As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 26, 2026
Securities Act Registration No. 033-85242
Investment Company Act Reg. No. 811-08822
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D C 20549
FORM
| REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 | [X] |
| Pre-Effective Amendment No. ___ | [ ] |
| Post-Effective Amendment No. 57 | [X] |
and/or
| REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 | [X] |
| Amendment No. 58 | [X] |
(Check appropriate box or boxes)
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)
60 Broad Street, 39th Floor
New York, New York 10004
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
888-626-3863
(Registrants Telephone Number, including Area Code)
CT Corporation System
155 Federal Street, Suite 700
Boston, MA 02110
(Name and Address of Agent for Service)
With copy to:
| John H. Lively |
| Practus, LLP |
| 11300 Tomahawk Creek Parkway, Suite 310 |
| Leawood, KS 66211 |
| Approximate Date of Proposed Public Offering: | |
It is proposed that this filing will become effective:
[ ] immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b);
[X] on March 27, 2026 pursuant to paragraph (b);
[ ] 60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1);
[ ] on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(1);
[ ] 75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2); or
[ ] on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of rule 485.
If appropriate, check the following box:
[ ] This post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment.
PART A
FORM
N-1A
PROSPECTUS
CAPITAL MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT TRUST
WELLINGTON SHIELDS ALL-CAP FUND
INSTITUTIONAL SHARES Ticker Symbol WSACX
Series of
Capital Management Investment Trust
PROSPECTUS
The Wellington Shields All-Cap Fund (All-Cap Fund or the Fund) seeks capital appreciation.
Investment Adviser
Capital Management Associates, Inc.
1-888-626-3863
The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved the securities being offered by this prospectus or determined whether this prospectus is accurate and complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Mutual fund shares are not deposits or obligations of, or guaranteed by, any depository institution. Shares are not insured by the FDIC, Federal Reserve Board, or any other agency and are subject to investment risks including possible loss of principal amount invested. Neither the All-Cap Fund nor the Funds distributor is a bank. You should read the prospectus carefully before you invest or send money.
The Statement of Additional Information (SAI) and the Funds annual and semi-annual reports are available, without charge, upon request by calling 1-888-626-3863. For shareholder inquiries about the Fund, please call 1-888-626-3863.
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| Table of Contents | |
| Page | |
| SUMMARY OF ALL-CAP FUND | 3 |
| INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, STRATEGIES, RISKS AND PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS | 7 |
| MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND | 11 |
| INVESTING IN THE FUND | 13 |
| INSTITUTIONAL SHARES | 13 |
| PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION PRICE | 14 |
| PURCHASING SHARES | 14 |
| REDEEMING YOUR SHARES | 16 |
| PURCHASING OR REDEEMING SHARES THROUGH A FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARY | 18 |
| FREQUENT PURCHASES AND REDEMPTIONS | 18 |
| OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION | 19 |
| DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES | 19 |
| FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS | 20 |
| FOR MORE INFORMATION | 24 |
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Investment Objective. The investment objective of the All-Cap Fund is to seek capital appreciation.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund. This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the All-Cap Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below.
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|
Institutional Shares |
| Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) | |
| Redemption Fee (as a percentage of the amount redeemed, if applicable). |
|
Institutional Shares | |
| Management Fees | |
| Distribution (12b-1) Fees | |
| Other Expenses | |
| Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses | |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
Expense Example. This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the All-Cap Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. This expense example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the All-Cap Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The expense example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and the All-Cap Funds operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on the assumptions your cost would be:
| Period Invested | 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years |
| Institutional Shares | $ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
Portfolio Turnover.
The All-Cap Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or turns over its portfolio).
A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when All-Cap Fund shares are held
in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the All-Cap Funds
performance. During the fiscal year ended November 30, 2025, the All-Cap Funds portfolio turnover rate was
Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund. The All-Cap Fund pursues its investment objective by investing primarily in equity securities of all market capitalizations.
The All-Cap Funds investments will be primarily in equity securities, such as common and preferred stock, securities convertible into common stock, exchange traded funds (ETFs) that focus their investments in equity securities, and short sales. Under normal market conditions, the All-Cap Fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets in equity securities.
While the All-Cap Funds primary focus is investment in equity securities, the All-Cap Fund has flexibility to invest in other types of securities when the Advisor believes they offer opportunities that are more attractive. Accordingly, the All-Cap Fund may invest in derivative instruments, including put and call options. The All-Cap Fund will generally invest in derivative instruments for hedging and income generation purposes. The All-Cap Fund may also sell a security short (i.e., sell a security borrowed from a broker) if the Advisor expects the market price for the security to drop in the future. When the All-Cap Fund makes a short sale of a security, the All-Cap Fund will have to replace the security in the future, whether
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or not the price declines. The All-Cap Fund may hold up to 20% of its net assets in derivative instruments and short positions at any time.
In selecting portfolio securities, Capital Management Associates, Inc. (CMA or the Advisor) uses various screens and models to produce a potential universe of companies. Then through fundamental research, the Advisor selects from that universe companies whose current share price is relatively undervalued. The Advisor considers selling or reducing the All-Cap Funds holding in a security if the security no longer meets the Advisors investment criteria or the Advisor believes a more attractive investment alternative is available. Final investment decisions are made by the All-Cap Funds portfolio managers.
Principal
Risks of Investing in the Fund.
Market Risk. Securities markets are volatile and prices of all securities may decline when markets decline generally. Accordingly, the price of and the income generated by the All-Cap Funds securities may decline in response to, among other things, adverse changes in investor sentiment, general economic and market conditions, regional or global instability, interest rate fluctuations or other factors that may cause the securities markets to decline generally. Additionally, unexpected local, regional or global events, such as war; acts of terrorism; financial, political or social disruptions; natural, environmental or man-made disasters; the spread of infectious illnesses or other public health issues (such as COVID-19); and recessions and depressions could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments and may impair market liquidity. Such events can cause investor fear, which can adversely affect the economies of nations, regions and the market in general, in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen.
| | Risks Related to Other Equity Securities. In addition to common stocks, the equity securities in the All-Cap Funds portfolio may include preferred stock and convertible securities. Like common stocks, the value of these equity securities may fluctuate in response to many factors, including the activities of the issuer, general market and economic conditions, interest rates, and specific industry changes. Also, regardless of any one companys particular prospects, a declining stock market may produce a decline in prices for all equity securities, which could also result in losses for the All-Cap Fund. |
Convertible Securities Risk. Convertible securities are securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for common or preferred stock. The values of convertible securities may be affected by changes in interest rates, the creditworthiness of their issuer, and the ability of the issuer to repay principal and to make interest payments. A convertible security tends to perform more like a stock when the underlying stock price is high and more like a debt security when the underlying stock price is low. A convertible security is not as sensitive to interest rate changes as a similar non-convertible debt security and generally has less potential for gain or loss than the underlying stock. Convertible securities are subject to the risks and price fluctuations of the underlying stock. Convertible securities entitle the holder to receive interest payments or a dividend preference until the security matures, is redeemed, or the conversion feature is exercised. They may be subject to the risk that the issuer will not be able to pay interest or dividends when due and their market value may change based on changes in the issuers credit rating or the markets perception of the issuers creditworthiness. Some convertible preferred stocks have a conversion or call feature that allows the issuer to redeem the stock before the conversion date, which could diminish the potential for capital appreciation on the investment. As a result of the conversion feature, the interest rate or dividend preference is generally less than if the securities were non-convertible.
Preferred Stock Risk. Preferred stock represents an equity interest in a company that generally entitles the holder to receive, in preference to the holders of other stocks such as common stocks, dividends and a fixed share of the proceeds resulting from a liquidation of the company. Preferred stocks may pay fixed or adjustable rates of return. The market value of preferred stock is subject to issuer-specific and market risks applicable generally to equity securities and is sensitive to changes in the issuers creditworthiness, the ability of the issuer to make payments on the preferred stock and changes in interest rates, typically declining in value if interest rates rise. In addition, a companys preferred stock generally pays dividends only after the company makes required
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payments to holders of its bonds and other debt. Therefore, the value of preferred stock will usually react more strongly than bonds and other debt to actual or perceived changes in the companys financial condition or prospects.
Large-Cap Securities Risk. The All-Cap Fund will invest in larger, more established companies, which may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges such as changes in consumer tastes or innovative smaller competitors. Also, large companies are sometimes unable to attain the high growth rates of successful, smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansions.
Mid-Cap Securities Risk. Investing in the securities of medium capitalization (mid-cap) companies generally involves greater risk than investing in larger, more established companies. This greater risk is, in part, attributable to the fact that mid-cap companies may have limited product lines, operating history, markets or financial resources and their securities may therefore be more volatile than securities of larger, more established companies or market averages in general. In addition, the market for mid-cap securities may be more limited than the market for larger companies.
Small-Cap Securities Risk. The All-Cap Fund will invest in small companies, which generally have less experienced management teams, serve smaller markets, and find it more difficult to find financing for growth or potential development than larger companies.
Portfolio Management Risk. The strategies used and securities selected by the Advisor may fail to produce the intended result and the All-Cap Fund may not achieve its objective. The securities selected for the All-Cap Fund may not perform as well as other securities that were consistent with the All-Cap Funds investment strategy, but were not selected for the All-Cap Fund. As a result, the All-Cap Fund may suffer losses or underperform other funds with the same investment objective or strategies, even in a rising market. The performance of the All-Cap Fund may be better or worse than the performance of equity funds that focus on other types of equities or have a broader investment style.
Derivative Instruments Risk. Derivative instruments such as option contracts are generally investments the value of which depends on (or is derived from) the value of the underlying assets, interest rate, or index. Derivative instruments involve risks different from direct investments in the underlying securities, including: imperfect correlation between the value of the derivative instrument and the underlying assets; risks of default by the other party to the derivative instrument; risks that the transactions may result in the loss of the entire value of any portfolio positions; and risks that the derivative instrument may not be liquid.
Call Option Risk. A call option is an option to buy assets at an agreed-upon price on or before a particular date. The buyer of a call option assumes the risk of losing its entire investment (i.e., the premium paid) in the call option. However, if the buyer of the call sells short the underlying security, the loss on the call will be offset in whole or in part by gain on the short sale of the underlying security.
Put Option Risk. A put option is an option to sell assets at an agreed price on or before a particular date. The buyer of a put option assumes the risk of losing its entire investment (i.e., the premium paid) in the put option. However, if the buyer of the put holds the underlying security, the loss on the put will be offset in whole or in part by any gain on the underlying security.
Short Sales Risk. The All-Cap Fund may establish a short position in a stock by selling borrowed shares of the stock. When the price of any stock that the All-Cap Fund has sold short rises above the price at which the All-Cap Fund borrowed and sold the stock, then the All-Cap Fund may lose money on the short sale. Accordingly, the All-Cap Fund is likely to lose value on its short sales in a rising market. If the broker from whom the stock was borrowed requires that the stock be repaid, then the All-Cap Fund could be forced to cover short positions earlier than the All-Cap Fund otherwise would. If the All-Cap Fund does not have the assets to cover a short sale, then the All-Cap Funds potential losses on the short will be unlimited because the securitys price may appreciate indefinitely.
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by the underlying funds in which the All-Cap Fund may invest in addition to the All-Cap Funds direct fees and expenses and, as a result, your cost of investing in the All-Cap Fund will generally be higher than the cost of investing directly in the underlying fund shares. Investments in ETFs bear the risk that the market price of the ETFs shares may trade at a discount to their net asset value or that an active trading market for an ETFs shares may not develop or be maintained. The All-Cap Fund may place otherwise un-invested cash in money market mutual funds.
Performance.

Quarterly Returns During This Time Period
Average Annual Total Returns (For the Period Ended December 31, 2025) |
1 Year | 5 Years | 10 Years |
| Wellington Shields All-Cap Fund Institutional Shares | |||
| Before taxes | |||
| After taxes on distributions | |||
| After taxes on distributions and sale of shares | |||
| Russell 1000 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
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|
|
| S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
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|
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After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest marginal individual U.S. federal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investors tax situation and may differ from those shown and are not applicable to investors who hold All-Cap Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as an individual retirement account (IRA) or 401(k) plan. After-tax returns are shown for only one class of shares and after-tax returns will vary for other classes.
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Management. Capital Management Associates, Inc. is the investment adviser for the All-Cap Fund. Alexander L.M. Cripps, CFA, portfolio manager, and W. Jameson McFadden, portfolio manager, are and have been primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the All-Cap Funds portfolio since 2016.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares. The Funds minimum investment is as follows:
Institutional Shares
$5,000 minimum initial investment and minimum subsequent investment is $500 ($100 if participating in the automatic investment plan).
