The Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund seeks long-term growth of capital.

The following table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in shares of this Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

 

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that you reinvest all dividends and distributions, that your investment has a 5% return each year, and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on those assumptions, your costs would be:

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 90% of the average value of its portfolio.

The Fund may invest in any company whose securities are listed on a U.S. national securities exchange, including through American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), which are U.S. dollar-denominated securities of foreign issuers listed on U.S. national securities exchanges.  The Fund invests in growth-oriented common stocks by utilizing a quantitative formula known as the Cornerstone Growth Strategy (the “Growth Strategy”). From the investable common stocks of public companies in the S&P Capital IQ Database with market capitalizations exceeding $175 million, the Growth Strategy identifies the 50 common stocks with the highest one-year price appreciation as of the date of purchase that also meet the following criteria:

The Fund purchases these 50 stocks weighted equally by dollar amount, with 2% of the portfolio’s assets invested in each. Using the Growth Strategy, the universe of stocks is re-screened and the portfolio is rebalanced annually, generally in the winter. Stocks meeting the Growth Strategy’s criteria not currently in the portfolio are purchased, and stocks that no longer meet the criteria are sold. Holdings of all stocks in the Fund that continue to meet the criteria are appropriately increased or decreased to result in an equal 2% weighting.

As of January 31, 2024, the average and median market capitalizations of the stocks held by the Fund were $15.7 billion and $4.2 billion, respectively.

Formula Investing Risk: The Fund will adhere to the Growth Strategy during the course of the year, subject to applicable Securities and Exchange Commission requirements and federal tax requirements relating to mutual funds, regardless of any adverse developments that may arise. This could result in substantial losses to the Fund if, for example, the stocks selected for the Fund in a given year are experiencing financial difficulty or are out of favor with investors.

Growth and Value Investing Risk: Growth and value securities may perform differently from the market as a whole and may fall out of favor with investors at times. Growth securities typically are very sensitive to market movements because their market prices tend to reflect future expectations. When it appears those expectations will not be met, the prices of growth securities typically fall. Value securities may remain undervalued, their undervaluation may become more severe, or their perceived undervaluation may actually represent their intrinsic value.

Small-Sized and Medium-Sized Companies Risk: The Fund invests in small-sized and medium-sized companies, which may have more limited liquidity and greater price volatility than larger, more established companies. Smaller companies may have limited product lines, markets, and financial resources, and their management may be dependent on fewer key individuals.

Industry Concentration Risk: From time to time, the Fund may concentrate its investments in one or more industry sectors. The industries in which the Fund concentrates its investments at any given time are solely the result of the Growth Formula and may change significantly when the Fund is rebalanced. The Fund is currently substantially invested in the Energy and Industrials sectors, and its performance is therefore tied closely to, and affected by, developments in these industries. Companies in the Energy sector may be adversely affected by fluctuations in commodity prices, reduced supply or demand of energy commodities, the disruption of energy supplies transported on interstate pipelines, depletion of reserves, extreme weather or environmental hazards, accidents or other operating issues, changes in the regulatory environment, slowdowns in new construction, rising interest rates, and terrorist threats on energy assets. Companies in the Industrials sector may be adversely affected by changes in the supply of and demand for products and services, product obsolescence, environmental liabilities, and product liability.

High Portfolio Turnover Risk:  High portfolio turnover will produce higher transaction costs (such as brokerage commissions and dealer markups) that the Fund must pay, thus reducing the Fund’s performance. High portfolio turnover may also result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account.

Foreign Securities Risk: The Fund may invest in foreign companies (i) whose securities are listed on U.S. national securities exchanges or (ii) through ADRs. There are specific risks associated with investing in foreign companies not typically associated with investing in domestic companies. Risks include the possibility of substantial price volatility or reduced liquidity as a result of political and economic instability or policy and legislative changes in the foreign country and reduced earnings potential due to significantly higher levels of taxation than U.S. companies, including potentially confiscatory levels of taxation. In addition, ADRs may not track the price of the underlying foreign securities on which they are based, and their value may change materially at times when U.S. markets are not open for trading.

Market and Equity Investments Risk: The market value of a security may move up or down, and these fluctuations may cause a security to be worth more or less than the price originally paid for it. Market risk may affect a single company, an industry, a sector of the economy, or the market as a whole.  The value of equity securities fluctuate due to many factors, including the past and predicted earnings of the issuer, the quality of the issuer’s management, general market conditions, political and other events, forecasts for the issuer’s industry, and the value of the issuer’s assets.

Tax Law Change Risk:  Tax law is subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect, or to different interpretations. For example, tax legislation enacted in 2017 (the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) resulted in fundamental changes to the Internal Revenue Code (some of which are set to expire in 2025). More recently, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 added a 15% alternative minimum tax on large corporations and a 1% excise tax on repurchases of stock by publicly traded corporations and certain affiliates. Such legislation, as well as possible future U.S. tax legislation and administrative guidance, could materially affect the value of or tax consequences of your investment in the Fund. Prospective shareholders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the impact to them of possible changes in tax laws.

The following performance information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in its performance from year to year and how the Fund’s average annual returns for one, five, and ten years compare with those of indices that reflect broad measures of market performance, the Russell 2000^® Index and the S&P 500^® Index. For additional information on these indices, please see “Descriptions of Indices” on page 68 of this Prospectus. The Fund is the successor to the Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund, a series of Hennessy Mutual Funds, Inc. (the “Predecessor Growth Fund”). The performance information provided for the periods on or prior to February 28, 2014, is historical information for the Predecessor Growth Fund, which had the same investment adviser and the same investment objective and investment strategy as the Fund. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of future performance. Performance may be higher or lower in the future. Updated performance information is available at www.hennessyfunds.com.

For the period shown in the bar chart, the Fund’s highest quarterly return was 36.11% for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, and the lowest quarterly return was -39.27% for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

 

Performance of the Fund’s Institutional Class shares differs from that of the Fund’s Investor Class shares because the share classes have different expenses.

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS

(for the periods ended December 31, 2023)

 

The after-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual stated federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an individual investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns are shown for Investor Class shares only, and after-tax returns for Institutional Class shares will vary.

The Hennessy Focus Fund seeks capital appreciation.

The following table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in shares of this Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that you reinvest all dividends and distributions, that your investment has a 5% return each year, and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on those assumptions, your costs would be:

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 12% of the average value of its portfolio.

The Fund invests in (i) domestic companies whose securities are listed on U.S. national securities exchanges, (ii) foreign companies listed on U.S. national securities exchanges, (iii) foreign companies through American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), which are U.S. dollar-denominated securities of foreign issuers listed on U.S. national securities exchanges, and (iv) foreign companies traded on foreign exchanges. Investments consist primarily of common stocks. As a non-principal investment strategy, the Fund may also invest in securities such as preferred stocks, warrants, equity-like instruments, and debt instruments. The Fund invests without regard to market capitalization.

The Portfolio Managers implement the Fund’s strategy through a concentrated portfolio of approximately 25 companies that the Portfolio Managers believe are high-quality businesses with large growth opportunities, excellent management, low tail risk, and discount valuations. The Fund’s holdings are conviction-weighted with the top ten positions comprising approximately 60-80% of the Fund’s assets. Once a potential investment is identified, the Portfolio Managers attempt to purchase shares at a price they believe represents a discount to a conservative estimate of the company’s intrinsic value. Generally, the Portfolio Managers may sell a business for a variety of reasons, including (i) source of funds for what they believe is a superior investment idea, (ii) adverse change in their assessment of a business’s quality, growth, or management, (iii) valuation, or (iv) risk management at the company or portfolio level.

The Fund may from time to time hold a significant portion of its portfolio in cash or cash equivalents.  If market conditions reduce the availability of securities with acceptable valuations, the Fund may hold larger than usual cash reserves for extended periods until securities with acceptable valuations become available.

Non-Diversification Risk:  The Fund is non-diversified under the Investment Company Act and employs a concentrated investment strategy. Accordingly, the Fund typically invests a greater portion of its assets in, and its performance may be affected by, a smaller

number of issuers than if it were a diversified, less concentrated fund. Further, the Fund may experience greater losses as a result of a single issuer’s unfavorable market or economic conditions or other adverse developments impacting the market value of the issuer’s securities.  As of January 31, 2024, approximately 63% of the Fund’s assets were invested in its top 10 holdings.

Industry Concentration Risk: From time to time, the Fund may concentrate its investments in one or more industry sectors. The Fund is currently substantially invested in the Consumer Discretionary, Financials, and Industrials sectors, and its performance is therefore tied closely to, and affected by, developments in these industries. Companies in the Consumer Discretionary sector may be affected by commodity price volatility, consumer preferences, competition, changing demographics, and labor relations. These companies depend heavily on disposable household income and consumer spending, and social trends and marketing campaigns may significantly affect demand for their products. Consumer discretionary companies may also lose value more quickly in periods of economic downturns because their products are viewed as nonessential luxury items. Companies in the Financials sector may be adversely affected by changes in the regulatory environment, interest rate fluctuations, and other factors. Finally, companies in the Industrials sector may be adversely affected by changes in the supply of and demand for products and services, product obsolescence, environmental liabilities, and product liability.

