen the probability of their occurrence and/or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur. Different processes, procedures and controls are employed with respect to different types of risks.

The Board exercises oversight of the investment manager’s risk management processes primarily through the Board’s committee structure.  The various committees, as appropriate, and/or, at times, the Board, meet periodically with the Chief Risk Officer, head of operational risk, the Chief Information Security Officer, the Chief Compliance Officer, the Treasurer, the Chief Investment Officers for equity, alternative and fixed income, the heads of Internal Audit, and the Funds’ independent auditor. The committees or the Board, as appropriate, review with these individuals, among other things, the design and implementation of risk management strategies in their respective areas, and events and circumstances that have arisen and responses thereto.

The Board recognizes that not all risks that may affect the Funds can be identified, that it may not be practical or cost-effective to eliminate or mitigate certain risks, that it may be necessary to bear certain risks (such as investment-related risks) to achieve the Funds’ goals, and that the processes, procedures and controls employed to address certain risks may be limited in their effectiveness.  Moreover, reports received by the Fund Trustees as to risk management matters are typically summaries of the relevant information. Furthermore, it is in the very nature of certain risks that they can be evaluated only as probabilities, and not as certainties. As a result of the foregoing and other factors, the Board’s risk management oversight is subject to substantial limitations, and no risk management program can predict the likelihood or seriousness of, or mitigate the effects of, all potential risks. 

The Trust’s Trust Instrument provides that the Trust will indemnify its Fund Trustees and officers against liabilities and expenses reasonably incurred in connection with litigation in which they may be involved because of their offices with the Trust, unless it is adjudicated that they (a) engaged in bad faith, willful misfeasance, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of their offices, or (b) did not act in good faith in the reasonable belief that their action was in the best interest of the Trust. In the case of settlement, such indemnification will not be provided unless it has been determined (by a court or other body approving the settlement or other disposition, by a majority of disinterested trustees based upon a review of readily available facts, or in a written opinion of independent counsel) that such officers or Fund Trustees have not engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of their duties.

Officers and Fund Trustees who are interested persons of the Trust, as defined in the 1940 Act, receive no salary or fees from the Trust.

Effective January 1, 2020, for serving as a trustee of the Neuberger Berman Funds, each Independent Fund Trustee and any Fund Trustee who is an “interested person” of the Trust but who is not an employee of NBIA or its affiliates receives an annual retainer of $160,000, paid quarterly, and a fee of $15,000 for each of the regularly scheduled meetings he or she attends in-person or by telephone. Prior to January 1, 2020, for serving as a trustee of the Neuberger Berman Funds, each Independent Fund Trustee and any Fund Trustee who is an “interested person” of the Trust but who is not an employee of NBIA or its affiliates received an annual retainer of $150,000, paid quarterly, and a fee of $15,000 for each of the regularly scheduled meetings he or she attends in-person or by telephone. For any additional special in-person or telephonic meeting of the Board, the Governance and Nominating Committee will determine whether a fee is warranted. To compensate for the additional time commitment, the Chair of the Audit Committee and the Chair of the Contract Review

Committee each receives $20,000 per year and each Chair of the other Committees receives $15,000 per year, with the exception of the Chair of the Executive Committee who receives no additional compensation for this role. No additional compensation is provided for service on a Board committee. The Chair of the Board who is also an Independent Fund Trustee receives an additional $40,000 per year. Prior to January 1, 2020, the Chair of the Board received an additional $50,000 per year.

The Neuberger Berman Funds reimburse Independent Fund Trustees for their travel and other out-of-pocket expenses related to attendance at Board meetings. The Independent Fund Trustee compensation is allocated to each fund in the fund family based on a method the Board of Trustees finds reasonable.

The following table sets forth information concerning the compensation of the Fund Trustees. The Trust does not have any retirement plan for the Fund Trustees.

