CLASS A SHARES

PROSPECTUS DATED DECEMBER 29, 2023

THE SARATOGA ADVANTAGE TRUST

 

The SARATOGA ADVANTAGE TRUST (the “Trust”) is an open-end, management investment company comprised of mutual fund portfolios each with its own distinctive investment objectives and policies, 17 of which are described herein.

 

The Portfolios are managed by Saratoga Capital Management, LLC (the Manager). Each Portfolio, except for the Investment Quality Bond Portfolio, Municipal Bond Portfolio, U.S. Government Money Market Portfolio, Conservative Balanced Allocation Portfolio, Moderately Conservative Balanced Allocation Portfolio, Moderate Balanced Allocation Portfolio, Moderately Aggressive Balanced Allocation Portfolio and Aggressive Balanced Allocation Portfolio is advised by an Investment Adviser selected and supervised by the Manager.

 

The Trust is designed to help investors to implement an asset allocation strategy to meet their individual needs as well as select individual investments within each asset category among the myriad of choices available. The Trust makes available assistance to help certain investors identify their risk tolerance and investment objectives through use of an investor questionnaire, and to select an appropriate model allocation of assets among the Portfolios. As further assistance, the Trust makes available to certain investors the option of automatic reallocation or rebalancing of their selected model. The Trust also provides, on a periodic basis, a report to the investor containing an analysis and evaluation of the investor’s account.

 

The Securities And Exchange Commission Has Not Approved Or Disapproved These Securities Or Passed Upon The Adequacy Of This Prospectus. Any Representation To The Contrary Is A Criminal Offense.

 

PORTFOLIO TICKER   PORTFOLIO TICKER
Conservative Balanced Allocation SCAAX   Large Capitalization Growth SLGYX
Moderately Conservative Balanced Allocation SMACX   Mid Capitalization SPMAX
Moderate Balanced Allocation SMPAX   Small Capitalization SSCYX
Moderately Aggressive Balanced Allocation SAMAX   International Equity SIEYX
Aggressive Balanced Allocation SABAX   Health & Biotechnology SHPAX
U.S. Government Money Market SGAXX   Technology & Communications STPAX
Investment Quality Bond SQBAX   Financial Services SFPAX
Municipal Bond SMBAX   Energy & Basic Materials SBMBX
Large Capitalization Value SLVYX      

 

 

 

 

Table of Contents

 

  PAGE
PORTFOLIO SUMMARIES:    
Conservative Balanced Allocation Portfolio   1
Moderately Conservative Balanced Allocation Portfolio   10
Moderate Balanced Allocation Portfolio   19
Moderately Aggressive Balanced Allocation Portfolio   28
Aggressive Balanced Allocation Portfolio   37
U.S. Government Money Market Portfolio   46
Investment Quality Bond Portfolio   52
Municipal Bond Portfolio   58
Large Capitalization Value Portfolio   64
Large Capitalization Growth Portfolio   69
Mid Capitalization Portfolio   74
Small Capitalization Portfolio   80
International Equity Portfolio   84
Health & Biotechnology Portfolio   89
Technology & Communications Portfolio   95
Financial Services Portfolio   101
Energy & Basic Materials Portfolio   107
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND PRINCIPAL RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE PORTFOLIOS   113
ADDITIONAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS   130
portfolio holdings   131
MANAGEMENT OF THE PORTFOLIOS   131
The Manager   131
The Advisers   133
Administration   133
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION   134
Pricing of Portfolio Shares   134
Purchase of Shares   134
Reduced Sales Charge   136
Right of Accumulation   138
Letter of Intent   138
Class A Shares Sales Charge Waivers   138
Contingent Deferred Sales Charge   139
Plan of Distribution   139
Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Trust Shares   140
Redemption of Shares   141
DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS   145
TAX CONSEQUENCES   145
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION   147
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS   149
Privacy policy notice   159
APPENDIX A   A-1

 

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PORTFOLIO SUMMARY: CONSERVATIVE BALANCED ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO

 

 

Investment Objective:

The Conservative Balanced Allocation Portfolio seeks total return consisting of capital appreciation and income.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio:

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Portfolio. You may be subject to other fees not reflected in the table, such as brokerage commission and fees to financial intermediaries. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in The Saratoga Advantage Trust Portfolios. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and under “Shareholder Information – Reduced Sales Charge” on page 136 of the Portfolio’s Prospectus. In addition, Appendix A attached to this Prospectus contains information regarding financial intermediary-specific sales charge waivers and discounts.

 

    Conservative Balanced Allocation Portfolio
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
   
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases of Shares (as a % of offering price)   5.75%
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends (as a % of offering price)   None
Maximum Contingent Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a % of offering price)   None
Redemption Fee   None
Exchange Fee   None
Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
   
Management Fees   0.90%
Distribution and/or Service Rule 12b-1 Fees   0.25%
Other Expenses   1.17%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses (1)   0.60%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (before Expense Waiver/Reimbursement)   2.92%
Expense Waiver/Reimbursement   (1.08)%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (after Expense Waiver/Reimbursement) (2)   1.84%

 

(1) Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies. These Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are not considered in the calculation of the expense cap (defined below). The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses in the above fee table will not correlate to the expense ratio in the Portfolio’s financial statements because the financial statements will include only the direct operating expenses incurred by the Portfolio, not the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies (“Acquired Funds”).

 

(2) Pursuant to an operating expense limitation agreement between the Manager and the Portfolio, the Manager has agreed to waive its fees and/or absorb expenses of the Portfolio to ensure that Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (excluding front end and contingent deferred sales loads, leverage, interest and tax expenses, dividends and interest on short positions, brokerage commissions, expenses incurred in connection with any merger, reorganization or liquidation, extraordinary or non-routine expenses and Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses) for the Portfolio do not exceed 1.24% of the Portfolio’s average net assets for Class A shares through December 31, 2024 (the “Expense Cap”). This operating expense limitation agreement can be terminated during its term only by, or with the consent of, the Trust’s Board of Trustees. The Manager is permitted to seek reimbursement from the Portfolio, subject to limitations, for management fees waived and Portfolio expenses it paid within three (3) years of the end of the fiscal year in which such management fees were waived or expenses paid, as long as the reimbursement does not cause the Portfolio’s operating expenses to exceed (i) the expense cap in place at the time the fees were waived or the expenses were incurred; or (ii) the current Expense Cap, whichever is less.

 

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Example.

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. This example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, and the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same and reflect the contractual expense waiver in place for the first year. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs, if you held or sold your shares, at the end of each period would be:

 

One Year   Three Years   Five Years   Ten Years
$751   $1,331   $1,935   $3,558

 

The above Example reflects applicable contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement arrangements for the duration of the arrangements only.

 

Portfolio Turnover:

The Portfolio 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, which must be borne by the Portfolio and its shareholders and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 50% of the average value of its portfolio.

 

Principal Investment Strategies:

The Portfolio is a “fund of funds.” The Portfolio’s main investment strategy is to invest in other Saratoga Advantage Trust mutual funds (the “Saratoga Funds”) and/or unaffiliated registered investment companies and exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) (together with the Saratoga Funds, the “Underlying Funds”).

 

The Portfolio’s manager, Saratoga Capital Management, LLC (the “Manager”) allocates the Portfolio’s investments in Underlying Funds based on a propriety asset allocation model developed by the Manager (the “Saratoga Strategic Horizon Asset Reallocation Program® model” or the “SaratogaSHARP® model”). Consistent with the SaratogaSHARP® model, the Manager allocates the Portfolio’s investments based on an analysis of capital markets that includes an examination of current economic conditions, historical asset class behavior and current market assumptions. In constructing the Portfolio, the Manager typically allocates assets among asset classes in the following investment categories: core equity, fixed income, money market and alternative investments. The target allocations are: approximately 5%-65% of the Portfolio’s assets to core equity investments; 8%-75% to fixed income investments; 10%-75% to money market investments; and 2%-30% to alternative investments. The Manager does not currently intend to allocate any of the Portfolio’s assets to sector equity investments; however, it may do so in the future. The Portfolio will invest in equity, fixed income and alternative instruments through its investments in the Underlying Funds. The Manager regularly evaluates how individual economic sectors and statistics are affecting the general economy and markets in order to develop the asset allocation parameters. Accordingly, asset allocation parameters may vary widely over time in response to changing market and/or economic conditions.

 

Principal Investment Risks:

There is no assurance that the Portfolio will achieve its investment objective. The Portfolio share price will fluctuate with changes in the market value of its portfolio securities. When you sell your Portfolio shares, they may be worth less than what you paid for them and, accordingly, you can lose money investing in this Portfolio. Shares of the Portfolio are not bank deposits and are not guaranteed or insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

 

Investments in Mutual Funds Risk. The Portfolio invests in Underlying Funds as a primary strategy, so the Portfolio’s investment performance and risks are directly related to the performance and risks of the Underlying Funds. Shareholders will indirectly bear the expenses charged by the Underlying Funds. Because the Manager or its affiliates provide services to and receive fees, including supervision fees, from some of the Saratoga Funds, the Portfolio’s investments in some of the Underlying Funds benefit the Manager and/or its affiliates. In addition, the Portfolio may hold a significant percentage of the shares of an Underlying Fund. As a result, the Portfolio’s investments in an Underlying Fund may create a conflict of interest.

 

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Exchange-Traded Funds (ETF) Risk. Shares of ETFs have many of the same risks as direct investments in common stocks or bonds. ETFs are typically open-end investment companies, which may seek to track the performance of a specific index or be actively managed. In addition, their market value is expected to rise and fall as the value of the underlying index or other assets rises and falls. The market value of their shares may differ from the net asset value (“NAV”) of the particular fund. As a shareholder in an ETF (as with other investment companies), the Portfolio would bear its ratable share of that entity’s expenses in addition to its own fees and expenses. In addition, investments in an ETF are subject to, among other risks, the risk that the ETF’s shares may trade at a discount or premium relative to the NAV of the shares, especially during periods of market volatility or stress, causing investors to pay significantly more or less than the value of the ETF’s underlying portfolio, and the listing exchange may halt trading of the ETF’s shares. ETFs also involve the risk that an active trading market for an ETF’s shares may not develop or be maintained. In addition, ETFs that track particular indices may be unable to match the performance of such underlying indices due to the temporary unavailability of certain index securities in the secondary market or other factors, such as discrepancies with respect to the weighting of securities.

 

Investment and Market Risk. An investment in the Portfolio’s common shares is subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount invested. An investment in the Portfolio’s common shares represents an indirect investment in the securities owned by the Portfolio, which are generally traded on a securities exchange or in the OTC markets. The value of these securities, like other market investments, may move up or down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably due to changes in general market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related to the issuer of the security or other asset, or factors that affect a particular issuer or issuers, exchange, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class. Social, political, economic and other conditions and events (such as recessions, inflation, rapid interest rate changes, supply chain disruptions, war, natural disasters, epidemics and pandemics, terrorism, conflicts and social unrest) will occur that have significant impacts on issuers, industries, governments and other systems, including the financial markets. As global systems, economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, events that once had only local impact are now more likely to have regional or even global effects. Events that occur in one country, region or financial market will, more frequently, adversely impact issuers in other countries, regions or markets. These impacts can be exacerbated by failures of governments and societies to adequately respond to an emerging event or threat. Investors will be negatively impacted if the value of their portfolio holdings decreases as a result of such events, if these events adversely impact the operations and effectiveness of the Manager or Adviser, as applicable, or key service providers or if these events disrupt systems and processes necessary or beneficial to the management of accounts. These events may negatively impact broad segments of businesses and populations and have a significant and rapid negative impact on the performance of the Portfolio’s investments, increase the Portfolio’s volatility and exacerbate pre-existing risks to the Portfolio. The Portfolio’s common shares at any point in time may be worth less than the original investment, even after taking into account any reinvestment of dividends and distributions.

 

Common Stock Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in equity securities (such as common stock) that are more volatile and carry more risks than other forms of investment. In general, stock values fluctuate in response to activities specific to the company as well as general market, economic and political conditions. Stock prices can fluctuate widely in response to these factors.

 

Common stockholders are subordinate to debt or preferred stockholders in a company’s capital structure in terms of priority to corporate income and liquidation payments and, therefore, will be subject to greater credit risk than preferred stock or debt instruments.

 

Foreign Securities Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in foreign securities. An Underlying Fund’s investments in foreign securities (including depositary receipts) involve risks in addition to the risks associated with domestic securities. One additional risk is currency risk. While the price of Underlying Fund shares is quoted in U.S. dollars, an Underlying Fund generally converts U.S. dollars to a foreign market’s local currency to purchase a security in that market. If the value of that local currency falls relative to the U.S. dollar, the U.S. dollar value of the foreign security will decrease. This is true even if the foreign security’s local price remains unchanged.

 

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Foreign securities also have risks related to economic and political developments abroad, including expropriations, confiscatory taxation, exchange control regulation, limitations on the use or transfer of Underlying Fund assets and any effects of foreign social, economic or political instability. In particular, adverse political or economic developments in a geographic region or a particular country in which an Underlying Fund invests could cause a substantial decline in the value of its portfolio securities. Certain foreign markets may rely heavily on particular industries or foreign capital and are more vulnerable to diplomatic developments, the imposition of economic sanctions against a particular country or countries, organizations, entities and/or individuals, changes in international trading patterns, trade barriers and other protectionist or retaliatory measures. Economic sanctions could, among other things, effectively restrict or eliminate an Underlying Fund’s ability to purchase or sell securities or groups of securities for a substantial period of time. The severity of sanctions and related measures, such as retaliatory actions, vary in scope and are unpredictable. The imposition of sanctions could cause a decline in the value and/or liquidity of securities issued by the sanctioned country or companies located in or economically tied to the sanctioned country, significantly delay or prevent the settlement of securities transactions, and significantly impact the Portfolio’s liquidity and performance. International trade barriers or economic sanctions against foreign countries, organizations, entities and/or individuals, may adversely affect an Underlying Fund’s foreign holdings or exposures. Investments in foreign markets may also be adversely affected by governmental actions such as the imposition of capital controls, nationalization of companies or industries, expropriation of assets, or the imposition of punitive taxes. Governmental actions can have a significant effect on the economic conditions in foreign countries, which also may adversely affect the value and liquidity of an Underlying Fund’s investments. For example, the governments of certain countries may prohibit or impose substantial restrictions on foreign investing in their capital markets or in certain sectors or industries. In addition, a foreign government may limit or cause delay in the convertibility or repatriation of its currency which would adversely affect the U.S. dollar value and/or liquidity of investments denominated in that currency. Any of these actions could severely affect security prices, impair an Underlying Fund’s ability to purchase or sell foreign securities or transfer an Underlying Fund’s assets back into the U.S., or otherwise adversely affect the Underlying Fund’s operations.

 

Certain foreign investments may become less liquid in response to market developments or adverse investor perceptions, or become illiquid after purchase by an Underlying Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. Certain foreign investments may become illiquid when, for instance, there are few, if any, interested buyers and sellers or when dealers are unwilling to make a market for certain securities. When an Underlying Fund holds illiquid investments, its portfolio may be harder to value, especially in changing markets. Foreign companies, in general, are not subject to the regulatory requirements of U.S. companies and may have less stringent investor protections and disclosure standards and, as such, there may be less publicly available information about these companies. Moreover, foreign accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards generally are different from those applicable to U.S. companies. In addition, in the event of a default of any foreign debt obligations, it may be more difficult for an Underlying Fund to obtain or enforce a judgment against the issuers of the securities. Furthermore, foreign exchanges and broker-dealers are generally subject to less government and exchange scrutiny and regulation than their U.S. counterparts. Finally, differences in clearance and settlement procedures in foreign markets may cause delays in settlements of an Underlying Fund’s trades effected in those markets.

 

Depositary receipts involve substantially identical risks associated with direct investments in foreign securities. Issuers of the foreign security represented by a depositary receipt, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, may not be obligated to disclose material information in the U.S. or to pass through to holders of such receipts voting rights with respect to the deposited securities.

 

Compared to the U.S. and other developed countries, developing or emerging countries may have relatively unstable governments, economies based on only a few industries and securities markets that trade a small number of securities. Prices of these securities tend to be especially volatile and, in the past, securities in these countries have been characterized by greater potential loss (as well as gain) than securities of companies located in developed countries.

 

Fixed-Income Securities Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in fixed-income securities. All fixed-income securities are subject to two types of risk: credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer of a security will be unable to make interest payments and/or repay the principal on its debt. Interest rate risk refers to fluctuations in the value of a fixed-income security resulting from changes in the general level of interest rates.

 

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When the general level of interest rates goes up, the prices of most fixed-income securities go down. When the general level of interest rates goes down, the prices of most fixed-income securities go up. (Zero coupon securities are typically subject to greater price fluctuations than comparable securities that pay current interest.) Long-term fixed-income securities will rise and fall in response to interest rate changes to a greater extent than short-term securities. The Portfolio may face a heightened level of interest rate risk due to certain changes in monetary policy, such as certain types of interest rate changes by the Federal Reserve.

 

Certain Underlying Funds may invest in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies and instrumentalities (such as securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac)). Securities, such as those issued or guaranteed by Ginnie Mae or the U.S. Treasury, that are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity. Notwithstanding that these securities are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, circumstances could arise that would prevent the payment of principal and interest. Securities issued by U.S. government-related organizations, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and no assurance can be given that the U.S. government will provide financial support. Therefore, U.S. government-related organizations may not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future.

 

Alternative Investment Risk. Alternative investment strategies, which may include, but are not limited to, investing in or having exposure to real estate, commodities, foreign currency, natural resources, MLP and other non-traditional investments, or following event-driven, macro, long-short, market neutral, merger arbitrage, or other tactical investment strategies, may involve complex security types or transactions and/or focus on narrow segments of the market, which may increase and/or magnify the overall risks and volatility associated with these strategies.

 

Mortgage-Backed Securities and Prepayment Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in mortgage-backed securities. Mortgage-backed securities, such as mortgage pass-through securities, have different risk characteristics than traditional debt securities. For example, principal is paid back over the life of the security rather than at maturity. Although the value of fixed-income securities generally increases during periods of falling interest rates and decreases during periods of rising interest rates, this is not always the case with mortgage-backed securities. This is due to the fact that the borrower’s payments may be prepaid at any time as well as other factors. Generally, prepayments will increase during a period of falling interest rates and decrease during a period of rising interest rates. The rate of prepayments also may be influenced by economic and other factors. Prepayment risk includes the possibility that securities with stated interest rates may have the principal prepaid earlier than expected, which may occur when interest rates decline. Prepayment may expose an Underlying Fund, and thus the Portfolio, to a lower rate of return upon reinvestment of principal.

 

Investments in mortgage-backed securities are made based upon, among other things, expectations regarding the rate of prepayments on the underlying loans. Rates of prepayment faster or slower than expected by the Manager could reduce an Underlying Fund’s yield, increase the volatility of the Underlying Fund and/or cause a decline in net asset value. Mortgage-backed securities are also subject to extension risk, which is the risk that the issuer of such a security pays back the principal of an obligation later than expected, which may occur when interest rates rise. This may have an adverse effect on returns, as the value of the security decreases when principal payments are made later than expected. In addition, an Underlying Fund may be prevented from investing proceeds it would otherwise have received at a given time at the higher prevailing interest rates. Certain mortgage-backed securities may be more volatile and less liquid than other traditional types of debt securities. In addition, an unexpectedly high rate of defaults on the mortgages held by a mortgage pool may adversely affect the value of a mortgage-backed security and could result in losses to an Underlying Fund. The risk of such defaults is generally higher in the case of mortgage pools that include subprime mortgages. The risks associated with mortgage-backed securities typically become elevated during periods of distressed economic, market, health and labor conditions. In particular, increased levels of unemployment, delays and delinquencies in payments of mortgage and rent obligations, and uncertainty regarding the effects and extent of government intervention with respect to mortgage payments and other economic matters may adversely affect the Portfolio’s investments in mortgage-backed securities.

 

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Issuer-Specific Risk. The price of an individual security or particular type of security can be more volatile than the market as a whole and can fluctuate differently than the market as a whole. An individual issuer’s securities can rise or fall dramatically with little or no warning based upon such things as a better (or worse) than expected earnings report, news about the development of a promising product, or the loss of key management personnel. There is also a risk that the price of a security may never reach the level that the Manager believes is representative of its full value or that it may even go down in price.

 

Convertible Securities Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in convertible securities. An Underlying Fund’s investments in convertible securities subject the Underlying Fund to the risks associated with both fixed-income securities and common stocks. To the extent that a convertible security’s investment value is greater than its conversion value, its price will be likely to increase when interest rates fall and decrease when interest rates rise, as with a fixed-income security. If the conversion value exceeds the investment value, the price of the convertible security will tend to fluctuate directly with the price of the underlying equity security.

 

Preferred Stock Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in preferred stock. Preferred stocks involve credit risk and certain other risks. Certain preferred stocks contain provisions that allow an issuer under certain conditions to skip distributions (in the case of “non-cumulative” preferred stocks) or defer distributions (in the case of “cumulative” preferred stocks). If an Underlying Fund owns a preferred stock on which distributions are deferred, the Underlying Fund may nevertheless be required to report income for tax purposes while it is not receiving distributions on that security. Preferred stocks are subordinated to bonds and other debt instruments in a company’s capital structure in terms of priority to corporate income and liquidation payments, and therefore will be subject to greater credit risk than those debt instruments.

 

Warrants Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in warrants. The holder of a warrant has the right to purchase a given number of shares of a particular issuer at a specified price until expiration of the warrant. Such investments can provide a greater potential for profit or loss than an equivalent investment in the underlying security. Prices of warrants do not necessarily move in tandem with the prices of the underlying securities, and are speculative investments. Warrants pay no dividends and confer no rights other than a purchase option. If a warrant is not exercised by the date of its expiration, an Underlying Fund will lose its entire investment in such warrant.