Real Estate Investment Risk: The Fund invests in real estate investments, including real estate investment trusts (REITs), and is therefore subject to risks associated with the real estate market.  Real estate investments are particularly susceptible to economic downturns, changes in regulations, and fluctuating interest rates.

Small-Sized and Medium-Sized Companies Risk:  The Fund invests in small-sized and medium-sized companies, which may have more limited liquidity and greater price volatility than larger, more established companies. Smaller companies may have limited product lines, markets, and financial resources, and their management may be dependent on fewer key individuals.

Foreign Securities Risk: The Fund may invest in foreign companies (i) whose securities are listed on U.S. national securities exchanges or (ii) through ADRs. There are specific risks associated with investing in foreign companies not typically associated with investing in domestic companies. Risks include the possibility of substantial price volatility or reduced liquidity as a result of political and economic instability or policy and legislative changes in the foreign country and reduced earnings potential due to significantly higher levels of taxation than U.S. companies, including potentially confiscatory levels of taxation. In addition, ADRs may not track the price of the underlying foreign securities on which they are based, and their value may change materially at times when U.S. markets are not open for trading.

Market and Equity Investments Risk: The market value of a security may move up or down, and these fluctuations may cause a security to be worth more or less than the price originally paid for it. Market risk may affect a single company, an industry, a sector of the economy, or the market as a whole. The value of equity securities fluctuate due to many factors, including the past and predicted earnings of the issuer, the quality of the issuer’s management, general market conditions, political and other events, forecasts for the issuer’s industry, and the value of the issuer’s assets.

Tax Law Change Risk:  Tax law is subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect, or to different interpretations. For example, tax legislation enacted in 2017 (the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) resulted in fundamental changes to the Internal Revenue Code (some of which are set to expire in 2025). More recently, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 added a 15% alternative minimum tax on large corporations and a 1% excise tax on repurchases of stock by publicly traded corporations and certain affiliates. Such legislation, as well as possible future U.S. tax legislation and administrative guidance, could materially affect the value of or tax consequences of your investment in the Fund. Prospective shareholders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the impact to them of possible changes in tax laws.

Temporary Defensive Positions Risk:  From time to time, the Fund may take temporary defensive positions in response to adverse market, economic, or political conditions.  To the extent the assets of the Fund are invested in temporary defensive positions, the Fund may not achieve its investment objective.  For temporary defensive purposes, the Fund may invest in cash or short-term obligations.

The following performance information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in its performance from year to year and how the Fund’s average annual returns for one, five, and ten years compare with those of an index that reflects a broad measure of market performance, the Russell 3000^® Index, as well as an additional index that includes securities with market capitalizations and certain other attributes similar to the average market capitalization and attributes of the securities in which the Fund invests, the Russell Midcap^® Growth Index. For additional information on these indices, please see “Descriptions of Indices” on page 68 of this Prospectus.  The

Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of future performance.  Updated performance information is available at www.hennessyfunds.com.

For the period shown in the bar chart, the Fund’s highest quarterly return was 29.66% for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, and the lowest quarterly return was -30.24% for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

 

Performance of the Fund’s Institutional Class shares differs from that of the Fund’s Investor Class shares because the share classes have different expenses and inception dates.

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS

(for the periods ended December 31, 2023)

 

The after-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual stated federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an individual investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.  After-tax returns are shown for Investor Class shares only, and after-tax returns for Institutional Class shares will vary. The Fund’s “return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares” may be higher than its “return after taxes on distributions” because it may include a tax benefit due to the capital losses generated by the sale of Fund shares.

The Hennessy Cornerstone Mid Cap 30 Fund seeks long-term growth of capital.

The following table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in shares of this Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that you reinvest all dividends and distributions, that your investment has a 5% return each year, and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on those assumptions, your costs would be:

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 120% of the average value of its portfolio.

The Fund may invest in any company whose securities are listed on a U.S. national securities exchange, but not through American Depositary Receipts, which are U.S. dollar-denominated securities of foreign issuers listed on U.S. national securities exchanges. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in mid-cap growth-oriented common stocks by utilizing a quantitative formula known as the Cornerstone Mid Cap 30 Formula (the “Mid Cap 30 Formula”). From the investable common stocks of public companies in the S&P Capital IQ Database with market capitalizations between $1 billion and $10 billion, the Mid Cap 30 Formula identifies the 30 common stocks with the highest one-year price appreciation as of the date of purchase that also meet the following criteria:

The Fund purchases these 30 stocks weighted equally by dollar amount, with 3.33% of the portfolio’s assets invested in each. Using the Mid Cap 30 Formula, the universe of stocks is re-screened and the portfolio is rebalanced annually, generally in the fall. Stocks meeting the Mid Cap 30 Formula’s criteria not currently in the portfolio are purchased, and stocks that no longer meet the criteria are sold. Holdings of all stocks in the Fund that continue to meet the criteria are appropriately increased or decreased to result in an equal 3.33% weighting.

Formula Investing Risk: The Fund will adhere to the Mid Cap 30 Formula during the course of the year, subject to applicable Securities and Exchange Commission requirements and federal tax requirements relating to mutual funds, regardless of any adverse developments that may arise. This could result in substantial losses to the Fund if, for example, the stocks selected for the Fund in a given year are experiencing financial difficulty or are out of favor with investors.

Growth and Value Investing Risk: Growth and value securities may perform differently from the market as a whole and may fall out of favor with investors at times. Growth securities typically are very sensitive to market movements because their market prices tend to reflect future expectations. When it appears those expectations will not be met, the prices of growth securities typically fall. Value securities may remain undervalued, their undervaluation may become more severe, or their perceived undervaluation may actually represent their intrinsic value.

Small-Sized and Medium-Sized Companies Risk: The Fund invests in small-sized and medium-sized companies, which may have more limited liquidity and greater price volatility than larger, more established companies.  Smaller companies may have limited product lines, markets, and financial resources, and their management may be dependent on fewer key individuals.

Industry Concentration Risk: From time to time, the Fund may concentrate its investments in one or more industry sectors. The industries in which the Fund concentrates its investments at any given time are solely the result of the Mid Cap 30 Formula and may change significantly when the Fund is rebalanced. The Fund is currently substantially invested in the Consumer Discretionary, Energy, and Industrials sectors, and its performance is therefore tied closely to, and affected by, developments in these industries. Companies in the Consumer Discretionary sector may be affected by commodity price volatility, consumer preferences, competition, changing demographics, and labor relations. These companies depend heavily on disposable household income and consumer spending, and social trends and marketing campaigns may significantly affect demand for their products. Consumer discretionary companies may also lose value more quickly in periods of economic downturns because their products are viewed as nonessential luxury items. Companies in the Energy sector may be adversely affected by fluctuations in commodity prices, reduced supply or demand of energy commodities, the disruption of energy supplies transported on interstate pipelines, depletion of reserves, extreme weather or environmental hazards, accidents or other operating issues, changes in the regulatory environment, slowdowns in new construction, rising interest rates, and terrorist threats on energy assets. Finally, companies in the Industrials sector may be adversely affected by changes in the supply of and demand for products and services, product obsolescence, environmental liabilities, and product liability.

High Portfolio Turnover Risk:  High portfolio turnover will produce higher transaction costs (such as brokerage commissions and dealer markups) that the Fund must pay, thus reducing the Fund’s performance. High portfolio turnover may also result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account.

Market and Equity Investments Risk: The market value of a security may move up or down, and these fluctuations may cause a security to be worth more or less than the price originally paid for it. Market risk may affect a single company, an industry, a sector of the economy, or the market as a whole. The value of equity securities fluctuate due to many factors, including the past and predicted earnings of the issuer, the quality of the issuer’s management, general market conditions, political and other events, forecasts for the issuer’s industry, and the value of the issuer’s assets.

Tax Law Change Risk:  Tax law is subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect, or to different interpretations. For example, tax legislation enacted in 2017 (the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) resulted in fundamental changes to the Internal Revenue Code (some of which are set to expire in 2025). More recently, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 added a 15% alternative minimum tax on large corporations and a 1% excise tax on repurchases of stock by publicly traded corporations and certain affiliates. Such legislation, as well as possible future U.S. tax legislation and administrative guidance, could materially affect the value of or tax consequences of your investment in the Fund. Prospective shareholders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the impact to them of possible changes in tax laws.

The following performance information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing its performance from year to year and how the Fund’s average annual returns for one, five, and ten years compare with those of an index that reflects a broad measure of market performance, the S&P 500^® Index, as well as an additional index that reflects the types of securities in which the Fund invests, the Russell Midcap^® Index. For additional information on these indices, please see “Descriptions of Indices” on page 68 of this Prospectus. The Fund is the successor to the Hennessy Cornerstone Mid Cap 30 Fund, a series of Hennessy Mutual Funds, Inc. (the “Predecessor Mid Cap 30 Fund”). The

performance information provided for the periods on or prior to February 28, 2014, is historical information for the Predecessor Mid Cap 30 Fund, which was managed by the same investment adviser and had the same investment objective and investment strategy as the Fund. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of future performance. Performance may be higher or lower in the future. Updated performance information is available at www.hennessyfunds.com.

