AMG FUNDS
AMG YACKTMAN FOCUSED FUND
CLASS N: YAFFX
CLASS I: YAFIX
AMG YACKTMAN GLOBAL FUND
CLASS N: YFSNX
CLASS I: YFSIX
AMG YACKTMAN FUND
CLASS I: YACKX
CLASS N: ---
CLASS Z: ---
AMG YACKTMAN SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES FUND
CLASS I: YASSX
CLASS Z: YASLX
CLASS N: —
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
DATED May 1, 2024
You can obtain a free copy of the prospectus for each of AMG Yacktman Focused Fund, AMG Yacktman Global Fund, AMG Yacktman Fund and AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund (each a “Fund,” and collectively the “Funds”), dated May 1, 2024, as supplemented from time to time (the “Prospectus”), by calling the Funds at (800) 548-4539 or by visiting the Funds’ website at wealth.amg.com. The Funds’ Prospectus provides basic information about investing in the Funds.
This Statement of Additional Information is not a Prospectus. It contains additional information regarding the activities and operations of the Funds. It should be read in conjunction with the Funds’ Prospectus.
On June 29, 2012, AMG Yacktman Focused Fund, a series of AMG Funds, acquired the assets of The Yacktman Focused Fund, a series of The Yacktman Funds, Inc. (the “Predecessor Yacktman Focused Fund”) and AMG Yacktman Fund, a series of AMG Funds, acquired the assets of The Yacktman Fund, a series of The Yacktman Funds, Inc. (the “Predecessor Yacktman Fund,” together with the Predecessor Yacktman Focused Fund, each referred to as a “Predecessor Fund,” and collectively as the “Predecessor Funds”). Pursuant to these acquisitions, the Predecessor Funds were reorganized into the corresponding Funds (the “Reorganizations”) and the Class N shares of AMG Yacktman Focused Fund and Class I shares of AMG Yacktman Fund are the successor to the accounting and performance information of the corresponding Predecessor Fund.
The Funds’ audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 and the related Notes to the Financial Statements for the Funds, as well as the Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm from each Fund’s Annual Report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023,
SAI071-0524
are incorporated by reference into this Statement of Additional Information (meaning such documents are legally a part of this Statement of Additional Information) and are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Funds’ Annual and Semi-Annual Reports are available without charge, upon request, by calling the Funds at (800) 548-4539 or by visiting the Funds’ website at wealth.amg.com or the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at www.sec.gov.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page | ||||
1 | ||||
2 | ||||
40 | ||||
50 | ||||
54 | ||||
69 | ||||
72 | ||||
76 | ||||
92 | ||||
96 | ||||
A-1 | ||||
B-1 |
GENERAL INFORMATION
This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) relates to AMG Yacktman Focused Fund, AMG Yacktman Global Fund, AMG Yacktman Fund and AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund (each a “Fund,” and collectively the “Funds”). Each Fund is a series of shares of beneficial interest of AMG Funds, a Massachusetts business trust (the “Trust”), and part of the AMG Funds Family of Funds, a fund complex comprised of 41 different funds, each having distinct investment management objectives, strategies, risks, and policies (the “AMG Fund Complex”). The Trust was organized on June 18, 1999.
Each of AMG Yacktman Focused Fund and AMG Yacktman Global Fund has established two classes of shares: Class N and Class I. Each of AMG Yacktman Fund and AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund has established three classes of shares: Class N, Class I and Class Z. Effective October 1, 2016, existing Investor Class, Service Class and Institutional Class shares of AMG Yacktman Focused Fund were renamed Class N, Class S and Class I, respectively, and existing Investor Class, Service Class and Institutional Class shares of AMG Yacktman Fund and AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund were renamed Class N, Class I and Class Z, respectively. Effective February 27, 2017, existing Class N shares of AMG Yacktman Focused Fund were terminated and existing Class S shares of such Fund were renamed Class N shares.
Class Z shares of AMG Yacktman Fund are not currently being offered and there are no such shares currently outstanding. Class N shares of AMG Yacktman Fund and AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund are not currently being offered and there are no such shares currently outstanding.
Effective April 28, 2014, Yacktman Focused Fund and Yacktman Fund changed their names to AMG Yacktman Focused Fund and AMG Yacktman Fund, respectively. Also effective April 28, 2014, Managers AMG Funds changed its name to AMG Funds and the Funds’ investment manager changed its name from Managers Investment Group LLC to AMG Funds LLC. Effective July 1, 2021, AMG Yacktman Focused Fund – Security Selection Only changed its name to AMG Yacktman Global Fund.
This SAI describes the financial history, management and operation of the Funds, as well as each Fund’s investment objective and policies. It should be read in conjunction with the Funds’ current prospectus, dated May 1, 2024, as supplemented from time to time (the “Prospectus”). The Trust’s executive office is located at 680 Washington Boulevard, Suite 500, Stamford, Connecticut 06901.
AMG Funds LLC (the “Investment Manager”), a subsidiary of Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (“AMG”), serves as investment manager to the Funds and is responsible for each Fund’s overall administration. It selects and recommends, subject to the approval of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Trustees”), an independent asset manager, or a team of independent asset managers (the “Subadviser” or “Subadvisers”) to manage each Fund’s investment portfolio. The Investment Manager also monitors the performance, security holdings and investment strategies of these Subadvisers and researches any potential new Subadvisers for the Funds. Yacktman Asset Management LP currently serves as Subadviser to the Funds. See “Management of the Funds” for more information.
Investments in the Funds are not:
• |
Deposits or obligations of any bank; |
• |
Guaranteed or endorsed by any bank; or |
1
• |
Federally insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board or any other federal agency. |
ADDITIONAL INVESTMENT POLICIES
The following is additional information regarding the investment policies used by each Fund in an attempt to achieve its investment objective as stated in its Prospectus. The Trust is an open-end management investment company, and AMG Yacktman Fund is a diversified series of the Trust. Each of AMG Yacktman Focused Fund, AMG Yacktman Global Fund and AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund is a non-diversified series of the Trust.
The table below shows the types of securities and instruments that may be purchased by the Funds (unless otherwise noted) to the extent such investments are permitted by applicable law. For a more complete description of the types of securities and techniques that may be utilized by the Funds, see “Investment Techniques and Associated Risks” below. The information below does not describe every type of investment, technique or risk to which each Fund may be exposed. Each Fund reserves the right, without notice, to make any investment, or use any investment technique, except to the extent that such activity would require a shareholder vote, as discussed below under “Fundamental Investment Restrictions.”
2
Investment Practices |
AMG Yacktman Focused Fund |
AMG Yacktman Global Fund |
AMG Yacktman Fund |
AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund | ||||
Below Investment Grade Debt Securities | X | X | X | X | ||||
Borrowing | X | X | X | X | ||||
Commercial Paper and Commercial Paper Master Notes | X | X | X | X | ||||
Convertible Securities | X | X | X | X | ||||
Corporate and Other Debt Securities | X | X | X | X | ||||
Derivative Instruments | X | X | X | |||||
Equity Investments | X | X | X | X | ||||
Common Stock |
X | X | X | X | ||||
Depositary Receipts |
X | X | X | X | ||||
Initial Public Offerings |
X | X | X | X | ||||
Preferred Stock |
X | X | X | X | ||||
Secondary Offerings |
X | X | X | X | ||||
Foreign Securities | X | X | X | X | ||||
Illiquid Securities, Private Placements and Certain Unregistered Securities | X | X | X | X | ||||
Inflation-Linked Bonds | X | X | X | X | ||||
Interfund Lending | X | X | X | X | ||||
Investment Company Securities | X | X | X | X | ||||
Money Market Instruments and Cash Equivalents | X | X | X | X | ||||
Publicly Traded Partnerships | X | X | X | X | ||||
Securities Lending | X | X | X | X | ||||
Short Sales | X | X | X | |||||
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies | X | X | X | X | ||||
United States Government Obligations | X | X | X | X | ||||
Warrants and Rights | X | X | X |
3
Investment Techniques and Associated Risks
(1) Below Investment Grade Securities
In General. Each Fund may invest in below investment grade securities, subject to any limitations set forth in the Funds’ Prospectus and this SAI. Below investment grade securities (also referred to as “high yield securities” or “junk bonds”) are securities rated below BBB by S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) or Baa by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”), securities comparably rated by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization, or unrated securities of equivalent quality. See Appendix A for further discussion regarding securities ratings. Below investment grade securities are deemed by the rating agencies to be predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal and may involve major risk or exposure to adverse conditions. Below investment grade securities, while generally offering higher yields than investment grade securities with similar maturities, involve greater risks, including the possibility of default or bankruptcy. The special risk considerations in connection with investments in these securities are discussed below.
Below investment grade securities generally offer a higher yield than that available from higher-rated issues with similar maturities, as compensation for holding a security that is subject to greater risk. Lower-rated securities involve higher risks in that they are especially subject to (1) adverse changes in general economic conditions and in the industries in which the issuers are engaged, (2) adverse changes in the financial condition of the issuers, (3) price fluctuation in response to changes in interest rates and (4) limited liquidity and secondary market support.
Subsequent to 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 future purchase by that Fund. A Fund may continue to hold such a security after its rating has been reduced.
Effect of Interest Rates and Economic Changes. All interest-bearing securities typically experience appreciation when interest rates decline and depreciation when interest rates rise. The market values of below investment grade securities tend to reflect individual corporate developments to a greater extent than do higher rated securities, which react primarily to fluctuations in the general level of interest rates. Below investment grade securities also tend to be more sensitive to economic conditions than are higher-rated securities. As a result, they generally involve more credit risks than securities in the higher-rated categories. During an economic downturn or a sustained period of rising interest rates, highly leveraged issuers of below investment grade securities may experience financial stress which may adversely affect their ability to service their debt obligations, meet projected business goals, and obtain additional financing. Periods of economic uncertainty and changes would also generally result in increased volatility in the market prices of these securities and thus in each Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”).
Payment Expectations. Below investment grade securities may contain redemption, call or prepayment provisions which permit the issuer of such securities to, at its discretion, redeem the securities. During periods of falling interest rates, issuers of these securities are likely to redeem or prepay the securities and refinance them with debt securities with a lower interest rate. To the extent an issuer is able to refinance the securities, or otherwise redeem them, each Fund may have to replace the securities with a lower yielding security, which would result in a lower return.
Credit Ratings. Credit ratings issued by credit-rating agencies are designed to evaluate the safety of principal and interest payments of rated securities. They do not, however, evaluate the market value risk of lower-quality securities and, therefore, may not fully reflect the risks of an investment. In addition, credit rating agencies may or may not make timely changes in a rating to reflect changes in the
4
economy or in the condition of the issuer that affect the market value of the security. With regard to an investment in below investment grade securities, the achievement of each Fund’s investment objective may be more dependent on the Subadviser’s own credit analysis than is the case for higher rated securities. Although the Subadviser considers security ratings when making investment decisions, it does not rely solely on the ratings assigned by the rating services. Rather, the Subadviser performs research and independently assesses the value of particular securities relative to the market. The Subadviser’s analysis may include consideration of the issuer’s experience and managerial strength, changing financial condition, borrowing requirements or debt maturity schedules, and the issuer’s responsiveness to changes in business conditions and interest rates. It also considers relative values based on anticipated cash flow, interest or dividend coverage, asset coverage and earnings prospects.
The Subadviser buys and sells debt securities principally in response to its evaluation of an issuer’s continuing ability to meet its obligations, the availability of better investment opportunities, and its assessment of changes in business conditions and interest rates.
Liquidity and Valuation. Below investment grade securities may lack an established retail secondary market, and to the extent a secondary trading market does exist, it may be less liquid than the secondary market for higher rated securities. The lack of a liquid secondary market may negatively impact each Fund’s ability to dispose of particular securities. The lack of a liquid secondary market for certain securities may also make it more difficult for each Fund to obtain accurate market quotations for purposes of valuing the Fund’s portfolio. In addition, adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may decrease the values and liquidity of below investment grade securities, especially in a thinly traded market.
Because of the many risks involved in investing in below investment grade securities, the success of such investments is dependent upon the credit analysis of the Subadviser. Although the market for below investment grade securities is not new, and the market has previously weathered economic downturns, the past performance of the market for such securities may not be an accurate indication of its performance during future economic downturns or periods of rising interest rates. Differing yields on debt securities of the same maturity are a function of several factors, including the relative financial strength of the issuers.
(2) Borrowing
Under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), a Fund may borrow from any bank, provided that immediately after any such borrowing there is an asset coverage of at least 300% for all borrowings by the Fund and provided further, that in the event that such asset coverage shall at any time fall below 300%, the Fund shall, within three days (not including Sundays and holidays) thereafter or such longer period as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) may prescribe by rules and regulations, reduce the amount of its borrowings to such an extent that the asset coverage of such borrowings shall be at least 300%. Each of AMG Yacktman Focused Fund and AMG Yacktman Fund may borrow from banks and enter into reverse repurchase agreements or forward or dollar roll transactions up to 33 1/3% of the value of the Fund’s total assets at market value (computed at the time the loan is made), including the amount borrowed. In addition, each Fund may borrow up to 33 1/3% of its total assets through an interfund lending program with other eligible funds in the AMG Fund Complex (as further described below). The 1940 Act also permits an open-end investment company to borrow money from a bank or other person provided that such loan is for temporary purposes only and is in an amount not exceeding 5% of the value of the investment company’s total assets at the time when the loan is made. A loan is presumed to be for temporary purposes if it is repaid within sixty days and is not extended or renewed. Typically, a Fund may pledge up to 33 1/3% of its total assets to secure these borrowings. The Trust, on behalf of each Fund, has entered into a master interfund lending agreement
5
that would allow each Fund to borrow, for temporary purposes only, from other eligible funds in the AMG Fund Complex, subject to each Fund’s fundamental investment restrictions and provided such borrowings do not exceed the amount permitted by Section 18 of the 1940 Act, and the rules and regulations thereunder, as modified by the below mentioned and any other applicable exemptive order or other relief. Please see “Interfund Lending” below for more information. If a Fund’s asset coverage for borrowings falls below 300%, the Fund will take prompt action to reduce its borrowings even though it may be disadvantageous at that time from an investment point of view. A Fund will incur costs when it borrows, including payment of interest and any fee necessary to maintain a line of credit, and may be required to maintain a minimum average balance. If a Fund is permitted to borrow money to take advantage of investment opportunities, if the income and appreciation on assets acquired with such borrowed funds exceed their borrowing cost, a Fund’s investment performance will increase, whereas if the income and appreciation on assets acquired with borrowed funds are less than their borrowing costs, investment performance will decrease. If a Fund borrows to invest in securities and the related gains from the investment and/or any hedging activity exceed the cost of borrowing and/or losses on hedging, the NAV of the shares will rise more than would otherwise be the case. On the other hand, if the investment performance of the additional securities purchased fails to cover their cost (including any interest paid on the money borrowed) to the Fund, the NAV of the Fund’s shares will decrease faster than would otherwise be the case. This speculative characteristic is known as “leverage.”
(3) Commercial Paper and Commercial Paper Master Notes
Commercial paper refers to promissory notes that represent an unsecured debt of a corporation or finance company. They have a maturity of less than nine (9) months. Eurodollar commercial paper refers to promissory notes payable in U.S. dollars by European issuers. Commercial paper master notes refer to demand instruments without a fixed maturity bearing interest at rates that are fixed to known lending rates and automatically adjusted when such lending rates change.
(4) Convertible Securities
Each Fund may invest in convertible securities, subject to any restrictions set forth in the Funds’ Prospectus and this SAI. Convertible securities include bonds, debentures, notes, preferred stock or other securities 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. A convertible security entitles the holder to receive 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, convertible securities ordinarily provide a stable stream of income with generally higher yields than those of 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 but rank senior to common stock in a corporation’s capital structure.
Contingent convertible securities (“CoCos”) are hybrid bonds typically issued by banks. When the issuer’s capital ratio falls below a specified trigger level, or in a regulator’s discretion depending on the regulator’s judgment about the issuer’s solvency prospects, a CoCo may be written down, written off or converted into an equity security. Due to the contingent write-down, write-off and conversion feature, CoCos may have substantially greater risk than other securities in times of financial stress. If the trigger level is breached, the issuer’s decision to write down, write off or convert a CoCo may be outside a Fund’s control. Any such action could have an adverse effect on a Fund’s returns, and a Fund may suffer a complete loss on an investment in CoCos with no chance of recovery even if the issuer remains in existence.
6
The value of a convertible security is a function of (1) its yield in comparison with the yields of other securities of comparable maturity and quality that do not have a conversion privilege and (2) its worth, at market value, if converted into the underlying common stock. Convertible securities are typically issued by smaller capitalized companies, whose stock prices may be volatile. The price of a convertible security often reflects such variations in the price of the underlying common stock in a way that non-convertible debt does not. A convertible security may be subject to redemption at the option of the issuer at a price established in the convertible security’s governing instrument, which could have an adverse effect on a Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective.
(5) Corporate and Other Debt Securities
Each Fund may invest in corporate and other debt securities, subject to any restrictions set forth in the Funds’ Prospectus and this SAI.
Corporate debt securities include bills, notes, debentures, money market instruments and similar instruments and securities, and are generally used by corporations and other issuers to borrow money from investors for such purposes as working capital or capital expenditures. The issuer pays the investor a variable or fixed rate of interest and normally must repay the amount borrowed on or before maturity. The investment return of corporate debt securities reflects interest earnings and changes in the market value of the security. The market value of a corporate debt obligation may be expected to rise and fall inversely with interest rates generally. In addition to interest rate risk, corporate debt securities also involve the risk that the issuers of the securities may not be able to meet their obligations on interest or principal payments at the time called for by an instrument. The rate of return or return of principal on some debt obligations may be linked or indexed to the level of exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and a foreign currency or currencies.
(6) Derivative Instruments (AMG Yacktman Focused Fund, AMG Yacktman Global Fund and AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund only)
The following describes certain derivative instruments and products in which AMG Yacktman Focused Fund, AMG Yacktman Global Fund and AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund may invest and risks associated therewith. The use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. Derivatives are subject to a number of risks, such as liquidity risk, correlation risk, market risk, credit risk, leveraging risk, counterparty risk, tax risk and management risk, as well as risks arising from changes in applicable regulatory requirements.
The Funds might not employ any of the strategies described below or be permitted by applicable law to do so, and no assurance can be given that any strategy used will succeed. Also, suitable derivative and/or hedging transactions may not be available in all circumstances and there can be no assurance that the Fund will be able to identify or employ a desirable derivative and/or hedging transaction at any time or from time to time or that any such transactions will be successful.
Futures Contracts and Options on Futures Contracts. AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund and AMG Yacktman Global Fund may purchase and sell foreign currency futures contracts for hedging purposes. The Funds may invest in foreign currency futures contracts and options thereon (“options on futures”) that are traded on a U.S. or foreign exchange, board of trade, or similar entity, or quoted on an automated quotation system as an adjunct to their securities activities. The Funds may enter into futures contracts for the purchase or sale of foreign currencies, and may also use options on securities or currency futures contracts.
7
A futures contract provides for the future sale by one party and purchase by another party of a specified quantity of a financial asset or the cash value of an index at a specified price and time. Futures contracts are traded on exchanges through futures commission merchants (each an “FCM”).
A public market exists in futures contracts covering a number of foreign currencies, including but not limited to: the Australian dollar; the Canadian dollar; the British pound; the Japanese yen; the Swiss franc; the Mexican peso; and certain multinational currencies, such as the euro. It is expected that other futures contracts in which the Funds may invest will be developed and traded in the future.
The Funds may purchase and write call and put options on futures. Options on futures possess many of the same characteristics as options on securities (discussed below). An option on a futures contract gives the holder the right, in return for the premium paid, to assume a long position (call) or short position (put) in a futures contract at a specified exercise price and time(s) during the period of the option. Upon exercise of a call option, the holder acquires a long position in the futures contract and the writer is assigned the opposite short position. In the case of a put option, the holder acquires a short position and the writer is assigned the opposite long position. A call option is “in the money” if the value of the futures contract that is the subject of the option exceeds the exercise price. A put option is “in the money” if the exercise price exceeds the value of the futures contract that is the subject of the option.
When a Fund purchases or sells a futures contract, the Fund is required to deposit with its FCM an amount of margin set by the clearing house on which the contract is cleared and the Fund’s FCM. This amount may be modified by the exchange or the FCM during the term of the contract. Margin requirements on foreign exchanges may be different than U.S. exchanges. The initial margin is in the nature of a performance bond or good faith deposit on the futures contract which is returned to a Fund upon termination of the contract, assuming all contractual obligations have been satisfied. A Fund may earn interest income on its initial margin deposits. A futures contract held by a Fund is valued daily at the official settlement price of the exchange on which it is traded. Each day a Fund pays or receives cash, called “variation margin,” equal to the daily change in value of the futures contract. This process is known as “marking to market” and is generally considered a settlement between a Fund and the exchange of the amount one would owe the other if the futures contract expired. If a Fund has insufficient cash to meet daily variation margin requirements, it might need to sell assets at a time when such sales are disadvantageous. In computing daily NAV, a Fund will mark to market its open futures positions.
A Fund is also required to deposit and maintain margin with respect to put and call options on futures contracts written by it. Such margin deposits will vary depending on the nature of the underlying futures contract (and the related initial margin requirements), the current market value of the option, and other futures positions held by a Fund.
Although some futures contracts call for making or taking delivery of the underlying assets, generally these obligations are closed out prior to delivery by offsetting purchases or sales of matching futures contracts (i.e., with the same exchange, underlying asset, and delivery month). If an offsetting purchase price is less than the original sale price, a Fund realizes a capital gain, or if it is more, the Fund realizes a capital loss. Conversely, if an offsetting sale price is more than the original purchase price, a Fund realizes a capital gain, or if it is less, the Fund realizes a capital loss. Any transaction costs must also be included in these calculations. Positions in futures and options on futures may be closed only on an exchange or board of trade that provides a market. However, there can be no assurance that a liquid market will exist for a particular contract at a particular time. In such event, it may not be possible to close a futures contract or options position, and a Fund would be obligated to meet margin requirements until the position is closed. The inability to close options and futures positions also could have an adverse impact on a Fund’s ability to effectively hedge.
8
Limitations on Use of Futures and Options on Futures. AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund and AMG Yacktman Global Fund may only enter into futures contracts or options on futures which are standardized and traded on a U.S. or foreign exchange, board of trade, or similar entity, or quoted on an automated quotation system, or in the case of options on futures, for which an established over-the-counter (“OTC”) option market exists. The Funds may utilize futures contracts and related options for hedging purposes, for example, to hedge against changes in foreign currency exchange rates.
Risks Associated with Futures and Options on Futures. The loss to a Fund resulting from investments in futures contracts is potentially unlimited. Futures markets can be highly volatile, and the use of futures contracts can increase the volatility of a Fund’s NAV. A Fund’s ability to establish and close out positions in futures contracts requires a liquid market. A liquid market may not exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time, and as a result a Fund may be unable when it wishes to effect closing transactions to terminate its exposure under that contract. In using futures contracts, a Fund relies on the Subadviser’s ability to predict market and price movements correctly. The skills needed to use futures contracts successfully are different from those needed for traditional portfolio management. A purchase or sale of a futures contract may result in losses in excess of the amount invested in the futures contract. If a Fund uses futures contracts for hedging purposes, these risks can be exacerbated and/or certain additional risks can arise. Some of the risk may be caused by an imperfect correlation between movements in the price of the futures contract and the price of the security or other investment being hedged. The hedge will not be fully effective where there is such imperfect correlation. Also, an incorrect correlation could result in a loss on both the hedged instruments in AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund or AMG Yacktman Global Fund, as applicable, and the hedging vehicle, so that the portfolio return might have been greater had hedging not been attempted. For example, if the price of the futures contract moves more than the price of the hedged instrument, a Fund would experience either a loss or gain on the future which is not completely offset by movements in the price of the hedged instrument. In addition, there are significant differences between traditional cash markets (like the securities markets) and the futures markets that could result in an imperfect correlation between the markets, causing a given hedge not to achieve its objectives. The degree of imperfection of correlation depends on circumstances such as variations in speculative market demand for futures and options on futures contracts, including technical influences in futures trading and options on futures, and differences between the financial instruments being hedged and the instruments underlying the standard contracts available for trading in such respects as interest rate levels, maturities, and creditworthiness of issuers. To compensate for imperfect correlations, a Fund may purchase or sell futures contracts in a greater dollar amount than the hedged instruments if the volatility of the hedged instruments is historically greater than the volatility of the futures contracts. Conversely, a Fund may purchase or sell fewer contracts if the volatility of the price of the hedged instruments is historically less than that of the futures contracts. The risk of imperfect correlation generally tends to diminish as the maturity date of the futures contract approaches. A decision as to whether, when and how to hedge involves the exercise of skill and judgment, and even a well-conceived hedge may be unsuccessful to some degree because of market behavior or unexpected interest rate trends. Also, suitable hedging transactions may not be available in all circumstances.
Futures exchanges may limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in certain futures contract prices during a single trading day under regulations referred to as “daily price fluctuation limits” or “daily limits.” The daily limit establishes the maximum amount that the price of a futures contract may vary either up or down from the previous day’s settlement price at the end of the current trading session. Once the daily limit has been reached in a futures contract subject to the limit, no more trades may be made on that day at a price beyond that limit, and positions in the futures contract can be neither established nor liquidated unless traders are willing to effect trades at or within the limit. The daily limit governs only price movements during a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses because the limit may work to prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. For example, futures prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby
9
preventing prompt liquidation of positions and subjecting some holders of futures contracts to substantial losses. Similar occurrences could prevent a Fund from promptly liquidating unfavorable positions and could subject a Fund to substantial losses that could exceed the margin committed to such trades. Daily limits may also impact the trading of related contracts, such as options on futures contracts. Exchanges may also cancel trades in limited circumstances, for example, if the exchange believes that allowing such trades to stand as executed could have an adverse impact on the stability or integrity of the market. Any such cancellation may adversely affect the performance of a Fund.
Market participants that inadvertently hold a commodity futures contract beyond the contract’s expiration date, or “First Notice Day,” may be required to physically deliver (for a seller) or accept physical delivery of (if a buyer) the underlying commodity. In the case of a seller, such seller must have the required quantity and quality of the deliverable commodity on hand. In the case of a buyer, such buyer must take physical delivery of and pay the full value for the underlying commodity. The failure to offset or otherwise settle a commodity futures contract prior to its expiration could result in unexpected costs and expenses incurred in connection with satisfying the delivery or acceptance obligations of the underlying contract.
There can be no assurance that a liquid market will exist at a time including when a Fund seeks to close out a futures or a futures option position. If a Fund were unable to liquidate a futures contract or an option on a futures position due to the absence of a liquid market, the imposition of price limits or otherwise, it could incur substantial losses. A Fund would continue to be subject to market risk with respect to the position. Also, except in the case of purchased options, a Fund would continue to be required to make daily variation margin payments. In addition, with respect to contracts that are relatively new instruments without a significant trading history, the risk of a lack of liquidity is greater. In addition, a Fund’s FCM may limit a Fund’s ability to invest in certain futures contracts. Such restrictions may adversely affect a Fund’s performance and its ability to achieve its investment objective.
Utilization of futures transactions by a Fund involves the risk of loss by a Fund in the event of default or insolvency of an FCM or clearing house with whom a Fund has an open position in a futures contract or related option. See “Derivatives Counterparty Risk” and “Risks of Government Regulation of Derivatives” below.
Forward Currency Contracts. AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund and AMG Yacktman Global Fund may enter into forward currency contracts to attempt to hedge currency exposure. A forward currency contract is an obligation to purchase or sell a currency against another currency at a future date and price as agreed upon by the parties. A Fund may either accept or make delivery of the currency at the maturity of the forward contract or, prior to maturity, enter into a closing transaction involving the purchase or sale of an offsetting contract. Secondary markets generally do not exist for forward currency contracts, 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 be able to close out a forward currency contract at a favorable price prior to maturity.
The Funds may engage in forward currency transactions in anticipation of, or to attempt to protect itself against, fluctuations in exchange rates. A Fund might sell a particular currency forward, for example, when it wanted to hold bonds denominated in that currency but anticipated, and sought to be protected against, a decline in the currency against the U.S. dollar. Similarly, a Fund might purchase a currency forward to “lock in” the dollar price of securities denominated in that currency which it anticipated purchasing.
10
Forward contracts involve a number of the same characteristics and risks as futures contracts but there also are several differences. Forward contracts are not traded on regulated exchanges and are not necessarily marked to market on a daily basis. Forward contracts settle only at the pre-determined settlement date. This can result in deviations between forward prices and futures prices, especially in circumstances where interest rates and futures prices are positively correlated. Second, in the absence of exchange trading and involvement of clearing houses, there are generally no standardized terms for forward contracts. Accordingly, the parties are free to establish such settlement times and underlying amounts of an underlying instrument as desirable, which may vary from the standardized provisions available through any futures contract. Because forward contracts are bilateral contracts, when a Fund enters into a forward contract, it incurs greater risk of default by the counterparty to the transaction. See “Derivatives Counterparty Risk” and “Risks of Government Regulation of Derivatives” below.
Options on Securities. AMG Yacktman Focused Fund, AMG Yacktman Global Fund and AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund may purchase and write put and call options on stocks. Purchasers of options pay an amount, known as a premium, to the option writer in exchange for the right under the option contract. A call option gives the purchaser the right to buy, and obligates the writer to sell, the underlying security or instrument at the agreed-upon price during the option period. Call options also may be used as a means of participating in an anticipated price increase of a security or instrument on a more limited risk basis than would be possible if the security or instrument itself were purchased. In the event of a decline in the price of the underlying security or instrument, use of this strategy would serve to limit a Fund’s potential loss to the option premium paid; conversely, if the market price of the underlying security or instrument increases above the exercise price and the Fund either sells or exercises the option, any profit realized would be reduced by the premium. A put option gives the purchaser the right to sell, and obligates the writer to buy, the underlying security or instrument at the agreed-upon price during the option period. A Fund may purchase put options on only specific stocks to hedge against losses caused by declines in the prices of stocks in its portfolio, and may purchase call options on specific stocks to realize gains if the prices of the stocks increase. The put option enables a Fund to sell the underlying security or instrument at the predetermined exercise price; thus the potential for loss to a Fund below the exercise price is limited to the option premium paid. If the market price of the underlying security or instrument is lower than the exercise price of the put option, any profit a Fund realizes on the sale of the security or instrument would be reduced by the premium paid for the put option less any amount for which the put option may be sold.
A Fund can use both European-style and American-style options. A European-style option is only exercisable at a specified time and date. This is in contrast to American-style options, which are exercisable at any time prior to the expiration date of the option.
A Fund may write put options on specific stocks to generate income. A Fund will only write put options if it is willing to purchase the stock at the exercise price. Writing put options can serve as a limited long hedge because declines in the value of the hedged investment would be offset to the extent of the premium received for writing the option. However, if the underlying security or instrument depreciates to a price lower than the exercise price of the put option, it can be expected that the put option will be exercised and a Fund will be obligated to purchase the underlying security or instrument at more than its market value. If the put option is an OTC option, any securities or other assets used as cover may be considered illiquid.
A Fund may write call options on specific stocks to generate income and hedge against losses caused by declines in the prices of stocks in its portfolio. Writing call options can serve as a limited short hedge, because declines in the value of the hedged security or instrument would be offset to the extent of the premium received for writing the option. However, when securities prices increase, a Fund is exposed to an increased risk of loss, because if the price of the underlying security or instrument exceeds the option’s exercise price, the Fund will suffer a loss equal to the amount by which the market price exceeds the exercise price at the time the call option is exercised, minus the premium received. If the call option is an OTC option, any securities or other assets used as cover may be considered illiquid.
11
The value of an option position will be affected by, among other things, the current market value of the underlying security or instrument, the time remaining until expiration, the relationship of the exercise price to the market price of the underlying security or instrument, the historical price volatility of the underlying security or instrument and general market conditions.
A Fund may effectively terminate its right or obligation under an option by entering into a closing transaction. For example, a Fund may terminate its obligation under a call or put option that it had written by purchasing an identical call or put option; this is known as a closing purchase transaction. Conversely, a Fund may terminate a position in a put or call option it had purchased by writing an identical put or call option; this is known as a closing sale transaction. Closing transactions permit a Fund to realize profits or limit losses on an option position prior to its exercise or expiration.
Risks of Options. Options offer large amounts of leverage, which will result in a Fund’s NAV being more sensitive to changes in the value of the related instrument. A Fund may purchase or write both exchange-traded and OTC options. Exchange-traded options in the United States are issued by a clearing organization affiliated with the exchange on which the option is listed that, in effect, guarantees completion of every exchange-traded option transaction. In contrast, OTC options are contracts between a Fund and its counterparty (usually a securities dealer or a bank) with no clearing organization guarantee. Thus, when a Fund purchases an OTC option, it relies solely on the counterparty from whom it purchased the option to make or take delivery of the underlying investment upon exercise of the option. Failure by the counterparty to do so would result in the loss of any premium paid by a Fund as well as the loss of any expected benefit of the transaction.
A Fund’s ability to establish and close out positions in exchange-listed options depends on the existence of a liquid market. However, there can be no assurance that such a market will exist at any particular time. Closing transactions can be made for OTC options only by negotiating directly with the counterparty, or by a transaction in the secondary market if any such market exists. There can be no assurance that a Fund will in fact be able to close out an OTC option position at a favorable price prior to expiration. In the event of insolvency of the counterparty, a Fund might be unable to close out an OTC option position at any time prior to its expiration, if at all.
If a Fund were unable to effect a closing transaction for an option it had purchased, due to the absence of a counterparty or secondary market, the imposition of price limits or otherwise, it would have to exercise the option to realize any profit. The inability to enter into a closing purchase transaction for a covered call option written by a Fund could cause material losses because the Fund would be unable to sell the investment used as cover for the written option until the option expires or is exercised.
Options have varying expiration dates. The exercise price of the options may be below, equal to or above the current market value of the underlying security or instrument. Options purchased by a Fund that expire unexercised have no value, and the Fund will realize a loss in the amount of the premium paid and any transaction costs. If an option written by a Fund expires unexercised, the Fund realizes a gain equal to the premium received at the time the option was written. Transaction costs must be included in these calculations.
Additional risks related to options are discussed below (“Risks of Government Regulation of Derivatives” and “Derivatives Counterparty Risk”).
12
Foreign Currency Options. AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund and AMG Yacktman Global Fund may use currency options, for example, to cross-hedge when the Subadviser anticipates that the currency will appreciate or depreciate in value. A Fund may additionally buy or sell put and call options on foreign currencies as a hedge against changes in the value of the U.S. dollar (or another currency) in relation to a foreign currency in which the Fund’s securities may be denominated. A put option on a foreign currency gives the purchaser of the option the right to sell a foreign currency at the exercise price until the option expires. A call option on a foreign currency gives the purchaser of the option the right to purchase the currency at the exercise price until the option expires. A Fund might purchase a currency put option, for example, to attempt to protect itself during the contract period against a decline in the dollar value of a currency in which it holds or anticipates holding securities. If the currency’s value should decline against the dollar, the loss in currency value should be offset, in whole or in part, by an increase in the value of the put. If the value of the currency instead should rise against the dollar, any gain to a Fund would be reduced by the premium paid for the put option. Any transaction costs must also be included in these calculations. A currency call option might be purchased, for example, in anticipation of, or to attempt to protect against, a rise in the value against the dollar of a currency in which a Fund anticipates purchasing securities.
A Fund may buy or sell put and call options on foreign currencies either on exchanges or in the OTC market. Currency options traded on U.S. or other exchanges may be subject to position limits which may limit the ability of a Fund to reduce foreign currency risk using such options. Listed options are third party contracts (i.e., performance of the obligations of the purchaser and seller is guaranteed by the exchange or clearing corporation), and have standardized strike prices and expiration dates. OTC options differ from listed options in that they are bilateral contracts with strike prices, expiration dates and other terms negotiated between buyer and seller, and generally do not have as much market liquidity as exchange-traded options. Under definitions adopted by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and SEC, many foreign currency options are considered swaps for certain purposes, including determination of whether such instruments need to be exchange-traded and centrally cleared, as discussed further in “Risks of Government Regulation of Derivatives” below.
