As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 23, 2024

File Nos. 002-67052 and 811-03023

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 20549

FORM N-1A

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE
SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

Post-Effective Amendment No. 730

AND

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE
INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940

Amendment No. 731

FORUM FUNDS
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 600
Portland, Maine 04101
207-347-2000

Stacy L. Fuller, Esq.
K&L Gates LLP
1601 K Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006

Copies to:
Zachary R. Tackett
Apex Fund Services
Three Canal Plaza
Portland, ME 04101

It is proposed that this filing will become effective: 

Title of series being registered: The BeeHive Fund

Prospectus  May 1, 2024

  BEEHX

The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved

or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the

accuracy or adequacy of the disclosure in this Prospectus. Any

representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

Table of Contents

Summary Section

Investment Objective

Fees and Expenses

Principal Investment Strategies

Principal Investment Risks

The Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) and investment return will fluctuate based upon changes in the value of its portfolio securities. You could lose money on your investment in the Fund, and the Fund could underperform other investments. There is no guarantee that the Fund will meet its investment objective. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

It is important that you closely review and understand the risks of investing in the Fund prior to making an investment in the Fund.

Performance Information

Annual Returns as of December 31

Management

Investment Advisor. Cannell & Spears LLC is the Fund’s investment advisor.

Portfolio Managers. James E. Breece, Paul F. Pfeiffer, and Daniel J. Wetchler are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Messrs. Breece and Pfeiffer have served as portfolio

managers for the Fund since April 2013. Mr. Wetchler has served as portfolio manager for the Fund since June 2022.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

You may purchase or sell (redeem) shares of the Fund on any day that the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) is open for business. You may purchase or redeem shares directly from the Fund by calling (866) 684-4915 (toll free) or writing to the Fund at The BeeHive Fund, P.O. Box 588, Portland, Maine 04112. You also may purchase or redeem shares of the Fund through your financial intermediary. The Fund accepts investments in the following minimum amounts:

Tax Information

Shareholders may receive distributions from the Fund, which may be taxed to shareholders other than tax-advantaged investors (such as tax-advantaged retirement plans and accounts) as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both. If you are investing through a tax-advantaged account, you may still be subject to taxation at ordinary income tax rates upon withdrawals from that 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.

Details Regarding Principal Investment Strategies and Risks

Concepts to Understand

ADRs are receipts for the shares of a foreign-based company registered and traded in the U.S.

Common Stock means an ownership interest in a company and usually possesses voting rights and may earn dividends.

Market Capitalization means the total value of all of a company’s stock in the stock market based on the stock’s market price.

Equity Securities include common stock, preferred stock, convertible securities, warrants and ADRs.

The Fund seeks capital appreciation. The Fund’s investment objective is non-fundamental and may be changed by the Board of Trustees without a vote of shareholders. The Fund, however, will provide shareholders with at least 60 days’ notice prior to making any changes to the investment objective.

Additional Information Regarding Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal market conditions, the Fund primarily invests in equity securities of domestic companies with large and mid-sized market capitalizations. The Advisor defines (1) companies with large market capitalizations as those companies with market capitalizations of more than $80 billion and (2) companies with mid-sized market capitalizations as those companies with market capitalizations of at least $9 billion but not more than $80 billion. Equity securities include common and preferred stock, warrants, convertible securities and sponsored and unsponsored ADRs. The Fund may also invest in foreign securities and equity securities of domestic companies with small market capitalizations (defined by the Advisor as those companies with market capitalizations of less than $9 billion). In addition, the Fund may invest in domestic fixed-income securities, including corporate debt securities, variable rate instruments, commercial paper, U.S. Government securities, and high-yield securities.

The Advisor’s Process. The Advisor seeks to generate superior long-term capital appreciation through a focused portfolio of companies that the Advisor believes to have dynamic businesses with leading and defensible market positions. The management philosophy of the Advisor emphasizes specific security selection rather than asset allocation. As a result, the Fund’s investments may be focused in certain issuers, industries or sectors from time to time.

The Advisor considers both microeconomic and macroeconomic factors to identify and purchase securities. The Advisor looks for investments that it believes to offer favorable asymmetric expected-return profiles over the coming three-year period and to possess catalysts to unlock value. In the investment process, the Advisor generates and monitors a deep pool of investment ideas through screens, watch lists and investor and analyst networks. Ideas that are identified as promising are subjected to more rigorous examination.

The Advisor conducts proprietary fundamental research to develop an understanding of a business and its position within its industry. In this process, the Advisor analyzes company filings and communicates with company management and industry analysts. The Advisor creates financial models that consider multiple scenarios, including a reasonable worst-case scenario. Potential return is assessed based on discounted cash flows and appropriate valuation metrics, and an entry price is determined based on perceived upside potential and downside risk.

Fund holdings are continuously monitored to seek to ensure that the initial rationale for investment remains. The Advisor will consider selling a security if actual performance deviates from expectations, management changes or industry fundamentals deteriorate. If it is determined that the initial reason for investment is no longer valid, the Advisor may sell the holding. A Fund holding may also be sold if the valuation exceeds a target, if valuation appears inconsistent with industry comparables or if other investments with higher expected returns become available. Prior to selling a security or revising the Fund’s portfolio, however, the Advisor typically considers the tax consequences to the Fund’s shareholders.

Temporary Defensive Position. In order to respond to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions, the Fund may assume a temporary defensive position that is inconsistent with its principal investment objective and/or strategies and may invest, without limitation, in cash or high-quality cash equivalents (including money market instruments, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, banker’s acceptances and time deposits). A defensive position, taken at the wrong time, may have an adverse impact on the Fund’s performance. The Fund may be unable to achieve its investment objective during the employment of a temporary defensive position.

Additional Information Regarding Principal Investment Risks

The Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) and investment return will fluctuate based upon changes in the value of its portfolio. You could lose money on your investment in the Fund, and the Fund could underperform other investments. There is no guarantee that the Fund will meet its investment objective. An investment

in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

Focused Portfolio Risk. Because the Fund may make significant investments in the securities of certain issuers, industries and sectors, changes in the values of such securities will disproportionately impact the Fund’s returns and may cause the value of Fund shares to be volatile.

Market Events Risk. Turbulence in the financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and fixed-income markets may negatively affect issuers worldwide, which could have an adverse effect on the Fund. Disruptive events with geopolitical consequences, including pandemics and natural disasters, may destabilize world economies and cause market turbulence. Trade barriers and other protectionist trade policies (including those in the U.S.) may also increase market turbulence. Similarly, policy changes by the Federal Reserve and/or other government actors, including changes in interest rates, could cause or increase volatility in the financial markets. Increases in market volatility may lead to reductions in market liquidity, which may make it more difficult for the Fund to purchase and sell portfolio holdings at favorable market prices and make the Fund’s net asset value fluctuate materially. To the extent that the Fund experiences high redemptions during periods of market turbulence, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected, as the Fund may not be able to sell portfolio holdings at favorable prices, or may be required to sell portfolio holdings, which may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. In addition, the Fund may experience increased portfolio turnover, which will increase its costs and adversely impact its performance.

Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed, and its performance will reflect the Advisor’s ability to make investment decisions that are suited to achieving the Fund’s investment objective. Investments selected by the Advisor for the Fund may not perform to expectations. This could result in the Fund’s underperformance compared to other funds with similar investment objectives. Further, the Fund’s performance may deviate from overall market returns to a greater degree than funds that do not employ a similar strategy.

Large Capitalization Company Risk. Investments in large capitalization companies may go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions and may underperform other market segments. Some large capitalization companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges or to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion. As such, returns on investments in stocks of large capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in stocks of small and mid-sized capitalization companies.

Information Technology Sector Risk. The information technology sector includes, for example, internet, semiconductor, software, hardware and technology equipment companies. Information technology companies face intense competition and potentially rapid product obsolescence. They are also heavily dependent on intellectual property rights and may be adversely affected by the loss or impairment of those rights. This sector can be affected by, among other things, the supply and demand for specific products and services, the pace of technological development and government regulation.

Financials Sector Risk. Performance of companies in the financials sector may be adversely impacted by many factors, including, among others, government regulations, economic conditions, credit rating downgrades, changes in interest rates, and decreased liquidity in credit markets. The impact of more stringent capital requirements, recent or future regulation of any individual financial company, or recent or future regulation of the financials sector as a whole cannot be predicted.

Foreign Investments Risk. The value of foreign investments may be affected by risks in addition to those affecting domestic investments, including the imposition of new or amended government regulations, changes in diplomatic relations between the U.S. and another country, political and economic instability, the imposition or tightening of exchange controls or other limitations on repatriation of foreign capital or nationalization, trade barriers and other protectionist trade policies (including those in the U.S.) and/or increased taxation or confiscation of investors’ assets. Investments in securities of foreign issuers are subject to fluctuations in the value of the issuer’s local currency relative to the U.S dollar and may be subject to foreign withholding and other taxes. Trading in foreign markets typically involves higher expense than

trading in the United States. Settlement and clearance procedures in certain foreign markets may result in delays in payment or delivery of securities.

Equity Risk. Equity securities, common and preferred stock, warrants, convertible securities and sponsored and unsponsored ADRs may decline in value because of changes in price of a particular holding or a broad stock market decline. These fluctuations could be a drastic movement or a sustained trend. The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons that directly relate to the issuer of a security, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer’s goods or services, or broader economic or market events, including changes in interest rates. Common stocks in general are subject to the risk of an issuer liquidating or declaring bankruptcy, in which case the claims of owners of the issuer’s debt securities and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of common stockholders.

Convertible Securities Risk. Investments in convertible securities entail some of the risks of both equity and debt securities. The value of convertible securities tends to decline as interest rates rise and, because of the conversion feature, tends to vary with the fluctuations in the market value of the underlying securities or changes in the issuer’s credit rating. Convertible securities often display a degree of market price volatility that is comparable to common stocks and are also subject to additional risks, including risk of default on interest or principal payments, which could result in a loss of income from or a decline in value of the securities. Convertible securities are subject to the risk that the credit rating of the issuer may have an effect on the convertible securities’ investment value.

ADR Risk. Investing in ADRs may involve risks relating to political, economic or regulatory conditions in foreign countries where the underlying securities are traded. These risks include political and financial instability, less liquidity, lack of uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and increased price volatility. The underlying securities are typically denominated (or quoted) in a currency other than U.S. dollars. The securities underlying ADRs may trade on foreign exchanges at times when U.S. markets are not open for trading. As a result, the value of ADRs may not track the price of the underlying foreign securities and may change materially at times when the U.S. markets are not open for trading. Unsponsored ADRs may involve additional risks, and their prices may be more volatile than the prices of sponsored ADRs.

Warrants Risk. Warrants can provide a greater potential for loss than an equivalent investment in the underlying security. The price of a warrant does not necessarily move in tandem with the price of the underlying security, and therefore, a warrant may be highly volatile and speculative. Warrants have no voting rights, pay no dividends and have no rights with respect to the assets of the issuer other than a purchase option. If a warrant held by the Fund were not exercised by the date of its expiration, the Fund would lose the entire purchase price of the warrant.

Small and Mid-Sized Capitalization Company Risk. Investments in small and mid-sized capitalization companies may be less liquid, and the prices of such securities may fluctuate more and have a higher degree of volatility than those of larger, more established companies. Securities of small and mid capitalization companies may be traded in lower volume. The general market may not favor the small and mid-sized companies in which the Fund invests, and as a result the Fund could underperform the general market. Small and mid-sized companies may have more limited product lines, markets and financial resources that make them more susceptible to economic and market setbacks. Additionally, information about these companies may not be readily available. The smaller the company, the greater effect these risks may have on the company’s operations and performance, which could have a significant impact on the price of the security. These factors could adversely affect the Fund’s ability to sell such securities at a desirable time and price.

Fixed-Income Securities Risk. The value of fixed-income (debt) securities depends generally on an issuer’s credit rating and the interest rate of the security. Fixed-income securities are generally subject to the following risks:

Credit Risk. The financial condition or perceived financial condition of an issuer of a fixed-income security may cause the issuer to default or become unable to pay interest or principal due on the security. If an issuer defaults, a fixed-income security could lose all of its value, be renegotiated at a lower interest rate or principal amount or become illiquid. Generally, investment risk and price volatility increase as a fixed-income security’s credit rating declines, which can cause the price of fixed-income securities to go down.

Interest Rate Risk. The value of fixed-income securities may decline due to changes in prevailing interest rates. An increase in interest rates typically causes a decrease in the value of fixed-income securities in which the Fund may invest. Fixed-income securities with longer durations tend to be more sensitive to changes in interest rates, generally making them more volatile than fixed-income securities with shorter durations. The Fund may face a heightened level of interest rate risk due to changes in monetary policy. It is difficult to predict the pace at which central banks or monetary authorities may adjust interest rates or the timing, frequency, or magnitude of such adjustments. Any changes could be sudden and could expose debt markets to significant volatility and reduced liquidity.

High-Yield Securities Risk. Investments in “high-yield securities” or “junk bonds” are inherently speculative and have a greater risk of default than investments in investment-grade fixed-income securities. Issuers of below investment-grade fixed-income securities are more likely to encounter and be materially affected by financial difficulties that may cause the issuer to default or otherwise become unable to pay interest or principal due on the security. Rising interest rates may compound such difficulties and reduce an issuer’s ability to repay principal and interest. If an issuer defaults, a below investment-grade fixed-income security could lose all of its value, be renegotiated at a lower interest rate or principal amount or become illiquid. Below investment-grade fixed-income securities may be less liquid and more volatile than investment-grade fixed-income securities and may be more difficult to value or sell. Furthermore, securities rated below investment-grade frequently have redemption features that permit an issuer to repurchase the security from the Fund before it matures. If the issuer redeems the bonds, the Fund may have to invest the proceeds in bonds with lower yields and may lose income.

Management

The BeeHive Fund (the “Fund”) is a series of Forum Funds (the “Trust”), an open-end, management investment company (mutual fund). The Board of Trustees (the “Board”) oversees the management of the Fund and meets periodically to review the Fund’s performance, monitor investment activities and practices and discuss other matters affecting the Fund. Additional information regarding the Board and the Trust’s executive officers may be found in the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”), which is available on the Fund’s website at www.TheBeeHiveFund.com.

Investment Advisor

The Fund’s investment advisor is Cannell & Spears LLC (the “Advisor”), 545 Madison Avenue, 11th Floor, New York, New York 10022. The Advisor is a registered investment advisor under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and has provided investment advisory and management services to clients since 1973. The Advisor is an independent investment advisory firm that currently manages assets for individuals, charitable institutions, tax-exempt funds and corporations, partnerships and other business entities. As of March 31, 2024, the Advisor had approximately $6.264 billion of assets under management.

The Advisor receives an advisory fee from the Fund at an annual rate equal to 0.75% of the Fund’s average annual daily net assets under the terms of the Advisory Agreement. The Advisor has contractually agreed to waive its fee and/or reimburse Fund expenses to limit Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (excluding taxes, interest, portfolio transaction expenses and extraordinary expenses) to 0.99% of the Fund’s average daily net assets through December 31, 2025 (the “Expense Cap”). The Expense Cap may be raised or eliminated only with the consent of the Board of Trustees. The Advisor may recoup from the Fund fees waived and expenses reimbursed by the Advisor pursuant to the Expense Cap if the recoupment is made within three years of the fee waiver or expense reimbursement and does not cause Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after the recoupment has been taken into account to exceed the lesser of (i) the then-current Expense Cap and (ii) the Expense Cap in place at the time the fees/expenses were waived/reimbursed. Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses will increase if exclusions from the Expense Cap apply.

A discussion summarizing the basis on which the Board last approved the Advisory Agreement is included in the Fund’s annual report for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Portfolio Managers

James E. Breece, Paul F, Pfeiffer, and Daniel J. Wetchler, each a member of the investment team of the Advisor, co-manage the Fund’s portfolio. Messrs. Breece, Pfeiffer and Wetchler are jointly and primarily responsible for securities selection in the Fund and perform all aspects of the Fund’s management.

James E. Breece, CFA, is a manager and principal of the Advisor. Since joining the Advisor in 2010, Mr. Breece has served as a portfolio manager of the Fund. Prior to joining the Advisor, Mr. Breece was associated with Abacus & Associates Inc.

Paul F. Pfeiffer is a principal of the Advisor. Since joining the Advisor in 2009, Mr. Pfeiffer has served as a portfolio manager of the Fund. Prior to joining the Advisor, Mr. Pfeiffer served as lead manager of MB Investment Partners’ Growth Equity Strategy from 2002.

Daniel J. Wetchler, CFA, is a principal of the Advisor. He joined the Advisor in 2020 as a senior analyst. Since 2023, Mr. Wetchler has served as a portfolio manager of the Fund. Prior to joining the Advisor, Mr. Wetchler was a senior analyst at Integre Asset Management, LLC. He began his career in 2010 as an equity research associate covering the financials sector at Evercore Partners.

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

Other Service Providers

Apex Fund Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Apex US Holdings LLC (d/b/a Apex Fund Services) (“Apex”), provides fund accounting, fund administration and compliance services to the Fund and the Trust and supplies certain officers of the Trust, including a Principal Executive Officer, a Principal Financial Officer, a Chief Compliance Officer, an Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer and additional compliance

support personnel. Atlantic Shareholder Services, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Apex, provides transfer agency services to the Fund and the Trust.

Foreside Fund Services, LLC (the “Distributor”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Foreside Financial Group, LLC (d/b/a ACA Group), acts as the agent of the Trust in connection with the continuous offering of Fund shares. The Distributor may enter into arrangements with banks, broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries through which investors may purchase or redeem shares. The Distributor is not affiliated with the Advisor or with Apex or their affiliates.

Fund Expenses

The Fund is charged for those expenses that are directly attributable to it, while other expenses are allocated proportionately among the Fund and other series of the Trust based upon methods approved by the Board. The Advisor or other service providers may waive all or any portion of their fees and may reimburse certain expenses of the Fund. Service provider waivers may be voluntary and do not affect the Advisor’s contractual waiver. Any agreement to waive fees or to reimburse expenses increases the investment performance of the Fund for the period during which the waiver or reimbursement is in effect. Current contractual Advisor fee waiver and/or expense reimbursements are reflected in the section titled “Fees and Expenses.”

Your Account

How to Contact the Fund

E-mail the Fund at:

BeeHiveFund.ta@apexgroup.com

Telephone the Fund at:

(866) 684-4915 (toll free)

Write the Fund:

The BeeHive Fund

P.O. Box 588

Portland, Maine 04112

Overnight Address:

The BeeHive Fund

c/o Apex Fund Services

Three Canal Plaza,

Ground Floor

Portland, Maine 04101

Wire investments (or ACH payments):

Please contact the transfer agent at (866) 684-4915 (toll free) to obtain the ABA routing number and account number for the Fund.

General Information

You may purchase or sell (redeem) shares of the Fund on any day that the NYSE is open for business. Notwithstanding this fact, the Fund may, only in the case of an emergency, calculate its NAV and accept and process shareholder orders when the NYSE is closed.

You may purchase or sell shares of the Fund at the next NAV calculated (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time) after the transfer agent or your approved broker-dealer or other financial intermediary receives your request in good order. “Good order” means that you have provided sufficient information necessary to process your request as outlined in this Prospectus, including any required signatures, documents, payment and Medallion Signature Guarantees. All requests to purchase or sell Fund shares received in good order prior to the Fund’s close will receive that day’s NAV. Requests received in good order after the Fund’s close or on a day when the Fund does not value its shares will be processed on the next business day and will be priced at the next NAV. The Fund cannot accept orders that request a particular day or price for the transaction or any other special conditions.

Shares of the Fund will only be issued against full payment, as described more fully in this Prospectus and the SAI. The Fund does not issue share certificates.

If you purchase shares directly from the Fund, you will receive a confirmation of each transaction and quarterly statements detailing Fund balances and all transactions completed during the prior quarter. Automatic reinvestments of distributions and systematic investments and withdrawals may be confirmed only by quarterly statement. You should verify the accuracy of all transactions in your account as soon as you receive your confirmations and quarterly statements.

The Fund may temporarily suspend or discontinue any service or privilege, including systematic investments and withdrawals, wire redemption privileges and telephone or internet redemption privileges, if applicable. The Fund reserves the right to refuse any purchase request, including, but not limited to, requests that could adversely affect the Fund or its operations. If the Fund were to refuse any purchase request, it would notify the purchaser within two business days of receiving a purchase request in good order.

If your account is deemed abandoned or unclaimed by applicable state law, the Fund may be required to “escheat” or transfer the property to the appropriate state’s unclaimed property administration. Certain states have laws that allow shareholders to name a representative to receive notice of abandoned property (“escheatment”) by submitting a designation form, which generally can be found on the official state website. In such states, if a shareholder designates a representative to receive escheatment notices, any notice generally will be delivered as required by the state’s laws. A completed designation form should be mailed to the Fund (if shares are held directly with the Fund) or to the shareholder’s financial intermediary. Shareholders should check their state’s official website to get more information on escheatment law(s).

NAV Determination. The NAV of the Fund is determined by taking the value of the assets of the Fund, subtracting the value of the liabilities of the Fund and then dividing the result (net assets) by the number of outstanding shares of the Fund. The Fund calculates its NAV as of the close of trading on the NYSE (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time). The NYSE is open every weekday other than NYSE holidays and early closings, which are published at www.nyse.com and subject to change without notice.

To the extent that the Fund’s portfolio investments trade in markets on weekends or other days when the Fund does not price its shares, the net asset value of the Fund’s shares may change on those days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or redeem the Fund’s shares. In addition, trading in certain portfolio investments may not occur on days when the Fund is open for business, as markets or exchanges other than the NYSE may be closed.

The Fund values securities at current market value, where market quotations are readily available, using the last reported sales price. In the absence of a readily available market price, or if the Advisor, in its capacity as the Fund’s Valuation Designee, reasonably believes that a market price is unreliable, the

Advisor, as the Fund’s Valuation Designee, will seek to value such securities at fair value, as determined in good faith using procedures approved by the Board.

The Board has designated the Advisor as the Valuation Designee pursuant to Rule 2a-5 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and delegated to the Advisor the responsibility for making fair value determinations with respect to the Fund’s portfolio securities. The Advisor, as the Valuation Designee, is responsible for periodically assessing any material risks associated with the determination of the fair value of the Fund’s investments; establishing and applying fair value methodologies; testing the appropriateness of fair value methodologies; and overseeing and evaluating third-party pricing services. Fair valuation may be based on subjective factors. As a result, the fair value price of a security may not be the price at which the security may be sold. Fair valuation could result in a different NAV than a NAV determined by using market quotations.

Although the Fund generally prices its foreign securities using their readily available market prices from the foreign markets where they trade (typically prior to the Fund’s calculation of its NAV), these prices may be affected by events that occur after the close of the foreign market but before the Fund prices its shares. As a result, the Fund’s investments in foreign securities are more likely to require a fair value determination than investments in domestic securities. In determining fair value prices of foreign securities, the Fund may consider the performance of securities on their primary exchanges, foreign currency appreciation or depreciation, securities market movements in the U.S. and other relevant information as related to the securities.

Securities of smaller companies are more likely to require a fair value determination because they may be thinly traded and less liquid than securities of larger companies.

Fixed-income securities may be valued at prices supplied by the Fund’s pricing agent based on broker-supplied or dealer-supplied valuations or on matrix pricing, a method of valuing securities by reference to the value of other securities with similar characteristics, such as rating, interest rate and maturity.

Transactions Through Financial Intermediaries. The Fund has authorized certain financial services companies, broker-dealers, banks and other agents, including the designees of such entities (collectively, “financial intermediaries”), to accept purchase and redemption orders on the Fund’s behalf. If you invest through a financial intermediary, the policies and fees of the financial intermediary may be different from the policies and fees you would be subject to if you had invested directly in the Fund. Among other things, financial intermediaries may charge transaction fees and may set different minimum investment restrictions or limitations on buying or selling Fund shares. You should consult a representative of your financial intermediary for more information.

The Fund will be deemed to have received a purchase or redemption order when a financial intermediary that is an agent of the Fund for the purpose of accepting orders receives the order. All orders to purchase or sell shares are processed as of the next NAV calculated after the order has been received in good order by a financial intermediary. Orders are accepted until the close of trading on the NYSE every business day (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time) and are processed, including by financial intermediaries, at that day’s NAV.

Payments to Financial Intermediaries. The Fund, at its own expense, may pay additional compensation to financial intermediaries for shareholder-related services, including administrative, recordkeeping and shareholder communication services. In addition, pursuant to any applicable Rule 12b-1 plan, the Fund may pay compensation to financial intermediaries for distribution-related services. For example, compensation may be paid to make Fund shares available to sales representatives and/or customers of a fund supermarket platform or a similar program sponsor or for services provided in connection with such fund supermarket platforms and programs. To the extent that the Fund pays all or a portion of such compensation, the payment is designed to compensate the financial intermediary for distribution activities or for providing services that would otherwise be provided by the Fund’s transfer agent and/or administrator.