 

Liquidity Risk. The Portfolio and/or an Underlying Fund may hold illiquid securities that it is unable to sell at the preferred time or price and could lose its entire investment in such securities. Investments with an active trading market or that the Manager otherwise deems liquid could become illiquid before the Portfolio can exit its positions. The liquidity of the Portfolio’s assets may change over time.

 

Small and Medium Capitalization Companies Risk. An Underlying Fund may invest in small and medium capitalization companies. Investing in medium and small capitalization companies may involve more risk than is usually associated with investing in larger, more established companies. There is typically less publicly available information concerning small and medium capitalization companies than for larger, more established companies. Some small and medium capitalization companies have limited product lines, distribution channels and financial and managerial resources and tend to concentrate on fewer geographical markets than do larger companies. Also, because small and medium capitalization companies normally have fewer shares outstanding than larger companies and trade less frequently, it may be more difficult for the Portfolio to buy and sell significant amounts of shares without an unfavorable impact on prevailing market prices.

 

Derivatives Risk. Certain Underlying Funds may invest in derivatives. A derivative is an investment whose value depends on (or is derived from) the value of an underlying asset (including an underlying security), reference rate or index. Derivatives may be used as a substitute for purchasing the underlying asset or as a hedge to reduce exposure to risks. The derivatives in which the Portfolio or an Underlying Fund may invest include options, futures and swaps. Derivatives may be volatile and some derivatives have the potential for loss that is greater than the Underlying Fund’s initial investment. Many derivatives are entered into over-the-counter or OTC (not on an exchange or contract market) and may be more difficult to purchase, sell or value than more traditional investments, such as stocks or bonds, because there may be fewer purchasers or sellers of the derivative instrument or the derivative instrument may require participants entering into offsetting transactions rather than making or taking delivery. An Underlying Fund may also lose money on a derivative if the counterparty (issuer) fails to pay the amount due. If a counterparty to an OTC derivative were to default on its obligations, the Underlying Fund’s contractual remedies against such counterparty may be subject to bankruptcy and insolvency laws, which could affect the Underlying Fund’s rights as a creditor (e.g., the Underlying Fund may not receive the amount of payments that it is contractually entitled to receive).

 

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An Underlying Fund may also lose money on a derivative if the underlying asset on which the derivative is based, or the derivative itself, does not perform as an Adviser anticipated. The Underlying Fund may incur higher taxes as a result of its investing in derivatives. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with, and may be more sensitive to market events than, the underlying asset. Changes in regulation relating to a mutual fund’s use of derivatives and related instruments could potentially limit or impact an Underlying Fund’s ability to invest in derivatives, limit the Underlying Fund’s ability to employ certain strategies that use derivatives and/or adversely affect the value of derivatives and the Underlying Fund’s performance.

 

Compared to other types of investments, derivatives may be less tax efficient. The use of certain derivatives may cause the Underlying Fund, and thus the Portfolio, to realize higher amounts of ordinary income or short-term capital gains, distributions from which are taxable to individual shareholders at ordinary income tax rates rather than at the more favorable tax rates for long-term capital gain. In addition, changes in government regulation of derivative instruments could affect the character, timing and amount of the Underlying Fund’s taxable income or gains, and may limit or prevent the Underlying Fund, and thus the Portfolio, from using certain types of derivative instruments as a part of its investment strategy, which could make the investment strategy more costly to implement or require the Portfolio to change its investment strategy. An Underlying Fund’s use of derivatives also may be limited by the requirements for taxation of the Underlying Fund as a regulated investment company.

 

Management Risk. The performance of the Portfolio also will depend on whether the Manager is successful in pursuing the Portfolio’s investment strategy.

 

Performance:

The bar chart and table that follow provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio by showing changes in the performance of the Portfolio’s Class A shares from year-to-year and by showing how the average annual returns for the past 1 year and since inception periods of the Portfolio compare with those of a broad measure of market performance, as well as with an index of funds with similar investment objectives. The returns in the bar chart do not reflect the deduction of sales charges. If these amounts were reflected, returns would be less than shown. The Portfolio’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future. The returns in the table assume you sold your shares at the end of each period and include the effect of Class A shares maximum applicable front-end sales charge. Of course, if you did not sell your shares at the end of the period, your return would be higher. You may obtain the Portfolio’s updated performance information by calling toll free 1-800-807-FUND or visiting www.saratogacap.com.

 

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ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS – CALENDAR YEAR

 

 

Years

During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 8.78% (quarter ended June 30, 2020) and the lowest return for a calendar quarter was -10.65% (quarter ended March 31, 2020). For the period January 1, 2023 through September 30, 2023, the return for the Portfolio’s Class A shares was 3.25%.

 

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (FOR THE PERIODS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022)

 

    1 Year   Since Inception*
Conservative Balanced Allocation Portfolio:        
Return Before Taxes   -14.16%   1.91%
Return After Taxes on Distributions   -15.05%   0.89%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares   -7.72%   1.28%
Indices: (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)        
Morningstar Moderately Conservative Target Risk TR   -13.85%   2.66%
Morningstar US Fund Moderately Conservative Allocation Category   -13.34%   2.10%

 

* The Portfolio commenced operations on January 4, 2018.

 

The table above shows after-tax returns. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates during the period shown and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Portfolio shares through tax deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns may be higher than before-tax returns due to an assumed benefit from capital losses that would have been realized had Portfolio shares been sold at the end of the relevant periods.

 

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Manager: Saratoga Capital Management, LLC serves as the Portfolio’s Manager.

 

Portfolio Managers: The following individuals serve as the Portfolio’s portfolio managers:

 

Portfolio Manager   Primary Title
Stephen Ventimiglia   Vice Chairman, Chief Investment Officer and Chief Economist of Saratoga Capital Management, LLC, and has managed the Portfolio since its inception.
Bruce E. Ventimiglia   Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Saratoga Capital Management, LLC, and has managed the Portfolio since its inception.
Jonathan W. Ventimiglia   Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of Saratoga Capital Management, LLC, and has managed the Portfolio since its inception.

 

Purchase and Sale of Portfolio Shares: There is generally a $2,500 minimum initial investment for the Portfolio. The minimum subsequent investment in the Trust is $100. There is no minimum subsequent investment for the Portfolio. There is no minimum initial investment and no minimum subsequent investment for employee benefit plans, mutual fund platform programs, supermarket programs, associations and individual retirement accounts. You may purchase and redeem shares of the Portfolio on any day that the New York Stock Exchange is open. Redemption requests may be made in writing, by telephone, or through a financial intermediary and will be paid by check or wire transfer.

 

Tax Information: Dividends and capital gain distributions you receive from the Portfolio, whether you reinvest your distributions in additional Portfolio shares or receive them in cash, are taxable to you at either ordinary income or capital gain tax rates unless you are investing through a tax-free plan, in which case your distributions generally will be taxed when withdrawn from the tax deferred account.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries: If you purchase Portfolio shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Manager and/or the Portfolio’s distributor may pay the intermediary for the sale of Portfolio shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 

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PORTFOLIO SUMMARY: MODERATELY CONSERVATIVE BALANCED ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO

 

 

Investment Objective:

The Moderately Conservative Balanced Allocation Portfolio seeks total return consisting of capital appreciation and income.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio:

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Portfolio. You may be subject to other fees not reflected in the table, such as brokerage commission and fees to financial intermediaries. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in The Saratoga Advantage Trust Portfolios. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and under “Shareholder Information – Reduced Sales Charge” on page 136 of the Portfolio’s Prospectus. In addition, Appendix A attached to this Prospectus contains information regarding financial intermediary-specific sales charge waivers and discounts.

 

    Moderately Conservative Balanced Allocation Portfolio
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
   
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases of Shares (as a % of offering price)   5.75%
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends (as a % of offering price)   None
Maximum Contingent Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a % of offering price)   None
Redemption Fee   None
Exchange Fee   None
Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
   
Management Fees   0.90%
Distribution and/or Service Rule 12b-1 Fees   0.25%
Other Expenses   2.08%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses (1)   0.80%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (before Expense Waiver/Reimbursement)   4.03%
Expense Waiver/Reimbursement   (1.99)%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (after Expense Waiver/Reimbursement) (2)   2.04%

 

(1) Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies. These Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are not considered in the calculation of the expense cap (defined below). The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses in the above fee table will not correlate to the expense ratio in the Portfolio’s financial statements because the financial statements will include only the direct operating expenses incurred by the Portfolio, not the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies (“Acquired Funds”).

 

(2) Pursuant to an operating expense limitation agreement between the Manager and the Portfolio, the Manager has agreed to waive its fees and/or absorb expenses of the Portfolio to ensure that Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (excluding front end and contingent deferred sales loads, leverage, interest and tax expenses, dividends and interest on short positions, brokerage commissions, expenses incurred in connection with any merger, reorganization or liquidation, extraordinary or non-routine expenses and Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses) for the Portfolio do not exceed 1.24% of the Portfolio’s average net assets for Class A shares through December 31, 2024 (the “Expense Cap”). This operating expense limitation agreement can be terminated during its term only by, or with the consent of, the Trust’s Board of Trustees. The Manager is permitted to seek reimbursement from the Portfolio, subject to limitations, for management fees waived and Portfolio expenses it paid within three (3) years of the end of the fiscal year in which such management fees were waived or expenses paid, as long as the reimbursement does not cause the Portfolio’s operating expenses to exceed (i) the expense cap in place at the time the fees were waived or the expenses were incurred; or (ii) the current Expense Cap, whichever is less.

 

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Example.

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. This example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, and the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same and reflect the contractual expense waiver in place for the first year. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs, if you held or sold your shares, at the end of each period would be:

 

One Year   Three Years   Five Years   Ten Years
$770   $1,560   $2,365   $4,447

 

The above Example reflects applicable contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement arrangements for the duration of the arrangements only.

 

Portfolio Turnover:

The Portfolio 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, which must be borne by the Portfolio and its shareholders and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 87% of the average value of its portfolio.

 

Principal Investment Strategies:

The Portfolio is a “fund of funds.” The Portfolio’s main investment strategy is to invest in other Saratoga Advantage Trust mutual funds (the “Saratoga Funds”) and/or unaffiliated registered investment companies and exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) (together with the Saratoga Funds, the “Underlying Funds”).

 

The Portfolio’s manager, Saratoga Capital Management, LLC (the “Manager”) allocates the Portfolio’s investments in Underlying Funds based on a propriety asset allocation model developed by the Manager (the “Saratoga Strategic Horizon Asset Reallocation Program® model” or the “SaratogaSHARP® model”). Consistent with the SaratogaSHARP® model, the Manager allocates the Portfolio’s investments based on an analysis of capital markets that includes an examination of current economic conditions, historical asset class behavior and current market assumptions. In constructing the Portfolio, the Manager typically allocates assets among asset classes in the following investment categories: core equity, fixed income, money market and alternative investments. The target allocations are: approximately 10%-75% of the Portfolio’s assets to core equity investments; 7%-70% to fixed income investments; 8.5%-70% to money market investments; and 2.5%-32.5% to alternative investments. The Manager does not currently intend to allocate any of the Portfolio’s assets to sector equity investments; however, it may do so in the future. The Portfolio will invest in equity, fixed income and alternative instruments through its investments in the Underlying Funds. The Manager regularly evaluates how individual economic sectors and statistics are affecting the general economy and markets in order to develop the asset allocation parameters. Accordingly, asset allocation parameters may vary widely over time in response to changing market and/or economic conditions.

 

Principal Investment Risks:

There is no assurance that the Portfolio will achieve its investment objective. The Portfolio share price will fluctuate with changes in the market value of its portfolio securities. When you sell your Portfolio shares, they may be worth less than what you paid for them and, accordingly, you can lose money investing in this Portfolio. Shares of the Portfolio are not bank deposits and are not guaranteed or insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

 

Investments in Mutual Funds Risk. The Portfolio invests in Underlying Funds as a primary strategy, so the Portfolio’s investment performance and risks are directly related to the performance and risks of the Underlying Funds. Shareholders will indirectly bear the expenses charged by the Underlying Funds. Because the Manager or its affiliates provide services to and receive fees, including supervision fees, from some of the Saratoga Funds, the Portfolio’s investments in some of the Underlying Funds benefit the Manager and/or its affiliates. In addition, the Portfolio may hold a significant percentage of the shares of an Underlying Fund. As a result, the Portfolio’s investments in an Underlying Fund may create a conflict of interest.

 

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Exchange-Traded Funds (ETF) Risk. Shares of ETFs have many of the same risks as direct investments in common stocks or bonds. ETFs are typically open-end investment companies, which may seek to track the performance of a specific index or be actively managed. In addition, their market value is expected to rise and fall as the value of the underlying index or other assets rises and falls. The market value of their shares may differ from the net asset value (“NAV”) of the particular fund. As a shareholder in an ETF (as with other investment companies), the Portfolio would bear its ratable share of that entity’s expenses in addition to its own fees and expenses. In addition, investments in an ETF are subject to, among other risks, the risk that the ETF’s shares may trade at a discount or premium relative to the NAV of the shares, especially during periods of market volatility or stress, causing investors to pay significantly more or less than the value of the ETF’s underlying portfolio, and the listing exchange may halt trading of the ETF’s shares. ETFs also involve the risk that an active trading market for an ETF’s shares may not develop or be maintained. In addition, ETFs that track particular indices may be unable to match the performance of such underlying indices due to the temporary unavailability of certain index securities in the secondary market or other factors, such as discrepancies with respect to the weighting of securities.

 

Investment and Market Risk. An investment in the Portfolio’s common shares is subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount invested. An investment in the Portfolio’s common shares represents an indirect investment in the securities owned by the Portfolio, which are generally traded on a securities exchange or in the OTC markets. The value of these securities, like other market investments, may move up or down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably due to changes in general market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related to the issuer of the security or other asset, or factors that affect a particular issuer or issuers, exchange, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class. Social, political, economic and other conditions and events (such as recessions, inflation, rapid interest rate changes, supply chain disruptions, war, natural disasters, epidemics and pandemics, terrorism, conflicts and social unrest) will occur that have significant impacts on issuers, industries, governments and other systems, including the financial markets. As global systems, economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, events that once had only local impact are now more likely to have regional or even global effects. Events that occur in one country, region or financial market will, more frequently, adversely impact issuers in other countries, regions or markets. These impacts can be exacerbated by failures of governments and societies to adequately respond to an emerging event or threat. Investors will be negatively impacted if the value of their portfolio holdings decreases as a result of such events, if these events adversely impact the operations and effectiveness of the Manager or Adviser, as applicable, or key service providers or if these events disrupt systems and processes necessary or beneficial to the management of accounts. These events may negatively impact broad segments of businesses and populations and have a significant and rapid negative impact on the performance of the Portfolio’s investments, increase the Portfolio’s volatility and exacerbate pre-existing risks to the Portfolio. The Portfolio’s common shares at any point in time may be worth less than the original investment, even after taking into account any reinvestment of dividends and distributions.

 

Common Stock Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in equity securities (such as common stock) that are more volatile and carry more risks than other forms of investment. In general, stock values fluctuate in response to activities specific to the company as well as general market, economic and political conditions. Stock prices can fluctuate widely in response to these factors.

 

Common stockholders are subordinate to debt or preferred stockholders in a company’s capital structure in terms of priority to corporate income and liquidation payments and, therefore, will be subject to greater credit risk than preferred stock or debt instruments.

 

Foreign Securities Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in foreign securities. An Underlying Fund’s investments in foreign securities (including depositary receipts) involve risks in addition to the risks associated with domestic securities. One additional risk is currency risk. While the price of Underlying Fund shares is quoted in U.S. dollars, an Underlying Fund generally converts U.S. dollars to a foreign market’s local currency to purchase a security in that market. If the value of that local currency falls relative to the U.S. dollar, the U.S. dollar value of the foreign security will decrease. This is true even if the foreign security’s local price remains unchanged.

 

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Foreign securities also have risks related to economic and political developments abroad, including expropriations, confiscatory taxation, exchange control regulation, limitations on the use or transfer of Underlying Fund assets and any effects of foreign social, economic or political instability. In particular, adverse political or economic developments in a geographic region or a particular country in which an Underlying Fund invests could cause a substantial decline in the value of its portfolio securities. Certain foreign markets may rely heavily on particular industries or foreign capital and are more vulnerable to diplomatic developments, the imposition of economic sanctions against a particular country or countries, organizations, entities and/or individuals, changes in international trading patterns, trade barriers and other protectionist or retaliatory measures. Economic sanctions could, among other things, effectively restrict or eliminate an Underlying Fund’s ability to purchase or sell securities or groups of securities for a substantial period of time. The severity of sanctions and related measures, such as retaliatory actions, vary in scope and are unpredictable. The imposition of sanctions could cause a decline in the value and/or liquidity of securities issued by the sanctioned country or companies located in or economically tied to the sanctioned country, significantly delay or prevent the settlement of securities transactions, and significantly impact the Portfolio’s liquidity and performance. International trade barriers or economic sanctions against foreign countries, organizations, entities and/or individuals, may adversely affect an Underlying Fund’s foreign holdings or exposures. Investments in foreign markets may also be adversely affected by governmental actions such as the imposition of capital controls, nationalization of companies or industries, expropriation of assets, or the imposition of punitive taxes. Governmental actions can have a significant effect on the economic conditions in foreign countries, which also may adversely affect the value and liquidity of an Underlying Fund’s investments. For example, the governments of certain countries may prohibit or impose substantial restrictions on foreign investing in their capital markets or in certain sectors or industries. In addition, a foreign government may limit or cause delay in the convertibility or repatriation of its currency which would adversely affect the U.S. dollar value and/or liquidity of investments denominated in that currency. Any of these actions could severely affect security prices, impair an Underlying Fund’s ability to purchase or sell foreign securities or transfer an Underlying Fund’s assets back into the U.S., or otherwise adversely affect the Underlying Fund’s operations.

 

Certain foreign investments may become less liquid in response to market developments or adverse investor perceptions, or become illiquid after purchase by an Underlying Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. Certain foreign investments may become illiquid when, for instance, there are few, if any, interested buyers and sellers or when dealers are unwilling to make a market for certain securities. When an Underlying Fund holds illiquid investments, its portfolio may be harder to value, especially in changing markets. Foreign companies, in general, are not subject to the regulatory requirements of U.S. companies and may have less stringent investor protections and disclosure standards and, as such, there may be less publicly available information about these companies. Moreover, foreign accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards generally are different from those applicable to U.S. companies. In addition, in the event of a default of any foreign debt obligations, it may be more difficult for an Underlying Fund to obtain or enforce a judgment against the issuers of the securities. Furthermore, foreign exchanges and broker-dealers are generally subject to less government and exchange scrutiny and regulation than their U.S. counterparts. Finally, differences in clearance and settlement procedures in foreign markets may cause delays in settlements of an Underlying Fund’s trades effected in those markets.

 

Depositary receipts involve substantially identical risks associated with direct investments in foreign securities. Issuers of the foreign security represented by a depositary receipt, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, may not be obligated to disclose material information in the U.S. or to pass through to holders of such receipts voting rights with respect to the deposited securities.

 

Compared to the U.S. and other developed countries, developing or emerging countries may have relatively unstable governments, economies based on only a few industries and securities markets that trade a small number of securities. Prices of these securities tend to be especially volatile and, in the past, securities in these countries have been characterized by greater potential loss (as well as gain) than securities of companies located in developed countries.

 

Fixed-Income Securities Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in fixed-income securities. All fixed-income securities are subject to two types of risk: credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer of a security will be unable to make interest payments and/or repay the principal on its debt. Interest rate risk refers to fluctuations in the value of a fixed-income security resulting from changes in the general level of interest rates.

 

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When the general level of interest rates goes up, the prices of most fixed-income securities go down. When the general level of interest rates goes down, the prices of most fixed-income securities go up. (Zero coupon securities are typically subject to greater price fluctuations than comparable securities that pay current interest.) Long-term fixed-income securities will rise and fall in response to interest rate changes to a greater extent than short-term securities. The Portfolio may face a heightened level of interest rate risk due to certain changes in monetary policy, such as certain types of interest rate changes by the Federal Reserve.

 

Certain Underlying Funds may invest in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies and instrumentalities (such as securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac)). Securities, such as those issued or guaranteed by Ginnie Mae or the U.S. Treasury, that are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity. Notwithstanding that these securities are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, circumstances could arise that would prevent the payment of principal and interest. Securities issued by U.S. government-related organizations, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and no assurance can be given that the U.S. government will provide financial support. Therefore, U.S. government-related organizations may not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future.

 

Alternative Investment Risk. Alternative investment strategies, which may include, but are not limited to, investing in or having exposure to real estate, commodities, foreign currency, natural resources, MLP and other non-traditional investments, or following event-driven, macro, long-short, market neutral, merger arbitrage, or other tactical investment strategies, may involve complex security types or transactions and/or focus on narrow segments of the market, which may increase and/or magnify the overall risks and volatility associated with these strategies.

 

Mortgage-Backed Securities and Prepayment Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in mortgage-backed securities. Mortgage-backed securities, such as mortgage pass-through securities, have different risk characteristics than traditional debt securities. For example, principal is paid back over the life of the security rather than at maturity. Although the value of fixed-income securities generally increases during periods of falling interest rates and decreases during periods of rising interest rates, this is not always the case with mortgage-backed securities. This is due to the fact that the borrower’s payments may be prepaid at any time as well as other factors. Generally, prepayments will increase during a period of falling interest rates and decrease during a period of rising interest rates. The rate of prepayments also may be influenced by economic and other factors. Prepayment risk includes the possibility that securities with stated interest rates may have the principal prepaid earlier than expected, which may occur when interest rates decline. Prepayment may expose an Underlying Fund, and thus the Portfolio, to a lower rate of return upon reinvestment of principal.

