2024-01-03InternationalandGlobalEquityFunds-Retail
International
and Global Equity Funds
| |
Fund |
Administrator
Class |
Allspring
Emerging Markets Equity Fund |
EMGYX |
Allspring
Emerging Markets Equity Income Fund |
EQIDX |
Allspring
International Equity Fund |
WFEDX |
Allspring
Special Global Small Cap Fund |
EKGYX |
The
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has not approved or disapproved
these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this Prospectus.
Anyone who tells you
otherwise is committing a crime.
Emerging
Markets Equity Fund Summary
Investment
Objective
The
Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.
Fees
and Expenses
These
tables are intended to help you understand the various costs and expenses you
will pay if you buy, hold and sell shares
of the Fund.
| |
Shareholder
Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
|
|
|
|
Maximum
sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
Maximum
deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
| |
|
|
|
Management
Fees |
1.02% |
Distribution
(12b-1) Fees |
0.00% |
Other
Expenses |
0.48% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
1.50% |
Fee
Waivers |
(0.14)% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers2
|
% |
1. |
Expenses
have been adjusted as necessary from amounts incurred during the Fund’s
most recent fiscal year to reflect current fees and
expenses.
|
2. |
The
Manager has contractually committed through February
28, 2025,
to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary
to cap Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at
1.36%
for Administrator
Class. Brokerage commissions, stamp
duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses (if any), and
extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense
cap. Prior to or after the commitment expiration date, the cap may be
increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may
be terminated only with the approval of the Board of
Trustees. |
Example
of Expenses
The
example below is intended to help you compare the costs of investing in the Fund
with the costs of investing in other
funds. The example assumes a $10,000 initial investment, 5% annual total return,
and that fees and expenses remain
the same as in the tables above. To the extent that the Manager is waiving fees
or reimbursing expenses, the example
assumes that such waiver or reimbursement will only be in place through the date
noted above. Although your
actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs
would be:
| |
|
|
After:
|
|
1
Year |
$138 |
3
Years |
$460 |
5
Years |
$805 |
10
Years |
$1,779 |
Portfolio
Turnover
The
Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells
securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher
portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in
higher taxes when Fund shares are
held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund
operating expenses or in the example,
affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s
portfolio turnover rate was 4%
of the
average value of its portfolio.
2 |
| International
and Global Equity Funds |
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in emerging market equity
securities. |
We
invest principally in equity or other listed securities of emerging market
companies. We consider emerging market companies
to include companies that are traded in, have their primary operations in, are
domiciled in or derive a majority
of their revenue from emerging market countries as defined by the MSCI Emerging
Markets Index. We may use futures
to manage risk or to enhance return. The Fund may have exposure to stocks across
any capitalizations and styles
and will be diversified across countries and
sectors.
Utilizing
a bottom-up, research driven stock selection process, we seek to invest in
quality companies at prices below their
intrinsic value. From the available stock universe we focus only on those
quality companies that are able to sustain high
profitability over a long period of time for reasons we can understand. We
believe that quality companies create value
for investors from profitable investment of retained earnings and dividend
payout and preserve value in adversity. We
further believe that quality companies that embrace sustainable environmental,
social and governance (ESG) policies
are more likely to avoid permanent loss of capital than companies that do not.
Among the characteristics we seek
in high-quality companies are strong competitive position, demonstrable
financial strength and profitability, favorable
ESG attributes, quality management dedicated to public shareholders’ interest,
and favorable growth prospect
supported by major long-term trends. ESG information and research are integral
to the investment process for
the specific purpose of increasing our knowledge of companies, identifying and
evaluating risks and opportunities, and
engaging with companies to influence corporate behaviors, all of which can
impact the team’s assessment of a company’s
quality and long term intrinsic value. ESG factors represent broad categories,
and the team’s ESG research is
pragmatic and driven by bottom-up, company-specific issues that are important to
individual companies in our pool of
quality investments. In general, ESG research and engagement are broad and cover
environmental, social, and governance
issues as appropriate for each company, such as the environmental impact of a
proposed project, employee
protections in a supply chain, or composition of the board of directors. We also
focus on understanding each
company’s intrinsic value and will only invest when a company’s stock trades at
a meaningful discount to this value.
We do not attempt to anticipate or react to short term market fluctuations, but
instead seek to take advantage of periodic
market inefficiencies to buy the high quality companies at prices below our
assessment of their intrinsic value. We
have a disciplined approach to the monitoring and sale of holdings and our
decisions to trim or sell out of positions may
be triggered when a stock price exceeds its intrinsic value or when there is a
material deterioration in the fundamentals
of the company.
Principal
Investment Risks
An
investment in the Fund may lose money, is
not a deposit of a bank or its affiliates, is not insured or guaranteed by
the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental
agency,
and is primarily subject to the risks briefly
summarized below.
Market
Risk.
The values of, and/or the income generated by, securities held by the Fund may
decline due to general market
conditions or other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of
such securities. Securities markets are
volatile and may decline significantly in response to adverse issuer,
regulatory, political, or economic developments.
Different sectors of the market and different security types may react
differently to such developments.
Equity
Securities Risk.
The values of equity securities may experience periods of substantial price
volatility and may decline
significantly over short time periods. In general, the values of equity
securities are more volatile than those of debt
securities. Equity securities fluctuate in value and price in response to
factors specific to the issuer of the security, such
as management performance, financial condition, and market demand for the
issuer’s products or services, as well
as factors unrelated to the fundamental condition of the issuer, including
general market, economic and political conditions.
Different parts of a market, industry and sector may react differently to
adverse issuer, market, regulatory, political,
and economic developments.
Foreign
Investment Risk.
Foreign investments may be subject to lower liquidity, greater price volatility
and risks related to
adverse political, regulatory, market or economic developments. Foreign
investments may involve exposure to changes
in foreign currency exchange rates and may be subject to higher withholding and
other taxes.
Emerging
Markets Risk.
Emerging market securities typically present even greater exposure to the risks
described under
“Foreign Investment Risk” and may be particularly sensitive to global economic
conditions. Emerging market securities
are also typically less liquid than securities of developed countries and could
be difficult to sell, particularly during
a market downturn.
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
| 3 |
Derivatives
Risk.
The use of derivatives, such as futures, options and swap agreements, can lead
to losses, including those
magnified by leverage, particularly when derivatives are used to enhance return
rather than mitigate risk. Certain derivative
instruments may be difficult to sell when the portfolio manager believes it
would be appropriate to do so, or the
other party to a derivative contract may be unwilling or unable to fulfill its
contractual obligations.
Futures
Contracts Risk.
A Fund that uses futures contracts, which are a type of derivative, is subject
to the risk of loss caused
by unanticipated market movements. In addition, there may at times be an
imperfect correlation between the movement
in the prices of futures contracts and the value of their underlying instruments
or indexes, and there may at times
not be a liquid secondary market for certain futures
contracts.
Growth/Value
Investing Risk.
Securities that exhibit growth or value characteristics tend to perform
differently and shift
into and out of favor with investors depending on changes in market and economic
sentiment and conditions.
Management
Risk.
Investment decisions, techniques, analyses or models implemented by a
Fund’s manager or sub-adviser
in seeking to achieve the Fund’s investment objective may not produce expected
returns, may cause the Fund’s
shares to lose value or may cause the Fund to underperform other funds with
similar investment objectives.
Smaller
Company Securities Risk.
Securities of companies with smaller market capitalizations tend to be more
volatile and
less liquid than those of larger companies.
Performance
The
following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the
Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s
performance from year to year.
The Fund’s average annual total returns are compared to the performance of one
or
more indices. Past
performance before and after taxes is no guarantee of future
results.
Current month-end performance
is available on the Fund’s website at www.allspringglobal.com.
|
| |
Calendar
Year Total Returns for Administrator Class as of 12/31 each
year |
|
Highest
Quarter: June
30,
2020 |
|
Lowest
Quarter: March
31,
2020 |
|
4 |
| International
and Global Equity Funds |
|
|
|
| |
Average
Annual Total Returns for the periods ended
12/31/2023 |
|
Inception
Date
of Share
Class |
1
Year |
5
Year |
10
Year |
Administrator
Class (before taxes) |
9/6/1994
|
8.45% |
3.64% |
2.20% |
Administrator
Class (after taxes on distributions) |
9/6/1994
|
8.01% |
3.58% |
2.17% |
Administrator
Class (after taxes on distributions and the sale of
Fund Shares) |
9/6/1994
|
4.99% |
2.91% |
1.82% |
MSCI
ACWI ex USA Index (Net) (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses, or taxes) |
|
15.62% |
7.08% |
3.83% |
MSCI
Emerging Markets Index (Net) (USD) (reflects no deduction
for fees, expenses, or taxes) |
|
9.83% |
3.68% |
2.66% |
After-tax
returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal
income tax rates and do not reflect
the impact of state, local or foreign taxes.
Actual
after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ
from those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to tax-exempt
investors or investors who hold their
Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) Plans or
Individual Retirement
Accounts.
Fund
Management
|
| |
Manager
|
Sub-Adviser |
Portfolio
Manager, Title/Managed Since |
Allspring
Funds Management,
LLC |
Allspring
Global Investments,
LLC |
Derrick
Irwin, CFA,
Portfolio Manager/2011 Richard
Peck, CFA,
Portfolio Manager/2014 Yi
(Jerry) Zhang, Ph.D., CFA,
Portfolio Manager/2006 |
Purchase
and Sale of Fund Shares
Administrator shares
are generally available through intermediaries for the accounts of their
customers and directly to institutional
investors and individuals. Institutional investors may include corporations;
private banks and trust companies;
endowments and foundations; defined contribution, defined benefit and other
employer sponsored retirement
plans; institutional retirement plan platforms; insurance companies; registered
investment advisor firms; bank
trusts; 529 college savings plans; family offices; and funds of funds, including
those managed by Allspring
Funds Management.
