How we manage the Fund

The Manager takes a disciplined approach to investing, combining investment strategies and risk-management techniques that it believes can help shareholders meet their goals.

Our principal investment strategies

The Manager researches individual companies and analyzes economic and market conditions, seeking to identify the securities or market sectors that it believes are the best investments for the Fund. The following are descriptions of how the Manager pursues the Fund's investment objective.

The Fund strives to achieve maximum long-term capital growth through capital appreciation. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities issued by healthcare companies. The Fund may invest in US and non-US companies of all market capitalizations. The Fund is a nondiversified fund.

The Manager will select growth-oriented and value-oriented investments on the basis of the investments' discount to intrinsic value. When selecting growth-oriented securities, the Manager typically seeks high growth caused by secular economic factors. These factors may include demographics, economic deregulation, and technological developments. When selecting value-oriented securities, the Manager typically seeks lower valuations caused by cyclical economic factors or temporary changes in business operations. Strong management and a sustainable business franchise are key considerations in selecting both growth-oriented and value-oriented securities.

To compare the value of different stocks, the Manager considers whether the future income stream on a stock is expected to increase faster than, slower than, or in line with the level of inflation. The Manager then estimates what it thinks the value of the anticipated future income stream would be if such income stream were being paid today. The Manager believes this gives it an estimate of the stock's intrinsic value. In addition, the Manager's process utilizes a customized quantitative screen and the Manager has created six custom healthcare subsectors that group companies according to common characteristics and are the basis for investment ideas.

The types of securities the Fund may invest in include, but are not limited to: common stocks; preferred stocks; securities having common stock characteristics, such as rights and warrants to purchase common stocks; and American, global, and European depositary receipts.

The Fund does not normally acquire securities for short-term purposes; however, the Manager may take advantage of short-term opportunities that are consistent with the Fund's investment objective.

The Manager may permit its affiliate, MIMGL, to execute Fund security trades on behalf of the Manager. The Manager may also seek quantitative support from MIMGL.

The Fund's investment objective is nonfundamental. This means that the Fund's Board of Trustees (Board) may change the objective without obtaining shareholder approval. If the objective were changed, the Fund would notify shareholders at least 60 days before the change became effective.

The securities in which the Fund typically invests

Common or ordinary stocks are securities that represent shares of ownership in a corporation. Stockholders may participate in a corporation's profits through its distributions of dividends to stockholders, proportionate to the number of shares they own.

How the Fund uses them: The Fund will focus its investments in common or ordinary stocks.

Foreign securities are securities of issuers which are classified by index providers, or by the investment manager applying internally consistent guidelines, as being assigned to countries outside the United States. Investments in foreign securities include investments in American depositary receipts (ADRs), European depositary receipts (EDRs), and global depositary receipts (GDRs). ADRs are receipts issued by a depositary (usually a US bank) and EDRs and GDRs are receipts issued by a depositary outside of the US (usually a non-US bank or trust company or a foreign branch of a US bank). Depositary receipts represent an ownership interest in an underlying security that is held by the depositary. Generally, the underlying security represented by an ADR is issued by a foreign issuer and the underlying security represented by an EDR or GDR may be issued by a foreign or US issuer. Sponsored depositary receipts are issued jointly by the issuer of the underlying security and the depositary, and unsponsored depositary receipts are issued by the depositary without the participation of the issuer of the underlying security. Generally, the holder of the depositary receipt is entitled to all payments of interest, dividends, or capital gains that are made on the underlying security.

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How we manage the Fund

How the Fund uses them: The Fund may invest in sponsored and unsponsored ADRs, EDRs, and GDRs, generally focusing on those whose underlying securities are issued by foreign entities. To determine whether to purchase a security in a foreign market or through a depositary receipt, the Manager evaluates the price levels, the transaction costs, taxes, and administrative costs, or other relevant factors involved with each security to try to identify the most efficient choice.

Futures contracts are agreements for the purchase or sale of a security or a group of securities at a specified price, on a specified date. Unlike purchasing an option, a futures contract must be executed unless it is sold before the settlement date.

Options represent a right to buy or sell a swap agreement, a futures contract, or a security or a group of securities at an agreed-upon price at a future date. The purchaser of an option may or may not choose to go through with the transaction. The seller of an option, however, must go through with the transaction if the purchaser exercises the option.

Certain options and futures may be considered illiquid.

How the Fund uses them: If the Fund owns securities that have unrealized gains because of past appreciation, the Manager may want to protect those gains when it anticipates adverse conditions. The Manager might use options or futures to seek to neutralize the effect of any price declines, without selling the security. The Manager might also use options or futures to gain exposure to a particular market segment without purchasing individual securities in that segment. The Manager might use this approach if the Fund had excess cash that the Manager wanted to invest quickly.

The Manager might use call options if it believes that doing so would help the Fund to meet its investment objective.

Use of these strategies can increase the operating costs of the Fund and can lead to loss of principal. Despite the ability to use futures and options as described above, the Manager does not currently intend to use such transactions often and may determine not to use futures and options at all.

Any investments in investment company securities, including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), will be limited by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), and any rules thereunder, and would involve a payment of the pro rata portion of the expenses, including advisory fees, of such other investment companies. Under the current 1940 Act limitations, a fund generally may not: (i) own more than 3% of the voting stock of another investment company; (ii) invest more than 5% of a fund's total assets in the shares of any one investment company; or (iii) invest more than 10% of a fund's total assets in shares of other investment companies unless any rules, regulations or no-action or exemptive relief under the 1940 Act permit a fund's investments to exceed such limits. These percentage limitations also apply to a fund's investment in an unregistered investment company. In some countries, investments by US mutual funds are generally made by purchasing shares of investment companies that in turn invest in the securities of such countries.

How the Fund uses them: The Fund may hold investment company securities if the Manager believes that the country in which the investment company invests offers good investment opportunities. Such investment companies may be open-end or closed-end investment companies.

A fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers and may hold foreign currency. In addition, a fund may enter into contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies at a future date (a “forward foreign currency” contract or “forward” contract). A forward contract involves an obligation to purchase or sell a specific currency at a future date, which may be any fixed number of days from the date of the contract, agreed upon by the parties, at a price set at the time of the contract.

How the Fund uses them: Although the Manager values the Fund's assets daily in US dollars, the Manager does not intend to convert the Fund's holdings of foreign currencies into US dollars on a daily basis. The Fund is permitted to, however, from time to time, purchase or sell foreign currencies and/or engage in forward foreign currency contracts. The Manager may conduct the Fund's foreign currency transactions on a cash basis at the spot rate prevailing in the foreign currency exchange market or through a forward foreign currency contract.

The Manager may use forward contracts for defensive hedging purposes to attempt to protect the value of the Fund's current security or currency holdings or to facilitate transactions in foreign securities. The Manager may also enter into forward contracts for the Fund if it has agreed to sell a security and wants to “lock in” the price of that security, in terms of US dollars. The Manager will not use forward contracts for speculative purposes. Despite the ability to utilize foreign currency transactions as described above, the Manager does not currently intend to use such transactions often and may determine not to use foreign currency transactions at all.

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A repurchase agreement is an agreement between a buyer of securities, such as a fund, and a seller of securities, in which the seller agrees to buy the securities back within a specified time at the same price the buyer paid for them, plus an amount equal to an agreed-upon interest rate. Repurchase agreements are often viewed as equivalent to cash.

How the Fund uses them: Typically, the Fund uses repurchase agreements as short-term investments for its cash position or for temporary defensive purposes. In order to enter into these repurchase agreements, the Fund must have collateral of at least 102% of the repurchase price. The Fund will only enter into repurchase agreements in which the collateral is composed of US government securities. At the Manager's discretion, the Fund may invest overnight cash balances in short-term discount notes issued or guaranteed by the US government, its agencies or instrumentalities, or government-sponsored corporations.

Restricted securities are privately placed securities whose resale is restricted under US securities laws.

How the Fund uses them: The Fund may invest in privately placed securities, including those that are eligible for resale only among certain institutional buyers without registration, which are commonly known as “Rule 144A Securities.” Restricted securities that are determined to be illiquid may not exceed the Fund's limit on investments in illiquid investments.

Illiquid investments are any investment that a fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment.

How the Fund uses them: The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments.

Other investment strategies

The Fund may borrow money from banks as a temporary measure for extraordinary or emergency purposes or to facilitate redemptions. The Fund may also borrow money from banks to purchase investments for the Fund, which is a form of leverage. If the Fund borrows money to purchase securities and the Fund's investments decrease in value, the Fund's losses will be greater than if the Fund did not borrow money for investment purposes. The Fund will be required to pay interest to the lending banks on the amount borrowed. As a result, borrowing money could result in the Fund being unable to meet its investment objective. The Fund will not borrow money in excess of one-third of the value of its total assets.

The Fund may lend up to 25% of its assets to qualified broker/dealers or institutional investors for their use in securities transactions. Borrowers of the Fund's securities must provide collateral to the Fund and adjust the amount of collateral each day to reflect changes in the value of the loaned securities. These transactions, if any, may generate additional income for the Fund.

The Fund may buy or sell securities on a when-issued or delayed-delivery basis (i.e., paying for securities before delivery or taking delivery at a later date).

Under certain market conditions, the Fund may invest in companies at the times of their IPOs. Companies involved in IPOs generally have limited operating histories, and prospects for future profitability are uncertain. Prices of IPOs may also be unstable because of the absence of a prior public market, the small number of shares available for trading, and limited investor information. IPOs may be sold within 12 months of purchase. This may result in increased short-term capital gains, which will be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income.

In response to unfavorable market conditions, the Fund may make temporary investments in cash or cash equivalents or other high-quality, short-term instruments. These investments may not be consistent with the Fund's investment objective. To the extent that the Fund holds such instruments, it may be unable to achieve its investment objective.

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How we manage the Fund

The risks of investing in the Fund

Investing in any mutual fund involves risk, including the risk that you may receive little or no return on your investment, and the risk that you may lose part or all of the money you invest. Before you invest in the Fund, you should carefully evaluate the risks. Because of the nature of the Fund, you should consider your investment to be a long-term investment that typically provides the best results when held for a number of years. The information below describes the principal risks you assume when investing in the Fund. Please see the SAI for a further discussion of these risks and other risks not discussed here.

Healthcare sector risk is the risk that the value of a fund's shares will be affected by factors particular to the healthcare and related sectors (such as government regulation) and may fluctuate more widely than that of a fund that invests in a broad range of sectors.

How the Fund strives to manage it: To the extent the Fund invests in healthcare companies, it is subject to the risks associated with the healthcare industry. The Manager monitors the benchmark and its sector weightings to understand investment trends in the healthcare industry. Investors should carefully consider these risks before investing in the Fund.

