Summary prospectus

Delaware Hedged U.S. Equity Opportunities Fund

Nasdaq ticker symbols

Class A

FHEJX

Institutional Class

FHEKX

Class R6

FHELX

January 30, 2023

 

Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s statutory prospectus (and any supplements thereto), which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund’s statutory prospectus and other information about the Fund, including its statement of additional information and most recent reports to shareholders, online at delawarefunds.com/literature. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 800 523-1918. The Fund’s statutory prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated January 30, 2023 (and any supplements thereto), are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus.


 

Summary prospectus
Delaware Hedged U.S. Equity Opportunities Fund, a series of Delaware Group® Equity Funds IV

What is the Fund’s investment objective?

Delaware Hedged U.S. Equity Opportunities Fund seeks total return and, secondarily, capital preservation.

What are the Fund’s fees and expenses?

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. You may qualify for sales-charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in Delaware Funds by Macquarie​®. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial intermediary, in the Fund’s Prospectus under the section entitled “About your account,” and in the Fund’s statement of additional information (SAI) under the section entitled “Purchasing Shares.”

Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

             

Class

A

 

Inst.

 

R6

 
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases as a percentage of offering price

 

 

5.75%

   

none

   

none

 

Maximum contingent deferred sales charge (load) as a percentage of original purchase price or redemption price, whichever is lower

 

none

   

none

   

none

 

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

             

Class

A

 

Inst.

 

R6

 
Management fees

 

 

1.15%

   

1.15%

   

1.15%

 
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees

 

 

0.25%

   

none

   

none

 
Other expenses

 

 

0.42%

   

0.42%

   

0.35%

1

Total annual fund operating expenses

 

 

1.82%

   

1.57%

   

1.50%

 
Fee waivers and expense reimbursements

 

 

(0.27%)

2

 

(0.27%)

2

 

(0.26%)

2

Total annual fund operating expenses after fee waivers and expense reimbursements

 

 

1.55%

   

1.30%

   

1.24%

 

 

1

“Other expenses” for Class R6 are estimated and account for Class R6 shares not being subject to certain expenses as described further in the section of this Prospectus entitled “Choosing a share class.”

2

The Fund’s investment manager, Delaware Management Company (Manager), has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its investment advisory fees and/or pay/reimburse expenses (excluding any 12b-1 fees, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, interest, short sale dividend and interest expenses, brokerage fees, certain insurance costs, and nonroutine expenses or costs, including, but not limited to, those relating to reorganizations, litigation, conducting shareholder meetings, and liquidations) in order to prevent total annual fund operating expenses from exceeding 1.30% of the Fund’s average daily net assets for all share classes other than Class R6, and 1.24% of the Fund's Class R6 shares' average daily net assets, from January 30, 2023 through January 30, 2024. These waivers and reimbursements may only be terminated by agreement of the Manager and the Fund.

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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 reflects the Manager’s expense waivers and reimbursements for the 1-year contractual period and the total operating expenses without waivers for years 2 through 10. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

             

Class

A

 

Inst.

 

R6

 
1 year

 

 

$724

   

$132

   

$126

 
3 years

 

 

$1,090

   

$469

   

$449

 
5 years

 

 

$1,480

   

$830

   

$794

 
10 years

 

 

$2,569

   

$1,845

   

$1,768

 

Portfolio turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 70% of the average value of its portfolio.

What are the Fund’s principal investment strategies?

The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in a broadly diversified portfolio of common stocks of any market capitalization while also investing in derivatives to help manage investment risk. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities of US issuers and investments that provide exposure to such securities, including exchange-traded funds (80% policy). The Fund defines US issuers to include: (1) issuers that are incorporated or headquartered in the US; (2) issuers whose securities are principally traded in the US; (3) issuers with a majority of their business operations or assets in the US; and (4) issuers who derive a majority of their revenues or profits from the US. To a lesser extent, the Fund also may invest in the equity securities of foreign issuers. The portfolio management team also seeks to manage the Fund’s market risk and the risk of loss from significant events by investing in derivatives. The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading which may result in high portfolio turnover.

Wellington Management Company LLP (Wellington Management), the Fund’s sub-advisor, allocates the Fund’s equity investments across a range of equity market investment styles managed by Wellington Management that are focused on total return or growth of capital (underlying styles) to create a portfolio with broad market exposure.

Wellington Management allocates the Fund’s assets among the underlying styles to create a portfolio that represents a wide range of investment philosophies, companies, industries and market capitalizations. The underlying styles make investments based on their specific investment philosophies, for example, value, growth, high quality, or low volatility. The portfolio management team seeks to combine complementary underlying styles, monitoring the Fund’s risk profile and strategically rebalancing the portfolio. In selecting different underlying styles, Wellington Management considers, among other things, the relative level of an underlying style’s “active share” (i.e., the extent to which the

3


 

Summary prospectus
Delaware Hedged U.S. Equity Opportunities Fund, a series of Delaware Group® Equity Funds IV

underlying style’s holdings diverge from the underlying style’s benchmark index), and the “active share” of the Fund (i.e., the extent to which the Fund’s holdings diverge from the Fund’s benchmark index).