For the period shown in the bar chart, the Fund’s highest quarterly return was 37.39% for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, and the lowest quarterly return was -37.29% for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

 

Performance of the Fund’s Institutional Class shares differs from that of the Fund’s Investor Class shares because the share classes have different expenses and inception dates.

(for the periods ended December 31, 2023)

 

The after-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual stated federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an individual investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns are shown for Investor Class shares only, and after-tax returns for Institutional Class shares will vary.

The Hennessy Cornerstone Large Growth Fund seeks long-term growth of capital.

The following table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in shares of this Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that you reinvest all dividends and distributions, that your investment has a 5% return each year, and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on those assumptions, your costs would be:

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 53% of the average value of its portfolio.

The Fund may invest in any company whose securities are listed on a U.S. national securities exchange, but not through American Depositary Receipts, which are U.S. dollar-denominated securities of foreign issuers listed on U.S. national securities exchanges. The Fund invests in growth-oriented common stocks of larger companies by utilizing a quantitative formula known as the Cornerstone Large Growth Formula (the “Large Growth Formula”). Beginning with the investable common stocks of public companies in the S&P Capital IQ Database, the Large Growth Formula identifies the 50 common stocks that meet the following criteria, in the specified order:

The Fund purchases these 50 stocks weighted equally by dollar amount, with 2% of the portfolio’s assets invested in each.  Using the Large Growth Formula, the universe of stocks is re-screened and the portfolio is rebalanced annually, generally in the winter.  Stocks meeting the Large Growth Formula’s criteria not currently in the portfolio are purchased, and stocks that no longer meet the criteria are sold.  Holdings of all stocks in the Fund that continue to meet the criteria are appropriately increased or decreased to result in an equal 2% weighting.

Formula Investing Risk: The Fund will adhere to the Large Growth Formula during the course of the year, subject to applicable Securities and Exchange Commission requirements and federal tax requirements relating to mutual funds, regardless of any adverse developments that may arise. This could result in substantial losses to the Fund if, for example, the stocks selected for the Fund in a given year are experiencing financial difficulty or are out of favor with investors.

Growth and Value Investing Risk: Growth and value securities may perform differently from the market as a whole and may fall out of favor with investors at times. Growth securities typically are very sensitive to market movements because their market prices tend to reflect future expectations. When it appears those expectations will not be met, the prices of growth securities typically fall. Value securities may remain undervalued, their undervaluation may become more severe, or their perceived undervaluation may actually represent their intrinsic value.

Medium-Sized Company Risk: The Fund may invest in medium-sized companies, which may have more limited liquidity and greater price volatility than larger, more established companies.

Market and Equity Investments Risk: The market value of a security may move up or down, and these fluctuations may cause a security to be worth more or less than the price originally paid for it. Market risk may affect a single company, an industry, a sector of the economy, or the market as a whole. The value of equity securities fluctuate due to many factors, including the past and predicted earnings of the issuer, the quality of the issuer’s management, general market conditions, political and other events, forecasts for the issuer’s industry, and the value of the issuer’s assets.

Tax Law Change Risk:  Tax law is subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect, or to different interpretations. For example, tax legislation enacted in 2017 (the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) resulted in fundamental changes to the Internal Revenue Code (some of which are set to expire in 2025). More recently, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 added a 15% alternative minimum tax on large corporations and a 1% excise tax on repurchases of stock by publicly traded corporations and certain affiliates. Such legislation, as well as possible future U.S. tax legislation and administrative guidance, could materially affect the value of or tax consequences of your investment in the Fund. Prospective shareholders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the impact to them of possible changes in tax laws.

The following performance information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in its performance from year to year and how the Fund’s average annual returns for one, five, and ten years compare with those of indices that reflect broad measures of market performance, the Russell 1000^® Index and the S&P 500^® Index. For additional information on these indices, please see “Descriptions of Indices” on page 68 of this Prospectus. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of future performance. Performance may be higher or lower in the future. Updated performance information is available at www.hennessyfunds.com.

For the period shown in the bar chart, the Fund’s highest quarterly return was 22.43% for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, and the lowest quarterly return was -28.85% for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

 

Performance of the Fund’s Institutional Class shares differs from that of the Fund’s Investor Class shares because the share classes have different expenses.

(for the periods ended December 31, 2023)

The after-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual stated federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an individual investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns are shown for Investor Class shares only, and after-tax returns for Institutional Class shares will vary. The Fund’s “return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares” may be higher than its “return after taxes on distributions” because it may include a tax benefit due to the capital losses generated by the sale of Fund shares.

The Hennessy Cornerstone Value Fund seeks total return, consisting of capital appreciation and current income.

The following table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in shares of this Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that you reinvest all dividends and distributions, that your investment has a 5% return each year, and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on those assumptions, your costs would be:

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 31% of the average value of its portfolio.

The Fund may invest in any company whose securities are listed on a U.S. national securities exchange, including through American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), which are U.S. dollar-denominated securities of foreign issuers listed on U.S. national securities exchanges. The Fund invests in larger, dividend-paying common stocks by utilizing a quantitative formula known as the Cornerstone Value Strategy (the “Value Strategy”). From the investable common stocks of public companies in the S&P Capital IQ Database, the Value Strategy identifies the 50 common stocks with the highest dividend yield as of the date of purchase that also meet the following criteria:

The Fund purchases these 50 stocks weighted equally by dollar amount, with 2% of the portfolio’s assets invested in each. Using the Value Strategy, the universe of stocks is re-screened and the portfolio is rebalanced annually, generally in the winter. Stocks meeting the Value Strategy’s criteria not currently in the portfolio are purchased, and stocks that no longer meet the criteria are sold. Holdings of all stocks in the Fund that continue to meet the criteria are appropriately increased or decreased to result in an equal 2% weighting.

As of January 31, 2024, the average and median market capitalizations of the stocks held by the Fund were $151.3 billion and $126.4 billion, respectively.

Formula Investing Risk: The Fund will adhere to the Value Strategy during the course of the year, subject to applicable Securities and Exchange Commission requirements and federal

tax requirements relating to mutual funds, regardless of any adverse developments that may arise. This could result in substantial losses to the Fund if, for example, the stocks selected for the Fund’s portfolio in a given year are experiencing financial difficulty or are out of favor with investors.

Value Investing Risk:  Value securities may perform differently from the market as a whole and may fall out of favor with investors at times. Value securities may remain undervalued, their undervaluation may become more severe, or their perceived undervaluation may actually represent their intrinsic value.

Medium-Sized Companies Risk: The Fund may invest in medium-sized companies, which may have more limited liquidity and greater price volatility than larger, more established companies.

Industry Concentration Risk: From time to time, the Fund may concentrate its investments in one or more industry sectors. The industries in which the Fund concentrates its investments at any given time are solely the result of the Value Strategy and may change significantly when the Fund is rebalanced. The Fund is currently substantially invested in the Energy, Financials, and Health Care sectors, and its performance is therefore tied closely to, and affected by, developments in these industries.  Companies in the Energy sector may be adversely affected by fluctuations in commodity prices, reduced supply or demand of energy commodities, the disruption of energy supplies transported on interstate pipelines, depletion of reserves, extreme weather or environmental hazards, accidents or other operating issues, changes in the regulatory environment, slowdowns in new construction, rising interest rates, and terrorist threats on energy assets. Companies in the Financials sector may be adversely affected by changes in the regulatory environment, interest rate changes, and other factors. Finally, companies in the Health Care sector are subject to extensive government regulation and can be significantly affected by government reimbursement for medical expenses, rising costs of medical products and services, pricing pressure, and an increased emphasis on outpatient services.

Foreign Securities Risk: The Fund may invest in foreign companies (i) whose securities are listed on U.S. national securities exchanges or (ii) through ADRs. There are specific risks associated with investing in foreign companies not typically associated with investing in domestic companies. Risks include the possibility of substantial price volatility or reduced liquidity as a result of political and economic instability or policy and legislative changes in the foreign country and reduced earnings potential due to significantly higher levels of taxation than U.S. companies, including potentially confiscatory levels of taxation. In addition, ADRs may not track the price of the underlying foreign securities on which they are based, and their value may change materially at times when U.S. markets are not open for trading.

Market and Equity Investments Risk: The market value of a security may move up or down, and these fluctuations may cause a security to be worth more or less than the price originally paid for it. Market risk may affect a single company, an industry, a sector of the economy, or the market as a whole. The value of equity securities fluctuate due to many factors, including the past and predicted earnings of the issuer, the quality of the issuer’s management, general market conditions, political and other events, forecasts for the issuer’s industry, and the value of the issuer’s assets.

Tax Law Change Risk: Tax law is subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect, or to different interpretations. For example, tax legislation enacted in 2017 (the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) resulted in fundamental changes to the Internal Revenue Code (some of which are set to expire in 2025). More recently, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 added a 15% alternative minimum tax on large corporations and a 1% excise tax on repurchases of stock by publicly traded corporations and certain affiliates. Such legislation, as well as possible future U.S. tax legislation and administrative guidance, could materially affect the value of or tax consequences of your investment in the Fund. Prospective shareholders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the impact to them of possible changes in tax laws.

