quantlogo002

 

Quantified STF Fund

Investor Class Share QSTRX

Advisor Class Shares QSTAX

 

SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

November 1, 2021

 

Adviser:

 

Advisors Preferred, LLC

1445 Research Boulevard, Ste. 530

Rockville, MD 20850

Sub-Adviser:

 

FlexiblePlanInvestments-logo-black-300dpi

 

Flexible Plan Investments, Ltd.

3883 Telegraph Road, Suite 100

Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302

 

Before you invest, you want to review the Fund’s complete prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund’s prospectus and other information about the Fund at http://www.quantifiedfunds.com/fund-documents. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1-855-64-QUANT (1-855-647-8268), emailing orderquantifiedfunds@ultimusfundsolutions.com or by asking any financial intermediary that offers shares of the Fund. The Fund’s prospectus, dated November 1, 2021, and statement of additional information, dated November 1, 2021, are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus and may be obtained, free of charge, at the website or phone number noted above.

 

Investment Objective: The Quantified STF Fund (the “Fund”) seeks high appreciation on an annual basis consistent with a high tolerance for risk.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund: This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Examples below.

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

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

Investor
Class
Shares
Advisor
Class
Shares
Management Fees 1.00% 1.00%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees 0.25% 1.00%
Other Expenses(1) 0.31%(2) 0.17%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses(3) 0.09% 0.09%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses(3) 1.65% 2.26%
(1)Restated to reflect current fees.
(2)Includes up to 0.15% for sub-transfer agent and sub-accounting fees.
(3)The operating expenses in this fee table will not correlate to the expense ratio in the Fund’s financial highlights, when issued, because the financial statements include only the direct operating expenses incurred by the Fund and do not include the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies.
1
 

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

 

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

 

Class 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
Investor $168 $520 $897 $1,955
Advisor $229 $706 $1210 $2,595

 

Portfolio Turnover: The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 238% of the average value of its portfolio.

 

Principal Investment Strategies: The Fund’s investment adviser, Advisors Preferred, LLC (the “Adviser”), delegates execution of the Fund’s investment strategy to the Subadviser, Flexible Plan Investments, Ltd. (“FPI” or the “Subadviser”). The Subadviser selects investments for the Fund and provides trade placement for fixed income instruments, including cash equivalents. The Adviser provides trade placement for non-fixed income instruments. The Fund is aggressively managed by the Subadviser, which typically results in high portfolio turnover. FPI seeks to achieve the Fund’s investment objective primarily by using the Subadviser’s proprietary Self-Adjusting Trend Following Strategy (“STF Strategy”). The STF Strategy assesses market risk and classifies it into four levels and allocates assets accordingly between equity-related and fixed income-related asset classes.

 

Self-Adjusting Trend Following Strategy

 

The STF Strategy is used to allocate Fund assets between long and short equity-related and long fixed income-related investments. This strategy monitors the price trends of the NASDAQ 100 Index to assess market conditions. The proprietary price-based rules can involve index prices at daily market close, and moving average values of daily close prices, including but not limited to 3-day, 5-day, 10-day, 50-day and 200-day moving averages, as well as day-to-day changes of one or more of these moving averages, and the slope of the moving averages. The STF Strategy follows easily identifiable market trends, with a proprietary rule set that seeks to take advantage of both up or down market trends. Since the market risk exposure of the STF Strategy is solely based on the price action of the NASDAQ 100 Index, the STF Strategy aims to out-perform the NASDAQ 100 Index over the long term with less downside risk. The NASDAQ 100 Index includes 100 of the largest domestic and international non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market based on market capitalization. The STF Strategy adjusts overall Fund market risk exposure relative to the NASDAQ 100 Index at four discrete levels, defined by proprietary market trend measures, and according to a NASDAQ 100 Index price-based proprietary rule set:

1.When the rule set indicates no obvious market trend, as defined by the Subadviser’s proprietary indicators, the strategy dictates near-zero exposure to equity market risk (a “Flat” position), and the two income allocations described below account for nearly all of the allocation of Fund assets.
2.When the rule set indicates a regular up trend, as defined by the Subadviser’s proprietary indicators, the strategy dictates 100% exposure to the NASDAQ 100 Index (a “1x Long” position), through investments in Exchange Traded Funds (“ETFs”), and Exchange Traded Notes (“ETNs”), futures or swaps contracts. Each of these can be used as substitutes for the NASDAQ 100 Index. The Fund should realize approximately 100% of the NASDAQ 100 Index return, before expenses of the Fund and expenses of the investments used to execute the 1x Long position. To the extent leverage is utilized through leveraged ETFs, futures or swaps, the Fund may have investible funds to include in the two income allocations.
3.When the rule set indicates a strong up trend, as defined by the Subadviser’s proprietary indicators, the strategy dictates a 200% exposure to the NASDAQ 100 Index (a “2x Long” position), through investment in ETFs, ETNs, futures or swaps contracts. Each of these can be used as substitutes for the NASDAQ 100 Index. The Fund should realize approximately 200% of the NASDAQ 100 Index return, before expenses of the Fund and expenses of the investments used to execute the 2x Long position. To the extent leverage is utilized through leveraged ETFs, futures or swaps, the Fund may have investible funds to include in the two income allocations.
4.When the rule set indicates a down market trend, as defined by the Subadviser’s proprietary indicators, the strategy dictates an inverse or short 100% exposure to the NASDAQ 100 index (a “1x Short” position), through investments in inverse or leveraged inverse ETFs or ETNs, futures or swaps. Each of these can be used as substitutes for an inverse NASDAQ 100 Index position. The Fund should realize an approximate negative 100% of the NASDAQ 100 Index’s return, before expenses of the Fund and expenses of the investments used to execute the 1x Short position. To the extent leverage is utilized through ETFs, futures or swaps, the Fund may have investible funds to include in the two income allocations.
2
 

Short to Medium-Term Fixed Income Allocation

 

The Fund will invest directly in short to medium-term fixed income securities. The portion of the Fund invested in short- to medium-term fixed income securities will be greatest when the STF Strategy finds no obvious market trend (risk level 1 above). The Subadviser’s security selection decisions are driven by liquidity, rating and time to maturity. This portion of the Fund’s portfolio is constructed in order to mitigate interest rate and credit risk while optimizing income, and will involve investment in the following securities: cash, cash equivalents, and upper medium investment grade to prime investment grade short-term debt securities and money market instruments.

 

Fixed Income/Equity Income Allocation

 

The Fund will also invest in income-producing securities. The portion of the Fund invested in income-producing securities will be greatest when the STF Strategy finds no obvious market trend (risk level 1 above). The Fund does so indirectly through ETFs, other closed-end and open-end investment companies that themselves primarily invest in income-producing securities. The underlying income-producing securities to which the Fund seeks to gain exposure are primarily: U.S. government securities, corporate debt obligations, foreign debt securities (including emerging markets, which the Fund defines, generally, as those with per capita income less than half that of the U.S.), and bonds in the lowest credit rating category, also called “junk bonds,” convertible bonds, preferred stocks, common stocks, master limited partnerships (“MLPs”), and real estate investment trusts (“REITs”).

 

The Fund invests without restriction as to issuer capitalization, country, credit quality or the maturity of a security. The Adviser selects swap counterparties that it believes are creditworthy based on credit rating and financial strength. In addition, the Subadviser uses the Fund as an asset allocation tool for its other clients, which may lead to purchases and redemptions of Fund shares. Responding to purchase and redemption-related fluctuations in the Fund’s size will result in portfolio turnover not directly related to the preceding investment strategy analysis.

 

Principal Investment Risks: An investment in the Fund entails risks. The Fund could lose money, or its performance could trail that of other investment alternatives. Neither the Subadviser nor the Adviser can guarantee that the Fund will achieve its objective. It is important that investors closely review and understand these risks before making an investment in the Fund. Turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and fixed income markets could negatively affect issuers worldwide, including the Fund. There is the risk that you could lose all or a portion of your money on your investment in the Fund.

 

Subadviser’s Investment Strategy Risk - While the Subadviser seeks to take advantage of investment opportunities for the Fund that will maximize its investment returns, there is no guarantee that such opportunities will ultimately benefit the Fund. The Subadviser’s use of ETFs, ETNs, and other instruments as substitutes for the underlying stocks of the NASDAQ 100 Index means only a portion of the NASDAQ 100 Index’s dividend yield will be realized because the expenses of ETFs, ETNs, and other instruments reduce their yield. The Subadviser will aggressively change the Fund’s portfolio in response to market conditions that are unpredictable and may expose the Fund to greater market risk than other mutual funds. There is no assurance that the Subadviser’s investment strategy will enable the Fund to achieve its investment objective.

 

Active and Frequent Trading Risk – The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading, leading to increased portfolio turnover, higher transaction costs, and the possibility of increased net realized capital gains, including net short-term capital gains that will be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income when distributed to them. The Subadviser’s use of the Fund as an asset allocation tool for its other clients will increase the Fund’s portfolio turnover.