In general, you can buy or sell shares of the Fund online or by mail, phone or
wire, on any day the New York
Stock Exchange is open for regular trading. You also may buy and sell shares
through a financial professional.
| |
Minimum
Investments |
To
Buy or Sell Shares |
Minimum
Initial Investment Administrator
Class: $1 million (this amount may be reduced
or eliminated for certain eligible investors)
Minimum
Additional Investment Administrator
Class: None |
Mail:
Allspring
Funds P.O.
Box 219967 Kansas
City, MO 64121-9967 Online:
www.allspringglobal.com Phone
or Wire:
1-800-222-8222 Contact
your financial professional. |
Tax
Information
Any
distributions you receive from the Fund may be taxable as ordinary income or
capital gains, except when your investment
is in an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-advantaged investment plan. However,
subsequent withdrawals from such a tax-advantaged
investment plan may be subject to federal income tax. You should consult your
tax adviser about your specific
tax situation.
Payments
to Intermediaries
If
you purchase a Fund through an intermediary, the Fund and its related companies
may pay the intermediary for the sale
of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of
interest by influencing the intermediary
and your financial professional to recommend the Fund over another investment.
Consult your financial professional
or visit your intermediary’s website for more information.
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
| 5 |
Emerging
Markets Equity Income Fund Summary
Investment
Objective
The
Fund seeks to achieve long-term capital appreciation and current
income.
Fees
and Expenses
These
tables are intended to help you understand the various costs and expenses you
will pay if you buy, hold and sell shares
of the Fund.
| |
Shareholder
Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
|
|
|
|
Maximum
sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
Maximum
deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
| |
|
|
|
Management
Fees |
1.05% |
Distribution
(12b-1) Fees |
0.00% |
Other
Expenses |
0.55% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
1.60% |
Fee
Waivers |
(0.15)% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers2
|
% |
1. |
Expenses
have been adjusted as necessary from amounts incurred during the Fund’s
most recent fiscal year to reflect current fees and
expenses.
|
2. |
The
Manager has contractually committed through February
28, 2025,
to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary
to cap Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at
1.45%
for Administrator
Class. Brokerage commissions, stamp
duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses (if any), and
extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense
cap. Prior to or after the commitment expiration date, the cap may be
increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may
be terminated only with the approval of the Board of
Trustees. |
Example
of Expenses
The
example below is intended to help you compare the costs of investing in the Fund
with the costs of investing in other
funds. The example assumes a $10,000 initial investment, 5% annual total return,
and that fees and expenses remain
the same as in the tables above. To the extent that the Manager is waiving fees
or reimbursing expenses, the example
assumes that such waiver or reimbursement will only be in place through the date
noted above. Although your
actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs
would be:
| |
|
|
After:
|
|
1
Year |
$148 |
3
Years |
$490 |
5
Years |
$857 |
10
Years |
$1,887 |
Portfolio
Turnover
The
Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells
securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher
portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in
higher taxes when Fund shares are
held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund
operating expenses or in the example,
affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s
portfolio turnover rate was 68%
of
the average value of its portfolio.
6 |
| International
and Global Equity Funds |
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in equity securities of companies in
emerging market countries;
and |
■ |
across
any market
capitalization. |
We
consider emerging market countries to be, among others, countries included in
the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. We
look for companies with sustainable dividend yields backed by strong company
financials and fundamentals, including
above-average sales and earnings growth, overall financial strength, competitive
advantages, and capable management.
We may sell a holding when it no longer has some or all of these traits. Our
investment strategy includes both
a top-down strategy, which takes account of overall economic and market trends
in each country, and a bottom-up
strategy, in which we use fundamental research for security selection. In order
to take advantage of the wide
range of possible opportunities in a variety of markets at different stages of
economic development, we construct the
portfolio with the potential for a portfolio dividend yield above the index
average while maintaining a controlled level
of risk.
We
see Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) considerations as a component
of fundamental analysis and in particular
climate change as a serious and complex risk. The accounting of sustainability
issues is integrated into the team’s
investment process: research, stock selection, portfolio construction, and
engagement with companies on ESG issues.
We
reserve the right to hedge the portfolio’s foreign currency exposure by
purchasing or selling currency futures and foreign
currency forward contracts. However, under normal circumstances, we will not
engage in extensive foreign currency
hedging.
Principal
Investment Risks
An
investment in the Fund may lose money, is
not a deposit of a bank or its affiliates, is not insured or guaranteed by
the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental
agency,
and is primarily subject to the risks briefly
summarized below.
Market
Risk.
The values of, and/or the income generated by, securities held by the Fund may
decline due to general market
conditions or other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of
such securities. Securities markets are
volatile and may decline significantly in response to adverse issuer,
regulatory, political, or economic developments.
Different sectors of the market and different security types may react
differently to such developments.
Equity
Securities Risk.
The values of equity securities may experience periods of substantial price
volatility and may decline
significantly over short time periods. In general, the values of equity
securities are more volatile than those of debt
securities. Equity securities fluctuate in value and price in response to
factors specific to the issuer of the security, such
as management performance, financial condition, and market demand for the
issuer’s products or services, as well
as factors unrelated to the fundamental condition of the issuer, including
general market, economic and political conditions.
Different parts of a market, industry and sector may react differently to
adverse issuer, market, regulatory, political,
and economic developments.
Foreign
Investment Risk.
Foreign investments may be subject to lower liquidity, greater price volatility
and risks related to
adverse political, regulatory, market or economic developments. Foreign
investments may involve exposure to changes
in foreign currency exchange rates and may be subject to higher withholding and
other taxes.
Emerging
Markets Risk.
Emerging market securities typically present even greater exposure to the risks
described under
“Foreign Investment Risk” and may be particularly sensitive to global economic
conditions. Emerging market securities
are also typically less liquid than securities of developed countries and could
be difficult to sell, particularly during
a market downturn.
Derivatives
Risk.
The use of derivatives, such as futures, options and swap agreements, can lead
to losses, including those
magnified by leverage, particularly when derivatives are used to enhance return
rather than mitigate risk. Certain derivative
instruments may be difficult to sell when the portfolio manager believes it
would be appropriate to do so, or the
other party to a derivative contract may be unwilling or unable to fulfill its
contractual obligations.
Foreign
Currency Contracts Risk.
A Fund that enters into forwards or other foreign currency contracts, which are
a type
of derivative, is subject to the risk that the portfolio manager may be
incorrect in his or her judgment of future exchange
rate changes.
Growth/Value
Investing Risk.
Securities that exhibit growth or value characteristics tend to perform
differently and shift
into and out of favor with investors depending on changes in market and economic
sentiment and conditions.
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
| 7 |
Management
Risk.
Investment decisions, techniques, analyses or models implemented by a
Fund’s manager or sub-adviser
in seeking to achieve the Fund’s investment objective may not produce expected
returns, may cause the Fund’s
shares to lose value or may cause the Fund to underperform other funds with
similar investment objectives.
Smaller
Company Securities Risk.
Securities of companies with smaller market capitalizations tend to be more
volatile and
less liquid than those of larger companies.
Performance
The
following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the
Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s
performance from year to year.
The Fund’s average annual total returns are compared to the performance of one
or
more indices. Past
performance before and after taxes is no guarantee of future
results.
Current month-end performance
is available on the Fund’s website at www.allspringglobal.com.
|
| |
Calendar
Year Total Returns for Administrator Class as of 12/31 each
year |
|
Highest
Quarter: December
31, 2020 |
|
Lowest
Quarter: March
31,
2020 |
|
|
|
|
| |
Average
Annual Total Returns for the periods ended
12/31/2023 |
|
Inception
Date
of Share
Class |
1
Year |
5
Year |
10
Year |
Administrator
Class (before taxes) |
5/31/2012
|
12.03% |
3.45% |
2.33% |
Administrator
Class (after taxes on distributions) |
5/31/2012
|
10.92% |
3.01% |
1.95% |
Administrator
Class (after taxes on distributions and the sale of
Fund Shares) |
5/31/2012
|
7.08% |
2.79% |
1.94% |
MSCI
ACWI ex USA Index (Net) (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses, or taxes) |
|
15.62% |
7.08% |
3.83% |
MSCI
Emerging Markets Index (Net) (USD) (reflects no deduction
for fees, expenses, or taxes) |
|
9.83% |
3.68% |
2.66% |
MSCI
Emerging Markets High Dividend Yield Index (Net) (USD)
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
|
|
18.67% |
3.00% |
1.53% |
After-tax
returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal
income tax rates and do not reflect
the impact of state, local or foreign taxes.
Actual
after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ
from those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to tax-exempt
investors or investors who hold their
Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) Plans or
Individual Retirement
Accounts.
8 |
| International
and Global Equity Funds |
Fund
Management
|
| |
Manager
|
Sub-Adviser |
Portfolio
Managers, Title/Managed Since |
Allspring
Funds Management,
LLC |
Allspring
Global Investments,
LLC |
Alison
Shimada,
Portfolio Manager / 2012 Elaine
Tse,
Portfolio Manager / 2018 |
Purchase
and Sale of Fund Shares
Administrator shares
are generally available through intermediaries for the accounts of their
customers and directly to institutional
investors and individuals. Institutional investors may include corporations;
private banks and trust companies;
endowments and foundations; defined contribution, defined benefit and other
employer sponsored retirement
plans; institutional retirement plan platforms; insurance companies; registered
investment advisor firms; bank
trusts; 529 college savings plans; family offices; and funds of funds, including
those managed by Allspring
Funds Management.