Market risk is the risk that all or a majority of the securities in a certain market — such as the stock or bond market — will decline in value because of factors such as adverse political or economic conditions, future expectations, investor confidence, or heavy institutional selling.

How the Fund strives to manage it: The Manager maintains a long-term investment approach and focuses on securities that the Manager believes can appreciate over an extended period of time regardless of interim market fluctuations. Generally, the Manager does not try to predict overall market movements. Although the Fund may hold securities for any amount of time, it generally does not trade for short-term purposes.

The Fund may hold a substantial part of its assets in cash or cash equivalents as a temporary, defensive strategy.

Industry risk is the risk that the value of securities in a particular industry (such as the healthcare or medical industries) will decline because of changing expectations for the performance of that industry.

Security risk is the risk that the value of an individual stock or bond will decline because of changing expectations for the performance of the individual company issuing the stock or bond (due to situations that could range from decreased sales to events such as a pending merger or actual or threatened bankruptcy).

How the Fund strives to manage them: The Fund intends to hold a number of different individual securities, seeking to manage security risk. However, the Fund does concentrate in the healthcare and medical industries. As a consequence, the share price of the Fund may fluctuate in response to factors affecting those industries, and may fluctuate more widely than a fund that invests in a broader range of industries. The Fund may be more susceptible to any single economic, political, or regulatory occurrence affecting the healthcare and medical industries.

Foreign risk is the risk that foreign securities (particularly in emerging markets) may be adversely affected by political instability, changes in currency exchange rates, inefficient markets and higher transaction costs, foreign economic or government conditions, the imposition of economic and/or trade sanctions, inadequate or different regulatory and accounting standards, and the possibility that significant events in foreign markets, including broad market moves, may affect the value of fund shares.

How the Fund strives to manage it: The Manager attempts to reduce the risks presented by such investments by conducting worldwide fundamental research, including country visits. In addition, the Manager monitors current economic and market conditions and trends, the political and regulatory environment, and the value of currencies in different countries in an effort to identify the most attractive countries and securities.

Emerging markets risk is the possibility that the risks associated with international investing will be greater in emerging markets than in more developed foreign markets because, among other things, emerging markets may have less stable political and economic environments. In addition, in many emerging markets there is substantially less publicly available information about issuers and the information that is available tends to be of a lesser quality. Economic markets and structures tend to be less mature and diverse and the securities markets, which are subject to less government regulation or supervision, may also be smaller, less liquid, and subject to greater price volatility.

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How the Fund strives to manage it: The Manager carefully screens securities within emerging markets and attempts to consider material risks associated with an individual company or issuer. However, there is no way to eliminate emerging markets risk when investing internationally in emerging markets.

Political risk is the risk that countries or an entire region may experience political instability. This may cause greater fluctuation in the value and liquidity of investments due to changes in currency exchange rates, governmental seizures, or nationalization of assets.

How the Fund strives to manage it: The Manager evaluates the political situations in the countries where the Fund invests and takes into account any potential risks before it selects securities for the Fund. However, there is no way to eliminate political risk when investing internationally. In emerging markets, political risk is typically more likely to affect the economy and share prices than in developed markets.

Currency risk is the risk that the value of a fund's investments may be negatively affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates. Adverse changes in exchange rates may reduce or eliminate any gains produced by investments that are denominated in foreign currencies and may increase any losses.

How the Fund strives to manage it: The Manager may try to hedge the Fund's currency risk by purchasing forward foreign currency contracts. If the Manager agrees to purchase or sell foreign securities at a preset price on a future date, it may attempt to protect the value of a security the Fund owns from future changes in currency exchange rates. If the Manager has agreed to purchase or sell a security for the Fund, it may also use forward foreign currency contracts to “lock in” the security's price in terms of US dollars or another applicable currency. The Fund may use forward foreign currency contracts only for defensive or protective measures, not to enhance portfolio returns. However, there is no assurance that such strategies will be successful or that the Fund will necessarily utilize such strategies. Hedging is typically less practical in emerging markets.

Information risk is the risk that foreign companies may be subject to different accounting, auditing, and financial reporting standards than US companies. There may be less information available about foreign issuers than domestic issuers. Furthermore, regulatory oversight of foreign issuers may be less stringent or less consistently applied than in the United States.

How the Fund strives to manage it: The Manager conducts fundamental research on the companies that the Fund invests in rather than relying solely on information available through financial reporting.

Inefficient market risk is the risk that foreign markets may be less liquid and have greater price volatility, less regulation, and higher transaction costs than US markets.

How the Fund strives to manage it: The Manager will attempt to reduce this risk by investing in a number of different countries, noting trends in the economy, industries, and financial markets.

Transaction costs risk is the risk that the costs of buying, selling, and holding foreign securities, including brokerage, tax, and custody costs, may be higher than those involved in domestic transactions.

How the Fund strives to manage it: The Manager strives to monitor transaction costs and to choose an efficient trading strategy for the Fund.

Company size risk is the risk that investments in small- and/or medium-sized companies typically exhibit higher volatility than investments in larger, more established companies. Company size risk also comes from lower liquidity typically associated with small company stocks, which means the price may be affected by poorly executed trades, even if the underlying business of the company is unchanged.

How the Fund strives to manage it: Although the Fund typically holds a number of different stocks, in order to reduce the impact that one small- or medium-sized company stock could have on it, because the Fund is nondiversified, it is possible that a single small- or medium-sized company stock could be a significant holding and therefore subject the Fund to greater risk of volatility.

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How we manage the Fund

Nondiversified investment companies have the flexibility to invest as much as 50% of their assets in as few as two issuers, with no single issuer accounting for more than 25% of the fund. The remaining 50% of the fund must be diversified so that no more than 5% of a fund's assets are invested in the securities of a single issuer. Because a nondiversified fund may invest its assets in fewer issuers, the value of fund shares may increase or decrease more rapidly than if the fund were fully diversified.

How the Fund strives to manage it: The Fund typically holds securities from a variety of different issuers, representing different sectors of the healthcare and medical industries. The Manager performs extensive analysis on all securities. The Manager is particularly diligent in reviewing securities that represent a larger percentage of portfolio assets.

Derivatives risk is the possibility that a fund may experience a significant loss if it employs a derivatives strategy (including a strategy involving equity-linked securities, futures, options, forward foreign currency contracts, or swaps such as interest rate swaps, index swaps, or credit default swaps) related to a security, index, reference rate, or other asset or market factor (collectively, a “reference instrument”) and that reference instrument moves in the opposite direction from what the Manager had anticipated. If a market or markets, or prices of particular classes of investments, move in an unexpected manner, a fund may not achieve the anticipated benefits of the transaction and it may realize losses. Derivatives also involve additional expenses, which could reduce any benefit or increase any loss to a fund from using the strategy. In addition, changes in government regulation of derivatives could affect the character, timing, and amount of a fund's taxable income or gains. A fund's transactions in derivatives may be subject to one or more special tax rules.  These rules may: (i) affect whether gains and losses recognized by a fund are treated as ordinary or capital or as short-term or long-term, (ii) accelerate the recognition of income or gains to the fund, (iii) defer losses to the fund, and (iv) cause adjustments in the holding periods of the fund's securities. A fund's use of derivatives may be limited by the requirements for taxation of the fund as a regulated investment company.

Investing in derivatives may subject a fund to counterparty risk. Please refer to “Counterparty risk” for more information. Other risks include illiquidity, mispricing or improper valuation of the derivatives contract, and imperfect correlation between the value of the derivatives instrument and the underlying reference instrument so that a fund may not realize the intended benefits. In addition, since there can be no assurance that a liquid secondary market will exist for any derivatives instrument purchased or sold, a fund may be required to hold a derivatives instrument to maturity and take or make delivery of an underlying reference instrument that the Manager would have otherwise attempted to avoid, which could result in losses. When used for hedging, the change in value of the derivatives instrument may also not correlate specifically with the currency, rate, or other risk being hedged, in which case a fund may not realize the intended benefits.

How the Fund strives to manage it: The Fund will use derivatives for defensive purposes, such as to protect gains or hedge against potential losses in the portfolio without actually selling a security, to neutralize the impact of interest rate changes, or to earn additional income. The Manager limits the amount of the Fund's assets that may be committed to these strategies. The Fund's obligations related to futures and options transactions will not exceed 20% of the Fund's total assets and the Fund will not enter into additional futures contracts or options on them if more than 5% of the Fund's assets would be required as margin deposits or premiums on the options. There is no assurance that such strategies will be successful or that the Fund will necessarily utilize such strategies.

The Manager has claimed an exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” with respect to the Fund under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and, therefore, is not subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool operator under the CEA.

Counterparty risk is the risk that if a fund enters into a derivatives contract (such as a futures, options, or swap contract) or a repurchase agreement, the counterparty to such a contract or agreement may fail to perform its obligations under the contract or agreement due to, among other reasons, financial difficulties (such as a bankruptcy or reorganization). As a result, a fund may experience significant delays in obtaining any recovery, may obtain only a limited recovery, or may obtain no recovery at all.

How the Fund strives to manage it: The Manager seeks to minimize this risk by considering the creditworthiness of all counterparties before the Fund enters into transactions with them. The Fund will hold collateral from counterparties consistent with applicable regulations.

Leveraging risk is the risk that certain fund transactions, such as reverse repurchase agreements, short sales, loans of portfolio securities, and the use of when-issued, delayed delivery or forward commitment transactions, or derivatives instruments, may give rise to leverage, causing a fund to be more volatile than if it had not been leveraged. While it is anticipated that leverage may increase profitability, it may also accentuate the consequences of adverse price movements, resulting in increased losses.

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How the Fund strives to manage it: The Fund will, consistent with industry practice, designate and mark-to-market daily cash or other liquid assets having an aggregate market value at least equal to the exposure created by these transactions.

Liquidity risk is the possibility that investments cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment. Illiquid investments may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments, and may be subject to wide fluctuations in market value. A fund also may not be able to dispose of illiquid investments at a favorable time or price during periods of infrequent trading of an illiquid investment.

How the Fund strives to manage it: The Fund limits its exposure to illiquid investments to no more than 15% of its net assets.

Governments or regulatory authorities may take actions that could adversely affect various sectors of the securities markets and affect fund performance. Government involvement in the private sector may, in some cases, include government investment in, or ownership of, companies in certain commercial business sectors; wage and price controls; or imposition of trade barriers and other protectionist measures. For example, an economic or political crisis may lead to price controls, forced mergers of companies, expropriation, the creation of government monopolies, foreign exchange controls, the introduction of new currencies (and the redenomination of financial obligations into those currencies), or other measures that could be detrimental to the investments of a fund.