The Advisor or another Fund affiliate, out of its own resources and not as an expense of the Fund, may provide additional compensation to financial intermediaries. Such compensation is sometimes referred to as “revenue sharing.” Compensation received by a financial intermediary from the Advisor or another Fund affiliate may

include payments for shareholder servicing, marketing and/or training expenses incurred by the financial intermediary, including expenses incurred by the financial intermediary in educating its salespersons with respect to Fund shares. For example, such compensation may include reimbursements for expenses incurred in attending educational seminars regarding the Fund, including travel and lodging expenses. It may also cover costs incurred by financial intermediaries in connection with their efforts to sell Fund shares, including costs incurred in compensating registered sales representatives and preparing, printing and distributing sales literature.

The amount of compensation paid to different financial intermediaries may vary. The compensation paid to a financial intermediary may be based on a variety of factors, including average assets under management in accounts distributed and/or serviced by the financial intermediary, gross sales by the financial intermediary and/or the number of accounts serviced by the financial intermediary that invest in the Fund.

Any compensation received by a financial intermediary, whether from the Fund, the Advisor or another affiliate, and the prospect of receiving such compensation, may provide the financial intermediary with an incentive to recommend the shares of the Fund over other potential investments. Similarly, the compensation may cause financial intermediaries to elevate the prominence of the Fund within its organization by, for example, placing it on a list of preferred funds.

Anti-Money Laundering Program. Customer identification and verification are part of the Fund’s overall obligation to deter money laundering under federal law. The Trust’s Anti-Money Laundering Program is designed to prevent the Fund from being used for money laundering or the financing of terrorist activities. In this regard, the Fund reserves the right, to the extent permitted by law, (1) to refuse, cancel or rescind any purchase order or (2) to freeze any account and/or suspend account services. These actions will be taken when, at the sole discretion of Trust management, they are deemed to be in the best interest of the Fund or in cases when the Fund is requested or compelled to do so by governmental or law enforcement authorities or applicable law. If your account is closed at the request of governmental or law enforcement authorities, you may not receive proceeds of the redemption if the Fund is required to withhold such proceeds.

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings. A description of the Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of portfolio securities is available in the Fund’s SAI, which is available on the Fund’s website at www.TheBeeHiveFund.com.

Buying Shares

How to Make Payments. Unless purchased through a financial intermediary, all investments must be made by check, Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) or wire. All checks must be payable in U.S. dollars and drawn on U.S. financial institutions. In the absence of the granting of an exception consistent with the Trust’s Anti-Money Laundering Program, the Fund does not accept purchases made by credit card check, starter check, checks with more than one endorsement (unless the check is payable to all endorsees), cash or cash equivalents (for instance, you may not pay by money order, cashier’s check, bank draft or traveler’s check). The Fund and the Advisor also reserve the right to accept in kind contributions of securities in exchange for shares of the Fund.

Checks. Checks must be made payable to “The BeeHive Fund”. For individual, sole proprietorship, joint, Uniform Gifts to Minors Act (“UGMA”) and Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (“UTMA”) accounts, checks may be made payable to one or more owners of the account and endorsed to “The BeeHive Fund”. A $20 charge may be imposed on any returned checks.

ACH. The Automated Clearing House system maintained by the Federal Reserve Bank allows banks to process checks, transfer funds and perform other tasks. Your U.S. financial institution may charge you a fee for this service.

Wires. You may instruct the U.S. financial institution with which you have an account to make a federal funds wire payment to the Fund. Your U.S. financial institution may charge you a fee for this service.

Minimum Investments. The Fund accepts investments in the following minimum amounts:

The Fund reserves the right to waive minimum investment amounts, if deemed appropriate by an officer of the Trust.

Registered investment advisors and financial planners may be permitted to aggregate the value of accounts in order to meet minimum investment amounts.

Account Requirements. The following table describes the requirements to establish certain types of accounts in the Fund.

Account Application and Customer Identity Verification. To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, federal law requires financial institutions to obtain, verify and record information that identifies each person who opens an account.

When you open an account, the Fund will ask for your first and last name, U.S. taxpayer identification number (“TIN”), physical street address, date of birth and other information or documents that will allow the Fund to identify you. If you do not supply the required information, the Fund will attempt to contact you or, if applicable, your financial adviser. If the Fund cannot obtain the required information within a timeframe established in its sole discretion, your application will be rejected.

When your application is in good order and includes all required information, your order will normally be processed at the NAV next calculated after receipt of your application and investment amount. The Fund will attempt to verify your identity using the information that you have supplied and other information about you that is available from third parties, including information available in public and private databases, such as consumer reports from credit reporting agencies.

The Fund will try to verify your identity within a timeframe established in its sole discretion. If the Fund cannot do so, the Fund reserves the right to redeem your investment at the next NAV calculated after the Fund decides to close your account. If your account is closed, you may realize a gain or loss on the Fund shares in

the account. You will be responsible for any related taxes and will not be able to recoup any redemption fees assessed, if applicable.

Policy on Prohibition of Foreign Shareholders. The Fund requires that all shareholders be U.S. persons or U.S. resident aliens with a valid TIN (or show proof of having applied for a TIN and commitment to provide a valid TIN within 60 days) in order to open an account with the Fund.

Investment Procedures. The following table describes the procedures for investing in the Fund.

Systematic Investments. You may establish a systematic investment plan to automatically invest a specific amount of money (up to $25,000 per day) into your account on a specified day and frequency not to exceed two investments per month. Payments for systematic investments are automatically debited from your designated savings or checking account via ACH. Systematic investments must be for at least $500 per occurrence. If you wish to enroll in a systematic investment plan, complete the appropriate section on the account application. Your signed account application must be received at least three business days prior to the initial transaction. The Fund may terminate or modify this privilege at any time. You may terminate your participation in a systematic investment plan by notifying the Fund at least two days in advance of the next withdrawal.

A systematic investment plan is a method of using dollar cost averaging as an investment strategy that involves investing a fixed amount of money at regular time intervals. However, a program of regular investment cannot ensure a profit or protect against a loss as a result of declining markets. By continually investing the same amount, you will be purchasing more shares when the price is lower and fewer shares when the price is higher. Please call (866) 684-4915 (toll free) for additional information regarding systematic investment plans.

Frequent Trading. Frequent trading by a Fund shareholder may pose risks to other shareholders in the Fund, including (1) the dilution of the Fund’s NAV, (2) an increase in the Fund’s expenses, and (3) interference with the portfolio manager’s ability to execute efficient investment strategies. Because the Fund invests primarily in equity securities of domestic companies with larger capitalizations and long-term growth characteristics, its portfolio generally has not been attractive to frequent traders or susceptible to market timing. Accordingly, the Board has not adopted a policy to monitor for frequent purchases and redemptions of Fund shares.

Canceled or Failed Payments. The Fund accepts checks and ACH payments at full value subject to collection. If the Fund does not receive your payment for shares or you pay with a check or ACH payment that does not clear, your purchase will be canceled within two business days of notification from your bank that your funds did not clear. You will be responsible for any actual losses and expenses incurred by the Fund or the transfer agent. The Fund and its agents have the right to reject or cancel any purchase request due to non-payment.

Selling Shares

Redemption orders received in good order will be processed at the next calculated NAV. The Fund typically expects to pay shareholder redemption requests, including during stressed market conditions, within one business day of receipt of the request in good order and may seek to meet such redemption requests through one or more of the following methods: sales of portfolio assets, use of cash or cash equivalents held in the Fund’s portfolio, and/or redemptions in kind, as permitted by applicable rules and regulations. The right of redemption may not be suspended for more than seven days after the tender of Fund shares, except for any period during which (1) the NYSE is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings) or the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) determines that trading thereon is restricted, (2) an emergency (as determined by the SEC) exists as a result of which disposal by the Fund of its securities is not

reasonably practicable or as a result of which it is not reasonably practicable for the Fund to determine fairly the value of its net assets, or (3) the SEC has entered a suspension order for the protection of the shareholders of the Fund.

The Fund will not issue shares until payment is received. If redemption is sought for shares for which payment has not been received, the Fund will delay sending redemption proceeds until payment is received, which may be up to 15 calendar days.

Wire Redemption Privileges. You may redeem your shares with proceeds payable by wire unless you declined wire redemption privileges on your account application. The minimum amount that may be redeemed by wire is $5,000.

Telephone Redemption Privileges. You may redeem your shares by telephone, unless you declined telephone redemption privileges on your account application. You may be responsible for an unauthorized telephone redemption order as long as the transfer agent takes reasonable measures to verify that the order is genuine. Telephone redemption orders may be difficult to complete during periods of significant economic or market activity. If you are not able to reach the Fund by telephone, you may mail us your redemption order.

Systematic Withdrawals. You may establish a systematic withdrawal plan to automatically redeem a specific amount of money or shares from your account on a specified day and frequency not to exceed one withdrawal per month. Payments for systematic withdrawals are sent by check to your address of record, or if you so designate, to your bank account by ACH payment. To establish a systematic withdrawal plan, complete the systematic withdrawal section of the account application. The plan may be terminated or modified by a shareholder or the Fund at any time without charge or penalty. You may terminate your participation in a systematic withdrawal plan at any time by contacting the Fund sufficiently in advance of the next withdrawal.

A withdrawal under a systematic withdrawal plan involves a redemption of Fund shares and may result in a gain or loss for federal income tax purposes. Please call (866) 684-4915 (toll free) for additional information regarding systematic withdrawal plans.

Signature Guarantee Requirements. To protect you and the Fund against fraud, signatures on certain requests must have a Medallion Signature Guarantee. A Medallion Signature Guarantee verifies the authenticity of your signature. You may obtain a Medallion Signature Guarantee from most banking institutions or securities brokers but not from a notary public. Written instructions signed by all registered shareholders with a Medallion Signature Guarantee for each shareholder are required for any of the following:

The Fund reserves the right to require Medallion Signature Guarantees on all redemptions.

Small Account Balances. If the value of your account falls below the minimum account balances in the following table, the Fund may ask you to increase your balance. If the account value is still below the minimum balance after 60 days, the Fund may close your account and send you the proceeds. The Fund will not close your account if it falls below these amounts solely as a result of Fund performance.

Redemptions in Kind. Redemption proceeds normally are paid in cash. Consistent with an election filed with the SEC, under certain circumstances, the Fund may pay redemption proceeds in portfolio securities rather than in cash pursuant to procedures adopted by the Board. However, if the Fund redeems shares in this manner, the shareholder assumes the risk of, among other things, a subsequent change in the market value of those securities and the costs of liquidating the securities (such as brokerage costs and taxable gains). In kind redemptions may be satisfied using illiquid securities held in the Fund’s portfolio, in which case the shareholder will assume the risks associated with such illiquid securities, including the possibility of a lack of a liquid market for those securities. In kind redemptions may take the form of a pro rata portion of the Fund’s portfolio, individual securities or a representative basket of securities. Please see the SAI for more details on redemptions in kind.

Lost Accounts. The transfer agent will consider your account lost if correspondence to your address of record is returned as undeliverable on two consecutive occasions, unless the transfer agent determines your new address. When an account is lost, all distributions on the account will be reinvested in additional shares of the Fund. In addition, the amount of any outstanding check (unpaid for six months or more) and checks that have been returned to the transfer agent may be reinvested at the current NAV, and the checks will be canceled. However, checks will not be reinvested into accounts with a zero balance but will be held in a

different account. Any of your unclaimed property may be transferred to the state of your last known address if no activity occurs in your account within the time period specified by that state’s law.

Distribution and Shareholder Service Fees. The Trust has adopted a Rule 12b-1 plan under which the Fund pays the Distributor a fee up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets of the Fund for distribution services and/or the servicing of shareholder accounts. Because the Fund may pay distribution fees 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. The Distributor may pay any fee received under the Rule 12b-1 plan to the Advisor or other financial intermediaries that provide distribution and shareholder services with respect to the Fund. The Fund has waived payments under the Rule 12b-1 plan until further notice and has not paid any distribution fees to date. The Fund may remove the waiver and make payments under the Rule 12b-1 plan at any time, subject to Board approval.

In addition to paying fees under the Rule 12b-1 plan, the Fund may pay service fees to financial intermediaries for administration, recordkeeping and other shareholder services associated with shareholders whose shares are held of record in omnibus accounts, other group accounts or accounts traded through registered securities clearing agents. If the Fund pays shareholder service fees on an ongoing basis, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment.

Retirement Accounts

You may invest in shares of the Fund through an IRA, including traditional and Roth IRAs, also known as a “qualified retirement account.” The Fund may also be appropriate for other retirement plans, such as 401(k) plans. Before investing in an IRA or other retirement account, you should consult your tax advisor. Whenever making an investment in an IRA or certain retirement plans, be sure to indicate the year to which the contribution is attributed.

Other Information

Distributions and Reinvestments. The Fund declares dividends from net investment income and pays them annually. Any net capital gains and net foreign currency gains realized by the Fund are distributed at least annually.

Most investors typically have their income dividends and other distributions (each a “distribution”) paid by the Fund reinvested in additional shares of the Fund. If you choose this option, or if you do not indicate any choice, your distributions will be reinvested. Alternatively, you may choose to have your distributions of $10 or more sent directly to your bank account or paid to you by check. However, if a distribution is less than $10, your proceeds will be reinvested. If five or more of your distribution checks remain uncashed after 180 days, all subsequent distributions may be reinvested. For federal income tax purposes, distributions to shareholders (other than qualified retirement plans and accounts and other tax-exempt investors) are taxable and are treated the same whether they are received in cash or reinvested.

Taxes. The Fund intends to operate in a manner such that it will continue to qualify for treatment as a “regulated investment company” under Subchapter M of Chapter 1, Subtitle A, of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and will not be liable for federal income or excise taxes on net income and net realized gains that it distributes.

The Fund’s distributions of net investment income, the excess of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss, and certain net foreign currency gains are taxable to you as ordinary income, except as noted below. The Fund’s distributions of net capital gain (that is, the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss), if any, are taxable to you as long-term capital gain, regardless of how long you have held your shares. Distributions may also be subject to state and local income taxes. Some Fund distributions may also include a nontaxable so-called “return of capital,” which will reduce your tax basis in your Fund shares and is treated as gain from the sale of the shares to the extent that it exceeds your basis.

The Fund’s dividends attributable to its “qualified dividend income” (i.e., dividends received on stock of most domestic and certain foreign corporations with respect to which the Fund satisfies certain holding period and other restrictions) generally will be subject to federal income tax for individual and certain other non-corporate shareholders (each, an “individual shareholder”) who satisfy those restrictions with respect to their Fund shares at the rates for net capital gain – a maximum of 15% for non-corporate shareholders with taxable income not exceeding certain thresholds (which will be adjusted for inflation annually) and 20% for non-corporate shareholders with taxable income exceeding such thresholds. A portion of the Fund’s dividends also may be eligible for the dividends-received deduction allowed to corporations; the eligible portion may not exceed the aggregate dividends the Fund receives from domestic corporations subject to federal income tax (thus excluding, among others, real estate investment trusts) and excludes dividends from foreign corporations, subject to similar restrictions. Tax laws and rates may change over time. Please consult a tax professional for more information.

Generally, Fund distributions are taxable to you in the year you receive them. However, any distributions that are declared in October, November or December to shareholders of record in such a month but paid in January generally are taxable as if received on December 31.

A distribution reduces the NAV of the Fund’s shares by the amount of the distribution. If you purchase shares prior to a distribution, you are taxed on the full amount of the distribution even though it represents a partial return of your investment.

A sale (redemption) of Fund shares is a taxable event for federal income tax purposes. You will recognize a gain or loss on the transaction equal to the difference, if any, between the amount of your net redemption proceeds and your tax basis in the redeemed Fund shares. The gain or loss will be capital gain or loss if you held the Fund shares as capital assets. Any capital gain or loss will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if you held the Fund shares for more than one year at the time of the redemption, and any such gain will be taxed to individual shareholders at the 15% or 20% maximum federal income tax rates mentioned above. Any capital loss arising from a redemption of Fund shares held for six months or less, however, will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of the amount of net capital gain distributions received with respect to those shares.

Withholding Tax. If an individual shareholder fails to certify that the TIN furnished to the Fund is correct or furnishes an incorrect number, the Fund must withhold and remit to the U.S. Treasury Department 24% of dividends, capital gain distributions, and redemption proceeds (regardless of whether the shareholder realizes a gain or loss) otherwise payable to the shareholder (together with the withholding described in the next sentence, “backup withholding”). Withholding at that rate also is required from the Fund’s dividends and capital gain distributions otherwise payable to such a shareholder who is subject to backup withholding for any other reason. Backup withholding is not an additional tax, and any amounts so withheld may be credited against a shareholder’s federal income tax liability or refunded.

A Fund shareholder who wants to use the average basis method for determining basis in Fund shares that he or she acquired or acquires after December 31, 2011 (“Covered Shares”) must elect to do so in writing (which may be electronic). If a Fund shareholder fails to affirmatively elect the average basis method, the basis determination will be made in accordance with the Fund’s default method, which is first-in first-out. If, however, a Fund shareholder wishes to use a different method accepted by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) for basis determination (e.g., a specific identification method), the shareholder may elect to do so. The basis determination method that a Fund shareholder elects may not be changed with respect to a redemption (including a redemption that is part of an exchange) of Covered Shares after the settlement date of the redemption.

In addition to the requirement to report the gross proceeds from a redemption of shares, the Fund (or its administrative agent) must report to the IRS and furnish to its shareholders the basis information for Covered Shares and indicate whether they had a short-term (one year or less) or long-term (more than one year) holding period. Fund shareholders should consult with their tax advisors to determine the best IRS-accepted basis determination method for their tax situation and to obtain more information about how the basis reporting law applies to them.

An individual shareholder whose “modified adjusted gross income” exceeds a threshold amount ($250,000 for married persons filing jointly and $200,000 for single taxpayers) (“Excess”) is required to pay a 3.8% federal tax on the lesser of (1) the Excess or (2) the individual shareholder’s “net investment income,” which generally includes dividends, interest, and net gains from the disposition of investment property (including distributions the Fund pays and net gains realized on a redemption of Fund shares). This tax is in addition to any other taxes due on that income. Shareholders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the effect, if any, this provision may have on their investment in Fund shares.

After December 31 of each year, the Fund will mail to its shareholders reports containing information about the federal income tax status of distributions paid during the year. For further information about the tax effects of investing in the Fund, please see the SAI and consult your tax advisor.

Organization. The Trust is a Delaware statutory trust, and the Fund is a series thereof. The Fund does not expect to hold shareholders’ meetings unless required by federal or Delaware law. Shareholders of each series of the Trust are entitled to vote at shareholders’ meetings unless a matter relates only to a specific series (such as the approval of an advisory agreement for the Fund). From time to time, large shareholders may control the Fund or the Trust.

Additional Information. The Trust enters into contractual arrangements with various parties, including, among others, the Fund’s investment advisor, sub-advisor(s) (if applicable), custodian, principal underwriter and transfer agent who provide services to the Fund. Shareholders are not parties to any such contractual arrangements or intended beneficiaries of those contractual arrangements, and those contractual arrangements are not intended to create in any shareholder any right to enforce them against the service providers or to seek any remedy under them against the service providers, either directly or on behalf of the Trust.

This Prospectus provides information concerning the Fund that you should consider in determining whether to purchase Fund shares. Neither this Prospectus, the SAI nor any other communication to shareholders is intended, or should be read, to be or give rise to an agreement or contract between the Trust, its trustees or any series of the Trust, including the Fund, and any investor, or to give rise to any rights in any shareholder or other person other than any rights under federal or state law that may not be waived.

Financial Highlights

The financial highlights table is 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 for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 has been audited by Cohen & Company, Ltd., the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the Fund’s financial statements, are included in the annual report dated December 31, 2023, which is available upon request. Prior fiscal years were audited by BBD, LLP, the Fund’s prior independent registered public accounting firm. These financial highlights reflect selected data for a share outstanding throughout each year.

Annual and Semi-Annual Reports 

Additional information about the Fund’s investments is available in the Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. In the Fund’s annual report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund’s performance during its last fiscal year.

Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) 

The SAI provides additional information about the Fund and is incorporated by reference into, and is legally part of, this Prospectus.

Contacting the Fund 

You may obtain free copies of the annual and semi-annual reports and the SAI, request other information and discuss your questions about the Fund by contacting the Fund at:

The BeeHive Fund

P.O. Box 588

Portland, Maine 04112

(866) 684-4915 (toll free)

The Fund’s Prospectus, SAI and annual and semi-annual reports are available, without charge, on the Fund's website at: www.TheBeeHiveFund.com.

Securities and Exchange Commission Information 

Fund information, including copies of the annual and semi-annual reports and the SAI, is available on the SEC’s EDGAR database website at www.sec.gov.

You may also obtain copies of this information, for a duplication fee, by sending an email request to publicinfo@sec.gov.

237-PRU-0524

Investment Company Act File No. 811-03023

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

May 1, 2024

The BeeHive Fund

(BEEHX)

Investment Advisor:

Cannell & Spears LLC 

545 Madison Avenue, 11th Floor 

New York, New York 10022

Account Information and Shareholder Services:

The BeeHive Fund

P.O. Box 588

Portland, Maine 04112 

(866) 684-4915 (toll free)

BeeHiveFund.ta@apexgroup.com

www.TheBeeHiveFund.com

This Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”) supplements the prospectus dated May 1, 2024, as it may be amended from time to time (the “Prospectus”), offering shares of The BeeHive Fund (the “Fund”), a separate series of Forum Funds (the “Trust”). This SAI is not a prospectus and should only be read in conjunction with the Prospectus. You may obtain the Prospectus without charge by contacting Apex Fund Services (d/b/a Apex) (“Apex Fund Services”, “Apex” or “Administrator”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Apex US Holdings LLC, at the address, telephone number or e-mail address listed above. You may also obtain the Prospectus on the Fund’s website listed above. This SAI is incorporated by reference into the Fund’s Prospectus. In other words, it is legally a part of the Prospectus.

Financial statements for the Fund for the year ended December 31, 2023 are included in the Annual Report to shareholders and are incorporated into this SAI by reference. Copies of the Fund’s Annual Report and Semi-Annual Report may be obtained without charge and upon request, by contacting Apex at the address, telephone number or e-mail address listed above. You may also obtain copies of the Fund’s most recent Annual Report and Semi-Annual Report on the Fund’s website listed above.

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

KEY DEFINED TERMS

As used in this SAI, the following terms have the meanings listed.

“1933 Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, including rules, regulations, SEC interpretations, and any exemptive orders or interpretive relief promulgated thereunder.

“1940 Act” means the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, including rules, regulations, SEC interpretations, and any exemptive orders or interpretive relief promulgated thereunder.

“Advisor” means Cannell & Spears LLC, the Fund’s investment advisor.

“Board” means the Board of Trustees of the Trust.

“Independent Trustees” means trustees who are not interested persons of the Trust, as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act.

“IRC” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

“IRS” means the Internal Revenue Service.

“NAV” means net asset value per share.

“RIC” means a domestic corporation qualified as a “regulated investment company” (as defined in Subchapter M of Chapter 1, Subtitle A, of the IRC).

“SEC” means the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 

INVESTMENT POLICIES AND RISKS

The Fund is a diversified open-ended series of the Trust. This section supplements, and should be read in conjunction with, the Prospectus. The following are descriptions of the investments and investment practices that the Fund may pursue (in addition to those described in the Prospectus) and the associated risks. Please see the Prospectus for a discussion of the Fund’s investment objective, principal investment strategies and principal risks.

A. Security Ratings Information

The Fund’s investments in fixed-income, preferred stock and convertible securities are subject to the credit risk relating to the financial condition of the issuers of the securities. The Fund may invest in investment grade securities and non-investment grade securities. Investment grade means rated in the top four long-term rating categories or unrated and determined by the Advisor to be of comparable quality. Unrated securities may not be as actively traded as rated securities. The lowest ratings that are investment grade for corporate bonds, including convertible securities, are “Baa” in the case of Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) and “BBB” in the cases of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services, LLC, a division of the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (“S&P”), and Fitch, Inc. (“Fitch”); for preferred stock the lowest ratings are “Baa” in the case of Moody’s and “BBB” in the cases of S&P and Fitch.

Moody’s, S&P, Fitch and other organizations, together known as Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (“NRSROs”), provide ratings of the credit quality of debt obligations, including convertible securities. The Advisor may use these ratings to determine whether to purchase, sell or hold a security. Ratings are general and are not absolute standards of quality. Credit ratings attempt to evaluate the safety of principal and interest payments and do not evaluate the risks of fluctuations in market value. An issuer’s current financial condition may be better or worse than a rating indicates.

B. Equity Securities

Equity Securities. Equity securities in which the Fund may invest include common stocks, preferred stocks, convertible securities, warrants, rights and depositary receipts. Common stocks are the most familiar type of equity security. Common stocks generally represent the riskiest investment in a company. Different types of equity securities provide different voting and dividend rights and priority in the event of the bankruptcy and/or insolvency of a company.