In general, you can buy or sell shares of the Fund online or by mail, phone or
wire, on any day the New York
Stock Exchange is open for regular trading. You also may buy and sell shares
through a financial professional.
| |
Minimum
Investments |
To
Buy or Sell Shares |
Minimum
Initial Investment Administrator
Class: $1 million (this amount may be reduced
or eliminated for certain eligible investors)
Minimum
Additional Investment Administrator
Class: None |
Mail:
Allspring
Funds P.O.
Box 219967 Kansas
City, MO 64121-9967 Online:
www.allspringglobal.com Phone
or Wire:
1-800-222-8222 Contact
your financial professional. |
Tax
Information
Any
distributions you receive from the Fund may be taxable as ordinary income or
capital gains, except when your investment
is in an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-advantaged investment plan. However,
subsequent withdrawals from such a tax-advantaged
investment plan may be subject to federal income tax. You should consult your
tax adviser about your specific
tax situation.
Payments
to Intermediaries
If
you purchase a Fund through an intermediary, the Fund and its related companies
may pay the intermediary for the sale
of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of
interest by influencing the intermediary
and your financial professional to recommend the Fund over another investment.
Consult your financial professional
or visit your intermediary’s website for more information.
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
| 9 |
International
Equity Fund Summary
Investment
Objective
The
Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.
Fees
and Expenses
These
tables are intended to help you understand the various costs and expenses you
will pay if you buy, hold and sell shares
of the Fund.
| |
Shareholder
Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
|
|
|
|
Maximum
sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
Maximum
deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
| |
|
|
|
Management
Fees |
0.80% |
Distribution
(12b-1) Fees |
0.00% |
Other
Expenses |
0.57% |
Acquired
Fund Fees and Expenses |
0.01% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
1.38% |
Fee
Waivers |
(0.23)% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers2
|
% |
1. |
Expenses
have been adjusted as necessary from amounts incurred during the Fund’s
most recent fiscal year to reflect current fees and
expenses.
|
2. |
The
Manager has contractually committed through February
28, 2025,
to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary
to cap Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at
1.14%
for Administrator
Class. Brokerage commissions, stamp
duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses (if any), and
extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense
cap. Prior to or after the commitment expiration date, the cap may be
increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may
be terminated only with the approval of the Board of
Trustees. |
Example
of Expenses
The
example below is intended to help you compare the costs of investing in the Fund
with the costs of investing in other
funds. The example assumes a $10,000 initial investment, 5% annual total return,
and that fees and expenses remain
the same as in the tables above. To the extent that the Manager is waiving fees
or reimbursing expenses, the example
assumes that such waiver or reimbursement will only be in place through the date
noted above. Although your
actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs
would be:
| |
|
|
After:
|
|
1
Year |
$117 |
3
Years |
$414 |
5
Years |
$733 |
10
Years |
$1,637 |
Portfolio
Turnover
The
Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells
securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher
portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in
higher taxes when Fund shares are
held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund
operating expenses or in the example,
affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s
portfolio turnover rate was 126%
of
the average value of its portfolio.
10 |
| International
and Global Equity Funds |
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in equity securities of foreign
issuers; |
■ |
up
to 10% of the Fund’s total assets in emerging market equity securities;
and |
■ |
in
securities of at least three different countries including the
U.S. |
The
types of securities in which we normally invest include common stock, preferred
stock, rights, warrants and American
Depositary Receipts (ADRs). We consider equity securities of foreign issuers (or
foreign securities) to be equity
securities: (1) issued by companies with their principal place of business or
principal office or both, as determined
in our reasonable discretion, in a country other than the U.S.; or (2) issued by
companies for which the principal
securities trading market is a country other than the U.S. We may use futures or
forward foreign currency contracts
to manage risk or to enhance return.
We
use bottom-up stock selection, based on fundamental research, that emphasizes
companies with resilient characteristics
as the cornerstone of our investment process. We emphasize businesses that
possess robust asset bases
that produce sustainable cash flow growth through a cycle, created by efficient
capital allocation and, typically, exhibit
a commitment to returning value to shareholders through dividends. We emphasize
dividend and cash flow yield
among other valuation metrics to assess market sentiment and pricing
opportunity. While long-term investors, we seek
to drive excess returns through exploiting valuation opportunities that arise
while recognizing the premium quality
of these businesses. We balance exposures between companies with growth
characteristics, expressed through growing
earnings and dividends, with companies that have value characteristics,
expressed through higher dividend yields
and usually lower dividend growth. This focus on cash flow and dividend
discipline drives a less volatile outcome that
delivers both income and growth over a full market cycle. We conduct ongoing
review, research, and analysis of our
portfolio holdings. We may sell a stock if it achieves our investment objective
for the position, if a stock’s fundamentals
or price change significantly, if we change our view of a country or sector, or
if the stock no longer fits within
the risk characteristics of the Fund’s
portfolio.
We
conduct ongoing review, research, and analysis of our portfolio holdings. We may
sell a stock if it achieves our investment
objective for the position, if a stock’s fundamentals or price change
significantly, if we change our view of a country
or sector, or if the stock no longer fits within the risk characteristics
of the
Fund’s portfolio.
Principal
Investment Risks
An
investment in the Fund may lose money, is
not a deposit of a bank or its affiliates, is not insured or guaranteed by
the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental
agency,
and is primarily subject to the risks briefly
summarized below.
Market
Risk.
The values of, and/or the income generated by, securities held by the Fund may
decline due to general market
conditions or other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of
such securities. Securities markets are
volatile and may decline significantly in response to adverse issuer,
regulatory, political, or economic developments.
Different sectors of the market and different security types may react
differently to such developments.
Equity
Securities Risk.
The values of equity securities may experience periods of substantial price
volatility and may decline
significantly over short time periods. In general, the values of equity
securities are more volatile than those of debt
securities. Equity securities fluctuate in value and price in response to
factors specific to the issuer of the security, such
as management performance, financial condition, and market demand for the
issuer’s products or services, as well
as factors unrelated to the fundamental condition of the issuer, including
general market, economic and political conditions.
Different parts of a market, industry and sector may react differently to
adverse issuer, market, regulatory, political,
and economic developments.
Foreign
Investment Risk.
Foreign investments may be subject to lower liquidity, greater price volatility
and risks related to
adverse political, regulatory, market or economic developments. Foreign
investments may involve exposure to changes
in foreign currency exchange rates and may be subject to higher withholding and
other taxes.
Derivatives
Risk.
The use of derivatives, such as futures, options and swap agreements, can lead
to losses, including those
magnified by leverage, particularly when derivatives are used to enhance return
rather than mitigate risk. Certain derivative
instruments may be difficult to sell when the portfolio manager believes it
would be appropriate to do so, or the
other party to a derivative contract may be unwilling or unable to fulfill its
contractual obligations.
Emerging
Markets Risk.
Emerging market securities typically present even greater exposure to the risks
described under
“Foreign Investment Risk” and may be particularly sensitive to global economic
conditions. Emerging market
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
| 11 |
securities
are also typically less liquid than securities of developed countries and could
be difficult to sell, particularly during
a market downturn.
Foreign
Currency Contracts Risk.
A Fund that enters into forwards or other foreign currency contracts, which are
a type
of derivative, is subject to the risk that the portfolio manager may be
incorrect in his or her judgment of future exchange
rate changes.
Futures
Contracts Risk.
A Fund that uses futures contracts, which are a type of derivative, is subject
to the risk of loss caused
by unanticipated market movements. In addition, there may at times be an
imperfect correlation between the movement
in the prices of futures contracts and the value of their underlying instruments
or indexes, and there may at times
not be a liquid secondary market for certain futures
contracts.
Growth/Value
Investing Risk.
Securities that exhibit growth or value characteristics tend to perform
differently and shift
into and out of favor with investors depending on changes in market and economic
sentiment and conditions.
Management
Risk.
Investment decisions, techniques, analyses or models implemented by a
Fund’s manager or sub-adviser
in seeking to achieve the Fund’s investment objective may not produce expected
returns, may cause the Fund’s
shares to lose value or may cause the Fund to underperform other funds with
similar investment objectives.
Smaller
Company Securities Risk.
Securities of companies with smaller market capitalizations tend to be more
volatile and
less liquid than those of larger companies.
Performance
The
following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the
Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s
performance from year to year.
The Fund’s average annual total returns are compared to the performance of one
or
more indices. Past
performance before and after taxes is no guarantee of future
results.
Current month-end performance
is available on the Fund’s website at www.allspringglobal.com.
|
| |
Calendar
Year Total Returns for Administrator Class as of 12/31 each
year |
|
Highest
Quarter: December
31, 2022 |
|
Lowest
Quarter: March
31,
2020 |
|
|
|
|
| |
Average
Annual Total Returns for the periods ended
12/31/2023 |
|
Inception
Date
of Share
Class |
1
Year |
5
Year |
10
Year |
Administrator
Class (before taxes) |
7/16/2010
|
15.56% |
5.38% |
3.05% |
Administrator
Class (after taxes on distributions) |
7/16/2010
|
14.56% |
5.00% |
2.53% |
Administrator
Class (after taxes on distributions and the sale of
Fund Shares) |
7/16/2010
|
9.19% |
4.23% |
2.38% |
MSCI
ACWI ex USA Index (Net) (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses, or taxes) |
|
15.62% |
7.08% |
3.83% |
MSCI
EAFE Index (Net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses,
or taxes) |
|
18.24% |
8.16% |
4.28% |
12 |
| International
and Global Equity Funds |
After-tax
returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal
income tax rates and do not reflect
the impact of state, local or foreign taxes.