 

Investments in mortgage-backed securities are made based upon, among other things, expectations regarding the rate of prepayments on the underlying loans. Rates of prepayment faster or slower than expected by the Manager could reduce an Underlying Fund’s yield, increase the volatility of the Underlying Fund and/or cause a decline in net asset value. Mortgage-backed securities are also subject to extension risk, which is the risk that the issuer of such a security pays back the principal of an obligation later than expected, which may occur when interest rates rise. This may have an adverse effect on returns, as the value of the security decreases when principal payments are made later than expected. In addition, an Underlying Fund may be prevented from investing proceeds it would otherwise have received at a given time at the higher prevailing interest rates. Certain mortgage-backed securities may be more volatile and less liquid than other traditional types of debt securities. In addition, an unexpectedly high rate of defaults on the mortgages held by a mortgage pool may adversely affect the value of a mortgage-backed security and could result in losses to an Underlying Fund. The risk of such defaults is generally higher in the case of mortgage pools that include subprime mortgages. The risks associated with mortgage-backed securities typically become elevated during periods of distressed economic, market, health and labor conditions. In particular, increased levels of unemployment, delays and delinquencies in payments of mortgage and rent obligations, and uncertainty regarding the effects and extent of government intervention with respect to mortgage payments and other economic matters may adversely affect the Portfolio’s investments in mortgage-backed securities.

 

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Issuer-Specific Risk. The price of an individual security or particular type of security can be more volatile than the market as a whole and can fluctuate differently than the market as a whole. An individual issuer’s securities can rise or fall dramatically with little or no warning based upon such things as a better (or worse) than expected earnings report, news about the development of a promising product, or the loss of key management personnel. There is also a risk that the price of a security may never reach the level that the Manager believes is representative of its full value or that it may even go down in price.

 

Convertible Securities Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in convertible securities. An Underlying Fund’s investments in convertible securities subject the Underlying Fund to the risks associated with both fixed-income securities and common stocks. To the extent that a convertible security’s investment value is greater than its conversion value, its price will be likely to increase when interest rates fall and decrease when interest rates rise, as with a fixed-income security. If the conversion value exceeds the investment value, the price of the convertible security will tend to fluctuate directly with the price of the underlying equity security.

 

Preferred Stock Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in preferred stock. Preferred stocks involve credit risk and certain other risks. Certain preferred stocks contain provisions that allow an issuer under certain conditions to skip distributions (in the case of “non-cumulative” preferred stocks) or defer distributions (in the case of “cumulative” preferred stocks). If an Underlying Fund owns a preferred stock on which distributions are deferred, the Underlying Fund may nevertheless be required to report income for tax purposes while it is not receiving distributions on that security. Preferred stocks are subordinated to bonds and other debt instruments in a company’s capital structure in terms of priority to corporate income and liquidation payments, and therefore will be subject to greater credit risk than those debt instruments.

 

Warrants Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in warrants. The holder of a warrant has the right to purchase a given number of shares of a particular issuer at a specified price until expiration of the warrant. Such investments can provide a greater potential for profit or loss than an equivalent investment in the underlying security. Prices of warrants do not necessarily move in tandem with the prices of the underlying securities, and are speculative investments. Warrants pay no dividends and confer no rights other than a purchase option. If a warrant is not exercised by the date of its expiration, an Underlying Fund will lose its entire investment in such warrant.

 

Liquidity Risk. The Portfolio and/or an Underlying Fund may hold illiquid securities that it is unable to sell at the preferred time or price and could lose its entire investment in such securities. Investments with an active trading market or that the Manager otherwise deems liquid could become illiquid before the Portfolio can exit its positions. The liquidity of the Portfolio’s assets may change over time.

 

Small and Medium Capitalization Companies Risk. An Underlying Fund may invest in small and medium capitalization companies. Investing in medium and small capitalization companies may involve more risk than is usually associated with investing in larger, more established companies. There is typically less publicly available information concerning small and medium capitalization companies than for larger, more established companies. Some small and medium capitalization companies have limited product lines, distribution channels and financial and managerial resources and tend to concentrate on fewer geographical markets than do larger companies. Also, because small and medium capitalization companies normally have fewer shares outstanding than larger companies and trade less frequently, it may be more difficult for the Portfolio to buy and sell significant amounts of shares without an unfavorable impact on prevailing market prices.

 

Derivatives Risk. Certain Underlying Funds may invest in derivatives. A derivative is an investment whose value depends on (or is derived from) the value of an underlying asset (including an underlying security), reference rate or index. Derivatives may be used as a substitute for purchasing the underlying asset or as a hedge to reduce exposure to risks. The derivatives in which the Portfolio or an Underlying Fund may invest include options, futures and swaps. Derivatives may be volatile and some derivatives have the potential for loss that is greater than the Underlying Fund’s initial investment. Many derivatives are entered into over-the-counter or OTC (not on an exchange or contract market) and may be more difficult to purchase, sell or value than more traditional investments, such as stocks or bonds, because there may be fewer purchasers or sellers of the derivative instrument or the derivative instrument may require participants entering into offsetting transactions rather than making or taking delivery. An Underlying Fund may also lose money on a derivative if the counterparty (issuer) fails to pay the amount due. If a counterparty to an OTC derivative were to default on its obligations, the Underlying Fund’s contractual remedies against such counterparty may be subject to bankruptcy and insolvency laws, which could affect the Underlying Fund’s rights as a creditor (e.g., the Underlying Fund may not receive the amount of payments that it is contractually entitled to receive).

 

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An Underlying Fund may also lose money on a derivative if the underlying asset on which the derivative is based, or the derivative itself, does not perform as an Adviser anticipated. The Underlying Fund may incur higher taxes as a result of its investing in derivatives. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with, and may be more sensitive to market events than, the underlying asset. Changes in regulation relating to a mutual fund’s use of derivatives and related instruments could potentially limit or impact an Underlying Fund’s ability to invest in derivatives, limit the Underlying Fund’s ability to employ certain strategies that use derivatives and/or adversely affect the value of derivatives and the Underlying Fund’s performance.

 

Compared to other types of investments, derivatives may be less tax efficient. The use of certain derivatives may cause the Underlying Fund, and thus the Portfolio, to realize higher amounts of ordinary income or short-term capital gains, distributions from which are taxable to individual shareholders at ordinary income tax rates rather than at the more favorable tax rates for long-term capital gain. In addition, changes in government regulation of derivative instruments could affect the character, timing and amount of the Underlying Fund’s taxable income or gains, and may limit or prevent the Underlying Fund, and thus the Portfolio, from using certain types of derivative instruments as a part of its investment strategy, which could make the investment strategy more costly to implement or require the Portfolio to change its investment strategy. An Underlying Fund’s use of derivatives also may be limited by the requirements for taxation of the Underlying Fund as a regulated investment company.

 

Management Risk. The performance of the Portfolio also will depend on whether the Manager is successful in pursuing the Portfolio’s investment strategy.

 

Performance:

The bar chart and table that follow provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio by showing changes in the performance of the Portfolio’s Class A shares from year-to-year and by showing how the average annual returns for the past 1 year and since inception periods of the Portfolio compare with those of a broad measure of market performance, as well as with an index of funds with similar investment objectives. The returns in the bar chart do not reflect the deduction of sales charges. If these amounts were reflected, returns would be less than shown. The Portfolio’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future. The returns in the table assume you sold your shares at the end of each period and include the effect of Class A shares maximum applicable front-end sales charge. Of course, if you did not sell your shares at the end of the period, your return would be higher. You may obtain the Portfolio’s updated performance information by calling toll free 1-800-807-FUND or visiting www.saratogacap.com.

 

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ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS – CALENDAR YEAR

 

 

Years

During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 11.48% (quarter ended June 30, 2020) and the lowest return for a calendar quarter was -13.93% (quarter ended March 31, 2020). For the period January 1, 2023 through September 30, 2023, the return for the Portfolio’s Class A shares was 4.38%.

 

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (FOR THE PERIODS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022)

 

    1 Year   Since Inception*
Moderately Conservative Balanced Allocation Portfolio:        
Return Before Taxes   -14.96%   2.31%
Return After Taxes on Distributions   -16.40%   0.85%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares   -7.79%   1.56%
Indices: (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)        
Morningstar Moderate Target Risk TR   -14.77%   3.47%
Morningstar US Fund Moderate Allocation Category   -13.84%   4.15%

 

* The Portfolio commenced operations on January 10, 2018.

 

The table above shows after-tax returns. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates during the period shown and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Portfolio shares through tax deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns may be higher than before-tax returns due to an assumed benefit from capital losses that would have been realized had Portfolio shares been sold at the end of the relevant periods.

 

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Manager: Saratoga Capital Management, LLC serves as the Portfolio’s Manager.

 

Portfolio Managers: The following individuals serve as the Portfolio’s portfolio managers:

 

Portfolio Manager   Primary Title
Stephen Ventimiglia   Vice Chairman, Chief Investment Officer and Chief Economist of Saratoga Capital Management, LLC, and has managed the Portfolio since its inception.
Bruce E. Ventimiglia   Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Saratoga Capital Management, LLC, and has managed the Portfolio since its inception.
Jonathan W. Ventimiglia   Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of Saratoga Capital Management, LLC, and has managed the Portfolio since its inception.

 

Purchase and Sale of Portfolio Shares: There is generally a $2,500 minimum initial investment for the Portfolio. The minimum subsequent investment in the Trust is $100. There is no minimum subsequent investment for the Portfolio. There is no minimum initial investment and no minimum subsequent investment for employee benefit plans, mutual fund platform programs, supermarket programs, associations and individual retirement accounts. You may purchase and redeem shares of the Portfolio on any day that the New York Stock Exchange is open. Redemption requests may be made in writing, by telephone, or through a financial intermediary and will be paid by check or wire transfer.

 

Tax Information: Dividends and capital gain distributions you receive from the Portfolio, whether you reinvest your distributions in additional Portfolio shares or receive them in cash, are taxable to you at either ordinary income or capital gain tax rates unless you are investing through a tax-free plan, in which case your distributions generally will be taxed when withdrawn from the tax deferred account.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries: If you purchase Portfolio shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Manager and/or the Portfolio’s distributor may pay the intermediary for the sale of Portfolio shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 

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PORTFOLIO SUMMARY: MODERATE BALANCED ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO

 

 

Investment Objective:

The Moderate Balanced Allocation Portfolio seeks total return consisting of capital appreciation and income.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio:

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Portfolio. You may be subject to other fees not reflected in the table, such as brokerage commission and fees to financial intermediaries. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in The Saratoga Advantage Trust Portfolios. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and under “Shareholder Information – Reduced Sales Charge” on page 136 of the Portfolio’s Prospectus. In addition, Appendix A attached to this Prospectus contains information regarding financial intermediary-specific sales charge waivers and discounts.

 

    Moderate Balanced Allocation Portfolio
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
   
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases of Shares (as a % of offering price)   5.75%
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends (as a % of offering price)   None
Maximum Contingent Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a % of offering price)   None
Redemption Fee   None
Exchange Fee   None

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

   
Management Fees   0.90%
Distribution and/or Service Rule 12b-1 Fees   0.25%
Other Expenses   1.41%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses (1)   0.93%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (before Expense Waiver/Reimbursement)   3.49%
Expense Waiver/Reimbursement   (1.32)%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (after Expense Waiver/Reimbursement) (2)   2.17%

 

(1) Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies. These Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are not considered in the calculation of the expense cap (defined below). The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses in the above fee table will not correlate to the expense ratio in the Portfolio’s financial statements because the financial statements will include only the direct operating expenses incurred by the Portfolio, not the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies (“Acquired Funds”).

 

(2) Pursuant to an operating expense limitation agreement between the Manager and the Portfolio, the Manager has agreed to waive its fees and/or absorb expenses of the Portfolio to ensure that Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (excluding front end and contingent deferred sales loads, leverage, interest and tax expenses, dividends and interest on short positions, brokerage commissions, expenses incurred in connection with any merger, reorganization or liquidation, extraordinary or non-routine expenses and Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses) for the Portfolio do not exceed 1.24% of the Portfolio’s average net assets for Class A shares through December 31, 2024 (the “Expense Cap”). This operating expense limitation agreement can be terminated during its term only by, or with the consent of, the Trust’s Board of Trustees. The Manager is permitted to seek reimbursement from the Portfolio, subject to limitations, for management fees waived and Portfolio expenses it paid within three (3) years of the end of the fiscal year in which such management fees were waived or expenses paid, as long as the reimbursement does not cause the Portfolio’s operating expenses to exceed (i) the expense cap in place at the time the fees were waived or the expenses were incurred; or (ii) the current Expense Cap, whichever is less.

 

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Example.

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. This example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, and the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same and reflect the contractual expense waiver in place for the first year. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs, if you held or sold your shares, at the end of each period would be:

 

One Year   Three Years   Five Years   Ten Years
$782   $1,469   $2,177   $4,042

 

The above Example reflects applicable contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement arrangements for the duration of the arrangements only.

 

Portfolio Turnover:

The Portfolio 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, which must be borne by the Portfolio and its shareholders and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 41% of the average value of its portfolio.

 

Principal Investment Strategies:

The Portfolio is a “fund of funds.” The Portfolio’s main investment strategy is to invest in other Saratoga Advantage Trust mutual funds (the “Saratoga Funds”) and/or unaffiliated registered investment companies and exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) (together with the Saratoga Funds, the “Underlying Funds”).

 

The Portfolio’s manager, Saratoga Capital Management, LLC (the “Manager”) allocates the Portfolio’s investments in Underlying Funds based on a propriety asset allocation model developed by the Manager (the “Saratoga Strategic Horizon Asset Reallocation Program® model” or the “SaratogaSHARP® model”). Consistent with the SaratogaSHARP® model, the Manager allocates the Portfolio’s investments based on an analysis of capital markets that includes an examination of current economic conditions, historical asset class behavior and current market assumptions. In constructing the Portfolio, the Manager typically allocates assets among asset classes in the following investment categories: core equity, sector equity, fixed income, money market and alternative investments. The target allocations are: approximately 20%-82.5% of the Portfolio’s assets to core equity investments; 2.5%-25% to sector equity investments; 6%-65% to fixed income investments; 7%-65% to money market investments; and 3%-35% to alternative investments. The Portfolio will invest in equity, fixed income and alternative instruments through its investments in the Underlying Funds. The Manager regularly evaluates how individual economic sectors and statistics are affecting the general economy and markets in order to develop the asset allocation parameters. Accordingly, asset allocation parameters may vary widely over time in response to changing market and/or economic conditions.

 

The sectors in which the Portfolio typically invests include: health and biotechnology, technology and communications, financial services, energy and basic materials and global real estate.

 

Principal Investment Risks:

There is no assurance that the Portfolio will achieve its investment objective. The Portfolio share price will fluctuate with changes in the market value of its portfolio securities. When you sell your Portfolio shares, they may be worth less than what you paid for them and, accordingly, you can lose money investing in this Portfolio. Shares of the Portfolio are not bank deposits and are not guaranteed or insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

 

Investments in Mutual Funds Risk. The Portfolio invests in Underlying Funds as a primary strategy, so the Portfolio’s investment performance and risks are directly related to the performance and risks of the Underlying Funds. Shareholders will indirectly bear the expenses charged by the Underlying Funds. Because the Manager or its affiliates provide services to and receive fees, including supervision fees, from some of the Saratoga Funds, the Portfolio’s investments in some of the Underlying Funds benefit the Manager and/or its affiliates. In addition, the Portfolio may hold a significant percentage of the shares of an Underlying Fund. As a result, the Portfolio’s investments in an Underlying Fund may create a conflict of interest.

 

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Exchange-Traded Funds (ETF) Risk. Shares of ETFs have many of the same risks as direct investments in common stocks or bonds. ETFs are typically open-end investment companies, which may seek to track the performance of a specific index or be actively managed. In addition, their market value is expected to rise and fall as the value of the underlying index or other assets rises and falls. The market value of their shares may differ from the net asset value (“NAV”) of the particular fund. As a shareholder in an ETF (as with other investment companies), the Portfolio would bear its ratable share of that entity’s expenses in addition to its own fees and expenses. In addition, investments in an ETF are subject to, among other risks, the risk that the ETF’s shares may trade at a discount or premium relative to the NAV of the shares, especially during periods of market volatility or stress, causing investors to pay significantly more or less than the value of the ETF’s underlying portfolio, and the listing exchange may halt trading of the ETF’s shares. ETFs also involve the risk that an active trading market for an ETF’s shares may not develop or be maintained. In addition, ETFs that track particular indices may be unable to match the performance of such underlying indices due to the temporary unavailability of certain index securities in the secondary market or other factors, such as discrepancies with respect to the weighting of securities.

 

Investment and Market Risk. An investment in the Portfolio’s common shares is subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount invested. An investment in the Portfolio’s common shares represents an indirect investment in the securities owned by the Portfolio, which are generally traded on a securities exchange or in the OTC markets. The value of these securities, like other market investments, may move up or down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably due to changes in general market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related to the issuer of the security or other asset, or factors that affect a particular issuer or issuers, exchange, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class. Social, political, economic and other conditions and events (such as recessions, inflation, rapid interest rate changes, supply chain disruptions, war, natural disasters, epidemics and pandemics, terrorism, conflicts and social unrest) will occur that have significant impacts on issuers, industries, governments and other systems, including the financial markets. As global systems, economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, events that once had only local impact are now more likely to have regional or even global effects. Events that occur in one country, region or financial market will, more frequently, adversely impact issuers in other countries, regions or markets. These impacts can be exacerbated by failures of governments and societies to adequately respond to an emerging event or threat. Investors will be negatively impacted if the value of their portfolio holdings decreases as a result of such events, if these events adversely impact the operations and effectiveness of the Manager or Adviser, as applicable, or key service providers or if these events disrupt systems and processes necessary or beneficial to the management of accounts. These events may negatively impact broad segments of businesses and populations and have a significant and rapid negative impact on the performance of the Portfolio’s investments, increase the Portfolio’s volatility and exacerbate pre-existing risks to the Portfolio. The Portfolio’s common shares at any point in time may be worth less than the original investment, even after taking into account any reinvestment of dividends and distributions.

 

Common Stock Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in equity securities (such as common stock) that are more volatile and carry more risks than other forms of investment. In general, stock values fluctuate in response to activities specific to the company as well as general market, economic and political conditions.

 

Stock prices can fluctuate widely in response to these factors. Common stockholders are subordinate to debt or preferred stockholders in a company’s capital structure in terms of priority to corporate income and liquidation payments and, therefore, will be subject to greater credit risk than preferred stock or debt instruments.

 

Foreign Securities Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in foreign securities. An Underlying Fund’s investments in foreign securities (including depositary receipts) involve risks in addition to the risks associated with domestic securities. One additional risk is currency risk. While the price of Underlying Fund shares is quoted in U.S. dollars, an Underlying Fund generally converts U.S. dollars to a foreign market’s local currency to purchase a security in that market. If the value of that local currency falls relative to the U.S. dollar, the U.S. dollar value of the foreign security will decrease. This is true even if the foreign security’s local price remains unchanged.

 

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Foreign securities also have risks related to economic and political developments abroad, including expropriations, confiscatory taxation, exchange control regulation, limitations on the use or transfer of Underlying Fund assets and any effects of foreign social, economic or political instability. In particular, adverse political or economic developments in a geographic region or a particular country in which an Underlying Fund invests could cause a substantial decline in the value of its portfolio securities. Certain foreign markets may rely heavily on particular industries or foreign capital and are more vulnerable to diplomatic developments, the imposition of economic sanctions against a particular country or countries, organizations, entities and/or individuals, changes in international trading patterns, trade barriers and other protectionist or retaliatory measures. Economic sanctions could, among other things, effectively restrict or eliminate an Underlying Fund’s ability to purchase or sell securities or groups of securities for a substantial period of time. The severity of sanctions and related measures, such as retaliatory actions, vary in scope and are unpredictable. The imposition of sanctions could cause a decline in the value and/or liquidity of securities issued by the sanctioned country or companies located in or economically tied to the sanctioned country, significantly delay or prevent the settlement of securities transactions, and significantly impact the Portfolio’s liquidity and performance. International trade barriers or economic sanctions against foreign countries, organizations, entities and/or individuals, may adversely affect an Underlying Fund’s foreign holdings or exposures. Investments in foreign markets may also be adversely affected by governmental actions such as the imposition of capital controls, nationalization of companies or industries, expropriation of assets, or the imposition of punitive taxes. Governmental actions can have a significant effect on the economic conditions in foreign countries, which also may adversely affect the value and liquidity of an Underlying Fund’s investments. For example, the governments of certain countries may prohibit or impose substantial restrictions on foreign investing in their capital markets or in certain sectors or industries. In addition, a foreign government may limit or cause delay in the convertibility or repatriation of its currency which would adversely affect the U.S. dollar value and/or liquidity of investments denominated in that currency. Any of these actions could severely affect security prices, impair an Underlying Fund’s ability to purchase or sell foreign securities or transfer an Underlying Fund’s assets back into the U.S., or otherwise adversely affect the Underlying Fund’s operations.

 

Certain foreign investments may become less liquid in response to market developments or adverse investor perceptions, or become illiquid after purchase by an Underlying Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. Certain foreign investments may become illiquid when, for instance, there are few, if any, interested buyers and sellers or when dealers are unwilling to make a market for certain securities. When an Underlying Fund holds illiquid investments, its portfolio may be harder to value, especially in changing markets. Foreign companies, in general, are not subject to the regulatory requirements of U.S. companies and may have less stringent investor protections and disclosure standards and, as such, there may be less publicly available information about these companies. Moreover, foreign accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards generally are different from those applicable to U.S. companies. In addition, in the event of a default of any foreign debt obligations, it may be more difficult for an Underlying Fund to obtain or enforce a judgment against the issuers of the securities. Furthermore, foreign exchanges and broker-dealers are generally subject to less government and exchange scrutiny and regulation than their U.S. counterparts. Finally, differences in clearance and settlement procedures in foreign markets may cause delays in settlements of an Underlying Fund’s trades effected in those markets.