Common stocks and preferred stocks represent shares of ownership in a company. Preferred stocks usually have specific dividends and rank after bonds and before common stock in claims on assets of the corporation should it be dissolved. Increases and decreases in earnings are usually reflected in a company’s stock price. Convertible securities are debt or preferred equity securities convertible into common stock. Usually, convertible securities pay dividends or interest at rates higher than common stock, but lower than other securities. Convertible securities usually participate to some extent in the appreciation or depreciation of the underlying stock into which they are convertible. Depositary receipts typically are issued by banks or trust companies and evidence ownership of underlying equity securities. Warrants are options to buy a stated number of shares of common stock at a specified price anytime during the life of the warrants.

While past performance does not guarantee future results, equity securities historically have provided the greatest long-term growth potential of an investment in a company. However, stock markets are volatile, and the value of securities held by the Fund will be affected by changes in the company’s financial condition, economic and political conditions, and the stock markets, which may be the result of domestic or international political or economic news, changes in interest rates or changing investor sentiment. Other factors may also affect a particular stock’s prices, such as poor earnings reports by an issuer, loss of major customers, major litigation against an issuer, or changes in governmental regulations affecting an industry. The equity securities of smaller companies are more sensitive to these changes than those of larger companies. The Fund may experience a substantial or complete loss on an equity investment.

Convertible Securities. A convertible security is a bond, debenture, note, preferred stock, or other security or debt obligation that may be converted into or exchanged for a given amount of common stock of the same or a different issuer during a specified period and at a specified price or formula in the future. Convertible securities generally have features of, and risks associated with, both equity and fixed income instruments. As such, the value of most convertible securities will vary with changes in the price of, and will be subject to the risks associated with, the underlying common stock. Additionally, convertible securities are also subject to the risk that the issuer may not be able to pay principal or interest when due.

A convertible security entitles the holder to receive interest on debt or the dividend on preferred stock until the convertible security matures or is redeemed, converted or exchanged. Before conversion, such securities ordinarily provide a stream of income with generally higher yields than common stocks of the same or similar issuers, but lower than the yield on non-convertible debt.

Convertible securities rank senior to common stock in a company’s capital structure but are usually subordinated to comparable non-convertible securities. Convertible securities are often rated below investment grade or not rated because they fall below debt obligations and just above common equity in order of preference or priority on an issuer’s balance sheet. Convertible securities have unique investment characteristics in that they generally: (1) are less subject to fluctuation in value than the underlying common stock since they have fixed-income characteristics; and (2) provide the potential for capital appreciation if the market price of the underlying common stock increases.

The value of a convertible security is a function of (1) its yield in comparison to the yields of other securities of comparable maturity and quality that do not have a conversion privilege and (2) its worth if converted into the underlying common stock. The value of a convertible security is influenced by interest rate changes, with investment values declining as interest rates increase and increasing as interest rates decline. The credit standing of the issuer and other factors also may have an effect on the convertible security’s investment value.

If the convertible security’s “conversion value,” which is the market value of the underlying common stock that would be obtained upon the conversion of the convertible security, is substantially below the “investment value,” which is the value of a convertible security viewed without regard to its conversion feature (i.e., strictly on the basis of its yield), the price of the convertible security is governed principally by its investment value. If the conversion value of a convertible security increases to a point that approximates or exceeds its investment value, the value of the security will be principally influenced by its conversion value. A convertible security will sell at a premium over its conversion value to the extent investors place value on the right to acquire the underlying common stock while holding an income-producing security.

A convertible security may be subject to redemption at the option of the issuer at a price established in the convertible security’s governing instrument. If a convertible security is called for redemption, the Fund will be required to permit the issuer to redeem the security, convert it into the underlying common stock or sell it to a third party, which may adversely impact the Fund.

Warrants and Rights. Warrants are securities permitting, but not obligating, their holder to subscribe for other securities or commodities and provide the Fund with the right to purchase at a later date other securities of the issuer. Rights are similar to warrants but typically are issued by a company to existing holders of its stock and provide those holders the right to purchase additional shares of stock at a later date. Rights also normally have a shorter duration than warrants.

Warrants and rights do not carry with them the right to dividends or voting rights with respect to the securities that they entitle their holder to purchase, and they do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuer. Warrants and rights may be more speculative than certain other types of investments and entail risks that are not associated with a similar investment in a traditional equity instrument.

The Fund will limit its purchases of warrants to not more than 5% of the value of its net assets. The Fund may also invest up to 5% of its net assets in stock rights.

Investments in warrants and rights also involve certain risks, including the possible lack of a liquid market for the resale of the warrants and rights, potential price fluctuations due to adverse market conditions or other factors and failure of the price of the common stock to rise. If the warrant or right is not exercised within the specified time period, it becomes worthless.

Depositary Receipts. Depositary receipts represent ownership interests in securities of foreign companies (an “underlying issuer”) that have been deposited with a bank or trust and that trade on an exchange or over-the-counter. Depositary receipts are not necessarily denominated in the same currency as the underlying securities. Depositary receipts include American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), European Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”), and Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”), among other instruments. Depositary receipts involve many of the same risks of investing directly in foreign securities, including currency risks and risks of foreign investing.

Depositary receipts may be sponsored or unsponsored. Unsponsored depositary receipts may be created without the participation of the foreign issuer. Holders of these receipts generally bear all the costs of the depositary receipt facility, whereas foreign issuers typically bear certain costs in a sponsored depositary receipt. Further, issuers of securities underlying unsponsored depositary receipts have no obligation to disclose material information in the U.S. Accordingly, available information concerning such an issuer may not be current, and the prices of unsponsored depositary receipts may be more volatile than the prices of sponsored depositary receipts.

ADRs typically are issued by a United States of America (“U.S.”) bank or trust company, evidence ownership of underlying securities issued by a foreign company, and are designed for use in the U.S. securities markets. Most ADRs are denominated

in U.S. dollars and are traded on a U.S. stock exchange. However, they are subject to the risk of fluctuation in the currency exchange rate if, as is often the case, the underlying securities are denominated in foreign currency. Also, the securities underlying ADRs typically trade on foreign exchanges at times when the U.S. markets are not open for trading. As a result, the value of ADRs representing those underlying securities may change materially at times when the U.S. markets are not open for trading.

EDRs are receipts issued by European financial institutions. They are often denominated in a foreign currency and typically trade in Europe. GDRs are receipts issued by either a U.S. or non-U.S. banking institution evidencing its ownership of the underlying foreign securities and are often denominated in U.S. dollars. IDRs are receipts typically issued by a foreign bank or trust company evidencing its ownership of the underlying foreign securities.

The Fund will not invest in any depositary receipts that the Advisor deems to be illiquid or for which pricing information is not readily available.

C. Debt Securities

Although, under normal market conditions, the Fund primarily invests in equity securities, the Fund also reserves the right to invest in the following types of debt securities.

Corporate Debt Obligations. Corporate debt obligations include corporate bonds, debentures, notes, commercial paper and other similar corporate debt instruments. Companies use these instruments to borrow money from investors. The issuer pays the investor a fixed or variable rate of interest and must repay the amount borrowed at maturity. Commercial paper (short-term unsecured promissory note) is issued by companies to finance their current obligations and normally has a maturity of less than nine months. In addition, the Fund may invest in corporate debt securities registered and sold in the U.S. by foreign issuers (sometimes called Yankee bonds) and those sold outside the U.S. by foreign or U.S. issuers (sometimes called Eurobonds). To the extent that it invests in corporate debt obligations, the Fund intends to restrict its purchases of these securities to issues denominated and payable in U.S. dollars. The Fund may only invest in commercial paper that is rated in one of the two highest short-term rating categories or, if unrated, is judged by the Advisor to be of comparable quality.

The Fund also may invest in lower-rated or high-yield corporate debt obligations (commonly known as junk bonds). Investment grade corporate bonds are those rated BBB or better by S&P or Baa or better by Moody’s. Securities rated BBB by S&P are considered investment grade, but Moody’s considers securities rated Baa to have speculative characteristics. Junk bonds generally offer a higher current yield than that available for higher grade debt obligations. However, lower rated or unrated debt obligations involve higher risks, in that they are especially subject to adverse changes in general economic conditions and in the industries in which the issuers are engaged, to changes in the financial condition of the issuers and to price fluctuations in response to changes in interest rates.

Financial Institution Obligations. Obligations of financial institutions include, among other things, negotiable certificates of deposit and bankers’ acceptances. To the extent that the Fund invests in financial institution obligations, it may invest in negotiable certificates of deposit and bankers’ acceptances issued by commercial banks doing business in the U.S. that have, at the time of investment, total assets in excess of one billion dollars and are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. A certificate of deposit represents an institution’s obligation to repay funds deposited with it that earn a specified interest rate over a given period. A bankers’ acceptance is a negotiable obligation of a bank to pay a draft that has been drawn by a customer and is usually backed by goods in international trade. A certificate of deposit that is payable on the stated maturity date and bears a fixed rate of interest generally may be withdrawn on demand by the Fund but may be subject to early withdrawal penalties that would negatively impact the Fund’s performance.

U.S. Government Securities. U.S. Government securities include securities issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and by U.S. Government agencies and instrumentalities. U.S. Government securities may be supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. (such as mortgage-related securities and certificates of Ginnie Mae and securities of the Small Business Administration), by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, by the discretionary authority of the U.S. Department of the Treasury to lend to the issuer or by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s commitment to support the issuer’s net worth through preferred stock purchases (such as the securities issued by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac).

U.S. Government securities not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S., and holders must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing the obligation for repayment and may not be able to assert a claim against the U.S. in the event that the agency or instrumentality does not meet its commitment. No assurance can be given that the U.S. Government

would provide support if it were not obligated to do so by law. Neither the U.S. Government nor any of its agencies or instrumentalities guarantees the market value of the securities that it issues.

Mortgage-Backed Securities. Mortgage-backed securities represent direct or indirect participations in or are secured by and payable from pools of mortgage loans. Those securities may be guaranteed by a U.S. Government agency or instrumentality (such as Ginnie Mae), issued and guaranteed by government-sponsored stockholder-owned corporations, though not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. (such as Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac) or issued by fully private issuers. Private issuers are generally originators of and investors in mortgage loans and include savings associations, mortgage bankers, commercial banks, investment bankers and special purpose entities. Private mortgage-backed securities may be supported by U.S. Government agency mortgage-backed securities or some form of non-governmental credit enhancement.

Government-related guarantors (i.e., those not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government) include Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Fannie Mae is a government-sponsored corporation owned by stockholders. It is subject to general regulation by the Federal Housing Finance Authority. Fannie Mae purchases residential mortgages from a list of approved sellers and servicers that include state and federally chartered savings and loan associations, mutual savings banks, commercial banks and credit unions and mortgage bankers. Fannie Mae guarantees the timely payment of principal and interest on pass-through securities that it issues, but those securities are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government.

Freddie Mac is a government-sponsored corporation formerly owned by the twelve Federal Home Loan Banks and now owned by stockholders. Freddie Mac issues Participation Certificates (“PCs”), which represent interests in mortgages from Freddie Mac’s national portfolio. Freddie Mac guarantees the timely payment of interest and the ultimate collection of principal on the PCs that it issues, but those PCs are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government.

In 2008, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had been placed in conservatorship. Since 2009, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have received significant capital support through U.S. Department of the Treasury stock purchases. The continuing commitment of the U.S. Department of the Treasury is critical to the solvency of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. No assurance can be given that the Federal Reserve or the U.S. Department of the Treasury will ensure that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac remain successful in meeting their obligations with respect to the debt and mortgage-backed securities that they issue. In March 2019, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association voted to support a single mortgage-backed bond for FNMA and FHLMC that would combine two products that they previously issued separately. The single security launched in June 2019.

Variable and Floating Rate Securities. Debt securities have variable or floating rates of interest and, under certain limited circumstances, may have varying principal amounts. These securities pay interest at rates that are adjusted periodically according to a specified formula, usually with reference to one or more interest rate indices or market interest rates called the underlying index. The interest paid on these securities is a function primarily of the underlying index upon which the interest rate adjustments are based. These adjustments minimize changes in the market value of the obligation. Similar to fixed-rate debt instruments, variable and floating rate instruments are subject to changes in value based on changes in market interest rates or changes in the issuer’s creditworthiness. The rate of interest on securities may be tied to U.S. Government securities, indices on those securities or another rate of interest or index. Certain variable-rate securities pay interest at a rate that varies inversely to prevailing short-term interest rates (sometimes called inverse floaters). Inverse floaters may have an interest rate reset mechanism that multiplies the effects of changes in the underlying index. This mechanism may increase the volatility of the security’s market value while increasing the security’s yield.

Variable and floating-rate demand notes of corporations are redeemable upon a specified period of notice. These obligations include master demand notes that permit investment of fluctuating amounts at varying interest rates under direct arrangements with the issuer of the instrument. The issuer of these obligations often has the right, after a given period, to prepay the outstanding principal amount of the obligations upon a specified number of days’ notice. Certain securities may have an initial principal amount that varies over time based on an interest rate index, and, accordingly, the Fund might be entitled to less than the initial principal amount of the security upon maturity. The Fund intends to purchase these securities only when the Advisor believes that the interest income from the instrument justifies any principal risks associated with the instrument. The Advisor may attempt to limit any potential loss of principal by purchasing similar instruments that are intended to provide an offsetting increase in principal. There can be no assurance that the Advisor will be able to limit the effects of principal fluctuations, and accordingly, the Fund may incur losses on those securities even if held to maturity without issuer default.

There may not be an active secondary market for any particular variable or floating rate instrument, which could make it difficult for the Fund to dispose of the instrument during periods that the Fund is not entitled to exercise any demand rights

it may have. The Fund could, for this or other reasons, suffer a loss with respect to those instruments. The Advisor monitors the liquidity of the Fund’s investment in variable and floating rate instruments, but there can be no guarantee that an active secondary market will exist.

General Risks of Debt Securities. The market value of the interest-bearing fixed-income securities held by the Fund will be affected by changes in interest rates. There is normally an inverse relationship between the market value of securities sensitive to prevailing interest rates and actual changes in interest rates. The longer the remaining maturity and duration of a security, the more sensitive the security is to changes in interest rates. All fixed-income securities can change in value when there is a change in interest rates. Given the historically low interest rate environment, including the federal funds rate, risks associated with rising interest rates are heightened. If the Federal Reserve raises the federal funds rate, there is a risk that interest rates across the U.S. financial system will rise, thus impacting fixed-income securities. The fixed-income securities of an issuer will also be affected by changes in the ability of the issuer to make payments of interest and principal and changes in market perception of the issuer’s creditworthiness. As a result, an investment in the Fund is subject to risk, even if all fixed-income securities in the Fund’s investment portfolio are paid in full at maturity. In addition, certain fixed-income securities may be subject to extension risk, which refers to the change in total return on a security resulting from an extension or abbreviation of the security’s maturity.

Yields on fixed-income securities are dependent on a variety of factors, including the general conditions of the fixed-income securities markets, the size of a particular offering, the maturity of the obligation and the rating of the issue. Fixed-income securities with longer maturities tend to produce higher yields and are generally subject to greater price movements than obligations with shorter maturities.

The issuers of fixed-income securities are subject to the provisions of bankruptcy, insolvency and other laws affecting the rights and remedies of creditors that may restrict the ability of the issuer to pay, when due, the principal of and interest on its fixed-income securities. The possibility exists therefore, that, as a result of bankruptcy, litigation or other conditions, the ability of an issuer to pay, when due, the principal of and interest on its fixed-income securities may become impaired.

Credit Risk of Debt Securities. The Fund’s investments in fixed-income securities are subject to credit risk relating to the financial condition of the issuers of the securities that the Fund holds. The Fund may purchase unrated securities if the Advisor determines that the security is of comparable quality to a rated security that the Fund may purchase. Unrated securities may not be as actively traded as rated securities.

Non-Investment Grade Securities. The Fund may invest in securities rated below the fourth highest rating category or which are unrated. Such high-risk securities (commonly referred to as junk bonds) are not considered to be investment grade and are inherently speculative. Non-investment grade, high-risk securities provide poor protection for payment of principal and interest but may have greater potential for capital appreciation than do higher quality securities. These lower rated securities involve greater risk of default or price changes due to changes in the issuers’ creditworthiness than do higher quality securities. The market for these securities may be thinner and less active than that for higher quality securities, which may affect the price at which the lower rated securities can be sold. In addition, the market prices of lower rated securities may fluctuate more than the market prices of higher quality securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty or rising interest rates.

D. Illiquid and Restricted Securities

The Fund may not acquire securities or invest in repurchase agreements if, as a result, more than 15% of the Fund’s net assets (taken at current value) would be invested in illiquid securities. Generally, an illiquid security is any investment that may not reasonably be expected to 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 securities may be difficult for the Fund to value or dispose of due to the absence of an active trading market. Illiquid securities include unregistered and “restricted securities,” and repurchase agreements maturing in greater than seven days.

Restricted securities generally may be resold to the public pursuant to an effective registration statement under the 1933 Act or an exemption from registration. Regulation S under the 1933 Act is one exemption from registration. It permits, under certain circumstances, the resale of restricted securities in offshore transactions. Rule 144A under the 1933 Act is another exemption. It permits the resale of certain restricted securities to qualified institutional buyers. Since its adoption by the SEC in 1990, Rule 144A has facilitated trading of restricted securities among qualified institutional investors. To the extent restricted securities held by the Fund qualify under Rule 144A and an institutional market develops for those securities, the Fund expects that it will be able to dispose of the securities without registering the resale of such securities under the

1933 Act. However, to the extent that a robust market for Rule 144A securities does not develop, or a market develops but experiences periods of illiquidity, investments in Rule 144A securities could increase the level of the Fund’s illiquidity.

If an exemption from registration under the 1933 Act is unavailable, or if an institutional market is limited, the Fund may, in certain circumstances, be permitted to require the issuer of restricted securities held by the Fund to file a registration statement to register the resale of such securities under the 1933 Act. In such a case, the Fund will typically be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expenses, and a considerable period may elapse between the decision to sell and the time that the Fund is permitted to resell the security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, or the value of the security were to decline, the Fund might obtain a less favorable price than prevailed when it decided to sell. Restricted securities for which no market exists are priced at fair value pursuant to a methodology approved by the Board.

Determination of Liquidity. Rule 22e-4 under the 1940 Act requires, among other things, that the Fund establish a liquidity risk management program (“LRMP”) that is reasonably designed to assess and manage liquidity risk. Rule 22e-4 defines “liquidity risk” as the risk that a fund could not meet requests to redeem shares issued by the fund without significant dilution of the remaining investors’ interests in the fund. The Fund has implemented a LRMP to meet the relevant requirements. Additionally, the Board, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, has approved the designation of the Fund’s LRMP administrator to administer the LRMP and will review no less frequently than annually a written report prepared by the LRMP administrator that addresses the operation of the LRMP and assesses its adequacy and effectiveness of implementation. Among other things, the LRMP provides for the classification of each Fund investment as a “highly liquid investment,” “moderately liquid investment,” “less liquid investment” or “illiquid investment.” The liquidity risk classifications of the Fund's investments are determined after reasonable inquiry and taking into account relevant market, trading and investment-specific considerations. To the extent that a Fund investment is deemed to be an “illiquid investment” or a “less liquid investment,” the Fund can expect to be exposed to greater illiquidity risk.

E. Foreign Securities

Investments in the securities of foreign issuers may involve risks in addition to those normally associated with investments in the securities of U.S. issuers. Foreign issuers are issuers organized and doing business principally outside the United States. All foreign investments are subject to risks of (1) foreign political and economic instability (2) adverse movements in foreign exchange rates (3) the imposition or tightening of exchange controls or other limitations on repatriation of foreign capital and (4) changes in foreign governmental attitudes towards private investment, including potential nationalization, increased taxation or confiscation of the Fund’s assets.

The governments of certain countries may prohibit or impose substantial restrictions on foreign investing in their capital markets or in certain industries. Other risks of investing in such securities include political or economic instability in the country involved, the difficulty of predicting international trade patterns and the possibility of imposition of exchange controls or limitations on the removal of funds or assets. The prices of such securities may be more volatile than those of domestic securities. With respect to certain foreign countries, there is a possibility of expropriation of assets or nationalization, imposition of withholding taxes on dividend or interest payments, difficulty in obtaining and enforcing judgments against foreign entities or diplomatic developments which could affect investment in these countries. Legal remedies available to investors in certain foreign countries may be less extensive than those available to investors in the United States or other foreign countries.

Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by government authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging or less-developed market countries than in countries with more developed markets. Trading suspensions may be applied from time to time to the securities of individual issuers for reasons specific to that issuer, or may be applied broadly by exchanges or governmental authorities in response to market events. Suspensions may last for significant periods of time. The Fund’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Fund could incur significant losses.

Dividends and interest payable on foreign securities may be subject to foreign withholding taxes, thereby reducing the income available for distribution or reinvestment by the Fund. Some foreign brokerage commission and custody fees are higher than in the U.S. Foreign accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards differ from those in the U.S. and therefore, less information may be available about foreign companies than is available about issuers of comparable U.S. companies. Foreign securities also may trade less frequently and with lower volume and may exhibit greater price volatility than U.S. securities.

Changes in foreign exchange rates will affect the U.S. dollar value of all foreign currency-denominated securities held by the Fund. Losses and other expenses may be incurred in converting between various currencies in connection with purchases and sales of foreign securities. Generally, when the U.S. dollar rises in value against a foreign currency, a security denominated in that currency loses value because the currency is worth fewer U.S. dollars. Conversely, when the U.S. dollar decreases in value against a foreign currency, a security denominated in that currency gains value because the currency is worth more U.S. dollars. This risk, generally known as “currency risk,” means that a stronger U.S. dollar will reduce returns for U.S. investors while a weak U.S. dollar will increase those returns. Exchange rates are influenced generally by the forces of supply and demand in the foreign currency markets and by numerous other political and economic events occurring outside the U.S., many of which may be difficult, if not impossible, to predict.

Income from foreign securities may be received and realized in foreign currencies, even though the Fund is required to compute and distribute income in U.S. dollars. Accordingly, a decline in the value of a particular foreign currency against the U.S. dollar after the Fund’s income has been earned and computed in U.S. dollars may require the Fund to liquidate portfolio securities to acquire sufficient U.S. dollars to make a distribution. Similarly, if the exchange rate declines between the time the Fund incurs expenses in U.S. dollars and the time such expenses are paid, the Fund may be required to liquidate additional foreign securities to purchase the U.S. dollars required to meet such expenses.

Foreign markets have different clearance and settlement procedures. In certain markets, there have been times when settlements have been unable to keep pace with the volume of securities transactions, making it difficult to conduct such transactions. Delays in settlement could result in temporary periods when a portion of the assets of the Fund are uninvested and no return is earned thereon. The inability of the Fund to make intended security purchases due to settlement problems could cause the Fund to miss attractive investment opportunities. Inability to dispose of portfolio securities due to settlement problems could result in losses to the Fund due to subsequent declines in value of the securities or, if the Fund has entered into a contract to sell the securities, could result in possible liability to the purchaser. The inability of the Fund to settle security purchases or sales due to settlement problems could cause the Fund to pay additional expenses, such as interest charges.

If the Fund invests in foreign securities, it will be subject to the risk that its share price may be exposed to arbitrage attempts by investors seeking to capitalize on differences in the values of foreign securities trading on foreign exchanges that may close before the time the Fund’s net asset value is determined. If such arbitrage attempts are successful, the Fund’s net asset value might be diluted. The use of fair value pricing in certain circumstances (by adjusting the closing market prices of foreign securities to reflect what the Board believes to be their fair value) may help deter such arbitrage activities. The effect of such fair value pricing is that foreign securities may not be priced on the basis of quotations from the primary foreign securities market in which they are traded, but rather may be priced by another method that the Board believes reflects fair value. As such, fair value pricing is based on subjective judgment and it is possible that fair value may differ materially from the value realized on a sale of a foreign security. It is also possible that use of fair value pricing will be inaccurate and/or limit an investment adviser’s ability to implement an investment strategy.

F. Leveraged Transactions

The Fund may use leverage to increase potential returns. Leverage involves special risks and may involve speculative investment techniques. Leverage exists when cash made available to the Fund through an investment technique is used to make additional Fund investments. Leverage transactions include borrowings for other than temporary or emergency purposes, purchasing securities on margin (borrowing money from a bank to purchase securities), selling securities short (selling securities that are not owned), lending portfolio securities, and entering into reverse repurchase agreements, dollar rolls and purchasing securities on a when-issued, delayed delivery or forward commitment basis.

The risks of leverage include a higher volatility of the NAV of the Fund’s shares, which may be magnified by favorable or adverse market movements or changes in the cost of cash obtained by leveraging and the yield from invested cash. So long as the Fund is able to realize a net return on its investment portfolio that is higher than interest expense incurred, if any, leverage will result in higher current net investment income for the Fund than if the Fund were not leveraged. Changes in interest rates and related economic factors could cause the relationship between the cost of leverage and the yield to change, so that rates involved in the leveraging arrangement may substantially increase relative to the yield on the obligations in which the proceeds of the leveraging have been invested. To the extent that the interest expense involved in leveraging approaches the net return on the Fund’s investment portfolio, the benefit of leveraging will be reduced. If the interest expense incurred as a result of leveraging were to exceed the net return to investors, the Fund’s use of leverage would result in a lower rate of return than if the Fund were not leveraged. In an extreme case, if the Fund’s current investment income were not sufficient to meet the interest expense of leveraging, it could be necessary for the Fund to liquidate some of its investments at an inappropriate time.