Actual
after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ
from those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to tax-exempt
investors or investors who hold their
Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) Plans or
Individual Retirement
Accounts.
Fund
Management
|
| |
Manager
|
Sub-Adviser |
Portfolio
Manager, Title/Managed Since |
Allspring
Funds Management,
LLC |
Allspring
Global Investments,
LLC |
Jonathan
Drexel, CFA,
Portfolio Manager / 2023 Paige Henderson,
CFA, CFP,
Portfolio Manager / 2023
|
Purchase
and Sale of Fund Shares
Administrator shares
are generally available through intermediaries for the accounts of their
customers and directly to institutional
investors and individuals. Institutional investors may include corporations;
private banks and trust companies;
endowments and foundations; defined contribution, defined benefit and other
employer sponsored retirement
plans; institutional retirement plan platforms; insurance companies; registered
investment advisor firms; bank
trusts; 529 college savings plans; family offices; and funds of funds, including
those managed by Allspring
Funds Management.
In general, you can buy or sell shares of the Fund online or by mail, phone or
wire, on any day the New York
Stock Exchange is open for regular trading. You also may buy and sell shares
through a financial professional.
| |
Minimum
Investments |
To
Buy or Sell Shares |
Minimum
Initial Investment Administrator
Class: $1 million (this amount may be reduced
or eliminated for certain eligible investors)
Minimum
Additional Investment Administrator
Class: None |
Mail:
Allspring
Funds P.O.
Box 219967 Kansas
City, MO 64121-9967 Online:
www.allspringglobal.com Phone
or Wire:
1-800-222-8222 Contact
your financial professional. |
Tax
Information
Any
distributions you receive from the Fund may be taxable as ordinary income or
capital gains, except when your investment
is in an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-advantaged investment plan. However,
subsequent withdrawals from such a tax-advantaged
investment plan may be subject to federal income tax. You should consult your
tax adviser about your specific
tax situation.
Payments
to Intermediaries
If
you purchase a Fund through an intermediary, the Fund and its related companies
may pay the intermediary for the sale
of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of
interest by influencing the intermediary
and your financial professional to recommend the Fund over another investment.
Consult your financial professional
or visit your intermediary’s website for more information.
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
| 13 |
Special
Global Small Cap Fund Summary
Investment
Objective
The
Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.
Fees
and Expenses
These
tables are intended to help you understand the various costs and expenses you
will pay if you buy, hold and sell shares
of the Fund.
| |
Shareholder
Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
|
|
|
|
Maximum
sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
Maximum
deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of offering
price) |
None |
| |
|
|
|
Management
Fees |
0.95% |
Distribution
(12b-1) Fees |
0.00% |
Other
Expenses |
0.59% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
1.54% |
Fee
Waivers |
(0.14)% |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers2
|
% |
1. |
Expenses
have been adjusted as necessary from amounts incurred during the Fund’s
most recent fiscal year to reflect current fees and
expenses.
|
2. |
The
Manager has contractually committed through February
28, 2025,
to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary
to cap Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver at
1.40%
for Administrator
Class. Brokerage commissions, stamp
duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses (if any), and
extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense
cap. Prior to or after the commitment expiration date, the cap may be
increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may
be terminated only with the approval of the Board of
Trustees. |
Example
of Expenses
The
example below is intended to help you compare the costs of investing in the Fund
with the costs of investing in other
funds. The example assumes a $10,000 initial investment, 5% annual total return,
and that fees and expenses remain
the same as in the tables above. To the extent that the Manager is waiving fees
or reimbursing expenses, the example
assumes that such waiver or reimbursement will only be in place through the date
noted above. Although your
actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs
would be:
| |
|
|
After:
|
|
1
Year |
$143 |
3
Years |
$473 |
5
Years |
$826 |
10
Years |
$1,823 |
Portfolio
Turnover
The
Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells
securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher
portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in
higher taxes when Fund shares are
held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund
operating expenses or in the example,
affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s
portfolio turnover rate was 15%
of
the average value of its portfolio.
14 |
| International
and Global Equity Funds |
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s total assets in equity securities of
small-capitalization
companies; |
■ |
in
the securities of companies located in no fewer than three countries,
which may include the U.S., and we may invest
more than 25% of the Fund’s total assets in any one country;
and |
■ |
up
to 10% of the Fund’s total assets in emerging market equity
securities. |
We
invest principally in equity securities of small-capitalization companies, which
we define as companies with market capitalizations
within the range of the MSCI World Small Cap Index at the time of purchase. The
market capitalization range
of the MSCI World Small Cap Index was approximately $32.64
million to $19.36
billion, as of January
31, 2024, and
is expected to change frequently. We consider foreign securities to be
securities: (1) issued by companies with their
principal place of business or principal office or both, as determined in our
reasonable discretion, in a country other
than the U.S.; or (2) issued by companies for which the principal securities
trading market is a country other than the
U.S. Furthermore, we may use futures, options or forward foreign currency
contracts to manage risk or to enhance return.
In
selecting equity investments for the Fund, the portfolio managers attempt to
identify companies that are well managed,
have flexible balance sheets, sustainable cash flows and that are undervalued
companies relative to an assessment
of their intrinsic value. We believe the global small-capitalization markets are
inefficient and that stocks are often
inappropriately valued. Our process utilizes both fundamentally based, bottom-up
techniques with top-down, industry
and sector analysis to identify global opportunities. Furthermore, an analysis
of the risk materiality and management
of environmental, social and governance risks are considered within the stock
selection process and a stock
could be excluded from consideration and/or sold from the portfolio as a result
of these risks. We conduct ongoing
review, research, and analysis of our portfolio holdings. We may sell a stock if
it achieves our investment objective
for the position, if a stock’s fundamentals or price change significantly, if we
change our view of a country or sector,
or if the stock no longer fits within the risk characteristics of the Fund’s
portfolio. We reserve the right to hedge the
portfolio’s foreign currency exposure by purchasing or selling currency futures
and foreign currency forward contracts.
However, under normal circumstances, we will not engage in extensive foreign
currency hedging.
Principal
Investment Risks
An
investment in the Fund may lose money, is
not a deposit of a bank or its affiliates, is not insured or guaranteed by
the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental
agency,
and is primarily subject to the risks briefly
summarized below.
Market
Risk.
The values of, and/or the income generated by, securities held by the Fund may
decline due to general market
conditions or other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of
such securities. Securities markets are
volatile and may decline significantly in response to adverse issuer,
regulatory, political, or economic developments.
Different sectors of the market and different security types may react
differently to such developments.
Equity
Securities Risk.
The values of equity securities may experience periods of substantial price
volatility and may decline
significantly over short time periods. In general, the values of equity
securities are more volatile than those of debt
securities. Equity securities fluctuate in value and price in response to
factors specific to the issuer of the security, such
as management performance, financial condition, and market demand for the
issuer’s products or services, as well
as factors unrelated to the fundamental condition of the issuer, including
general market, economic and political conditions.
Different parts of a market, industry and sector may react differently to
adverse issuer, market, regulatory, political,
and economic developments.
Smaller
Company Securities Risk.
Securities of companies with smaller market capitalizations tend to be more
volatile and
less liquid than those of larger companies.
Foreign
Investment Risk.
Foreign investments may be subject to lower liquidity, greater price volatility
and risks related to
adverse political, regulatory, market or economic developments. Foreign
investments may involve exposure to changes
in foreign currency exchange rates and may be subject to higher withholding and
other taxes.
Derivatives
Risk.
The use of derivatives, such as futures, options and swap agreements, can lead
to losses, including those
magnified by leverage, particularly when derivatives are used to enhance return
rather than mitigate risk. Certain derivative
instruments may be difficult to sell when the portfolio manager believes it
would be appropriate to do so, or the
other party to a derivative contract may be unwilling or unable to fulfill its
contractual obligations.
Emerging
Markets Risk.
Emerging market securities typically present even greater exposure to the risks
described under
“Foreign Investment Risk” and may be particularly sensitive to global economic
conditions. Emerging market
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
| 15 |
securities
are also typically less liquid than securities of developed countries and could
be difficult to sell, particularly during
a market downturn.
Foreign
Currency Contracts Risk.
A Fund that enters into forwards or other foreign currency contracts, which are
a type
of derivative, is subject to the risk that the portfolio manager may be
incorrect in his or her judgment of future exchange
rate changes.
Futures
Contracts Risk.
A Fund that uses futures contracts, which are a type of derivative, is subject
to the risk of loss caused
by unanticipated market movements. In addition, there may at times be an
imperfect correlation between the movement
in the prices of futures contracts and the value of their underlying instruments
or indexes, and there may at times
not be a liquid secondary market for certain futures
contracts.
Geographic
Emphasis Risk.
A Fund that invests a significant portion of its assets in one country or
geographic region will
be more vulnerable than a fund that invests its assets more broadly to the
economic, financial, political or other developments
affecting that country or region. Such developments may have a significant
impact on the Fund’s investment
performance causing such performance to be more volatile than the investment
performance of a more geographically
diversified fund.
Growth/Value
Investing Risk.
Securities that exhibit growth or value characteristics tend to perform
differently and shift
into and out of favor with investors depending on changes in market and economic
sentiment and conditions.
Management
Risk.
Investment decisions, techniques, analyses or models implemented by a
Fund’s manager or sub-adviser
in seeking to achieve the Fund’s investment objective may not produce expected
returns, may cause the Fund’s
shares to lose value or may cause the Fund to underperform other funds with
similar investment objectives.
Options
Risk.