You may generally purchase, redeem or exchange shares of the Fund on any business day the New York Stock Exchange is open, at the Funds net asset value determined after receipt of your request in good order as follows:
| | Through the Fund by mail or bank wire. Mail requests should be sent to the Fund c/o Mutual Shareholder Services, 8000 Town Centre Drive, Suite 400, Broadview Heights, Ohio 44147. For bank wire orders, please call the Fund at 1-888-626-3863 for instructions. |
| | Through authorized Broker-Dealers and Financial Intermediaries. Please contact your broker-dealer or financial intermediary for information. |
If your account was opened through the Fund, redemption and exchange requests may be made by telephone by calling the Fund at 1-888-626-3863.
If you have questions about purchasing, redeeming or exchanging shares of the Fund, please call the Fund at the number referenced above.
Tax Information. The Funds distributions will generally be taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an IRA. Distributions on investments made through tax deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or IRAs, may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those arrangements.
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 intermediarys website for more information.
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, STRATEGIES, RISKS AND PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES
The investment objective of the All-Cap Fund is to seek capital appreciation.
The Funds investment objective is non-fundamental and may be changed upon 60 days notice to shareholders without shareholder approval.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
The All-Cap Fund, which is a separate investment portfolio of the Trust, pursues its investment objective by investing primarily in equity securities.
The All-Cap Funds investments will be primarily in equity securities, such as common and preferred stock, securities convertible into common stock, ETFs that focus their investments in equity securities, and short sales. The All-Cap Fund will not concentrate its investments in any one industry or group.
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Under normal market conditions, the All-Cap Fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets in equity securities, as measured at the time of purchase. This investment policy may be changed without shareholder approval upon at least 60 days prior written notice to the shareholders.
While the All-Cap Funds primary focus is investment in equity securities, the All-Cap Fund has flexibility to invest in other types of securities when the Advisor believes they offer opportunities that are more attractive. Accordingly, the All-Cap Fund may invest in derivative instruments, including put and call options. The All-Cap Fund will generally invest in derivative instruments for hedging and income generation purposes. The All-Cap Fund may also sell a security short (i.e., sell a security borrowed from a broker) if the Advisor expects the market price for the security to drop in the future. When the All-Cap Fund makes a short sale of a security, the All-Cap Fund will have to replace the security in the future, whether or not the price declines. The All-Cap Fund may hold up to 20% of its net assets in short positions at any time.
In selecting portfolio securities, the Advisor uses various screens and models to produce a potential universe of approximately 3,000 companies. Then, through fundamental research, the Advisor selects from that universe companies whose current share price is relatively undervalued. This process may include visits and/or meetings with company management and contacts with industry experts and suppliers. Final investment decisions are made by the Advisors Portfolio Managers.
The Advisor seeks to identify companies with a growth outlook that are positioned to increase shareholder value through disciplined capital deployment. Valuations of securities with different equity styles (e.g., growth vs. value, etc.) and different market capitalizations (e.g., large, mid, small, etc.) fluctuate according to a number of different factors, including economic outlooks and risk tolerances. Without a market capitalization or growth / value style constraint, the Advisor will seek to identify a large universe of companies undervalued in relation to their asset size or growth outlook.
The Advisor considers selling or reducing the All-Cap Funds holding in a security if the security no longer meets the Advisors investment criteria or the Advisor believes a more attractive investment alternative is available.
PRINCIPAL RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUND
An investment in the Fund is subject to investment risks, including the possible loss of some or all of the principal amount invested. There can be no assurance that the Fund will be successful in meeting its investment objective.
The All-Cap Fund is intended for aggressive investors seeking above-average gains and that are willing to accept the risks involved in investing in equity securities.
Market Risk. Securities markets are volatile and prices of all securities may decline when markets decline generally. Accordingly, the price of and the income generated by the All-Cap Funds securities may decline in response to, among other things, adverse changes in investor sentiment, general economic and market conditions, regional or global instability, interest rate fluctuations or other factors that may cause the securities markets to decline generally. Additionally, unexpected local, regional or global events, such as war; acts of terrorism; financial, political or social disruptions; natural, environmental or man-made disasters; the spread of infectious illnesses or other public health issues; and recessions and depressions could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments and may impair market liquidity. Such events can cause investor fear, which can adversely affect the economies of nations, regions and the market in general, in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen. The increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market. These risks may be magnified if certain events or developments adversely interrupt the global supply chain; in these and other circumstances, such risks might affect companies worldwide. As a result, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, recessions or other events could have a significant negative impact on global economic and market conditions. It is not known how long such impacts, or any future impacts of other significant events described above, will or would last, but there could be a prolonged period of global economic slowdown, which may be expected to impact the Fund and its investments.
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Risks Related to Other Equity Securities. In addition to common stocks, the equity securities in the All-Cap Funds portfolio may include preferred stock and convertible securities. Like common stocks, the value of these equity securities may fluctuate in response to many factors, including the activities of the issuer, general market and economic conditions, interest rates, and specific industry changes. Also, regardless of any one companys particular prospects, a declining stock market may produce a decline in prices for all equity securities, which could also result in losses for the All-Cap Fund.
Convertible Securities Risk. Convertible securities are securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for common or preferred stock. The values of convertible securities may be affected by changes in interest rates, the creditworthiness of their issuer, and the ability of the issuer to repay principal and to make interest payments. A convertible security tends to perform more like a stock when the underlying stock price is high and more like a debt security when the underlying stock price is low. A convertible security is not as sensitive to interest rate changes as a similar non-convertible debt security and generally has less potential for gain or loss than the underlying stock. Convertible securities are subject to the risks and price fluctuations of the underlying stock. Convertible securities entitle the holder to receive interest payments or a dividend preference until the security matures, is redeemed, or the conversion feature is exercised. They may be subject to the risk that the issuer will not be able to pay interest or dividends when due and their market value may change based on changes in the issuers credit rating or the markets perception of the issuers creditworthiness. Some convertible preferred stocks have a conversion or call feature that allows the issuer to redeem the stock before the conversion date, which could diminish the potential for capital appreciation on the investment. As a result of the conversion feature, the interest rate or dividend preference is generally less than if the securities were non-convertible.
Preferred Stock Risk. Preferred stock represents an equity interest in a company that generally entitles the holder to receive, in preference to the holders of other stocks such as common stocks, dividends and a fixed share of the proceeds resulting from a liquidation of the company. Preferred stocks may pay fixed or adjustable rates of return. The market value of preferred stock is subject to issuer-specific and market risks applicable generally to equity securities and is sensitive to changes in the issuers creditworthiness, the ability of the issuer to make payments on the preferred stock and changes in interest rates, typically declining in value if interest rates rise. In addition, a companys preferred stock generally pays dividends only after the company makes required payments to holders of its bonds and other debt. Therefore, the value of preferred stock will usually react more strongly than bonds and other debt to actual or perceived changes in the companys financial condition or prospects.
Large-Cap Securities Risk. The All-Cap Fund will invest in larger, more established companies, which may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges such as changes in consumer tastes or innovative smaller competitors. Also, large companies are sometimes unable to attain the high growth rates of successful, smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansions.
Mid-Cap Securities Risk. Investing in the securities of mid-cap companies generally involves substantially greater risk than investing in larger, more established companies. This greater risk is, in part, attributable to the fact that the securities of mid-cap companies usually have more limited marketability and, therefore, may be more volatile than securities of larger, more established companies or the market averages in general. Because mid-cap companies normally have fewer shares outstanding than larger companies, it may be more difficult to buy or sell significant amounts of such shares without an unfavorable impact on prevailing prices. Another risk factor is that mid-cap companies often have limited product lines, markets, or financial resources and may lack management depth. Additionally, mid-cap companies are typically subject to greater changes in earnings and business prospects than are larger, more established companies. Mid-cap companies may not be well-known to the investing public, may not be followed by the financial press or industry analysts, and may not have institutional ownership. These factors affect the Advisors access to information about the companies and the stability of the markets for the companies securities. Mid-cap companies may be more vulnerable than larger companies to adverse business or economic developments. Although investing in securities of smaller companies offers potential above average returns if the companies are successful, the risk exists that the companies will not succeed. If the companies do not succeed, the prices of the companies shares could dramatically decline in value. Therefore, an investment in the All-Cap Fund may involve a substantially greater degree of risk than an investment in other mutual
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funds that seek capital growth by investing in more established, larger companies. The Advisors ability to choose suitable investments also has a significant impact on the ability of the All-Cap Fund to achieve its investment objective.
Small-Cap Securities Risk. The All-Cap Fund will invest in small companies, which generally have less experienced management teams, serve smaller markets, and find it more difficult to find financing for growth or potential development than larger companies.
Portfolio Management Risk. The strategies used and securities selected by the All-Cap Funds Advisor may fail to produce the intended result and the All-Cap Fund may not achieve its objective. The securities selected for the All-Cap Fund may not perform as well as other securities that were consistent with the All-Cap Funds investment strategy, but were not selected for the All-Cap Fund. As a result, the All-Cap Fund may suffer losses or underperform other funds with the same investment objective or strategies, even in a rising market. The performance of the All-Cap Fund will decline and may be worse than the performance of equity funds that focus on other types of equities or have a broader investment style when the Advisors management style (generally, value-oriented mid-cap equity) is out-of-favor in the market. Since different types of equity securities (e.g., large-cap, mid-cap, small-cap) tend to shift into and out of favor with investors depending on market and economic conditions, the performance of the All-Cap Fund may also be worse than the performance of equity funds that focus on other types of equities or have a broader investment style when the Advisors management style is out-of-favor. The performance of the All-Cap Fund may be better or worse than the performance of equity funds that focus on other types of equities or have a broader investment style.
Derivative Instruments Risk. Derivative instruments such as option contracts are generally investments the value of which depends on (or is derived from) the value of the underlying assets, interest rate, or index. Derivative instruments involve risks different from direct investments in the underlying securities, including: imperfect correlation between the value of the derivative instrument and the underlying assets; risks of default by the other party to the derivative instrument; risks that the transactions may result in the loss of the entire value of any portfolio positions; and risks that the derivative instrument may not be liquid.
Call Option Risk. A call option is an option to buy assets at an agreed-upon price on or before a particular date. The buyer of a call option assumes the risk of losing its entire investment (i.e., the premium paid) in the call option. However, if the buyer of the call sells short the underlying security, the loss on the call will be offset in whole or in part by gain on the short sale of the underlying security.
Put Option Risk. A put option is an option to sell assets at an agreed price on or before a particular date. The buyer of a put option assumes the risk of losing its entire investment (i.e., the premium paid) in the put option. However, if the buyer of the put holds the underlying security, the loss on the put will be offset in whole or in part by any gain on the underlying security.
Short Sales Risk. As explained above, the All-Cap Fund may establish a short position in a stock by selling borrowed shares of the stock. Borrowed shares must be repaid (i.e., short positions must be covered) whether or not the stocks price declines. When the price of any stock that the All-Cap Fund has sold short rises above the price at which the All-Cap Fund borrowed and sold the stock, then the All-Cap Fund may lose money on the short sale. Accordingly, the All-Cap Fund is likely to lose value on its short sales in a rising market. If the broker from whom the stock was borrowed requires that the stock be repaid, then the All-Cap Fund could be forced to cover short positions earlier than the All-Cap Fund otherwise would. If the All-Cap Fund does not have the assets to cover a short sale, then the All-Cap Funds potential losses on the short will be unlimited because the securitys price may appreciate indefinitely.
Shares of Other Investment Companies and ETF Risk. You will indirectly bear fees and expenses charged by the underlying funds in which the All-Cap Fund may invest in addition to the All-Cap Funds direct fees and expenses and, as a result, your cost of investing in the All-Cap Fund will generally be higher than the cost of investing directly in the underlying fund shares. Investments in ETFs bear the risk that the market price of the ETFs shares may trade at a discount to their net asset value or that an active trading market for an ETFs shares may not develop or be maintained. The All-Cap Fund may place otherwise un-invested cash in money market mutual funds.
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OTHER INVESTMENT POLICIES
An investment in the All-Cap Fund should not be considered a complete investment program. Whether the Fund is an appropriate investment for an investor will depend largely on his/her financial resources and individual investment goals and objectives. Investors who engage in short-term trading and/or other speculative strategies and styles will not find the All-Cap Fund to be an appropriate investment vehicle if they want to invest in the Fund for a short period of time.