Additional Risks of Futures Contracts, Options on Futures Contracts, Options on Securities and Forward Currency Exchange Contracts and Options thereon. Options on securities, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, and options on currencies may be traded on foreign exchanges. Such transactions may not be regulated as effectively as similar transactions in the United States, may not involve a clearing mechanism and related guarantees and are subject to the risk of governmental actions affecting trading in, or the prices of, foreign securities. Some foreign exchanges may be principal markets so that no common clearing facility exists and a Fund may look only to the broker with whom a position is held for performance of the contract. The value of such positions also could be adversely affected by (i) other complex foreign political, legal and economic factors, (ii) lesser availability than in the United States of data on which to make trading decisions, (iii) delays in a Fund’s ability to act upon economic events occurring in foreign markets during non-business hours in the United States, (iv) the imposition of different exercise and settlement terms and procedures and margin requirements than in the United States and (v) lesser trading volume. In addition, unless a Fund hedges against fluctuations in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the currencies in which trading is done on foreign exchanges, any profits that the Fund might realize in trading could be eliminated by adverse changes in the exchange rate, or the Fund could incur losses as a result of those changes.
The value of some derivative instruments in which the Funds may invest may be particularly sensitive to changes in prevailing interest rates, and, like the other investments of the Funds, the ability of a Fund to successfully utilize these instruments may depend in part upon the ability of the Subadviser to forecast interest rates and other economic factors correctly. If the Subadviser incorrectly forecasts such factors and has taken positions in derivative instruments contrary to prevailing market trends, the Fund could be exposed to risk of loss. In addition, a Fund’s use of such instruments may cause the Fund to realize higher amounts of short-term capital gains (generally taxed to shareholders at ordinary income tax rates) than if the Fund had not used such instruments.
13
Certain of a Fund’s investments in derivative instruments may produce a difference between its book income and its taxable income. If such a difference arises, and a Fund’s book income is less than its taxable income, the Fund could be required to make distributions exceeding book income to qualify as a regulated investment company that is accorded special tax treatment and to avoid an entity-level tax. A Fund may be required to accrue and distribute income that it is deemed to earn from certain derivative investments on a current basis, even though the Fund does not receive the income currently. A Fund may have to sell other investments to obtain cash needed to make income distributions, including at times when it is not advantageous to do so, which may reduce the Fund’s assets, increase its expense ratio and decrease its rate of return. For U.S. federal income tax information regarding derivative instruments, see “Certain U.S. Federal Income Tax Matters” below.
Derivatives Counterparty Risk. A Fund will be subject to credit risk with respect to the counterparties to derivative contracts. There can be no assurance that a counterparty will be able or willing to meet its obligations. Events that affect the ability of a Fund’s counterparties to comply with the terms of the derivative contracts may have an adverse effect on the Fund. If the counterparty defaults, the Fund will have contractual remedies, but there can be no assurance that the Fund will succeed in enforcing contractual remedies. Counterparty risk still exists even if a counterparty’s obligations are secured by collateral because a Fund’s interest in collateral may not be perfected or additional collateral may not be promptly posted as required. Counterparty risk also may be more pronounced if a counterparty’s obligations exceed the amount of collateral held by a Fund, if any, a Fund is unable to exercise its interest in collateral upon default by the counterparty, or the termination value of the instrument varies significantly from the marked-to-market value of the instrument. If a counterparty becomes insolvent, a Fund may experience significant delays in obtaining any recovery under the derivative contract in a bankruptcy or other reorganization proceeding or may obtain a limited or no recovery of amounts due to it under the derivative contract.
Transactions in certain types of derivatives including futures and options on futures as well as some types of swaps are required to be (or are capable of being) centrally cleared. In a transaction involving such derivatives, a Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house so the Fund is subject to the credit risk of the clearing house and the member of the clearing house (the “clearing member”) through which it holds its position. Credit risk of market participants with respect to such derivatives is concentrated in a few clearing houses and clearing members. It is not clear how an insolvency proceeding of a clearing house would be conducted and what impact an insolvency of a clearing house would have on the financial system. A clearing member is generally obligated to segregate all funds received from customers with respect to cleared derivatives transactions from the clearing member’s proprietary assets. However, all funds and other property received by a clearing broker from its customers are generally held by the clearing member on a commingled basis in an omnibus account, and the clearing member may invest those funds in certain instruments permitted under the applicable regulations. The assets of a Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the insolvency of the Fund’s clearing member, because the Fund would be limited to recovering only a pro rata share of all available funds segregated on behalf of the clearing member’s customers for a relevant account class. In addition, financial difficulty, fraud or misrepresentation at any of these institutions could lead to significant losses as well as impair the operational capabilities or capital position of a Fund. For example, if a clearing member does not comply with applicable regulations or its agreement with a Fund, or in the event of fraud or misappropriation of customer assets by a clearing member, the Fund could have only an unsecured creditor claim in an insolvency of the clearing member with respect to the margin held by the clearing member.
14
Risks of Government Regulation of Derivatives. It is possible that government regulation of various types of derivative instruments, including futures and swap agreements, may limit or prevent a Fund from using such instruments as a part of its investment strategy, and could ultimately prevent a Fund from being able to achieve its investment objective. Rules and regulations could, among other things, restrict a Fund’s ability to engage in, or increase the cost to a Fund of derivatives transactions, for example, by making some types of derivatives no longer available to the Fund, increasing margin or capital requirements, or otherwise limiting liquidity or increasing transaction costs. It is impossible to predict fully the effects of legislation and regulation in this area, but the effects could be substantial and adverse.
The CFTC has adopted regulations that subject registered investment companies and their investment advisers to regulation by the CFTC if the registered investment company invests more than a prescribed level of its liquidation value in futures, options on futures or commodities, swaps, or other financial instruments regulated under the Commodity Exchange Act (“commodity interests”), or if a registered investment company markets itself as providing investment exposure to such instruments. As of the date of this SAI, the Funds are operated by a person, the Investment Manager, who has claimed an exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” under the Commodity Exchange Act (the “CEA”) pursuant to Rule 4.5 thereunder (the “exclusion”) promulgated by the CFTC (with respect to the Funds). Accordingly, the Investment Manager (with respect to the Funds) is not subject to registration or regulation as a “commodity pool operator” under the CEA. To remain eligible for the exclusion, each of the Funds will be limited in its ability to use any commodity interests and in the manner in which it holds out its use of such commodity interests. In the event that a Fund’s investments in commodity interests are not within the thresholds set forth in the exclusion, the Investment Manager may be required to register as a “commodity pool operator” with the CFTC with respect to that Fund. The Investment Manager’s eligibility to claim the exclusion with respect to a Fund will be based upon, among other things, the level and scope of a Fund’s investment in commodity interests, the purposes of such investments and the manner in which the Fund holds out its use of commodity interests. Each Fund’s ability to invest in commodity interests (including, but not limited to, futures and swaps on broad-based securities indexes and interest rates) is limited by the Investment Manager’s intention to operate the Fund in a manner that would permit the Investment Manager to continue to claim the exclusion under Rule 4.5, which may adversely affect the Fund’s total return. In the event the Investment Manager becomes unable to rely on the exclusion in Rule 4.5 and is required to register with the CFTC as a commodity pool operator with respect to a Fund, the Fund’s expenses may increase, adversely affecting the Fund’s total return.
The futures markets are subject to comprehensive statutes, regulations, and margin requirements. The CFTC and the exchanges are authorized to take extraordinary actions in the event of a market emergency, including, for example, the implementation of higher margin requirements, the establishment of daily price limits and the suspension of trading.
The CFTC, certain foreign regulators and many futures exchanges have established (and continue to evaluate and revise) limits (“position limits”) on the maximum net long or net short positions which any person, or group of persons acting in concert, may hold or control in particular contracts. In addition, U.S. federal position limits apply to swaps that are economically equivalent to futures contracts on certain agricultural, metals and energy commodities. All positions owned or controlled by the same person or entity, even if in different accounts, must be aggregated for purposes of complying with position limits. It is possible that different clients managed by the Investment Manager and its affiliates may be aggregated for this purpose. Therefore, the trading decisions of the Investment Manager (acting in its capacity as investment manager of a Fund) may have to be modified and positions held by a Fund liquidated in order to avoid exceeding such limits. The modification of investment decisions or the elimination of open positions, if it occurs, may adversely affect the profitability of a Fund. A violation of position limits could also lead to regulatory action materially adverse to a Fund’s investment strategy.
15
The regulation of derivatives markets in the U.S., the European Union (“EU”), the United Kingdom (the “UK”) and other jurisdictions is an evolving area of law and is subject to modification by government and judicial action. Legislative and regulatory reforms, including the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”), have resulted in regulation of derivatives, including clearing, margin, reporting, recordkeeping and registration requirements. Because these requirements are evolving, and certain of the rules are not yet final, their ultimate impact remains unclear. Such regulations could, among other things, restrict a Fund’s ability to engage in derivatives transactions (for example, by making certain types of derivatives transactions no longer available to the Fund) and/or increase the costs of such transactions (for example, by increasing margin or capital requirements), and the Fund may as a result be unable to execute its investment strategies in a manner the Subadviser might otherwise choose. There is a possibility of future regulatory changes altering, perhaps to a material extent, the nature of an investment in a Fund or the ability of a Fund to continue to implement its investment strategies. Rules adopted under the Dodd-Frank Act require certain OTC derivatives, including certain interest rate swaps and certain credit default swaps (and potentially other types of OTC derivatives in the future), to be executed on a regulated market and cleared through a central counterparty, which can result in increased margin requirements and costs for the Funds. See “Additional Risk Factors in Cleared Derivatives Transactions” below. It is also unclear how the regulatory changes will affect counterparty risk.
Additionally, U.S. regulators, the EU, the UK, and certain other jurisdictions have adopted minimum margin requirements for uncleared OTC derivatives transactions. These rules impose minimum margin requirements on derivatives transactions between a Fund and its derivatives counterparties. They also impose regulatory requirements on the type of permissible collateral and the timing of transferring margin. The Funds are subject to variation margin requirements under such rules and may in the future become subject to initial margin requirements under such rules. Any such requirements could increase the amount of margin a Fund needs to provide in connection with uncleared derivatives transactions and, therefore, make such transactions more expensive.
Also, as noted above, in the event of a counterparty’s (or its affiliate’s) insolvency, a Fund’s ability to exercise remedies, such as the termination of transactions, netting of obligations and realization on collateral, could be stayed or eliminated. Relatively new special resolution regimes adopted in the United States, the EU, the UK and various other jurisdictions provide government authorities with broad authority to intervene when a financial institution is experiencing financial difficulty and may prohibit a Fund from exercising termination rights based on the financial institution’s insolvency. In particular, in the EU and the UK, governmental authorities could reduce, eliminate or convert to equity the liabilities to the Funds of a counterparty experiencing financial difficulties (sometimes referred to as a “bail in”).
Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act (“Rule 18f-4”) governs registered investment companies’ use of derivatives and certain financing transactions (e.g., reverse repurchase agreements). Among other things, Rule 18f-4 limits derivatives exposure through one of two value-at-risk tests, requires funds to adopt and implement a derivatives risk management program (including the appointment of a derivatives risk manager and the implementation of certain testing requirements), and subjects funds to certain reporting requirements in respect of derivatives. Limited derivatives users (as determined by Rule 18f-4) are not, however, subject to the full requirements under the rule. In connection with the adoption of Rule 18f-4, the SEC also eliminated the asset segregation framework for covering certain derivatives instruments and certain financing transactions arising from the SEC’s Release 10666 and ensuing staff guidance. Compliance with Rule 18f-4 by the Funds could, among other things, make derivatives more costly, limit their availability or utility, or otherwise adversely affect their performance. The new rule may limit each Fund’s ability to use derivatives as part of its investment strategy.
16
Since 2021, the SEC has proposed and, in some cases, finalized several new rules regarding a wide range of topics relevant to the Funds and their investments. For example, the SEC has finalized new rules requiring the central clearing of certain cash and repurchase transactions involving U.S. Treasuries and has also finalized new rules regarding regulatory and public reporting of certain securities lending transactions. These and other proposed new rules, whether assessed on an individual or collective basis, could fundamentally change the current regulatory framework for relevant markets and market participants, including having a material impact on activities of registered investment advisers and their funds. While it is currently difficult to predict the full impact of these new rules, these rules could make it more difficult for a Fund to execute certain investment strategies and may have an adverse effect on a Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objectives.
Additional Risk Factors in Cleared Derivatives Transactions. Transactions in some types of derivatives (including futures, exchange-traded options, and certain interest rate swaps and credit default swaps on North American and European indices) are required to be centrally cleared (and additional types of swaps may be required to be centrally cleared in the future). In addition, a Fund may choose to centrally clear certain swap transactions that are capable of being cleared. In a transaction involving such products (“cleared derivatives”), a Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house, rather than a bank or broker. Since the Funds are not members of clearing houses and only clearing members can participate directly in the clearing house, the Funds will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members. In cleared derivatives transactions, a Fund will make payments (including margin payments) to and receive payments from a clearing house through its accounts at clearing members. Clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the clearing house.
In some ways, cleared derivative arrangements are less favorable to funds than bilateral arrangements. For example, a Fund may be required to provide more margin for cleared derivatives transactions than for bilateral derivatives transactions. Also, in contrast to a bilateral derivatives transaction, following a period of notice to a Fund, a clearing member generally can require termination of an existing cleared derivatives transaction at any time or an increase in margin requirements above the margin that the clearing member required at the beginning of a transaction. Exchanges and clearing houses also have broad rights to increase margin requirements for existing transactions or to limit or terminate those transactions at any time. Any increase in margin requirements or termination of existing cleared derivatives transactions by the clearing member, exchange or the clearing house could interfere with the ability of a Fund to pursue its investment strategy. Further, any increase in margin requirements by a clearing member could expose a Fund to greater credit risk to its clearing member, because margin for cleared derivatives transactions in excess of an exchange’s or clearing house’s margin requirements typically is held by the clearing member. Also, a Fund is subject to risk if it enters into a derivatives transaction that is required to be cleared (or that the Investment Manager or Subadviser expects to be cleared), and no clearing member is willing or able to clear the transaction on the Fund’s behalf. In those cases, the transaction might have to be terminated, and a Fund could lose some or all of the benefit of the transaction, including loss of an increase in the value of the transaction and/or loss of hedging protection. In addition, the documentation governing the relationship between the Fund and clearing members is drafted by the clearing members and generally is less favorable to the Fund than typical bilateral derivatives documentation. For example, documentation relating to cleared derivatives generally includes a one-way indemnity by the Fund in favor of the clearing member for losses the clearing member incurs as the Fund’s clearing member and typically does not provide the Fund any remedies if the clearing member defaults or becomes insolvent. These risks likely are more pronounced for cleared swaps than futures contracts and exchange-traded options due to their more limited liquidity and market history.
17
Some types of cleared derivatives are required to be executed on an exchange or on a swap execution facility. A swap execution facility is a trading platform where multiple market participants can execute derivatives by accepting bids and offers made by multiple other participants in the platform. While this execution requirement is designed to increase transparency and liquidity in the cleared derivatives market, trading on a swap execution facility can create additional costs and risks for a Fund. For example, swap execution facilities typically charge fees, and if a Fund executes derivatives on a swap execution facility through a broker intermediary, the intermediary may impose fees as well. Also, a Fund may be required to indemnify a swap execution facility, or a broker intermediary who executes cleared derivatives on a swap execution facility on the Fund’s behalf, against any losses or costs that may be incurred as a result of the Fund’s transactions on the swap execution facility. If a Fund wishes to execute a package of transactions that include a swap that is required to be executed on a swap execution facility as well as other transactions (for example, a transaction that includes both a security and an interest rate swap that hedges interest rate exposure with respect to such security), it is possible the Fund could not execute all components of the package on the swap execution facility. In that case, the Fund would need to trade certain components of the package on the swap execution facility and other components of the package in another manner, which could subject the Fund to the risk that certain of the components of the package would be executed successfully and others would not, or that the components would be executed at different times, leaving the Fund with an unhedged position for a period of time.
(7) Equity Investments
Each Fund may invest in equity securities subject to any restrictions set forth in the Funds’ Prospectus and this SAI. These securities may include securities listed on any domestic or foreign securities exchange and securities traded in the OTC market. More information on the various types of equity investments in which the Funds may invest appears below.
Common Stock. Common stocks are securities that represent a unit of ownership in a corporation. A Fund’s transactions in common stock represent “long” transactions where the Fund owns the securities being sold, or will own the securities being purchased. Prices of common stocks will rise and fall due to a variety of factors, which include changing economic, political or market conditions that affect particular industries or companies.
Large-capitalization companies tend to compete in mature product markets and do not typically experience the level of sustained growth of smaller companies and companies competing in less mature product markets. Also, large-capitalization companies may be unable to respond as quickly as smaller companies to competitive challenges or changes in business, product, financial, or other market conditions.
The stocks of small- and mid-capitalization companies involve more risk than the stocks of larger, more established companies because they often have greater price volatility, lower trading volume, and less liquidity. These companies tend to have smaller revenues, narrower product lines, less management depth and experience, smaller shares of their product or service markets, fewer financial resources, and less competitive strength than larger companies.
Depositary Receipts. AMG Yacktman Focused Fund and AMG Yacktman Fund may invest in American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”). AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund and AMG Yacktman Global Fund may invest in depositary receipts, including, but not limited to, Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”), ADRs, European Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”) and Non-Voting Depositary Receipts (“NVDRs”). GDRs are negotiable certificates held in the bank of one country representing a specific number of shares of a stock traded on an exchange of another country. ADRs are negotiable receipts issued by a United States bank or trust company, trade in U.S. markets and evidence ownership
18
of securities in a foreign company which have been deposited with such bank or trust’s office or agent in a foreign country. EDRs are European receipts evidencing a similar arrangement. NVDRs are trading instruments issued by the Thai NVDR Company Limited, a subsidiary wholly owned by The Stock Exchange of Thailand (the “SET”), intended to stimulate trading activity in the Thai stock market. NVDRs are automatically regarded as listed securities in the SET. Generally, ADRs, in registered form, are designed for use in the U.S. securities markets and EDRs, in bearer form, are designed for use in European securities markets. GDRs are receipts that may trade in U.S. or non-U.S. markets. Positions in GDRs, ADRs and EDRs are not necessarily denominated in the same currency as the common stocks into which they may be converted. With respect to investments in NVDRs, investors will receive all financial benefits, e.g., dividends and right issues, as if they had invested in a company’s ordinary shares, except that NVDR holders do not have the voting rights associated with the shares.
Investing in depositary receipts presents risks not present to the same degree as investing in domestic securities even though a Fund will purchase, sell and be paid dividends on depositary receipts in U.S. dollars. These risks include fluctuations in currency exchange rates, which are affected by international balances of payments and other economic and financial conditions; government intervention; speculation; and other factors. With respect to certain foreign countries, there is the possibility of expropriation or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation and political, social and economic instability. A Fund may be required to pay foreign withholding or other taxes on certain of its depositary receipts. A Fund may not be eligible to elect or may not elect to permit U.S. shareholders to claim a credit or deduction for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent of any foreign income taxes paid by the Fund. In such case, the foreign taxes paid or withheld will nonetheless reduce the Fund’s taxable income. See “Certain U.S. Federal Income Tax Matters” below. Unsponsored depositary receipts are offered by companies which are not prepared to meet either the reporting or accounting standards of the United States. While readily exchangeable with stock in local markets, unsponsored depositary receipts may be less liquid than sponsored depositary receipts. Additionally, there generally is less publicly available information with respect to unsponsored depositary receipts.
Initial Public Offerings (“IPOs”). Each Fund may purchase securities in IPOs. These securities are subject to many of the same risks as investing in companies with smaller market capitalizations. Securities issued in IPOs have no trading history, and information about the companies may be available for very limited periods. The prices of securities sold in IPOs may be highly volatile. At any particular time or from time to time, a Fund may not be able to invest in securities issued in IPOs, or invest to the extent desired, because, for example, only a small portion, if any, of the securities being offered in an IPO may be made available to the Fund. In addition, under certain market conditions, a relatively small number of companies may issue securities in IPOs. Similarly, as the number of funds to which IPO securities are allocated increases, the number of securities issued to any one fund may decrease. The investment performance of a Fund during periods when it is unable to invest significantly or at all in IPOs may be lower than during periods when the Fund is able to do so. In addition, as a Fund increases in size, the impact of IPOs on the Fund’s performance will generally decrease.
Preferred Stock. Preferred stock pays dividends at a specified rate and generally has preference over common stock in the payment of dividends and the liquidation of the issuer’s assets but is junior to the debt securities of the issuer in those same respects. Unlike interest payments on debt securities, dividends on preferred stock are generally payable at the discretion of the issuer’s board of directors, and shareholders may suffer a loss of value if dividends are not paid. Preferred shareholders generally have no legal recourse against the issuer if dividends are not paid. The market prices of preferred stocks are subject to changes in interest rates and are more sensitive to changes in the issuer’s creditworthiness than are the prices of debt securities. Under ordinary circumstances, preferred stock does not carry voting rights. Prices of preferred stocks may rise and fall rapidly and unpredictably due to a variety of factors, which include changing economic, political or market conditions that affect particular industries or companies. Preferred stocks of smaller companies may be more vulnerable to adverse developments than those of larger companies.
19
Secondary Offerings. A Fund may invest in secondary offerings. A secondary offering is a registered offering of a large block of a security that has been previously issued to the public. A secondary offering can occur when an investor sells to the public a large block of stock or other securities it has been holding in its portfolio. In a sale of this kind, all of the profits go to the seller rather than the issuer. Secondary offerings can also originate when the issuer issues new shares of its stock over and above those sold in its IPO, usually in order to raise additional capital. However, because an increase in the number of shares devalues those that have already been issued, many companies make a secondary offering only if their stock prices are high or they are in need of capital. Secondary offerings may have a magnified impact on the performance of a Fund with a small asset base. Secondary offering shares frequently are volatile in price. Therefore, a Fund may hold secondary offering shares for a very short period of time. This may increase the portfolio turnover rate of a Fund and may lead to increased expenses for the Fund, such as commissions and transaction costs. In addition, secondary offering shares can experience an immediate drop in value if the demand for the securities does not continue to support the offering price.
(8) Foreign Securities
The Funds may invest in foreign equity securities and debt securities. AMG Yacktman Fund may invest up to 30% of its assets in foreign securities. This limit does not apply to investments in U.S. dollar-denominated securities of foreign issuers in the form of ADRs that are regularly traded on recognized U.S. exchanges or in the U.S. OTC market (see discussion of ADRs under “Equity Investments—Depositary Receipts” above). Each of AMG Yacktman Focused Fund and AMG Yacktman Fund may invest in foreign securities traded on a national securities exchange or listed on an automated quotation system sponsored by a national securities association. AMG Yacktman Global Fund and AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund may invest in foreign securities, subject to the limitations described below and any restrictions set forth in the Funds’ Prospectus and this SAI. AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund may invest in foreign issuers or in securities principally traded outside the United States, including emerging markets securities. AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund may invest in securities of non-U.S. issuers directly or in the form of ADRs, EDRs, GDRs, NVDRs or other securities representing underlying shares of foreign issuers, described under “Equity Investments—Depositary Receipts” above.
Investment in securities of foreign entities, whether directly or indirectly in the form of ADRs, EDRs, GDRs, NVDRs or similar instruments, and securities denominated in foreign currencies involves risks typically not present to the same degree in domestic investments. Such risks include potential future adverse political and economic developments, possible embargoes or economic sanctions against a particular country or countries, organizations, entities and/or individuals, possible imposition of withholding or other taxes on interest or other income, possible seizure, nationalization or expropriation of foreign deposits, possible establishment of exchange controls, greater fluctuations in value due to changes in exchange rates, or the adoption of other foreign governmental restrictions which might adversely affect the payment of principal and interest on such obligations. In addition, there may be less publicly available information about foreign issuers or securities than about U.S. issuers or securities, foreign investments may be effected through structures that may be complex or obfuscatory, and foreign issuers are often subject to accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and requirements and engage in business practices different from those of domestic issuers of similar securities or obligations. With respect to unsponsored ADRs, these programs cover securities of companies that are not required to meet either the reporting or accounting standards of the United States. Foreign issuers also are usually not subject to the same degree of regulation as domestic issuers, and many foreign financial markets,
20
while generally growing in volume, continue to experience substantially less volume than domestic markets, and securities of many foreign companies are less liquid and their prices are more volatile than the securities of comparable U.S. companies. In addition, brokerage commissions, custodial services and other costs related to investment in foreign markets (particularly emerging markets) generally are more expensive than in the United States. Such foreign markets also may have longer settlement periods than markets in the United States as well as different settlement and clearance 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. The inability of a Fund to make intended securities purchases due to settlement problems could cause the Fund to miss attractive investment opportunities. Inability to dispose of a portfolio security caused by settlement problems could result either in losses to a Fund due to subsequent declines in value of a portfolio security or, if the Fund had entered into a contract to sell the security, could result in possible liability to the purchaser. Settlement procedures in certain emerging markets also carry with them a heightened risk of loss due to the failure of the broker or other service provider to deliver cash or securities.
The value of a Fund’s portfolio securities computed in U.S. dollars will vary with increases and decreases in the exchange rate between the currencies in which the Fund has invested and the U.S. dollar. A decline in the value of any particular currency against the U.S. dollar will cause a decline in the U.S. dollar value of a Fund’s holdings of securities denominated in such currency and, therefore, will cause an overall decline in the Fund’s NAV and net investment income and capital gains, if any, to be distributed in U.S. dollars to shareholders by the Fund. A Fund may be required to liquidate other assets in order to make up the shortfall.
The rate of exchange between the U.S. dollar and other currencies is influenced by many factors, including the supply and demand for particular currencies, central bank efforts to support particular currencies, the movement of interest rates, the price of oil, the pace of activity in the industrial countries, including the United States, and other economic and financial conditions affecting the world economy.
A Fund may purchase securities that are issued by the government, a corporation, or a financial institution of one nation but denominated in the currency of another nation. To the extent that a Fund invests in ADRs, the depositary bank generally pays cash dividends in U.S. dollars regardless of the currency in which such dividends originally are paid by the issuer of the underlying security.
Several of the countries in which the Funds may invest restrict, to varying degrees, foreign investments in their securities markets. Governmental and private restrictions take a variety of forms, including (i) limitation on the amount of funds that may be invested into or repatriated from the country (including limitations on repatriation of investment income and capital gains), (ii) prohibitions or substantial restrictions on foreign investment in certain industries or market sectors, such as defense, energy and transportation, (iii) restrictions (whether contained in the charter of an individual company or mandated by the government) on the percentage of securities of a single issuer which may be owned by a foreign investor, (iv) limitations on the types of securities which a foreign investor may purchase and (v) restrictions on a foreign investor’s right to invest in companies whose securities are not publicly traded. In some circumstances, these restrictions may limit or preclude investment in certain countries. Investments in such countries may only be permitted through foreign government approved or authorized investment vehicles, which may include other investment companies. Therefore, the Funds may invest in such countries through the purchase of shares of investment companies organized under the laws of such countries. In addition, it may be less expensive and more expedient for a Fund to invest in a foreign investment company in a country which permits direct foreign investment. Please see “Investment Company Securities” below for more information on the risks of investing in other investment companies.
21
A Fund’s interest and dividend income from, or proceeds from the sale or other disposition of the securities of, foreign issuers may be subject to non-U.S. withholding and other foreign taxes. A Fund also may be subject to taxes on trading profits in some countries. In addition, certain countries impose a transfer or stamp duties tax on certain securities transactions. The imposition of these taxes may decrease the net return on foreign investments as compared to dividends and interest paid to a Fund by domestic companies, and thus increase the cost to the Fund of investing in any country imposing such taxes. A Fund may not be eligible to elect or may not elect to permit U.S. shareholders to claim a credit or deduction for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent of any foreign income taxes paid by a Fund. In such case, the foreign taxes paid or withheld will nonetheless reduce the Fund’s taxable income. See “Certain U.S. Federal Income Tax Matters” below.
Emerging Markets. The risks of foreign investing are of greater concern in the case of investments in emerging markets. Any investments in securities in or otherwise exposed to emerging market countries may be considered to be speculative and may have additional risks from those associated with investing in the securities of U.S. issuers. Such investments may exhibit greater price volatility and risk of principal, have less liquidity and have settlement arrangements which are less efficient than in developed markets. There may be limited information available to investors that is publicly available, and generally emerging market issuers are not subject to uniform accounting, auditing and financial standards and requirements like those required by U.S. issuers. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which regulates auditors of U.S. public companies, is unable to inspect audit work papers in certain foreign countries. Investors in foreign countries often have limited rights and few practical remedies to pursue shareholder claims, including class actions or fraud claims, and the ability of the SEC, the U.S. Department of Justice and other authorities to bring and enforce actions against foreign issuers or foreign persons is limited. Furthermore, the economies of emerging market countries generally are heavily dependent upon international trade and, accordingly, have been and may continue to be adversely affected by trade barriers, managed adjustments in relative currency values, and other protectionist measures imposed or negotiated by the countries with which they trade. These emerging market economies also have been and may continue to be adversely affected by economic conditions in the countries with which they trade.
Russia Sanctions Risk. In late February 2022, Russian military forces invaded Ukraine, significantly amplifying already existing geopolitical tensions among Russia, Ukraine, Europe, NATO, and the West. Russia’s invasion, the responses of countries and political bodies to Russia’s actions, and the potential for wider conflict may increase financial market volatility and could have severe adverse effects on regional and global economic markets, including the markets for certain securities and commodities such as oil and natural gas. Following Russia’s actions, various countries, including the U.S., Canada, the UK, Germany, and France, as well as the EU, issued broad-ranging economic sanctions against Russia. Sanctions threatened or imposed by these jurisdictions, and other intergovernmental actions that have been or may be undertaken in the future, against Russia, Russian entities or Russian individuals, may result in the devaluation of Russian currency, a downgrade in the country’s credit rating, an immediate freeze of Russian assets, a decline in the value and liquidity of Russian securities, property or interests, and/or other adverse consequences to the Russian economy or a Fund. Further, due to market closures and trading restrictions, the value of Russian securities could be significantly impacted, which could lead to such securities being valued at zero. The scope and scale of sanctions in place at a particular time may be expanded or otherwise modified in a way that may have negative effects on a Fund. Sanctions, or the threat of new or modified sanctions, could impair the ability of a Fund to buy, sell, hold, receive, deliver or otherwise transact in certain affected securities or other investment instruments. Sanctions could also result in Russia taking counter measures or other actions in response (including cyberattacks and espionage), which may further impair the value and liquidity of Russian securities. The extent and duration of the military actions associated with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the resulting sanctions, and the resulting disruption of the Russian economy are impossible to predict but may cause volatility in other regional and global markets and may negatively impact the performance of various sectors and industries, as well as companies in other countries, which could have a negative effect on the performance of a Fund, even if a Fund does not have direct exposure to securities of Russian issuers.
22
Central Securities Depositories Regulation. Beginning February 1, 2022, the EU adopted a settlement discipline regime pursuant to the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (“CSDR”) that introduced new measures for the authorization and supervision of European Union Central Security Depositories. CSDR aims to reduce the number of settlement fails that occur in European Economic Area (“EEA”) central securities depositories (“CSD”) and address settlement fails where they occur. Under the regime, among other things, EEA CSDs are required to impose cash penalties on participants that cause settlement fails and distribute these to receiving participants. The CSDR requirements apply to transactions in transferable securities (e.g., stocks and bonds), money market instruments, shares of funds and emission allowances that will be settled through an EEA CSD and are admitted to trading or traded on an EEA trading venue or cleared by an EEA central counterparty. The Funds may bear the net effect of any penalties and credits incurred under the CSDR in respect of their trading, which could increase the Funds’ expenses and adversely affect Fund performance. The Investment Manager may seek reimbursement from the relevant broker, agent, or Subadviser, as determined by the Investment Manager from time to time, although there can be no assurance that the Investment Manager will seek such reimbursement or that the Funds will recover or be reimbursed for any amounts at issue.
(9) Illiquid Securities, Private Placements and Certain Unregistered Securities
Each Fund may invest in privately placed, restricted, Rule 144A or other unregistered securities. Rule 144A securities are securities that are eligible for resale without registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”), pursuant to Rule 144A under the 1933 Act. A Fund may not acquire illiquid holdings if, as a result, more than 15% of its net assets would be in illiquid investments. If a Fund determines at any time that it owns illiquid securities in excess of 15% of its net assets, it will cease to undertake new commitments to acquire illiquid securities until its holdings are no longer in excess of 15% of its NAV, and, depending on circumstances, may take additional steps to reduce its holdings of illiquid securities. Subject to these limitations, a Fund may acquire investments that are illiquid or have limited liquidity, such as private placements or investments that are not registered under the 1933 Act and cannot be offered for public sale in the United States without first being registered under the 1933 Act. An investment is considered “illiquid” if the Fund reasonably expects the investment cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven (7) calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment. The price a Fund’s portfolio may pay for illiquid securities or receive upon resale may be lower than the price paid or received for similar securities with a more liquid market. Accordingly, the valuation of these securities will take into account any limitations on their liquidity.
The SEC has adopted a liquidity risk management rule (the “Liquidity Rule”) that requires the Funds to establish a liquidity risk management program (the “LRMP”). The Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Trustees (defined infra), have designated the Investment Manager to administer the Funds’ LRMP and the Investment Manager has formed a Liquidity Risk Management Committee to which it has delegated responsibilities for the ongoing operation and management of the LRMP. Under the LRMP, the Investment Manager assesses, manages, and periodically reviews the Funds’ liquidity risk. The Liquidity Rule defines “liquidity risk” as the risk that the Funds could not meet requests to redeem shares issued by the Funds without significant dilution of remaining investors’ interests in the Funds. The liquidity of the Funds’ portfolio investments is determined based on relevant market, trading and investment-specific considerations under the LRMP. To the extent that an investment is deemed to be an illiquid investment or a less liquid investment, the Funds can expect to be exposed to greater liquidity risk. The SEC has recently proposed amendments to Rule 22e-4 under the 1940 Act and Rule 22c-1 under the 1940 Act that, if adopted, would, among other things, cause more investments to be treated as illiquid, and could prevent a Fund from investing in securities that the Investment Manager or Subadviser believes are appropriate or desirable.
23
Rule 144A securities may be determined to be liquid or illiquid in accordance with the guidelines established by the Investment Manager and approved by the Trustees. The Trustees will monitor compliance with these guidelines on a periodic basis.
Investment in these securities entails the risk to a Fund that there may not be a buyer for these securities at a price that a Fund believes represents the security’s value should the Fund wish to sell the security. If a security a Fund holds must be registered under the 1933 Act before it may be sold, the Fund may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expenses. In addition, in these circumstances, a considerable time may elapse between the time of the decision to sell and the time the Fund may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions develop, the Fund may obtain a less favorable price than when it first decided to sell the security.
(10) Inflation-Linked Bonds
To the extent they may invest in fixed-income securities, the Funds may invest in inflation-linked bonds, which are issued by the U.S. Government with a nominal return indexed to the inflation rate in prices. Governments that issue inflation-indexed bonds may use different conventions for purposes of structuring their bonds and different inflation factors, with the same underlying principal of linking real returns and inflation.
For purposes of explanation, a United States TIPS bond will be used as an example of how inflation-linked bonds work. Inflation-linked bonds, like nominal bonds, pay coupons on a principal amount. For U.S. TIPS, and most inflation-linked bonds, the value of the principal is adjusted for inflation. In the United States the index used to measure inflation is the non-seasonally adjusted U.S. City Average All Items Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (“CPI-U”). Interest payments are paid every six months, and are equal to a fixed percentage of the inflation-adjusted value of the principal. The final payment of principal of the security will not be less than the original par amount of the security at issuance.
The principal of the inflation-linked security is indexed to the non-seasonally adjusted CPI-U. To calculate the inflation-adjusted principal value for a particular valuation date, the value of the principal at issuance is multiplied by the index ratio applicable to that valuation date. The index ratio for any date is the ratio of the reference consumer price index (“CPI”) applicable to such date, to the reference CPI applicable to the original issue date. Semi-annual coupon interest is determined by multiplying the inflation-adjusted principal amount by one-half of the stated rate of interest on each interest payment date.
