Catholic Responsible Investments Funds
Prospectus
CATHOLIC RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENTS MAGNUS 45/55 FUND
Investor Shares: CMNVX
Institutional Shares: CMNSX
CATHOLIC RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENTS MAGNUS 60/40 BETA PLUS FUND
Investor Shares: CMMVX
Institutional Shares: CMMSX
CATHOLIC RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENTS MAGNUS 60/40 ALPHA PLUS FUND
Investor Shares: CMPVX
Institutional Shares: CMPSX
CATHOLIC RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENTS MAGNUS 75/25 FUND
Investor Shares: CMUVX
Institutional Shares: CMUSX
CATHOLIC RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENTS ULTRA SHORT BOND FUND
Institutional Shares: CRHSX
CATHOLIC RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENTS SHORT DURATION BOND FUND
Institutional Shares: CRDSX
CATHOLIC RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENTS OPPORTUNISTIC BOND FUND
Investor Shares: CROVX
Institutional Shares: CROSX
CATHOLIC RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENTS BOND FUND
Investor Shares: CRBVX
Institutional Shares: CRBSX
CATHOLIC RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENTS EQUITY INDEX FUND
Institutional Shares: CRQSX
CATHOLIC RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENTS MULTI-STYLE US EQUITY FUND
Investor Shares: CRTVX
Institutional Shares: CRTSX
CATHOLIC RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENTS INTERNATIONAL EQUITY FUND
Investor Shares: CRLVX
Institutional Shares: CRLSX
CATHOLIC RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENTS SMALL-CAP FUND
Institutional Shares: CRSSX
CATHOLIC RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENTS INTERNATIONAL SMALL-CAP FUND
Institutional Shares: CRNSX
INVESTMENT
ADVISER:
CHRISTIAN BROTHERS INVESTMENT SERVICES, INC.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
About This Prospectus |
This prospectus has been arranged into different sections so that you can easily review this important information. For detailed information about each Fund, please see:
Catholic Responsible Investments International Small-Cap Fund |
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Investor Shares
Institutional Shares
Custom Benchmark (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Russell 3000® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
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The Catholic Responsible Investments Magnus 45/55 Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to achieve current income and long-term capital appreciation.
These tables describe the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell Investor Shares and Institutional Shares of the Fund. You may be required to pay commissions and/or other forms of compensation to a broker for transactions in Institutional Shares, which are not reflected in the table or the example below.
Redemption Fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed, if shares redeemed have been held for less than 30 days) |
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Investor
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Institutional
| |
Management Fees |
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Other Expenses |
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Shareholder Servicing Fee |
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Other Operating Expenses |
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Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses (AFFE)1 |
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Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses2 |
|
|
Less Fee Reductions and/or Expense Reimbursements3 |
( |
( |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Reductions and/or Expense Reimbursements2 |
|
|
1 |
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2 |
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1
3 |
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This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses (including one year of capped expenses in each period) remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
|
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
Investor Shares |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
Institutional Shares |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
Because
the Fund buys and sells shares of other Catholic Responsible Investments Funds
mutual funds, the Fund is not expected to incur transaction costs directly.
However, as a shareholder in the Underlying Funds, the Fund indirectly pays
transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or
“turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate
higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are
held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in total annual
Fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During
its most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was
2
The Fund is a “fund of funds,” meaning that it seeks to achieve its objective by investing in other Catholic Responsible Investments Funds mutual funds (the “Underlying Funds”) that represent a variety of asset classes and investment styles. The Fund’s asset allocation strategy emphasizes investments in equity securities (and certain other instruments described below) in an amount equal to 45% of its assets and exposure to fixed-income securities in an amount equal to 55% of its assets. Under normal circumstances, the Fund does not make direct investments into assets other than the underlying Catholic Responsible Investments Funds indicated in the chart below, government securities and short-term paper.
The following table indicates the fund’s neutral mix; that is, how the fund’s investments generally will be allocated among the major asset classes over the long term. The table also shows the neutral weightings of each underlying fund currently being used within the various asset classes. This information is as of the date of this prospectus.
Equity
Securities |
45.00% |
Fixed-Income
|
55.00% |
Catholic Responsible Investments Equity Index Fund |
22.25% |
Catholic Responsible Investments Ultra Short Bond Fund |
0.00% |
Catholic Responsible Investments Multi-Style US Equity Fund |
7.00% |
Catholic Responsible Investments Short Duration Bond Fund |
13.75% |
Catholic Responsible Investments International Equity Fund |
9.00% |
Catholic Responsible Investments Opportunistic Bond Fund |
13.75% |
Catholic Responsible Investments Small-Cap Fund |
4.50% |
Catholic Responsible Investments Bond Fund |
27.50% |
Catholic Responsible Investments International Small-Cap Fund |
2.25% |
The Adviser, with the assistance of the Fund’s primary sub-adviser, Mercer Investments LLC (“Mercer”), regularly reviews the Fund and may make changes to the Fund’s asset class allocations that deviate from the neutral mix to emphasize investments that the Adviser believes will provide the most favorable outlook for achieving the Fund’s long-term objective. The Fund may also deviate from the neutral mix due to differences in asset class performance or prevailing market conditions. To do this, the Adviser will rely on the experience of its investment personnel and its evaluation of the overall financial markets, including, but not limited to, information about
3
the economy, interest rates, and the long-term absolute and relative returns of various asset classes. Consideration will also be given to the investment styles of the managers of the Underlying Funds and their historic patterns of performance relative to their asset class and to other Underlying Funds. Under normal circumstances, however, the Fund will not deviate more than 2.5% from its targeted allocation of Underlying Funds.
The following table shows the Fund’s target asset class allocations generally. Under normal circumstances, the Fund’s general target asset class allocations may vary up to 5% in either direction.
Equity
Securities |
Fixed-Income
| |
Target Allocation |
45.00% |
55.00% |
Permissible Range |
40.00-50.00% |
50.00-60.00% |
As noted above, the Adviser has engaged Mercer to provide ongoing research, opinions and recommendations of institutional asset managers and their investment funds for consideration by the Adviser, on behalf of the Fund, with respect to sub-adviser selection and portfolio construction. However, Mercer does not have discretionary authority with respect to the investment of the Fund’s assets.
The Adviser, working closely with Mercer and in consideration of its recommendations, uses both a quantitative screening process and qualitative selection process when selecting investments for the Fund to implement its investment strategy. The Adviser and Mercer conduct research on various investment managers and investment options in order to establish a selection of investments to fulfill the Fund’s investment objectives. Mercer’s assistance and recommendations for selection of investment funds are made according to asset allocation, return expectations and other guidelines set by the Adviser with oversight of the Board. No assurance can be given that any or all investment strategies, or the Fund’s investment program, will be successful.
Catholic Responsible Investing
The Fund, through its investments in the Underlying Funds, will invest its assets in a manner consistent with the components, details and definitions of Catholic Responsible Investing (“CRI”) as adopted from time to time by the De La Salle Brothers of the Christian Schools. CRI is an investment strategy designed specifically to help investors seek sound financial returns while remaining faithful to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. The components and details of CRI are intended to reflect both the charism (or founding spirit) and the current teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and, as such, the components and details are as adopted from time to time by the De La Salle Brothers of the Christian Schools, currently through the action of its civil entity, the Adviser.
CRI blends core Roman Catholic Church teaching with a disciplined, diversified investment process aimed at delivering competitive, risk-adjusted returns over time. Currently, the three components of CRI are Catholic investment screening, active ownership and diversified investment management. For more information about the Fund’s policy to invest consistent with CRI and these three components, please see the section of the prospectus entitled “More Information about the Funds’ Investment Objectives, Principal Investment Strategies and Principal Risks, Fundamental Investment Policy of Catholic Responsible Investing.”
As part of the Fund’s Catholic Responsible Investing Process, the Adviser maintains a master list of global securities that are restricted from inclusion in an underlying Fund’s portfolio. While the Catholic Responsible Investing screening criteria are designed to exclude certain companies or investments from the potential investment universe because these companies operate businesses deemed inconsistent with Catholic values, the Adviser does not anticipate this reduction to have a material impact on an underlying Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective, and consequently does
4
not anticipate this reduction to have a material impact on the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. With respect to the Underlying Funds that the Fund may invest in, the Adviser seeks to balance the impact of the Catholic Responsible Investing screening criteria by either overweighting select portfolio holdings or substituting additional holdings so that the Fund’s overall portfolio composition is adjusted to achieve its investment objective. As a result, Fund performance (and an underlying Fund’s performance) may be different than a fund with a similar investment strategy that does not invest in accordance with Catholic Responsible Investing screening criteria.
As
with all mutual funds, there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its
investment objective.
Asset Allocation Risk — The Fund is subject to asset allocation risk, which is the risk that the selection of the Underlying Funds and the allocation of the Fund’s assets among the various asset classes and market segments will cause the Fund to underperform other funds with a similar investment objective. The value of an investment in the Fund is based primarily on the prices of the Underlying Funds in which the Fund invests. In turn, the price of each Underlying Fund is based on the value of its assets. The ability of the Fund to meet its investment objective is directly related to its asset allocation among the Underlying Funds and its direct investments and the ability of the Underlying Funds to meet their investment objectives and for the direct investments to perform positively. If the Adviser’s asset allocation strategy does not work as intended, the Fund may not achieve its objective.
Affiliated Fund Risk — In managing the Fund, the Adviser will have authority to select and substitute Underlying Funds. The Adviser may be subject to potential conflicts of interest in selecting Underlying Funds because the fees paid to the Adviser by some Underlying Funds are higher than the fees paid by other underlying funds. However, the Adviser is a fiduciary to the Fund and is legally obligated to act in the Fund’s best interests when selecting Underlying Funds. If an Underlying Fund holds interests in an affiliated fund, the Fund may be prohibited from purchasing shares of that Underlying Fund.
Investment in Underlying Funds Risk — The value of an investment in the Fund is based primarily on the prices of the Underlying Funds in which the Fund invests. In turn, the price of each Underlying Fund is based on the value of its assets. The Fund, and thus its shareholders, bears its own direct expenses in addition to bearing a proportionate share of expenses of the Underlying Funds, which may make owning shares of the Fund more costly than owning shares of the Underlying Funds directly. Before investing in the Fund, investors should assess the risks associated with the Underlying Funds and the types of investments made by those Underlying Funds. These risks
5
include any combination of the risks described below, although the Fund’s exposure to a particular risk will be proportionate to the Fund’s overall asset allocation and Underlying Fund allocation. The Fund is exposed indirectly to the following risks because of its investments in Underlying Funds.
Fixed Income Market Risk — The prices of Underlying Funds’ fixed income securities respond to economic developments, particularly interest rate changes, as well as to perceptions about the creditworthiness of individual issuers, including governments and their agencies. Generally, the Underlying Funds’ fixed income securities will decrease in value if interest rates rise and vice versa. In a low interest rate environment, risks associated with rising rates are heightened. Declines in dealer market-making capacity as a result of structural or regulatory changes could decrease liquidity and/or increase volatility in the fixed income markets.
Market Risk — The prices of and the income generated by Underlying Funds’ securities may decline in response to, among other things, investor sentiment, general economic and market conditions, regional or global instability, and currency and interest rate fluctuations. In addition, the impact of any epidemic, pandemic or natural disaster, or widespread fear that such events may occur, could negatively affect the global economy, as well as the economies of individual countries, the financial performance of individual companies and sectors, and the markets in general in significant and unforeseen ways.
Corporate Fixed Income Securities Risk — Corporate fixed income securities respond to economic developments, especially changes in interest rates, as well as perceptions of the creditworthiness and business prospects of individual issuers.
Interest Rate Risk — The risk that a change in interest rates will cause a fall in the value of fixed income securities, including U.S. Government securities, in which the Fund invests. Generally, the value of the Fund’s fixed income securities will vary inversely with the direction of prevailing interest rates. Changing interest rates may have unpredictable effects on the markets and may affect the value and liquidity of instruments held by the Fund. Although U.S. Government securities are considered to be among the safest investments, they are not guaranteed against price movements due to changing interest rates.
Inflation Protected Securities Risk — The value of inflation protected securities, including TIPS, will generally fluctuate in response to changes in “real” interest rates, generally decreasing when real interest rates rise and increasing when real interest rates fall. Real interest rates represent nominal (or stated) interest rates reduced by the expected impact of inflation. In addition, interest payments on inflation-indexed securities will generally vary up or down along with the rate of inflation.
6
Floating Rate Securities Risk — Although floating rate securities are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than fixed rate instruments, the value of floating rate securities may decline if their interest rates do not rise as quickly, or as much, as general interest rates. In addition to the risks associated with the floating nature of interest payments, investors remain exposed to other underlying risks associated with the issuer of the floating rate security, such as credit risk.