The following performance information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in its performance from year to year and how the Fund’s average annual returns for one, five, and ten years compare with those of an index that reflects a broad measure of market performance, the S&P 500^® Index, as well as an additional index that reflects the types of securities in which the Fund invests, the Russell 1000^® Value Index. For additional information on these indices, please see “Descriptions of Indices” on page 68 of this Prospectus. The Fund is the successor to the Hennessy Cornerstone Value Fund, a series of Hennessy Mutual Funds, Inc. (the “Predecessor Value Fund”). The performance information provided for the periods on or prior to February 28, 2014, is historical information for the Predecessor Value Fund, which was managed by the same investment adviser and had the same investment objective and investment strategy as the Fund. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of future performance. Performance may be higher or lower in the future. Updated performance information is available at www.hennessyfunds.com.

For the period shown in the bar chart, the Fund’s highest quarterly return was 16.26% for the quarter ended December 31, 2022, and the lowest quarterly return was -28.40% for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

 

Performance of the Fund’s Institutional Class shares differs from that of the Fund’s Investor Class shares because the share classes have different expenses and inception dates.

(for the periods ended December 31, 2023)

 

The after-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual stated federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an individual investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns are shown for Investor Class shares only, and after-tax returns for Institutional Class shares will vary.

The Hennessy Total Return Fund seeks total return, consisting of capital appreciation and current income.

The following table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in shares of this Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that you reinvest all dividends and distributions, that your investment has a 5% return each year, and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on the assumptions, your costs would be:

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 36% of the average value of its portfolio.

The Fund invests in the 10 highest dividend-yielding Dow Jones Industrial Average (“DJIA”) stocks (known as the “Dogs of the Dow”) and in U.S. Treasury securities with a maturity of less than one year.

The Fund invests approximately 50% of its assets in the 10 Dogs of the Dow stocks in roughly equal dollar amounts and approximately 50% of its assets in U.S. Treasury securities with a maturity of less than one year. The Fund then utilizes a borrowing strategy that allows the Fund’s performance to approximate what it would be if the Fund had an asset allocation of roughly 75% Dogs of the Dow stocks and 25% U.S. Treasury securities. The Fund typically borrows money by entering into reverse repurchase agreements secured by its portfolio of U.S. Treasury securities.

The total portfolio is divided into multiple sub-portfolios, each of which uses the Dogs of the Dow strategy. On various dates throughout the year, each of these sub-portfolios is reviewed. In a review, the Investment Manager determines the 10 highest yielding common stocks in the DJIA by annualizing the last quarterly or semi-annual ordinary dividend declared on each stock and dividing the result by the market value of that stock. The Fund then purchases those stocks in approximately equal amounts for the sub-portfolio being reviewed. From time to time, the Fund also may purchase an approximately equal amount of U.S. Treasury securities having a remaining maturity of less than one year for the sub-portfolio being reviewed. On the next date, another sub-portfolio is reviewed in a similar manner.

Regardless of whether they remain in the DJIA or retain the characteristics of Dogs of the Dow Stocks, the Fund generally holds the stock investments within each sub-portfolio for one year, at which time the applicable sub-portfolio is up for another review.  At the end of the one-year period, the Fund sells any stocks in the applicable sub-portfolio that are no longer Dogs of the Dow stocks and replaces them with stocks that are Dogs of the Dow stocks. Additionally, the Fund may sell a portion of the stocks that remain in the applicable sub-portfolio so that the rebalanced portion of the sub-portfolio adheres to the Fund’s asset allocation strategy.

Borrowing Risk: The Fund borrows against its investments by entering into reverse repurchase agreements secured by its portfolio of U.S. Treasury securities. Purchasing U.S. Treasury securities with borrowed money is an investment technique that increases investment risk because if the securities purchased with borrowed money decline in value, the Fund’s losses would be greater than if it had used cash to make purchases. Also, the Fund incurs interest costs when it borrows money, and these costs may exceed the investment returns it earns on the securities purchased with borrowed money. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the buyer of the securities sold by the Fund might be unable to deliver them when the Fund seeks to repurchase.  If the buyer of securities under a reverse repurchase agreement files for bankruptcy or becomes insolvent, the buyer, trustee, or receiver may receive an extension of time to determine whether to enforce the Fund’s obligation to repurchase the securities, and the Fund’s use of the proceeds from the reverse repurchase agreement may effectively be restricted pending such decision.

Formula Investing Risk: The Fund will adhere to its strategy during the course of the year, subject to applicable Securities and Exchange Commission requirements and federal tax requirements relating to mutual funds, regardless of any adverse developments that may arise. This could result in substantial losses to the Fund if, for example, the stocks selected for the Fund’s portfolio in a given year are experiencing financial difficulty or are out of favor with investors.

Non-Diversification Risk: The Fund is non-diversified under the Investment Company Act. Accordingly, the Fund typically invests a greater portion of its assets in, and its performance may be affected by, a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. Further, the Fund may experience greater losses as a result of a single issuer’s unfavorable market or economic conditions or other adverse developments impacting the market value of the issuer’s securities.

Market and Equity Investments Risk: The market value of a security may move up or down, and these fluctuations may cause a security to be worth more or less than the price originally paid for it. Market risk may affect a single company, an industry, a sector of the economy, or the market as a whole. The value of equity securities fluctuate due to many factors, including the past and predicted earnings of the issuer, the quality of the issuer’s management, general market conditions, political and other events, forecasts for the issuer’s industry, and the value of the issuer’s assets.

Tax Law Change Risk: Tax law is subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect, or to different interpretations. For example, tax legislation enacted in 2017 (the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) resulted in fundamental changes to the Internal Revenue Code (some of which are set to expire in 2025). More recently, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 added a 15% alternative minimum tax on large corporations and a 1% excise tax on repurchases of stock by publicly traded corporations and certain affiliates. Such legislation, as well as possible future U.S. tax legislation and administrative guidance, could materially affect the value of or tax consequences of your investment in the Fund. Prospective shareholders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the impact to them of possible changes in tax laws.

The following performance information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Hennessy Total Return Fund by showing changes in its performance from year to year and how the Fund’s average annual returns for one, five, and ten years compare with those of an index that reflects a broad measure of market performance, the DJIA, as well as an additional index that reflects the types of securities in which the Fund invests, the 75/25 Blended DJIA/Treasury Index (which consists of 75% common stocks represented by the DJIA and 25% short-duration Treasury securities represented by the ICE BofAML U.S. 3-Month Treasury Bill Index). For additional information on these indices, please see “Descriptions of Indices” on page 68 of this Prospectus. The Fund is the successor to the Hennessy Total Return Fund, a series of The Hennessy Funds, Inc. (the “Predecessor Total Return Fund”). The performance information provided for the periods on or prior to February 28, 2014, is historical information for the Predecessor Total Return Fund, which was managed by the same investment adviser and had the same investment objective and investment strategy as the Fund. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of future performance. Performance may be higher or lower in the future. Updated performance information is available at www.hennessyfunds.com.

For the period shown on the bar chart, the Fund’s highest quarterly return was 12.66% for the quarter ended December 31, 2022, and the lowest quarterly return was -17.87% for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

(for the periods ended December 31, 2023)

 

The after-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual stated federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an individual investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. The Fund’s “return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares” may be higher than its “return after taxes on distributions” because it may include a tax benefit due to the capital losses generated by the sale of Fund shares.

The Hennessy Equity and Income Fund seeks long-term capital growth and current income.

 

The following table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in shares of the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that you reinvest all dividends and distributions, that your investment has a 5% return each year, and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same.  Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on those assumptions, your costs would be:

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 11% of the average value of its portfolio.

The Fund is designed as a balanced fund that seeks income and long-term capital appreciation with reduced volatility of returns.  The Portfolio Managers’ approach places a focus on seeking downside protection.  Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest up to 70% of its assets in equity securities and its remaining assets in fixed income securities.

The Fund invests primarily in domestic companies whose securities are listed on U.S. national securities exchanges. The Fund may also invest in (i) foreign companies listed on U.S. national securities exchanges and (ii) foreign companies through American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), which are U.S. dollar-denominated securities of foreign issuers listed on U.S. national securities exchanges. Investments consist primarily of common stocks, asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities, and debt instruments. As a non-principal investment strategy, the Fund may also invest in preferred stocks, equity-like instruments, and high-yield bonds (commonly referred to as “junk bonds”). The Fund may invest directly in fixed income securities or it may invest indirectly in fixed income securities by investing in other investment companies (including exchange-traded funds, referred to as ETFs) that invest in fixed income securities.  The Fund invests without regard to market capitalization.

 

EQUITY ALLOCATION

The equity Portfolio Managers utilize a fundamental, value-oriented investment approach, focusing on larger, high-quality companies with demonstrated market dominance, low business risk, and solid long-term growth prospects.  In choosing which securities to purchase, the equity Portfolio Managers give consideration to companies that have shareholder-oriented management, with a history of alignment with shareholder interests through stock incentives, insider buying, and corporate stock buybacks.  Many of the stocks held by the Fund are expected to pay dividends.  Generally, the equity Portfolio Managers may choose to sell a position if it begins to have a significant negative effect on total portfolio value, if they believe it has reached an excessive valuation level, when the company’s fundamentals deteriorate, or when a more attractive candidate is identified through the screening process.