As a temporary defensive measure in response to adverse market, economic, political, or other conditions, the Advisor may determine from time to time that market conditions warrant investing in investment-grade bonds, U.S. government securities, repurchase agreements, money market instruments, and to the extent permitted by applicable law and the All-Cap Funds investment restrictions, shares of other investment companies. Under such circumstances, the Advisor may invest up to 100% of the Funds assets in these investments. Since investment companies investing in other investment companies pay management fees and other expenses relating to those investment companies, shareholders of the Fund would indirectly pay both the Funds expenses and the expenses relating to those other investment companies with respect to the Funds assets invested in such investment companies. To the extent the Fund is invested in short-term investments, it will not be pursuing and may not achieve its investment objective. Under normal circumstances, however, the Fund may also hold money market or repurchase agreement instruments for funds awaiting investment, to accumulate cash for anticipated purchases of portfolio securities, to allow for shareholder redemptions, and to provide for Fund operating expenses.
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
A description of the policies and procedures of the All-Cap Fund with respect to the disclosure of the Funds portfolio securities is available in the Funds Statement of Additional Information (SAI).
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND
THE INVESTMENT ADVISER
The Funds investment adviser is Capital Management Associates, Inc. (CMA or Advisor). CMA is located at 60 Broad Street, 39th Floor, New York, New York 10004. The assets under management of CMA were approximately $69 million as of December 31, 2025. The Advisor is registered as an investment adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended.
CMA, organized as a New York corporation in 1982, has been managing the All-Cap Fund since its inception and provides investment advice to investment companies, individuals, corporations, pension and profit-sharing plans, endowments, and other business and private accounts.
The Advisor serves in that capacity pursuant to an advisory contract with the Trust on behalf of the Fund. Subject to the authority of the Board of Trustees of the Trust (Trustees), the Advisor provides guidance and policy direction in connection with its daily management of the Funds assets. The Advisor manages the investment and reinvestment of the Funds assets. The Advisor is also responsible for the selection of broker-dealers through which the Fund executes portfolio transactions, subject to the brokerage policies established by the Trustees, and it provides certain executive personnel to the Fund.
Alexander L.M. Cripps, CFA, and W. Jameson McFadden are and have been primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Funds portfolio (each, a Portfolio Manager) since 2016.
Mr. McFadden has been the President of CMA since January 1, 2014, and has been affiliated with CMA since 2006. Mr. McFadden is also the CEO and Managing Member of Wellington Shields & Co., LLC (WSC), the distributor for the Fund.
Mr. Cripps is a Portfolio Manager, Analyst and Member of the Investment Policy Committee of CMA since 2010 and has been affiliated with CMA since 2008. Mr. Cripps is a registered representative with WSC.
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The Funds SAI provides additional information about the Portfolio Managers compensation, other accounts managed by the Portfolio Managers, and the Portfolio Managers ownership of securities in the Fund.
The Advisors Compensation. For the All-Cap Fund, the advisory fee paid to CMA as a percentage of average annual net assets for fiscal year ended November 30, 2025 was 1.00%.
Disclosure Regarding Approval of the Investment Advisory Contract. A discussion regarding the Trustees basis for approving the investment advisory contract for the Fund is available in the Funds Annual Report to shareholders for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2025.
Expense Limitation Agreement. In the interest of limiting expenses of the Fund, the Advisor has entered into an expense limitation agreement with the Trust (Expense Limitation Agreement), pursuant to which the Advisor has agreed to waive or limit its fees and to assume other expenses so that the total annual operating expenses of the Fund (other than interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, other expenditures that are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of each Funds business, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses) are limited to 1.50% of the average daily net assets of the All-Cap Fund through the period ending April 1, 2027. It is expected that the Expense Limitation Agreement will continue from year-to-year thereafter, provided such continuance is specifically approved by a majority of the Trustees who (i) are not interested persons of the Trust or any other party to the Expense Limitation Agreement, as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (1940 Act); and (ii) have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of this Expense Limitation Agreement. The Expense Limitation Agreement may also be terminated by the Advisor and the Trust at the end of the then current term upon not less than 90-days notice to the other party as set forth in the Expense Limitation Agreement.
The All-Cap Fund may reimburse the Advisor the management fees waived or limited and other expenses assumed and paid by the Advisor pursuant to the Expense Limitation Agreement for a period of three years from the date of the actual waiver or expense reimbursement, provided the Fund has reached a sufficient asset size to permit such reimbursement to be made without causing the total annual expense ratio of the Fund to exceed the percentage limit stated above. Consequently, no reimbursement by the All-Cap Fund will be made unless: (i) the Funds assets exceed $10 million; (ii) the Funds total annual expense ratio is less than the percentage limit stated above; and (iii) the payment of such reimbursement has been approved by the Trustees on a quarterly basis.
Brokerage Practices. In selecting brokers and dealers to execute portfolio transactions, the Advisor may consider research and brokerage services furnished to the Advisor or its affiliates. The Advisor may not consider sales of shares of the Fund as a factor in the selection of brokers and dealers, but may place portfolio transactions with brokers and dealers that promote or sell the Funds shares so long as such transactions are done in accordance with the policies and procedures established by the Trustees that are designed to ensure that the selection is based on the quality of execution and not on sales efforts. When placing portfolio transactions with a broker or dealer, the Advisor may aggregate securities to be sold or purchased for the Fund with those to be sold or purchased for other advisory accounts managed by the Advisor. In aggregating such securities, the Advisor will average the transaction as to price and will allocate available investments in a manner which the Advisor believes to be fair and reasonable to the Fund and such other advisory accounts. An aggregated order will generally be allocated on a pro rata basis among all participating accounts, based on the relative dollar values of the participating accounts, or using any other method deemed to be fair and reasonable to the Fund and the participating accounts, with any exceptions to such methods involving the Trust being reported by the Advisor to the Trustees. Certain securities trades will be cleared through Wellington Shields & Co., LLC, a registered broker-dealer affiliate of the Advisor and the distributor of the Fund.
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The 1940 Act generally prohibits the Fund from engaging in principal securities transactions with an affiliate of the Advisor. Thus, the Fund does not engage in principal transactions with any affiliate of the Advisor. The Fund has adopted procedures, under Rule 17e-1 under the 1940 Act, that are reasonably designed to provide that any brokerage commission the Fund pays to an affiliate of the Advisor does not exceed the usual and customary brokers commission. In addition, the Fund will adhere to Section 11(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and any applicable rules thereunder governing floor trading.
THE ADMINISTRATOR AND TRANSFER AGENT
Premier Fund Solutions, Inc. (PFS), 1939 Friendship Drive, Suite C, El Cajon CA, 92020, is the Funds administrator, and Mutual Shareholder Services, LLC (MSS), 8000 Town Centre Drive, Suite 400, Broadview Heights, Ohio 44147, is the Funds accounting services agent and transfer agent. Services are provided pursuant to a services agreement (the Services Agreement). As indicated later in the section of this prospectus entitled Investing in the Fund, MSS will handle your orders to purchase and redeem shares of the Fund and will disburse dividends paid by the Fund. MSS also makes available the office space, equipment, personnel, and facilities required to provide the foregoing services to the Fund.
THE DISTRIBUTOR
Wellington Shields & Co., LLC (WSC or Distributor) is the principal underwriter and distributor of the Funds shares and serves as the Funds exclusive agent for the distribution of Fund shares. The Distributor may sell the Funds shares to or through qualified securities dealers and others. Arbor Court Capital, LLC serves as the sub-distributor to the Fund.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON EXPENSES
Other Expenses. In addition to the management fees for the Fund, the Fund pays all expenses not assumed by the Advisor, including, without limitation: the fees and expenses of its administrator, custodian, transfer agent, independent registered public accounting firm and legal counsel; the costs of printing and mailing to shareholders annual and semi-annual reports, proxy statements, prospectuses, statements of additional information, and supplements thereto; the costs of printing registration statements; bank transaction charges; any proxy solicitors fees and expenses; filing fees; any federal, state, or local income or other taxes; any interest; any membership fees of the Investment Company Institute and similar organizations; fidelity bond and Trustees liability insurance premiums; and any extraordinary expenses, such as indemnification payments or damages awarded in litigation or settlements made. All general Trust expenses are allocated among and charged to the assets of the Fund, on a basis that the Trustees deem fair and equitable.
INVESTING IN THE FUND
INSTITUTIONAL SHARES
The All-Cap Fund offers Institutional Shares through this prospectus. The following is a summary of the Funds Institutional Shares.
No front-end sales charge.
No contingent deferred sales charge.
No distribution (Rule 12b-1) fees.
$5,000 minimum initial investment.
$500 minimum additional investment ($100 if participating in the automatic investment plan).
No conversion feature.
Institutional Shares are sold and redeemed at net asset value. Shares may be purchased by any account managed by the Advisor and any other institutional investor or any broker-dealer authorized to sell shares in the All-Cap Fund. The All-Cap Fund may, in the Advisors sole discretion, waive the minimum investment amounts listed above.
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PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION PRICE
Determining the Funds Net Asset Value. The price at which you purchase or redeem shares is based on the next calculation of net asset value after an order is received, subject to the order being accepted by the Fund in good form. An order is considered to be in good form if it includes a complete and accurate application and payment in full of the purchase amount. The Funds net asset value per share is calculated by dividing the value of the Funds total assets, less liabilities (including Fund expenses, which are accrued daily), by the total number of outstanding shares of the Fund. The net asset value per share of the Fund is normally determined at the time regular trading closes on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), currently 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday, except when the NYSE closes earlier. The Fund does not calculate net asset value on holidays when the NYSE is closed.
The pricing and valuation of portfolio securities is determined in good faith in accordance with procedures established by, and under the direction of, the Trustees. In determining the value of the Funds total assets, portfolio securities are generally calculated at market value by quotations from the primary market in which they are traded. The Fund normally uses third party pricing services to obtain market quotations. Securities and assets for which representative market quotations are not readily available or which cannot be accurately valued using the Funds normal pricing procedures are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by CMA as the Funds valuation designee (the Valuation Designee) under policies approved by the Trustees. Fair value pricing may be used, for example, in situations where (i) a portfolio security, such as a mid-cap stock, is so thinly traded that there have been no transactions for that stock over an extended period of time; (ii) the exchange on which the portfolio security is principally traded closes early; (iii) trading of the particular portfolio security is halted during the day and does not resume prior to the Funds net asset value calculation; or (iv) the validity of a market quotation received is questionable. Pursuant to policies adopted by the Trustees, the Valuation Designee consults with MSS on a regular basis regarding the need for fair value pricing. The Valuation Designee is responsible for reporting to the Trustees with respect to any fair value pricing pursuant to the requirements of the Trusts policies and procedures. The Funds policies regarding fair value pricing are intended to result in a calculation of the Funds net asset value that fairly reflects portfolio security values that the Fund might reasonably expect to receive upon a current sale as of the time of pricing. A portfolio securitys fair value price may differ from the price next available for the portfolio security using the Funds normal pricing procedures and may differ substantially from the price at which the security may ultimately be traded or sold. If the fair value price differs from the price that would have been determined using the Funds normal pricing procedures, a shareholder may receive more or less proceeds or shares from redemptions or purchases of Fund shares, respectively, than a shareholder would have otherwise received if the portfolio security were priced using the Funds normal pricing procedures. The performance of the Fund may also be affected if a portfolio securitys fair value price were to differ from the securitys price using the Funds normal pricing procedures. To the extent the Fund invests in other open-end investment companies that are registered under the 1940 Act, the Funds net asset value calculations are based upon the net asset value reported by such registered open-end investment companies, and the prospectuses for those companies explain the circumstances under which they will use fair value pricing and the effects of using such fair value pricing. The Trustees monitor and evaluate the Funds use of fair value pricing, and periodically review the results of any fair valuation under the Funds policies.
Additional information on the Funds valuation policies is available in the SAI.
PURCHASING SHARES
You may make purchases directly from the Fund by mail or bank wire. The Fund has also authorized one or more brokers to accept purchase and redemption orders on its behalf and such brokers are authorized to designate intermediaries to accept orders on behalf of the Fund. Orders will be deemed to have been received by the Fund when an authorized broker, or broker-authorized designee, receives the order, subject to the order being accepted by the Fund in good form. The orders will be priced at the Funds net asset value next computed after the orders are received by the authorized broker or broker-authorized designee. Investors may also be charged a fee by a broker or agent if shares are purchased through a broker or agent. Financial advisers, financial supermarkets, brokerage firms, and other financial institutions may charge transaction and other fees and may set different minimum investments or limitations on buying or selling shares.