Duration Risk — The longer-term securities in which an Underlying Fund may invest tend to be more volatile than shorter-term securities. A portfolio with a longer average portfolio duration is more sensitive to changes in interest rates than a portfolio with a shorter average portfolio duration.
The concept of duration is useful in assessing the sensitivity of a fixed income fund to interest rate movements, which are usually the main source of risk for most fixed income funds. Duration measures price volatility by estimating the change in price of a debt security for a 1% change in its yield. For example, a duration of five years means the price of a debt security will change about 5% for every 1% change in its yield. Thus, the higher the duration, the more volatile the security.
Equity Risk — The risk that stock prices will fall over short or extended periods of time, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably. The value of equity securities will fluctuate in response to factors affecting a particular company, as well as broader market and economic conditions. Broad movements in financial markets may adversely affect the price of the Fund’s investments, regardless of how well the companies in which the Underlying Fund invests perform. Moreover, in the event of a company’s bankruptcy, claims of certain creditors, including bondholders, will have priority over claims of common stock holders such as the Fund.
Large-Capitalization Company Risk — The large capitalization companies in which an Underlying Fund may invest may lag the performance of smaller capitalization companies because large capitalization companies may experience slower rates of growth than smaller capitalization companies and may not respond as quickly to market changes and opportunities.
Small- and Mid-Capitalization Company Risk — The small- and mid-capitalization companies in which an Underlying Fund may invest may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies. In particular, investments in these small- and mid-sized companies may pose additional risks, including liquidity risk, because these companies tend to have limited product lines, markets and financial resources, and may depend upon a relatively small management group. Therefore, small- and mid- capitalization stocks may be more volatile than those of larger companies. These securities may be traded over-the-counter or listed on an exchange.
7
Foreign Company Risk — Investing in foreign companies, including direct investments and investments through depositary receipts, poses additional risks since political and economic events unique to a country or region will affect those markets and their issuers. These risks will not necessarily affect the U.S. economy or similar issuers located in the U.S. Offerings of securities of foreign companies may not be registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and foreign companies are generally not subject to the regulatory controls imposed on U.S. issuers and, as a consequence, there is generally less publicly available information about foreign securities than is available about domestic securities. Income from foreign securities owned by an Underlying Fund may be reduced by a withholding tax at the source, which tax would reduce income received from the securities comprising the Fund’s portfolio. Foreign securities may also be more difficult to value than securities of U.S. issuers. In addition, periodic U.S. Government restrictions on investments in issuers from certain foreign countries may require the Underlying Fund to sell such investments at inopportune times, which could result in losses to the Underlying Fund. While depositary receipts provide an alternative to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their respective national markets and currencies, investments in depositary receipts continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities.
Emerging Markets Securities Risk — An Underlying Fund’s investments in emerging markets securities, including A Shares of Chinese companies purchased through Stock Connect, are considered speculative and subject to heightened risks in addition to the general risks of investing in foreign securities. Unlike more established markets, emerging markets may have governments that are less stable, markets that are more concentrated and less liquid and economies that are less developed. In addition, the securities markets of emerging market countries may consist of companies with smaller market capitalizations and may suffer periods of relative illiquidity; significant price volatility; restrictions on foreign investment; and possible restrictions on repatriation of investment income and capital. In certain emerging markets, governments have historically exercised substantial control over the economy through administrative regulation and/or state ownership. Furthermore, foreign investors may be required to register the proceeds of sales, and future economic or political crises could lead to price controls, forced mergers, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, seizure, nationalization or creation of government monopolies.
Adjustable Rate Mortgages Risk — ARMs contain limitations, such as maximum and minimum rates beyond which the mortgage interest rate may not vary over the lifetime of the security, limitations on maximum interest rate adjustments, or limitations on changes in monthly payments. In the event that a monthly payment is not sufficient to pay the interest accruing on an ARM, any excess interest is added to the principal balance of the mortgage loan, which is repaid through
8
future monthly payments. This increased burden on the mortgagor may increase the risk of delinquency or default on the mortgage loan and in turn, losses on the mortgage-backed securities into which that loan has been bundled.
U.S. Government Securities Risk — Although U.S. Government securities are considered to be among the safest investments, they are not guaranteed against price movements due to changing interest rates. Obligations issued by some U.S. Government agencies are backed by the U.S. Treasury, whereas others are backed solely by the ability of the agency to borrow from the U.S. Treasury or by the agency’s own resources.
Geographic Focus Risk — To the extent that it focuses at times its investments in a particular country or geographic region, an Underlying Fund may be more susceptible to economic, political, regulatory or other events or conditions affecting issuers and countries within that country or geographic region. As a result, the Fund may be subject to greater price volatility and risk of loss than a fund holding more geographically diverse investments.
Indexing Strategy/Index Tracking Risk — Certain Underlying Funds are managed with an indexing investment strategy, attempting to track the performance of an unmanaged index of securities, regardless of the current or projected performance of the Underlying Index or of the actual securities comprising the Underlying Index. This differs from an actively-managed fund, which typically seeks to outperform a benchmark index. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be less favorable than that of a portfolio managed using an active investment strategy. The structure and composition of the Underlying Index will affect the performance, volatility, and risk of the Underlying Index and, consequently, the performance, volatility, and risk of the Fund. The Fund’s performance may not match the performance of the Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs a number of operating expenses, including taxes, not applicable to the Index and incurs costs associated with buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index. As discussed below, the Fund’s performance may also be affected because of the impact of the Adviser’s Catholic Responsible Investment criteria on the portfolio holdings of the Fund. In addition, the Fund may not be fully invested at times, generally as a result of cash flows into or out of the Fund or reserves of cash held by the Fund to meet redemptions.
Asset-Backed Securities Risk — Asset-backed securities are securities backed by non-mortgage assets such as company receivables, truck and auto loans, leases and credit card receivables. Asset-backed securities may be issued as pass-through certificates, which represent undivided fractional ownership interests in the underlying pools of assets. Therefore, repayment depends largely on the cash flows generated by the assets backing the securities. Asset-backed securities
9
entail prepayment risk, which may vary depending on the type of asset, but is generally less than the prepayment risk associated with mortgage-backed securities. Asset-backed securities present credit risks that are not presented by mortgage-backed securities because asset-backed securities generally do not have the benefit of a security interest in collateral that is comparable in quality to mortgage assets. If the issuer of an asset-backed security defaults on its payment obligations, there is the possibility that, in some cases, the Underlying Fund will be unable to possess and sell the underlying collateral and that the Fund’s recoveries on repossessed collateral may not be available to support payments on the security. In the event of a default, the Underlying Fund may suffer a loss if it cannot sell collateral quickly and receive the amount it is owed.
Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk — Mortgage-backed securities are affected by, among other things, interest rate changes and the possibility of prepayment of the underlying mortgage loans. Mortgage-backed securities are also subject to the risk that underlying borrowers will be unable to meet their obligations.
Derivatives Risk — Futures contracts, forward contracts, options and swaps are subject to market risk, leverage risk, correlation risk and liquidity risk. Many over-the-counter (“OTC”) derivative instruments will not have liquidity beyond the counterparty to the instrument. Leverage risk is the risk that a small percentage of assets invested in derivatives can have a disproportionately larger impact on an Underlying Fund’s performance. Correlation risk is the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index. Forward contracts and swap agreements are also subject to credit risk and valuation risk. Valuation risk is the risk that the derivative may be difficult to value and/or may be valued incorrectly. Credit risk is described elsewhere in this section. Each of these risks could cause an Underlying Fund to lose more than the principal amount invested in a derivative instrument. Some derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of an initial investment. The other parties to certain derivative contracts present the same types of credit risk as issuers of fixed income securities. The use of derivatives may also increase the amount of taxes payable by shareholders. Both U.S. and non-U.S. regulators have adopted and implemented regulations governing derivatives markets, the ultimate impact of which remains unclear.
Catholic Values Investing Risk — The Fund considers the Adviser’s Catholic Responsible Investment criteria in its investment process and may choose not to purchase, or may sell, including at inopportune times which would result in losses to the Fund, otherwise profitable investments in companies which have been identified as being in conflict with the Adviser’s Catholic Responsible Investment criteria. This means that the Fund may underperform other similar mutual funds that do not consider these criteria when making investment decisions. In addition, there can be no guarantee that the activities of the companies identified by the Fund’s investment
10
process will align (or be perceived to align) with the principles contained in the Adviser’s Catholic Responsible Investment criteria.
The performance shown in the bar chart and performance table for periods prior to December 6, 2021 is the performance of another investment vehicle (the “Predecessor Fund”). Class A Shares of the Predecessor Fund reorganized into Investor Shares, and Class B Shares of the Predecessor Fund reorganized into Institutional Shares of the Fund on December 6, 2021. The Predecessor Fund was managed by the Adviser using investment policies, objectives and guidelines that were in all material respects equivalent to the management of the Fund. The Predecessor Fund performance information in the bar chart and table has been adjusted to reflect Investor Shares expenses, and with respect to the table Institutional Shares. However, the Predecessor Fund was not a registered mutual fund and so it was not subject to the same investment and tax restrictions as the Fund. If it had been, the Predecessor Fund’s performance may have been lower.
Year |
Return |
2019 |
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2020 |
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2021 |
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2022 |
- |
2023 |
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CATHOLIC
RESPONSIBLE |
1 Year |
5 Years |
Since
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Fund Returns Before Taxes |
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Institutional Shares |
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Investor Shares |
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Fund Returns After Taxes on Distributions |
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Investor Shares |
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^ |
^ |
Fund Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
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Investor Shares |
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^ |
^ |
Custom Benchmark (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)* |
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Russell 3000® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)† |
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Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)‡ |
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* |
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† |
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12
‡ |
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^ |
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Investment Adviser and Portfolio Managers
Christian Brothers Investment Services, Inc.
John Geissinger, CFA, Co-Chief Investment Officer, has managed the Fund since its inception in 2021.
Tom Digenan, CFA, Co-Chief Investment Officer, has managed the Fund since 2024.
Investment Sub-Adviser
Mercer Investments LLC
Mercer Investments LLC is the Fund’s primary sub-adviser. In this role, Mercer provides ongoing research, opinions and recommendations of institutional asset managers and their investment funds for consideration by the Adviser, on behalf of the Fund, with respect to sub-adviser selection and portfolio construction. Mercer does not have discretionary authority with respect to the investment of the Fund’s assets.
For important information about the purchase and sale of Fund shares, taxes and financial intermediary compensation, please turn to “Summary Information about the Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares, Taxes and Financial Intermediary Compensation” on page 163 of the prospectus.
13
Investor Shares
Institutional Shares
Custom Benchmark (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Russell 3000® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
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The Catholic Responsible Investments Magnus 60/40 Beta Plus Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to achieve current income and long-term capital appreciation.
These tables describe the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell Investor Shares and Institutional Shares of the Fund. You may be required to pay commissions and/or other forms of compensation to a broker for transactions in Institutional Shares, which are not reflected in the table or the example below.
Redemption Fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed, if shares redeemed have been held for less than 30 days) |
|
Investor
|
Institutional
| |
Management Fees |
|
|
Other Expenses |
|
|
Shareholder Servicing Fee |
|
|
Other Operating Expenses |
|
|
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses (AFFE)1 |
|
|
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses2 |
|
|
Less Fee Reductions and/or Expense Reimbursements3 |
( |
( |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Reductions and/or Expense Reimbursements2 |
|
|
1 |
|
2 |
|
14
3 |
|
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses (including one year of capped expenses in each period) remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
|
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
Investor Shares |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
Institutional Shares |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
Because
the Fund buys and sells shares of other Catholic Responsible Investments Funds
mutual funds (the “Underlying Funds”), the Fund is not expected to incur
transaction costs directly. However, as a shareholder in the Underlying Funds,
the Fund indirectly pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys
and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio
turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher
taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not
reflected in total annual Fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the
Fund’s performance. During its most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio
turnover rate was
15
The Fund is a “fund of funds,” meaning that it seeks to achieve its objective by investing in other Catholic Responsible Investments Funds mutual funds (the “Underlying Funds”) that represent a variety of asset classes and investment styles. The Fund’s asset allocation strategy emphasizes investments in equity securities (and certain other instruments described below) in an amount equal to 60% of its assets and exposure to fixed-income securities in an amount equal to 40% of its assets, with a bias towards “passive” management in the equity portion of the portfolio. The portfolios of the Magnus 60/40 Beta Plus Fund and the Magnus 60/40 Alpha Plus Fund reflect the same allocation to stocks and fixed-income securities, but the Magnus 60/40 Beta Plus Fund is more heavily allocated to Underlying Funds that use a “passive” management strategy, and the Magnus 60/40 Alpha Plus Fund is more heavily allocated to Underlying Funds that use an “active” management strategy. Under normal circumstances, the Fund does not make direct investments into assets other than the underlying Catholic Responsible Investments Funds indicated in the chart below, government securities and short-term paper.