 

FIXED INCOME ALLOCATION

The fixed income Portfolio Managers focus on higher quality, intermediate-term fixed income securities, but they may invest up to 10% of the Fund’s assets in junk bonds.

The fixed income Portfolio Managers continuously analyze and assess the variables that influence bond prices. They use this proprietary approach, which combines economic data and technical factors, to evaluate the probability of interest rate movements in order to manage the duration of the portfolio in an effort to mitigate downside risk and maximize total return.  They purchase and sell securities in accordance with these principles to meet previously identified sector allocations, duration targets, and curve strategies for the fixed income allocation of the Fund.

As of January 31, 2024, the bonds and cash equivalents held in the fixed income allocation of the Fund had a dollar-weighted average effective maturity of 4.24 years.

Debt Investments Risk:  The yields and principal values of debt securities fluctuate. Generally, values of debt securities change inversely with interest rates.  That is, as interest rates go up, the values of debt securities tend to go down and vice versa.  These fluctuations tend to increase in magnitude as a bond’s maturity increases such that a longer-term bond will increase or decrease more significantly with a given change in interest rates than a shorter-term bond.

Industry Concentration Risk: From time to time, the Fund may concentrate its investments in one or more industry sectors. The Fund is currently substantially invested in the Financials sector, and its performance is therefore tied closely to, and affected by, developments in this industry. Companies in the Financials sector may be adversely affected by changes in the regulatory environment, interest rate changes, and other factors.

Asset-Backed and Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk:  Asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities are subject to the risk that borrowers default on their loans and the risk that borrowers prepay some or all of the principal owed to the issuer, in each case causing the investments to fail to realize expected returns.

Foreign Securities Risk:  The Fund may invest in foreign companies (i) whose securities are listed on U.S. national securities exchanges or (ii) through ADRs. There are specific risks associated with investing in foreign companies not typically associated with investing in domestic companies. Risks include the possibility of substantial price volatility or reduced liquidity as a result of political and economic instability or policy and legislative changes in the foreign country and reduced earnings potential due to significantly higher levels of taxation than U.S. companies, including potentially confiscatory levels of taxation. In addition, ADRs may not track the price of the underlying foreign securities on which they are based, and their value may change materially at times when U.S. markets are not open for trading.

Investment Company Securities Risk:  When the Fund invests in another investment company (including an ETF), it will indirectly bear its proportionate share of any fees and expenses payable directly by the other investment company. Therefore, the Fund will incur higher expenses, many of which may be duplicative. In addition, the Fund may be affected by the other investment company’s losses and the level of risk arising from its investment practices (such as the use of leverage). The Fund has no control over the risks taken by the other investment company.

ETF Risk:  In addition to risks generally associated with investments in investment company securities, investments in ETFs are subject to the following additional risks that do not apply to non-ETFs: (i) an ETF’s shares may trade at a market price that is above or below their net asset value; (ii) an active trading market for an ETF’s shares may not develop or be maintained; (iii) the ETF may employ an investment strategy that utilizes high leverage ratios; and (iv) trading of an ETF’s shares may be halted if the listing exchange’s officials deem such action appropriate, the shares are de-listed from the exchange, or the activation of market-wide “circuit breakers” (which are tied to large decreases in stock prices) halts stock trading generally.

Market and Equity Investments Risk:  The market value of a security may move up or down, and these fluctuations may cause a security to be worth more or less than the price originally paid for it. Market risk may affect a single company, an industry, a sector of the economy, or the market as a whole. The value of equity securities fluctuate due to many factors, including the past and predicted earnings of the issuer, the quality of the issuer’s management, general market conditions, political and other events, forecasts for the issuer’s industry, and the value of the issuer’s assets.

Tax Law Change Risk:  Tax law is subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect, or to different interpretations. For example, tax legislation enacted in 2017 (the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) resulted in fundamental changes to the Internal Revenue Code (some of which are set to expire in 2025). More recently, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 added a 15% alternative minimum tax on large corporations and a 1% excise tax on repurchases of stock by publicly traded corporations and certain affiliates. Such legislation, as well as possible future U.S. tax legislation and administrative guidance, could materially affect the value of or tax consequences of your investment in the Fund. Prospective shareholders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the impact to them of possible changes in tax laws.

Temporary Defensive Positions Risk:  From time to time, the Fund may take temporary defensive positions in response to adverse market, economic, or political conditions.  To the extent the assets of the Fund are invested in temporary defensive positions, the Fund may not achieve its investment objective.  For temporary defensive purposes, the Fund may invest in cash or short-term obligations.

The following performance information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in its performance from year to year and how the Fund’s average annual returns for one, five, and ten years compare with an index that reflects a broad measure of market performance, the S&P 500® Index. For additional information on this index, please see “Descriptions of Indices” on page 68 of this Prospectus.  The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of future performance.  Performance may be higher or lower in the future.  Updated performance information is available at www.hennessyfunds.com.

For the period shown in the bar chart, the Fund’s highest quarterly return was 12.62% for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, and the lowest quarterly return was -14.79% for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

 

Performance of the Fund’s Institutional Class shares differs from that of the Fund’s Investor Class shares because the share classes have different expenses.

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS

(for the periods ended December 31, 2023)

The after-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual stated federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an individual investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns are shown for Investor Class shares only and after-tax returns for Institutional Class shares will vary. The Fund’s “return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares” may be higher than its “return after taxes on distributions” because it may include a tax benefit due to the capital losses generated by the sale of Fund shares.

The Hennessy Balanced Fund seeks a combination of capital appreciation and current income.

The following table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in shares of this Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that you reinvest all dividends and distributions, that your investment has a 5% return each year, and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on those assumptions, your costs would be:

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 22% of the average value of its portfolio.

The Fund invests approximately 50% of its assets in roughly equal dollar amounts in the 10 highest dividend-yielding Dow Jones Industrial Average (“DJIA”) stocks (known as the “Dogs of the Dow”), but limits exposure to market risk and volatility by investing approximately 50% of its assets in U.S. Treasury securities with a maturity of less than one year.

The total portfolio is divided into multiple sub-portfolios, each of which uses the Dogs of the Dow strategy. On various dates throughout the year, each of these sub-portfolios is reviewed. During the review, the Investment Manager determines the 10 highest yielding common stocks in the DJIA by annualizing the last quarterly or semi-annual ordinary dividend declared on each stock and dividing the result by the market value of that stock. The Fund then purchases those stocks in approximately equal amounts for the sub-portfolio being reviewed. From time to time, the Fund also may purchase an approximately equal amount of U.S. Treasury securities having a remaining maturity of less than one year for the sub-portfolio being reviewed. On the next date, another sub-portfolio is reviewed in a similar manner.

Regardless of whether they remain in the DJIA or retain the characteristics of Dogs of the Dow stocks, the Fund generally holds the stock investments within each sub-portfolio for one year, at which time the applicable sub-portfolio is up for another review. At the end of the one-year period, the Fund sells any stocks in the applicable sub-portfolio that are no longer Dogs of the Dow stocks and replaces them with stocks that are Dogs of the Dow stocks. Additionally, the Fund may sell a portion of the stocks that remain in the applicable sub-portfolio so that the rebalanced portion of the sub-portfolio adheres to the Fund’s asset allocation strategy.

Formula Investing Risk: The Fund will adhere to its strategy during the course of the year, subject to applicable Securities and Exchange Commission requirements and federal tax requirements relating to mutual funds, regardless of any adverse developments that may arise. This could result in substantial losses to the Fund if, for example, the stocks selected for the Fund’s portfolio in a given year are experiencing financial difficulty or are out of favor with investors.

Non-Diversification Risk: The Fund is non-diversified under the Investment Company Act. Accordingly, the Fund typically invests a greater portion of its assets in, and its performance may be affected by, a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. Further, the Fund may experience greater losses as a result of a single issuer’s unfavorable market or economic conditions or other adverse developments impacting the market value of the issuer’s securities.

Market and Equity Investments Risk: The market value of a security may move up or down, and these fluctuations may cause a security to be worth more or less than the price originally paid for it. Market risk may affect a single company, an industry, a sector of the economy, or the market as a whole. The value of equity securities fluctuate due to many factors, including the past and predicted earnings of the issuer, the quality of the issuer’s management, general market conditions, political and other events, forecasts for the issuer’s industry, and the value of the issuer’s assets.

Tax Law Change Risk: Tax law is subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect, or to different interpretations. For example, tax legislation enacted in 2017 (the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) resulted in fundamental changes to the Internal Revenue Code (some of which are set to expire in 2025). More recently, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 added a 15% alternative minimum tax on large corporations and a 1% excise tax on repurchases of stock by publicly traded corporations and certain affiliates. Such legislation, as well as possible future U.S. tax legislation and administrative guidance, could materially affect the value of or tax consequences of your investment in the Fund. Prospective shareholders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the impact to them of possible changes in tax laws.