Securities Lending and Repurchase Agreements. The Fund may lend portfolio securities for income to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions. In a portfolio securities lending transaction, the Fund receives from the borrower an amount equal to the interest paid or the dividends declared on the loaned securities during the term of the loan and the interest on the collateral securities, less any fees (such as finders or administrative fees) that the Fund pays to arrange the loan. The Fund may share the interest that it receives on the collateral securities with the borrower. Loans are subject to termination at the option of the Fund or the borrower at any time, and the borrowed securities must be returned when the loan is terminated.

The Fund may pay fees to arrange for securities loans. The Fund may enter into repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements are transactions in which the Fund purchases a security and simultaneously agrees to resell that security to the seller at an agreed-upon price on an agreed-upon future date, normally one to seven days later. If the Fund enters into a repurchase agreement, it will maintain possession of the purchased securities and any underlying collateral.

Securities loans and repurchase agreements must be continuously collateralized, and the collateral must have a market value at least equal to the value of the Fund’s loaned securities or, in the case of repurchase agreements, equal to the repurchase price of the securities, in either case plus accrued interest.

Borrowing and Reverse Repurchase Agreements. The Fund is permitted to borrow from any bank, so long as, immediately after such borrowings, there is an asset coverage of at least 300%. If the asset coverage falls below this percentage, the Fund shall reduce the amount of its borrowings within three days (excluding Sundays and holidays) so that asset coverage is at least 300%. The Fund may borrow money from a bank to, among other things, finance the purchase of securities for its portfolio. Pledging securities and purchasing securities on a when-issued, delayed-delivery or forward-delivery basis are subject to this limitation. The Fund will not invest more than 5% of its net assets in reverse repurchase agreements. A reverse repurchase agreement is a transaction in which the Fund sells securities to a bank or securities dealer and simultaneously commits to repurchase the securities from the bank or dealer at an agreed-upon date and at a price reflecting a market rate of interest unrelated to the sold securities. An investment of the Fund’s assets in reverse repurchase agreements will increase the volatility of the Fund’s NAV. A counterparty to a reverse repurchase agreement must be a primary dealer that reports to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York or one of the largest 100 commercial banks in the United States.

In a reverse repurchase agreement, the Fund sells portfolio securities to another party and agrees to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon price and date, which reflects an interest payment. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the other party may fail to return the securities in a timely manner, or at all, which may result in losses to the Fund. The Fund could lose money if it is unable to recover the securities and the value of the collateral held by the Fund is less than the value of the securities. These events could also trigger adverse tax consequences to the Fund. Reverse repurchase agreements also involve the risk that the market value of the securities sold will decline below the price at which the Fund is obligated to repurchase them. Reverse repurchase agreements may be viewed as a form of borrowing by the Fund. When the Fund enters into a reverse repurchase agreement, any fluctuations in the market value of either the securities transferred to another party or the securities in which the proceeds may be invested would affect the market value of the Fund’s assets. During the term of the reverse repurchase agreement, the Fund may also be obligated to pledge additional cash or securities in the event of a decline in the fair value of the transferred security.

Purchases on Margins. The Fund may not purchase securities on margin, except that the Fund may use short-term credit for the clearance of transactions.

Senior Securities. Senior securities are defined as Fund obligations that have a priority over the Fund’s shares with respect to the payment of dividends or the distribution of Fund assets. Subject to Section 18(f)(1) of the 1940 Act and any rules, regulations and SEC interpretations, and any exemptive orders or interpretive release promulgated thereunder, the Fund may not issue any class of senior security or sell any senior security of which it is the issuer, except that the Fund shall be permitted to borrow from any bank so long as immediately after such borrowings, there is an asset coverage of at least 300% and that in the event such asset coverage falls below this percentage, the Fund shall reduce the amount of its borrowings, within three days (excluding Sundays and holidays), to an extent that the asset coverage shall be at least 300%.

On October 28, 2020, the SEC adopted Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act providing for the regulation of a registered investment company’s use of derivatives and certain related instruments. Among other things, Rule 18f-4 limits a fund’s derivatives exposure through a value-at-risk test and requires the adoption and implementation of a derivatives risk management program for certain derivatives users. Subject to certain conditions, limited derivatives users (as defined in Rule 18f-4), however, are not subject to the full requirements of Rule 18f-4.

Short Sales. The Fund may use short sales for hedging and non-hedging purposes. To effect a short sale, the Fund borrows a security from or through a brokerage firm to make delivery to the buyer. The Fund is then obliged to replace the borrowed security by purchasing it at the market price at the time of replacement. Until the security is replaced, the Fund is required to pay the lender any dividends on the borrowed security and may be required to pay loan fees or interest.

The Fund may realize a gain if the security declines in price between the date of the short sale and the date on which the Fund replaces the borrowed security. The Fund will incur a loss if the price of the security increases between those dates. The amount of any gain will be decreased, and the amount of any loss will be increased, by the amount of any premium or interest the Fund is required to pay in connection with a short sale. A short position may be adversely affected by imperfect correlation between movements in the prices of the securities sold short and the securities being hedged. The Fund may also make short sales against-the-box, in which it sells short securities only if it owns or has the right to obtain without payment of additional consideration an equal amount of the same type of securities sold. The effect of short selling is similar to the effect of leverage. Short selling may amplify changes in the Fund’s NAV. Short selling may also produce higher than normal portfolio turnover, which may result in increased transaction costs to the Fund.

CFTC Regulation. An advisor of a fund trading commodity interests (such as futures contracts, options on futures contracts, non-deliverable forwards, swaps and cash-settled foreign currency contracts) is generally excluded from regulation as a commodity pool operator pursuant to Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) Regulation 4.5. Under Regulation 4.5 exclusion, a fund’s commodity interests (other than those used for bona fide hedging purposes as defined by the CFTC) must be limited so that the aggregate initial margin and premiums required to establish the positions (after taking into account unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions and excluding the amount by which options are in the money at the time of purchase) do not exceed 5% of the fund’s NAV, or alternatively, the aggregate net notional value of the positions, determined at the time that the most recent position was established, does not exceed 100% of the fund’s NAV (after taking into account unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions). Further, to qualify for the exclusion in amended Regulation 4.5, a fund must satisfy a marketing test, which requires, among other things, that the fund not hold itself out as a vehicle for trading commodity interests.

The Fund does not trade any commodity interests, such as futures contracts, options on futures contracts, non-deliverable forwards, swaps and cash-settled foreign currency contracts. Therefore, the Advisor does not need to, and does not, rely on the exclusion in CFTC Regulation 4.5 to avoid regulation as a commodity pool operator.

G. Master-Feeder

The Fund may seek to achieve its investment objective by converting to a master-feeder structure. A fund operating under a master-feeder structure holds, as its only investment, shares of another investment company having substantially the same investment objective and policies. The Board will not authorize conversion to a master-feeder structure if it would materially increase costs to Fund shareholders. The Board will not convert the Fund to a master-feeder structure without notice to the shareholders.

H. Securities of Investment Companies

The Fund at times may invest in shares of other investment companies and exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), including open-end funds, closed-end funds, business development companies (“BDCs”) and interests in unit investment trusts. BDCs are a specialized form of closed-end fund that invest generally in small developing companies and financially troubled businesses. BDCs invest in private companies and thinly traded securities of public companies, including debt instruments. Generally, little public information exists for private and thinly traded companies and there is a risk that investors may not be able to make fully informed investment decisions. Many debt investments in which a BDC may invest will not be rated by a credit rating agency and will be below investment grade quality. Risks faced by BDCs include competition for limited BDC investment opportunities, the liquidity of private investments, uncertainty as to the value of the BDC’s private investments, risks associated with access to capital and leverage and reliance on the management of a BDC. The Fund’s investments in BDCs also involve portfolio company risk, leverage risk, market and valuation risk, price volatility risk and liquidity risk.

The Fund may invest in investment company securities advised by the Fund’s Advisor. Investments in the securities of other investment companies may involve duplication of advisory fees and certain other expenses. By investing in another investment company, the Fund becomes a shareholder of that investment company. As a result, Fund shareholders indirectly

will bear the Fund’s proportionate share of the fees and expenses paid by shareholders of the other investment company, in addition to the fees and expenses that Fund shareholders directly bear in connection with the Fund’s own operations. If applicable, these other fees and expenses are reflected as Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses and are included in the Fees and Expenses Table for the Fund in the Prospectus. Investment in other investment companies may involve the payment of substantial premiums above the value of the investment company’s shares portfolio securities.

An investment in an ETF generally presents the same primary risks as an investment in a conventional mutual fund (i.e., one that is not exchange-traded) that has the same investment objective, strategies, and policies. The price of an ETF can fluctuate within a wide range, and the Fund could lose money investing in an ETF if the prices of the securities owned by the ETF go down. In addition, because ETFs are traded on an exchange, ETFs are subject to the following risks that do not apply to conventional funds: (1) investments in ETPs are also subject to brokerage and other trading costs, which could result in greater expenses to the Fund; (2) the market price of the ETF’s shares may trade at a discount or premium to their NAV per share; (3) an active trading market for an ETF’s shares may not develop or be maintained; and (4) trading of an ETF’s shares may be halted if the listing exchange’s officials deem such action appropriate, the shares are de-listed from the exchange, or the activation of market-wide “circuit breakers” (which are tied to large decreases in stock prices) halts stock trading generally.

Under Section 12(d)(1)(A) of the 1940 Act, however, the Fund’s investments in such securities are generally limited to 3% of the outstanding voting stock of any one company, 5% of the Fund’s total assets in any one company, and 10% of the Fund’s total assets in investment companies generally.

There are, however, several exceptions to these so-called “3/5/10 limits.” For example, under Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act, the Fund may invest more than 5% of its total assets in another investment company and more than 10% of its total assets among multiple investment companies, provided that it and its affiliates limit their investment in an acquired fund to 3% of the acquired fund’s outstanding voting securities and the investing fund limits any sales load it charges to 1.5%. Further, the investing fund must comply with certain redemption and voting restrictions. The Fund may also rely on Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act to invest in acquired funds, and under Rule 12d1-4, acquired funds themselves may invest up to 10% of their assets in other funds.

In addition to investing in other funds, the Fund may invest in exchange-traded products (“ETPs”) other than ETFs, including exchange-traded notes (“ETNs”). ETNs are different from ETFs in that they are not secured by an underlying pool of assets, but rather are notes (or debt securities) secured only by the ability of the issuer to pay.

The Fund may also invest in ETPs that are neither ETFs nor ETNs. These ETPs may be organized as commodity pools registered under the Commodity Exchange Act or as grantor trusts. These ETPs are not registered under the 1940 Act because they invest in, for example, commodities or currencies rather than securities. If the Fund invests in an ETP, including an ETN, it will be subject to substantially similar risks as are discussed above regarding ETFs. Notably, however, the 3/5/10 limits only apply to ETPs that are ETFs. Other types of ETPs are not subject to the 3/5/10 limits. There are, however, other risks associated with investments in ETPs, which are detailed below in “Taxation – Certain Tax Rules Applicable to Fund Transactions.”

I. Cash Management and Temporary Defensive Positions

For temporary defensive purposes, or to manage cash pending investment or payout, the Fund may invest up to 100% of its total assets in cash or cash equivalents in money-market instruments. The Fund also may invest in money-market instruments to increase liquidity or to provide collateral for margin and similar purposes. Such investments typically offer less potential for gain than other types of investments and may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective.

“Money-market instruments” are U.S. government securities and high-quality, short-term debt securities that typically have remaining maturities of one year or less. Securities will be considered “high-quality” if they are rated in one of the two highest short-term rating categories or, if not rated, determined by the Advisor to be of comparable quality. Money-market instruments include certain U.S. government and agency securities, short-term corporate securities and commercial paper, bankers’ acceptances and certificates of deposit issued by domestic banks, corporate notes, money-market funds and repurchase agreements collateralized by the foregoing securities.

Although money-market instruments usually have fixed rates of return, the Fund may invest in money-market instruments that have variable or floating rates of interest, such as master demand notes. Master demand notes permit investment of fluctuating amounts at varying rates of interest pursuant to a direct arrangement with the issuer of the instrument. The issuer of these obligations often has the right, after a given period, to prepay the outstanding principal amount of the obligations

upon a specified number of days’ notice. Generally, these obligations are not traded, nor is there an established secondary market for them. To the extent that a demand note does not have a seven-day or shorter demand feature and there is no readily available market for it, it will be treated by the Fund as an illiquid security.

J. Money Market Instruments

In circumstances in which favorable equity investments are not identified, the Fund typically intends to invest without limit in money market instruments that are of prime quality. Prime quality money market instruments are those instruments that are rated in one of the two highest short-term rating categories or, if not rated, determined by the Advisor to be of comparable quality.

Money market instruments usually have maturities of one year or less and fixed rates of return. The money market instruments in which the Fund may invest include short-term U.S. Government securities, commercial paper, time deposits, bankers’ acceptances and certificates of deposit issued by domestic banks, corporate notes and short-term bonds and money market mutual funds. The Fund may only invest in money market mutual funds to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act.

The money market instruments in which the Fund may invest may have variable or floating rates of interest. These obligations include master demand notes that permit investment of fluctuating amounts at varying rates of interest pursuant to a direct arrangement with the issuer of the instrument. The issuer of these obligations often has the right, after a given period, to prepay the outstanding principal amount of the obligations upon a specified number of days’ notice. These obligations generally are not traded, nor generally is there an established secondary market for these obligations. To the extent that a demand note does not have a seven-day or shorter demand feature and there is no readily available market for the obligation, it will be treated by the Fund as an illiquid security.

K. Cyber-Security Risk

The Fund, and its service providers, may be prone to operational and information security risks resulting from cyber-attacks. Cyber-attacks include, among other behaviors, stealing or corrupting data maintained online or digitally, denial of service attacks on websites, the unauthorized release of confidential information or various other forms of cyber-security breaches. Cyber-attacks affecting the Fund or its third-party service providers may adversely impact the Fund. For instance, cyber-attacks may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, may impact the Fund’s ability to calculate its NAV, may cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential business information, may impede trading, may subject the Fund to regulatory fines or financial losses and may cause reputational damage. The Fund may also incur additional costs for cyber-security risk management purposes. While the Fund’s service providers have established business continuity plans in the event of, and risk management systems to prevent, cyber-attacks, there are inherent limitations in these plans and systems, including the possibility that certain risks have not been identified. Furthermore, the Fund cannot control the cyber-security plans and systems put in place by its service providers or any other third parties whose operations may affect the Fund or its shareholders. Similar types of cyber-security risks are also present for issuers or securities in which the Fund may invest, which could result in material adverse consequences for these issuers and may cause the Fund’s investment in the issuers to lose value.

L. Market Turbulence

The greatest risk of investing in a mutual fund is that its returns will fluctuate, and you could lose money. Turbulence in the financial sector may result in an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets. Both domestic and foreign equity markets have experienced significant volatility and turmoil, with issuers that have exposure to the real estate, mortgage and credit markets particularly affected. It is uncertain whether or for how long these conditions could occur.

Reduced liquidity in credit and fixed-income markets may adversely affect many issuers worldwide. This reduced liquidity may result in less money being available to purchase raw materials, goods and services from emerging markets, which may, in turn, bring down the prices of these economic staples. It may also result in emerging market issuers having more difficulty obtaining financing, which may, in turn, cause a decline in their stock prices. These events and possible market turbulence may have an adverse effect on the Fund.

The financial markets in which the Fund invests are subject to price volatility that could cause losses in the Fund. Market volatility may result from varied predictable and unpredictable factors. The impact of infectious diseases in certain regions or countries may perform better or worse due to the nature or level of their public health response or due to other factors. Health crises caused by infectious diseases may exacerbate other pre-existing political, social and economic risks in certain countries.

The impact of epidemics or pandemics, may affect the economies of many nations, individual companies and the global securities and commodities markets, including their liquidity, in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time. The impact of any outbreak may last for an extended period of time. Epidemics and pandemics that may arise in the future could result in volatility in the financial markets and lead to increased levels of Fund redemptions, which could have a negative impact on the Fund and could adversely affect the Fund’s performance, resulting in losses to your investment.

Although interest rates were unusually low in recent years in the U.S. and abroad, recently the Federal Reserve and foreign central banks began to raise interest rates in an effort to address rising inflation. Ongoing inflation pressures from tight labor markets and supply-chain disruptions could continue to cause an increase in interest rates and negatively impact companies. It is difficult to predict the pace at which interest rates might increase or the timing, frequency or magnitude of increases in interest rates. Additionally, various economic and political factors could cause the Federal Reserve and foreign central banks to change their approaches in the future, and such actions may result in an economic slowdown both in the U.S. and abroad. Unexpected increases in interest rates could lead to market volatility or reduce liquidity in some sectors of the market. Deteriorating economic fundamentals may, in turn, increase the risk of default or insolvency of particular issuers, negatively impact market value, cause credit spreads to widen and reduce the strength of bank balance sheets. Any of these events could cause an increase in market volatility or reduce liquidity across various markets. Regulators have expressed concern that rate increases may cause investors to sell fixed-income securities more quickly than the market can absorb these securities, contributing to price volatility. Over the longer term, rising interest rates may present a greater risk than has historically been the case due to the prior period of relatively low rates and the effect of government fiscal and monetary policy initiatives and potential market reaction to those initiatives, or their alteration or cessation. Historical patterns of correlation among asset classes may break down in unexpected ways during times of high volatility, disrupting investment programs and potentially causing losses.

High public debt in the U.S. and other countries creates ongoing systemic and market risks and policymaking uncertainty. There is no assurance that the U.S. Congress will act to raise the nation’s debt ceiling; a failure to do so could cause market turmoil and substantial investment risks that cannot be fully predicted. Unexpected political, regulatory and diplomatic events within the U.S. and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy.

In addition, global climate change may have an adverse effect on security values. A rise in sea levels, an increase in powerful storms or an increase in flooding could cause coastal properties to lose value or become unmarketable altogether. Economists warn that, unlike previous declines in the real estate market, properties in affected coastal zones may never recover their value. Large wildfires have devastated, and in the future may devastate, entire communities and may be very costly to any business found to be responsible for the fire or conducting operations in affected areas. The current U.S. administration may focus regulatory and public works projects around climate change concerns. Regulatory changes and divestment movements tied to concerns about climate change could adversely affect the value of certain land and the viability of industries whose activities or products are seen as accelerating climate change. Losses related to climate change could adversely affect corporate borrowers and mortgage lenders, the value of mortgage-backed securities, the bonds of municipalities that depend on tax revenues and tourist dollars generated by such properties, and insurers of the property and/ or of corporate, municipal or mortgage-backed securities. Since security values are driven largely by buyers’ perceptions, it is difficult to know the time period over which these effects might unfold.

Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the resulting responses by the U.S. and other countries and the potential for wider conflict have had, and could continue to have, severe adverse effects on regional and global economies and could further increase volatility and uncertainty in the financial markets. The U.S. and other nations have imposed broad-ranging economic sanctions on Russia and certain Russian individuals, banking entities and corporations as a response to the invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. and other nations have also imposed economic sanctions on Belarus and may impose sanctions on other countries that provide military or economic support to Russia. These sanctions, as well as any other economic consequences related to the invasion, such as additional sanctions, boycotts or changes in consumer or purchaser preferences or cyberattacks on governments, companies or individuals, may further decrease the value and liquidity of certain Russian securities and securities of issuers in other countries that are subject to economic sanctions related to the invasion. To the extent that the Fund has exposure to Russian investments or investments in countries affected by the invasion, the Fund’s ability to price, buy, sell, receive or deliver its investments may be impaired. In addition, any exposure that the Fund may have to counterparties in Russia or in countries affected by the invasion could negatively impact the Fund’s investments. The extent and duration of military actions and the repercussions of these actions (including any retaliatory actions or countermeasures that may be taken by those subject to sanctions) are impossible to predict. These events have resulted in, and could continue to result in, significant market disruptions, including in industries or sectors such as the oil and natural gas markets, and may further strain global supply chains and may negatively affect inflation and global growth. These and any related events could significantly impact the Fund’s performance and the value of an investment

in the Fund beyond any direct exposure the Fund may have to Russian issuers or issuers in other countries affected by the invasion.

M. Large Shareholder Transaction Risk

The Fund may experience adverse effects when a large shareholder redeems or purchases large amounts of shares of the Fund. Such redemptions may cause the Fund to sell securities at times when it would not otherwise do so, disrupt the Fund’s operations, or borrow money (at a cost to the Fund), which may negatively impact the Fund’s performance and liquidity. Similarly, large purchases may adversely affect the Fund’s performance to the extent that the Fund is delayed in investing new cash and is required to maintain a larger cash position than it ordinarily would. These transactions may also accelerate the realization of taxable income to shareholders if the sales of investments resulted in gains and may also increase transaction costs.

INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS

The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, has adopted the following investment policies which are fundamental policies that may not be changed without the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund. “The vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund,” as defined by the 1940 Act, means the vote, at the annual or a special meeting of the security holders of the Fund duly called, (A) of 67 per centum or more of the voting securities present at such meeting, if the holders of more than 50 per centum of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund are present or represented by proxy; or (B) of more than 50 per centum of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, whichever is the less.

The Fund’s investment objective is a non-fundamental policy. Non-fundamental policies may be changed by the Board without shareholder approval.

For purposes of the Fund’s investment limitations, all percentage limitations apply immediately after an investment. Except with respect to the fundamental policy relating to borrowing money, set forth in section (1) below, if a percentage limitation is adhered to at the time of an investment, a later increase or decrease in the percentage resulting from any change in value or net assets will not result in a violation of such restrictions. If at any time the Fund’s borrowings exceed its limitations due to a decline in net assets, such borrowings will be reduced within three days (excluding Sundays and holidays) to the extent necessary to comply with the limitation.

Fundamental Limitations. The Fund has adopted the following fundamental investment limitations.

The Fund may not:

1. Borrowing Money

Borrow money if, as a result, outstanding borrowings would exceed an amount equal to 33⅓% of the Fund’s total assets, except to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act.

2. Diversification

With respect to 75% of its assets, purchase a security (other than a U.S. Government security or a security of an investment company) if, as a result, (1) more than 5% of the Fund’s total assets would be invested in the securities of a single issuer or (2) the Fund would own more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of a single issuer.

3. Underwriting Activities

Underwrite securities of other persons, except to the extent that, in connection with the disposition of portfolio securities, the Fund may be deemed to be an underwriter.

4. Making Loans

Make loans to other persons. For purposes of this limitation, entering into repurchase agreements, lending securities and investing in debt securities are not deemed to be the making of loans.

5. Purchases and Sales of Commodities

Purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as the result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the Fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities).

6. Issuance of Senior Securities

Issue senior securities, except to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act.

7. Purchases and Sales of Real Estate

Purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the Fund from investing in securities backed by real estate or securities of companies engaged in the real estate business).

8. Concentration

Purchase securities if, as a result, more than 25% of the Fund’s total assets would be invested in securities of issuers conducting their principal business activity in the same industry. For purposes of this limitation, there is no limit on investments in U.S. Government securities and repurchase agreements covering U.S. Government securities.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to borrowing money set forth in section (1) above, the 1940 Act permits the Fund to borrow money in amounts of up to 33⅓% of the Fund’s total assets, at the time of borrowing, from banks for any purpose (the Fund’s total assets include the amounts being borrowed). To limit the risks attendant to borrowing, the 1940 Act requires the Fund to maintain at all times an asset coverage of at least 300% of the amount of its borrowings (not including borrowings for temporary purposes in an amount not exceeding 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets). In the event that asset coverage falls below this percentage, the Fund is required to reduce the amount of its borrowings within three days (not including Sundays and holidays) so that the asset coverage is restored to at least 300%. Asset coverage means the ratio that the value of the Fund’s total assets (including amounts borrowed), minus liabilities other than borrowings, bears to the aggregate amount of all borrowings.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to making loans set forth in section (4) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit the Fund from making loans; however, SEC staff interpretations currently prohibit registered investment companies from lending more than one-third of their total assets, except through the purchase of debt obligations.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to issuing senior securities set forth in section (6) above, “senior securities” are defined as Fund obligations that have a priority over the Fund’s shares with respect to the payment of dividends or the distribution of Fund assets. The 1940 Act prohibits the Fund from issuing any class of senior securities or selling any senior securities of which it is the issuer, except that the Fund is permitted to borrow from a bank if consistent with the fundamental policy set forth in section (1) above.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to investing in real estate set forth in section (7) above, the Fund may, to the extent permitted by applicable law, invest in securities or other instruments directly or indirectly secured by real estate and invest in securities or other instruments issued by issuers that invest in real estate. Investments in securities of issuers that are exposed to or invested in the real estate business will not be deemed to be a purchase or sale of real estate.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES, MANAGEMENT AND SERVICE PROVIDERS

A. Board of Trustees

The Trust is governed by its Board of Trustees (the “Board” or “Trustees”). The Board oversees the management and operations of the Trust and the Fund, in accordance with federal law, Delaware law and the stated policies of the Fund. The Board oversees the Trust’s officers and service providers, including the Advisor, which is responsible for the management of the day-to-day operations of the Fund based on policies and agreements reviewed and approved by the Board. In carrying out these responsibilities, the Board regularly interacts with and receives reports from senior personnel of service providers and the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”). The Board also is assisted by the Trust’s independent auditor (which reports directly to the Trust’s Audit Committee), independent counsel and other experts as appropriate. The Trustees serve until their respective successors have been elected and qualified or until their earlier death, resignation or removal.