The following table indicates the fund’s neutral mix; that is, how the fund’s investments generally will be allocated among the major asset classes over the long term. The table also shows the neutral weightings of each underlying fund currently being used within the various asset classes. This information is as of the date of this prospectus.
Equity
Securities |
60.00% |
Fixed-Income
|
40.00% |
Catholic Responsible Investments Equity Index Fund |
39.00% |
Catholic Responsible Investments Ultra Short Bond Fund |
0.00% |
Catholic Responsible Investments Multi-Style US Equity Fund |
0.00% |
Catholic Responsible Investments Short Duration Bond Fund |
10.00% |
Catholic Responsible Investments International Equity Fund |
12.00% |
Catholic Responsible Investments Opportunistic Bond Fund |
10.00% |
Catholic Responsible Investments Small-Cap Fund |
6.00% |
Catholic Responsible Investments Bond Fund |
20.00% |
Catholic Responsible Investments International Small-Cap Fund |
3.00% |
The Adviser, with the assistance of the Fund’s primary sub-adviser, Mercer Investments LLC (“Mercer”), regularly reviews the Fund and may make changes to the Fund’s asset class allocations that deviate from the neutral mix to emphasize
16
investments that the Adviser believes will provide the most favorable outlook for achieving the Fund’s long-term objective. The Fund may also deviate from the neutral mix due to differences in asset class performance or prevailing market conditions. To do this, the Adviser will rely on the experience of its investment personnel and its evaluation of the overall financial markets, including, but not limited to, information about the economy, interest rates, and the long-term absolute and relative returns of various asset classes. Consideration will also be given to the investment styles of the managers of the Underlying Funds and their historic patterns of performance relative to their asset class and to other Underlying Funds. Under normal circumstances, however, the Fund will not deviate more than 2.5% from its targeted allocation of Underlying Funds.
The following table shows the Fund’s target asset class allocations generally. Under normal circumstances, the Fund’s general target asset class allocations may vary up to 5% in either direction.
Equity
Securities |
Fixed-Income
| |
Target Allocation |
60.00% |
40.00% |
Permissible Range |
55.00-65.00% |
35.00-45.00% |
As noted above, the Adviser has engaged Mercer to provide ongoing research, opinions and recommendations of institutional asset managers and their investment funds for consideration by the Adviser, on behalf of the Fund, with respect to sub-adviser selection and portfolio construction. However, Mercer does not have discretionary authority with respect to the investment of the Fund’s assets.
The Adviser, working closely with Mercer and in consideration of its recommendations, uses both a quantitative screening process and qualitative selection process when selecting investments for the Fund to implement its investment strategy. The Adviser and Mercer conduct research on various investment managers and investment options in order to establish a selection of investments to fulfill the Fund’s investment objectives. Mercer’s assistance and recommendations for selection of investment funds are made according to asset allocation, return expectations and other guidelines set by the Adviser with oversight of the Board. No assurance can be given that any or all investment strategies, or the Fund’s investment program, will be successful.
Catholic Responsible Investing
The Fund, through its investments in the Underlying Funds, will invest its assets in a manner consistent with the components, details and definitions of Catholic Responsible Investing (“CRI”) as adopted from time to time by the De La Salle Brothers of the Christian Schools. CRI is an investment strategy designed specifically to help investors seek sound financial returns while remaining faithful to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. The components and details of CRI are intended to reflect both the charism (or founding spirit) and the current teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and, as such, the components and details are as adopted from time to time by the De La Salle Brothers of the Christian Schools, currently through the action of its civil entity, the Adviser.
CRI blends core Roman Catholic Church teaching with a disciplined, diversified investment process aimed at delivering competitive, risk-adjusted returns over time. Currently, the three components of CRI are Catholic investment screening, active ownership and diversified investment management. For more information about the Fund’s policy to invest consistent with CRI and these three components, please see the section of the prospectus entitled “More Information about the Funds’ Investment Objectives, Principal Investment Strategies and Principal Risks, Fundamental Investment Policy of Catholic Responsible Investing.”
As part of the Fund’s Catholic Responsible Investing Process, the Adviser maintains a master list of global securities that are restricted from inclusion in an underlying Fund’s portfolio. While the Catholic Responsible Investing
17
screening criteria are designed to exclude certain companies or investments from the potential investment universe because these companies operate businesses deemed inconsistent with Catholic values, the Adviser does not anticipate this reduction to have a material impact on an Underlying Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective, and consequently does not anticipate this reduction to have a material impact on the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. With respect to the Underlying Funds that the Fund may invest in, the Adviser seeks to balance the impact of the Catholic Responsible Investing screening criteria by either overweighting select portfolio holdings or substituting additional holdings so that the Fund’s overall portfolio composition is adjusted to achieve its investment objective. As a result, Fund performance (and an underlying Fund’s performance) may be different than a fund with a similar investment strategy that does not invest in accordance with Catholic Responsible Investing screening criteria.
As
with all mutual funds, there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its
investment objective.
Asset Allocation Risk — The Fund is subject to asset allocation risk, which is the risk that the selection of the Underlying Funds and the allocation of the Fund’s assets among the various asset classes and market segments will cause the Fund to underperform other funds with a similar investment objective. The value of an investment in the Fund is based primarily on the prices of the Underlying Funds in which the Fund invests. In turn, the price of each Underlying Fund is based on the value of its assets. The ability of the Fund to meet its investment objective is directly related to its asset allocation among the Underlying Funds and its direct investments and the ability of the Underlying Funds to meet their investment objectives and for the direct investments to perform positively. If the Adviser’s asset allocation strategy does not work as intended, the Fund may not achieve its objective.
Affiliated Fund Risk — In managing the Fund, the Adviser will have authority to select and substitute Underlying Funds. The Adviser may be subject to potential conflicts of interest in selecting Underlying Funds because the fees paid to the Adviser by some Underlying Funds are higher than the fees paid by other underlying funds. However, the Adviser is a fiduciary to the Fund and is legally obligated to act in the Fund’s best interests when selecting Underlying Funds. If an Underlying Fund holds interests in an affiliated fund, the Fund may be prohibited from purchasing shares of that Underlying Fund.
Investment in Underlying Funds Risk — The value of an investment in the Fund is based primarily on the prices of the Underlying Funds in which the Fund invests. In turn, the price of each Underlying Fund is based on the value of its assets. The Fund, and thus its shareholders, bears its own direct expenses in addition to bearing a proportionate share of expenses of the
18
Underlying Funds, which may make owning shares of the Fund more costly than owning shares of the Underlying Funds directly. Before investing in the Fund, investors should assess the risks associated with the Underlying Funds and the types of investments made by those Underlying Funds. These risks include any combination of the risks described below, although the Fund’s exposure to a particular risk will be proportionate to the Fund’s overall asset allocation and Underlying Fund allocation. The Fund is exposed indirectly to the following risks because of its investments in Underlying Funds.
Market Risk — The prices of and the income generated by Underlying Funds’ securities may decline in response to, among other things, investor sentiment, general economic and market conditions, regional or global instability, and currency and interest rate fluctuations. In addition, the impact of any epidemic, pandemic or natural disaster, or widespread fear that such events may occur, could negatively affect the global economy, as well as the economies of individual countries, the financial performance of individual companies and sectors, and the markets in general in significant and unforeseen ways.
Equity Risk — The risk that stock prices will fall over short or extended periods of time, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably. The value of equity securities will fluctuate in response to factors affecting a particular company, as well as broader market and economic conditions. Broad movements in financial markets may adversely affect the price of the Fund’s investments, regardless of how well the companies in which the Underlying Fund invests perform. Moreover, in the event of a company’s bankruptcy, claims of certain creditors, including bondholders, will have priority over claims of common stock holders such as the Fund.
Large-Capitalization Company Risk — The large capitalization companies in which an Underlying Fund may invest may lag the performance of smaller capitalization companies because large capitalization companies may experience slower rates of growth than smaller capitalization companies and may not respond as quickly to market changes and opportunities.
Small- and Mid-Capitalization Company Risk — The small- and mid-capitalization companies in which an Underlying Fund may invest may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies. In particular, investments in these small- and mid-sized companies may pose additional risks, including liquidity risk, because these companies tend to have limited product lines, markets and financial resources, and may depend upon a relatively small management group. Therefore, small- and mid- capitalization stocks may be more volatile than those of larger companies. These securities may be traded over-the-counter or listed on an exchange.
Foreign Company Risk — Investing in foreign companies, including direct investments and investments through depositary receipts, poses additional risks since political and economic events unique to a country
19
or region will affect those markets and their issuers. These risks will not necessarily affect the U.S. economy or similar issuers located in the U.S. Offerings of securities of foreign companies may not be registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and foreign companies are generally not subject to the regulatory controls imposed on U.S. issuers and, as a consequence, there is generally less publicly available information about foreign securities than is available about domestic securities. Income from foreign securities owned by an Underlying Fund may be reduced by a withholding tax at the source, which tax would reduce income received from the securities comprising the Fund’s portfolio. Foreign securities may also be more difficult to value than securities of U.S. issuers. In addition, periodic U.S. Government restrictions on investments in issuers from certain foreign countries may require the Underlying Fund to sell such investments at inopportune times, which could result in losses to the Underlying Fund. While depositary receipts provide an alternative to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their respective national markets and currencies, investments in depositary receipts continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities.
Emerging Markets Securities Risk — An Underlying Fund’s investments in emerging markets securities, including A Shares of Chinese companies purchased through Stock Connect, are considered speculative and subject to heightened risks in addition to the general risks of investing in foreign securities. Unlike more established markets, emerging markets may have governments that are less stable, markets that are more concentrated and less liquid and economies that are less developed. In addition, the securities markets of emerging market countries may consist of companies with smaller market capitalizations and may suffer periods of relative illiquidity; significant price volatility; restrictions on foreign investment; and possible restrictions on repatriation of investment income and capital. In certain emerging markets, governments have historically exercised substantial control over the economy through administrative regulation and/or state ownership. Furthermore, foreign investors may be required to register the proceeds of sales, and future economic or political crises could lead to price controls, forced mergers, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, seizure, nationalization or creation of government monopolies.
Fixed Income Market Risk — The prices of Underlying Funds’ fixed income securities respond to economic developments, particularly interest rate changes, as well as to perceptions about the creditworthiness of individual issuers, including governments and their agencies. Generally, the Underlying Funds’ fixed income securities will decrease in value if interest rates rise and vice versa. In a low interest rate environment, risks associated with rising rates are heightened. Declines in dealer market-making capacity as a result of structural or regulatory changes could decrease liquidity and/or increase volatility in the fixed income markets.
20
Corporate Fixed Income Securities Risk — Corporate fixed income securities respond to economic developments, especially changes in interest rates, as well as perceptions of the creditworthiness and business prospects of individual issuers.
Interest Rate Risk — The risk that a change in interest rates will cause a fall in the value of fixed income securities, including U.S. Government securities, in which the Fund invests. Generally, the value of the Fund’s fixed income securities will vary inversely with the direction of prevailing interest rates. Changing interest rates may have unpredictable effects on the markets and may affect the value and liquidity of instruments held by the Fund. Although U.S. Government securities are considered to be among the safest investments, they are not guaranteed against price movements due to changing interest rates.
Inflation Protected Securities Risk — The value of inflation protected securities, including TIPS, will generally fluctuate in response to changes in “real” interest rates, generally decreasing when real interest rates rise and increasing when real interest rates fall. Real interest rates represent nominal (or stated) interest rates reduced by the expected impact of inflation. In addition, interest payments on inflation-indexed securities will generally vary up or down along with the rate of inflation.
Floating Rate Securities Risk — Although floating rate securities are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than fixed rate instruments, the value of floating rate securities may decline if their interest rates do not rise as quickly, or as much, as general interest rates. In addition to the risks associated with the floating nature of interest payments, investors remain exposed to other underlying risks associated with the issuer of the floating rate security, such as credit risk.
Duration Risk — The longer-term securities in which an Underlying Fund may invest tend to be more volatile than shorter-term securities. A portfolio with a longer average portfolio duration is more sensitive to changes in interest rates than a portfolio with a shorter average portfolio duration.
The concept of duration is useful in assessing the sensitivity of a fixed income fund to interest rate movements, which are usually the main source of risk for most fixed income funds. Duration measures price volatility by estimating the change in price of a debt security for a 1% change in its yield. For example, a duration of five years means the price of a debt security will change about 5% for every 1% change in its yield. Thus, the higher the duration, the more volatile the security.