TABLE OF COMPENSATION
FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDED 8/31/2020

¹All compensation paid to Robert Conti for service as a member of the Boards of Directors/Trustees of the Neuberger Berman Fund Complex, including the Trust, were paid for the period following his retirement from employment at Neuberger Berman. Mr. Conti unexpectedly passed away in July 2020.

The following tables set forth the dollar range of securities owned by each Fund Trustee in each Fund, as of December 31, 2020.

	Dividend Growth Fund	Emerging Markets Equity Fund	Equity Income Fund	Focus Fund	Genesis Fund	Global Equity Fund	Global Real Estate Fund	Greater China Equity Fund	Guardian Fund	Int’l Equity Fund	Int’l Select Fund
Independent Fund Trustees
Michael J. Cosgrove	A	C	C	A	C	A	A	A	A	B	A
Marc Gary	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
Martha C. Goss	E	C	C	A	D	A	A	C	A	A	A
Michael M. Knetter	E	A	A	A	E	A	A	A	D	D	A
Deborah C. McLean	A	D	A	A	E	A	A	C	A	A	A
George W. Morriss	A	C	A	A	E	A	A	A	E	A	D
Tom D. Seip	A	A	A	A	E	A	A	D	E	A	A
James G. Stavridis	A	C	A	D	C	A	A	A	A	C	A
Peter P. Trapp	A	E	A	A	E	A	A	A	A	A	D
Fund Trustees who are “Interested Persons”
Joseph V. Amato	A	E	A	A	E	A	A	A	A	A	E

  

A = None; B = $1-$10,000; C = $10,001 - $50,000; D = $50,001-$100,000; E = over $100,000

	Intrinsic Value Fund	Large Cap Value Fund	Mid Cap Growth  Fund	Mid Cap Intrinsic Value Fund	Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund	Real Estate Fund	Small Cap Growth  Fund	Sustainable Equity Fund
Independent Fund Trustees
Michael J. Cosgrove^	C	C	C	A	C	A	C	A
Marc Gary^	A	A	A	A	E	A	A	A
Martha C. Goss	A	A	C	A	A	A	D	A
Michael M. Knetter	D	D	D	D	E	E	A	A
Deborah C. McLean^	D	A	A	A	A	A	C	A
George W. Morriss	A	D	E	D	A	A	D	A
Tom D. Seip	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
James G. Stavridis^	A	A	C	A	A	C	A	A
Peter P. Trapp	A	A	A	A	A	A	C	A
Fund Trustees who are “Interested Persons”
Joseph V. Amato	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A

A = None; B = $1-$10,000; C = $10,001 - $50,000; D = $50,001-$100,000; E = over $100,000

The following table sets forth the aggregate dollar range of securities owned by each Fund Trustee in all the funds in the fund family overseen by the Fund Trustee, valued as of December 31, 2020.

A = None; B = $1-$10,000; C = $10,001 - $50,000; D = $50,001-$100,000; E = over $100,000

As of November 15, 2020, the Fund Trustees and officers of the Trust, as a group, owned beneficially or of record 9.92% of Dividend Growth Fund-Class A, 3.04% of Guardian Fund-Investor Class, 1.42% of International Select Fund Class A, 1.21% of International Select Fund-Institutional Class and less than 1% of the outstanding shares of the other funds. In addition, on June 15, 2021, the Fund Trustees and officers of the Trust, as a group, owned beneficially or of record less than 1% of the outstanding shares of each Class of Neuberger Berman Equity Income Fund, Neuberger Berman Genesis Fund, Neuberger Berman International Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Large Cap Value Fund, Neuberger Berman Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund, and Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund.

Independent Fund Trustees’ Ownership of Securities

No Independent Fund Trustee (including his/her immediate family members) owns any securities (not including shares of registered investment companies) in any Neuberger Berman entity.

NBIA serves as the investment manager to the Funds pursuant to management agreements with the Trust, dated May 4, 2009 for each Fund (except Neuberger Berman Dividend Growth Fund, Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund and Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman International Small Cap Fund, and Neuberger Berman U.S. Equity Impact Fund) and dated July 16, 2013 for Neuberger Berman Dividend Growth Fund, Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund, Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman International Small Cap Fund, and Neuberger Berman U.S. Equity Impact Fund (each a “Management Agreement” and collectively, the “Management Agreements”).