Inflation-adjusted principal or the original par amount, whichever is larger, is paid on the maturity date as specified in the applicable offering announcement. If at maturity the inflation-adjusted principal is less than the original principal value of the security, an additional amount is paid at maturity so that the additional amount plus the inflation-adjusted principal equals the original principal amount. Some inflation-linked securities may be stripped into principal and interest components. In the case of a stripped security, the holder of the stripped principal component would receive this additional amount. The final interest payment, however, will be based on the final inflation-adjusted principal value, not the original par amount.
24
If a Fund invests in U.S. Treasury inflation-linked securities, it will be required to treat as original issue discount any increase in the principal amount of the securities that occurs during the course of its taxable year. If a Fund purchases such inflation-linked securities that are issued in stripped form, either as stripped bonds or coupons, it will be treated as if it had purchased a newly issued debt instrument having “original issue discount.” A Fund holding an obligation with original issue discount is required to accrue as ordinary income a portion of such original issue discount even though it receives no corresponding interest payment in cash. A Fund may have to sell other investments to obtain cash needed to make income distributions, which may reduce a Fund’s assets, increase its expense ratio and decrease its rate of return.
(11) Interfund Lending
To satisfy redemption requests or to cover unanticipated cash shortfalls (due to “sales fails” or other factors), the Funds have entered into a master interfund lending agreement (“Interfund Lending Agreement”) under which a Fund would lend money and borrow money for temporary purposes directly to and from another eligible fund in the AMG Fund Complex through a credit facility (each an “Interfund Loan”), subject to meeting the conditions of an SEC exemptive order granted to the Fund permitting such interfund lending. No Fund may borrow more than the lesser of the amount permitted by Section 18 of the 1940 Act, and the rules and regulations thereunder, as modified by the above mentioned and any other applicable SEC exemptive order or other relief, or the amount permitted by its fundamental investment restrictions. All Interfund Loans will consist only of uninvested cash reserves that the Fund otherwise would invest in short-term repurchase agreements or other short-term instruments either directly or through a money market fund.
If a Fund has outstanding borrowings, any Interfund Loans to the Fund (a) will be at an interest rate equal to or lower than any outstanding bank loan, (b) will be secured at least on an equal priority basis with at least an equivalent percentage of collateral to loan value as any outstanding bank loan that requires collateral, (c) will have a maturity no longer than any outstanding bank loan (and in any event not over seven days) and (d) will provide that, if an event of default occurs under any agreement evidencing an outstanding bank loan to the Fund, the event of default will automatically (without need for action or notice by the lending fund) constitute an immediate event of default under the Interfund Lending Agreement entitling the lending fund to call the Interfund Loan (and exercise all rights with respect to any collateral) and that such call will be made if the lending bank exercises its right to call its loan under its agreement with the borrowing fund.
A Fund may make an unsecured borrowing through the credit facility if its outstanding borrowings from all sources immediately after the interfund borrowing total 10% or less of its total assets; provided, that if the Fund has a secured loan outstanding from any other lender, including but not limited to another eligible fund in the AMG Fund Complex, the Fund’s Interfund Loan will be secured on at least an equal priority basis with at least an equivalent percentage of collateral to loan value as any outstanding loan that requires collateral. If a Fund’s total outstanding borrowings immediately after an interfund borrowing would be greater than 10% of its total assets, the Fund may borrow through the credit facility only on a secured basis. A Fund may not borrow through the credit facility nor from any other source if its total outstanding borrowings immediately after the interfund borrowing would exceed the limits imposed by Section 18 of the 1940 Act or the Fund’s fundamental investment restrictions.
No Fund may lend to another eligible fund in the AMG Fund Complex through the interfund lending credit facility if the Interfund Loan would cause its aggregate outstanding loans through the credit facility to exceed 15% of the lending fund’s current net assets at the time of the Interfund Loan. A Fund’s Interfund Loans to any one fund shall not exceed 5% of the lending fund’s net assets. The duration of Interfund Loans is limited to the time required to receive payment for securities sold, but in no event may
25
the duration exceed seven days. Interfund Loans effected within seven days of each other will be treated as separate loan transactions for purposes of this condition. Each Interfund Loan may be called on one business day’s notice by a lending fund and may be repaid on any day by a borrowing fund.
The limitations detailed above and the other conditions of the SEC exemptive order permitting interfund lending are designed to minimize the risks associated with interfund lending for both the lending fund and the borrowing fund. However, no borrowing or lending activity is without risk. When a Fund borrows money from another fund, there is a risk that the Interfund Loan could be called on one day’s notice or not renewed, in which case the Fund may have to borrow from a bank at higher rates if an Interfund Loan were not available from another fund. A delay in repayment to a lending fund could result in a lost opportunity or additional lending costs.
(12) Investment Company Securities
Each Fund may invest some portion of its assets in shares of other investment companies, including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) and money market funds, to the extent that they may facilitate achieving the investment objective of each Fund or to the extent that they afford the principal or most practical means of access to a particular market or markets or they represent attractive investments in their own right. A Fund’s purchase of shares of investment companies may result in the payment by a shareholder of duplicative management fees. The Investment Manager and Subadviser to the Funds will consider such fees in determining whether to invest in other investment companies. A Fund will invest only in investment companies, or classes thereof, that do not charge a sales load; however, a Fund may invest in such companies with distribution plans and fees, and may pay customary brokerage commissions to buy and sell shares of closed-end investment companies and ETFs.
The return on a Fund’s investments in investment companies will be reduced by the operating expenses, including investment advisory and administrative fees, of such companies. A Fund’s investments in a closed-end investment company may require the payment of a premium above the NAV of the investment company’s shares, and the market price of the investment company thereafter may decline without any change in the value of the investment company’s assets. A Fund, however, will not invest in any investment company or trust unless it is believed that the potential benefits of such investment are sufficient to warrant the payment of any such premium.
ETFs that are linked to a specific index may not be able to replicate and maintain exactly the composition and relative weighting of investments underlying the applicable index and will incur certain expenses not incurred by their applicable index. Certain investments comprising the index tracked by an ETF may, at times, be temporarily unavailable, which may impede an ETF’s ability to track its index.
The market value of ETF shares may differ from their NAV per share. This difference in price may be due to the fact that the supply and demand in the market for ETF shares at any point in time is not always identical to the value of the underlying investments that the ETF holds. There may be times when an ETF share trades at a premium or discount to its NAV.
The provisions of the 1940 Act may impose certain limitations on a Fund’s investments in other investment companies. In particular, a Fund’s investments in investment companies are limited to, subject to certain exceptions, (i) 3% of the total outstanding 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 with respect to investment companies in the aggregate (the “Limitation”). Pursuant to rules adopted by the SEC, a Fund may invest in excess of the Limitation if the Fund and the investment company in which the Fund would like to invest comply with certain conditions, including limits on control and voting, required evaluations and findings, required fund investment agreements and limits on
26
complex fund of funds structures. Certain of these conditions do not apply if the Fund is investing in shares issued by affiliated funds. In addition, each Fund may invest in shares issued by money market funds, including certain unregistered money market funds, in excess of the Limitation.
As an exception to the above, each Fund has the authority to invest all of its assets in the securities of a single open-end investment company with substantially the same fundamental investment objectives, restrictions, and policies as that of the Fund. A Fund will notify its shareholders prior to initiating such an arrangement.
(13) Money Market Instruments and Cash Equivalents
Money market instruments may include, among other things, cash equivalents and short-term U.S. Government securities. Money market instruments may also include variable amount master demand notes, which are corporate obligations that permit the investment of fluctuating amounts by a Fund at varying rates of interest under direct arrangements between the Fund, as lender, and the borrower, and which permit daily changes in the amounts borrowed. The Fund has the right to increase the amount invested under such notes at any time up to the full amount provided by the note agreement or to decrease the amount, while the borrower may prepay up to the full amount of the note without penalty. Variable amount master demand notes may or may not be backed by bank letters of credit.
Cash equivalents include bank obligations, certificates of deposit, bankers acceptances, time deposits, short-term corporate debt securities with a remaining maturity of 397 days or less, repurchase agreements with banks or registered broker-dealers and time deposits. The Funds may invest in cash equivalents and money market instruments to the extent that such investments are consistent with the Funds’ investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as discussed in the Funds’ Prospectus. A description of the various types of cash equivalents and money market instruments that may be purchased by the Funds appears below.
Bank Obligations. The Funds may purchase obligations of domestic and foreign banks and foreign branches of domestic banks. Banks are subject to extensive governmental regulations. These regulations place limitations on the amounts and types of loans and other financial commitments which may be made by the bank and the interest rates and fees which may be charged on these loans and commitments. The profitability of the banking industry depends on the availability and costs of capital funds for the purpose of financing loans under prevailing money market conditions. General economic conditions also play a key role in the operations of the banking industry. Exposure to credit losses arising from potential financial difficulties of borrowers may affect the ability of the bank to meet its obligations under a letter of credit.
Bankers Acceptances. Bankers acceptances are short-term credit instruments used to finance the import, export, transfer or storage of goods. These instruments become “accepted” when a bank guarantees their payment upon maturity. Eurodollar bankers acceptances are bankers acceptances denominated in U.S. dollars and are “accepted” by foreign branches of major U.S. commercial banks.
Certificates of Deposit. Certificates of deposit are issued against money deposited into a bank (including eligible foreign branches of U.S. banks) or a savings and loan association (“S&L”) for a definite period of time. They earn a specified rate of return and are normally negotiable.
Repurchase Agreements. In a repurchase agreement, a Fund buys a security from a bank or a broker-dealer that has agreed to repurchase the same security at a mutually agreed-upon date and price. The Funds will not enter into repurchase agreements with entities other than banks or invest over 15% of their net assets in repurchase agreements with maturities of more than seven days. The resale price normally reflects the purchase price plus a mutually agreed-upon interest rate. This interest rate is effective for the period of time a Fund is invested in the agreement and is not related to the coupon rate on the underlying security.
27
Repurchase agreements are subject to certain risks that may adversely affect the Funds. If a seller defaults, a Fund may incur a loss if the value of the collateral securing the repurchase agreement declines and may incur disposition costs in connection with liquidating the collateral. In addition, if bankruptcy proceedings are commenced with respect to a seller of the security, a Fund’s ability to dispose of the collateral may be delayed or limited.
In certain instances, a Fund may engage in repurchase agreement transactions that are novated to the Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (“FICC”). FICC acts as the common counterparty to all repurchase transactions that enter its netting system and guarantees that participants will receive their cash or securities collateral (as applicable) back at the close of the repurchase transaction. While this guarantee is intended to mitigate counterparty/credit risk that exists in the case of a bilateral repurchase transaction, a Fund is exposed to risk of delays or losses in the event of a bankruptcy or other default or nonperformance by the FICC or the FICC sponsoring member through which the Fund acts in connection with such transactions.
Short-Term Corporate Debt Securities. Short-term corporate debt securities include bills, notes, debentures, money market instruments and similar instruments and securities, and are generally used by corporations and other issuers to borrow money from investors for such purposes as working capital or capital expenditures. The issuer pays the investor a variable or fixed rate of interest and normally must repay the amount borrowed on or before maturity. The investment return of corporate debt securities reflects interest earnings and changes in the market value of the security. The market value of a corporate debt obligation may be expected to rise and fall inversely with interest rates generally. In addition to interest rate risk, corporate debt securities also involve the risk that the issuers of the securities may not be able to meet their obligations on interest or principal payments at the time called for by an instrument. The rate of return or return of principal on some debt obligations may be linked or indexed to the level of exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and a foreign currency or currencies.
Time Deposits. Time deposits in banks or S&Ls are generally similar to certificates of deposit, but are uncertificated.
(14) Publicly Traded Partnerships
Publicly traded partnerships are generally limited partnerships (or limited liability companies), the units of which may be listed and traded on a securities exchange or are readily tradable on a secondary market (or its substantial equivalent). Although publicly traded partnerships are generally taxable as corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the Funds may invest in certain publicly traded partnerships, including master limited partnerships (“MLPs”), that qualify for treatment as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes pursuant to certain limited exceptions under the Code. A Fund’s investments in such entities may be limited by the Fund’s intention to qualify as a regulated investment company and can bear on the Fund’s ability to qualify as such. See “Certain U.S. Federal Income Tax Matters.” Many MLPs derive income and gain from the exploration, development, mining or production, processing, refining, transportation or marketing of any mineral or natural resource or from real property. The value of MLP units fluctuates predominantly based on prevailing market conditions and the success of the MLP. The Funds may purchase common units of an MLP on an exchange as well as directly from the MLP or other parties in private placements. Unlike owners of common stock of a corporation, owners of common units of an MLP have limited voting rights and have no ability to annually elect directors. MLPs generally distribute all available cash flow (cash flow from operations less maintenance capital
28
expenditures) in the form of quarterly distributions, but a Fund will be required to include in its taxable income its allocable share of the MLP’s income regardless of whether any distributions are made by the MLP. Thus, if the distributions received by a Fund are less than that Fund’s allocable share of the MLP’s income, the Fund may be required to sell other securities so that it may satisfy the requirements to qualify as a regulated investment company and avoid U.S. federal income and excise taxes. Common units typically have priority as to minimum quarterly distributions. In the event of liquidation, common units have preference over subordinated units, but not debt or preferred units, to the remaining assets of the MLP.
An investment in MLP units involves some risks that differ from an investment in the common stock of a corporation. Holders of MLP units have limited control and voting rights on matters affecting the partnership. Holders of MLP units of a particular MLP are also exposed to a remote possibility of liability for the obligations of that MLP under limited circumstances not expected to be applicable to the Funds. A Fund will not acquire any interests in MLPs that are believed to expose the assets of a Fund to liabilities incurred by the MLP. In addition, the value of a Fund’s investment in MLPs depends largely on the MLPs being treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If an MLP does not meet certain U.S. federal income tax requirements to maintain partnership status, or if it is unable to do so because of tax law changes, it would be taxed as a corporation. In that case, the MLP would be obligated to pay income tax at the entity level and distributions received by a Fund generally would be taxed as dividend income. As a result, there could be a reduction in a Fund’s cash flow and there could be a material decrease in the value of that Fund’s shares.
(15) Securities Lending
Each Fund may lend its portfolio securities in order to realize additional income. This lending is subject to a Fund’s policies and restrictions. A Fund may lend its investment securities so long as (i) the loan is secured by collateral having a market value at all times not less than 102% (105% in the case of certain foreign securities) of the value of the securities loaned, (ii) such collateral is marked to market on a daily basis, (iii) the loan is subject to termination by the Fund at any time, and (iv) the Fund receives reasonable interest on the loan. When cash is received as collateral, each Fund will invest the cash received in short-term instruments to earn additional income. The Fund will bear the risk of any loss on any such investment; however, the Funds’ securities lending agent has agreed to indemnify each Fund against loss on the investment of the cash collateral. The Fund may pay reasonable finders, administrative and custodial fees to persons that are unaffiliated with the Fund for services in connection with loans of portfolio securities. While voting rights may pass with the loaned portfolio securities, to the extent possible, the loan will be recalled on a reasonable efforts basis and the securities voted by the Fund. The Bank of New York Mellon serves as the Funds’ securities lending agent. See “Risks of Government Regulation of Derivatives” above.
(16) Short Sales (AMG Yacktman Focused Fund, AMG Yacktman Global Fund and AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund only)
AMG Yacktman Focused Fund, AMG Yacktman Global Fund and AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund may engage in short selling. The Funds may engage in “short sales against the box,” which involve selling short a security in which the Fund currently holds a position or that the Fund has a right to acquire, while at the same time maintaining its current position in that security or retaining the right to acquire the security. In order to engage in a short sale against the box, a Fund arranges with a broker to borrow the security being sold short. A Fund must deposit with or for the benefit of the broker collateral, consisting of cash, or marketable securities, to secure the Fund’s obligation to replace the security, so that the total of the amounts deposited with the broker is equal to the current value of the securities sold short. In addition, a Fund must pay the broker any dividends or interest paid on the
29
borrowed security during the time the short position is open. In order to close out its short position, the Fund will replace the security by purchasing the security at the price prevailing at the time of replacement or taking the security the Fund otherwise holds and delivering it to the broker. If the price of the security sold short has increased since the time of the short sale, the Fund will incur a loss in addition to the costs associated with establishing, maintaining and closing out the short position. A Fund’s loss on a short sale is potentially unlimited because there is no upward limit on the price the security sold short could attain. If the price of the security sold short has decreased since the time of the short sale, the Fund will experience a gain to the extent the difference in price is greater than the costs associated with establishing, maintaining and closing out the short position. The successful use of short selling may be adversely affected by imperfect correlation between movements in the price of the security sold short and the securities being hedged.
The Funds may also engage in short sales “not against the box,” which are generally short sales of securities in which the Fund does not currently hold a long position. Short sales that are not made “against the box” create opportunities to increase a Fund’s return but, at the same time, involve special risk considerations and may be considered a speculative technique. Since a Fund in effect profits from a decline in the price of the securities sold short without the need to invest the full purchase price of the securities on the date of the short sale, the Fund’s NAV per share will tend to increase more when the securities it has sold short decrease in value, and to decrease more when the securities it has sold short increase in value, than would otherwise be the case if it had not engaged in short sales. Similar to short sales against the box, short sales not against the box theoretically involve unlimited loss potential, as the market price of securities sold short may continuously increase. Under adverse market conditions, a Fund might have difficulty purchasing securities to meet its short sale delivery obligations, and might have to sell portfolio securities to raise the capital necessary to meet its short sale obligations at a time when fundamental investment considerations would not favor such sales.
The character of the gain realized on short sales of securities that a Fund does not own is determined by reference to the securities used to close the short sale and is therefore generally short-term. Any such short-term gain will be taxed as ordinary income when distributed to shareholders. See “Certain U.S. Federal Income Tax Matters” below.
The SEC and other (including non-U.S.) regulatory authorities have imposed, and may in the future impose, restrictions on short selling, either on a temporary or permanent basis, which may include placing limitations on specific companies and/or industries with respect to which a Fund may enter into short positions (including short positions acquired through swaps). The SEC has also finalized new rules requiring fund managers to file monthly confidential reports with the SEC regarding equity short sales and related activity. Any such regulations may hinder a Fund in, or prevent it from, fully implementing its investment strategies, and may negatively affect performance.
30
(17) Special Purpose Acquisition Companies
A Fund may invest in stock, rights, warrants, and other securities of special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”) or similar special purpose entities. A SPAC is a publicly traded company that raises investment capital in the form of a blind pool via an IPO for the purpose of acquiring an existing company. The shares of a SPAC are typically issued in “units” that include one share of common stock and one right or warrant (or partial right or warrant) conveying the right to purchase additional shares or partial shares. At a specified time following the SPAC’s IPO (generally 1-2 months), the rights and warrants may be separated from the common stock at the election of the holder, after which they become freely tradeable. After going public and until an acquisition is completed, a SPAC generally invests the proceeds of its IPO (less a portion retained to cover expenses), which are held in trust, in U.S. government securities, money market securities and cash. To the extent the SPAC is invested in cash or similar securities, this may impact a Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. If a SPAC does not complete an acquisition within a specified period of time after going public, the SPAC is dissolved, at which point the invested funds are returned to the SPAC’s shareholders (less certain permitted expenses) and any rights or warrants issued by the SPAC expire worthless.
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. Some SPACs may pursue acquisitions only within certain industries or regions, which may increase the volatility of their prices. In addition, the securities issued by a SPAC, which are typically traded in the OTC market, may be considered illiquid and/or be subject to restrictions on resale. SPACs are subject to increasing scrutiny and potential legal challenges and/or regulatory developments may limit their effectiveness or prevalence (for example, the SEC recently adopted additional disclosure and other rules that apply to SPACs).
(18) United States Government Obligations
Each Fund may invest in direct obligations of the U.S. Treasury. These obligations include Treasury bills, notes and bonds, all of which have their principal and interest payments backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government.
Each Fund may invest in obligations issued by the agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. Government. These obligations may or may not be backed by the “full faith and credit” of the United States. Securities which are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States include obligations of the Government National Mortgage Association, the Farmers Home Administration and the Export-Import Bank. For those securities which are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, a Fund must principally look to the federal agency guaranteeing or issuing the obligation for ultimate repayment and therefore may not be able to assert a claim against the United States itself for repayment in the event that the issuer does not meet its commitments. The securities in which a Fund may invest that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States include, but are not limited to: (a) obligations of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, the Federal Home Loan Banks and the U.S. Postal Service, each of which has the right to borrow from the U.S. Treasury to meet its obligations; (b) securities issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association, which are supported by the discretionary authority of the U.S. Government to purchase the agency’s obligations; and (c) obligations of the Federal Farm Credit System and the Student Loan Marketing Association, each of whose obligations may be satisfied only by the individual credits of the issuing agency. Such securities may involve increased risk, including loss of principal and interest, compared to government debt securities that are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury.
31
(19) Warrants and Rights (AMG Yacktman Focused Fund, AMG Yacktman Global Fund and AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund only)
Rights are short-term obligations issued in conjunction with new stock issues. Warrants give the holder the right to buy an issuer’s securities at a stated price for a stated time. The holder of a right or warrant has the right to purchase a given number of shares of a security of a particular issuer at a specified price until expiration of the right or warrant. Such investments provide greater potential for profit than a direct purchase of the same amount of the securities. Prices of warrants do not necessarily move in tandem with the prices of the underlying securities, and warrants are considered speculative investments. They pay no dividends and confer no rights other than a purchase option. If a warrant or right is not exercised by the date of its expiration, a Fund would lose its entire investment in such warrant or right.
Additional Risks
Market Disruption and Geopolitical Risk
The Funds are subject to the risk that geopolitical events will disrupt securities markets and adversely affect global economies and markets. War, terrorism, and related geopolitical events (and their aftermath) have led, and in the future may lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on U.S. and world economies and markets generally. Likewise, natural and environmental disasters, such as, for example, earthquakes, fires, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis and weather-related phenomena generally, as well as the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, including widespread epidemics or pandemics such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and systemic market dislocations can be highly disruptive to economies and markets. Those events as well as other changes in non-U.S. and domestic economic and political conditions also could adversely affect individual issuers or related groups of issuers, securities markets, interest rates, credit ratings, inflation, investor sentiment, and other factors affecting the value of a Fund’s investments.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in travel restrictions and disruptions, closed borders, enhanced health screenings at ports of entry and elsewhere, disruption of and delays in healthcare service preparation and delivery, quarantines, event cancellations and restrictions, service cancellations or reductions, disruptions to business operations, supply chains and customer activity, lower consumer demand for goods and services, as well as general concern and uncertainty that has negatively affected the economic environment. The impact of this outbreak and any other epidemic or pandemic that may arise in the future could adversely affect the economies of many nations or the entire global economy, the financial performance of individual issuers, borrowers and sectors and the health of capital markets and other markets generally in potentially significant and unforeseen ways. This crisis or other public health crises may also exacerbate other pre-existing political, social and economic risks in certain countries or globally. At this time, it is still not possible to estimate the severity or duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the severity, duration and frequency of any additional “waves” or emerging variants of COVID-19, or the efficacy or utilization of any therapeutic treatments and vaccines for COVID-19 or variants thereof. It is likewise still not possible to predict or estimate the longer-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, or any actions taken to contain or address the pandemic, on the Funds, the financial markets, and the economy at large. The foregoing could lead to a significant economic downturn or recession, increased market volatility, a greater number of market closures, higher default rates, supply chain disruptions and adverse effects on the values and liquidity of securities or other assets. Such impacts, which may vary across asset classes, may adversely affect the performance of a Fund’s investments, the Fund and your investment in the Fund.
Given the increasing interdependence between global economies and markets, conditions in one country, market, or region might adversely impact markets, issuers and/or foreign exchange rates in other countries, including the U.S. Continuing uncertainty as to the status of the Euro and the European Monetary Union (the “EMU”) has created significant volatility in currency and financial markets generally. Any partial or complete dissolution of the EMU, or any continued uncertainty as to its status,
32
could have significant adverse effects on currency and financial markets, and on the values of a Fund’s investments. The UK left the EU on January 31, 2020 (commonly referred to as “Brexit”). During an 11-month transition period, the UK and the EU agreed to a Trade and Cooperation Agreement that sets out the agreement for certain parts of the future relationship between the EU and the UK from January 1, 2021. The Trade and Cooperation Agreement does not provide the UK with the same level of rights or access to all goods and services in the EU as the UK previously maintained as a member of the EU and during the transition period. In particular the Trade and Cooperation Agreement does not include an agreement on financial services, which is yet to be agreed. Accordingly, uncertainty remains in certain areas as to the future relationship between the UK and the EU.
Beginning on January 1, 2021, EU laws ceased to apply in the UK. Many EU laws were initially retained and continued to apply in the UK; however, the UK government has since enacted legislation that will repeal, replace or otherwise make substantial amendments to the EU laws that were initially retained, with a view to those laws being replaced by purely domestic legislation. It is impossible to predict the consequences of these amendments on the Funds and their investments. Such changes could be materially detrimental to investors.
Although one cannot predict the full effect of Brexit, it could have a significant adverse impact on the UK, European and global macroeconomic conditions and could lead to prolonged political, legal, regulatory, tax and economic uncertainty. This uncertainty is likely to continue to impact the global economic climate and may impact opportunities, pricing, availability and cost of bank financing; regulation; values; or exit opportunities of companies or assets based, doing business, or having service or other significant relationships in, the UK or the EU, including companies or assets held or considered for prospective investment by a Fund.
Many financial instruments have historically relied on a floating rate based on the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”), which was the offered rate for short-term Eurodollar deposits between major international banks. In connection with the global transition away from LIBOR led by regulators and market participants, LIBOR was last published on a representative basis at the end of June 2023. Alternative reference rates to LIBOR have been established in most major currencies and the transition to new reference rates continues. Markets in these new rates are developing, but questions around liquidity and how to appropriately mitigate any economic value transfer as a result of the transition remain a concern. The transition away from LIBOR and the use of replacement rates may adversely affect transactions that used LIBOR as a reference rate, financial institutions, funds and other market participants that engaged in such transactions, and the financial markets generally. The impact of the transition away from LIBOR on the Funds or the financial instruments in which the Funds invest cannot yet be fully determined.
In addition, interest rates or other types of rates and indices which are classed as “benchmarks” have been the subject of ongoing national and international regulatory reform, including under the EU regulation on indices used as benchmarks in financial instruments and financial contracts (known as the “Benchmarks Regulation”). The Benchmarks Regulation has been enacted into UK law by virtue of the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (as amended), subject to amendments made by the Benchmarks (Amendment and Transitional Provision) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/657) and other statutory instruments. Following the implementation of these reforms, the manner of administration of benchmarks has changed and may further change in the future, with the result that relevant benchmarks may perform differently than in the past, the use of benchmarks that are not compliant with the new standards by certain supervised entities may be restricted, and certain benchmarks may be eliminated entirely. Additionally, there could be other consequences which cannot be predicted.
33
Unexpected political, regulatory and diplomatic events within the United States and abroad, such as the U.S.-China “trade war” that intensified in 2018, may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy, perhaps suddenly and to a significant degree. The current political climate and the renewal or escalation of a trade war between China and the United States may have an adverse effect on both the U.S. and Chinese economies, including as the result of one country’s imposition of tariffs on the other country’s products. In addition, sanctions or other investment restrictions could preclude a Fund from investing in certain Chinese issuers or cause a Fund to sell investments at disadvantageous times. Events such as these and their impact on the Funds are difficult to predict and it is unclear whether further tariffs may be imposed or other escalating actions may be taken in the future.
Cyber Security Risk
With the increased use of technologies such as the Internet and the dependence on computer systems to perform business and operational functions, investment companies (such as the Funds) and their service providers (including the Investment Manager) may be prone to operational and information security risks resulting from cyber-attacks and/or technological malfunctions. In general, cyber-attacks are deliberate, but unintentional events may have similar effects. Cyber-attacks include, among others, stealing or corrupting data maintained online or digitally, preventing legitimate users from accessing information or services on a website, releasing confidential information without authorization, and causing operational disruption. Successful cyber-attacks against, or security breakdowns of, a Fund, the Investment Manager, the Subadviser, or a custodian, transfer agent, or other affiliated or third-party service provider may adversely affect the Fund or its shareholders. For instance, cyber-attacks may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, affect a Fund’s ability to calculate its NAV, cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential Fund information, impede trading, cause reputational damage, and subject the Fund to regulatory fines, penalties or financial losses, reimbursement or other compensation costs, and additional compliance costs. Cyber-attacks may render records of Fund assets and transactions, shareholder ownership of Fund shares, and other data integral to the functioning of the Fund inaccessible or inaccurate or incomplete. The Funds may also incur substantial costs for cyber security risk management in order to prevent cyber incidents in the future. The Funds and their shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result. The use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) and machine learning could exacerbate these risks or result in cyber security incidents that implicate personal data. While the Investment Manager has established business continuity plans and systems designed to prevent cyber-attacks, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems including the possibility that certain risks have not been identified. The Funds rely on third-party service providers for many of their day-to-day operations, and are subject to the risk that the protections and protocols implemented by those service providers will be ineffective to protect the Funds from cyber-attack. Any problems relating to the performance and effectiveness of security procedures used by the Funds or third-party service providers to protect the Funds’ assets, such as algorithms, codes, passwords, multiple signature systems, encryption and telephone call-backs, may have an adverse impact on an investment in a Fund. The Investment Manager does not control the cyber security plans and systems put in place by third-party service providers, and such third-party service providers may have limited indemnification obligations to the Investment Manager or the Funds. Similar types of cyber security risks also are present for issuers of securities in which the Funds invest, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers, and may cause a Fund’s investment in such securities to lose value.
34
Diversification Requirements for the Funds
AMG Yacktman Fund intends to meet the diversification requirements of the 1940 Act as in effect from time to time. Neither AMG Yacktman Focused Fund, AMG Yacktman Global Fund nor AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund intends to meet the diversification requirements of the 1940 Act as in effect from time to time. Currently under the 1940 Act, a “diversified” fund generally may not, with respect to 75% of its total assets, invest more than 5% of its total assets in the securities of any one issuer or own more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer (except, in each case, U.S. Government securities, cash, cash items and the securities of other investment companies). The remaining 25% of a fund’s total assets is not subject to this limitation. A fund that is non-diversified can invest a greater percentage of its assets in a single issuer or a group of issuers, and, as a result, may be subject to greater credit, market, and other risks than a diversified fund. The poor performance by a single issuer may have a greater impact on the performance of a non-diversified fund. A non-diversified fund’s shares tend to be more volatile than shares of a diversified fund and are more susceptible to the risks of focusing investments in a small number of issuers or industries, and the risks of a single economic, political or regulatory occurrence.
Industry Concentration
The 1940 Act requires the Funds to state the extent, if any, to which they intend to concentrate investments in a particular industry. While the 1940 Act does not define what constitutes “concentration” in an industry, the staff of the SEC takes the position that, in general, investments of more than 25% of a fund’s assets in an industry constitutes concentration. The SEC staff has also taken the position that a policy relating to industry concentration does not apply to investments in “government securities” (as defined in the 1940 Act) or in tax-exempt securities issued by U.S. federal, state and municipal governments or political subdivisions of U.S. federal, state and municipal governments.
Fundamental Investment Restrictions
The following investment restrictions have been adopted by the Trust with respect to the Funds. Except as otherwise stated, these investment restrictions are “fundamental” policies. A “fundamental” policy is defined in the 1940 Act to mean that the restriction cannot be changed without the vote of a “majority of the outstanding voting securities” of the applicable Fund. A majority of the outstanding voting securities is defined in the 1940 Act as the lesser of (a) 67% or more of the voting securities present at a meeting if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities are present or represented by proxy, or (b) more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities.
Each of AMG Yacktman Focused Fund and AMG Yacktman Fund may not:
(1) Issue senior securities.
(2) Borrow money, except (i) in amounts not to exceed 33 1/3% of the value of a Fund’s total assets (including the amount borrowed) taken at market value from banks, through reverse repurchase agreements or forward or dollar roll transactions or through an interfund lending program with other series of trusts managed by the Investment Manager, (ii) up to an additional 5% of its total assets for temporary purposes, (iii) in connection with short-term credits as may be necessary for the clearance of purchases and sales of portfolio securities and (iv) each Fund may purchase securities on margin to the extent permitted by applicable law.
(3) Underwrite the securities of other issuers, except to the extent that, in connection with the disposition of portfolio securities, a Fund may be deemed to be an underwriter under the 1933 Act.
(4) Purchase or sell real estate, except that each Fund may (i) acquire or lease office space for its own use, (ii) invest in securities of issuers that invest in real estate or interests therein, (iii) invest in securities that are secured by real estate or interests therein, (iv) purchase and sell mortgage-related securities and (v) hold and sell real estate acquired by the Fund as a result of the ownership of securities.
35
(5) With respect to AMG Yacktman Focused Fund only, purchase or sell commodities or commodity contracts, except the Fund may purchase and sell options on securities, securities indices and currency, futures contracts on securities, securities indices and currency and options on such futures, forward foreign currency exchange contracts, forward commitments, securities index put or call warrants, repurchase agreements and other derivative instruments entered into in accordance with the Fund’s investment policies.
(6) With respect to AMG Yacktman Fund only, purchase or sell commodities or commodity contracts, including futures contracts.
(7) With respect to AMG Yacktman Fund only, sell securities short, buy securities on margin, purchase warrants, participate in a joint-trading account, or deal in options.
(8) Make loans, except that each Fund may (i) lend portfolio securities in accordance with the Fund’s investment policies up to 33 1/3% of the Fund’s total assets taken at market value, (ii) enter into repurchase agreements, (iii) purchase all or a portion of an issue of debt securities, bank loan participation interests, bank certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances, debentures or other securities, whether or not the purchase is made upon the original issuance of the securities and (iv) lend portfolio securities and participate in an interfund lending program with other series of trusts managed by the Investment Manager provided that no such loan may be made if, as a result, the aggregate of such loans would exceed 33 1/3% of the value of the Fund’s total assets.
(9) With respect to AMG Yacktman Fund only, with respect to 75% of its total assets, purchase securities of an issuer (other than the U.S. Government, its agencies, instrumentalities or authorities or repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities and other investment companies), if: (a) such purchase would cause more than 5% of a Fund’s total assets taken at market value to be invested in the securities of such issuer; or (b) such purchase would at the time result in more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer being held by the Fund.
(10) Invest more than 25% of its total assets in the securities of one or more issuers conducting their principal business activities in the same industry (excluding the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities).
Any restriction on investments or use of assets, including, but not limited to, market capitalization, geographic, rating and/or any other percentage restrictions, set forth in this SAI or the Funds’ Prospectus shall be measured only at the time of investment, and any subsequent change, whether in the value, market capitalization, rating, percentage held or otherwise, will not constitute a violation of the restriction, other than with respect to investment restriction (2) above related to borrowings by the Funds.
For purposes of investment restriction (1) above, issuing senior securities shall not be considered to include (without limitation): borrowing money, making loans, the issuance of shares of beneficial interest in multiple classes or series, the deferral of Trustees’ fees, or (with respect to AMG Yacktman Focused Fund only) the purchase or sale of derivative instruments, such as options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, forward commitments and swaps, and entering into repurchase agreements, reverse repurchase agreements, roll transactions and short sales, in accordance with each Fund’s investment policies.
For purposes of investment restriction (2) above, and with respect to AMG Yacktman Focused Fund only, borrowing shall not be considered to include (without limitation): investments in derivative instruments, such as options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, forward commitments and swaps, short sales and roll transactions made in accordance with each Fund’s investment policies.
36
For purposes of investment restriction (5) above, at the time of the establishment of the restriction, swap contracts on financial instruments or rates were not within the understanding of the terms “commodities” or “commodity contracts,” and notwithstanding any federal legislation or regulatory action by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) that subject such swaps to regulation by the CFTC, the Funds will not consider such instruments to be commodities or commodity contracts for purposes of this restriction.
Unless otherwise provided, for purposes of investment restriction (10) above, the term “industry” shall be defined by reference to the Global Industry Classification Standard put forth by S&P and Morgan Stanley Capital International.
AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund and AMG Yacktman Global Fund:
(1) May issue senior securities to the extent permitted by the Investment Company Act of 1940, or the rules or regulations thereunder, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended from time to time, or by regulatory guidance or interpretations of, or any exemptive order or other relief issued by the SEC or any successor organization or their staff under, such Act, rules or regulations.