Adjustable Rate Mortgages Risk — ARMs contain limitations, such as maximum and minimum rates beyond which the mortgage interest rate may not vary over the lifetime of the security, limitations on maximum interest rate adjustments, or limitations on changes in monthly payments. In the event that a monthly payment is not sufficient to pay the interest accruing on an ARM, any excess interest is added to the principal balance of
21
the mortgage loan, which is repaid through future monthly payments. This increased burden on the mortgagor may increase the risk of delinquency or default on the mortgage loan and in turn, losses on the mortgage-backed securities into which that loan has been bundled.
U.S. Government Securities Risk — Although U.S. Government securities are considered to be among the safest investments, they are not guaranteed against price movements due to changing interest rates. Obligations issued by some U.S. Government agencies are backed by the U.S. Treasury, whereas others are backed solely by the ability of the agency to borrow from the U.S. Treasury or by the agency’s own resources.
Geographic Focus Risk — To the extent that it focuses at times its investments in a particular country or geographic region, an Underlying Fund may be more susceptible to economic, political, regulatory or other events or conditions affecting issuers and countries within that country or geographic region. As a result, the Fund may be subject to greater price volatility and risk of loss than a fund holding more geographically diverse investments.
Indexing Strategy/Index Tracking Risk — Certain Underlying Funds are managed with an indexing investment strategy, attempting to track the performance of an unmanaged index of securities, regardless of the current or projected performance of the Underlying Index or of the actual securities comprising the Underlying Index. This differs from an actively-managed fund, which typically seeks to outperform a benchmark index. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be less favorable than that of a portfolio managed using an active investment strategy. The structure and composition of the Underlying Index will affect the performance, volatility, and risk of the Underlying Index and, consequently, the performance, volatility, and risk of the Fund. The Fund’s performance may not match the performance of the Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs a number of operating expenses, including taxes, not applicable to the Index and incurs costs associated with buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index. As discussed below, the Fund’s performance may also be affected because of the impact of the Adviser’s Catholic Responsible Investment criteria on the portfolio holdings of the Fund. In addition, the Fund may not be fully invested at times, generally as a result of cash flows into or out of the Fund or reserves of cash held by the Fund to meet redemptions.
Asset-Backed Securities Risk — Asset-backed securities are securities backed by non-mortgage assets such as company receivables, truck and auto loans, leases and credit card receivables. Asset-backed securities may be issued as pass-through certificates, which represent undivided fractional ownership interests in the underlying pools of assets. Therefore, repayment depends largely on the cash flows generated by the assets backing the securities. Asset-backed securities entail prepayment risk, which may vary depending on the type of asset,
22
but is generally less than the prepayment risk associated with mortgage-backed securities. Asset-backed securities present credit risks that are not presented by mortgage-backed securities because asset-backed securities generally do not have the benefit of a security interest in collateral that is comparable in quality to mortgage assets. If the issuer of an asset-backed security defaults on its payment obligations, there is the possibility that, in some cases, the Underlying Fund will be unable to possess and sell the underlying collateral and that the Fund’s recoveries on repossessed collateral may not be available to support payments on the security. In the event of a default, the Underlying Fund may suffer a loss if it cannot sell collateral quickly and receive the amount it is owed.
Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk — Mortgage-backed securities are affected by, among other things, interest rate changes and the possibility of prepayment of the underlying mortgage loans. Mortgage-backed securities are also subject to the risk that underlying borrowers will be unable to meet their obligations.
Derivatives Risk — Futures contracts, forward contracts, options and swaps are subject to market risk, leverage risk, correlation risk and liquidity risk. Many over-the-counter (“OTC”) derivative instruments will not have liquidity beyond the counterparty to the instrument. Leverage risk is the risk that a small percentage of assets invested in derivatives can have a disproportionately larger impact on an Underlying Fund’s performance. Correlation risk is the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index. Forward contracts and swap agreements are also subject to credit risk and valuation risk. Valuation risk is the risk that the derivative may be difficult to value and/or may be valued incorrectly. Credit risk is described elsewhere in this section. Each of these risks could cause an Underlying Fund to lose more than the principal amount invested in a derivative instrument. Some derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of an initial investment. The other parties to certain derivative contracts present the same types of credit risk as issuers of fixed income securities. The use of derivatives may also increase the amount of taxes payable by shareholders. Both U.S. and non-U.S. regulators have adopted and implemented regulations governing derivatives markets, the ultimate impact of which remains unclear.
Catholic Values Investing Risk — The Fund considers the Adviser’s Catholic Responsible Investment criteria in its investment process and may choose not to purchase, or may sell, including at inopportune times which would result in losses to the Fund, otherwise profitable investments in companies which have been identified as being in conflict with the Adviser’s Catholic Responsible Investment criteria. This means that the Fund may underperform other similar mutual funds that do not consider these criteria when making investment decisions. In addition, there can be no guarantee that the activities of the companies identified by the Fund’s investment
23
process will align (or be perceived to align) with the principles contained in the Adviser’s Catholic Responsible Investment criteria.
The performance shown in the bar chart and performance table for periods prior to December 6, 2021 is the performance of another investment vehicle (the “Predecessor Fund”). Class A Shares of the Predecessor Fund reorganized into Investor Shares, and Class B Shares of the Predecessor Fund reorganized into Institutional Shares of the Fund on December 6, 2021. The Predecessor Fund was managed by the Adviser using investment policies, objectives and guidelines that were in all material respects equivalent to the management of the Fund. The Predecessor Fund performance information in the bar chart and table has been adjusted to reflect Investor Shares expenses, and with respect to the table Institutional Shares. However, the Predecessor Fund was not a registered mutual fund and so it was not subject to the same investment and tax restrictions as the Fund. If it had been, the Predecessor Fund’s performance may have been lower.
Year |
Return |
2019 |
|
2020 |
|
2021 |
|
2022 |
- |
2023 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24
CATHOLIC
RESPONSIBLE |
1 Year |
5 Years |
Since
|
Fund Returns Before Taxes |
|||
Institutional Shares |
|
|
|
Investor Shares |
|
|
|
Fund Returns After Taxes on Distributions |
|||
Investor Shares |
|
^ |
^ |
Fund Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
|||
Investor Shares |
|
^ |
^ |
Custom Benchmark (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)* |
|
|
|
Russell 3000® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)† |
|
|
|
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)‡ |
|
|
|
* |
|
† |
|
25
‡ |
|
^ |
|
Investment Adviser and Portfolio Managers
Christian Brothers Investment Services, Inc.
John Geissinger, CFA, Co-Chief Investment Officer, has managed the Fund since its inception in 2021.
Tom Digenan, CFA, Co-Chief Investment Officer, has managed the Fund since 2024.
Investment Sub-Adviser
Mercer Investments LLC
Mercer Investments LLC is the Fund’s primary sub-adviser. In this role, Mercer provides ongoing research, opinions and recommendations of institutional asset managers and their investment funds for consideration by the Adviser, on behalf of the Fund, with respect to sub-adviser selection and portfolio construction. Mercer does not have discretionary authority with respect to the investment of the Fund’s assets.
For important information about the purchase and sale of Fund shares, taxes and financial intermediary compensation, please turn to “Summary Information about the Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares, Taxes and Financial Intermediary Compensation” on page 163 of the prospectus.
26
Investor Shares
Institutional Shares
Custom Benchmark (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Russell 3000® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
|
The Catholic Responsible Investments Magnus 60/40 Alpha Plus Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to achieve current income and long-term capital appreciation.
These tables describe the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell Investor Shares and Institutional Shares of the Fund. You may be required to pay commissions and/or other forms of compensation to a broker for transactions in Institutional Shares, which are not reflected in the table or the example below.
Redemption Fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed, if shares redeemed have been held for less than 30 days) |
|
Investor
|
Institutional
| |
Management Fees |
|
|
Other Expenses |
|
|
Shareholder Servicing Fee |
|
|
Other Operating Expenses |
|
|
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses (AFFE)1 |
|
|
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses2 |
|
|
Less Fee Reductions and/or Expense Reimbursements3 |
( |
( |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Reductions and/or Expense Reimbursements2 |
|
|
1 |
|
2 |
|
27
3 |
|
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses (including one year of capped expenses in each period) remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
|
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
Investor Shares |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
Institutional Shares |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
Because
the Fund buys and sells shares of other Catholic Responsible Investments Funds
mutual funds (the “Underlying Funds”), the Fund is not expected to incur
transaction costs directly. However, as a shareholder in the Underlying Funds,
the Fund indirectly pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys
and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio
turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher
taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not
reflected in total annual Fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the
Fund’s performance During its most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio
turnover rate was
28
The Fund is a “fund of funds,” meaning that it seeks to achieve its objective by investing in other Catholic Responsible Investments Funds mutual funds (the “Underlying Funds”) that represent a variety of asset classes and investment styles. The Fund’s asset allocation strategy emphasizes investments in equity securities (and certain other instruments described below) in an amount equal to 60% of its assets and exposure to fixed-income securities in an amount equal to 40% of its assets, with a bias towards “active” management in the equity portion of the portfolio. The portfolios of the Magnus 60/40 Beta Plus Fund and the Magnus 60/40 Alpha Plus Fund reflect the same allocation to stocks and fixed-income securities, but the Magnus 60/40 Beta Plus Fund is more heavily allocated to Underlying Funds that use a “passive” management strategy, and the Magnus 60/40 Alpha Plus Fund is more heavily allocated to Underlying Funds that use an “active” management strategy. Under normal circumstances, the Fund does not make direct investments into assets other than the underlying Catholic Responsible Investments Funds indicated in the chart below, government securities and short-term paper.
The following table indicates the fund’s neutral mix; that is, how the fund’s investments generally will be allocated among the major asset classes over the long term. The table also shows the neutral weightings of each underlying fund currently being used within the various asset classes. This information is as of the date of this prospectus.
Equity
Securities |
60.00% |
Fixed-Income
|
40.00% |
Catholic Responsible Investments Equity Index Fund |
15.00% |
Catholic Responsible Investments Ultra Short Bond Fund |
0.00% |
Catholic Responsible Investments Multi-Style US Equity Fund |
24.00% |
Catholic Responsible Investments Short Duration Bond Fund |
10.00% |
Catholic Responsible Investments International Equity Fund |
12.00% |
Catholic Responsible Investments Opportunistic Bond Fund |
10.00% |
Catholic Responsible Investments Small-Cap Fund |
6.00% |
Catholic Responsible Investments Bond Fund |
20.00% |
Catholic Responsible Investments International Small-Cap Fund |
3.00% |
29
The Adviser, with the assistance of the Fund’s primary sub-adviser, Mercer Investments LLC (“Mercer”), regularly reviews the Fund and may make changes to the Fund’s asset class allocations that deviate from the neutral mix to emphasize investments that the Adviser believes will provide the most favorable outlook for achieving the Fund’s long-term objective. The Fund may also deviate from the neutral mix due to differences in asset class performance or prevailing market conditions. To do this, the Adviser will rely on the experience of its investment personnel and its evaluation of the overall financial markets, including, but not limited to, information about the economy, interest rates, and the long-term absolute and relative returns of various asset classes. Consideration will also be given to the investment styles of the managers of the Underlying Funds and their historic patterns of performance relative to their asset class and to other Underlying Funds. Under normal circumstances, however, the Fund will not deviate more than 2.5% from its targeted allocation of Underlying Funds.
The following table shows the Fund’s target asset class allocations generally. Under normal circumstances, the Fund’s general target asset class allocations may vary up to 5% in either direction.
|
Equity
Securities |
Fixed-Income
|
Target Allocation |
60.00% |
40.00% |
Permissible Range |
55.00-65.00% |
35.00-45.00% |
As noted above, the Adviser has engaged Mercer to provide ongoing research, opinions and recommendations of institutional asset managers and their investment funds for consideration by the Adviser, on behalf of the Fund, with respect to sub-adviser selection and portfolio construction. However, Mercer does not have discretionary authority with respect to the investment of the Fund’s assets.
The Adviser, working closely with Mercer and in consideration of its recommendations, uses both a quantitative screening process and qualitative selection process when selecting investments for the Fund to implement its investment strategy. The Adviser and Mercer conduct research on various investment managers and investment options in order to establish a selection of investments to fulfill the Fund’s investment objectives. Mercer’s assistance and recommendations for selection of investment funds are made according to asset allocation, return expectations and other guidelines set by the Adviser with oversight of the Board. No assurance can be given that any or all investment strategies, or the Fund’s investment program, will be successful.