The Fund reserves the right to (i) refuse to accept any request to purchase shares of the Fund for any reason or (ii) suspend its offering of shares at any time.
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Regular Mail Orders. Payment for shares must be made by check from a U.S. financial institution and payable in U.S. dollars. Cash, money orders, and travelers checks will not be accepted by the Fund. If checks are returned due to insufficient funds or other reasons, your purchase will be canceled. You will also be responsible for any losses or expenses incurred by the Fund and MSS. The Fund will charge a $35 fee and may redeem shares of the Fund already owned by the purchaser or shares of another identically registered account in another series of the Trust to recover any such loss. For regular mail orders, please complete the Fund Shares Application and mail it, along with your check made payable to the All-Cap Fund to:
Wellington Shields All-Cap Fund
c/o Mutual Shareholder Services, LLC
8000 Town Centre Drive, Suite 400
Broadview Heights, Ohio 44147
The application must contain your Social Security Number (SSN) or Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). If you have applied for an SSN or TIN at the time of completing your account application but you have not received your number, please indicate this on the application and include a copy of the form applying for the SSN or TIN. Taxes are not withheld from distributions to U.S. investors if certain IRS requirements regarding the SSN or TIN are met and we have not been notified by the IRS that the particular U.S. investor is subject to back-up withholding.
By sending your check to the Fund, please be aware that you are authorizing the Fund to make a one-time electronic debit from your account at the financial institution indicated on your check. Your bank account will be debited as early as the same day the Fund receives your payment in the amount of your check. Your original check will be destroyed once processed, and you will not receive your canceled check back. If the Fund cannot post the transaction electronically, you authorize the Fund to present an image copy of your check for payment.
Bank Wire Orders. Purchases may also be made through bank wire orders. To establish a new account or to add to an existing account by wire, please call the Fund at 1-888-626-3863 for instructions.
Subsequent Investments. You may also add to your account by mail or wire at any time by purchasing shares at the then current public offering price. The minimum subsequent investment is $500. Before adding funds by bank wire, please call the Fund at 1-888-626-3863 for wire instructions and to advise the Fund of the investment, dollar amount, and the account identification number. Mail orders should include, if possible, the Invest by Mail stub that is attached to your Fund confirmation statement. Otherwise, please identify your account in a letter accompanying your purchase payment.
Automatic Investment Plan. The automatic investment plan enables shareholders to make regular monthly or quarterly investments in shares through automatic charges to their checking account. With shareholder authorization and bank approval, the Fund will automatically charge the checking account for the amount specified ($100 minimum), which will be automatically invested in shares at the public offering price on or about the 21st day of the month. The shareholder may change the amount of the investment or discontinue the plan at any time by writing to the Fund.
Stock Certificates. The Fund normally does not issue stock certificates. Evidence of ownership of shares is provided through entry in the Funds share registry. Investors will receive periodic account statements (and, where applicable, purchase confirmations) that will show the number of shares owned.
Important Information about Procedures for Opening a New Account. Under the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act of 2001), the Fund is required to obtain, verify, and record information to enable the Fund to form a reasonable belief as to the identity of each customer who opens an account. Consequently, when an investor opens an account, the Fund will ask for the investors name, street address, date of birth (for an individual), social security or other tax identification number (or proof that the investor has filed for such a number), and other information that will allow the Fund to identify the investor. The Fund may also ask to see the investors drivers license or other identifying documents. An investors account application will not be considered complete and, therefore, an account will not be opened and the investors money will not be invested until the Fund receives this required information. If after opening the investors account the Fund is unable to verify the investors identity after reasonable efforts, as determined by the Fund in its sole
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discretion, the Fund may (i) restrict redemptions and further investments until the investors identity is verified; and (ii) close the investors account without notice and return the investors redemption proceeds to the investor. If the Fund closes an investors account because the Fund was unable to verify the investors identity, the Fund will value the account in accordance with the Funds next net asset value calculated after the investors account is closed. In that case, the investors redemption proceeds may be worth more or less than the investors original investment. The Fund will not be responsible for any losses incurred due to the Funds inability to verify the identity of any investor opening an account.
REDEEMING YOUR SHARES
Regular Mail Redemptions. Regular mail redemption requests should be addressed to:
Wellington Shields All-Cap Fund
c/o Mutual Shareholder Services, LLC
8000 Town Centre Drive
Suite 400
Broadview Heights, Ohio 44147
Regular mail redemption requests should include the following:
| (1) | Your letter of instruction specifying the account number and number of shares, or the dollar amount, to be redeemed. This request must be signed by all registered shareholders in the exact names in which they are registered; |
| (2) | Any required signature guarantees (see Signature Guarantees below); and |
| (3) | Other supporting legal documents, if required, in the case of estates, trusts, guardianships, custodianships, corporations, partnerships, pension or profit sharing plans, and other organizations. |
Your
redemption proceeds normally will be sent
to you within seven (7) days
after receipt of your redemption request. The Fund
may delay forwarding a redemption check for
recently purchased shares while it determines whether
the purchase payment will be honored. Such
delay (which may take up to fifteen (15) days
from the date of purchase) may
be reduced or avoided if the purchase is made
by certified check or wire transfer. In all
cases, the net asset value next determined after receipt
of the request for redemption will be used in processing
the redemption request.
Telephone and Bank Wire Redemptions. Unless you decline the telephone transaction privileges on your account application, you may redeem shares of the Fund by telephone. You may also redeem shares by bank wire under certain limited conditions. The Fund will redeem shares in this manner when so requested by the shareholder only if the shareholder confirms redemption instructions in writing, using the instructions above.
The Fund may rely upon confirmation of redemption requests transmitted via facsimile (FAX# 440.526.4446). The confirmation instructions must include the following:
| (1) | The name of the Fund; |
| (2) | Shareholder(s) name and account number; |
| (3) | Number of shares or dollar amount to be redeemed; |
| (4) | Instructions for transmittal of redemption proceeds to the shareholder; and |
| (5) | Shareholder(s) signature(s) as it/they appear(s) on the application then on file with the Fund. |
Redemption proceeds will not be distributed until written confirmation of the redemption request is received, per the instructions above. You can choose to have redemption proceeds mailed to you at your address of record, your financial institution, or to any other authorized person, or you can have the proceeds sent by wire transfer to your financial institution ($5,000 minimum). Redemption proceeds cannot be wired on days in which your financial institution is not open for business. You can change your redemption instructions anytime you wish by filing a letter including your new redemption instructions with the Fund. See Signature Guarantees below.
The Fund in its discretion may choose to pass through to redeeming shareholders any charges imposed by the Funds
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custodian for wire redemptions. If this cost is passed through to redeeming shareholders by the Fund, the charge will be deducted automatically from your account by redemption of shares in your account. Your bank or brokerage firm may also impose a charge for processing the wire. If wire transfer of funds is impossible or impractical, the redemption proceeds will be sent by mail to the designated account.
You may redeem shares, subject to the procedures outlined above, by calling the Fund at 1-888-626-3863. Redemption proceeds will only be sent to the financial institution account or person named in your account application currently on file with the Fund. Telephone redemption privileges authorize the Fund to act on telephone instructions from any person representing himself or herself to be the investor and reasonably believed by the Fund or its agents to be genuine. The Fund or its agents will employ reasonable procedures, such as requiring a form of personal identification, to confirm that instructions are genuine. The Fund, however, will not be liable for any losses due to unauthorized or fraudulent instructions. The Fund will also not be liable for following telephone instructions reasonably believed to be genuine.
Systematic Withdrawal Plan. A shareholder who owns shares of the Fund valued at $10,000 at the current offering price may establish a systematic withdrawal plan to receive a monthly or quarterly check in a stated amount not less than $100. Each month or quarter, as specified, the Fund will automatically redeem sufficient shares from your account to meet the specified withdrawal amount. The shareholder may establish this service whether dividends and distributions are reinvested in shares of the Fund or paid in cash. Call or write the Fund for an application form.
Small Accounts. The Trustees reserve the right to redeem involuntarily any account having a balance of less than $5,000 (due to redemptions, exchanges, or transfers, and not due to market action) upon 30-days prior written notice. If the shareholder brings his/her account balance up to the applicable minimum for the share class during the notice period, the account will not be redeemed. Redemptions from retirement plans may be subject to U.S. federal income tax withholding.
Signature Guarantees. To protect your account and the Fund from fraud, signature guarantees may be required to be sure that you are the person who has authorized a change in registration or standing instructions for your account. Signature guarantees are generally required for (i) change of registration requests; (ii) requests to establish or to change exchange privileges or telephone and bank wire redemption service other than through your initial account application; (iii) transactions where proceeds from redemptions, dividends, or distributions are sent to an address or financial institution differing from the address or financial institution of record; and (iv) redemption requests in excess of $50,000. Signature guarantees are acceptable from a member bank of the Federal Reserve System, a savings and loan institution, credit union (if authorized under state law), registered broker-dealer, securities exchange, or association clearing agency and must appear on the written request for change of registration, establishment or change in exchange privileges, or redemption request.
Redemptions in Kind. The Fund does not intend, under normal circumstances, to redeem its securities by payment in kind. It is possible, however, that conditions may arise in the future that would, in the opinion of the Trustees, make it undesirable for the Fund to pay for all redemptions in cash. In such cases, the Trustees may authorize payment to be made in readily marketable portfolio securities of the Fund, either through the distribution of selected individual portfolio securities or a pro-rata distribution of all portfolio securities held by the Fund. Securities delivered in payment of redemptions would be valued at the same value assigned to them in computing the net asset value per share. Shareholders receiving them may incur brokerage costs when these securities are sold and will be subject to market risk until such securities are sold. An irrevocable election has been filed under Rule 18f-1 of the 1940 Act, wherein the Fund must pay redemptions in cash, rather than in kind, to any shareholder of record of the Fund who redeems during any 90-day period, the lesser of (a) $250,000 or (b) one percent (1%) of the Funds net assets at the beginning of such period. Redemption requests in excess of this limit may be satisfied in cash or in kind at the Funds election.
Miscellaneous. All redemption requests will be processed and payment with respect thereto will normally be made within seven days after tender. The Fund reserves the right to suspend any redemption request involving recently purchased shares until the check for the recently purchased shares has cleared. The Fund may suspend redemptions, if permitted by the 1940 Act, for any period during which the NYSE is closed or during which trading is restricted by the SEC or if the SEC declares that an emergency exists. Redemptions may also be suspended during other periods permitted by the SEC for the protection of the Funds shareholders. During drastic economic and market changes, telephone
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redemption privileges may be difficult to implement. The Funds methods of satisfying shareholder redemption requests will normally be used during both regular and stressed market conditions.
PURCHASING OR REDEEMING SHARES THROUGH A FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARY
You may purchase or redeem shares of the Fund through an authorized financial intermediary (such as a financial planner or adviser). To purchase or redeem shares based upon the net asset value of any given day, your financial intermediary must receive your order before the close of regular trading on the NYSE that day. Your financial intermediary is responsible for transmitting all purchase and redemption requests, investment information, documentation, and money to the Fund on time. Your financial intermediary may charge additional transaction fees for its services.
Certain financial intermediaries may have agreements with the Fund that allow them to enter confirmed purchase and redemption orders on behalf of clients and customers. Under this arrangement, the financial intermediary must send your payment to the Fund by the time the Fund prices its shares on the following business day.
The Fund is not responsible for ensuring that a financial intermediary carries out its obligations. You should look to the financial intermediary through whom you wish to invest for specific instructions on how to purchase or redeem shares of the Fund.
FREQUENT PURCHASES AND REDEMPTIONS
Frequent purchases and redemptions (Frequent Trading) of shares of the Fund may present a number of risks to other shareholders of the Fund. These risks may include, among other things, dilution in the value of shares of the Fund held by long-term shareholders, interference with the efficient management by the Advisor of the Funds portfolio holdings, and increased brokerage and administration costs. Due to the potential of a thin market for the Funds small- and mid-cap portfolio securities, as well as overall adverse market, economic, political, or other conditions affecting the sale price of portfolio securities, the Fund could face untimely losses as a result of having to sell portfolio securities prematurely to meet redemptions. Current shareholders of the Fund may face unfavorable impacts as small- and mid-cap securities may be more volatile than securities for larger, more established companies and it may be more difficult to sell a significant amount of shares to meet redemptions in a limited market. Frequent trading may also increase portfolio turnover which may result in increased capital gains taxes for shareholders of the Fund. These capital gains could include short-term capital gains taxed at ordinary income tax rates.