The Management Agreements provide, in substance, that NBIA will make and implement investment decisions for the Funds in its discretion and will continuously develop an investment program for the Funds’ assets. The Management Agreements permit NBIA to effect securities transactions on behalf of the Funds through associated persons of NBIA. The Management Agreements also specifically permit NBIA to compensate, through higher commissions, brokers and dealers who provide investment research and analysis to the Funds.

NBIA provides to each Fund, without separate cost, office space, equipment, and facilities and the personnel necessary to perform executive, administrative, and clerical functions. NBIA pays all salaries, expenses, and fees of the officers, trustees, and employees of the Trust who are officers, directors, or employees of NBIA. One director of NBIA, who also serves as an officer of NBIA, presently serves as a Fund Trustee and/or officer of the Trust.  See “Trustees and Officers.”  Each Fund pays NBIA a management fee based on the Fund’s average daily net assets, as described below.

NBIA engages Green Court as sub-adviser to Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund to choose the Fund’s investments and handle its day-to-day investment business.  See “Sub-Adviser” below.

NBIA also provides facilities, services, and personnel as well as accounting, record keeping and other services to the Funds pursuant to eleven administration agreements with the Trust, one for

Investor Class dated May 4, 2009, two for Trust Class dated May 4, 2009, one for Advisor Class dated May 4, 2009, two for Institutional Class dated May 4, 2009, one for Class A dated May 4, 2009, one for Class C dated May 4, 2009, one for Class R3 dated May 15, 2009, one for Class R6 dated March 12, 2013, and one for Class E dated July 2, 2021  (each, an “Administration Agreement” and collectively the “Administration Agreements”). For such administrative services, each Class of a Fund pays NBIA a fee based on the Class’s average daily net assets, as described below.

Under each Administration Agreement, NBIA provides to each Class and its shareholders certain shareholder, shareholder-related, and other services that are not furnished by the Fund’s shareholder servicing agent or third party investment providers. NBIA provides the direct shareholder services specified in the Administration Agreements and assists the shareholder servicing agent or third party investment providers in the development and implementation of specified programs and systems to enhance overall shareholder servicing capabilities. NBIA or the third party investment provider solicits and gathers shareholder proxies, performs services connected with the qualification of each Fund’s shares for sale in various states, and furnishes other services the parties agree from time to time should be provided under the Administration Agreements.

The services provided by NBIA under the Management Agreements and Administration Agreements include, among others, overall responsibility for providing all supervisory, management, and administrative services reasonably necessary for the operation of the Funds, which may include, among others, compliance monitoring, operational and investment risk management, legal and administrative services and portfolio accounting services.  These services also include, among other things: (i) coordinating and overseeing all matters relating to the operation of the Funds, including overseeing the shareholder servicing agent, custodian, accounting services agent, independent auditors, legal counsel and other agents and contractors engaged by the Funds; (ii) assuring that all financial, accounting and other records required to be prepared and preserved by each Fund are prepared and preserved by it or on its behalf in accordance with applicable laws and regulations; (iii) assisting in the preparation of all periodic reports by the Funds to shareholders; (iv) assisting in the preparation of all reports and filings required to maintain the registration and qualification of each Fund and its shares, or to meet other regulatory or tax requirements applicable to the Fund under federal and state securities and tax laws; and (v) furnishing such office space, office equipment and office facilities as are adequate for the needs of the Funds.

NBIA also plays an active role in the daily pricing of Fund shares, provides information to the Board necessary to its oversight of certain valuation functions, and annually conducts due diligence on the outside independent pricing services.  NBIA prepares reports and other materials necessary and appropriate for the Board’s ongoing oversight of each Fund and its service providers; prepares an extensive report in connection with the Board’s annual review of the Management Agreement, Sub-Advisory Agreement, Distribution Agreements and Rule 12b-1 Plans and, in connection therewith, gathers and synthesizes materials from the Subadviser; and monitors the Subadviser’s implementation of its compliance program and code of ethics as they relate to the applicable Fund.