A Fund that purchases options, which are a type of derivative, is subject to the
risk of a loss of premiums without
offsetting gains. A Fund that writes options receives a premium that may be
small relative to the loss realized in the
event of adverse changes in the value of the underlying
instruments.
Performance
The
following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the
Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s
performance from year to year.
The Fund’s average annual total returns are compared to the performance of one
or
more indices. Past
performance before and after taxes is no guarantee of future
results.
Current month-end performance
is available on the Fund’s website at www.allspringglobal.com.
|
| |
Calendar
Year Total Returns for Administrator Class as of 12/31 each
year |
|
Highest
Quarter: December
31, 2020 |
|
Lowest
Quarter: March
31,
2020 |
|
16 |
| International
and Global Equity Funds |
|
|
|
| |
Average
Annual Total Returns for the periods ended
12/31/2023 |
|
Inception
Date
of Share
Class |
1
Year |
5
Year |
10
Year |
Administrator
Class (before taxes) |
1/13/1997
|
14.33% |
7.48% |
6.42% |
Administrator
Class (after taxes on distributions) |
1/13/1997
|
14.33% |
6.04% |
4.45% |
Administrator
Class (after taxes on distributions and the sale of
Fund Shares) |
1/13/1997
|
8.49% |
5.59% |
4.60% |
MSCI
ACWI Index (Net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses,
or taxes) |
|
22.20% |
11.72% |
7.93% |
MSCI
World Small Cap Index (Net) (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses, or taxes) |
|
15.76% |
9.76% |
6.78% |
After-tax
returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal
income tax rates and do not reflect
the impact of state, local or foreign taxes.
Actual
after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ
from those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to tax-exempt
investors or investors who hold their
Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) Plans or
Individual Retirement
Accounts.
Fund
Management
|
| |
Manager
|
Sub-Adviser |
Portfolio
Managers, Title/Managed Since |
Allspring
Funds Management,
LLC |
Allspring
Global Investments,
LLC |
Stephen
Giggie, CFA,
Portfolio Manager/2020 Oleg
Makhorine, Portfolio
Manager/2012 Brian
Martin, CFA,
Portfolio Manager/2020 James
M. Tringas, CFA,
Portfolio Manager/2008 Bryant
VanCronkhite, CFA, CPA,
Portfolio Manager/2013 |
Purchase
and Sale of Fund Shares
Administrator shares
are generally available through intermediaries for the accounts of their
customers and directly to institutional
investors and individuals. Institutional investors may include corporations;
private banks and trust companies;
endowments and foundations; defined contribution, defined benefit and other
employer sponsored retirement
plans; institutional retirement plan platforms; insurance companies; registered
investment advisor firms; bank
trusts; 529 college savings plans; family offices; and funds of funds, including
those managed by Allspring
Funds Management.
In general, you can buy or sell shares of the Fund online or by mail, phone or
wire, on any day the New York
Stock Exchange is open for regular trading. You also may buy and sell shares
through a financial professional.
| |
Minimum
Investments |
To
Buy or Sell Shares |
Minimum
Initial Investment Administrator
Class: $1 million (this amount may be reduced
or eliminated for certain eligible investors)
Minimum
Additional Investment Administrator
Class: None |
Mail:
Allspring
Funds P.O.
Box 219967 Kansas
City, MO 64121-9967 Online:
www.allspringglobal.com Phone
or Wire:
1-800-222-8222 Contact
your financial professional. |
Tax
Information
Any
distributions you receive from the Fund may be taxable as ordinary income or
capital gains, except when your investment
is in an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-advantaged investment plan. However,
subsequent withdrawals from such a tax-advantaged
investment plan may be subject to federal income tax. You should consult your
tax adviser about your specific
tax situation.
Payments
to Intermediaries
If
you purchase a Fund through an intermediary, the Fund and its related companies
may pay the intermediary for the sale
of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of
interest by influencing the intermediary
and your financial professional to recommend the Fund over another investment.
Consult your financial professional
or visit your intermediary’s website for more information.
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
| 17 |
Details
About the Funds
Emerging
Markets Equity Fund
Investment
Objective
The
Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.
The
Fund’s Board of Trustees can change this investment objective without a
shareholder vote.
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in emerging market equity
securities. |
We
invest principally in equity or other listed securities of emerging market
companies. We consider emerging market companies
to include companies that are traded in, have their primary operations in, are
domiciled in or derive a majority
of their revenue from emerging market countries as defined by the MSCI Emerging
Markets Index. We may use futures
to manage risk or to enhance return. The Fund may have exposure to stocks across
any capitalizations and styles
and will be diversified across countries and sectors.
Utilizing
a bottom-up, research driven stock selection process, we seek to invest in
quality companies at prices below their
intrinsic value. From the available stock universe we focus only on those
quality companies that are able to sustain high
profitability over a long period of time for reasons we can understand. We
believe that quality companies create value
for investors from profitable investment of retained earnings and dividend
payout and preserve value in adversity. We
further believe that quality companies that embrace sustainable environmental,
social and governance (ESG) policies
are more likely to avoid permanent loss of capital than companies that do not.
Among the characteristics we seek
in high-quality companies are strong competitive position, demonstrable
financial strength and profitability, favorable
ESG attributes, quality management dedicated to public shareholders’ interest,
and favorable growth prospect
supported by major long-term trends. ESG information and research are integral
to the investment process for
the specific purpose of increasing our knowledge of companies, identifying and
evaluating risks and opportunities, and
engaging with companies to influence corporate behaviors, all of which can
impact the team’s assessment of a company’s
quality and long term intrinsic value. ESG factors represent broad categories,
and the team’s ESG research is
pragmatic and driven by bottom-up, company-specific issues that are important to
individual companies in our pool of
quality investments. In general, ESG research and engagement are broad and cover
environmental, social, and governance
issues as appropriate for each company, such as the environmental impact of a
proposed project, employee
protections in a supply chain, or composition of the board of directors. We also
focus on understanding each
company’s intrinsic value and will only invest when a company’s stock trades at
a meaningful discount to this value.
We do not attempt to anticipate or react to short term market fluctuations, but
instead seek to take advantage of periodic
market inefficiencies to buy the high quality companies at prices below our
assessment of their intrinsic value. We
have a disciplined approach to the monitoring and sale of holdings and our
decisions to trim or sell out of positions may
be triggered when a stock price exceeds its intrinsic value or when there is a
material deterioration in the fundamentals
of the company.
We
may actively trade portfolio securities, which may lead to higher transaction
costs that may affect the Fund’s performance.
In addition, active trading of portfolio securities may lead to higher taxes if
your shares are held in a taxable
account.
The
Fund may hold some of its assets in cash or in money market instruments,
including U.S. Government obligations, shares
of other funds and repurchase agreements, or make other short-term investments
for purposes of maintaining liquidity
or for short-term defensive purposes when we believe it is in the best interests
of the shareholders to do so. During
such periods, the Fund may not achieve its objective.
18 |
| International
and Global Equity Funds |
Principal
Investment Risks
The
Fund is primarily subject to the risks mentioned below.
These
and other risks could cause you to lose money in your investment in the Fund and
could adversely affect the Fund’s
net asset value and total return. These risks are described in the “Description
of Principal Investment Risks” section.
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
| 19 |
Emerging
Markets Equity Income Fund
Investment
Objective
The
Fund seeks to achieve long-term capital appreciation and current
income.
The
Fund’s Board of Trustees can change this investment objective without a
shareholder vote.
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in equity securities of companies in
emerging market countries; and |
■ |
across
any market capitalization. |
We
consider emerging market countries to be, among others, countries included in
the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. We
look for companies with sustainable dividend yields backed by strong company
financials and fundamentals, including
above-average sales and earnings growth, overall financial strength, competitive
advantages, and capable management.
We may sell a holding when it no longer has some or all of these traits. Our
investment strategy includes both
a top-down strategy, which takes account of overall economic and market trends
in each country, and a bottom-up
strategy, in which we use fundamental research for security selection. In order
to take advantage of the wide
range of possible opportunities in a variety of markets at different stages of
economic development, we construct the
portfolio with the potential for a portfolio dividend yield above the index
average while maintaining a controlled level
of risk.
We
see Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) considerations as a component
of fundamental analysis and in particular
climate change as a serious and complex risk. The accounting of sustainability
issues is integrated into the team’s
investment process: research, stock selection, portfolio construction, and
engagement with companies on ESG issues.
We
reserve the right to hedge the portfolio’s foreign currency exposure by
purchasing or selling currency futures and foreign
currency forward contracts. However, under normal circumstances, we will not
engage in extensive foreign currency
hedging.
We
may actively trade portfolio securities, which may lead to higher transaction
costs that may affect the Fund’s performance.
In addition, active trading of portfolio securities may lead to higher taxes if
your shares are held in a taxable
account.
The
Fund may hold some of its assets in cash or in money market instruments,
including U.S. Government obligations, shares
of other funds and repurchase agreements, or make other short-term investments
for purposes of maintaining liquidity
or for short-term defensive purposes when we believe it is in the best interests
of the shareholders to do so. During
such periods, the Fund may not achieve its objective.
Principal
Investment Risks
The
Fund is primarily subject to the risks mentioned below.
These
and other risks could cause you to lose money in your investment in the Fund and
could adversely affect the Fund’s
net asset value and total return. These risks are described in the “Description
of Principal Investment Risks” section.
20 |
| International
and Global Equity Funds |
International
Equity Fund
Investment
Objective
The
Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.
The
Fund’s Board of Trustees can change this investment objective without a
shareholder vote.