The Trustees have adopted a policy that is intended to discourage and to identify such activity by shareholders of the Fund. Under the Funds adopted policy, the Advisor has the discretion to refuse to accept further purchase and/or exchange orders from an investor if the Advisor believes the investor has a pattern of Frequent Trading that the Advisor considers not to be in the best interests of the other shareholders. To assist the Advisor in identifying possible Frequent Trading patterns, MSS provides a daily record of shareholder trades to the Advisor. MSS also assists the Advisor in monitoring and testing shareholder purchase and redemption orders for possible incidents of Frequent Trading. Under the Funds policy regarding Frequent Trading, the Fund intends to limit investments from investor accounts that purchase and redeem shares over a period of less than ten days in which (i) the redemption amount is within ten percent of the previous purchase amount(s); (ii) the redemption amount is greater than $10,000; and (iii) two or more such redemptions occur during a 60 calendar day period. In the event such a purchase and redemption pattern occurs, an investor account and any other account with the same taxpayer identification number will be precluded from investing in the Fund (including investments that are part of an exchange transaction) for at least 30 calendar days after the redemption transaction.
This policy is intended to apply uniformly, except that the Fund may not be able to identify or determine that a specific purchase and/or redemption is part of a pattern of Frequent Trading or that a specific investor is engaged in Frequent Trading, particularly with respect to transactions made through accounts such as omnibus accounts or accounts opened through third-party financial intermediaries such as broker-dealers and banks (Intermediary Accounts). Therefore, this policy is not applied to omnibus accounts or Intermediary Accounts. Omnibus account arrangements permit multiple investors to aggregate their respective share ownership positions and to purchase, redeem, and exchange Fund shares without the identity of the particular shareholders being known to the Fund. Like omnibus accounts, Intermediary
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Accounts normally permit investors to purchase, redeem, and exchange Fund shares without the identity of the underlying shareholder being known to the Fund. Accordingly, the ability of the Fund to monitor and detect Frequent Trading through omnibus accounts and Intermediary Accounts would be very limited, and there would be no guarantee that the Fund could identify shareholders who might be engaging in Frequent Trading through such accounts or curtail such trading. The policy will not apply if the Advisor determines that a purchase and redemption pattern is not a Frequent Trading pattern intended to respond to short-term fluctuations in the securities markets, such as inadvertent errors that result in frequent purchases and redemptions. Inadvertent errors shall include purchases and/or redemptions made unintentionally or by mistake (e.g., where an investor unintentionally or mistakenly invests in the Fund and redeems immediately after recognizing the error). The investor shall have the burden of proving to the sole satisfaction of the Advisor that a frequent purchase and redemption pattern was the result of an inadvertent error. In such a case, the Advisor may choose to accept further purchase and/or exchange orders for such investor account.
If you invest with the Fund through an intermediary, please read that firms program materials carefully to learn of any rules or fees that may apply.
Although the Fund has taken steps to discourage Frequent Trading of the Funds shares, there is no guarantee that such trading will not occur.
OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES
The following information is meant as a general summary for U.S. taxpayers. Additional tax information appears in the SAI. Shareholders should rely on their own tax advisers for advice about the particular U.S. federal, state, and local tax consequences to them of investing in the Fund.
The Fund will distribute substantially all of its income and gains to its shareholders every year. Dividends paid by the Fund derived from net investment income, if any, will generally be paid annually and capital gains distributions, if any, will be made at least annually. Shareholders may elect to take dividends from net investment income or capital gains distributions, if any, in cash or reinvest them in additional Fund shares. Although the Fund will not be taxed on amounts it distributes, shareholders will generally be taxed on distributions, regardless of whether distributions are paid by the Fund in cash or are reinvested in additional Fund shares.
Distributions generally will be taxable as qualified dividend income, long-term capital gain, or ordinary income. Qualified dividend income generally includes dividends paid by U.S. corporations and certain qualifying foreign corporations, provided the foreign corporation is not a passive foreign investment company. Any distribution resulting from such qualified dividend income received by the Fund will be designated as qualified dividend income. If the Fund designates a distribution as qualified dividend income, it generally will be taxable to individual shareholders at the long-term capital gains tax rate provided certain holding period requirements are met. If the Fund designates a distribution as a capital gains distribution, it generally will be taxable to shareholders as long-term capital gain, regardless of how long the shareholders have held their Fund shares. Short-term capital gains may be realized and any distribution resulting from such gains will be taxed at ordinary income tax rates. All taxable dividends paid by the Fund other than those designated as qualified dividend income or capital gain distributions will be taxable as ordinary income to shareholders.
Taxable distributions paid by the Fund to corporate shareholders will be taxed at corporate tax rates. Corporate shareholders may be entitled to a dividends-received deduction (DRD) for a portion of the dividends paid and designated by the Fund as qualifying for the DRD.
If the Fund declares a dividend in October, November, or December but pays it in January, it will be taxable to shareholders as if the dividend had been received in the year it was declared. Every year, each shareholder will receive a statement detailing the tax status of any Fund distributions for that year. Distributions may be subject to U.S. state and local taxes, as well as U.S. federal income taxes.
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In general, a shareholder who sells or redeems shares will realize a capital gain or loss, which will be long-term or short-term depending upon the shareholders holding period for the Fund shares. An exchange of shares may be treated as a sale and may be subject to tax.
The Fund may be required to backup withhold U.S. federal income tax for all taxable distributions payable to shareholders who fail to provide the Fund with their correct taxpayer identification numbers, to make required certifications, or who have been notified by the IRS that they are subject to backup withholding. Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Rather, it is a way in which the IRS ensures it will collect taxes otherwise due. Any amounts backup withheld may be credited against a shareholders U.S. federal income tax liability.
Shareholders should consult with their own tax advisers to ensure that distributions and sales of Fund shares are treated appropriately on their U.S. federal income tax and other returns.
Cost Basis Reporting. The Fund is required to report its shareholders cost basis, gain/loss, and holding period for Fund shares to the IRS on the Funds shareholders Consolidated Form 1099s. The Fund has chosen average cost as its standing (default) tax lot identification method for all shareholders. A tax lot identification method is the way the Fund will determine which specific Fund shares are deemed to be sold when there are multiple purchases on different dates at differing prices, and the entire position is not sold at one time. The Funds standing tax lot identification method is the method Fund shares will be reported on a shareholders Consolidated Form 1099 if the shareholder does not select a different tax lot identification method. Shareholders may choose a method different than the Funds standing method and will be able to do so at the time of purchase or upon the sale of Fund shares. The Fund and its service providers do not provide tax advice. U.S. shareholders should consult independent sources, which may include a tax professional, with respect to choosing a tax lot identification method.
Possible Tax Law Changes. At the time that this prospectus was being prepared, various administrative and legislative changes to the U.S. federal tax laws are under consideration, but it is not possible at this time to determine whether any of these changes will take place or what the changes might entail.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The financial highlights table on the following page is intended to help you understand the Funds financial performance for the previous five (5) fiscal 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 financial data in the table below for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2025 was derived from the audited financial statements of the Fund and have been audited by Cohen & Company, Ltd., the Funds current independent registered public accounting firm, whose report covering this fiscal year is incorporated by reference into the SAI. The financial data in the table below for periods prior to November 30, 2023 have been derived from audited financial statements of the Fund and have been audited by the Funds predecessor independent registered public accounting firm. This information should be read in conjunction with the Funds latest audited annual financial statements and notes thereto, which are also incorporated by reference into the SAI, a copy of which may be obtained at no charge by calling the Fund at 1-888-626-3863. Further information about the performance of the Fund is contained in the Semi-Annual and Annual Reports of the Fund, a copy of which may also be obtained at no charge by calling the Fund.
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Wellington Shields All-Cap Fund Institutional Shares
| Financial Highlights | |||||||||
| Selected data for a share outstanding | |||||||||
| throughout each year: | Year Ended | Year Ended | Year Ended | Year Ended | Year Ended | ||||
| 11/30/2025 | 11/30/2024 | 11/30/2023 | 11/30/2022 | 11/30/2021 | |||||
| Net Asset Value - | |||||||||
| Beginning of Year | $ 29.98 | $ 23.02 | $ 23.00 | $ 29.21 | $ 25.09 | ||||
| Net Investment Income / (Loss) (a) | (0.11) | (0.05) | 0.11 | 0.17 | (0.18) | ||||
| Net Gain / (Loss) on Investments | |||||||||
| (Realized and Unrealized) | 4.37 | 7.12 | 0.47 | (4.64) | 7.01 | ||||
| Total from Investment Operations | 4.26 | 7.07 | 0.58 | (4.47) | 6.83 | ||||
| Distributions (From Net Investment Income) | - | + | (0.11) | (0.04) | (0.13) | - | |||
| Distributions (From Net Realized Gains) | (1.17) | - | (0.52) | (1.61) | (2.71) | ||||
| Total Distributions | (1.17) | (0.11) | (0.56) | (1.74) | (2.71) | ||||
| Net Asset Value - | |||||||||
| End of Year | $ 33.07 | $ 29.98 | $ 23.02 | $ 23.00 | $ 29.21 | ||||
| Total Return (b) | 14.85% | 30.81% | 2.57% | (15.25)% | 26.88% | ||||
| Ratios/Supplemental Data | |||||||||
| Net Assets - End of Year (Thousands) | $ 69,223 | $ 62,346 | $ 49,752 | $ 51,819 | $ 61,755 | ||||
| Before Waiver/Reimbursement/Recoupment | |||||||||
| Ratio of Expenses to Average Net Assets | 1.29% | 1.31% | 1.33% | 1.30% | 1.28% | ||||
| After Waiver/Reimbursement/Recoupment | |||||||||
| Ratio of Expenses to Average Net Assets | 1.29% | 1.31% | 1.33% | 1.30% | 1.50% | ||||
| Ratio of Net Investment Income / (Loss) to | |||||||||
| Average Net Assets | (0.40)% | (0.19)% | 0.48% | 0.67% | (0.64)% | ||||
| Portfolio Turnover Rate | 20.39% | 45.77% | 57.06% | 74.35% | 45.90% | ||||
| + Less than +/- $0.005 per share. | |||||||||
| (a) Based on Average Shares Outstanding. | |||||||||
| (b) Total return represents the rate that the investor would have earned or lost on an investment in the | |||||||||
| Fund assuming reinvestment of dividends. | |||||||||
| 21 |
Privacy Notice
| FACTS | WHAT DOES CAPITAL MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT TRUST DO WITH YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION? |
| Why? | Financial companies choose how they share your personal information. Federal law gives consumers the right to limit some but not all sharing. Federal law also requires us to tell you how we collect, share, and protect your personal information. Please read this notice carefully to understand what we do. |
| What? |
The types of personal information we collect and share depend on the product or service you have with us. This information can include: § Social Security number § Assets § Retirement Assets § Transaction History § Checking Account Information § Purchase History § Account Balances § Account Transactions § Wire Transfer Instructions When you are no longer our customer, we continue to share your information as described in this notice. |
| How? | All financial companies need to share your personal information to run their everyday business. In the section below, we list the reasons financial companies can share their customers personal information; the reasons Capital Management Investment Trust chooses to share; and whether you can limit this sharing. |
|
Reasons we can share your personal Does Capital Management Investment information Trust share? Can you limit this sharing? | |
|
For our everyday business purposes Such as to process your transactions, maintain your account(s), respond to court Yes No orders and legal investigations, or report to credit bureaus | |
|
For our marketing purposes to offer our products and services to you No We dont share | |
|
For joint marketing with other financial companies No We dont share
| |
|
For our affiliates everyday business purposes No We dont share information about your transactions and experiences | |
|
For our affiliates everyday business purposes No We dont share information about your creditworthiness | |
| For nonaffiliates to market to you No We dont share | |
| Questions? | Call 1-888-626-3863 |
| 22 |
| Page 2 | |
| Who we are | |
|
Who is providing this notice? Capital Management Investment Trust Wellington Shields & Co. LLC (Distributor) Arbor Court Capital, LLC (Sub-Distributor) Premier Fund Solutions, Inc. (Administrator) | |
| What we do | |
|
How does Capital Management To protect your personal information from unauthorized access and use, we use Investment Trust security measures that comply with federal law. These measures include computer protect my personal information? safeguards and secured files and buildings.