The Fund does not hold itself out as related to any other series within the Trust for purposes of investment and investor services, nor does it share the same investment advisor with any other series. As a result, the term “Fund Complex” applies only to the Fund.

Board Structure and Related Matters. Independent Trustees constitute at least a majority of the Board members. An Independent Trustee serves as Independent Chair of the Board. The Independent Chair’s responsibilities include: setting an agenda for each meeting of the Board; presiding at all meetings of the Board and Independent Trustees; and serving as a liaison with other Trustees, the Trust’s officers, other management personnel and counsel to the Fund. The Independent Chair also performs such other duties as the Board may from time to time determine.

The Trustees discharge their responsibilities collectively as a Board, as well as through Board committees, each of which operates pursuant to a charter or procedures approved by the Board that delineates the specific responsibilities of that committee. The Board has established three standing committees: the Audit Committee, the Nominating Committee and the Qualified Legal Compliance Committee. The members and responsibilities of each Board committee are summarized below.

The Board periodically evaluates its structure and composition as well as various aspects of its operations. The Board believes that its leadership structure, including its Independent Chair position and its committees, is appropriate for the Trust in light of, among other factors, the asset size and nature of the Fund, the number of funds overseen by the Board, the arrangements for the conduct of the Fund’s operations, the number of Trustees and the Board’s responsibilities. On an annual basis, the Board conducts a self-evaluation that considers, among other matters, whether the Board and its committees are functioning effectively and whether, given the size and composition of the Board and each of its committees, the Trustees are able to oversee effectively the number of funds.

The Board holds four regularly scheduled meetings each year, which are normally expected to be in person. The Board may hold special meetings, as needed, either in person or by telephone, to address matters arising between regular meetings. At least once per quarter, during a regularly scheduled meeting of the Board, the Independent Trustees meet without the presence of interested Trustees.

The Trustees are identified in the table below, which provides information as to their principal business occupations held during the last five years and certain other information. Each Trustee serves until his or her death, resignation or removal. The address for all Trustees is c/o Apex Fund Services, Three Canal Plaza, Suite 600, Portland, Maine 04101. John Y. Keffer, a former Trustee of the Trust, has been appointed as a Trustee Emeritus by the Board. As Trustee Emeritus, Mr. Keffer will not have a vote with respect to Trust matters; however, Mr. Keffer may attend Board meetings.

In addition to the information set forth in the table above, each Trustee possesses other relevant qualifications, experience, attributes or skills. The following provides additional information about these qualifications and experience.

David Tucker: Mr. Tucker has extensive experience in the investment management industry, including experience in senior management, legal and compliance roles at two large mutual fund complexes; service on various committees of the Investment Company Institute (“ICI”); and director of ICI Mutual (a mutual insurance company sponsored by the investment company industry), including service as chairman of the underwriting, risk and fraud committees of ICI Mutual’s board of directors. Mr. Tucker actively serves charitable organizations in the metropolitan Kansas City area.

Mark D. Moyer: Mr. Moyer has extensive experience with finance. He has served as chief financial officer for several non-governmental organizations and a publicly-listed integrated media company. Mr. Moyer also served as an adjunct professor of accounting at Fairfield University.

Jennifer Brown-Strabley: Ms. Brown-Strabley has extensive experience in the financial services and investment management industry, including institutional sales experience in global fixed-income and related quantitative research. Ms. Brown-Strabley also has experience in business start-up and operations and as a former principal of a registered investment adviser, for which she continues to provide consulting advice from time to time.

Karen Shaw: Ms. Shaw has extensive experience in the fund services industry, including management roles in mutual fund operations, financial and regulatory reporting. Ms. Shaw’s experience also includes testing and implementation, project

management and client management. Ms. Shaw has a deep understanding of pooled investment products, including mutual fund governance, operations and reporting.

Risk Oversight. Consistent with its responsibility for oversight of the Trust and the Fund, the Board oversees the management of risks relating to the administration and operation of the Trust and the Fund. The Advisor, as part of its responsibilities for the day-to-day operations of the Fund, is responsible for day-to-day risk management. The Board, in the exercise of its reasonable business judgment, also separately considers potential risks that may impact the Fund. The Board performs this risk management oversight directly and, as to certain matters, through its committees (described below) and through the Independent Trustees. The following provides an overview of the principal, but not all, aspects of the Board’s oversight of risk management for the Trust and the Fund.

In general, the Fund’s risks include, among others, investment risk, valuation risk, compliance risk and operational risk. The Board has adopted, and periodically reviews, policies and procedures designed to address these and other risks to the Trust and the Fund. In addition, under the general oversight of the Board, the Advisor and other service providers have themselves adopted a variety of policies, procedures and controls designed to address particular risks. Different processes, procedures and controls are employed with respect to different types of risks. Further, the Advisor oversees and regularly monitors the investments, operations and compliance of the Fund’s investments.

The Board also oversees risk management for the Trust and the Fund through review of regular reports, presentations and other information from officers of the Trust and other persons. Senior officers of the Trust, senior officers of the Advisor and the CCO regularly report to the Board on a range of matters, including those relating to risk management. In this regard, the Board periodically receives reports regarding other service providers to the Trust, either directly or through the CCO. On at least a quarterly basis, the Independent Trustees meet with the CCO to discuss matters relating to the Fund’s compliance program. Further, at least annually, the Board receives a report from the CCO regarding the effectiveness of the Fund’s compliance program.

The Board has designated the Advisor as the valuation designee pursuant to Rule 2a-5 under the 1940 Act, and delegated to the Advisor the responsibility for making fair value determinations with respect to the Fund’s portfolio securities. The Advisor, as the valuation designee, is responsible for periodically assessing any material risks associated with the determination of the fair value of the Fund’s investments; establishing and applying fair value methodologies; testing the appropriateness of fair value methodologies; and overseeing and evaluating third-party pricing services. The Advisor, as valuation designee, carries out its fair valuation responsibilities pursuant to and procedures approved by the Board. The Advisor, as valuation designee, reports to the Board on the pricing of the Fund’s shares and the valuation of the Fund’s portfolio securities; recommends independent pricing services to provide a value for Fund assets; makes and monitors fair value determinations pursuant to the valuation policies and procedures; and carries out any other functions designated to the Advisor relating to the valuation of Fund assets.

The Board also regularly receives reports from the Advisor with respect to the investments and securities trading of the Fund. For example, typically, the Board receives reports, presentations and other information from the Advisor on at least an annual basis in connection with the Board’s consideration of the renewal of the investment advisory agreement between the Advisor and the Trust on behalf of the Fund (the “Advisory Agreement”). Also, if applicable, the Board receives reports from the Advisor and other service providers in connection with the Board’s consideration of the renewal of any distribution plan of the Fund under Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Senior officers of the Trust and senior officers of the Advisor also report regularly to the Audit Committee on valuation matters, internal controls and accounting and financial reporting policies and practices. In addition, the Audit Committee receives regular reports from the Trust’s independent auditors on internal control and financial reporting matters.

Trustee Ownership in the Fund and the Fund Complex. The following table sets forth each Trustee’s ownership of the Fund and the Fund Complex as of December 31, 2023.

B. Principal Officers of the Trust

The officers of the Trust conduct and supervise its daily business. As of the date of this SAI, the officers of the Trust, their years of birth and their principal occupations during the past five calendar years are set forth below. Each officer serves until his or her death, resignation or removal and replacement. The business address of each officer is c/o Apex Fund Services, Three Canal Plaza, Suite 600, Portland, Maine 04101.

C. Ownership of Securities of the Advisor and Related Companies

As of December 31, 2023, no Independent Trustee (or any of his or her immediate family members) owned beneficially or of record, securities of any Trust investment advisor, the Trust’s principal underwriter, or any person (other than a registered investment company) directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with any Trust investment advisor or principal underwriter.

D. Information Concerning Trust Committees

Audit Committee. The Trust’s Audit Committee, which typically meets quarterly, consists of Messrs. Tucker and Moyer and Ms. Brown-Strabley, constituting all of the Independent Trustees. Pursuant to a charter adopted by the Board, the Audit Committee assists the Board in fulfilling its responsibility for oversight of the quality and integrity of the accounting, auditing and financial reporting practices of the Trust. It is directly responsible for the appointment, termination, compensation and oversight of work of the independent auditors to the Trust. In so doing, the Audit Committee reviews the methods, scope

and results of the audits and audit fees charged and reviews the Trust’s internal accounting procedures and controls. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, the Audit Committee met four times.

Nominating Committee. The Trust’s Nominating Committee, which meets when necessary, consists of Messrs. Tucker and Moyer and Ms. Brown-Strabley, constituting all of the Independent Trustees. Pursuant to a charter adopted by the Board, the Nominating Committee is charged with the duty of nominating all Trustees and committee members and presenting these nominations to the Board. The Nominating Committee will not consider any nominees for Trustee recommended by security holders. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, the Nominating Committee met one time.

Qualified Legal Compliance Committee. The Qualified Legal Compliance Committee (the “QLCC”), which meets when necessary, consists of Messrs. Tucker and Moyer and Ms. Brown-Strabley, constituting all of the Independent Trustees. The QLCC evaluates and recommends resolutions to reports from attorneys servicing the Trust regarding evidence of material violations of applicable federal and state law or the breach of fiduciary duties under applicable federal and state law by the Trust or an employee or agent of the Trust. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, the QLCC did not meet.

E. Compensation of Trustees and Officers

For the year ended December 31, 2023, each Trustee was paid an annual fee of $45,000 for service to the Trust, and the Chairman of the Board was paid an annual fee of $55,000. The Chairman of the Audit Committee was paid an additional annual fee of $2,000. The Trustees and Chairman may receive additional fees for special Board meetings. Each Trustee is also reimbursed for all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with his or her duties as a Trustee, including travel and related expenses incurred in attending Board meetings. No officer of the Trust is compensated by the Trust, but officers are reimbursed for travel and related expenses incurred in attending Board meetings held outside of Portland, Maine.

The following table sets forth the fees paid to each Trustee by the Fund and the Fund Complex for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.

F. Investment Advisor

Services of Advisor. The Advisor serves as investment advisor to the Fund pursuant to the Advisory Agreement. Under the Advisory Agreement, the Advisor furnishes, at its own expense, all services, facilities, and personnel necessary in connection with managing the Fund’s investments and effecting portfolio transactions for the Fund. The Advisor may compensate brokers or other service providers (“Financial Intermediaries”) out of its own assets, and not as additional charges to the Fund, in connection with the sale and distribution of shares of the Fund and/or servicing of these shares.

Ownership of Advisor. Cannell & Spears LLC is a Delaware limited liability company that is employee owned.

Information Concerning Accounts Managed by Portfolio Managers. The following table provides information regarding other accounts managed by the portfolio managers as of December 31, 2023:

Conflicts of Interest. Actual or apparent conflicts of interest may arise when a portfolio manager of the Advisor has day-to-day management responsibilities with respect to multiple client accounts. Specifically, the portfolio manager may be presented with the following conflicts:

The portfolio manager may devote unequal time and attention to the management of his accounts.

If a portfolio manager identifies a limited investment opportunity that may be suitable for multiple accounts, each account may be unable to take full advantage of the opportunity because filled quantities are spread across all participating accounts.

The Advisor typically determines which broker-dealers execute orders. The Advisor may sometimes place separate, non-simultaneous transactions for different accounts that may temporarily affect the market price of the security or the execution of the transaction, or both, to the detriment of a particular client.

The Advisor has allocation and compliance procedures that are designed to address these types of conflicts. However, there is no guarantee that these procedures will detect every situation in which a conflict may arise.

Information Concerning Compensation of Portfolio Managers. The portfolio managers receive a fixed salary and a discretionary bonus. Discretionary bonuses are based on the profitability of the Advisor and not directly on the performance of the Fund or any other account. All compensation is paid by the Advisor. In addition, the portfolio managers own equity interests in the Advisor.

Portfolio Manager Ownership in the Fund. The Advisor has provided the following information regarding each portfolio manager’s ownership in the Fund as of December 31, 2023:

The Advisor receives an advisory fee from the Fund at an annual rate equal to 0.75% of the Fund’s average annual daily net assets under the terms of the Advisory Agreement. The Advisor has contractually agreed to waive its fee and/or reimburse Fund expenses to limit Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (excluding taxes, interest, portfolio transaction expenses and extraordinary expenses) to 0.99% of the Fund’s average daily net assets through December 31, 2025 (the “Expense Cap”). The Expense Cap may be raised or eliminated only with the consent of the Board of Trustees. The Advisor may recoup from the Fund fees waived and expenses reimbursed by the Advisor pursuant to the Expense Cap if the recoupment is made within three years of the fee waiver or expense reimbursement and does not cause Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after the recoupment has been taken into account to exceed the lesser of (i) the then-current Expense Cap and (ii) the Expense Cap in place at the time the fees/expenses were waived/reimbursed. Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses will increase if exclusions from the Expense Cap apply.

The advisory fee, if not waived, is accrued daily and paid monthly by the Fund and is assessed based on the daily net assets of the Fund. In addition to receiving its advisory fee from the Fund, the Advisor may also act and be compensated as an investment manager for its clients with respect to assets that such clients have invested in the Fund. If you have a separately managed account with the Advisor with assets invested in the Fund, the Advisor will not assess or receive any management fee on the portion of the separately managed account invested in the Fund.

Table 1 in Appendix A shows the dollar amount of advisory fees accrued by the Fund, the amount of advisory fees waived and/or expenses reimbursed by the Advisor, if any, and the actual advisory fees retained by the Advisor. The data provided is for the last three fiscal years.

Advisory Agreement. The Advisory Agreement must be approved at least annually by the Board or by majority vote of the shareholders, and in either case by a majority of the Trustees who are not parties to the Advisory Agreement or interested persons of any such party (other than as Trustees of the Trust).

The Advisory Agreement is terminable without penalty by the Trust with respect to the Fund on 60 days’ written notice when authorized either by vote of the Fund’s shareholders or by a majority vote of the Board, or by the Advisor on 60 days’ written notice to the Trust. The Advisory Agreement terminates immediately upon assignment.

Under the Advisory Agreement, the Advisor is not liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or any loss except for losses resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard in the performance of its duties or by reason of reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under the Advisory Agreement.

G. Distributor

Distribution Services. Foreside Fund Services, LLC (the “Distributor”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Foreside Financial Group, LLC (d/b/a ACA Group), located at Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101, acts as the agent of the Trust in connection with the continuous offering of Fund shares pursuant to a Distribution Agreement with the Trust. The Distributor is a registered broker-dealer and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”). The Distributor is not affiliated with the Advisor or any other service provider for the Trust.

The Distributor continually distributes shares of the Fund on a best efforts basis. The Distributor has no obligation to sell any specific quantity of Fund shares. The Distributor and its officers have no role in determining the investment policies or which securities are to be purchased or sold by the Trust.

The Distributor may enter into agreements with selected broker-dealers, banks or other financial intermediaries for distribution of shares of the Fund. With respect to certain financial intermediaries and related fund “supermarket” platform arrangements, the Fund and/or the Advisor, rather than the Distributor, typically enters into such agreements. These financial intermediaries may charge a fee for their services and may receive shareholder service or other fees from parties other than the Distributor. These financial intermediaries may otherwise act as processing agents and are responsible for promptly transmitting purchase, redemption and other requests to the Fund.

Investors who purchase shares through financial intermediaries will be subject to the procedures of those intermediaries through which they purchase shares, which may include charges, investment minimums, cutoff times and other restrictions in addition to, or different from, those listed herein. Information concerning any charges or services will be provided to investors by the financial intermediary through which they purchase shares. Investors purchasing shares of the Fund through financial intermediaries should acquaint themselves with their financial intermediary’s procedures and should read the Prospectus in conjunction with any materials and information provided by their financial intermediary. The financial intermediary, and not the investors, will be the shareholder of record, although investors may have the right to vote shares depending upon their arrangement with the intermediary. The Fund does not have a distribution (12b-1) plan; accordingly, the Distributor does not receive compensation from the Fund for its distribution (12b-1) services. The Advisor pays the Distributor a fee from the Advisor’s own resources for certain distribution-related services. The Distributor does not receive compensation from the Fund for its distribution services except the distribution/service fees with respect to the shares of those classes for which a Rule 12b-1 plan is effective, as applicable. The Advisor pays the Distributor a fee for certain distribution-related services.

Distribution Plan. The Trust, including a majority of Independent Trustees who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Rule 12b-1 plan, has adopted a Rule 12b-1 plan under which the Fund is authorized to pay to the Distributor and any other entity authorized by the Board, including the Advisor (collectively “payees”), a fee equal to 0.25% of the average daily net assets of the Fund’s shares for distribution services and/or the servicing of shareholder accounts.

The Fund has waived payments under its Rule 12b-1 plan until further notice. The Fund may remove the waiver and make payments under the Rule 12b-1 plan at any time, subject to Board approval.

The Rule 12b-1 plan provides that the payees may incur expenses for distribution and service activities including, but not limited to (1) any sales, marketing and other activities primarily intended to result in the sale of Fund shares and (2) providing services to holders of shares related to their investment in the Fund, including, without limitation, providing assistance in connection with responding to shareholder inquiries regarding the Fund’s investment objective, policies and other operational features and inquiries regarding shareholder accounts. Expenses for such activities include compensation to employees and expenses, including overhead and telephone and other communication expenses, of a payee who engages in or supports the distribution of Fund shares or who provides shareholder servicing, such as responding to shareholder inquiries regarding the Fund’s operations; the incremental costs of printing (excluding typesetting) and distributing prospectuses, statements of additional information, annual reports and other periodic reports for use in connection with the offering or sale of Fund shares to any prospective investors; and the costs of preparing, printing and distributing sales literature and advertising materials used by the Distributor, the Advisor or others in connection with the offering of Fund shares for sale to the public.

The Rule 12b-1 plan requires the payees to prepare and submit to the Board, at least quarterly, and the Board to review, written reports setting forth all amounts expended under the Rule 12b-1 plan and identifying the activities for which those expenditures were made. The Rule 12b-1 plan obligates the Fund to compensate payees for services and not to reimburse them for expenses incurred. The Fund does not participate in any joint distribution activities with another series of the Trust or other investment company.

The Rule 12b-1 plan provides that it will remain in effect for one year from the date of its adoption and thereafter may continue in effect, provided that it is approved at least annually by the shareholders or by the Board, including a majority of the Independent Trustees. The Rule 12b-1 plan further provides that it may not be amended to materially increase the costs that the Fund bears for distribution or shareholder servicing pursuant to the Rule 12b-1 plan without approval by affected shareholders and that other material amendments of the Rule 12b-1 plan must be approved by the Independent Trustees. The 12b-1 plan may be terminated with respect to the Fund at any time by the Board, by a majority of the Independent Trustees or by the shareholders of the Fund.

H. Other Fund Service Providers

Administrator, Fund Accountant, Transfer Agent, and Compliance Services. Apex and its subsidiaries provide administration, compliance, fund accounting and transfer agency services to the Fund. Apex is a wholly owned subsidiary of Apex US Holdings LLC.

Pursuant to a Services Agreement (the “Services Agreement”) with Apex Fund Services (d/b/a Apex Fund Services), the Fund pays Apex a bundled fee for administration, compliance, fund accounting and transfer agency services. The Fund also pays Apex certain surcharges and shareholder account fees. The fee is accrued daily by the Fund and is paid monthly based on the average net assets, transactions and positions for the prior month.

The Services Agreement continues in effect until terminated, so long as its continuance is specifically approved or ratified with such frequency and in such manner required by applicable law. After an initial three-year term, the Services Agreement is terminable with or without cause and without penalty by the Trust or Apex Fund Services on 120 days’ written notice to the other party. The Services Agreement is also terminable for cause by the non-breaching party on at least 60 days’ written notice to the other party, provided that the other party has not cured the breach within that notice period. Under the Services Agreement, Apex is not liable to the Fund or the Fund’s shareholders for any act or omission, except for willful misfeasance, bad faith or negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under the Services Agreement. The Services Agreement also provides that Apex will not be liable to a shareholder for any loss incurred due to a NAV difference if that difference is less than or equal to 0.5% or less than or equal to $25.00 per shareholder account, and in addition, limits the amount of any loss for which Apex Fund Services would be liable. Also, Apex Fund Services is not liable for the errors and omissions of others, including the entities that supply security prices to Apex Fund Services and the Fund. Losses incurred by the Fund as a result of acts or omissions by Apex Fund Services or any other service provider for which Apex Fund Services or the service provider is not liable to the Fund would be borne through the Fund by its shareholders.

As Administrator, Apex administers the Fund’s operations except those that are the responsibility of any other service provider hired by the Trust, all in the manner and to the extent as may be authorized by the Board. The Administrator’s responsibilities include, but are not limited to: (1) overseeing the performance of administrative and professional services

rendered to the Fund by others, including its custodian, transfer agent and dividend disbursing agent as well as legal, auditing, shareholder servicing and other services performed for the Fund; (2) preparing for filing and filing certain regulatory filings (i.e., registration statements and shareholder reports) subject to Trust counsel and/or independent auditor oversight; (3) overseeing the preparation and filing of the Fund’s tax returns, and the preparation of financial statements and related reports to the Fund’s shareholders, the SEC and state and other securities administrators; (4) providing the Fund with adequate general office space and facilities and providing persons suitable to the Board to serve as officers of the Trust; (5) assisting the Advisor in monitoring Fund holdings for compliance with prospectus investment restrictions and assisting in preparation of periodic compliance reports; and (6) with the cooperation of the Advisor, the officers of the Trust and other relevant parties, preparing and disseminating materials for meetings of the Board.

Apex provides a Principal Executive Officer, a Principal Financial Officer, the CCO, and an Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer to the Fund, as well as certain additional compliance support functions.

Atlantic Shareholder Services, LLC, Three Canal Plaza, Portland, Maine 04101 (the “Transfer Agent”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Apex US Holdings LLC (d/b/a Apex Fund Services), serves as transfer agent and distribution paying agent for the Fund. The Transfer Agent is registered as a transfer agent with the SEC. The Transfer Agent maintains an account for each shareholder of record of the Fund and is responsible for processing purchase and redemption requests and paying distributions to shareholders of record.

As Fund accountant, Apex provides fund accounting services to the Fund. These services include calculating the NAV of the Fund .

Table 2 in Appendix A shows the dollar amount of the fees accrued by the Fund for administration services, the amount of fees waived by Apex, if any, and the actual fees retained by Apex under the Services Agreement. The data provided is for the last three fiscal years.

Custodian. U.S. Bank, N.A. (the “Custodian”) is the custodian for the Fund. The Custodian safeguards and controls the Fund’s cash and securities, determines income and collects interest on Fund investments. The Custodian may employ subcustodians to provide custody of the Fund’s domestic and foreign assets. The Custodian also maintains certain books and records of the Fund that are required by applicable federal regulations. The Custodian is located at 1155 N. Rivercenter Drive, MK-WI-S302, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212.

Legal Counsel. K&L Gates LLP, 1601 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006, serves as legal counsel to the Trust.

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. Cohen & Company, Ltd. (“Cohen”), 1835 Market Street, Suite 310, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, is the independent registered public accounting firm for the Fund, providing audit and tax services. Cohen audits the annual financial statements of the Fund and provides the Fund with an audit opinion. Cohen also reviews certain regulatory filings of the Fund.

PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS

A. How Securities are Purchased and Sold

Purchases and sales of portfolio securities that are fixed-income securities (for instance, money market instruments and bonds, notes and bills) usually are principal transactions. In a principal transaction, the party from which the Fund purchases or to which the Fund sells is acting on its own behalf (and not as the agent of some other party such as its customers). These securities normally are purchased directly from the issuer or from an underwriter or market maker for the securities. There usually are no brokerage commissions paid for these securities.

Purchases and sales of portfolio securities that are equity securities (for instance, common stock and preferred stock) are generally effected if (1) the security is traded on an exchange, through brokers that charge commissions and (2) the security is traded in the over-the-counter markets, in a principal transaction directly from a market maker. In transactions on stock exchanges, commissions are negotiated.

When transactions are executed in an over-the-counter market, the Advisor will seek to deal with the primary market makers, but when necessary in order to obtain best execution, the Advisor will utilize the services of others.

