GuideStone Funds Prospectus
Statement of Additional Information (SAI)
May 1, 2023
 
INSTITUTIONAL
INVESTOR
TARGET DATE FUNDS
MyDestination 2015 Fund
GMTYX
GMTZX
MyDestination 2025 Fund
GMWYX
GMWZX
MyDestination 2035 Fund
GMHYX
GMHZX
MyDestination 2045 Fund
GMYYX
GMFZX
MyDestination 2055 Fund
GMGYX
GMGZX

TARGET RISK FUNDS
Conservative Allocation Fund
GCAYX
GFIZX
Balanced Allocation Fund
GBAYX
GGIZX
Growth Allocation Fund
GGRYX
GCOZX
Aggressive Allocation Fund
GAGYX
GGBZX

SELECT FUNDS
Money Market Fund
GMYXX
GMZXX
Low-Duration Bond Fund
GLDYX
GLDZX
Medium-Duration Bond Fund
GMDYX
GMDZX
Global Bond Fund
GGBEX
GGBFX
Strategic Alternatives Fund
GFSYX
GFSZX
Defensive Market Strategies® Fund
GDMYX
GDMZX
Impact Bond Fund
GMBYX
GMBZX
Impact Equity Fund
GMEYX
GMEZX
Equity Index Fund
GEQYX
GEQZX
Global Real Estate Securities Fund
GREYX
GREZX
Value Equity Index Fund
GVIYX
GVIZX
Value Equity Fund
GVEYX
GVEZX
Growth Equity Index Fund
GEIYX
GEIZX
Growth Equity Fund
GGEYX
GGEZX
Small Cap Equity Fund
GSCYX
GSCZX
International Equity Index Fund
GIIYX
GIIZX
International Equity Fund
GIEYX
GIEZX
Emerging Markets Equity Fund
GEMYX
GEMZX
The Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus and should be read in conjunction with the Funds’ current Prospectus for the Institutional Class and Investor Class shares dated May 1, 2023, and as amended from time to time. The financial statements contained in the Funds’ Annual Report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, are incorporated by reference into this SAI. You can obtain a free copy of the current Prospectus, Annual Report and Semi-Annual Report on our website at GuideStoneFunds.com or by calling 1-888-GS-FUNDS (1-888-473-8637).