How the Fund strives to manage them: The Manager evaluates the economic and political climate in the relevant jurisdictions before selecting securities for the Fund. The Manager typically diversifies the Fund's assets among a number of different securities in order to minimize the impact to the Fund of any legislative or regulatory development affecting particular issuers or market sectors.

The risk that changes related to the use of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) or similar interbank offered rates (“IBORs,” such as the Euro Overnight Index Average (EONIA)) could have adverse impacts on financial instruments that reference such rates. While some instruments may contemplate a scenario where LIBOR or a similar rate is no longer available by providing for an alternative rate setting methodology, not all instruments have such fallback provisions and the effectiveness of replacement rates is uncertain. The abandonment of LIBOR and similar rates could affect the value and liquidity of instruments that reference such rates, especially those that do not have fallback provisions. The use of alternative reference rate products may impact investment strategy performance.

How the Fund strives to manage it: The Fund tries to address this risk by monitoring the economic, political and regulatory climate in jurisdictions relevant to the Fund and the financial instruments in which the Fund invests in order to minimize any potential impact on the Fund.  In addition, the Fund typically invests in a number of different securities in a variety of sectors in order to minimize the impact to the Fund of any legislative or regulatory development affecting particular countries, issuers, or market sectors.

Natural disaster and epidemic risk is the risk that the value of a fund's investments may be negatively affected by natural disasters, epidemics, or similar events. Natural or environmental disasters, such as earthquakes, fires, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis, and other severe weather-related phenomena generally, and widespread disease, including pandemics and epidemics, have been and can be highly disruptive to economies and markets, adversely impacting individual companies, sectors, industries, markets, currencies, interest and inflation rates, credit ratings, investor sentiment, and other factors affecting the value of a fund's investments. Given the increasing interdependence among global economies and markets, conditions in one country, market, or region are increasingly likely to adversely affect markets, issuers, and/or foreign exchange rates in other countries. These disruptions could prevent a fund from executing advantageous investment decisions in a timely manner and could negatively impact the fund's ability to achieve its investment objective.

How the Fund strives to manage it: The Fund maintains a long-term investment approach and focuses on securities that the portfolio managers believe can appreciate over an extended period of time regardless of interim market fluctuations. Generally, the portfolio managers do not try to predict overall market movements, but the portfolio managers do note trends in the economy, industries, and financial markets. Although the Fund may hold securities for any amount of time, it generally does not trade for short-term purposes.

Disclosure of portfolio holdings information

A description of the Fund's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of its portfolio securities is available in the SAI.

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Who manages the Fund

Investment manager

The Manager, located at 100 Independence, 610 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106-2354, is the Fund's investment manager. The Manager and its predecessors have been managing Delaware Funds since 1938. The Manager is a series of Macquarie Investment Management Business Trust (MIMBT), which is a Delaware statutory trust. MIMBT is a wholly owned subsidiary of Macquarie Group Limited and a part of Macquarie Asset Management (MAM). MAM is the marketing name for certain companies comprising the asset management division of Macquarie Group Limited. MAM is an integrated asset manager across public and private markets offering a diverse range of capabilities, including real assets, real estate, credit, equities and multi-asset solutions. As of March 31, 2024, MAM managed approximately $611.7 billion in assets for institutional and individual clients. The Manager makes investment decisions for the Fund, manages the Fund's business affairs, and provides daily administrative services. For its services to the Fund, the Manager was paid an aggregate fee, net of fee waivers (if applicable), of 0.80% of average daily net assets during the last fiscal year.

A discussion of the basis for the Board's approval of the Fund's investment advisory contract is available in the Fund's semiannual report to shareholders for the fiscal period ended September 30, 2023, which is filed with the SEC on Form N-CSR and is available on the Fund's website.

Sub-advisor

MIMGL, located at 50 Martin Place, Sydney, Australia, is an affiliate of the Manager and a part of MAM. Although the Manager has principal responsibility for the Manager's portion of the Fund, the Manager may permit MIMGL to execute Fund security trades on behalf of the Manager and may also seek quantitative support from MIMGL.

A discussion of the basis for the Board's approval of the Fund's sub-advisory contract with MIMGL is available in the Fund's semiannual report to shareholders for the fiscal period ended September 30, 2023, which is filed with the SEC on Form N-CSR and is available on the Fund's website.

Portfolio manager

Liu-Er Chen has primary responsibility for making day-to-day investment decisions for the Fund.

Liu-Er Chen
Managing Director, Head of Emerging Markets Equity

Liu-Er is Head of Emerging Markets Equity at Macquarie Asset Management (MAM), responsible for managing for the firm's emerging markets equity portfolios and Delaware Healthcare Fund, a role he first assumed with Delaware Investments in September 2007. Before joining Delaware Investments, Liu-Er worked at Evergreen Investment Management Company for nearly 11 years, where he was the sole manager of the Evergreen Health Care and Emerging Markets funds. Prior to his career in asset management, Liu-Er worked in sales, marketing, and business development for major American and European pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Liu-Er earned a Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst​® designation.

The SAI provides additional information about the portfolio manager's compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio manager, and the portfolio manager's ownership of Fund shares.

Manager of managers structure

The Fund and the Manager have received an exemptive order from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to operate under a manager of managers structure that permits the Manager, with the approval of the Fund's Board, to appoint and replace both affiliated and unaffiliated sub-advisors, and to enter into and make material amendments to the related sub-advisory contracts on behalf of the Fund without shareholder approval (Manager of Managers Structure). Under the Manager of Managers Structure, the Manager has ultimate responsibility, subject to oversight by the Board, for overseeing the Fund's sub-advisors and recommending to the Board their hiring, termination, or replacement.

The Manager of Managers Structure enables the Fund to operate with greater efficiency and without incurring the expense and delays associated with obtaining shareholder approvals for matters relating to sub-advisors or sub-advisory agreements. The Manager of Managers Structure does not permit an increase in the overall management and advisory fees payable by the Fund without shareholder approval. Shareholders will be notified of the hiring of any new sub-advisor within 90 days of the hiring.

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The Fund and the Manager also have an exemptive order from the SEC that allows the approval of a new sub-advisor to be taken at a Board of Trustees meeting held via any means of communication that allows the Trustees to hear each other simultaneously during the meeting. If a new unaffiliated sub-adviser is hired for the Fund, shareholders will receive information about the new sub-advisor within 90 days of the change.

Who's who

Board of trustees: A mutual fund is governed by a board of trustees, which has oversight responsibility for the management of the fund's business affairs. Trustees establish procedures and oversee and review the performance of the fund's service providers.

Investment manager and sub-advisor: An investment manager is a company responsible for selecting portfolio investments consistent with the objective and policies stated in the mutual fund's prospectus. A sub-advisor is a company generally responsible for certain delegated tasks, such as executing trades or providing quantitative support. The sub-advisor is selected and supervised by the investment manager. A written contract between a mutual fund and its investment manager specifies the services the investment manager performs and the fee the manager is entitled to receive.

Portfolio managers: Portfolio managers make investment decisions for individual portfolios.

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Who manages the Fund

Distributor: Most mutual funds continuously offer new shares to the public through distributors that are regulated as broker/dealers and are subject to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) rules governing mutual fund sales practices.

Service agent: Mutual fund companies employ service agents (sometimes called transfer agents) to maintain records of shareholder accounts, calculate and disburse dividends and capital gains, and prepare and mail shareholder statements and tax information, among other functions. Many service agents also provide administrative services to a fund and oversight of other fund service providers.

Custodian/Fund accountant: Mutual funds are legally required to protect their portfolio securities, and most funds place them with a qualified bank custodian that segregates fund securities from other bank assets. The fund accountant provides services such as calculating a fund's net asset value (NAV) and providing financial reporting information for the fund.

Financial intermediary: Financial professionals provide advice to their clients. They are associated with securities broker/dealers who have entered into selling and/or service arrangements with the distributor. Selling broker/dealers and financial professionals are compensated for their services generally through sales commissions, and through 12b-1 fees and/or service fees deducted from a fund's assets.

Shareholders: Mutual fund shareholders have specific voting rights on matters such as material changes in the terms of a fund's management contract and changes to fundamental investment policies.

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About your account

Investing in the Fund

You can choose from a number of share classes for the Fund. Because each share class has a different combination of sales charges, fees, and other features, you should consult your financial intermediary or your financial professional (hereinafter collectively referred to as the “financial intermediary”) to determine which share class best suits your investment goals and time frame. It is the responsibility of your financial intermediary to assist you in determining the most appropriate share class and to communicate such determination to us.

Information about existing sales charges and sales charge reductions and waivers is available in this Prospectus below and free of charge on the Delaware Funds website at delawarefunds.com. Additional information on sales charges can be found in the SAI, which is available upon request.

Please also see the “Broker-defined sales charge waiver policies” section in this Prospectus for information provided to the Fund by certain financial intermediaries on sales charge discounts and waivers that may be available to you through your financial intermediary. Shareholders purchasing Fund shares through a financial intermediary may also be eligible for sales charge discounts or waivers which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this Prospectus or SAI. The availability of certain initial or deferred sales charge waivers and discounts may depend on the particular financial intermediary or type of account through which you purchase or hold Fund shares. It is the responsibility of the financial intermediary to implement any of its proprietary sales charge discounts or waivers listed in “Broker-defined sales charge waiver policies” or otherwise offered by the financial intermediary. Accordingly, you should consult with your financial intermediary to determine whether you qualify for any sales charge discounts or waivers.

Choosing a share class

Each share class may be eligible for purchase through programs sponsored by financial intermediaries that require the purchase of a specific class of shares.

Class A, Class C, and Class R shares have each adopted a separate 12b-1 plan that allows them to pay distribution fees for the sale and distribution of their shares. Because these fees are paid out of the Fund's assets on an ongoing basis, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.

Certain existing investors or programs sponsored by certain intermediaries that were eligible under prior eligibility requirements may continue to invest in a particular share class.

Plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries and other financial intermediaries may choose to impose qualification requirements for investors that differ from the Fund's share class eligibility standards. In certain cases, this could result in the selection of a share class with higher service and distribution-related fees than otherwise would have been charged. The Fund and the Distributor are not responsible for, and have no control over, the decision of any plan sponsor, plan fiduciary or financial intermediary to impose such different requirements. Please consult with your plan sponsor, plan fiduciary or financial intermediary for more information about available share classes as not all share classes may be made available.

Class A sales charges

The table below details your sales charges on purchases of Class A shares. The offering price for Class A shares includes the front-end sales charge. The offering price is determined by dividing the NAV per share by an amount equal to 1 minus the sales charge (expressed in decimals) applicable to the purchase, calculated to two decimal places using standard rounding criteria. The sales charge as a percentage of the net amount invested is the maximum percentage of the amount invested rounded to the nearest hundredth. The actual sales charge that you pay as a percentage of the offering price and as a percentage of the net amount invested will vary depending on the then-current NAV, the percentage rate of the sales charge, and rounding. The number of Fund shares you will be issued will equal the amount invested divided by the applicable offering price for those shares, calculated to three decimal places using standard rounding criteria. Sales charges do not apply to shares purchased through dividend reinvestment.