The following performance information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Hennessy Balanced Fund by showing changes in its performance from year to year and how the Fund’s average annual returns for one, five, and ten years compare with those of an index that reflects a broad measure of market performance, the DJIA, as well as an additional index that reflects the types of securities in which the Fund invests, the 50/50 Blended DJIA/Treasury Index (which consists of 50% common stocks represented by the DJIA and 50% short-duration Treasury securities represented by the ICE BofAML 1-Year Treasury Note Index).  For additional information on these indices, please see “Descriptions of Indices” on page 68 of this Prospectus. The Fund is the successor to the Hennessy Balanced Fund, a series of The Hennessy Funds, Inc. (the “Predecessor Balanced Fund”). The performance information provided for the periods on or prior to February 28, 2014, is historical information for the Predecessor Balanced Fund, which was managed by the same investment adviser and had the same investment objective and investment strategy as the Fund. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of future performance. Performance may be higher or lower in the future. Updated performance information is available at www.hennessyfunds.com.

For the period shown on the bar chart, the Fund’s highest quarterly return was 7.31% for the quarter ended December 31, 2022, and the lowest quarterly return was -12.19% for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

(for the periods ended December 31, 2023)

 

The after-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual stated federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an individual investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.  The Fund’s “return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares” may be higher than its “return after taxes on distributions” because it may include a tax benefit due to the capital losses generated by the sale of Fund shares.

The Hennessy Energy Transition Fund seeks total return.

The following table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in shares of this Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that you reinvest all dividends and distributions, that your investment has a 5% return each year, and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on those assumptions, your costs would be:

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 28% of the average value of its portfolio.

The Fund invests in companies whose securities are listed on U.S. national securities exchanges, including through American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), which are U.S. dollar-denominated securities of foreign issuers listed on U.S. national securities exchanges. Investments consist primarily of common stocks. The Fund may also invest up to 25% of its total assets in securities of energy-related master limited partnerships (“MLPs”). As a non-principal investment strategy, the Fund may also invest in securities such as preferred stocks, warrants, equity-like instruments, and debt instruments. With respect to up to 10% of its total assets, the Fund may invest in high-yield debt securities, preferred shares, and convertible securities (commonly referred to as “junk securities”). The Fund invests without regard to market capitalization.

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in companies operating in the United States across the full spectrum of the energy supply/demand value chain, including traditional upstream, midstream, and downstream energy companies, as well as renewable energy companies and energy end users.

The Portfolio Managers use a proprietary research and investment process that involves fundamental and quantitative analysis of various macroeconomic and commodity price and other factors to select the Fund’s investments and determine the weighting of each investment. The Portfolio Managers may sell all or a portion of a position of the Fund’s portfolio holding for a number of reasons, including (1) the issuer’s fundamentals deteriorating, (2) the parameters established for the security’s profits or losses being realized, or (3) the Fund requiring cash to meet redemption requests.

Industry Concentration Risk: The Fund concentrates its investments in the Energy sector, and its performance is therefore tied closely to, and affected by, developments in this industry. Companies in the Energy sector may be adversely affected by fluctuations in commodity prices, reduced supply or demand of energy commodities, the disruption of energy supplies transported on interstate pipelines, depletion of reserves, extreme weather or environmental hazards, accidents or other operating issues, changes in the regulatory environment, slowdowns in new construction, rising interest rates, and terrorist threats on energy assets.

MLP Risk: Investment in securities of an MLP involves risks that differ from investments in common stock, including risks related to limited control and limited rights to vote on matters affecting the MLP, risks related to potential conflicts of interest between the MLP and the MLP’s general partner, cash flow risks, dilution risks, and risks related to the general partner’s right to require unitholders to sell their common units at an undesirable time or price. Certain MLP securities may trade in lower volumes due to their smaller capitalizations. Accordingly, those MLPs may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements and may lack sufficient market liquidity to enable the Fund to effect sales at an advantageous time or without a substantial drop in price. MLPs are generally considered interest-rate sensitive investments. During periods when interest rates are rising, these investments may not provide attractive returns. If the Fund holds an MLP until its cost basis for tax purposes is reduced to zero, subsequent distributions received by the Fund will be taxed at ordinary income rates, and a shareholder may receive a corrected Form 1099.

MLP Tax Risk: A change in current tax law, or a change in the business of a given MLP, could result in an MLP being treated as a corporation or other form of taxable entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes. This would require the MLP to pay U.S. federal income tax, excise tax, or another form of tax on its taxable income, thereby reducing the amount of cash available for distribution by the MLP and potentially causing any distributions received by the Fund to be taxed as dividend income, return of capital, or capital gain. Therefore, if any MLPs owned by the Fund were treated as corporations or other forms of taxable entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the after-tax return to the Fund with respect to its investment in such MLPs could be materially reduced, which could cause a material decrease in the net asset value per share of the Fund’s shares. If the Fund holds an MLP until its cost basis for tax purposes is reduced to zero, subsequent distributions received by the Fund are taxed at ordinary income rates, and a shareholder may receive a corrected Form 1099. Furthermore, because the MLP itself does not pay federal income tax, its income or loss is allocated to its shareholders, including the Fund, regardless of whether the shareholders receive any cash payment from the MLP.

Foreign Securities Risk: The Fund may invest in foreign companies (i) whose securities are listed on U.S. national securities exchanges or (ii) through ADRs. There are specific risks associated with investing in foreign companies not typically associated with investing in domestic companies. Risks include the possibility of substantial price volatility or reduced liquidity as a result of political and economic instability or policy and legislative changes in the foreign country and reduced earnings potential due to significantly higher levels of taxation than U.S. companies, including potentially confiscatory levels of taxation. In addition, ADRs may not track the price of the underlying foreign securities on which they are based, and their value may change materially at times when U.S. markets are not open for trading.

Market and Equity Investments Risk: The market value of a security may move up or down, and these fluctuations may cause a security to be worth more or less than the price originally paid for it. Market risk may affect a single company, an industry, a sector of the economy, or the market as a whole. The value of equity securities fluctuate due to many factors, including the past and predicted earnings of the issuer, the quality of the issuer’s management, general market conditions, political and other events, forecasts for the issuer’s industry, and the value of the issuer’s assets.

Tax Law Change Risk: Tax law is subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect, or to different interpretations. For example, tax legislation enacted in 2017 (the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) resulted in fundamental changes to the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) (some of which are set to expire in 2025). More recently, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 added a 15% alternative minimum tax on large corporations and a 1% excise tax on repurchases of stock by publicly traded corporations and certain affiliates. Such legislation, as well as possible future U.S. tax legislation and administrative guidance, could materially affect the value of or tax consequences of your investment in the Fund. Prospective shareholders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the impact to them of possible changes in tax laws.

Small-Sized and Medium-Sized Companies Risk: The Fund invests in small-sized and medium-sized companies, which may have more limited liquidity and greater price volatility than larger, more established companies. Smaller companies may have limited product lines, markets, and financial resources, and their management may be dependent on fewer key individuals.

Cash Flow Risk: The Fund expects that a substantial portion of the cash flow it receives will be derived from its investments in MLPs. The amount and tax characterization of cash available for distribution by such companies depends upon the amount of cash generated by the such companies’ operations. Cash available for distribution may vary widely from quarter to quarter and will be affected by various factors affecting each company’s operations. The Fund periodically will distribute more than its income and net realized capital gains, which means a portion of each shareholder’s distribution would be a return of capital. A return of capital distribution reduces the basis of a shareholder’s shares so the shareholder may be required to recognize a capital gain when the shareholder sells shares.

RIC Qualification Risk: To qualify for treatment as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) under the Code, the Fund must meet certain income source, asset diversification, and annual distribution requirements. The Fund’s MLP investments may make it more difficult for the Fund to meet these requirements. The asset diversification requirements include a requirement that, at the end of each quarter of each taxable year, not more than 25% of the value of the Fund’s total assets is invested in the securities (including debt securities) of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships. The Fund anticipates that the MLPs in which it invests will be qualified publicly traded partnerships. If the Fund’s MLP investments exceed this 25% limitation, which could occur if the Fund’s investment in an MLP affiliate were recharacterized as an investment in an MLP, then the Fund would not satisfy the diversification requirements and could fail to qualify as a RIC. If, in any year, the Fund fails to qualify as a RIC for any reason, the Fund would be taxed as a corporation and would become subject to corporate income tax. The resulting corporate taxes could substantially reduce the Fund’s net assets, the amount of income available for distribution, and the amount of the Fund’s distributions.

Liquidity Risk: The Fund may not be able to sell some or all of the investments that it holds due to a lack of demand in the marketplace or other factors such as market turmoil, or the Fund may be forced to sell an illiquid asset to meet redemption requests or other cash needs and may only be able to sell those investments at a loss. Illiquid assets may also be difficult to value.

Temporary Defensive Positions Risk: From time to time, the Fund may take temporary defensive positions in response to adverse market, economic, or political conditions. To the extent the assets of the Fund are invested in temporary defensive positions, the Fund may not achieve its investment objective. For temporary defensive purposes, the Fund may invest in cash or short-term obligations.