Table of Contents
Statement of Additional Information
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History of the Funds
GuideStone Funds (the “Trust”), formerly AB Funds Trust, is an open-end management investment company organized as a Delaware statutory trust on March 2, 2000. On September 13, 2005, AB Funds Trust changed its name to GuideStone Funds. The Trust has established 27 series (each, a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”), which are described in this SAI. Each Fund is a separate mutual fund with its own investment objective, strategies and risks.
The MyDestination 2015 Fund, MyDestination 2025 Fund, MyDestination 2035 Fund, MyDestination 2045 Fund and MyDestination 2055 Fund are each referred to as a “Target Date Fund” and are collectively the “Target Date Funds.” The Conservative Allocation Fund, Balanced Allocation Fund, Growth Allocation Fund and Aggressive Allocation Fund are each referred to as a “Target Risk Fund” and are collectively referred to as the “Target Risk Funds.” The remaining Funds are each referred to as a “Select Fund” and are collectively referred to as the “Select Funds.” The Low-Duration Bond Fund, Medium-Duration Bond Fund, Impact Bond Fund and Global Bond Fund are each referred to as a “Bond Fund” and are collectively referred to as the “Bond Funds.” The Defensive Market Strategies® Fund, Impact Equity Fund, Equity Index Fund, Global Real Estate Securities Fund, Value Equity Index Fund, Value Equity Fund, Growth Equity Index Fund, Growth Equity Fund, Small Cap Equity Fund, International Equity Index Fund, International Equity Fund and Emerging Markets Equity Fund are each referred to as an “Equity Fund” and are collectively referred to as the “Equity Funds.” The Strategic Alternatives Fund is the remaining Select Fund described in this SAI.
Each Target Date Fund and each Target Risk Fund is a “Fund of Funds,” which means that it generally does not buy securities directly, but rather allocates its assets among a different mix of Select Funds to meet a specified investment objective. The Select Funds, in turn, invest directly in different types of fixed income obligations, equity securities or other investments to meet their investment objectives.
Currently, there are two classes of shares issued by the Trust, the Institutional Class and Investor Class (each, a “Class” and together, the “Classes”). The Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board” or “Board of Trustees”) may issue additional classes of shares or series at any time without prior approval of the shareholders.
Description of Investments and Risks
The following should be read in conjunction with the Fund Summary of each Fund in the Funds’ Prospectus, specifically the sections entitled “Investment Objective,” “Principal Investment Strategies,” “Principal Investment Risks” and “Additional Information About Principal Strategies and Risks.” Unless otherwise defined in this SAI, the capitalized terms used herein have the respective meanings assigned to them in the Prospectus.
You should understand that all investments involve risk and that there can be no guarantee against loss resulting from an investment in the Funds. Unless otherwise indicated, all percentage limitations governing the investments of the Funds apply only at the time of a transaction.
GuideStone Capital Management, LLC (the “Adviser”) serves as the investment adviser to the Funds and is an affiliate of GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention (“GuideStone Financial Resources”). The Funds are series of an open-end, management investment company as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). All of the Funds, except the Growth Equity Fund, are classified as diversified Funds under the 1940 Act. The Equity Index Fund, Value Equity Index Fund, Growth Equity Index Fund and International Equity Index Fund may each become non-diversified solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weightings of one or more constituents of their respective target indexes. The Adviser allocates each Target Date Fund’s and each Target Risk Fund’s investments among a mix of Select Funds. Rather than making the day-to-day investment decisions for the Select Funds, the Adviser acts as a manager of managers and retains various investment management firms (each, a “Sub-Adviser” and collectively, the “Sub-Advisers”) to do so. From time to time, the Adviser may elect to trade individual stocks, fixed income
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securities or private placements for the Funds and third-party mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) for a Select Fund in order to manage a Fund’s risk. The Sub-Advisers employ portfolio managers to make the day-to-day investment decisions regarding portfolio holdings of the Select Funds. The Sub-Advisers may invest in all the instruments or use all the investment techniques permitted by the Funds’ Prospectus and this SAI or invest in such instruments or engage in such techniques to the full extent permitted by the Funds’ investment policies and restrictions.
The Funds do not invest in any company that is publicly recognized, as determined by GuideStone Financial Resources, as being in the alcohol, tobacco, gambling, pornography or abortion industries or any company whose products, services or activities are publicly recognized as being incompatible with the moral and ethical posture of GuideStone Financial Resources. The Adviser receives and analyzes information from multiple sources (including through various third-party screening platforms, news sources and feeds, the Bible and company websites and financial disclosures) on the products and services of companies in a Fund's investment universe and utilizes this information to determine which companies should be prohibited for investment by it or a Sub-Adviser. The Funds may not be able to take advantage of certain investment opportunities due to these restrictions. This policy may not be changed without a vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of the Trust.
Each Target Date Fund and each Target Risk Fund invests primarily in a diversified portfolio of Select Funds, and unless indicated otherwise, the description of investments and risks in this SAI applies to the Target Date Funds and the Target Risk Funds through their investments in the Select Funds.
Each Target Date Fund and each Target Risk Fund may from time to time invest and reinvest up to 10% of its assets directly in U.S. Treasury obligations, exchange listed equity futures contracts and exchange listed U.S. Treasury futures contracts to gain exposure to the equity and fixed income markets on cash balances. Any such investment will be made for cash management purposes and will seek to provide market exposure approximating the strategic asset allocation of the applicable Target Date Fund and Target Risk Fund.
Affiliated Persons. Instrument selection and the ability to engage in transactions with preferred counterparties or service providers is restricted by the 1940 Act's provisions related to transactions with Fund affiliates. An affiliated person of a Fund's Sub-Adviser is considered to be an affiliated person of that Fund, and as such, that Sub-Adviser cannot engage its affiliated person as a prime broker or over-the-counter (“OTC”) counterparty for that Fund. In addition, a counterparty's own affiliations and conflicts could restrict its ability to provide the Funds with desired products or services. For example, affiliates of investment banks may be unable to provide derivatives tied to the securities of companies that the investment bank is advising. This could result in strategy implementation using different instrument types or counterparties than what the Sub-Adviser would otherwise have used or might use for accounts that are not registered investment companies.
Asset-Backed Securities. The Bond Funds and the Strategic Alternatives Fund may purchase asset-backed securities. Asset-backed securities represent direct or indirect participations in, or are secured by and payable from, pools of assets such as, among other things, motor vehicle installment sales contracts, installment loan contracts, leases of various types of real and personal property and receivables from revolving credit (credit card) agreements, or a combination of the foregoing. These assets are securitized through the use of trusts and special purpose corporations. Credit enhancements, such as various forms of cash collateral accounts or letters of credit, may support payments of principal and interest on asset-backed securities. Although these securities may be supported by letters of credit or other credit enhancements, payment of interest and principal ultimately depends upon individuals paying the underlying loans, which may be affected adversely by general downturns in the economy.
Asset-backed securities are subject to the same risk of prepayment described with respect to mortgage-backed securities and to extension risk (the risk that an issuer of a security will make principal payments slower than anticipated by the investor, thus extending the securities’ duration). The risk that recovery on repossessed collateral might be unavailable or inadequate to support payments, however, is greater for asset-backed securities than for mortgage-backed securities.
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Certificates for Automobile ReceivablesSM (“CARSSM”) represent undivided fractional interests in a trust whose assets consist of a pool of motor vehicle retail installment sales contracts and security interests in the vehicles securing those contracts. Payments of principal and interest on the underlying contracts are passed through monthly to certificate holders and are guaranteed up to specified amounts by a letter of credit issued by a financial institution unaffiliated with the trustee or originator of the trust. Underlying installment sales contracts are subject to prepayment, which may reduce the overall return to certificate holders. Certificate holders also may experience delays in payment or losses on CARSSM if the trust does not realize the full amounts due on underlying installment sales contracts because of unanticipated legal or administrative costs of enforcing the contracts; depreciation, damage or loss of the vehicles securing the contracts; or other factors.
Credit card receivable securities are backed by receivables from revolving credit card agreements (“Accounts”). Credit balances on Accounts are generally paid down more rapidly than are automobile contracts. Most of the credit card receivable securities issued publicly to date have been pass-through certificates. In order to lengthen their maturity or duration, most such securities provide for a fixed period during which only interest payments on the underlying Accounts are passed through to the security holder; principal payments received on the Accounts are used to fund the transfer of additional credit card charges made on the Accounts to the pool of assets supporting the securities. Usually, the initial fixed period may be shortened if specified events occur which signal a potential deterioration in the quality of the assets backing the security, such as the imposition of a cap on interest rates. An issuer’s ability to extend the life of an issue of credit card receivable securities thus depends on the continued generation of principal amounts in the underlying Accounts and the non-occurrence of the specified events. The non-deductibility of consumer interest, as well as competitive and general economic factors, could adversely affect the rate at which new receivables are created in an Account and conveyed to an issuer, thereby shortening the expected weighted average life of the related security and reducing its yield. An acceleration in cardholders’ payment rates or any other event that shortens the period during which additional credit card charges on an Account may be transferred to the pool of assets supporting the related security could have a similar effect on its weighted average life and yield.
Credit cardholders are entitled to the protection of state and federal consumer credit laws. Many of those laws give a holder the right to set off certain amounts against balances owed on the credit card, thereby reducing amounts paid on Accounts. In addition, unlike the collateral for most other asset-backed securities, Accounts are unsecured obligations of the cardholder. A Fund may invest in trust preferred securities, which are a type of asset-backed security. Trust preferred securities represent interests in a trust formed by a parent company to finance its operations. The trust sells preferred shares and invests the proceeds in debt securities of the parent. This debt may be subordinated and unsecured. Dividend payments on the trust preferred securities match the interest payments on the debt securities; if no interest is paid on the debt securities, the trust will not make current payments on its preferred securities. Unlike typical asset-backed securities, which have many underlying payors and are usually overcollateralized, trust preferred securities have only one underlying payor and are not overcollateralized. Issuers of trust preferred securities and their parents currently enjoy favorable tax treatment. If the tax characterization of trust preferred securities were to change, they could be redeemed by the issuers, which could result in a loss to a Fund.
Bankers’ Acceptances, Certificates of Deposit, Time Deposits and Bank Notes. The Select Funds may invest in such obligations issued by U.S. or foreign issuers; however, the Money Market Fund will invest in instruments denominated exclusively in U.S. dollars. Certificates of deposit are negotiable certificates issued against funds deposited in a commercial bank for a definite period of time and earning a specified return. Bankers’ acceptances are negotiable drafts or bills of exchange, normally drawn by an importer or exporter to pay for specific merchandise, which are “accepted” by a bank, meaning, in effect, that the bank unconditionally agrees to pay the face value of the instrument on maturity. Fixed time deposits are bank obligations payable at a stated maturity date and bearing interest at a fixed rate. Fixed time deposits may be withdrawn on demand by the investor but may be subject to early withdrawal penalties that vary depending upon market conditions and the remaining maturity of the obligation. There are no contractual restrictions on the right to transfer a beneficial interest in a fixed time deposit to a third party. Bank notes and bankers’ acceptances rank junior to deposit liabilities of the bank and equal to other senior, unsecured obligations of the bank. Bank notes are classified as “other borrowings”
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on a bank’s balance sheet, while deposit notes and certificates of deposit are classified as deposits. Bank notes are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) or any other insurer. Deposit notes are insured by the FDIC only to the extent of $250,000 per depositor per bank.
The Select Funds may invest in the obligations of foreign banks and foreign branches of domestic banks. Such obligations include Eurodollar certificates of deposit, which are U.S. dollar-denominated certificates of deposit issued by offices of foreign and domestic banks located outside the United States; Eurodollar time deposits, which are U.S. dollar-denominated deposits in a foreign branch of a U.S. bank or a foreign bank; Canadian time deposits, which are essentially the same as Eurodollar time deposits except they are issued by Canadian offices of major Canadian banks; Schedule Bs, which are obligations issued by Canadian branches of foreign or domestic banks; Yankee certificates of deposit, which are U.S. dollar-denominated certificates of deposit issued by a U.S. branch of a foreign bank and held in the United States; and Yankee bankers’ acceptances, which are U.S. dollar-denominated bankers’ acceptances issued by a U.S. branch of a foreign bank and held in the United States.
Obligations of foreign banks involve somewhat different investment risks than those affecting obligations of U.S. banks, including the possibilities that their liquidity could be impaired because of future political and economic developments, that the obligations may be less marketable than comparable obligations of U.S. banks, that a foreign jurisdiction might impose withholding taxes on interest income payable on those obligations, that foreign deposits may be seized or nationalized, that foreign governmental restrictions such as exchange controls may be adopted that might adversely affect the payment of principal and interest on those obligations and that the selection of those obligations may be more difficult because there may be less publicly available information concerning foreign banks or the accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, practices and requirements applicable to foreign banks may differ from those applicable to U.S. banks. U.S. branches of foreign banks may be considered domestic banks if it can be demonstrated they are subject to the same regulation as U.S. banks.
Investments in Eurodollar and Yankee dollar obligations involve additional risks. Most notably, there generally is less publicly available information about foreign companies; there may be less governmental regulation and supervision; they may use different accounting and financial standards; and the adoption of foreign governmental restrictions may adversely affect the payment of principal and interest on foreign investments. In addition, not all foreign branches of U.S. banks are supervised or examined by regulatory authorities as are U.S. banks, and such branches may not be subject to reserve requirements.
Below-Investment Grade Securities. The Bond Funds may invest their assets in fixed income securities that are rated below-investment grade (“lower rated securities”) or that are unrated but deemed equivalent to those rated below-investment grade by the Sub-Adviser as follows: Low-Duration Bond Fund up to 15%; Medium-Duration Bond Fund up to 15%; Global Bond Fund up to 30%; and Impact Bond Fund up to 15%. In addition, the Strategic Alternatives Fund and the Defensive Market Strategies Fund may invest up to 40% and 50%, respectively, of each of their assets in lower rated securities or securities that are unrated but deemed equivalent to those rated below-investment grade by a Sub-Adviser. The lower the ratings of such securities, the greater their risks. Lower rated securities generally offer a higher current yield than that available from higher grade issues and typically involve greater risk.
The yields on lower rated securities will fluctuate over time. In general, prices of all bonds rise when interest rates fall and fall when interest rates rise. While less sensitive to changing interest rates than investment grade securities, lower rated securities are especially subject to adverse changes in general economic conditions and to changes in the financial condition of their issuers. During periods of economic downturn or rising interest rates, issuers of these instruments may experience financial stress that could adversely affect their ability to make payments of principal and interest and increase the possibility of default.
The risk of loss through default is greater because lower rated securities are usually unsecured and are often subordinate to an issuer’s other obligations. Additionally, the issuers of these securities frequently have high debt levels and are thus more sensitive to difficult economic conditions, individual corporate developments and rising
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interest rates. Consequently, the market price of these securities may be quite volatile and may result in wider fluctuations of a Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) per share.
Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may also decrease the values and liquidity of these securities, especially in a market characterized by only a small amount of trading and with relatively few participants. These factors can also limit a Fund’s ability to obtain accurate market quotations for these securities, making it more difficult to determine the Fund’s NAV. In cases where market quotations are not available, lower rated securities are valued using guidelines established by the Board of Trustees.
Perceived credit quality in this market can change suddenly and unexpectedly and may not fully reflect the actual risk posed by a particular lower rated or unrated security. Subsequent to its purchase by a Fund, the rating of an issue of debt securities may be reduced, so that the securities would no longer be eligible for purchase by the Low-Duration Bond Fund, Medium-Duration Bond Fund and Impact Bond Fund. In such a case, the Sub-Adviser will take action that it believes to be advantageous to a Fund, including continuing to hold the downgraded securities.
Ratings, however, are general and are not absolute standards of quality. There is no guarantee that the ratings provided by ratings agencies will necessarily provide an accurate reflection of the credit quality of the securities they rate. Consequently, obligations with the same rating, maturity and interest rate may have different market prices. For a more complete discussion of ratings, see Appendix A to this SAI.
Cash Management. Each Fund may invest its uninvested cash in high-quality, short-term debt securities, which may include repurchase agreements and high-quality money market instruments, and also may invest its uninvested cash in the Money Market Fund. To the extent a Fund invests in a money market fund, it generally is not subject to the limits placed on investments in other investment companies. Generally, these securities offer less potential for gains than other types of securities.
Closed-End Funds and Other Pooled Investment Vehicles. The Impact Bond Fund and Impact Equity Fund may invest in other registered funds, including closed-end interval funds, and in funds that are exempt from registration as investment companies, such as similar pooled investment vehicles. These investments are illiquid and may be difficult to value. These funds will invest a large percentage, if not all, of their assets in securities or other assets that do not have readily ascertainable market prices, and may involve a substantial risk of loss. The portfolios of these funds may be highly concentrated and non-diversified. When private equity, private debt, private real estate or other assets that are not publicly traded are out of favor, the Fund may experience depressed values in these investments without an ability to dispose of the investment. The Impact Bond Fund and Impact Equity Fund are not afforded the protections of the 1940 Act when they invest in exempt pooled investment vehicles.
Collateralized Debt Obligations. The Bond Funds may invest in collateralized debt obligations (“CDOs”), which are securitized interests in pools of, generally non-mortgage, assets. Assets called collateral usually comprise loans or debt instruments. A CDO may be called a collateralized loan obligation (“CLO”) or collateralized bond obligation (“CBO”) if it holds only loans or bonds, respectively. Investors bear the credit risk of the collateral. Multiple tranches of securities are issued by the CDO, offering investors various maturity and credit risk characteristics. Tranches are categorized as senior, mezzanine and subordinated/equity, according to their degree of credit risk. If there are defaults or the CDO’s collateral otherwise underperforms, scheduled payments to senior tranches take precedence over those of mezzanine tranches, and scheduled payments to mezzanine tranches take precedence over those to subordinated/equity tranches. Senior and mezzanine tranches are typically rated, with the former receiving ratings of A to AAA/Aaa and the latter receiving ratings of B to BBB/Baa. The ratings reflect both the credit quality of underlying collateral as well as how much protection a given tranche is afforded by tranches that are subordinated to it.
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Despite the protection from the riskier tranches, senior CBO or CLO tranches can experience substantial losses due to actual defaults (including collateral default), the total loss of the riskier tranches due to losses in the collateral, market anticipation of defaults, fraud by the trust and the illiquidity of CBO or CLO securities.
The risks of an investment in a CDO largely depend on the type of underlying collateral securities and the tranche in which a Fund invests. Risks of CDOs include: (i) the possibility that distributions from collateral securities will be insufficient to make interest or other payments; (ii) the possibility that the quality of the collateral may decline in value or default; (iii) market and liquidity risks affecting the price of a structured finance investment, if required to be sold, at the time of sale; and (iv) if the particular structured product is invested in a security in which a Fund is also invested, this would tend to increase a Fund’s overall exposure to the credit of the issuer of such securities. In addition, due to the complex nature of a CDO, an investment in a CDO may not perform as expected.
Commercial Paper. The Select Funds may invest in commercial paper, which includes short-term unsecured promissory notes, variable rate demand notes and variable rate master demand notes issued by bank holding companies, corporations and financial institutions and similar instruments the interest on which is subject to federal income tax issued by government agencies and instrumentalities. A Select Fund will only invest in commercial paper to the extent consistent with its investment policies, including its policies regarding credit quality and ratings.
Convertible Securities. The Equity Funds, Bond Funds and Strategic Alternatives Fund may invest in convertible securities. Except for the Bond Funds, these Funds may invest in convertible securities of non-U.S. issuers. Convertible securities entitle the holder to receive interest paid or accrued on debt or the dividend paid on preferred stock until the convertible securities mature or are redeemed, converted or exchanged. Prior to conversion, convertible securities have characteristics similar to ordinary debt securities in that they normally provide a stable stream of income with generally higher yields than those of common stock of the same or similar issuers. Convertible securities rank senior to common stock in a corporation’s capital structure and therefore generally entail less risk than the corporation’s common stock, although the extent to which such risk is reduced depends in large measure upon the degree to which the convertible security sells above its value as a fixed income security.
The value of convertible securities is a function of their investment value (determined by yield in comparison with the yields of other securities of comparable maturity and quality that do not have a conversion privilege) and their conversion value (their worth, at market value, if converted into the underlying common stock). The investment value of convertible securities is influenced by changes in interest rates, with investment value declining as interest rates increase and increasing as interest rates decline, and by the credit standing of the issuer and other factors. The conversion value of convertible securities is determined by the market price of the underlying common stock. If the conversion value is low relative to the investment value, the price of the convertible securities is governed principally by their investment value. To the extent the market price of the underlying common stock approaches or exceeds the conversion price, the price of the convertible securities will be increasingly influenced by their conversion value. In addition, convertible securities generally sell at a premium over their conversion value determined by the extent to which investors place value on the right to acquire the underlying common stock while holding fixed income securities.
Capital appreciation for a Fund may result from an improvement in the credit standing of an issuer whose securities are held in the Fund or from a general lowering of interest rates, or a combination of both. Conversely, a reduction in the credit standing of an issuer whose securities are held by a Fund or a general increase in interest rates may be expected to result in capital depreciation to the Fund.
In general, investments in lower quality convertible securities are subject to a significant risk of a change in the credit rating or financial condition of the issuing entity. Investments in convertible securities of medium or lower quality are also likely to be subject to greater market fluctuation and to greater risk of loss of income and principal due to default than investments of higher quality fixed income securities. Such lower quality securities
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generally tend to reflect short-term corporate and market developments to a greater extent than higher quality securities, which react more to fluctuations in the general level of interest rates. Additionally, investments by a Fund in convertible debt securities may be unrated; therefore, judgment may play a greater role in determining the credit risk or the default risk of an unrated convertible security. A Fund will generally reduce risk to the investor by diversification, credit analysis and attention to current developments in trends of both the economy and financial markets. However, while diversification reduces the effect on a Fund of any single investment, it does not reduce the overall risk of investing in lower quality securities.
The Defensive Market Strategies Fund may establish a “synthetic” convertible instrument by combining fixed income securities (which may be either convertible or non-convertible) with the right to acquire equity securities. In establishing a synthetic instrument, the Fund may pool a basket of fixed income securities and a basket of warrants or options that produce the economic characteristics similar to a convertible security.
Within each basket of fixed income securities and warrants or options, different companies may issue the fixed income and convertible components, which may be purchased separately and at different times.
More flexibility is possible in the assembly of a synthetic convertible instrument than in the purchase of a convertible security. Although synthetic convertible instruments may be selected where the two components are issued by a single issuer, the character of a synthetic convertible instrument allows the combination of components representing distinct issuers, when management believes that such a combination would better promote the Fund’s investment objectives. A synthetic convertible instrument also is a more flexible investment in that its two components may be purchased separately. For example, a Fund may purchase a warrant for inclusion in a synthetic convertible instrument but temporarily hold short-term investments while postponing the purchase of a corresponding bond pending development of more favorable market conditions.
A holder of a synthetic convertible instrument faces the risk of a decline in the price of the security or the level of the index involved in the convertible component, causing a decline in the value of the call option or warrant purchased to create the synthetic convertible instrument. Should the price of the stock fall below the exercise price and remain there throughout the exercise period, the entire amount paid for the call option or warrant would be lost. Because a synthetic convertible instrument includes the fixed income component as well, the holder of a synthetic convertible instrument also faces the risk that interest rates will rise, causing a decline in the value of the fixed income instrument.
The Defensive Market Strategies Fund may also purchase synthetic convertible instruments manufactured by other parties, including convertible structured notes. Convertible structured notes are fixed income debentures linked to equity, and are typically issued by investment banks. Convertible structured notes have the attributes of a convertible security; however, the investment bank that issued the convertible note assumes the credit risk associated with the investment, rather than the issuer of the underlying common stock into which the note is convertible.
Cybersecurity Risk. With the increased use of technologies such as the internet and the dependence on computer systems to perform necessary business functions, the Funds and their service providers may be more susceptible to operational and related risks through breaches in cybersecurity. A cybersecurity incident may refer to intentional or unintentional events that allow an unauthorized party to gain access to a Fund’s assets, customer data or proprietary information, or cause a Fund or a Fund’s service providers (including, but not limited to, the Adviser, distributor, fund accountant, custodian, transfer agent, Sub-Advisers and financial intermediaries) to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality. A cybersecurity incident could, among other things, result in the loss or theft of customer data or the Funds, customers or employees being unable to access electronic systems (“denial of services”), loss or theft of proprietary information or corporate data, physical damage to a computer or network system or remediation costs associated with system repairs.
Any of these results could have a substantial adverse impact on a Fund and its shareholders. For example, if a cybersecurity incident results in a denial of service, Fund shareholders could lose access to their electronic
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accounts and be unable to buy or sell Fund shares for an unknown period of time, and employees could be unable to access electronic systems to perform critical duties for a Fund, such as trading, NAV calculation, shareholder accounting or fulfillment of Fund share purchases and redemptions. Cybersecurity incidents could cause a Fund or Fund service provider to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures or financial loss of a significant magnitude and could result in allegations that a Fund or Fund service provider violated privacy and other laws. Similar adverse consequences could result from cybersecurity incidents affecting issuers of securities in which a Fund invests, counterparties with which a Fund engages in transactions, governmental and other regulatory authorities, exchange and other financial market operators, banks, brokers, dealers, insurance companies and other financial institutions and other parties. Risk management systems and business continuity plans seek to reduce the risks associated with cybersecurity in the event there is a cybersecurity breach, but there are inherent limitations in these systems and plans, including the possibility that certain risks may not have been identified, in large part because different or unknown threats may emerge in the future. Furthermore, a Fund does not control the cybersecurity systems and plans of the issuers of securities in which a Fund invests or the Fund’s third-party service providers or trading counterparties or any other service providers whose operations may affect a Fund or its shareholders.
Depositary Arrangements. Each Select Fund may invest in American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) and regular shares of foreign companies traded and settled on U.S. exchanges and OTC markets. ADRs are receipts typically issued by a U.S. bank or trust company evidencing ownership of the underlying foreign securities. ADRs are denominated in U.S. dollars. They are publicly traded on exchanges or OTC in the United States.
A Fund may invest in both sponsored and unsponsored ADR programs. There are certain risks associated with investments in unsponsored ADR programs. Because the non-U.S. securities issuer does not actively participate in the creation of the ADR program, the underlying agreement for service and payment will be between the depositary and the shareholder. The company issuing the stock underlying the ADR pays nothing to establish the unsponsored facility because fees for ADR issuance and cancellation are paid by brokers. Investors directly bear the expenses associated with certificate transfer, custody and dividend payment.
In an unsponsored ADR program, there may also be several depositaries with no defined legal obligations to the non-U.S. company. The duplicate depositaries may lead to marketplace confusion because there would be no central source of information for buyers, sellers and intermediaries. The efficiency of centralization gained in a sponsored program can greatly reduce the delays in delivery of dividends and annual reports.
Investments in ADRs involve certain risks not typically involved in purely domestic investments. These risks are set forth in the section entitled “Foreign Securities and Obligations” in this SAI.
The Impact Equity Fund, International Equity Index Fund, International Equity Fund and Emerging Markets Equity Fund may also invest in European Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”), International Depositary Receipts (“IDRs”) and Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”). These are receipts issued by a non-U.S. financial institution evidencing ownership of underlying foreign or U.S. securities and are usually denominated in foreign currencies. They may not be denominated in the same currency as the securities they represent. Generally, EDRs, GDRs and IDRs are designed for use in the foreign securities markets. Investments in EDRs, GDRs and IDRs involve certain risks not typically involved in purely domestic investments, including currency exchange risk. These risks are set forth in the section entitled “Foreign Securities and Obligations” in this SAI.
The Impact Equity Fund, International Equity Index Fund, International Equity Fund and Emerging Markets Equity Fund may also invest in other forms of depositary receipts that are certificates issued by non-U.S. institutions evidencing ownership of underlying foreign securities, including non-voting depositary receipts (“NVDRs”). Such depositary receipts may or may not be traded in a secondary market, and, as is the case with the NVDRs, might only be redeemable by the issuer. Investments in these depositary receipts may provide economic exposure to the underlying security, but may be less liquid and more volatile than the underlying securities, which may be issued by companies in emerging markets. In addition, investments in these depositary receipts are subject to many of the same risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities. These risks
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are set forth in the section entitled “Foreign Securities and Obligations” in this SAI. Investments in these depositary receipts, particularly NVDRs, may not entitle the holders to vote the underlying shares.
Dollar Rolls. The Select Funds may enter into dollar roll transactions, pursuant to which they sell a mortgage-backed TBA (“to be announced”) or security and simultaneously purchase a similar, but not identical, TBA with the same issuer, rate and terms. The Funds may execute a “roll” to obtain better underlying mortgage securities or to increase yield. The Funds account for dollar roll transactions as purchases and sales, which has the effect of increasing their portfolio turnover rates. Risks associated with dollar rolls are that actual mortgages received by the Funds may be less favorable than those anticipated or that counterparties may fail to perform under the terms of the contracts. For additional information, see the section entitled “Mortgage Dollar Rolls” in this SAI.
Faith-based Investing. The Funds may not invest in any company that is publicly recognized, as determined by GuideStone Financial Resources, as being in the alcohol, tobacco, gambling, pornography or abortion industries or any company whose products, services or activities are publicly recognized as being incompatible with the moral and ethical posture of GuideStone Financial Resources. The Adviser receives and analyzes information from multiple sources (including through various third-party screening platforms, news sources and feeds, the Bible and company websites and financial disclosures) on the products and services of companies in the Fund’s investment universe, and utilizes this information to determine which companies should be prohibited for investment by it or a Sub-Adviser. Faith-based investing, in accordance with the GuideStone Financial Resources stated policy, is an integral part of the investment program of the Trust. The implementation of the Funds’ faith-based investment guidelines is overseen by members of the Adviser’s executive and senior management team.
It is important to understand that in certain cases it may be more difficult to implement the Funds’ faith-based investment guidelines. Faith-based investing outside the United States is often more challenging due to a vastly larger universe of securities and varying laws and regulations governing disclosure requirements. Generally, there is less information available to the public about the business activities and practices of foreign companies. As a result, it is more difficult to effectively apply investing guidelines abroad than it is in the United States. In addition, it can be more difficult to implement the Funds’ faith-based investment guidelines with respect to portfolios that are managed using quantitative investment management processes. The Adviser consistently evaluates portfolios for companies that violate the guidelines and places these companies on a restricted list as it becomes aware of them. There is also the possibility that a company held by a Fund may subsequently become involved in products, services or activities, through a corporate acquisition or change of business strategy, that causes the company to become inconsistent with the Trust’s faith-based investment guidelines. Accordingly, there is the risk that, from time to time, securities acquired by a Fund subsequently will be determined to be inconsistent with the Trust’s faith-based investment guidelines. When a Fund becomes aware that it has invested in such a security, the Fund will seek to eliminate the position as soon as reasonably possible, which could result in a loss or gain to the Fund. Furthermore, in instances where the Adviser has delegated proxy voting duties to a Sub-Adviser, the Sub-Adviser uses its own proxy voting policies and procedures to determine how to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities. The Sub-Advisers' proxy voting policies and procedures are not subject to the Trust's faith-based investment guidelines or to impact investing criteria.
Foreign Currency
Foreign Currency — Generally. The Select Funds (other than the Money Market Fund) may invest in securities denominated in foreign currencies. As part of the cash overlay program, the Funds (other than the Money Market Fund) may also utilize foreign currency futures contracts, which are discussed in this section. The performance of investments in securities and obligations denominated in a foreign currency will be impacted by the strength of the foreign currency against the U.S. dollar and the interest rate environment in the country issuing the currency. Currency exchange rates may fluctuate based on factors extrinsic to that country’s economy. Absent other events that could otherwise affect the value of a foreign security or obligation (such as a change in the political climate or an issuer’s credit quality), appreciation in the value of the foreign currency generally can be expected to increase the value of a foreign currency-denominated security or obligation in terms of U.S. dollars. A decline in
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the value of the foreign currency relative to the U.S. dollar generally can be expected to depress the value of a foreign currency-denominated security or obligation.
Although the Bond Funds, Equity Funds and Strategic Alternatives Fund may invest in securities and obligations denominated in foreign currencies as discussed herein, their portfolio securities and other assets are valued in U.S. dollars. Currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time causing, together with other factors, a Fund’s NAV to fluctuate as well. Currency exchange rates can be affected unpredictably by the intervention or the failure to intervene by U.S. or foreign governments, or central banks. They can also be affected by currency controls, or by political developments in the United States or abroad. To the extent a Fund’s total assets, adjusted to reflect its net position after giving effect to currency transactions, are denominated in the currencies of foreign countries, the Fund will be more susceptible to the risk of adverse economic and political developments within those countries. In addition, through the use of forward currency exchange contracts and other currency instruments as described below, the net currency positions of the Funds may expose them to risks independent of their securities positions. To the extent a Fund is fully invested in foreign securities while also maintaining currency positions, it may be exposed to greater risk than it would have if it did not maintain the currency positions. The Funds are also subject to the possible imposition of exchange control regulations or freezes on the convertibility of currency.
Foreign Currency — Forward Currency Exchange Contracts. The Bond Funds, Strategic Alternatives Fund, Defensive Market Strategies Fund, Impact Equity Fund, Value Equity Fund, International Equity Index Fund, International Equity Fund and Emerging Markets Equity Fund may enter into forward currency exchange contracts in order to hedge to the U.S. dollar and to hedge one foreign currency against changes in exchange rates for a different foreign currency. Each of these Funds, except the Small Cap Equity Fund, may also use forward currency exchange contracts for non-hedging purposes, even if it does not own securities denominated in that currency. Forward currency exchange contracts represent an obligation to purchase or sell a specified currency at a future date at a price set at the time of the contract. This allows a Fund to establish a rate of exchange for a future point in time.
When one of these Funds owns securities denominated in a foreign currency that the Sub-Adviser anticipates may decline substantially relative to the U.S. dollar or other leading currencies, the Fund may attempt to reduce this currency risk by entering into a forward currency exchange contract to sell, for a fixed amount, an amount of the foreign currency approximating the value of some or all of the Fund’s securities denominated in that foreign currency. When a Fund creates a short position in a foreign currency, it may enter into a forward contract to buy, for a fixed amount, an amount of foreign currency approximating the short position.
In addition, when entering into a contract for the purchase or sale of a security, one of these Funds may enter into a forward currency exchange contract for the amount of the purchase or sale price. This protects the Fund against variations, between the date the security is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received, in the value of the foreign currency relative to the U.S. dollar or other foreign currency.
Portfolio securities hedged by forward currency exchange contracts are still subject to fluctuations in market value. In addition, it will not generally be possible to match precisely the amount covered by a forward currency exchange contract. Additionally, the value of the securities involved will fluctuate based on market movements after the contract is entered into. Such imperfect correlation may cause a Fund to sustain losses that will prevent it from achieving a complete hedge or expose it to risk of foreign exchange loss. While forward currency exchange contracts may protect a Fund from losses resulting from movements in exchange rates adverse to the Fund’s position, they may also limit potential gains that result from beneficial changes in the value of such currency. A Fund will also incur costs in connection with forward currency exchange contracts and conversions of foreign currencies and U.S. dollars.
Forward contracts in which a Fund may engage also include non-deliverable forwards (“NDFs”). NDFs are cash-settled, short-term forward contracts on foreign currencies (each a “Reference Currency”) that are non-convertible
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and that may be thinly traded or illiquid. NDFs are classified as swaps and regulated as such under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank Act”). NDFs involve an obligation to pay an amount (the “Settlement Amount”) equal to the difference between the prevailing market exchange rate for the Reference Currency and the agreed upon exchange rate (the “NDF Rate”), with respect to an agreed notional amount. NDFs have a fixing date and a settlement (delivery) date. The fixing date is the date and time at which the difference between the prevailing market exchange rate and the agreed upon exchange rate is calculated. The settlement (delivery) date is the date by which the payment of the Settlement Amount is due to the party receiving payment.
Although NDFs are similar to foreign exchange forwards, NDFs do not require physical delivery of the Reference Currency on the settlement date. Rather, on the settlement date, the only transfer between the counterparties is the monetary settlement amount representing the difference between the NDF Rate and the prevailing market exchange rate. NDFs typically may have terms from one month up to two years and are settled in U.S. dollars.
NDFs are subject to many of the risks associated with derivatives in general and forward currency transactions, including risks associated with fluctuations in foreign currency and the risk that the counterparty will fail to fulfill its obligations. Although NDFs historically have been traded OTC, in the future, pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, they may be exchange-traded. Under such circumstances, they will be centrally cleared and a secondary market for them will exist. With respect to NDFs that are centrally-cleared, while central clearing is intended to decrease counterparty risk, an investor could lose margin payments it has deposited with the clearing organization as well as the net amount of gains not yet paid by the clearing organization if the clearing organization breaches its obligations under the NDF, becomes insolvent or goes into bankruptcy. In the event of bankruptcy of the clearing organization, the investor may be entitled to the net amount of gains the investor is entitled to receive plus the return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the clearing organization’s other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the investor. Even if some NDFs remain traded OTC, they will be subject to margin requirements for uncleared swaps and counterparty risk common to other swaps. For more information about the risks associated with utilizing swaps, please see the section entitled “Swaps — Generally” in this SAI.
Foreign Currency — Currency Futures Contracts and Related Options Transactions. The Bond Funds, Strategic Alternatives Fund, Defensive Market Strategies Fund, Impact Equity Fund and Emerging Markets Equity Fund may also engage in futures contracts on foreign currencies and related options transactions, for the same purposes that they are permitted to use forward currency exchange contracts. A currency futures contract is a standardized contract for the future delivery of a specified amount of currency at a future date at a price set at the time of the contract. These Funds may enter into currency futures contracts traded on regulated commodity exchanges, including non-U.S. exchanges. These Funds may either accept or make delivery of the currency specified at the maturity of a futures contract or, prior to maturity, enter into a closing transaction involving the purchase or sale of an offsetting contract. Trading options on currency futures is relatively new, and the ability to establish and close out positions on such options is subject to the maintenance of a liquid market, which may not always be available. Buyers and sellers of currency futures and options thereon are subject to the same risks that apply to the use of futures generally. These risks are set forth in the section entitled “Futures and Options on Futures” in this SAI.
Foreign Currency — Currency Options. The Bond Funds, Strategic Alternatives Fund, Defensive Market Strategies Fund, Impact Equity Fund, Global Real Estate Securities Fund, International Equity Index Fund, International Equity Fund and Emerging Markets Equity Fund may also write covered put and covered call options and purchase put and call options on foreign currencies, for the same purposes that they are permitted to use forward currency exchange contracts. These Funds will write or purchase currency options that are traded on U.S. or foreign exchanges or OTC.
A call option written by a Fund obligates it to sell specified currency to the holder of the option at a specified price at any time before the expiration date. A put option written by a Fund obligates it to purchase specified currency from the option holder at a specified time before the expiration date. The writing of currency options
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involves the risk that a Fund may be required to sell the specified currency (subject to a call) at a price that is less than the currency’s market value or to purchase the specified currency (subject to a put) at a price that exceeds the currency’s market value. The use of currency options is subject to the same risks that apply to options generally. These risks are set forth in the section entitled “Futures and Options on Futures” in this SAI.
The purchase of a call option would entitle a Fund to purchase specified currency at a specified price during the option period. A Fund would ordinarily realize a gain if, during the option period, the value of the currency exceeded the sum of the exercise price, the premium paid and transaction costs; otherwise, a Fund would realize either no gain or a loss on the purchase of the call option. A Fund may forfeit the entire amount of the premium plus related transaction costs if exchange rates move in a manner adverse to the Fund’s position.
One of these Funds may, for example, purchase put options in anticipation of a decline in the dollar value of currency in which securities in its portfolio are denominated. The purchase of a put option would entitle a Fund to sell a specific currency at a specified price during the option period. This is meant to offset or hedge against a decline in the dollar value of such portfolio securities due to currency exchange rate fluctuations. A Fund would ordinarily realize a gain if, during the option period, the value of the underlying currency decreased below the exercise price sufficiently to more than cover the premium and transaction costs; otherwise, a Fund would realize either no gain or a loss on the purchase of the put option. Gains and losses on the purchase of protective put options would tend to be offset by countervailing changes in the value of the underlying currency.
Foreign Currency — TBAs. The Bond Funds may enter into to-be-announced purchase commitments to purchase securities for a fixed price at a future date, typically not exceeding 45 days (“TBAs”). As with other delayed delivery transactions, a seller agrees to issue a TBA security at a future date. However, the seller does not specify the particular securities to be delivered. Instead, the Fund agrees to accept any security that meets specified terms. TBAs may be considered securities in themselves and involve a risk of loss if the value of the security to be purchased declines prior to settlement date. This risk is in addition to the risk of decline in each Fund’s other assets. Unsettled TBAs are valued at the current market value of the underlying portfolio securities, according to the procedures described in the section entitled “Valuation of Shares” in this SAI.
Foreign Securities and Obligations. The Equity Funds and Strategic Alternatives Fund may invest in ADRs and regular shares of foreign companies traded and settled on U.S. and foreign exchanges and OTC markets. The International Equity Index Fund, International Equity Fund and Emerging Markets Equity Fund invest primarily in the securities of foreign issuers. In addition, the Bond Funds, Strategic Alternatives Fund, Defensive Market Strategies Fund, International Equity Fund and Emerging Markets Equity Fund may invest a portion of their assets in debt obligations issued by foreign issuers, including obligations not traded and settled on U.S. exchanges and OTC markets. These obligations may be issued by supranational entities, including international organizations, designed or supported by governmental entities to promote economic reconstruction or development and international banking institutions and related government agencies.
Investment in foreign securities and obligations involves special risks. These include market risk, interest rate risk and the risks of investing in securities of foreign issuers and of companies whose securities are principally traded outside the United States and in investments denominated in foreign currencies. Market risk involves the possibility that stock prices will decline over short or even extended periods. The stock markets tend to be cyclical, with periods of generally rising prices and periods of generally declining prices. These cycles will affect the value of a Fund’s investment in foreign stocks. The holdings of a Fund’s investments in fixed income securities will be sensitive to changes in interest rates and the interest rate environment. Generally, the prices of bonds and debt securities fluctuate inversely with interest rate changes.
Foreign investments also involve risks associated with the level of currency exchange rates, less complete financial information about the issuers, less market liquidity, more market volatility and political instability.
Future political and economic developments, the possible imposition of withholding taxes on dividend and interest income, the possible seizure or nationalization of foreign holdings, the possible establishment of exchange
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controls or the adoption of other governmental restrictions might adversely affect an investment in foreign securities or obligations. Additionally, foreign banks and foreign branches of domestic banks are subject to less stringent reserve requirements and to different accounting, auditing and recordkeeping requirements. For a discussion of risks and instruments related to foreign currency, see the section entitled “Foreign Currency” in this SAI.
Investment in foreign securities and obligations may involve higher costs than investment in U.S. securities and obligations. Investors should understand that the expense ratios of the Impact Equity Fund, International Equity Index Fund, International Equity Fund and Emerging Markets Equity Fund generally can be expected to be higher than those of Funds investing primarily in domestic securities. The costs attributable to investing abroad are usually higher for several reasons, such as the higher cost of investment research, higher costs of custody of foreign securities, higher commissions paid on comparable transactions in foreign markets, costs arising from delays in settlements of transactions and the imposition of withholding taxes by foreign governments on dividends and interest payable on a Fund’s foreign portfolio securities. To the extent those taxes are not offset by credits or deductions allowed to investors under the federal income tax law (such as a Fund’s pass-through to its shareholders of foreign taxes it pays — see “Taxation — General” in this SAI), they may reduce the net return to the shareholders.
The Bond Funds, Strategic Alternatives Fund, Defensive Market Strategies Fund, International Equity Fund and Emerging Markets Equity Fund may invest in foreign debt, including the securities of foreign governments and foreign corporations. Several risks exist concerning such investments, including the risk that foreign issuers may default on their obligations, may not respect the integrity of such debt, may attempt to renegotiate the debt at a lower rate and may not honor investments by U.S. entities or citizens.
To the extent consistent with their investment objectives, these Funds may also invest in obligations of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (also known as the World Bank), which are supported by subscribed, but unpaid, commitments of its member countries. There is no assurance that these commitments will be undertaken or complied with in the future.
In addition, the Bond Funds, Strategic Alternatives Fund, Defensive Market Strategies Fund, Impact Equity Fund, Global Real Estate Securities Fund, International Equity Fund and Emerging Markets Equity Fund may invest their assets in countries with emerging economies or securities markets. These countries are primarily located in the Asia-Pacific region, Eastern Europe, Latin and South America and Africa. Political and economic structures in many of these countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and these countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Some of these countries may have in the past failed to recognize private property rights and may have at times nationalized or expropriated the assets of private companies. In general, the securities markets of these countries are less liquid, subject to greater price volatility, have smaller market capitalizations and have problems with securities registration and custody. As a result, the risks presented by investments in these countries are heightened. Additionally, settlement procedures in emerging countries are frequently less developed and less reliable than those in the United States and may involve a Fund’s delivery of securities before receipt of payment for their sale. Settlement or registration problems may make it more difficult for a Fund to value its portfolio securities. They also could cause a Fund to miss attractive investment opportunities, to have a portion of its assets uninvested, to incur losses due to the failure of a counterparty to pay for securities the Fund has delivered or to incur losses due to the Fund’s inability to complete a contractual obligation to deliver securities. In addition, frontier countries generally have smaller economies and/or less developed capital markets than traditional emerging markets, and may be more politically instable, and as a result, the risks of investing in emerging markets countries are magnified in frontier countries.
More specific disclosure related to investments in certain countries or geographic regions is provided below:
Asia-Pacific Countries. In addition to the risks associated with foreign and emerging markets, the developing market Asia-Pacific countries in which a Fund may invest are subject to certain additional or specific risks. A
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Fund may make substantial investments in Asia-Pacific countries. In the Asia-Pacific markets, there is a high concentration of market capitalization and trading volume in a small number of issuers representing a limited number of industries, as well as a high concentration of investors and financial intermediaries. Many of these markets also may be affected by developments with respect to more established markets in the region, such as Japan and Hong Kong. Brokers in developing market Asia-Pacific countries typically are fewer in number and less well-capitalized than brokers in the United States. These factors, combined with the U.S. regulatory requirements for open-end investment companies and the restrictions on foreign investment, result in potentially fewer investment opportunities for a Fund and may have an adverse impact on the Fund’s investment performance.
Many of the developing market Asia-Pacific countries may be subject to a greater degree of economic, political and social instability than is the case in the United States and Western European countries. Such instability may result from, among other things: (i) authoritarian governments or military involvement in political and economic decision-making, including changes in government through extra-constitutional means; (ii) popular unrest associated with demands for improved political, economic and social conditions; (iii) internal insurgencies; (iv) hostile relations with neighboring countries; and/or (v) ethnic, religious and racial disaffection. In addition, the governments of many of such countries, such as Indonesia, have a heavy role in regulating and supervising the economy.
An additional risk common to most such countries is that the economy is heavily export-oriented and, accordingly, is dependent upon international trade, which could be negatively impacted during a synchronized slowdown in global economic activity. The existence of overburdened infrastructure and obsolete financial systems also present risks in certain countries, as do environmental problems. Certain economies also depend to a significant degree upon exports of primary commodities and, therefore, are vulnerable to changes in commodity prices that, in turn, may be affected by a variety of factors. The legal systems in certain developing market Asia-Pacific countries also may have an adverse impact on a Fund. For example, while the potential liability of a shareholder in a U.S. corporation with respect to acts of the corporation is generally limited to the amount of the shareholder’s investment, the notion of limited liability is less clear in certain emerging market Asia-Pacific countries. Similarly, the rights of investors in developing market Asia-Pacific companies may be more limited than those of shareholders of U.S. corporations. It may be difficult or impossible to obtain and/or enforce a judgment in a developing market Asia-Pacific country.
Governments of many developing market Asia-Pacific countries have exercised and continue to exercise substantial influence over many aspects of the private sector. In certain cases, the government owns or controls many companies, including the largest in the country. Accordingly, government actions in the future could have a significant effect on economic conditions in developing market Asia-Pacific countries, which could affect private sector companies, as well as the value of securities in a Fund’s portfolio. In addition, economic statistics of developing market Asia-Pacific countries may be less reliable than economic statistics of more developed nations.
It is possible that developing market Asia-Pacific issuers may not be subject to the same accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards as U.S. companies. Inflation accounting rules in some developing market Asia-Pacific countries require companies that keep accounting records in the local currency, for both tax and accounting purposes, to restate certain assets and liabilities on the company’s balance sheet in order to express items in terms of currency of constant purchasing power. Inflation accounting may indirectly generate losses or profits for certain developing market Asia-Pacific companies. In addition, satisfactory custodial services for investment securities may not be available in some developing Asia-Pacific countries, which may result in a Fund incurring additional costs and delays in providing transportation and custody services for such securities outside such countries.
Certain developing Asia-Pacific countries are especially large debtors to commercial banks and foreign governments. Fund management may determine that, notwithstanding otherwise favorable investment criteria, it
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may not be practicable or appropriate to invest in a particular developing Asia-Pacific country. A Fund may invest in countries in which foreign investors, including management of the Fund, have had no or limited prior experience.
Brazil. Investing in Brazil involves certain considerations not typically associated with investing in the United States. Additional considerations include: (i) investment and repatriation controls, which could affect a Fund’s ability to operate and to qualify for the favorable tax treatment afforded to regulated investment companies for U.S. federal income tax purposes; (ii) fluctuations in the rate of exchange between the Brazilian real and the U.S. dollar; (iii) the generally greater price volatility and lesser liquidity that characterize Brazilian securities markets, as compared with U.S. markets; (iv) the effect that balance of trade could have on Brazilian economic stability and the Brazilian government’s economic policy; (v) potentially high rates of inflation, a rising unemployment rate and a high level of debt, each of which may hinder economic growth; (vi) governmental involvement in and influence on the private sector; (vii) Brazilian accounting, auditing and financial standards and requirements, which differ from those in the United States; (viii) political and other considerations, including changes in applicable Brazilian tax laws; and (ix) restrictions on investments by foreigners. In addition, commodities, such as oil, gas and minerals, represent a significant percentage of Brazil’s exports, and therefore, its economy is particularly sensitive to fluctuations in commodity prices. Additionally, an investment in Brazil is subject to certain risks stemming from political and economic corruption. For example, the Brazilian Federal Police conducted a criminal investigation into corruption allegations, known as Operation Car Wash, which led to charges against high level politicians and corporate executives and resulted in substantial fines for some of Brazil’s largest companies. This had a widespread political and economic impact and may continue to affect negatively the country and the reputation of Brazilian companies connected with the investigation, and therefore, the trading price of securities issued by those companies.
China. Investing in China involves special considerations not typically associated with investing in countries with more democratic governments or more established economies or currency markets. These risks include: (i) the risk of nationalization or expropriation of assets or confiscatory taxation; (ii) greater governmental involvement in and control over the economy, interest rates and currency exchange rates; (iii) controls on foreign investment and limitations on repatriation of invested capital; (iv) greater social, economic and political uncertainty (including the risk of war); (v) dependency on exports and the corresponding importance of international trade; (vi) currency exchange rate fluctuations; and (vii) the risk that certain companies in which a Fund may invest may have dealings with countries subject to sanctions or embargoes imposed by the U.S. government or identified as state sponsors of terrorism. Additionally, China is alleged to have participated in state-sponsored cyberattacks against foreign companies and foreign governments. Actual and threatened responses to such activity and strained international relations, including purchasing restrictions, sanctions, tariffs or cyberattacks on the Chinese government or Chinese companies, may impact China’s economy and Chinese issuers of securities in which a Fund invests.
The government of China maintains strict currency controls in support of economic, trade and political objectives and regularly intervenes in the currency market. The government’s actions in this respect may not be transparent or predictable. As a result, the value of the yuan, and the value of securities designed to provide exposure to the yuan, can change quickly and arbitrarily. Furthermore, it is difficult for foreign investors to directly access money market securities in China because of investment and trading restrictions. While the economy of China has enjoyed substantial economic growth in recent years, there can be no guarantee this growth will continue. These and other factors may decrease the value and liquidity of a Fund’s investments. Recently, the United States and China have announced that each country would impose certain tariffs on exports from the other country. Though the impact and duration of such tariffs is uncertain the imposition of tariffs by either country may negatively affect each country’s economy and the U.S. and foreign markets and may negatively affect a Fund’s investment.
Any difficulties of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board ("PCAOB") to inspect audit work papers and practices of PCAOB-registered accounting firms in China with respect to their audit work of U.S. reporting companies may impose significant additional risks associated with investments in China. Under amendments to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act enacted in December 2020, which requires that the PCAOB be permitted to inspect the
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accounting firm of a U.S.-listed Chinese issuer, Chinese companies with securities listed on U.S. exchanges may be delisted if the PCAOB is unable to inspect the accounting firm.
China A-Shares are equity securities of companies based in mainland China that trade on Chinese stock exchanges such as the Shanghai Stock Exchange (“SSE”) and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (“SZSE”) (“A-Shares”). Foreign investment in A-Shares on the SSE and SZSE is historically not permitted other than through a license granted under regulations in the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”) known as the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (“QFII”) and Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (“RQFII”) systems. Each license permits investment in A-Shares only up to a specified quota.
Because restrictions continue to exist and capital therefore cannot flow freely into and out of the A-Share market, it is possible that in the event of a market disruption, the liquidity of the A-Share market and trading prices of A-Shares could be more severely affected than the liquidity and trading prices of markets where securities are freely tradable and capital therefore flows more freely. A Fund cannot predict the nature or duration of such a market disruption or the impact that it may have on the A-Share market and the short-term and long-term prospects of its investments in the A-Share market. In the event that a Fund invests in A-Shares directly, a Fund may incur significant losses, or may not be able fully to implement or pursue its investment objectives or strategies, due to investment restrictions on RQFIIs and QFIIs, illiquidity of the Chinese securities markets or delay or disruption in execution or settlement of trades. A-Shares may become subject to frequent and widespread trading halts.
The Chinese government has in the past taken actions that benefitted holders of A-Shares. As A-Shares become more available to foreign investors, such as a Fund, the Chinese government may be less likely to take action that would benefit holders of A-Shares. In addition, there is no guarantee that an A-Shares quota will be sufficient for a Fund’s intended scope of investment.
The regulations which apply to investments by RQFIIs and QFIIs, including the repatriation of capital, are relatively new. The application and interpretation of such regulations are therefore relatively untested. In addition, there is little precedent or certainty evidencing how such discretion may be exercised now or in the future, and even if there were precedent, it may provide little guidance as PRC authorities would likely continue to have broad discretion.
Investment in eligible A-Shares listed and traded on the SSE is now permitted through the Stock Connect program. Stock Connect is a securities trading and clearing program established by Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company Limited, the SSE and Chinese Securities Depositary and Clearing Corporation that aims to provide mutual stock market access between China and Hong Kong by permitting investors to trade and settle shares on each market through their local exchanges. Certain Funds may invest in other investment companies that invest in A-Shares through Stock Connect or on such other stock exchanges in China which participate in Stock Connect from time to time. Under Stock Connect, a Fund’s trading of eligible A-Shares listed on the SSE would be effectuated through its Hong Kong broker.
Although no individual investment quotas or licensing requirements apply to investors in Stock Connect, trading through Stock Connect’s Northbound Trading Link is subject to aggregate and daily investment quota limitations that require that buy orders for A-Shares be rejected once the remaining balance of the relevant quota drops to zero or the daily quota is exceeded (although a Fund will be permitted to sell A-Shares regardless of the quota balance). These limitations may restrict a Fund from investing in A-Shares on a timely basis, which could affect a Fund’s ability to effectively pursue its investment strategy. Investment quotas are also subject to change. Investment in eligible A-Shares through Stock Connect is subject to trading, clearance and settlement procedures that could pose risks to a Fund. A-Shares purchased through Stock Connect generally may not be sold or otherwise transferred other than through Stock Connect in accordance with applicable rules. In addition, Stock Connect will only operate on days when both the Chinese and Hong Kong markets are open for trading and when banks in both markets are open on the corresponding settlement days. Therefore, an investment in A-Shares
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through Stock Connect may subject a Fund to a risk of price fluctuations on days where the Chinese market is open, but Stock Connect is not trading.
In addition, renminbi (“RMB”)-denominated bonds issued in the PRC by Chinese credit, government and quasi-governmental issuers (“RMB Bonds”) are available on the China interbank bond market (“CIBM”) to eligible foreign investors through the CIBM Direct Access Program and through the “Mutual Bond Market Access between Mainland China and Hong Kong” (“Bond Connect”) program. Investments in bonds through either program will be subject to a number of additional risks and restrictions that may affect a Fund’s investments and returns.
The Bond Connect program and the CIBM Direct Access Program are relatively new. Laws, rules, regulations, policies, notices, circulars or guidelines relating to the programs as published or applied by the relevant authorities of the PRC are untested and are subject to change from time to time. There can be no assurance that the Bond Connect program and/or the CIBM Direct Access Program will not be restricted, suspended or abolished. If such event occurs, a Fund’s ability to invest in the CIBM through the CIBM Direct Access Program will be adversely affected.
Under the prevailing PRC regulations, eligible foreign investors who wish to participate in the Bond Connect program may do so through an offshore custody agent, registration agent or other third parties (as the case may be), who would be responsible for making the relevant filings and account opening with the relevant authorities. A Fund is therefore subject to the risk of default or errors on the part of such agents.
Under the prevailing PRC regulations, eligible foreign institutional investors who wish to invest directly in the CIBM through the CIBM Direct Access Program may do so through an onshore settlement agent, who would be responsible for making the relevant filings and account opening with the relevant authorities. A Fund is therefore subject to the risk of default or errors on the part of such agent.
Trading through the Bond Connect program is performed through newly developed trading platforms and operational systems. There is no assurance that such systems will function properly (in particular, under extreme market conditions) or will continue to be adapted to changes and developments in the market. In addition, where a Fund invests in the CIBM through the Bond Connect program, it may be subject to risks of delays inherent in order placing and/or settlement.
The Central Moneymarkets Unit of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (“HKMA”) is the “nominee holder” of the bonds acquired by a Fund through the Bond Connect program. Whilst the relevant authorities of the PRC have expressly stated that Bond Connect investors will enjoy the rights and interests of the bonds acquired through the Bond Connect program in accordance with applicable laws, the exercise and the enforcement of beneficial ownership rights over such bonds in the courts in China is yet to be tested. In addition, in the event that the nominee holder (i.e., the HKMA) becomes insolvent, such bonds may form part of the pool of assets of the nominee holder available for distribution to its creditors, and a Fund, as a beneficial owner, may have no rights whatsoever in respect thereof.
Investing in RMB Bonds involves additional risks, including, but not limited to, the fact that the economy of China differs, often unfavorably, from the U.S. economy, including, among other things, currency revaluation, structure, general development, government involvement, wealth distribution, rate of inflation, growth rate, allocation of resources and capital reinvestment, among others.
The RMB is currently not a freely convertible currency. The Chinese government places strict regulation on the RMB and sets the value of the RMB to levels dependent on the value of the U.S. dollar. The Chinese government’s imposition of restrictions on the repatriation of RMB out of mainland China may limit the depth of the offshore RMB market and reduce the liquidity of a Fund’s investments.
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On June 3, 2021, President Biden issued an executive order (the "Executive Order") prohibiting U.S. persons from purchasing or selling publicly traded securities (including publicly traded securities that are derivative of, or are designed to provide exposure to, such securities) of any Chinese company identified as a Chinese Military Industrial Complex Company (“CMIC”). The Executive Order superseded a prior similar order from then-President Trump. A number of Chinese issuers have been designated under this program and more could be added. Certain implementation matters related to the scope of, and compliance with, the Executive Order have not yet been resolved, and the ultimate application and enforcement of the Executive Order may change. As a result, the Executive Order and related guidance may significantly reduce the liquidity of such securities, force a Fund to sell certain positions at inopportune times or for unfavorable prices and restrict future investments by the Funds.
Developing and Emerging Markets. Emerging and developing markets abroad may offer special opportunities for investing, but may have greater risks than more developed foreign markets, such as those in Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. There may be even less liquidity in their securities markets, and settlements of purchases and sales of securities may be subject to additional delays. They are subject to greater risks of limitations on the repatriation of income and profits because of currency restrictions imposed by local governments. Those countries may also be subject to the risk of greater political and economic instability, which can greatly affect the volatility of prices of securities in those countries.
Investing in emerging markets securities imposes risks different from, or greater than, risks of investing in foreign developed countries. These risks include: smaller market capitalization of securities markets, which may suffer periods of relative illiquidity; significant price volatility; restrictions on foreign investment; and possible repatriation of investment income and capital. In addition, foreign investors may be required to register the proceeds of sales; future economic or political crises could lead to price controls, forced mergers, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, seizure, nationalization or creation of government monopolies. The currencies of emerging markets countries may experience significant declines against the U.S. dollar. Inflation and rapid fluctuations in inflation rates have had, and may continue to have, negative effects on the economies and securities markets of certain emerging markets countries. Additional risks of emerging markets securities may include: greater social, economic and political uncertainty and instability; more substantial governmental involvement in the economy; less governmental supervision and regulation; unavailability of currency hedging techniques; companies that are newly organized and small; differences in auditing and financial reporting standards, which may result in unavailability of material information about issuers; and less developed legal systems. In addition, emerging markets may have different clearance and settlement procedures, which may be unable to keep pace with the volume of securities transactions or otherwise make it difficult to engage in such transactions.
Europe. Investing in European countries may impose economic and political risks associated with Europe in general and the specific European countries in which it invests. The economies and markets of European countries are often closely connected and interdependent, and events in one European country can have an adverse impact on other European countries. European Union (“EU”) member countries are required to comply with restrictions on inflation rates, deficits, interest rates, debt levels and fiscal and monetary controls, each of which may significantly affect every country in Europe. Decreasing imports or exports, changes in governmental or EU regulations on trade, changes in the exchange rate of the euro (the common currency of certain EU countries), the default or threat of default by an EU member country on its sovereign debt and/or an economic recession in an EU member country may have a significant adverse effect on the economies of EU member countries and their trading partners, including some or all of the emerging markets materials sector countries. Although certain European countries do not use the euro, many of these countries are obliged to meet the criteria for joining the eurozone. Consequently, these countries must comply with many of the restrictions noted above. The European financial markets have experienced volatility and adverse trends in recent years due to concerns about economic downturns, rising government debt levels and the possible default of government debt in several European countries, including Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain. In order to prevent further economic deterioration, certain countries, without prior warning, can institute “capital controls.” Countries may use these controls to restrict volatile movements of capital entering and exiting their country. Such controls may negatively affect a Fund’s investments. A default or debt restructuring by any European country would adversely impact holders of that country’s debt and sellers of credit default swaps linked to that country’s creditworthiness, which may be
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located in countries other than those listed above. These events have adversely affected the value and exchange rate of the euro and may continue to significantly affect the economies of every country in Europe, including countries that do not use the euro and non-EU member countries. Responses to the financial problems by European governments, central banks and others, including austerity measures and reforms, may not produce the desired results, may result in social unrest and may limit future growth and economic recovery or have other unintended consequences. Further defaults or restructurings by governments and other entities of their debt could have additional adverse effects on economies, financial markets and asset valuations around the world. In addition, one or more countries may abandon the euro and/or withdraw from the EU. The impact of these actions, especially if they occur in a disorderly fashion, is not clear but could be significant and far-reaching and could adversely impact the value of investments in the region.
In June 2016, the United Kingdom (the “UK”) approved a referendum to leave the EU, commonly referred to as “Brexit,” which sparked depreciation in the value of the British pound, short-term declines in global stock markets, and heightened risk of continued worldwide economic volatility. The United Kingdom officially left the European Union on January 31, 2020. There is significant uncertainty regarding Brexit's ramifications and the range and potential implications of possible political, regulatory, economic and market outcomes are difficult to predict.
Japan. Japanese investments may be significantly affected by events influencing Japan’s economy and changes in the exchange rate between the Japanese yen and the U.S. dollar. Japan’s economy fell into a long recession in the 1990s. After a few years of mild recovery in the mid-2000s, Japan’s economy fell into another recession as a result of the recent global economic crisis. Japan is heavily dependent on exports and foreign oil. Furthermore, Japan is located in a seismically active area, and in 2011 experienced an earthquake of a sizeable magnitude and a tsunami that significantly affected important elements of its infrastructure and resulted in a nuclear crisis. Since these events, Japan’s financial markets have fluctuated dramatically. The full extent of the impact of these events on Japan’s economy and on foreign investment in Japan is difficult to estimate. Japan’s economic prospects may be affected by the political and military situations of its near neighbors, notably North and South Korea, China and Russia.
Russia. Investing in Russia involves risks and special considerations not typically associated with investing in United States. Since the breakup of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991, Russia has experienced dramatic political and social change. The political system in Russia is emerging from a long history of extensive state involvement in economic affairs. The country is undergoing a rapid transition from a centrally-controlled command system to a market-oriented, democratic model. As a result, relative to companies operating in Western economies, companies in Russia are characterized by a lack of: (i) management with experience of operating in a market economy; (ii) modern technology; and (iii) a sufficient capital base with which to develop and expand their operations. It is unclear what will be the future effect on Russian companies, if any, of Russia’s continued attempts to move toward a more market-oriented economy. Russia’s economy has experienced severe economic recession, if not depression, since 1990 during which time the economy has been characterized by high rates of inflation, high rates of unemployment, declining gross domestic product, deficit government spending and a devalued currency. The economic reform program has involved major disruptions and dislocations in various sectors of the economy, and those problems have been exacerbated by growing liquidity problems. Russia’s economy is also heavily reliant on the energy and defense-related sectors and is, therefore, susceptible to the risks associated with these industries. Further, Russia presently receives significant financial assistance from a number of countries through various programs. To the extent these programs are reduced or eliminated in the future, Russian economic development may be adversely impacted. The laws and regulations in Russia affecting Western investment business continue to evolve in an unpredictable manner. Russian laws and regulations, particularly those involving taxation, foreign investment and trade, title to property or securities, and transfer of title, which may be applicable to a Fund’s activities are relatively new and can change quickly and unpredictably in a manner far more volatile than in the United States or other developed market economies. Although basic commercial laws are in place, they are often unclear or contradictory and subject to varying interpretation, and may at any time be amended, modified, repealed or replaced in a manner adverse to the interest of a Fund.
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In late February 2022, Russian military forces invaded Ukraine, significantly amplifying already existing geopolitical tensions among Russia, Ukraine, Europe, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (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 United States, Canada, the UK, Germany and France, as well as the EU, issued broad-ranging economic sanctions against Russia. The sanctions consist of freezing certain Russian assets, prohibiting trading by individuals and entities in certain Russian securities and engaging in certain private transactions and restrictions on doing business with certain Russian corporate entities, large financial institutions, officials and oligarchs. The sanctions include a commitment by certain countries and the EU to remove selected Russian banks from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, commonly called “SWIFT,” the electronic network that connects banks globally, and imposed restrictive measures to prevent the Russian Central Bank from undermining the impact of the sanctions. A number of large corporations and U.S. states have since withdrawn from Russia or suspended or curtailed their Russia-based operations.
The imposition of these current sanctions (and potential further sanctions in response to Russia’s continued military activity) and other actions undertaken by countries and businesses may adversely impact various sectors of the Russian economy, including, but not limited to, the financials, energy, metals and mining, engineering and defense and defense-related materials sectors. Such actions also may result in the decline of the value and liquidity of Russian securities, a weakening of the ruble and could impair the ability of a Fund to buy, sell, receive or deliver those securities. Moreover, the measures could adversely affect global financial and energy markets and thereby negatively affect the value of a Fund's investments beyond any direct exposure to Russian issuers or those of adjoining geographic regions.
In response to sanctions, the Russian Central Bank raised its interest rates and banned sales of local securities by foreigners. Russia also prevented the export of certain goods and payments to foreign shareholders of Russian securities. Russia may take additional countermeasures or retaliatory actions, which may further impair the value and liquidity of Russian securities and Fund investments. Such actions could, for example, include restricting gas exports to other countries, seizure of U.S. and European residents' assets or undertaking or provoking other military conflict elsewhere in Europe, any of which could exacerbate negative consequences on global financial markets and the economy. The actions discussed above could have a negative effect on the performance of a Fund that has exposure to Russia. While diplomatic efforts have been ongoing, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is currently unpredictable and has the potential to result in broader military actions. The duration of ongoing conflict and corresponding sanctions and related events cannot be predicted and may result in a negative impact on performance and the value of Fund investments, particularly as it relates to Russian exposure.
Due to difficulties transacting in impacted securities, a Fund may experience challenges liquidating the applicable positions to continue to seek a Fund’s investment objective. Additionally, due to current and potential future sanctions or potential market closure impacting the ability to trade Russian securities, a Fund may experience higher transaction costs.
Taiwan. Investment in Taiwanese issuers may subject a Fund to loss in the event of adverse political, economic, regulatory and other developments that affect Taiwan, including fluctuations of the New Taiwan dollar versus the U.S. dollar. Taiwan has few natural resources; therefore, any fluctuation or shortage in the commodity markets could have a negative impact on the Taiwanese economy. Appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar, rising labor costs and increasing environmental consciousness have led some labor-intensive industries to relocate to other countries with cheaper work forces. Continued labor outsourcing may adversely affect the Taiwanese economy. Taiwanese firms are among the world’s largest suppliers of computer monitors and leaders in personal computer manufacturing. A slowdown in global demand for these products will likely have an adverse impact on the Taiwanese economy. The Chinese government views Taiwan as a renegade province and continues to contest Taiwan’s sovereignty. The outbreak of hostilities between the two nations, or even the threat of an outbreak of
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hostiles, will likely adversely impact the Taiwanese economy. Such risks, among others, may adversely affect the value of a Fund’s investments.
Forward Commitments, When-Issued Securities and Delayed-Delivery Transactions. To the extent consistent with their respective investment objectives, each Select Fund may purchase securities on a when-issued basis or purchase or sell securities on a forward commitment (sometimes called delayed delivery) basis. These transactions involve a commitment by a Fund to purchase or sell securities at a future date. The price of the underlying securities (usually expressed in terms of yield) and the date when the securities will be delivered and paid for (the settlement date) are fixed at the time the transaction is negotiated. When-issued purchases and forward commitment transactions are normally negotiated directly with the other party.
When a Fund purchases securities on a when-issued basis or purchases or sells securities on a forward commitment basis, the Fund may complete the transaction and actually purchase or sell the securities. However, if deemed advisable as a matter of investment strategy, a Fund may dispose of or negotiate a commitment after entering into it. A Fund may also sell securities it has committed to purchase before those securities are delivered to the Fund on the settlement date.
Futures and Options on Futures
Futures and Options on Futures — Generally. The Bond Funds, Equity Funds and Strategic Alternatives Fund may purchase or sell (1) put and call options on securities, indexes and other financial instruments; and (2) futures contracts and options thereon. The Funds may enter into such futures transactions on domestic exchanges. The Funds may enter into such futures transactions on domestic exchanges and generally may do so on foreign exchanges as well. However, certain products listed on foreign exchanges require special regulatory approval before being offered or sold to persons located in the United States. Futures (and options thereon) on broad-based stock indexes must be approved by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”). Security futures (futures on single securities or narrow-based indexes) may only be offered and sold in accordance with guidance issued by the CFTC and SEC. Debt obligations of a foreign government must be designated as an exempted security by the SEC under SEC Rule 3a12-8 before a futures contract or option thereon can be offered or sold in the United States. In addition, the Equity Funds may invest and reinvest in long or short positions in any of the instruments contemplated in this section. The Bond Funds may purchase or sell (1) put and call options on fixed income securities; and (2) futures contracts and options thereon. In addition, the Bond Funds may invest in long or short positions in any of the instruments contemplated in this section. The Target Date Funds and Target Risk Funds, may from time to time invest up to 10% of their assets directly in U.S. Treasury securities, exchange listed equity futures contracts and exchange listed U.S. Treasury futures contracts in order to gain exposure to the U.S. equity and fixed income markets on cash balances. The Equity Funds and Strategic Alternatives Fund may sell short exchange listed equity futures contracts to reduce market exposure. The Target Date Funds, Target Risk Funds, Bond Funds and Strategic Alternatives Fund may sell short exchange listed U.S. Treasury future contracts to reduce market exposure.
Futures and Options on Futures — Futures Contracts Generally. A futures contract may generally be described as an agreement between two parties to buy and sell a specified quantity of a particular instrument, such as a security, currency or index, during a specified future period at a specified price. When interest rates are rising or securities prices are falling, a Fund can seek, through the sale of futures contracts, to offset a decline in the value of its current portfolio securities. When rates are falling or prices are rising, a Fund, through the purchase of futures contracts, can attempt to secure better rates or prices than might later be available in the market when they affect anticipated purchases.
Although futures contracts by their terms generally call for the actual delivery or acquisition of the underlying instrument or the cash value of the instrument, in most cases, the contractual obligation is fulfilled before the date of the contract without having to make or take such delivery. The contractual obligation is offset by buying or selling, as the case may be, on a commodities exchange an identical futures contract calling for delivery in the same period. Such a transaction, which is executed through a member of an exchange, cancels the obligation to
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make or take delivery of the instrument or the cash value of the instrument underlying the contractual obligations. Such offsetting transactions may result in a profit or loss, and a Fund may incur brokerage fees when it purchases or sells futures contracts. While each Fund’s futures contracts will usually be liquidated in this manner, a Fund may instead make or take delivery of the underlying instrument whenever it appears economically advantageous for it to do so.
The use of options and futures is subject to applicable regulations of the SEC and CFTC and the several exchanges upon which they are traded. In addition, a Fund’s ability to use options and futures may be limited by tax considerations. For more information, see the section entitled “Taxation” in this SAI. The Adviser has claimed exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” under the Commodity Exchange Act (the "CEA"), with respect to each Fund and, therefore, is not subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool operator under the CEA in its management of each Fund.
Under Rule 4.5, if a Fund uses commodity interests (such as futures contracts, options on futures contracts and swaps) other than for bona fide hedging purposes (as defined by the CFTC) the aggregate initial margin and premiums required to establish these positions (after taking into account unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions and excluding the amount by which options that are “in-the-money” at the time of purchase) may not exceed 5% of a Fund’s NAV, or alternatively, the aggregate net notional value of those positions, as determined at the time the most recent position was established, may not exceed 100% of the Fund’s NAV (after taking into account unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions). In addition, to qualify for an exclusion, a Fund must satisfy a marketing test, which requires, among other things, that a Fund not hold itself out as a vehicle for trading commodity interests. Each Fund is subject to the risk that a change in U.S. law and related regulations will impact the way a Fund operates, increase the particular costs of a Fund’s operation and/or change the competitive landscape. In this regard, any further amendments to the CEA or its related regulations that subject a Fund to additional regulation may have adverse impacts on a Fund’s operations and expenses.
Futures and Options on Futures — Options Generally. Options may relate to particular securities, foreign and domestic securities indexes, financial instruments, foreign currencies or the yield differential between two securities.
Such options may or may not be listed on a domestic or foreign securities exchange and may or may not be issued by the Options Clearing Corporation (“OCC”). A call option for a particular security gives the purchaser of the option the right to buy, and a writer the obligation to sell, the underlying security at the stated exercise price before the expiration of the option, regardless of the market price of the security. A premium is paid to the writer by the purchaser in consideration for undertaking the obligation under the option contract. A put option for a particular security gives the purchaser the right to sell and a writer the obligation to buy the security at the stated exercise price before the expiration date of the option, regardless of the market price of the security.
In addition, some swaps are, and more in the future will be, centrally cleared. Swaps that are centrally cleared are subject to the creditworthiness of the clearing organizations involved in the transaction. For example, a swap investment by a Fund could lose margin payments deposited with the clearing organization, as well as the net amount of gains not yet paid by the clearing organization, if the clearing organization breaches the swap agreement with the Fund or becomes insolvent or goes into bankruptcy. In the event of bankruptcy of the clearing organization, the Fund may be entitled to the net amount of gains the Fund is entitled to receive, plus the return of margin owed to it, only in proportion to the amount received by the clearing organization’s other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the Fund.
Options trading is a highly specialized activity that entails greater than ordinary investment risk. Options may be more volatile than the underlying instruments and, therefore, on a percentage basis, an investment in options may be subject to greater fluctuation than an investment in the underlying instruments themselves.
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A Fund’s obligation to sell an instrument subject to a covered call option written by it, or to purchase an instrument subject to a secured put option written by it, may be terminated before the expiration of the option by the Fund’s execution of a closing purchase transaction. This means that a Fund buys on an exchange an option of the same series (i.e., same underlying instrument, exercise price and expiration date) as the option previously written. Such a purchase does not result in the ownership of an option. A closing purchase transaction will ordinarily be effected to realize a profit on an outstanding option, to prevent an underlying instrument from being called, to permit the sale of the underlying instrument or to permit the writing of a new option containing different terms on such underlying instrument. The cost of such a closing purchase plus related transaction costs may be greater than the premium received upon the original option, in which event the Fund will experience a loss. There is no assurance that a liquid secondary market will exist for any particular option. A Fund that has written an option and is unable to effect a closing purchase transaction will not be able to sell the underlying instrument (in the case of a covered call option) or liquidate the segregated assets (in the case of a secured put option) until the option expires or the optioned instrument is delivered upon exercise. The Fund will be subject to the risk of market decline or appreciation in the instrument during such period.
Options purchased are recorded as an asset and written options are recorded as liabilities to the extent of premiums paid or received. The amount of this asset or liability will be subsequently marked-to-market to reflect the current value of the option purchased or written. The current value of the traded option is the last sale price or, in the absence of a sale, the current bid price. If an option purchased by a Fund expires unexercised, the Fund will realize a loss equal to the premium paid. If a Fund enters into a closing sale transaction on an option purchased by it, the Fund will realize a gain if the premium received by the Fund on the closing transaction is more than the premium paid to purchase the option, or a loss if it is less. If an option written by a Fund expires on the stipulated expiration date or if a Fund enters into a closing purchase transaction, it will realize a gain (or loss if the cost of a closing purchase transaction exceeds the net premium received when the option is sold), and the liability related to such option will be eliminated. If an option written by a Fund is exercised, the proceeds of the sale will be increased by the net premium originally received, and the Fund will realize a gain or loss.
There are several other risks associated with options. For example, there are significant differences among the securities, currency and options markets that could result in an imperfect correlation among these markets, causing a given transaction not to achieve its objectives. In addition, a liquid secondary market for particular options, whether traded OTC or on an exchange, may be absent for reasons that include the following: there may be insufficient trading interest in certain options; restrictions may be imposed by an exchange on opening transactions or closing transactions or both; trading halts, suspensions or other restrictions may be imposed with respect to particular classes or series of options or underlying securities or currencies; unusual or unforeseen circumstances may interrupt normal operations on an exchange; the facilities of an exchange or the OCC may not at all times be adequate to handle current trading value; or one or more exchanges could, for economic or other reasons, decide or be compelled at some future date to discontinue the trading of options (or a particular class or series of options), in which event the secondary market on that exchange (or in that class or series of options) would cease to exist, although outstanding options that had been issued by the OCC as a result of trades on that exchange would continue to be exercisable in accordance with their terms.
Futures and Options on Futures — Financial Futures Contracts. Financial futures contracts are simply futures contracts that obligate the holder to buy or sell a financial instrument, such as a U.S. Treasury security, an equity security or foreign currency, during a specified future period at a specified price. A sale of a financial futures contract means the acquisition of an obligation to sell the financial instrument called for by the contract at a specified price on a specified date. A purchase of a financial futures contract means the acquisition of an obligation to buy the financial instrument called for by the contract at a specified price on a specified date.
Futures and Options on Futures — Bond Index Futures and Options. The Bond Funds, Target Date Funds and Target Risk Funds may buy and sell futures contracts based on an index of debt securities and options on such futures contracts to the extent they currently exist and, in the future, may be developed. The Funds reserve the right to conduct futures and options transactions based on an index that may be developed in the future to correlate with price movements in certain categories of debt securities. The Funds’ investment strategy in
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employing futures contracts based on an index of debt securities may be similar to that used by them in other financial futures transactions. The Funds may also buy and write put and call options on such index futures and enter into closing transactions with respect to such options.
Futures and Options on Futures — Interest Rate Futures and Options. Interest rate futures contracts are a type of financial futures contracts that call for the future delivery of U.S. government securities or index-based futures contracts. The value of these instruments changes in response to changes in the value of the underlying security or index, which depends primarily on prevailing interest rates.
A Fund may, for example, enter into interest rate futures contracts in order to protect its portfolio securities from fluctuations in interest rates without necessarily buying or selling the underlying fixed income securities. For example, if a Fund owns bonds and interest rates are expected to increase, it might sell futures contracts on debt securities having characteristics similar to those held in the portfolio. Such a sale would have much the same effect as selling an equivalent value of the bonds owned by the Fund. If interest rates did increase, the value of the debt securities in the portfolio would decline, but the value of the futures contract to the Fund would increase at approximately the same rate, thereby keeping the NAV of the Fund from declining as much as it otherwise would have.
Futures and Options on Futures — Stock Index Futures Contracts. A stock index futures contract is a type of financial futures contract that obligates the seller to provide (or receive) an amount of cash equal to a specific dollar amount times the difference between the value of a specific stock index at the close of the last trading day of the contract and the price at which the agreement was made. Open futures contracts are valued on a daily basis, and a Fund may be obligated to provide or receive cash reflecting any decline or increase in the contract’s value. No physical delivery of the underlying stocks in the index is made in the future.
For example, a Target Date Fund, Target Risk Fund, Equity Fund or the Strategic Alternatives Fund may sell stock index futures contracts in anticipation of or during a market decline to attempt to offset the decrease in market value of its equity securities that might otherwise result. When a Fund is not fully invested in stocks and it anticipates a significant market advance, it may buy stock index futures in order to gain rapid market exposure that may in part or entirely offset increases in the cost of stocks that it intends to buy.
Futures and Options on Futures — Options on Indexes and Yield Curve Options. Options on indexes and yield curve options provide the holder with the right to make or receive a cash settlement upon exercise of the option. With respect to options on indexes, the amount of the settlement will equal the difference between the closing price of the index at the time of exercise and the exercise price of the option expressed in dollars, times a specified multiple. With respect to yield curve options, the amount of the settlement will equal the difference between the yields of designated securities. Yield curve options are traded OTC, and because they have been only recently introduced, established trading markets for these securities have not yet developed.
Futures and Options on Futures — Options on Futures Contracts. The acquisition of put and call options on futures contracts will give a Fund the right, but not the obligation, to sell or to purchase, respectively, the underlying futures contract for a specified price at any time during the option period. As the purchaser of an option on a futures contract, a Fund obtains the benefit of the futures position if prices move in a favorable direction but limits its risk of loss in the event of an unfavorable price movement to the loss of the premium and transaction costs.
Futures and Options on Futures — Options on Stock Index Futures. The Target Date Funds, Target Risk Funds, Equity Funds and Strategic Alternatives Fund may buy and sell call and put options on stock index futures. Call and put options on stock index futures are similar to options on securities except that, rather than the right to buy stock at a specified price, options on stock index futures give the holder the right to receive cash. Upon exercise of the option, the delivery of the futures position by the writer of the option to the holder of the option will be accompanied by delivery of the accumulated balance in the writer’s futures margin account, which represents the amount by which the market price of the futures contract, at exercise, exceeds, in the case of a call, or is less
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than, in the case of a put, the exercise price of the option on the futures contract. If an option is exercised on the last trading day prior to the expiration date of the option, the settlement will be made entirely in cash equal to the difference between the exercise price of the option and the closing price of the futures contract on the expiration date.
Futures and Options on Futures — Cover Requirements. To the extent a Fund enters into a futures contract, it will deposit in a segregated account with the futures commission merchant (“FCM”), cash or U.S. Treasury obligations equal to a specified percentage of the value of the futures contract, as required by the relevant contract market and FCM. The futures contract will be marked-to-market daily. If the value of the futures contract declines relative to the Fund’s position, the Fund will be required to pay to the FCM an amount equal to such change in value. If the Fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell portfolio securities at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so in order to meet such daily variations in margins.
Futures and Options on Futures — Future Developments. The Funds may take advantage of opportunities in the area of options and futures contracts and options on futures contracts and any other derivative investments that are not presently contemplated for use by the Funds or that are not currently available but that may be developed, to the extent such opportunities are both consistent with the Funds’ investment goals and legally permissible for the Funds.
Illiquid Investments and Restricted Securities. A Fund will invest no more than 15% (5% with respect to the Money Market Fund) of the value of its net assets in illiquid investments. An “illiquid investment” means any investment that a Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment (with respect to the Money Market Fund, an "illiquid security" means a security that cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business within seven calendar days at approximately the value ascribed to it by the Money Market Fund). For example, repurchase agreements maturing in more than seven days are illiquid securities. In addition, investments in illiquid securities by the Money Market Fund are subject to the portfolio liquidity requirements of Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act. The With respect to the Impact Bond Fund and Impact Equity Fund, closed-end interval funds, private funds and other similar pooled investment vehicles offer limited liquidity and will be illiquid investments.
Subject to these limitations, each Fund may invest in restricted securities where such investment is consistent with the Fund’s investment objective, and such securities are considered liquid to the extent the Adviser or Sub-Adviser determines that there is a liquid institutional or other market for such securities, such as restricted securities that may be freely transferred among qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“1933 Act”), and for which a liquid institutional market has developed.
Restricted securities are securities that may not be sold to the public without registration under the 1933 Act or an exemption from registration. Restricted securities involve certain risks, including the risk that a secondary market may not exist when a holder wants to sell them. In addition, the price and valuation of these securities may reflect a discount because they are perceived as having less liquidity than the same securities that are not restricted. If a Fund suddenly has to sell restricted securities, time constraints or lack of interested, qualified buyers may prevent the Fund from receiving the value at which the securities are carried on its books at the time of the sale. Alternatively, the Adviser or Sub-Adviser may sell unrestricted securities it might have retained if the Fund had only held unrestricted securities.
Impact Investments. Because the Impact Bond Fund’s and Impact Equity Fund’s investment approach intentionally seeks to have a positive impact in accordance with Christian values alongside financial returns, the Adviser and Sub-Advisers will not consider investments for the Impact Bond Fund and/or Impact Equity Fund that may generate higher investment returns but that do not fall within the Adviser’s impact framework. In seeking to generate positive impact, the Adviser and Sub-Advisers may rely on data and information that may later prove to be incomplete or inaccurate. There are divergences of views of how to measure and verify positive impact, and the Impact Bond Fund’s and Impact Equity Fund’s measurements will differ from other funds that do not apply a
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distinctively Christian element to those measurements. The Adviser receives and analyzes information from multiple sources (including through various third-party screening platforms, news sources and feeds, the Bible and company websites and financial disclosures) on the products and services of companies in the Impact Bond Fund’s and Impact Equity Fund’s investment universe, and utilizes this information to determine which companies should be prohibited for investment by it or the Sub-Advisers.
Inflation-Indexed Securities. The Target Date Funds, Target Risk Funds and Bond Funds may invest in inflation-indexed securities issued by the U.S. Treasury and others. Inflation-indexed securities are debt securities, the principal value of which is adjusted periodically in accordance with changes in a measure of inflation. Inflation-indexed securities issued by the U.S. Treasury use the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (“CPI-U”) published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Inflation-indexed securities issued by a foreign government are generally adjusted to reflect a comparable inflation index, calculated by that government. Two structures for inflation-indexed securities are common: the U.S. Treasury and some other issuers that utilize a structure that adjusts the principal value of the security according to the rate of inflation; most other issuers pay out the Consumer Price Index adjustments as part of a semi-annual coupon.
In the first, the interest rate on the inflation-indexed bond is fixed, while the principal value rises or falls semi-annually based on changes in a published measure of inflation. Repayment of the original bond principal upon maturity (as adjusted for inflation) is guaranteed in the case of U.S. Treasury inflation-indexed bonds. For bonds that do not provide a similar guarantee, the adjusted principal value of the bond repaid at maturity may be less than the original principal. In the second, the inflation adjustment for certain inflation-indexed bonds is reflected in the semiannual coupon payment. As a result, the principal value of these inflation-indexed bonds does not adjust according to the rate of inflation.
In general, the value of inflation-indexed securities increases in periods of general inflation and declines in periods of general deflation. If inflation is lower than expected during the period a Fund holds an inflation-indexed security, the Fund may earn less on it than on a conventional bond. Inflation-indexed securities are expected to react primarily to changes in the “real” interest rate (i.e., the nominal, or stated, rate less the rate of inflation), while a typical bond reacts to changes in the nominal interest rate. Accordingly, inflation-indexed securities have characteristics of fixed-rate U.S. Treasury securities with shorter durations. Changes in market interest rates from causes other than inflation will likely affect the market prices of inflation-indexed securities in the same manner as conventional bonds.
Any increase in the principal value of an inflation-indexed security is taxable in the taxable year the increase occurs, even though its holders do not receive cash representing the increase until the security matures, and the amount of that increase for a Fund generally must be distributed each taxable year to its shareholders. See the “Taxation” section of this SAI. Thus, each Fund that invests therein could be required, at times, to liquidate other investments in order to satisfy its distribution requirements.
Interest Rate Swaps, Floors and Caps and Currency Swaps. The Bond Funds and Strategic Alternatives Fund may enter into interest rate swaps and may purchase interest rate floors or caps. A Fund will typically use interest rate swaps to preserve a return on a particular investment or portion of its portfolio or to shorten the effective duration of its portfolio investments. Interest rate swaps involve the exchange by a Fund with another party of their respective commitments to pay or receive interest, such as an exchange of fixed rate payments for floating rate payments. The purchase of an interest rate floor or cap entitles the purchaser to receive payments of interest on a notional principal amount from the seller, to the extent the specified index falls below (floor) or exceeds (cap) a predetermined interest rate. The Equity Funds, Bond Funds and Strategic Alternatives Fund may also enter into currency swaps, which involve the exchange of the rights of a Fund and another party to make or receive payments in specific currencies.
A Fund will only enter into interest rate swaps or interest rate floor or cap transactions on a net basis (i.e., the two payment streams are netted out) with a Fund receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the
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two payments. In contrast, currency swaps usually involve the delivery of the entire principal value of one designated currency in exchange for the other designated currency.
The net amount of the excess, if any, of the Fund’s obligations over their entitlements with respect to each interest rate or currency swap will be accrued on a daily basis.
If there is a default by the other party to such transaction, a Fund will have contractual remedies pursuant to the agreements related to the transaction. The swap market has grown substantially in recent years, with a large number of banks and investment banking firms acting both as principals and as agents utilizing standardized swap documentation. In addition, some swaps are, and more in the future may be, centrally cleared. As a result, the swap market has become relatively liquid in comparison with markets for other similar instruments which are traded in the Interbank market.
Interfund Borrowing and Lending. The SEC has granted the Trust an exemptive order to allow each Fund to participate in a credit facility whereby each Fund, under certain conditions, would be permitted to lend money directly to and borrow directly from other Funds for temporary purposes. The Trust has not implemented the interfund credit facility. It is anticipated that the credit facility, if implemented, will provide a borrowing Fund with savings at times when the cash position of the Fund is insufficient to meet temporary cash requirements. This situation could arise when shareholder redemptions exceed anticipated volumes and certain Funds have insufficient cash on hand to satisfy such redemptions. However, redemption requests normally are satisfied immediately. The credit facility would provide a source of immediate, short-term liquidity pending settlement of the sale of portfolio securities.
Investment Companies and Business Development Companies. Each Select Fund may invest in shares of other registered investment companies (e.g., open-end mutual funds, closed-end funds and ETFs), and business development companies (“BDCs”) to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder. Because each Fund serves as an acquired fund of one or more Target Date or Target Risk Fund, Rule 12d1-4(b)(3) under the 1940 Act prohibits each Select Fund from purchasing or otherwise acquiring the securities of an investment company if immediately after such purchase or acquisition, the securities of investment companies owned by the acquired fund have an aggregate value in excess of 10% of the value of the total assets of the Select Fund. However, this 10% limitation does not apply to investments by a Select Fund in: money market funds in reliance on Rule 12d1-1; a subsidiary that is wholly owned and controlled by the Select Fund; securities received as a dividend or as a result of a plan of reorganization of a company; or securities of another investment company received pursuant to exemptive relief from the SEC to engage in interfund borrowing and lending transactions.
In reliance on Rule 12d1-1 under the 1940 Act and subject to all of the conditions thereunder, each Fund may invest an unlimited amount of its otherwise uninvested cash and cash collateral received in connection with securities lending in shares of affiliated or unaffiliated money market funds that are limited to investing in the types of securities and other investments in which a money market fund may invest under Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act and undertake to comply with all the other requirements of Rule 2a-7, subject to the conditions of Rule 12d1-1.
When investing in securities of other investment companies or BDCs, a Fund will be indirectly exposed to all the risks of such funds’ portfolio investments. As a shareholder in an investment company or BDC, a Fund would bear its pro rata share of that fund’s expenses, including operating costs and investment advisory and administration fees. Investment in funds that are listed and traded on an exchange (e.g., closed-end funds, ETFs and BDCs) could involve the acquisition of shares at a premium above the NAV of the fund.
Investment Companies — Exchange-Traded Funds. An ETF is a fund or class, the shares of which are listed and traded on a national securities exchange, and that has formed and operates in reliance on Rule 6c-11 under the 1940 Act or under an exemptive order granted by the SEC. An ETF represents a portfolio of securities (or other assets) generally designed to track a particular market index or other referenced asset. ETFs also may be actively managed. The risks of owning an ETF generally reflect the risks of owning the underlying portfolio securities or
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other financial instruments the ETF holds, although lack of liquidity in an ETF’s shares could result in the price of those shares being more volatile than the ETF’s underlying portfolio. In addition, there is the risk that an ETF may fail to closely track the index, if any, that it is designed to replicate. Although the market price of an ETF’s shares is related to the ETF’s underlying portfolio assets, shares of ETFs (like shares of closed-end funds and BDCs) can trade at a discount or premium to NAV. In addition, a failure to maintain the exchange listing of an ETF’s shares and substantial market or other disturbances could adversely affect the value of such securities. Because ETFs are listed on an exchange, they may be subject to trading halts.
Large Shareholders. Shares held by large shareholders, including institutional accounts managed by the Adviser’s affiliates, as well as shares held by other Funds, may from time to time represent a substantial portion of a Fund’s assets. Accordingly, a Fund is subject to the potential for large-scale inflows and outflows as a result of purchases and redemptions of its shares by such large shareholders. While it is impossible to predict the overall effect of these transactions over time, there could be an adverse impact on a Fund’s performance. In the event of such redemptions or investments, a Fund could be required to sell securities or to invest cash at a time when it may not otherwise desire to do so. Redemptions by these shareholders, or a high volume of redemption requests generally, may further increase a Fund’s liquidity risk and may, in the case of the Money Market Fund, impact the Fund’s ability to maintain a $1.00 share price. Such transactions may increase a Fund’s brokerage and/or other transaction costs and affect the liquidity of a Fund’s portfolio. In addition, when funds of funds (e.g., the Target Date Funds or the Target Risk Funds) or other investors own a substantial portion of a Fund’s shares, a large redemption by such an investor could cause actual expenses to increase, or could result in a Fund’s current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in a Fund’s expense ratio. Redemptions of Fund shares could also accelerate a Fund’s realization of capital gains (which would be taxable to its shareholders when distributed to them) if sales of securities needed to fund the redemptions result in net capital gains. The impact of these transactions is likely to be greater when a Fund of Funds or other significant investor purchases, redeems or owns a substantial portion of a Fund’s shares. A high volume of redemption requests can impact a Fund the same way as the transactions of a single shareholder with substantial investments.
LIBOR Transition Risk. Certain of the Funds’ investments, payment obligations and financing terms may be based on floating rates, such as London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”). On July 27, 2017, the Chief Executive of the UK Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), which regulates LIBOR, announced a desire to phase out the use of LIBOR by the end of 2021. Although many LIBOR rates were phased out at the end of 2021, as intended, a selection of widely used U.S. dollar LIBOR rates will continue to be published until June 2023 in order to assist with the transition. There remains uncertainty regarding the effect of the LIBOR transition process, and therefore, any impact of a transition away from LIBOR on the instruments in which a Fund invests cannot yet be determined. Although the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has identified the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) as the intended replacement to U.S. dollar LIBOR, foreign regulators have proposed other interbank offered rates, such as the Sterling Overnight Index Average (“SONIA”) and other replacement rates, which could also be adopted. There is no assurance that the composition or characteristics of any alternative reference rate will be similar to or produce the same value or economic equivalence as LIBOR or that instruments using an alternative rate will have the same volume or liquidity. This announcement and any additional regulatory or market changes that occur as a result of the transition away from LIBOR and the adoption of alternative reference rates may have an adverse impact on a Fund’s investments, performance or financial condition.
Loan Participations. The Bond Funds, Strategic Alternatives Fund and Defensive Market Strategies Fund may purchase participations in commercial loans. Such indebtedness may be secured or unsecured. Loan participations typically represent direct participation in a loan to a corporate borrower and generally are offered by banks or other financial institutions or lending syndicates. The Bond Funds may participate in such syndications, or can buy part of a loan, becoming a part lender. When purchasing loan participations, a Fund assumes the credit risk associated with the corporate borrower and may assume the credit risk associated with an interposed bank or other financial intermediary. The participation interests in which a Fund intends to invest may not be rated by any nationally recognized rating service.
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A loan is often administered by an agent bank acting as agent for all holders. The agent bank administers the terms of the loan, as specified in the loan agreement. In addition, the agent bank is normally responsible for the collection of principal and interest payments from the corporate borrower and the apportionment of these payments to the credit of all institutions which are parties to the loan agreement. Unless, under the terms of the loan or other indebtedness, a Fund has direct recourse against the corporate borrower, the Fund may have to rely on the agent bank or other financial intermediary to apply appropriate credit remedies against a corporate borrower. In addition, holders of the loans, such as the Funds, may be required to indemnify the agent bank in certain circumstances.
Purchases of loans and other forms of direct indebtedness depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the corporate borrower for payment of principal and interest. If a Fund does not receive scheduled interest or principal payments on such indebtedness, the Fund’s share price and yield could be adversely affected. Loans that are fully secured offer a Fund more protection than an unsecured loan in the event of non-payment of scheduled interest or principal. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the corporate borrower’s obligation or that the collateral can be liquidated.
The Bond Funds invest in loan participations with credit quality comparable to that of issuers of their securities investments. Indebtedness of companies whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks and may be highly speculative. Some companies may never pay off their indebtedness or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Consequently, when investing in indebtedness of companies with poor credit, a Fund bears a substantial risk of losing the entire amount invested.
Loans and other types of direct indebtedness may not be readily marketable and may be subject to restrictions on resale. In some cases, negotiations involved in disposing of indebtedness may require weeks to complete. Consequently, some indebtedness may be difficult or impossible to dispose of readily at what the Sub-Adviser believes to be a fair price. In addition, valuation of illiquid indebtedness involves a greater degree of judgment in determining a Fund’s NAV than if that value were based on available market quotations and could result in significant variations in the Fund’s daily share price. At the same time, some loans’ interests are traded among certain financial institutions and accordingly may be deemed liquid. As the market for different types of indebtedness develops, the liquidity of these instruments is expected to improve. In addition, each Fund currently intends to treat indebtedness for which there is no readily available market as illiquid for purposes of its limitation on illiquid investments. Investments in loan participations are considered to be debt obligations for purposes of the investment restriction relating to the lending of funds or assets by a Fund.
Some loans may not be considered “securities” for certain purposes under the federal securities laws, and purchasers, such as a Fund, therefore may not be entitled to rely on the anti-fraud protections of the federal securities laws. Loans and other debt instruments that are not in the form of securities may offer less legal protection to a Fund in the event of fraud or misrepresentation.
Investments in loans through a direct assignment of the financial institution’s interests with respect to the loan may involve additional risks to the Bond Funds. For example, if a loan is foreclosed, a Fund could become part owner of any collateral and would bear the costs and liabilities associated with owning and disposing of the collateral. In addition, it is conceivable that under emerging legal theories of lender liability, a Fund could be held liable as co-lender. It is unclear whether loans and other forms of direct indebtedness offer securities law protections against fraud and misrepresentation. In the absence of definitive regulatory guidance, the Funds rely on the Sub-Advisers’ research in an attempt to avoid situations where fraud or misrepresentation could adversely affect a Fund.
Master Limited Partnerships. The Equity Funds and Strategic Alternatives Fund may invest in master limited partnerships (“MLPs”). MLPs are publicly-traded partnerships primarily engaged in the transportation, storage, processing, refining, marketing, exploration, production and mining of minerals and natural resources. MLP units are registered with the SEC and are freely traded on a securities exchange or in the OTC market. Because MLPs are partnerships, investments in securities of MLPs involve risks that differ from investments in common stock,
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including risks related to limited control and limited rights to vote on matters affecting the MLP, risks related to potential conflicts of interest between the MLP and the MLP’s general partner, cash flow risks, dilution risks and risks related to the general partner’s right to require unitholders to sell their common units at an undesirable time or price, resulting from regulatory changes or other reasons.
Certain MLP securities may trade in lower volumes due to their smaller capitalizations. Accordingly, those MLPs may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements, may lack sufficient market liquidity to enable a Fund to effect sales at an advantageous time or without a substantial drop in price, and investment in those MLPs may restrict a Fund’s ability to take advantage of other investment opportunities. MLPs are generally considered interest-rate sensitive investments. During periods of interest rate volatility, these investments may not provide attractive returns, which may affect the overall performance of a Fund.
Investing in MLPs involves certain risks related to investing in their underlying assets and risks associated with pooled investment vehicles. MLPs that concentrate in a particular industry or a particular geographic region are subject to risks associated with such industry or region. MLPs are subject to various risks related to the underlying operating companies they control, including dependence upon specialized management skills and the risk that such companies may lack or have limited operating histories. Investments held by MLPs may be relatively illiquid, limiting the MLPs’ ability to vary their portfolios promptly in response to changes in economic or other conditions. Many MLPs are also subject to regulatory risks due to the imposition of various federal, state and local environmental laws and health and safety laws as well as laws and regulations specific to their particular activities.
A Fund must recognize income that is allocated from underlying MLPs for federal income tax purposes, even if the Fund does not receive cash distributions from the MLPs in an amount necessary to pay such tax liability. In addition, part of a distribution received by a Fund as the holder of an MLP interest may be treated as a “return of capital,” which would reduce the Fund’s adjusted tax basis in the interests and thus result in an increase in the amount of gain (or decrease in the amount of loss) the Fund will recognize for federal income tax purposes on the sale of all or part of the interest or on subsequent distributions in respect of such interests. Furthermore, any return of capital distribution received from the MLP may require the Fund to restate the character of its distributions and amend any shareholder tax reporting previously issued.
MLPs generally do not pay federal income tax at the partnership level, subject to the application of certain partnership audit rules. Rather, each partner is allocated a proportionate share of the partnership’s income, gains, losses, deductions and expenses. A change in current tax law, or a change in the underlying business mix of a given MLP, could result in an MLP being treated as a corporation for federal income tax purposes, which would result in the MLP being required to pay federal income tax (as well as state and local income taxes) on its taxable income. The treatment of an MLP as a corporation for federal income tax purposes would have the effect of reducing the amount of cash available for distribution by the MLP. If any MLP in which a Fund invests were treated as a corporation for those purposes, it could result in a reduction of the value of the Fund’s investment in the MLP and lower income to the Fund.
Under certain circumstances, an MLP could be deemed to be an investment company. If that occurs, the Fund’s investment in the MLP’s securities would be limited by the 1940 Act. For more information, see “Investment Companies” disclosure in this section of the SAI.
Money Market Instruments. To the extent consistent with its investment objective and strategies, each Select Fund may invest a portion of its assets in short-term high-quality instruments, such as those that are eligible for investment by the Money Market Fund. The Target Date Funds and the Target Risk Funds may from time to time invest up to 10% of their assets directly in U.S. Treasury obligations, exchange listed equity futures contracts and exchange listed U.S. Treasury futures contracts in order to gain exposure to equity and fixed income markets on cash balances. In addition, each Select Fund (except the Money Market Fund), Target Date Fund and Target Risk Fund may invest its cash reserves in shares of the Money Market Fund. In December 2021, the SEC proposed amendments to Rule 2a-7 that, if adopted, would impact the manner in which money market funds operate. The
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amendments would, among other items, impose higher minimum liquidity requirements. The adoption of amendments to Rule 2a-7 may impact the Money Market Fund in ways that could have a negative impact on the Fund's investment performance, ability to achieve its investment objective or otherwise adversely impact an investment in the Fund.
Mortgage-Backed Securities. The Bond Funds, Money Market Fund and Strategic Alternatives Fund may purchase mortgage-backed securities in accordance with their investment strategies as stated in the Prospectus. Mortgage-backed securities (“MBS”) represent direct or indirect participations in, or are secured by and payable from, pools of mortgage loans. Those securities may be guaranteed by a U.S. government agency or instrumentality (such as the Government National Mortgage Association, or “Ginnie Mae”); issued and guaranteed by a government-sponsored stockholder-owned corporation, though not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States (such as by the Federal National Mortgage Association, or “Fannie Mae,” or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, or “Freddie Mac” (collectively, Government-Sponsored Enterprises or the “GSEs”), and described in greater detail below); or issued by fully private issuers. Private issuers are generally originators of and investors in mortgage loans and include savings associations, mortgage bankers, commercial banks, investment bankers, and special purpose entities. Private MBS may be supported by various forms of insurance or guarantees, including individual loan, title, pool and hazard insurance and letters of credit, which may be issued by governmental entities, private issuers or the mortgage poolers.
Government-related guarantors (i.e., not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government) include Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Fannie Mae is a government-sponsored corporation owned by stockholders. It is subject to general regulation by the Federal Housing Finance Authority (“FHFA”). Fannie Mae purchases residential mortgages from a list of approved seller/servicers that include state and federally chartered savings and loan associations, mutual savings banks, commercial banks, credit unions and mortgage bankers. Fannie Mae guarantees the timely payment of principal and interest on pass-through securities that it issues, but those securities are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Freddie Mac is a government-sponsored corporation formerly owned by the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks and now owned by stockholders. Freddie Mac issues Participation Certificates (“PCs”), which represent interests in mortgages from Freddie Mac’s national portfolio. Freddie Mac guarantees the timely payment of interest and ultimate collection of principal on the PCs it issues, but those PCs are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
The U.S. Treasury historically has had the authority to purchase obligations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. However, in 2008, due to capitalization concerns, Congress provided the U.S. Treasury with additional authority to lend the GSEs emergency funds and to purchase their stock. In September 2008, those capital concerns led the U.S. Treasury and the FHFA to announce that the GSEs had been placed in conservatorship.
Since that time, the GSEs have received significant capital support through U.S. Treasury preferred stock purchases as well as U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve purchases of their MBS. While the MBS purchase programs ended in 2010, the U.S. Treasury announced in December 2009 that it would continue its support for the entities’ capital as necessary to prevent a negative net worth. Since the GSEs were placed into conservatorship through the fourth quarter of 2017, they required U.S. Treasury support of approximately $187.5 billion through draws under the preferred stock purchase agreements. However, the GSEs have together paid $278.8 billion to the U.S. Treasury in aggregate cash dividends (although those payments do not constitute a repayment of their draws). In the first quarter of 2018, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac each reported that the passage of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act in December 2017 (“TCJA”) had resulted in a decrease in the value of their deferred tax assets. As a result, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac each reported net losses during the fourth quarter of 2017 and indicated that they would request draws from the U.S. Treasury in the amount of $3.7 billion and $0.3 billion, respectively. The FHFA stated that the GSEs may need an additional injection of U.S. Treasury capital in the future. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that the Federal Reserve, U.S. Treasury or FHFA initiatives will ensure that the GSEs will remain successful in meeting their obligations with respect to the debt and MBS they issue into the future.
In 2012, the FHFA initiated a strategic plan to develop a program related to credit risk transfers intended to reduce Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s overall risk through the creation of credit risk transfer assets (“CRTs”).
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CRTs come in two primary series: Structured Agency Credit Risk (“STACRs”) for Freddie Mac and Connecticut Avenue Securities (“CAS”) for Fannie Mae, although other series may be developed in the future. CRTs are typically structured as unsecured general obligations of either entities guaranteed by a government-sponsored stockholder-owned corporation, though not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States (such as by GSEs or special purpose entities), and their cash flows are based on the performance of a pool of reference loans. Unlike traditional residential MBS securities, bond payments typically do not come directly from the underlying mortgages. Instead, the GSEs either make the payments to CRT investors, or the GSEs make certain payments to the special purpose entities and the special purpose entities make payments to the investors. In certain structures, the special purpose entities make payments to the GSEs upon the occurrence of credit events with respect to the underlying mortgages, and the obligation of the special purpose entity to make such payments to the GSE is senior to the obligation of the special purpose entity to make payments to the CRT investors. CRTs are typically floating rate securities and may have multiple tranches with losses first allocated to the most junior or subordinate tranche. This structure results in increased sensitivity to dramatic housing downturns, especially for the subordinate tranches. Many CRTs also have collateral performance triggers (e.g., based on credit enhancement, delinquencies or defaults, etc.) that could shut off principal payments to subordinate tranches. Generally, GSEs have the ability to call all of the CRT tranches at par in 10 years.
In addition, the future of the GSEs is in serious question as the U.S. government is considering multiple options, ranging on a spectrum from significant reform, nationalization, privatization, consolidation or abolishment of the entities. Congress is considering several pieces of legislation that would reform the GSEs, proposing to address their structure, mission, portfolio limits and guarantee fees, among other issues. The FHFA and the U.S. Treasury (through its agreement to purchase GSE preferred stock) have imposed strict limits on the size of GSEs’ mortgage portfolios. In August 2012, the U.S. Treasury amended its preferred stock purchase agreements to provide that the GSEs’ portfolios be wound down at an annual rate of 15% (up from the previously agreed annual rate of 10%), requiring the GSEs to reach the $250 billion target four years earlier than previously planned. (As of February 2017, the GSEs met their interim reduction targets, with Freddie Mac’s balance of $295.4 billion and Fannie Mae’s balance of $268.8 billion.)
MBS may have either fixed or adjustable interest rates. Tax or regulatory changes may adversely affect the mortgage securities market. In addition, changes in the market’s perception of the issuer may affect the value of MBS. The rate of return on MBS may be affected by prepayments of principal on the underlying loans, which generally increase as market interest rates decline; as a result, when interest rates decline, holders of these securities normally do not benefit from appreciation in market value to the same extent as holders of other non-callable debt securities. Because many mortgages are repaid early, the actual maturity and duration of MBS are typically shorter than their stated final maturity and their duration calculated solely on the basis of the stated life and payment schedule. In calculating its dollar-weighted average maturity and duration, a Fund may apply certain industry conventions regarding the maturity and duration of mortgage-backed instruments. Different analysts use different models and assumptions in making these determinations. Increasing market interest rates generally extend the effective maturities of MBS, increasing their sensitivity to interest rate changes.
MBS may be issued in the form of collateralized mortgage obligations (“CMOs”) or CBOs. CMOs are obligations that are fully collateralized, directly or indirectly, by a pool of mortgages; payments of principal and interest on the mortgages are passed through to the holders of the CMOs, although not necessarily on a pro rata basis, on the same schedule as they are received. CBOs are general obligations of the issuer that are fully collateralized, directly or indirectly, by a pool of mortgages. The mortgages serve as collateral for the issuer’s payment obligations on the bonds, but interest and principal payments on the mortgages are not passed through either directly (as with mortgage-backed “pass-through” securities issued or guaranteed by U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities) or on a modified basis (as with CMOs). Accordingly, a change in the rate of prepayments on the pool of mortgages could change the effective maturity or the duration of a CMO but not that of a CBO (although, like many bonds, CBOs may be callable by the issuer prior to maturity). To the extent that rising interest rates cause prepayments to occur at a slower than expected rate, a CMO could be converted into a longer-term security that is subject to greater risk of price volatility.
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Governmental, government-related and private entities (such as commercial banks, savings institutions, private mortgage insurance companies, mortgage bankers and other secondary market issuers, including securities broker-dealers and special purpose entities that generally are affiliates of the foregoing established to issue such securities) may create mortgage loan pools to back CMOs and CBOs. Such issuers may be the originators and/or servicers of the underlying mortgage loans, as well as the guarantors of the MBS. Pools created by non-governmental issuers generally offer a higher rate of interest than governmental and government-related pools because of the absence of direct or indirect government or agency guarantees. Various forms of insurance or guarantees, including individual loan, title, pool and hazard insurance and letters of credit, may support timely payment of interest and principal of non-governmental pools. Governmental entities, private insurers, and mortgage poolers issue these forms of insurance and guarantees. There can be no assurance that private insurers or guarantors can meet their obligations under insurance policies or guarantee arrangements. A Fund may, consistent with a Fund’s investment objective, policies and limitations and quality standards, consider making investments in new types of MBS as such securities are developed and offered to investors.
Freddie Mac CMOs are debt obligations of Freddie Mac issued in multiple tranches having different maturity dates that are secured by the pledge of a pool of conventional mortgage loans purchased by Freddie Mac. Unlike Freddie Mac PCs, payments of principal and interest on the CMOs are made semiannually, as opposed to monthly. The amount of principal payable on each semiannual payment date is determined in accordance with Freddie Mac’s mandatory sinking fund schedule, which, in turn, is equal to approximately 100% of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) prepayment experience applied to the mortgage collateral pool. All sinking fund payments in the CMOs are allocated to the retirement of the individual tranches of bonds in the order of their stated maturities. Payment of principal on the mortgage loans in the collateral pool in excess of the amount of Freddie Mac’s minimum sinking fund obligation for any payment date are paid to the holders of the CMOs as additional sinking fund payments. This “pass-through” of prepayments has the effect of retiring most CMO tranches prior to their stated final maturity.
If collection of principal (including prepayments) on the mortgage loans during any semiannual payment period is not sufficient to meet Freddie Mac’s minimum sinking fund obligation on the next sinking fund payment date, Freddie Mac agrees to make up the deficiency from its general funds. Freddie Mac has the right to substitute collateral in the event of delinquencies and/or defaults.
Mortgage-Related Securities. Other mortgage-related securities include securities other than those described above that directly or indirectly represent a participation in, or are secured by and payable from, mortgage loans on real property, including stripped mortgage-backed securities. Other mortgage-related securities may be equity or debt securities issued by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government or by private originators of, or investors in, mortgage loans, including savings and loan associations, homebuilders, mortgage banks, commercial banks, investment banks, partnerships, trusts and special purpose entities of the foregoing.
Mortgage Dollar Rolls. The Bond Funds may enter into mortgage dollar rolls. A Fund may purchase pools of mortgage securities for future settlement, generally 30 to 60 days. Please refer to the section entitled “Forward Commitments, When-Issued Securities and Delayed-Delivery Transactions” in this SAI. In a mortgage “dollar roll,” a Fund sells these mortgages for delivery prior to settlement and simultaneously agrees to repurchase substantially similar (i.e., same type and coupon) but not identical securities on a specified future date from the same party. To be considered similar, the securities returned to a Fund, generally must: (1) be collateralized by the same types of underlying mortgages; (2) be issued by the same agency and be part of the same program; (3) have a similar original stated maturity; (4) have identical net coupon rates; (5) have similar market yields (and therefore price); and (6) satisfy “good delivery” requirements, meaning that the aggregate principal amounts of the securities delivered and received back must be within a certain percentage of the initial amount delivered. During the period before the repurchase, a Fund forgoes principal and interest payments on the securities. A Fund is compensated by the difference between the current sales price and the forward price for the future purchase (often referred to as the “drop”), as well as by the interest earned on the investments which have been set aside to cover the amount due at settlement. Another possible reason a Fund may enter into these transactions is to gain
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the economic benefit from the ownership of mortgage pools while avoiding the administrative cost of accounting for monthly principal and interest payments.
The market value of the mortgage pools may rise prior to the future settlement date which would benefit the Bond Funds. Conversely, the value of the mortgage pools could fall in which case a Fund would incur a loss in market value. Cash, which would be used to purchase the mortgages, will be invested in instruments that are permissible investments for the applicable Fund. Each Fund will hold and maintain, until the settlement date, segregated cash or liquid assets in an amount equal to its forward purchase price.
Mortgages purchased for forward delivery involve certain risks, including a risk that the counterparty will be unable or unwilling to complete the transaction as scheduled, which may result in losses to a Fund. There is no assurance that mortgage dollar rolls will be economically beneficial to a Fund.
Municipal Instruments. The Bond Funds may invest in obligations issued or guaranteed by municipalities and states. Municipal instruments are generally issued to finance public works, such as airports, bridges, highways, housing, health-related entities, transportation-related projects, educational programs, water and pollution control and sewer works. They are also issued to repay outstanding obligations, to raise funds for general operating expenses and to make loans to other public institutions and for other facilities. Municipal instruments include private activity bonds issued by or on behalf of public authorities.
Private activity bonds are, or have been, issued to obtain funds to provide, among other things, privately operated housing facilities, pollution control facilities, convention or trade show facilities, mass transit, airport, port or parking facilities and certain local facilities for water supply, gas, electricity or sewage or solid waste disposal. Private activity bonds are also issued to privately held or publicly owned corporations in the financing of commercial or industrial facilities. State and local governments are authorized in most states to issue private activity bonds for such purposes in order to encourage corporations to locate within their communities. The principal and interest on these obligations may be payable from the general revenues of the users of such facilities.
Municipal instruments include both “general” and “revenue” obligations. General obligations are secured by the issuer’s pledge of its full faith, credit and taxing power for the payment of principal and interest. Revenue obligations are payable only from the revenues derived from a particular facility or class of facilities or, in some cases, from the proceeds of a special excise tax or other specific revenue source such as lease revenue payments from the user of the facility being financed. Private activity bonds are in most cases revenue securities and are not payable from the unrestricted revenues of the issuer. Consequently, the credit quality of a private activity bond is usually directly related to the credit standing of the private user of the facility involved.
The Bond Funds may also invest in “moral obligation” bonds, which are normally issued by special purpose public authorities. If the issuer of a moral obligation bond is unable to meet its debt service obligations from current revenues, it may draw on a reserve fund (if such a fund has been established), the restoration of which is a moral commitment but not a legal obligation of the state or municipality which created the issuer.
Within the principal classifications of municipal instruments described above there are a variety of categories, including municipal bonds, municipal notes, municipal leases, custodial receipts and participation certificates. Municipal notes include tax, revenue and bond anticipation notes of short maturity, generally less than three years, which are issued to obtain temporary funds for various public purposes. Municipal leases and participation certificates are obligations issued by state or local governments or authorities to finance the acquisition of equipment and facilities. Participation certificates may represent participations in a lease, an installment purchase contract or a conditional sales contract. Certain municipal lease obligations (and related participation certificates) may include “non-appropriation” clauses which provide that the municipality has no obligation to make lease or installment purchase payments in future years unless money is appropriated for such purpose on a yearly basis. Custodial receipts are underwritten by securities dealers or banks and evidence ownership of future interest
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payments, principal payments or both on certain municipal securities. Municipal leases (and participations in such leases) present the risk that a municipality will not appropriate funds for the lease payments.
An issuer’s obligations under its municipal instruments are subject to the provisions of bankruptcy, insolvency and other laws affecting the rights and remedies of creditors, such as the Federal Bankruptcy Code, and laws, if any, that may be enacted by federal or state legislatures extending the time for payment of principal or interest, or both, or imposing other constraints upon enforcement of such obligations or upon the ability of municipalities to levy taxes. The power or ability of an issuer to meet its obligations for the payment of interest on, and principal of, its municipal instruments may be materially adversely affected by litigation or other conditions.
Certain of the municipal instruments held by a Fund may be insured as to the timely payment of principal and interest. The insurance policies will usually be obtained by the issuer of the municipal instrument at the time of its original issuance. If the issuer defaults on an interest or principal payment, the insurer will be notified and will be required to make payment to the bondholders. There is, however, no guarantee that the insurer will meet its obligations. In addition, such insurance will not protect against market fluctuations caused by changes in interest rates and other factors.
In addition, municipal instruments may be backed by letters of credit or guarantees issued by domestic or foreign banks or other financial institutions that are not subject to federal deposit insurance. Adverse developments affecting the banking industry generally or a particular bank or financial institution that has provided its credit or guarantee with respect to a municipal instrument held by a Fund, including a change in the credit quality of any such bank or financial institution, could result in a loss to the Fund and adversely affect the value of its shares. As described in the section entitled “Foreign Securities and Obligations” in this SAI, letters of credit and guarantees issued by foreign banks and financial institutions involve certain risks in addition to those of similar instruments issued by domestic banks and financial institutions.
The Bond Funds may invest in municipal leases, which may be considered liquid under guidelines established by the Board of Trustees. The guidelines will provide for determination of the liquidity of a municipal lease obligation based on factors including the following: (1) the frequency of trades and quotes for the obligation; (2) the number of dealers willing to purchase or sell the security and the number of other potential buyers; (3) the willingness of dealers to undertake to make a market in the security; and (4) the nature of the marketplace trades, including the time needed to dispose of the security, the method of soliciting offers and the mechanics of transfer. A Fund, under the supervision of the Sub-Adviser, will also consider the continued marketability of a municipal lease obligation based upon an analysis of the general credit quality of the municipality issuing the obligation and the essentiality to the municipality of the property covered by the lease.
Currently, it is not the intention of any Bond Fund to invest more than 25% of the value of its total assets in municipal instruments whose issuers are in the same state.
Natural Resources Companies and Commodities. A Fund may purchase securities of companies in the natural resources and commodities sectors. Natural resources industries and commodities markets may be significantly affected by (often rapid) changes in supply of, or demand for, various natural resources and commodities. They may also be affected by changes in commodity prices; changes in exchange rates, interest rates and inflation rates; market speculation; international political and economic developments (such as political events affecting access to natural resources, acts of war and terrorism); environmental incidents; energy conservation; depletion of natural resources; the success of exploration projects; and tax and other government regulations. As such, the securities of companies in the natural resources sector may experience more price volatility than securities of companies in other industries, and the prices of commodities may experience volatility due to supply and demand disruptions in major producing or consuming regions.
Negative Interest Rates. Recently, certain countries have experienced negative interest rates on deposits and debt instruments that have traded at negative yields. Negative interest rates may become more prevalent among non-U.S. issuers, and potentially within the United States, if these economies experience deflationary conditions. The
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imposition of negative interest rates is used as a monetary policy tool to encourage economic growth during periods of deflation. These market conditions may increase a Bond Fund’s (and includes the Money Market Fund for purposes of this paragraph) exposures to the risks associated with rising interest rates. To the extent a Fund has a bank deposit or holds a debt instrument with a negative interest rate to maturity, the Fund could generate a negative return on that investment. A number of factors may contribute to debt instruments trading at a negative yield including, but not limited to, central bank monetary policies intended to help create self-sustaining growth in the local economy. While negative yields can be expected to reduce demand for fixed income investments trading at a negative interest rate, investors may be willing to continue to purchase such investments for a number of reasons including, but not limited to, price insensitivity, arbitrage opportunities across fixed income markets or rules-based investment strategies. If negative interest rates become more prevalent in the market, it is expected that investors will seek to reallocate assets to other income-producing assets such as investment grade and high-yield debt instruments, or equity investments that pay a dividend. This increased demand for higher yielding assets may cause the price of such instruments to rise while triggering a corresponding decrease in yield and the value of debt instruments over time. In addition, a move to higher yielding investments may cause investors, including a Fund, to seek fixed income investments with longer duration and/or potentially reduced credit quality in order to seek the desired level of yield. These considerations may limit a Fund’s ability to locate fixed income instruments containing the desired risk/return profile. Changing interest rates, including, but not limited to, rates that fall below zero, could have unpredictable effects on the markets and may expose fixed income and related markets to heightened volatility and potential illiquidity. For funds, such as the Money Market Fund, that seek to maintain a stable $1.00 share price, a low or negative interest rate environment could impact a fund's ability to do so. During a low or negative interest rate environment, such funds may reduce the number of shares outstanding on a pro rata basis through reverse stock splits, negative dividends or other mechanisms to seek to maintain a stable $1.00 price per share, to the extent permissible by applicable law and its organizational documents. In December 2021, the SEC proposed amendments to Rule 2a-7 that, if adopted, would impact the manner in which all types of money market funds operate. The amendments would, among other items, prohibit certain mechanisms for maintaining a stable NAV per share in negative interest rate environments, such as by reducing the number of fund shares outstanding (including through reverse distribution mechanisms).
Portfolio Turnover Rate. The higher the portfolio turnover, the higher the overall brokerage commissions, dealer mark-ups and mark-downs and other direct transaction costs incurred. The Adviser and Sub-Advisers do take these costs into account since they affect overall investment performance. However, portfolio turnover may vary greatly from year to year as well as within a particular year and may be affected by changes in the holdings of specific issuers, changes in country and currency weightings and cash requirements for redemption of shares. Portfolio turnover rates for the Select Funds may be higher than those of mutual funds with a single manager. The Funds are not restricted by policy with regard to portfolio turnover and will make changes in their investment portfolio from time to time as business and economic conditions as well as market prices may dictate. During the last two fiscal years, certain Funds had significant variation in portfolio turnover: (i) the MyDestination 2025 Fund experienced higher turnover in 2022 due to declining market values; (ii) the Conservative Allocation Fund experienced significantly higher turnover in 2022 as a result of allocation changes to the underlying investments within the Fund’s asset classes; (iii) the Aggressive Allocation Fund experienced significantly higher turnover in 2022 as a result of allocation changes to the underlying investments within the Equities asset class; (iv) the Low-Duration Bond Fund experienced significantly higher turnover in 2021 due to a higher usage of derivative instruments; (v) the Growth Equity Fund experienced significantly higher turnover in 2022 due to Sub-Adviser changes within the Fund; (vi) the International Equity Index Fund experienced higher turnover in 2021 due to Target Date Fund glide path changes; and (vii) the International Equity Fund experienced higher turnover in 2022 due to Sub-Adviser changes within the Fund.
Preferred Stocks. The Bond Funds, Equity Funds and Strategic Alternatives Fund may invest in preferred stock. Preferred stockholders have a greater right to receive liquidation payments, and usually dividends, than do common stockholders. However, preferred stock is subordinated to the liabilities of the issuer in all respects. Preferred stock may or may not be convertible into common stock.
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As a general rule, the market value of preferred stock with a fixed dividend rate and no conversion element will decline as interest rates and perceived credit risk rises. Because preferred stock is junior to debt securities and other obligations of the issuer, deterioration in the credit quality of the issuer will cause greater changes in the value of a preferred stock than in a more senior debt security with similar stated yield characteristics.
Private Investments. The Funds may invest in equity and debt securities that are exempt from registration under the 1933 Act and are typically excluded from the definition of investment company under the 1940 Act. These private investments are generally available only to accredited investors, such as the Funds and other institutional investors.
Privately Placed and Restricted Securities. The Equity Funds’ investments may include privately placed or restricted securities, which are subject to resale restrictions. These securities will have the effect of increasing the level of illiquidity to the extent a Fund may be unable to sell or transfer these securities due to restrictions on transfers or on the ability to find buyers interested in purchasing the securities. The illiquidity of the market, as well as the lack of publicly available information regarding these securities, may also adversely affect the ability to arrive at a fair value for certain securities at certain times and could make it difficult for a Fund to sell certain securities.
An Equity Fund may invest in a private investment in public equity (“PIPE”), in which the Fund purchases stock in a private placement of securities. There is a risk that if the market price drops below a set threshold, the company may have to issue additional stock at a significantly reduced price, which may dilute the value of the Fund’s investment. PIPE transactions typically involve the purchase of securities directly from a publicly traded company or its affiliates in a private placement transaction, typically at a discount to the market price of the company’s common stock. Equity issued in this manner is often subject to transfer restrictions and is therefore less liquid than equity issued through a registered public offering. In a PIPE transaction, the Fund may bear the price risk from the time of pricing until the time of closing. The Fund may be subject to lock-up agreements, which could last many months, that prohibit transfers for a fixed period of time. In addition, because the sale of the securities in a PIPE transaction is not registered under the 1933 Act, the securities are “restricted” and cannot be immediately resold by the investors into the public markets. The Fund may enter into a registration rights agreement with the issuer pursuant to which the issuer commits to file a resale registration statement allowing the Fund to publicly resell its securities. Accordingly, PIPE securities may be deemed illiquid. However, the ability of the Fund to freely transfer the shares is conditioned upon, among other things, the SEC’s preparedness to declare the resale registration statement effective covering the resale, from time to time, of the shares sold in the private financing and the issuer’s right to suspend the Fund’s use of the resale registration statement if the issuer is pursuing a transaction or some other material non-public event is occurring. Accordingly, PIPE securities may be subject to risks associated with illiquid securities. A PIPE may contain provisions that the issuer will pay specified financial penalties to the holder if the issuer does not publicly register the restricted equity security within a specified period of time, but there is no assurance that the restricted equity security will be publicly registered, or that the registration will remain in effect.
Real Estate Investments. Each Select Fund may invest in real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) and other real estate-related securities. The Global Real Estate Securities Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of REITs and other real estate-related companies. For purposes of the Global Real Estate Securities Fund’s investment policies, a real estate related company is one that derives at least 50% of its revenue from, or has at least 50% of the value of its assets in, real estate, including the ownership, construction, management or sale of real estate. A REIT is a company dedicated to owning, and usually operating, income-producing real estate or to financing real estate.
REITs can generally be classified as equity REITs, mortgage REITs or hybrid REITs. Equity REITs invest directly in real property, while mortgage REITs invest in mortgages on real property. Hybrid REITs combine the characteristics of both equity REITs and mortgage REITs. The Global Real Estate Securities Fund invests primarily in equity REITs, but may also invest in mortgage and hybrid REITs. These equity securities can consist of common stocks (including REIT and other real estate related securities), rights or warrants to purchase
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common stocks, securities convertible into common stocks where the conversion feature represents a significant element of the securities’ value and preferred stocks. REITs may be subject to certain risks associated with the direct ownership of real estate, including declines in the value of real estate, risks related to general and local economic conditions, overbuilding and increased competition, increases in property taxes and operating expenses and variations in rental income. Generally, increases in interest rates will decrease the value of high-yielding securities and increase the costs of obtaining financing, which could decrease the value of a REIT’s investments. In addition, equity REITs may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property owned by the REITs, while mortgage REITs may be affected by the quality of credit extended.
Equity and mortgage REITs are dependent upon management skill and are subject to the risks of financing projects. REITs are also subject to heavy cash flow dependency, defaults by borrowers and self-liquidation. In the event of a default by a borrower or lessee, the REIT may experience delays in enforcing its rights as a mortgagee or lessor and may incur substantial costs associated with protecting investments.
Adverse economic, business or political developments affecting the real estate sector could have a major effect on the value of a Fund’s investments. REITs pool investors’ funds for investment primarily in income-producing real estate or real estate loans or interests. A tax-qualified REIT is not taxed on its net income and net realized gains it distributes to its shareholders if it complies with several requirements relating to its organization, ownership, diversification of assets and sources of income and a requirement that it distribute to its shareholders at least 90% of the sum of its taxable income (other than net capital gain) plus certain “net income from foreclosure property” for each taxable year. A Fund will not invest in real estate directly but only in securities issued by real estate and real estate-related companies, except that a Fund may hold real estate and sell real estate acquired through default, liquidation or other distributions of an interest in real estate as a result of the Fund’s ownership of securities issued by real estate or real estate-related companies.
In addition, a U.S. REIT could possibly fail to qualify for the beneficial tax treatment available to REITs under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), or to maintain its exemption from registration under the 1940 Act, and foreign REITs could possibly fail to qualify for any beneficial tax treatments available in their local jurisdictions. For example, Japanese REITs (“J-REITs”) are subject to complex tax regulation in Japan and a failure to comply with those requirements could disqualify the J-REIT from special tax benefits and reduce the amount available for distribution to J-REIT investors.
Recent Market Conditions. The financial markets in which the Funds invest are subject to price volatility that could cause losses in a Fund. Market volatility may result from a variety of factors.
Global economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that political, economic and other conditions (including, but not limited to, natural disasters, pandemics, epidemics and social unrest) in one country or region might adversely impact issuers in a different country or region.
The novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”), first detected in December 2019, rapidly became a pandemic and has resulted in disruptions to the economies of many nations, individual companies and the markets in general, the impact of which cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time. This has created closed borders, quarantines, supply chain disruptions and general anxiety, impacting global markets in an unforeseeable manner. The effects of COVID-19 and other such future infectious diseases in certain regions or countries may be greater or less due to the nature or level of their public health response or due to other factors. Health crises caused by COVID-19 or future infectious diseases may exacerbate other pre-existing political, social and economic risks in certain countries. The impact of such health crises may be quick, severe and of unknowable duration. The COVID-19 pandemic and other epidemics and pandemics that may arise in the future could result in continued volatility in the financial markets and lead to increased levels of Fund redemptions, which could have a negative impact on the Funds and could adversely affect a Fund’s performance.
High public debt in the United States and other countries creates ongoing systemic and market risks and policymaking uncertainty.
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A potential slowdown in global economic growth could impact the equity and fixed income securities markets in some ways unforeseen. In March 2019, the Federal Reserve announced accommodative changes to its balance-sheet reduction plan. These accommodative signals represented a shift in the central bank’s sentiment from being one of raising rates to one of a “patient” or dovish approach to monetary policy. In August, September and October 2019, the Federal Reserve decreased rates in response to decelerating global economic growth. In response to the impact of COVID-19, in March 2020, the Federal Reserve announced cuts to the target range of the federal funds rate and a new round of quantitative easing. However, the Federal Reserve has since raised rates multiple times in an effort to combat inflation in the U.S. economy, and it may continue to do so. Changes to the monetary policy by the Federal Reserve or other regulatory actions could expose fixed income and related markets to heightened volatility, interest rate sensitivity and reduced liquidity, which may impact a Fund's operations and return potential. The potential economic weakness across the globe could be problematic as traditional catalysts, including stimulating fiscal and monetary policies, would most likely be limited going forward which could put pressure on corporate earnings, and in turn, prices of equity securities. A synchronized global economic slowdown could also put pressure on fixed income securities as deteriorating corporate health could lead to spread widening (causing bond prices to fall) and higher default levels.
In June 2016, the UK approved a referendum to leave the EU, commonly referred to as “Brexit,” which sparked depreciation in the value of the British pound, short-term declines in global stock markets and heightened risk of continued worldwide economic volatility. The UK officially left the EU on January 31, 2020, with a transitional period that ended December 31, 2020. Brexit has and may continue to result in volatility in European and global markets and may also lead to weakening in political, regulatory, consumer, corporate and financial confidence in the markets of the UK and throughout Europe. The longer term economic, legal, political, regulatory and social framework to be put in place between the UK and the EU remains unclear and may lead to ongoing political, regulatory and economic uncertainty and periods of exacerbated volatility in both the UK and in wider European markets for some time. Further, the UK’s departure from the EU may spark additional member states to contemplate departing the EU. In addition, the UK’s departure from the EU may create actual or perceived additional economic stresses for the UK, including potential for decreased trade, capital outflows, devaluation of the British pound, wider corporate bond spreads due to uncertainty, and possible declines in business and consumer spending, as well as foreign direct investment.
While it is not currently possible to determine the extent of the impact of the UK’s departure from the EU may have on a Fund’s investments, certain measures are being proposed and/or will be introduced, at the EU level or at the member state level, which are designed to minimize disruption in the financial markets. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the prolonged and continued uncertainty stemming from the UK’s withdrawal from the EU could negatively impact current and future economic conditions in the UK which, in turn, could negatively impact a Fund’s investments.
Periodically, there may be restrictions on investments in foreign and domestic companies. For example, on June 3, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order prohibiting U.S. persons from purchasing or selling publicly traded securities (including publicly traded securities that are derivative of, or are designed to provide exposure to, such securities) of any Chinese company identified as a Chinese Military Industrial Complex Company. The universe of affected securities can change from time to time. As a result of an increase in the number of investors seeking to sell such securities, or because of an inability to participate in an investment that the Adviser or a Sub-Adviser otherwise believes is attractive, a Fund may incur losses. Certain securities that are or become designated as prohibited securities may have less liquidity as a result of such designation and the market price of such prohibited securities may decline, potentially causing losses to a Fund. Further, actions by the U.S. government, such as delisting of certain companies from U.S. securities exchanges or otherwise restricting their operations in the United States, may negatively impact the value of such securities held by a Fund. Because the impact of these events on the markets has been widespread, it may be difficult to identify both risks and opportunities using past models of the interplay of market forces, or to predict the duration of these market conditions. Unexpected political and diplomatic events within the United States and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy, perhaps suddenly and to a significant degree.
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Repurchase Agreements. Each Fund may agree to purchase portfolio securities from financial institutions subject to the seller’s agreement to repurchase them at a mutually agreed upon date and price (“repurchase agreements”). Repurchase agreements are considered to be loans under the 1940 Act. Although the securities subject to a repurchase agreement may bear maturities exceeding one year, settlement for the repurchase agreement will never be more than one year after a Fund’s acquisition of the securities and normally will be within a shorter period of time. Securities subject to repurchase agreements are held either by the Fund’s custodian or subcustodian (if any) or in the Fed/Treasury Book-Entry System. The seller under a repurchase agreement will be required to maintain the value of the securities subject to the agreement in an amount exceeding the repurchase price (including accrued interest). Default by the seller would, however, expose a Fund to possible loss because of adverse market action or delay and costs in connection with the disposition of the underlying obligations.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. Each Select Fund may borrow funds by selling portfolio securities to financial institutions such as banks and broker/dealers and agreeing to repurchase them at a mutually specified date and price (“reverse repurchase agreement”). The Funds may use the proceeds of a reverse repurchase agreement to purchase other securities either maturing, or under an agreement to resell, on a date simultaneous with or prior to the expiration of the reverse repurchase agreement. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the market value of the securities sold by a Fund may decline below the repurchase price. A Fund will pay interest on amounts obtained pursuant to a reverse repurchase agreement.
Rights and Warrants Risk. Rights and warrants may be considered more speculative than certain other types of investments in that they do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying securities that may be purchased nor do they represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. Also, the value of a right or warrant does not necessarily change with the value of the underlying securities, and a right or warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to the expiration date. If a right or warrant held by a Fund is not exercised by the date of its expiration, the Fund would lose the entire purchase price of the right or warrant. The market for warrants and rights may be very limited, and there may, at times, not be a liquid secondary market for warrants and rights.
Securities Lending. The Select Funds may lend portfolio securities provided the aggregate market value of securities loaned will not at any time exceed 33 1/3% of the total assets of the Fund. Pursuant to a Securities Lending Authorization Agreement with Northern Trust, the Select Funds may lend portfolio securities to certain brokers, dealers and other financial institutions that pay the Select Funds a negotiated fee. When loaning securities, the Select Funds retain the benefits of owning the securities, including the economic equivalent of dividends or interest generated by the security. The Select Funds also have the ability to terminate the loans at any time and can do so in order to vote proxies or sell the securities. The Select Funds receive cash or U.S. government securities, such as U.S. Treasury Bills and U.S. Treasury Notes, as collateral against the loaned securities in an amount at least equal to the market value of the loaned securities. The adequacy of the collateral is monitored on a daily basis, and the market value of the securities loaned is determined at the close of each business day. However, in the event of default or bankruptcy by the other party to the agreement, realization and/or retention of the collateral may be subject to legal proceedings. Cash collateral has been invested in a short-term government money market fund managed by an affiliate of The Northern Trust Company, which invests 99.5% or more of its total assets in U.S. government securities.
The securities lending agreements with borrowers permit the Funds, under certain circumstances including an event of default (such as bankruptcy or insolvency), to offset amounts payable by the Fund to the same counterparty against amounts to be received and create one single net payment due to or from the Fund. Securities lending transactions pose certain risks to the Funds. There is a risk that a borrower may default on its obligations to return loaned securities. A Fund will be responsible for the risks associated with the investment of cash collateral, including any collateral invested in an unaffiliated or affiliated money market fund. A Fund may lose money on its investment of cash collateral or may fail to earn sufficient income on its investment to meet obligations to the borrower. In addition, delays may occur in the recovery of securities from borrowers, which could interfere with a Fund’s ability to vote proxies or to settle transactions.
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Securities Ratings Information. The Funds may use ratings from rating agencies to assist in determining whether to purchase, sell or hold a security. Ratings are general and are not absolute standards of quality. There is no guarantee that the ratings provided by these agencies will necessarily provide an accurate reflection of the credit quality of the securities that they rate. The Money Market Fund will limit its investments to securities that, at the time of acquisition, are “Eligible Securities” (as defined in Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act) as determined by the Sub-Adviser.
Short Sales. In these transactions, a Fund sells a security it does not own in anticipation of a decline in the market value of the security. The International Equity Fund may establish short positions in stocks of foreign companies with a market value of up to 10% of the Fund’s assets. The Strategic Alternatives Fund may establish short positions in stocks of companies with a market value of up to 40% of the Fund’s assets. The Defensive Market Strategies Fund may establish short positions in stocks of companies with a market value of up to 30% of its assets. The Bond Funds and Strategic Alternatives Fund may sell short U.S. Treasury securities and derivatives such as, but not limited to, swaps, futures contracts and currency forwards, to manage risk (e.g., duration, currency, credit, etc.). To complete a short sale transaction, a Fund must borrow the security to make delivery to the buyer. The Fund is obligated to replace the security borrowed by purchasing it subsequently at the market price at the time of replacement. The price at such time may be more or less than the price at which the security was sold by the Fund, which would result in a loss or gain, respectively.
While short sales by a Fund create opportunities to increase the Fund’s return, at the same time, they involve specific risk considerations. Since the 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 tends 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 such short sales. The amount of any gain will be decreased, and the amount of any loss increased, by the amount of any premium, dividends or interest the Fund may be required to pay in connection with the short sale. Short sales theoretically involve unlimited loss potential, as the market price of securities sold short may continually increase, although the Fund may mitigate such losses by replacing the securities sold short before the market price has increased significantly. Under adverse market conditions, the 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.
Small Company Securities. The Small Cap Equity Fund, which invests mainly (at least, and typically more than 80% of its net assets, plus borrowing for investment purposes, if any) in securities issued by smaller companies, and the Global Real Estate Securities Fund and Emerging Markets Equity Fund are principally subject to the risks associated with investments in securities of small capitalization companies. All of the other Equity Funds and Strategic Alternatives Fund may also invest in securities issued by smaller companies. Investing in the securities of smaller companies involves greater risk, portfolio price volatility and cost. Historically, small capitalization stocks and stocks of recently organized companies have been more volatile in price than the larger capitalization stocks included in the S&P 500® Index. Among the reasons for this greater price volatility are the lower degree of market liquidity (the securities of companies with small stock market capitalizations may trade less frequently and in limited volume) and the greater sensitivity of small companies to changing economic conditions. For example, these companies are associated with higher investment risk due to the greater business risks of small size and limited product lines, markets, distribution channels and financial and managerial resources.
The values of small company stocks will frequently fluctuate independently of the values of larger company stocks. Small company stocks may decline in price as large company stock prices rise, or rise in price as large company stock prices decline. You should, therefore, expect that because the NAV of the Small Cap Equity Fund’s, Global Real Estate Securities Fund’s and Emerging Markets Equity Fund’s shares will be more volatile than, and may fluctuate independently of, broad stock market indexes such as the S&P 500® Index.
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The additional costs associated with the acquisition of small company stocks include brokerage costs, market impact costs (that is, the increase in market prices which may result when a Fund purchases thinly traded stock) and the effect of the “bid-ask” spread in small company stocks. These costs will be borne by all shareholders and may negatively impact investment performance.
The Impact Equity Fund may also invest in small- or micro-capitalization companies and funds, including start-up funds that have no operating history and a limited basis upon which to evaluate the return and impact of the investment. There are increased investment and non-investment risks associated with such investments. Among other things, for example, such funds may not be able to gather sufficient assets to make investments with the breadth and depth of impact and return that their managers intend.
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies. The Select Funds (except the Money Market Fund) may invest in stock, warrants and other securities of special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”) or similar special purpose entities that pool funds to seek potential acquisition opportunities. A SPAC is typically a publicly traded company that raises funds through an initial public offering (“IPO”) for the purpose of acquiring or merging with another company to be identified subsequent to the SPAC’s IPO. The securities of a SPAC are often 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. Unless and until a transaction is completed, a SPAC generally invests its assets (less a portion retained to cover expenses) in U.S. government securities, money market funds and similar investments. If an acquisition or merger that meets the requirements for the SPAC is not completed within a pre-established period of time, the invested funds are returned to the SPAC’s shareholders, less certain permitted expenses, and any rights or warrants issued by the SPAC will expire worthless.
Because SPACs and similar entities are in essence blank check companies without 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. An investment in a SPAC is subject to a variety of risks, including that (i) a portion of the monies raised by the SPAC for the purpose of effecting an acquisition or merger may be expended prior to the transaction for payment of taxes and other expenses; (ii) prior to any acquisition or merger, a SPAC’s assets are typically invested in U.S. government securities, money market funds and similar investments whose returns or yields may be significantly lower than those of a Fund’s other investments; (iii) a Fund generally will not receive significant income from its investments in SPACs (both prior to and after any acquisition or merger) and, therefore, a Fund’s investments in SPACs will not significantly contribute to a Fund’s distributions to shareholders; (iv) attractive acquisition or merger targets may become scarce if the number of SPACs seeking to acquire operating businesses increases; (v) an attractive acquisition or merger target may not be identified at all, in which case the SPAC will be required to return any remaining monies to shareholders; (vi) if an acquisition or merger target is identified, a Fund may elect not to participate in, or vote to approve, the proposed transaction or a Fund may be required to divest its interests in the SPAC, due to regulatory or other considerations, in which case a Fund may not reap any resulting benefits; (vii) the warrants or other rights with respect to the SPAC held by a Fund may expire worthless or may be redeemed by the SPAC at an unfavorable price; (viii) any proposed merger or acquisition may be unable to obtain the requisite approval, if any, of SPAC shareholders and/or antitrust and securities regulators; (ix) under any circumstances in which a Fund receives a refund of all or a portion of its original investment (which typically represents a pro rata share of the proceeds of the SPAC’s assets, less any applicable taxes), the returns on that investment may be negligible, and a Fund may be subject to opportunity costs to the extent that alternative investments would have produced higher returns; (x) to the extent an acquisition or merger is announced or completed, shareholders who redeem their shares prior to that time may not reap any resulting benefits; (xi) a Fund may be delayed in receiving any redemption or liquidation proceeds from a SPAC to which it is entitled; (xii) an acquisition or merger once effected may prove unsuccessful and an investment in the SPAC may lose value; (xiii) an investment in a SPAC may be diluted by additional later offerings of interests in the SPAC or by other investors exercising existing rights to purchase shares of the SPAC; (xiv) only a thinly traded market for shares of or interests in a SPAC may develop, or there may be no market at all, leaving a Fund unable to sell its interest in a SPAC or to sell its interest only at a price below what the Fund believes is the SPAC interest’s intrinsic value; and (xv) the values of investments in SPACs may be highly volatile and may depreciate significantly over time.
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In addition, from time to time, a Fund may serve as an “anchor” investor by purchasing a significant portion of the units offered in a SPAC’s IPO. A Fund may also purchase private warrants from a SPAC and/or enter into a forward purchase agreement or similar arrangement through which the Fund makes a non-binding commitment to purchase additional units of the SPAC in the future. In exchange, a Fund receives certain private rights and other interests issued by a SPAC (commonly referred to as “founder shares”). Founder shares are generally subject to all of the risks described above (including the risk that the founder shares will expire worthless to the extent an acquisition or merger is not completed). Founder shares are also subject to restrictions on transferability, which significantly reduces their liquidity. In addition, a Fund may be required to forfeit all or a portion of any founder shares it holds, including, for example, (i) if the Fund does not purchase additional units of the SPAC pursuant to the terms of any forward purchase agreement it enters into; (ii) if the Fund sells shares that it purchased in the IPO prior to the SPAC effecting a merger or acquisition; or (iii) if the SPAC’s sponsor forfeits its founders shares to effect a merger or acquisition.
Stripped Obligations. The U.S. Treasury has facilitated transfers of ownership of zero coupon securities by accounting separately for the beneficial ownership of particular interest coupon and principal payments on U.S. Treasury securities through the Federal Reserve book-entry record-keeping system. This program as established by the U.S. Treasury is known as “STRIPS” or “Separate Trading of Registered Interest and Principal of Securities.” The Select Funds may purchase securities registered in the STRIPS program. Under the STRIPS program, the Funds are able to have their beneficial ownership of zero coupon securities recorded directly in the book-entry record-keeping system in lieu of having to hold certificates or other evidences of ownership of the underlying U.S. Treasury securities.
In addition, to the extent consistent with its investment objective and strategies, a Select Fund may acquire U.S. government obligations and their unmatured interest coupons that have been separated (“stripped”) by their holder, typically a custodian bank or investment brokerage firm. Having separated the interest coupons from the underlying principal of the U.S. government obligations, the holder will resell the stripped securities in custodial receipt programs with a number of different names, including “Treasury Income Growth Receipts” (“TIGRs”) and “Certificate of Accrual on Treasury Securities” (“CATS”). The stripped coupons are sold separately from the underlying principal, which is usually sold at a deep discount because the buyer receives only the right to receive a future fixed payment on the security and does not receive any rights to periodic interest (cash) payments. The underlying U.S. Treasury bonds and notes themselves are held in book-entry form at the Fed Bank or, in the case of bearer securities (i.e., unregistered securities that are ostensibly owned by the bearer or holder), in trust on behalf of the owners. Some counsels to the underwriters of certain of these certificates or other evidences of ownership of U.S. Treasury securities generally have stated that, in their opinion, purchasers of the stripped securities most likely will be deemed the beneficial holders of the underlying U.S. government obligations for federal income tax purposes. The Funds are unaware of any binding legislative, judicial or administrative authority on this issue.
The Select Funds may buy U.S. Treasury inflation-indexed securities, including through the Fund’s cash overlay program. When a Fund buys inflation-indexed securities, the U.S. Treasury pays the Fund interest on the inflation-adjusted principal amount. Competitive bidding before the security’s issue determines the fixed interest or coupon rate. At maturity, the U.S. Treasury redeems the Fund’s securities at their inflation-adjusted principal or par amount, whichever is greater. U.S. Treasury securities are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Every six months, the U.S. Treasury will pay interest based on a fixed rate of interest at auction. Semiannual interest payments are determined by multiplying the inflation-adjusted principal amount by one-half the stated rate of interest on each interest payment date.
Other types of stripped securities may be purchased by the Bond Funds and Money Market Fund, including stripped mortgage-backed securities (“SMBS”). SMBS are usually structured with two or more classes that receive different proportions of the interest and principal distributions from a pool of mortgage-backed obligations. A common type of SMBS will have one class receiving all of the interest payments (“interest only”) while the other class receives all of the principal repayments (“principal only”). However, in some instances, one class will receive some of the interest and most of the principal while the other class will receive most of the
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interest and the remainder of the principal. If the underlying obligations experience greater than anticipated prepayments of principal, a Fund may fail to fully recoup its initial investment in these securities. The market value of the class consisting entirely of principal payments generally is extremely volatile in response to changes in interest rates. The yield on a class of SMBS that receives all or most of the interest is generally higher than prevailing market yields on other mortgage-backed obligations because its cash flow patterns are also volatile and there is a risk that the initial investment will not be fully recouped. SMBS issued by the U.S. government (or a U.S. government agency or instrumentality) may be considered liquid under guidelines established by the Board of Trustees if they can be disposed of promptly in the ordinary course of business at a value reasonably close to that used in the calculation of the NAV per share.
Structured Notes. The Bond Funds, Strategic Alternatives Fund and Defensive Market Strategies Fund may invest in a broad category of instruments known as “structured notes.” These instruments are debt obligations issued by entities such as industrial corporations, financial institutions or governmental or international agencies. Traditional debt obligations typically obligate the issuer to repay the principal plus a specified rate of interest. Structured notes, by contrast, obligate the issuer to pay amounts of principal or interest that are determined by reference to changes in some external factor or factors, or the principal and interest rate may vary from the stated rate because of changes in these factors. For example, the issuer’s obligations could be determined by reference to changes in certain factors such as a foreign currency, an index of securities (such as the S&P 500® Index) or an interest rate (such as the U.S. Treasury bill rate). In some cases, the issuer’s obligations are determined by reference to changes over time in the difference (or “spread”) between two or more external factors (such as the U.S. prime lending rate and the total return of the stock market in a particular country, as measured by a stock index). In some cases, the issuer’s obligations may fluctuate inversely with changes in an external factor or factors (for example, if the U.S. prime lending rate goes up, the issuer’s interest payment obligations are reduced). In some cases, the issuer’s obligations may be determined by some multiple of the change in an external factor or factors (for example, three times the change in the U.S. Treasury bill rate). In some cases, the issuer’s obligations remain fixed (as with a traditional debt instrument) so long as an external factor or factors do not change by more than the specified amount (for example, if the value of a stock index does not exceed some specified maximum), but if the external factor or factors change by more than the specified amount, the issuer’s obligations may be sharply reduced. Structured notes can serve many different purposes in the management of a Fund. For example, they can be used to increase a Fund’s exposure to changes in the value of assets that the Fund would not ordinarily purchase directly (such as stocks traded in a market that is not open to U.S. investors). Also, they can be used to hedge the risks associated with other investments a Fund holds.
Structured notes involve special risks. As with any debt obligation, structured notes involve the risk that the issuer will become insolvent or otherwise default on its payment obligations. This risk is in addition to the risk that the issuer’s obligations (and thus the value of a Fund’s investment) will be reduced because of adverse changes in the external factor or factors to which the obligations are linked. The value of structured notes will in many cases be more volatile (that is, will change more rapidly or severely) than the value of traditional debt instruments. Volatility will be especially high if the issuer’s obligations are determined by reference to some multiple of change in the external factor or factors. Many structured notes have limited or no liquidity, so that a Fund would be unable to dispose of the investment prior to maturity. As with all investments, successful use of structured notes depends in significant part on the accuracy of the Sub-Adviser’s analysis of the issuer’s creditworthiness and financial prospects, and of the Sub-Adviser’s forecast as to changes in relevant economic financial market conditions and factors. In instances where the issuer of a structured note is a foreign entity, the usual risks associated with investments in foreign securities apply. Structured notes may be considered derivative instruments.
An equity-linked note (“ELN”) is a structured note with a reference rate that is determined by a single stock, a stock index or a basket of stocks. Equity-linked notes combine the protection normally associated with fixed income investments with the potential for capital appreciation normally associated with equity investments. Upon the maturity of the note, the holder generally receives a return of principal based on the capital appreciation of the linked securities. Depending on the terms of the note, equity-linked notes may also have a “cap” or “floor” on the maximum principal amount to be repaid to holders, irrespective of the performance of the underlying linked securities. For example, a note may guarantee the repayment of the original principal amount invested (even if the
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underlying linked securities have negative performance during the note’s term), but may cap the maximum payment at maturity at a certain percentage of the issuance price or the return of the underlying linked securities. Alternatively, the note may not guarantee a full return on the original principal, but may offer a greater participation in any capital appreciation of the underlying linked securities. The terms of an equity-linked note may also provide for periodic interest payments to holders at either a fixed or floating rate. The secondary market for equity-linked notes may be limited, and the lack of liquidity in the secondary market may make these securities difficult to dispose of and to value. To the extent a Fund invests in equity-linked notes issued by foreign issuers, it will be subject to the risks associated with the debt securities of foreign issuers and with securities denominated in foreign currencies. Equity-linked notes are also subject to default risk and counterparty risk.
A Fund may purchase ELNs that trade on a securities exchange or those that trade on the OTC market, including Rule 144A securities. Exchange-traded notes (“ETNs”), which are typically unsecured and unsubordinated, are a type of structured note. ETNs are generally notes representing debt of a specific issuer, usually a financial institution. An ETN’s returns are linked to the performance of one or more underlying indicators, such as a particular market benchmark, strategy or reference asset, minus fees and expenses. ETNs are listed on an exchange and traded in the secondary market. An ETN can be held until the ETN’s maturity, at which time the issuer will pay a return linked to the performance of the specific asset, index or rate (“reference instrument”) to which the ETN is linked minus certain fees. This type of debt security differs from other types of bonds and notes because ETN returns are based upon the performance of a reference instrument minus applicable fees, no periodic coupon payments are distributed, and no principal protection exists.
ETNs and other structured notes are generally meant to be held until maturity, however, a Fund may sell its ETNs or other structured notes before maturity, which could result in the Fund receiving less in sales proceeds than what the Fund would have received if the notes were held to maturity. ETNs are subject to credit risk, including the credit risk of the issuer, and the value of the ETN may drop due to a downgrade in the issuer’s credit rating, despite the underlying market benchmark or reference instrument remaining unchanged. The value of an ETN may be influenced by time to maturity, level of supply and demand for the ETN, volatility and lack of liquidity in the underlying market, changes in the applicable interest rates, changes in the issuer’s credit rating and economic, legal, political or geographic events that affect the underlying market or reference instrument. As a result, there may be times when an ETN share trades at a premium or discount to its market benchmark, strategy or reference instrument. A Fund’s decision to sell its ETN holdings may also be limited by the availability of a secondary market. If a Fund must sell some or all of its ETN holdings and the secondary market is weak, it may have to sell such holdings at a discount. There may be restrictions on a Fund’s right to redeem its investment in an ETN.
ETNs are also subject to tax risk. No assurance can be given that the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) will accept, or a court will uphold, how a Fund characterizes and treats ETNs for federal income tax purposes. Further, the IRS and Congress have, from time to time, considered proposals that would change the timing and character of net income and realized gains from ETNs.
Supranational Organization Obligations. The Bond Funds, Strategic Alternatives Fund and Defensive Market Strategies Fund may invest in obligations of supranational organizations. Supranational organizations are international banking institutions designed or supported by national governments to promote economic reconstruction, development or trade among nations (e.g., the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development). Obligations of supranational organizations may be supported by appropriated but unpaid commitments of their member countries, and there is no assurance that these commitments will be undertaken or met in the future.
Swaps — Generally. The use of swaps is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. A Fund’s investment in swaps may involve a small investment relative to the amount of risk assumed. If the Sub-Adviser is incorrect in its forecasts, the investment performance of a Fund would be less favorable than it would have been if this investment technique were not used. The risks of swap agreements depend upon the other party’s creditworthiness and ability to perform, as well as the Fund’s ability to terminate its swap agreement or reduce its exposure
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through offsetting transactions. Swap agreements may be illiquid and can involve greater risks than direct investments in securities because swaps may be leveraged. The swap market is relatively new and largely unregulated. In accordance with SEC requirements, a Fund will segregate cash or liquid securities in an amount equal to its obligations under swap agreements. When an agreement provides for netting the payments by the two parties, a Fund will segregate only the amount of its net obligation, if any.
Centrally cleared swaps are either interest rate or credit default swap agreements brokered by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, London Clearing House or the Intercontinental Exchange, each a derivatives clearing organization (“DCO”), where the DCOs are the counterparty to both the buyer and seller of protection. Centrally cleared swaps are subject to general market risks and to liquidity risk. Pursuant to the agreement, a Fund agrees to pay to or receive from the broker an amount of cash equal to the daily fluctuation in the value of the contract (the “margin”) and daily interest on the margin. In the case of centrally cleared interest rate swaps, the daily settlement also includes the daily portion of interest. Such payments are recorded by a Fund as unrealized gains or losses until the contract is closed or settled. Centrally cleared swaps require no payments at the beginning of the measurement period nor are there liquidation payments at the termination of the swap. DCOs generally require an initial margin payment, and there may need to be some final adjustments at termination depending upon the variation payments made during the life of the swap and final settlement.
Swaps — Equity Swaps. The Equity Funds and Strategic Alternatives Fund may enter into equity swap contracts to invest in a market without owning or taking physical custody of securities in circumstances in which direct investment is restricted for legal reasons or is otherwise impracticable. Equity swaps may also be used for hedging purposes or to seek to increase total return. The counterparty to an equity swap contract will typically be a bank, investment banking firm or broker/dealer. Equity swap contracts may be structured in different ways. For example, a counterparty may agree to pay the Fund the amount, if any, by which the notional amount of the equity swap contract would have increased in value had it been invested in particular stocks (or an index of stocks), plus the dividends that would have been received on those stocks. In these cases, the Fund may agree to pay to the counterparty the amount, if any, by which that notional amount would have decreased in value had it been invested in the stocks. Therefore, the return to the Fund on any equity swap contract should be the gain or loss on the notional amount plus dividends on the stocks less the interest paid by the Fund on the notional amount. In other cases, the counterparty and the Fund may each agree to pay the other the difference between the relative investment performances that would have been achieved if the notional amount of the equity swap contract had been invested in different stocks (or indexes of stocks).
An Equity Fund or the Strategic Alternatives Fund will usually enter into equity swaps on a net basis, which means that the two payment streams are netted out, with the Fund receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments. Payments may be made at the conclusion of an equity swap contract or periodically during its term. Equity swaps do not involve the delivery of securities or other underlying assets. Accordingly, the risk of loss with respect to equity swaps is limited to the net amount of payments that a Fund is contractually obligated to make. If the other party to an equity swap defaults, a Fund’s risk of loss consists of the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually entitled to receive, if any.
Swaps — Credit Default Swaps. The Bond Funds and Strategic Alternatives Fund may use credit default swaps. A credit default swap is a type of insurance against default by an issuer. The owner of protection pays an annual premium to the seller of protection for the right to sell a bond equivalent to the amount of the swap in the event of a default on the bond. It is important to understand that the seller of protection is buying credit exposure and the buyer of protection is selling credit exposure. A Fund may act as seller or buyer. The premium on a credit default swap is paid over the term of the swap or until a credit event occurs. In the event of a default, the swap expires, the premium payments cease and the seller of protection makes a contingent payment to the buyer.
Swaps — Currency Swaps. The Bond Funds, Strategic Alternatives Fund, International Equity Fund and Emerging Markets Equity Fund may enter into currency swaps, as described in the section entitled “Interest Rate Swaps, Floors and Caps and Currency Swaps” in this SAI. Currency swaps involve the exchange of the rights of a Fund and another party to make or receive payments in specific currencies.
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Swaps — Swaptions. The Funds may enter into a swaption (swap option) to manage exposure to fluctuations in interest rates and to enhance portfolio yield. In a swaption, the buyer, by paying a non-refundable premium for the option, gains the right, but not the obligation, to enter into a previously agreed upon swap agreement on a future date pursuant to the terms of the swaption. In some instances, a swaption may provide the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to shorten, extend, cancel or otherwise modify an existing swap agreement at a designated time on specified terms. In contrast, the writer (seller) of a swaption, in exchange for a premium, becomes obligated (if the option is exercised) to enter into a previously agreed upon swap agreement, or to perform on an existing swap agreement in accordance with the modifications permitted by the swaption, on a future date pursuant to the terms of the swaption.
Depending upon the terms of the agreement, a Fund will generally incur a greater degree of risk when it writes (sells) a swaption than it will incur when it purchases a swaption. When a Fund purchases a swaption, it only risks losing the premium it paid should it decide to let the swaption expire unexercised. However, when a Fund writes (sells) a swaption, upon exercise of the swaption, the Fund will become obligated according to the terms of the underlying previously agreed upon swap agreement, and may be obligated to pay an amount of money that exceeds the sum of the value of the premium that it received for writing (selling) the swaption plus the value that it received pursuant to the terms of the underlying swap. In addition, the Funds bear the market risk arising from any change in index values or interest rates. Entering into a swaption contract involves, to varying degrees, the elements of credit, market, interest rate and other risks associated with both option contracts and swap contracts. The risks are set forth in the sections entitled “Futures and Options on Futures” and “Swaps” in this SAI.
Swaps — Total Return Swaps. Each Select Fund may enter into total return swaps. This gives a Fund the right to receive the appreciation in value of an underlying asset in return for paying a fee to the counterparty. The fee paid by a Fund will typically be determined by multiplying the face value of the swap agreement by an agreed-upon interest rate. If the underlying asset declines in value over the term of the swap, the Fund would also be required to pay the dollar value of that decline to the counterparty.
Swaps — Variance Swap Agreements. Variance swap agreements involve two parties exchanging cash payments based on the difference between the stated level of variance (“Variance Strike Price”) and the actual variance realized on an underlying asset or index. As a receiver of the realized price variance, a Fund would receive the payoff amount when the realized price variance of the underlying asset is greater than the strike price and would owe the payoff amount when the variance is less than the strike price. As a payer of the realized price variance, a Fund would owe the payoff amount when the realized price variance of the underlying asset is greater than the strike price and would receive the payoff amount when the variance is less than the strike. A Fund may enter into variance swaps in an attempt to hedge market risk or adjust exposure to the markets.
Temporary Defensive Positions. Each Fund (except the Equity Index Fund, Growth Equity Index Fund, Value Equity Index Fund and International Equity Index Fund) may respond to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions by investing up to 100% of its assets in temporary defensive investments. These investments may include cash, shares of the Money Market Fund, high quality short-term debt obligations and other money market instruments. During these periods, a Fund may not meet its investment objective.
The Equity Index Fund. The Equity Index Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Standard & Poor’s®, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (“S&P®”). S&P® makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally, or in the Fund particularly, or the ability of the S&P 500® Index to track general stock market performance. S&P®’s only relationship to the Trust is the licensing of certain trademarks and trade names of S&P® and of the S&P 500® Index which is determined, composed and calculated by S&P® without regard to the Trust or the Fund. S&P® has no obligation to take the needs of the Trust or the owners of the Fund into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the S&P 500® Index. S&P® is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the prices and amount of the Fund or the timing of the issuance or sale of the Fund or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Fund is to be converted into cash. S&P® has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Fund.
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S&P® DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE S&P 500® INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN, AND S&P® SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS OR INTERRUPTIONS THEREIN. S&P® MAKES NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY THE TRUST, OWNERS OF THE FUND OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE S&P 500® INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. S&P® MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO THE S&P 500® INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL S&P® HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING LOST PROFITS), EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
The Growth Equity Index Fund. The Growth Equity Index Fund has been developed solely by GSCM. The “Growth Equity Index Fund” is not in any way connected to or sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by the London Stock Exchange Group plc and its group undertakings (collectively, the “LSE Group”). FTSE Russell is a trading name of certain of the LSE Group companies. All rights in the Russell 1000® Growth Index (the “R1000G”) vest in the relevant LSE Group company which owns the R1000G. “Russell®” is a trademark of the relevant LSE Group company and is used by any other LSE Group company under license. The R1000G is calculated by or on behalf of FTSE International Limited or its affiliate, agent or partner. The LSE Group does not accept any liability whatsoever to any person arising out of (a) the use of, reliance on or any error in the R1000G or (b) investment in or operation of the Growth Equity Index Fund. The LSE Group makes no claim, prediction, warranty or representation either as to the results to be obtained from the Growth Equity Index Fund or the suitability of the R1000G for the purpose to which it is being put by GSCM.
The International Equity Fund. THE GUIDESTONE FUNDS INTERNATIONAL EQUITY INDEX FUND (“INTERNATIONAL EQUITY INDEX FUND”) IS NOT SPONSORED, ENDORSED, SOLD OR PROMOTED BY MSCI INC. (“MSCI”), ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES, ANY OF ITS INFORMATION PROVIDERS OR ANY OTHER THIRD PARTY INVOLVED IN, OR RELATED TO, COMPILING, COMPUTING OR CREATING ANY MSCI INDEX (COLLECTIVELY, THE “MSCI PARTIES”). THE MSCI INDEXES ARE THE EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OF MSCI. MSCI AND THE MSCI INDEX NAMES ARE SERVICE MARK(S) OF MSCI OR ITS AFFILIATES AND HAVE BEEN LICENSED FOR USE FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES BY THE ADVISER. NONE OF THE MSCI PARTIES MAKES ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, TO THE ISSUER OR OWNERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL EQUITY INDEX FUND OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY REGARDING THE ADVISABILITY OF INVESTING IN FUNDS GENERALLY OR IN THE INTERNATIONAL EQUITY INDEX FUND PARTICULARLY OR THE ABILITY OF ANY MSCI INDEX TO TRACK CORRESPONDING STOCK MARKET PERFORMANCE. MSCI OR ITS AFFILIATES ARE THE LICENSORS OF CERTAIN TRADEMARKS, SERVICE MARKS AND TRADE NAMES AND OF THE MSCI INDEXES WHICH ARE DETERMINED, COMPOSED AND CALCULATED BY MSCI WITHOUT REGARD TO THE INTERNATIONAL EQUITY INDEX FUND OR THE ISSUER OR OWNERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL EQUITY INDEX FUND OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY. NONE OF THE MSCI PARTIES HAS ANY OBLIGATION TO TAKE THE NEEDS OF THE ISSUER OR OWNERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL EQUITY INDEX FUND OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY INTO CONSIDERATION IN DETERMINING, COMPOSING OR CALCULATING THE MSCI INDEXES. NONE OF THE MSCI PARTIES IS RESPONSIBLE FOR OR HAS PARTICIPATED IN THE DETERMINATION OF THE TIMING OF, PRICES AT, OR QUANTITIES OF THE INTERNATIONAL EQUITY INDEX FUND TO BE ISSUED OR IN THE DETERMINATION OR CALCULATION OF THE EQUATION BY OR THE CONSIDERATION INTO WHICH THE INTERNATIONAL EQUITY INDEX FUND IS REDEEMABLE. FURTHER, NONE OF THE MSCI PARTIES HAS ANY OBLIGATION OR LIABILITY TO THE ISSUER OR OWNERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL EQUITY INDEX FUND OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY IN CONNECTION WITH THE ADMINISTRATION, MARKETING OR OFFERING OF THE INTERNATIONAL EQUITY INDEX FUND.
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ALTHOUGH MSCI SHALL OBTAIN INFORMATION FOR INCLUSION IN OR FOR USE IN THE CALCULATION OF THE MSCI INDEXES FROM SOURCES THAT MSCI CONSIDERS RELIABLE, NONE OF THE MSCI PARTIES WARRANTS OR GUARANTEES THAT ORIGINALITY, ACCURACY AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF ANY MSCI INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. NONE OF THE MSCI PARTIES MAKES ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY THE ISSUER OF THE INTERNATIONAL EQUITY INDEX FUND, OWNERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL EQUITY INDEX FUND, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY, FROM THE USE OF ANY MSCI INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. NONE OF THE MSCI PARTIES SHALL HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS OR INTERRUPTIONS OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH ANY MSCI INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. FURTHER, NONE OF THE MSCI PARTIES MAKES ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, AND THE MSCI PARTIES HEREBY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO EACH MSCI INDEX AND ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL ANY OF THE MSCI PARTIES HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, CONSEQUENTIAL OR ANY OTHER DAMAGES (INCLUDING LOST PROFITS) EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
No purchaser, seller or holder of this security, product or fund, or any other person or entity, should use or refer to any MSCI trade name, trademark or service mark to sponsor, endorse, market or promote this security without first contacting MSCI to determine whether MSCI’s permission is required. Under no circumstances may any person or entity claim any affiliation with MSCI without the prior written permission of MSCI.
The Money Market Fund. The Money Market Fund is subject to maturity, diversification, liquidity and quality requirements under Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act. It will not invest more than 5% of its total assets in the securities (including securities collateralizing a repurchase agreement) of a single issuer, provided, however, that the Money Market Fund may invest up to 25% of its total assets in the securities of a single issuer for up to three business days after acquisition. U.S. government securities, repurchase agreements that are collateralized by cash or U.S. government securities and shares of certain money market funds are not subject to this diversification requirement.
The Money Market Fund’s diversification tests are measured at the time of acquisition and are calculated as specified in Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act. The Fund will be deemed to satisfy the maturity, diversification, liquidity and quality requirements described in the Prospectus and this SAI to the extent it satisfies Rule 2a-7 requirements. The discussion of investments for the Money Market Fund in the Prospectus and this SAI is qualified by Rule 2a-7 limitations.
The Value Equity Index Fund. The Value Equity Index Fund has been developed solely by GSCM. The “Value Equity Index Fund” is not in any way connected to or sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by the LSE Group. FTSE Russell is a trading name of certain of the LSE Group companies. All rights in the Russell 1000® Value Index (the “R1000V”) vest in the relevant LSE Group company which owns the R1000V. “Russell®” is a trademark of the relevant LSE Group company and is used by any other LSE Group company under license. The R1000V is calculated by or on behalf of FTSE International Limited or its affiliate, agent or partner. The LSE Group does not accept any liability whatsoever to any person arising out of (a) the use of, reliance on or any error in the R1000V; or (b) investment in or operation of the Value Equity Index Fund. The LSE Group makes no claim, prediction, warranty or representation either as to the results to be obtained from the Value Equity Index Fund or the suitability of the R1000V for the purpose to which it is being put by GSCM.
U.S. Government Obligations. Examples of the types of U.S. government obligations that may be acquired by the Funds include U.S. Treasury Bills, U.S. Treasury Notes and U.S. Treasury Bonds and stripped U.S. Treasury obligations and the obligations of Federal Home Loan Banks, Federal Farm Credit Banks, Federal Land Banks, the Federal Housing Administration, Farmers Home Administration, Export-Import Bank of the United States, Small Business Administration, Fannie Mae, Ginnie Mae, General Services Administration, Central Bank for
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Cooperatives, Freddie Mac, Federal Intermediate Credit Banks and Maritime Administration. Not all obligations of the U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States; some are backed only by the credit of the issuing agency or instrumentality. For instance, obligations such as Ginnie Mae participation certificates are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury. However, GSEs are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury but are backed by the credit of the federal agencies or government sponsored entities. Accordingly, there may be some risk of default by the issuer in such cases. For more information, see the section entitled “Mortgage-Backed Securities” in this SAI.
The total public debt of the United States and other countries around the globe as a percent of gross domestic product has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 2008 financial downturn and has accelerated in connection with the U.S. government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although high debt levels do not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, they may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented. A high national debt level may increase market pressures to meet government funding needs, which may drive debt cost higher and cause a country to sell additional debt, thereby increasing refinancing risk. A high national debt also raises concerns that a government will not be able to make principal or interest payments when they are due.
Unsustainable debt levels can cause devaluations of currency, prevent a government from implementing effective counter-cyclical fiscal policy in economic downturns, and contribute to market volatility. In addition, the high and rising national debt may adversely impact the U.S. economy and securities in which the Funds may invest. From time to time, uncertainty regarding the status of negotiations in the U.S. government to increase the statutory debt ceiling could: increase the risk that the U.S. government may default on payments on certain U.S. government securities; cause the credit rating of the U.S. government to be downgraded or increase volatility in both stock and bond markets; result in higher interest rates; reduce prices of U.S. Treasury securities; and/or increase the costs of certain kinds of debt.
Variable and Floating Rate Instruments. The Bond Funds, Money Market Fund, Strategic Alternatives Fund and Defensive Market Strategies Fund may invest in variable and floating rate instruments to the extent consistent with their investment objectives and policies described in the Prospectus and, in the case of the Money Market Fund, consistent with Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act. Generally, a Sub-Adviser will consider the earning power, cash flows and other liquidity ratios of the issuers and guarantors of such instruments and, if the instruments are subject to demand features, will monitor their financial status and ability to meet payment on demand. In determining weighted average portfolio maturity, an instrument may, subject to applicable SEC regulations, be deemed to have a maturity shorter than its nominal maturity based on the period remaining until the next interest rate adjustment or the time a Fund can recover payment of principal as specified in the instrument. Where necessary to ensure that a variable or floating rate instrument is of the minimum required credit quality for a Fund, the issuer’s obligation to pay the principal of the instrument will be backed by an unconditional bank letter or line of credit, guarantee or commitment to lend.
Variable and floating rate instruments eligible for purchase by the Funds include variable amount master demand notes (which permit the indebtedness thereunder to vary in addition to providing for periodic adjustments in the interest rate), U.S., Yankee and Eurodollar floating rate notes and (except for the Money Market Fund) leveraged inverse floating rate debt instruments and notes (“inverse floaters”). The interest rate on an inverse floater resets in the opposite direction from the market rate of interest to which the inverse floater is indexed. An inverse floater may be considered to be leveraged to the extent that its interest rate varies by a magnitude that exceeds the magnitude of the change in the index rate of interest. The higher degree of leverage interest in inverse floaters is associated with greater volatility in their market values. Accordingly, the duration of an inverse floater may exceed its stated final maturity. The Funds may deem the maturity of variable and floating rate instruments to be less than their stated maturities based on their variable and floating rate features and/or their put features. Unrated variable and floating rate instruments will be determined by a Sub-Adviser to be of comparable quality at the time of purchase to rated instruments which may be purchased by the Funds.
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Variable and floating rate instruments (including inverse floaters) held by a Fund will be subject to the Fund’s limitation on illiquid investments when the Fund may not demand payment of the principal amount within seven days absent a reliable trading market.
Variable Interest Entities. Certain Funds may invest in U.S.- or Hong Kong-listed issuers that have entered into contractual relationships with a China-based business and/or individuals or entities affiliated with the China-based business through a structure known as a variable interest entity or “VIE.” Instead of directly owning the equity interests in the Chinese company, the listed company has contractual arrangements with the Chinese company, which are expected to provide the listed company with exposure to the China-based company. These arrangements are often used because of Chinese governmental restrictions on non-Chinese ownership of companies in certain industries in China. By entering into contracts with the listed company that sells shares to U.S. investors, the China-based companies and/or related individuals or entities indirectly raise capital from U.S. investors without distributing ownership of the China-based companies to U.S. investors. Although VIEs are a longstanding industry practice, the Chinese government’s acceptance of the VIE structure is evolving. It is uncertain whether Chinese officials and regulators will withdraw their acceptance of the VIE structure, or whether any new laws, rules or regulations relating to VIE structures will be adopted or, if adopted, what impact they would have on the interests of foreign shareholders, such as a Fund.
All or most of the value of an investment in companies using a VIE structure depends on the enforceability of the contracts between the listed company and the China-based VIE. Risks associated with such investments include the risk that the Chinese government could determine at any time and without notice that the underlying contractual arrangements on which control of the VIE is based violate Chinese law, which may result in a significant loss in the value of an investment in a listed company that uses a VIE structure; that a breach of the contractual agreements between the listed company and the China-based VIE (or its officers, directors or Chinese equity owners) will likely be subject to Chinese law and jurisdiction, which could impact whether and how the listed company or its investors could seek recourse in the event of an adverse ruling as to its contractual rights; and that investments in the listed company may be affected by conflicts of interest and duties between the legal owners of the China-based VIE and the stockholders of the listed company, which may adversely impact the value of investments of the listed company.
The contractual arrangements permit the listed issuer to include the financial results of the China-based VIE as a consolidated subsidiary. The listed company often is organized in a jurisdiction other than the United States or China (e.g., the Cayman Islands), which likely will not have the same disclosure, reporting and governance requirements as the United States. As with other Chinese companies with securities listed on U.S. exchanges, U.S.-listed VIEs and ADRs may be delisted if they do not meet U.S. accounting standards and auditor oversight requirements. Delisting would significantly decrease the liquidity and value of the securities, decrease the ability of a Fund to transact in such securities and may increase costs if the Fund is required to seek other markets in which to transact in such securities.
Warrants and Rights. The Select Funds may purchase warrants and rights, which are privileges issued by corporations enabling the owners to subscribe to and purchase a specified number of shares of the corporation at a specified price during a specified period of time. The Global Bond Fund may invest in warrants on a limited basis (generally no more than 5% of the Fund’s assets). Warrants and rights may be considered more speculative than certain other types of investments in that they do not entitle a holder to dividends or rights with respect to the underlying securities that may be purchased nor do they represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. The prices of warrants and rights do not necessarily correlate with the prices of the underlying shares. The purchase of warrants and rights involves the risk that a Fund could lose the purchase value of a warrant or right if the right to subscribe to additional shares is not exercised prior to the expiration. If a warrant or right held by a Fund is not exercised by the date of its expiration, the Fund would lose the entire purchase price of the warrant or right. Also, the purchase of warrants and rights involves the risk that the effective price paid for the warrant or right added to the subscription price of the related security may exceed the value of the subscribed security’s market price such as when there is no movement in the level of the underlying security. The market for warrants and rights may be very limited, and there may, at times, not be a liquid secondary market for warrants and rights.
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Yankee Bonds. To the extent consistent with their respective investment policies, the Bond Funds, Strategic Alternatives Fund and Defensive Market Strategies Fund may invest in Yankee bonds. These are U.S. dollar-denominated bonds issued inside the United States by foreign entities. Investment in these securities involves certain risks that are not typically associated with investing in domestic securities. These risks are set forth in the section entitled “Foreign Securities and Obligations” in this SAI.
Zero Coupon, Pay-In-Kind and Capital Appreciation Securities. To the extent consistent with its investment policies, each Bond Fund may invest in zero coupon securities, capital appreciation and pay-in-kind (“PIK”) securities. Zero coupon and capital appreciation securities are debt securities issued or sold at a discount from their face value (“original issue discount”) and do not entitle the holder to any periodic payment of interest prior to maturity or a specified date. The original issue discount varies depending on the time remaining until maturity or cash payment date, prevailing interest rates, the liquidity of the security and the perceived credit quality of the issuer. These securities may also take the form of debt securities that have been stripped of their unmatured interest coupons, the coupons themselves or receipts or certificates representing interests in such stripped debt obligations or coupons. The market prices of zero coupon, capital appreciation and PIK securities generally are more volatile than the market prices of interest-bearing securities and are likely to respond to a greater degree to changes in interest rates than interest-bearing securities having similar maturities and credit quality.
PIK securities may be debt obligations or preferred shares that provide the issuer with the option of paying interest or dividends on such obligations in cash or in the form of additional securities rather than cash. Similar to zero coupon securities, PIK securities are designed to give an issuer flexibility in managing cash flow. PIK securities that are debt securities can either be senior or subordinated debt and generally trade flat (i.e., without accrued interest). The trading price of PIK debt securities generally reflects the market value of the underlying debt plus an amount representing accrued interest since the last interest payment.
Zero coupon, capital appreciation and PIK securities involve the additional risk that, unlike securities that periodically pay interest to maturity, a Fund will realize no cash until a specified future payment date unless a portion of such securities is sold and, if the issuer of such securities defaults, a Fund may obtain no return at all on its investment. In addition, even though such securities do not provide for the payment of current interest in cash, a Fund is nonetheless required to accrue original issue discount and other non-cash income (such as additional securities paid as interest on PIK securities) on such investments for each taxable year and generally is required to distribute such accrued amounts (net of deductible expenses, if any) to avoid being subject to federal income tax. (For more information, see the section entitled “Taxation — Tax Treatment of Fund Investments” in this SAI.) Because no cash is generally received at the time of the accrual, a Fund may be required to liquidate other portfolio securities to obtain sufficient cash to satisfy these distribution requirements.
Investment Restrictions
In accordance with the Adviser’s Christian values, the Funds may not invest in any company that is publicly recognized, as determined by GuideStone Financial Resources, as being in the alcohol, tobacco, gambling, pornography or abortion industries or any company whose products, services or activities are publicly recognized as being incompatible with the moral and ethical posture of GuideStone Financial Resources. The Adviser receives and analyzes information from multiple sources (including through various third-party screening platforms, news sources and feeds, the Bible and company websites and financial disclosures) on the products and services of companies in a Fund’s investment universe and utilizes this information to determine which companies should be prohibited for investment by it or a Sub-Adviser. These investment restrictions may only be changed by the vote of the majority of the outstanding shares of the Trust, and not an individual Fund. A “majority of the outstanding shares of the Trust” is defined as greater than 50% of the shares shown on the books of the Trust or its transfer agent as then issued and outstanding, voted in the aggregate, but does not include shares which have been repurchased or redeemed by the Trust.
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Fundamental Investment Restrictions. The following investment restrictions are applicable to each Fund (except where otherwise noted) and are considered fundamental, which means that they may only be changed by the vote of a majority of a Fund’s outstanding shares, which as used herein and in the Prospectus, means the lesser of: (1) 67% of such Fund’s outstanding shares present at a meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares are present in person or by proxy; or (2) more than 50% of such Fund’s outstanding shares. The Funds may not:
1.
All Funds: Purchase securities which would cause 25% or more of the value of a Fund’s total assets at the time of such purchase to be invested in the securities of one or more issuers conducting their principal activities in the same industry, except that this restriction does not apply to (1) securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities or to municipal securities; (2) the Money Market Fund, securities issued by domestic banks; or (3) the Global Real Estate Securities Fund, securities in the real estate industry.
The Global Real Estate Securities Fund: The Global Real Estate Securities Fund concentrates its assets in the real estate industry by investing more than 25% of the value of the Fund’s total assets at the time of such purchase in securities of issuers in the real estate industry.
2.
Borrow money or issue senior securities as defined in the 1940 Act, provided that (a) a Fund may borrow money in an amount not exceeding one-third of the Fund’s total assets (including the amount of the senior securities issued but reduced by any liabilities not constituting senior securities) at the time of such borrowings; (b) a Fund may borrow up to an additional 5% of its total assets (not including the amount borrowed) for temporary or emergency purposes; and (c) a Fund may issue multiple classes of shares. The purchase or sale of futures contracts and related options shall not be considered to involve the borrowing of money or the issuance of shares of senior securities.
3.
Except for the Growth Equity Fund, with respect to 75% of a Fund’s total assets, purchase securities of any one issuer if, as a result, (a) more than 5% of the Fund’s total assets would be invested in the securities of that issuer; or (b) the Fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer; except, with respect to each of the Equity Index Fund, Value Equity Index Fund, Growth Equity Index Fund and International Equity Index Fund only, as may be necessary to approximate the composition of its target index. Up to 25% of the Fund’s total assets may be invested without regard to this limitation, and this limitation does not apply to securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities or to securities issued by other investment companies. The Money Market Fund is further subject to the diversification requirements of Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act.
4.
Make loans or lend securities, except through loans of portfolio securities or through repurchase agreements, provided that for purposes of this restriction: (1) the acquisition of bonds, debentures, other debt securities or instruments, or participations or other interests therein and investments in government obligations, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances or similar instruments will not be considered the making of a loan; and (2) the participation of each Fund in a credit facility whereby the Funds may directly lend to and borrow money from each other for temporary purposes, provided that the loans are made in accordance with an order of exemption from the SEC and any conditions thereto, will not be considered the making of loans.
5.
Purchase or sell real estate, except that investments in securities of issuers that invest in real estate and investments in MBS, mortgage participations or other instruments supported by interests in real estate are not subject to this limitation and except that a Fund may exercise rights under agreements relating to such securities, including the right to enforce security interests and to hold real estate acquired by reason of such enforcement until that real estate can be liquidated in an orderly manner.
6.
Underwrite securities issued by any other person, except to the extent that a Fund might be considered an underwriter under the federal securities laws in connection with its disposition of portfolio securities.
7.
Purchase or sell commodities, unless acquired as a result of owning securities or other instruments, but a Fund may purchase, sell or enter into financial options and futures, forward and spot currency contracts, swap
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transactions and other financial contracts or derivatives. This policy does not prohibit a Fund from purchasing shares of registered investment companies or exchange-traded pooled investment vehicles that have direct or indirect commodity investments.
Shareholder approval will not be sought if any of the Equity Index Fund, Value Equity Index Fund, Growth Equity Index Fund and International Equity Index Fund crosses from diversified to non-diversified status in order to approximate the composition of its target index.
Non-Fundamental Investment Restrictions. Each Fund’s investment objective is a non-fundamental policy of the Fund. Additionally, the Funds have adopted the following non-fundamental restrictions. These non-fundamental restrictions may be changed without shareholder approval, in compliance with applicable law and regulatory policy. Unless otherwise indicated, these non-fundamental restrictions apply to all the Funds.
1.
A Fund shall not invest in companies for purposes of exercising control or management.
2.
A Fund shall not purchase securities on margin, except that a Fund may obtain short-term credits necessary for the clearance of transactions and may make margin deposits in accordance with CFTC regulations in connection with its use of financial options and futures, forward and spot currency contracts, swap transactions and other financial contracts or derivative instruments.
3.
A Fund shall not purchase any portfolio security while borrowings representing more than 15% of the Fund’s total assets are outstanding (investment in repurchase agreements will not be considered to be loans for purposes of this restriction).
4.
A Fund shall invest no more than 15% of the value of its net assets in illiquid securities, a term which means securities that cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment in the securities and includes, among other things, repurchase agreements maturing in more than seven days.
The Money Market Fund shall invest no more than 5% of the value of its net assets in illiquid securities, a term which means securities that cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business within seven calendar days at approximately the value ascribed to it by the Fund.
5.
A Fund may invest in shares of investment companies only to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder and by exemptive orders granted by the SEC. If shares of a Fund are purchased by another registered open-end investment company or registered unit investment trust in reliance on Section 12(d)(1)(G) of the 1940 Act, or Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act, for so long as shares of the Fund are held by such other investment company, the Fund will not purchase securities of registered open-end investment companies or registered unit investment trusts in an amount exceeding 10% of the acquired fund’s total net assets, subject to certain limited exceptions under Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act. A Fund may invest in a money market fund in reliance on Rule 12d1-1.
6.
Each of the Bond Funds and each of the Equity Funds (other than the Defensive Market Strategies Fund) shall not change its policies regarding the investment of 80% of its assets consistent with its name without 60 days’ prior notice to its shareholders. For purposes of determining compliance with an 80% investment policy, each of the Funds may account for a derivative position by reference to either its market value or notional value, depending upon the circumstances.
7.
The Money Market Fund shall invest at least 99.5% of its total assets in Government securities, cash and repurchase agreements collateralized fully by Government securities or cash. For purposes of this policy, “Government securities” means any securities issued or guaranteed as to principal or interest by the United States, or by any person controlled or supervised by and acting as an instrumentality of the Government of the United States pursuant to authority granted by the Congress of the United States or any certificate of deposit of the foregoing. The Fund intends to operate as a “government money market fund,” as such term is defined in or
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interpreted under Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act. This 99.5% policy shall not change without 60 days’ prior notice to shareholders.
If a percentage restriction on the investment or use of assets set forth in the Prospectus or this SAI is adhered to at the time a transaction is effected, later changes in percentage resulting from changing asset values will not be considered a violation. However, notwithstanding the foregoing, borrowing for investment purposes made pursuant to Section 18(f)(1), if any, will comply with the percentage limitations imposed by that Section subsequent to the incurrence of the borrowings. As noted above, the Funds exclude “municipal securities” from their policies on industry concentration. Solely for purposes of this restriction, the Funds treat securities the interest on which is excludable from gross income for federal income tax purposes that are issued by a non-governmental issuer (such as conduit revenue bonds) as being part of the industry of which that issuer is a part, and thus subject to that restriction. It is the intention of the Funds, unless otherwise indicated, that with respect to their policies that are a result of application of law, they will take advantage of the flexibility provided by rules or interpretations of the SEC currently in existence or promulgated in the future or changes to such laws. None of these restrictions are intended to limit investments by the Target Date Funds and the Target Risk Funds in shares of the Select Funds.
Management of the Funds
The Board of Trustees. The primary responsibility of the Board of Trustees is to represent the interests of the shareholders of the Trust and to oversee the management of the Trust. The Board meets at least quarterly to review the investment performance of each Fund and other operational matters, including policies and procedures with respect to compliance with regulatory and other requirements. Only shareholders of the Trust, by a vote of a majority of the outstanding shares, may fill vacancies or otherwise elect a Trustee. The Board is comprised of 10 individuals, two of whom are considered “interested” Trustees as defined by the 1940 Act due to their positions on the Board of Trustees of GuideStone Financial Resources. The remaining Trustees are deemed not to be “interested persons” of the Trust as defined by Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act (“Independent Trustees”).
Board Role in Risk Oversight. The Board’s role with respect to the Trust is oversight. As is the case with virtually all investment companies (as distinguished from operating companies), service providers to the Trust, primarily the Adviser and its affiliates, have responsibility for the day-to-day management of the Funds, which includes responsibility for risk management. Examples of prominent risks include investment risk, liquidity risk, regulatory and compliance risks, operational risks, accounting risks, valuation risks, service provider risks and legal risks. As part of its oversight role, the Board, acting at its scheduled meetings, or the Chairman, acting between Board meetings, interacts with and receives reports from senior personnel of service providers, including the Adviser’s Chief Investment Officer (or a senior representative of the Adviser) and portfolio management personnel. The Board receives periodic presentations and reports from the Risk Manager and other senior personnel of the Adviser or its affiliates regarding risk management generally, as well as periodic presentations regarding specific operational, compliance or investment areas such as accounting, administration, anti-money laundering, cybersecurity, derivatives, liquidity, valuation, personal trading, investment research and securities lending. The Board also receives reports from counsel to the Trust and the Independent Trustees’ own independent legal counsel regarding regulatory compliance and governance matters. The Board interacts with and receives reports from the Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”) of the Trust, and in connection with each scheduled meeting, the Independent Trustees meet separately from the Adviser and Trust management with the CCO of the Trust and independent legal counsel, on regulatory compliance matters. The Board’s oversight role does not make the Board a guarantor of the Trust’s investments or activities.
Board Leadership Structure. The Chairman of the Board of Trustees is an Independent Trustee and holds no management position with the Trust or its Adviser, Sub-Advisers or service providers. The Board has determined that its leadership structure, in which the Chairman of the Board is an Independent Trustee, along with the Board’s majority of Independent Trustees, is appropriate in light of the services provided to the Trust and provides the best protection against conflicts of interests with the Adviser and service providers.
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GuideStone Funds