(2) May borrow money to the extent permitted by the Investment Company Act of 1940, or the rules or regulations thereunder, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended from time to time, or by regulatory guidance or interpretations of, or any exemptive order or other relief issued by the SEC or any successor organization or their staff under, such Act, rules or regulations.
(3) May lend money to the extent permitted by the Investment Company Act of 1940, or the rules or regulations thereunder, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended from time to time, or by regulatory guidance or interpretations of, or any exemptive order or other relief issued by the SEC or any successor organization or their staff under, such Act, rules or regulations.
(4) May underwrite securities to the extent permitted by the Investment Company Act of 1940, or the rules or regulations thereunder, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended from time to time, or by regulatory guidance or interpretations of, or any exemptive order or other relief issued by the SEC or any successor organization or their staff under, such Act, rules or regulations.
(5) May purchase and sell commodities to the extent permitted by the Investment Company Act of 1940, or the rules or regulations thereunder, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended from time to time, or by regulatory guidance or interpretations of, or any exemptive order or other relief issued by the SEC or any successor organization or their staff under, such Act, rules or regulations.
(6) May purchase and sell real estate to the extent permitted by the Investment Company Act of 1940, or the rules or regulations thereunder, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended from time to time, or by regulatory guidance or interpretations of, or any exemptive order or other relief issued by the SEC or any successor organization or their staff under, such Act, rules or regulations.
(7) May not concentrate investments in a particular industry or group of industries, as concentration is defined or interpreted under the Investment Company Act of 1940, and the rules and regulations thereunder, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended from time to time, and under regulatory guidance or interpretations of such Act, rules or regulations.
37
Any restriction on investments or use of assets, including, but not limited to, market capitalization, geographic, rating and/or any other percentage restrictions, set forth in this SAI or the Funds’ Prospectus shall be measured only at the time of investment, and any subsequent change, whether in the value, market capitalization, rating, percentage held or otherwise, will not constitute a violation of the restriction, other than with respect to investment restriction (2) above related to borrowings by the Funds.
Portfolio Turnover
Generally, the Funds purchase securities for investment purposes and not for short-term trading profits. However, each Fund may sell securities without regard to the length of time that the security is held in the portfolio when the Fund believes the sale is consistent with the Fund’s investment strategies and in the Fund’s best interest to do so. A higher degree of portfolio activity may increase brokerage costs to a Fund and may increase shareholders’ tax liability.
The portfolio turnover rates for the Funds for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2023 were as follows:
AMG Yacktman Focused Fund* | ||||
Fiscal Year Ended |
Portfolio Turnover Rate | |||
December 31, 2022 |
13 | % | ||
December 31, 2023 |
4 | % | ||
AMG Yacktman Global Fund | ||||
Fiscal Year Ended |
Portfolio Turnover Rate | |||
December 31, 2022 |
11 | % | ||
December 31, 2023 |
11 | % | ||
AMG Yacktman Fund** | ||||
Fiscal Year Ended |
Portfolio Turnover Rate | |||
December 31, 2022 |
11 | % | ||
December 31, 2023 |
5 | % | ||
AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund | ||||
Fiscal Year Ended |
Portfolio Turnover Rate | |||
December 31, 2022 |
40 | % | ||
December 31, 2023 |
24 | % |
* |
AMG Yacktman Focused Fund’s higher portfolio turnover rate for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 compared with the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 is attributable to increased trading activity in the market environment at the time. |
** |
AMG Yacktman Fund’s higher portfolio turnover rate for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 compared with the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 is attributable to increased trading activity in the market environment at the time. |
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings
The Trust has adopted policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent selective disclosure of each Fund’s portfolio holdings to third parties, other than disclosures that are consistent with the best interests of shareholders of a Fund. Each Fund will disclose its portfolio holdings on a quarterly basis on or about the 10th business day following each quarter by posting this information on the Funds’
38
website. The Chief Compliance Officer of the Trust may designate an earlier or later date for public disclosure of a Fund’s portfolio holdings. In addition, each Fund (i) may disclose the top 10 portfolio holdings at any time following the disclosure of portfolio holdings, and (ii) may disclose statistical information regarding such Fund’s portfolio allocation characteristics on or about 10 business days after each quarter-end, or may disclose such information if it is derived from publicly available portfolio holdings, in each case, by posting the information on the Fund’s website. Non-public portfolio holdings may also be disclosed by a Fund or its duly authorized service providers to certain third parties, including mutual fund evaluation services, rating agencies, lenders or providers of borrowing facilities, if (i) the Chief Compliance Officer of the Trust has made a determination that the disclosure of portfolio holdings information in the manner and at the time proposed is consistent with a legitimate business purpose of the Fund; and (ii) the recipient has been informed in writing that it is subject to a duty of confidentiality with respect to that information and undertakes not to trade in securities or other property on the basis of that information unless and until that information is made publicly available. The Board of Trustees receives reports of any potential exceptions to, or violations of, the Trust’s policies and procedures governing disclosure of portfolio holdings that are deemed to constitute a material compliance matter. The Chief Compliance Officer or his designee is responsible for monitoring compliance with these procedures, including requesting information from service providers.
The Trust has arrangements with the persons indicated below to make available information about a Fund’s portfolio securities. The Trust’s policies and procedures prohibit any person or entity from receiving compensation or consideration of any kind in connection with the release of information relating to a Fund’s portfolio holdings.
The Funds may regularly provide non-public portfolio holdings information, including current portfolio holdings information, to the following third parties in the normal course of their performance of services to the Funds: the Subadviser (Yacktman Asset Management LP); the independent registered public accounting firm (PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP); the custodian and securities lending agent (The Bank of New York Mellon); financial printer (Donnelley Financial Solutions); counsel to the Funds (Ropes & Gray LLP) or counsel to the independent trustees of the Funds (Sullivan & Worcester LLP); regulatory authorities; and securities exchanges and other listing organizations. Disclosures of current portfolio holdings information will be made on a daily basis with respect to the Subadviser and the custodian. Disclosures of portfolio holdings information will be made to the Funds’ independent registered public accounting firm on an annual basis in connection with the annual audit of the Funds’ financial statements and to the Funds’ financial printer on a quarterly basis in connection with the preparation of public filings, and from time to time in the course of Fund operations. Disclosures of portfolio holdings information, including current portfolio holdings information, may be made to counsel to the Funds or counsel to the Funds’ independent trustees in connection with periodic meetings of the Board of Trustees and otherwise from time to time in connection with the Funds’ operations. In addition, the Funds provide portfolio holdings information to the following data providers, fund ranking/rating services, independent consultants, fair valuation services and other service providers: Lipper, Inc., Morningstar, Inc., ICE Data Services, FactSet Research Systems Inc., Bloomberg L.P., Institutional Shareholder Services Inc., Davison, Dietsch & McCarthy, Inc., Seismic Professional Services, eVestment Alliance, LLC, HedgeMark Risk Analytics, LLC, Confluence Technologies, Inc., and VATIT USA Inc. (d/b/a WTax). The Funds may disclose non-public current portfolio holdings information to ICE Data Services on a monthly basis for valuation purposes, to FactSet Research Systems Inc. on a daily basis for portfolio holdings analysis, to Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. on a daily basis for proxy voting and class action processing purposes, to Davison, Dietsch & McCarthy, Inc. and Seismic Professional Services on a quarterly basis for services related to Fund marketing materials, to eVestment Alliance, LLC on a quarterly basis for services related to Fund marketing, to HedgeMark Risk Analytics, LLC on a daily basis for liquidity classification services, to Confluence Technologies, Inc. on a monthly basis in connection with regulatory filings and on a daily basis for services related to Rule 18f-4, and to VATIT
39
USA Inc. (d/b/a WTax) on a daily basis for tax services relating to foreign securities. The Funds also provide current portfolio holdings information to Lipper, Inc., Morningstar, Inc., Bloomberg L.P. and various institutional investment consultants and other related firms, but only after such information has already been disclosed to the general public.
The entities to which the Funds voluntarily disclose portfolio holdings information are required, either by explicit agreement or by virtue of their respective duties to the Funds, to maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed. There can be no assurance that the Trust’s policies and procedures regarding selective disclosure of the Funds’ portfolio holdings will protect the Funds from potential misuse of that information by individuals or entities to which it is disclosed.
TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS
The Trustees and Officers of the Trust, their business addresses, principal occupations for the past five years and ages are listed below. The Trustees provide broad supervision over the affairs of the Trust and the Funds. The Trustees are experienced executives who meet periodically throughout the year to oversee the Funds’ activities, review contractual arrangements with companies that provide services to the Funds, and review the Funds’ performance. Unless otherwise noted, the address of each Trustee or Officer is the address of the Trust: 680 Washington Boulevard, Suite 500, Stamford, Connecticut 06901.
There is no stated term of office for Trustees. Each Trustee serves during the continued lifetime of the Trust until he or she dies, resigns or is removed, or, if sooner, until the next meeting of shareholders called for the purpose of electing Trustees and until the election and qualification of his or her successor in accordance with the Trust’s organizational documents and the Board’s policy that a Trustee retire at the end of the calendar year in which the Trustee reaches the age of 75. The Chairman of the Board, the President, the Treasurer and the Secretary and such other Officers as the Trustees may in their discretion from time to time elect each hold office until his or her successor is elected and qualified, or until he or she sooner dies, resigns, is removed or becomes disqualified. Each Officer holds office at the pleasure of the Trustees.
Independent Trustees
The Trustees in the following table are not “interested persons” of the Trust within the meaning of the 1940 Act (“Independent Trustees”). Eric Rakowski serves as the Independent Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
NAME
AND |
POSITION(S) TIME |
PRINCIPAL OCCUPATION(S) |
NUMBER OF FUNDS IN FUND COMPLEX OVERSEEN BY TRUSTEE |
OTHER |
EXPERIENCE, | |||||
Jill R. Cuniff YOB: 1964 |
Trustee since 2023 | Retired (2016-Present); President & Portfolio Manager, Edge Asset Management (2009-2016); President & Chief Investment Officer, Morley Financial Services (2001-2009); President, Union Bond & Trust Company (2001-2009) | 38 | Director of Harding Loevner Funds, Inc. (12 portfolios) (2018-Present). | Significant experience as a board member of mutual funds; significant business experience as president of executive teams; experience with institutional and retail distribution; experience as a co-portfolio manager. |
40
NAME
AND |
POSITION(S) TIME |
PRINCIPAL OCCUPATION(S) |
NUMBER OF FUNDS IN FUND COMPLEX OVERSEEN BY TRUSTEE |
OTHER |
EXPERIENCE, | |||||
Kurt A. Keilhacker YOB: 1963 |
Trustee since 2013; Chairman of the Audit Committee since 2021 |
Managing Partner, Elementum Ventures (2013-Present); Managing Partner, TechFund Europe (2000-Present); Managing Partner, TechFund Capital (1997-Present); Adjunct Professor, University of San Francisco (2022-Present); Trustee, Wheaton College (2018-Present); Director, Wheaton College Trust Company, N.A. (2018-Present) | 41 | None | Significant board experience, including as a board member of private companies; significant experience as a managing member of private companies; significant experience in the venture capital industry; significant experience as co-founder of a number of technology companies. | |||||
Peter W. MacEwen YOB: 1964 |
Trustee since 2023 | Private investor (2019-Present); Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (2003-2018): Chief Administrative Officer, Office of the CEO (2013-2018); Senior Vice President, Finance (2007-2013); Vice President, Finance (2003-2007) | 38 | None | Significant experience in the financial services industry, including as a senior executive of an S&P 500 asset management firm where responsibilities included: corporate finance and capital raising; strategy development and execution; internal audit and risk management; and oversight of global operations. |
41
NAME
AND |
POSITION(S) TIME |
PRINCIPAL OCCUPATION(S) |
NUMBER OF FUNDS IN FUND COMPLEX OVERSEEN BY TRUSTEE |
OTHER |
EXPERIENCE, | |||||
Steven J. Paggioli YOB: 1950 |
Trustee since 2004 | Independent Consultant (2002-Present); Executive Vice President, Secretary and Director, Investment Company Administration, LLC (1990-2001) | 38 | Trustee, Professionally Managed Portfolios (28 portfolios); Independent Director, Muzinich BDC, Inc. (business development company) (2019-Present); Independent Director, Chase Investment Counsel (2008-2019) | Significant board experience, including as a board member of mutual funds; significant executive experience with several financial services firms; former service with financial service regulator; Audit Committee financial expert. | |||||
Eric Rakowski YOB: 1958 |
Trustee since 1999; Independent Chairman of the Board of Trustees since 2017; Chairman of the Governance Committee since 2017 | Professor of Law, University of California at Berkeley School of Law (1990-Present) | 41 | Trustee of Parnassus Funds (4 portfolios) (2021-Present); Trustee of Parnassus Income Funds (2 portfolios) (2021-Present); Director of Harding, Loevner Funds, Inc. (10 portfolios); Trustee of Third Avenue Trust (3 portfolios) (2002-2019); Trustee of Third Avenue Variable Trust (1 portfolio) (2002-2019) | Significant experience as a board member of mutual funds; former practicing attorney; currently professor of law. |
42
NAME
AND |
POSITION(S) TIME |
PRINCIPAL OCCUPATION(S) |
NUMBER OF FUNDS IN FUND COMPLEX OVERSEEN BY TRUSTEE |
OTHER |
EXPERIENCE, | |||||
Victoria L. Sassine YOB: 1965 |
Trustee since 2013 | Adjunct Professor, Babson College (2007-Present); Director, Board of Directors, PRG Group (2017-Present); CEO, Founder, Scale Smarter Partners, LLC (2018-Present); Adviser, EVOFEM Biosciences (2019-Present); Chairperson, Board of Directors, Business Management Associates (2018-2019) | 41 | None | Significant board experience, including as a board member of private companies; finance experience in strategic financial and operation management positions in a variety of industries; audit and tax experience in a global accounting firm; experience as a board member of various organizations; Certified Public Accountant (inactive). Current adjunct professor of finance. |
Interested Trustee
Mr. Weston is an “interested person” of the Trust within the meaning of the 1940 Act by virtue of his position with, and interest in securities of, AMG.
NAME
AND |
POSITION(S) TIME |
PRINCIPAL OCCUPATION(S) |
NUMBER OF FUNDS IN FUND COMPLEX OVERSEEN BY TRUSTEE |
OTHER |
EXPERIENCE, | |||||
Garret W. Weston YOB: 1981 |
Trustee since 2021 | Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (2008-Present): Managing Director, Head of Affiliate Product Strategy and Development (2023-Present), Managing Director, Co-Head of Affiliate Engagement, Distribution (2021-2022), Senior Vice President, Office of the CEO (2019-2021), Senior Vice President, Affiliate Development (2016-2019), Vice President, Office of the CEO (2015-2016), Vice President, New Investments (2008-2015); Associate, Madison Dearborn Partners (2006-2008); Analyst, Merrill Lynch (2004-2006) | 41 | None | Significant senior leadership role within AMG across a number of areas, including responsibilities since 2020 for the AMG Funds business and other distribution related activities, as well as prior significant experience with AMG’s investments and relationships with its Affiliates. Prior to AMG, significant business, investment and corporate finance experience within the financial services industry. |
43
Information About Each Trustee’s Experience, Qualifications, Attributes or Skills
Trustees of the Trust, together with information as to their positions with the Trust, principal occupations and other board memberships for the past five years, and experience, qualifications, attributes or skills for serving as Trustees are shown in the tables above. The summaries relating to the experience, qualifications, attributes and skills of the Trustees are required by the registration form adopted by the SEC, do not constitute holding out the Board or any Trustee as having any special expertise or experience, and do not impose any greater responsibility or liability on any such person or on the Board as a whole than would otherwise be the case. The Board believes that the significance of each Trustee’s experience, qualifications, attributes or skills is an individual matter (meaning that experience that is important for one Trustee may not have the same value for another) and that these factors are best evaluated at the Board level, with no single Trustee, or particular factor, being indicative of Board effectiveness. However, the Board believes that Trustees need to be able to critically review, evaluate, question and discuss information provided to them, and to interact effectively with Trust management, service providers and counsel, in order to exercise effective business judgment in the performance of their duties. The Board believes that each of its members has these abilities. Experience relevant to having these abilities may be achieved through a Trustee’s educational background; business, professional training or practice (e.g., finance or law), or academic positions; experience from service as a board member (including the Board) or as an executive of investment funds, significant private or not-for-profit entities or other organizations; and/or other life experiences. To assist them in evaluating matters under federal and state law, the Independent Trustees are counseled by their own separate, independent legal counsel, who participates in Board meetings and interacts with the Investment Manager, and also may benefit from information provided by the Trust’s and the Investment Manager’s legal counsel. Both Independent Trustee and Trust counsel have significant experience advising funds and fund board members. The Board and its committees have the ability to engage other experts, including the Funds’ independent public accounting firm, as appropriate. The Board evaluates its performance on an annual basis.
44
Officers
NAME AND YEAR OF BIRTH |
POSITION(S)
HELD WITH |
PRINCIPAL OCCUPATION(S) DURING PAST 5 YEARS | ||
Keitha L. Kinne YOB: 1958 |
Chief Operating Officer since 2007; President, Chief Executive Officer and Principal Executive Officer since 2018 | Managing Director, Head of Platform and Operations, AMG Funds LLC (2023-Present); Chief Operating Officer, AMG Funds LLC (2007-Present); Chief Investment Officer, AMG Funds LLC (2008-Present); President and Principal, AMG Distributors, Inc. (2018-Present); Chief Operating Officer, AMG Distributors, Inc. (2007-Present); President, Chief Executive Officer and Principal Executive Officer, AMG Funds, AMG Funds I, AMG Funds II, AMG Funds III and AMG Funds IV (2018-Present); Chief Operating Officer, AMG Funds, AMG Funds I, AMG Funds II and AMG Funds III (2007-Present); Chief Operating Officer, AMG Funds IV (2016-Present); Chief Operating Officer and Chief Investment Officer, Aston Asset Management, LLC (2016); President and Principal Executive Officer, AMG Funds, AMG Funds I, AMG Funds II and AMG Funds III (2012-2014); Managing Partner, AMG Funds LLC (2007-2014); President and Principal, AMG Distributors, Inc. (2012-2014); Managing Director, Legg Mason & Co., LLC (2006-2007); Managing Director, Citigroup Asset Management (2004-2006) | ||
Thomas G. Disbrow YOB: 1966 |
Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer, Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer since 2017 | Vice President, Mutual Fund Treasurer & CFO, AMG Funds, AMG Funds LLC (2017-Present); Chief Financial Officer, Principal Financial Officer, Treasurer and Principal Accounting Officer, AMG Funds, AMG Funds I, AMG Funds II, AMG Funds III and AMG Funds IV (2017-Present); Managing Director—Global Head of Traditional Funds Product Control, UBS Asset Management (Americas), Inc. (2015-2017); Managing Director—Head of North American Funds Treasury, UBS Asset Management (Americas), Inc. (2011-2015) | ||
Mark J. Duggan YOB: 1965 |
Secretary and Chief Legal Officer since 2015 | Managing Director and Senior Counsel, AMG Funds LLC (2021-Present); Senior Vice President and Senior Counsel, AMG Funds LLC (2015-2021); Secretary and Chief Legal Officer, AMG Funds, AMG Funds I, AMG Funds II, AMG Funds III and AMG Funds IV (2015-Present); Attorney, K&L Gates, LLP (2009-2015) |
45
NAME AND YEAR OF BIRTH |
POSITION(S)
HELD WITH |
PRINCIPAL OCCUPATION(S) DURING PAST 5 YEARS | ||
Patrick J. Spellman YOB: 1974 |
Chief Compliance Officer and Sarbanes-Oxley Code of Ethics Compliance Officer since 2019; Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer since 2022 | Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer, AMG Funds LLC (2017-Present); Chief Compliance Officer, AMG Distributors, Inc. (2010-Present); Chief Compliance Officer and Sarbanes-Oxley Code of Ethics Compliance Officer, AMG Funds, AMG Funds I, AMG Funds II, AMG Funds III and AMG Funds IV (2019-Present); Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer, AMG Funds, AMG Funds I, AMG Funds II, and AMG Funds III (2014-2019; 2022-Present); Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer, AMG Funds IV (2016-2019; 2022-Present); Senior Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer, AMG Funds LLC (2011-2017); Compliance Manager, Legal and Compliance, Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (2005-2011) | ||
John A. Starace YOB: 1970 |
Deputy Treasurer since 2017 | Vice President, Mutual Fund Accounting, AMG Funds LLC (2021-Present); Director, Mutual Fund Accounting, AMG Funds LLC (2017-2021); Vice President, Deputy Treasurer of Mutual Funds Services, AMG Funds LLC (2014-2017); Deputy Treasurer, AMG Funds, AMG Funds I, AMG Funds II, AMG Funds III and AMG Funds IV (2017-Present); Vice President, Citi Hedge Fund Services (2010-2014); Audit Senior Manager (2005-2010) and Audit Manager (2001-2005), Deloitte & Touche LLP | ||
Maureen M. Kerrigan YOB: 1985 |
Assistant Secretary since 2016 | Vice President, Senior Counsel, AMG Funds LLC (2021-Present); Vice President, Counsel, AMG Funds LLC (2019-2021); Director, Counsel, AMG Funds LLC (2017-2018); Vice President, Counsel, AMG Funds LLC (2015-2017); Assistant Secretary, AMG Funds, AMG Funds I, AMG Funds II, AMG Funds III and AMG Funds IV (2016-Present); Associate, Ropes & Gray LLP (2011-2015); Law Fellow, Massachusetts Appleseed Center for Law and Justice (2010-2011) |
46
Trustee Share Ownership
Name of Trustee |
Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Funds Beneficially Owned as of December 31, 2023 (except as otherwise noted) |
Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity Securities in All Registered Investment Companies Overseen by Trustee in the Family of Investment Companies Beneficially Owned as of December 31, 2023 (except as otherwise noted) | ||
Independent Trustees: Jill R. Cuniff Kurt A. Keilhacker Peter W. MacEwen(a) Steven J. Paggioli Eric Rakowski Victoria L. Sassine |
None None None $50,001-$100,000 $10,001-$50,000 None |
Over
$100,000 Over $100,000 Over $100,000 Over $100,000 Over $100,000 Over $100,000 | ||
Interested Trustee: Garret W. Weston |
None | $50,001-$100,000 |
(a) |
Share ownership information for Mr. MacEwen is as of February 20, 2024. Mr. MacEwen did not own securities of funds in the family of investment companies overseen as of December 31, 2023. |
During the past two years, Mr. MacEwen held 2,536 shares of AMG, the Investment Manager’s parent company, which he sold on August 11, 2023. As of August 12, 2023, Mr. MacEwen no longer holds any shares of AMG.
Board Leadership Structure and Risk Oversight
The following provides an overview of the leadership structure of the Board of Trustees of AMG Funds (the “Board”) and the Board’s oversight of the Funds’ risk management process. The Board consists of seven Trustees, six of whom are Independent Trustees. An Independent Trustee serves as Chairman of the Board. In addition, the Board also has two standing committees, the Audit Committee and Governance Committee (the “Committees”) (discussed below), each comprised of all of the Independent Trustees, to which the Board has delegated certain authority and oversight responsibilities.
The Board’s role in supervising the operations of the Trust is oversight, including oversight of the Funds’ risk management process. The Board meets regularly on at least a quarterly basis and at these meetings the officers of the Funds and the Funds’ Chief Compliance Officer report to the Board on a variety of matters. A portion of each regular meeting is devoted to an executive session of the Independent Trustees, the Independent Trustees’ separate, independent legal counsel, and the Funds’ Chief Compliance Officer, at which no members of management are present. In a separate executive session of the Independent Trustees and the Independent Trustees’ independent legal counsel, the Independent Trustees consider a variety of matters that are required by law to be considered by the Independent Trustees, as well as matters that are scheduled to come before the full Board, including fund governance, compliance, and leadership issues. When considering these matters, the Independent Trustees are advised by their independent legal counsel. The Board reviews its leadership structure periodically and believes that its structure is appropriate to enable the Board to exercise its oversight of the Funds.
47
AMG Funds has retained AMG Funds LLC as the Funds’ investment adviser and administrator. The Investment Manager is responsible for the Funds’ overall administration and operations, including management of the risks that arise from the Funds’ investments and operations. Employees of the Investment Manager serve as several of the Funds’ officers, including the Funds’ President. The Board provides oversight of the services provided by the Investment Manager, the Funds’ other service providers, and the Funds’ officers, including their risk management activities. On an annual basis, the Funds’ Chief Compliance Officer conducts a compliance review and risk assessment and prepares a written report relating to the review that is provided to the Board for review and discussion. The assessment includes a broad-based review of the risks inherent to the Funds, the controls designed to address those risks, and selective testing of those controls to determine whether they are operating effectively and are reasonably designed. In the course of providing oversight, the Board and the Committees receive a wide range of reports on the Funds’ activities, including regarding each Fund’s investment portfolio, the compliance of the Funds with applicable laws, and the Funds’ financial accounting and reporting. The Board receives periodic reports from the Funds’ Chief Legal Officer on the Investment Manager’s risk management activities. The Board also receives periodic reports from the Funds’ Chief Compliance Officer regarding the compliance of the Funds with federal and state securities laws and the Funds’ internal compliance policies and procedures. In addition, the Board receives periodic reports from the portfolio managers of the Subadviser and the Investment Manager’s investment research team regarding the management of the Funds, including their investment risks. The Board also receives periodic reports from the Funds’ Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and other senior personnel of the Investment Manager regarding the Investment Manager’s general business operations.
Board Committees
As described below, the Board of Trustees has two standing Committees, each of which is chaired by an Independent Trustee. The Board has not established a formal risk oversight committee. However, much of the regular work of the Board and its standing Committees addresses aspects of risk oversight.
Audit Committee
The Board of Trustees has an Audit Committee consisting of all of the Independent Trustees. Kurt A. Keilhacker serves as the chairman of the Audit Committee. Under the terms of its charter, the Audit Committee: (a) acts for the Trustees in overseeing the Trust’s financial reporting and auditing processes; (b) receives and reviews communications from the independent registered public accounting firm relating to its review of the Funds’ financial statements; (c) reviews and assesses the performance, approves the compensation, and approves or ratifies the appointment, retention or termination of the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm; (d) meets periodically with the independent registered public accounting firm to review the annual audits of the series of the Trust, including the audits of the Funds, and pre-approves the audit services provided by the independent registered public accounting firm; (e) considers and acts upon proposals for the independent registered public accounting firm to provide non-audit services to the Trust or the Investment Manager or its affiliates to the extent that such approval is required by applicable laws or regulations; (f) considers and reviews with the independent registered public accounting firm, periodically as the need arises, but not less frequently than annually, matters bearing upon the registered public accounting firm’s status as “independent” under applicable standards of independence established from time to time by the SEC and other regulatory authorities; and (g) reviews and reports to the full Board with respect to any material accounting, tax, valuation or recordkeeping issues of which the Audit Committee is aware that may affect the Trust, the
48
Trust’s financial statements or the amount of any dividend or distribution right, among other matters. The chairman of the Audit Committee or his designee also may carry out the duties of the Board’s pricing oversight committee from time to time. The Audit Committee met two times during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.
Governance Committee
The Board of Trustees has a Governance Committee consisting of all of the Independent Trustees. Eric Rakowski serves as the chairman of the Governance Committee. Under the terms of its charter, the Governance Committee is empowered to perform a variety of functions on behalf of the Board, including responsibility to make recommendations with respect to the following matters: (i) individuals to be appointed or nominated for election as Independent Trustees; (ii) the designation and responsibilities of the chairperson of the Board (who shall be an Independent Trustee) and Board committees, such other officers of the Board, if any, as the Governance Committee deems appropriate, and officers of the Funds; (iii) the compensation to be paid to Independent Trustees; and (iv) other matters the Governance Committee deems necessary or appropriate. The Governance Committee is also empowered to: (i) set any desired standards or qualifications for service as a Trustee; (ii) conduct self-evaluations of the performance of the Trustees and help facilitate the Board’s evaluation of the performance of the Board at least annually; (iii) oversee the selection of independent legal counsel to the Independent Trustees and review reports from independent legal counsel regarding potential conflicts of interest; and (iv) consider and evaluate any other matter the Governance Committee deems necessary or appropriate. It is the policy of the Governance Committee to consider nominees recommended by shareholders. Shareholders who would like to recommend nominees to the Governance Committee should submit the candidate’s name and background information in a sufficiently timely manner (and in any event, no later than the date specified for receipt of shareholder proposals in any applicable proxy statement of the Funds) and should address their recommendations to the attention of the Governance Committee, c/o the Secretary of the Funds, 680 Washington Boulevard, Suite 500, Stamford, Connecticut 06901. The Governance Committee met two times during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.
Trustees’ Compensation
For their services as Trustees of the Trust and other funds within the AMG Fund Complex for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, the Trustees were compensated as follows:
Compensation Table:
Name of Trustee |
Aggregate Compensation from the Funds(a) |
Total Compensation from the Fund Complex Paid to Trustees(b) |
||||||
Independent Trustees: |
||||||||
Bruce B. Bingham(c) |
$ | 152,314 | $ | 254,000 | ||||
Jill R. Cuniff(d) |
$ | 37,479 | $ | 62,500 | ||||
Kurt A. Keilhacker(e) |
$ | 167,305 | $ | 342,000 | ||||
Peter W. MacEwen(d) |
$ | 37,479 | $ | 62,500 | ||||
Steven J. Paggioli |
$ | 152,314 | $ | 254,000 | ||||
Eric Rakowski(f) |
$ | 185,294 | $ | 382,000 | ||||
Victoria L. Sassine |
$ | 152,314 | $ | 327,000 | ||||
Interested Trustee: |
||||||||
Garret W. Weston |
None | None |
(a) |
Compensation is calculated for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. The Trust does not provide any pension or retirement benefits for the Trustees. |
49
(b) |
Total compensation includes compensation paid during the 12-month period ended December 31, 2023 for services as a Trustee to any fund currently in the AMG Fund Complex. As of December 31, 2023, each of Messrs. Bingham, MacEwen, and Paggioli and Ms. Cuniff served as a trustee to 41 funds in the AMG Fund Complex and each of Messrs. Keilhacker, Rakowski, and Weston and Ms. Sassine served as a trustee or director to 43 funds in the AMG Fund Complex. |
(c) |
Mr. Bingham retired from the Board effective December 31, 2023. |
(d) |
Ms. Cuniff and Mr. MacEwen were elected as Trustees of the Trust at a special meeting of shareholders of the Trust on October 10, 2023. |
(e) |
Mr. Keilhacker receives an additional $25,000 annually for serving as the Audit Committee Chairman, which is reflected in the chart above. |
(f) |
Mr. Rakowski receives an additional $55,000 annually for serving as the Independent Chairman, which is reflected in the chart above. |
From July 25, 2023 through October 10, 2023, Jill R. Cuniff and Peter W. MacEwen served as consultants to the Board on an as needed basis. As compensation for their services, Ms. Cuniff and Mr. MacEwen each received $31,250, paid by the Funds and the other series of the Trust, AMG Funds I, AMG Funds II, AMG Funds III, and AMG Funds IV.
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES
As of March 31, 2024, the following persons and/or entities owned beneficially or of record 5% or more of the outstanding Class I shares of each Fund, outstanding Class N shares of AMG Yacktman Focused Fund and AMG Yacktman Global Fund and outstanding Class Z shares of AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund. Class N shares of AMG Yacktman Fund and AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund are not currently being offered and there are no such shares currently outstanding. Class Z shares of AMG Yacktman Fund are not currently being offered and there are no such shares currently outstanding.
Name and Address | Percent Owned | |||
AMG Yacktman Focused Fund—Class I |
||||
National Financial Services LLC For the Exclusive Benefit of Our Customers 499 Washington Boulevard, Floor 5 Jersey City, New Jersey 07310-2010 |
19.92 | % | ||
Wells Fargo Clearing Services LLC 2801 Market Street Saint Louis, Missouri 63103 |
12.10 | % | ||
Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. Attn: Mutual Funds Department 211 Main Street San Francisco, California 94105-1905 |
9.61 | % | ||
Pershing LLC 1 Pershing Plaza Jersey City, New Jersey 07399-0002 |
7.77 | % |
50
UBS WM USA Special Custody Account for the Exclusive Benefit of Customers of UBSFSI 1000 Harbor Boulevard Weehawken, New Jersey 07086 |
6.82 | % | ||
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC For the Exclusive Benefit of Its Customers 1 New York Plaza, Floor 12 New York, New York 10004-1901 |
6.25 | % | ||
Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith For the Sole Benefit of Its Customers 4800 Deer Lake Drive East Jacksonville, Florida 32246-6484 |
5.37 | % | ||
Raymond James Omnibus For Mutual Funds House Account Firm Attn: Courtney Waller 880 Carillon Parkway St. Petersburg, Florida 33716 |
5.36 | % | ||
AMG Yacktman Focused Fund—Class N |
||||
National Financial Services LLC For the Exclusive Benefit of Our Customers 499 Washington Boulevard, Floor 5 Jersey City, New Jersey 07310-2010 |
49.39 | % | ||
Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. Attn: Mutual Funds Department 211 Main Street San Francisco, California 94105-1905 |
34.10 | % | ||
AMG Yacktman Global Fund—Class I |
||||
Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Inc.* For the Sole Benefit of Its Customers Attn: Service Team 4800 Deer Lake Drive East, 3rd Floor Jacksonville, Florida 32246 |
45.06 | % | ||
UBS WM USA Special Custody Account for the Exclusive Benefit of Customers of UBSFSI 1000 Harbor Boulevard Weehawken, New Jersey 07086 |
21.39 | % | ||
National Financial Services LLC For the Exclusive Benefit of Our Customers Attn: Mutual Funds Department, 4th Floor 499 Washington Boulevard Jersey City, New Jersey 07310-2010 |
18.06 | % |
51
Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. Special Custody Account for the Exclusive Benefit of Customers Attn: Mutual Funds 101 Montgomery Street San Francisco, California 94104-4122 |
6.15 | % | ||
AMG Yacktman Global Fund—Class N |
||||
National Financial Services LLC For the Exclusive Benefit of Our Customers Attn: Mutual Funds Department, 4th Floor 499 Washington Boulevard Jersey City, New Jersey 07310-2010 |
47.52 | % | ||
Vanguard Brokerage Services P.O. Box 1170 Valley Forge, Pennsylvania 19482-1170 |
18.98 | % | ||
Ronald C. Wilson Subject to Fund TOD Rules 10340 Bradshaw Drive Fort Worth, Texas 76108-6989 |
8.69 | % | ||
AMG Yacktman Fund—Class I |
||||
National Financial Services LLC For the Exclusive Benefit of Our Customers 499 Washington Boulevard, Floor 5 Jersey City, New Jersey 07310-2010 |
24.17 | % | ||
Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. 211 Main Street San Francisco, California 94105-1905 |
16.80 | % | ||
Pershing LLC 1 Pershing Plaza Jersey City, New Jersey 07399-0002 |
8.16 | % | ||
Wells Fargo Clearing Services LLC 2801 Market Street Saint Louis, Missouri 63103 |
7.37 | % | ||
Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith For the Sole Benefit of Its Customers 4800 Deer Lake Drive East Jacksonville, Florida 32246-6484 |
6.57 | % | ||
Raymond James Omnibus For Mutual Funds House Account Firm Attn: Courtney Waller 880 Carillon Parkway St. Petersburg, Florida 33716 |
6.05 | % |
52
AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund—Class Z |
||||
Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Inc. For the Sole Benefit of Its Customers Attn: Service Team 4800 Deer Lake Drive East, 3rd Floor Jacksonville, Florida 32246 |
41.54 | % | ||
Yacktman Asset Management LP 6300 Bridge Point Parkway, Suite 1-500 Austin, Texas 78730-5076 |
25.48 | % | ||
UBS WM USA Special Custody Account for the Exclusive Benefit of Customers of UBSFSI 1000 Harbor Boulevard Weehawken, New Jersey 07086 |
13.85 | % | ||
Russell G. Wilkins & Kristina R. Wilkins TEN COM c/o Yacktman Asset Management LP 6300 Bridge Point Parkway, Suite 1-500 Austin, Texas 78730-5076 |
5.41 | % | ||
Adam P. Sues c/o Yacktman Asset Management LP 6300 Bridge Point Parkway, Suite 1-500 Austin, Texas 78730-5076 |
5.08 | % | ||
AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund—Class I |
||||
National Financial Services LLC* For the Exclusive Benefit of Our Customers Attn: Mutual Funds Department, 4th Floor 499 Washington Boulevard Jersey City, New Jersey 07310-2010 |
53.32 | % | ||
Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. Special Custody Account for the Exclusive Benefit of Customers Attn: Mutual Funds 101 Montgomery Street San Francisco, California 94104-4122 |
39.15 | % |
* |
Denotes persons or entities that owned 25% or more of the outstanding shares of beneficial interest of the Funds as of March 31, 2024, and therefore may be presumed to “control” such Funds under the 1940 Act. Except for these persons or entities, the Trust did not know of any person or entity who, as of March 31, 2024, “controlled” (within the meaning of the 1940 Act) any of the Funds. A person or entity that “controls” a Fund could have effective voting control over the Fund. It may not be possible for matters subject to a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of a Fund to be approved without the affirmative vote of such “controlling” shareholders, and it may be possible for such matters to be approved by such shareholders without the affirmative vote of any other shareholders. |
53
Management Ownership
As of March 31, 2024, all management personnel (i.e., Trustees and Officers) as a group owned beneficially less than 1% of the outstanding shares of each class of each Fund.