Each Management Agreement continues until October 31, 2021. Each Management Agreement is renewable thereafter from year to year with respect to a Fund, so long as its continuance is approved at least annually (1) by the vote of a majority of the Independent Fund Trustees and (2) by the vote of a majority of the Fund Trustees or by a 1940 Act majority vote of the outstanding shares of that Fund. Each Administration Agreement continues until October 31, 2021. Each Administration

Agreement is renewable thereafter from year to year with respect to a Fund, so long as its continuance is approved at least annually (1) by the vote of a majority of the Independent Fund Trustees, and (2) by the vote of a majority of the Fund Trustees or by a 1940 Act majority vote of the outstanding shares of that Fund.

Each Management Agreement is terminable, without penalty, with respect to a Fund on 60 days’ written notice either by the Trust or by NBIA. Each Administration Agreement is terminable, without penalty, with respect to a Fund on 60 days’ written notice either by the Trust or by NBIA. Each Agreement terminates automatically if it is assigned.

From time to time, NBIA or a Fund may enter into arrangements with registered broker-dealers or other third parties pursuant to which it pays the broker-dealer or third party a per account fee or a fee based on a percentage of the aggregate NAV of Fund shares purchased by the broker-dealer or third party on behalf of its customers, in payment for administrative and other services rendered to such customers.

NBIA may engage one or more of foreign affiliates that are not registered under the 1940 Act (“participating affiliates”) in accordance with applicable SEC no‐action letters. As participating affiliates, whether or not registered with the SEC, the affiliates may provide designated investment personnel to associate with NBIA as “associated persons” of NBIA and perform specific advisory services for NBIA, including services for the Fund, which may involve, among other services, portfolio management and/or placing orders for securities and other instruments. The employees of a participating affiliate are designated to act for NBIA and are subject to certain NBIA policies and procedures as well as supervision and periodic monitoring by NBIA.  The Funds will pay no additional fees and expenses as a result of any such arrangements.

Third parties may be subject to federal or state laws that limit their ability to provide certain administrative or distribution related services. NBIA and the Funds intend to contract with third parties for only those services they may legally provide. If, due to a change in laws governing those third parties or in the interpretation of any such law, a third party is prohibited from performing some or all of the above-described services, NBIA or a Fund may be required to find alternative means of providing those services. Any such change is not expected to impact the Funds or their shareholders adversely.

From time to time, NBIA or its affiliates may invest “seed” capital in a Fund. These investments are generally intended to enable the Fund to commence investment operations and achieve sufficient scale. NBIA and its affiliates may, from time to time, hedge some or all of the investment exposure of the seed capital invested in the Fund.

For investment management services, each Fund (except Neuberger Berman Dividend Growth Fund, Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Genesis Fund, Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund, Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Integrated Large Cap Fund, Neuberger Berman International Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman International Small Cap Fund, Neuberger Berman Intrinsic Value Fund, Neuberger Berman Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund, Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund and

Neuberger Berman Small Cap Growth Fund) pays NBIA a fee at the annual rate of 0.550% of the first $250 million of that Fund’s average daily net assets, 0.525% of the next $250 million, 0.500% of the next $250 million, 0.475% of the next $250 million, 0.450% of the next $500 million, 0.425% of the next $2.5 billion, and 0.400% of average daily net assets in excess of $4 billion.

For investment management services, Neuberger Berman Dividend Growth Fund pays NBIA a fee at the annual rate of 0.500% of the first $1.5 billion of the Fund’s average daily net assets, 0.475% of the next $2.5 billion, and 0.450% of average daily net assets in excess of $4 billion.

For investment management services, Neuberger Berman Emerging Markets Equity Fund pays NBIA a fee at the annual rate of 1.000% of the first $250 million of the Fund’s average daily net assets, 0.975% of the next $250 million, 0.950% of the next $250 million, 0.925% of the next $250 million, 0.900% of the next $500 million, 0.875% of the next $2.5 billion, and 0.850% of average daily net assets in excess of $4 billion.