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About your account

* There is no front-end sales charge when you purchase $1 million or more of Class A shares. However, if Delaware Distributors, L.P. (Distributor) paid your financial intermediary a commission on your purchase of $1 million or more of Class A shares, you will have to pay a Limited CDSC of 1.00% if you redeem these shares within the first 18 months after your purchase, unless a specific waiver of the Limited CDSC applies. The Limited CDSC will be paid to the Distributor and will be assessed on an amount equal to the lesser of: (1) the NAV at the time the Class A shares being redeemed were purchased; or (2) the NAV of such Class A shares at the time of redemption. For purposes of this formula, the “NAV at the time of purchase” will be the NAV at purchase of the Class A shares even if those shares are later exchanged for shares of another Delaware Fund and, in the event of an exchange of Class A shares, the “NAV of such shares at the time of redemption” will be the NAV of the shares acquired in the exchange. In determining whether a Limited CDSC is payable, it will be assumed that shares not subject to the Limited CDSC are the first redeemed followed by other shares held for the longest period of time. See “Dealer compensation” below for a description of the dealer commission that is paid.

Calculation of contingent deferred sales charges — Class C
CDSCs are charged as a percentage of the dollar amount subject to the CDSC. The charge will be assessed on an amount equal to the lesser of the NAV at the time the shares being redeemed were purchased or the NAV of those shares at the time of redemption. No CDSC will be imposed on increases in NAV above the initial purchase price, nor will a CDSC be assessed on redemptions of shares acquired through reinvestment of dividends or capital gains distributions. For purposes of this formula, the “NAV at the time of purchase” will be the NAV at purchase of Class C shares of the Fund, even if those shares are later exchanged for shares of another Delaware Fund. In the event of an exchange of the shares, the “NAV of such shares at the time of redemption” will be the NAV of the shares that were acquired in the exchange.

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A shareholder transacting in Institutional Class shares through a broker or other financial intermediary may be required to pay a commission and/or other forms of compensation to the financial intermediary.

The Fund reserves the right to modify or waive the above policies at any time without prior notice to shareholders.

Dealer compensation

The financial intermediary who sells you shares of the Fund may be eligible to receive the following amounts as compensation for your investment in the Fund. These amounts are paid by the Distributor to the securities dealer with whom your financial advisor is associated. Institutional Class shares do not have a 12b-1 fee or sales charge so they are not included in the table below.

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About your account

​1 On sales of Class A shares, the Distributor reallows to your securities dealer a portion of the front-end sales charge depending upon the amount you invested. Your securities dealer may be eligible to receive a 12b-1 fee of up to 0.25% from the date of purchase. On sales of Class A shares where there is no front-end sales charge, the Distributor may pay your securities dealer an upfront commission of up to 1.00%. The upfront commission includes an advance of the first year's 12b-1 fee of up to 0.25%. During the first 12 months, the Distributor will retain the 12b-1 fee to partially offset the upfront commission advanced at the time of purchase. Starting in the 13th month, your securities dealer may be eligible to receive the full 12b-1 fee applicable to Class A shares.

​2 On sales of Class C shares, the Distributor may pay your securities dealer an upfront commission of 1.00%. The upfront commission includes an advance of the first year's 12b-1 service fee of up to 0.25%. During the first 12 months, the Distributor retains the full 1.00% 12b-1 fee to partially offset the upfront commission and the prepaid 0.25% service fee advanced at the time of purchase. Starting in the 13th month, your securities dealer may be eligible to receive the full 1.00% 12b-1 fee applicable to Class C shares. Alternatively, certain intermediaries may not be eligible to receive the upfront commission of 1.00%, but may receive the 12b-1 fee for sales of Class C shares from the date of purchase. After approximately eight years, Class C shares are eligible to automatically convert to Class A shares and dealers may then be eligible to receive the 12b-1 fee applicable to Class A shares.

​3 On sales of Class R shares, the Distributor does not pay your securities dealer an upfront commission. Your securities dealer may be eligible to receive a 12b-1 fee of up to 0.50% from the date of purchase.

Payments to intermediaries

The Distributor and its affiliates may pay additional compensation at their own expense and not as an expense of the Fund to certain affiliated or unaffiliated brokers, dealers, or other financial intermediaries (Financial Intermediaries) in connection with the sale or retention of Fund shares and/or shareholder servicing, including providing the Fund with “shelf space” or a higher profile with the Financial Intermediaries' consultants, salespersons, and customers (distribution assistance). For example, the Distributor or its affiliates may pay additional compensation to Financial Intermediaries for various purposes, including, but not limited to, promoting the sale of Fund shares, maintaining share balances and/or for subaccounting, administrative, or shareholder processing services, marketing, educational support, data, and ticket charges. Such payments are in addition to any distribution fees, service fees, subaccounting fees, and/or transfer agency fees that may be payable by the Fund. The additional payments may be based on factors, including level of sales (based on gross or net sales or some specified minimum sales or some other similar criteria related to sales of the Fund and/or some or all other Delaware Funds), amount of assets invested by the Financial Intermediary's customers (which could include current or aged assets of the Fund and/or some or all other Delaware Funds), the Fund's advisory fees, some other agreed-upon amount, or other measures as determined from time to time by the Distributor. The level of payments made to a qualifying Financial Intermediary in any given year may vary. To the extent permitted by SEC and FINRA rules and other applicable laws and regulations, the Distributor may pay, or allow its affiliates to pay, other promotional incentives or payments to Financial Intermediaries.

Sub-transfer agent/recordkeeping payments may be made to third parties (including affiliates of the Manager) that provide sub-transfer agent, recordkeeping, and/or shareholder services with respect to certain shareholder accounts (including omnibus accounts), or to the shareholder account directly to offset the costs of these services, in lieu of the transfer agent providing such services. For Class R6 shares, the Distributor and its affiliates will generally not pay additional compensation to Financial Intermediaries in connection with the sale or retention of Fund shares and/or shareholder servicing (including sub-transfer agent/recordkeeping payments).

If a mutual fund sponsor or distributor makes greater payments for distribution assistance to your Financial Intermediary with respect to distribution of shares of that particular mutual fund than sponsors or distributors of other mutual funds make to your Financial Intermediary with respect to the distribution of the shares of their mutual funds, your Financial Intermediary and its salespersons may have a financial incentive to favor sales of shares of the mutual fund making the higher payments over shares of other mutual funds or over other investment options. In addition, depending on the arrangements in place at any particular time, a Financial Intermediary may also have a financial incentive for recommending a particular share class over other share classes. You should consult with your Financial Intermediary and review carefully any disclosure provided by such Financial Intermediary as to compensation it receives in connection with investment products it recommends or sells to you. A significant purpose of these payments is to increase sales of the Fund's shares. The Manager or its affiliates may benefit from the Distributor's or its affiliates' payment of compensation to Financial Intermediaries through increased fees resulting from additional assets acquired through the sale of Fund shares through Financial Intermediaries. In certain instances, the payments could be significant and may cause a conflict of interest for your Financial Intermediary. Any such payments will not change the NAV or the price of the Fund's shares.

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How to reduce your sales charge

We offer a number of ways to reduce or eliminate the front-end sales charge on Class A shares, which may depend on the ability of your financial intermediary or the Fund's transfer agent to support the various ways. Please refer to the “Broker-defined sales charge waiver policies” in this Prospectus and to the SAI for detailed information and eligibility requirements. You can also get additional information from your financial intermediary. You or your financial intermediary must notify us at the time you purchase shares if you are eligible for any of these programs. You may also need to provide information to your financial intermediary or the Fund in order to qualify for a reduction in sales charges. Such information may include your Delaware Funds holdings in any other accounts, including retirement accounts, held indirectly or through an intermediary, and the names of qualifying family members and their holdings. If you participate in a direct deposit purchase plan or an automatic investment program for an account held directly with the Fund's transfer agent and also hold shares of Delaware Funds other than directly with us, generally those holdings will not be aggregated with the assets held with us for purposes of determining rights of accumulation in connection with direct deposit purchase plans and automatic investment program purchases. We reserve the right to determine whether any purchase is entitled, by virtue of the foregoing, to the reduced sales charge. Class R and Institutional Class shares have no upfront sales charge or CDSC so they are not included in the table below.

Letter of intent and rights of accumulation

Through a letter of intent, you agree to invest a certain amount in Delaware Funds over a 13-month period to qualify for reduced front-end sales charges (as set forth in the SAI). Delaware Funds do not accept retroactive letters of intent.

Upon your request, you can combine your holdings or purchases of Class A and all other classes of Delaware Funds, as well as the holdings and purchases of your spouse — or equivalent, if recognized under local law — and children under the age of 21 to qualify for reduced front-end sales charges. When submitting the letter of intent or requesting rights of accumulation, you must identify which holdings or purchases you are requesting to be combined to your dealer, the Distributor or BNY Mellon at the time of purchase. You can add the value of any share class that you already own to new share purchases in order to qualify for a reduced sales charge. Please note that depending on the financial intermediary holding your account, this policy may differ from those described in this Prospectus.

Reinvestment of redeemed shares

Up to 90 days after you redeem shares, you can reinvest the proceeds without paying a sales charge. For purposes of this “right of reinvestment policy,” automatic transactions (including, for example, automatic purchases, withdrawals and payroll deductions) and ongoing retirement plan contributions are not eligible for investment without a sales charge. Investors should consult their financial intermediary for further information.

SIMPLE IRA, SEP, SARSEP, 401(k), SIMPLE 401(k), Profit Sharing, Money Purchase, 403(b)(7), and 457 Retirement Plans

These investment plans may qualify for reduced sales charges by combining the purchases of all members of the group. Members of these groups may also qualify to purchase shares without a front-end sales charge and may qualify for a waiver of any CDSCs on Class A shares.

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About your account

Buying Class A shares at net asset value

Class A shares of the Fund may be purchased at NAV under the following circumstances, provided that you notify the Fund in advance that the trade qualifies for this privilege. Certain existing investors or programs sponsored by certain intermediaries that were eligible to purchase Class A shares of the Fund at NAV may continue to be eligible to purchase Class A shares at NAV. The Fund reserves the right to modify or terminate these arrangements at any time.