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUNDS
Investment Manager and Subadviser
The Trustees provide broad supervision over the operations and affairs of the Trust and the Funds. The Investment Manager serves as investment manager to each Fund. The Investment Manager also serves as administrator of the Funds and carries out the daily administration of the Trust and the Funds. The Investment Manager’s principal address is 680 Washington Boulevard, Suite 500, Stamford, Connecticut 06901. The Investment Manager is a subsidiary of AMG, and a subsidiary of AMG serves as the Managing Member of the Investment Manager. AMG is located at 777 South Flagler Drive, West Palm Beach, Florida 33401. AMG (NYSE: AMG) is a global asset management company with equity investments in leading boutique investment management firms. AMG Distributors, Inc. (the “Distributor”), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Investment Manager, serves as distributor of the Funds. The Distributor’s principal address is 680 Washington Boulevard, Suite 500, Stamford, Connecticut 06901.
The assets of each Fund are managed by a Subadviser selected by the Investment Manager, subject to the review and approval of the Trustees. Yacktman Asset Management LP (“Yacktman”) was selected by the Investment Manager to serve as Subadviser of each Fund, subject to the review and approval of the Board of Trustees. As of December 31, 2023, Yacktman had approximately $16.2 billion in assets under management. AMG indirectly owns a majority interest in Yacktman. Yacktman’s address is 6300 Bridge Point Parkway, Building One, Suite 500, Austin, Texas 78730. The Investment Manager recommends Subadvisers for the Funds to the Trustees based upon continuing quantitative and qualitative evaluation of each Subadviser’s skills in managing assets subject to specific investment styles and strategies. Short-term investment performance, by itself, is not a significant factor in hiring or terminating a Subadviser, and the Investment Manager does not expect to make frequent changes of Subadvisers. The Investment Manager and its corporate predecessors have over 20 years of experience in evaluating subadvisers for individuals and institutional investors.
For its investment management services, the Investment Manager receives an investment management fee from each Fund. The Investment Manager uses a portion of the investment management fees it receives from each Fund to pay the subadvisory fees of Yacktman. Because Yacktman is an affiliate of the Investment Manager, the Investment Manager indirectly benefits from the compensation received by Yacktman.
The Subadviser has discretion, subject to oversight by the Trustees and the Investment Manager, to purchase and sell portfolio assets, consistent with each Fund’s investment objective, policies and restrictions. Generally, the services that the Subadviser provides to the Funds are limited to asset management and related recordkeeping services.
The Subadviser or an affiliated broker-dealer may execute portfolio transactions for the Funds and receive brokerage commissions, or markups/markdowns, in connection with the transaction as permitted by Sections 17(a) and 17(e) of the 1940 Act, and the rules thereunder, and the terms of any exemptive order issued by the SEC. The Board of Trustees has approved procedures in conformity with
54
Rule 10f-3 under the 1940 Act whereby the Funds may purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the Funds’ Subadviser participates. For underwritings where a Subadviser affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that a Fund could purchase in the underwritings.
The Subadviser may also serve as a discretionary or non-discretionary investment adviser to management or advisory or other accounts which are unrelated in any manner to the Funds or the Investment Manager and its affiliates.
Investment Management and Subadvisory Agreements
The Investment Manager serves as investment manager to the Funds pursuant to an investment management agreement with the Trust (the “Investment Management Agreement”). The Investment Management Agreement permits the Investment Manager to engage, from time to time, one or more Subadvisers to assist in the performance of its services. Pursuant to the Investment Management Agreement, the Investment Manager has entered into Subadvisory Agreements with Yacktman with respect to the Funds (each a “Subadvisory Agreement” and collectively the “Subadvisory Agreements”).
The Investment Management Agreement and the Subadvisory Agreements provide for an initial term of two years and thereafter shall continue in effect from year to year so long as such continuation is specifically approved at least annually (i) by either the Trustees of the Trust or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the applicable Fund, and (ii) in either event by the vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust who are not parties to the agreements or “interested persons” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of any such party, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such continuance.
The Investment Management Agreement and the Subadvisory Agreements may be terminated, without penalty, by the Board of Trustees, by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as defined in the 1940 Act), by the Investment Manager or (in the case of each Subadvisory Agreement) by the Subadviser on 60 days’ written notice to the other party. The Investment Management Agreement and the Subadvisory Agreements terminate automatically in the event of assignment, as defined in the 1940 Act and the regulations thereunder.
The Investment Management Agreement provides that the Investment Manager is specifically responsible for the following advisory services:
• |
developing and furnishing continuously an investment program and strategy for each Fund in compliance with the Fund’s investment objective and policies as set forth in the Trust’s current Registration Statement; |
• |
providing research and analysis relative to the investment program and investments of each Fund; |
• |
determining (subject to the overall supervision and review of the Board) what investments shall be purchased, held, sold or exchanged by each Fund and what portion, if any, of the assets of each Fund shall be held in cash or cash equivalents; and |
• |
making changes on behalf of the Trust in the investments of the Funds. |
Under the Subadvisory Agreements, the Subadviser manages all of a Fund’s portfolio, including the determination of the purchase, retention, or sale of securities, cash, and other investments for the Fund in accordance with the Fund’s investment objective, policies, and investment restrictions. The Subadviser provides these services subject to the general supervision of the Investment Manager and the Board. The provision of investment advisory services by the Subadviser to a Fund will not be exclusive under the terms of the Subadvisory Agreements, and the Subadviser will be free to and expects to render investment advisory services to others.
55
In performing the functions set forth above and supervising the Subadviser, the Investment Manager:
• |
performs periodic detailed analysis and reviews of the performance by the Subadviser of its obligations to each Fund, including without limitation analysis and review of portfolio and other compliance matters and a review of the Subadviser’s investment performance in respect of each Fund; |
• |
prepares and presents periodic reports to the Board regarding the investment performance of the Subadviser and other information regarding the Subadviser, at such times and in such forms as the Board may reasonably request; |
• |
reviews and considers any changes in the personnel of the Subadviser responsible for performing the Subadviser’s obligations and makes appropriate reports to the Board; |
• |
reviews and considers any changes in the ownership or senior management of the Subadviser and makes appropriate reports to the Board; |
• |
performs periodic in-person or telephonic diligence meetings, including with respect to compliance matters, with representatives of the Subadviser; |
• |
assists the Board and management of the Trust in developing and reviewing information with respect to the initial approval of each Subadvisory Agreement with the Subadviser and annual consideration of each Subadvisory Agreement thereafter; |
• |
prepares recommendations with respect to the continued retention of the Subadviser or the replacement of the Subadviser, including at the request of the Board; |
• |
identifies potential successors to or replacements of the Subadviser or potential additional subadvisers, performs appropriate due diligence, and develops and presents to the Board a recommendation as to any such successor, replacement, or additional subadviser, including at the request of the Board; |
• |
designates and compensates from its own resources such personnel as the Investment Manager may consider necessary or appropriate to the performance of its services; and |
• |
performs such other review and reporting functions as the Board shall reasonably request consistent with the Investment Management Agreement and applicable law. |
Each Fund pays all expenses not borne by the Investment Manager or Subadviser including, but not limited to, the charges and expenses of the Fund’s custodian and transfer agent, independent auditors and legal counsel for the Fund and the Trust’s Independent Trustees, 12b-1 fees, if any, all brokerage commissions, transfer taxes and transaction taxes in connection with portfolio transactions, all taxes and filing fees, the fees and expenses for registration or qualification of each Fund’s shares under federal and state securities laws, all expenses of shareholders’ and Trustees’ meetings and of preparing, printing and mailing reports to shareholders and the compensation of Trustees who are not directors, officers or employees of the Investment Manager, Subadviser or their affiliates, other than affiliated registered investment companies. The Investment Manager compensates all executive and clerical personnel and Trustees of the Trust if such persons are employees of the Investment Manager or its affiliates.
The Subadvisory Agreements require the Subadviser to provide fair and equitable treatment to the respective Fund in the selection of portfolio investments and the allocation of investment opportunities. However, they do not obligate the Subadviser to acquire for the Funds a position in any investment that any of the Subadviser’s other clients may acquire. The Funds shall have no first refusal, co-investment or other rights in respect of any such investment, either for the Funds or otherwise.
56
Although the Subadviser makes investment decisions for the Funds independent of those for its other clients, it is likely that similar investment decisions will be made from time to time. When a Fund and another client of the Subadviser are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security, the transactions are, to the extent feasible and practicable, averaged as to price and the amount is allocated between the Fund and the other client(s) pursuant to a formula considered equitable by the Subadviser. In specific cases, this system could have an adverse effect on the price or volume of the security to be purchased or sold by a Fund. However, the Trustees believe, over time, that coordination and the ability to participate in volume transactions should benefit each Fund.
The Investment Management Agreement provides that, in the absence of willful misfeasance, bad faith, negligence, or reckless disregard of its obligations or duties, the Investment Manager is not subject to liability to the Funds or any Fund shareholder for any act or omission in the course of, or connected with, the matters to which the Investment Management Agreement relates. The Subadvisory Agreement with respect to AMG Yacktman Focused Fund and AMG Yacktman Fund provides that the Subadviser shall not be subject to any liability for any act or omission, error of judgment, or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Investment Manager or the Trust in connection with the Subadvisory Agreement, except by reason of the Subadviser’s willful misfeasance, bad faith, or negligence in the performance of its duties, or by reason of the Subadviser’s reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under the Subadvisory Agreement. The Subadvisory Agreement with respect to AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund and AMG Yacktman Global Fund provides that the Subadviser shall not be subject to any liability for any act or omission, error of judgment, or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Investment Manager or the Trust in connection with the Subadvisory Agreement, except by reason of the Subadviser’s willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties, or by reason of the Subadviser’s reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under the Subadvisory Agreement.
The Trust may rely on an exemptive order from the SEC that permits the Investment Manager, subject to certain conditions and oversight by the Board of Trustees, to enter into subadvisory agreements with unaffiliated subadvisers approved by the Trustees but without the requirement of shareholder approval. Under the terms of this exemptive order, the Investment Manager is able, subject to certain conditions (including a 90-day notification requirement discussed below) and approval by the Board of Trustees but without shareholder approval, to hire new unaffiliated subadvisers for the Funds, change the terms of the subadvisory agreement for an unaffiliated subadviser, or continue the employment of an unaffiliated subadviser after events that under the 1940 Act and the subadvisory agreement would be deemed to be an automatic termination of the subadvisory agreement provided that the Investment Manager provides notification to shareholders within 90 days of the hiring of an unaffiliated subadviser. The Investment Manager, subject to oversight by the Trustees, has ultimate responsibility to oversee the subadvisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. Although shareholder approval will not be required for the termination of subadvisory agreements, shareholders of a Fund will continue to have the right to terminate such subadvisory agreements for the Fund at any time by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund. The Investment Manager may not change a subadviser to the Funds without approval of the Board of Trustees and, to the extent required by the 1940 Act, shareholder approval. Affiliated subadvisers selected by the Investment Manager are subject to shareholder approval.
Compensation of the Investment Manager and the Subadviser
As compensation for the investment management services rendered and related expenses under the Investment Management Agreement, each of AMG Yacktman Focused Fund, AMG Yacktman Global Fund and AMG Yacktman Fund has agreed to pay the Investment Manager an investment management fee, at the annual rates included in the table below, which is computed daily as a percentage of the value of the average daily net assets of the applicable Fund and may be paid monthly.
57
Fund |
Investment Management Fee | |
AMG Yacktman Focused Fund |
0.87% | |
AMG Yacktman Global Fund |
0.71% | |
AMG Yacktman Fund |
0.52% on the first $500,000,000 0.47% on the next $500,000,000 0.42% over $1,000,000,000 |
As compensation for the investment management services rendered and related expenses under the Subadvisory Agreement with respect to AMG Yacktman Focused Fund, AMG Yacktman Global Fund and AMG Yacktman Fund, the Investment Manager has agreed to pay the Subadviser a portion of the investment management fee (net of all mutually agreed upon fee waivers and reimbursements) for managing the portfolio, which is also computed daily and paid monthly based on the average daily net assets that the Subadviser manages. The fee paid to the Subadviser is paid out of the fee the Investment Manager receives from a Fund and does not increase a Fund’s expenses.
AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund has a performance-based fee structure that consists of a base fee and a performance adjustment (“Performance Adjustment”). The Fund pays a monthly base investment management fee to the Investment Manager at an annual rate of 1.37% of the Fund’s average daily net assets for the month. This monthly fee will be increased or reduced by the Performance Adjustment, based on the Fund’s performance relative to the MSCI ACWI All Cap Index (net) over the then preceding twelve months. The amount of the Performance Adjustment is calculated based on a rate that is determined in accordance with the following table:
Fund
Performance* compared to MSCI ACWI All Cap Index (net)** Over the then
Preceding Twelve |
Performance Adjustment Rate |
|||
If the Fund underperforms the index by 7.5% or more: |
-0.75 | % | ||
If the Fund underperforms the index by 5.0% or more (but by less than 7.5%): |
-0.50 | % | ||
If the Fund underperforms the index by 2.5% or more (but by less than 5.0%): |
-0.25 | % | ||
If the Fund underperforms the index or outperforms the index by less than 2.5%: |
0.00 | % | ||
If the Fund outperforms the index by 2.5% or more (but by less than 5.0%): |
0.25 | % | ||
If the Fund outperforms the index by 5.0% or more (but by less than 7.5%): |
0.50 | % | ||
If the Fund outperforms the index by 7.5% or more: |
0.75 | % |
* |
Fund performance is based on the performance of the outstanding class of Fund shares that has the highest total annual fund operating expenses of all Fund Share classes. |
** |
The MSCI ACWI All Cap Index (net) captures large, mid, small and micro cap representation across 23 developed market countries and large, mid and small cap representation across 24 emerging market countries. With 15,427 constituents as of March 29, 2024, the index is comprehensive, covering approximately 99% of the global equity investment opportunity set. |
58
The Performance Adjustment rate is multiplied by the average net assets of AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund over the preceding 12 months, divided by twelve, and this amount is then subtracted from or added to the base investment management fee for that month. The following example illustrates the possible effect of the Performance Adjustment. Assuming the Fund (i) had average net assets for the preceding twelve months equal to $12,000,000, (ii) outperformed the index for the same period by 7.5%, and (iii) had average net assets for the current month of $15,000,000, the investment management fee for that month would be:
Base investment management fee (1.37% of $15,000,000/365 x 30) |
$ | 16,890 | ||
Performance Adjustment (0.75% of $12,000,000 divided by 12): |
$ | 7,500 | ||
|
|
|||
Total monthly investment management fee |
$ | 24,390 |
Because the performance adjustment is based on AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund’s performance relative to its benchmark index, and not its absolute performance, the performance adjustment could increase the Investment Manager’s fee even if the Fund’s shares lose value during the performance period provided that the Fund outperformed its benchmark index, and could decrease the Investment Manager’s fee even if the Fund’s shares increase in value during the performance period provided that the Fund underperformed its benchmark index.
The monthly base investment management fee is determined based on AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund’s average net assets for the month, while the performance adjustment is determined based on the Fund’s average net assets over the performance period of twelve months. This means it is possible that, if the Fund underperforms significantly over the performance period, and the Fund’s assets have declined significantly over that period, the negative performance adjustment may exceed the base fee. In this event, the Investment Manager would make a payment to the Fund.
The application of an expense limitation, if any, will have a positive effect on AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund’s performance and may result in an increase in the performance adjustment. It is possible that the cumulative dollar amount of additional compensation ultimately payable to the Investment Manager may, under some circumstances, exceed the cumulative dollar amount of investment management fees waived by the Investment Manager.
The prospect of a positive or negative performance adjustment may create an incentive for AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund’s portfolio manager to take greater risks with the Fund’s portfolio. In addition, because performance adjustments are based upon past performance, a shareholder may pay a higher or lower management fee for performance that occurred prior to the shareholder’s investment in the Fund.
As compensation for the investment management services rendered and related expenses under the Subadvisory Agreement with respect to AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund, the Investment Manager has agreed to pay the Subadviser a portion of the investment management fee (net of all mutually agreed-upon fee waivers and reimbursements and payments to financial intermediaries) for managing the portfolio. The fee paid to the Subadviser is paid out of the fee the Investment Manager receives from the Fund and does not increase the Fund’s expenses.
With respect to each Fund, the Subadviser has agreed to reimburse the Investment Manager for certain fees and expenses incurred by the Investment Manager or Distributor on behalf of the Fund, by the Investment Manager, or by the Distributor, which may include, but are not limited to, shareholder servicing fees and distribution-related expenses.
Investment Management Fees Paid by the Funds. Investment management fees paid to the Investment Manager by the Funds for advisory services for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021, December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2023 are as follows. The Investment Manager may voluntarily
59
agree to waive or reimburse a portion of its management fee from time to time. Any voluntary waiver or reimbursement by the Investment Manager may be terminated or reduced in amount at any time and solely in the discretion of the Investment Manager. Amounts shown for AMG Yacktman Global Fund reflect, in part, such Fund’s previous investment management fee of 0.87%.
Fund |
Total | Waived/Reimbursed* | Net | |||||||||
AMG Yacktman Focused Fund |
||||||||||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023 |
$ | 31,218,159 | $ | 33,458 | $ | 31,184,701 | ||||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022 |
$ | 33,833,815 | $ | 127,121 | $ | 33,706,694 | ||||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021 |
$ | 37,233,122 | $ | 88,870 | $ | 37,144,252 | ||||||
AMG Yacktman Global Fund |
||||||||||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023 |
$ | 1,230,365 | $ | 0 | $ | 1,230,365 | ||||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022 |
$ | 1,102,207 | $ | 0 | $ | 1,102,207 | ||||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021 |
$ | 1,242,143 | $ | 0 | $ | 1,242,143 | ||||||
AMG Yacktman Fund |
||||||||||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023 |
$ | 35,011,696 | $ | 174,733 | $ | 34,836,963 | ||||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022 |
$ | 36,646,370 | $ | 334,444 | $ | 36,311,926 | ||||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021 |
$ | 38,245,480 | $ | 198,312 | $ | 38,047,168 | ||||||
AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund |
||||||||||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023 |
$ | 619,235 | $ | 0 | $ | 619,235 | ||||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022 |
$ | 1,580,558 | $ | 0 | $ | 1,580,558 | ||||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021 |
$ | 1,946,418 | $ | 0 | $ | 1,946,418 |
* |
As further described under “Purchase, Redemption and Pricing of Shares—Exchange of Shares” below, an investor may exchange shares of the Funds through the Investment Manager for shares in the Agency share class of the JPMorgan U.S. Government Money Market Fund (the “JPMorgan Fund”). The Investment Manager has entered into a Service Agreement and Supplemental Payment Agreement with the JPMorgan Fund’s distributor and investment adviser, respectively, that provide for a cash payment to the Investment Manager that compensates the Investment Manager for providing, directly or through an agent, administrative, sub-transfer agent and other shareholder services. The Investment Manager has voluntarily agreed to waive or reimburse a portion of its management fee in the amount of the cash payments it receives under these agreements, amounts which are reflected in the table as amounts waived/reimbursed. Any such voluntary waiver or reimbursement is not recoverable by the Investment Manager from a Fund under the expense limitations described under “Expense Limitations” below. See “Purchase, Redemption and Pricing of Shares—Exchange of Shares” below for more information on the JPMorgan Fund and the Service Agreement and Supplemental Payment Agreement. |
Subadvisory Fees Paid by the Investment Manager. Fees paid by the Investment Manager to the Subadviser for subadvisory services with respect to the Funds for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021, December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2023 are as follows. The Subadviser may voluntarily agree to waive or reimburse a portion of its subadvisory fee from time to time. Any voluntary waiver or reimbursement by the Subadviser may be terminated or reduced in amount at any time and solely in the discretion of the Subadviser.
60
AMG Yacktman Focused Fund |
||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023 |
$ | 27,629,865 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022 |
$ | 29,944,871 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021 |
$ | 32,953,453 | ||
AMG Yacktman Global Fund |
||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023 |
$ | 1,057,074 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022 |
$ | 946,967 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021 |
$ | 1,083,792 | ||
AMG Yacktman Fund |
||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023 |
$ | 26,854,149 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022 |
$ | 28,099,615 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021 |
$ | 29,317,985 | ||
AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund |
||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023 |
$ | 1,031,482 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022 |
$ | 1,259,484 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021 |
$ | 1,290,267 |
Expense Limitations
From time to time, the Investment Manager may agree to limit a Fund’s expenses by agreeing to waive all or a portion of the investment management fee and certain other fees it would otherwise be entitled to receive from a Fund and/or pay or reimburse certain Fund expenses above a specified maximum amount (i.e., an “expense limitation”). The Investment Manager may waive all or a portion of its fees and/or pay or reimburse Fund expenses for a number of reasons, such as passing on to the Fund and its shareholders the benefit of reduced portfolio management fees resulting from a waiver by the Investment Manager or Subadviser of all or a portion of the fees it would otherwise be entitled to receive from the Fund, or attempting to make a Fund’s performance more competitive as compared to similar funds. The tables below and, if applicable, the Annual Fund Operating Expenses table (including footnotes thereto) located in the front of each Fund’s Prospectus reflect the impact of the Fund’s contractual expense limitations, if any, in effect during the periods shown. In general, for a period of up to 36 months after the date any amounts are paid, waived or reimbursed by the Investment Manager pursuant to a Fund’s contractual expense limitation, the Investment Manager may recover such amounts from the Fund provided that such repayment would not cause the Fund’s total annual operating expenses (exclusive of the items noted in the Fund’s Prospectus) to exceed either (i) the expense limitation in effect at the time such amounts were paid, waived or reimbursed, or (ii) the expense limitation in effect at the time of such repayment by the Fund. In general, contractual expense limitations are only terminated at the end of a term, and shareholders will generally be notified of any change on or about the time that it becomes effective. All fees waived and/or expenses reimbursed to (or repayments by) the Funds for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021, December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2023 are as follows:
AMG Yacktman Focused Fund |
||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023 |
$ | (11,961 | ) | |
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022 |
$ | (36,341 | ) | |
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021 |
$ | (120,977 | ) | |
AMG Yacktman Global Fund |
||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023 |
$ | 53,342 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022 |
$ | 54,795 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021 |
$ | 33,287 |
61
AMG Yacktman Fund |
||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023 |
$ | 0 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022 |
$ | 0 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021 |
$ | 0 | ||
AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund |
||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023 |
$ | 43,125 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022 |
$ | 26,123 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021 |
$ | (5,548 | ) |
The Investment Manager also serves as the administrator to the Funds and receives compensation from the Trust pursuant to an administration agreement between the Trust and the Investment Manager. For more information about the administration agreement, see “Administrative Services” below.
Portfolio Managers of the Funds
Unless otherwise indicated, all information below is as of December 31, 2023.
Yacktman has day-to-day responsibility for managing each Fund’s portfolio and has managed each Fund since its inception.
Stephen A. Yacktman, Jason S. Subotky, and Adam P. Sues serve as the portfolio managers jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of AMG Yacktman Focused Fund, AMG Yacktman Global Fund and AMG Yacktman Fund. Adam P. Sues serves as the portfolio manager primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund.
Other Accounts Managed by the Portfolio Managers
Portfolio Manager: Stephen A. Yacktman | ||||||||||||||||
Type of Account |
Number Of Accounts Managed |
Total Assets Managed ($ millions) |
Number of Accounts Managed For Which Advisory Fee is Performance Based |
Assets Managed For Which Advisory Fee is Performance Based ($ millions) |
||||||||||||
Registered Investment Companies |
3 | $ | 12,364 | (1) | None | $ | 0 | |||||||||
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
7 | $ | 2,113 | (1) | 1 | $ | 67 | |||||||||
Other Accounts |
29 | $ | 1,632 | (1),(2) | None | $ | 0 |
62
Portfolio Manager: Jason S. Subotky | ||||||||||||||||
Type of Account |
Number Of Accounts Managed |
Total Assets Managed ($ millions) |
Number
of Accounts Managed For Which Advisory Fee is Performance Based |
Assets Managed For Which Advisory Fee is Performance Based ($ millions) |
||||||||||||
Registered Investment Companies |
3 | $ | 12,364 | (1) | None | $ | 0 | |||||||||
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
7 | $ | 2,113 | (1) | 1 | $ | 67 | |||||||||
Other Accounts |
29 | $ | 1,632 | (1),(2) | None | $ | 0 |
Portfolio Manager: Adam P. Sues | ||||||||||||||||
Type of Account |
Number Of Accounts Managed |
Total Assets Managed ($ millions) |
Number
of Accounts Managed For Which Advisory Fee is Performance Based |
Assets Managed For Which Advisory Fee is Performance Based ($ millions) |
||||||||||||
Registered Investment Companies |
4 | $ | 12,438 | (1) | 1 | $ | 74 | |||||||||
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
2 | $ | 929 | (1) | None | $ | 0 | |||||||||
Other Accounts |
None | $ | 0 | None | $ | 0 |
(1) |
The Subadviser takes a team approach in managing these accounts, with more than one of the Subadviser’s portfolio managers managing the accounts. |
(2) |
Three of the “Other Accounts” are wrap fee programs which include approximately 808 underlying clients with total assets of approximately $1,338.735 million. |
Potential Material Conflicts of Interest
The portfolio managers of the Subadviser are often responsible for managing other accounts. The Subadviser typically assigns accounts with similar investment strategies to the portfolio managers to mitigate the potentially conflicting investment strategies of accounts. Other than potential conflicts between investment strategies, the side-by-side management of the Funds and other accounts may raise potential conflicts of interest due to the interest held by the Subadviser or one of its affiliates in an account and certain trading practices used by the portfolio managers (for example, cross trades between a Fund and another account and allocation of aggregated trades). The Subadviser has developed policies and procedures reasonably designed to mitigate those conflicts. In particular, the Subadviser has adopted policies limiting the ability of the portfolio managers to cross securities between accounts and policies designed to ensure the fair allocation of securities purchased on an aggregated basis.
63
Portfolio Manager Compensation
Each portfolio manager’s compensation is variable based on a combination of the portfolio manager’s share of firm revenue, profitability, guaranteed payment, and potential bonus. Compensation is not directly based on Fund performance; however, to the extent that Fund performance is deemed a determinant of the portfolio manager’s share of firm revenue, profitability, or bonus, there may be some correlation. To the extent that firm revenue and profitability is directly correlated with the value of assets managed by the firm in a Fund’s portfolio, portfolio manager compensation is based on the value of assets in the Fund’s portfolio. Portfolio managers receive a retirement plan as part of their compensation. The amount paid towards the retirement plan is neither fixed nor tied to a Fund’s performance.
Portfolio Managers’ Ownership of Fund Shares | ||
AMG Yacktman Focused Fund | ||
Mr. Yacktman: |
Over $1,000,000 | |
Mr. Subotky: |
Over $1,000,000 | |
Mr. Sues: |
None | |
AMG Yacktman Global Fund | ||
Mr. Yacktman: |
Over $1,000,000 | |
Mr. Subotky: |
Over $1,000,000 | |
Mr. Sues: |
$500,001 to $1,000,000 | |
AMG Yacktman Fund | ||
Mr. Yacktman: |
Over $1,000,000 | |
Mr. Subotky: |
Over $1,000,000 | |
Mr. Sues: |
None | |
AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund | ||
Mr. Sues: |
Over $1,000,000 |
Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures
Proxies for each Fund’s portfolio securities are voted in accordance with Yacktman’s proxy voting policies and procedures, which are set forth in Appendix B to this SAI. Information regarding how the Funds voted proxies relating to its portfolio securities during the most recent twelve months ended June 30 is available: (i) without charge, upon request, by calling (800) 548-4539; and (ii) on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.
Codes of Ethics
The Trust, the Investment Manager, the Distributor and the Subadviser have adopted codes of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act. These codes of ethics, which generally permit personnel subject to the codes to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Funds, contain procedures that are designed to avoid the conflicts of interest that may be presented by personal securities investing.
64
Administrative Services
Effective October 1, 2016, the Investment Manager entered into an Amended and Restated Administration Agreement (the “Fund Administration Agreement”) with the Trust on behalf of the Funds. Under the Fund Administration Agreement, the Investment Manager also serves as administrator of the Funds and is responsible for certain aspects of managing the Funds’ operations, including administration and shareholder servicing. The administrative and shareholder services to be provided include, but are not limited to, processing and/or coordinating Fund share purchases and redemptions, responding to inquiries from shareholders, providing omnibus level support for financial intermediaries who perform sub-accounting for shares held of record by financial intermediaries for the benefit of other beneficial owners and other general and administrative responsibilities for the Funds. For providing these services, each Fund pays the Investment Manager 0.15% of its average daily net assets per annum. The Fund Administration Agreement generally may be terminated by the Investment Manager upon at least 60 days’ prior written notice to the Trust, and by the Trust upon at least 60 days’ prior written notice to the Investment Manager.
Fees paid under the Fund Administration Agreement by the Funds for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021, December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2023 are as follows.
AMG Yacktman Focused Fund |
||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023 |
$ | 5,382,441 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022 |
$ | 5,833,417 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021 |
$ | 6,419,503 | ||
AMG Yacktman Global Fund |
||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023 |
$ | 259,936 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022 |
$ | 232,861 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021 |
$ | 237,526 | ||
AMG Yacktman Fund |
||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023 |
$ | 12,236,320 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022 |
$ | 12,820,132 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021 |
$ | 13,391,243 | ||
AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund |
||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023 |
$ | 121,829 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022 |
$ | 148,758 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021 |
$ | 152,394 |
Distribution Arrangements
Under a Distribution Agreement between the Trust and the Distributor (the “Distribution Agreement”), the Distributor serves as the principal distributor and underwriter for the Funds. The Distributor is a registered broker-dealer and member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”). Shares of each Fund will be continuously offered and will be sold directly to prospective purchasers and through brokers, dealers or other financial intermediaries who have executed selling agreements with the Distributor. Subject to the compensation arrangements discussed below, generally the Distributor bears all or a portion of the expenses of providing services pursuant to the Distribution Agreement, including the payment of the expenses relating to the distribution of the Funds’ Prospectus for sales purposes and any advertising or sales literature. Any costs and expenses not allocated to the Distributor shall be borne by the Investment Manager or an affiliate of the Investment Manager as agreed upon between the Distributor and the Investment Manager from time to time. The Distributor is not obligated to sell any specific amount of shares of any Fund.
65
The Distribution Agreement may be terminated by either party under certain specified circumstances and will automatically terminate on assignment in the same manner as the Investment Management Agreement. The Distribution Agreement remains in effect for one year from the date of its execution and thereafter from year to year, provided that each such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by vote of the Trustees of the Trust and (ii) by vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust who are not “interested persons” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Distribution Agreement or any plan adopted by the Trust under Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on the Distribution Agreement.
For sales of Fund shares, the Distributor may provide promotional incentives including cash compensation to certain brokers, dealers, or financial intermediaries whose representatives have sold or are expected to sell significant amounts of shares. Certain programs may provide, subject to certain conditions, additional compensation to brokers, dealers, or financial intermediaries based on a combination of aggregate shares sold and increases of assets under management. All of the above payments will be made pursuant to the Rule 12b-1 distribution and service plan described below and possibly supplemented by payments by the Distributor or its affiliates out of their own assets, or, in the case of such shares that are not subject to a Rule 12b-1 distribution and service plan, only by the Distributor or its affiliates out of their own assets.
The Distributor’s principal address is 680 Washington Boulevard, Suite 500, Stamford, Connecticut 06901.
Rule 12b-1 Distribution and Service Plan – AMG Yacktman Fund and AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund Only. The Trust has adopted a Plan of Distribution with respect to the Class N shares of AMG Yacktman Fund and AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund (the “Plan”), in accordance with the requirements of Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act and the requirements of the applicable rules of FINRA regarding asset-based sales charges. Class N shares of AMG Yacktman Fund and AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund are currently not being offered, and there are no such shares currently outstanding. Class Z shares of AMG Yacktman Fund are currently not being offered, and there are no such shares currently outstanding. All share classes of the Funds are sold without a front end or contingent deferred sales load and Class I and Class Z shares of the Funds and Class N shares of AMG Yacktman Focused Fund and AMG Yacktman Global Fund are not subject to the expenses of any Rule 12b-1 distribution and service plan.
Pursuant to the Plan, AMG Yacktman Fund and AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund may compensate the Distributor, brokers, dealers or other financial intermediaries (in each case, not limited to expenses incurred) for engaging, directly or indirectly, in any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Class N shares, for the reimbursement of related expenses, and for the maintenance and personal service (“servicing”) provided to existing shareholders of that class. The Plan authorizes payments of up to 0.25% annually of each such Fund’s average daily net assets attributable to its Class N shares.
The portion of payments made by Class N shares of each of AMG Yacktman Fund and AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund under the Plan for servicing may not exceed an annual rate of 0.25% of the average daily NAV of the Fund’s shares of that class owned by clients of any broker, dealer or financial intermediary.
In accordance with the terms of the Plan, the Distributor provides to each of AMG Yacktman Fund and AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund, for review by the Trustees, a quarterly written report of the amounts expended under the Plan and the purpose for which such expenditures were made. In the Trustees’ quarterly review of the Plan, they will review the level of compensation the Plan provides in considering the continued appropriateness of the Plan.
66
Under its terms, the Plan remains in effect from year to year provided such continuance is approved annually by vote of the Trustees in the manner described therein. The Plan may not be amended to increase materially the amount to be spent under the Plan without approval of the shareholders of the affected share class, and material amendments to the Plan must also be approved by the Trustees in a manner described therein. The Plan may be terminated at any time, without payment of any penalty, by vote of the majority of the Trustees who are not “interested persons” (as that term is defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operations of the Plan or any related agreements, or by “the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities” (as that term is defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund or applicable share class.
Because Class N shares of AMG Yacktman Fund and AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund are not being offered and there are no such shares currently outstanding, no payments for the Class N shares of such Funds have been made under the Plan.
Custodian
The Bank of New York Mellon, a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (the “Custodian”), 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286, is the custodian for the Funds. The Custodian is responsible for holding all cash assets and all portfolio securities of the Funds, releasing and delivering such securities as directed by the Funds, maintaining bank accounts in the names of the Funds, receiving for deposit into such accounts payments for shares of the Funds, collecting income and other payments due to the Funds with respect to portfolio securities and paying out monies of the Funds.
The Custodian is authorized to deposit securities in securities depositories or to use the services of sub-custodians, including foreign sub-custodians, to the extent permitted by and subject to the regulations of the SEC.
Transfer Agent
BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., Attn: 534426, AIM 154-0520, 500 Ross Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15262 (the “Transfer Agent”), is the transfer agent for the Funds and also serves as the dividend disbursing agent for the Funds.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 101 Seaport Boulevard, Suite 500, Boston, Massachusetts 02210, is the independent registered public accounting firm for the Funds. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP conducts an annual audit of the financial statements of each Fund, assists in the preparation and/or review of each Fund’s U.S. federal and state income tax returns and may provide other audit, tax and related services.