For investment management services, Neuberger Berman Genesis Fund pays NBIA a fee at the annual rate of 0.850% of the first $250 million of that Fund’s average daily net assets, 0.800% of the next $250 million, 0.750% of the next $250 million, 0.700% of the next $250 million, 0.650% of the next $13 billion, and 0.600% average daily net assets in excess of $14 billion.  Prior to April 25, 2017, Neuberger Berman Genesis Fund paid NBIA a fee at the annual rate of 0.850% of the first $250 million of that Fund’s average daily net assets, 0.800% of the next $250 million, 0.750% of the next $250 million, 0.700% of the next $250 million and 0.650% of average daily net assets in excess of $1 billion.

For investment management services, each of Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate Fund and Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund pays NBIA a fee at the annual rate of 0.800% of the Fund’s average daily net assets.

For investment management services, Neuberger Berman Greater China Equity Fund pays NBIA a fee at the annual rate of 1.100% of the first $1 billion of the Fund’s average daily net assets, and 0.950% of average daily net assets in excess of $1 billion.

For investment management services, Neuberger Berman Integrated Large Cap Fund pays NBIA a fee at the annual rate of 0.200% of the Fund’s average daily net assets. Prior to September 3, 2019, Neuberger Berman Integrated Large Cap Fund paid NBIA a fee at the annual rate of 0.550% of the Fund’s average daily net assets. Prior to December 8, 2016, Neuberger Berman Integrated Large Cap Fund paid NBIA a fee at the annual rate of 0.750% of the first $250 million of the Fund’s average daily net assets, 0.725% of the next $250 million, 0.700% of the next $250 million, 0.675% of the next $250 million, 0.650% of the next $500 million, 0.625% of the next $2.5 billion, and 0.600% of average daily net assets in excess of $4 billion.

For investment management services, Neuberger Berman International Equity Fund pays NBIA a fee at the annual rate of 0.850% of the first $250 million of that Fund’s average daily net assets, 0.825% of the next $250 million, 0.800% of the next $250 million, 0.775% of the next $250 million, 0.750% of the next $500 million, 0.725% of the next $1 billion, and 0.700% of average daily net assets in excess of $2.5 billion.

For investment management services, Neuberger Berman International Small Cap Fund pays NBIA a fee at the annual rate of 0.850% of the first $250 million, 0.825% of the next $250 million, 0.800% of the next $250 million, 0.775% of the next $250 million, 0.750% of the next $500 million, 0.725% of the next $2.5 billion, and 0.700% of average daily net assets in excess of $4 billion.

For investment management services, each of Neuberger Berman Intrinsic Value Fund and Neuberger Berman Small Cap Growth Fund pays NBIA a fee at the annual rate of 0.850% of the first $250 million of that Fund’s average daily net assets, 0.800% of the next $250 million, 0.750% of the next $250 million, 0.700% of the next $250 million and 0.650% of average daily net assets in excess of $1 billion.

For investment management services, Neuberger Berman Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund pays NBIA a fee at the annual rate of 0.600% of the first $250 million of the Fund’s average daily net assets, 0.575% of the next $250 million, 0.550% of the next $250 million, 0.525% of the next $250 million, 0.500% of the next $500 million, 0.475% of the next $2.5 billion, and 0.450% of average daily net assets in excess of $4 billion.

Investor Class. For administrative services, the Investor Class of each Fund pays NBIA a fee at the annual rate of 0.26% of that Class’s average daily net assets, plus certain out-of-pocket expenses for technology used for shareholder servicing and shareholder communications, subject to the prior approval of an annual budget by the Fund Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Fund Trustees, and periodic reports to the Board of Trustees on actual expenses. With a Fund’s consent, NBIA may subcontract to third parties, including investment providers, some of its responsibilities to that Fund under the Administration Agreement. In addition, a Fund may compensate third parties, including investment providers, for recordkeeping, accounting and other services.