Catholic Responsible Investing
The Fund, through its investments in the Underlying Funds, will invest its assets in a manner consistent with the components, details and definitions of Catholic Responsible Investing (“CRI”) as adopted from time to time by the De La Salle Brothers of the Christian Schools. CRI is an investment strategy designed specifically to help investors seek sound financial returns while remaining faithful to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. The components and details of CRI are intended to reflect both the charism (or founding spirit) and the current teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and, as such, the components and details are as adopted from time to time by the De La Salle Brothers of the Christian Schools, currently through the action of its civil entity, the Adviser.
CRI blends core Roman Catholic Church teaching with a disciplined, diversified investment process aimed at delivering competitive, risk-adjusted returns over time. Currently, the three components of CRI are Catholic investment screening, active ownership and diversified investment management. For more information about the Fund’s policy to invest consistent with CRI and these three components, please see the section of the prospectus entitled “More Information about the Funds’ Investment Objectives, Principal Investment Strategies and Principal Risks, Fundamental Investment Policy of Catholic Responsible Investing.”
30
As part of the Fund’s Catholic Responsible Investing Process, the Adviser maintains a master list of global securities that are restricted from inclusion in an underlying Fund’s portfolio. While the Catholic Responsible Investing screening criteria are designed to exclude certain companies or investments from the potential investment universe because these companies operate businesses deemed inconsistent with Catholic values, the Adviser does not anticipate this reduction to have a material impact on an underlying Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective, and consequently does not anticipate this reduction to have a material impact on the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. With respect to the Underlying Funds that the Fund may invest in, the Adviser seeks to balance the impact of the Catholic Responsible Investing screening criteria by either overweighting select portfolio holdings or substituting additional holdings so that the Fund’s overall portfolio composition is adjusted to achieve its investment objective. As a result, Fund performance (and an underlying Fund’s performance) may be different than a fund with a similar investment strategy that does not invest in accordance with Catholic Responsible Investing screening criteria.
As
with all mutual funds, there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its
investment objective.
Asset Allocation Risk — The Fund is subject to asset allocation risk, which is the risk that the selection of the Underlying Funds and the allocation of the Fund’s assets among the various asset classes and market segments will cause the Fund to underperform other funds with a similar investment objective. The value of an investment in the Fund is based primarily on the prices of the Underlying Funds in which the Fund invests. In turn, the price of each Underlying Fund is based on the value of its assets. The ability of the Fund to meet its investment objective is directly related to its asset allocation among the Underlying Funds and its direct investments and the ability of the Underlying Funds to meet their investment objectives and for the direct investments to perform positively. If the Adviser’s asset allocation strategy does not work as intended, the Fund may not achieve its objective.
Affiliated Fund Risk — In managing the Fund, the Adviser will have authority to select and substitute Underlying Funds. The Adviser may be subject to potential conflicts of interest in selecting Underlying Funds because the fees paid to the Adviser by some Underlying Funds are higher than the fees paid by other underlying funds. However, the Adviser is a fiduciary to the Fund and is legally obligated to act in the Fund’s best interests when selecting Underlying Funds. If an Underlying Fund holds interests in an affiliated fund, the Fund may be prohibited from purchasing shares of that Underlying Fund.
31
Investment in Underlying Funds Risk — The value of an investment in the Fund is based primarily on the prices of the Underlying Funds in which the Fund invests. In turn, the price of each Underlying Fund is based on the value of its assets. The Fund, and thus its shareholders, bears its own direct expenses in addition to bearing a proportionate share of expenses of the Underlying Funds, which may make owning shares of the Fund more costly than owning shares of the Underlying Funds directly. Before investing in the Fund, investors should assess the risks associated with the Underlying Funds and the types of investments made by those Underlying Funds. These risks include any combination of the risks described below, although the Fund’s exposure to a particular risk will be proportionate to the Fund’s overall asset allocation and Underlying Fund allocation. The Fund is exposed indirectly to the following risks because of its investments in Underlying Funds.
Market Risk — The prices of and the income generated by Underlying Funds’ securities may decline in response to, among other things, investor sentiment, general economic and market conditions, regional or global instability, and currency and interest rate fluctuations. In addition, the impact of any epidemic, pandemic or natural disaster, or widespread fear that such events may occur, could negatively affect the global economy, as well as the economies of individual countries, the financial performance of individual companies and sectors, and the markets in general in significant and unforeseen ways.
Equity Risk — The risk that stock prices will fall over short or extended periods of time, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably. The value of equity securities will fluctuate in response to factors affecting a particular company, as well as broader market and economic conditions. Broad movements in financial markets may adversely affect the price of the Fund’s investments, regardless of how well the companies in which the Underlying Fund invests perform. Moreover, in the event of a company’s bankruptcy, claims of certain creditors, including bondholders, will have priority over claims of common stock holders such as the Fund.
Large-Capitalization Company Risk — The large capitalization companies in which an Underlying Fund may invest may lag the performance of smaller capitalization companies because large capitalization companies may experience slower rates of growth than smaller capitalization companies and may not respond as quickly to market changes and opportunities.
Small- and Mid-Capitalization Company Risk — The small- and mid-capitalization companies in which an Underlying Fund may invest may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies. In particular, investments in these small- and mid-sized companies may pose additional risks, including liquidity risk, because these companies tend to have limited product lines, markets and financial resources, and may depend upon a relatively small management group. Therefore, small- and mid- capitalization
32
stocks may be more volatile than those of larger companies. These securities may be traded over-the-counter or listed on an exchange.
Foreign Company Risk — Investing in foreign companies, including direct investments and investments through depositary receipts, poses additional risks since political and economic events unique to a country or region will affect those markets and their issuers. These risks will not necessarily affect the U.S. economy or similar issuers located in the U.S. Offerings of securities of foreign companies may not be registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and foreign companies are generally not subject to the regulatory controls imposed on U.S. issuers and, as a consequence, there is generally less publicly available information about foreign securities than is available about domestic securities. Income from foreign securities owned by an Underlying Fund may be reduced by a withholding tax at the source, which tax would reduce income received from the securities comprising the Fund’s portfolio. Foreign securities may also be more difficult to value than securities of U.S. issuers. In addition, periodic U.S. Government restrictions on investments in issuers from certain foreign countries may require the Underlying Fund to sell such investments at inopportune times, which could result in losses to the Underlying Fund. While depositary receipts provide an alternative to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their respective national markets and currencies, investments in depositary receipts continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities.
Emerging Markets Securities Risk — An Underlying Fund’s investments in emerging markets securities, including A Shares of Chinese companies purchased through Stock Connect, are considered speculative and subject to heightened risks in addition to the general risks of investing in foreign securities. Unlike more established markets, emerging markets may have governments that are less stable, markets that are more concentrated and less liquid and economies that are less developed. In addition, the securities markets of emerging market countries may consist of companies with smaller market capitalizations and may suffer periods of relative illiquidity; significant price volatility; restrictions on foreign investment; and possible restrictions on repatriation of investment income and capital. In certain emerging markets, governments have historically exercised substantial control over the economy through administrative regulation and/or state ownership. Furthermore, foreign investors may be required to register the proceeds of sales, and future economic or political crises could lead to price controls, forced mergers, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, seizure, nationalization or creation of government monopolies.
Corporate Fixed Income Securities Risk — Corporate fixed income securities respond to economic developments, especially changes
33
in interest rates, as well as perceptions of the creditworthiness and business prospects of individual issuers.
Fixed Income Market Risk — The prices of Underlying Funds’ fixed income securities respond to economic developments, particularly interest rate changes, as well as to perceptions about the creditworthiness of individual issuers, including governments and their agencies. Generally, the Underlying Funds’ fixed income securities will decrease in value if interest rates rise and vice versa. In a low interest rate environment, risks associated with rising rates are heightened. Declines in dealer market-making capacity as a result of structural or regulatory changes could decrease liquidity and/or increase volatility in the fixed income markets.
Interest Rate Risk — The risk that a change in interest rates will cause a fall in the value of fixed income securities, including U.S. Government securities, in which the Fund invests. Generally, the value of the Fund’s fixed income securities will vary inversely with the direction of prevailing interest rates. Changing interest rates may have unpredictable effects on the markets and may affect the value and liquidity of instruments held by the Fund. Although U.S. Government securities are considered to be among the safest investments, they are not guaranteed against price movements due to changing interest rates.
Inflation Protected Securities Risk — The value of inflation protected securities, including TIPS, will generally fluctuate in response to changes in “real” interest rates, generally decreasing when real interest rates rise and increasing when real interest rates fall. Real interest rates represent nominal (or stated) interest rates reduced by the expected impact of inflation. In addition, interest payments on inflation-indexed securities will generally vary up or down along with the rate of inflation.
Floating Rate Securities Risk — Although floating rate securities are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than fixed rate instruments, the value of floating rate securities may decline if their interest rates do not rise as quickly, or as much, as general interest rates. In addition to the risks associated with the floating nature of interest payments, investors remain exposed to other underlying risks associated with the issuer of the floating rate security, such as credit risk.
Duration Risk — The longer-term securities in which an Underlying Fund may invest tend to be more volatile than shorter-term securities. A portfolio with a longer average portfolio duration is more sensitive to changes in interest rates than a portfolio with a shorter average portfolio duration.
The concept of duration is useful in assessing the sensitivity of a fixed income fund to interest rate movements, which are usually the main source of risk for most fixed income funds. Duration measures price
34
volatility by estimating the change in price of a debt security for a 1% change in its yield. For example, a duration of five years means the price of a debt security will change about 5% for every 1% change in its yield. Thus, the higher the duration, the more volatile the security.
Adjustable Rate Mortgages Risk — ARMs contain limitations, such as maximum and minimum rates beyond which the mortgage interest rate may not vary over the lifetime of the security, limitations on maximum interest rate adjustments, or limitations on changes in monthly payments. In the event that a monthly payment is not sufficient to pay the interest accruing on an ARM, any excess interest is added to the principal balance of the mortgage loan, which is repaid through future monthly payments. This increased burden on the mortgagor may increase the risk of delinquency or default on the mortgage loan and in turn, losses on the mortgage-backed securities into which that loan has been bundled.
U.S. Government Securities Risk — Although U.S. Government securities are considered to be among the safest investments, they are not guaranteed against price movements due to changing interest rates. Obligations issued by some U.S. Government agencies are backed by the U.S. Treasury, whereas others are backed solely by the ability of the agency to borrow from the U.S. Treasury or by the agency’s own resources.
Geographic Focus Risk — To the extent that it focuses at times its investments in a particular country or geographic region, an Underlying Fund may be more susceptible to economic, political, regulatory or other events or conditions affecting issuers and countries within that country or geographic region. As a result, the Fund may be subject to greater price volatility and risk of loss than a fund holding more geographically diverse investments.
Indexing Strategy/Index Tracking Risk — Certain Underlying Funds are managed with an indexing investment strategy, attempting to track the performance of an unmanaged index of securities, regardless of the current or projected performance of the Underlying Index or of the actual securities comprising the Underlying Index. This differs from an actively-managed fund, which typically seeks to outperform a benchmark index. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be less favorable than that of a portfolio managed using an active investment strategy. The structure and composition of the Underlying Index will affect the performance, volatility, and risk of the Underlying Index and, consequently, the performance, volatility, and risk of the Fund. The Fund’s performance may not match the performance of the Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs a number of operating expenses, including taxes, not applicable to the Index and incurs costs associated with buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index. As discussed below, the Fund’s performance
35
may also be affected because of the impact of the Adviser’s Catholic Responsible Investment criteria on the portfolio holdings of the Fund. In addition, the Fund may not be fully invested at times, generally as a result of cash flows into or out of the Fund or reserves of cash held by the Fund to meet redemptions.
Asset-Backed Securities Risk — Asset-backed securities are securities backed by non-mortgage assets such as company receivables, truck and auto loans, leases and credit card receivables. Asset-backed securities may be issued as pass-through certificates, which represent undivided fractional ownership interests in the underlying pools of assets. Therefore, repayment depends largely on the cash flows generated by the assets backing the securities. Asset-backed securities entail prepayment risk, which may vary depending on the type of asset, but is generally less than the prepayment risk associated with mortgage-backed securities. Asset-backed securities present credit risks that are not presented by mortgage-backed securities because asset-backed securities generally do not have the benefit of a security interest in collateral that is comparable in quality to mortgage assets. If the issuer of an asset-backed security defaults on its payment obligations, there is the possibility that, in some cases, the Underlying Fund will be unable to possess and sell the underlying collateral and that the Fund’s recoveries on repossessed collateral may not be available to support payments on the security. In the event of a default, the Underlying Fund may suffer a loss if it cannot sell collateral quickly and receive the amount it is owed.
Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk — Mortgage-backed securities are affected by, among other things, interest rate changes and the possibility of prepayment of the underlying mortgage loans. Mortgage-backed securities are also subject to the risk that underlying borrowers will be unable to meet their obligations.
Derivatives Risk — Futures contracts, forward contracts, options and swaps are subject to market risk, leverage risk, correlation risk and liquidity risk. Many over-the-counter (“OTC”) derivative instruments will not have liquidity beyond the counterparty to the instrument. Leverage risk is the risk that a small percentage of assets invested in derivatives can have a disproportionately larger impact on an Underlying Fund’s performance. Correlation risk is the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index. Forward contracts and swap agreements are also subject to credit risk and valuation risk. Valuation risk is the risk that the derivative may be difficult to value and/or may be valued incorrectly. Credit risk is described elsewhere in this section. Each of these risks could cause an Underlying Fund to lose more than the principal amount invested in a derivative instrument. Some derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of an initial investment. The other parties to certain derivative contracts present the same types of credit risk as issuers of fixed income securities. The use of derivatives may
36
also increase the amount of taxes payable by shareholders. Both U.S. and non-U.S. regulators have adopted and implemented regulations governing derivatives markets, the ultimate impact of which remains unclear.
Catholic Values Investing Risk — The Fund considers the Adviser’s Catholic Responsible Investment criteria in its investment process and may choose not to purchase, or may sell, including at inopportune times which would result in losses to the Fund, otherwise profitable investments in companies which have been identified as being in conflict with the Adviser’s Catholic Responsible Investment criteria. This means that the Fund may underperform other similar mutual funds that do not consider these criteria when making investment decisions. In addition, there can be no guarantee that the activities of the companies identified by the Fund’s investment process will align (or be perceived to align) with the principles contained in the Adviser’s Catholic Responsible Investment criteria.
The performance shown in the bar chart and performance table for periods prior to December 6, 2021 is the performance of another investment vehicle (the “Predecessor Fund”). Class A Shares of the Predecessor Fund reorganized into Investor Shares, and Class B Shares of the Predecessor Fund reorganized into Institutional Shares of the Fund on December 6, 2021. The Predecessor Fund was managed by the Adviser using investment policies, objectives and guidelines that were in all material respects equivalent to the management of the Fund. The Predecessor Fund performance information in the bar chart and table has been adjusted to reflect Institutional Shares expenses, and with respect to the table Investor Shares. However, the Predecessor Fund was not a registered mutual fund and so it was not subject to the same investment and tax restrictions as the Fund. If it had been, the Predecessor Fund’s performance may have been lower.
37
Year |
Return |
2019 |
|
2020 |
|
2021 |
|
2022 |
- |
2023 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
38
CATHOLIC
RESPONSIBLE |
1 Year |
5 Years |
Since
|
Fund Returns Before Taxes |
|||
Institutional Shares |
|
|
|
Investor Shares |
|
|
|
Fund Returns After Taxes on Distributions |
|||
Institutional Shares |
|
^ |
^ |
Fund Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
|||
Institutional Shares |
|
^ |
^ |
Custom Benchmark (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)* |
|
|
|
Russell 3000® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)† |
|
|
|
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)‡ |
|
|
|
* |
|
† |
|
‡ |
|
^ |
|
Investment Adviser and Portfolio Managers
Christian Brothers Investment Services, Inc.
John Geissinger, CFA, Co-Chief Investment Officer, has managed the Fund since its inception in 2021.
39
Tom Digenan, CFA, Co-Chief Investment Officer, has managed the Fund since 2024.
Investment Sub-Adviser
Mercer Investments LLC
Mercer Investments LLC is the Fund’s primary sub-adviser. In this role, Mercer provides ongoing research, opinions and recommendations of institutional asset managers and their investment funds for consideration by the Adviser, on behalf of the Fund, with respect to sub-adviser selection and portfolio construction. Mercer does not have discretionary authority with respect to the investment of the Fund’s assets.
For important information about the purchase and sale of Fund shares, taxes and financial intermediary compensation, please turn to “Summary Information about the Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares, Taxes and Financial Intermediary Compensation” on page 163 of the prospectus.
40
Investor Shares
Institutional Shares
Custom Benchmark (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Russell 3000® (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
|
The Catholic Responsible Investments Magnus 75/25 Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to achieve current income and long-term capital appreciation.
These tables describe the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell Investor Shares and Institutional Shares of the Fund. You may be required to pay commissions and/or other forms of compensation to a broker for transactions in Institutional Shares, which are not reflected in the table or the example below.
Redemption Fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed, if shares redeemed have been held for less than 30 days) |
|
Investor
|
Institutional
| |
Management Fees |
|
|
Other Expenses |
|
|
Shareholder Servicing Fee |
|
|
Other Operating Expenses |
|
|
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses (AFFE)1 |
|
|
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses2 |
|
|
Less Fee Reductions and/or Expense Reimbursements3 |
( |
( |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Reductions and/or Expense Reimbursements2 |
|
|
1 |
|
2 |
|
41
3 |
|
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses (including one year of capped expenses in each period) remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
|
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
Investor Shares |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
Institutional Shares |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
Because
the Fund buys and sells shares of other Catholic Responsible Investments Funds
mutual funds (the “Underlying Funds”), the Fund is not expected to incur
transaction costs directly. However, as a shareholder in the Underlying Funds,
the Fund indirectly pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys
and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio
turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher
taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not
reflected in total annual Fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the
Fund’s performance. During its most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio
turnover rate was
42
The Fund is a “fund of funds,” meaning that it seeks to achieve its objective by investing in other Catholic Responsible Investments Funds mutual funds (the “Underlying Funds”) that represent a variety of asset classes and investment styles. The Fund’s asset allocation strategy emphasizes investments in equity securities (and certain other instruments described below) in an amount equal to 75% of its assets and exposure to fixed-income securities in an amount equal to 25% of its assets. Under normal circumstances, the Fund does not make direct investments into assets other than the underlying Catholic Responsible Investments Funds indicated in the chart below, government securities and short-term paper.
The following table indicates the fund’s neutral mix; that is, how the fund’s investments generally will be allocated among the major asset classes over the long term. The table also shows the neutral weightings of each underlying fund currently being used within the various asset classes. This information is as of the date of this prospectus.
Equity
Securities |
75.00% |
Fixed-Income
|
25.00% |
Catholic Responsible Investments Equity Index Fund |
33.75% |
Catholic Responsible Investments Ultra Short Bond Fund |
0.00% |
Catholic Responsible Investments Multi-Style US Equity Fund |
15.00% |
Catholic Responsible Investments Short Duration Bond Fund |
6.25% |
Catholic Responsible Investments International Equity Fund |
15.00% |
Catholic Responsible Investments Opportunistic Bond Fund |
6.25% |
Catholic Responsible Investments Small-Cap Fund |
7.50% |
Catholic Responsible Investments Bond Fund |
12.50% |
Catholic Responsible Investments International Small-Cap Fund |
3.75% |
The Adviser, with the assistance of the Fund’s primary sub-adviser, Mercer Investments LLC (“Mercer”), regularly reviews the Fund and may make changes to the Fund’s asset class allocations that deviate from the neutral mix to emphasize investments that the Adviser believes will provide the most favorable outlook for achieving the Fund’s long-term objective. The Fund may also deviate from the neutral mix due to differences in asset class performance or prevailing market conditions. To do this, the Adviser will rely on the experience of its investment personnel and its evaluation of the overall financial markets, including, but not limited to, information about
43
the economy, interest rates, and the long-term absolute and relative returns of various asset classes. Consideration will also be given to the investment styles of the managers of the Underlying Funds and their historic patterns of performance relative to their asset class and to other Underlying Funds. Under normal circumstances, however, the Fund will not deviate more than 2.5% from its targeted allocation of Underlying Funds.
The following table shows the Fund’s target asset class allocations generally. Under normal circumstances, the Fund’s general target asset class allocations may vary up to 5% in either direction.
|
Equity
Securities |
Fixed-Income
|
Target Allocation |
75.00% |
25.00% |
Permissible Range |
70.00-80.00% |
20.00-30.00% |
As noted above, the Adviser has engaged Mercer to provide ongoing research, opinions and recommendations of institutional asset managers and their investment funds for consideration by the Adviser, on behalf of the Fund, with respect to sub-adviser selection and portfolio construction. However, Mercer does not have discretionary authority with respect to the investment of the Fund’s assets.
The Adviser, working closely with Mercer and in consideration of its recommendations, uses both a quantitative screening process and qualitative selection process when selecting investments for the Fund to implement its investment strategy. The Adviser and Mercer conduct research on various investment managers and investment options in order to establish a selection of investments to fulfill the Fund’s investment objectives. Mercer’s assistance and recommendations for selection of investment funds are made according to asset allocation, return expectations and other guidelines set by the Adviser with oversight of the Board. No assurance can be given that any or all investment strategies, or the Fund’s investment program, will be successful.
Catholic Responsible Investing
The Fund, through its investments in the Underlying Funds, will invest its assets in a manner consistent with the components, details and definitions of Catholic Responsible Investing (“CRI”) as adopted from time to time by the De La Salle Brothers of the Christian Schools. CRI is an investment strategy designed specifically to help investors seek sound financial returns while remaining faithful to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. The components and details of CRI are intended to reflect both the charism (or founding spirit) and the current teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and, as such, the components and details are as adopted from time to time by the De La Salle Brothers of the Christian Schools, currently through the action of its civil entity, the Adviser.
CRI blends core Roman Catholic Church teaching with a disciplined, diversified investment process aimed at delivering competitive, risk-adjusted returns over time. Currently, the three components of CRI are Catholic investment screening, active ownership and diversified investment management. For more information about the Fund’s policy to invest consistent with CRI and these three components, please see the section of the prospectus entitled “More Information about the Funds’ Investment Objectives, Principal Investment Strategies and Principal Risks, Fundamental Investment Policy of Catholic Responsible Investing.”
As part of the Fund’s Catholic Responsible Investing Process, the Adviser maintains a master list of global securities that are restricted from inclusion in an underlying Fund’s portfolio. While the Catholic Responsible Investing screening criteria are designed to exclude certain companies or investments from the potential investment universe because these companies operate businesses deemed inconsistent with Catholic values, the Adviser does not anticipate this reduction to have a material impact on an underlying Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective, and consequently does
44
not anticipate this reduction to have a material impact on the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. With respect to the Underlying Funds that the Fund may invest in, the Adviser seeks to balance the impact of the Catholic Responsible Investing screening criteria by either overweighting select portfolio holdings or substituting additional holdings so that the Fund’s overall portfolio composition is adjusted to achieve its investment objective. As a result, Fund performance (and an underlying Fund’s performance) may be different than a fund with a similar investment strategy that does not invest in accordance with Catholic Responsible Investing screening criteria.
As
with all mutual funds, there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its
investment objective.
Asset Allocation Risk — The Fund is subject to asset allocation risk, which is the risk that the selection of the Underlying Funds and the allocation of the Fund’s assets among the various asset classes and market segments will cause the Fund to underperform other funds with a similar investment objective. The value of an investment in the Fund is based primarily on the prices of the Underlying Funds in which the Fund invests. In turn, the price of each Underlying Fund is based on the value of its assets. The ability of the Fund to meet its investment objective is directly related to its asset allocation among the Underlying Funds and its direct investments and the ability of the Underlying Funds to meet their investment objectives and for the direct investments to perform positively. If the Adviser’s asset allocation strategy does not work as intended, the Fund may not achieve its objective.
Affiliated Fund Risk — In managing the Fund, the Adviser will have authority to select and substitute Underlying Funds. The Adviser may be subject to potential conflicts of interest in selecting Underlying Funds because the fees paid to the Adviser by some Underlying Funds are higher than the fees paid by other underlying funds. However, the Adviser is a fiduciary to the Fund and is legally obligated to act in the Fund’s best interests when selecting Underlying Funds. If an Underlying Fund holds interests in an affiliated fund, the Fund may be prohibited from purchasing shares of that Underlying Fund.
Investment in Underlying Funds Risk — The value of an investment in the Fund is based primarily on the prices of the Underlying Funds in which the Fund invests. In turn, the price of each Underlying Fund is based on the value of its assets. The Fund, and thus its shareholders, bears its own direct expenses in addition to bearing a proportionate share of expenses of the Underlying Funds, which may make owning shares of the Fund more costly than owning shares of the Underlying Funds directly. Before investing in the Fund, investors should assess the risks associated with the Underlying Funds and the types of investments made by those Underlying Funds. These risks
45
include any combination of the risks described below, although the Fund’s exposure to a particular risk will be proportionate to the Fund’s overall asset allocation and Underlying Fund allocation. The Fund is exposed indirectly to the following risks because of its investments in Underlying Funds.