Information About Each Trustee’s Qualifications, Experience, Attributes or Skills. GuideStone Financial Resources primarily provides financial products and services to persons and organizations associated with the Southern Baptist Convention. In accordance with the Trust’s organizational documents, all Trustees must be active members of a Baptist church in friendly cooperation with the Southern Baptist Convention as defined in the Southern Baptist Convention Constitution and interested Trustees must also be members of the Board of Trustees of GuideStone Financial Resources. All Trustees serve without compensation except for reimbursement of expenses in attending meetings. 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 have the ability 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. Experience relevant to having this ability may be achieved through a Trustee’s educational background; business, professional training or practice (e.g., accounting, banking, brokerage, finance or ministry); public service or academic positions; experience from service as a board member (including the Board of the Trust); senior level positions in Southern Baptist Convention member organizations such as churches or hospitals; or as an executive of investment funds, public companies or significant private or not-for-profit entities or other organizations, as well as other life experiences. In identifying and evaluating nominees for the Board, the Nominating Committee also considers how each nominee would affect the composition of the Board of Trustees. In seeking out and evaluating nominees, each candidate’s background is considered in light of existing board membership. The ultimate goal is a board consisting of trustees with a diversity of relevant individualized expertise. In addition to providing for Board synergy, this diversity of expertise allows Trustees to provide insight and leadership within the Board’s committee structure.
The Trustees and executive officers of the Trust, their years of birth, business address and principal occupations and prior directorships during the past five years are set forth in the following table.
Name (Year of Birth), Address and
Position(s) with Trust
Term of
Office and
Length of
Time
Served1
Principal Occupation(s)
During Past 5 Years
Number of
Portfolios
in Fund
Complex
Overseen
by Trustee
Other Trusteeships/
Directorships
Held by Trustee
During Past 5 Years2
INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES
James D. Caldwell (1955)
5005 Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway
Suite 2200
Dallas, TX 75244-6152
Trustee
Since 2023
Executive Vice President of
TRT Holdings, Inc. (holding
company of Omni Hotels), 2018
– present; Chief Executive
Officer of Origins Behavioral
HealthCare, LLC, 2018 –
present; Chief Executive Officer
and President of Omni Hotels
and Resorts, 1996 –2018.
27
None
Thomas G. Evans (1961)
5005 Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway
Suite 2200
Dallas, TX 75244-6152
Trustee
Since 2020
President and Owner,
Encompass Financial Services,
Inc., 1985 – present; Trustee,
GuideStone Financial Resources,
2010–2018.
27
None
William Craig George (1958)
5005 Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway
Suite 2200
Dallas, TX 75244-6152
Trustee
Since 2004
Senior Vice President and
Regional Credit Officer, First
National Bank, 2017 – present.
27
None
Grady R. Hazel (1947)
5005 Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway
Suite 2200
Dallas, TX 75244-6152
Trustee
Since 2011
Chief Financial Officer, The
Dunham School, 2015 – present;
Certified Public Accountant,
1978– present.
27
None
Statement of Additional Information
59