The following performance information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in its performance from year to year and how the Fund’s average annual returns for one, five, and ten years compare with those of an index that reflects a broad measure of market performance, the S&P 500^® Index, as well as an additional index that reflects the market sector in which the Fund invests, the S&P 500^® Energy Index. For additional information on these indices, please see “Descriptions of Indices” on page 68 of this Prospectus. The Fund is the successor to the BP Capital TwinLine Energy Fund, a series of Professionally Managed Portfolios (the “Predecessor BP TwinLine Energy Fund”), pursuant to a reorganization that took place on October 26, 2018. The performance information provided for the periods on or prior to October 26, 2018, is historical information for the Predecessor BP TwinLine Energy Fund. The Predecessor BP TwinLine Energy Fund had a substantially similar investment objective and investment strategy as the Fund. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of future performance. Performance may be higher or lower in the future. Updated performance information is available at www.hennessyfunds.com.

For the period shown in the bar chart, the Fund’s highest quarterly return was 49.76% for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, and the lowest quarterly return was -59.88% for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

 

Performance of the Fund’s Institutional Class shares differs from that of the Fund’s Investor Class shares because the share classes have different expenses.

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS

(for the periods ended December 31, 2023)

 

We use the S&P 500^® Energy Index as an additional index because it reflects the performance of investments similar to those of the Fund.

 

The after-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual stated federal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an individual investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns are shown for Investor Class shares only, and after-tax returns for Institutional Class shares will vary.

The Hennessy Midstream Fund seeks capital appreciation through distribution growth and current income.

The following table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in shares of this Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that you reinvest all dividends and distributions, that your investment has a 5% return each year, and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on those assumptions, your costs would be:

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 16% of the average value of its portfolio.

The Fund invests in companies whose securities are listed on U.S. national securities exchanges, including through American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), which are U.S. dollar-denominated securities of foreign issuers listed on U.S. national securities exchanges. Investments consist primarily of master limited partnerships (“MLPs”) and common stocks. As a non-principal investment strategy, the Fund may also invest in securities such as preferred stocks, warrants, equity-like instruments, and debt instruments. With respect to up to 10% of its total assets, the Fund may invest in high-yield debt securities, preferred shares, and convertible securities (commonly referred to as “junk securities”). The Fund invests without regard to market capitalization.

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in midstream energy infrastructure companies. An issuer is considered to be a midstream energy infrastructure

HENNESSY FUNDS

1-800-966-4354

company if it owns and operates assets used in energy logistics, including, without limitation, assets used in transporting, storing, gathering, processing, distributing, or marketing of natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil, refined products, coal, or electricity, or provides energy-related equipment and services.

In selecting investments for the Fund, the Portfolio Managers combine a top-down deductive reasoning approach with a detailed bottom-up analysis of individual companies that have exposure to the trends identified. The Portfolio Managers may sell all or a portion of a position of the Fund’s portfolio holding for a number of reasons, including (1) the issuer’s fundamentals deteriorating, (2) the parameters established for the security’s profits or losses being realized, or (3) the Fund requiring cash to meet redemption requests.

The Fund is non-diversified under the Investment Company Act and under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”). Accordingly, the Fund typically invests a greater portion of its assets, and its performance may be affected by, a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. In addition, as a “C” corporation, the Fund generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on its taxable income at the tax rate applicable to corporations (currently 21%), will not benefit from current favorable federal income tax rates on long-term capital gains, and will be subject to state and local income taxes by reason of its investments in equity securities of MLPs.

Industry Concentration Risk: The Fund concentrates its investments in the Energy sector, and its performance is therefore tied closely to, and affected by, developments in this industry. Companies in the Energy sector may be adversely affected by fluctuations in commodity prices, reduced supply or demand of energy commodities, the disruption of energy supplies transported on interstate pipelines, depletion of reserves, extreme weather or environmental hazards, accidents or other operating issues, changes in the regulatory environment, slowdowns in new construction, rising interest rates, and terrorist threats on energy assets.

Non-Diversification Risk: The Fund is non-diversified under the Investment Company Act and employs a concentrated investment strategy. Accordingly, the Fund typically invests a greater portion of its assets in, and its performance may be affected by, a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified, less concentrated fund. Further, the Fund may experience greater losses as a result of a single issuer’s unfavorable market or economic conditions or other adverse developments impacting the market value of the issuer’s securities.  As of January 31, 2024, approximately 86% of the Fund’s assets were invested in its top 10 holdings.

Tax Risks: Tax risks associated with investments in the Fund include, but are not limited to, the following:

Fund Structure Risk. Unlike most open-end mutual funds that are structured as regulated investment companies for U.S. federal income tax purposes and unlike entities treated as partnerships for tax purposes, the Fund will be taxable as a regular corporation, or “C” corporation, for U.S. federal income tax purposes. This means the Fund generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on its taxable income at the tax rate applicable to corporations (currently 21%), will not benefit from current favorable federal income tax rates on long-term capital gains, and will be subject to state and local income taxes by reason of its investments in equity securities of MLPs. Fund income and losses will not be passed through to shareholders.

MLP Tax Risk. A change in current tax law, or a change in the business of a given MLP, could result in an MLP being treated as a corporation or other form of taxable entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes. This would require the MLP to pay U.S. federal income tax, excise tax, or another form of tax on its taxable income, thereby reducing the amount of cash available for distribution by the MLP and potentially causing any distributions received by the Fund to be taxed as dividend income, return of capital, or capital gain. Therefore, if any of the MLPs owned by the Fund were treated as corporations or other form of taxable entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the after-tax return to the Fund with respect to its investment in such MLPs could be materially reduced, which could cause a material decrease in the net asset value of the Fund’s shares. If the Fund holds an MLP until its cost basis for tax purposes is reduced to zero, subsequent distributions received by the Fund are taxed at ordinary income rates, and a shareholder may receive a corrected Form 1099. Furthermore, because the MLP itself does not pay federal income tax, its income or loss is allocated to its shareholders, including the Fund, regardless of whether the shareholders receive any cash payment from the MLP.

Tax Estimation/NAV Risk. In calculating the Fund’s net asset value, the Fund will account for its current taxes and deferred tax liability or asset balances. The Fund will accrue a deferred income tax liability balance, at the then-effective statutory U.S. federal income tax rate (currently 21%) plus an estimated state and local income tax rate, for its future tax liability associated with the capital appreciation of its investments and the distributions received by the Fund from the companies in which it invests that are considered to be return of capital and for any net operating gains. Any deferred tax liability balance reduces the Fund’s net asset value. The

Fund may also accrue a deferred tax asset balance, which reflects an estimate of the Fund’s future tax benefit associated with net operating losses and unrealized losses. Any deferred tax asset balance will increase the Fund’s net asset value.

MLP Risk: Investments in securities of an MLP involve risks that differ from investments in common stock, including risks related to limited control and limited rights to vote on matters affecting the MLP, risks related to potential conflicts of interest between the MLP and the MLP’s general partner, cash flow risks, dilution risks, and risks related to the general partner’s right to require unit-holders to sell their common units at an undesirable time or price. Certain MLP securities may trade in lower volumes due to their smaller capitalizations. Accordingly, those MLPs may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements and may lack sufficient market liquidity to enable the Fund to effect sales at an advantageous time or without a substantial drop in price. MLPs are generally considered interest-rate sensitive investments. During periods when interest rates are rising, these investments may not provide attractive returns.

Dividend Distribution Risk: The Fund’s dividend distribution policy is intended to provide consistent distributions to its shareholders at a rate that over time is similar to the distribution rate the Fund receives from the companies in which it invests, without offset for the expenses of the Fund. The amount of the Fund’s distributions is based on, among other considerations, cash and stock distributions the Fund actually receives from portfolio investments, including returns of capital and any special cash payments received to offset distribution reductions resulting from restructurings. Furthermore, the Fund’s total distribution payment amount may be derived from net income, net profit from the sale of securities, or other capital sources (the latter of which represents a return of capital). A return of capital occurs when some or all of the money that a shareholder invested in the Fund is paid back to the shareholder. A return of capital distribution does not necessarily reflect the Fund’s investment performance and should not be confused with “yield” or “income.” Shareholders should not draw any conclusions about the Fund’s investment performance from the amounts of these distributions. For certain securities held by the Fund, such as MLP units, the percentages attributed to each category (net income, net profit from sale, and other capital sources) are estimated using historical information because the character of the amounts received from such entities is unknown until after the end of the calendar year.

Cash Flow Risk: The Fund expects that a substantial portion of the cash flow it receives will be derived from its investments in MLPs. The amount and tax characterization of cash available for distribution by such companies depends upon the amount of cash generated by such companies’ operations. Cash available for distribution may vary widely from quarter to quarter and will be affected by various factors affecting each company’s operations. The Fund periodically will distribute more than its income and net realized capital gains, which means a portion of a shareholder’s distribution would be a return of capital. A return of capital distribution reduces the basis of a shareholder’s shares so a shareholder may be required to recognize a capital gain when the shareholder sells shares.

Medium-Sized Company Risk: The Fund invests in medium-sized companies, which may have more limited liquidity and greater price volatility than larger, more established companies.