 

Depositary receipts involve substantially identical risks associated with direct investments in foreign securities. Issuers of the foreign security represented by a depositary receipt, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, may not be obligated to disclose material information in the U.S. or to pass through to holders of such receipts voting rights with respect to the deposited securities.

 

Compared to the U.S. and other developed countries, developing or emerging countries may have relatively unstable governments, economies based on only a few industries and securities markets that trade a small number of securities. Prices of these securities tend to be especially volatile and, in the past, securities in these countries have been characterized by greater potential loss (as well as gain) than securities of companies located in developed countries.

 

Fixed-Income Securities Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in fixed-income securities. All fixed-income securities are subject to two types of risk: credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer of a security will be unable to make interest payments and/or repay the principal on its debt. Interest rate risk refers to fluctuations in the value of a fixed-income security resulting from changes in the general level of interest rates.

 

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When the general level of interest rates goes up, the prices of most fixed-income securities go down. When the general level of interest rates goes down, the prices of most fixed-income securities go up. (Zero coupon securities are typically subject to greater price fluctuations than comparable securities that pay current interest.) Long-term fixed-income securities will rise and fall in response to interest rate changes to a greater extent than short-term securities. The Portfolio may face a heightened level of interest rate risk due to certain changes in monetary policy, such as certain types of interest rate changes by the Federal Reserve.

 

Certain Underlying Funds may invest in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies and instrumentalities (such as securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac)). Securities, such as those issued or guaranteed by Ginnie Mae or the U.S. Treasury, that are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity. Notwithstanding that these securities are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, circumstances could arise that would prevent the payment of principal and interest. Securities issued by U.S. government-related organizations, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and no assurance can be given that the U.S. government will provide financial support. Therefore, U.S. government-related organizations may not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future.

 

Alternative Investment Risk. Alternative investment strategies, which may include, but are not limited to, investing in or having exposure to real estate, commodities, foreign currency, natural resources, MLP and other non-traditional investments, or following event-driven, macro, long-short, market neutral, merger arbitrage, or other tactical investment strategies, may involve complex security types or transactions and/or focus on narrow segments of the market, which may increase and/or magnify the overall risks and volatility associated with these strategies.

 

Mortgage-Backed Securities and Prepayment Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in mortgage-backed securities. Mortgage-backed securities, such as mortgage pass-through securities, have different risk characteristics than traditional debt securities. For example, principal is paid back over the life of the security rather than at maturity. Although the value of fixed-income securities generally increases during periods of falling interest rates and decreases during periods of rising interest rates, this is not always the case with mortgage-backed securities. This is due to the fact that the borrower’s payments may be prepaid at any time as well as other factors. Generally, prepayments will increase during a period of falling interest rates and decrease during a period of rising interest rates. The rate of prepayments also may be influenced by economic and other factors. Prepayment risk includes the possibility that securities with stated interest rates may have the principal prepaid earlier than expected, which may occur when interest rates decline. Prepayment may expose an Underlying Fund, and thus the Portfolio, to a lower rate of return upon reinvestment of principal.

 

Investments in mortgage-backed securities are made based upon, among other things, expectations regarding the rate of prepayments on the underlying loans. Rates of prepayment faster or slower than expected by the Manager could reduce an Underlying Fund’s yield, increase the volatility of the Underlying Fund and/or cause a decline in net asset value. Mortgage-backed securities are also subject to extension risk, which is the risk that the issuer of such a security pays back the principal of an obligation later than expected, which may occur when interest rates rise. This may have an adverse effect on returns, as the value of the security decreases when principal payments are made later than expected. In addition, an Underlying Fund may be prevented from investing proceeds it would otherwise have received at a given time at the higher prevailing interest rates. Certain mortgage-backed securities may be more volatile and less liquid than other traditional types of debt securities. In addition, an unexpectedly high rate of defaults on the mortgages held by a mortgage pool may adversely affect the value of a mortgage-backed security and could result in losses to an Underlying Fund. The risk of such defaults is generally higher in the case of mortgage pools that include subprime mortgages. The risks associated with mortgage-backed securities typically become elevated during periods of distressed economic, market, health and labor conditions. In particular, increased levels of unemployment, delays and delinquencies in payments of mortgage and rent obligations, and uncertainty regarding the effects and extent of government intervention with respect to mortgage payments and other economic matters may adversely affect the Portfolio’s investments in mortgage-backed securities.

 

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Issuer-Specific Risk. The price of an individual security or particular type of security can be more volatile than the market as a whole and can fluctuate differently than the market as a whole. An individual issuer’s securities can rise or fall dramatically with little or no warning based upon such things as a better (or worse) than expected earnings report, news about the development of a promising product, or the loss of key management personnel. There is also a risk that the price of a security may never reach the level that the Manager believes is representative of its full value or that it may even go down in price.

 

Convertible Securities Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in convertible securities. An Underlying Fund’s investments in convertible securities subject the Underlying Fund to the risks associated with both fixed-income securities and common stocks. To the extent that a convertible security’s investment value is greater than its conversion value, its price will be likely to increase when interest rates fall and decrease when interest rates rise, as with a fixed-income security. If the conversion value exceeds the investment value, the price of the convertible security will tend to fluctuate directly with the price of the underlying equity security.

 

Preferred Stock Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in preferred stock. Preferred stocks involve credit risk and certain other risks. Certain preferred stocks contain provisions that allow an issuer under certain conditions to skip distributions (in the case of “non-cumulative” preferred stocks) or defer distributions (in the case of “cumulative” preferred stocks). If an Underlying Fund owns a preferred stock on which distributions are deferred, the Underlying Fund may nevertheless be required to report income for tax purposes while it is not receiving distributions on that security. Preferred stocks are subordinated to bonds and other debt instruments in a company’s capital structure in terms of priority to corporate income and liquidation payments, and therefore will be subject to greater credit risk than those debt instruments.

 

Warrants Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in warrants. The holder of a warrant has the right to purchase a given number of shares of a particular issuer at a specified price until expiration of the warrant. Such investments can provide a greater potential for profit or loss than an equivalent investment in the underlying security. Prices of warrants do not necessarily move in tandem with the prices of the underlying securities, and are speculative investments. Warrants pay no dividends and confer no rights other than a purchase option. If a warrant is not exercised by the date of its expiration, an Underlying Fund will lose its entire investment in such warrant.

 

Liquidity Risk. The Portfolio and/or an Underlying Fund may hold illiquid securities that it is unable to sell at the preferred time or price and could lose its entire investment in such securities. Investments with an active trading market or that the Manager otherwise deems liquid could become illiquid before the Portfolio can exit its positions. The liquidity of the Portfolio’s assets may change over time.

 

Small and Medium Capitalization Companies Risk. An Underlying Fund may invest in small and medium capitalization companies. Investing in medium and small capitalization companies may involve more risk than is usually associated with investing in larger, more established companies. There is typically less publicly available information concerning small and medium capitalization companies than for larger, more established companies. Some small and medium capitalization companies have limited product lines, distribution channels and financial and managerial resources and tend to concentrate on fewer geographical markets than do larger companies. Also, because small and medium capitalization companies normally have fewer shares outstanding than larger companies and trade less frequently, it may be more difficult for the Portfolio to buy and sell significant amounts of shares without an unfavorable impact on prevailing market prices.

 

Sector Concentration Risk. Sector concentration risk is the possibility that securities within the same sector will decline in price due to sector-specific market or economic developments. To the extent the Portfolio invests more heavily in particular sectors of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors. Additionally, some sectors (for example, the financial services and energy sectors, among others) could be subject to greater government regulation than other sectors. Therefore, changes in regulatory policies for those sectors may have a material effect on the value of securities issued by companies in those sectors.

 

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Derivatives Risk. Certain Underlying Funds may invest in derivatives. A derivative is an investment whose value depends on (or is derived from) the value of an underlying asset (including an underlying security), reference rate or index. Derivatives may be used as a substitute for purchasing the underlying asset or as a hedge to reduce exposure to risks. The derivatives in which the Portfolio or an Underlying Fund may invest include options, futures and swaps. Derivatives may be volatile and some derivatives have the potential for loss that is greater than the Underlying Fund’s initial investment. Many derivatives are entered into over-the-counter or OTC (not on an exchange or contract market) and may be more difficult to purchase, sell or value than more traditional investments, such as stocks or bonds, because there may be fewer purchasers or sellers of the derivative instrument or the derivative instrument may require participants entering into offsetting transactions rather than making or taking delivery. An Underlying Fund may also lose money on a derivative if the counterparty (issuer) fails to pay the amount due. If a counterparty to an OTC derivative were to default on its obligations, the Underlying Fund’s contractual remedies against such counterparty may be subject to bankruptcy and insolvency laws, which could affect the Underlying Fund’s rights as a creditor (e.g., the Underlying Fund may not receive the amount of payments that it is contractually entitled to receive).

 

An Underlying Fund may also lose money on a derivative if the underlying asset on which the derivative is based, or the derivative itself, does not perform as an Adviser anticipated. The Underlying Fund may incur higher taxes as a result of its investing in derivatives. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with, and may be more sensitive to market events than, the underlying asset. Changes in regulation relating to a mutual fund’s use of derivatives and related instruments could potentially limit or impact an Underlying Fund’s ability to invest in derivatives, limit the Underlying Fund’s ability to employ certain strategies that use derivatives and/or adversely affect the value of derivatives and the Underlying Fund’s performance.

 

Compared to other types of investments, derivatives may be less tax efficient. The use of certain derivatives may cause the Underlying Fund, and thus the Portfolio, to realize higher amounts of ordinary income or short-term capital gains, distributions from which are taxable to individual shareholders at ordinary income tax rates rather than at the more favorable tax rates for long-term capital gain. In addition, changes in government regulation of derivative instruments could affect the character, timing and amount of the Underlying Fund’s taxable income or gains, and may limit or prevent the Underlying Fund, and thus the Portfolio, from using certain types of derivative instruments as a part of its investment strategy, which could make the investment strategy more costly to implement or require the Portfolio to change its investment strategy. An Underlying Fund’s use of derivatives also may be limited by the requirements for taxation of the Underlying Fund as a regulated investment company.

 

Management Risk. The performance of the Portfolio also will depend on whether the Manager is successful in pursuing the Portfolio’s investment strategy.

 

Performance:

The bar chart and table that follow provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio by showing changes in the performance of the Portfolio’s Class A shares from year-to-year and by showing how the average annual returns for the past 1 year and since inception periods of the Portfolio compare with those of a broad measure of market performance, as well as with an index of funds with similar investment objectives. The returns in the bar chart do not reflect the deduction of sales charges. If these amounts were reflected, returns would be less than shown. The Portfolio’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future. The returns in the table assume you sold your shares at the end of each period and include the effect of Class A shares maximum applicable front-end sales charge. Of course, if you did not sell your shares at the end of the period, your return would be higher. You may obtain the Portfolio’s updated performance information by calling toll free 1-800-807-FUND or visiting www.saratogacap.com.

 

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ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS – CALENDAR YEAR

 

 

Years

During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 12.37% (quarter ended June 30, 2020) and the lowest return for a calendar quarter was -14.60% (quarter ended March 31, 2020). For the period January 1, 2023 through September 30, 2023, the return for the Portfolio’s Class A shares was 4.40%.

 

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (FOR THE PERIODS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022)

 

    1 Year   Since Inception*
Moderate Balanced Allocation Portfolio:        
Return Before Taxes   -15.74%   2.89%
Return After Taxes on Distributions   -16.85%   1.66%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares   -8.51%   1.99%
Indices: (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)        
Morningstar Moderate Target Risk TR   -14.77%   3.53%
Morningstar US Fund Moderate Allocation Category   -13.84%   4.14%

 

* The Portfolio commenced operations on January 4, 2018.

 

The table above shows after-tax returns. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates during the period shown and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Portfolio shares through tax deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns may be higher than before-tax returns due to an assumed benefit from capital losses that would have been realized had Portfolio shares been sold at the end of the relevant periods.

 

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Manager: Saratoga Capital Management, LLC serves as the Portfolio’s Manager.

 

Portfolio Managers: The following individuals serve as the Portfolio’s portfolio managers:

 

Portfolio Manager   Primary Title
Stephen Ventimiglia   Vice Chairman, Chief Investment Officer and Chief Economist of Saratoga Capital Management, LLC, and has managed the Portfolio since its inception.
Bruce E. Ventimiglia   Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Saratoga Capital Management, LLC, and has managed the Portfolio since its inception.
Jonathan W. Ventimiglia   Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of Saratoga Capital Management, LLC, and has managed the Portfolio since its inception.

 

Purchase and Sale of Portfolio Shares: There is generally a $2,500 minimum initial investment for the Portfolio. The minimum subsequent investment in the Trust is $100. There is no minimum subsequent investment for the Portfolio. There is no minimum initial investment and no minimum subsequent investment for employee benefit plans, mutual fund platform programs, supermarket programs, associations and individual retirement accounts. You may purchase and redeem shares of the Portfolio on any day that the New York Stock Exchange is open. Redemption requests may be made in writing, by telephone, or through a financial intermediary and will be paid by check or wire transfer.

 

Tax Information: Dividends and capital gain distributions you receive from the Portfolio, whether you reinvest your distributions in additional Portfolio shares or receive them in cash, are taxable to you at either ordinary income or capital gain tax rates unless you are investing through a tax-free plan, in which case your distributions generally will be taxed when withdrawn from the tax deferred account.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries: If you purchase Portfolio shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Manager and/or the Portfolio’s distributor may pay the intermediary for the sale of Portfolio shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 

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PORTFOLIO SUMMARY: MODERATELY AGGRESSIVE BALANCED ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO

 

 

Investment Objective:

The Moderately Aggressive Balanced Allocation Portfolio seeks total return consisting of capital appreciation and income.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio:

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Portfolio. You may be subject to other fees not reflected in the table, such as brokerage commission and fees to financial intermediaries. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in The Saratoga Advantage Trust Portfolios. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and under “Shareholder Information – Reduced Sales Charge” on page 136 of the Portfolio’s Prospectus. In addition, Appendix A attached to this Prospectus contains information regarding financial intermediary-specific sales charge waivers and discounts.

 

    Moderately Aggressive Balanced Allocation Portfolio
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
   
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases of Shares (as a % of offering price)   5.75%
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends (as a % of offering price)   None
Maximum Contingent Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a % of offering price)   None
Redemption Fee   None
Exchange Fee   None

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

   
Management Fees   0.90%
Distribution and/or Service Rule 12b-1 Fees   0.25%
Other Expenses   1.66%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses (1)   0.97%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (before Expense Waiver/Reimbursement)   3.78%
Expense Waiver/Reimbursement   (1.57)%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (after Expense Waiver/Reimbursement) (2)   2.21%

 

(1) Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies. These Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are not considered in the calculation of the expense cap (defined below). The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses in the above fee table will not correlate to the expense ratio in the Portfolio’s financial statements because the financial statements will include only the direct operating expenses incurred by the Portfolio, not the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies (“Acquired Funds”).

 

(2) Pursuant to an operating expense limitation agreement between the Manager and the Portfolio, the Manager has agreed to waive its fees and/or absorb expenses of the Portfolio to ensure that Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (excluding front end and contingent deferred sales loads, leverage, interest and tax expenses, dividends and interest on short positions, brokerage commissions, expenses incurred in connection with any merger, reorganization or liquidation, extraordinary or non-routine expenses and Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses) for the Portfolio do not exceed 1.24% of the Portfolio’s average net assets for Class A shares through December 31, 2024 (the “Expense Cap”). This operating expense limitation agreement can be terminated during its term only by, or with the consent of, the Trust’s Board of Trustees. The Manager is permitted to seek reimbursement from the Portfolio, subject to limitations, for management fees waived and Portfolio expenses it paid within three (3) years of the end of the fiscal year in which such management fees were waived or expenses paid, as long as the reimbursement does not cause the Portfolio’s operating expenses to exceed (i) the expense cap in place at the time the fees were waived or the expenses were incurred; or (ii) the current Expense Cap, whichever is less.

 

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Example.

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. This example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, and the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same and reflect the contractual expense waiver in place for the first year. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs, if you held or sold your shares, at the end of each period would be:

 

One Year   Three Years   Five Years   Ten Years
$786   $1,528   $2,287   $4,269

 

The above Example reflects applicable contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement arrangements for the duration of the arrangements only.

 

Portfolio Turnover:

The Portfolio 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, which must be borne by the Portfolio and its shareholders and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 34% of the average value of its portfolio.

 

Principal Investment Strategies:

The Portfolio is a “fund of funds.” The Portfolio’s main investment strategy is to invest in other Saratoga Advantage Trust mutual funds (the “Saratoga Funds”) and/or unaffiliated registered investment companies and exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) (together with the Saratoga Funds, the “Underlying Funds”).

 

The Portfolio’s manager, Saratoga Capital Management, LLC (the “Manager”) allocates the Portfolio’s investments in Underlying Funds based on a propriety asset allocation model developed by the Manager (the “Saratoga Strategic Horizon Asset Reallocation Program® model” or the “SaratogaSHARP® model”). Consistent with the SaratogaSHARP® model, the Manager allocates the Portfolio’s investments based on an analysis of capital markets that includes an examination of current economic conditions, historical asset class behavior and current market assumptions. In constructing the Portfolio, the Manager typically allocates assets among asset classes in the following investment categories: core equity, sector equity, fixed income, money market and alternative investments. The target allocations are: approximately 30%-90% of the Portfolio’s assets to core equity investments; 5%-27.5% to sector equity investments; 3%-60% to fixed income investments; 5%-60% to money market investments; and 3.5%-37.5% to alternative investments. The Portfolio will invest in equity, fixed income and alternative instruments through its investments in the Underlying Funds. The Manager regularly evaluates how individual economic sectors and statistics are affecting the general economy and markets in order to develop the asset allocation parameters. Accordingly, asset allocation parameters may vary widely over time in response to changing market and/or economic conditions.

 

The sectors in which the Portfolio typically invests include: health and biotechnology, technology and communications, financial services, energy and basic materials and global real estate.

 

Principal Investment Risks:

There is no assurance that the Portfolio will achieve its investment objective. The Portfolio share price will fluctuate with changes in the market value of its portfolio securities. When you sell your Portfolio shares, they may be worth less than what you paid for them and, accordingly, you can lose money investing in this Portfolio. Shares of the Portfolio are not bank deposits and are not guaranteed or insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

 

Investments in Mutual Funds Risk. The Portfolio invests in Underlying Funds as a primary strategy, so the Portfolio’s investment performance and risks are directly related to the performance and risks of the Underlying Funds. Shareholders will indirectly bear the expenses charged by the Underlying Funds. Because the Manager or its affiliates provide services to and receive fees, including supervision fees, from some of the Saratoga Funds, the Portfolio’s investments in some of the Underlying Funds benefit the Manager and/or its affiliates. In addition, the Portfolio may hold a significant percentage of the shares of an Underlying Fund. As a result, the Portfolio’s investments in an Underlying Fund may create a conflict of interest.

 

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Exchange-Traded Funds (ETF) Risk. Shares of ETFs have many of the same risks as direct investments in common stocks or bonds. ETFs are typically open-end investment companies, which may seek to track the performance of a specific index or be actively managed. In addition, their market value is expected to rise and fall as the value of the underlying index or other assets rises and falls. The market value of their shares may differ from the net asset value (“NAV”) of the particular fund. As a shareholder in an ETF (as with other investment companies), the Portfolio would bear its ratable share of that entity’s expenses in addition to its own fees and expenses. In addition, investments in an ETF are subject to, among other risks, the risk that the ETF’s shares may trade at a discount or premium relative to the NAV of the shares, especially during periods of market volatility or stress, causing investors to pay significantly more or less than the value of the ETF’s underlying portfolio, and the listing exchange may halt trading of the ETF’s shares. ETFs also involve the risk that an active trading market for an ETF’s shares may not develop or be maintained. In addition, ETFs that track particular indices may be unable to match the performance of such underlying indices due to the temporary unavailability of certain index securities in the secondary market or other factors, such as discrepancies with respect to the weighting of securities.

 

Investment and Market Risk. An investment in the Portfolio’s common shares is subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount invested. An investment in the Portfolio’s common shares represents an indirect investment in the securities owned by the Portfolio, which are generally traded on a securities exchange or in the OTC markets. The value of these securities, like other market investments, may move up or down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably due to changes in general market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related to the issuer of the security or other asset, or factors that affect a particular issuer or issuers, exchange, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class. Social, political, economic and other conditions and events (such as recessions, inflation, rapid interest rate changes, supply chain disruptions, war, natural disasters, epidemics and pandemics, terrorism, conflicts and social unrest) will occur that have significant impacts on issuers, industries, governments and other systems, including the financial markets. As global systems, economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, events that once had only local impact are now more likely to have regional or even global effects. Events that occur in one country, region or financial market will, more frequently, adversely impact issuers in other countries, regions or markets. These impacts can be exacerbated by failures of governments and societies to adequately respond to an emerging event or threat. Investors will be negatively impacted if the value of their portfolio holdings decreases as a result of such events, if these events adversely impact the operations and effectiveness of the Manager or Adviser, as applicable, or key service providers or if these events disrupt systems and processes necessary or beneficial to the management of accounts. These events may negatively impact broad segments of businesses and populations and have a significant and rapid negative impact on the performance of the Portfolio’s investments, increase the Portfolio’s volatility and exacerbate pre-existing risks to the Portfolio. The Portfolio’s common shares at any point in time may be worth less than the original investment, even after taking into account any reinvestment of dividends and distributions.

 

Common Stock Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in equity securities (such as common stock) that are more volatile and carry more risks than other forms of investment. In general, stock values fluctuate in response to activities specific to the company as well as general market, economic and political conditions.