Name (Year of Birth), Address and
Position(s) with Trust
Term of
Office and
Length of
Time
Served1
Principal Occupation(s)
During Past 5 Years
Number of
Portfolios
in Fund
Complex
Overseen
by Trustee
Other Trusteeships/
Directorships
Held by Trustee
During Past 5 Years2
David B. McMillan (1957)
5005 Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway
Suite 2200
Dallas, TX 75244-6152
Trustee
Since 2019
Chief Executive Officer and
Founder, Peridot Energy LLC,
2008– present; Trustee,
GuideStone Financial Resources,
2010– 2018; Trustee,
GuideStone Capital
Management, LLC, 2011 –
2018; Trustee, GuideStone
Investment Services and
GuideStone Resource
Management, Inc., 2014 –2018.
27
None
Deanna A. Mankins (1971)
5005 Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway
Suite 2200
Dallas, TX 75244-6152
Trustee
Since 2023
Chief Financial Officer, City of
Zachary, 2019 – present; Tax
Manager, Postlethwaite &
Netterville, APAC, 2001 –2019.
27
None
Franklin R. Morgan (1943)
5005 Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway
Suite 2200
Dallas, TX 75244-6152
Trustee
Since 2005
Retired - Senior Vice President,
Director of International
Administration, Prudential
Securities, Inc., 1962 –2003.
27
None
Ronald D. Murff (1953)
5005 Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway
Suite 2200
Dallas, TX 75244-6152
Trustee
Since 2019
President, JKL Group, LLC,
2010– present; Principal,
Dalcor Companies, 2012 –
present.
27
None
INTERESTED TRUSTEES3
David Cox, Sr. (1972)
5005 Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway
Suite 2200
Dallas, TX 75244-6152
Trustee
Since 2020
Supply Chain Manager, Penske
Logistics, Inc., 2004 – present.
27
None
Randall T. Hahn, D.Min. (1965)
5005 Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway
Suite 2200
Dallas, TX 75244-6152
Trustee
Since 2018
Senior Pastor, The Heights
Baptist Church, 2002 – present.
27
None
OFFICERS WHO ARE NOT TRUSTEES4
Melanie Childers (1971)
5005 Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway
Suite 2200
Dallas, TX 75244-6152
Vice President — Fund Operations and
Secretary
Since 20145
Managing Director, Fund
Operations, GuideStone
Financial Resources, 2014 –
present.
N/A
N/A
John R. Jones (1953)
5005 Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway
Suite 2200
Dallas, TX 75244-6152
President
Since 2000
Executive Vice President and
Chief Operating Officer,
GuideStone Financial Resources,
1997– present.
N/A
N/A
Patrick Pattison (1974)
5005 Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway
Suite 2200
Dallas, TX 75244-6152
Vice President and Treasurer
Since 2008
Chief Accounting Officer,
GuideStone Financial Resources,
2015– present.
N/A
N/A
60
GuideStone Funds