 

Aggressive Investment Techniques Risk - The Fund uses investment techniques, that is, inverse and leveraged instruments and derivatives that may be considered aggressive. Risks associated with the use of futures contracts and options include potentially dramatic price changes (losses) in the value of the instruments and imperfect correlations between the price of the contract and the underlying security or index. These instruments may increase the volatility of the Fund and may involve a small investment of cash relative to the magnitude of the risk assumed.

 

Convertible Bond Risk - Convertible bonds are hybrid securities that have characteristics of both bonds and common stocks and are subject to fixed income security risks and conversion value-related equity risk.

3
 

 

Counterparty Risk - The Fund may invest in financial instruments involving counterparties for the purpose of attempting to gain exposure to a particular group of securities or asset class without actually purchasing those securities or investments, or to hedge a position. These financial instruments may include swap agreements. The use of swap agreements involves risks that are different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. For example, the Fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. Swap agreements also may be considered to be illiquid. In addition, the Fund may enter into swap agreements that involve a limited number of counterparties, which may increase the Fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk. The Fund does not specifically limit its counterparty risk with respect to any single counterparty. Further, there is a risk that no suitable counterparties are willing to enter into, or continue to enter into, transactions with the Fund and, as a result, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective.

 

Credit Risk - The Fund could lose money if the issuer or guarantor of a debt security goes bankrupt or is unable or unwilling to make interest payments and/or repay principal. The value of a debt security may decline if there are concerns about an issuer’s ability or willingness to make interest and or principal payments. Changes in an issuer’s financial strength or in an issuer’s or debt security’s credit rating also may affect a security’s value and thus have an impact on Fund performance.

 

Depositary Receipt Risk - To the extent the Fund invests in stocks of foreign corporations, the Fund’s investment in such stocks may also be in the form of depositary receipts or other securities convertible into securities of foreign issuers, including American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”). While the use of ADRs, which are traded on exchanges and represent an ownership in a foreign security, provide an alternative to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their respective national markets and currencies, investments in ADRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities.

 

Derivatives Risk - The Fund uses investment techniques, including investments in derivatives such as futures, options, and swaps, which may be considered aggressive. Investments in such derivatives are subject to market risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate over time and may increase the volatility of the Fund. The use of derivatives may expose the Fund to additional risks that it would not be subject to if it invested directly in the securities underlying those derivatives, such as counterparty risk and the risk that the derivatives may become illiquid. The use of derivatives may result in larger losses or smaller gains than otherwise would be the case. In addition, the Fund’s investments in derivatives are currently subject to the following risks:

 

Futures Contracts. There may be an imperfect correlation between the changes in market value of the securities held by the Fund and the prices of futures contracts. There may not be a liquid secondary market for the futures contracts.

 

Hedging Risk. If the Fund uses a hedging instrument at the wrong time or judges the market conditions incorrectly, the hedge might be unsuccessful, reduce the Fund’s investment return, or create a loss.

 

Options. There may be an imperfect correlation between the prices of options and movements in the price of the securities (or indices) hedged or used for cover which may cause a given hedge not to achieve its objective.

 

Swap Agreements. Interest rate swaps are subject to interest rate and credit risk. Total return swaps are subject to counterparty risk, which relate to credit risk of the counterparty and liquidity risk of the swaps themselves.

 

Equity Securities Risk - Investments in publicly issued equity securities and securities that provide exposure to equity securities, including common stocks, in general are subject to market risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate over time. Fluctuations in the value of equity securities in which the Fund invests will cause net asset value (“NAV”) of the Fund to fluctuate.

 

Financial Sector Risk. Performance of companies in the financial sector may be adversely impacted by higher borrower default rates, changes in interest rates, leverage, and increased government regulation.

 

Foreign Securities Risk - Investments in foreign securities and securities that provide exposure to foreign securities involve greater risks than investing in domestic securities. As a result, the Fund’s returns and NAVs may be affected to a large degree by fluctuations in currency exchange rates, political, diplomatic or economic conditions and regulatory requirements in other countries. The Fund also may invest in depositary receipts, including ADRs, which are traded on exchanges and provide an alternative to investing directly in foreign securities. Investments in ADRs are subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities. The laws and accounting, auditing, and financial reporting standards in foreign countries typically are not as strict as they are in the U.S., and there may be less public information available about foreign companies. These risks are more pronounced in emerging market countries, which are generally those with per capita income less than half that of the U.S.

4
 

Holding Cash Risk - The Fund may hold cash positions when the market is not producing returns greater than the short-term cash investments in which the Fund may invest. Consequently, the Fund may fail to participate in advantageous market returns.