 

Stock prices can fluctuate widely in response to these factors. Common stockholders are subordinate to debt or preferred stockholders in a company’s capital structure in terms of priority to corporate income and liquidation payments and, therefore, will be subject to greater credit risk than preferred stock or debt instruments.

 

Foreign Securities Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in foreign securities. An Underlying Fund’s investments in foreign securities (including depositary receipts) involve risks in addition to the risks associated with domestic securities. One additional risk is currency risk. While the price of Underlying Fund shares is quoted in U.S. dollars, an Underlying Fund generally converts U.S. dollars to a foreign market’s local currency to purchase a security in that market. If the value of that local currency falls relative to the U.S. dollar, the U.S. dollar value of the foreign security will decrease. This is true even if the foreign security’s local price remains unchanged.

 

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Foreign securities also have risks related to economic and political developments abroad, including expropriations, confiscatory taxation, exchange control regulation, limitations on the use or transfer of Underlying Fund assets and any effects of foreign social, economic or political instability. In particular, adverse political or economic developments in a geographic region or a particular country in which an Underlying Fund invests could cause a substantial decline in the value of its portfolio securities. Certain foreign markets may rely heavily on particular industries or foreign capital and are more vulnerable to diplomatic developments, the imposition of economic sanctions against a particular country or countries, organizations, entities and/or individuals, changes in international trading patterns, trade barriers and other protectionist or retaliatory measures. Economic sanctions could, among other things, effectively restrict or eliminate an Underlying Fund’s ability to purchase or sell securities or groups of securities for a substantial period of time. The severity of sanctions and related measures, such as retaliatory actions, vary in scope and are unpredictable. The imposition of sanctions could cause a decline in the value and/or liquidity of securities issued by the sanctioned country or companies located in or economically tied to the sanctioned country, significantly delay or prevent the settlement of securities transactions, and significantly impact the Portfolio’s liquidity and performance. International trade barriers or economic sanctions against foreign countries, organizations, entities and/or individuals, may adversely affect an Underlying Fund’s foreign holdings or exposures. Investments in foreign markets may also be adversely affected by governmental actions such as the imposition of capital controls, nationalization of companies or industries, expropriation of assets, or the imposition of punitive taxes. Governmental actions can have a significant effect on the economic conditions in foreign countries, which also may adversely affect the value and liquidity of an Underlying Fund’s investments. For example, the governments of certain countries may prohibit or impose substantial restrictions on foreign investing in their capital markets or in certain sectors or industries. In addition, a foreign government may limit or cause delay in the convertibility or repatriation of its currency which would adversely affect the U.S. dollar value and/or liquidity of investments denominated in that currency. Any of these actions could severely affect security prices, impair an Underlying Fund’s ability to purchase or sell foreign securities or transfer an Underlying Fund’s assets back into the U.S., or otherwise adversely affect the Underlying Fund’s operations.

 

Certain foreign investments may become less liquid in response to market developments or adverse investor perceptions, or become illiquid after purchase by an Underlying Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. Certain foreign investments may become illiquid when, for instance, there are few, if any, interested buyers and sellers or when dealers are unwilling to make a market for certain securities. When an Underlying Fund holds illiquid investments, its portfolio may be harder to value, especially in changing markets. Foreign companies, in general, are not subject to the regulatory requirements of U.S. companies and may have less stringent investor protections and disclosure standards and, as such, there may be less publicly available information about these companies. Moreover, foreign accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards generally are different from those applicable to U.S. companies. In addition, in the event of a default of any foreign debt obligations, it may be more difficult for an Underlying Fund to obtain or enforce a judgment against the issuers of the securities. Furthermore, foreign exchanges and broker-dealers are generally subject to less government and exchange scrutiny and regulation than their U.S. counterparts. Finally, differences in clearance and settlement procedures in foreign markets may cause delays in settlements of an Underlying Fund’s trades effected in those markets.

 

Depositary receipts involve substantially identical risks associated with direct investments in foreign securities. Issuers of the foreign security represented by a depositary receipt, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, may not be obligated to disclose material information in the U.S. or to pass through to holders of such receipts voting rights with respect to the deposited securities.

 

Compared to the U.S. and other developed countries, developing or emerging countries may have relatively unstable governments, economies based on only a few industries and securities markets that trade a small number of securities. Prices of these securities tend to be especially volatile and, in the past, securities in these countries have been characterized by greater potential loss (as well as gain) than securities of companies located in developed countries.

 

Fixed-Income Securities Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in fixed-income securities. All fixed-income securities are subject to two types of risk: credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer of a security will be unable to make interest payments and/or repay the principal on its debt. Interest rate risk refers to fluctuations in the value of a fixed-income security resulting from changes in the general level of interest rates.

 

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When the general level of interest rates goes up, the prices of most fixed-income securities go down. When the general level of interest rates goes down, the prices of most fixed-income securities go up. (Zero coupon securities are typically subject to greater price fluctuations than comparable securities that pay current interest.) Long-term fixed-income securities will rise and fall in response to interest rate changes to a greater extent than short-term securities. The Portfolio may face a heightened level of interest rate risk due to certain changes in monetary policy, such as certain types of interest rate changes by the Federal Reserve.

 

Certain Underlying Funds may invest in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies and instrumentalities (such as securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac)). Securities, such as those issued or guaranteed by Ginnie Mae or the U.S. Treasury, that are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity. Notwithstanding that these securities are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, circumstances could arise that would prevent the payment of principal and interest. Securities issued by U.S. government-related organizations, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and no assurance can be given that the U.S. government will provide financial support. Therefore, U.S. government-related organizations may not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future.

 

Alternative Investment Risk. Alternative investment strategies, which may include, but are not limited to, investing in or having exposure to real estate, commodities, foreign currency, natural resources, MLP and other non-traditional investments, or following event-driven, macro, long-short, market neutral, merger arbitrage, or other tactical investment strategies, may involve complex security types or transactions and/or focus on narrow segments of the market, which may increase and/or magnify the overall risks and volatility associated with these strategies.

 

Mortgage-Backed Securities and Prepayment Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in mortgage-backed securities. Mortgage-backed securities, such as mortgage pass-through securities, have different risk characteristics than traditional debt securities. For example, principal is paid back over the life of the security rather than at maturity. Although the value of fixed-income securities generally increases during periods of falling interest rates and decreases during periods of rising interest rates, this is not always the case with mortgage-backed securities. This is due to the fact that the borrower’s payments may be prepaid at any time as well as other factors. Generally, prepayments will increase during a period of falling interest rates and decrease during a period of rising interest rates. The rate of prepayments also may be influenced by economic and other factors. Prepayment risk includes the possibility that securities with stated interest rates may have the principal prepaid earlier than expected, which may occur when interest rates decline. Prepayment may expose an Underlying Fund, and thus the Portfolio, to a lower rate of return upon reinvestment of principal.

 

Investments in mortgage-backed securities are made based upon, among other things, expectations regarding the rate of prepayments on the underlying loans. Rates of prepayment faster or slower than expected by the Manager could reduce an Underlying Fund’s yield, increase the volatility of the Underlying Fund and/or cause a decline in net asset value. Mortgage-backed securities are also subject to extension risk, which is the risk that the issuer of such a security pays back the principal of an obligation later than expected, which may occur when interest rates rise. This may have an adverse effect on returns, as the value of the security decreases when principal payments are made later than expected. In addition, an Underlying Fund may be prevented from investing proceeds it would otherwise have received at a given time at the higher prevailing interest rates. Certain mortgage-backed securities may be more volatile and less liquid than other traditional types of debt securities. In addition, an unexpectedly high rate of defaults on the mortgages held by a mortgage pool may adversely affect the value of a mortgage-backed security and could result in losses to an Underlying Fund. The risk of such defaults is generally higher in the case of mortgage pools that include subprime mortgages. The risks associated with mortgage-backed securities typically become elevated during periods of distressed economic, market, health and labor conditions. In particular, increased levels of unemployment, delays and delinquencies in payments of mortgage and rent obligations, and uncertainty regarding the effects and extent of government intervention with respect to mortgage payments and other economic matters may adversely affect the Portfolio’s investments in mortgage-backed securities.

 

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Issuer-Specific Risk. The price of an individual security or particular type of security can be more volatile than the market as a whole and can fluctuate differently than the market as a whole. An individual issuer’s securities can rise or fall dramatically with little or no warning based upon such things as a better (or worse) than expected earnings report, news about the development of a promising product, or the loss of key management personnel. There is also a risk that the price of a security may never reach the level that the Manager believes is representative of its full value or that it may even go down in price.

 

Convertible Securities Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in convertible securities. An Underlying Fund’s investments in convertible securities subject the Underlying Fund to the risks associated with both fixed-income securities and common stocks. To the extent that a convertible security’s investment value is greater than its conversion value, its price will be likely to increase when interest rates fall and decrease when interest rates rise, as with a fixed-income security. If the conversion value exceeds the investment value, the price of the convertible security will tend to fluctuate directly with the price of the underlying equity security.

 

Preferred Stock Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in preferred stock. Preferred stocks involve credit risk and certain other risks. Certain preferred stocks contain provisions that allow an issuer under certain conditions to skip distributions (in the case of “non-cumulative” preferred stocks) or defer distributions (in the case of “cumulative” preferred stocks). If an Underlying Fund owns a preferred stock on which distributions are deferred, the Underlying Fund may nevertheless be required to report income for tax purposes while it is not receiving distributions on that security. Preferred stocks are subordinated to bonds and other debt instruments in a company’s capital structure in terms of priority to corporate income and liquidation payments, and therefore will be subject to greater credit risk than those debt instruments.

 

Warrants Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in warrants. The holder of a warrant has the right to purchase a given number of shares of a particular issuer at a specified price until expiration of the warrant. Such investments can provide a greater potential for profit or loss than an equivalent investment in the underlying security. Prices of warrants do not necessarily move in tandem with the prices of the underlying securities, and are speculative investments. Warrants pay no dividends and confer no rights other than a purchase option. If a warrant is not exercised by the date of its expiration, an Underlying Fund will lose its entire investment in such warrant.

 

Liquidity Risk. The Portfolio and/or an Underlying Fund may hold illiquid securities that it is unable to sell at the preferred time or price and could lose its entire investment in such securities. Investments with an active trading market or that the Manager otherwise deems liquid could become illiquid before the Portfolio can exit its positions. The liquidity of the Portfolio’s assets may change over time.

 

Small and Medium Capitalization Companies Risk. An Underlying Fund may invest in small and medium capitalization companies. Investing in medium and small capitalization companies may involve more risk than is usually associated with investing in larger, more established companies. There is typically less publicly available information concerning small and medium capitalization companies than for larger, more established companies. Some small and medium capitalization companies have limited product lines, distribution channels and financial and managerial resources and tend to concentrate on fewer geographical markets than do larger companies. Also, because small and medium capitalization companies normally have fewer shares outstanding than larger companies and trade less frequently, it may be more difficult for the Portfolio to buy and sell significant amounts of shares without an unfavorable impact on prevailing market prices.

 

Sector Concentration Risk. Sector concentration risk is the possibility that securities within the same sector will decline in price due to sector-specific market or economic developments. To the extent the Portfolio invests more heavily in particular sectors of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors. Additionally, some sectors (for example, the financial services and energy sectors, among others) could be subject to greater government regulation than other sectors. Therefore, changes in regulatory policies for those sectors may have a material effect on the value of securities issued by companies in those sectors.

 

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Derivatives Risk. Certain Underlying Funds may invest in derivatives. A derivative is an investment whose value depends on (or is derived from) the value of an underlying asset (including an underlying security), reference rate or index. Derivatives may be used as a substitute for purchasing the underlying asset or as a hedge to reduce exposure to risks. The derivatives in which the Portfolio or an Underlying Fund may invest include options, futures and swaps. Derivatives may be volatile and some derivatives have the potential for loss that is greater than the Underlying Fund’s initial investment. Many derivatives are entered into over-the-counter or OTC (not on an exchange or contract market) and may be more difficult to purchase, sell or value than more traditional investments, such as stocks or bonds, because there may be fewer purchasers or sellers of the derivative instrument or the derivative instrument may require participants entering into offsetting transactions rather than making or taking delivery. An Underlying Fund may also lose money on a derivative if the counterparty (issuer) fails to pay the amount due. If a counterparty to an OTC derivative were to default on its obligations, the Underlying Fund’s contractual remedies against such counterparty may be subject to bankruptcy and insolvency laws, which could affect the Underlying Fund’s rights as a creditor (e.g., the Underlying Fund may not receive the amount of payments that it is contractually entitled to receive).

 

An Underlying Fund may also lose money on a derivative if the underlying asset on which the derivative is based, or the derivative itself, does not perform as an Adviser anticipated. The Underlying Fund may incur higher taxes as a result of its investing in derivatives. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with, and may be more sensitive to market events than, the underlying asset. Changes in regulation relating to a mutual fund’s use of derivatives and related instruments could potentially limit or impact an Underlying Fund’s ability to invest in derivatives, limit the Underlying Fund’s ability to employ certain strategies that use derivatives and/or adversely affect the value of derivatives and the Underlying Fund’s performance.

 

Compared to other types of investments, derivatives may be less tax efficient. The use of certain derivatives may cause the Underlying Fund, and thus the Portfolio, to realize higher amounts of ordinary income or short-term capital gains, distributions from which are taxable to individual shareholders at ordinary income tax rates rather than at the more favorable tax rates for long-term capital gain. In addition, changes in government regulation of derivative instruments could affect the character, timing and amount of the Underlying Fund’s taxable income or gains, and may limit or prevent the Underlying Fund, and thus the Portfolio, from using certain types of derivative instruments as a part of its investment strategy, which could make the investment strategy more costly to implement or require the Portfolio to change its investment strategy. An Underlying Fund’s use of derivatives also may be limited by the requirements for taxation of the Underlying Fund as a regulated investment company.

 

Management Risk. The performance of the Portfolio also will depend on whether the Manager is successful in pursuing the Portfolio’s investment strategy.

 

Performance:

The bar chart and table that follow provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio by showing changes in the performance of the Portfolio’s Class A shares from year-to-year and by showing how the average annual returns for the past 1 year and since inception periods of the Portfolio compare with those of a broad measure of market performance, as well as with an index of funds with similar investment objectives. The returns in the bar chart do not reflect the deduction of sales charges. If these amounts were reflected, returns would be less than shown. The Portfolio’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future. The returns in the table assume you sold your shares at the end of each period and include the effect of Class A shares maximum applicable front-end sales charge. Of course, if you did not sell your shares at the end of the period, your return would be higher. You may obtain the Portfolio’s updated performance information by calling toll free 1-800-807-FUND or visiting www.saratogacap.com.

 

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ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS – CALENDAR YEAR

 

 

Years

During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 13.19% (quarter ended June 30, 2020) and the lowest return for a calendar quarter was -16.28% (quarter ended March 31, 2020). For the period January 1, 2023 through September 30, 2023, the return for the Portfolio’s Class A shares was 4.37%.

 

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (FOR THE PERIODS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022)

 

    1 Year   Since Inception*
Moderately Aggressive Balanced Allocation Portfolio:        
Return Before Taxes   -15.86%   2.56%
Return After Taxes on Distributions   -16.93%   1.35%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares   -8.57%   1.73%
Indices: (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)        
Morningstar Moderate Target Risk TR   -14.77%   3.53%
Morningstar US Fund Moderate Allocation Category   -13.84%   4.14%

 

* The Portfolio commenced operations on January 4, 2018.

 

The table above shows after-tax returns. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates during the period shown and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Portfolio shares through tax deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns may be higher than before-tax returns due to an assumed benefit from capital losses that would have been realized had Portfolio shares been sold at the end of the relevant periods.

 

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Manager: Saratoga Capital Management, LLC serves as the Portfolio’s Manager.

 

Portfolio Managers: The following individuals serve as the Portfolio’s portfolio managers:

 

Portfolio Manager   Primary Title
Stephen Ventimiglia   Vice Chairman, Chief Investment Officer and Chief Economist of Saratoga Capital Management, LLC, and has managed the Portfolio since its inception.
Bruce E. Ventimiglia   Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Saratoga Capital Management, LLC, and has managed the Portfolio since its inception.
Jonathan W. Ventimiglia   Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of Saratoga Capital Management, LLC, and has managed the Portfolio since its inception.

 

Purchase and Sale of Portfolio Shares: There is generally a $2,500 minimum initial investment for the Portfolio. The minimum subsequent investment in the Trust is $100. There is no minimum subsequent investment for the Portfolio. There is no minimum initial investment and no minimum subsequent investment for employee benefit plans, mutual fund platform programs, supermarket programs, associations and individual retirement accounts. You may purchase and redeem shares of the Portfolio on any day that the New York Stock Exchange is open. Redemption requests may be made in writing, by telephone, or through a financial intermediary and will be paid by check or wire transfer.

 

Tax Information: Dividends and capital gain distributions you receive from the Portfolio, whether you reinvest your distributions in additional Portfolio shares or receive them in cash, are taxable to you at either ordinary income or capital gain tax rates unless you are investing through a tax-free plan, in which case your distributions generally will be taxed when withdrawn from the tax deferred account.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries: If you purchase Portfolio shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Manager and/or the Portfolio’s distributor may pay the intermediary for the sale of Portfolio shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 

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PORTFOLIO SUMMARY: AGGRESSIVE BALANCED ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO

 

 

Investment Objective:

The Aggressive Balanced Allocation Portfolio seeks total return consisting of capital appreciation and income.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio:

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Portfolio. You may be subject to other fees not reflected in the table, such as brokerage commission and fees to financial intermediaries. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in The Saratoga Advantage Trust Portfolios. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and under “Shareholder Information – Reduced Sales Charge” on page 136 of the Portfolio’s Prospectus. In addition, Appendix A attached to this Prospectus contains information regarding financial intermediary-specific sales charge waivers and discounts.

 

    Aggressive Balanced Allocation Portfolio
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
   
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases of Shares (as a % of offering price)   5.75%
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends (as a % of offering price)   None
Maximum Contingent Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a % of offering price)   None
Redemption Fee   None
Exchange Fee   None
Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
   
Management Fees   0.90%
Distribution and/or Service Rule 12b-1 Fees   0.25%
Other Expenses   1.69%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses (1)   1.10%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (before Expense Waiver/Reimbursement)   3.94%
Expense Waiver/Reimbursement   (1.60)%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (after Expense Waiver/Reimbursement) (2)   2.34%

 

(1) Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies. These Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are not considered in the calculation of the expense cap (defined below). The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses in the above fee table will not correlate to the expense ratio in the Portfolio’s financial statements because the financial statements will include only the direct operating expenses incurred by the Portfolio, not the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies (“Acquired Funds”).

 

(2) Pursuant to an operating expense limitation agreement between the Manager and the Portfolio, the Manager has agreed to waive its fees and/or absorb expenses of the Portfolio to ensure that Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (excluding front end and contingent deferred sales loads, leverage, interest and tax expenses, dividends and interest on short positions, brokerage commissions, expenses incurred in connection with any merger, reorganization or liquidation, extraordinary or non-routine expenses and Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses) for the Portfolio do not exceed 1.24% of the Portfolio’s average net assets for Class A shares through December 31, 2024 (the “Expense Cap”). This operating expense limitation agreement can be terminated during its term only by, or with the consent of, the Trust’s Board of Trustees. The Manager is permitted to seek reimbursement from the Portfolio, subject to limitations, for management fees waived and Portfolio expenses it paid within three (3) years of the end of the fiscal year in which such management fees were waived or expenses paid, as long as the reimbursement does not cause the Portfolio’s operating expenses to exceed (i) the expense cap in place at the time the fees were waived or the expenses were incurred; or (ii) the current Expense Cap, whichever is less.

 

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Example.

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. This example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, and the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same and reflect the contractual expense waiver in place for the first year. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs, if you held or sold your shares, at the end of each period would be:

 

One Year   Three Years   Five Years   Ten Years
$798   $1,569   $2,356   $4,398

 

The above Example reflects applicable contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement arrangements for the duration of the arrangements only.

 

Portfolio Turnover:

The Portfolio 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, which must be borne by the Portfolio and its shareholders and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 26% of the average value of its portfolio.

 

Principal Investment Strategies:

The Portfolio is a “fund of funds.” The Portfolio’s main investment strategy is to invest in other Saratoga Advantage Trust mutual funds (the “Saratoga Funds”) and/or unaffiliated registered investment companies and exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) (together with the Saratoga Funds, the “Underlying Funds”).

 

The Portfolio’s manager, Saratoga Capital Management, LLC (the “Manager”) allocates the Portfolio’s investments in Underlying Funds based on a propriety asset allocation model developed by the Manager (the “Saratoga Strategic Horizon Asset Reallocation Program® model” or the “SaratogaSHARP® model”). Consistent with the SaratogaSHARP® model, the Manager allocates the Portfolio’s investments based on an analysis of capital markets that includes an examination of current economic conditions, historical asset class behavior and current market assumptions. In constructing the Portfolio, the Manager typically allocates assets among asset classes in the following investment categories: core equity, sector equity, fixed income, money market and alternative investments. The target allocations are: approximately 35%-95% of the Portfolio’s assets to core equity investments; 7.5%-30% to sector equity investments; 2%-55% to fixed income investments; 2.5%-55% to money market investments; and 4%-40% to alternative investments. The Portfolio will invest in equity, fixed income and alternative instruments through its investments in the Underlying Funds. The Manager regularly evaluates how individual economic sectors and statistics are affecting the general economy and markets in order to develop the asset allocation parameters. Accordingly, asset allocation parameters may vary widely over time in response to changing market and/or economic conditions.

 

The sectors in which the Portfolio typically invests include: health and biotechnology, technology and communications, financial services, energy and basic materials and global real estate.