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in equity securities of foreign
issuers; |
■ |
up
to 10% of the Fund’s total assets in emerging market equity securities;
and |
■ |
in
securities of at least three different countries including the
U.S. |
The
types of securities in which we normally invest include common stock, preferred
stock, rights, warrants and American
Depositary Receipts (ADRs). We consider equity securities of foreign issuers (or
foreign securities) to be equity
securities: (1) issued by companies with their principal place of business or
principal office or both, as determined
in our reasonable discretion, in a country other than the U.S.; or (2) issued by
companies for which the principal
securities trading market is a country other than the U.S. We may use futures or
forward foreign currency contracts
to manage risk or to enhance return.
We
use bottom-up stock selection, based on fundamental research, that emphasizes
companies with resilient characteristics
as the cornerstone of our investment process. We emphasize businesses that
possess robust asset bases
that produce sustainable cash flow growth through a cycle, created by efficient
capital allocation and, typically, exhibit
a commitment to returning value to shareholders through dividends. We emphasize
dividend and cash flow yield
among other valuation metrics to assess market sentiment and pricing
opportunity. While long-term investors, we seek
to drive excess returns through exploiting valuation opportunities that arise
while recognizing the premium quality
of these businesses. We balance exposures between companies with growth
characteristics, expressed through growing
earnings and dividends, with companies that have value characteristics,
expressed through higher dividend yields
and usually lower dividend growth. This focus on cash flow and dividend
discipline drives a less volatile outcome that
delivers both income and growth over a full market cycle. We conduct ongoing
review, research, and analysis of our
portfolio holdings. We may sell a stock if it achieves our investment objective
for the position, if a stock’s fundamentals
or price change significantly, if we change our view of a country or sector, or
if the stock no longer fits within
the risk characteristics of the Fund’s portfolio.
We
conduct ongoing review, research, and analysis of our portfolio holdings. We may
sell a stock if it achieves our investment
objective for the position, if a stock’s fundamentals or price change
significantly, if we change our view of a country
or sector, or if the stock no longer fits within the risk characteristics
of the Fund’s portfolio.
We
may actively trade portfolio securities, which may lead to higher transaction
costs that may affect the Fund’s performance.
In addition, active trading of portfolio securities may lead to higher taxes if
your shares are held in a taxable
account.
The
Fund may hold some of its assets in cash or in money market instruments,
including U.S. Government obligations, shares
of other funds and repurchase agreements, or make other short-term investments
for purposes of maintaining liquidity
or for short-term defensive purposes when we believe it is in the best interests
of the shareholders to do so. During
such periods, the Fund may not achieve its objective.
Principal
Investment Risks
The
Fund is primarily subject to the risks mentioned below.
These
and other risks could cause you to lose money in your investment in the Fund and
could adversely affect the Fund’s
net asset value and total return. These risks are described in the “Description
of Principal Investment Risks” section.
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
| 21 |
Special
Global Small Cap Fund
Investment
Objective
The
Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.
The
Fund’s Board of Trustees can change this investment objective without a
shareholder vote.
Principal
Investment Strategies
Under
normal circumstances, we invest:
■ |
at
least 80% of the Fund’s total assets in equity securities of
small-capitalization companies; |
■ |
in
the securities of companies located in no fewer than three countries,
which may include the U.S., and we may invest
more than 25% of the Fund’s total assets in any one country;
and |
■ |
up
to 10% of the Fund’s total assets in emerging market equity
securities. |
We
invest principally in equity securities of small-capitalization companies, which
we define as companies with market capitalizations
within the range of the MSCI World Small Cap Index at the time of purchase. The
market capitalization range
of the MSCI World Small Cap Index was approximately $32.64
million to $19.36
billion, as of January
31, 2024, and
is expected to change frequently. We consider foreign securities to be
securities: (1) issued by companies with their
principal place of business or principal office or both, as determined in our
reasonable discretion, in a country other
than the U.S.; or (2) issued by companies for which the principal securities
trading market is a country other than the
U.S. Furthermore, we may use futures, options or forward foreign currency
contracts to manage risk or to enhance return.
In
selecting equity investments for the Fund, the portfolio managers attempt to
identify companies that are well managed,
have flexible balance sheets, sustainable cash flows and that are undervalued
companies relative to an assessment
of their intrinsic value. We believe the global small-capitalization markets are
inefficient and that stocks are often
inappropriately valued. Our process utilizes both fundamentally based, bottom-up
techniques with top-down, industry
and sector analysis to identify global opportunities. Furthermore, an analysis
of the risk materiality and management
of environmental, social and governance risks are considered within the stock
selection process and a stock
could be excluded from consideration and/or sold from the portfolio as a result
of these risks. We conduct ongoing
review, research, and analysis of our portfolio holdings. We may sell a stock if
it achieves our investment objective
for the position, if a stock’s fundamentals or price change significantly, if we
change our view of a country or sector,
or if the stock no longer fits within the risk characteristics of the Fund’s
portfolio. We reserve the right to hedge the
portfolio’s foreign currency exposure by purchasing or selling currency futures
and foreign currency forward contracts.
However, under normal circumstances, we will not engage in extensive foreign
currency hedging.
We
may actively trade portfolio securities, which may lead to higher transaction
costs that may affect the Fund’s performance.
In addition, active trading of portfolio securities may lead to higher taxes if
your shares are held in a taxable
account.
The
Fund may hold some of its assets in cash or in money market instruments,
including U.S. Government obligations, shares
of other funds and repurchase agreements, or make other short-term investments
for purposes of maintaining liquidity
or for short-term defensive purposes when we believe it is in the best interests
of the shareholders to do so. During
such periods, the Fund may not achieve its objective.
Principal
Investment Risks
The
Fund is primarily subject to the risks mentioned below.
These
and other risks could cause you to lose money in your investment in the Fund and
could adversely affect the Fund’s
net asset value and total return. These risks are described in the “Description
of Principal Investment Risks” section.
22 |
| International
and Global Equity Funds |
Description
of Principal Investment Risks
Understanding
the risks involved in fund investing will help you make an informed decision
that takes into account your risk
tolerance and preferences. The risks that are most likely to have a material
effect on a particular Fund as
a whole are
called “principal risks.” The principal risks for each Fund
have been previously identified and are described below (in alphabetical
order). Additional information about the principal risks is included in the
Statement of Additional Information.
Derivatives
Risk.
The use of derivatives, such as futures, options and swap agreements, presents
risks different from, and
possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in
traditional securities. The use of derivatives can lead
to losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the derivatives’
underlying assets, indexes or rates
and the derivatives themselves, which may be magnified by certain features of
the derivatives. These risks are heightened
when derivatives are used to enhance a Fund’s return or as a substitute for a
position or security, rather than
solely to hedge (or mitigate) the risk of a position or security held by the
Fund. The success of a derivative strategy will
be affected by the portfolio manager’s ability to assess and predict market or
economic developments and their impact
on the derivatives’ underlying assets, indexes or reference rates, as well as
the derivatives themselves. Certain derivative
instruments may become illiquid and, as a result, may be difficult to sell when
the portfolio manager believes it
would be appropriate to do so. Certain derivatives create leverage, which can
magnify the impact of a decline in the value
of their underlying assets, indexes or reference rates, and increase the
volatility of the Fund’s net asset value. Certain
derivatives (e.g., over-the-counter swaps) are also subject to the risk that the
counterparty to the derivative contract
will be unwilling or unable to fulfill its contractual obligations, which may
cause a Fund to lose money, suffer delays
or incur costs arising from holding or selling an underlying asset. Changes in
laws or regulations may make the use
of derivatives more costly, may limit the availability of derivatives, or may
otherwise adversely affect the use, value or
performance of derivatives.
Emerging
Markets Risk.
Emerging market securities typically present even greater exposure to the risks
described under
“Foreign Investment Risk” and may be particularly sensitive to global economic
conditions. For example, emerging
market countries are typically more dependent on exports and are, therefore,
more vulnerable to recessions in
other countries. Emerging markets tend to have less developed legal and
financial systems and a smaller market capitalization
than markets in developed countries. Some emerging markets are subject to
greater political instability. Additionally,
emerging markets may have more volatile currencies and be more sensitive than
developed markets to a variety
of economic factors, including inflation. Emerging market securities are also
typically less liquid than securities of
developed countries and could be difficult to sell, particularly during a market
downturn.
Equity
Securities Risk.
The values of equity securities may experience periods of substantial price
volatility and may decline
significantly over short time periods. In general, the values of equity
securities are more volatile than those of debt
securities. Equity securities fluctuate in value and price in response to
factors specific to the issuer of the security, such
as management performance, financial condition, and market demand for the
issuer’s products or services, as well
as factors unrelated to the fundamental condition of the issuer, including
general market, economic and political conditions.
Investing in equity securities poses risks specific to an issuer, as well as to
the particular type of company issuing
the equity securities. For example, investing in the equity securities of small-
or mid-capitalization companies can
involve greater risk than is customarily associated with investing in stocks of
larger, more-established companies. Different
parts of a market, industry and sector may react differently to adverse issuer,
market, regulatory, political, and economic
developments. Negative news or a poor outlook for a particular industry or
sector can cause the share prices of
securities of companies in that industry or sector to decline. This risk may be
heightened for a Fund that invests a substantial
portion of its assets in a particular industry or sector.
Foreign
Currency Contracts Risk.
A Fund that enters into forwards or other foreign currency contracts, which are
a type
of derivative, is subject to the risk that the portfolio manager may be
incorrect in his or her judgment of future exchange
rate changes. The Fund’s gains from positions in foreign currency contracts may
accelerate and/or lead to recharacterization
of the Fund’s income or gains and its distributions to shareholders. The Fund’s
losses from such positions
may also lead to recharacterization of the Fund’s income and its distributions
to shareholders and may cause a
return of capital to Fund shareholders.