Securities Lending
The Board of Trustees has approved each Fund’s participation in a securities lending program. Under the securities lending program, the Trust has retained The Bank of New York Mellon to serve as its securities lending agent.
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, the income earned by each Fund as well as the fees and/or compensation paid by such Fund (in dollars) pursuant to the Securities Lending Authorization Agreement between the Trust and The Bank of New York Mellon with respect to the Funds were as follows.
67
AMG Yacktman Focused Fund |
AMG Yacktman Global Fund |
|||||||
Gross income earned by the Fund from securities lending activities |
$ | 635,173.40 | $ | 1,416.24 | ||||
Fees and/or compensation paid by the Fund for securities lending activities and related services |
| |||||||
• Fees paid to The Bank of New York Mellon from a revenue split |
$ | 8,141.95 | $ | 26.58 | ||||
• Fees paid for any cash collateral management service (including fees deducted from a pooled cash collateral reinvestment vehicle) that are not included in a revenue split |
$ | 0.00 | $ | 0.00 | ||||
• Administrative fees not included in a revenue split |
$ | 0.00 | $ | 0.00 | ||||
• Indemnification fees not included in a revenue split |
$ | 0.00 | $ | 0.00 | ||||
• Rebate (paid to borrower) |
$ | 580,888.13 | $ | 1,238.62 | ||||
Aggregate fees/compensation paid by the Fund for securities lending activities |
$ | 589,030.08 | $ | 1,265.20 | ||||
Net income from securities lending activities |
$ | 46,143.32 | $ | 151.04 |
68
AMG Yacktman Fund |
AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund |
|||||||
Gross income earned by the Fund from securities lending activities |
$ | 836,518.65 | $ | 37,378.49 | ||||
Fees and/or compensation paid by the Fund for securities lending activities and related services |
| |||||||
• Fees paid to The Bank of New York Mellon from a revenue split |
$ | 19,080.31 | $ | 3,824.02 | ||||
• Fees paid for any cash collateral management service (including fees deducted from a pooled cash collateral reinvestment vehicle) that are not included in a revenue split |
$ | 0.00 | $ | 0.00 | ||||
• Administrative fees not included in a revenue split |
$ | 0.00 | $ | 0.00 | ||||
• Indemnification fees not included in a revenue split |
$ | 0.00 | $ | 0.00 | ||||
• Rebate (paid to borrower) |
$ | 709,301.50 | $ | 11,882.43 | ||||
Aggregate fees/compensation paid by the Fund for securities lending activities |
$ | 728,381.81 | $ | 15,706.45 | ||||
Net income from securities lending activities |
$ | 108,136.84 | $ | 21,672.04 |
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, The Bank of New York Mellon, acting as agent of the Funds, provided the following services to the Funds in connection with the Funds’ securities lending activities: (i) locating borrowers; (ii) monitoring daily the value of the loaned securities and collateral; (iii) seeking additional collateral as necessary from borrowers, and returning collateral to borrowers; (iv) receiving and holding collateral from borrowers, and facilitating the investment and reinvestment of cash collateral; (v) negotiating loan terms, including, but not limited to, the amount of any loan premium; (vi) selecting securities to be loaned; (vii) recordkeeping and account servicing; (viii) carrying out instructions of clients with respect to dividend activity and material proxy votes; and (ix) arranging for return of loaned securities to the Funds at loan termination.
BROKERAGE ALLOCATION AND OTHER PRACTICES
The Subadvisory Agreements provide that the Subadviser places all orders for the purchase and sale of securities that are held in each Fund’s portfolio. In executing portfolio transactions and selecting brokers or dealers, it is the policy and principal objective of the Subadviser to seek to obtain best price and execution. It is expected that securities will ordinarily be purchased in the primary markets. The Subadviser shall consider all factors that it deems relevant when assessing best price and execution for a Fund, including the breadth of the market in the security, the price of the security, the financial condition and execution capability of the broker or dealer and the reasonableness of the commission, if any (for the specific transaction and on a continuing basis).
69
In addition, when selecting brokers to execute transactions and in evaluating the best available net price and execution, the Subadviser is authorized by the Trustees to consider the “brokerage and research services” (as defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended), provided by the broker. The Subadviser is also authorized to cause a Fund to pay a commission to a broker who provides such brokerage and research services for executing a portfolio transaction which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker would have charged for effecting that transaction. The Subadviser must determine in good faith, however, that such commission was reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided viewed in terms of that particular transaction or in terms of all the accounts over which the Subadviser exercises investment discretion. Brokerage and research services received from such brokers will be in addition to, and not in lieu of, the services required to be performed by the Subadviser. Each Fund may purchase and sell portfolio securities through brokers who provide the Subadviser with research services. Brokerage commissions may be used for the general benefit of all other clients of the Subadviser where legally and contractually permissible.
The revised EU Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (“MiFID II”), which became effective January 3, 2018, requires EU investment managers in the scope of the EU Markets in Financial Instruments Directive to pay for research services from brokers and dealers directly out of their own resources or by establishing “research payment accounts” for each client, rather than through client commissions. MiFID II’s research requirements present various compliance and operational considerations for investment advisers and broker-dealers serving clients in both the United States and the EU. It is possible that a Subadviser subject to MiFID II will cause a Fund to pay for research services with soft dollars in circumstances where the Subadviser is prohibited from causing its other client accounts to do so, including where the Subadviser aggregates trades on behalf of a Fund and those other client accounts. In such situations, a Fund would bear the additional amounts for the research services and the Fund’s Subadviser’s other client accounts would not, although the Subadviser’s other client accounts might nonetheless benefit from those research services.
The Trustees will periodically review the total amount of commissions paid by the Funds to determine if the commissions paid over representative periods of time were reasonable in relation to commissions being charged by other brokers and the benefits to the Funds of using particular brokers or dealers. It is possible that certain of the services received by the Subadviser attributable to a particular transaction will primarily benefit one or more other accounts for which investment discretion is exercised by the Subadviser.
The fees of the Subadviser are not reduced by reason of its receipt, if any, of such brokerage and research services. Generally, the Subadviser does not provide any services to a Fund except portfolio investment management and related recordkeeping services. The Investment Manager may request that the Subadviser employ certain specific brokers who have agreed to pay certain Fund expenses. The use of such brokers is subject to best price and execution, and there is no specific amount of brokerage that is required to be placed through such brokers.
Brokerage Commissions
Aggregate brokerage commissions paid by the Funds for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021, December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2023 are as follows:
AMG Yacktman Focused Fund* |
||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023 |
$ | 410,646 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022 |
$ | 1,058,997 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021 |
$ | 1,486,239 |
70
AMG Yacktman Global Fund** |
||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023 |
$ | 71,194 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022 |
$ | 46,094 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021 |
$ | 131,469 | ||
AMG Yacktman Fund*** |
||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023 |
$ | 667,253 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022 |
$ | 1,064,683 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021 |
$ | 2,019,076 | ||
AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund**** |
||||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023 |
$ | 77,896 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022 |
$ | 164,147 | ||
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021 |
$ | 93,592 |
* |
AMG Yacktman Focused Fund’s lower brokerage commissions for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 compared with the fiscal years ended December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021 are attributable to lower trading activity and lower commissions per share. |
** |
AMG Yacktman Global Fund’s lower brokerage commissions for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 compared with the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 are attributable to lower trading activity and lower commissions per share. |
*** |
AMG Yacktman Fund’s lower brokerage commissions for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 compared with the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 are attributable to lower trading activity and lower commissions per share. AMG Yacktman Fund’s lower brokerage commissions for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 compared with the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 are attributable to lower trading activity and lower commissions per share. |
**** |
AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund’s lower brokerage commissions for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 compared with the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 are attributable to lower trading activity and lower commissions per share. AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund’s higher brokerage commissions for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 compared with the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 are attributable to higher trading activity. |
During the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021, December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2023, AMG Yacktman Focused Fund paid brokerage commissions of $0, and $245,814, and $109,440, respectively, to brokers who provided research services to the Subadviser. During the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021, December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2023, AMG Yacktman Fund paid brokerage commissions of $0, $204,581, and $333,918, respectively, to brokers who provided research services to the Subadviser. During the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021, December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2023, AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund paid brokerage commissions of $0, $11,375, and $19,048, respectively, to brokers who provided research services to the Subadviser. During the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021, December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2023, AMG Yacktman Global Fund paid brokerage commissions of $0, $5,505, and $6,120, respectively, to brokers who provided research services to the Subadviser.
Brokerage Recapture Arrangements
The Trust may enter into arrangements with various brokers pursuant to which a portion of the commissions paid by the Funds may be directed by the Funds to pay expenses of the Funds. Consistent with its policy and principal objective of seeking best price and execution, the Subadviser may consider these brokerage recapture arrangements in selecting brokers to execute transactions for the Funds. There is no specific amount of brokerage that is required to be placed through such brokers. In all cases, brokerage recapture arrangements relate solely to expenses of the Funds and not to expenses of the Investment Manager or the Subadviser.
71
PURCHASE, REDEMPTION AND PRICING OF SHARES
Purchasing Shares
Investors may open accounts directly with the Funds or through their financial planners or investment professionals, or directly with the Trust in circumstances as described in the Funds’ current Prospectus. Shares may also be purchased through bank trust departments on behalf of their clients and tax-exempt employee welfare, pension and profit-sharing plans. The Trust reserves the right to determine which customers and which purchase orders the Trust will accept.
The Investment Manager, the Subadviser, and/or the Distributor may pay compensation (out of their own funds and not as an expense of the Funds) to certain affiliated or unaffiliated brokers, dealers, or other financial intermediaries or service providers in connection with the sale or retention of Fund shares and/or shareholder servicing. This compensation may provide such affiliated or unaffiliated entities with an incentive to favor sales of shares of a Fund over other investment options. Any such payments will not change the NAV or the price of a Fund’s shares.
Certain investors may purchase or sell a Fund’s shares through a third party such as a bank, broker-dealer (including through a fund supermarket platform), trust company or other financial intermediary (each of the above, a “Financial Intermediary”) that may impose transaction fees or other charges in connection with this service. Shares purchased in this way may be treated as a single account for purposes of the minimum initial investment. Each Fund has authorized one or more Financial Intermediaries to (i) receive purchase and redemption orders on its behalf and (ii) designate other intermediaries to receive purchase and redemption orders on the Fund’s behalf. A Fund will be deemed to have received a purchase or redemption order when an authorized Financial Intermediary or an authorized Financial Intermediary’s authorized designee receives the order. These orders will be priced at a Fund’s NAV next calculated after they are so received by an authorized Financial Intermediary or such Financial Intermediary’s authorized designee and accepted by the Fund. The Funds may from time to time make payments to Financial Intermediaries for certain services, such as account maintenance, recordkeeping or sub-accounting, forwarding communications to shareholders, providing shareholders with account statements, transaction processing and customer liaison services. Investors who do not wish to receive the services of a Financial Intermediary may consider investing directly with the Trust. Shares held through a Financial Intermediary may be transferred into the investor’s name by contacting the Financial Intermediary or the Transfer Agent. Certain Financial Intermediaries may receive compensation from the Investment Manager, the Subadviser and/or the Distributor out of their legitimate profits in exchange for selling shares or for recordkeeping or other shareholder related services.
Purchase orders received by the Trust by 4:00 p.m. New York time at the address listed in the Funds’ current Prospectus on any day that the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for business will receive the NAV computed that day. Purchase orders received after 4:00 p.m. from certain processing organizations that have entered into contractual arrangements with the Fund(s), will also receive that day’s offering price, provided that the orders the processing organization transmits to the Fund(s) were received in proper form by the processing organization before 4:00 p.m. The broker-dealer, omnibus processor or investment professional is responsible for promptly transmitting orders to the Trust. Orders transmitted to the Trust at the address indicated in the Prospectus will be promptly forwarded to the Transfer Agent.
72
Federal funds or bank wires used to pay for purchase orders must be in U.S. dollars and received in advance, except for certain processing organizations that have entered into contractual arrangements with the Trust. Purchases made by check are effected when the check is received, but are accepted subject to collection at full face value in U.S. funds and must be drawn in U.S. dollars on a U.S. bank.
To ensure that checks are collected by the Trust, if shares purchased by check or by Automated Clearing House funds (“ACH”) are sold before the check has cleared, the redemption proceeds will not be processed until the check has cleared. This may take up to 15 calendar days unless arrangements are made with the Investment Manager. However, during this 15 calendar day period, such shareholder may exchange such shares into any series of the Trust, AMG Funds I, AMG Funds II, AMG Funds III or AMG Funds IV, subject to applicable restrictions such as minimum investment amounts. The 15 calendar day holding period for redemptions would still apply to shares received through such exchanges.
If the check accompanying any purchase order does not clear, or if there are insufficient funds in your bank account, the transaction will be canceled and you will be responsible for any loss the Trust incurs. For current shareholders, the Trust can redeem shares from any identically registered account in the Trust as reimbursement for any loss incurred. The Trust has the right to prohibit or restrict all future purchases in the Trust in the event of any nonpayment for shares. The Funds and the Distributor reserve the right to reject any order for the purchase of shares in whole or in part. The Trust reserves the right to cancel any purchase order for which payment has not been received by the third business day following placement of the order.
In the interest of economy and convenience, share certificates will not be issued. All share purchases are confirmed to the record holder and credited to such holder’s account on the Trust’s books maintained by the Transfer Agent.
Redeeming Shares
Any redemption orders received in proper form by the Trust before 4:00 p.m. New York time on any day that the NYSE is open for business will receive the NAV determined at the close of regular business of the NYSE on that day. Redemption orders received after 4:00 p.m. from certain processing organizations that have entered into contractual arrangements with the Funds will also be redeemed at the NAV computed that day, provided that the orders the processing organization transmits to a Fund were received in proper form by the processing organization before 4:00 p.m.
Redemption orders received after 4:00 p.m. New York time will be redeemed at the NAV determined at the close of trading on the next business day. Redemption orders transmitted to the Trust at the address indicated in the Funds’ current Prospectus will be promptly forwarded to the Transfer Agent. If you are trading through a broker-dealer or investment adviser, such investment professional is responsible for promptly transmitting orders.
The Trust reserves the right to redeem a shareholder account if its value (i) falls below $500 for Class N shares, $25,000 for Class I shares or $50,000 for Class Z shares due to redemptions the shareholder makes, or (ii) is below $100, but, in each case, not until after the Fund gives the shareholder at least 60 days’ notice and the opportunity to increase the account balance to the minimum account balance amount. Whether the Trust will exercise its right to redeem shareholder accounts will be determined by the Investment Manager on a case-by-case basis.
A Fund may pay all or a portion of redemption proceeds with a distribution in kind of its portfolio securities, in lieu of cash, in conformity with applicable law, when such payment is in the best interest of the Fund. If shares are redeemed in kind, the redeeming shareholder might incur transaction costs in converting the assets to cash and the assets will be subject to market and other risks until they are sold. The method of valuing portfolio securities is described under “Net Asset Value” below, and such valuation will be made as of the same time the redemption price is determined.
73
Investors should be aware that redemptions from a Fund may not be processed if a redemption request is not submitted in proper form. To be in proper form, the request must include the shareholder’s taxpayer identification number, account number, Fund number and signatures of all account holders. All redemptions will be mailed to the address of record on the shareholder’s account. In addition, if shares purchased by check or ACH are sold before the check has cleared, the redemption proceeds will not be sent to the shareholder until the check has cleared. This may take up to 15 calendar days unless arrangements are made with the Investment Manager. The Trust reserves the right to suspend the right of redemption and to postpone the date of payment upon redemption beyond seven days as follows: (i) during periods when the NYSE is closed for business other than weekends and holidays or when trading on the NYSE is restricted as determined by the SEC by rule or regulation, (ii) during periods in which an emergency, as determined by the SEC, exists that causes disposal by a Fund of, or evaluation of the NAV of, portfolio securities to be unreasonable or impracticable, or (iii) for such other periods as the SEC may permit.
A Fund or the Transfer Agent may temporarily delay for more than seven days the disbursement of redemption proceeds from the account of a “Specified Adult” (as that term is defined in FINRA Rule 2165) based on a reasonable belief that financial exploitation of the Specified Adult has occurred, is occurring, has been attempted, or will be attempted, subject to certain conditions.
Exchange of Shares
As described in the Funds’ Prospectus, an investor may exchange shares of a Fund for shares of the same class of other funds in the Trust or for shares of other funds managed by the Investment Manager, subject to the applicable investment minimum. Not all funds managed by the Investment Manager offer all classes of shares or are open to new investors. In addition to exchanging into other funds managed by the Investment Manager as described above, an investor also may exchange shares of the Funds through the Investment Manager for shares in the Agency share class of the JPMorgan Fund (see below for more information about the JPMorgan Fund). Because an exchange is the sale of shares of the Fund exchanged out of and the purchase of shares of the fund exchanged into, the usual purchase and redemption procedures, requirements and restrictions apply to each exchange. The value of the shares exchanged must meet the minimum purchase requirement of the fund and class for which you are exchanging them, except that there is no minimum purchase requirement to exchange into the JPMorgan Fund if you exchange out of the Fund through the Investment Manager. Investors may exchange only into accounts that are registered in the same name with the same address and taxpayer identification number. In addition, an investor who intends to continue to maintain an account in a Fund may make an exchange out of that Fund only if following the exchange the investor would continue to meet the Fund’s minimum investment amount. Settlement on the purchase of shares of another fund will occur when the proceeds from the redemption become available. Shareholders subject to U.S. federal income tax may recognize capital gains or losses on the exchange for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The Trust reserves the right to discontinue, alter or limit the exchange privilege at any time, subject to applicable law. Holding your shares through a financial intermediary, such as a broker, may affect your ability to use the exchange privilege or other investor services.
The JPMorgan Fund is advised, offered and distributed by JPMorgan Asset Management and its affiliates, but an investor may place an exchange order in the same manner as the investor places other exchange orders and as described in the Funds’ Prospectus, subject to the restrictions above. The Investment Manager has entered into a Service Agreement and Supplemental Payment Agreement with
74
the JPMorgan Fund’s distributor and investment adviser, respectively, that provide for a cash payment to the Investment Manager with respect to the average daily NAV of the total number of shares of the JPMorgan Fund held by customers investing through the Investment Manager. This cash payment compensates the Investment Manager for providing, directly or through an agent, administrative, sub-transfer agent and other shareholder services, and not investment advisory or distribution related services.
Cost Basis Reporting
Upon the sale, redemption or exchange of a Fund’s shares, the Fund or, in the case of shares purchased through a financial intermediary, the financial intermediary may be required to provide you and the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) with cost basis and certain other related tax information about the Fund shares you redeemed or exchanged. See the Funds’ current Prospectus for more information.
Net Asset Value
Each Fund computes its NAV for each class of shares once daily on Monday through Friday on each day on which the NYSE is open for trading, at the close of business of the NYSE, usually 4:00 p.m. New York time. The NAV will not be computed on the day the following legal holidays are observed: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. The Funds may close for purchases and redemptions at such other times as may be determined by the Board of Trustees to the extent permitted by applicable law. The time at which orders are accepted and shares are redeemed may be changed in case of an emergency or if the NYSE closes at a time other than 4:00 p.m. New York time.
The NAV per share of each class of a Fund is equal to the value of the class’s net worth (assets minus liabilities) divided by the number of shares outstanding for that class. Equity securities traded on a national securities exchange or reported on the NASDAQ national market system (“NMS”) are valued at the last quoted sales price on the primary exchange or, if applicable, the NASDAQ official closing price or the official closing price of the relevant exchange or, lacking any sales, at the last quoted bid price. Equity securities traded in the OTC market (other than NMS securities) are valued at the bid price. Foreign equity securities (securities principally traded in markets other than U.S. markets) are valued at the official closing price on the primary exchange or, for markets that either do not offer an official closing price or where the official closing price may not be representative of the overall market, the last quoted sale price as of the close of the regular trading hours of the primary market or the value obtained for the security in accordance with the Trust’s procedures for fair valuation of foreign securities. In addition, if a foreign exchange or market is closed on a day when the NYSE is open, the value of a security that is traded in the affected foreign exchange or market is the value obtained for the security in accordance with the Trust’s procedures for fair valuation of foreign securities, if available, or the last value assigned to the security on the immediately preceding valuation date (unless such value is deemed to be unreliable). Unless a foreign equity security is valued in accordance with the Trust’s procedures for fair valuation of foreign securities, a foreign equity security for which there are no reported sales on the valuation date may be valued at the last quoted bid price. Fixed-income securities purchased with a remaining maturity exceeding 60 days are valued at the evaluated bid price provided by an authorized pricing service or, if an evaluated price is not available, by reference to other securities which are considered comparable in credit rating, interest rate, due date and other features (generally referred to as “matrix pricing”) or other similar pricing methodologies. In addition, foreign fixed-income securities purchased with a remaining maturity exceeding 60 days may be valued in accordance with the Trust’s procedures for fair valuation of foreign securities. Fixed-income securities purchased with a remaining maturity of 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, provided that the amortized cost value is
75
approximately the same as the fair value of the security valued without the use of amortized cost. With respect to foreign equity securities and foreign fixed-income securities, securities held in a Fund that can be fair valued by the applicable fair value pricing service are fair valued on each business day provided that each individual price exceeds a pre-established confidence level. Notwithstanding the foregoing, foreign currency exchange contracts, subscription stock rights, and other redeemable securities with predetermined values, shares of open-end registered investment companies (excluding ETFs), foreign currencies, IPOs, financial derivatives, and securities halted or delisted due to a corporate action will be valued in accordance with the Funds’ valuation procedures adopted from time to time. The Funds’ portfolio instruments are generally valued using third-party pricing services. In the event that the market quotation, price or market based valuation for a portfolio instrument is not readily available or otherwise not determinable pursuant to the Funds’ valuation procedures, if the Investment Manager believes the quotation, price or market based valuation to be unreliable, or in certain other circumstances, the portfolio instrument may be valued at fair value, as determined in good faith under the general supervision of the Board. All portfolio instrument valuations described above on a valuation date shall be valuations of such instruments as of or prior to the close of business of the NYSE.
Frequent Purchase and Redemption Arrangements
The Trust does not have any arrangements with any person to permit frequent purchases and redemptions of a Fund’s shares, and no compensation or other consideration is received by a Fund, the Investment Manager or any other party in this regard.
Dividends and Distributions
Each Fund declares and pays dividends and distributions as described in the Funds’ Prospectus.
If a shareholder has elected to receive dividends and/or distributions in cash and the postal or other delivery service is unable to deliver the checks to the shareholder’s address of record, the dividends and/or distributions will automatically be converted to having the dividends and/or distributions reinvested in additional shares. No interest will accrue on amounts represented by uncashed dividend or redemption checks.
CERTAIN U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX MATTERS
The following summary of certain U.S. federal income tax considerations is intended for general informational purposes only. This discussion is not tax advice. This discussion does not address all aspects of taxation (including state, local, and foreign taxes) that may be relevant to particular shareholders in light of their own investment or tax circumstances, or to particular types of shareholders (including insurance companies, tax-advantaged retirement plans, financial institutions or broker-dealers, foreign corporations, and persons who are not citizens or residents of the United States) subject to special treatment under U.S. federal income tax laws. This summary is based on the Code, the regulations thereunder, published rulings and court decisions, in effect as of the date of this SAI. These laws are subject to change, possibly on a retroactive basis.
YOU ARE ADVISED TO CONSULT YOUR OWN TAX ADVISER WITH RESPECT TO THE SPECIFIC TAX CONSEQUENCES OF AN INVESTMENT IN A FUND IN LIGHT OF YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. THIS DISCUSSION IS NOT INTENDED AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR CAREFUL TAX PLANNING.
76
U.S. Federal Income Taxation of the Funds—in General
Each Fund has elected, or intends to elect, to be treated and intends to qualify and to be eligible to be treated each taxable year as a “regulated investment company” under Subchapter M of the Code. In order to qualify as such and to be so treated, each Fund must, among other things:
(a) |
derive at least 90% of its gross income in each taxable year from (i) dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies, or other income (including, but not limited to, gains from options, futures, or forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies and (ii) net income derived from interests in “qualified publicly traded partnerships” (as defined below) (all such income, “Qualifying Income”); |
(b) |
invest the Fund’s assets in such a manner that, as of the close of each quarter of its taxable year, (i) at least 50% of the value of the Fund’s total assets is represented by cash and cash items (including receivables), U.S. Government securities and securities of other regulated investment companies, and other securities limited in respect of any one issuer (except with regard to certain investment companies furnishing capital to development corporations) to an amount not greater in value than 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets and to not more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of the Fund’s total assets is invested, including through corporations in which the Fund owns a 20% or more voting stock interest, in (x) the securities (other than U.S. Government securities or the securities of other regulated investment companies) of any one issuer, or two or more issuers each of which the Fund owns 20% or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock entitled to vote, and that are engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses, or (y) the securities of one or more “qualified publicly traded partnerships” (as defined below); and |
(c) |
distribute with respect to each taxable year at least 90% of the sum of its investment company taxable income (as that term is defined in the Code without regard to the deduction for dividends paid—generally, taxable ordinary income and the excess, if any, of net short-term capital gains over net long-term capital losses) and net tax-exempt interest income, for such year. |
In general, for purposes of the 90% gross income requirement described in paragraph (a) above, income derived from a partnership will be treated as Qualifying Income to a Fund only to the extent such income is attributable to items of income of the partnership which would be Qualifying Income if realized by the Fund. However, 100% of the net income derived from an interest in a “qualified publicly traded partnership” (a partnership (x) the interests in which are traded on an established securities market or are readily tradable on a secondary market or the substantial equivalent thereof, and (y) that derives less than 90% of its income from the Qualifying Income described in paragraph (a)(i) above) will be treated as Qualifying Income. In general, such entities will be treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes because they meet the passive income requirement under Section 7704(c)(2) of the Code. In addition, although in general the passive loss rules of the Code do not apply to regulated investment companies, such rules do apply to a regulated investment company with respect to items attributable to an interest in a qualified publicly traded partnership. For purposes of the diversification test in paragraph (b) above, the term “outstanding voting securities of such issuer” will include the equity securities of a qualified publicly traded partnership. Also, for purposes of the diversification test in paragraph (b) above, the identification of the issuer (or, in some cases, issuers) of a particular Fund investment can depend on the terms and conditions of that investment. In some cases, identification of the issuer (or issuers) is uncertain under current law, and an adverse determination or future guidance by the IRS with respect to issuer identification for a particular type of investment may adversely affect a Fund’s ability to meet the diversification test in paragraph (b) above.
77
Gains from foreign currencies (including foreign currency options, foreign currency futures and foreign currency forward contracts) currently constitute Qualifying Income for purposes of the 90% test. However, the U.S. Treasury Department has the authority to issue regulations (possibly retroactively) excluding from the definition of Qualifying Income a Fund’s foreign currency gains to the extent that such income is not directly related to the Fund’s principal business of investing in stock or securities. This could affect the qualification of a Fund as a regulated investment company.
If a Fund qualifies for treatment as a regulated investment company, the Fund generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on its investment company taxable income (computed without regard to the dividends-paid deduction) and net capital gain (net long-term capital gains in excess of net short-term capital losses, in each case determined with reference to capital losses carried forward from prior years), if any, that it distributes in a timely manner to its shareholders in the form of dividends (including Capital Gain Dividends, as defined below).
If a Fund were to fail to meet the income, diversification or distribution tests described above, the Fund could in some cases cure such failure, including by paying a Fund-level tax, paying interest, making additional distributions or disposing of certain assets. If a Fund were ineligible to or otherwise did not cure such failure for any taxable year, or if a Fund were otherwise to fail to qualify for treatment as a regulated investment company for such taxable year, it would lose the beneficial tax treatment accorded regulated investment companies under Subchapter M of the Code and all of its taxable income would be subject to tax at regular corporate rates without any deduction for distributions to shareholders. All distributions by such a Fund, including any distributions of net tax-exempt income, if any, and net long-term capital gains, would be taxable to shareholders in the same manner as other regular corporate dividends to the extent of the Fund’s current or accumulated earnings and profits. Some portions of such distributions might be eligible for treatment as “qualified dividend income” for individuals and for the “dividends-received deduction” for corporate shareholders, in each case as described below. A Fund could be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest and make substantial distributions before requalifying as a regulated investment company that is accorded special tax treatment.
If a Fund were to fail to distribute in a calendar year at least an amount equal to the sum of 98% of its ordinary income for such calendar year and 98.2% of its capital gain net income for the one-year period ending on October 31 of such calendar year (or November 30 or December 31 of that year, if the Fund is permitted to elect and so elects), plus any such amounts retained from the prior year, the Fund would be subject to a nondeductible 4% excise tax on the undistributed amounts. For purposes of the required excise tax distribution, a Fund’s ordinary gains and losses from the sale, exchange or other taxable disposition of property that would otherwise be taken into account after October 31 of a calendar year (or November 30 of that year, if the Fund is eligible to make and makes the election described above) generally are treated as arising on January 1 of the following calendar year; in the case of a fund with a December 31 year end that is eligible to make and makes the election described above, no such gains or losses will be so treated. Also, for these purposes, a Fund will be treated as having distributed any amount on which it is subject to corporate income tax for the taxable year ending within the calendar year. A dividend paid by a Fund to shareholders in January of a year generally is deemed to have been paid by such a Fund on December 31 of the preceding year, if the dividend was declared and payable to shareholders of record on a date in October, November, or December of that preceding year. Each Fund intends generally to make sufficient distributions to avoid the imposition of this 4% excise tax, although there can be no assurance that it will be able to do so.
In determining its net capital gain, including in connection with determining the amount available to support a Capital Gain Dividend (as defined below), its taxable income, and its earnings and profits, a regulated investment company generally may elect to treat part or all of any post-October capital loss (defined as any net capital loss attributable to the portion, if any, of the taxable year after October 31, or,
78
if there is no such loss, the net long-term capital loss or net short-term capital loss attributable to any such portion of the taxable year) or late-year ordinary loss (generally, the sum of its (i) net ordinary loss, if any, from the sale, exchange or other taxable disposition of property, attributable to the portion, if any, of the taxable year after October 31, and (ii) other net ordinary loss attributable to the portion, if any, of the taxable year after December 31) as if incurred in the succeeding taxable year.
Capital losses in excess of capital gains (“net capital losses”) are not permitted to be deducted against a Fund’s net investment income. Instead, potentially subject to certain limitations, a Fund may carry net capital losses from any taxable year forward to subsequent taxable years to offset capital gains, if any, realized during such subsequent taxable years. Distributions from capital gains are generally made after applying any available capital loss carryforwards. Capital loss carryforwards are reduced to the extent they offset current-year net realized capital gains, whether a Fund retains or distributes such gains. If a Fund incurs or has incurred net capital losses, those losses will be carried forward to one or more subsequent taxable years without expiration to offset capital gains realized during such subsequent taxable years; any such carryforward losses will retain their character as short-term or long-term. A Fund must apply such carryforwards first against gains of the same character.
Taxation of the Funds’ Investments
Certain Investments in REITs. Any investment by a Fund in equity securities of real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) qualifying as such under Subchapter M of the Code may result in the Fund’s receipt of cash in excess of the REIT’s earnings; if the Fund distributes these amounts, these distributions could constitute a return of capital to Fund shareholders for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Dividends received by a Fund from a REIT will not qualify for the corporate dividends-received deduction and generally will not constitute qualified dividend income.
Certain Debt Obligations; Original Issue Discount; Market Discount. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, some debt obligations with a fixed maturity date of more than one year from the date of issuance (and zero-coupon debt obligations with a fixed maturity date of more than one year from the date of issuance) will be treated as having original issue discount (“OID”). OID is, very generally, the excess of the stated redemption price at maturity of a debt obligation over the issue price. OID is treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as interest income earned by a Fund, which will comprise a part of the Fund’s investment company taxable income or net tax-exempt income, if any, required to be distributed to shareholders as described above, whether or not cash on the debt obligation is actually received. Generally, the amount of OID accrued each year is determined on the basis of a constant yield to maturity which takes into account the compounding of interest (as potentially reduced by any amortizable bond premium—see below).
Some debt obligations with a fixed maturity date of more than one year from the date of issuance that are acquired by a Fund in the secondary market may be treated as having “market discount.” Very generally, market discount is the excess of the stated redemption price of a debt obligation (or in the case of an obligation issued with OID, its “revised issue price”) over the purchase price of such obligation. Generally, any gain recognized on the disposition of, and any partial payment of principal on, a debt obligation having market discount is treated as ordinary income to the extent the gain, or principal payment, does not exceed the “accrued market discount” on such debt obligation. Alternatively, a Fund may elect to accrue market discount currently, in which case the Fund will be required to include the accrued market discount in the Fund’s income (as ordinary income) and thus distribute it over the term of the debt obligation, even though payment of that amount is not received until a later time, upon partial or full repayment or disposition of the debt obligation. The rate at which the market discount accrues, and thus is included in the Fund’s income, will depend upon which of the permitted accrual methods the Fund elects.
79
Some debt obligations with a fixed maturity date of one year or less from the date of issuance may be treated as having OID or, in certain cases, “acquisition discount” (very generally, the excess of the stated redemption price over the purchase price). Generally, a Fund will be required to include the OID or acquisition discount in income (as ordinary income) and thus distribute it over the term of the debt obligation, even though payment of that amount is not received until a later time, upon partial or full repayment or disposition of the debt obligation. A Fund may make one or more of the elections applicable to debt obligations having acquisition discount or OID, which could affect the character and timing of recognition of income.
Pay-in-kind bonds also will give rise to income which is required to be distributed and is taxable even though a Fund holding the obligation receives no interest payment in cash on the obligation during the year.
If a Fund holds the foregoing kinds of obligations, or other obligations subject to special rules under the Code, it may be required to pay out as an income distribution each year an amount which is greater than the total amount of cash interest the Fund actually received. Such distributions may be made from the cash assets of a Fund or, if necessary, by selling portfolio securities, including at a time when it may not be advantageous to do so. These dispositions may cause a Fund to realize higher amounts of short-term capital gains (generally taxed to shareholders at ordinary income tax rates) and, in the event a Fund realizes net capital gains from such transactions, its shareholders may receive a larger Capital Gain Dividend (see “Federal Income Taxation of Shareholders” below) than if a Fund had not held such obligations.
Securities Issued or Purchased at a Premium. Very generally, where a Fund purchases a bond at a price that exceeds the stated principal amount (or revised issue price)—that is, at a premium—the premium is amortizable over the remaining term of the bond. In the case of a taxable bond, if a Fund makes an election applicable to all such bonds it purchases, which election is irrevocable without the consent of the IRS, the Fund reduces the current taxable income from the bond by the amortizable premium and reduces its tax basis in the bond (or the upward basis adjustment attributable to any OID) by the amount of such offset; upon the disposition or maturity of such bonds acquired on or after January 4, 2013, the Fund is permitted to deduct, against stated interest from other bonds, any remaining premium allocable to a prior period. In the case of a tax-exempt bond, tax rules require a Fund to reduce its tax basis by the amount of amortizable premium.
Junk Bonds. To the extent such investments are permissible, each Fund may invest in debt obligations that are in the lowest rating categories or are unrated, including debt obligations of issuers not currently paying interest or who are in default. If a Fund invests in high-yield OID obligations issued by corporations (including tax-exempt obligations), a portion of the OID accruing on the obligation may be treated as taxable dividend income. In such cases, if the issuer of the high-yield discount obligation is a domestic corporation, dividend payments by the Fund attributable to such portion of accrued OID may be eligible for the dividends-received deduction for corporate shareholders.
Investments in debt obligations that are at risk of or in default present special tax issues for a Fund. Tax rules are not entirely clear about issues such as whether or to what extent a Fund should recognize market discount on such a debt obligation, when a Fund may cease to accrue interest, OID or market discount, when and to what extent a Fund may take deductions for bad debts or worthless securities and how a Fund should allocate payments received on obligations in default between principal and income. These and other related issues will be addressed by each Fund when, as and if it invests in such securities, in order to seek to ensure that it distributes sufficient income to preserve its eligibility for treatment as a regulated investment company and does not become subject to U.S. federal income or excise tax.