Waivers of contingent deferred sales charges

Certain sales charges may be based on historical cost. Therefore, you should maintain any records that substantiate these costs because the Fund, its transfer agent, and financial intermediaries may not maintain this information. Please note that you or your financial intermediary will have to notify us at the time of redemption that the trade qualifies for such waiver. Class R and Institutional Class shares do not have CDSCs so they are not included in the list below. Please also see the “Shareholder fees” table in the Fund summary and “Choosing a share class” for more information about applicable CDSCs. Your financial intermediary may offer waivers for certain account types or programs that may be different than what is noted below. See the “Broker-defined sales charge waiver policies” section or contact your financial intermediary for information on program availability.

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CDSCs for Class A and Class C shares may be waived under the following circumstances, except as noted otherwise:

​1 Qualified plans that are fully redeemed at the direction of the plan's fiduciary may be subject to any applicable CDSC or Limited CDSC, unless the redemption is due to the termination of the plan.

Certain existing investors or programs sponsored by certain intermediaries that were eligible for waivers of CDSCs may continue to be eligible for those waivers of CDSCs.

How to buy shares

Your financial intermediary (if applicable) can handle all the details of purchasing shares, including opening an account. Your financial intermediary may charge you a separate fee for this service.

By mail

Complete an investment slip and mail it with your check, made payable to the fund and class of shares you wish to purchase, to Delaware Funds by Macquarie at P.O. Box 534437, Pittsburgh, PA 15253-4437 for investments by regular mail or Delaware Funds by Macquarie Service Center, Attention: 534437, 500 Ross Street, 154-0520, Pittsburgh, PA 15262 for investments by overnight courier service. If you are making an initial purchase by mail, you must include a completed investment application (or an appropriate retirement plan application if you are opening a retirement account) with your check. Purchase orders will not be accepted at any other address.

Please note that purchase orders submitted by mail will not be considered received until such purchase orders arrive at Delaware Funds by Macquarie Service Center, Attention: 534437, 500 Ross Street, 154-0520, Pittsburgh, PA 15262 and are determined to be in good order. For a purchase request to be in “good order,” you must provide the name of the Delaware Fund in which you are investing, your account registration/number (if you are an existing shareholder), and the total number of shares or dollar amount of the shares to be purchased, along with meeting any requirements set forth in applicable

21

About your account

forms, this Prospectus, or the SAI. The Fund does not consider the US Postal Service or other independent delivery services to be its agent. Therefore, deposits in the mail or with such services or receipt at the Fund's post office box, of purchase orders, do not constitute receipt by the Fund or its agent. Please note that the Fund reserves the right to reject any purchase.

By wire

Ask your bank to wire the amount you want to invest to The Bank of New York Mellon, ABA #011001234, bank account #000073-6910. Include your account number, the name of the fund, registered account name, and class of shares in which you want to invest. If you are making an initial purchase by wire, you must first call the Delaware Funds by Macquarie Service Center at 800 523-1918 so we can assign you an account number.

By exchange

You may exchange all or part of your investment in one or more Delaware Funds for shares of other Delaware Funds. Please keep in mind, however, that under most circumstances you may exchange between like classes of shares only. To open an account by exchange, call the Delaware Funds by Macquarie Service Center at 800 523-1918.

Eligible accounts may purchase or exchange shares through our automated telephone service or through our website, delawarefunds.com. For more information about your eligibility and how to sign up for these services, call our Delaware Funds by Macquarie Service Center at 800 523-1918.

Calculating share price

The price you pay for shares will depend on when we receive your purchase order. If your order is received by an authorized agent or us before the close of regular trading on the NYSE (normally 4:00pm ET), you will pay that day's closing Fund share price, which is based on the Fund's NAV. If the NYSE has an unscheduled early close, we will continue to accept your order until that day's scheduled close of the NYSE and you will pay that day's closing Fund share price. If your order is received after the scheduled close of regular trading on the NYSE, you will pay the next Business Day's closing Fund share price. We reserve the right to reject any purchase order.

We determine the NAV per share for each class of a Delaware Fund at the close of regular trading on the NYSE on each Business Day (normally 4:00pm ET). The Fund does not calculate its NAV on days the NYSE is closed for trading. If the NYSE has an unscheduled early close, the Fund's closing share price would still be determined as of that day's regularly scheduled close of the NYSE. The NAV per share for each class of a fund is calculated by subtracting the liabilities of each class from its total assets and dividing the resulting number by the number of shares outstanding for that class. We generally price securities and other assets for which market quotations are readily available at their market value. The value of foreign securities may change on days when a shareholder will not be able to purchase or redeem fund shares because foreign markets are open at times and on days when US markets are not. We price fixed income securities on the basis of valuations provided to us by an independent pricing service that uses methods approved by the Board. For all other securities, we use methods approved by the Board that are designed to price securities at their fair market values.

Fair valuation

For purposes of calculating NAV, portfolio securities and other assets for which market quotations are readily available are valued at market value. A market quotation is readily available when that quotation is a quoted price (unadjusted) in active markets for identical investments that the Fund can access at the measurement date, provided that a quotation will not be considered readily available if it is not reliable.

Investments for which market quotations are not readily available are valued at fair value as determined in good faith pursuant to Rule 2a-5 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“Rule 2a-5”). As a general principle, the fair value of a security or other asset is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Pursuant to Rule 2a-5, the Board of Trustees has designated the Manager as the valuation designee (“Valuation Designee”) for the Fund to perform the fair value determination relating to all applicable Fund investments. The Manager has established a Pricing Committee to assist with its designated responsibilities as Valuation Designee, and the Manager may carry out its designated responsibilities as Valuation Designee through the Pricing Committee and other teams and committees, which operate under policies and procedures approved by the Board and subject to the Board's oversight. Subject to its oversight, the Valuation Designee may value Fund securities for which market quotations are not readily available and other Fund assets utilizing inputs from pricing services, quotation reporting systems, valuation agents and other third-party sources (together, “Pricing Sources”).

When the Valuation Designee uses fair value pricing, the Valuation Designee may take into account any factors it deems appropriate. For example, the Valuation Designee may determine fair value based upon developments related to a specific security, current valuations of foreign stock indices (as

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reflected in US futures markets), and/or US sector or broad stock market indices. In determining whether market quotations are readily available or fair valuation will be used, various factors will be taken into consideration, such as market closures or suspension of trading in a security.

The Fund may use fair value pricing relatively frequently for securities traded primarily in non-US markets. If a foreign (non-U.S.) equity security's value has materially changed after the close of the security's primary exchange or principal market but before the close of the NYSE, the security may be valued at fair value. With respect to foreign (non-U.S.) equity securities, the Fund may determine the fair value of investments based on information provided by Pricing Sources and other third-party vendors, which may recommend fair value or adjustments with reference to other securities, indexes or assets. In considering whether fair valuation is required and in determining fair values, the Valuation Designee may, among other things, consider significant events (which may be considered to include changes in the value of U.S. securities or securities indexes) that occur after the close of the relevant market and before the close of the NYSE. The Valuation Designee may utilize modeling tools provided by third-party vendors to determine fair values of non-U.S. securities.

Fair value prices of securities used by the Fund to calculate its NAV may differ from quoted or published prices for the same securities. Fair value pricing may involve subjective judgments and it is possible that the fair value determined for a security could be materially different than the value that could be realized upon the sale of that security.

Retirement plans

In addition to being an appropriate investment for your IRA, Roth IRA, and Coverdell Education Savings Account, the Fund may be suitable for group retirement plans. You may establish your IRA account even if you are already a participant in an employer-sponsored retirement plan. For more information on how the Fund can play an important role in your retirement planning or for details about group plans, please consult your financial intermediary, or call the Delaware Funds by Macquarie​® Service Center at 800 523-1918.

Document delivery

To reduce fund expenses, we try to identify related shareholders in a household and send only one copy of a fund's financial reports and prospectus. This process, called “householding,” will continue indefinitely unless you instruct us otherwise. If you prefer not to have these documents householded, please call the Delaware Funds by Macquarie Service Center at 800 523-1918. At any time you may view current prospectuses and financial reports on our website.

Inactive accounts

Please note that if your account is deemed to be unclaimed or abandoned under applicable state law, the Fund may be required to transfer (or “escheat”) the assets in that account to the appropriate state. Some states may sell escheated shares, in which case a shareholder may only be able to recover the amount received when the shares were sold. For shareholders that invest through retirement accounts, the escheatment will be treated as a taxable distribution and federal and any applicable state income tax may be withheld. The Fund, its Board, and the Fund's transfer agent will not be liable to shareholders for good faith compliance with state unclaimed or abandoned property laws. To avoid these outcomes and protect their property, shareholders that invest in the Fund through an account held directly with the Fund's transfer agent are encouraged to routinely confirm that the mailing address on their account is current and valid and contact the transfer agent at least once a year by mail, by phone at 800 523-1918, or by logging into their account.

How to redeem shares

Under normal circumstances, the Fund typically meets redemption requests through its holdings of cash or cash equivalents, the sale of portfolio assets, and/or its ability to redeem in kind (when applicable). During stressed market conditions, the Fund may use lines of credit to meet redemption requests.

Availability of these services may be limited by your financial intermediary and by the way your account is registered with Delaware Funds.

When you send us a completed request in good order to redeem or exchange shares and the request is received by an authorized agent or us before the close of regular trading on the NYSE (normally 4:00pm ET), you will receive the NAV next determined after we receive your request. If we receive your request after the close of regular trading on the NYSE, you will receive the NAV next determined on the next Business Day. If the NYSE has an unscheduled early close, we will continue to accept your order until that day's scheduled close of the NYSE and you will receive that day's closing Fund share price. We will deduct any applicable CDSCs. You may also have to pay taxes on the proceeds from your sale of shares. If you purchased your shares by check, those shares are subject to a 15-day hold to ensure your check has cleared. Redemption requests for shares still subject to the hold may be rejected with instructions to resubmit at the conclusion of the holding period.

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About your account

If you are required to pay a CDSC when you redeem your shares, the amount subject to the fee will be based on the shares' NAV when you purchased them or their NAV when you redeem them, whichever is less. This arrangement ensures that you will not pay a CDSC on any increase in the value of your shares. You also will not pay the charge on any shares acquired by reinvesting dividends or capital gains. If you exchange shares of one fund for shares of another, you do not pay a CDSC at the time of the exchange. If you later redeem those shares, the purchase price for purposes of the CDSC formula will be the price you paid for the original shares, not the exchange price. The redemption price for purposes of this formula will be the NAV of the shares you are actually redeeming.

If you hold your shares in certificates, you must submit the certificates with your request to sell the shares. We recommend that you send your certificates by certified mail.

Redemption proceeds will be distributed promptly, but not later than seven days after receipt of a redemption request (except as noted above). For direct transactions, redemption proceeds are typically paid the next Business Day after receipt of the redemption request. Redemptions submitted by financial intermediaries typically settle between one and three Business Days after receipt, depending on the settlement cycle requested by the financial intermediary. Settlement could be extended as a result of various factors, including but not limited to redemption amount or other market conditions. Please see the SAI for additional information.