Name (Year of Birth), Address and
Position(s) with Trust
Term of
Office and
Length of
Time
Served1
Principal Occupation(s)
During Past 5 Years
Number of
Portfolios
in Fund
Complex
Overseen
by Trustee
Other Trusteeships/
Directorships
Held by Trustee
During Past 5 Years2
Brandon Pizzurro (1981)
5005 Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway
Suite 2200
Dallas, TX 75244-6152
Vice President and Investment Officer
Since 2021
Director of Public Investments,
GuideStone Financial Resources,
2021– present; Portfolio
Manager, GuideStone Financial
Resources, 2019 – 2021; Senior
Investment Analyst, GuideStone
Financial Resources, 2017 –
2019.
N/A
N/A
David S. Spika (1964)
5005 Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway
Suite 2200
Dallas, TX 75244-6152
Executive Vice President
Since 2019
Vice President and Chief
Investment Officer, GuideStone
Financial Resources, 2021 –
present; Vice President and
Chief Strategic Investment
Officer, GuideStone Financial
Resources, 2016 –2021.
N/A
N/A
Brandon Waldeck (1977)
5005 Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway
Suite 2200
Dallas, TX 75244-6152
AML Compliance Officer
Since 2020
Senior Manager – Fraud Risk,
GuideStone Financial Resources,
2019– present; Director of
Ethics Office Trade Monitoring,
Fidelity Investments, 2001 –
2019.
N/A
N/A
Matthew A. Wolfe (1982)
5005 Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway
Suite 2200
Dallas, TX 75244-6152
Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Legal
Officer
Since 20176
Managing Director, Compliance
and Legal, GuideStone Financial
Resources, 2020 – present;
Associate Counsel – Investment
and Corporate Services,
GuideStone Financial Resources,
2015–2020.
N/A
N/A
Erin Wynne (1981)
5005 Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway
Suite 2200
Dallas, TX 75244-6152
Assistant Treasurer
Since 2016
Director, Financial Reporting &
Analysis, GuideStone Financial
Resources, 2015 – present.
N/A
N/A
(1)
Each Independent Trustee serves until his or her resignation, removal or mandatory retirement. Each Interested Trustee serves until his or her resignation, removal or mandatory retirement or until he or she ceases to be a member of the Board of Trustees of GuideStone Financial Resources. All Trustees must retire at the end of the calendar year in which they attain the age of 80 or after achieving 10 years of service, whichever occurs last. Officers serve at the pleasure of the Board of Trustees.
(2)
Directorships not included in the Trust complex that are held by a director in any company with a class of securities registered pursuant to section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or any company registered as an investment company under the 1940 Act.
(3)
Mr. Cox and Dr. Hahn are “interested persons” of the Trust as the term is defined in the 1940 Act due to their positions on the Board of Trustees of GuideStone Financial Resources.
(4)
The officers of the Trust are affiliates of the Adviser due to their positions with the Adviser, GuideStone Financial Resources, GuideStone Investment Services and/or GuideStone Resource Management, Inc.
(5)
Ms. Childers has served as Vice President – Fund Operations since 2014. She has served as Vice President – Fund Operations and Secretary since 2021.
(6)
Mr. Wolfe has served as Chief Legal Officer since 2017. He has served as CCO and Chief Legal Officer since 2020.
In addition to the information set forth in the trustees and officers table and other relevant qualification, experience, attributes or skills applicable to a particular Trustee, the following provides further information about the qualifications and experience of each Independent Trustee:
James D. Caldwell, JD. Mr. Caldwell is the Chief Executive Officer of Origins Behavioral HealthCare, LLC and an Executive Vice President of TRT Holdings, Inc. (“TRT Holdings”), the parent company of Origins Behavioral HealthCare, LLC. During his tenure with TRT Holdings, Mr. Caldwell has served in several leadership roles, including Chief Executive Officer and President of Omni Hotels and Resorts for more than 15 years and President of TRT Holdings for over 12 years. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of Advocates for Community Transformation (ACT) and serves on the Salvation Army Advisory Board for the North Texas Command Area. Mr. Caldwell holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting, with the highest honors, from The University of Texas and a Doctor of Jurisprudence, with honors, from The University of
Statement of Additional Information
61