Liquidity Risk: MLP common units and equity securities of MLP affiliates, including I-Shares, often trade on national securities exchanges. However, certain securities, including those of issuers with smaller capitalizations, may trade less frequently. The market movements of such securities with limited trading volumes may be more abrupt or erratic than those with higher trading volumes. As a result of the limited liquidity of such securities, the Fund could have greater difficulty selling such securities at the time and price that the Fund would like. This may also adversely affect the Fund’s ability to remit dividend payments to shareholders.

Foreign Securities Risk: The Fund may invest in foreign companies (i) whose securities are listed on U.S. national securities exchanges or (ii) through ADRs. There are specific risks associated with investing in foreign companies not typically associated with investing in domestic companies. Risks include the possibility of substantial price volatility or reduced liquidity as a result of political and economic instability or policy and legislative changes in the foreign country and reduced earnings potential due to significantly higher levels of taxation than U.S. companies, including potentially confiscatory levels of taxation. In addition, ADRs may not track the price of the underlying foreign securities on which they are based, and their value may change materially at times when U.S. markets are not open for trading.

Market and Equity Investments Risk: The market value of a security may move up or down, and these fluctuations may cause a security to be worth more or less than the price originally paid for it. Market risk may affect a single company, an industry, a sector of the economy, or the market as a whole. The value of equity securities fluctuate due to many factors, including the past and predicted earnings of the issuer, the quality of the issuer’s management, general market conditions, political and other events, forecasts for the issuer’s industry, and the value of the issuer’s assets.

Tax Law Change Risk: Tax law is subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect, or to different interpretations. For example, tax legislation enacted in 2017 (the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) resulted in fundamental changes to the Code (some of which are set to expire in 2025). More recently, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 added a 15% alternative minimum tax on

large corporations and a 1% excise tax on repurchases of stock by publicly traded corporations and certain affiliates. Such legislation, as well as possible future U.S. tax legislation and administrative guidance, could materially affect the value of or tax consequences of your investment in the Fund. Prospective shareholders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the impact to them of possible changes in tax laws.

Temporary Defensive Positions Risk: From time to time, the Fund may take temporary defensive positions in response to adverse market, economic, or political other conditions. To the extent the assets of the Fund are invested in temporary defensive positions, the Fund may not achieve its investment objective. For temporary defensive purposes, the Fund may invest in cash or short-term obligations.

The following performance information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in its performance from year to year and how the Fund’s average annual returns for one, five, and ten years compare with those of an index that reflects a broad measure of market performance, the S&P 500^® Index, as well as an additional index that reflects the market sector in which the Fund invests, the Alerian US Midstream Energy Index. For additional information on these indices, please see “Descriptions of Indices” on page 68 of this Prospectus. The Fund is the successor to the BP Capital TwinLine MLP Fund, a series of Professionally Managed Portfolios (the “Predecessor BP TwinLine MLP Fund”), pursuant to a reorganization that took place on October 26, 2018. The performance information provided for the periods on or prior to October 26, 2018, is historical information for the Predecessor BP TwinLine MLP Fund. The Predecessor BP TwinLine MLP Fund had a substantially similar investment objective and investment strategy as the Fund. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of future performance. Performance may be higher or lower in the future. Updated performance information is available at www.hennessyfunds.com.

For the period shown in the bar chart, the Fund’s highest quarterly return was 37.93% for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, and the lowest quarterly return was -53.24% for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

 

Performance of the Fund’s Institutional Class shares differs from that of the Fund’s Investor Class shares because the share classes have different expenses.

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS

(for the periods ended December 31, 2023)

 

The after-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual stated federal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an individual investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns are shown for Investor Class shares only, and after-tax returns for Institutional Class shares will vary.

The Hennessy Gas Utility Fund seeks income and capital appreciation.

The following table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in shares of the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that you reinvest all dividends and distributions, that your investment has a 5% return each year, and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same.  Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on those assumptions, your costs would be:

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 12% of the average value of its portfolio.

The Fund may invest in any company whose securities are listed on a U.S. national securities exchange, including through American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), which are U.S. dollar-denominated securities of foreign issuers listed on U.S. national securities exchanges.  The Fund intends to provide investment results that replicate the performance of the American Gas Association Stock Index (the “AGA Stock Index”).  The AGA Stock Index is maintained by the American Gas Association, a national trade association of natural gas distribution companies, and is licensed exclusively to the Investment Manager for use as an investment strategy. Calculated monthly, the AGA Stock Index consists of all member companies of the American Gas Association whose securities are traded on a U.S. stock exchange, which include natural gas distribution, gas pipeline, diversified gas, and combination gas and electric companies.  The stocks included in the Fund are chosen solely on the basis of their inclusion in the AGA Stock Index.

Under normal circumstances, the Fund intends to invest at least 85% of its net assets in the common stock of companies that have natural gas distribution and transmission operations, and no attempt is made to actively manage the Fund’s portfolio by using economic, financial, or market analysis.  The adverse financial situation of a company will not result in its elimination from the Fund’s portfolio unless the company is removed from the AGA Stock Index.  The percentage of the Fund’s assets invested in the stock of a particular company is approximately the same as the percentage weighting of such company in the AGA Stock Index.  The percentage weighting of each company in the AGA Stock Index is an amount equal to such company’s market capitalization multiplied by the percentage of such company’s assets devoted to natural gas distribution and transmission.  The latter component of this calculation is used to recognize the natural gas distribution and transmission component of the company’s asset base.

There is no predetermined acceptable range of the difference between the total return of the AGA Stock Index and the total return of the Fund.  Any difference is likely the result of various expenses incurred by the Fund, such as management fees, transaction costs, and other operating expenses, as well as

subscription and redemption activity.  On the other hand, the Fund does attempt to achieve a correlation of monthly returns with the AGA Stock Index of approximately 95% or better.  A correlation of 100% would mean the total return of the Fund’s assets would increase and decrease at exactly the same rate as the total return of the AGA Stock Index.

Industry Concentration Risk: The Fund concentrates its investments in the natural gas and transmission industry and its performance is therefore tied closely to, and affected by, developments in this industry. Natural gas companies may be adversely affected by fluctuations in natural gas prices, reduced supply or demand of natural gas, the disruption of natural gas supplies transported on interstate pipelines, depletion of reserves, extreme weather or environmental hazards, accidents or other operating issues, changes in the regulatory environment, slowdowns in new construction, rising interest rates, and terrorist threats on natural gas assets.

Index Tracking Risk:  While the Fund seeks to track the performance of the AGA Stock Index as closely as possible, the Fund’s return may not always be able to match or achieve a high correlation due to factors such as the expenses incurred by the Fund, such as management fees, transaction costs, and other operating expenses, that are not incurred by the AGA Stock Index and the possibility that the Fund may experience significant subscriptions or redemptions.  In addition, the Fund may not be fully invested at all times as a result of cash flows into the Fund or reserves of cash that are maintained in order to cover operating expenses and meet redemption requests.

Foreign Securities Risk: The Fund may invest in foreign companies (i) whose securities are listed on U.S. national securities exchanges or (ii) through ADRs. There are specific risks associated with investing in foreign companies not typically associated with investing in domestic companies. Risks include the possibility of substantial price volatility or reduced liquidity as a result of political and economic instability or policy and legislative changes in the foreign country and reduced earnings potential due to significantly higher levels of taxation than U.S. companies, including potentially confiscatory levels of taxation. In addition, ADRs may not track the price of the underlying foreign securities on which they are based, and their value may change materially at times when U.S. markets are not open for trading.

Market and Equity Investments Risk:  The market value of a security may move up or down, and these fluctuations may cause a security to be worth more or less than the price originally paid for it. Market risk may affect a single company, an industry, a sector of the economy, or the market as a whole. The value of equity securities fluctuate due to many factors, including the past and predicted earnings of the issuer, the quality of the issuer’s management, general market conditions, political and other events, forecasts for the issuer’s industry, and the value of the issuer’s assets.

Tax Law Change Risk:  Tax law is subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect, or to different interpretations. For example, tax legislation enacted in 2017 (the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) resulted in fundamental changes to the Internal Revenue Code (some of which are set to expire in 2025). More recently, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 added a 15% alternative minimum tax on large corporations and a 1% excise tax on repurchases of stock by publicly traded corporations and certain affiliates. Such legislation, as well as possible future U.S. tax legislation and administrative guidance, could materially affect the value of or tax consequences of your investment in the Fund. Prospective shareholders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the impact to them of possible changes in tax laws.

The following performance information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in its performance from year to year and how the Fund’s average annual returns for one, five, and ten years compare with those of an index reflecting a broad measure of market performance, the S&P 500^® Index, as well as an additional index that reflects the market sector in which the Fund invests, the AGA Stock Index. For additional information on these indices, please see “Descriptions of Indices” on page 68 of this Prospectus.  The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of future performance.  Performance may be higher or lower in the future.  Updated performance information is available at www.hennessyfunds.com.

For the period shown in the bar chart, the Fund’s highest quarterly return was 14.07% for the quarter ended March 31, 2019, and the lowest quarterly return was -19.09% for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

 

Performance of the Fund’s Institutional Class differs from that of the Fund’s Investor Class shares because the share classes have different expenses.

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS

(for the periods ended December 31, 2023)