Foreign
Investment Risk.
Foreign investments may be subject to lower liquidity, greater price volatility
and risks related to
adverse political, regulatory, market or economic developments. Foreign
companies may be subject to significantly higher
levels of taxation than U.S. companies, including potentially confiscatory
levels of taxation, thereby reducing the earnings
potential of such foreign companies. Foreign investments may involve exposure to
changes in foreign currency
exchange rates. Such changes may reduce the U.S. dollar value of the
investments. Foreign investments may be
subject to additional risks, such as potentially higher withholding and other
taxes, and may also be subject to
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
| 23 |
greater
trade settlement, custodial, and other operational risks than domestic
investments. Certain foreign markets may
also be characterized by less stringent investor protection and disclosure
standards.
Futures Contracts
Risk.
A Fund that uses futures contracts, which are a type of derivative, is subject
to the risk of loss caused
by unanticipated market movements. In addition, there may at times be an
imperfect correlation between the movement
in the prices of futures contracts and the value of their underlying instruments
or indexes, and there may at times
not be a liquid secondary market for certain futures contracts.
Geographic
Emphasis Risk.
A Fund that invests a significant portion of its assets in one country or
geographic region will
be more vulnerable than a fund that invests its assets more broadly to the
economic, financial, political or other developments
affecting that country or region. Such developments may have a significant
impact on the Fund’s investment
performance causing such performance to be more volatile than the investment
performance of a more geographically
diversified fund.
Growth/Value
Investing Risk.
Securities that exhibit certain characteristics, such as growth characteristics
or value characteristics,
tend to perform differently and shift into and out of favor with investors
depending on changes in market
and economic sentiment and conditions. As a result, a Fund’s performance may at
times be worse than the performance
of other mutual funds that invest more broadly or in securities that exhibit
different characteristics.
Management
Risk.
Investment decisions, techniques, analyses or models implemented by a Fund’s
manager or sub-adviser
in seeking to achieve the Fund’s investment objective may not produce the
returns expected, may cause the
Fund’s shares to lose value or may cause the Fund to underperform other funds
with similar investment objectives.
Market
Risk.
The values of, and/or the income generated by, securities held by a Fund may
decline due to general market
conditions or other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of
such securities. Securities markets are
volatile and may decline significantly in response to adverse issuer,
regulatory, political, or economic developments.
Different sectors of the market and different security types may react
differently to such developments. Political,
geopolitical, natural and other events, including war, terrorism, trade
disputes, government shutdowns, market
closures, inflation, natural and environmental disasters, epidemics, pandemics
and other public health crises and
related events have led, and in the future may lead, to economic uncertainty,
decreased economic activity, increased
market volatility and other disruptive effects on U.S. and global economies and
markets. Such events may have
significant adverse direct or indirect effects on a Fund and its investments. In
addition, economies and financial markets
throughout the world are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases
the likelihood that events or conditions
in one country or region will adversely impact markets or issuers in other
countries or regions.
Options
Risk.
A Fund that purchases options, which are a type of derivative, is subject to the
risk that gains, if any, realized
on the position, will be less than the amount paid as premiums to the writer of
the option. A Fund that writes options
receives a premium that may be small relative to the loss realized in the event
of adverse changes in the value of
the underlying instruments. A Fund that writes covered call options gives up the
opportunity to profit from any price increase
in the underlying security above the option exercise price while the option is
in effect. Options may be more volatile
than the underlying instruments. In addition, there may at times be an imperfect
correlation between the movement
in values of options and their underlying securities, and there may at times not
be a liquid secondary market for
certain options.
Smaller
Company Securities Risk.
Securities of companies with smaller market capitalizations tend to be more
volatile and
less liquid than those of larger companies. Smaller companies may have no or
relatively short operating histories, limited
financial resources or may have recently become public companies. Some of these
companies have aggressive capital
structures, including high debt levels, or are involved in rapidly growing or
changing industries and/or new technologies.
24 |
| International
and Global Equity Funds |
Portfolio
Holdings Information
A
description of the Allspring
Funds’ policies and procedures with respect to disclosure of the Funds’ portfolio
holdings is
available in the Funds’
Statement of Additional Information.
Pricing Fund
Shares
A Fund’s net
asset value (“NAV”) is the value of a single share. The NAV is calculated as of
the close of regular trading on the
New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day
that the NYSE is open, although a Fund
may deviate from this calculation time under unusual or unexpected
circumstances.
The NAV is calculated
separately for each class of shares of a multiple-class Fund. The most recent
NAV for each class of a Fund is available
at allspringglobal.com. To calculate the NAV of a Fund’s
shares, the Fund’s
assets are valued and totaled, liabilities
are subtracted, and the balance, called net assets, is divided by the number of
shares outstanding. The price at
which a purchase or redemption request is processed is based on the next NAV
calculated after the request is received
in good order. Generally, NAV is not calculated, and purchase and redemption
requests are not processed, on days
that the NYSE is closed for trading; however, under unusual or unexpected
circumstances, a Fund
may elect to remain
open even on days that the NYSE is closed or closes early. To the extent
that a Fund’s
assets are traded in various
markets on days when the Fund
is closed, the value of the Fund’s
assets may be affected on days when you are unable
to buy or sell Fund
shares. Conversely, trading in some of a Fund’s
assets may not occur on days when the Fund
is
open.
With
respect to any portion of a Fund’s
assets that may be invested in other mutual funds, the value of
the Fund’s
shares is
based on the NAV of the shares of the other mutual funds in which
the Fund
invests. The valuation methods used by mutual
funds in pricing their shares, including the circumstances under which they will
use fair value pricing and the effects
of using fair value pricing, are included in the prospectuses of such funds. To
the extent a Fund
invests a portion of
its assets in non-registered investment vehicles, the Fund’s
interests in the non-registered vehicles are fair valued at NAV.
With
respect to a Fund’s
assets invested directly in securities, the Fund’s
investments are generally valued at current market
prices. Equity securities, options and futures are generally valued at the
official closing price or, if none, the last reported
sales price on the primary exchange or market on which they are listed (closing
price). Equity securities that are
not traded primarily on an exchange are generally valued at the quoted bid price
obtained from a broker-dealer.
Debt
securities are valued at the evaluated bid price provided by an independent
pricing service or, if a reliable price is not
available, the quoted bid price from an independent broker-dealer.
We
are required to depart from these general valuation methods and use fair value
pricing methods to determine the values
of certain investments if we believe that the closing price or the quoted bid
price of a security, including a security
that trades primarily on a foreign exchange, does not accurately reflect its
current market value as of the time a Fund
calculates its NAV. The closing price or the quoted bid price of a security may
not reflect its current market value
if, among other things, a significant event occurs after the closing price or
quoted bid price are made available, but
before the time as of which a Fund
calculates its NAV, that materially affects the value of the security. We use
various
criteria, including a systemic evaluation of U.S. market moves after the close
of foreign markets, in deciding whether
a foreign security’s market price is still reliable and, if not, what fair
market value to assign to the security. In addition,
we use fair value pricing to determine the value of investments in securities
and other assets, including illiquid
securities, for which current market quotations or evaluated prices from a
pricing service or broker-dealer are not
readily available.
The
fair value of a Fund’s
securities and other assets is determined in good faith pursuant to policies and
procedures adopted
by the Fund’s
Board of Trustees. Pursuant to such policies and procedures, the Board has
appointed the Manager
as the Fund’s valuation designee (the “Valuation Designee”) to perform all fair
valuations of the Fund’s portfolio
investments, subject to the Board’s oversight. As the Valuation Designee, the
Manager has established procedures
for its fair valuation of the Fund’s portfolio investments. These procedures
address, among other things, determining
when market quotations are not readily available or reliable and the
methodologies to be used for determining
the fair value of investments, as well as the use and oversight of third-party
pricing services for fair valuation.
In light of the judgment involved in making fair value decisions, there can be
no assurance that a fair value assigned
to a particular security is accurate or that it reflects the price that the
Fund could
obtain for such security if it were
to sell the security at the time as of which fair value pricing is determined.
Such fair value pricing may result in NAVs
that are higher or lower than NAVs based on the closing price or quoted bid
price. See the Statement of Additional
Information for additional details regarding the determination of
NAVs.
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
| 25 |
Management
of the Funds
The
Manager
Allspring
Funds Management, LLC (“Allspring
Funds Management”), headquartered at 1415 Vantage Park Drive, 3rd Floor,
Charlotte, NC 28203, provides advisory
and fund-level administrative services to the Funds
pursuant to an investment
management agreement (the “Management Agreement”). Allspring
Funds Management is a wholly owned subsidiary
of Allspring Global Investments Holdings, LLC, a holding company indirectly
owned by certain private funds of
GTCR LLC and Reverence Capital Partners, L.P. Allspring Funds Management is a
registered investment adviser that provides
advisory services for registered mutual funds, closed-end funds and other funds
and accounts.
Allspring
Funds Management is responsible for implementing the investment objectives and
strategies of the Funds.
Allspring
Funds Management’s investment professionals review and analyze the Funds’
performance, including relative to
peer funds, and monitor the Funds’
compliance with their
investment objectives and strategies. Allspring
Funds Management
is responsible for reporting to the Board on investment performance and other
matters affecting the Funds.
When appropriate, Allspring
Funds Management recommends to the Board enhancements to Fund features,
including
changes to Fund investment objectives, strategies and policies. Allspring
Funds Management also communicates
with shareholders
and intermediaries about Fund performance and features.