 

Principal Investment Risks:

There is no assurance that the Portfolio will achieve its investment objective. The Portfolio share price will fluctuate with changes in the market value of its portfolio securities. When you sell your Portfolio shares, they may be worth less than what you paid for them and, accordingly, you can lose money investing in this Portfolio. Shares of the Portfolio are not bank deposits and are not guaranteed or insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

 

Investments in Mutual Funds Risk. The Portfolio invests in Underlying Funds as a primary strategy, so the Portfolio’s investment performance and risks are directly related to the performance and risks of the Underlying Funds. Shareholders will indirectly bear the expenses charged by the Underlying Funds. Because the Manager or its affiliates provide services to and receive fees, including supervision fees, from some of the Saratoga Funds, the Portfolio’s investments in some of the Underlying Funds benefit the Manager and/or its affiliates. In addition, the Portfolio may hold a significant percentage of the shares of an Underlying Fund. As a result, the Portfolio’s investments in an Underlying Fund may create a conflict of interest.

 

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Exchange-Traded Funds (ETF) Risk. Shares of ETFs have many of the same risks as direct investments in common stocks or bonds. ETFs are typically open-end investment companies, which may seek to track the performance of a specific index or be actively managed. In addition, their market value is expected to rise and fall as the value of the underlying index or other assets rises and falls. The market value of their shares may differ from the net asset value (“NAV”) of the particular fund. As a shareholder in an ETF (as with other investment companies), the Portfolio would bear its ratable share of that entity’s expenses in addition to its own fees and expenses. In addition, investments in an ETF are subject to, among other risks, the risk that the ETF’s shares may trade at a discount or premium relative to the NAV of the shares, especially during periods of market volatility or stress, causing investors to pay significantly more or less than the value of the ETF’s underlying portfolio, and the listing exchange may halt trading of the ETF’s shares. ETFs also involve the risk that an active trading market for an ETF’s shares may not develop or be maintained. In addition, ETFs that track particular indices may be unable to match the performance of such underlying indices due to the temporary unavailability of certain index securities in the secondary market or other factors, such as discrepancies with respect to the weighting of securities.

 

Investment and Market Risk. An investment in the Portfolio’s common shares is subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount invested. An investment in the Portfolio’s common shares represents an indirect investment in the securities owned by the Portfolio, which are generally traded on a securities exchange or in the OTC markets. The value of these securities, like other market investments, may move up or down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably due to changes in general market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related to the issuer of the security or other asset, or factors that affect a particular issuer or issuers, exchange, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class. Social, political, economic and other conditions and events (such as recessions, inflation, rapid interest rate changes, supply chain disruptions, war, natural disasters, epidemics and pandemics, terrorism, conflicts and social unrest) will occur that have significant impacts on issuers, industries, governments and other systems, including the financial markets. As global systems, economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, events that once had only local impact are now more likely to have regional or even global effects. Events that occur in one country, region or financial market will, more frequently, adversely impact issuers in other countries, regions or markets. These impacts can be exacerbated by failures of governments and societies to adequately respond to an emerging event or threat. Investors will be negatively impacted if the value of their portfolio holdings decreases as a result of such events, if these events adversely impact the operations and effectiveness of the Manager or Adviser, as applicable, or key service providers or if these events disrupt systems and processes necessary or beneficial to the management of accounts. These events may negatively impact broad segments of businesses and populations and have a significant and rapid negative impact on the performance of the Portfolio’s investments, increase the Portfolio’s volatility and exacerbate pre-existing risks to the Portfolio. The Portfolio’s common shares at any point in time may be worth less than the original investment, even after taking into account any reinvestment of dividends and distributions.

 

Common Stock Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in equity securities (such as common stock) that are more volatile and carry more risks than other forms of investment. In general, stock values fluctuate in response to activities specific to the company as well as general market, economic and political conditions.

 

Stock prices can fluctuate widely in response to these factors. Common stockholders are subordinate to debt or preferred stockholders in a company’s capital structure in terms of priority to corporate income and liquidation payments and, therefore, will be subject to greater credit risk than preferred stock or debt instruments.

 

Foreign Securities Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in foreign securities. An Underlying Fund’s investments in foreign securities (including depositary receipts) involve risks in addition to the risks associated with domestic securities. One additional risk is currency risk. While the price of Underlying Fund shares is quoted in U.S. dollars, an Underlying Fund generally converts U.S. dollars to a foreign market’s local currency to purchase a security in that market. If the value of that local currency falls relative to the U.S. dollar, the U.S. dollar value of the foreign security will decrease. This is true even if the foreign security’s local price remains unchanged.

 

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Foreign securities also have risks related to economic and political developments abroad, including expropriations, confiscatory taxation, exchange control regulation, limitations on the use or transfer of Underlying Fund assets and any effects of foreign social, economic or political instability. In particular, adverse political or economic developments in a geographic region or a particular country in which an Underlying Fund invests could cause a substantial decline in the value of its portfolio securities. Certain foreign markets may rely heavily on particular industries or foreign capital and are more vulnerable to diplomatic developments, the imposition of economic sanctions against a particular country or countries, organizations, entities and/or individuals, changes in international trading patterns, trade barriers and other protectionist or retaliatory measures. Economic sanctions could, among other things, effectively restrict or eliminate an Underlying Fund’s ability to purchase or sell securities or groups of securities for a substantial period of time. The severity of sanctions and related measures, such as retaliatory actions, vary in scope and are unpredictable. The imposition of sanctions could cause a decline in the value and/or liquidity of securities issued by the sanctioned country or companies located in or economically tied to the sanctioned country, significantly delay or prevent the settlement of securities transactions, and significantly impact the Portfolio’s liquidity and performance. International trade barriers or economic sanctions against foreign countries, organizations, entities and/or individuals, may adversely affect an Underlying Fund’s foreign holdings or exposures. Investments in foreign markets may also be adversely affected by governmental actions such as the imposition of capital controls, nationalization of companies or industries, expropriation of assets, or the imposition of punitive taxes. Governmental actions can have a significant effect on the economic conditions in foreign countries, which also may adversely affect the value and liquidity of an Underlying Fund’s investments. For example, the governments of certain countries may prohibit or impose substantial restrictions on foreign investing in their capital markets or in certain sectors or industries. In addition, a foreign government may limit or cause delay in the convertibility or repatriation of its currency which would adversely affect the U.S. dollar value and/or liquidity of investments denominated in that currency. Any of these actions could severely affect security prices, impair an Underlying Fund’s ability to purchase or sell foreign securities or transfer an Underlying Fund’s assets back into the U.S., or otherwise adversely affect the Underlying Fund’s operations.

 

Certain foreign investments may become less liquid in response to market developments or adverse investor perceptions, or become illiquid after purchase by an Underlying Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. Certain foreign investments may become illiquid when, for instance, there are few, if any, interested buyers and sellers or when dealers are unwilling to make a market for certain securities. When an Underlying Fund holds illiquid investments, its portfolio may be harder to value, especially in changing markets. Foreign companies, in general, are not subject to the regulatory requirements of U.S. companies and may have less stringent investor protections and disclosure standards and, as such, there may be less publicly available information about these companies. Moreover, foreign accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards generally are different from those applicable to U.S. companies. In addition, in the event of a default of any foreign debt obligations, it may be more difficult for an Underlying Fund to obtain or enforce a judgment against the issuers of the securities. Furthermore, foreign exchanges and broker-dealers are generally subject to less government and exchange scrutiny and regulation than their U.S. counterparts. Finally, differences in clearance and settlement procedures in foreign markets may cause delays in settlements of an Underlying Fund’s trades effected in those markets.

 

Depositary receipts involve substantially identical risks associated with direct investments in foreign securities. Issuers of the foreign security represented by a depositary receipt, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, may not be obligated to disclose material information in the U.S. or to pass through to holders of such receipts voting rights with respect to the deposited securities.

 

Compared to the U.S. and other developed countries, developing or emerging countries may have relatively unstable governments, economies based on only a few industries and securities markets that trade a small number of securities. Prices of these securities tend to be especially volatile and, in the past, securities in these countries have been characterized by greater potential loss (as well as gain) than securities of companies located in developed countries.

 

Fixed-Income Securities Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in fixed-income securities. All fixed-income securities are subject to two types of risk: credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer of a security will be unable to make interest payments and/or repay the principal on its debt. Interest rate risk refers to fluctuations in the value of a fixed-income security resulting from changes in the general level of interest rates.

 

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When the general level of interest rates goes up, the prices of most fixed-income securities go down. When the general level of interest rates goes down, the prices of most fixed-income securities go up. (Zero coupon securities are typically subject to greater price fluctuations than comparable securities that pay current interest.) Long-term fixed-income securities will rise and fall in response to interest rate changes to a greater extent than short-term securities. The Portfolio may face a heightened level of interest rate risk due to certain changes in monetary policy, such as certain types of interest rate changes by the Federal Reserve.

 

Certain Underlying Funds may invest in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies and instrumentalities (such as securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac)). Securities, such as those issued or guaranteed by Ginnie Mae or the U.S. Treasury, that are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity. Notwithstanding that these securities are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, circumstances could arise that would prevent the payment of principal and interest. Securities issued by U.S. government-related organizations, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and no assurance can be given that the U.S. government will provide financial support. Therefore, U.S. government-related organizations may not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future.

 

Alternative Investment Risk. Alternative investment strategies, which may include, but are not limited to, investing in or having exposure to real estate, commodities, foreign currency, natural resources, MLP and other non-traditional investments, or following event-driven, macro, long-short, market neutral, merger arbitrage, or other tactical investment strategies, may involve complex security types or transactions and/or focus on narrow segments of the market, which may increase and/or magnify the overall risks and volatility associated with these strategies.

 

Mortgage-Backed Securities and Prepayment Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in mortgage-backed securities. Mortgage-backed securities, such as mortgage pass-through securities, have different risk characteristics than traditional debt securities. For example, principal is paid back over the life of the security rather than at maturity. Although the value of fixed-income securities generally increases during periods of falling interest rates and decreases during periods of rising interest rates, this is not always the case with mortgage-backed securities. This is due to the fact that the borrower’s payments may be prepaid at any time as well as other factors. Generally, prepayments will increase during a period of falling interest rates and decrease during a period of rising interest rates. The rate of prepayments also may be influenced by economic and other factors. Prepayment risk includes the possibility that securities with stated interest rates may have the principal prepaid earlier than expected, which may occur when interest rates decline. Prepayment may expose an Underlying Fund, and thus the Portfolio, to a lower rate of return upon reinvestment of principal.

 

Investments in mortgage-backed securities are made based upon, among other things, expectations regarding the rate of prepayments on the underlying loans. Rates of prepayment faster or slower than expected by the Manager could reduce an Underlying Fund’s yield, increase the volatility of the Underlying Fund and/or cause a decline in net asset value. Mortgage-backed securities are also subject to extension risk, which is the risk that the issuer of such a security pays back the principal of an obligation later than expected, which may occur when interest rates rise. This may have an adverse effect on returns, as the value of the security decreases when principal payments are made later than expected. In addition, an Underlying Fund may be prevented from investing proceeds it would otherwise have received at a given time at the higher prevailing interest rates. Certain mortgage-backed securities may be more volatile and less liquid than other traditional types of debt securities. In addition, an unexpectedly high rate of defaults on the mortgages held by a mortgage pool may adversely affect the value of a mortgage-backed security and could result in losses to an Underlying Fund. The risk of such defaults is generally higher in the case of mortgage pools that include subprime mortgages. The risks associated with mortgage-backed securities typically become elevated during periods of distressed economic, market, health and labor conditions. In particular, increased levels of unemployment, delays and delinquencies in payments of mortgage and rent obligations, and uncertainty regarding the effects and extent of government intervention with respect to mortgage payments and other economic matters may adversely affect the Portfolio’s investments in mortgage-backed securities.

 

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Issuer-Specific Risk. The price of an individual security or particular type of security can be more volatile than the market as a whole and can fluctuate differently than the market as a whole. An individual issuer’s securities can rise or fall dramatically with little or no warning based upon such things as a better (or worse) than expected earnings report, news about the development of a promising product, or the loss of key management personnel. There is also a risk that the price of a security may never reach the level that the Manager believes is representative of its full value or that it may even go down in price.

 

Convertible Securities Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in convertible securities. An Underlying Fund’s investments in convertible securities subject the Underlying Fund to the risks associated with both fixed-income securities and common stocks. To the extent that a convertible security’s investment value is greater than its conversion value, its price will be likely to increase when interest rates fall and decrease when interest rates rise, as with a fixed-income security. If the conversion value exceeds the investment value, the price of the convertible security will tend to fluctuate directly with the price of the underlying equity security.

 

Preferred Stock Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in preferred stock. Preferred stocks involve credit risk and certain other risks. Certain preferred stocks contain provisions that allow an issuer under certain conditions to skip distributions (in the case of “non-cumulative” preferred stocks) or defer distributions (in the case of “cumulative” preferred stocks). If an Underlying Fund owns a preferred stock on which distributions are deferred, the Underlying Fund may nevertheless be required to report income for tax purposes while it is not receiving distributions on that security. Preferred stocks are subordinated to bonds and other debt instruments in a company’s capital structure in terms of priority to corporate income and liquidation payments, and therefore will be subject to greater credit risk than those debt instruments.

 

Warrants Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in warrants. The holder of a warrant has the right to purchase a given number of shares of a particular issuer at a specified price until expiration of the warrant. Such investments can provide a greater potential for profit or loss than an equivalent investment in the underlying security. Prices of warrants do not necessarily move in tandem with the prices of the underlying securities, and are speculative investments. Warrants pay no dividends and confer no rights other than a purchase option. If a warrant is not exercised by the date of its expiration, an Underlying Fund will lose its entire investment in such warrant.

 

Liquidity Risk. The Portfolio and/or an Underlying Fund may hold illiquid securities that it is unable to sell at the preferred time or price and could lose its entire investment in such securities. Investments with an active trading market or that the Manager otherwise deems liquid could become illiquid before the Portfolio can exit its positions. The liquidity of the Portfolio’s assets may change over time.

 

Small and Medium Capitalization Companies Risk. An Underlying Fund may invest in small and medium capitalization companies. Investing in medium and small capitalization companies may involve more risk than is usually associated with investing in larger, more established companies. There is typically less publicly available information concerning small and medium capitalization companies than for larger, more established companies. Some small and medium capitalization companies have limited product lines, distribution channels and financial and managerial resources and tend to concentrate on fewer geographical markets than do larger companies. Also, because small and medium capitalization companies normally have fewer shares outstanding than larger companies and trade less frequently, it may be more difficult for the Portfolio to buy and sell significant amounts of shares without an unfavorable impact on prevailing market prices.

 

Sector Concentration Risk. Sector concentration risk is the possibility that securities within the same sector will decline in price due to sector-specific market or economic developments. To the extent the Portfolio invests more heavily in particular sectors of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors. Additionally, some sectors (for example, the financial services and energy sectors, among others) could be subject to greater government regulation than other sectors. Therefore, changes in regulatory policies for those sectors may have a material effect on the value of securities issued by companies in those sectors.

 

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Derivatives Risk. Certain Underlying Funds may invest in derivatives. A derivative is an investment whose value depends on (or is derived from) the value of an underlying asset (including an underlying security), reference rate or index. Derivatives may be used as a substitute for purchasing the underlying asset or as a hedge to reduce exposure to risks. The derivatives in which the Portfolio or an Underlying Fund may invest include options, futures and swaps. Derivatives may be volatile and some derivatives have the potential for loss that is greater than the Underlying Fund’s initial investment. Many derivatives are entered into over-the-counter or OTC (not on an exchange or contract market) and may be more difficult to purchase, sell or value than more traditional investments, such as stocks or bonds, because there may be fewer purchasers or sellers of the derivative instrument or the derivative instrument may require participants entering into offsetting transactions rather than making or taking delivery. An Underlying Fund may also lose money on a derivative if the counterparty (issuer) fails to pay the amount due. If a counterparty to an OTC derivative were to default on its obligations, the Underlying Fund’s contractual remedies against such counterparty may be subject to bankruptcy and insolvency laws, which could affect the Underlying Fund’s rights as a creditor (e.g., the Underlying Fund may not receive the amount of payments that it is contractually entitled to receive).

 

An Underlying Fund may also lose money on a derivative if the underlying asset on which the derivative is based, or the derivative itself, does not perform as an Adviser anticipated. The Underlying Fund may incur higher taxes as a result of its investing in derivatives. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with, and may be more sensitive to market events than, the underlying asset. Changes in regulation relating to a mutual fund’s use of derivatives and related instruments could potentially limit or impact an Underlying Fund’s ability to invest in derivatives, limit the Underlying Fund’s ability to employ certain strategies that use derivatives and/or adversely affect the value of derivatives and the Underlying Fund’s performance.

 

Compared to other types of investments, derivatives may be less tax efficient. The use of certain derivatives may cause the Underlying Fund, and thus the Portfolio, to realize higher amounts of ordinary income or short-term capital gains, distributions from which are taxable to individual shareholders at ordinary income tax rates rather than at the more favorable tax rates for long-term capital gain. In addition, changes in government regulation of derivative instruments could affect the character, timing and amount of the Underlying Fund’s taxable income or gains, and may limit or prevent the Underlying Fund, and thus the Portfolio, from using certain types of derivative instruments as a part of its investment strategy, which could make the investment strategy more costly to implement or require the Portfolio to change its investment strategy. An Underlying Fund’s use of derivatives also may be limited by the requirements for taxation of the Underlying Fund as a regulated investment company.

 

Management Risk. The performance of the Portfolio also will depend on whether the Manager is successful in pursuing the Portfolio’s investment strategy.

 

Performance:

The bar chart and table that follow provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio by showing changes in the performance of the Portfolio’s Class A shares from year-to-year and by showing how the average annual returns for the past 1 year and since inception periods of the Portfolio compare with those of a broad measure of market performance, as well as with an index of funds with similar investment objectives. The returns in the bar chart do not reflect the deduction of sales charges. If these amounts were reflected, returns would be less than shown. The Portfolio’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future. The returns in the table assume you sold your shares at the end of each period and include the effect of Class A shares maximum applicable front-end sales charge. Of course, if you did not sell your shares at the end of the period, your return would be higher. You may obtain the Portfolio’s updated performance information by calling toll free 1-800-807-FUND or visiting www.saratogacap.com.

 

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ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS – CALENDAR YEAR

 

 

Years

During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 14.64% (quarter ended June 30, 2020) and the lowest return for a calendar quarter was -18.60% (quarter ended March 31, 2020). For the period January 1, 2023 through September 30, 2023, the return for the Portfolio’s Class A shares was 5.11%.

 

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (FOR THE PERIODS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022)

 

    1 Year   Since Inception*
Aggressive Balanced Allocation Portfolio:        
Return Before Taxes   -16.51%   2.76%
Return After Taxes on Distributions   -17.83%   1.33%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares   -8.83%   1.86%
Indices: (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)        
Morningstar Moderately Aggressive Target Risk TR   -15.48%   4.35%
Morningstar US Fund Moderately Aggressive Allocation Category   -15.20%   4.10%

 

* The Portfolio commenced operations on January 4, 2018.

 

The table above shows after-tax returns. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates during the period shown and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Portfolio shares through tax deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns may be higher than before-tax returns due to an assumed benefit from capital losses that would have been realized had Portfolio shares been sold at the end of the relevant periods.

 

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Manager: Saratoga Capital Management, LLC serves as the Portfolio’s Manager.

 

Portfolio Managers: The following individuals serve as the Portfolio’s portfolio managers:

 

Portfolio Manager   Primary Title
Stephen Ventimiglia   Vice Chairman, Chief Investment Officer and Chief Economist of Saratoga Capital Management, LLC, and has managed the Portfolio since its inception.
Bruce E. Ventimiglia   Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Saratoga Capital Management, LLC, and has managed the Portfolio since its inception.
Jonathan W. Ventimiglia   Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of Saratoga Capital Management, LLC, and has managed the Portfolio since its inception.

 

Purchase and Sale of Portfolio Shares: There is generally a $2,500 minimum initial investment for the Portfolio. The minimum subsequent investment in the Trust is $100. There is no minimum subsequent investment for the Portfolio. There is no minimum initial investment and no minimum subsequent investment for employee benefit plans, mutual fund platform programs, supermarket programs, associations and individual retirement accounts. You may purchase and redeem shares of the Portfolio on any day that the New York Stock Exchange is open. Redemption requests may be made in writing, by telephone, or through a financial intermediary and will be paid by check or wire transfer.

 

Tax Information: Dividends and capital gain distributions you receive from the Portfolio, whether you reinvest your distributions in additional Portfolio shares or receive them in cash, are taxable to you at either ordinary income or capital gain tax rates unless you are investing through a tax-free plan, in which case your distributions generally will be taxed when withdrawn from the tax deferred account.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries: If you purchase Portfolio shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Manager and/or the Portfolio’s distributor may pay the intermediary for the sale of Portfolio shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 

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PORTFOLIO SUMMARY: U.S. GOVERNMENT MONEY MARKET PORTFOLIO

 

 

Investment Objective:

The U.S. Government Money Market Portfolio seeks to provide maximum current income to the extent consistent with the maintenance of liquidity and the preservation of capital.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio:

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Portfolio. You may be subject to other fees not reflected in the table, such as brokerage commission and fees to financial intermediaries. You may qualify for sales charge discounts on purchases of shares if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in The Saratoga Advantage Trust Portfolios. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and under “Shareholder Information – Reduced Sales Charge” on page 136 of the Portfolio’s Prospectus. In addition, Appendix A attached to this Prospectus contains information regarding financial intermediary-specific sales charge waivers and discounts.