Texas. He is a certified public accountant (“CPA”) and a member of the State Bar of Texas. Mr. Caldwell was previously a member of the Board of Trustees of GuideStone Financial Resources from 2004 to 2010.
David Cox, Sr. Mr. Cox is the Supply Chain Manager for Penske Logistics, Inc. in Detroit, Michigan, where he has served since 2004. He has 25 years of experience in personal finance with past licenses in the investment, insurance and mortgage industries. Mr. Cox holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Economics from Florida A&M University and a degree in Christian Education from Golden Gate Seminary. He is President of the Board of Directors and the Program Director of Financial Literacy for Educating U-4 Life, CDC. Mr. Cox serves as Vice President for the Michigan African American Fellowship and Treasurer for Greater Detroit Baptist Association. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of GuideStone Financial Resources and will assume the role of Vice Chairman in June 2022.
Thomas G. Evans. Mr. Evans is President and Owner of Encompass Financial Services, Inc. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for i2E and Chairman of the Board of Directors for Leadership Oklahoma. Mr. Evans has also served as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Baptist Foundation of Oklahoma and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Pioneer Spirit Foundation. Mr. Evans holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Northwestern Oklahoma State University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Marylhurst University. Mr. Evans was previously a member of the Board of Trustees of GuideStone Financial Resources and an Interested Trustee of the Board of Trustees of the Trust.
William Craig George. Mr. George has been the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Trust since January 2015 and a member of the Board of Trustees since September 2004. He has been employed with First National Bank since 2017 and currently serves as Senior Vice President and Regional Credit Officer. In his role with First National Bank, Mr. George underwrites and approves loans and oversees bank loan policy and bank lending compliance. He has served on the board of the Pregnancy Life Care Center of Raleigh and on the Allocations Committee of Triangle United Way. Mr. George holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Randall T. Hahn, D.Min. Dr. Hahn is the Senior Pastor at The Heights Baptist Church in Colonial Heights, Virginia, where he has served since 2002. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Texas A&M University, a Master of Theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Hahn currently serves on the Board of Trustees of GuideStone Financial Resources.
Grady R. Hazel. Mr. Hazel serves as the Chief Financial Officer at The Dunham School and is self-employed as a CPA. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of Stonetrust Commercial Insurance Company and is also Chairman of the Audit Committee. In addition, he serves on the Board of Directors of Neighbors Federal Credit Union, and he is a board member for the State Board of Certified Public Accountants of Louisiana. Mr. Hazel is a CPA and a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA). Mr. Hazel holds a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Business Administration degree both from Louisiana State University.
David B. McMillan. Mr. McMillan is the Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and Founder of Peridot Energy LLC, which today primarily provides senior management and consulting services to startup companies, since 2008. Mr. McMillan has previously served as a member of the Board of Trustees of GuideStone Financial Resources from 2010 to 2018, where he was Chairman of the Audit Committee from 2013 to 2018; member of the Board of Directors of GuideStone Capital Management, LLC from 2011 to 2018, where he served as Chairman from 2013 to 2018; Chairman of the Board of Directors of GuideStone Investment Services from 2014 to 2018; and Chairman of the Board of Directors of GuideStone Resource Management, Inc. from 2014 to 2018. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering, cum laude, from Texas A&M University. In addition, Mr. McMillan is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
Deanna A. Mankins. Ms. Mankins is the Chief Financial Officer for the City of Zachary, Louisiana, since 2019. Prior to this, she served as the Tax Manager for Postlethwaite & Netterville, APAC, where she was employed for
62
GuideStone Funds