 

Interest Rate Risk - The value of the Fund’s investment in fixed income securities will fall when interest rates rise. The effect of increased interest rates is more pronounced for any intermediate-term or longer-term fixed income obligations owned by the Fund. Recently, interest rates have been historically low. Current conditions may result in a rise in interest rates, which in turn may result in a decline in the value of the fixed income investments held by the Fund. As a result, for the present, interest rate risk may be heightened.

 

Leverage Risk - The Fund may use leveraged investments that attempt to amplify the price movement of underlying securities or indices on a daily or other periodic basis, which may be considered aggressive. Such instruments may experience potentially dramatic price changes (losses), imperfect amplification and imperfect correlations between the price of the investment and the underlying security or index which will increase the volatility of the Fund and may involve a small investment of cash relative to the magnitude of the risk assumed. The use of leverage instruments may currently expose the Fund to additional risks that it would not be subject to if it invested directly in the securities underlying those derivatives. The use of leveraged instruments may result in larger losses or smaller gains than otherwise would be the case.

 

Lower Quality Debt Securities Risk - The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets, primarily through a fund-of-funds approach, in securities rated below investment grade or “junk bonds.” Junk bonds may be sensitive to economic changes, political changes, or adverse developments specific to a company. These securities are considered speculative and generally involve greater risk of default or price changes than other types of fixed-income securities and the Fund’s performance may vary significantly as a result.

 

Market Risk - Overall investment market risks affect the value of the Fund. Factors such as economic growth and market conditions, interest rate levels, and political events affect the US and international investment markets. Additionally, unexpected local, regional or global events, such as war; acts of terrorism; financial, political or social disruptions; natural, environmental or man-made disasters; the spread of infectious illnesses or other public health issues (such as the global pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)); and recessions and depressions could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments and may impair market liquidity. Such events can cause investor fear, which can adversely affect the economies of nations, regions and the market in general, in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen.

 

MLP Risk - Investments in MLPs involve risks different from those of investing in common stock including risks related to limited control and limited rights to vote on matters affecting the MLP, cash flow risks, dilution risks and risks related to the general partner’s limited call right. MLPs are generally considered interest-rate sensitive investments. During periods of interest rate volatility, these investments may not provide attractive returns. Many MLPs are focused on energy-related business and are subject to energy sector risks, such as decline in the price of petroleum.

 

Preferred Stock Risk - The value of preferred stocks will fluctuate with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of preferred stock. Preferred stocks are also subject to credit risk, which is the possibility that an issuer of preferred stock will fail to make its dividend payments.

 

REIT Risk - A REIT’s performance depends on the types and locations of the properties it owns and on how well it manages those properties. Real estate values rise and fall in response to a variety of factors, including local, regional, and national economic conditions, interest rates and tax considerations.

 

Risks of Investing in Other Investment Companies (including ETFs) - Investments in the securities of other investment companies, including ETFs, may involve duplication of advisory fees and certain other expenses. By investing in another investment company or ETF, the Fund becomes a shareholder thereof. As a result, Fund shareholders indirectly bear the Fund’s proportionate share of the fees and expenses paid by shareholders of the other investment companies or ETFs, in addition to the fees and expenses Fund shareholders indirectly bear in connection with the Fund’s own operations. If the other investment companies or ETFs fail to achieve their investment objective, the value of the Fund’s investment will decline, adversely affecting the Fund’s performance. Leveraged ETFs will amplify gains and losses. Most leveraged ETFs “reset” daily. Due to the effect of compounding, their performance over longer periods of time can differ significantly from the performance of their underlying index or benchmark during the same period of time. In addition, closed-end investment company and ETF shares potentially may trade at a discount or a premium and are subject to brokerage and other trading costs, which could result in greater expenses to the Fund. Finally, because the value of other investment company or ETF shares depends on the demand in the market, the Adviser may not be able to liquidate the Fund’s holdings in those shares at the most optimal time, adversely affecting the Fund’s performance.

5
 

 

Shorting (Inverse) Risk - Short (inverse) positions are designed to profit from a decline in the price of particular securities, investments in securities or indices. The Fund will lose value if and when the instrument’s price rises – a result that is the opposite from traditional mutual funds. The Fund may utilize inverse mutual funds and ETFs. These instruments seek to increase in value when their underlying securities or indices decline. Like leveraged investments, inverse positions may be considered aggressive. Inverse positions may also be leveraged. Such instruments may experience imperfect negative correlation between the price of the investment and the underlying security or index. The use of inverse instruments may expose the Fund to additional risks that it would not be subject to if it invested only in “long” positions.