During the fiscal years ended August 31, 2020, 2019, and 2018, the Investor Class of the Funds indicated below accrued management and administration fees as follows:

Trust Class and Advisor Class. For administrative services, the Trust Class and the Advisor Class of each Fund each pays NBIA a fee at the annual rate of 0.40% of that Class’s average daily net assets, plus certain out-of-pocket expenses for technology used for shareholder servicing and shareholder communications, subject to the prior approval of an annual budget by the Fund Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Fund Trustees, and periodic reports to the Board of Trustees on actual expenses. With a Fund’s consent, NBIA may subcontract to third parties, including investment providers, some of its responsibilities to that Fund under the Administration Agreement and may compensate each such third party that provides such services. (A portion of this compensation may be derived from the Rule 12b-1 fee paid to the Distributor by Trust Class and Advisor Class of certain Funds; see “Distribution Arrangements,” below.)

During the fiscal years ended August 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, the Trust Class of the Funds indicated below accrued management and administration fees as follows:

During the fiscal years ended August 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, the Advisor Class of the Funds indicated below accrued management and administration fees as follows:

Institutional Class.  For administrative services, the Institutional Class of each Fund pays NBIA a fee at the annual rate of 0.15% of the Class’s average daily net assets, plus certain out-of-pocket expenses for technology used for shareholder servicing and shareholder communications, subject to the prior approval of an annual budget by the Fund Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Fund Trustees, and periodic reports to the Board of Trustees on actual expenses. With a Fund’s consent NBIA may subcontract to third parties, including investment providers, some of its responsibilities to that Fund under the Administration Agreement and may compensate each such third party that provides such services. In addition, a Fund may compensate third parties, including investment providers, for recordkeeping, accounting or other services.

During the fiscal years ended August 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, the Institutional Class of the Funds indicated below accrued management and administration fees as follows:

Class A and Class C.  For administrative services, Class A and Class C of each Fund each pays NBIA a fee at the annual rate of 0.26% of that Class’s average daily net assets, plus certain out-of-pocket expenses for technology used for shareholder servicing and shareholder communications, subject to the prior approval of an annual budget by the Fund Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Fund Trustees, and periodic reports to the Board of Trustees on actual expenses. With the Fund’s consent, NBIA may subcontract to third parties, including investment providers, some of its responsibilities to the Fund under the Administration Agreement, and may compensate each such third party that provides such services.  (A portion of this compensation may be derived from the Rule 12b-1 fee paid to the Distributor by Class A and Class C of each Fund; see “Distribution Arrangements,” below.)

During the fiscal years ended August 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, Class A of the Funds indicated below accrued management and administration fees as follows:

Class A@	Management and Administration Fees Accrued for Fiscal Years Ended August 31,
	2020	2019	2018
Dividend Growth	$10,477	$12,428	$14,044
Emerging Markets Equity	$458,828	$546,505	$737,203

^@ As of the date of this SAI, Class A of Neuberger Berman Genesis Fund had not yet commenced operations.  Therefore, there is no data to report.

During the fiscal years ended August 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, Class C of the Funds indicated below accrued management and administration fees as follows:

^@ As of the date of this SAI, Class C of Neuberger Berman Genesis Fund had not yet commenced operations.  Therefore, there is no data to report.

Class R3.  For administrative services, Class R3 of each Fund pays NBIA a fee at the annual rate of 0.26% of the Class’s average daily net assets, plus certain out-of-pocket expenses for technology used for shareholder servicing and shareholder communications, subject to the prior approval of an annual budget by the Fund Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Fund Trustees, and periodic reports to the Board of Trustees on actual expenses. With the Fund’s consent, NBIA may subcontract to third parties, including investment providers, some of its responsibilities to the Fund under the Administration Agreement, and may compensate each such third party that provides such services. (A portion of this compensation may be derived from the Rule 12b-1 fee paid to the Distributor by this Class of each Fund; see “Distribution Arrangements,” below.)