over 21 years. She also serves as the Treasurer for the Foundation Assisting Zachary Education. Ms. Mankins is a CPA. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting, magna cum laude, from Louisiana State University.
Franklin R. Morgan. Mr. Morgan is a former Senior Vice President, Director of International Administration with Prudential Securities, Inc. (“Prudential Securities”). He served with Prudential Securities and predecessor firms for 43 years. Mr. Morgan’s main responsibilities were high level administrative management of 27 branches and support functions in 20 different countries. He was also responsible for business quality-compliance for the firm. Mr. Morgan held numerous securities licenses and was an arbitrator with the NASD (FINRA) as well as a past panel member of the New York Stock Exchange Disciplinary Board.
Ronald D. Murff. Mr. Murff is the President of JKL Group, LLC, a private investment firm in Dallas, Texas. He is also a Principal of Dalcor Companies, which is active in multi-family housing, where he has served since 2012. Previously, he worked in the banking industry, including spending more than 20 years with Guaranty Bank, a $17 billion bank operating in Texas and California. He served in several executive roles, including President of the Retail Banking Group and Chief Financial Officer, and was responsible for coordinating the spinoff of the bank from its parent company in late 2007. Mr. Murff serves on the boards of the Baylor University Medical Center, Baylor Research Institute, Southwest Transplant Alliance and Accutex Investments/Highland Residential Mortgage. He served on the Board of Regents of Baylor University from 2009 to 2018, serving as chair of several committees and then Chairman of the Board in 2016 and 2017. Mr. Murff has previously served as a trustee of GuideStone Financial Resources from June 2003 through October 2010, as an advisory director for Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business and has served as a board member for the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas and the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting from Baylor University.
The Board’s Committees
Currently, the Board has an Audit Committee, Compliance and Risk Committee, Investment Management Committee and a Nominating Committee. The responsibilities of each committee and its members are described below.
Audit Committee. The Board has an Audit Committee comprised only of the Independent Trustees, Ms. Mankins and Messrs. Caldwell, Evans, George, Hazel, McMillan, Morgan and Murff. Pursuant to its charter, the Audit Committee has the responsibility, among other things, to (1) appoint the Trust’s independent auditors; (2) review and approve the scope of the independent auditors’ audit activity; (3) review the financial statements, which are the subject of the independent auditors’ certifications; and (4) review with such independent auditors the adequacy of the Trust’s basic accounting system and the effectiveness of the Trust’s internal accounting controls. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, there were three meetings of the Audit Committee.
Compliance and Risk Committee. The Board has a Compliance and Risk Committee comprised of Messrs. Cox, Evans, Morgan and Murff and Dr. Hahn, the majority of whom are Independent Trustees. Pursuant to its charter, the Compliance and Risk Committee has the responsibility, among other things, to (1) oversee generally the management of the Trust’s operational, information security, compliance, regulatory, strategic, reputational and other risks; (2) oversee generally matters relating to the Trust’s compliance controls and related policies and procedures; and (3) act as a liaison between the CCO of the Trust and the full Board when necessary and appropriate. The Compliance and Risk Committee was established in February 2015. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, there were four meetings of the Compliance and Risk Committee.
Investment Management Committee. The Board has an Investment Management Committee comprised of only Independent Trustees, Messrs. George, Hazel, McMillan and Murff. Pursuant to its charter, the Investment Management Committee has the responsibility, among other things, to (1) review information in consideration of investment advisory and sub-advisory agreements; (2) make recommendations to the Board regarding the initial approval, reapproval or termination of investment advisory or sub-advisory agreements; (3) monitor sub-advisers to identify those that may require review by the Trust’s management or further discussion or review by the Board;
Statement of Additional Information
63

and (4) serve as a liaison between the Trust’s management and the Board involving changes in a Fund’s investment objectives and strategies, changes at the Adviser or Sub-Advisers and other material developments related to the investment management of the Funds that may warrant Board consideration. The Investment Management Committee was established in August 2011. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, there were five meetings of the Investment Management Committee.
Nominating Committee. The Board has a Nominating Committee, comprised only of the Independent Trustees, Ms. Mankins and Messrs. Caldwell, Evans, George, Hazel, McMillan, Morgan and Murff. Pursuant to its charter, the Nominating Committee is responsible for the nomination of candidates to serve as Trustees. The Trust’s governing documents provide that only shareholders, by a vote of a majority of the outstanding shares, may fill vacancies in the Board or otherwise elect a Trustee. The Trust documents further provide that the selection and nomination of persons to fill vacancies on the Board to serve as Independent Trustees shall be committed to the discretion of the Independent Trustees then serving, provided that shareholders may also nominate and select persons to serve in these positions. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, there were two meetings of the Nominating Committee.
Shareholders owning 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the Trust may submit nominations for Trustee candidates in writing to the attention of Melanie Childers, Vice President – Fund Operations and Secretary, GuideStone Funds, 5005 Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway, Suite 2200, Dallas, Texas 75244-6152.
Security and Other Interests. The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee in all Funds (which for each Trustee comprise all registered investment companies within the Trust’s family of investment companies overseen by him), as of December 31, 2022.
Name of Trustee
Dollar Range of Equity Securities
in each Series of the Trust
Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity Securities
in All Registered Investment Companies
Overseen by Trustee within the
Family of Investment Companies
INTERESTED TRUSTEES
David Cox, Sr.
NONE
NONE
Randall T. Hahn, D.Min
$10,001-$50,000 in the Low-Duration Bond Fund
$50,001-$100,000 in the Medium-Duration Bond Fund
$10,001-$50,000 in the Global Bond Fund
$10,001-$50,000 in the Strategic Alternatives Fund
Over $100,000 in the Defensive Market Strategies Fund
$50,001-$100,000 in the Equity Index Fund
$10,001-$50,000 in the Global Real Estate Securities Fund
$50,001-$100,000 in the Value Equity Fund
$50,001-$100,000 in the Growth Equity Fund
$10,001-$50,000 in the Small Cap Equity Fund
$50,001-$100,000 in the International Equity Fund
$10,001-$50,000 in the Emerging Markets Equity Fund
Over $100,000
INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES
James D. Caldwell
NONE
NONE
Thomas G. Evans
Over $100,000 in the MyDestination 2025 Fund
Over $100,000
William Craig George
NONE
NONE
Grady R. Hazel
Over $100,000 in the Defensive Market Strategies Fund
Over $100,000
David B. McMillan
$10,001-$50,000 in the Money Market Fund
$50,001-$100,000 in the Equity Index Fund
$50,001-$100,000 in the Growth Equity Fund
$1-$10,000 in the Global Impact Fund1
Over $100,000
Deanna A. Mankins
NONE
NONE
Franklin R. Morgan
NONE
NONE
Ronald D. Murff
Over $100,000 in the Aggressive Allocation Fund
Over $100,000 in the Growth Equity Fund
Over $100,000 in the Small Cap Equity Fund
Over $100,000
(1)
The Global Impact Fund was liquidated and terminated on January 27, 2023.
64
GuideStone Funds

As a group, the Trustees and officers of the Trust owned less than 1% of each Class of the Fund, as of March 31, 2023.
As of December 31, 2022, the Independent Trustees or their respective immediate family members (spouse or dependent children) did not own beneficially or of record any securities of the Trust’s Adviser, Sub-Advisers or Underwriter, or in any person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the Adviser, Sub-Advisers or Underwriter.
Mr. Murff’s spouse and Dr. Hahn are participants in the Southern Baptist Churches 403(b)(9) Retirement Plan established and maintained by GuideStone Financial Resources.
The Trust pays no compensation to the Trustees. The Trust reimburses the Trustees for any expenses incurred in attending meetings. The Trust does not compensate the officers for the services they provide to the Funds.
The Adviser. The Funds have employed GuideStone Capital Management, LLC, a Texas limited liability company, as the Adviser. GuideStone Financial Resources indirectly controls the Adviser. GuideStone Financial Resources was established in 1918 and exists to assist churches and other Southern Baptist entities by making available retirement plan services, life and health coverage, risk management programs and personal and institutional investment programs. GuideStone Financial Resources is a Texas non-profit corporation of which the Southern Baptist Convention, a Georgia non-profit corporation, is the sole member.
The Sub-Advisers. The Adviser and the Trust have entered into a Sub-Advisory Agreement with Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC (“Parametric”) whereby Parametric is responsible for monitoring and investing cash balances of each Fund, except the Money Market Fund. The Adviser and the Sub-Adviser(s) for each Fund determine the amount of each Fund’s cash balances. Under the agreement, Parametric may from time to time invest in U.S. Treasury securities and derivative instruments (e.g., exchange listed equity index futures contracts and U.S. Treasury futures contracts) within the Target Date Funds and Target Risk Funds in order to gain market exposure on cash balances or to reduce market exposure in anticipation of liquidity needs. For each Equity Fund, Parametric may also from time to time invest in long or short positions in exchange listed equity index futures contracts and/or foreign currency futures contracts to gain market exposure on cash balances or to reduce market exposure in anticipation of liquidity needs. For the Strategic Alternatives Fund and Defensive Market Strategies Fund, Parametric may invest in long or short positions in exchange listed equity futures contracts and U.S. Treasury futures contracts and exchange listed equity index futures contracts, respectively, to gain market exposure on cash balances, to reduce market exposure in anticipation of liquidity needs or to manage risk relative to the corresponding broad-based benchmark of the Fund.
The Adviser and the Trust have also entered into a Sub-Advisory Agreement with Parametric on behalf of the Funds (except the Money Market Fund, Equity Index Fund, Global Real Estate Securities Fund, Value Equity Index Fund, Growth Equity Index Fund and International Equity Index Fund) whereby Parametric may be responsible for implementing temporary investment portfolios designed to ensure that a Fund maintains its desired risk exposure. A completion portfolio may be employed, for example, if a Sub-Adviser exhibits style drift, thereby causing a Fund’s risk/return profile and style orientation to be inconsistent with the Fund’s stated objective. In such a situation, the Adviser may direct Parametric to apply the appropriate completion portfolio to restore the Fund to its desired portfolio alignment.
In addition, the Adviser and the Trust have entered into Sub-Advisory Agreements with the Sub-Advisers to manage each Select Fund’s investment securities. It is the responsibility of the Sub-Advisers, under the general supervision of the Adviser, to make day-to-day investment decisions for the Select Funds. The Sub-Advisers also place purchase and sell orders for portfolio transactions of the Select Funds in accordance with each Select Fund’s investment objectives and policies. The Adviser allocates the portion of each Select Fund’s assets for which a Sub-Adviser will make investment decisions. The Adviser may make reallocations at any time in its discretion. The Adviser may, from time to time, elect to trade individual stocks, fixed income securities, third-party mutual funds, ETFs, closed-end interval funds, private funds and similar pooled investment vehicles for a Fund.
Statement of Additional Information
65

Advisory Fees. Under the Advisory Agreement and Sub-Advisory Agreements, each Fund pays to the Adviser and its Sub-Advisers advisory fees, which are computed daily and paid monthly, based on annual rates of the Fund’s average net assets. The fee is allocated daily to each share class based on the proportionate net assets of each share class of a Fund in relation to the net assets of the Fund as a whole.
For the past three fiscal years ended December 31, advisory fees paid to the Adviser and the aggregate advisory fees paid to the Sub-Advisers were as follows:
 
2022
2021
2020
Fund
Paid to
Adviser
Paid to
Sub-
Advisers
Paid to
Adviser
Paid to
Sub-
Advisers
Paid to
Adviser
Paid to
Sub-
Advisers
MyDestination 2015
$667,189
$46,039
$741,439
$46,511
$650,355
$1,230
MyDestination 2025
1,637,122
52,260
1,703,535
47,844
1,412,396
1,334
MyDestination 2035
1,338,334
0
1,311,260
0
965,127
0
MyDestination 2045
1,023,645
0
1,007,752
0
726,596
0
MyDestination 2055
416,166
0
383,549
0
250,403
0
Conservative Allocation
486,504
0
569,350
0
515,274
0
Balanced Allocation
1,381,006
0
1,705,065
0
1,549,116
0
Growth Allocation
1,093,042
0
1,388,965
0
1,192,212
0
Aggressive Allocation
976,149
0
1,215,426
0
997,789
0
Money Market
1,149,697
656,978
1,213,489
693,431
1,092,549
624,306
Low-Duration Bond
1,131,365
1,874,396
1,175,898
1,936,429
1,101,142
1,829,342
Medium-Duration Bond
2,706,639
4,048,433
3,105,163
4,381,246
2,420,026
3,493,815
Global Bond
1,375,605
1,222,488
1,530,518
1,351,665
1,496,330
1,351,901
Strategic Alternatives
1,335,909
1,890,803
1,321,058
1,686,251
1,471,379
1,656,961
Defensive Market Strategies
4,379,359
3,771,011
4,692,437
4,046,891
4,053,777
3,508,368
Impact Bond(1)
Impact Equity(1)
Equity Index
2,401,409
202,851
2,325,128
199,009
1,726,803
161,542
Global Real Estate Securities
819,384
1,030,120
899,034
1,125,916
699,986
884,854
Value Equity Index(2)
38,791
7,993
Value Equity
3,794,031
3,123,437
4.417,376
3,650,165
3,642,846
2,802,530
Growth Equity Index(2)
37,445
7,635
Growth Equity
4,890,877
4,252,270
6,799,668
6,518,717
5,786,073
5,554,545
Small Cap Equity
2,415,922
3,913,891
2,706,340
4,270,786
1,819,954
3,115,386
International Equity Index
766,583
92,945
814,617
95,591
701,081
88,189
International Equity
3,622,535
4,790,041
4,379,878
5,853,154
3,947,593
5,311,739
Emerging Markets Equity
2,376,350
3,739,978
2,700,292
4,230,884
1,857,790
3,003,787
(1)
Inception date was January 27, 2023.
(2)
Inception date was August 31, 2022.
The Adviser has agreed to pay, waive or assume expenses for certain Funds, which exceed, in the aggregate, a specified annual percentage rate of the average daily net assets of the Fund’s Institutional Class and/or Investor Class (the “Expense Limitation”), which are set forth in the Prospectus for the Fund. For each Target Date Fund, the Expense Limitation, which will remain in place until April 30, 2024, applies to the operating expenses of each Fund, excluding extraordinary expenses. For the applicable Select Funds, as set forth in the Prospectus, the Expense Limitation applies to direct Fund operating expenses only (without regard to any expense reductions through the use of directed brokerage) and does not include interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, extraordinary expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses and expenses in connection with the short sales of securities and will remain in place until April 30, 2024.
The shareholder servicing agent, Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser may voluntarily waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to assist the Money Market Fund in attempting to maintain a yield of at least
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0.00%. Such yield waivers and reimbursements are voluntary and could change or be terminated at any time at the discretion of the shareholder servicing agent, Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser. There is no guarantee that the Money Market Fund will maintain a positive yield.
For the fiscal years ended December 31, the Adviser waived fees and reimbursed expenses as follows:
 
2022
2021
2020
Fund
Fees
Waived(1)
Expenses
Reimbursed
Fees
Waived(1)
Expenses
Reimbursed
Fees
Waived(1)
Expenses
Reimbursed
MyDestination 2015
$231,583
$
$155,283
$9,939
$482,328
$
MyDestination 2025
332,056
164,151
39,284
569,189
MyDestination 2035
34,019
24,457
72,341
MyDestination 2045
3,044
15,907
106,541
MyDestination 2055
33,157
31,022
13,082
46,426
57,582
8,398
Conservative Allocation
Balanced Allocation
Growth Allocation
Aggressive Allocation
Money Market
Low-Duration Bond
Medium-Duration Bond
Global Bond
Strategic Alternatives
710,565
289,263
Defensive Market Strategies
Impact Bond(2)
Impact Equity(2)
Equity Index
Global Real Estate Securities
Value Equity Index(3)
140,555
Value Equity
Growth Equity Index(3)
142,088
Growth Equity
Small Cap Equity
International Equity Index
28,216
4,928
86,299
25,539
24,000
International Equity
Emerging Markets Equity
77,711
(1)
Also includes Shareholder Service Fee waivers.
(2)
Inception date was January 27, 2023.
(3)
Inception date was August 31, 2022.
Certain Funds have agreed to reimburse the Adviser the amount of any such waivers or reimbursement in the future, provided that the waivers or reimbursements are repaid within three years of the waivers or reimbursements being made and the amount of reimbursement does not cause the Fund to exceed its expense limitation at the time of the waiver or reimbursement or the Fund’s expense limitation at the time of the reimbursement, whichever is lower. If the actual expense ratio is less than the expense limitation and the Adviser has recouped any eligible previous waivers or reimbursements made, the Fund will be charged such lower expenses. Waivers or reimbursements will increase returns and yield, and repayment of waivers or reimbursements will decrease returns and yield.
From time to time, the Adviser may enter into a Sub-Advisory Agreement with a Sub-Adviser that manages multiple Funds in the Trust’s complex. In certain cases where the advisory fee schedule under the Sub-Advisory Agreement includes breakpoints that reduce the fee as assets increase, the net assets of the other Funds advised by the Sub-Adviser may be aggregated for purposes of calculating the fee payable under the Sub-Advisory Agreement.
Statement of Additional Information
67