Our service providers are held accountable for adhering to strict policies and procedures to prevent any misuse of your nonpublic personal information. | |
|
How does Capital Management We collect your personal information, for example, when you Investment Trust § Open an account collect my personal information? § Provide account information § Give us your contact information § Make deposits or withdrawals from your account § Make a wire transfer § Tell us where to send the money § Tell us who receives the money § Show your government-issued ID § Show your drivers license We also collect your personal information from other companies. | |
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Why cant I limit all sharing? Federal law gives you the right to limit only § Sharing for affiliates everyday business purposes information about your creditworthiness § Affiliates from using your information to market to you § Sharing for nonaffiliates to market to you State laws and individual companies may give you additional rights to limit sharing. | |
| Definitions | |
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Affiliates Companies related by common ownership or control. They can be financial and nonfinancial companies. § Capital Management Associates, Inc., the investment adviser to the Capital Management Investment Trust, could be deemed to be an affiliate. | |
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Nonaffiliates Companies not related by common ownership or control. They can be financial and nonfinancial companies § Capital Management Investment Trust does not share with nonaffiliates so they can market to you. | |
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Joint marketing A formal agreement between nonaffiliated financial companies that together market financial products or services to you. § Capital Management Investment Trust does not jointly market. | |
| 23 |
FOR MORE INFORMATION
You will find more information about the Fund in the following documents:
Statement of Additional Information: The Funds SAI, which is on file with the SEC and incorporated by reference into this prospectus, contains additional information about the Fund.
Annual/Semi-Annual Reports: Additional information about the Funds investments is available in the Funds annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders and in Form N-CSR. In the Funds annual report you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Funds performance during its last fiscal year. In Form N-CSR, you will find the Funds annual and semi-annual financial statements.
You can obtain a free copy of the SAI, annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders, and other information such as Fund financial statements, by writing to the Fund at c/o Mutual Shareholder Services, 8000 Town Centre Drive, Suite 400, Broadview Heights, Ohio 44147 or by calling the Fund toll-free at 1-888-626-3863. The Funds prospectus, SAI, annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders, and other information such as Fund financial statements are available for viewing/downloading at www.cmitfunds.com. General inquiries regarding the Fund may also be directed to the above address or telephone number.
Copies of these documents and other information about the Funds are available on the EDGAR Database on the Commissions Internet site at http://www.sec.gov, and copies of these documents may also be obtained, after paying a duplication fee, by electronic request at the following email address: publicinfo@sec.gov.
Investment Company Act File Number: 811-08822
| 24 |
CAPITAL MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT TRUST
WELLINGTON SHIELDS ALL-CAP FUND
INSTITUTIONAL SHARES Ticker Symbol WSACX
Series of
Capital Management Investment Trust
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
March 28, 2025
Capital Management Investment Trust
60 Broad Street, 39th Floor
New
York, New York 10004
Telephone 1-888-626-3863
This Statement of Additional Information (SAI) is meant to be read in conjunction with the prospectus for the Wellington Shields All-Cap Fund (All-Cap Fund or the Fund) dated the same date as this SAI, relating to the All-Cap Funds Institutional Shares (Prospectus), and is incorporated by reference in its entirety into the Prospectus. Because this SAI is not itself a prospectus, no investment in shares of the Fund should be made solely upon the information contained herein. Information from the Annual Report to shareholders is incorporated by reference into this SAI. Copies of the Prospectus for the Fund and Annual Report may be obtained at no charge by writing or calling the Fund at the address or phone number shown above. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein have the same meanings as in the Prospectus.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
| Page | |
| OTHER INVESTMENT POLICIES | 3 |
| INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS | 9 |
| MANAGEMENT AND OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS | 9 |
| PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS | 17 |
| SPECIAL SHAREHOLDER SERVICES | 18 |
| DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS | 19 |
| PURCHASE OF SHARES | 20 |
| REDEMPTION OF SHARES | 21 |
| NET ASSET VALUE | 21 |
| ADDITIONAL TAX INFORMATION | 22 |
| CAPITAL SHARES AND VOTING | 29 |
| FINANCIAL STATEMENTS | 30 |
| APPENDIX A – PROXY VOTING POLICIES | 31 |
| 2 |
OTHER INVESTMENT POLICIES
The Fund is a diversified series of the Capital Management Investment Trust (Trust), a registered open-end management investment company. The Trust was organized on October 14, 1994 as a Massachusetts business trust. The primary investment strategies and risks of the Fund are described in the Prospectus. In addition to the principal investment strategies discussed in the Funds Prospectus, the Fund may also employ the use of the financial instruments described below in order to achieve its objective. The strategies set forth below are not principal strategies of the Fund.
General Investment Risks. All investments in securities and other financial instruments involve a risk of financial loss. No assurance can be given that the Funds investment program will be successful. Investors should carefully review the descriptions of the Funds investments and their risks described in this SAI and the Funds Prospectus.
Repurchase Agreements. The Fund may acquire U.S. government obligations or corporate debt securities subject to repurchase agreements. A repurchase transaction occurs when, at the time the Fund purchases a security (normally a U.S. Treasury obligation), it also resells it to the vendor (normally a member bank of the Federal Reserve or a registered government securities dealer) and must deliver the security (and/or securities substituted for them under the repurchase agreement) to the vendor on an agreed upon date in the future. The repurchase price exceeds the purchase price by an amount which reflects an agreed upon market interest rate effective for the period of time during which the repurchase agreement is in effect. Delivery pursuant to the resale generally will normally occur within one to seven days of the purchase.
Repurchase agreements are considered loans under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (1940 Act), collateralized by the underlying security. The Trust will implement procedures to monitor on a continuous basis the value of the collateral serving as security for repurchase obligations. The Funds investment adviser, Capital Management Associates, Inc. (CMA or Advisor), will consider the creditworthiness of the vendor. If the vendor fails to pay the agreed upon resale price on the delivery date, the Fund will retain or attempt to dispose of the collateral. The Funds risk is that such default may include any decline in value of the collateral to an amount which is less than 100% of the repurchase price, any costs of disposing of such collateral, and any loss resulting from any delay in foreclosing on the collateral. The Fund will not enter into any repurchase agreement that would cause more than 15% of its net assets to be invested in repurchase agreements that extend beyond seven days and other illiquid securities.
Money Market Instruments. The Fund may acquire money market instruments. These may include U.S. government obligations or corporate debt obligations (including those subject to repurchase agreements), provided that they mature in thirteen months or less from the date of acquisition and are otherwise eligible for purchase by the Fund. Money market instruments also may include Bankers Acceptances and Certificates of Deposit of domestic branches of U.S. banks, Commercial Paper, and Variable Amount Demand Master Notes (Master Notes). Bankers Acceptances are time drafts drawn on and accepted by a bank. When a bank accepts such a time draft, it assumes liability for its payment. When the Fund acquires a Bankers Acceptance, the bank that accepted the time draft is liable for payment of interest and principal when due. The Bankers Acceptance carries the full faith and credit of such bank. A Certificate of Deposit (CD) is an unsecured, interest bearing debt obligation of a bank. Commercial Paper is an unsecured, short-term debt obligation of a bank, corporation, or other borrower. Commercial Paper maturity generally ranges from 2 to 270 days and it is usually sold on a discounted basis rather than as an interest-bearing instrument. The Fund will invest in Commercial Paper only if it is rated in one of the top two rating categories by Moodys Investors Service, Inc. (Moodys), Standard & Poors Ratings Group (S&P), or Fitch Investors Service, Inc. (Fitch) or, if not rated, is of equivalent quality in the Advisors opinion. Commercial Paper may include Master Notes of the same quality. Master Notes are unsecured obligations which are redeemable upon demand of the holder and which permit the investment of fluctuating amounts at varying rates of interest. Master Notes will be acquired by the Fund only through the Master Note program of the Funds custodian bank, acting as administrator thereof. The Advisor will monitor, on a continuous basis, the earnings power, cash flow, and other liquidity ratios of the issuer of a Master Note held by the Fund.
Investment Companies. The Fund may, from time to time, invest in securities of other investment companies, including, without limitation, money market funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs). Section 12(d)(1)(A) of the 1940 Act provides that a fund may not purchase or otherwise acquire the securities of other investment companies if, as a result of such purchase or acquisition, it would own: (i) more than 3% of the total outstanding voting stock of the acquired investment company; (ii) securities issued by any one investment company having a value in excess of 5% of the funds total assets; or (iii) securities issued by all investment companies having an aggregate value in excess of 10% of the funds total assets. These limitations are subject to certain statutory and regulatory exemptions, including Rule 12d1-4 under the
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1940 Act, which permits the Fund to invest in other investment companies beyond the statutory limits, subject to certain conditions. Among other conditions, Rule 12d1-4 prohibits a fund from acquiring control of another investment company (other than an investment company in the same group of investment companies), including by acquiring more than 25% of its voting securities. In addition, Rule 12d1-4imposes certain voting requirements when a funds ownership of another investment company exceeds particular thresholds. If shares of a fund are acquired by another investment company, the acquired fund may not purchase or otherwise acquire the securities of an investment company or private fund if immediately after such purchase or acquisition, the securities of investment companies and private funds owned by that acquired fund have an aggregate value in excess of 10 percent of the value of the total assets of the fund, subject to certain exceptions. These restrictions may limit the Funds ability to invest in other investment companies to the extent desired. In addition, other unaffiliated investment companies may impose other investment limitations or redemption restrictions which may also limit the Funds flexibility with respect to making investments in those unaffiliated investment companies. The Fund has adopted policies and procedures designed to comply with the requirements of Rule 12d1-4 and the Fund intends to follow such policies and procedures when investing in other investment companies.
Exchange Traded Funds. The Fund may invest in an exchange traded fund. An ETF is an investment company that holds a portfolio of common stock or bonds designed to track the performance of a securities index or sector of an index. ETFs are traded on a securities exchange based on their market value. An investment in an ETF generally presents the same primary risks as an investment in a conventional registered investment company (i.e., one that is not exchange traded), including the risk that the general level of stock prices, or that the prices of stocks within a particular sector, may increase or decrease, thereby affecting the value of the shares of an ETF. In addition, all ETFs will have costs and expenses that will be passed on to the Fund and these costs and expenses will in turn increase the Funds expenses. ETFs are also subject to the following risks that often do not apply to conventional investment companies: (1) the market price of the ETFs shares may trade at a discount to the ETFs net asset value and as a result, ETFs may experience more price volatility than other types of portfolio investments and such volatility could negatively impact the Funds net asset value; (2) an active trading market for an ETFs shares may not develop or be maintained at a sufficient volume; (3) trading of an ETFs shares may be halted if the listing exchange deems such action appropriate; and (4) ETF shares may be delisted from the exchange on which they trade, or circuit breakers (which are tied to large decreases in stock prices used by the exchange) may temporarily halt trading in the ETFs stock. ETFs are also subject to the risks of the underlying securities or sectors that the ETF is designed to track. Finally, there may be legal limitations and other conditions imposed by SEC rules on the amount of the ETF shares that the Fund may acquire.
Derivative Instruments. The Fund may invest in derivative instruments, which are financial instruments whose performance and value are derived, at least in part, from another source, such as the performance of an underlying asset or security. Derivatives may be purchased for hedging purposes, to enhance returns, as a substitute for purchasing or selling securities, to maintain liquidity or in anticipation of changes in the composition of its portfolio holdings. The Fund's transactions in derivative instruments may include, among others, the purchase and writing of options on securities.
Writing Covered Call Options. The Fund may write covered call options on equity securities or futures contracts that the Fund is eligible to purchase to earn premium income, to assure a definite price for a security it has considered selling, or to close out options previously purchased. The Fund may write covered call options if, immediately thereafter, not more than 30% of its net assets would be committed to such transactions. A call option gives the holder (buyer) the right to purchase a security or futures contract at a specified price (the exercise price) at any time until a certain date (the expiration date). A call option is covered if the Fund owns the underlying security subject to the call option at all times during the option period. When the Fund writes a covered call option, it maintains in a segregated account with its custodian or as otherwise required by the rules of the exchange for the underlying security, cash or liquid portfolio securities in an amount not less than the exercise price at all times while the option is outstanding.
The writing of covered call options is considered to be a conservative investment technique. The Fund will receive a premium from writing a call option, which increases the Funds return in the event the option expires unexercised or is closed out at a profit. The amount of the premium will reflect, among other things, the relationship of the market price of the underlying security to the exercise price of the option and the remaining term of the option. However, there is no assurance that a closing transaction can be effected at a favorable price. During the option period, the covered call writer has, in return for the premium received, given up the opportunity for capital appreciation above the exercise price should the market price of the underlying security increase, but has retained the risk of loss should the price of the underlying security decline.