 

    U.S. Government Money Market Portfolio
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
   
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases of Shares (as a % of offering price)   5.75%
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends (as a % of offering price)   None
Maximum Contingent Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a % of offering price)   None
Redemption Fee   None
Exchange Fee   None
Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
   
Management Fees   0.475%
Distribution and/or Service Rule 12b-1 Fees   0.40%
Other Expenses   0.475%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses (1)   0.24%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (before Expense Waiver/Reimbursement)   1.59%

 

(1) Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies. The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses in the above fee table will not correlate to the expense ratio in the Portfolio’s financial statement (or the financial highlights in this Prospectus) because the financial statement includes only the direct operating expenses incurred by the Portfolio, not the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies (“Acquired Funds”).

 

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Example:

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, and the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same and reflect the waiver in place for the first year. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs, if you held or sold your shares, at the end of each period would be:

 

1 Year   3 Years   5 Years   10 Years
$727   $1,048   $1,391   $2,356

 

The above Example reflects applicable waiver/expense reimbursement arrangements for the duration of the arrangements only.

 

Principal Investment Strategies:

The Portfolio is a “fund of funds.”

 

The Portfolio will normally invest at least 80% of its total assets in unaffiliated registered investment companies (the “Underlying Funds”) that invest in high quality, short-term U.S. government securities. In addition, in order to qualify as a “government money market fund” under the rules governing money market funds, the Portfolio has adopted a policy to invest 99.5% or more of its total assets, through the Underlying Funds, in cash, U.S. government securities, and/or repurchase agreements that are collateralized fully by cash and U.S. government securities. Unless the context otherwise requires, references to the Portfolio’s investments refer to those investments of the Underlying Funds. The Manager seeks to maintain the Portfolio’s share price at $1.00.

 

The U.S. government securities that the Portfolio may purchase include:

 

U.S. Treasury bills, notes and bonds, all of which are direct obligations of the U.S. government.

 

Securities issued by agencies and instrumentalities of the U.S. government, which are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. Among the agencies and instrumentalities issuing these obligations are the Government National Mortgage Association (“Ginnie Mae”) and the Federal Housing Administration.

 

Securities issued by agencies and instrumentalities, which are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, but whose issuing agency or instrumentality has the right to borrow from the U.S. Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury”) to meet their obligations. Among these agencies and instrumentalities are the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”) and the Federal Home Loan Bank. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac each may borrow from the Treasury to meet their obligations, but the Treasury is under no obligation to lend to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

 

Securities issued by agencies and instrumentalities, which are backed solely by the credit of the issuing agency or instrumentality. Among these agencies and instrumentalities is the Federal Farm Credit System.

 

In addition, the Portfolio may invest in repurchase agreements collateralized by securities issued by the U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities.

 

By operating as a government money market fund, the Portfolio is exempt from requirements relating to the imposition of a liquidity fee. While the Portfolio’s Board of Trustees may elect to subject the Portfolio to a discretionary liquidity fee in the future, the Board has not elected to do so at this time.

 

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Principal Investment Risks:

There is no assurance that the Portfolio will achieve its investment objective. You could lose money by investing in the Portfolio. Although the Portfolio seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it cannot guarantee it will do so. An investment in the Portfolio is not a bank account and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The Portfolio’s sponsor is not required to reimburse the Portfolio for losses, and you should not expect that the sponsor will provide financial support to the Portfolio at any time, including during periods of market stress.

 

U.S. Government Securities Risk. There are different types of U.S. government securities with different levels of credit risk, including the risk of default, depending on the nature of the particular government support for that security. For example, U.S. government-sponsored enterprises are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. There is the risk that the U.S. government will not provide financial support to such U.S. government agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises if it is not obligated to do so by law. Certain U.S. government securities purchased by the Portfolio, such as those issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. The maximum potential liability of the issuers of some U.S. government securities held by the Portfolio may greatly exceed their current resources, including their legal right to support from the Treasury. It is possible that these issuers will not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future.

 

Investment in Mutual Funds Risk. The Portfolio invests in Underlying Funds as a primary strategy, so the Portfolio’s investment performance and risks are directly related to the performance and risks of the Underlying Funds. Shareholders will indirectly bear the expenses charged by the Underlying Funds. In addition, the Portfolio may hold a significant percentage of the shares of an Underlying Fund. As a result, the Portfolio’s investments in an Underlying Fund may create a conflict of interest because a situation could occur where an action for the Portfolio could be adverse to the interest of an Underlying Fund or vice versa.

 

Interest Rate Risk. The value of the Portfolio’s investments generally will fall when interest rates rise, and its yield will tend to lag behind prevailing rates. The Portfolio may face a heightened level of interest rate risk due to certain changes in monetary policy, such as certain types of interest rate changes by the Federal Reserve. Portfolios with longer average portfolio durations tend to be more sensitive to interest rate changes than portfolios with a shorter average duration. Additionally, changes in monetary policy may exacerbate risks associated with changing interest rates. During periods when interest rates are low or there are negative interest rates, the Portfolio’s yield (and total return) also may be low or otherwise adversely affected or the Portfolio may be unable to maintain positive returns or a stable net asset value of $1.00 per share. The Manager has agreed to voluntarily reimburse expenses or waive fees of the Portfolio in an attempt to allow the Portfolio to avoid a negative yield. There is no guarantee that the Portfolio will be able to avoid a negative yield. The Manager may amend or discontinue this voluntary reimbursement and fee waiver at any time without advance notice.

 

Credit Risk. Issuers of money market instruments or financial institutions that have entered into repurchase agreements with an Underlying Fund may fail to make payments when due or complete transactions, or they may become less willing or less able to do so. Credit ratings may not be an accurate assessment of liquidity or credit risk. Although credit quality may not accurately reflect the true credit risk of an instrument, a change in the credit quality rating of an instrument or an issuer can have a rapid, adverse effect on the instrument’s liquidity and make it more difficult for the Portfolio to sell at an advantageous price or time. These risks are increased where interest rates are rising.

 

Market Risk. The market value of the Portfolio’s investments may fluctuate, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably, as the markets fluctuate, which may affect the Portfolio’s ability to maintain a $1.00 share price. Market risk may affect a single issuer, industry, or sector of the economy, or it may affect the market as a whole. Social, political, economic and other conditions and events (such as recessions, inflation, rapid interest rate changes, supply chain disruptions, war, natural disasters, epidemics and pandemics, terrorism, conflicts and social unrest) will occur that have significant impacts on issuers, industries, governments and other systems, including the financial markets. Moreover, changing market, economic, political and social conditions in one country or geographic region could adversely impact market, economic, political and social conditions in other countries or regions. These events may negatively impact broad segments of businesses and populations and have a significant and rapid negative impact on the performance of the Portfolio’s investments, increase the Portfolio’s volatility and exacerbate pre-existing risks to the Portfolio.

 

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NAV Risk. The Portfolio may not be able to maintain a stable $1.00 share price at all times. If the Portfolio or another money market fund fails to maintain a stable NAV or maintain a weekly net liquid asset level (or such perception exists in the marketplace), the Portfolio could be subject to increased redemptions, which may adversely impact the Portfolio’s share price.

 

Liquidity Risk. Although the Portfolio invests in a diversified portfolio of high-quality instruments, the Portfolio’s investments may become less liquid as a result of market developments or adverse investor perception.

 

Tax Risk. While dividends paid by the Portfolio from interest directly earned on U.S. government obligations may be exempt from state and local income taxes, dividends paid by the Portfolio from interest indirectly earned through the Underlying Funds with respect to U.S. government obligations is unlikely to be exempt from state and local income tax. Thus, the use of a fund of funds structure may result in a higher state income tax burden for certain shareholders, as compared to a structure in which the Portfolio invests directly in U.S. government obligations.

 

Management Risk. The performance of the Portfolio also will depend on whether the Manager is successful in pursuing the Portfolio’s investment strategy.

 

Risk Associated with the Portfolio Holding Cash. The Portfolio will generally hold a portion of its assets in cash, primarily to meet redemptions. Cash positions may hurt performance and may subject the Portfolio to additional risks and costs, such as increased exposure to the custodian bank holding the assets and any fees imposed for large cash balances.

 

Transactions Risk. The Portfolio could experience a loss and its liquidity may be negatively impacted when selling securities to meet redemption requests. The risk of loss increases if the redemption requests are unusually large or frequent or occur in times of overall market turmoil or declining prices. Similarly, large purchases of Portfolio shares may adversely affect the Portfolio’s performance to the extent that the Portfolio is delayed in investing new cash and is required to maintain a larger cash position than it ordinarily would.

 

Performance:

The bar chart and table that follow provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio by showing changes in the performance of the Portfolio’s Class A shares from year-to-year and by showing how the average annual returns for the past 1, 5 and 10 years of the Portfolio compare with those of a broad measure of market performance, as well as with an index of funds with similar investment objectives. The returns in the bar chart do not reflect the deduction of sales charges. If these amounts were reflected, returns would be less than shown. The Portfolio’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future. The returns in the table assume you sold your shares at the end of each period and include the effect of Class A shares maximum applicable front-end sales charge. Of course, if you did not sell your shares at the end of the period, your return would be higher. You may obtain the Portfolio’s current 7-day yield by calling toll free 1-800-807-FUND.

 

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ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS – CALENDAR YEARS

 

 

Years

During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 0.59% (quarter ended December 31, 2022) and the lowest return for a calendar quarter was 0.00% (quarter ended March 31, 2022). For the period January 1, 2023 through September 30, 2023, the return for the Portfolio’s Class A shares was 2.57%.

 

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (FOR THE PERIODS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022)

 

    1 Year   5 Years   10 Years
U.S. Government Money Market Portfolio:   -5.10%   -0.83%   -0.41%
90 Day T-Bills   1.47%   1.27%   0.77%
Index: (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)            
Lipper U.S. Treasury Money Market Index   1.33%   1.00%   0.55%

 

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Manager: Saratoga Capital Management, LLC (the “Manager”) serves as the Portfolio’s Manager.

 

Portfolio Managers: The following individuals serve as the Portfolio’s portfolio managers:

 

Portfolio Manager   Primary Title
Stephen Ventimiglia   Vice Chairman, Chief Investment Officer and Chief Economist of Saratoga Capital Management, LLC, and has managed the Portfolio since 2020.
Bruce E. Ventimiglia   Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Saratoga Capital Management, LLC, and has managed the Portfolio since 2020.
Jonathan W. Ventimiglia   Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of Saratoga Capital Management, LLC, and has managed the Portfolio since 2020.

 

Purchase and Sale of Portfolio Shares: There is no minimum initial investment for the Portfolio and generally there is a $2,500 minimum initial investment in the Trust. The minimum subsequent investment in the Trust is $100. There is no minimum subsequent investment for the Portfolio. There is no minimum initial investment and no minimum subsequent investment for employee benefit plans, mutual fund platform programs, supermarket programs, associations and individual retirement accounts. You may purchase and redeem shares of the Portfolio on any day that the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open. Redemption requests may be made in writing, by telephone, or through a financial intermediary and will be paid by check or wire transfer.

 

Tax Information: Dividends and capital gain distributions you receive from the Portfolio, whether you reinvest your distributions in additional Portfolio shares or receive them in cash, are taxable to you at either ordinary income or capital gain tax rates unless you are investing through a tax-free plan, in which case your distributions generally will be taxed when withdrawn from the tax deferred account.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries: If you purchase Portfolio shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Manager and/or the Portfolio’s distributor may pay the intermediary for the sale of Portfolio shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 

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PORTFOLIO SUMMARY: INVESTMENT QUALITY BOND PORTFOLIO

 

 

Investment Objective:

The Investment Quality Bond Portfolio seeks current income and reasonable stability of principal.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio:

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Portfolio. You may be subject to other fees not reflected in the table, such as brokerage commission and fees to financial intermediaries. You may qualify for sales charge discounts on purchases of shares if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in The Saratoga Advantage Trust Portfolios. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and under “Shareholder Information – Reduced Sales Charge” on page 136 of the Portfolio’s Prospectus. In addition, Appendix A attached to this Prospectus contains information regarding financial intermediary-specific sales charge waivers and discounts.

 

    Investment Quality Bond Portfolio
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
   
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases of Shares (as a % of offering price)   5.75%
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends (as a % of offering price)   None
Maximum Contingent Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a % of offering price)   None
Redemption Fee   None
Exchange Fee   None
Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
   
Management Fees   0.55%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees   0.40%
Other Expenses   0.83%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses (1)   0.12%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses   1.90%

 

(1) Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies. The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses in the above fee table will not correlate to the expense ratio in the Portfolio’s financial statement (or the financial highlights in this Prospectus) because the financial statement includes only the direct operating expenses incurred by the Portfolio, not the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies (“Acquired Funds”).

 

Example:

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, and the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs, if you held or sold your shares, at the end of each period would be:

 

1 Year   3 Years   5 Years   10 Years
$757   $1,138   $1,542   $2,669

 

Portfolio Turnover:

The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs, which must be borne by the Portfolio and its shareholders and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 103% of the average value of its portfolio.

 

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Principal Investment Strategies:

The Portfolio is a “fund of funds.” The Portfolio’s main investment strategy is to invest in unaffiliated registered investment companies and exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) (the “Underlying Funds”).

 

The Portfolio will normally invest at least 80% of its total assets in Underlying Funds which invest in investment grade fixed-income securities or mortgage pass-through securities rated within the four highest grades by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”), Standard & Poor’s Corporation (“S&P”) or Fitch Inc. (“Fitch”) or, if not rated, securities considered by an Underlying Fund’s adviser to be of comparable quality. In deciding which Underlying Funds to buy, hold or sell in pursuing the Portfolio’s investment objective, the Manager considers economic developments, interest rate trends and performance history of an Underlying Fund’s management team, among other factors. The average maturity of the securities held by an Underlying Fund will generally range from three to ten years. Mortgage pass-through securities are mortgage-backed securities that represent a participation interest in a pool of residential mortgage loans originated by the United States government or private lenders such as banks.

 

They differ from conventional debt securities, which provide for periodic payment of interest in fixed amounts and principal payments at maturity or on specified call dates. Mortgage pass-through securities provide for monthly payments that are a “pass-through” of the monthly interest and principal payments made by the individual borrowers on the pooled mortgage loans.

 

An Underlying Fund may invest in mortgage pass-through securities that are issued or guaranteed by Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Ginnie Mae securities are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government, but they have the right to borrow from the U.S. Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury”) to meet their obligations, although the Treasury is not legally required to extend credit to the agencies/instrumentalities.

 

Private mortgage pass-through securities also can be Underlying Fund investments. They are issued by private originators of and investors in mortgage loans, including savings and loan associations and mortgage banks. Since private mortgage pass-through securities typically are not guaranteed by an entity having the credit status of a U.S. government agency, the securities generally are structured with one or more type of credit enhancement.

 

In addition, the Portfolio may invest up to 5% of its net assets in Underlying Funds that invest in fixed-income securities of any grade, including those that are rated lower than investment grade at the time of purchase, commonly known as “junk bonds.”

 

Principal Investment Risks:

There is no assurance that the Portfolio will achieve its investment objective. The Portfolio’s share price will fluctuate with changes in the market value of its portfolio securities. When you sell your Portfolio shares, they may be worth less than what you paid for them and, accordingly, you can lose money investing in this Portfolio. Shares of the Portfolio are not bank deposits and are not guaranteed or insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

 

Investments in Mutual Funds Risk. The Portfolio invests in Underlying Funds as a primary strategy, so the Portfolio’s investment performance and risks are directly related to the performance and risks of the Underlying Funds. Shareholders will indirectly bear the expenses charged by the Underlying Funds. In addition, the Portfolio may hold a significant percentage of the shares of an Underlying Fund. As a result, the Portfolio’s investments in an Underlying Fund may create a conflict of interest because a situation could occur where an action for the Portfolio could be adverse to the interest of an Underlying Fund or vice versa.

 

Exchange-Traded Funds (ETF) Risk. Shares of ETFs have many of the same risks as direct investments in common stocks or bonds. ETFs are typically open-end investment companies, which may seek to track the performance of a specific index or be actively managed. In addition, their market value is expected to rise and fall as the value of the underlying index or other assets rises and falls. The market value of their shares may differ from the net asset value (“NAV”) of the particular fund. As a shareholder in an ETF (as with other investment companies), the Portfolio would bear its ratable share of that entity’s expenses in addition to its own fees and expenses. In addition, investments in an ETF are subject to, among other risks, the risk that the ETF’s shares may trade at a discount or premium relative to the NAV of the shares, especially during periods of market volatility or stress, causing investors to pay significantly more or less than the value of the ETF’s underlying portfolio, and the listing exchange may halt trading of the ETF’s shares. ETFs also involve the risk that an active trading market for an ETF’s shares may not develop or be maintained. In addition, ETFs that track particular indices may be unable to match the performance of such underlying indices due to the temporary unavailability of certain index securities in the secondary market or other factors, such as discrepancies with respect to the weighting of securities.

 

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Investment and Market Risk. An investment in the Portfolio’s common shares is subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount invested. An investment in the Portfolio’s common shares represents an indirect investment in the securities owned by the Portfolio, which are generally traded on a securities exchange or in the OTC markets. The value of these securities, like other market investments, may move up or down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably due to changes in general market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related to the issuer of the security or other asset, or factors that affect a particular issuer or issuers, exchange, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class. Social, political, economic and other conditions and events (such as recessions, inflation, rapid interest rate changes, supply chain disruptions, war, natural disasters, epidemics and pandemics, terrorism, conflicts and social unrest) will occur that have significant impacts on issuers, industries, governments and other systems, including the financial markets. As global systems, economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, events that once had only local impact are now more likely to have regional or even global effects. Events that occur in one country, region or financial market will, more frequently, adversely impact issuers in other countries, regions or markets. These impacts can be exacerbated by failures of governments and societies to adequately respond to an emerging event or threat. Investors will be negatively impacted if the value of their portfolio holdings decreases as a result of such events, if these events adversely impact the operations and effectiveness of the Manager or Adviser, as applicable, or key service providers or if these events disrupt systems and processes necessary or beneficial to the management of accounts. These events may negatively impact broad segments of businesses and populations and have a significant and rapid negative impact on the performance of the Portfolio’s investments, increase the Portfolio’s volatility and exacerbate pre-existing risks to the Portfolio. The Portfolio’s common shares at any point in time may be worth less than the original investment, even after taking into account any reinvestment of dividends and distributions.

 

Fixed-Income Securities Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in fixed-income securities. All fixed-income securities are subject to two types of risk: credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer of a security will be unable or unwilling to make interest payments and/or repay the principal on its debt. Interest rate risk refers to fluctuations in the value of a fixed-income security resulting from changes in the general level of interest rates.

 

When the general level of interest rates goes up, the prices of most fixed-income securities go down. When the general level of interest rates goes down, the prices of most fixed-income securities go up. (Zero coupon securities are typically subject to greater price fluctuations than comparable securities that pay current interest.) Long-term fixed-income securities will rise and fall in response to interest rate changes to a greater extent than short-term securities. The Portfolio may face a heightened level of interest rate risk due to certain changes in monetary policy, such as certain types of interest rate changes by the Federal Reserve.

 

Certain Underlying Funds may invest in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies and instrumentalities (such as securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac)). Securities, such as those issued or guaranteed by Ginnie Mae or the U.S. Treasury, that are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity.

 

Notwithstanding that these securities are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, circumstances could arise that would prevent the payment of principal and interest. Securities issued by U.S. government-related organizations, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and no assurance can be given that the U.S. government will provide financial support. Therefore, U.S. government-related organizations may not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future.

 

Mortgage-Backed Securities and Prepayment Risk. Certain Underlying Funds invest in mortgage-backed securities. Mortgage-backed securities, such as mortgage pass-through securities, have different risk characteristics than traditional debt securities. For example, principal is paid back over the life of the security rather than at maturity. Although the value of fixed-income securities generally increases during periods of falling interest rates and decreases during periods of rising interest rates, this is not always the case with mortgage-backed securities. This is due to the fact that the borrower’s payments may be prepaid at any time as well as other factors. Generally, prepayments will increase during a period of falling interest rates and decrease during a period of rising interest rates. The rate of prepayments also may be influenced by economic and other factors. Prepayment risk includes the possibility that securities with stated interest rates may have the principal prepaid earlier than expected, which may occur when interest rates decline. Prepayment may expose an Underlying Fund, and thus the Portfolio, to a lower rate of return upon reinvestment of principal.

 

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Investments in mortgage-backed securities are made based upon, among other things, expectations regarding the rate of prepayments on the underlying loans. Rates of prepayment faster or slower than expected by the Manager could reduce an Underlying Fund’s yield, increase the volatility of the Underlying Fund and/or cause a decline in net asset value. Mortgage-backed securities are also subject to extension risk, which is the risk that the issuer of such a security pays back the principal of an obligation later than expected, which may occur when interest rates rise. This may have an adverse effect on returns, as the value of the security decreases when principal payments are made later than expected. In addition, an Underlying Fund may be prevented from investing proceeds it would otherwise have received at a given time at the higher prevailing interest rates. Certain mortgage-backed securities may be more volatile and less liquid than other traditional types of debt securities. In addition, an unexpectedly high rate of defaults on the mortgages held by a mortgage pool may adversely affect the value of a mortgage-backed security and could result in losses to an Underlying Fund. The risk of such defaults is generally higher in the case of mortgage pools that include subprime mortgages. The risks associated with mortgage-backed securities typically become elevated during periods of distressed economic, market, health and labor conditions. In particular, increased levels of unemployment, delays and delinquencies in payments of mortgage and rent obligations, and uncertainty regarding the effects and extent of government intervention with respect to mortgage payments and other economic matters may adversely affect the Portfolio’s investments in mortgage-backed securities.

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. The price of an individual security or particular type of security can be more volatile than the market as a whole and can fluctuate differently than the market as a whole. An individual issuer’s securities can rise or fall dramatically with little or no warning based upon such things as a better (or worse) than expected earnings report, news about the development of a promising product, or the loss of key management personnel. There is also a risk that the price of a security may never reach the level that the Manager believes is representative of its full value or that it may even go down in price.