During the fiscal years ended August 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, Class R3 of the Funds indicated below accrued management and administration fees as follows:

Class R6.  For administrative services, Class R6 of each Fund pays NBIA a fee at the annual rate of 0.05% of the Class’s average daily net assets, plus certain out-of-pocket expenses for technology used for shareholder servicing and shareholder communications, subject to the prior approval of an annual budget by the Fund Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Fund Trustees, and periodic reports to the Board of Trustees on actual expenses. Prior to December 6, 2018, Class R6 of each Fund paid NBIA a fee at the annual rate of 0.08% of the Class’s average daily net assets for administrative services, plus certain out-of-pocket expenses for technology used for shareholder servicing and shareholder communications, subject to the prior approval of an annual budget by the Fund Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Fund Trustees, and periodic reports to the Board of Trustees on actual expenses.

During the fiscal years ended August 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, Class R6 of the Funds indicated below accrued management and administration fees as follows:

Class R6	Management and Administration Fees Accrued for Fiscal Years Ended August 31,
	2020	2019	2018
Dividend Growth	$180	$156	$161
Emerging Markets Equity	$1,974,942	$1,818,760	$1,730,940
Genesis	$29,649,051	$29,181,067	$28,391,563
Guardian	$157	$62*	-
International Equity	$664,211	$658,145	$1,636,886
International Select	$109,239	$115,910	$61,265
International Small Cap	$2,155	$2,073	$2,449
Intrinsic Value	$1,443	$211*	-
Large Cap Value	$326,500	$162*	-

* Data is from the commencement of operations to the end of the applicable fiscal year. The date of the commencement of operations of a Fund’s Class R6 follows the name of the Fund: Neuberger Berman Guardian Fund (March 29, 2019), Neuberger Berman Intrinsic Value Fund (January 19, 2019), Neuberger Berman Large Cap Value Fund (January 19, 2019), Neuberger Berman Mid Cap Intrinsic Value Fund (March 29, 2019) and Neuberger Berman Small Cap Growth Fund (September 7, 2018).

Class E.  The Manager has contractually agreed to waive its management fee for the Class E shares until 8/31/2022. This undertaking may not be terminated during its term without the consent of the Board of Trustees.  For administrative services, Class E of each Fund pays NBIA a fee at an annual rate of 0.0% of the Class’s average daily net assets, plus certain out-of-pocket expenses for technology used for shareholder servicing and shareholder communications, subject to the prior approval of an annual budget by the Fund Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Fund Trustees, and periodic reports to the Board of Trustees on actual expenses.

As of the date of this SAI, Class E of Neuberger Berman Equity Income Fund, Neuberger Berman Genesis Fund, Neuberger Berman International Equity Fund, Neuberger Berman Large Cap Value Fund, Neuberger Berman Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund, and Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund had not yet commenced operations. Therefore, there is no data to report.

NBIA has contractually undertaken, during the respective period noted below, to waive fees and/or reimburse annual operating expenses of each Class of each Fund listed below so that its total operating expenses (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, dividend and interest expenses relating to short sales, acquired fund fees and expenses, and extraordinary expenses, if any) (“Operating Expenses”) do not exceed the rate per annum noted below.  Commitment fees relating to borrowings are treated as interest for purposes of this exclusion. Because the contractual undertaking excludes certain expenses, a Fund’s net expenses may exceed its contractual expense limitation.

Each Fund listed agrees to repay NBIA out of assets attributable to each of its respective Classes noted below for any fees waived by NBIA under the expense limitation or any Operating Expenses NBIA reimburses in excess of the expense limitation, provided that the repayment does not cause that Class’ Operating Expenses to exceed the expense limitation in place at the time the fees were waived and/or the expenses were reimbursed, or the expense limitation in place at the time the

Fund repays NBIA, whichever is lower. Any such repayment must be made within three years after the year in which NBIA incurred the expense.

With respect to any Fund, the appropriateness of these undertakings is determined on a Fund-by-Fund and Class-by-Class basis.