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Writing Covered Put Options. The Fund may write covered put options on equity securities and futures contracts that the Fund is eligible to purchase to earn premium income or to assure a definite price for a security if it is considering acquiring the security at a lower price than the current market price or to close out options previously purchased. The Fund may not write a put option if, immediately thereafter, more than 25% of its net assets would be committed to such transactions. A put option gives the holder of the option the right to sell, and the writer has the obligation to buy, the underlying security at the exercise price at any time during the option period. The operation of put options in other respects is substantially identical to that of call options.
The Fund will receive a premium from writing a put option, which increases the Funds return in the event the option expires unexercised or is closed out at a profit. The amount of the premium will reflect, among other things, the relationship of the market price of the underlying security to the exercise price of the option and the remaining term of the option. The risks involved in writing put options include the risk that a closing transaction cannot be effected at a favorable price and the possibility that the price of the underlying security may fall below the exercise price, in which case the Fund may be required to purchase the underlying security at a higher price than the market price of the security at the time the option is exercised, resulting in a potential capital loss unless the security subsequently appreciates in value.
The Fund may also write straddles (combinations of puts and calls on the same underlying security).
Purchasing Put Options. The Fund may purchase put options. As the holder of a put option, the Fund has the right to sell the underlying security at the exercise price at any time during the option period. The Fund may enter into closing sale transactions with respect to such options, exercise them or permit them to expire.
The Fund may purchase a put option on an underlying security (a protective put) owned as a defensive technique to protect against an anticipated decline in the value of the security. Such hedge protection is provided only during the life of the put option when the Fund, as the holder of the put option, is able to sell the underlying security at the put exercise price regardless of any decline in the underlying securitys market price. For example, a put option may be purchased to protect unrealized appreciation of a security where it is desirable to continue to hold the security because of tax considerations. The premium paid for the put option and any transaction costs would reduce any capital gain otherwise available for distribution when the security is eventually sold.
The Fund may also purchase put options at a time when it does not own the underlying security. By purchasing put options on a security it does not own, the Fund seeks to benefit from a decline in the market price of the underlying security. If the put option is not sold when it has remaining value, and if the market price of the underlying security remains equal to or greater than the exercise price during the life of the put option, the Fund will lose its entire investment in the put option. For the purchase of a put option to be profitable, the market price of the underlying security must decline sufficiently below the exercise price to cover the premium and transaction costs, unless the put option is sold in a closing sale transaction.
A put option will be recorded as an asset in the Funds statement of assets and liabilities, with its initial value set as the premium paid by the Fund when purchasing it. This asset will be adjusted daily to the options current market value, which will be the latest sale price at the time at which the Funds net asset value per share is computed (close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange), or, in the absence of such sale, the mean of the last quoted bid and ask prices. The asset will be extinguished upon expiration of the option, the selling (writing) of an identical option in a closing transaction, or the delivery of the underlying security upon the exercise of the option. The purchaser of a put option risks a total loss of the premium paid for the option if the price of the underlying security does not increase or decrease sufficiently to justify exercise.
Purchasing Call Options. The Fund may purchase call options. As the holder of a call option, the Fund has the right to purchase the underlying security at the exercise price at any time during the option period. The Fund may enter into closing sale transactions with respect to such options, exercise them or permit them to expire. The Fund may also purchase call options on relevant stock indices. Call options may also be purchased by the Fund for the purpose of acquiring the underlying securities for its portfolio. Utilized in this fashion, the purchase of call options enables the Fund to acquire the securities at the exercise price of the call option plus the premium paid. At times the net cost of acquiring securities in this manner may be less than the cost of acquiring the securities directly. This technique may also be useful to the Fund in purchasing a large block of securities that would be more difficult to acquire by direct market purchases. So long as it holds such a call option rather than the underlying security itself, the Fund is partially protected from any unexpected decline in the market price of the underlying security and in such event could allow the call option to expire, incurring a loss only to the extent of the premium paid for the option.
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The Fund may also purchase call options on underlying securities it owns to protect unrealized gains on call options previously written by it. A call option would be purchased for this purpose where tax considerations make it inadvisable to realize such gains through a closing purchase transaction. Call options may also be purchased at times to avoid realizing losses that would result in a reduction of the Funds current return. For example, where the Fund has written a call option on an underlying security having a current market value below the price at which such security was purchased by the Fund, an increase in the market price could result in the exercise of the call option written by the Fund and the realization of a loss on the underlying security with the same exercise price and expiration date as the option previously written.
A call option will be recorded as an asset in the Funds statement of assets and liabilities, with its initial value set as the premium paid by the Fund when purchasing it. This asset will be adjusted daily to the options current market value, which will be the latest sale price at the time at which the Funds net asset value per share is computed (close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange), or, in the absence of such sale, the mean of the last quoted bid and ask prices. The asset will be extinguished upon expiration of the option, the selling (writing) of an identical option in a closing transaction, or the delivery of the underlying security upon the exercise of the option.
Options Transactions Generally. Option transactions in which the Fund may engage involve the specific risks described above as well as the following risks: the writer of an option may be required to exercise at any time during the option period; disruptions in the markets for underlying instruments could result in losses for options investors; imperfect or no correlation between the option and the securities being hedged; the insolvency of a broker could present risks for the brokers customers; and market imposed restrictions may prohibit the exercise of certain options. In addition, the option activities of the Fund may affect its portfolio turnover rate and the amount of brokerage commissions paid by the Fund. The success of the Fund in using the option strategies described above depends, among other things, on the Advisors ability to predict the direction and volatility of price movements in the options, futures contracts and securities markets and its ability to select the proper time, type and duration of the options.
The Fund may purchase either exchange-traded or over-the-counter options on securities. With certain exceptions, over-the-counter options, and any assets used to cover them, are considered illiquid securities. The Funds ability to terminate options positions established in the over-the-counter market may be more limited than in the case of exchange-traded options and may also involve the risk that securities dealers participating in such transactions would fail to meet their obligations to the Fund.
Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act governs the Funds use of derivative instruments and certain other transactions that create future payment and/or delivery obligations by the Fund. Rule 18f-4 permits the Fund to enter into Derivatives Transactions (as defined below) and certain other transactions notwithstanding the restrictions on the issuance of senior securities under Section 18 of the 1940 Act. Section 18 of the 1940 Act, among other things, prohibits open-end funds, including the Fund, from issuing or selling any senior security, other than borrowing from a bank (subject to a requirement to maintain 300% asset coverage). In connection with the adoption of Rule 18f-4, the SEC eliminated the asset segregation framework arising from prior SEC guidance for covering Derivatives Transactions and certain financial instruments.
Under Rule 18f-4, Derivatives Transactions include the following: (i) any swap, security-based swap (including a contract for differences), futures contract, forward contract, option (excluding purchased options), any combination of the foregoing, or any similar instrument, under which the Fund is or may be required to make any payment or delivery of cash or other assets during the life of the instrument or at maturity or early termination, whether as margin or settlement payment or otherwise; (ii) any short sale borrowing; (iii) reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing transactions, if the Fund elects to treat these transactions as Derivatives Transactions under Rule 18f-4; and (iv) when-issued or forward-settling securities (e.g., firm and standby commitments, including to-be-announced (TBA) commitments, and dollar rolls) and non-standard settlement cycle securities, unless the Fund intends to physically settle the transaction and the transaction will settle within 35 days of its trade date.
Unless the Fund is relying on the Limited Derivatives User Exception (as defined below), the Fund must comply with Rule 18f-4 with respect to its Derivatives Transactions. Rule 18f-4, among other things, requires the Fund to (i) appoint a Derivatives Risk Manager, (ii) maintain a Derivatives Risk Management Program designed to identify, assess, and reasonably manage the risks associated with Derivatives Transactions; (iii) comply with certain value-at-risk (VaR)-based leverage limits (VaR is an estimate of an instruments or portfolios potential losses over a given time horizon and at a specified confidence level); and (iv) comply with certain Board reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
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Rule 18f-4 provides an exception from the requirements to appoint a Derivatives Risk Manager, adopt a Derivatives Risk Management Program, comply with certain VaR-based leverage limits, and comply with certain Board oversight and reporting requirements if the Funds derivatives exposure (as defined in Rule 18f-4) is limited to 10% of its net assets (as calculated in accordance with Rule 18f-4) and the Fund adopts and implements written policies and procedures reasonably designed to manage its derivatives risks (the Limited Derivatives User Exception).
The Fund does not currently intend to enter into Derivatives Transactions, but reserves the right to do so upon adherence to all of the requirements of Rule 18f-4 or the requirements applicable to the Limited Derivatives User Exception, as applicable. Pursuant to Rule 18f-4, if the Fund enters into reverse repurchase agreements or similar financing transactions, the Fund will (i) aggregate the amount of indebtedness associated with all of its reverse repurchase agreements or similar financing transactions with the amount of any other senior securities representing indebtedness (e.g., bank borrowings, if applicable) when calculating the Funds asset coverage ratio or (ii) treat all such transactions as Derivatives Transactions.
The requirements of Rule 18f-4 may limit the Funds ability to engage in Derivatives Transactions as part of its investment strategies. These requirements may also increase the cost of the Funds investments and cost of doing business, which could adversely affect the value of the Funds investments and/or the performance of the Fund.
Short Sales. The Fund may commit up to 20% of its net assets in short sales, which are transactions in which the Fund sells a security it does not own in anticipation of a decline in the market value of that security. To complete a short sale transaction, the Fund will borrow the security from a broker-dealer, which generally involves the payment of a premium and transaction costs. The Fund then sells the borrowed security to a buyer in the market. The Fund will cover the short position by buying shares in the market either (i) at its discretion; or (ii) when called by the broker-dealer lender. Until the security is replaced, the Fund is required to pay the broker-dealer lender any dividends or interest that accrue during the period of the loan. In addition, the net proceeds of the short sale will be retained by the broker to the extent necessary to meet regulatory or other requirements, until the short position is closed out.
The Fund will incur a loss as a result of the short sale if the price of the security increases between the date of the short sale and the date on which the Fund replaces the borrowed security. The Fund will realize a gain if the security declines in price between those dates. Short sales involve leverage, which may exaggerate a gain or loss. The amount of any gain will be decreased, and the amount of any loss increased by the amount of the premium, dividends, interest, or expenses the Fund may be required to pay in connection with a short sale. The use of borrowing and short sales may cause the Fund to incur higher expenses (especially interest and dividend expenses) than those of other equity mutual funds. When the Fund makes a short sale, the Fund will segregate liquid assets (such as cash, U.S. Government securities, or equity securities) on the Funds books and/or in a segregated account at the Funds custodian in an amount sufficient to cover the current value of the securities to be replaced as well as any dividends, interest, and/or transaction costs due to the broker-dealer lender. In determining the amount to be segregated, any securities that have been sold short by the Fund will be marked to market daily. To the extent the market price of the security sold short increases and more assets are required to meet the Funds short sale obligations, additional assets will be segregated to ensure adequate coverage of the Funds short position obligations.
In addition, the Fund may make short sales against the box. A short sale is against the box to the extent that the Fund contemporaneously owns or has the right to obtain at no additional cost securities identical to those sold short. If the Fund sells securities short against the box, it may protect unrealized gains, but it will lose the opportunity to profit on such securities if the price rises. The Fund will incur transaction costs, including interest, in connection with opening, maintaining, and closing short sales against the box.
Foreign Securities. The Fund may invest directly in foreign securities traded on U.S. national exchanges or over-the-counter domestic exchanges; foreign securities represented by American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), as described below; and foreign securities traded on foreign exchanges. The Fund may also invest in foreign currency-denominated fixed-income securities. Investing in securities issued by companies whose principal business activities are outside the United States may involve significant risks not present in domestic investments. For example, there is generally less publicly available information about foreign companies, particularly those not subject to the disclosure and reporting requirements of the U.S. securities laws. Foreign issuers are generally not bound by uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting requirements and standards of practice comparable to those applicable to domestic issuers. Investments in foreign securities also involve the risk of possible adverse changes in investment or exchange control regulations, currency exchange rates, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, limitation on the removal of cash or other assets of the Fund, political or financial instability, or diplomatic and other developments which could affect such investments. Further, economies of particular countries or areas of the world may differ favorably or unfavorably from the economy of the United States. Foreign securities often trade with less
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frequency and volume than domestic securities and therefore may exhibit greater price volatility. Additional costs associated with an investment in foreign securities may include higher custodial fees than would apply to domestic custodial arrangements, and transaction costs of foreign currency conversions. Certain foreign governments levy withholding taxes on dividend and interest income. Although in some countries it is possible for the Fund to recover a portion of these taxes, the portion that cannot be recovered will reduce the income that the Fund receives from its investments.