Your financial intermediary (if applicable) can handle all the details of redeeming your shares (selling them back to the Fund). Your financial intermediary may charge you a separate fee for this service.

By mail

You may redeem your shares by mail by writing to: Delaware Funds by Macquarie at P.O. Box 534437, Pittsburgh, PA 15253-4437 for redemption requests by regular mail or Delaware Funds by Macquarie Service Center, Attention: 534437, 500 Ross Street, 154-0520, Pittsburgh, PA 15262 for redemption requests by overnight courier service. Redemption requests will not be accepted at any other address. All owners of the account must sign the request. For redemptions of more than $100,000, you must include a medallion signature guarantee for each owner. Medallion signature guarantees are also required when redemption proceeds are going to an address other than the address of record on the account. Please contact the Delaware Funds by Macquarie Service Center at 800 523-1918 for more information about the medallion signature guarantee requirements.

Please note that redemption orders submitted by mail will not be considered received until such redemption orders arrive at Delaware Funds by Macquarie Service Center, Attention: 534437, 500 Ross Street, 154-0520, Pittsburgh, PA 15262 and are determined to be in good order. For a redemption request to be in “good order,” you must provide the name of the Delaware Fund whose shares you are redeeming, your account number, account registration, and the total number of shares or dollar amount of the transaction. Redemption requests must be signed by the record owner(s) exactly as the shares are registered, along with meeting any requirements set forth in applicable forms, this Prospectus, or the SAI. The Fund does not consider the US Postal Service or other independent delivery services to be its agent. Therefore, redemption requests placed in the mail or with such services or receipt at the Fund's post office box, of redemption requests, do not constitute receipt by the Fund or the transfer agent.

By telephone

You may redeem up to $100,000 of your shares by telephone. You may have the proceeds sent to you in the following ways:

Bank information must be on file before you request a wire or ACH redemption. Your bank may charge a fee for these services.

Eligible accounts may redeem shares through our automated telephone service or through our website, delawarefunds.com. For more information about your eligibility and how to sign up for these services, call our Delaware Funds by Macquarie Service Center at 800 523-1918.

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The Fund has reserved the right to pay for redemptions with portfolio securities under certain conditions. Subsequent sale by an investor receiving a distribution in kind could result in the payment of brokerage commissions and taxable gains (if such investment was held in a taxable account). Investors bear market risks until securities are sold for cash. See the SAI for more information on redemptions-in-kind.

Low balance accounts

For Class A and Class C shares, if you redeem shares and your account balance falls below the required account minimum of $1,000 ($250 for IRAs, Roth IRAs, Uniform Gifts to Minors Act and Uniform Transfers to Minors Act accounts, or accounts with automatic investment plans, and $500 for Coverdell Education Savings Accounts) for three or more consecutive months, you will have until the end of the current calendar quarter to raise the balance to the minimum.

For Class R and Institutional Class shares, as applicable, if you redeem shares and your account balance falls below $500, your shares may be redeemed after 60 days' written notice to you.

If your account is not at the minimum for low balance purposes by the required time, you may be charged a $9 fee for that quarter and each quarter after that until your account reaches the minimum balance, or it may be redeemed after 60 days' written notice to you. Any CDSC that would otherwise be applicable will not apply to such a redemption.

Certain accounts held in omnibus, advisory, or asset-allocation programs or programs offered by certain intermediaries may be opened below the minimum stated account balance and may maintain balances that are below the minimum stated account balance without incurring a service fee or being subject to involuntary redemption.

If the applicable account falls below the minimum due to market fluctuation, the Fund still reserves the right to liquidate the account.

Investor services

To help make investing with us as easy as possible, and to help you build your investments, we offer the investor services described below. Information about the investor services we offer is available free of charge on the Delaware Funds website at delawarefunds.com, including hyperlinks to relevant information in fund offering documents. Availability of these services may be limited by the way your account is registered with Delaware Funds.

The automatic investment plan allows you to make regular monthly or quarterly investments directly from your bank account.

With direct deposit, you can make additional investments through payroll deductions, recurring government or private payments such as Social Security, or direct transfers from your bank account.

With Delaware Funds eDelivery, you can receive your fund documents electronically instead of via US mail. When you sign up for eDelivery, you can access your account statements, shareholder reports, and other fund materials online, in a secure Internet environment at any time.

Online account access is a password-protected area of the Delaware Funds website that gives you access to your account information and allows you to perform transactions in a secure Internet environment.

With the systematic exchange option, you can arrange automatic monthly exchanges between your shares in one or more Delaware Funds. These exchanges are subject to the same rules as regular exchanges (see below) and require a minimum monthly exchange of $100 per fund.

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About your account

Through the dividend reinvestment plan, you can have your distributions reinvested in your account or the same share class in another Delaware Fund. The shares that you purchase through the dividend reinvestment plan are not subject to a front-end sales charge or to a CDSC. Under most circumstances, you may reinvest dividends only into like classes of shares.

You may generally exchange all or part of your shares for shares of the same class of another Delaware Fund without paying a front-end sales charge or a CDSC at the time of the exchange. However, if you exchange shares from a fund that does not have a sales charge, you will pay any applicable sales charge on your new shares. You do not pay sales charges on shares that you acquired through the reinvestment of dividends. You may have to pay taxes on your exchange. When you exchange shares, you are purchasing shares in another fund, so you should be sure to get a copy of the fund's prospectus and read it carefully before buying shares through an exchange. We may refuse the purchase side of any exchange request if, in the Manager's judgment, a fund would be unable to invest effectively in accordance with its investment objective and policies or would otherwise potentially be adversely affected. Please note that depending on the financial intermediary holding your account, this policy may be unavailable or differ from those described in this Prospectus.

The on demand service allows you or your financial advisor to transfer money between your Fund account and your predesignated bank account by telephone request. There is a minimum transfer of $25 and a maximum transfer of $100,000. Macquarie Asset Management does not charge a fee for this service; however, your bank may assess one.

Through the direct deposit service, you can have $25 or more in dividends and distributions deposited directly into your bank account. Macquarie Asset Management does not charge a fee for this service; however, your bank may assess one. This service is not available for retirement plans.

You can arrange a regular monthly or quarterly payment from your account made to you or someone you designate. If the value of your account is $5,000 or more, you can make withdrawals of at least $25 monthly, or $75 quarterly. You may also have your withdrawals deposited directly to your bank account through the direct deposit service.

The applicable Limited CDSC for Class A shares and the CDSC for Class C shares redeemed via a systematic withdrawal plan will be waived if the annual amount withdrawn in each year is less than 12% of the account balance on the date that the plan is established. If the annual amount withdrawn in any year exceeds 12% of the account balance on the date that the systematic withdrawal plan is established, all redemptions under the plan will be subject to the applicable CDSC, including an assessment for previously redeemed amounts under the plan.

To the extent authorized by law, the Fund reserves the right to discontinue offering shares at any time and/or to merge or liquidate a share class, such as in response to shareholder redemptions of substantially or all shares in a class. For any blocked accounts involving a liquidating fund, a shareholder's account may be moved into Delaware Investments Ultrashort Fund if no instruction is given upon receipt of a fund's pending liquidation.

Frequent trading of Fund shares (market timing and disruptive trading)

The Fund discourages purchases by market timers and purchase orders (including the purchase side of exchange orders) by shareholders identified as market timers may be rejected. The Board has adopted policies and procedures designed to detect, deter, and prevent trading activity detrimental to the Fund and its shareholders, such as market timing and disruptive trading. The Fund will consider anyone who follows a pattern of market timing in any Delaware Fund or the Optimum Fund Trust to be a market timer and may consider anyone who has followed a similar pattern of market timing at an unaffiliated fund family to be a market timer.

Market timing of a fund occurs when investors make consecutive, rapid, short-term “round trips” — that is, purchases into a fund followed quickly by redemptions out of that fund. A short-term round trip is considered any redemption of fund shares within 20 Business Days of a purchase of that fund's shares. If you make a second such short-term round trip in a fund within 90 rolling calendar days of a previous short-term round trip in that fund, you may be considered a market timer. In determining whether market timing has occurred, the Fund considers short-term round trips to include rapid purchases and sales of Fund shares through the exchange privilege. The Fund reserves the right to consider other trading patterns to be market timing.

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Your ability to use the Fund's exchange privilege may be limited if you are identified as a market timer. If you are identified as a market timer, the Fund will execute the redemption side of your exchange order but may refuse the purchase side of your exchange order. The Fund reserves the right to restrict or reject, without prior notice, any purchase order or exchange order for any reason, including any purchase order or exchange order accepted by any shareholder's financial intermediary or in any omnibus-type account. Transactions placed in violation of the Fund's market timing policy are not necessarily deemed accepted by the Fund and may be rejected by the Fund on the next Business Day following receipt by the Fund.

Redemptions will continue to be permitted in accordance with the Fund's then-current prospectus. A redemption of shares under these circumstances could be costly to a shareholder if, for example, the shares have declined in value, the shareholder recently paid a front-end sales charge, the shares are subject to a CDSC, or the sale results in adverse tax consequences. To avoid this risk, a shareholder should carefully monitor the purchases, sales, and exchanges of Fund shares and avoid frequent trading in Fund shares.

The Fund reserves the right to modify this policy at any time without notice, including modifications to the Fund's monitoring procedures and the procedures to close accounts to new purchases. Although the implementation of this policy involves certain judgments that are inherently subjective and may be selectively applied, the Fund seeks to make judgments and applications that are consistent with the interests of the Fund's shareholders. While the Fund will take actions designed to detect and prevent market timing, there can be no assurance that such trading activity will be completely eliminated. Moreover, the Fund's market timing policy does not require the Fund to take action in response to frequent trading activity. If the Fund elects not to take any action in response to frequent trading, such frequent trading activity could continue.

Risks of market timing

By realizing profits through short-term trading, shareholders who engage in rapid purchases and sales or exchanges of the Fund's shares dilute the value of shares held by long-term shareholders. Volatility resulting from excessive purchases and sales or exchanges of Fund shares, especially involving large dollar amounts, may disrupt efficient portfolio management. In particular, the Fund may have difficulty implementing its long-term investment strategies if it is forced to maintain a higher level of its assets in cash to accommodate significant short-term trading activity. Excessive purchases and sales or exchanges of the Fund's shares may also force the Fund to sell portfolio securities at inopportune times to raise cash to accommodate short-term trading activity. This could adversely affect the Fund's performance, if, for example, the Fund incurs increased brokerage costs and realization of taxable capital gains without attaining any investment advantage.