 

Small- and Mid-Capitalization Companies Risk - Investing in the securities of small-capitalization (less than $2 billion) and mid-capitalization ($2 to $5 billion) companies involves greater risks and the possibility of greater price volatility than investing in larger capitalization and more-established companies. Investments in mid-cap companies involve less risk than investing in small-cap companies. Smaller companies may have a limited operating histories, product lines, and financial resources, and the securities of these companies may lack sufficient market liquidity. Mid-cap companies often have narrower markets and more limited managerial and financial resources than larger, more established companies.

 

Tracking NASDAQ 100 Index Risk - The Fund may use ETFs that are not directly benchmarked to the NASDAQ 100 Index but use a different weighting or rebalancing scheme of the NASDAQ 100 component stocks or are active ETFs in nature. Combined with the short-medium fixed income strategy and the fixed income/equity income strategy, the portfolio daily return of the Fund may not match the NYSE calculated Self-adjusting Trend Following Strategy Index even after the difference of Fund expenses is considered.

 

Performance: The bar chart and performance table below show the variability of the Fund’s returns, which is some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Investor Class shares for each full calendar year since the Fund’s inception. The performance table compares the performance of the Fund’s Investor Class shares over time to the performance of a broad-based market index. You should be aware that the Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) may not be an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Advisor Class shares have similar annual returns to Investor Class shares because the classes are invested in the same portfolio of securities, however, the returns for Advisor Class shares are lower than Investor Class shares because Advisor Class shares have higher expenses. Shareholder reports containing financial and performance information for the Fund will be mailed to shareholders semi-annually. Updated performance information is available at no cost by calling toll-free 1-855-64-QUANT (1-855-647-8268).

 

Quantified STF Fund

Investor Class Performance Bar Chart

For Calendar Years Ended December 31

 

 

Best Quarter 29.41% June 30, 2020
Worst Quarter (18.64) % December 31, 2018

 

The Fund’s Investor Class year-to-date return as of September 30, 2021 was 10.33%.

 

6
 

 

Performance Table
Average Annual Total Returns
(For periods ended December 31, 2020)

 

Quantified STF Fund One
Year
Five
Years
Since
Inception(1)
Investor Class Shares Return before taxes 77.44% 22.64% 21.55%
Investor Class Shares Return after taxes on distributions 67.55% 18.81% 17.85%
Investor Class Shares Return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares(2)(3) 48.44% 16.91% 16.05%
Advisor Class Shares Return before taxes 76.36% 21.96% 20.89%

NASDAQ 100 Index Total Return Index(3)

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

48.88% 24.27%    24.09%(5)
(1)The inception date of the Fund’s Investor Class Shares and Advisor Class Shares is November 13, 2015.
(2)After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
(3)After tax returns are only shown for Investor Class Shares. After Tax Return for Advisor Class Shares will vary.
(4)The NASDAQ 100 Index Return from inception is from November 13, 2015 for both the Investor Class Shares and the Advisor Class Shares.

 

Investment Adviser: Advisors Preferred, LLC

 

Subadviser: Flexible Plan Investments, Ltd.

 

Subadviser Portfolio Managers: Jerry C. Wagner, President of the Subadviser, has served the Fund as its portfolio manager since it commenced operations in November 2015. Jason Teed, CFA, Director of Research of the Subadviser, has served the Fund as a portfolio manager since March 2018, and Timothy Hanna, CFA, CFIP, Senior Portfolio Manager of the Subadviser has served the Fund as a portfolio manager since 2019.

 

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares: You may purchase and redeem shares of the Fund on any day that the New York Stock Exchange is open for trading. You may purchase or redeem Fund shares by written request via mail (Quantified STF Fund, c/o Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC, P.O. Box 541150, Omaha, Nebraska 68154), by wire transfer, by telephone toll-free at 1-855-64-QUANT (1-855-647-8268), or through a financial intermediary. Purchases and redemptions by telephone are only permitted if you previously established these options on your account. The Fund accepts investments in the following minimum amounts:

 

Class Account Type Minimum
Initial Investment
Minimum
Subsequent Investment
Investor Regular Account $10,000 $1,000
Investor Retirement Account $10,000 $0
Advisor Regular Account $10,000 $1,000
Advisor Retirement Account $10,000 $0

 

The Fund, Adviser or Subadviser may waive any investment minimum.

 

Tax Information: Dividends and capital gain distributions you receive from the Fund, whether you reinvest your distributions in additional Fund shares or receive them in cash, are taxable to you at either ordinary income or capital gains tax rates unless you are investing through a tax-deferred plan such as an IRA or 401(k) plan. However, these dividend and capital gain distributions may be taxable upon their eventual withdrawal from tax-deferred plans.

 

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

7