For each underlying style, Wellington Management has a distinct investment philosophy and analytical process to identify specific securities for purchase or sale based on internal proprietary research. The underlying styles generally invest in equity securities, but may also use derivatives for investment purposes. The underlying styles do not use derivatives solely for the purpose of creating leverage. Wellington Management’s investment personnel for each underlying style are responsible for selecting the Fund’s investments within their specific underlying styles. In selecting prospective investments for each underlying style, Wellington Management may employ qualitative and quantitative portfolio management techniques.

In addition to allocating the Fund’s assets to the underlying styles, Wellington Management seeks to manage the Fund’s aggregate investment risks, specifically, the risk of loss associated with markets generally as well as the risk of loss from significant events, by investing in derivatives. This strategy principally involves the purchase and sale of put and call options on indices and the purchase and sale of index futures contracts.

The use of derivatives is intended to hedge overall risks to the Fund, but not the risks associated with single or groups of investments or single or groups of underlying styles. As a result, Wellington Management’s derivatives strategy may protect the Fund from losses associated with a general market decline, but would not protect the Fund from losses resulting from a single investment or group of investments held by the Fund. The Fund may invest in cash and cash equivalents.

What are the principal risks of investing in the Fund?

Investing in any mutual fund involves the risk that you may lose part or all of the money you invest. Over time, the value of your investment in the Fund will increase and decrease according to changes in the value of the securities in the Fund’s portfolio. An investment in the Fund may not be appropriate for all investors. The Fund’s principal risks include:

Market risk — 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.

Hedging risk — Hedging seeks to limit downside risks, but will also limit a fund’s return potential, especially during periods of rapid or large market gains. Hedging activities involve fees and expenses, which can further reduce returns. If a fund uses a hedging instrument at the wrong time or judges market conditions incorrectly, or the hedged instrument does not correlate to the risk sought to be hedged, the hedge might be unsuccessful, reduce a fund’s return, and/or create a loss.

Derivatives risk — Derivatives contracts, such as futures, forward foreign currency contracts, options, and swaps, may involve additional expenses (such as the payment of premiums) and are subject to significant loss if a security, index, reference rate, or other asset or market factor to which a derivatives contract is associated, moves in the opposite direction from what the portfolio manager anticipated. 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. Derivatives contracts are also subject to the risk that the counterparty may fail to perform its obligations under the contract due to, among other reasons, financial difficulties (such as a bankruptcy or reorganization).

Asset allocation risk — The risk associated with the allocation of a fund’s assets amongst varying underlying styles. Portfolio managers may make investment decisions independently of one another,

4


 

and may make conflicting investment decisions which could be detrimental to a fund’s performance. There is a risk that the allocation of assets may skew toward a category or underlying fund that performs poorly relative to other categories or funds, or to the market as a whole, which could result in a fund performing poorly.

Company size risk — The risk that investments in small- and/or medium-sized companies may be more volatile than those of larger companies because of limited financial resources or dependence on narrow product lines.

Exchange-traded fund risk — The risks of investing in an exchange-traded fund (ETF) typically reflect the risks of the instruments in which the ETF invests. Because ETFs are investment companies, a fund will bear its proportionate share of the fees and expenses of an investment in an ETF. As a result, a fund’s expenses may be higher and performance may be lower.

Portfolio turnover risk — High portfolio turnover rates may increase a fund’s transaction costs and lower returns.

Liquidity risk — The possibility that investments cannot be readily sold within seven calendar days at approximately the price at which a fund has valued them.

IBOR risk — 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 LIBOR or a similar rate. 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.

Active management and selection risk — The risk that the securities selected by a fund’s management will underperform the markets, the relevant indices, or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies. The securities and sectors selected may vary from the securities and sectors included in the relevant index.

None of the entities noted in this document is an authorized deposit-taking institution for the purposes of the Banking Act 1959 (Commonwealth of Australia) and the obligations of these entities do not represent deposits or other liabilities of Macquarie Bank Limited ABN 46 008 583 542 (Macquarie Bank). Macquarie Bank does not guarantee or otherwise provide assurance in respect of the obligations of these entities. In addition, if this document relates to an investment (a) each investor is subject to investment risk including possible delays in repayment and loss of income and principal invested and (b) none of Macquarie Bank or any other Macquarie Group company guarantees any particular rate of return on or the performance of the investment, nor do they guarantee repayment of capital in respect of the investment.

How has Delaware Hedged U.S. Equity Opportunities Fund performed?

The bar chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The Fund adopted the performance of the First Investors Hedged U.S. Equity Opportunities Fund (Predecessor Fund) as the result of a reorganization of the Predecessor Fund into the Fund, which was consummated after the close of business on October 4, 2019 (Reorganization). The Fund had not yet commenced operations prior to the Reorganization. The bar chart shows changes in performance from year to year and shows how average annual total returns for the 1-year, 5-year, and lifetime periods compare with

5


 

Summary prospectus
Delaware Hedged U.S. Equity Opportunities Fund, a series of Delaware Group® Equity Funds IV

those of a broad measure of market performance. The past performance shown (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. The returns reflect any expense caps in effect during these periods. The returns would be lower without the expense caps.