Market Risk — The prices of and the income generated by Underlying Funds’ securities may decline in response to, among other things, investor sentiment, general economic and market conditions, regional or global instability, and currency and interest rate fluctuations. In addition, the impact of any epidemic, pandemic or natural disaster, or widespread fear that such events may occur, could negatively affect the global economy, as well as the economies of individual countries, the financial performance of individual companies and sectors, and the markets in general in significant and unforeseen ways.
Equity Risk — The risk that stock prices will fall over short or extended periods of time, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably. The value of equity securities will fluctuate in response to factors affecting a particular company, as well as broader market and economic conditions. Broad movements in financial markets may adversely affect the price of the Fund’s investments, regardless of how well the companies in which the Underlying Fund invests perform. Moreover, in the event of a company’s bankruptcy, claims of certain creditors, including bondholders, will have priority over claims of common stock holders such as the Fund.
Large-Capitalization Company Risk — The large capitalization companies in which an Underlying Fund may invest may lag the performance of smaller capitalization companies because large capitalization companies may experience slower rates of growth than smaller capitalization companies and may not respond as quickly to market changes and opportunities.
Small- and Mid-Capitalization Company Risk — The small- and mid-capitalization companies in which an Underlying Fund may invest may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies. In particular, investments in these small- and mid-sized companies may pose additional risks, including liquidity risk, because these companies tend to have limited product lines, markets and financial resources, and may depend upon a relatively small management group. Therefore, small- and mid- capitalization stocks may be more volatile than those of larger companies. These securities may be traded over-the-counter or listed on an exchange.
Foreign Company Risk — Investing in foreign companies, including direct investments and investments through depositary receipts, poses additional risks since political and economic events unique to a country or region will affect those markets and their issuers. These risks will not necessarily affect the U.S. economy or similar issuers located in the U.S. Offerings of securities of foreign companies may not be registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and
46
foreign companies are generally not subject to the regulatory controls imposed on U.S. issuers and, as a consequence, there is generally less publicly available information about foreign securities than is available about domestic securities. Income from foreign securities owned by an Underlying Fund may be reduced by a withholding tax at the source, which tax would reduce income received from the securities comprising the Fund’s portfolio. Foreign securities may also be more difficult to value than securities of U.S. issuers. In addition, periodic U.S. Government restrictions on investments in issuers from certain foreign countries may require the Underlying Fund to sell such investments at inopportune times, which could result in losses to the Underlying Fund. While depositary receipts provide an alternative to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their respective national markets and currencies, investments in depositary receipts continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities.
Emerging Markets Securities Risk — An Underlying Fund’s investments in emerging markets securities, including A Shares of Chinese companies purchased through Stock Connect, are considered speculative and subject to heightened risks in addition to the general risks of investing in foreign securities. Unlike more established markets, emerging markets may have governments that are less stable, markets that are more concentrated and less liquid and economies that are less developed. In addition, the securities markets of emerging market countries may consist of companies with smaller market capitalizations and may suffer periods of relative illiquidity; significant price volatility; restrictions on foreign investment; and possible restrictions on repatriation of investment income and capital. In certain emerging markets, governments have historically exercised substantial control over the economy through administrative regulation and/or state ownership. Furthermore, foreign investors may be required to register the proceeds of sales, and future economic or political crises could lead to price controls, forced mergers, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, seizure, nationalization or creation of government monopolies.
Fixed Income Market Risk — The prices of Underlying Funds’ fixed income securities respond to economic developments, particularly interest rate changes, as well as to perceptions about the creditworthiness of individual issuers, including governments and their agencies. Generally, the Underlying Funds’ fixed income securities will decrease in value if interest rates rise and vice versa. In a low interest rate environment, risks associated with rising rates are heightened. Declines in dealer market-making capacity as a result of structural or regulatory changes could decrease liquidity and/or increase volatility in the fixed income markets.
Corporate Fixed Income Securities Risk — Corporate fixed income securities respond to economic developments, especially changes
47
in interest rates, as well as perceptions of the creditworthiness and business prospects of individual issuers.
Interest Rate Risk — The risk that a change in interest rates will cause a fall in the value of fixed income securities, including U.S. Government securities, in which the Fund invests. Generally, the value of the Fund’s fixed income securities will vary inversely with the direction of prevailing interest rates. Changing interest rates may have unpredictable effects on the markets and may affect the value and liquidity of instruments held by the Fund. Although U.S. Government securities are considered to be among the safest investments, they are not guaranteed against price movements due to changing interest rates.
U.S. Government Securities Risk — Although U.S. Government securities are considered to be among the safest investments, they are not guaranteed against price movements due to changing interest rates. Obligations issued by some U.S. Government agencies are backed by the U.S. Treasury, whereas others are backed solely by the ability of the agency to borrow from the U.S. Treasury or by the agency’s own resources.
Duration Risk — The longer-term securities in which an Underlying Fund may invest tend to be more volatile than shorter-term securities. A portfolio with a longer average portfolio duration is more sensitive to changes in interest rates than a portfolio with a shorter average portfolio duration.
The concept of duration is useful in assessing the sensitivity of a fixed income fund to interest rate movements, which are usually the main source of risk for most fixed income funds. Duration measures price volatility by estimating the change in price of a debt security for a 1% change in its yield. For example, a duration of five years means the price of a debt security will change about 5% for every 1% change in its yield. Thus, the higher the duration, the more volatile the security.
Geographic Focus Risk — To the extent that it focuses at times its investments in a particular country or geographic region, an Underlying Fund may be more susceptible to economic, political, regulatory or other events or conditions affecting issuers and countries within that country or geographic region. As a result, the Fund may be subject to greater price volatility and risk of loss than a fund holding more geographically diverse investments.
Indexing Strategy/Index Tracking Risk — Certain Underlying Funds are managed with an indexing investment strategy, attempting to track the performance of an unmanaged index of securities, regardless of the current or projected performance of the Underlying Index or of the actual securities comprising the Underlying Index. This differs from an actively-managed fund, which typically seeks to outperform a benchmark index. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be less favorable than that of a portfolio managed using an active investment
48
strategy. The structure and composition of the Underlying Index will affect the performance, volatility, and risk of the Underlying Index and, consequently, the performance, volatility, and risk of the Fund. The Fund’s performance may not match the performance of the Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs a number of operating expenses, including taxes, not applicable to the Index and incurs costs associated with buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index. As discussed below, the Fund’s performance may also be affected because of the impact of the Adviser’s Catholic Responsible Investment criteria on the portfolio holdings of the Fund. In addition, the Fund may not be fully invested at times, generally as a result of cash flows into or out of the Fund or reserves of cash held by the Fund to meet redemptions.
Asset-Backed Securities Risk — Asset-backed securities are securities backed by non-mortgage assets such as company receivables, truck and auto loans, leases and credit card receivables. Asset-backed securities may be issued as pass-through certificates, which represent undivided fractional ownership interests in the underlying pools of assets. Therefore, repayment depends largely on the cash flows generated by the assets backing the securities. Asset-backed securities entail prepayment risk, which may vary depending on the type of asset, but is generally less than the prepayment risk associated with mortgage-backed securities. Asset-backed securities present credit risks that are not presented by mortgage-backed securities because asset-backed securities generally do not have the benefit of a security interest in collateral that is comparable in quality to mortgage assets. If the issuer of an asset-backed security defaults on its payment obligations, there is the possibility that, in some cases, the Underlying Fund will be unable to possess and sell the underlying collateral and that the Fund’s recoveries on repossessed collateral may not be available to support payments on the security. In the event of a default, the Underlying Fund may suffer a loss if it cannot sell collateral quickly and receive the amount it is owed.
Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk — Mortgage-backed securities are affected by, among other things, interest rate changes and the possibility of prepayment of the underlying mortgage loans. Mortgage-backed securities are also subject to the risk that underlying borrowers will be unable to meet their obligations.
Derivatives Risk — Futures contracts, forward contracts, options and swaps are subject to market risk, leverage risk, correlation risk and liquidity risk. Many over-the-counter (“OTC”) derivative instruments will not have liquidity beyond the counterparty to the instrument. Leverage risk is the risk that a small percentage of assets invested in derivatives can have a disproportionately larger impact on an Underlying Fund’s performance. Correlation risk is the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index. Forward
49
contracts and swap agreements are also subject to credit risk and valuation risk. Valuation risk is the risk that the derivative may be difficult to value and/or may be valued incorrectly. Credit risk is described elsewhere in this section. Each of these risks could cause an Underlying Fund to lose more than the principal amount invested in a derivative instrument. Some derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of an initial investment. The other parties to certain derivative contracts present the same types of credit risk as issuers of fixed income securities. The use of derivatives may also increase the amount of taxes payable by shareholders. Both U.S. and non-U.S. regulators have adopted and implemented regulations governing derivatives markets, the ultimate impact of which remains unclear.
Catholic Values Investing Risk — The Fund considers the Adviser’s Catholic Responsible Investment criteria in its investment process and may choose not to purchase, or may sell, including at inopportune times which would result in losses to the Fund, otherwise profitable investments in companies which have been identified as being in conflict with the Adviser’s Catholic Responsible Investment criteria. This means that the Fund may underperform other similar mutual funds that do not consider these criteria when making investment decisions. In addition, there can be no guarantee that the activities of the companies identified by the Fund’s investment process will align (or be perceived to align) with the principles contained in the Adviser’s Catholic Responsible Investment criteria.
The performance shown in the bar chart and performance table for periods prior to December 6, 2021 is the performance of another investment vehicle (the “Predecessor Fund”). Class A Shares of the Predecessor Fund reorganized into Investor Shares, and Class B Shares of the Predecessor Fund reorganized into Institutional Shares of the Fund on December 6, 2021. The Predecessor Fund was managed by the Adviser using investment policies, objectives and guidelines that were in all material respects equivalent to the management of the Fund. The Predecessor Fund performance information in the bar chart and table has been adjusted to reflect Investor Shares expenses, and with respect to the table Institutional Shares. However, the Predecessor Fund was not a registered mutual fund and so it was not
50
subject to the same investment and tax restrictions as the Fund. If it had been, the Predecessor Fund’s performance may have been lower.
Year |
Return |
2019 |
|
2020 |
|
2021 |
|
2022 |
- |
2023 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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CATHOLIC
RESPONSIBLE |
1 Year |
5 Years |
Since
|
Fund Returns Before Taxes |
|||
Institutional Shares |
|
|
|
Investor Shares |
|
|
|
Fund Returns After Taxes on Distributions |
|||
Investor Shares |
|
^ |
^ |
Fund Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
|||
Investor Shares |
|
^ |
^ |
Custom Benchmark (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)* |
|
|
|
Russell 3000® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)† |
|
|
|
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)‡ |
|
|
|
* |
|
† |
|
‡ |
|
^ |
|
Investment Adviser and Portfolio Managers
Christian Brothers Investment Services, Inc.
John Geissinger, CFA, Co-Chief Investment Officer, has managed the Fund since its inception in 2021.
52
Tom Digenan, CFA, Co-Chief Investment Officer, has managed the Fund since 2024.
Investment Sub-Adviser
Mercer Investments LLC
Mercer Investments LLC is the Fund’s primary sub-adviser. In this role, Mercer provides ongoing research, opinions and recommendations of institutional asset managers and their investment funds for consideration by the Adviser, on behalf of the Fund, with respect to sub-adviser selection and portfolio construction. Mercer does not have discretionary authority with respect to the investment of the Fund’s assets.
For important information about the purchase and sale of Fund shares, taxes and financial intermediary compensation, please turn to “Summary Information about the Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares, Taxes and Financial Intermediary Compensation” on page 163 of the prospectus.
53
Institutional Shares
Bloomberg US Treasury Bills (1-3M) Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
|
The Catholic Responsible Investments Ultra Short Bond Fund (“Fund”) seeks to provide current income consistent with the preservation of capital.
These tables describe the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell Institutional Shares of the Fund. You may be required to pay commissions and/or other forms of compensation to a broker for transactions in Institutional Shares, which are not reflected in the table or the example below.