The price of securities purchased from underwriters includes a disclosed fixed commission or concession paid by the issuer to the underwriter, and prices of securities purchased from dealers serving as market makers reflect the spread between the bid and asked price.

In the case of fixed-income and equity securities traded in the over-the-counter markets, there is generally no stated commission, but the price usually includes an undisclosed commission, markup or markdown.

B. Commissions Paid

Table 3 in Appendix A shows the dollar amount of the aggregate brokerage commissions paid by the Fund; the amount of commissions paid to an affiliate of the Fund, the Advisor or the Distributor; the percentage of brokerage commissions paid to an affiliate of the Fund, the Advisor or the Distributor; and the percentage of transactions executed by an affiliate of the Fund, the Advisor or the Distributor. The data provided is for the last three fiscal years.

C. Advisor Responsibility for Purchases and Sales and Choosing Broker-Dealers

The Advisor places orders for the purchase and sale of securities with or through broker-dealers selected in its discretion. The Fund does not have any obligation to deal with a specific broker-dealer in the execution of portfolio transactions. The Advisor determines the allocations of transactions to broker-dealers and the frequency of transactions in its best judgment and in a manner deemed to be in the best interest of the Fund, rather than by any formula.

The Advisor seeks best execution for all portfolio transactions. This means that the Advisor seeks the most favorable price and execution available. In determining the amount of commissions (including dealer spreads) paid in connection with securities transactions, the Advisor takes into account factors such as the size of the order, the difficulty of execution, the efficiency of the facilities of the executing broker-dealer (including any research services described below) and any risk assumed by the executing broker-dealer. The Fund may pay a higher commission if, for example, the broker-dealer has specific expertise in a particular type of transaction due to factors such as size or difficulty. The Advisor is authorized to pay a broker-dealer a higher brokerage commission than another broker-dealer might have charged for the same transaction in recognition of the brokerage services provided by the broker-dealer.

Table 4 in Appendix A lists the Fund’s directed brokerage in return for research services, the amount of transactions so directed, and the amount of commissions earned by the broker-dealer during the past fiscal year.

D. Counterparty Risk

The Advisor monitors the creditworthiness of counterparties to the Fund’s transactions and intends to enter into a transaction only when it believes that the counterparty presents appropriate credit risks.

E. Transactions through Affiliates

The Advisor may effect brokerage transactions through affiliates of the Advisor (or affiliates of those persons) pursuant to procedures adopted by the Trust and in accordance with applicable law.

F. Other Accounts of the Advisor

Investment decisions for the Fund are made independently from those for any other account or investment company that is or may in the future become advised by the Advisor or its affiliates. Investment decisions are the product of many factors, including basic suitability for the particular client involved. Likewise, a particular security may be bought or sold for certain clients even though it could have been bought or sold for other clients at the same time. In some instances, with any required consent, one client may sell a particular security to another client. In addition, two or more clients may simultaneously purchase or sell the same security through the same executing broker-dealer, in which event each day’s transactions in such security are, insofar as is possible, averaged as to price and allocated between such clients in a manner which, in the Advisor’s opinion, is in the best interest of the affected accounts and is equitable to each and in accordance with the amount being purchased or sold by each. There may be circumstances when purchases or sales of a portfolio security for one client could have an adverse effect on another client that has a position in that security. In addition, when purchases or sales of the same security for the Fund and other client accounts managed by the Advisor occur contemporaneously, the purchase or sale orders may be aggregated in order to obtain any price advantages available to large denomination purchases or sales. Purchase or sale orders for access persons of the Advisor and their affiliated persons may also be aggregated with client orders.

G. Portfolio Turnover

The frequency of portfolio transactions of the Fund (the portfolio turnover rate) will vary from year to year depending on many factors. From time to time, the Fund may engage in active short-term trading to take advantage of price movements affecting individual issues, groups of issues or markets. Higher portfolio turnover rates may result in increased brokerage costs to the Fund and a possible increase in short-term capital gains (taxable to shareholders as ordinary income when distributed to them) or losses. An annual portfolio turnover rate of 100% would occur if all the securities in the Fund were replaced once in a period of one year.

Portfolio turnover rate is defined under the rules of the SEC as the value of the securities purchased or securities sold, excluding all securities whose maturities at time of acquisition were one year or less, divided by the average monthly value of such securities owned during the year. Based on this definition, instruments with remaining maturities of less than one year, are excluded from the calculation of portfolio turnover rate.

H. Securities of Regular Broker-Dealers

From time to time the Fund may acquire and hold securities issued by its “regular brokers and dealers” or the parents of those brokers and dealers. For this purpose, regular brokers and dealers are the ten brokers or dealers that: (1) received the greatest amount of brokerage commissions during the Fund’s last fiscal year; (2) engaged in the largest amount of principal transactions for portfolio transactions of the Fund during the Fund’s last fiscal year; or (3) sold the largest amount of the Fund’s shares during the Fund’s last fiscal year.

Table 5 in Appendix A lists the regular brokers and dealers of the Fund whose securities (or the securities of the parent company) were acquired during the past fiscal year and the aggregate value of the Fund’s holdings of those securities as of the Fund’s most recent fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.

I. Portfolio Holdings

Portfolio holdings as of the end of the Fund’s annual and semi-annual fiscal periods are reported to the SEC on Form N-CSR within 10 days of the mailing of the annual or semi-annual report (typically no later than 70 days after the end of each period). Monthly portfolio disclosures will be filed with the SEC on Form N-PORT no later than 60 days after the end of each fiscal quarter. The monthly holdings reports on Form N-PORT for the first and second months of the fiscal quarter will remain nonpublic and the monthly holdings report for the third month of the fiscal quarter will become publicly available upon filing (with the exception of certain items). You may request a copy of the Fund’s latest annual or semi-annual report to shareholders or a copy of the Fund’s latest Form N-PORT, when it is available, which contains the Fund’s portfolio holdings, by contacting the Transfer Agent at the address or phone number listed on the cover of this SAI. You may also obtain a copy of the Fund’s latest Form N-CSR and Form N-PORT by accessing the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

The Fund’s nonpublic portfolio holdings information is received by certain service providers in advance of public release in the course of performing or enabling them to perform the contractual or fiduciary duties necessary for the Fund’s operations that the Fund has retained them to perform so long as the disclosure is subject to duties of confidentiality imposed by law and/or contract as determined by the Fund’s officers and, if applicable, the Board. The Fund’s portfolio holdings are

available in real-time on a daily basis to the Advisor, the Administrator and the Custodian. In addition, the Distributor, the independent auditors, proxy voting services, mailing services, financial printers and ratings or ranking organizations may have access, but not on a daily real-time basis, to the Fund’s nonpublic portfolio holdings information on an ongoing basis. The Trustees, Trust’s officers, legal counsel to the Trust and to the Independent Trustees and the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm may receive similar information on an as needed basis.

From time to time, nonpublic information regarding the Fund’s portfolio holdings may also be disclosed to certain mutual fund consultants, analysts or other entities or persons (“Recipients”) that have a legitimate business purpose in receiving such information. Any disclosure of information more current than the latest publicly available portfolio holdings information will be made only if a Trust officer determines that: (1) the more current information is necessary for a Recipient to complete a specified task; (2) the Fund has legitimate business purposes for disclosing the information; and (3) the disclosure is in the best interests of the Fund and its shareholders. Any Recipient receiving such information will be required to agree in writing to: (a) keep the information confidential; (b) use it only for agreed-upon purposes; and (c) not trade or advise others to trade securities, including shares of the Fund, on the basis of the information. Confidentiality agreements entered into for the receipt of nonpublic information typically will also provide, among other things, that the Recipient: (i) will limit access to the information to its employees and agents who are obligated to keep and treat such information as confidential; (ii) will assume responsibility for any breach of the terms of the confidentiality agreement by its employees; and (iii) upon request from the Trust, will return or promptly destroy the information. Any Recipient that is a ratings or ranking organization receiving such information must have in place control mechanisms to reasonably ensure or otherwise agree that: (x) the holdings information will be kept confidential; (y) no employee will use the information to effect trading or for their personal benefit; and (z) the nature and type of information that any employee, in turn, may disclose to third-parties is limited. The Trust officer will report to the Board at its next regularly scheduled Board meeting the entering into of an agreement with a Recipient for the disclosure of nonpublic portfolio holdings information and will include in the report the Trust officer’s reasons for determining to permit such disclosure.

The Advisor may provide investment management for accounts of clients other than the Fund, which may result in some of those accounts having a composition substantially similar to that of the Fund. The Advisor and its affiliates may provide regular information to clients and others regarding the holdings in accounts that each manages, but no information is provided to clients or others that identifies the actual composition of the Fund’s holdings, specifies the amount of the Fund’s assets invested in a security or specifies the extent of any such similarities among accounts managed by the Advisor.

No compensation is received by the Fund, or, to the Fund’s knowledge, paid to the Advisor or any other party in connection with the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio holdings. The code of ethics of the Trust is intended to address, among other things, potential conflicts of interest arising from the misuse of information concerning the Fund’s portfolio holdings. In addition, the Fund’s service providers may be subject to confidentiality provisions contained within their service agreements, codes of ethics, professional codes and other similar policies that address conflicts of interest arising from the misuse of this information.

The Advisor, the Administrator and the Distributor must inform a Trust officer if they identify any conflict between the interests of shareholders and those of another party resulting from the disclosure of nonpublic portfolio holdings information. These conflicts will be reported to the Board for appropriate action at its next regularly scheduled meeting.

There is no assurance that the Fund’s portfolio holdings disclosure policy will protect the Fund against potential misuse of holdings information by individuals or firms in possession of that information.

PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION

A. General Information

You may effect purchases or redemptions or request any shareholder privilege by contacting the Transfer Agent.

The Fund accepts orders for the purchase or redemption of shares of the Fund on any weekday except days when the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) is closed. Under unusual circumstances, the Fund may accept orders when the NYSE is closed if deemed appropriate by the Trust’s officers.

The shares of the Fund may not be available for sale in the state in which you reside. Please check with your investment professional to determine the Fund’s availability.

B. Additional Purchase Information

Shares of the Fund are offered on a continuous basis by the Distributor.

The Fund reserves the right to refuse any purchase request.

Fund shares are normally issued for cash only. In its discretion, the Fund may accept portfolio securities that meet the investment objective and policies of the Fund as payment for Fund shares. The Fund may allow an in kind purchase provided that, among other things: (i) the purchase will not dilute the interests of its shareholders; (ii) the assets accepted by the Fund consist of securities that are appropriate, in type and amount, for investment by the Fund in light of its investment objective and policies and current holdings; (iii) market quotations are readily available for the securities; (iv) in determining the value of the assets contributed and the corresponding amount of shares issued, the Trust’s Valuation Policy will be applied; (v) the transaction must comply with the Trust’s Affiliated Persons and Transactions Policy if the person investing is an affiliated person; and (vi) the Advisor to the Fund discloses to the Board the existence of, and all material facts relating to, any conflicts of interest between the Advisor and the Fund in the proposed in-kind purchase.

IRAs. All contributions into an individual retirement account (an “IRA”) through the automatic investing service are treated as IRA contributions made during the year that the contribution is received.

UGMAs/UTMAs. If the custodian’s name is not in the account registration of a gift or transfer to minor (“UGMA/UTMA”) account, the custodian must provide instructions in a manner indicating custodial capacity.

C. Additional Redemption Information

You may redeem Fund shares at NAV.

The Fund may reverse a transaction for the purchase of Fund shares within two business days of notification from your bank that your funds did not clear (1) to collect any charge relating to transactions effected for the benefit of a shareholder that is applicable to the Fund’s shares as provided in the Prospectus or (2) to recoup any actual losses incurred by the Fund or the Transfer Agent in connection with any reversed transaction.

Suspension of Right of Redemption. The right of redemption may not be suspended for more than seven days after the tender of Fund shares, except for any period during which: (1) the NYSE is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings) or during which the SEC determines that trading thereon is restricted; (2) an emergency (as determined by the SEC) exists as a result of which disposal by the Fund of its securities is not reasonably practicable or as a result of which it is not reasonably practicable for the Fund fairly to determine the value of its net assets; or (3) the SEC has entered a suspension order for the protection of the shareholders of the Fund.

Redemption in Kind. Redemption proceeds normally are paid in cash. The Trust has filed an election with the SEC, however, pursuant to which the Fund may effect a redemption in portfolio securities at the shareholder’s request or if the shareholder is redeeming more than $250,000 or 1% of the Fund’s total net assets, whichever is less, during any 90-day period. To the extent the Fund satisfies a redemption request by distributing portfolio securities, it will do so pursuant to procedures adopted by the Board. If the Fund pays redemption proceeds in kind, the redeeming shareholder may incur transaction costs to dispose of the securities and may receive less for them than the price at which they were valued for purposes of redemption. In addition, if the Fund redeems shares in this manner, the shareholder assumes the risk of a subsequent change in the market value of those securities, the costs of liquidating the securities (such as brokerage costs)

and the possibility of a lack of a liquid market for those securities. In-kind redemptions may take the form of a pro rata portion of the Fund’s portfolio, individual securities, or a representative basket of securities.

NAV Determination. The offering price for Fund shares is at their current NAV. In determining the NAV of the Fund, securities for which market quotations are readily available are valued at current market value using the last reported sales price or the official closing price from the primary exchange where the security is listed, as provided by an independent pricing service or, if no sales price is reported, the mean of the last bid and ask prices. If market quotations are not readily available or the Fund reasonably believes that they are unreliable, then securities are valued at fair value, as determined by the Advisor, in its capacity as the valuation designee. For further information, see the “General Information” section in the Prospectus.

Distributions. Distributions of net investment income will be reinvested at the NAV of the Fund (unless you elect to receive distributions in cash) as of the last day of the period with respect to which the distribution is paid. Distributions of net realized capital gains will be reinvested at the NAV of the Fund (unless you elect to receive distributions in cash) on the payment date for the distribution. Cash payments may be made more than seven days following the date on which distributions would otherwise be reinvested.

TAXATION

The tax information set forth in the Prospectus and in this section relates solely to federal tax law and assumes that the Fund qualifies for treatment as a RIC (as discussed below). This information is only a summary of certain key federal income tax considerations affecting the Fund and its shareholders and is in addition to the tax information provided in the Prospectus. No attempt has been made to present a complete explanation of the federal tax treatment of the Fund or the tax implications to shareholders. The discussions here and in the Prospectus are not intended as substitutes for careful tax planning.

This “Taxation” section is based on the IRC, the regulations thereunder, IRS interpretations and similar authority on which the Fund may rely, all as in effect on the date hereof, as well as on court decisions publicly available through that date. Future legislative, regulatory, or administrative changes or court decisions may significantly change the tax rules applicable to the Fund and its shareholders. Any of these changes or court decisions may have a retroactive effect.

Each investor should consult his or her own tax advisor as to the federal, state, local, and foreign tax provisions applicable to the investor.

A. Qualification for Treatment as a Regulated Investment Company

The Fund intends, for each taxable year, to continue to qualify for treatment as a RIC. This qualification does not involve governmental supervision of management or investment practices or policies of the Fund.

The taxable year-end of the Fund is December 31, which is the same as its fiscal year-end.

Consequences of Qualification. As a RIC, the Fund will not be subject to federal income tax on the portion of its investment company taxable income (generally, interest, dividends, other ordinary income, the excess of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss, and net gains and losses from certain foreign currency transactions, net of expenses, all determined without regard to any deduction for dividends paid) and net capital gain (that is, the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss) that it distributes to its shareholders. To qualify to be taxed as a RIC for a taxable year, the Fund must satisfy the following requirements, among others:

The Fund must distribute at least the sum of 90% of its investment company taxable income plus 90% of its net interest income excludable from gross income under IRC Section 103(a) for the taxable year (“Distribution Requirement”). Certain distributions made by the Fund after the close of its taxable year are considered distributions attributable to that taxable year for purposes of satisfying this requirement.

The Fund must derive at least 90% of its gross income for the taxable year from (1) dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans, and gains from the sale or other disposition of securities or foreign currencies, or other income (including gains from options) derived from its business of investing in securities or those currencies and (2) net income from an interest in a “qualified publicly traded partnership” (“QPTP”) (income described in (1) and (2), collectively “Qualifying Income”) (“Gross Income Requirement”). A QPTP is defined as a “publicly traded partnership” (generally, a partnership the interests in which are “traded on an established securities market” or are “readily tradable on a secondary market (or the substantial equivalent thereof)”) that meets certain qualifying income but derives less than 90% of its gross income from sources described in clause (1).

The Fund must satisfy the following asset diversification requirements (“Diversification Requirements”) at the close of each quarter of its taxable year: (1) at least 50% of the value of its total assets must consist of cash and cash items, Government securities, securities of other RICs, and securities of other issuers, with these other securities limited, in respect of any one issuer, to an amount that does not exceed 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets and that does not represent more than 10% of the issuer’s outstanding voting securities (equity securities of a QPTP being considered voting securities for these purposes); and (2) no more than 25% of the value of its total assets may be invested in (a) the securities of any one issuer (other than Government securities and securities of other RICs), (b) the securities (other than securities of other RICs) of two or more issuers that the Fund controls (by owning 20% or more of their voting power) and that are engaged in the same, similar, or related trades or businesses, or (c) the securities of one or more QPTPs.

Failure to Qualify. If for any taxable year the Fund does not qualify for treatment as a RIC, either (1) by failing to satisfy the Distribution Requirement, even if it satisfied the Gross Income Requirement and the Diversification Requirements, or (2) by failing to satisfy the Gross Income Requirement and/or either Diversification Requirement and being unable, or determining not, to cure the failure in the manner described in the next two paragraphs, then for federal income tax purposes all of its taxable income (including its net capital gain) would be subject to tax at regular corporate rates without any deduction for

dividends paid to its shareholders. In addition, for those purposes the dividends would be taxable to the shareholders as ordinary income to the extent of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits, except that, for (a) individual and certain other non-corporate shareholders (each, an “individual shareholder”), the part thereof that is “qualified dividend income” would be subject to federal income tax at the rates for net capital gain, which are a maximum of 15% for a non-corporate shareholder with taxable income not exceeding certain thresholds (which will be adjusted for inflation annually) and 20% for non-corporate shareholders with taxable income exceeding such thresholds, and (b) those dividends would be eligible for the dividends-received deduction available to corporations under certain circumstances. Furthermore, the Fund could be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest, and make substantial distributions before requalifying for RIC treatment.

If the Fund fails to satisfy the Gross Income Requirement for any taxable year, it nevertheless will be considered to have satisfied that requirement for that year if, among other things, the failure “is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect” and the Fund pays a tax in an amount equal to the excess of its gross income that is not Qualifying Income over one-ninth of its gross income that is Qualifying Income.

If the Fund satisfies both Diversification Requirements at the close of its first quarter of its first taxable year, but fails to satisfy either Diversification Requirement at the close of any subsequent taxable year quarter by reason of a discrepancy existing immediately after its acquisition of any security that is wholly or partly the result of that acquisition during that quarter, it will not lose its status for that quarter as a RIC if the discrepancy is eliminated within 30 days after the quarter’s close. If the Fund fails to satisfy either or both Diversification Requirement(s) (other than a de minimis failure, as described in the IRC) for a quarter and the preceding sentence does not apply, it nevertheless will be considered to have satisfied those requirements for that quarter if, among other things, the failure “is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect” and the Fund disposes of the assets that caused the failure within six months after the last day of the quarter in which it identifies the failure in the manner prescribed by the IRS. In that case, the Fund will also be liable for a federal tax equal to the greater of $50,000 or the amount determined by multiplying the net income generated by those assets for the period from the date the failure occurs to the date of disposition thereof by the highest rate of federal income tax applicable to corporations (currently 21%).

Failure to qualify for treatment as a RIC would thus have a negative impact on the Fund’s after-tax performance. It is possible that the Fund will not qualify as a RIC in any given taxable year.

B. Fund Distributions

The Fund anticipates distributing substantially all of its investment company taxable income for each taxable year. These distributions will be taxable to a shareholder as ordinary income, but, as described in the Prospectus, a portion of the distributions may be treated as “qualified dividend income” and thus eligible to be taxed to individual shareholders at the lower maximum federal income tax rates applicable to net capital gain.

The Fund anticipates distributing substantially all of its net capital gain (after reduction for any capital loss carryovers, i.e., unutilized realized net capital losses from prior taxable years) for each taxable year. These distributions generally will be made only once a year, usually in December, but the Fund may make a limited number of additional distributions of net capital gain at any time during the year. These distributions will be taxable to a shareholder as long-term capital gains, regardless of how long the shareholder has held his or her shares. These distributions will not qualify for the dividends-received deduction or as “qualified dividend income.”

A distribution by the Fund that does not constitute an ordinary income dividend or capital or foreign currency gain distribution will be treated as a non-taxable “return of capital.” A return of capital distribution will reduce a shareholder’s tax basis in Fund shares and will be treated as gain from the sale of the shares to the extent it exceeds the shareholder’s basis.

Non-U.S. investors not engaged in a U.S. trade or business with which their investment in the Fund is “effectively connected” will be subject to U.S. federal income tax treatment that is different from that described above. Such non-U.S. investors may be subject to withholding tax at the rate of 30% (or a lower rate under an applicable tax treaty) on amounts treated as ordinary dividends from the Fund. Capital gain distributions, if any, are not subject to the 30% withholding tax. Exemption from this withholding tax is also provided for dividends properly reported in writing by the Fund to its shareholders as “interest-related dividends” or as “short-term capital gain dividends” paid by the Fund with respect to its “qualified net interest income” or “qualified short-term gain,” respectively (all such terms as defined in the IRC). Non-U.S. investors will need to provide an effective IRS Form W-8BEN or other authorized withholding certificate to qualify for the exemption.

Each distribution by the Fund will be treated in the manner described above regardless of whether the distribution is paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares of the Fund (or of another fund). If a shareholder reinvests a distribution in additional shares, the shareholder will be treated as having received a distribution in an amount equal to the fair market value of the reinvested shares, determined as of the reinvestment date.

When a shareholder purchases shares of the Fund, the purchase price (NAV) will include any undistributed net investment income and realized net capital gains and foreign currency gains and any unrealized appreciation in the value of the assets of the Fund. A distribution of that income or gain (including net gain, if any, from realizing all or part of that appreciation) will be taxable to a shareholder in the manner described above, even if the distribution economically constitutes a partial return of invested capital to the shareholder.

Ordinarily, a shareholder is required to take taxable distributions by the Fund into income in the year in which they are made. A distribution declared in October, November, or December of any year and payable to shareholders of record on a specified date in one of those months, however, is deemed to be paid by the Fund and received by those shareholders on December 31 of that year if the distribution is paid in January of the following year.

The Fund will send information annually to its shareholders regarding the federal income tax status of distributions made (or deemed made) during the year.

C. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”)

Under FATCA, foreign financial institutions (“FFIs”) and non-financial foreign entities (“NFFEs”) that are Fund shareholders may be subject to a generally nonrefundable 30% withholding tax on income dividends the Fund pays. As discussed more fully below, the FATCA withholding tax generally may be avoided (a) by an FFI, if it reports certain information regarding direct and indirect ownership of financial accounts U.S. persons hold with the FFI, and (b) by an NFFE that certifies its status as such and, in certain circumstances, reports information regarding substantial U.S owners.

An FFI may avoid FATCA withholding by becoming a “participating FFI,” which requires the FFI to enter into a tax compliance agreement with the IRS under the IRC. Under such an agreement, a participating FFI agrees to (1) verify and document whether it has U.S. accountholders, (2) report certain information regarding their accounts to the IRS, and (3) meet certain other specified requirements.

The U.S. Treasury Department has negotiated intergovernmental agreements (each, an “IGA”) with certain countries and is in various stages of negotiations with other foreign countries with respect to one or more alternative approaches to implement FATCA; entities in those countries may be required to comply with the terms of the relevant IGA instead of U.S. Treasury regulations. An FFI resident in a country that has entered into a Model I IGA with the United States must report to that country’s government (pursuant to the terms of the applicable IGA and applicable law), which will, in turn, report to the IRS. An FFI resident in a Model II IGA country generally must comply with U.S. regulatory requirements, with certain exceptions, including the treatment of recalcitrant accountholders. An FFI resident in one of those countries that complies with whichever of the foregoing applies will be exempt from FATCA withholding.

An NFFE that is the beneficial owner of a payment from the Fund may avoid FATCA withholding generally by certifying its status as such and, in certain circumstances, either that (1) it does not have any substantial U.S. owners or (2) it does have one or more such owners and reports the name, address, and taxpayer identification number of each such owner. The NFFE will report to the Fund or other applicable withholding agent, which may, in turn, report information to the IRS.

Those foreign shareholders also may fall into certain exempt, excepted, or deemed compliant categories established by U.S. Treasury regulations, IGAs, and other guidance regarding FATCA. An FFI or NFFE that invests in the Fund will need to provide the Fund with documentation properly certifying the entity’s status under FATCA to avoid FATCA withholding. The requirements imposed by FATCA are different from, and in addition to, the tax certification rules to avoid backup withholding described in the Prospectus. Foreign investors are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the application of these requirements to their own situations and the impact thereof on their investment in the Fund.