Allspring
Funds Management is also responsible for providing fund-level
administrative services to the Funds,
which include,
among others, providing such services in connection with the Funds’
operations; developing and implementing
procedures for monitoring compliance with regulatory requirements and compliance
with the Funds’
investment
objectives, policies and restrictions; and providing any
other fund-level
administrative services reasonably necessary
for the operation of the Funds,
other than those services that are provided by the Funds’ transfer
and dividend
disbursing agent, custodian and fund accountant.
To
assist Allspring
Funds Management in implementing the investment objectives and strategies of the
Funds,
Allspring
Funds
Management may contract with one or more sub-advisers to provide day-to-day
portfolio management services to
the Funds.
Allspring
Funds Management employs a team of investment professionals who identify and
recommend the
initial hiring of any sub-adviser and oversee and monitor the activities of any
sub-adviser on an ongoing basis. Allspring
Funds Management retains overall responsibility for the investment activities of
the Funds.
A
discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of
the Management
Agreement and any applicable sub-advisory
agreements for each Fund is
available in the Fund’s Annual
report for the period ended October
31.
For each Fund’s
most recent fiscal year end, the Management
Fee paid to Allspring
Funds Management pursuant to the Management
Agreement, net of any applicable waivers and reimbursements, was as
follows:
| |
Management
Fees Paid |
|
As
a % of average daily net assets |
Emerging
Markets Equity Fund |
0.89% |
Emerging
Markets Equity Income Fund |
0.97% |
International
Equity Fund |
0.57% |
Special
Global Small Cap Fund |
0.85% |
26 |
| International
and Global Equity Funds |
The
Sub-Advisers and Portfolio Managers
The
following Sub-Advisers
and Portfolio
Managers provide day-to-day portfolio management services to the Funds. These
services include making purchases and sales of securities and other investment
assets for the Funds,
selecting
broker-dealers, negotiating brokerage commission rates and maintaining portfolio
transaction records. The Sub-Advisers are
compensated for its
services by Allspring
Funds Management from the fees Allspring
Funds Management receives
for its services as Manager
to the Funds.
The Statement of Additional Information provides additional
information about the Portfolio
Managers’ compensation, other accounts managed by the Portfolio
Managers
and the Portfolio
Managers’ ownership of securities in the Funds.
Allspring
Global Investments, LLC
(“Allspring Investments”) is a registered investment adviser located
at 1415 Vantage Park
Drive, 3rd Floor, Charlotte, NC 28203. Allspring Investments, an affiliate of
Allspring Funds Management and wholly
owned subsidiary of Allspring Global Investments Holdings, LLC, is a
multi-boutique asset management firm committed
to delivering superior investment services to institutional clients, including
mutual funds.
| |
Jonathan
Drexel, CFA International
Equity Fund |
Mr.
Drexel joined Allspring Investments or one of its predecessor firms in
2016, where
he currently serves as a portfolio manager for the Resilient Global Equity
team. |
Stephen
Giggie, CFA Special
Global Small Cap Fund |
Mr.
Giggie joined Allspring Investments or one of its predecessor firms in
2007, where
he currently serves as a Portfolio Manager for the Special Global Equity
team. |
Paige
Henderson, CFA, CFP International
Equity Fund |
Ms.
Henderson joined Allspring Investments or one of its predecessor firms in
2012,
where she currently serves as a portfolio manager for the Resilient Global
Equity
team. |
Derrick
Irwin, CFA Emerging
Markets Equity Fund |
Mr.
Irwin joined Allspring Investments or one of its predecessor firms in
2005, where
he currently serves as a Portfolio Manager for the Intrinsic Emerging
Markets
Equity team. |
Oleg
Makhorine Special
Global Small Cap Fund |
Mr.
Makhorine joined Allspring Investments or one of its predecessor firms in
2005,
where he currently serves as a Portfolio Manager for the Special Global
Equity
team. |
Brian
Martin, CFA Special
Global Small Cap Fund |
Mr.
Martin joined Allspring Investments or one of its predecessor firms in
2004, where
he currently serves as a Portfolio Manager for the Special Global Equity
team. |
Richard
Peck, CFA Emerging
Markets Equity Fund |
Mr.
Peck joined Allspring Investments in 2010, where he currently serves as a
Portfolio
Manager for the Berkeley Street Emerging Markets Equity
team. |
Alison
Shimada Emerging
Markets Equity Income
Fund |
Ms.
Shimada joined Allspring Investments in 2003, where she currently serves
as
a Senior Portfolio Manager and head of the Total Emerging Markets Equity
team. |
James
M. Tringas, CFA Special
Global Small Cap Fund |
Mr.
Tringas joined Allspring Investments or one of its predecessor firms in
1994, where
he currently serves as a Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager
for
the Special Global Equity team. |
Elaine
Tse Emerging
Markets Equity Income
Fund |
Ms.
Tse joined Allspring Investments in 2000, where she currently serves as a
Portfolio
Manager on the Total Emerging Markets team. |
Bryant
VanCronkhite, CFA, CPA Special
Global Small Cap Fund |
Mr.
VanCronkhite joined Allspring Investments or one of its predecessor firms
in 2003,
where he currently serves as a Managing Director and Senior Portfolio
Manager
for the Special Global Equity team. |
Yi
(Jerry) Zhang, Ph.D., CFA Emerging
Markets Equity Fund |
Mr.
Zhang joined Allspring Investments or one of its predecessor firms in
2004, where
he currently serves as a Senior Portfolio Manager and Head of the
Intrinsic Emerging
Markets Equity team. |
International
and Global Equity Funds
|
| 27 |
Multi-Manager
Arrangement
The Funds
and Allspring
Funds Management have obtained an exemptive order from the SEC that
permits Allspring
Funds
Management, subject to Board approval, to select certain sub-advisers and enter
into or amend sub-advisory agreements
with them, without obtaining shareholder approval. The SEC order extends to
sub-advisers that are not otherwise
affiliated with Allspring
Funds Management or the Funds,
as well as sub-advisers that are wholly-owned subsidiaries
of Allspring
Funds Management or of a company that wholly owns Allspring
Funds Management. In addition,
the SEC staff, pursuant to no-action relief, has extended multi-manager relief
to any affiliated sub-adviser, such
as affiliated sub-advisers that are not wholly-owned subsidiaries of
Allspring
Funds Management or of a company that
wholly owns Allspring
Funds Management, provided certain conditions are satisfied (all such
sub-advisers covered by
the order or relief, “Multi-Manager Sub-Advisers”).
As
such, Allspring
Funds Management, with Board approval, may hire or replace Multi-Manager
Sub-Advisers for each Fund
that is eligible to rely on the order or relief. Allspring
Funds Management, subject to Board oversight, has the responsibility
to oversee Multi-Manager Sub-Advisers and to recommend their hiring, termination
and replacement. If a new
sub-adviser is hired for a Fund pursuant to the order or relief, the Fund is
required to notify shareholders within 90 days.
The Funds are
not required to disclose the individual fees that Allspring
Funds Management pays to a Multi-Manager
Sub-Adviser.
28 |
| International
and Global Equity Funds |
Account
Information
Share
Class Eligibility
Administrator shares
are generally available through intermediaries for the accounts of their
customers and directly to institutional
investors and individuals. Institutional investors may include corporations;
private banks; trust companies; endowments
and foundations; defined contribution, defined benefit and other employer
sponsored retirement plans; institutional
retirement plan platforms; insurance companies; registered investment advisor
firms; bank trusts; 529 college
savings plans; family offices; and funds of funds, including those managed by
Allspring
Funds Management. The
following investors may purchase Administrator
shares and are not subject to a minimum initial investment amount except,
as noted below:
■ |
Employee
benefit plan programs; |
■ |
Broker-dealer
managed account or wrap programs that charge an asset-based
fee; |
■ |
Registered
investment adviser mutual fund wrap programs or other accounts that charge
a fee for advisory, investment,
consulting or similar services; |
■ |
Private
bank and trust company managed accounts or wrap programs that charge an
asset-based fee; |
■ |
Internal
Revenue Code Section 529 college savings plan
accounts; |
■ |
Funds
of funds, including those advised by Allspring
Funds Management; |
■ |
Endowments,
non-profits, and charitable organizations who invest a minimum initial
investment amount of $500,000 in
a Fund; |
■ |
Any
other institutions or customers of intermediaries who invest a minimum
initial investment amount of $1 million in
a Fund; |
■ |
Individual
investors who invest a minimum initial investment amount of $1 million
directly in a Fund; |
■ |
Certain
investors and related accounts as detailed in the Statement of Additional
Information; and |
■ |
Individual
investors who purchase through an intermediary-sponsored self-directed
brokerage account program that may
or may not charge transaction fees. |
Eligibility
requirements for Administrator
shares may be modified or discontinued at any time.
Your
Fund may offer other classes of shares in addition to those offered through this
Prospectus. You may be eligible to invest
in one or more of these other classes of shares. Each share class bears varying
expenses and may differ in other features.
Consult your financial professional for more information regarding a Fund’s
available share classes.
The
information in this Prospectus is not intended for distribution to, or use by,
any person or entity in any non-U.S. jurisdiction
or country where such distribution or use would be contrary to any law or
regulation, or which would subject
Fund shares to any registration requirement within such jurisdiction or
country.
Share
Class Features
The
table below summarizes the key features of the share class offered through this
Prospectus.
|
| |
|
Administrator
Class |
Front-End
Sales Charge |
|
None |
Contingent
Deferred Sales Charge (“CDSC”) |
|
None |
Ongoing
Distribution (“12b-1”) Fees |
|
None |
Shareholder
Servicing Fee |
|
0.25% |
Information
regarding sales charges, breakpoint levels, reductions and waivers is also
available free of charge on our website
at www.allspringglobal.com.
You may wish to discuss your choice of share class with your financial