Any fund may be subject to disruptive trading activity. However, a fund that invests significantly in foreign securities may be particularly susceptible to short-term trading strategies. This is because foreign securities are typically traded on markets that close well before the time a fund calculates its NAV (normally 4:00pm ET or the close of the NYSE). Developments that occur between the closing of the foreign market and a fund's NAV calculation may affect the value of these foreign securities. The time-zone differences among international stock markets can allow a shareholder engaging in a short-term trading strategy to exploit differences in fund share prices that are based on closing prices of foreign securities established some time before a fund calculates its own share price.

Any fund that invests in securities that are thinly traded, traded infrequently, or relatively illiquid has the risk that the securities prices used to calculate the fund's NAV may not accurately reflect current market values. A shareholder may seek to engage in short-term trading to take advantage of these pricing differences. Funds that may be adversely affected by such arbitrage include, in particular, funds that significantly invest in small-cap securities, technology, and other specific industry sector securities, and in certain fixed income securities, such as high yield bonds, asset-backed securities, or municipal bonds.

Transaction monitoring procedures

The Fund, through its transfer agent, maintains surveillance procedures designed to detect excessive or short-term trading in Fund shares. This monitoring process involves several factors, which include scrutinizing transactions in Fund shares for violations of the Fund's market timing policy or other patterns of short-term or excessive trading. For purposes of these transaction monitoring procedures, the Fund may consider trading activity by multiple accounts under common ownership, control, or influence to be trading by a single entity. Trading activity identified by these factors, or as a result of any other available information, will be evaluated to determine whether such activity might constitute market timing. These procedures may be modified from time to time to help improve the detection of excessive or short-term trading or to address other concerns. Such changes may be necessary or appropriate, for example, to deal with issues specific to certain retirement plans; plan exchange limits; US Department of Labor regulations; certain automated or pre-established exchange, asset-allocation, or dollar-cost-averaging programs; or omnibus account arrangements.

Omnibus account arrangements are common forms of holding shares of the Fund, particularly among certain broker/dealers and other financial intermediaries, including sponsors of retirement plans and variable insurance products. The Fund will attempt to have financial intermediaries apply the Fund's monitoring procedures to these omnibus accounts and to the individual participants in such accounts. However, the Fund's ability to detect frequent trading activities by investors that hold shares through financial intermediaries may be limited by the ability and/or willingness of such intermediaries to monitor for these activities. To the extent that a financial intermediary is not able or willing to monitor or enforce the Fund's frequent trading policy with respect to an omnibus account, the Fund's transfer agent may work with certain intermediaries (such as investment dealers holding shareholder accounts

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About your account

in street name, retirement plan recordkeepers, insurance company separate accounts, and bank trust companies) to apply their own procedures, provided that the Fund's transfer agent believes the intermediary's procedures are reasonably designed to enforce the Fund's frequent trading policies. You should refer to disclosures provided by the intermediaries with which you have an account to determine the specific trading restrictions that apply to you. If the Fund's transfer agent identifies any activity that may constitute frequent trading, it reserves the right to contact the intermediary and request that the intermediary either provide information regarding an account owner's transactions or restrict the account owner's trading. There is no assurance that the information received by the Fund from a financial intermediary will be sufficient to effectively detect or deter excessive trading in omnibus accounts. If the Fund's transfer agent is not satisfied that the intermediary has taken appropriate action, the transfer agent may terminate the intermediary's ability to transact in Fund shares, or restrict individual trading activity as applicable.

Limitations on ability to detect and curtail market timing

Shareholders seeking to engage in market timing may employ a variety of strategies to avoid detection and, despite the efforts of the Fund and its agents to detect market timing in Fund shares, there is no guarantee that the Fund will be able to identify these shareholders or curtail their trading practices. In particular, the Fund may not be able to detect market timing attributable to a particular investor who effects purchase, redemption, and/or exchange activity in Fund shares through omnibus accounts. The difficulty of detecting market timing may be further compounded if these entities utilize multiple tiers or omnibus accounts.

Dividends, distributions, and taxes

Dividends and distributions

The Fund intends to qualify each year as a regulated investment company under the Internal Revenue Code. As a regulated investment company, the Fund generally pays no federal income tax on the income and gains it distributes to you. The Fund expects to declare and distribute all of its net investment income, if any, to shareholders as dividends at least annually. The Fund will distribute net realized capital gains, if any, at least annually. The Fund may distribute such income dividends and capital gains more frequently, if necessary, in order to reduce or eliminate federal excise or income taxes on the Fund. The amount of any distribution will vary, and there is no guarantee the Fund will pay either an income dividend or a capital gains distribution. We automatically reinvest all dividends and any capital gains, unless you direct us to do otherwise.

Annual statements

Each year, the Fund will send you an annual statement (Form 1099) of your account activity to assist you in completing your federal, state, and local tax returns. Distributions declared in October, November or December to shareholders of record in such month, but paid in January, are taxable as if they were paid in December. Prior to issuing your statement, the Fund makes every effort to reduce the number of corrected forms mailed to you. However, if the Fund finds it necessary to reclassify its distributions or adjust the cost basis of any covered shares (defined below) sold or exchanged after you receive your tax statement, the Fund will send you a corrected Form 1099.

Avoid “buying a dividend”

At the time you purchase your Fund shares, the Fund's NAV may reflect undistributed income, undistributed capital gains, or net unrealized appreciation in value of portfolio securities held by the Fund. For taxable investors, a subsequent distribution to you of such amounts, although constituting a return of your investment, would be taxable. Buying shares in the Fund just before it declares an income dividend or capital gains distribution is sometimes known as “buying a dividend.”

Tax considerations

Fund distributions. The Fund expects, based on its investment objective and strategies, that its distributions, if any, will be taxable as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both. This is true whether you reinvest your distributions in additional Fund shares or receive them in cash.

For federal income tax purposes, Fund distributions of short-term capital gains are taxable to you as ordinary income. Fund distributions of long-term capital gains are taxable to you as long-term capital gains no matter how long you have owned your shares. A portion of income dividends reported by the Fund may be qualified dividend income eligible for taxation by individual shareholders at long-term capital gain rates provided certain holding period requirements are met.

The use of derivatives by the Fund may cause the Fund to realize higher amounts of ordinary income or short-term capital gain, 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. Additionally, other rules applicable to derivative contracts may accelerate the recognition of income or gains to the Fund, defer losses to the Fund, and cause adjustments in the holding periods of the Fund's securities. These rules, therefore, could affect the amount, timing and/or character of distributions to shareholders.

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Sale or redemption of Fund shares. A sale or redemption of Fund shares is a taxable event and, accordingly, a capital gain or loss may be recognized. For tax purposes, an exchange of your Fund shares for shares of a different Delaware Fund is the same as a sale. The Fund is required to report to you and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) annually on Form 1099-B not only the gross proceeds of Fund shares you sell or redeem but also the cost basis of Fund shares you sell or redeem that were purchased or acquired on or after January 1, 2012 (“covered shares”). Cost basis will be calculated using the Fund's default method, unless you instruct the Fund to use a different calculation method. Shareholders should carefully review the cost basis information provided by the Fund and make any additional basis, holding period or other adjustments that are required when reporting these amounts on their federal income tax returns. If your account is held by your investment representative (financial intermediary or other broker), please contact that representative with respect to reporting of cost basis and available elections for your account. Tax-advantaged retirement accounts will not be affected. Additional information and updates regarding cost basis reporting and available shareholder elections will be on the Delaware Funds website at delawarefunds.com as the information becomes available.

Medicare tax. An additional 3.8% Medicare tax is imposed on certain net investment income (including ordinary dividends and capital gain distributions received from the Fund and net gains from redemptions or other taxable dispositions of Fund shares) of US individuals, estates and trusts to the extent that such person's “modified adjusted gross income” (in the case of an individual) or “adjusted gross income” (in the case of an estate or trust) exceeds a threshold amount. This Medicare tax, if applicable, is reported by you on, and paid with, your federal income tax return.

Backup withholding. By law, if you do not provide the Fund with your proper taxpayer identification number and certain required certifications, you may be subject to backup withholding on any distributions of income, capital gains, or proceeds from the sale of your shares. The Fund also must withhold if the IRS instructs it to do so. When withholding is required, the amount will be 24% of any distributions or proceeds paid.

State and local taxes. Fund distributions and gains from the sale or exchange of your Fund shares generally are subject to state and local taxes.

Non-US investors. Non-US investors may be subject to US withholding tax at a 30% or lower treaty rate and US estate tax and are subject to special US tax certification requirements to avoid backup withholding and claim any treaty benefits. Exemptions from US withholding tax are provided for certain capital gain dividends paid by the Fund from net long-term capital gains, if any, interest-related dividends paid by the Fund from its qualified net interest income from US sources and short-term capital gain dividends, if such amounts are reported by the Fund. However, notwithstanding such exemptions from US withholding at the source, any such dividends and distributions of income and capital gains will be subject to backup withholding at a rate of 24% if you fail to properly certify that you are not a US person.

Other reporting and withholding requirements. Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), the Fund will be required to withhold a 30% tax on income dividends made by the Fund to certain foreign entities, referred to as foreign financial institutions or nonfinancial foreign entities, that fail to comply (or be deemed compliant) with extensive reporting and withholding requirements designed to inform the US Department of the Treasury of US-owned foreign investment accounts. After December 31, 2018, FATCA withholding would have applied to certain capital gain distributions, return of capital distributions and the proceeds arising from the sale of Fund shares; however, based on proposed regulations issued by the IRS, which can be relied upon currently, such withholding is no longer required unless final regulations provide otherwise (which is not expected). The Fund may disclose the information that it receives from its shareholders to the IRS, non-US taxing authorities or other parties as necessary to comply with FATCA or similar laws. Withholding also may be required if a foreign entity that is a shareholder of the Fund fails to provide the Fund with appropriate certifications or other documentation concerning its status under FATCA.

This discussion of “Dividends, distributions, and taxes” is not intended or written to be used as tax advice. Because everyone's tax situation is unique, you should consult your tax professional about federal, state, local, or foreign tax consequences before making an investment in the Fund.

Certain management considerations

Investments by fund of funds and similar investment vehicles

The Fund may accept investments from funds of funds, as well as from similar investment vehicles, such as 529 Plans and asset allocation models. A “529 Plan” is a college savings program that operates under Section 529 of the Code. Asset allocation models include the Delaware Funds by Macquarie​® Premier Advisor Platform, which offers asset allocation models using a mix of Delaware Funds. From time to time, the Fund may experience large investments or redemptions due to allocations or rebalancings by these funds of funds and/or similar investment vehicles. While it is impossible to predict the overall impact of these transactions over time, there could be adverse effects on portfolio management. For example, the Fund may be required to sell securities or invest cash at times when it would not otherwise do so. These transactions could also have tax consequences if sales of securities result in gains, and could also increase transaction costs or portfolio turnover.