D. Redemption of Shares

In general, you will realize gain or loss on redemption of Fund shares in an amount equal to the difference between the proceeds of the redemption and your adjusted tax basis in the shares. All or a portion of any loss so realized will be disallowed if you purchase Fund shares (for example, by reinvesting distributions) within 30 days before or after the redemption (i.e., a “wash” sale); if disallowed, the loss would be reflected in an upward adjustment to the basis in the purchased shares. In

general, any gain or allowed loss arising from a redemption of shares of the Fund will be considered a capital gain or loss and will be long-term capital gain or loss if the shares were held for longer than one year. Any capital loss arising from a redemption of shares held for six months or less, however, will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of the amount of distributions of net capital gain, if any, received on such shares. In determining the holding period of shares for this purpose, any period during which your risk of loss is offset by means of an option, short sale, or similar transaction is not counted. Capital losses in any year are deductible only to the extent of capital gains plus, in the case of a non-corporate taxpayer, $3,000 of ordinary income.

E. Federal Excise Tax

A 4% non-deductible federal excise tax (“Excise Tax”) is imposed on a RIC that fails to distribute in each calendar year an amount equal to at least the sum of (1) 98.0% of its ordinary income for the year plus (2) 98.2% of its capital gain net income for the one-year period ended on October 31 of the year plus (3) any ordinary income and capital gain net income for previous years that were not distributed during those years. The Fund will be treated as having distributed any amount on which it is subject to income tax for any taxable year ending in the calendar year.

For purposes of calculating the Excise Tax, the Fund (1) reduces its capital gain net income (but not below its net capital gain) by the amount of any net ordinary loss for the calendar year and (2) excludes foreign currency gains and losses realized or sustained after October 31 of any year in determining the amount of ordinary income for that calendar year and includes them in determining the amount of ordinary income for the succeeding calendar year.

The Fund intends to make sufficient distributions each year of its ordinary income and capital gain net income to avoid liability for the Excise Tax. The Fund may in certain circumstances be required to liquidate portfolio investments to make distributions sufficient to avoid that liability.

F. Certain Tax Rules Applicable to Fund Transactions

Investments in Foreign Currencies and Securities. Gains or losses attributable to fluctuations in exchange rates that occur between the time that the Fund accrues interest, dividends or other receivables or accrues expenses or other liabilities denominated in a foreign currency and the time that the Fund actually collects such receivables or pays such liabilities are treated as ordinary income or ordinary losses. Similarly, gains or losses from the disposition of a foreign currency, or from the disposition of a fixed-income security denominated in a foreign currency that are attributable to fluctuations in the value of the foreign currency between the date of acquisition of the security and the date of its disposition, also are treated as ordinary income or ordinary losses. These gains or losses increase or decrease the amount of the Fund’s investment company taxable income available to be distributed to its shareholders as ordinary income, rather than increasing or decreasing the amount of its net capital gain.

If the Fund owns shares in a foreign corporation that constitutes a “passive foreign investment company” for federal tax purposes (a “PFIC”) and the Fund does not make either of the elections described in the next two paragraphs, it will be subject to federal income tax on a portion of any “excess distribution” it receives from the PFIC and any gain it derives from the disposition of such shares (collectively, “PFIC Income”), even if it distributes the PFIC Income as a taxable dividend to its shareholders. The Fund will also be subject to additional interest charges in respect of deferred taxes arising from the PFIC Income. Any such tax paid by the Fund as a result of its ownership of shares in a PFIC will not give rise to any deduction or credit to the Fund or to any shareholder. A PFIC is any foreign corporation (with certain exceptions) that, in general, meets either of the following tests for a taxable year: (1) at least 75% of its gross income is derived from “passive income” (including interest and dividends); or (2) an average of at least 50% of the value (or adjusted tax basis, if elected) of its assets produce, or are held for the production of, “passive income.” The Fund’s distributions of PFIC Income will not be eligible for the 15% and 20% maximum federal income tax rates on individual shareholders’ “qualified dividend income” described in the Prospectus.

The Fund may elect to “mark to market” its stock in a PFIC. Under such an election, the Fund would include in gross income (and treat as ordinary income) each taxable year an amount equal to the excess, if any, of the fair market value of the PFIC stock as of the close of the taxable year over the Fund’s adjusted basis in the PFIC stock. The Fund would be allowed a deduction for the excess, if any, of that adjusted basis over that fair market value, but only to the extent of any net mark-to-market gains included in gross income by the Fund for prior taxable years. The Fund’s adjusted basis in the PFIC stock would be adjusted to reflect the amounts included in, or deducted from, gross income under this election. Amounts so included, as well as gain realized on the disposition of the PFIC stock, would be treated as ordinary income. The deductible portion of any mark-to-market loss, as well as any loss realized on the disposition of the PFIC stock to the extent that such loss does not exceed the net mark-to-market gains previously included in gross income by the Fund, would be treated as

ordinary loss. The Fund generally would not be subject to the deferred tax and interest charge provisions discussed above with respect to PFIC stock for which a mark-to-market election has been made.

If the Fund purchases shares in a PFIC and elects to treat the PFIC as a “qualified electing fund,” the Fund would be required to include in its gross income each taxable year its pro rata share of the ordinary income and net capital gains of the PFIC, even if the income and gains were not distributed to the Fund. Any such income would be subject to the Distribution Requirement and the calendar year Excise Tax distribution requirement described above. In most instances it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to make this election because some of the information required to make this election may not be easily obtainable.

Investors should be aware that determining whether a foreign corporation is a PFIC is a fact-intensive determination that is based on various facts and circumstances and thus is subject to change, and the principles and methodology used therein are subject to interpretation. As a result, (1) the Fund may not be able, at the time it acquires a foreign corporation’s shares, to ascertain whether the corporation is a PFIC, and (2) a foreign corporation may become a PFIC after the Fund acquires shares therein. While the Fund generally will seek not to invest in PFIC shares to avoid the tax consequences detailed above, there are no guarantees that it will be able to do so, and it reserves the right to make such investments as a matter of its investment policy.

G. Foreign Income Tax

Investment income received by the Fund from sources within foreign countries and U.S. possessions and gains that the Fund realizes on the disposition of foreign securities (collectively, “foreign source income”) may be subject to foreign or possession income or other taxes withheld at the source (collectively, “foreign taxes”). The United States has entered into tax treaties with many foreign countries that may entitle the Fund to a reduced rate of foreign taxes imposed by, or exemption from taxes on foreign source income derived from, the particular country. It is impossible to know the effective rate of foreign tax in advance, since the amount of the Fund’s assets to be invested within various countries will vary.

If more than 50% of the value of the Fund’s total assets at the close of its taxable year consists of stocks or securities of foreign corporations, the Fund will be eligible and intends to file an election with the IRS to pass through to its shareholders the amount of foreign taxes it paid, as it has in the past. However, there can be no assurance that the Fund will be able to do so for the current or future taxable years. Pursuant to this election, each shareholder of the Fund (1) would be required to (a) include in gross income (in addition to dividends actually received) his or her pro rata share of foreign taxes paid by the Fund, (b) treat that share as having been paid by the shareholder, and (c) treat that share of those taxes and any dividend the Fund paid that represents foreign source income as the shareholder’s own income therefrom and (2) could either use the foregoing information in calculating the foreign tax credit against the shareholder’s federal income tax or deduct that share in computing taxable income.

A shareholder may be subject to rules that limit or reduce the ability to claim a credit for, or to fully deduct, his or her pro rata share of foreign taxes. Individual shareholders who have no more than $300 ($600 for married persons filing jointly) of creditable foreign taxes included on IRS Forms 1099 and all of whose foreign source income is “qualified passive income” may elect each taxable year to be exempt from the extremely complicated foreign tax credit limitation for federal income tax purposes (about which shareholders may wish to consult their tax advisors), in which event they would be able to claim a foreign tax credit without having to file the detailed Form 1116 that otherwise is required. A shareholder will not be entitled to credit or deduct his or her pro rata share of foreign taxes the Fund paid if the shareholder has not held the Fund’s shares for at least 16 days during the 31-day period beginning 15 days before the ex-distribution date for those shares. The minimum holding period will be extended if the shareholder’s risk of loss with respect to those shares is reduced by reason of holding an offsetting position. No deduction for foreign taxes may be claimed by a shareholder who does not itemize deductions. A foreign shareholder may not deduct or claim a credit for foreign taxes in determining his or her federal income tax liability unless the Fund dividends paid to him or her are “effectively connected” with the shareholder’s conduct of a U.S. trade or business.

H. Capital Loss Carryovers (“CLCOs”)

The Fund may have capital loss carryovers (“CLCOs”) for a taxable year. CLCOs may be used to offset any current taxable year net realized capital gain (whether short-term or long-term) and will not expire. All CLCOs are listed in the Fund’s financial statements. Any such losses may not be carried back.

I. State and Local Taxes

The tax rules of the various states and their local jurisdictions with respect to an investment in the Fund may differ from the federal income tax rules described above. These state and local rules are not discussed herein. You are urged to consult your tax advisor as to the consequences of state and local tax rules with respect to an investment in the Fund.

OTHER MATTERS

A. The Trust and its Shareholders

General Information. The Fund is a separate series of the Trust. The Trust is an open-end investment management company organized under Delaware law as a statutory trust on August 29, 1995. On January 5, 1996, the Trust succeeded to the assets and liabilities of Forum Funds, Inc. The Trust’s trust instrument (the “Trust Instrument”) permits the Trust to offer separate series (“funds”) of shares of beneficial interest (“shares”). The Trust reserves the right to create and issue shares of additional funds. The Trust and each fund will continue indefinitely until terminated. Each fund is a separate mutual fund, and each share of each fund represents an equal proportionate interest in that fund. All consideration received by the Trust for shares of any fund and all assets of such fund belong solely to that fund and would be subject to liabilities related thereto. The other funds of the Trust are described in one or more separate Statements of Additional Information.

Shareholder Voting and Other Rights. Each share of a fund and each class of shares has equal dividend, distribution, liquidation and voting rights. Fractional shares have those rights proportionately, except that expenses related to the distribution of shares of each fund or class (and certain other expenses such as transfer agency, shareholder service and administration expenses) are borne solely by those shares. Each fund or class votes separately with respect to the provisions of any Rule 12b-1 plan that pertains to the fund or class and other matters for which separate fund or class voting is appropriate under applicable law. Generally, shares will be voted separately by each fund except if: (1) the 1940 Act requires shares to be voted in the aggregate and not by individual funds; or (2) the Board determines that the matter affects more than one fund and all affected funds must vote. The Board may also determine that a matter only affects certain funds or classes of the Trust and thus that only those funds or classes are entitled to vote on the matter. Delaware law does not require the Trust to hold annual meetings of shareholders, and it is anticipated that shareholder meetings will be held only when specifically required by federal or state law. There are no conversion or preemptive rights in connection with shares of the Trust.

All shares, when issued in accordance with the terms of the offering, will be fully paid and non-assessable.

A shareholder in a fund is entitled to the shareholder’s pro rata share of all distributions arising from that fund’s assets and, upon redeeming shares, will receive the portion of the fund’s net assets represented by the redeemed shares.

Shareholders representing 10% or more of the Trust’s (or a fund’s) shares may, as set forth in the Trust Instrument, call meetings of the Trust (or fund) for any purpose related to the Trust (or fund), including, in the case of a meeting of the Trust, the purpose of voting on removal of one or more Trustees.

Pursuant to Delaware law, the Trust Instrument places certain limitations on the ability of shareholders to bring derivative actions on behalf of the Trust and certain direct claims. These limitations include, but are not limited to: (i) a pre-suit demand must be made on the Board; (ii) to the maximum extent permitted by law, the demand must be executed by at least three unaffiliated and unrelated shareholders who hold shares representing 10% or more of the all shares issued and outstanding or of the series or classes to which such an action relates, if it does not relate to all series and classes thereof; (iii) the Trustees will consider such a request within a time frame that the Trustees in their discretion consider reasonable and appropriate; (iv) the Trustees will be entitled to retain counsel or other advisers in considering the merits of the request and, to the maximum extent permitted by law, will require an undertaking by the shareholder (or shareholders) making the request to reimburse the Trust for the expense of any such advisers in the event that the Trustees determine not to bring the action; (v) to the maximum extent permitted by law, any decision by the Trustees relating to the matter will be final and binding upon the shareholder, and judicially unreviewable; (vi) to the maximum extent permitted by law, a shareholder may bring a direct action or claim only if the shareholder (or group of shareholders) has suffered an injury distinct from that suffered by shareholders of the Trust or the relevant series or a class thereof generally; and (vii) to the maximum extent permitted by law, a shareholder may bring a direct action or claim predicated upon an express or implied right of action under the Trust Instrument or the 1940 Act (excepting rights of action permitted under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act), only if the shareholder (or group of shareholders) has obtained authorization from the Trustees to bring the action or claim.

The Trust Instrument also places limitations on the forum in which claims against the Trust may be heard. Unless the Board consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, any suit, action or proceeding brought by or in the right of any shareholder or any person claiming any interest in any shares seeking to enforce any provision of, or based on any matter arising out of, related to or in connection with the Trust Instrument, including without limitation any claim of any nature against the Trust, any series or class, the Trustees or officers of the Trust, or a service provider will be brought exclusively in the Delaware Court of Chancery to the extent that court has subject matter jurisdiction over the action or claims asserted and otherwise in the courts of the State of Delaware to the extent there is subject matter jurisdiction in those courts for the

claims asserted. Accordingly, shareholders may have to bring suit in what they may consider to be an inconvenient and potentially less favorable forum. These limitations described above relating to derivative actions and choice of forum do not apply to claims asserted under the federal securities laws, to the extent that any such federal laws, rules or regulations do not permit such application.

Termination or Reorganization of Trust or its Series. The Board, may, without prior shareholder approval, change the form of organization of the Trust by merger, consolidation or incorporation, so long as the surviving entity is an open-end management investment company. Under the Trust Instrument, the Trustees may also, without shareholder vote, sell and convey all or substantially all of the assets of the Trust to another trust, partnership, association or corporation, or cause the Trust to incorporate in the State of Delaware, so long as the surviving entity is an open-end management investment company that will succeed to or assume the Trust’s registration statement.

Under the Trust Instrument, the Board may sell or convey the assets of a fund or reorganize such fund into another investment company registered under the 1940 Act without a shareholder vote.

B. Fund Ownership

A principal shareholder is any person who owns of record or beneficially 5% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund. A control person is a shareholder who owns beneficially or through controlled companies more than 25% of the voting securities of a company or acknowledges the existence of control. Shareholders owning voting securities in excess of 25% may determine the outcome of any matter affecting and voted on by shareholders of the Fund.

As of April 4, 2024, the Trustees and officers of the Trust in aggregate owned less than 1% of the outstanding shares of beneficial interest of the Fund.

As of April 4, 2024, certain shareholders listed in Table 6 in Appendix A owned of record or beneficially 5% or more of the shares of the Fund.

As of April 4, 2024, no shareholder owned of record or beneficially 25% or more of the Fund’s voting securities.

C. Limitations on Shareholders’ and Trustees’ Liability

Delaware law provides that Fund shareholders are entitled to the same limitations of personal liability extended to stockholders of private corporations for profit. In addition, the Trust Instrument contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for the debts, liabilities, obligations and expenses of the Trust. The Trust Instrument provides for indemnification out of each fund’s property of any shareholder or former shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the relevant fund. The Trust Instrument also provides that the Trust, on behalf of a fund, shall, upon request, assume the defense of any claim made against any shareholder for any act or obligation of that fund and satisfy any judgment thereon. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which Delaware law does not apply, no contractual limitation of liability is in effect, and the Fund is unable to meet its obligations.

The Trust Instrument provides that the Trustees shall not be liable to any person other than the Trust and its shareholders. In addition, the Trust Instrument provides that the Trustees shall not be liable for any conduct whatsoever, provided that a Trustee is not protected against any liability to which he or she would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his or her office.

Shareholders are not intended to be third-party beneficiaries of Fund contracts, and the Trust Instrument establishes certain procedures and limitations regarding shareholder lawsuits brought on behalf of the Trust.

D. Proxy Voting Procedures

The Trust’s and the Advisor’s proxy voting procedures are included in Appendices B and C, respectively. Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the 12-month period ended June 30 is available: (1) without charge, upon request, by contacting the Transfer Agent at (866) 684-4915 (toll free); and (2) on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

E. Code of Ethics

The Trust and the Advisor have each adopted a code of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act. These codes are designed to eliminate conflicts of interest between the Fund and personnel of the Trust and the Advisor. The codes permit such personnel to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Fund, subject to certain limitations. The Distributor relies on the principal underwriters exception under Rule 17j-1(c)(3), specifically where the Distributor is not affiliated with the Trust or the Advisor, and no officer, director or general partner of the Distributor serves as an officer, director or general partner of the Trust or the Advisor.

F. Registration Statement

This SAI and the Prospectus do not contain all of the information included in the Trust’s registration statement filed with the SEC under the 1933 Act with respect to the securities offered hereby. The registration statement, including the exhibits filed therewith, may be examined at the office of the SEC in Washington, D.C. The SEC maintains a website (www.sec.gov) that contains this SAI, any material incorporated by reference, and other information regarding the Fund.

G. Financial Statements

The Fund’s Financial Statements and Financial Highlights for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 are incorporated by reference into this SAI from the Fund’s Annual Report to shareholders, have been audited by Cohen & Company, Ltd., an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in its report, which is incorporated herein by reference, and have been so incorporated in reliance upon reports of such firm, given upon its authority as an expert in accounting and auditing.

APPENDIX A – MISCELLANEOUS TABLES

Table 1 – Investment Advisory Fees

The following table shows the dollar amount of fees accrued with respect to the Fund, the amount of fees waived and/or expenses reimbursed by the Advisor, if any, and the actual fees retained by the Advisor. The data are for the last three fiscal years.

(1)       $19,148 of advisory fees have been recouped.

Table 2 – Administration Fees

The following table shows the dollar amount of fees accrued with respect to the Fund, the amount of fees waived by Apex Fund Services, if any, and the actual fees retained by Apex Fund Services. The data are for the last three fiscal years.

Table 3 – Commissions

The following table shows the aggregate brokerage commissions of the Fund. The data are for the last three fiscal years.

Table 4 – Directed Brokerage

The following table lists the Fund’s directed brokerage in return for research services, the amount of transactions so directed and the amount of commissions generated therefrom. The data are for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.

Table 5 – Securities of Regular Brokers or Dealers  

The following table lists the Fund’s regular brokers-dealers whose securities (or the securities of the parent company) were acquired during the past fiscal year and the aggregate value of the Fund’s holdings of those securities as of December 31, 2023.

Table 6 – 5% Shareholders

The following table lists, as of April 4, 2024, (1) the persons who owned 25% or more of the outstanding shares of the applicable class, and (2) the persons who owned of record or beneficially 5% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund. The Fund believes that these shares were owned of record by such shareholders for their fiduciary, agency or custody accounts.

APPENDIX B – TRUST PROXY-VOTING PROCEDURES

Forum Funds

Shareholder Voting Policy

As of December 14, 2012

SECTION 1. BACKGROUND

The Trust exercises its shareholder voting responsibilities as an investor in other issuers as a fiduciary, with the goal of maximizing the value of the Trust’s and its shareholders’ investments. This Policy details the Trust’s policy with respect to shareholder voting.

SECTION 2. ADVISER RESPONSIBILITIES

(A) Delegation by Board. Each Fund has delegated to the Adviser the authority to vote as a shareholder of issuers whose securities are held in its portfolio. The Adviser shall maintain and the Board shall approve voting procedures related to the Adviser acting on behalf of the Fund in accordance with its fiduciary duties and the best interests of Fund shareholders.

(B) Delivery of Proxies. The Adviser is responsible for coordinating the delivery of proxies to be voted by the Custodian to the Adviser or to an agent of the Adviser selected by the Adviser to vote proxies with respect to which the Adviser has such discretion (a “Proxy Voting Service”). Upon request, the Adviser shall provide periodic reports to the Board as to the implementation and operation of its shareholder voting policies and procedures as they relate to the Trust.

(C) Conflicts of Interest. The Trust recognizes that under certain circumstances an Adviser or Proxy Voting Service may have a conflict of interest in voting on behalf of a Fund. A conflict of interest includes any circumstance when the Fund, the Adviser, the Distributor, the Proxy Voting Service or one or more of their Affiliated Persons (including officers, directors and employees) knowingly does business with, receives compensation from, or sits on the board of, a particular issuer or closely affiliated entity, and, therefore, may appear to have a conflict of interest between its own interests and the interests of Fund shareholders in how shares of that issuer are voted.

Each Adviser is responsible for maintaining procedures to identify and address material conflicts of interest and, when applicable, determine the adequacy of a Proxy Voting Service’s procedures to identify and address material conflicts of interest.

(D) Voting Record. The Adviser shall be responsible for ensuring a voting record is maintained that includes all instances where the Fund was entitled to vote and will coordinate the annual delivery of such record to the Administrator for purposes of preparing the Trust’s annual Form N-PX filing. The voting record shall include the following information required to be reported in Form N-PX:

(1) The name of the issuer of the security;

(2) The exchange ticker symbol of the security;

(3) The CUSIP for the security;

(4) The shareholder meeting date;

(5) A brief identification of the matter voted on;

(6) Whether the matter was proposed by the issuer or by a security holder;

(7) Whether the Trust cast its vote on the matter;

(8)  How the Trust cast its vote (e.g., for or against proposal, or abstain; for or withhold regarding election of directors); and

(9) Whether the Trust cast its vote for or against management.

The Adviser shall also be responsible for ensuring information regarding how the Fund voted relating to portfolio securities during the twelve-month period ended June 30 is available on the Fund’s website or other location consistent with disclosure in the Fund’s registration statement.

SECTION 3: ABSTENTION

The Trust and an Adviser may abstain from shareholder voting in certain circumstances. Abstaining from voting may be appropriate if voting would be unduly burdensome or expensive, or otherwise not in the best interest of a Fund’s shareholders.

SECTION 4: BOARD REPORTING AND REVIEW

(A) The Adviser shall submit its voting procedures to the Board for review and approval initially and at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board following any material change.

(B) The Adviser shall report to the Board, at least quarterly, whether any conflicts of interest arose while voting as an investor in other issuers and how such conflicts were handled.

APPENDIX C – ADVISOR PROXY-VOTING PROCEDURES

Cannell & Spears LLC

We have adopted proxy-voting policies and procedures that set forth how and under what circumstances we vote proxies for clients. We vote proxies in accordance with any client instructions. Otherwise, we vote in accordance with the following policies and procedures.

These proxy-voting policies and procedures are designed to ensure that we comply with the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”) and rule 206(4)-6 under the Advisers Act. Under the Advisers Act, we owe our clients duties of care and loyalty with respect to all services undertaken on their behalf, including proxy voting. To satisfy our duty of care, we monitor corporate events and, except in unusual circumstances, vote proxies. To satisfy our duty of loyalty, we seek to ensure that no conflict of interest interferes with our ability to vote proxies in the best interest of a client.

These policies and procedures apply when a client has implicitly or expressly granted us the authority to vote proxies on his behalf. In most cases, the investment management agreement expressly provides that we have the power to vote proxies. When the client has entrusted the firm with full discretionary authority over his account, the grant of discretionary authority implicitly includes the authority to vote proxies.

Risks. In developing these policies and procedures, we considered numerous risks associated with the proxy-voting process. This analysis includes risks such as:

Proxies may not be identified and processed in a timely manner;

Proxies may not be voted in the best interest of clients; 

Conflicts of interest between our firm and a client may not be identified or resolved appropriately;

Third-party proxy-voting services may not vote proxies according to our instructions; and 

Proxy-voting records, client requests for proxy-voting information, and our responses to these requests may not be properly maintained.

We have established the following guidelines to mitigate these risks.

General Principles. We vote proxies with respect to securities held in a client account in the manner that we believe to be in the best interest of the client. Unless otherwise instructed by a client, we believe that the maximization of the value of client investments constitutes the best interest of the client.

Use of Proxy-Voting Service. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc., an independent and unaffiliated proxy-voting service, votes the vast majority of proxies that we receive using ProxyEdge, an electronic voting platform. ProxyEdge also retains a record of each proxy voted. Through Broadridge, we have engaged Egan-Jones Proxy Services to recommend the manner in which proxies should be voted. Egan-Jones represents itself as a neutral third party that issues recommendations based on its own internal guidelines. Egan-Jones states that its guidelines are designed to maximize returns for investment managers by voting in a manner that generally supports management while seeking to limit the risk to investors to the greatest extent possible. According to Egan-Jones, the guidelines are aimed at helping our firm to fulfill its fiduciary duty to vote proxies independently, while recognizing that our main goal is to enhance returns and that we select issuers with whose management and boards of directors we are generally comfortable.