From time to time, a Sub-Adviser may waive a portion of its fees and/or pay expenses of one or more of the Funds out of the Sub-Adviser’s own assets.
The Select Funds have been granted an order by the SEC that permits the Adviser, subject to approval by the Board of Trustees, to hire Sub-Advisers without shareholder approval and to make material changes to the Sub-Advisory Agreements, provided that shareholders of the applicable Select Fund will be notified of such a change within 90 days. Changes in a Fund’s sub-advisory arrangements may result in increased transaction costs due to restructuring of the Fund’s portfolio, which may negatively affect the Fund’s performance.
The Adviser reviews the Sub-Advisers’ performance, allocates assets of each Select Fund among them and makes recommendations to the Board of Trustees regarding changes to the Sub-Advisers selected. To the extent that the Adviser re-allocates a Select Fund’s assets to an existing Sub-Adviser that charges a higher sub-advisory fee, the Select Fund may be subject to increased sub-advisory fees and, therefore, a higher overall management fee.
The Adviser directs the Sub-Advisers to place security trades through designated brokers who have agreed to pay certain custody, transfer agency or other operating expenses on behalf of the Equity Funds. The amount of operating expenses paid through such brokerage service arrangements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 were as follows:
Fund
Expenses Paid Through
Brokerage Service Arrangements
Global Real Estate Securities
$21,870
Value Equity
11,980
Growth Equity
4,530
Small Cap Equity
62,526
Emerging Markets Equity
1,108
Securities Lending Activities. The Northern Trust Company serves as the securities lending agent for the Select Funds and in that role administers each Fund’s securities lending program pursuant to the terms of a securities lending agency agreement entered into between the Trust and The Northern Trust Company.
During the last fiscal year, The Northern Trust Company selected securities to be loaned; located borrowers; monitored loan opportunities for each participating Fund; negotiated the terms of the loans with borrowers; monitored the value of the securities on loan and the value of the corresponding collateral; invested cash collateral in accordance with the Trust’s instructions; maintained custody of non-cash collateral; communicated with borrowers regarding daily marking to market the collateral; arranged for the return of the loaned securities and collateral upon the termination of the loan; managed entitlements; posted earned revenue and expenses; and performed recordkeeping and accounting services.
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GuideStone Funds

The table below sets forth, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, each Select Fund’s gross income received from securities lending activities, the fees and/or other compensation paid by a Fund for securities lending activities and the net income earned by a Fund for securities lending activities. The table below also discloses any other fees or payments incurred by each Fund resulting from lending securities. Since the Impact Bond Fund and Impact Equity Fund each commenced operations on January 27, 2023, there is no gross income, fees and/or other compensation paid, net income earned or any other fees or payments incurred by these Funds to report from the lending of securities.
Fund
Gross Income
Fees and/or Compensation*
Aggregate Fees /
Compensation
Net Income
Fees Paid to
Securities
Lending Agent
from a
Revenue Split
Fees Paid for
Any Cash
Collateral
Management
Service
Rebate (Paid
to
Borrower)**
Other Fees Not
Included in Revenue
Split (Specify)
Money Market
Low-Duration Bond
$265,504
$21,700
($100)
$120,861
$142,461
$123,043
Medium-Duration Bond
682,505
33,630
458,071
491,701
190,804
Global Bond
355,274
20,527
218,307
238,834
116,440
Strategic Alternatives
Defensive Market Strategies
818,801
105,392
116,107
221,499
597,302
Equity Index
235,141
36,926
(11,113)
25,813
209,328
Global Real Estate Securities
89,503
10,218
21,354
31,571
57,932
Value Equity Index(1)
5,154
564
1,382
1,946
3,208
Value Equity
191,852
28,082
4,606
32,688
159,164
Growth Equity Index(1)
5,715
432
2,830
3,262
2,453
Growth Equity
137,117
18,336
14,825
33,161
103,956
Small Cap Equity
381,070
45,660
75,670
121,330
259,740
International Equity Index
497,808
28,744
306,101
334,845
162,963
International Equity
217,022
19,127
89,484
108,611
108,411
Emerging Markets Equity
41,514
5,817
2,695
8,513
33,001
*
The Funds do not pay any administrative, indemnification or any other fees that are not included in the revenue split.
**
A negative rebate increases earnings and decreases fees due to securities on loan that have high demand and borrowers that are willing to pay additional fees to borrow.
(1)
Inception date was August 31, 2023.
Statement of Additional Information
69

Control Persons of Sub-Advisers: The following is a description of parties who control the Sub-Advisers.
Target Date Funds:
Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC (“Parametric”), 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2800, Seattle, Washington 98104: Parametric is a registered investment adviser offering a variety of structured portfolio solutions. Parametric is a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, a publicly held company that is traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol MS. Parametric is a part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, the asset management division of Morgan Stanley. Parametric is owned directly by Eaton Vance Acquisitions LLC, a privately held subsidiary of Morgan Stanley.
Target Risk Funds:
Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC (“Parametric”), 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2800, Seattle, Washington 98104: Parametric is a registered investment adviser offering a variety of structured portfolio solutions. Parametric is a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, a publicly held company that is traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol MS. Parametric is a part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, the asset management division of Morgan Stanley. Parametric is owned directly by Eaton Vance Acquisitions LLC, a privately held subsidiary of Morgan Stanley.
Money Market Fund:
BlackRock Advisors, LLC (“BA”), 100 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, Delaware 19809: BA is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc. (“BlackRock”), a premier provider of global investment management and risk management products with approximately $8.6 trillion in assets under management as of December 31, 2022. BlackRock is independent in ownership and governance, with no single majority stockholder and a majority of independent directors.
Low-Duration Bond Fund:
BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. (“BlackRock Financial”), BlackRock International Limited (“BIL”) and BlackRock (Singapore) Limited (“BSL”) are located at 415 10th Avenue, New York, New York 10055, Exchange Place One, 1 Semple Street, Edinburgh EH3 8BL, Scotland, and at Twenty Anson, 20 Anson Road, #18-01, Singapore, Singapore 079912, respectively: BlackRock Financial, BIL and BSL are indirect wholly owned subsidiaries of BlackRock, Inc. (“BlackRock”), a premier provider of global investment management and risk management products with approximately $8.6 trillion in assets under management as of December 31, 2022. BlackRock is independent in ownership and governance, with no single majority stockholder and a majority of independent directors.
Pacific Investment Management Company LLC (“PIMCO”), 650 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, California 92260: PIMCO, a Delaware limited liability company, is a majority owned subsidiary of Allianz Asset Management of America L.P. with minority interests held by certain of its current and former officers via Allianz Asset Management of America LLC. Allianz Asset Management of America L.P. is majority owned by Allianz SE, a global financial services company based in Germany.
Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC (“Parametric”), 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2800, Seattle, Washington 98104: Parametric is a registered investment adviser offering a variety of structured portfolio solutions. Parametric is a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, a publicly held company that is traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol MS. Parametric is a part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, the asset management division of Morgan Stanley. Parametric is owned directly by Eaton Vance Acquisitions LLC, a privately held subsidiary of Morgan Stanley.
Payden & Rygel, 333 South Grand Avenue, 39th Floor, Los Angeles, California 90071: Payden & Rygel is a California C-Corporation and privately held by employee shareholders, all of whom are active in the firm’s
70
GuideStone Funds

business. Joan Payden, CFA, President and Chief Executive Officer, owns more than 50% but less than 75% of the outstanding voting securities of Payden & Rygel. Brian Matthews, CFA owns more than 5% but less than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of Payden & Rygel, and the remaining shareholders each own less than 5% of the shares.
Medium-Duration Bond Fund:
Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. (“GSAM”), 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282: GSAM has been a registered investment adviser since 1990. GSAM provides a wide range of discretionary and investment advisory services, actively managed and quantitatively driven, for the firm’s clients. GSAM is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and an affiliate of Goldman, Sachs & Co. LLC. Founded in 1869, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc is a publicly-held financial holding company and a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm.
Guggenheim Partners Investment Management, LLC (“Guggenheim”), 100 Wilshire Boulevard., Suite 500, Santa Monica, California 90401: Guggenheim is a Delaware limited liability company formed on September 29, 2005. Guggenheim is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Guggenheim Capital, LLC, an affiliate of Guggenheim Partners, LLC. Guggenheim Partners, LLC is a global, diversified financial services firm with more than $195.2 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2022.
Pacific Investment Management Company LLC (“PIMCO”), 650 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, California 92260: PIMCO, a Delaware limited liability company, is a majority owned subsidiary of Allianz Asset Management of America L.P. with minority interests held by certain of its current and former officers via Allianz Asset Management of America LLC. Allianz Asset Management of America L.P. is majority owned by Allianz SE, a global financial services company based in Germany.
Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC (“Parametric”), 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2800, Seattle, Washington 98104: Parametric is a registered investment adviser offering a variety of structured portfolio solutions. Parametric is a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, a publicly held company that is traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol MS. Parametric is a part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, the asset management division of Morgan Stanley. Parametric is owned directly by Eaton Vance Acquisitions LLC, a privately held subsidiary of Morgan Stanley.
Western Asset Management Company, LLC (“Western Asset”), 385 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, California 91101: Western Asset is a wholly owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc., a NYSE-listed, global investment management organization operating, together with its subsidiaries, as Franklin Templeton.
Global Bond Fund:
Loomis, Sayles & Company, L.P., (“Loomis Sayles”), One Financial Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02111: Loomis Sayles is a limited partnership. Loomis Sayles’ sole general partner, Loomis, Sayles & Company, Inc, is directly owned by Natixis Investment Managers, LLC (“Natixis LLC”). Natixis LLC is a limited liability company that owns investment management and distribution and service entities. Natixis LLC is an indirect subsidiary of Natixis Investment Managers, an international asset management group based in Paris, France, that is in turn owned by Natixis, a French investment banking and financial services firm. Natixis is wholly owned by Groupe BPCE, France’s second largest banking group. Groupe BPCE is owned by banks comprising two autonomous and complementary retail banking networks consisting of the Caisse d’Epargne regional savings banks and the Banque Populaire regional cooperative banks. The registered address of Natixis is 30, avenue Pierre Mendès France, 75013 Paris, France. The registered address of Groupe BPCE is 50, avenue Pierre Mendès France, 75013 Paris, France.
Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC (“Neuberger Berman”), 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10104: Neuberger Berman is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Neuberger Berman Group LLC
Statement of Additional Information
71

(“NBG”). NBG’s voting equity is owned by NBSH Acquisition, LLC (“NBSH”). NBSH is owned by portfolio managers, members of NBG’s management team and certain of NBG’s key employees and senior professionals.
Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC (“Parametric”), 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2800, Seattle, Washington 98104: Parametric is a registered investment adviser offering a variety of structured portfolio solutions. Parametric is a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, a publicly held company that is traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol MS. Parametric is a part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, the asset management division of Morgan Stanley. Parametric is owned directly by Eaton Vance Acquisitions LLC, a privately held subsidiary of Morgan Stanley.
Western Asset Management Company, LLC (“Western Asset”), 385 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, California 91101: Western Asset is a wholly owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc., a NYSE-listed, global investment management organization operating, together with its subsidiaries, as Franklin Templeton.
Impact Bond Fund:
Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC (“Parametric”), 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2800, Seattle, Washington 98104: Parametric is a registered investment adviser offering a variety of structured portfolio solutions. Parametric is a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, a publicly held company that is traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol MS. Parametric is a part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, the asset management division of Morgan Stanley. Parametric is owned directly by Eaton Vance Acquisitions LLC, a privately held subsidiary of Morgan Stanley.
RBC Global Asset Management (U.S.) Inc. (“RBC GAM US”), 50 South Sixth Street, Suite 2350, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402: RBC GAM US is a wholly owned subsidiary of RBC USA Holdco Corporation, which is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Canada (“RBC”). RBC is publicly held and traded on the New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange.
Strategic Alternatives Fund:
AQR Capital Management, LLC (“AQR”), One Greenwich Plaza, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830: AQR, a Delaware limited liability company founded in 1998, is a wholly owned subsidiary of AQR Capital Management Holdings, LLC (“AQR Holdings”), which has no activities other than holding the interests of AQR. Clifford S. Asness, Ph.D., M.B.A., may be deemed to control AQR through his voting control of the Board of Members of AQR Holdings.
Broadmark Asset Management LLC (“Broadmark”), 1808 Wedemeyer Street, Suite 210, San Francisco, California 94129: Broadmark is a Delaware limited liability company and registered as an investment adviser with the SEC in 2000. Broadmark’s principal owners are its employees in the aggregate (as a group), of Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. ("WHG") and the Barbara G. Keeley Revocable Trust. As of December 31, 2022, WHG owned 47.46% of Broadmark’s outstanding voting securities.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. (“GSAM”), 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282: GSAM has been a registered investment adviser since 1990. GSAM provides a wide range of discretionary and investment advisory services, actively managed and quantitatively driven, for the firm’s clients. GSAM is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and an affiliate of Goldman, Sachs & Co. LLC. Founded in 1869, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc is a publicly-held financial holding company and a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm.
Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC (“Parametric”), 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2800, Seattle, Washington 98104: Parametric is a registered investment adviser offering a variety of structured portfolio solutions. Parametric is a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, a publicly held company that is traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol MS. Parametric is a part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, the asset management
72
GuideStone Funds

division of Morgan Stanley. Parametric is owned directly by Eaton Vance Acquisitions LLC, a privately held subsidiary of Morgan Stanley.
P/E Global LLC (“P/E Global”), 75 State Street, 31st Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02109: P/E Global is a registered investment adviser providing investment advisory and portfolio management services to clients on a discretionary basis. P/E Strategic LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, owns 50% of P/E Global. Warren Naphtal and Mary Naphtal own a controlling interest in P/E Strategic LLC. P/E Investments LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, also owns 50% of P/E Global. P/E Capital LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, is the sole owner of P/E Investments LLC. P/E Asset Management LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, owns 75% of P/E Capital LLC. P/E Investments, Inc., a Delaware corporation, owns 100% of P/E Asset Management LLC. Mr. Naphtal and Ms. Naphtal own P/E Investments, Inc.
SSI Investment Management LLC (“SSI”), 2121 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 2050, Los Angeles, California 90067: SSI, a Delaware limited liability company, is owned approximately 57% by Resolute Investment Managers Inc. (“Resolute”), a diversified, multi-affiliate asset management platform, and approximately 1.4% by SSI officers, with approximately 41.6% owned by Team SSI LLC, an entity controlled by SSI officers. Resolute is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Resolute Investment Holdings, LLC, which is owned primarily by Kelso Investment Associates VIII, L.P. George M. Douglas, CFA, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Principal of SSI, is a material indirect owner of SSI through Team SSI LLC.
Westwood Management Corp. (“Westwood”), 200 Crescent Court, Suite 1200, Dallas, Texas 75201: Westwood, a registered investment adviser, was founded and registered with the SEC in April 1983. Westwood is a wholly owned subsidiary of Westwood Holdings Group, Inc., a NYSE-listed (NYSE: WHG) investment management boutique and wealth management firm.
Defensive Market Strategies Fund:
American Century Investment Management, Inc. (“American Century”), 4500 Main Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64111: American Century is a wholly owned, privately held subsidiary of American Century Companies, Inc. (“ACC”). ACC is a holding company for American Century and the other companies in the American Century Investments Complex. The Stowers Institute for Medical Research (“SIMR”) controls ACC by virtue of its beneficial ownership of more than 25% of the voting securities of ACC. SIMR is part of a not-for-profit biomedical research organization dedicated to finding the keys to the causes, treatments and prevention of disease.
Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC (“Neuberger Berman”), 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10104: Neuberger Berman is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Neuberger Berman Group LLC (“NBG”). NBG’s voting equity is owned by NBSH Acquisition, LLC (“NBSH”). NBSH is owned by portfolio managers, members of NBG’s management team and certain of NBG’s key employees and senior professionals.
Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC (“Parametric”), 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2800, Seattle, Washington 98104: Parametric is a registered investment adviser offering a variety of structured portfolio solutions. Parametric is a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, a publicly held company that is traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol MS. Parametric is a part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, the asset management division of Morgan Stanley. Parametric is owned directly by Eaton Vance Acquisitions LLC, a privately held subsidiary of Morgan Stanley.
PGIM Quantitative Solutions LLC (“PGIM QS”), Gateway Center Two, 100 Mulberry Street, Newark, New Jersey 07102: PGIM QS is a registered investment adviser and began managing multi-asset portfolios for institutional investors in 1975. PGIM QS is a wholly owned subsidiary and independently-operated subsidiary of PGIM, Inc. (“PGIM”), the global investment management business of Prudential Financial, Inc. (“Prudential”), a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: PRU). PGIM is a wholly owned subsidiary of PGIM Holding Company LLC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Prudential.
Statement of Additional Information
73

Shenkman Capital Management, Inc. (“Shenkman”), 151 West 42nd Street, 29th Floor, New York, New York 10036: Shenkman is a privately held corporation, 100% owned by Mark Shenkman and the Shenkman family, current and former team members and one outside director (and/or trusts established by them). Mark R. Shenkman, President, is the controlling shareholder.
Impact Equity Fund:
Janus Henderson Investors US LLC (“Janus Henderson”), 151 Detroit Street, Denver, Colorado 80206: Janus Henderson is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Janus Henderson Group plc (“Janus Henderson Group”). Janus Henderson Group, an independent investment management firm incorporated in Jersey, Channel Islands, is a dually-listed, publicly-traded company on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: JHG) and the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX: JHG), conducting business as Janus Henderson Investors.
Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC (“Parametric”), 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2800, Seattle, Washington 98104: Parametric is a registered investment adviser offering a variety of structured portfolio solutions. Parametric is a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, a publicly held company that is traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol MS. Parametric is a part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, the asset management division of Morgan Stanley. Parametric is owned directly by Eaton Vance Acquisitions LLC, a privately held subsidiary of Morgan Stanley.
Equity Index Fund:
Legal & General Investment Management America, Inc. (“LGIM America”), 71 South Wacker Drive, Suite 800, Chicago, Illinois 60606: LGIM America, a Delaware corporation, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Legal & General Investment Management United States (Holdings), Inc. and is registered under the Investment Advisors Act of 1940, as amended.
Global Real Estate Securities Fund:
Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC (“HRES”), 110 North Wacker Drive, Suite 4000, Chicago, Illinois 60606: HRES is an SEC-registered investment adviser that has been in business since 1989. The firm is a wholly owned subsidiary of Heitman LLC, which is 100% owned indirectly by certain of the firm’s senior officers through two Delaware limited liability companies, KE I LLC (99.5%) and KE 2 LLC (0.05%).
RREEF America L.L.C. (“RREEF”), DWS, 222 South Riverside Plaza, Floor 34, Chicago, Illinois 60606: RREEF is an indirect subsidiary of DWS KGaA, a German partnership limited by shares. DWS KGaA is a separate publicly listed financial services firm but is an indirect majority-owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bank AG, a publicly listed banking corporation organized under the laws of Germany.
Value Equity Index Fund:
Legal & General Investment Management America, Inc. (“LGIM America”), 71 South Wacker Drive, Suite 800, Chicago, Illinois 60606: LGIM America, a Delaware corporation, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Legal & General Investment Management United States (Holdings), Inc. and is registered under the Investment Advisors Act of 1940, as amended.
Value Equity Fund:
American Century Investment Management, Inc. (“American Century”), 4500 Main Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64111: American Century is a wholly owned, privately held subsidiary of American Century Companies, Inc. (“ACC”). ACC is a holding company for American Century and the other companies in the American Century Investments Complex. The Stowers Institute for Medical Research (“SIMR”) controls ACC by virtue of its beneficial ownership of more than 25% of the voting securities of ACC. SIMR is part of a not-for-profit biomedical research organization dedicated to finding the keys to the causes, treatments and prevention of disease.
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GuideStone Funds

Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss, LLC (“Barrow Hanley”), 2200 Ross Avenue, 31st Floor, Dallas, Texas 75201: Barrow Hanley is a subsidiary of Perpetual Limited, an Australian Exchange-listed, diversified financial services company.
The London Company of Virginia, LLC (“London Company”), 1800 Bayberry Court, Suite 301, Richmond, Virginia 23226: The London Company is an independent, majority employee-owned registered investment adviser founded in 1994. Stephen M. Goddard, CFA®, is the majority owner of the firm, and LPC London, LP, an affiliate of Lincoln Peak Capital, owns a minority (non-controlling) equity investment in the London Company. Lincoln Peak Capital is a private investment firm that specializes in partnering with investment management firms to help preserve their independence and facilitate equity transitions within a firm to key next generation management members.
Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC (“Parametric”), 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2800, Seattle, Washington 98104: Parametric is a registered investment adviser offering a variety of structured portfolio solutions. Parametric is a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, a publicly held company that is traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol MS. Parametric is a part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, the asset management division of Morgan Stanley. Parametric is owned directly by Eaton Vance Acquisitions LLC, a privately held subsidiary of Morgan Stanley.
TCW Investment Management Company, LLC (“TCW”), 1251 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 4700, New York, New York 10020: TCW is a wholly owned subsidiary of The TCW Group, Inc., a Nevada Corporation (“TCW Group”). In February 2013, TCW management and private investment funds affiliated with The Carlyle Group, LP (together with such affiliated, “Carlyle”), a global alternative asset manager, acquired TCW Group. On December 27, 2017, Nippon Life Insurance Company acquired a 24.75% minority stake in TCW Group from Carlyle. As a result of the transaction, TCW management and employees increased their ownership in the firm to 44.07%, and Carlyle maintains a 31.18% interest in TCW Group.
Growth Equity Index Fund:
Legal & General Investment Management America, Inc. (“LGIM America”), 71 South Wacker Drive, Suite 800, Chicago, Illinois 60606: LGIM America, a Delaware corporation, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Legal & General Investment Management United States (Holdings), Inc. and is registered under the Investment Advisors Act of 1940, as amended.
Growth Equity Fund:
J.P. Morgan Investment Management, Inc. (“JPMIM”), 383 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10179: JPMIM is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser. JPMorgan Asset Management Holdings Inc. is a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase & Co., a bank holding company, which provides discretionary investment services to institutional clients, and owns all of the common stock of JPMIM.
Loomis, Sayles & Company, L.P., (“Loomis Sayles”), One Financial Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02111: Loomis Sayles is a limited partnership. Loomis Sayles’ sole general partner, Loomis, Sayles & Company, Inc, is directly owned by Natixis Investment Managers, LLC (“Natixis LLC”). Natixis LLC is a limited liability company that owns investment management and distribution and service entities. Natixis LLC is an indirect subsidiary of Natixis Investment Managers, an international asset management group based in Paris, France, that is in turn owned by Natixis, a French investment banking and financial services firm. Natixis is wholly owned by Groupe BPCE, France’s second largest banking group. Groupe BPCE is owned by banks comprising two autonomous and complementary retail banking networks consisting of the Caisse d’Epargne regional savings banks and the Banque Populaire regional cooperative banks. The registered address of Natixis is 30, avenue Pierre Mendès France, 75013 Paris, France. The registered address of Groupe BPCE is 50, avenue Pierre Mendès France, 75013 Paris, France.
Statement of Additional Information
75

Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC (“Parametric”), 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2800, Seattle, Washington 98104: Parametric is a registered investment adviser offering a variety of structured portfolio solutions. Parametric is a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, a publicly held company that is traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol MS. Parametric is a part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, the asset management division of Morgan Stanley. Parametric is owned directly by Eaton Vance Acquisitions LLC, a privately held subsidiary of Morgan Stanley.
Sands Capital Management, LLC (“Sands”), 1000 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 3000, Arlington, Virginia 22209: Sands is a registered investment adviser founded in 1992. Sands is an independently owned limited liability company headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.
William Blair Investment Management, LLC (“William Blair”), 150 North Riverside Plaza, Chicago, Illinois 60606: William Blair is a global investment firm that was established in 2014 and is registered as an investment adviser with the SEC. William Blair is affiliated with William Blair & Company, L.L.C. (“William Blair & Company”). William Blair and William Blair & Company are wholly owned subsidiaries of WBC Holdings, L.P., which is wholly owned by current William Blair and William Blair & Company employees.
Small Cap Equity Fund:
American Century Investment Management, Inc. (“American Century”), 4500 Main Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64111: American Century is a wholly owned, privately held subsidiary of American Century Companies, Inc. (“ACC”). ACC is a holding company for American Century and the other companies in the American Century Investments Complex. The Stowers Institute for Medical Research (“SIMR”) controls ACC by virtue of its beneficial ownership of more than 25% of the voting securities of ACC. SIMR is part of a not-for-profit biomedical research organization dedicated to finding the keys to the causes, treatments and prevention of disease.
Delaware Investments Fund Advisers (“DIFA”), 100 Independence, 610 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19106: DIFA is a series of Macquarie Investment Management Business Trust, which is a subsidiary of Macquarie Management Holdings, Inc. (“MMHI”). MMHI is a subsidiary, and subject to the ultimate control, of Macquarie Group Limited (“Macquarie”). Macquarie is a Sydney, Australia headquartered global provider of banking, financial, advisory, investment and funds management services. Macquarie Asset Management is the marketing name for certain companies comprising the asset management division of Macquarie Group Limited and its subsidiaries and affiliates worldwide.
Jacobs Levy Equity Management, Inc. (“Jacobs Levy”), 100 Campus Drive, 4th Floor East, Florham Park, New Jersey, 07932: Jacobs Levy is equally owned and controlled by Bruce I. Jacobs, Ph.D., and Kenneth N. Levy, CFA.
Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC (“Parametric”), 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2800, Seattle, Washington 98104: Parametric is a registered investment adviser offering a variety of structured portfolio solutions. Parametric is a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, a publicly held company that is traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol MS. Parametric is a part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, the asset management division of Morgan Stanley. Parametric is owned directly by Eaton Vance Acquisitions LLC, a privately held subsidiary of Morgan Stanley.
TimesSquare Capital Management, LLC (“TSCM”), 7 Times Square, 42nd Floor, New York, New York 10036: TSCM is a registered investment advisory firm organized in November 2004 in strategic partnership with Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. TSCM was formed to succeed the growth equity investment advisory business of the firm’s predecessor, TimesSquare Capital Management, Inc. TSCM is an investment management firm focused on meeting the needs of all clients.
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GuideStone Funds

International Equity Index Fund:
Legal & General Investment Management America, Inc. (“LGIM America”), 71 South Wacker Drive, Suite 800, Chicago, Illinois 60606: LGIM America, a Delaware corporation, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Legal & General Investment Management United States (Holdings), Inc. and is registered under the Investment Advisors Act of 1940, as amended.
International Equity Fund:
Altrinsic Global Advisors, LLC (“Altrinsic”), 8 Sound Shore Drive, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830: Altrinsic is a registered investment adviser focusing solely on international, global and emerging markets equity management. Altrinsic is employee-controlled and majority-owned. CI Global Investments Inc. (“CI”), a Canadian investment firm, owns approximately 11.9% of the outstanding equity units of Altrinsic. Employees own the remaining equity interest and retain 95.1% of the voting interests in Altrinsic.
AQR Capital Management, LLC (“AQR”), One Greenwich Plaza, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830: AQR, a Delaware limited liability company founded in 1998, is a wholly owned subsidiary of AQR Capital Management Holdings, LLC (“AQR Holdings”), which has no activities other than holding the interests of AQR. Clifford S. Asness, Ph.D., M.B.A., may be deemed to control AQR through his voting control of the Board of Members of AQR Holdings.
MFS Institutional Advisors, Inc. (“MFSI”), 111 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02199: MFSI is a U.S.-based investment adviser and subsidiary of Massachusetts Financial Services Company (“MFS”). MFS is the oldest U.S. mutual fund organization. MFS and the firm’s predecessor organizations have a history of money management dating from 1924 and the founding of the first mutual fund, Massachusetts Investors Trust. MFS is a subsidiary of Sun Life of Canada (U.S.) Financial Services Holdings, Inc., which in turn is an indirect majority-owned subsidiary of Sun Life Financial Inc. (a diversified financial services company).
Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC (“Parametric”), 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2800, Seattle, Washington 98104: Parametric is a registered investment adviser offering a variety of structured portfolio solutions. Parametric is a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, a publicly held company that is traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol MS. Parametric is a part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, the asset management division of Morgan Stanley. Parametric is owned directly by Eaton Vance Acquisitions LLC, a privately held subsidiary of Morgan Stanley.
WCM Investment Management, LLC (“WCM”), 281 Brooks Street, Laguna Beach, California 92651: WCM is independently controlled entirely by its employees. Its CEO, Paul R. Black, and Chairman, Kurt R. Winrich, CFA, each own more than 25% of WCM.
Emerging Markets Equity Fund:
AQR Capital Management, LLC (“AQR”), One Greenwich Plaza, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830: AQR, a Delaware limited liability company founded in 1998, is a wholly owned subsidiary of AQR Capital Management Holdings, LLC (“AQR Holdings”), which has no activities other than holding the interests of AQR. Clifford S. Asness, Ph.D., M.B.A., may be deemed to control AQR through his voting control of the Board of Members of AQR Holdings.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. (“GSAM”), 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282: GSAM has been a registered investment adviser since 1990. GSAM provides a wide range of discretionary and investment advisory services, actively managed and quantitatively driven, for the firm’s clients. GSAM is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and an affiliate of Goldman, Sachs & Co. LLC. Founded in 1869, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc is a publicly-held financial holding company and a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm.
Statement of Additional Information
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Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC (“Parametric”), 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2800, Seattle, Washington 98104: Parametric is a registered investment adviser offering a variety of structured portfolio solutions. Parametric is a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, a publicly held company that is traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol MS. Parametric is a part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, the asset management division of Morgan Stanley. Parametric is owned directly by Eaton Vance Acquisitions LLC, a privately held subsidiary of Morgan Stanley.
RBC Global Asset Management (U.K.) Limited (“RBC GAM UK”), 77 Grosvenor Street, London, W1K 3JR, United Kingdom: RBC GAM UK is a wholly owned direct subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada Holdings (U.K.) Limited, a company formed in the United Kingdom and which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Canada (“RBC”). RBC is publicly held and traded on the New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange.
Wellington Management Company LLP (“Wellington”), 280 Congress Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210: Wellington is a registered investment adviser and owned by partners of Wellington Management Group LLP, a Massachusetts limited liability partnership.
All Funds (except Money Market Fund) — Cash Overlay Program:
Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC (“Parametric”), 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2800, Seattle, Washington 98104: Parametric is a registered investment adviser offering a variety of structured portfolio solutions. Parametric is a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, a publicly held company that is traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol MS. Parametric is a part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, the asset management division of Morgan Stanley. Parametric is owned directly by Eaton Vance Acquisitions LLC, a privately held subsidiary of Morgan Stanley.
Fund Expenses. Each Fund pays the expenses incurred in its operations, including its pro rata share of expenses of the Trust. These expenses include investment advisory and administrative fees; registration fees; interest charges; taxes; expenses connected with the execution, recording and settlement of security transactions; fees and expenses of the custodian for all services to the Fund, including safekeeping of funds and securities and maintaining required books and accounts; expenses of preparing and mailing reports to investors and to government offices and commissions; expenses of meetings of investors; fees and expenses of independent accountants and legal counsel; insurance premiums; and expenses of calculating the NAV of, and the net income on, shares. Each Target Date Fund and Target Risk Fund also bears its proportionate share of the operating expenses of the underlying mutual funds in which it holds shares. In addition, the Funds may allocate transfer agency and certain other expenses by Class.
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GuideStone Funds

Other Accounts Managed. The following table provides additional information about other accounts managed by portfolio managers and management team members jointly and primarily responsible for day-to-day management of the Funds for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, except as otherwise noted.
Sub-Advisers
Portfolio Managers
Total number of other accounts managed by Portfolio Manager(s)
within each category below and the total assets in the accounts
managed within each category below.
For other accounts managed by Portfolio Manager(s) within each
category below, number of accounts and the total assets in the
accounts with respect to which the advisory fee is based on the
performance of the account.
Registered Investment
Companies
Other Pooled
Investment Vehicles
Other Accounts
Registered Investment
Companies
Other Pooled
Investment Vehicles
Other Accounts
Number
of
Accounts
Total
Assets
($mm)
Number
of
Accounts
Total
Assets
($mm)
Number
of
Accounts
Total