The returns shown for periods ending on or prior to October 4, 2019 reflect the performance and expenses of the Predecessor Fund. The Predecessor Fund was reorganized into the Fund after the close of business on October 4, 2019. The returns shown for periods after October 4, 2019 reflect the performance and expenses of the Fund.

You may obtain the Fund’s most recently available month-end performance by calling 800 523-1918 or by visiting our website at delawarefunds.com/performance.

Calendar year-by-year total return (Class A)

During the periods illustrated in this bar chart, Class A’s highest quarterly return was 13.85% for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, and its lowest quarterly return was -13.53% for the quarter ended March 31, 2020. The maximum Class A sales charge of 5.75%, which is normally deducted when you purchase shares, is not reflected in the highest/lowest quarterly returns or in the bar chart. If this fee were included, the returns would be less than those shown. The average annual total returns in the table below do include the sales charge.

6


 

Average annual total returns for periods ended December 31, 2022

             

 

1 year

 

5 years

 

Lifetime

 
Class A return before taxes (lifetime: 8/1/16‑12/31/22)

 

 

-18.52%

   

3.99%

   

4.89%

 
Class A return after taxes on distributions (lifetime: 8/1/16‑12/31/22)

 

 

-20.20%

   

0.60%

   

2.21%

 
Class A return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares (lifetime: 8/1/16‑12/31/22)

 

 

-9.75%

   

2.68%

   

3.50%

 
Institutional Class return before taxes (lifetime: 8/1/16‑12/31/22)

 

 

-13.41%

   

5.54%

   

6.19%

 
Class R6 return before taxes (lifetime: 8/1/16‑12/31/22)

 

 

-13.27%

   

5.67%

   

6.31%

 
Russell 3000® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

 

 

-19.21%

   

8.79%

   

10.80%

 
70% Russell 3000® Index / 30% ICE BofA US 3-Month Treasury Bill Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

 

 

-12.93%

   

7.28%

   

8.46%

 
ICE BofA U.S. 3-Month Treasury Bill Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

 

 

1.46%

   

1.26%

   

1.14%

 

Frank Russell Company is the source and owner of the trademarks, service marks, and copyrights related to the Russell Indexes. Russell​® is a trademark of Frank Russell Company.

After-tax performance is presented only for Class A shares of the Fund. The after-tax returns for other Fund classes may vary. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor’s individual tax situation and may differ from the returns shown. After-tax returns are not relevant for shares held in tax-advantaged investment vehicles such as employer-sponsored 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). The after-tax returns shown are calculated using the highest individual federal marginal income tax rates in effect during the periods presented and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.

Who manages the Fund?

Investment manager

Delaware Management Company, a series of Macquarie Investment Management Business Trust (a Delaware statutory trust)

Sub-advisor

Wellington Management Company LLP (Wellington Management)

Portfolio managers

Title with Wellington

Start date on the Fund

Gregg R. Thomas, CFA

Senior Managing Director, Partner, and Co-head of investment strategy

October 2019

Roberto J. Isch, CFA

Managing Director, Portfolio Manager

October 2019

7


 

Summary prospectus
Delaware Hedged U.S. Equity Opportunities Fund, a series of Delaware Group® Equity Funds IV

Purchase and redemption of Fund shares

You may purchase or redeem shares of the Fund on any day that the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open for business (Business Day). Shares may be purchased or redeemed: through your financial intermediary; through the Fund’s website at delawarefunds.com/account-access; by calling 800 523-1918; by regular mail (c/o Delaware Funds by Macquarie​®, P.O. Box 9876, Providence, RI 02940-8076); by overnight courier service (c/o Delaware Funds by Macquarie Service Center, 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, MA 01581-1722); or by wire.

For Class A shares, the minimum initial investment is generally $1,000 and subsequent investments can be made for as little as $100. The minimum initial investment for IRAs, Uniform Gifts/Transfers to Minors Act accounts, direct deposit purchase plans, and automatic investment plans is $250 and through Coverdell Education Savings Accounts is $500, and subsequent investments in these accounts can be made for as little as $25. For Institutional Class and Class R6 shares (except those shares purchased through an automatic investment plan), there is no minimum initial purchase requirement, but certain eligibility requirements must be met. The eligibility requirements are described in this Prospectus under “Choosing a share class” and on the Fund’s website. We may reduce or waive the minimums or eligibility requirements in certain cases.

Please refer to the Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information for more details regarding the purchase and sale of Fund shares.

Tax information

The Fund’s distributions generally are taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an IRA, in which case your distributions may be taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn from the tax-advantaged account.

Payments to broker/dealers and other financial intermediaries

If you purchase shares of 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.

 

SMPR-QQV 1/23