In some instances, we may instruct Broadridge to vote proxies other than as Egan-Jones recommends. Accordingly, our policies with respect to certain specific types of voting decisions are set forth below. When we perceive it to be in the best interest of a client, we will deviate from the general approaches summarized below. In most cases, a security for which proxies are being sought is held in more than one client account. In those circumstances, we typically vote all client proxies in the same manner. However, if client objectives differ or our portfolio managers reach different conclusions as to the advisability of a particular proposal, we may not exercise our voting authority uniformly across client accounts.

Routine Proposals (Generally Vote with Management). In routine matters, we generally vote in the manner recommended by management of the issuer. We believe that management is usually in the best position to evaluate routine proposals. However, we will not follow a management recommendation if, in our judgment, circumstances suggest that the vote recommended by management will not maximize the value of the investment of a client. Examples of circumstances that may lead us to vote against the recommendation of management, even in a routine matter, are noted below.

Election of Directors. We may vote against the recommended slate of directors in circumstances such as contested elections, the poor performance of a nominee, or when the election of management nominees appears likely to compromise the independent judgment of the board of directors.

Selection of Independent Auditors. We may vote against management when a change in auditors is based upon a disagreement over accounting policy or when non-audit fees constitute a disproportionately large portion of the fees paid to the recommended auditor.

Reincorporation. We may vote against management if the reincorporation results in a move to a jurisdiction with fewer legal protections for shareholders or with anti-takeover statutes that may adversely affect share value by discouraging potential acquirers.

Stock Splits. We generally vote against management proposals to increase the number of authorized common shares in connection with a proposed stock split if the proposal would result in an increase of the number of authorized but unissued shares.

Director Indemnification. Although we generally view director indemnification as a routine matter in which the judgment of management may be respected, considering the need to recruit qualified directors, we may vote against proposed indemnification provisions in circumstances in which the proposed indemnification is overly broad.

Equity-Based Compensation Plans (Case-by-Case Consideration). We generally support equity compensation plans that are reasonably designed to align the interests of employees and executives with those of shareholders. However, we may oppose an equity-based compensation plan if, among other things, it would cause excessive dilution of existing shareholders or would be likely to provide compensation in excess of that required to recruit and retain qualified employees and executives.

Corporate Structure, Shareholder Rights, and Anti-Takeover Measures (Generally Vote Against Anti-Takeover Measures; Evaluate Other Measures on a Case-by-Case Basis). We believe that the interest of a client in an equity investment is generally maximized when an issuer does not adopt measures that have the effect of discouraging potential acquirers. We therefore generally vote against proposals that would tend to discourage potential acquirers. However, we recognize that some measures, such as authorizing additional stock, may maximize shareholder value for business purposes unrelated to any anti-takeover effect, and we support these measures on a case-by-case basis.

We generally vote in favor of proposed actions, such as the authorization of blank-check preferred stock, an increase in authorized stock, and stock repurchases, if we believe that the actions are likely to achieve a worthwhile business purpose apart from discouraging potential acquirers. In addition, we generally vote in favor of proposed actions that tend to increase the power of minority shareholders, such as implementing cumulative voting, removing super-majority voting requirements, removing barriers to shareholder action (such as bylaws or charter provisions that limit the right of shareholders to call a special meeting or to act by written consent), and requiring that poison-pill and shareholder rights plans be subject to a shareholder vote.

We generally vote against proposed actions that tend to discourage potential acquirers without achieving other business objectives, such as implementing a staggered board or implementing a poison-pill plan or another shareholder rights plan.

Social Policy Issues (Generally Vote with Management). We generally vote with management on issues that primarily concern social or ethical considerations, such as shareholder proposals to disclose or amend certain business practices. Because our interest in investments is primarily economic, we rely on management to evaluate issues that primarily raise social or ethical considerations.

General Procedures. Our procedures are designed with two primary objectives. First, the procedures are designed to ensure that any material conflicts of interest raised by a particular proxy are identified and that the proxy in question is voted in the best interest of the client. Second, the procedures are designed to ensure that we produce and retain proxy-voting records as required by the rules under the Advisers Act and the Investment Company Act of 1940.

All proxy materials that we receive are forwarded to Jeannie Woo, as proxy administrator, who is responsible for the following tasks:

The proxy administrator maintains files containing (1) each proxy statement received regarding client securities, (2) any document created by a Supervised Person that was material to deciding how to vote proxies on behalf of a client or that memorializes the basis for that decision, and (3) in accordance with rule 204-2(c)(2) under the Advisers Act, all written requests from clients regarding the voting of proxies on behalf of a client and any written response to these requests.

The proxy administrator is responsible for ensuring that all proxy materials are voted in a timely manner. On core holdings, the proxy administrator notifies the relevant portfolio manager or portfolio managers of any Egan-Jones recommendations that are made against management. The portfolio managers then review these proposals and decide how to vote. The proxy administrator casts a vote accordingly, if necessary, and maintains the supporting documents.

Rule 206(4)-6 under the Advisers Act requires us, upon request by a client, to provide the client with information regarding how we voted proxies with respect to securities held in the account of the client and a copy of these proxy-voting policies and procedures. The chief compliance officer is responsible for ensuring that this information is provided to clients upon their request.

Conflicts of Interest. Because Broadridge votes most client proxies based on the recommendations of Egan-Jones, it is unlikely that a conflict of interest will arise. If a matter to be voted upon involves a potential conflict of interest, the relevant portfolio manager consults with the chief compliance officer prior to contacting the client to describe the conflict presented. Once the client has been consulted, the proxy administrator requests Broadridge to vote the proxy in accordance with the instructions of the client.

Reporting of Proxies Voted on Behalf of the Fund. On an annual basis, we provide to Forum Funds information relating to the proxies voted on behalf of the Fund that is necessary for Forum Funds to file its annual report of proxy-voting records on Form N-PX.

C-3

PART C

OTHER INFORMATION

Other Exhibits:

None.

In accordance with Section 3803 of the Delaware Business Trust Act, Section 10.02 of Registrant’s Trust Instrument provides as follows:

“10.02. INDEMNIFICATION

(a) Subject to the exceptions and limitations contained in Section (b) below:

(i) Every Person who is, or has been, a Trustee or officer of the Trust (hereinafter referred to as a “Covered Person”) shall be indemnified by the Trust to the fullest extent permitted by law against liability and against all expenses reasonably incurred or paid by him in connection with any claim, action, suit or proceeding in which he becomes involved as a party or otherwise by virtue of being or having been a Trustee or officer and against amounts paid or incurred by him in the settlement thereof);

(ii) The words “claim,” “action,” “suit,” or “proceeding” shall apply to all claims, actions, suits or proceedings (civil, criminal or other, including appeals), actual or threatened while in office or thereafter, and the words “liability” and “expenses” shall include, without limitation, attorneys’ fees, costs, judgments, amounts paid in settlement, fines, penalties and other liabilities.

(b) No indemnification shall be provided hereunder to a Covered Person:

(i) Who shall have been adjudicated by a court or body before which the proceeding was brought (A) to be liable to the Trust or its Holders by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of the Covered Person’s office or (B) not to have acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that Covered Person’s action was in the best interest of the Trust; or

(ii) In the event of a settlement, unless there has been a determination that such Trustee or officer did not engage in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of the Trustee’s or officer’s office,

(A) By the court or other body approving the settlement;

(B) By at least a majority of those Trustees who are neither Interested Persons of the Trust nor are parties to the matter based upon a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry);

(C) By written opinion of independent legal counsel based upon a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry); provided, however, that any Holder may, by appropriate legal proceedings, challenge any such determination by the Trustees or by independent counsel.

(c) The rights of indemnification herein provided may be insured against by policies maintained by the Trust, shall be severable, shall not be exclusive of or affect any other rights to which any Covered Person may now or hereafter be entitled, shall continue as to a person who has ceased to be a Covered Person and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such a person. Nothing contained herein shall affect any rights to indemnification to which Trust personnel, other than Covered Persons, and other persons may be entitled by contract or otherwise under law. 

(d) Expenses in connection with the preparation and presentation of a defense to any claim, action, suit or proceeding of the character described in paragraph (a) of this Section 5.2 may be paid by the Trust or Series from time to time prior to final disposition thereof upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such Covered Person that such amount will be paid over by him to the Trust or Series if it is ultimately determined that he is not entitled to indemnification under this Section 5.2; provided, however, that either (a) such Covered Person shall have provided appropriate security for such undertaking, (b) the Trust is insured against losses arising out of any such advance payments or (c) either a majority of the Trustees who are neither Interested Persons of the Trust nor parties to the matter, or independent legal counsel in a written opinion, shall have determined, based upon a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a trial-type inquiry or full investigation), that there is reason to believe that such Covered Person will be found entitled to indemnification under this Section 5.2.

(e) Conditional advancing of indemnification monies under this Section 5.2 for actions based upon the 1940 Act may be made only on the following conditions: (i) the advances must be limited to amounts used, or to be used, for the preparation or presentation of a defense to the action, including costs connected with the preparation of a settlement; (ii) advances may be made only upon receipt of a written promise by, or on behalf of, the recipient to repay that amount of the advance which exceeds that amount which it is ultimately determined that he is entitled to receive from the Trust by reason of indemnification; and (iii) (a) such promise must be secured by a surety bond, other suitable insurance or an equivalent form of security which assures that any repayments may be obtained by the Trust without delay or litigation, which bond, insurance or other form of security must be provided by the recipient of the advance, or (b) a majority of a quorum of the Trust’s disinterested, non-party Trustees, or an independent legal counsel in a written opinion, shall determine, based upon a review of readily available facts, that the recipient of the advance ultimately will be found entitled to indemnification.

(f) In case any Holder or former Holder of any Series shall be held to be personally liable solely by reason of the Holder or former Holder being or having been a Holder of that Series and not because of the Holder or former Holder acts or omissions or for some other reason, the Holder or former Holder (or the Holder or former Holder’s heirs, executors, administrators or other legal representatives, or, in the case of a corporation or other entity, its corporate or other general successor) shall be entitled out of the assets belonging to the applicable Series to be held harmless from and indemnified against all loss and expense arising from such liability. The Trust, on behalf of the affected Series, shall, upon request by the Holder, assume the defense of any claim made against the Holder for any act or obligation of the Series and satisfy any judgment thereon from the assets of the Series.”

With respect to indemnification of an adviser to the Trust, the Investment Advisory Agreement between the Trust and Monongahela Capital Management, Inc. includes language similar to the following:

(a) The Trust shall expect of the Adviser, and the Adviser will give the Trust the benefit of, the Adviser’s best judgment and efforts in rendering its services to the Trust. The Adviser shall not be liable hereunder for any mistake of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission taken or in any event whatsoever with respect to the Trust, the Fund or any of the Fund’s shareholders in the absence of bad faith, willful misfeasance or negligence in the performance of the Adviser’s duties or obligations under this Agreement or by reason of the Adviser’s reckless disregard of its duties and obligations under this Agreement.

(b) Adviser shall not be liable for the errors of other service providers to the Trust, including the errors of pricing services, administrator, fund accountant, custodian or transfer agent to the Trust, unless such errors arise from the Adviser’s providing false or misleading information to other service providers. The Adviser shall not be liable to the Trust for any action taken or failure to act in good faith reliance upon: (i) information, instructions or requests, whether oral or written, with respect to the Fund made to the

Adviser by a duly authorized officer of the Trust; (ii) the advice of counsel to the Trust; and (iii) any written instruction or certified copy of any resolution of the Board or any agent of the Board.

(c) The Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Trust, each Fund and their respective employees, agents, trustees and officers against and from any and all claims, demands, actions, suits, judgments, liabilities, losses, damages, costs, charges, reasonable counsel fees and other expenses of every nature and character arising out of or in any way related to (i) any breach of the Adviser’s obligations under this Agreement, (ii) any acts or failures to act of Adviser for which the Adviser would be liable under Section 5(a), (iii) any breach of a representation or warranty of the Adviser set forth in this Agreement and (iv) claims or demands by any employee, agent, trustee, member or manager of the Adviser in their capacity as such. The Trust is hereby authorized to deduct any amounts payable in respect of the Adviser’s indemnification obligations hereunder from any fees payable to the Adviser pursuant to Section 4(a).

(d) The Adviser shall not be responsible or liable for any failure or delay in performance of its obligations under this Agreement arising out of or caused, directly or indirectly, by circumstances beyond its reasonable control including, but not limited to, acts of civil or military authority, national emergencies, labor difficulties (other than those related to the Adviser’s employees), fire, mechanical breakdowns, flood or catastrophe, acts of God, insurrection, war, riots or failure of the mails, transportation, communication or power supply.

With respect to indemnification of an adviser to the Trust, the Investment Advisory Agreement between the Trust and Lisanti Capital Growth, LLC, Beck, Mack & Oliver LLC, DF Dent & Company, Inc., Polaris Capital Management, LLC and Cannell & Spears LLC includes language similar to the following:

(a) The Trust shall expect of the Adviser, and the Adviser will give the Trust the benefit of, the Adviser’s best judgment and efforts in rendering its services to the Trust. The Adviser shall not be liable hereunder for mistake of judgment or mistake of law or in any event whatsoever, except for lack of good faith, provided that nothing herein shall be deemed to protect, or purport to protect, the Adviser against any liability to the Trust or to the Trust’s security holders to which the Adviser would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of the Adviser’s duties hereunder, or by reason of the Adviser’s reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder.

(b) The Adviser shall not be responsible or liable for any failure or delay in performance of its obligations under this Agreement arising out of or caused, directly or indirectly, by circumstances beyond its reasonable control including, without limitation, acts of civil or military authority, national emergencies, labor difficulties (other than those related to the Adviser’s employees), fire, mechanical breakdowns, flood or catastrophe, acts of God, insurrection, war, riots or failure of the mails, transportation, communication or power supply.

With respect to indemnification of an adviser to the Trust, the Investment Advisory Agreement between the Trust and MAI Capital Management, LLC includes language similar to the following:

(a) The Trust shall expect of the Adviser, and the Adviser will give the Trust the benefit of, the Adviser’s best judgment and efforts in rendering its services to the Trust. The Adviser shall not be liable hereunder for any mistake of judgment or mistake of law for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission taken or in any event whatsoever with respect to the Trust, the Fund or any of the Fund’s shareholders in the absence of bad faith, willful misfeasance or gross negligence in the performance of the Adviser’s duties or obligations and under this Agreement.

(b) Adviser shall not be liable for the errors of other service providers to the Trust, including the errors of pricing, services, administrator, fund accountant, custodian or transfer agent to the Trust. The

Adviser shall not be liable to the Trust for any action take or failure to act in good faith reliance upon: (i) information, instructions or requests, whether oral or written, with respect to the Fund made to the Adviser by a duly authorized officer of the Trust; (ii) the advice of counsel to the Trust; and (iii) any written instruction or certified copy of any resolution of the Board or any agent of the Board.

(c) The Adviser shall not be responsible or liable for any failure or delay in performance of its obligations under this Agreement arising out of or caused, directly or indirectly, by circumstances beyond its reasonable control including, without limitation, acts of civil or military authority, national emergencies, labor difficulties (other than those related to the Adviser’s employees), fire, mechanical breakdowns, flood or catastrophe, acts of God, insurrection, war, riots or failure of the mails, transportation, communication or power supply. With respect to indemnification of an adviser to the Trust, the Investment Advisory

Agreement between the Trust and Auxier Asset Management, LLC and H.M. Payson & Co. includes language similar to the following:

The Adviser may rely on information reasonably believed by the Adviser to be accurate and reliable. Except as may otherwise be required by the 1940 Act or the rules thereunder, neither the Adviser nor its shareholders, members, officers, directors, employees, agents, control persons or affiliates of any thereof shall be subject to any liability for, or any damages, expenses or losses incurred by the Trust in connection with, any error of judgment, mistake of law, any act or omission connected with or arising out of any services rendered under, or payments made pursuant to, this Agreement or any other matter to which this Agreement relates, except by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of any such persons in the performance of the Adviser’s duties under this Agreement, or by reason of reckless disregard by any of such persons of the Adviser’s obligations and duties under this Agreement.

With respect to indemnification of the underwriter of the Trust, Section 8 of the Distribution Agreement provides:

(a) The Trust will indemnify, defend and hold the Distributor, its employees, agents, directors and officers and any person who controls the Distributor within the meaning of section 15 of the Securities Act or section 20 of the 1934 Act (“Distributor Indemnitees”) free and harmless from and against any and all claims, demands, actions, suits, judgments, liabilities, losses, damages, costs, charges, reasonable counsel fees and other expenses of every nature and character (including the cost of investigating or defending such claims, demands, actions, suits or liabilities and any reasonable counsel fees incurred in connection therewith) which any Distributor Indemnitee may incur, under the Securities Act, or under common law or otherwise, arising out of or based upon (i) the bad faith, willful misfeasance or gross negligence of the Trust in connection with the subject matter of this Agreement; (ii) any material breach by the Trust of its representations an warranties under this Agreement; (iii) any alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectuses or arising out of or based upon any alleged omission to state a material fact required to be stated in any one thereof or necessary to make the statements in any one thereof not misleading, unless such statement or omission was made in reliance upon, and in conformity with, information furnished in writing to the Trust in connection with the preparation of the Registration Statement or exhibits to the Registration Statement by or on behalf of the Distributor (“Distributor Claims”). After receipt of the Distributor’s notice of termination under Section 13(e), the Trust shall indemnify and hold each Distributor Indemnitee free and harmless from and against any Distributor Claim; provided, that the term Distributor Claim for purposes of this sentence shall mean any Distributor Claim related to the matters for which the Distributor has requested amendment to the Registration Statement and for which the Trust has not filed a Required Amendment, regardless of with respect to such matters whether any statement in or omission from the Registration Statement was made in reliance upon, or in conformity with, information furnished to the Trust by or on behalf of the Distributor. 

(b) The Trust may assume the defense of any suit brought to enforce any Distributor Claim and may retain counsel of good standing chosen by the Trust and approved by the Distributor, which approval shall not be withheld unreasonably. The Trust shall advise the Distributor that it will assume the defense of the suit and retain counsel within ten (10) days of receipt of the notice of the claim. If the Trust assumes the defense of any such suit and retains counsel, the defendants shall bear the fees and expenses of any additional counsel that they retain. If the Trust does not assume the defense of any such suit, or if Distributor does not approve of counsel chosen by the Trust or has been advised that it may have available defenses or claims that are not available to or conflict with those available to the Trust, the Trust will reimburse any Distributor Indemnitee named as defendant in such suit for the reasonable fees and expenses of any counsel that person retains. A Distributor Indemnitee shall not settle or confess any claim without the prior written consent of the Trust, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed.

(c) The Distributor will indemnify, defend and hold the Trust and its several officers and trustees (collectively, the “Trust Indemnitees”), free and harmless from and against any and all claims, demands, actions, suits, judgments, liabilities, losses, damages, costs, charges, reasonable counsel fees and other expenses of every nature and character (including the cost of investigating or defending such claims, demands, actions, suits or liabilities and any reasonable counsel fees incurred in connection therewith), but only to the extent that such claims, demands, actions, suits, judgments, liabilities, losses, damages, costs, charges, reasonable counsel fees and other expenses result from, arise out of or are based upon:

(i) any alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement or Prospectus or any alleged omission of a material fact required to be stated or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon, and in conformity with, information furnished to the Trust in writing in connection with the preparation of the Registration Statement or Prospectus by or on behalf of the Distributor; or

(ii) any act of, or omission by, the Distributor or its sales representatives that does not conform to the standard of care set forth in Section 7 of this Agreement (“Trust Claims”).

(d) The Distributor may assume the defense of any suit brought to enforce any Trust Claim and may retain counsel of good standing chosen by the Distributor and approved by the Trust, which approval shall not be withheld unreasonably. The Distributor shall advise the Trust that it will assume the defense of the suit and retain counsel within ten (10) days of receipt of the notice of the claim. If the Distributor assumes the defense of any such suit and retains counsel, the defendants shall bear the fees and expenses of any additional counsel that they retain. If the Distributor does not assume the defense of any such suit, or if the Trust does not approve of counsel chosen by the Distributor or has been advised that it may have available defenses or claims that are not available to or conflict with those available to the Distributor, the Distributor will reimburse any Trust Indemnitee named as defendant in such suit for the reasonable fees and expenses of any counsel that person retains. A Trust Indemnitee shall not settle or confess any claim without the prior written consent of the Distributor, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed.

(e) The Trust’s and the Distributor’s obligations to provide indemnification under this Section is conditioned upon the Trust or the Distributor receiving notice of any action brought against a Distributor Indemnitee or Trust Indemnitee, respectively, by the person against whom such action is brought within twenty (20) days after the summons or other first legal process is served. Such notice shall refer to the person or persons against whom the action is brought. The failure to provide such notice shall not relieve the party entitled to such notice of any liability that it may have to any Distributor Indemnitee or Trust Indemnitee except to the extent that the ability of the party entitled to such notice to defend such action has been materially adversely affected by the failure to provide notice.

(f) The provisions of this Section and the parties’ representations and warranties in this Agreement shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of any Distributor Indemnitee or Trust Indemnitee and shall survive the sale and redemption of any Shares made pursuant to subscriptions obtained by the Distributor. The indemnification provisions of this Section will inure exclusively to the benefit of each person that may be a Distributor Indemnitee or Trust Indemnitee at any time and their respective successors and assigns (it being intended that such persons be deemed to be third party beneficiaries under this Agreement).

(g) Each party agrees promptly to notify the other party of the commencement of any litigation or proceeding of which it becomes aware arising out of or in any way connected with the issuance or sale of Shares.

(h) Nothing contained herein shall require the Trust to take any action contrary to any provision of its Organic Documents or any applicable statute or regulation or shall require the Distributor to take any action contrary to any provision of its Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws or any applicable statute or regulation; provided, however, that neither the Trust nor the Distributor may amend their Organic Documents or Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, respectively, in any manner that would result in a violation of a representation or warranty made in this Agreement.

(i) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to protect the Distributor against any liability to the Trust or its security holders to which the Distributor would otherwise be subject by reason of its failure to satisfy the standard of care set forth in Section 7 of this Agreement.”

Insofar as indemnification for liability arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, may be permitted to trustees, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that, in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a trustee, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such trustee, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

(a) Lisanti Capital Growth, LLC

With respect to Lisanti Capital Growth, LLC, the response to this Item will be incorporated by reference to the Advisor’s Uniform Application for Investment Adviser Registration (Form ADV) on file with the SEC (File No. 801-62639). The Advisor’s Form ADV may be obtained, free of charge, at the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.

(b) Auxier Asset Management LLC

With respect to Auxier Asset Management LLC, the response to this Item will be incorporated by reference to the Advisor’s Uniform Application for Investment Adviser Registration (Form ADV) on file with the SEC (File No. 801-55757). The Advisor’s Form ADV may be obtained, free of charge, at the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.

(c) Beck, Mack & Oliver LLC

With respect to Beck, Mack & Oliver LLC, the response to this Item will be incorporated by reference to the Advisor’s Uniform Application for Investment Adviser Registration (Form ADV) on file with the SEC (File No. 801-482). The Advisor’s Form ADV may be obtained, free of charge, at the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.

(d) D.F. Dent and Company, Inc.

With respect to D.F. Dent and Company, Inc., the response to this Item will be incorporated by reference to the Advisor’s Uniform Application for Investment Adviser Registration (Form ADV) on file with the SEC (File No. 801-11364). The Advisor’s Form ADV may be obtained, free of charge, at the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.

(e) H.M. Payson & Co.

With respect to H.M. Payson & Co., the response to this Item will be incorporated by reference to the Advisor’s Uniform Application for Investment Adviser Registration (Form ADV) on file with the SEC (File No. 801-3901). The Advisor’s Form ADV may be obtained, free of charge, at the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.

(f) MAI Capital Management, LLC

With respect to MAI Capital Management, LLC (f/k/a MAI Wealth Advisors, LLC), the response to this Item will be incorporated by reference to the Advisor’s Uniform Application for Investment Adviser Registration (Form ADV) on file with the SEC (File No. 801-58104). The Advisor’s Form ADV may be obtained, free of charge, at the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.

(g) Polaris Capital Management, LLC

With respect to Polaris Capital Management, LLC, the response to this Item will be incorporated by reference to the Advisor’s Uniform Application for Investment Adviser Registration (Form ADV) on file with the SEC (File No. 801-43216). The Advisor’s Form ADV may be obtained, free of charge, at the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.

(h) Rodgers Brothers, Inc. d/b/a/ Monongahela Capital Management

With respect to Monongahela Capital Management, the response to this Item will be incorporated by reference to the Advisor’s Uniform Application for Investment Adviser Registration (Form ADV) on file with the SEC (File No. 801-61034). The Advisor’s Form ADV may be obtained, free of charge, at the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.

(i) Cannell & Spears LLC

With respect to Cannell & Spears LLC, the response to this Item will be incorporated by reference to the Advisor’s Uniform Application for Investment Adviser Registration (Form ADV) on file with the SEC (File No. 801-67401). The Advisor’s Form ADV may be obtained, free of charge, at the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.