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Financial highlights

The financial highlights tables are intended to help you understand the Fund's financial performance for the past five years. Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund share. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned or lost on an investment in the Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). The information has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the Fund's financial statements, is available upon request by calling 800 523-1918, and is also available on the Fund's website and is included in the Fund's Form N-CSR filed with the SEC.

Delaware Healthcare Fund
 

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Delaware Healthcare Fund

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Financial highlights

Delaware Healthcare Fund

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Delaware Healthcare Fund

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Financial highlights

How to read the financial highlights

Net investment income (loss)
Net investment income (loss) includes dividend and interest income earned from a fund's investments; it is calculated after expenses have been deducted.

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments
A realized gain occurs when we sell an investment at a profit, while a realized loss occurs when we sell an investment at a loss. When an investment increases or decreases in value but we do not sell it, we record an unrealized gain or loss. The amount of realized gain per share, if any, that we pay to shareholders would be listed under “Less dividends and distributions from: Net realized gain.”

Net asset value (NAV)
This is the value of a mutual fund share, calculated by dividing the net assets by the number of shares outstanding.

Total return
This represents the rate that an investor would have earned or lost on an investment in a fund. In calculating this figure for the financial highlights table, we include applicable fee waivers, exclude front-end sales charges and contingent deferred sales charges, and assume the shareholder has reinvested all dividends and realized gains.

Net assets
Net assets represent the total value of all the assets in a fund's portfolio, less any liabilities, that are attributable to that class of the fund.

Ratio of expenses to average net assets
The expense ratio is the percentage of net assets that a fund pays annually for operating expenses and management fees. These expenses include accounting and administration expenses, services for shareholders, and similar expenses.

Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets
We determine this ratio by dividing net investment income (loss) by average net assets.

Portfolio turnover
This figure tells you the amount of trading activity in a fund's portfolio. A turnover rate of 100% would occur if, for example, a fund bought and sold all of the securities in its portfolio once in the course of a year or frequently traded a single security. A high rate of portfolio turnover in any year may increase brokerage commissions paid and could generate taxes for shareholders on realized investment gains.

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Broker-Defined Sales Charge Waiver Policies

From time to time, shareholders purchasing Fund shares through a brokerage platform or account may be eligible for sales charge waivers (front-end sales load or CDSC) and discounts, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this Prospectus or the SAI. In all instances, it is the purchaser's responsibility to notify the Fund or the purchaser's financial intermediary at the time of purchase of any relationship or other facts qualifying the purchaser for sales charge waivers or discounts. For waivers and discounts not available through a particular intermediary, shareholders will have to purchase the Fund's shares directly from the Fund or through another intermediary to receive such waivers or discounts. Please see the section entitled About Your Account — Choosing a Share Class for more information on sales charges and waivers available for different classes.

CDSC Waivers on Class C Shares

Merrill Lynch (“Merrill”):

Purchases or sales of front-end (i.e. Class A) or level-load (i.e., Class C) mutual fund shares through a Merrill platform or account will be eligible only for the following sales load waivers (front-end, contingent deferred, or back-end waivers) and discounts, which differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this Prospectus or the SAI. Purchasers will have to buy mutual fund shares directly from the fund or through another intermediary to be eligible for waivers or discounts not listed below.

It is the Merrill client's responsibility to notify Merrill at the time of purchase or sale of any relationship or other facts that qualify the transaction for a waiver or discount. A Merrill representative may ask for reasonable documentation of such facts and Merrill may condition the granting of a waiver or discount on the timely receipt of such documentation.

Additional information on waivers and discounts is available in the Merrill Sales Load Waiver and Discounts Supplement (the “Merrill SLWD Supplement”) and in the Mutual Fund Investing at Merrill pamphlet at ml.com/funds. Merrill clients are encouraged to review these documents and speak with their financial advisor to determine whether a transaction is eligible for a waiver or discount.

Front-End Load Waivers Available at Merrill

CDSC Waivers on Front-end, Back-end, and Level Load Shares Available at Merrill

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Front-End Load Discounts Available at Merrill: Breakpoints, Rights of Accumulation, and Letters of Intent

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management:

Shareholders purchasing Fund shares through a Morgan Stanley Wealth Management transactional brokerage account will be eligible only for the following front-end sales charge waivers with respect to Class A shares, which may differ from and may be more limited than those disclosed elsewhere in this Prospectus or the SAI.

Front-End Sales Charge Waivers on Class A Shares Available at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

Ameriprise Financial:

Class A Shares Front-End Sales Charge Waivers Available at Ameriprise Financial:

The following information applies to Class A shares purchases if you have an account with or otherwise purchase Fund shares through Ameriprise Financial:

Shareholders purchasing Fund shares through an Ameriprise Financial retail brokerage account are eligible for the following front-end sales charge waivers, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this Prospectus or the SAI:

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advisor's lineal ascendant (mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, great grandmother, great grandfather), advisor's lineal descendant (son, step-son, daughter, step-daughter, grandson, granddaughter, great grandson, great granddaughter) or any spouse of a covered family member who is a lineal descendant.

Raymond James & Associates, Inc., Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., and Each Entity's Affiliates (“Raymond James”):

Effective March 1, 2019, shareholders purchasing Fund shares through a Raymond James platform or account, or through an introducing broker-dealer or independent registered investment adviser for which Raymond James provides trade execution, clearance, and/or custody services, will be eligible only for the following load waivers (front-end sales charge waivers and contingent deferred, or back-end, sales charge waivers) and discounts, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this Prospectus or the SAI.

Front-End Sales Load Waivers on Class A Shares Available at Raymond James

CDSC Waivers on Classes A and C Shares Available at Raymond James

Front-End Load Discounts Available at Raymond James: Breakpoints, Rights of Accumulation, and/or Letters of Intent

Edward D. Jones & Co., L.P. (“Edward Jones”):

Policies Regarding Transactions Through Edward Jones

The following information has been provided by Edward Jones:

Effective January 1, 2024, the following information supersedes prior information with respect to transactions and positions held in fund shares through an Edward Jones system. Clients of Edward Jones (also referred to as “shareholders”) purchasing fund shares on the Edward Jones commission and fee-based platforms are eligible only for the following sales charge discounts (also referred to as “breakpoints”) and waivers, which can differ from discounts and waivers described elsewhere in this Prospectus or the statement of additional information (“SAI”) or through another broker-dealer. In all instances, it is the shareholder's responsibility to inform Edward Jones at the time of purchase of any relationship, holdings of the Delaware Funds, or other facts qualifying the purchaser for discounts or waivers. Edward Jones can ask for documentation of such circumstance.

Shareholders should contact Edward Jones if they have questions regarding their eligibility for these discounts and waivers.

Breakpoints

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Rights of Accumulation (“ROA”)

Letter of Intent (“LOI”)

Sales Charge Waivers

Sales charges are waived for the following shareholders and in the following situations:

Contingent Deferred Sales Charge (“CDSC”) Waivers

If the shareholder purchases shares that are subject to a CDSC and those shares are redeemed before the CDSC is expired, the shareholder is responsible to pay the CDSC except in the following conditions:

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Other Important Information Regarding Transactions Through Edward Jones

Minimum Purchase Amounts

Minimum Balances

Exchanging Share Classes

Janney Montgomery Scott, LLC (“Janney”):

If you purchase fund shares through a Janney brokerage account, you will be eligible for the following load waivers (front-end sales charge waivers and contingent deferred sales charge (“CDSC”), or back-end sales charge, waivers) and discounts, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this Prospectus or the SAI.

Front-End Sales Charge* Waivers on Class A Shares Available at Janney

CDSC Waivers on Class A and C Shares Available at Janney

Front-End Sales Charge* Discounts Available at Janney: Breakpoints, Rights of Accumulation, and/or Letters of Intent

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*Also referred to as an “initial sales charge.”

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. (“OPCO”)

Shareholders purchasing Fund shares through an OPCO platform or account are eligible only for the following load waivers (front-end sales charge waivers and contingent deferred, or back-end, sales charge waivers) and discounts, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this Prospectus or the SAI.

Front-End Sales Load Waivers on Class A Shares Available at OPCO

CDSC Waivers on A and C Shares Available at OPCO

Front-End Load Discounts Available at OPCO: Breakpoints, Rights of Accumulation & Letters of Intent

Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated (“Baird”):

Shareholders purchasing fund shares through a Baird platform or account will only be eligible for the following sales charge waivers (front-end sales charge waivers and CDSC waivers) and discounts, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this Prospectus or the SAI.

Front-End Sales Charge Waivers on Class A Shares Available at Baird

CDSC Waivers on Class A and C Shares Available at Baird

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Front-End Sales Charge Discounts Available at Baird: Breakpoints and/or Rights of Accumulation

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC:

If you purchase or hold fund shares through an applicable J.P. Morgan Securities LLC brokerage account, you will be eligible for the following sales charge waivers (front-end sales charge waivers and contingent deferred sales charge (“CDSC”), or back-end sales charge, waivers), share class conversion policy and discounts, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this Prospectus or the SAI.

Front-End Sales Charge Waivers on Class A Shares Available at J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

Class C to Class A Share Conversion

CDSC Waivers on Class A and C Shares Available at J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

Front-End Load Discounts Available at J.P. Morgan Securities LLC: Breakpoints, Rights of Accumulation & Letters of Intent

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Additional information

Contact information
 

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Additional information about the Fund's investments is available in its annual and semiannual shareholder reports and in Form N-CSR filed with the SEC. In the Fund's annual shareholder report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund's performance during the period covered by the report. In Form N-CSR, you will find the Fund's annual and semiannual financial statements. You can find more information about the Fund in its current SAI, which is filed electronically with the SEC, and which is legally a part of this Prospectus (it is incorporated by reference). To receive a free copy of the SAI, the annual or semiannual report, or other information such as the Fund's financial statements, or if you have any questions about investing in the Fund, write to us at P.O. Box 534437, Pittsburgh, PA 15253-4437 by regular mail or at Delaware Funds by Macquarie Service Center, Attention: 534437, 500 Ross Street, 154-0520, Pittsburgh, PA 15262 by overnight courier service, or call toll-free 800 523-1918. The Fund's SAI, shareholder reports and financial statements are available, free of charge, through the Fund's website at delawarefunds.com/literature. You may also obtain additional information about the Fund from your financial advisor.

You can find reports and other information about the Fund on the EDGAR database on the SEC website at sec.gov. You may obtain copies of this information, after paying a duplication fee, by emailing the SEC at [email protected].

Investment Company Act number: 811-04413

PR-573 7/24