 

Liquidity Risk. The Portfolio and/or an Underlying Fund may hold illiquid securities that it is unable to sell at the preferred time or price and could lose its entire investment in such securities. Investments with an active trading market or that the Manager otherwise deems liquid could become illiquid before the Portfolio can exit its positions. The liquidity of the Portfolio’s assets may change over time.

 

Limited Holdings Risk. The Portfolio may have a relatively high percentage of assets in a single or small number of issuers or Underlying Funds. As a result, a decline in the value of a single issuer or Underlying Fund could cause the Portfolio’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Portfolio invested in a larger number of issuers and/or Underlying Funds.

 

Portfolio Turnover Risk. The frequency of the Portfolio’s transactions will vary from year to year. Increased portfolio turnover may result in higher brokerage commissions, dealer mark-ups and other transaction costs and may result in taxable capital gains. Higher costs associated with increased portfolio turnover may offset gains in the Portfolio’s performance.

 

Management Risk. The performance of the Portfolio also will depend on whether the Manager is successful in pursuing the Portfolio’s investment strategy.

 

Performance:

The bar chart and table that follow provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio by showing changes in the performance of the Portfolio’s Class A shares from year-to-year and by showing how the average annual returns for the past 1, 5 and 10 years of the Portfolio compare with those of a broad measure of market performance, as well as with an index of funds with similar investment objectives. The returns in the bar chart do not reflect the deduction of sales charges. If these amounts were reflected, returns would be less than shown. The Portfolio’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future. The returns in the table assume you sold your shares at the end of each period and include the effect of Class A shares maximum applicable front-end sales charge. Of course, if you did not sell your shares at the end of the period, your return would be higher. You may obtain the Portfolio’s updated performance information by calling toll free 1-800-807-FUND or visiting www.saratogacap.com.

 

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ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS – CALENDAR YEARS

 

 

Years

During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 2.18% (quarter ended March 31, 2016) and the lowest return for a calendar quarter was -1.70% (quarter ended March 31, 2022). For the period January 1, 2023 through September 30, 2023, the return for the Portfolio’s Class A shares was -0.88%.

 

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (FOR THE PERIODS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022)

 

    1 Year   5 Years   10 Years
Investment Quality Bond Portfolio:            
Return Before Taxes   -8.37%   -1.12%   -0.53%
Return After Taxes on Distributions   -8.39%   -1.34%   -0.84%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares   -4.96%   -0.91%   -0.47%
Indices: (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)            
Bloomberg Intermediate U.S. Government/Credit Bond Index   -8.23%   0.73%   1.12%
Lipper Short-Intermediate Investment Grade Debt Funds Index   -6.03%   1.06%   1.25%

 

The table above shows after-tax returns. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates during the period shown and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Portfolio shares through tax deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns may be higher than before-tax returns due to an assumed benefit from capital losses that would have been realized had Portfolio shares been sold at the end of the relevant periods.

 

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Manager: Saratoga Capital Management, LLC (the “Manager”) serves as the Portfolio’s Manager.

 

Portfolio Managers: The following individuals serve as the Portfolio’s portfolio managers:

 

Portfolio Manager   Primary Title
Stephen Ventimiglia   Vice Chairman, Chief Investment Officer and Chief Economist of Saratoga Capital Management, LLC, and has managed the Portfolio since 2018.
Bruce E. Ventimiglia   Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Saratoga Capital Management, LLC, and has managed the Portfolio since 2018.
Jonathan W. Ventimiglia   Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of Saratoga Capital Management, LLC, and has managed the Portfolio since 2018.

 

Purchase and Sale of Portfolio Shares: There is generally a $250 minimum initial investment for the Portfolio and generally there is a $2,500 minimum initial investment in the Trust. The minimum subsequent investment in the Trust is $100. There is no minimum subsequent investment for the Portfolio. There is no minimum initial investment and no minimum subsequent investment for employee benefit plans, mutual fund platform programs, supermarket programs, associations and individual retirement accounts. You may purchase and redeem shares of the Portfolio on any day that the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open. Redemption requests may be made in writing, by telephone, or through a financial intermediary and will be paid by check or wire transfer.

 

Tax Information: Dividends and capital gain distributions you receive from the Portfolio, whether you reinvest your distributions in additional Portfolio shares or receive them in cash, are taxable to you at either ordinary income or capital gain tax rates unless you are investing through a tax-free plan, in which case your distributions generally will be taxed when withdrawn from the tax deferred account.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries: If you purchase Portfolio shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Manager and/or the Portfolio’s distributor may pay the intermediary for the sale of Portfolio shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 

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PORTFOLIO SUMMARY: MUNICIPAL BOND PORTFOLIO

 

 

Investment Objective:

The Municipal Bond Portfolio seeks a high level of interest income that is excluded from federal income taxation to the extent consistent with prudent investment management and the preservation of capital.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio:

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Portfolio. You may be subject to other fees not reflected in the table, such as brokerage commission and fees to financial intermediaries. You may qualify for sales charge discounts on purchases of shares if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in The Saratoga Advantage Trust Portfolios. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and under “Shareholder Information – Reduced Sales Charge” on page 136 of the Portfolio’s Prospectus. In addition, Appendix A attached to this Prospectus contains information regarding financial intermediary-specific sales charge waivers and discounts.

 

    Municipal Bond
Portfolio
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
   
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases of Shares (as a % of offering price)   5.75%
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends (as a % of offering price)   None
Maximum Contingent Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a % of offering price)   None
Redemption Fee   None
Exchange Fee   None
Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
   
Management Fees   0.55%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees   0.40%
Other Expenses   2.57%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses (1)   0.19%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses   3.71%

 

(1) Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies. The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses in the above fee table will not correlate to the expense ratio in the Portfolio’s financial statement (or the financial highlights in this Prospectus) because the financial statement includes only the direct operating expenses incurred by the Portfolio, not the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies (“Acquired Funds”).

 

Example:

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, and the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs, if you held or sold your shares, at the end of each period would be:

 

1 Year   3 Years   5 Years   10 Years
$927   $1,644   $2,381   $4,306

 

Portfolio Turnover:

The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs, which must be borne by the Portfolio and its shareholders and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 101% of the average value of its portfolio.

 

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Principal Investment Strategies:

The Portfolio is a “fund of funds.” The Portfolio’s main investment strategy is to invest in unaffiliated registered investment companies and exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) (the “Underlying Funds”).

 

As a matter of fundamental policy, the Portfolio will normally invest at least 80% of its total assets in securities that pay interest exempt from federal income taxes. The Manager generally invests the Portfolio’s assets in Underlying Funds that invest in municipal obligations. There are no maturity limitations on the securities held by the Underlying Funds. Municipal obligations are bonds, notes or short-term commercial paper issued by state governments, local governments, and their respective agencies. In pursuing the Portfolio’s investment objective, the Manager has considerable leeway in deciding which Underlying Funds it buys, holds or sells on a day-to-day basis. The Underlying Fund’s adviser will invest primarily in municipal bonds rated within the four highest grades by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”), Standard & Poor’s Corporation (“S&P”) or Fitch Inc. (“Fitch”) or, if not rated, of comparable quality in the opinion of an Underlying Fund’s adviser.

 

An Underlying Fund may invest without limit in municipal obligations such as private activity bonds that pay interest income subject to the “alternative minimum tax,” although the Portfolio does not currently expect to invest more than 20% of its total assets in such instruments. Some shareholders may have to pay tax on distributions of this income from the Portfolio. Municipal bonds, notes and commercial paper are commonly classified as either “general obligation” or “revenue.” General obligation bonds, notes and commercial paper are secured by the issuer’s faith and credit, as well as its taxing power, for payment of principal and interest. Revenue bonds, notes and commercial paper, however, are generally payable from a specific source of income. They are issued to fund a wide variety of public and private projects in sectors such as transportation, education and industrial development. Included within the revenue category are participations in lease obligations. An Underlying Fund’s municipal obligation investments may include zero coupon securities, which are purchased at a discount and make no interest payments until maturity.

 

Principal Investment Risks:

There is no assurance that the Portfolio will achieve its investment objective. The Portfolio share price will fluctuate with changes in the market value of its portfolio securities. When you sell your Portfolio shares, they may be worth less than what you paid for them and, accordingly, you can lose money investing in this Portfolio. Shares of the Portfolio are not bank deposits and are not guaranteed or insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

 

Investments in Mutual Funds Risk. The Portfolio invests in Underlying Funds as a primary strategy, so the Portfolio’s investment performance and risks are directly related to the performance and risks of the Underlying Funds. Shareholders will indirectly bear the expenses charged by the Underlying Funds. In addition, the Portfolio may hold a significant percentage of the shares of an Underlying Fund. As a result, the Portfolio’s investments in an Underlying Fund may create a conflict of interest because a situation could occur where an action for the Portfolio could be adverse to the interest of an Underlying Fund or vice versa.

 

Exchange-Traded Funds (ETF) Risk. Shares of ETFs have many of the same risks as direct investments in common stocks or bonds. ETFs are typically open-end investment companies, which may seek to track the performance of a specific index or be actively managed. In addition, their market value is expected to rise and fall as the value of the underlying index or other assets rises and falls. The market value of their shares may differ from the net asset value (“NAV”) of the particular fund. As a shareholder in an ETF (as with other investment companies), the Portfolio would bear its ratable share of that entity’s expenses in addition to its own fees and expenses. In addition, investments in an ETF are subject to, among other risks, the risk that the ETF’s shares may trade at a discount or premium relative to the NAV of the shares, especially during periods of market volatility or stress, causing investors to pay significantly more or less than the value of the ETF’s underlying portfolio, and the listing exchange may halt trading of the ETF’s shares. ETFs also involve the risk that an active trading market for an ETF’s shares may not develop or be maintained. In addition, ETFs that track particular indices may be unable to match the performance of such underlying indices due to the temporary unavailability of certain index securities in the secondary market or other factors, such as discrepancies with respect to the weighting of securities.

 

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Investment and Market Risk. An investment in the Portfolio’s common shares is subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount invested. An investment in the Portfolio’s common shares represents an indirect investment in the securities owned by the Portfolio, which are generally traded on a securities exchange or in the OTC markets. The value of these securities, like other market investments, may move up or down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably due to changes in general market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related to the issuer of the security or other asset, or factors that affect a particular issuer or issuers, exchange, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class. Social, political, economic and other conditions and events (such as recessions, inflation, rapid interest rate changes, supply chain disruptions, war, natural disasters, epidemics and pandemics, terrorism, conflicts and social unrest) will occur that have significant impacts on issuers, industries, governments and other systems, including the financial markets. As global systems, economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, events that once had only local impact are now more likely to have regional or even global effects. Events that occur in one country, region or financial market will, more frequently, adversely impact issuers in other countries, regions or markets. These impacts can be exacerbated by failures of governments and societies to adequately respond to an emerging event or threat. Investors will be negatively impacted if the value of their portfolio holdings decreases as a result of such events, if these events adversely impact the operations and effectiveness of the Manager or Adviser, as applicable, or key service providers or if these events disrupt systems and processes necessary or beneficial to the management of accounts. These events may negatively impact broad segments of businesses and populations and have a significant and rapid negative impact on the performance of the Portfolio’s investments, increase the Portfolio’s volatility and exacerbate pre-existing risks to the Portfolio. The Portfolio’s common shares at any point in time may be worth less than the original investment, even after taking into account any reinvestment of dividends and distributions.

 

Municipal Bond Risk. The risk of a municipal obligation generally depends on the financial and credit status of the issuer. Changes in a municipality’s financial health may make it difficult for the municipality to make interest and principal payments when due. This could decrease the Portfolio’s income or hurt the ability to preserve capital and liquidity. Under some circumstances, municipal obligations might not pay interest unless the state legislature or municipality authorizes money for that purpose.

 

Municipal obligations may be more susceptible to downgrades or defaults during recessions or similar periods of economic stress. In addition, since some municipal obligations may be secured or guaranteed by banks and other institutions, the risk to the Portfolio could increase if the banking or financial sector suffers an economic downturn and/or if the credit ratings of the institutions issuing the guarantee are downgraded or at risk of being downgraded by a national rating organization. Such a downward revision or risk of being downgraded may have an adverse effect on the market prices of the bonds and thus the value of the Portfolio’s investments. In addition to being downgraded, an insolvent municipality may file for bankruptcy. The reorganization of a municipality’s debts may significantly affect the rights of creditors and the value of the securities issued by the municipality and the value of the Portfolio’s investments.

 

Credit and Interest Rate Risk. An Underlying Fund may be subject to credit and interest rate risks. Municipal obligations, like other debt securities, are subject to two types of risks: credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer of a security will be unable or unwilling to make interest payments and/or repay the principal on its debt, and these risks are increased where interest rates are rising. In the case of revenue bonds, notes or commercial paper, for example, the credit risk is the possibility that the user fees from a project or other specified revenue sources are insufficient to meet interest and/or principal payment obligations. The issuers of private activity bonds, used to finance projects in sectors such as industrial development and pollution control, also may be negatively impacted by the general credit of the user of the project. Lease obligations may have risks not normally associated with general obligation or other revenue bonds.

 

Certain lease obligations contain “non-appropriation” clauses that provide that the governmental issuer has no obligation to make future payments under the lease or contract unless money is appropriated for such purposes by the appropriate legislative body on an annual or other periodic basis. Consequently, continued lease payments on those lease obligations containing “non-appropriation” clauses are dependent on future legislative actions. If such legislative actions do not occur, the holders of the lease obligation may experience difficulty in exercising their rights, including disposition of the property.

 

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Interest rate risk refers to fluctuations in the value of a fixed-income security resulting from changes in the general level of interest rates. When the general level of interest rates goes up, the prices of most fixed-income securities go down. When the general level of interest rates goes down, the prices of most fixed-income securities go up. The Portfolio may face a heightened level of interest rate risk due to certain changes in monetary policy, such as certain types of interest rate changes by the Federal Reserve. Portfolios with longer average portfolio durations tend to be more sensitive to interest rate changes than portfolios with a shorter average duration. Additionally, changes in monetary policy may exacerbate risks associated with changing interest rates. During periods when interest rates are low or there are negative interest rates, the Portfolio’s yield (and total return) also may be low or otherwise adversely affected or the Portfolio may be unable to maintain positive returns. Credit ratings may not be an accurate assessment of liquidity or credit risk. Although credit quality may not accurately reflect the true credit risk of an instrument, a change in the credit quality rating of an instrument or an issuer can have a rapid, adverse effect on the instrument’s liquidity and make it more difficult for a Portfolio to sell at an advantageous price or time. Longer term bonds and zero- coupon securities are typically subject to greater price fluctuations than comparable securities that pay current interest. Generally, the longer the average duration of the bonds in the Portfolio, the more the Portfolio’s share price will fluctuate in response to interest rate changes.

 

An Underlying Fund is not limited as to the maturities of the municipal obligations in which it may invest. Thus, a rise in the general level of interest rates may cause the price of its portfolio securities to fall substantially.

 

Investments in municipal bonds in the fourth highest grade are considered speculative. The ratings of municipal bonds do not ensure the stability or safety of an Underlying Fund’s, and thus the Portfolio’s, investments.

 

Zero-Coupon Bond Risk. The market value of a zero-coupon bond is generally more volatile than the market value of other fixed income securities with similar maturities that pay interest periodically.

 

Tax Risk. There is no guarantee that the Portfolio’s income will be exempt from federal or state income taxes. Events occurring after the date of issuance of a municipal bond or after an Underlying Fund’s acquisition of a municipal bond may result in a determination that interest on that bond is includible in gross income for federal income tax purposes retroactively to its date of issuance. Such a determination may cause a portion of prior distributions by the Portfolio to its shareholders to be taxable to those shareholders in the year of receipt. Federal or state changes in income or alternative minimum tax rates or in the tax treatment of municipal bonds may make municipal bonds less attractive as investments and cause them to lose value. An Underlying Fund may invest without limit in municipal obligations that pay interest income subject to the “alternative minimum tax,” although the Portfolio does not currently expect to invest more than 20% of its total assets in such instruments.

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. The price of an individual security or particular type of security can be more volatile than the market as a whole and can fluctuate differently than the market as a whole. An individual issuer’s securities can rise or fall dramatically with little or no warning based upon such things as a better (or worse) than expected earnings report, news about the development of a promising product, or the loss of key management personnel. There is also a risk that the price of a security may never reach the level that the Manager believes is representative of its full value or that it may even go down in price.

 

Liquidity Risk. The Portfolio and/or an Underlying Fund may hold illiquid securities that it is unable to sell at the preferred time or price and could lose its entire investment in such securities. Investments with an active trading market or that the Manager otherwise deems liquid could become illiquid before the Portfolio can exit its positions. The liquidity of the Portfolio’s assets may change over time.

 

Limited Holdings Risk. The Portfolio may have a relatively high percentage of assets in a single or small number of issuers or Underlying Funds. As a result, a decline in the value of a single issuer or Underlying Fund could cause the Portfolio’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Portfolio invested in a larger number of issuers and/or Underlying Funds.

 

Portfolio Turnover Risk. The frequency of the Portfolio’s transactions will vary from year to year. Increased portfolio turnover may result in higher brokerage commissions, dealer mark-ups and other transaction costs and may result in taxable capital gains. Higher costs associated with increased portfolio turnover may offset gains in the Portfolio’s performance.

 

Management Risk. The performance of the Portfolio also will depend on whether the Manager is successful in pursuing the Portfolio’s investment strategy.

 

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Performance:

The bar chart and table that follow provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio by showing changes in the performance of the Portfolio’s Class A shares from year-to-year and by showing how the average annual returns for the past 1, 5 and 10 years of the Portfolio compare with those of a broad measure of market performance, as well as with an index of funds with similar investment objectives. The returns in the bar chart do not reflect the deduction of sales charges. If these amounts were reflected, returns would be less than shown. The Portfolio’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future. The returns in the table assume you sold your shares at the end of each period and include the effect of Class A shares maximum applicable front-end sales charge. Of course, if you did not sell your shares at the end of the period, your return would be higher. You may obtain the Portfolio’s updated performance information by calling toll free 1-800-807-FUND or visiting www.saratogacap.com.

 

ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS – CALENDAR YEARS

 

 

Years

During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 2.11% (quarter ended June 30, 2016) and the lowest return for a calendar quarter was -3.62% (quarter ended December 31, 2016). For the period January 1, 2023 through September 30, 2023, the return for the Portfolio’s Class A shares was -2.69%.

 

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (FOR THE PERIODS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022)

 

    1 Year   5 Years   10 Years
Municipal Bond Portfolio:            
Return Before Taxes   -8.64%   -2.36%   -1.22%
Return After Taxes on Distributions   -8.64%   -2.41%   -1.55%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares   -5.12%   -1.80%   -0.99%
Indices: (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)            
Bloomberg Municipal Bond Index   -8.53%   1.25%   2.13%
Lipper Intermediate Municipal Debt Funds Index   -7.51%   1.08%   1.67%

 

The table above shows after-tax returns. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates during the period shown and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Portfolio shares through tax deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns may be higher than before-tax returns due to an assumed benefit from capital losses that would have been realized had Portfolio shares been sold at the end of the relevant periods.

 

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Manager: Saratoga Capital Management, LLC (the “Manager”) serves as the Portfolio’s Manager.

 

Portfolio Managers: The following individuals serve as the Portfolio’s portfolio managers:

 

Portfolio Manager   Primary Title
Stephen Ventimiglia   Vice Chairman, Chief Investment Officer and Chief Economist of Saratoga Capital Management, LLC, and has managed the Portfolio since 2018.
Bruce E. Ventimiglia   Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Saratoga Capital Management, LLC, and has managed the Portfolio since 2018.
Jonathan W. Ventimiglia   Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of Saratoga Capital Management, LLC, and has managed the Portfolio since 2018.

 

Purchase and Sale of Portfolio Shares: There is generally a $250 minimum initial investment for the Portfolio and generally there is a $2,500 minimum initial investment in the Trust. The minimum subsequent investment in the Trust is $100. There is no minimum subsequent investment for the Portfolio. There is no minimum initial investment and no minimum subsequent investment for employee benefit plans, mutual fund platform programs, supermarket programs, associations and individual retirement accounts. You may purchase and redeem shares of the Portfolio on any day that the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open. Redemption requests may be made in writing, by telephone, or through a financial intermediary and will be paid by check or wire transfer.

 

Tax Information: It is anticipated that the Portfolio’s distributions normally will be exempt from federal income taxes, but not including federal alternative minimum tax. However, a portion of the Portfolio’s distributions may not qualify as exempt. Interest, dividends and all capital gains may be subject to federal, state and federal alternative minimum tax, unless you are investing through a tax-free plan, in which case your distributions generally will be taxed when withdrawn from the tax deferred account.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries: If you purchase Portfolio shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Manager and/or the Portfolio’s distributor may pay the intermediary for the sale of Portfolio shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 

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PORTFOLIO SUMMARY: LARGE CAPITALIZATION VALUE PORTFOLIO

 

 

Investment Objective:

The Large Capitalization Value Portfolio seeks total return consisting of capital appreciation and dividend income.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio:

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Portfolio. You may be subject to other fees not reflected in the table, such as brokerage commission and fees to financial intermediaries. You may qualify for sales charge discounts on purchases of shares if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in The Saratoga Advantage Trust Portfolios. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and under “Shareholder Information – Reduced Sales Charge” on page 136 of the Portfolio’s Prospectus. In addition, Appendix A attached to this Prospectus contains information regarding financial intermediary-specific sales charge waivers and discounts.

 

    Large Capitalization Value Portfolio
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
   
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases of Shares (as a % of offering price)   5.75%
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends (as a % of offering price)   None
Maximum Contingent Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a % of offering price)   None
Redemption Fee   None
Exchange Fee   None
Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
   
Management Fees   0.65%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees   0.40%
Other Expenses   1.00%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses (1)   0.01%