80
Issuer Deductibility of Interest. A portion of the interest paid or accrued on certain high-yield discount obligations owned by a Fund may not be deductible to (and thus, may affect the cash flow of) the issuer and will instead be treated as a dividend paid by the issuer for purposes of the dividends-received deduction (described below). In such cases, if the issuer of the high-yield discount obligations is a domestic corporation, dividend payments by the Fund may be eligible for the corporate dividends-received deduction (described below) to the extent attributable to the deemed dividend portion of such accrued interest.
Mortgage-Related Securities. Certain of the Funds may invest directly or indirectly in residual interests in real estate mortgage investment conduits (“REMICs”), including by investing in residual interests in collateralized mortgage obligations (“CMOs”) with respect to which an election to be treated as a REMIC is in effect, or equity interests in taxable mortgage pools (“TMPs”). Under a notice issued by the IRS in October 2006 and U.S. Treasury regulations that have yet to be issued, but may apply retroactively, a portion of a Fund’s income (including income allocated to the Fund from certain pass-through entities) that is attributable to a residual interest in a REMIC or an equity interest in a TMP (referred to in the Code as an “excess inclusion”) will be subject to U.S. federal income tax in all events. This notice also provides, and the regulations are expected to provide, that excess inclusion income of a regulated investment company, such as a Fund, will be allocated to shareholders of the regulated investment company in proportion to the dividends received by such shareholders, with the same consequences as if the shareholders held the related interest directly. As a result, a Fund investing in such interests may not be a suitable investment for charitable remainder trusts (“CRTs”) (see “Tax-Exempt Shareholders” below).
In general, excess inclusion income allocated to shareholders (i) cannot be offset by net operating losses (subject to a limited exception for certain thrift institutions), (ii) will constitute unrelated business taxable income (“UBTI”) to entities (including a qualified pension plan, an individual retirement account, a 401(k) plan, a Keogh plan or other tax-exempt entity) subject to tax on UBTI, thereby potentially requiring such an entity that is allocated excess inclusion income, and otherwise might not be required to file a tax return, to file a tax return and pay tax on such income, and (iii) in the case of a non-U.S. shareholder, will not qualify for any reduction in U.S. federal withholding tax. A shareholder will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on such inclusions notwithstanding any exemption from such income tax otherwise available under the Code.
Options, Futures, Foreign Currencies, Forward Contracts, Swap Agreements and Other Derivatives. A Fund’s use of options contracts, futures contracts, foreign currency forward contracts, swap agreements and other derivatives, if any, may cause the Fund to recognize taxable income in excess of the cash generated by such instruments. As a result, a Fund could be required at times to sell other investments in order to satisfy its distribution requirements under the Code. A Fund’s use of derivatives might also affect the amount, timing, or character of a Fund’s distributions. The character of a Fund’s taxable income will, in some cases, be determined on the basis of reports made to the Fund by the issuers of the securities in which they invest. In addition, because the tax rules applicable to such investments may be uncertain under current U.S. federal income tax law, an adverse determination or future IRS guidance with respect to these rules (which determination or guidance could be retroactive) may affect whether a Fund has derived its income from the proper sources, made sufficient distributions, and otherwise satisfied the relevant requirements, to maintain its qualification and eligibility for treatment as a regulated investment company and avoid a Fund-level tax.
81
Certain of a Fund’s investments may be subject to provisions of the Code that (i) require inclusion of unrealized gains in the Fund’s income for purposes of the excise tax and the distribution requirements applicable to regulated investment companies; (ii) defer recognition of realized losses; (iii) cause adjustments in the holding periods of portfolio securities; (iv) convert capital gains into ordinary income; (v) characterize both realized and unrealized gains or losses as short-term or long-term, irrespective of the holding period of the investment; and (vi) require inclusion of unrealized gains or losses in the Fund’s income for purposes of determining whether 90% of the Fund’s gross income is Qualifying Income. Such provisions may apply to, among other investments, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, options on securities, options on security indices, forward contracts, swaps, credit default swaps, short sales, securities loans or other similar transactions, and foreign securities. Each Fund will monitor its transactions and may make certain tax elections available to it in order to mitigate the impact of these rules and prevent disqualification of the Fund as a regulated investment company.
In general, option premiums received by a Fund are not immediately included in the income of the Fund. Instead, the premiums are recognized when the option contract expires, the option is exercised by the holder, or the Fund transfers or otherwise terminates the option (e.g., through a closing transaction). If a call option written by a Fund is exercised and the Fund sells or delivers the underlying stock, the Fund generally will recognize capital gain or loss equal to (a) the sum of the strike price and the option premium received by the Fund minus (b) the Fund’s basis in the stock. Such gain or loss generally will be short-term or long-term depending upon the holding period of the underlying stock. If securities are purchased by a Fund pursuant to the exercise of a put option written by it, the Fund generally will subtract the premium received for purposes of computing its cost basis in the securities purchased. Gain or loss arising in respect of a termination of a Fund’s obligation under an option other than through the exercise of the option will be short-term gain or loss depending on whether the premium income received by the Fund is greater or less than the amount paid by the Fund, if any, in terminating the transaction. Thus, for example, if an option written by a Fund expires unexercised, the Fund generally will recognize short-term gain equal to the premium received.
The tax treatment of certain positions entered into by a Fund (including regulated futures contracts, certain foreign currency positions and certain listed non-equity options) will be governed by Section 1256 of the Code (“Section 1256 contracts”). Gains or losses on Section 1256 contracts generally are considered to be 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital gains or losses (“60/40”), although certain foreign currency gains and losses from such contracts may be treated as ordinary in character (See “Foreign Currency Transactions and Hedging” below). Also, Section 1256 contracts held by a Fund at the end of each taxable year (and, for purposes of the 4% excise tax, on certain other dates as prescribed under the Code) are “marked to market” with the result that unrealized gains or losses are treated as though they were realized and the resulting gain or loss is treated as ordinary or 60/40 gain or loss, as applicable.
The timing and character of income and losses arising in respect of swap contracts are, in many instances, unclear. In addition, the tax treatment of a payment made or received on a swap contract held by a Fund, and in particular, whether such payment is, in whole or in part, capital or ordinary in character, will vary depending upon the terms of the particular swap contract.
Transactions in options, futures and forward contracts, and swaps undertaken by a Fund may result in “straddles” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The straddle rules may affect the character of gains (or losses) realized by a Fund, and losses realized by a Fund on positions that are part of a straddle may be deferred under the straddle rules, rather than being taken into account in calculating the taxable income for the taxable year in which the losses are realized. In addition, certain carrying charges (including interest expenses) associated with positions in a straddle may be required to be capitalized rather than deducted currently. Certain elections that a Fund may make with respect to its straddle positions may also affect the amount, character, and timing of the recognition of gains or losses from the affected positions.
82
The straddle rules may increase the amount of short-term capital gain realized by a Fund, which is taxed as ordinary income when distributed to shareholders. Because application of the straddle rules may affect the character of gains or losses, defer losses and/or accelerate the recognition of gains or losses from the affected straddle positions, the amount which must be distributed to shareholders as ordinary income or long-term capital gain may be increased or decreased substantially as compared to a fund that did not engage in such transactions. The consequences to a Fund of certain transactions under the straddle rules remain unclear.
Foreign Currency Transactions and Hedging. Any transaction by a Fund in foreign currencies, foreign currency-denominated debt obligations or certain foreign currency options, futures contracts or forward contracts (or similar instruments) may give rise to ordinary income or loss to the extent such income or loss results from fluctuations in the value of the foreign currency concerned. Any such net gains could require a larger dividend toward the end of the calendar year. Any such net losses will generally reduce and potentially require the recharacterization of prior ordinary income distributions. Such ordinary income treatment may accelerate Fund distributions to shareholders and increase the distributions taxed to shareholders as ordinary income. Any net ordinary losses so created cannot be carried forward by the Fund to offset income or gains earned in subsequent taxable years. However, in certain circumstances, a Fund may elect to treat gains or losses from certain foreign currency positions as capital gains or losses.
Book-Tax Differences. Certain of a Fund’s investments in derivative instruments and foreign currency-denominated instruments, and any of a Fund’s transactions in foreign currencies and hedging activities, are likely to produce a difference between the Fund’s book income and the sum of the Fund’s taxable income and net tax-exempt income (if any). If such a difference arises, and a Fund’s book income exceeds the sum of its taxable income (including realized capital gains) and net tax-exempt income (if any) the distribution (if any) of such excess generally will be treated as (i) a dividend to the extent of the Fund’s remaining earnings and profits (including earnings and profits arising from tax-exempt income), (ii) thereafter, as a return of capital to the extent of the recipient’s basis in its shares, and (iii) thereafter, as gain from the sale or exchange of a capital asset. In the alternative, if a Fund’s book income is less than the sum of its taxable income and net tax-exempt income (if any), the Fund could be required to make distributions exceeding book income to qualify as a regulated investment company that is accorded special tax treatment.
Repurchase Agreements and Securities Loans. Any distribution of income that is attributable to (i) income received by a Fund in lieu of dividends with respect to securities on loan pursuant to a securities lending transaction or (ii) dividend income received by a Fund on securities it temporarily purchased from a counterparty pursuant to a repurchase agreement that is treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a loan by the Fund, will not constitute qualified dividend income to individual shareholders and will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction for corporate shareholders, in each case as described below. In addition, withholding taxes accrued on dividends during the period that such security was not directly held by a Fund will not qualify as a foreign tax paid by the Fund and therefore cannot be passed through to shareholders even if the Fund were otherwise to meet the requirements described in “Foreign Taxes,” below.
Master Limited Partnerships and other Publicly Traded Partnerships. Subject to any future regulatory guidance to the contrary, any distribution of income attributable to qualified publicly traded partnership income from a Fund’s investment in an MLP or other publicly traded partnership will ostensibly not qualify for the deduction that would be available to a non-corporate shareholder were the
83
shareholder to own such MLP or publicly traded partnership directly. If such distributions do not so qualify, a non-corporate shareholder will generally be subject to a higher effective tax rate on any such amounts received from a Fund compared to the effective rate applicable to any qualified publicly traded partnership income the shareholder would receive if the shareholder invested directly in an MLP or other publicly traded partnership.
Passive Foreign Investment Companies. Under the Code, investments in certain foreign investment companies that qualify as “passive foreign investment companies” (“PFICs”) are subject to special tax rules. A PFIC is any foreign corporation in which (i) 75% or more of the gross income for the taxable year is passive income, or (ii) the average percentage of the assets (generally by value, but by adjusted tax basis in certain cases) that produce or are held for the production of passive income is at least 50%. Generally, “passive income” for this purpose means dividends, interest (including income equivalent to interest), royalties, rents, annuities, the excess of gains over losses from certain property transactions and commodities transactions, and foreign currency gains. Passive income for this purpose does not include rents and royalties received by the foreign corporation from active business and certain income received from related persons.
Equity investments by a Fund in certain PFICs could subject the Fund to a U.S. federal income tax or other charge (including interest charges) on distributions received from the PFIC or on proceeds received from the disposition of shares in the PFIC, which tax cannot be eliminated by making distributions to that Fund’s shareholders. However, in certain circumstances, a Fund may avoid this tax treatment by electing to treat the PFIC as a “qualified electing fund” (i.e., make a “QEF” election), in which case the Fund will be required to include its share of the PFIC’s income and net capital gains annually, regardless of whether it receives any distribution from the PFIC. Alternatively, a Fund may elect to mark the gains (and to a limited extent losses) in its PFIC holdings “to the market” as though it had sold (and repurchased) its holdings in those PFICs on the last day of the Fund’s taxable year. Such gains and losses are treated as ordinary income and loss. The QEF and mark-to-market elections may have the effect of accelerating the recognition of income (without the receipt of cash) and increasing the amount required to be distributed for the Fund to avoid taxation. Making either of these elections therefore may require a Fund to sell other investments (including when it is not advantageous to do so) to meet its distribution requirement, which also may accelerate the recognition of gain and affect the Fund’s total return. If a Fund indirectly invests in PFICs by virtue of the Fund’s investment in underlying U.S. funds, it may not make such elections; rather, the underlying U.S. funds directly investing in PFICs would decide whether to make such elections. Because it is not always possible to identify a foreign corporation as a PFIC, a Fund may incur the tax and interest charges described above in some instances. Dividends paid by PFICs will not be eligible to be treated as “qualified dividend income.” See “Federal Income Taxation of Shareholders,” below.
Investments in Other Registered Investment Companies. A Fund’s investments in shares of other mutual funds, ETFs or other companies that are treated as regulated investment companies (each, an “underlying RIC”), as well as certain investments in REITs, can cause the Fund to be required to distribute greater amounts of net investment income or net capital gain than the Fund would have distributed had it invested directly in the securities held by the underlying RIC, rather than in shares of the underlying RIC. Further, the amount or timing of distributions from a Fund qualifying for treatment as a particular character (e.g., long-term capital gain, exempt interest, eligibility for dividends-received deduction, etc.) will not necessarily be the same as it would have been had the Fund invested directly in the securities held by the underlying RIC.
84
If a Fund receives dividends from an underlying RIC, and the underlying RIC reports such dividends as “qualified dividend income,” then the Fund is permitted in turn to report a portion of its distributions as qualified dividend income, provided the Fund meets holding period and other requirements with respect to shares of the underlying RIC.
If a Fund receives dividends from an underlying RIC and the underlying RIC reports such dividends as eligible for the dividends-received deduction, then the Fund is permitted in turn to report its distributions derived from those dividends as eligible for the dividends-received deduction as well, provided the Fund meets holding period and other requirements with respect to shares of the underlying RIC. Qualified dividend income and the dividends-received deduction are described below.
Taxation of Certain Investments. Including as described above, certain of each Fund’s investments will create taxable income in excess of the cash they generate. In such cases, a Fund may be required to sell assets (including when it is not advantageous to do so) to generate the cash necessary to distribute to its shareholders all of its income and gains and therefore to eliminate any tax liability at the Fund level. These dispositions may cause a Fund to realize higher amounts of short-term capital gains (generally taxed to shareholders at ordinary income tax rates) and, in the event the Fund realizes net capital gains from such transactions, its shareholders may receive a larger Capital Gain Dividend (as defined below) than if the Fund had not held such investments. The character of a Fund’s taxable income will, in many cases, be determined on the basis of reports made to the Fund by the issuers of the securities in which they invest. The tax treatment of certain securities in which a Fund may invest is not free from doubt and it is possible that an IRS examination of the issuers of such securities could result in adjustments to the income of such Fund.
Foreign Taxes. Income, proceeds and gains received by a Fund from sources within foreign countries may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by such countries. This will decrease a Fund’s yield on securities subject to such taxes. Tax treaties between certain countries and the U.S. may reduce or eliminate such taxes. It is impossible to determine the effective rate of foreign tax in advance because the amount of a Fund’s assets to be invested within various countries is not known. If more than 50% of a Fund’s assets at the end of its taxable year consists of securities of foreign corporations, the Fund may elect to permit shareholders to claim a credit or deduction on their U.S. federal income tax returns for their pro rata portions of qualified taxes paid by the Fund to foreign countries in respect of foreign securities that the Fund has held for at least the minimum period specified in the Code. In such a case, shareholders will include in gross income from foreign sources their pro rata shares of such taxes paid by the Fund. A shareholder’s ability to claim an offsetting foreign tax credit or deduction in respect of foreign taxes paid by the Fund is subject to certain limitations imposed by the Code, which may result in the shareholder’s not receiving a full credit or deduction (if any) for the amount of such taxes. Shareholders who do not itemize deductions on their U.S. federal income tax returns may claim a credit (but not a deduction) for such foreign taxes. Shareholders that are not subject to U.S. federal income tax, and those who invest in the Fund through tax-advantaged accounts (including those who invest through individual retirement accounts or other tax-advantaged retirement plans), generally will receive no benefit from any tax credit or deduction passed through by the Fund.
If a Fund is not eligible to or does not make the above election, the Fund’s taxable income will be reduced by the foreign taxes paid or withheld, and shareholders will not be entitled separately to claim a credit or deduction with respect to such taxes. Shareholders are advised to consult their own tax advisers with respect to the treatment of foreign source income and foreign taxes under the U.S. federal income tax laws.
85
Federal Income Taxation of Shareholders
For U.S. federal income tax purposes, distributions of investment income are generally taxable to shareholders as ordinary income. Taxes on distributions of capital gains are determined by how long a Fund owned or is considered to have owned the investments that generated them, rather than how long a shareholder may have owned shares in such Fund. In general, a Fund will recognize long-term capital gain or loss on investments it has owned (or is deemed to have owned) for more than one year, and short-term capital gain or loss on investments it has owned (or is deemed to have owned) for one year or less. Distributions of net capital gain (that is, the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss, in each case determined with reference to loss carryforwards) that are properly reported by a Fund as capital gain dividends (“Capital Gain Dividends”) will be taxable to shareholders as long-term capital gains includible in net capital gain and taxed to individuals at reduced rates relative to ordinary income. Distributions from capital gains are generally made after applying any available capital loss carryforwards. Distributions of net short-term capital gain (as reduced by any net long-term capital loss for the taxable year) will be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income. The IRS and the U.S. Department of the Treasury have issued final regulations that impose special rules in respect of Capital Gain Dividends received through partnership interests constituting “applicable partnership interests” under Section 1061 of the Code.
The Code generally imposes a 3.8% Medicare contribution tax on the net investment income of certain individuals, trusts and estates to the extent their income exceeds certain threshold amounts. For these purposes, “net investment income” generally includes, among other things, (i) distributions paid by a Fund of net investment income and capital gains as described above, and (ii) any net gain from the sale, redemption, exchange, or other taxable disposition of Fund shares. Shareholders are advised to consult their tax advisers regarding the possible implications of this additional tax on their investment in a Fund.
Each Fund intends to distribute at least annually to its shareholders all or substantially all of its investment company taxable income (computed without regard to the dividends-paid deduction) and its net tax-exempt income (if any), and may distribute its net capital gain. Taxable income that is retained by a Fund will be subject to tax at the Fund level at regular corporate rates. Each Fund may also retain for investment its net capital gain. If a Fund retains any net capital gain, it will be subject to tax at the Fund level at regular corporate rates on the amount retained, but may designate the retained amount as undistributed capital gains in a timely notice to its shareholders who (i) will be required to include in income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gain, their shares of such undistributed amount, and (ii) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the tax paid by the Fund on such undistributed amount against their U.S. federal income tax liabilities, if any, and to claim refunds on a properly filed U.S. tax return to the extent the credit exceeds such liabilities. If a Fund makes this designation, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the tax basis of shares owned by a shareholder of the Fund will be increased by an amount equal under current law to the difference between the amount of undistributed capital gains included in the shareholder’s gross income and the tax deemed paid by the shareholder under clause (ii) of the preceding sentence. A Fund is not required to, and there can be no assurance a Fund will, make this designation if it retains all or a portion of its net capital gain in a taxable year.
Distributions are taxable to shareholders as described herein whether shareholders receive them in cash or reinvest them in additional shares through a dividend reinvestment plan.
Distributions by a Fund will result in a reduction in the fair market value of such Fund’s shares. A distribution may be taxable to the shareholder, even though, from an investment standpoint, it may constitute a partial return of capital. In particular, a shareholder that purchases shares of a Fund just prior to a taxable distribution will then receive a return of investment upon distribution which may nevertheless be taxable to the shareholder as ordinary income or capital gain.
86
“Qualified dividend income” received by an individual will be taxed at the reduced rates applicable to net capital gain. In order for some portion of the dividends received by a Fund shareholder to be qualified dividend income, the Fund must meet holding period and other requirements with respect to some portion of the dividend-paying stocks in its portfolio and the shareholder must meet holding period and other requirements with respect to the Fund’s shares. In general, a dividend will not be treated as qualified dividend income (at either the Fund or shareholder level) (i) if the dividend is received with respect to any share of stock held for fewer than 61 days during the 121-day period beginning on the date which is 60 days before the date on which such share becomes ex-dividend with respect to such dividend (or, in the case of certain preferred stock, 91 days during the 181-day period beginning 90 days before such date), (ii) to the extent that the recipient is under an obligation (whether pursuant to a short sale or otherwise) to make related payments with respect to positions in substantially similar or related property, (iii) if the recipient elects to have the dividend income treated as investment income for purposes of the limitation on deductibility of investment interest, or (iv) if the dividend is received from a foreign corporation that is (a) not eligible for the benefits of a comprehensive income tax treaty with the United States (with the exception of dividends paid on stock of such a foreign corporation readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States) or (b) treated as a PFIC.
In general, distributions of investment income reported by a Fund as derived from qualified dividend income will be treated as qualified dividend income by a shareholder taxed as an individual provided the shareholder meets the holding period and other requirements described above with respect to the Fund’s shares.
If the aggregate qualified dividend income received by a Fund during any taxable year is 95% or more of its “gross income,” then 100% of the Fund’s dividends (other than Capital Gain Dividends) will be eligible to be treated as qualified dividend income. For this purpose, the only capital gain included in the term “gross income” is the excess of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss.
A portion of the dividends paid by the Funds to shareholders that are corporations (other than S corporations) may be eligible for the dividends-received deduction (subject to a holding period requirement imposed by the Code) to the extent such dividends are derived from dividends received from U.S. corporations. However, any distributions received by a Fund from PFICs will not qualify for the corporate dividends-received deduction. A dividend received by a Fund will not be treated as a dividend eligible for the dividends-received deduction (i) if it has been received with respect to any share of stock that the Fund has held for less than 46 days (91 days in the case of certain preferred stock) during the 91-day period beginning on the date which is 45 days before the date on which such share becomes ex-dividend with respect to such dividend (during the 181-day period beginning 90 days before such date in the case of certain preferred stock) or (ii) to the extent that the Fund is under an obligation (pursuant to a short sale or otherwise) to make related payments with respect to positions in substantially similar or related property. Moreover, the dividends-received deduction may otherwise be disallowed or reduced (i) if the corporate shareholder fails to satisfy the foregoing requirements with respect to its shares of the Fund or (ii) by application of various provisions of the Code (for instance, the dividends-received deduction is reduced in the case of a dividend received on debt-financed portfolio stock (generally, stock acquired with borrowed funds)).
Distributions by a Fund to its shareholders that the Fund properly reports as “Section 199A dividends,” as defined and subject to certain conditions described below, are treated as qualified REIT dividends in the hands of non-corporate shareholders. Non-corporate shareholders are permitted a U.S. federal income tax deduction equal to 20% of qualified REIT dividends received by them, subject to certain limitations. Very generally, a “Section 199A dividend” is any dividend or portion thereof that is attributable to certain dividends received by a Fund from REITs, to the extent such dividends are properly reported as such by the Fund in a written notice to its shareholders. A Section 199A dividend is treated as a qualified REIT dividend only if the shareholder receiving such dividend holds the dividend-paying Fund shares for at least 46 days of the 91-day period beginning 45 days before the shares become ex-
87
dividend, and is not under an obligation to make related payments with respect to a position in substantially similar or related property. A Fund is permitted to report such part of its dividends as Section 199A dividends as are eligible, but is not required to do so. Subject to future regulatory guidance to the contrary, distributions attributable to qualified publicly traded partnership income from a Fund’s investments in MLPs will ostensibly not qualify for the deduction available to non-corporate taxpayers in respect of such amounts received directly from an MLP.
The ultimate tax characterization of a Fund’s distributions made in a taxable year cannot be determined until after the end of that taxable year. As a result, there is a possibility that a Fund may make total distributions during a taxable year in an amount that exceeds the net investment income and net capital gains the Fund realizes that year, in which case the excess generally will be treated as a return of capital to shareholders, reducing their tax basis in such Fund’s shares, with any amounts exceeding such basis treated as gain from the sale of such shares. A return of capital is not taxable, but it reduces a shareholder’s tax basis in its Fund shares, thus reducing any loss or increasing any gain on the subsequent taxable disposition by a shareholder of those shares.
As required by federal law, detailed U.S. federal tax information with respect to each calendar year will be furnished to each shareholder early in the succeeding year.
Sale, Exchange or Redemption of Shares
The sale, exchange, or redemption of shares of a Fund may give rise to a gain or loss. In general, any gain or loss realized upon a taxable disposition of shares of a Fund will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than 12 months. Otherwise, the gain or loss on the taxable disposition of Fund shares will be treated as short-term capital gain or loss. However, any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Fund shares held by a shareholder for six months or less will be treated as long-term, rather than short-term, to the extent of any Capital Gain Dividends received (or deemed received) by the shareholder with respect to those shares. Further, all or a portion of any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of shares of a Fund will be disallowed under the Code’s “wash sale” rule if other substantially identical shares of such Fund are purchased within 30 days before or after the disposition. In such a case, the basis of the newly purchased shares will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss.
Upon the sale, exchange or redemption of shares of a Fund, the Fund or, in the case of shares purchased through a financial intermediary, the financial intermediary, may be required to provide a shareholder and the IRS with cost basis and certain other related tax information about the Fund shares the shareholder sold, exchanged or redeemed. See the Funds’ Prospectus for more information.
Backup Withholding
Each Fund generally is required to withhold and remit to the U.S. Treasury a percentage of the taxable distributions and redemption proceeds paid to any individual shareholder who fails to properly furnish the Fund with a correct taxpayer identification number, who has under-reported dividend or interest income, or who fails to certify to such Fund that he or she is not subject to such withholding.
Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld may be credited against a shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, provided the appropriate information is furnished to the IRS.
88
Tax-Exempt Shareholders
Income of a regulated investment company, such as a Fund, that would be UBTI if earned directly by a tax-exempt entity will not generally be attributed as UBTI to a tax-exempt shareholder of the Fund. Notwithstanding this “blocking” effect, a tax-exempt shareholder could realize UBTI by virtue of its investment in a Fund if shares in the Fund constitute debt-financed property in the hands of the tax-exempt shareholder within the meaning of Section 514(b) of the Code.
A tax-exempt shareholder may also recognize UBTI if a Fund recognizes “excess inclusion income” derived from direct or indirect investments in residual interests in REMICs or equity interests in TMPs, as described above, if the amount of such income recognized by the Fund exceeds the Fund’s investment company taxable income (after taking into account deductions for dividends paid by the Fund).
In addition, special tax consequences apply to CRTs that invest in regulated investment companies that invest directly or indirectly in residual interests in REMICs or equity interests in TMPs. Under legislation enacted in December 2006, a CRT (as defined in Section 664 of the Code) that realizes UBTI for a taxable year must pay an excise tax annually of an amount equal to such UBTI. Under IRS guidance issued in October of 2006, a CRT will not recognize UBTI as a result of investing in a Fund that recognizes “excess inclusion income.” Rather, if at any time during any taxable year a CRT (or one of certain other tax-exempt shareholders, such as the United States, a state or political subdivision or an agency or instrumentality thereof, and certain energy cooperatives) is a record holder of a share in a Fund that recognizes “excess inclusion income,” then the Fund will be subject to a tax on that portion of its “excess inclusion income” for the taxable year that is allocable to such shareholders at the highest U.S. federal corporate income tax rate. The extent to which this IRS guidance remains applicable in light of the December 2006 legislation is unclear. To the extent permitted under the 1940 Act, a Fund may elect to specially allocate any such tax to the applicable CRT, or other disqualified organization shareholder, and thus reduce such shareholder’s distributions for the year by the amount of the tax that relates to such shareholder’s interest in the Fund. CRTs and other tax-exempt investors are urged to consult their tax advisers concerning the consequences of investing in a Fund.
Special tax rules apply to investments through defined contribution plans and other tax-qualified plans. Shareholders should consult their tax advisers to determine the suitability of shares of a Fund as an investment through such plans.
Foreign Shareholders
Distributions by a Fund to shareholders that are not “U.S. persons” within the meaning of the Code (“foreign shareholders”) properly reported by the Fund as (1) Capital Gain Dividends, (2) short-term capital gain dividends, and (3) interest-related dividends, each as defined and subject to certain conditions described below, generally are not subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax.
In general, the Code defines (1) “short-term capital gain dividends” as distributions of net short-term capital gains in excess of net long-term capital losses and (2) “interest-related dividends” as distributions from U.S.-source interest income of types similar to those not subject to U.S. federal income tax if earned directly by an individual foreign shareholder, in each case to the extent such distributions are properly reported as such by a Fund in a written notice to shareholders. The exceptions to withholding for Capital Gain Dividends and short-term capital gain dividends do not apply to (A) distributions to an individual foreign shareholder who is present in the United States for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the year of the distribution and (B) distributions attributable to gain that is treated as
89
effectively connected with the conduct by the foreign shareholder of a trade or business within the United States under special rules regarding the disposition of U.S. real property interests as described below. The exception to withholding for interest-related dividends does not apply to distributions to a foreign shareholder (A) that has not provided a satisfactory statement that the beneficial owner is not a U.S. person, (B) to the extent that the dividend is attributable to certain interest on an obligation if the foreign shareholder is the issuer or is a 10% shareholder of the issuer, (C) that is within certain foreign countries that have inadequate information exchange with the United States, or (D) to the extent the dividend is attributable to interest paid by a person that is a related person of the foreign shareholder and the foreign shareholder is a controlled foreign corporation. If a Fund invests in a regulated investment company that pays Capital Gain Dividends, short-term capital gain dividends or interest-related dividends to the Fund, such distributions retain their character as not subject to withholding if properly reported when paid by the Fund to foreign shareholders. A Fund is permitted to report such part of its dividends as interest-related and/or short-term capital gain dividends as are eligible, but is not required to do so. In the case of shares held through an intermediary, the intermediary may withhold even if a Fund reports all or a portion of a payment as an interest-related or short-term capital gain dividend to shareholders.
Distributions by a Fund to foreign shareholders other than Capital Gain Dividends, short-term capital gain dividends, and interest-related dividends (e.g., dividends attributable to foreign-source dividend and interest income or to short-term capital gains or U.S. source interest income to which the exception from withholding described above does not apply) are generally subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax at a rate of 30% (or lower applicable treaty rate).
A foreign shareholder is not, in general, subject to U.S. federal income tax on gains (and is not allowed a deduction for losses) realized on the sale of shares of a Fund unless (i) such gain is effectively connected with the conduct by the foreign shareholder of a trade or business within the United States, (ii) in the case of a foreign shareholder that is an individual, the shareholder is present in the United States for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the year of the sale and certain other conditions are met, or (iii) the special rules relating to gain attributable to the sale or exchange of “U.S. real property interests” (“USRPIs”) apply to the foreign shareholder’s sale of shares of the Fund (as described below).
Special rules would apply if a Fund were a qualified investment entity (“QIE”) because it is either a “U.S. real property holding corporation” (“USRPHC”) or would be a USRPHC but for the operation of certain exceptions to the definition of USRPIs described below. Very generally, a USRPHC is a domestic corporation that holds USRPIs the fair market value of which equals or exceeds 50% of the sum of the fair market values of the corporation’s USRPIs, interests in real property located outside the United States, and other trade or business assets. USRPIs are generally defined as any interest in U.S. real property and any interest (other than solely as a creditor) in a USRPHC or, very generally, an entity that has been a USRPHC in the last five years. A RIC that holds, directly or indirectly, significant interests in REITs may be a USRPHC. Interests in domestically controlled QIEs, including REITs and regulated investment companies that are QIEs, not-greater-than-10% interests in publicly traded classes of stock in REITs and not-greater-than-5% interests in publicly traded classes of stock in regulated investment companies generally are not USRPIs, but these exceptions do not apply for purposes of determining whether the Fund is a QIE. If an interest in a Fund were a USRPI, the Fund would be required to withhold U.S. tax on the proceeds of a share redemption by a greater-than-5% foreign shareholder, in which case such foreign shareholder generally would also be required to file U.S. tax returns and pay any additional taxes due in connection with the redemption.
If a Fund were a QIE, under a special “look through” rule, any distributions by the Fund to a foreign shareholder (including, in certain cases, distributions made by the Fund in redemption of its shares) attributable directly or indirectly to (i) distributions received by the Fund from a lower-tier regulated investment company or REIT that the Fund is required to treat as USRPI gain in its hands and
90
(ii) gains realized on the disposition of USRPIs by the Fund would retain their character as gains realized from USRPIs in the hands of the Fund’s foreign shareholders and would be subject to U.S. tax withholding. In addition, such distributions could result in the foreign shareholder being required to file a U.S. tax return and pay tax on the distributions at regular U.S. federal income tax rates. The consequences to a foreign shareholder, including the rate of such withholding and character of such distributions (e.g., as ordinary income or USRPI gain), would vary depending upon the extent of the foreign shareholder’s current and past ownership of a Fund.
Foreign shareholders of a Fund also may be subject to “wash sale” rules to prevent the avoidance of the tax-filing and -payment obligations discussed above through the sale and repurchase of Fund shares.
Each Fund generally does not expect that it will be a QIE.
Foreign shareholders should consult their tax advisers and, if holding shares through intermediaries, their intermediaries, concerning the application of these rules to their investment in a Fund.
Foreign shareholders with respect to whom income from a Fund is effectively connected with a trade or business conducted by the foreign shareholder within the United States will in general be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the income derived from the Fund at the graduated rates applicable to U.S. citizens, residents or domestic corporations, whether such income is received in cash or reinvested in shares of the Fund and, in the case of a foreign corporation, may also be subject to a branch profits tax. If a foreign shareholder is eligible for the benefits of a tax treaty, any effectively connected income or gain will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net basis only if it is also attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by the shareholder in the United States. More generally, foreign shareholders who are residents in a country with an income tax treaty with the United States may obtain different tax results than those described herein, and are urged to consult their tax advisers.
Tax Shelter Reporting Regulations
Under U.S. Treasury regulations, if a shareholder recognizes a loss on a disposition of a Fund’s shares of at least $2 million in any single tax year or $4 million in any combination of tax years for an individual shareholder or $10 million in any single tax year or $20 million in any combination of tax years for a corporate shareholder, the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on IRS Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a regulated investment company are not excepted. Future guidance may extend the current exception from this reporting requirement to shareholders of most or all regulated investment companies. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult their tax advisers to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.
Shareholder Reporting Obligations With Respect to Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts
Shareholders that are U.S. persons and own, directly or indirectly, more than 50% of a Fund by vote or value could be required to report annually their “financial interest” in the Fund’s “foreign financial accounts,” if any, on FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (“FBAR”). Shareholders should consult a tax adviser regarding the applicability to them of this reporting requirement.
91
Other Reporting and Withholding Requirements
Sections 1471-1474 of the Code and the U.S. Treasury regulations and IRS guidance issued thereunder (collectively, “FATCA”) generally require a Fund to obtain information sufficient to identify the status of each of its shareholders under FATCA or under an applicable intergovernmental agreement (an “IGA”) between the United States and a foreign government. If a shareholder of a Fund fails to provide the requested information or otherwise fails to comply with FATCA or an IGA, the Fund may be required to withhold under FATCA at a rate of 30% with respect to that shareholder on ordinary dividends it pays. The IRS and the U.S. Department of Treasury have issued proposed regulations providing that these withholding rules will not apply to the gross proceeds of share redemptions or Capital Gain Dividends a Fund pays. If a payment by a Fund is subject to FATCA withholding, the Fund is required to withhold even if such payment would otherwise be exempt from withholding under the rules applicable to foreign shareholders described above (e.g., short-term capital gain dividends, and interest-related dividends).
Prospective investors are urged to consult their tax advisers regarding the applicability of FATCA and any other reporting requirements with respect to the prospective investor’s own situation, including investments through an intermediary.
State and Local Taxes
Each Fund is a series of a Massachusetts business trust. Under current law, neither the Trust nor any of the Funds is liable for any income or franchise tax in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, provided that each Fund continues to qualify as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Code. However, each Fund may be subject to state and/or local taxes in other jurisdictions in which such Fund is deemed to be doing business. In addition, the treatment of each Fund and its shareholders in those states which have income tax laws might differ from treatment under the U.S. federal income tax laws. Shareholders should consult with their own tax advisers concerning the state and local tax consequences of investing in a Fund.
EACH SHAREHOLDER SHOULD CONSULT A TAX ADVISER ABOUT THE APPLICATION OF U.S. FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL AND FOREIGN TAX LAWS TO AN INVESTMENT IN A FUND IN LIGHT OF THE SHAREHOLDER’S PARTICULAR TAX SITUATION.