Redemption Fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed, if shares redeemed have been held for less than 30 days) |
|
Institutional
| |
Management Fees |
|
Other Expenses |
|
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
|
Less Fee Reductions and/or Expense Reimbursements1 |
( |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Reductions and/or Expense Reimbursements |
|
1 |
|
54
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses (including one year of capped expenses in each period) remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
|
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
Institutional Shares |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
The
Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells
securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may
indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund
shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in
total annual Fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s
performance. During its most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover
rate was
Under normal circumstances, the Ultra Short Bond Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in investment grade U.S. dollar-denominated debt instruments, including: (i) commercial paper and other corporate obligations; (ii) certificates of deposit, time deposits, bankers’ acceptances, bank notes, and other obligations of U.S. savings and loan and thrift institutions, U.S. commercial banks (including foreign branches of such banks) and foreign banks that meet certain asset requirements; (iii) U.S. Treasury obligations and obligations issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. Government; (iv) mortgage-backed securities; (v) asset-backed securities; (vi) fully-collateralized repurchase agreements involving any of the foregoing obligations; (vii) U.S. dollar-denominated instruments of foreign issuers; and (viii) floating rate securities. In addition, the Fund may enter into dollar roll transactions with selected banks and
55
broker-dealers and invest in to-be-announced mortgage-backed securities, repurchase agreements, and in municipal securities.
The Adviser has engaged Mercer Investments LLC (“Mercer”), the Fund’s primary sub-adviser, to provide ongoing research, opinions and recommendations of institutional asset managers and their investment funds for consideration by the Adviser, on behalf of the Fund, with respect to sub-adviser selection and portfolio construction. However, Mercer does not have discretionary authority with respect to the investment of the Fund’s assets.
The Adviser, working closely with Mercer and in consideration of its recommendations, uses both a quantitative screening process and qualitative selection process when selecting investments for the Fund to implement its investment strategy. The Adviser and Mercer conduct research on various investment managers and investment options in order to establish a selection of investments to fulfill the Fund’s investment objectives. Mercer’s assistance and recommendations for selection of investment funds are made according to asset allocation, return expectations and other guidelines set by the Adviser with oversight of the Board. No assurance can be given that any or all investment strategies, or the Fund’s investment program, will be successful.
The Fund relies upon an investment Sub-Adviser to manage the Fund’s portfolio under the general supervision of the Adviser. The Fund’s Sub-Adviser seeks attractively-valued securities that offer competitive yields and that are issued by issuers that are on a sound financial footing. The Sub-Adviser also considers factors such as the anticipated level of interest rates, relative valuations and yield spreads among various sectors, and the duration of the Fund’s entire portfolio. While the Fund may invest in securities with a maturity of up to 24 months, or a two-year average life for amortizing securities, the Sub-Adviser will strive to maintain an average portfolio duration for the Fund of 90 days or less. Duration measures the price sensitivity of a fixed income security to changes in interest rates. For example, a five-year duration means that the fixed income security will decrease in value by 5% if interest rates rise 1% and increase in value by 5% if interest rates fall 1%. The Fund may not purchase private placement securities except for securities eligible for re-sale under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”). The Fund’s fixed income securities may include unrated securities, if deemed by the Sub-Adviser to be of comparable quality to allowable securities. The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of portfolio securities to achieve its principal investment strategies.
Wellington Management Company LLP (“Wellington Management”)
Wellington Management seeks to advance the Fund’s investment objective by investing in securities considered to be attractive in terms of both yield and total return and that are issued by issuers that are on a sound financial footing. Wellington Management normally invests in “investment grade” securities and will also consider factors such as the anticipated level of interest rates, relative valuations and yield spreads among various sectors, and the duration of the entire portfolio when making investment decisions.
Fixed income securities in which Wellington Management may invest include, but are not limited to, (1) securities issued or guaranteed as to principal or interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities; (2) non-convertible and convertible debt securities issued or guaranteed by U.S. corporations or other issuers (including foreign issuers); (3) asset-backed and mortgage-related securities, including collateralized mortgage obligations; (4) securities and loans issued or guaranteed as to principal or interest by a foreign issuer, including supranational entities such as development banks, non-U.S. corporations, banks or bank holding companies, or other foreign issuers; (5) commercial mortgage-backed securities; (6) zero coupon securities; and (7) fixed-income related derivatives.
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Catholic Responsible Investing
The Fund will invest its assets in a manner consistent with the components, details and definitions of Catholic Responsible Investing (“CRI”) as adopted from time to time by the De La Salle Brothers of the Christian Schools. CRI is an investment strategy designed specifically to help investors seek sound financial returns while remaining faithful to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. The components and details of CRI are intended to reflect both the charism (or founding spirit) and the current teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and, as such, the components and details are as adopted from time to time by the De La Salle Brothers of the Christian Schools, currently through the action of its civil entity, the Adviser.
CRI blends core Roman Catholic Church teaching with a disciplined, diversified investment process aimed at delivering competitive, risk-adjusted returns over time. Currently, the three components of CRI are Catholic investment screening, active ownership and diversified investment management. For more information about the Fund’s policy to invest consistent with CRI and these three components, please see the section of the prospectus entitled “More Information about the Funds’ Investment Objectives, Principal Investment Strategies and Principal Risks, Fundamental Investment Policy of Catholic Responsible Investing.”
As part of the Fund’s Catholic Responsible Investing Process, the Adviser maintains a master list of global securities that are restricted from inclusion in the Fund’s portfolio. While the Catholic Responsible Investing screening criteria are designed to exclude certain companies or investments from the potential investment universe because these companies operate businesses deemed inconsistent with Catholic values, the Adviser does not anticipate this reduction to have a material impact on the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. The Adviser seeks to balance the impact of the Catholic Responsible Investing screening criteria by either overweighting select portfolio holdings or substituting additional holdings so that the Fund’s overall portfolio composition is adjusted to achieve its investment objective. As a result, Fund performance may be different than a fund with a similar investment strategy that does not invest in accordance with Catholic Responsible Investing screening criteria.
As
with all mutual funds, there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its
investment objective.
Fixed Income Market Risk — The prices of the Fund’s fixed income securities respond to economic developments, particularly interest rate changes, as well as to perceptions about the creditworthiness of individual issuers, including governments and their agencies. Generally, the Fund’s fixed income securities will decrease in value if interest rates rise and vice versa. In a low interest rate
57
environment, risks associated with rising rates are heightened. Declines in dealer market-making capacity as a result of structural or regulatory changes could decrease liquidity and/or increase volatility in the fixed income markets. Broad movements in financial markets may adversely affect the price of the Fund’s investments, regardless of how well the companies in which the Fund invests perform. In addition, the impact of any epidemic, pandemic or natural disaster, or widespread fear that such events may occur, could negatively affect the global economy, as well as the economies of individual countries, the financial performance of individual companies and sectors, and the markets in general in significant and unforeseen ways. Any such impact could adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the securities and other instruments in which the Fund invests, which in turn could negatively impact the Fund’s performance and cause losses on your investment in the Fund.
U.S. Government Securities Risk — Although U.S. Government securities are considered to be among the safest investments, they are still subject to the credit risk of the U.S. Government and are not guaranteed against price movements due to changing interest rates. Obligations issued by some U.S. Government agencies are backed by the U.S. Treasury, whereas others are backed solely by the ability of the agency to borrow from the U.S. Treasury or by the agency’s own resources. No assurance can be given that the U.S. Government will provide financial support to its agencies and instrumentalities if it is not obligated by law to do so.
Repurchase Agreement Risk — In the event that the counterparty to a repurchase agreement is unwilling or unable to fulfill its contractual obligations to repurchase the underlying security, the Fund may lose money, suffer delays, or incur costs arising from holding or selling the underlying security.
Corporate Fixed Income Securities Risk — The prices of the Fund’s corporate fixed income securities respond to economic developments, particularly interest rate changes, as well as to perceptions about the creditworthiness and business prospects of individual issuers. In addition, the impact of any epidemic, pandemic or natural disaster, or widespread fear that such events may occur, could negatively affect the global economy, as well as the economies of individual countries, the financial performance of individual companies and sectors, and the markets in general in significant and unforeseen ways. Any such impact could adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the securities and other instruments in which the Fund invests, which in turn could negatively impact the Fund’s performance and cause losses on your investment in the Fund.
Interest Rate Risk — The risk that a change in interest rates will cause a fall in the value of fixed income securities, including U.S. Government securities, in which the Fund invests. Generally, the value of the Fund’s fixed income securities will vary inversely with the direction of prevailing interest rates. Changing interest rates may have unpredictable effects on the markets and may affect the value and liquidity of instruments held by the Fund. Although U.S. Government securities are considered to be among
58
the safest investments, they are not guaranteed against price movements due to changing interest rates.
Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk — Mortgage-backed securities are affected by, among other things, interest rate changes and the possibility of prepayment of the underlying mortgage loans. Mortgage-backed securities are also subject to the risk that underlying borrowers will be unable to meet their obligations.
Floating Rate Securities Risk — The Fund may invest in obligations with interest rates that are reset periodically. Although floating rate securities are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than fixed rate instruments, the value of floating rate securities may decline if their interest rates do not rise as quickly, or as much, as general interest rates. Floating rate securities are issued by a wide variety of issuers and may be issued for a wide variety of purposes, including as a method of reconstructing cash flows. Issuers of floating rate securities may include, but are not limited to, financial companies, merchandising entities, bank holding companies, and other entities. In addition to the risks associated with the floating nature of interest payments, investors remain exposed to other underlying risks associated with the issuer of the floating rate security, such as credit risk.
Money Market Securities Risk — The value of money market instruments may be affected by changing interest rates and by changes in the credit ratings of the investments. An investment in a money market fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by any bank, the FDIC or any other government agency. A money market fund’s sponsor has no legal obligation to provide financial support to the fund, and there should be no expectation that the sponsor will provide financial support to the fund at any time. Certain money market funds float their net asset value while others seek to preserve the value of investments at a stable net asset value (typically, $1.00 per share). An investment in a money market fund, even an investment in a fund seeking to maintain a stable NAV per share, is not guaranteed and it is possible for the Fund to lose money by investing in these and other types of money market funds.
Commercial Paper Risk — Commercial paper is a short-term obligation with a maturity generally ranging from one to 270 days and is issued by U.S. or foreign companies or other entities in order to finance their current operations. Such investments are unsecured and usually discounted from their value at maturity. The value of commercial paper may be affected by changes in the credit rating or financial condition of the issuing entities and will tend to fall when interest rates rise and rise when interest rates fall. Asset-backed commercial paper may be issued by structured investment vehicles or other conduits that are organized to issue the commercial paper and to purchase trade receivables or other financial assets. The repayment of asset-backed commercial paper depends primarily on the cash collections received from such an issuer’s underlying asset portfolio and the issuer’s ability to issue new asset-backed commercial paper.
59
When-Issued and Delayed Delivery Securities Risk — When-issued and delayed delivery securities involve the risk that the security the Fund buys will lose value prior to its delivery.
Credit Risk — The risk that the issuer of a security or the counterparty to a contract will default or otherwise become unable to honor a financial obligation.
Duration Risk — The longer-term securities in which the Fund may invest tend to be more volatile than shorter-term securities. A portfolio with a longer average portfolio duration is more sensitive to changes in interest rates than a portfolio with a shorter average portfolio duration.
The concept of duration is useful in assessing the sensitivity of a fixed income fund to interest rate movements, which are usually the main source of risk for most fixed income funds. Duration measures price volatility by estimating the change in price of a debt security for a 1% change in its yield. For example, a duration of five years means the price of a debt security will change about 5% for every 1% change in its yield. Thus, the higher the duration, the more volatile the security.
Prepayment and Extension Risk — When interest rates fall, issuers of high interest debt obligations may pay off the debts earlier than expected (prepayment risk), and the Fund may have to reinvest the proceeds at lower yields. When interest rates rise, issuers of lower interest debt obligations may pay off the debts later than expected (extension risk), thus keeping the Fund’s assets tied up in lower interest debt obligations.
Portfolio Turnover Risk — Due to its investment strategy, the Fund may buy and sell securities frequently. This may result in higher transaction costs and taxes subject to ordinary income tax rates as opposed to more favorable capital gains rates, which may affect the Fund’s performance.
Asset-Backed Securities Risk — Payment of principal and interest on asset-backed securities is dependent largely on the cash flows generated by the assets backing the securities, and asset-backed securities may not have the benefit of any security interest in the related assets.
Active Management Risk — The Fund is subject to the risk that the Sub-Advisers’ judgments about the attractiveness, value, or potential appreciation of the Fund’s investments may prove to be incorrect. If the investments selected and strategies employed by the Fund fail to produce the intended results, the Fund could underperform in comparison to other funds with similar objectives and investment strategies.
Geographic Focus Risk — To the extent that it focuses its investments in a particular country or geographic region, the Fund may be more susceptible to economic, political, regulatory or other events or conditions affecting issuers and countries within that country or geographic region. As a result, the Fund may be subject to greater price volatility and risk of loss than a fund holding more geographically diverse investments.
60
Investing in the United States Risk. The Fund focuses its investments in the United States. As a result, the Fund may be more susceptible to economic, political, regulatory or other events or conditions affecting issuers within the United States, and may be subject to greater price volatility and risk of loss, than a fund holding more geographically diverse investments.