OTHER INFORMATION
Massachusetts Business Trust
Each Fund is a series of a “Massachusetts business trust.” A copy of the Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust for the Trust (the “Declaration of Trust”) is on file in the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Declaration of Trust and the By-Laws of the Trust (the “By-Laws”) are designed to make the Trust similar in most respects to a Massachusetts business corporation. The principal distinction between the two forms concerns shareholder liability and is described below.
Under Massachusetts law, shareholders of such a trust may, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable as partners for the obligations of the trust. This is not the case for a Massachusetts business corporation. However, the Declaration of Trust of the Trust provides that the shareholders shall not be subject to any personal liability for the acts or obligations of a Fund and that every note, bond, contract, instrument, certificate or undertaking made on behalf of a Fund shall contain a provision to the effect that the shareholders are not personally liable thereunder.
92
No personal liability will attach to the shareholders under any undertaking containing such provision when adequate notice of such provision is given, except possibly in a few jurisdictions. With respect to all types of claims in the latter jurisdictions, (i) tort claims, (ii) contract claims where the provision referred to is omitted from the undertaking, (iii) claims for taxes, and (iv) certain statutory liabilities in other jurisdictions, a shareholder may be held personally liable to the extent that claims are not satisfied by a Fund. However, upon payment of such liability, the shareholder will be entitled to reimbursement from the assets of the Fund. The Trustees of the Trust intend to conduct the operations of the Trust in a way as to avoid, as far as possible, ultimate liability of the shareholders of the Funds.
The Declaration of Trust further provides that no Trustee, officer, employee, agent or shareholder of the Funds is liable to any third persons in connection with the affairs of the Funds. Nothing in the Declaration of Trust shall protect any Trustee from any liability that arises from his own bad faith, willful misfeasance, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of the office of the Trustee. The Declaration of Trust also provides that all third persons shall look solely to the assets of the Funds for any satisfaction of claims arising in connection with the affairs of the Funds. With the exceptions stated and except with respect to any matter as to which a Trustee or officer, including a person who serves at the Trust’s request as a director, officer or trustee of another organization in which the Trust has any interest as a shareholder, creditor or otherwise (each such Trustee, officer or person hereinafter referred to as a “Covered Person”) shall have been finally adjudicated in a decision on the merits in any action, suit or other proceeding not to have acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that such Covered Person’s action was in the best interests of the Trust, the Trust’s Declaration of Trust provides that a Covered Person is entitled to be indemnified against all liability in connection with the affairs of the Funds.
The Trust shall continue without limitation of time subject to the provisions in the Declaration of Trust concerning termination by action of the shareholders or by action of the Trustees upon notice to the shareholders.
Description of Shares
The Trust is an open-end management investment company organized as a Massachusetts business trust in which the Funds each represent a separate series of shares of beneficial interest. See “Massachusetts Business Trust” above. The Trustees may, without shareholder approval, divide the shares of any series of the Trust into one or more classes and combine the shares of two or more classes of any series into a single class. The Trustees have authorized the issuance of two classes of shares by AMG Yacktman Focused Fund and AMG Yacktman Global Fund—Class N and Class I shares—and three classes of shares by each of AMG Yacktman Fund and AMG Yacktman Special Opportunities Fund—Class N, Class I and Class Z shares.
The Declaration of Trust permits the Trustees to issue an unlimited number of full and fractional shares (without par value) of one or more series and to divide or combine the shares of any series or class, if applicable, into a greater or lesser number without changing the proportionate beneficial interest in the series or class. Each share of each Fund represents an equal proportionate interest in such Fund with each other share. Upon liquidation of a Fund, shareholders are entitled to share pro rata in the net assets of the Fund available for distribution to such shareholders. See “Massachusetts Business Trust” above. Shares of the Funds have no preemptive or conversion rights. The rights of redemption and exchange are described in the Funds’ Prospectus and in this SAI.
The shareholders of the Trust are entitled to one vote for each whole share held of a Fund (or a class thereof) (or a proportionate fractional vote in respect of a fractional share), on matters on which shares of the Fund (or a class thereof) shall be entitled to vote.
93
Subject to the 1940 Act, the Trustees themselves have the power to alter the number and the terms of office of the Trustees, and to set the length of their own terms subject to certain removal procedures, and appoint their own successors, provided however, that immediately after such appointment the requisite majority of the Trustees have been elected by the shareholders of the Trust. The voting rights of shareholders are not cumulative in the election of Trustees so that holders of more than 50% of the shares voting can, if they choose, elect all Trustees being selected while the shareholders of the remaining shares would be unable to elect any Trustees. It is the intention of the Trust not to hold annual meetings of shareholders. The Trustees may call meetings of shareholders for action by shareholder vote as may be required or permitted by either the 1940 Act or by the Trust’s Declaration of Trust.
The Trustees have authorized the issuance and sale to the public of shares of several series of the Trust. The Trustees may authorize the issuance of shares of additional series of the Trust. The proceeds from the issuance of any additional series would be invested in separate, independently managed portfolios with distinct investment objectives, policies and restrictions, and share purchase, redemption and NAV procedures. All consideration received by the Trust for shares of any additional series, and all assets in which such consideration is invested, would belong to that series, subject only to the rights of creditors of the Trust and would be subject to the liabilities related thereto. Shareholders of any additional series will approve the adoption of any management contract, distribution agreement and any changes in the investment policies of any such additional series, to the extent required by the 1940 Act.
Conduct of the Trust’s Business
Forum for Adjudication of Disputes. The By-Laws provide that unless the Trust consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Trust or the shareholders, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any Trustee, officer, or other agent of the Trust to the Trust or the Trust’s shareholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Massachusetts Business Corporation Act or the Declaration of Trust or the By-Laws, (iv) any action to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of the Declaration of Trust or the By-Laws or any agreement contemplated by any provision of the 1940 Act, the Declaration of Trust or the By-Laws, or (v) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine shall be within the federal or state courts in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (each, a “Covered Action”). The By-Laws further provide that if any Covered Action is filed in a court other than in a federal or state court sitting within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (a “Foreign Action”) in the name of any shareholder, such shareholder shall be deemed to have consented to (i) the personal jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in connection with any action brought in any such courts to enforce the preceding sentence (an “Enforcement Action”) and (ii) having service of process made upon such shareholder in any such Enforcement Action by service upon such shareholder’s counsel in the Foreign Action as agent for such shareholder.
Any person purchasing or otherwise acquiring or holding any interest in shares of beneficial interest of the Trust will be (i) deemed to have notice of and consented to the foregoing paragraph and (ii) deemed to have waived any argument relating to the inconvenience of the forum referenced above in connection with any action or proceeding described in the foregoing paragraph.
This forum selection provision may limit a shareholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with Trustees, officers or other agents of the Trust and its service providers, which may discourage such lawsuits with respect to such claims. If a court were to find the forum selection provision contained in the By-Laws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, the Trust may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions.
94
Derivative and Direct Claims of Shareholders. The By-Laws contain provisions regarding derivative and direct claims of shareholders. As used in the By-Laws, a “direct” shareholder claim refers to (i) a claim based upon alleged violations of a shareholder’s individual rights independent of any harm to the Trust, including a shareholder’s voting rights under Article 11 of the By-Laws, rights to receive a dividend payment as may be declared from time to time, rights to inspect books and records, or other similar rights personal to the shareholder and independent of any harm to the Trust; and (ii) a claim for which a direct shareholder action is expressly provided under the U.S. federal securities laws. Any other claim asserted by a shareholder, including without limitation any claims purporting to be brought on behalf of the Trust or involving any alleged harm to the Trust, are considered a “derivative” claim as used in the By-Laws.
A shareholder may not bring or maintain any court action or other proceeding asserting a derivative claim or any claim asserted on behalf or for the benefit of the Trust or involving any alleged harm to the Trust without first making demand on the Trustees requesting the Trustees to bring or maintain such action, proceeding or claim. Such demand shall not be excused under any circumstances, including claims of alleged interest on the part of the Trustees, unless the shareholder makes a specific showing that irreparable nonmonetary injury to the Trust would otherwise result. The Trustees shall consider such demand within 90 days of its receipt by the Trust. In their sole discretion, the Trustees may submit the matter to a vote of shareholders of the Trust or any series or class of shares, as appropriate. Any decision by the Trustees to bring, maintain or settle (or not to bring, maintain or settle) such court action, proceeding or claim, or to submit the matter to a vote of shareholders, shall be binding upon the shareholders, and no suit, proceeding or other action shall be commenced or maintained after a decision to reject a demand. Any Trustee acting in connection with any demand or any proceeding relating to a claim on behalf or for the benefit of the Trust who is not an “interested person” (as that term is defined in the 1940 Act) will be deemed to be independent and disinterested with respect to such demand, proceeding or claim.
A shareholder may not bring or maintain a court action or other proceeding asserting a direct claim against the Trust, the Trustees, or officers predicated upon an express or implied right of action under the Declaration of Trust or U.S. federal securities laws (excepting direct shareholder actions expressly provided by U.S. federal securities laws), unless the shareholder has obtained authorization from the Trustees to bring the action. The requirement of authorization shall not be excused under any circumstances, including claims of alleged interest on the part of the Trustees. The Trustees shall consider such request within 90 days after its receipt by the Trust. In their sole discretion, the Trustees may submit the matter to a vote of shareholders of the Trust or of any series or class of shares, as appropriate. Any decision by the Trustees to settle or to authorize (or not to settle or to authorize) such court action, proceeding or claim, or to submit the matter to a vote of shareholders, shall be binding upon the shareholder seeking authorization.
Any person purchasing or otherwise acquiring or holding any interest in shares of beneficial interest of the Trust will be deemed to have notice of and consented to the foregoing provisions. These provisions may limit a shareholder’s ability to bring a claim against the Trustees, officers or other agents of the Trust and its service providers, which may discourage such lawsuits with respect to such claims.
95
Additional Information
This SAI and the Funds’ Prospectus do not contain all of the information included in the Trust’s Registration Statement filed with the SEC under the 1933 Act. Pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC, certain portions have been omitted. The Trust’s Registration Statement, including the Exhibits filed therewith, may be examined on the SEC’s website.
Statements contained in this SAI and the Funds’ Prospectus concerning the contents of any contract or other document are not necessarily complete, and in each instance, reference is made to the copy of such contract or other document filed as an Exhibit to the Trust’s Registration Statement. Each such statement is qualified in all respects by such reference.
No dealer, salesman or any other person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations, other than those contained in the Funds’ Prospectus or this SAI, in connection with the offer of shares of the Funds and, if given or made, such other representations or information must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the Trust, the Funds or the Distributor. The Funds’ Prospectus and this SAI do not constitute an offer to sell or solicit an offer to buy any of the securities offered thereby in any jurisdiction to any person to whom it is unlawful for the Funds or the Distributor to make such offer in such jurisdictions.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
On June 29, 2012, each of AMG Yacktman Focused Fund and AMG Yacktman Fund acquired the assets of its respective Predecessor Fund. The Class N shares of AMG Yacktman Focused Fund, a series of the Trust, and the Class I shares of AMG Yacktman Fund, a series of the Trust, are the successor to the accounting and performance information of the corresponding Predecessor Fund.
The Funds’ audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 and the related Notes to the Financial Statements for the Funds, as well as the Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, from each Fund’s Annual Report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, are incorporated by reference into this SAI (meaning such documents are legally a part of this SAI) and are on file with the SEC. The Funds’ Annual and Semi-Annual Reports are available without charge, upon request, by calling the Funds at (800) 548-4539 or by visiting the Funds’ website at wealth.amg.com or the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
96
APPENDIX A
DESCRIPTION OF BOND RATINGS ASSIGNED BY
S&P GLOBAL RATINGS AND MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE, INC.
A Fund’s investments may range in quality from securities rated in the lowest category in which the Fund is permitted to invest to securities rated in the highest category (as rated by Moody’s or S&P or, if unrated, determined by the Subadviser to be of comparable quality). The percentage of a Fund’s assets invested in securities in a particular rating category will vary. The following is a description of Moody’s and S&P’s rating categories applicable to fixed income securities.
Moody’s Investors Service
Global Rating Scales
Ratings assigned on Moody’s global long-term and short-term rating scales are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations issued by non-financial corporates, financial institutions, structured finance vehicles, project finance vehicles, and public sector entities. Long-term ratings are assigned to issuers or obligations with an original maturity of one year or more and reflect both on the likelihood of a default or impairment on contractual financial obligations and the expected financial loss suffered in the event of default or impairment. The contractual financial obligations addressed by Moody’s ratings are those that call for, without regard to enforceability, the payment of an ascertainable amount, which may vary based upon standard sources of variation (e.g., floating interest rates), by an ascertainable date. Moody’s rating addresses the issuer’s ability to obtain cash sufficient to service the obligation, and its willingness to pay. Moody’s ratings do not address non-standard sources of variation in the amount of the principal obligation (e.g., equity indexed), absent an express statement to the contrary in a press release accompanying an initial rating. Short-term ratings are assigned for obligations with an original maturity of thirteen months or less and reflect both on the likelihood of a default or impairment on contractual financial obligations and the expected financial loss suffered in the event of default or impairment. Moody’s issues ratings at the issuer level and instrument level on both the long-term scale and the short-term scale. Typically, ratings are made publicly available although private and unpublished ratings may also be assigned.
Moody’s differentiates structured finance ratings from fundamental ratings (i.e., ratings on nonfinancial corporate, financial institution, and public sector entities) on the global long-term scale by adding (sf ) to all structured finance ratings. The addition of (sf ) to structured finance ratings should eliminate any presumption that such ratings and fundamental ratings at the same letter grade level will behave the same. The (sf ) indicator for structured finance security ratings indicates that otherwise similarly rated structured finance and fundamental securities may have different risk characteristics. Through its current methodologies, however, Moody’s aspires to achieve broad expected equivalence in structured finance and fundamental rating performance when measured over a long period of time.
Global Long-Term Rating Scale
Aaa: |
Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, subject to the lowest level of credit risk. | |
Aa: |
Obligations rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk. |
A-1
A: |
Obligations rated A are judged to be upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk. | |
Baa: |
Obligations rated Baa are judged to be medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics. | |
Ba: |
Obligations rated Ba are judged to be speculative and are subject to substantial credit risk. | |
B: |
Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk. | |
Caa: |
Obligations rated Caa are judged to be speculative of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk. | |
Ca: |
Obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest. | |
C: |
Obligations rated C are the lowest rated and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest. |
Note: Moody’s appends numerical modifiers 1, 2, and 3 to each generic rating classification from Aa through Caa. The modifier 1 indicates that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier 2 indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier 3 indicates a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category. Additionally, a “(hyb)” indicator is appended to all ratings of hybrid securities issued by banks, insurers, finance companies, and securities firms.*
* |
By their terms, hybrid securities allow for the omission of scheduled dividends, interest, or principal payments, which can potentially result in impairment if such an omission occurs. Hybrid securities may also be subject to contractually allowable write-downs of principal that could result in impairment. Together with the hybrid indicator, the long-term obligation rating assigned to a hybrid security is an expression of the relative credit risk associated with that security. |
Global Short-Term Rating Scale
P-1: |
Ratings of Prime-1 reflect a superior ability to repay short-term obligations. | |
P-2: |
Ratings of Prime-2 reflect a strong ability to repay short-term obligations. | |
P-3: |
Ratings of Prime-3 reflect an acceptable ability to repay short-term obligations. | |
NP: |
Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories. |
US Municipal Short-Term Debt and Demand Obligation Ratings
Short-Term Obligation Ratings
Moody’s uses the global short-term Prime rating scale for commercial paper issued by US municipalities and nonprofits. These commercial paper programs may be backed by external letters of credit or liquidity facilities, or by an issuer’s self-liquidity.
A-2
For other short-term municipal obligations, Moody’s uses one of two other short-term rating scales, the Municipal Investment Grade (MIG) and Variable Municipal Investment Grade (VMIG) scales discussed below.
Moody’s uses the MIG scale for US municipal cash flow notes, bond anticipation notes and certain other short-term obligations, which typically mature in three years or less. Under certain circumstances, Moody’s uses the MIG scale for bond anticipation notes with maturities of up to five years.
MIG 1: |
This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by established cash flows, highly reliable liquidity support, or demonstrated broad-based access to the market for refinancing. | |
MIG 2: |
This designation denotes strong credit quality. Margins of protection are ample, although not as large as in the preceding group. | |
MIG 3: |
This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash-flow protection may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established. | |
SG: |
This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of protection. |
Demand Obligation Ratings
In the case of variable rate demand obligations (VRDOs), Moody’s assigns both a long-term rating and a short-term payment obligation rating. The long-term rating addresses the issuer’s ability to meet scheduled principal and interest payments. The short-term payment obligation rating addresses the ability of the issuer or the liquidity provider to meet any purchase price payment obligation resulting from optional tenders (“on demand”) and/or mandatory tenders of the VRDO. The short-term payment obligation rating uses the VMIG scale. Transitions of VMIG ratings with conditional liquidity support differ from transitions of Prime ratings reflecting the risk that external liquidity support will terminate if the issuer’s long-term rating drops below investment grade.
Moody’s typically assigns a VMIG rating if the frequency of the payment obligation is less than every three years. If the frequency of the payment obligation is less than three years, but the obligation is payable only with remarketing proceeds, the VMIG short-term rating is not assigned and it is denoted as “NR”.
VMIG 1: |
This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by the superior short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand. | |
VMIG 2: |
This designation denotes strong credit quality. Good protection is afforded by the strong short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand. | |
VMIG 3: |
This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Adequate protection is afforded by the satisfactory short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand. |
A-3
SG: |
This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Demand features rated in this category may be supported by a liquidity provider that does not have a sufficiently strong short-term rating or may lack the structural or legal protections necessary to ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand. |
S&P Global Ratings
Issue Credit Rating Definitions
An S&P Global Ratings issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation, a specific class of financial obligations, or a specific financial program (including ratings on medium-term note programs and commercial paper programs). It takes into consideration the creditworthiness of guarantors, insurers, or other forms of credit enhancement on the obligation and takes into account the currency in which the obligation is denominated. The opinion reflects S&P Global Ratings’ view of the obligor’s capacity and willingness to meet its financial commitments as they come due, and this opinion may assess terms, such as collateral security and subordination, which could affect ultimate payment in the event of default.
Issue credit ratings can be either long-term or short-term. Short-term issue credit ratings are generally assigned to those obligations considered short-term in the relevant market, typically with an original maturity of no more than 365 days. Short-term issue credit ratings are also used to indicate the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to put features on long-term obligations. Medium-term notes are assigned long-term ratings.
Long-Term Issue Credit Ratings*
AAA: |
An obligation rated ‘AAA’ has the highest rating assigned by S&P Global Ratings. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is extremely strong. | |
AA: |
An obligation rated ‘AA’ differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is very strong. | |
A: |
An obligation rated ‘A’ is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher-rated categories. However, the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is still strong. | |
BBB: |
An obligation rated ‘BBB’ exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to weaken the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation. | |
BB; B; CCC; CC; and C: |
Obligations rated ‘BB’, ‘B’, ‘CCC’, ‘CC’, and ‘C’ are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. ‘BB’ indicates the least degree of speculation and ‘C’ the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposure to adverse conditions. |
A-4
BB: |
An obligation rated ‘BB’ is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions that could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation. | |
B: |
An obligation rated ‘B’ is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated ‘BB’, but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligor’s capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitments on the obligation. | |
CCC: |
An obligation rated ‘CCC’ is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitments on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation. | |
CC: |
An obligation rated ‘CC’ is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The ‘CC’ rating is used when a default has not yet occurred but S&P Global Ratings expects default to be a virtual certainty, regardless of the anticipated time to default. | |
C: |
An obligation rated ‘C’ is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, and the obligation is expected to have lower relative seniority or lower ultimate recovery compared with obligations that are rated higher. | |
D: |
An obligation rated ‘D’ is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the ‘D’ rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless S&P Global Ratings believes that such payments will be made within the next five business days in the absence of a stated grace period or within the earlier of the stated grace period or the next 30 calendar days. The ‘D’ rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. A rating on an obligation is lowered to ‘D’ if it is subject to a distressed debt restructuring. |
* |
Ratings from ‘AA’ to ‘CCC’ may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the rating categories. |
Short-Term Issue Credit Ratings
A-1: |
A short-term obligation rated ‘A-1’ is rated in the highest category by S&P Global Ratings. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on these obligations is extremely strong. |
A-5
A-2: |
A short-term obligation rated ‘A-2’ is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is satisfactory. | |
A-3: |
A short-term obligation rated ‘A-3’ exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to weaken an obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation. | |
B: |
A short-term obligation rated ‘B’ is regarded as vulnerable and has significant speculative characteristics. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties that could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments. | |
C: |
A short-term obligation rated ‘C’ is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitments on the obligation. | |
D: |
A short-term obligation rated ‘D’ is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the ‘D’ rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless S&P Global Ratings believes that such payments will be made within any stated grace period. However, any stated grace period longer than five business days will be treated as five business days. The ‘D’ rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. A rating on an obligation is lowered to ‘D’ if it is subject to a distressed debt restructuring. |
SPUR (S&P Underlying Rating)
A SPUR is an opinion about the stand-alone capacity of an obligor to pay debt service on a credit-enhanced debt issue, without giving effect to the enhancement that applies to it. These ratings are published only at the request of the debt issuer or obligor with the designation SPUR to distinguish them from the credit-enhanced rating that applies to the debt issue. S&P Global Ratings maintains surveillance of an issue with a published SPUR.
Municipal Short-Term Note Ratings
An S&P Global Ratings U.S. municipal note rating reflects S&P Global Ratings’ opinion about the liquidity factors and market access risks unique to the notes. Notes due in three years or less will likely receive a note rating. Notes with an original maturity of more than three years will most likely receive a long-term debt rating. In determining which type of rating, if any, to assign, S&P Global Ratings’ analysis will review the following considerations:
• |
Amortization schedule—the larger the final maturity relative to other maturities, the more likely it will be treated as a note; and |
• |
Source of payment—the more dependent the issue is on the market for its refinancing, the more likely it will be treated as a note. |
A-6
Municipal short-term note rating symbols are as follows:
SP-1: |
Strong capacity to pay principal and interest. An issue determined to possess a very strong capacity to pay debt service is given a plus (+) designation. | |
SP-2: |
Satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes. | |
SP-3: |
Speculative capacity to pay principal and interest. | |
D: |
‘D’ is assigned upon failure to pay the note when due, completion of a distressed debt restructuring, or the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. |
Dual Ratings
Dual ratings may be assigned to debt issues that have a put option or demand feature. The first component of the rating addresses the likelihood of repayment of principal and interest as due, and the second component of the rating addresses only the demand feature. The first component of the rating can relate to either a short-term or long-term transaction and accordingly use either short-term or long-term rating symbols. The second component of the rating relates to the put option and is assigned a short-term rating symbol (for example, ‘AAA/A-1+’ or ‘A-1+/A-1’). With U.S. municipal short-term demand debt, the U.S. municipal short-term note rating symbols are used for the first component of the rating (for example, ‘SP-1+/A-1+’).
Active Qualifiers (Currently applied and/or outstanding)
S&P Global Ratings uses the following qualifiers that limit the scope of a rating. The structure of the transaction can require the use of a qualifier such as a ‘p’ qualifier, which indicates the rating addresses the principal portion of the obligation only. A qualifier appears as a suffix and is part of the rating.
L: |
Ratings qualified with ‘L’ apply only to amounts invested up to federal deposit insurance limits. | |
p: |
This suffix is used for issues in which the credit factors, the terms, or both that determine the likelihood of receipt of payment of principal are different from the credit factors, terms, or both that determine the likelihood of receipt of interest on the obligation. The ‘p’ suffix indicates that the rating addresses the principal portion of the obligation only and that the interest is not rated. | |
prelim: |
Preliminary ratings, with the ‘prelim’ suffix, may be assigned to obligors or obligations, including financial programs, in the circumstances described below. Assignment of a final rating is conditional on the receipt by S&P Global Ratings of appropriate documentation. S&P Global Ratings reserves the right not to issue a final rating. Moreover, if a final rating is issued, it may differ from the preliminary rating. |
• |
Preliminary ratings may be assigned to obligations, most commonly structured and project finance issues, pending receipt of final documentation and legal opinions. |
A-7
• |
Preliminary ratings may be assigned to obligations that will likely be issued upon the obligor’s emergence from bankruptcy or similar reorganization, based on late-stage reorganization plans, documentation, and discussions with the obligor. Preliminary ratings may also be assigned to the obligors. These ratings consider the anticipated general credit quality of the reorganized or post-bankruptcy issuer as well as attributes of the anticipated obligation(s). |
• |
Preliminary ratings may be assigned to entities that are being formed or that are in the process of being independently established when, in S&P Global Ratings’ opinion, documentation is close to final. Preliminary ratings may also be assigned to the obligations of these entities. |
• |
Preliminary ratings may be assigned when a previously unrated entity is undergoing a well-formulated restructuring, recapitalization, significant financing, or other transformative event, generally at the point that investor or lender commitments are invited. The preliminary rating may be assigned to the entity and to its proposed obligation(s). These preliminary ratings consider the anticipated general credit quality of the obligor, as well as attributes of the anticipated obligation(s), assuming successful completion of the transformative event. Should the transformative event not occur, S&P Global Ratings would likely withdraw these preliminary ratings. |
• |
A preliminary recovery rating may be assigned to an obligation that has a preliminary issue credit rating. |
t: |
This symbol indicates termination structures that are designed to honor their contracts to full maturity or, should certain events occur, to terminate and cash settle all their contracts before their final maturity date. | |
cir: |
This symbol indicates a counterparty instrument rating (CIR), which is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an issuer in a securitization structure with respect to a specific financial obligation to a counterparty (including interest rate swaps, currency swaps, and liquidity facilities). The CIR is determined on an ultimate payment basis; these opinions do not take into account timeliness of payment. |
Inactive Qualifiers (No longer applied or outstanding)
*: |
This symbol indicated that the rating was contingent upon S&P Global Ratings’ receipt of an executed copy of the escrow agreement or closing documentation confirming investments and cash flows. Discontinued use in August 1998. | |
c: |
This qualifier was used to provide additional information to investors that the bank may terminate its obligation to purchase tendered bonds if the long-term credit rating of the issuer was lowered to below an investment-grade level and/or the issuer’s bonds were deemed taxable. Discontinued use in January 2001. | |
G: |
The letter ‘G’ followed the rating symbol when a fund’s portfolio consisted primarily of direct U.S. government securities. |
A-8
i: |
This suffix was used for issues in which the credit factors, terms, or both that determine the likelihood of receipt of payment of interest are different from the credit factors, terms, or both that determine the likelihood of receipt of principal on the obligation. The ‘i’ suffix indicated that the rating addressed the interest portion of the obligation only. The ‘i’ suffix was always used in conjunction with the ‘p’ suffix, which addresses likelihood of receipt of principal. For example, a rated obligation could have been assigned a rating of ‘AAApNRi’ indicating that the principal portion was rated ‘AAA’ and the interest portion of the obligation was not rated. | |
pi: |
This qualifier was used to indicate ratings that were based on an analysis of an issuer’s published financial information, as well as additional information in the public domain. Such ratings did not, however, reflect in-depth meetings with an issuer’s management and therefore could have been based on less comprehensive information than ratings without a ‘pi’ suffix. Discontinued use as of December 2014 and as of August 2015 for Lloyd’s Syndicate Assessments. | |
pr: |
The letters ‘pr’ indicate that the rating was provisional. A provisional rating assumed the successful completion of a project financed by the debt being rated and indicates that payment of debt service requirements was largely or entirely dependent upon the successful, timely completion of the project. This rating, however, while addressing credit quality subsequent to completion of the project, made no comment on the likelihood of or the risk of default upon failure of such completion. | |
q: |
A ‘q’ subscript indicates that the rating is based solely on quantitative analysis of publicly available information. Discontinued use in April 2001. | |
r: |
The ‘r’ modifier was assigned to securities containing extraordinary risks, particularly market risks, that are not covered in the credit rating. The absence of an ‘r’ modifier should not be taken as an indication that an obligation would not exhibit extraordinary noncredit-related risks. S&P Global Ratings discontinued the use of the ‘r’ modifier for most obligations in June 2000 and for the balance of obligations (mainly structured finance transactions) in November 2002. |
Local Currency and Foreign Currency Ratings
S&P Global Ratings’ issuer credit ratings make a distinction between foreign currency ratings and local currency ratings. A foreign currency rating on an issuer can differ from the local currency rating on it when the obligor has a different capacity to meet its obligations denominated in its local currency versus obligations denominated in a foreign currency.
A-9
APPENDIX B
Yacktman Asset Management LP
Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures
Revised 04/23
We have adopted and implemented the following policies and procedures in accordance with our fiduciary duties and SEC Rule 206(4)-6 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. In addition, our proxy voting policies reflect the fiduciary standards and responsibilities for ERISA accounts set out in Department of Labor Interpretive Bulletin 2008-2, 29 C.F.R. 2509.08-2 (Oct. 17, 2008).
A. Generally. The fiduciary duties of Yacktman Asset Management LP (“Yacktman”) require it, when authorized to vote proxies for its clients and it has agreed to do so, to make voting decisions consistent with the “economic best interests” of its clients. Yacktman has adopted these guidelines and procedures designed to reasonably ensure that Yacktman votes proxies in the best interest of clients, while at the same time affording the ability to make a final decision based on the merits. Accordingly, a vote entered on a client’s behalf with respect to a particular proposal may differ from the stated guidelines.
B. Procedures.
1. Yacktman has both the responsibility and authority to vote proxies with respect to the securities in accounts where expressly given and mutually agreed upon in the advisory agreement or comparable document. In instances where the client retains proxy voting authority, the client should receive proxy solicitations from the security issuer, transfer agent, or other third-party provider directly and may contact Yacktman with questions related to a particular solicitation.
2. Yacktman has engaged a third-party proxy advisory firm (“proxy agent”) to assist it in discharging its proxy voting duties. These duties include conducting proxy research, analyzing each proxy, making a recommendation on how the vote should be cast, executing the proxy vote, and keeping various records necessary for tracking proxy voting materials and proxy voting actions taken for the appropriate client account.
3. Yacktman will notify both the proxy agent and the client’s custodian that the proxy agent will act as Yacktman’s proxy voting agent for the client’s account. This will include appropriate instruction for delivery of clients’ proxy ballots to the proxy agent. However, it is ultimately the responsibility of the client to have all proxy material sent to Yacktman or its designee.
4. Each business day that the market is open, Yacktman will send a file to the proxy agent indicating the securities that must be voted and the accounts to which they correspond.
5. Yacktman will review the recommendations provided by the proxy agent, and will consider any unusual or controversial issues that may be associated with the proxy. The final decision on each proxy vote will be made by the Portfolio Manager.
6. The Portfolio Manager will instruct the proxy agent on how to vote the proxies on behalf of Yacktman’s clients. In the event additional disclosure, research, or recommendations are provided by the proxy agent prior to the voting deadline, Yacktman will ensure this information is presented to the Portfolio Manager for consideration. If this results in the change of a voting decision, Yacktman will update the ballot cast prior to the deadline.
B-1
7. Yacktman will maintain and monitor a record of all votes on proxy matters.
8. There may be occasions when refraining from voting is in the client’s best interest, such as when Yacktman determines the cost of voting exceeds the expected benefit to clients. For example, casting a vote on a foreign security may require hiring a translator or traveling to the foreign country to vote in person. Yacktman will generally decline to vote proxies if to do so would cause a restriction to be placed on Yacktman’s ability to trade securities held in client accounts in “share blocking” countries. Accordingly, Yacktman may abstain from votes in a share blocking country in favor of preserving its ability to trade any particular security at any time. Yacktman will generally disclose these exceptions to voting proxies in its disclosures to clients, including its Form ADV Part 2A, fund prospectuses, and investment management agreements, as applicable.
C. Guidelines for Voting on Specific Issues.
1. Routine Matters. Yacktman will tend to vote with management on most routine matters, although it reserves the right to vote otherwise. A partial list includes:
(a) |
Board of Directors; |
1. |
Election of Directors; |
2. |
Independence of Directors; |
3. |
Separate offices of Chairperson and Chief Executive Offices; |
4. |
Limiting personal liability; and |
5. |
Board’s composition and size. |
(b) |
Scheduling of annual meetings; |
(c) |
Appointment of auditors; |
(d) |
Increase in authorized common stock; |
(e) |
Reincorporation; |
(f) |
Employee stock purchase plans; |
(g) |
Charitable, political, or educational contributions; and |
(h) |
Business operations in foreign countries. |
2. Social, Environmental, and Governance (“ESG”) Proposals. The economic interest of the client is the foremost consideration in the evaluation of these proposals; which may include not voting where direct cost exceeds any benefit. Yacktman will tend to vote with management on most of the following issues:
(a) |
High-Performance workplace practices; |
B-2
(b) |
Restrictive energy or environmental proposals; |
(c) |
Restrictions on military contracting; |
(d) |
Limitations of the marketing of controversial products; and |
(e) |
Limiting or restriction of business in countries as a protest against political and moral practices in those countries. |
3. Shareholder Sovereignty. Yacktman will tend to vote against any proposal that limits shareholder influence on management or adversely affects the potential value received by shareholders. Issues in this category would include:
(a) |
Confidential proxy voting practices; |
(b) |
Elimination of cumulative voting; |
(c) |
Greenmail; |
(d) |
“Poison Pills” or “Golden Parachutes;” |
(e) |
Executive compensation plans that exceed the requirement necessary to attract and retain qualified and skilled managers, which are excessively generous, that lack clear and challenging performance goals or that adversely affect employee productivity and morale; |
(f) |
The issuance of securities contingent on a corporate reorganization which offer special voting rights, are dilutive, or in general are not designed to enhance shareholder value; and |
(g) |
Stock option plans. |
D. Conflicts of Interest. There may be instances where the interests of Yacktman may conflict or appear to conflict with the interests of its clients. For example, Yacktman may manage a pension plan of a company whose management is soliciting proxies and there may be a concern that Yacktman would vote in favor of management because of its relationship with Yacktman. In such situations, Yacktman will, consistent with its duty of care and duty of loyalty, vote the securities in accordance with its predetermined voting policy but only after disclosing the conflict to clients and affording the clients the opportunity to direct the Firm in the voting of the securities.
E. Record Keeping. Yacktman will maintain the following records with respect to proxy voting:
a) |
A copy of Yacktman’s current proxy voting policy; |
b) |
A copy of any agreement between Yacktman and any third-party proxy service provider or proxy agent; |
c) |
A copy of all proxy statements received (Yacktman may rely on the EDGAR system or a third-party service provider to satisfy this requirement); |
B-3
d) |
A record of each vote cast on behalf of a client. If the vote is cast by Yacktman, the record will be maintained in the proxy file maintained by Yacktman. If the vote is cast by the proxy agent, Yacktman shall rely on such administrator’s recordkeeping to satisfy this requirement; |
e) |
A copy of any document prepared by Yacktman or proxy agent that was material in making a voting decision or that memorializes the basis for that decision; |
f) |
A copy of each written client request for information on how Yacktman voted proxies on the client’s behalf, and a copy of any written response to any (written or oral) client request for information on how Yacktman voted proxies on behalf of the requesting client; and |
g) |
In any circumstance where Yacktman votes against its own proxy voting guidelines, a written explanation as to the reason for divergence from its policy. |
F. Disclosure. As part of its Form ADV Part 2A, Yacktman will summarize its proxy policies and procedures along with a statement that a copy of these policies and procedures will be made available upon written request. As part of that disclosure, Yacktman will inform clients that it will also provide them a copy how the proxies were voted, upon written request.
G. Oversight. This proxy policy and procedure is subject to review and may be updated from time to time. On a periodic basis, Yacktman will confirm that the proxy agent is voting for those Yacktman clients for whom Yacktman has voting authority in accordance with the voting instructions provided by Yacktman to the proxy agent. Yacktman will also periodically conduct due diligence over the proxy agent’s practices and business.
On a periodic basis, Yacktman will confirm that client custodians are timely alerting the proxy agent when accounts are established at the custodian and are forwarding all proxy material pertaining to these clients’ portfolios to the proxy agent for execution.
In addition, Yacktman will periodically confirm that all documentation regarding any decisions to vote other than according to its predetermined policies are accurate and complete.
B-4