ADRs provide a method whereby the Fund may invest in securities issued by companies whose principal business activities are outside the United States. ADRs are receipts typically issued by a U.S. bank or trust company evidencing ownership of the underlying securities and may be issued as sponsored or unsponsored programs. In sponsored programs, an issuer has made arrangements to have its securities trade in the form of ADRs. In unsponsored programs, the issuer may not be directly involved in the creation of the program. Although regulatory requirements with respect to sponsored and unsponsored programs are generally similar, in some cases it may be easier to obtain financial information from an issuer that has participated in the creation of a sponsored program.
Funding Agreements. Within the limitations on investments in illiquid securities, the Fund may invest in various types of funding agreements. A funding agreement is, in substance, an obligation of indebtedness negotiated privately between an investor and an insurance company. Funding agreements often have maturity-shortening features, such as an unconditional put, that permit the investor to require the insurance company to return the principal amount of the funding agreement, together with accrued interest, within one year or less. Most funding agreements are not transferable by the investor and, therefore, are illiquid, except to the extent the funding agreement is subject to a demand feature of seven days or less. An insurance company may be subject to special protection under state insurance laws, which protections may impair the ability of the investor to require prompt performance by the insurance company of its payment obligations under the funding agreement.
Illiquid Investments. In accordance with Rule 22e-4 under the 1940 Act (the Liquidity Rule), the Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments. For these purposes, illiquid investments are investments that cannot 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.
The Fund must classify each portfolio investment at least monthly into one of four liquidity categories (highly liquid, moderately liquid, less liquid and illiquid), which are defined pursuant to the Liquidity Rule. Such classification is to be made using information obtained after reasonable inquiry and taking into account relevant market, trading and investment-specific considerations. Moreover, in making such classification determinations, the Fund determines whether trading varying portions of a position in a particular portfolio investment or asset class, in sizes that the Fund would reasonably anticipate trading, is reasonably expected to significantly affect its liquidity, and if so, the Fund takes this determination into account when classifying the liquidity of that investment. The Fund may be assisted in classification determinations by one or more third-party service providers. Investments classified according to this process as illiquid investments are those subject to the 15% limit on illiquid investments.
Forward Commitment & When-Issued Securities. The Fund may purchase securities on a when-issued basis or for settlement at a future date if the Fund holds sufficient assets to meet the purchase price. In such purchase transactions, the Fund will not accrue interest on the purchased security until the actual settlement. If a security is sold for a forward date, the Fund will accrue the interest until the settlement of the sale. When issued security purchases and forward commitments have a higher degree of risk of price movement before settlement due to the extended time period between the execution and settlement of the purchase or sale. As a result, the exposure to the counterparty of the purchase or sale is increased. Although the Fund would generally purchase securities on a forward commitment or when-issued basis with the intention of taking delivery, the Fund may sell such a security prior to the settlement date if the Advisor felt such action was appropriate. In such a case, the Fund could incur a short-term gain or loss.
Borrowing. The Fund may borrow up to an amount that has 300% asset coverage, which effectively permits the Fund to borrow up to one-third of its assets measured after the borrowing, plus an additional 5% for temporary purposes. In the event that the Fund should ever borrow money under these conditions, such borrowing could increase the Funds costs and thus reduce the value of the Funds assets.
Temporary Defensive Positions. As a temporary defensive measure in response to adverse market, economic, political, or other conditions, the Advisor may determine from time to time that market conditions warrant investing in investment-grade bonds, U.S. government securities, repurchase agreements, money market instruments, and to the extent permitted by applicable law and the Funds investment restrictions, shares of other investment companies. Under such circumstances, the Advisor may invest up to 100% of the Funds assets in these investments. Since investment companies investing in other investment companies pay management fees and other expenses relating to those
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investment companies, shareholders of the Fund would indirectly pay both the Funds expenses and the expenses relating to those other investment companies with respect to the Funds assets invested in such investment companies. To the extent the Fund is invested in short-term investments, it will not be pursuing and may not achieve its investment objective. Under normal circumstances, however, the Fund may also hold money market or repurchase agreement instruments for funds awaiting investment, to accumulate cash for anticipated purchases of portfolio securities, to allow for shareholder redemptions, and to provide for Fund operating expenses.
INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS
The Fund has adopted the following fundamental investment limitations, which cannot be changed without approval by holders of a majority of the outstanding voting shares of the Fund. A majority for this purpose means the lesser of (i) 67% of the Funds outstanding shares represented in person or by proxy at a meeting at which more than 50% of its outstanding shares are represented; or (ii) more than 50% of its outstanding shares. Unless otherwise indicated, percentage limitations apply at the time of purchase.
As a matter of fundamental policy, the Fund:
| (1) | may not issue any senior securities to others or borrow money, except as permitted under the 1940 Act, and as interpreted or modified by regulatory authority having jurisdiction; |
| (2) | shall be a diversified company as that term is defined in the 1940 Act, as interpreted or modified by regulatory authorities from time to time; |
| (3) | may not invest more than 25% of the value of its net assets in any one industry or group of industries (except that securities of the U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities are not subject to these limitations); |
| (4) | may not invest in commodities or purchase or sell real estate, except as permitted by the 1940 Act or other governing statute, by the Rules thereunder or by the SEC or other regulatory agency with authority over the Fund; |
| (5) | may not underwrite securities issued by others except to the extent the Fund may be deemed to be an underwriter under the federal securities laws, in connection with the disposition of portfolio securities; and |
| (6) | may not make loans to others, except as permitted under the 1940 Act, and as interpreted or modified by regulatory authority having jurisdiction, from time to time. |
With respect to the fundamental investment restrictions above, if a percentage limitation is adhered to at the time of investment, a later increase or decrease in percentage resulting from any change in value or net assets will not result in a violation of such restriction (i.e. percentage limitations are determined at the time of purchase); provided, however, that the treatment of the fundamental restrictions related to borrowing money and issuing senior securities are exceptions to this general rule.
MANAGEMENT AND OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS
This section of the SAI provides information about the persons who serve as Trustees and officers to the Trust and Fund, respectively, as well as the entities that provide services to the Fund.
TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS. The Trustees are responsible for the management and supervision of the Fund. The Trustees set broad policies for the Fund and choose the Funds officers. The Trustees also approve all significant agreements between the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and those companies that furnish services to the Fund; review performance of the Advisor and the Fund; and oversee activities of the Fund. Generally, each Trustee and officer serves an indefinite term or until certain circumstances occur such as their resignation, death, or otherwise as specified in the Trusts organizational documents. Any Trustee may be removed at a meeting of shareholders by a vote meeting the requirements of the Trusts organizational documents. The following chart shows information for the Trustees, including the Trustees who are not interested persons as defined in the 1940 Act (Independent Trustees) and the Trustees who are interested persons as defined in the 1940 Act (Interested Trustees), as well as each officer of the Trust. The address of each Trustee and officer, unless otherwise indicated, is 60 Broad Street, 39th Floor, New York, New York 10004.
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|
Name and Year of Birth and Address |
Position(s) Held with Fund/Trust |
Length of Time Served |
Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years |
Number of Portfolios in Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee |
Other Directorships Held by Trustee During Past 5 Years |
| Independent Trustees | |||||
| Michael D. Cahill: Year of Birth 1973 | Trustee | Since 11/2019 | Head Trader, CKC Capital LLC (since 2015); Sales Trader, Wellington Shields & Co. LLC (03/2011 03/2015). | 1 | None |
|
Paul J. Camilleri Year of Birth: 1947 |
Trustee | Since 2/2007 | Arbitrator for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (since 2001). | 1 | None |
| Interested Trustee* | |||||
|
David V. Shields Year of Birth: 1939 |
Trustee | 12/1994 04/2019; Since 11/2019 | Director (since 1982) of Capital Management Associates, Inc. (registered investment adviser to All-Cap Fund and previously to the Wellington Shields Small-Cap Fund); Chairman and Managing Member (since December 2009) of Wellington Shields & Co., LLC (broker/dealer and distributor to the Fund); Managing Member (since December 2009) of Wellington Shields Capital Management, LLC (registered investment adviser). | 1 | None |
| Officers | |||||
|
W. Jameson McFadden Year of Birth: 1981 |
President, Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer and Secretary | Since 2016 | President, Capital Management Associates, Inc. (2014-present); Secretary, Wellington Shields Capital Management, LLC (2009 to present); Secretary and Treasurer (2010-2014) and Analyst (2006-2010), Capital Management Associates, Inc. | N/A | N/A |
|
Stephen J. Portas Year of Birth: 1969 |
Chief Compliance Officer | Since 3/2014 | Chief Compliance Officer (since 2013) and Vice President (since 2011) of CMA; Chief Compliance Officer (2000-2011) of Midwood Securities (broker-dealer). | N/A | N/A |
|
James D. Craft Year of Birth: 1982 |
Treasurer |
Since 1/2020 |
Fund Administrator, Premier Fund Solutions, Inc. (2007-present); Chief Technology Officer, Premier Fund Solutions, Inc. (2011-present). | N/A | N/A |
* Basis of Interestedness: David V. Shields is an Interested Trustee because he is an officer and principal owner of Capital Management Associates, Inc., the Funds investment adviser, and Wellington Shields & Co., LLC, the Funds distributor.
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Board Structure. The Trusts Board of Trustees (the Board") includes two Independent Trustees and one Interested Trustee. The Board has established four standing committees: an Audit Committee, a Nominating Committee, a Proxy Voting Committee and a Qualified Legal Compliance Committee. These standing committees are comprised entirely of the Independent Trustees. Other information about these standing committees is set forth below. The Board does not have a single lead Independent Trustee, although one of the Independent Trustees serves as Chairman of the Audit Committee. The Board has determined that the Boards structure is appropriate given the characteristics, size and operations of the Trust. The Board also believes that its leadership structure, including its committees, helps facilitate effective oversight of Trust management. The Board reviews its structure annually.
With respect to risk oversight, the Board considers risk management issues as part of its general oversight responsibilities throughout the year. The Board holds four regular board meetings each year during which the Board receives risk management reports and/or assessments from Trust management, the Funds adviser, administrator, transfer agent and distributor, and receives an annual report from the Trusts Chief Compliance Officer (CCO). The Audit Committee also meets with the Trusts independent registered public accounting firm on an annual basis, to discuss among other things, the internal control structure of the Trusts financial reporting function. When appropriate, the Board may hold special meetings or communicate directly with Trust management, the CCO, the Trusts third-party service providers, legal counsel or independent registered public accounting firm to address matters arising between regular board meeting or needing special attention. In addition, the Board has adopted policies and procedures for the Trust to help detect and prevent and, if necessary, correct violations of federal securities laws.
Qualification of Trustees. The Trust believes that each of the Trustees has the appropriate experience, qualifications, attributes and skills (collectively Trustee Attributes) to serve as a trustee to the Trust in light of the Trusts business and structure. Among the Trustee Attributes common to each of the Trustees are their ability to evaluate, question and discuss information about the Fund, to interact effectively with the other Trustees, Trust management, the CCO and Trust third party service providers, legal counsel and the independent registered public accounting firm, and exercise business judgment in the performance of their duties as Trustees. Two of the Trustees also have served on the Board for a number of years and thus have gained substantial mutual fund board experience and insight as to the business and operations of a mutual fund, including the Fund and Trust. The third Trustee has extensive industry experience that also provides valuable experience and insight to the operations of the Fund and Trust.
In addition to the Trustee Attributes listed above, each of the Trustees has additional Trustee Attributes including, among other things, the Trustee Attributes as provided in the Trustees and Executive Officers table above and as follows:
Mr. Camilleri has experience in and knowledge of the financial industry in his role as an arbitrator for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and as a former consultant for a broker/dealer. Mr. Camilleri also has served as an Independent Trustee of the Trust since 2007. Mr. Cahill has worked in the finance industry since 1997. Mr. Cahill is currently the Head Trader for an SEC registered investment advisor, providing equity execution and trading management, broker-dealer relationship management and commission budget management. Mr. Cahill previously served as the vice president of institutional sales and trading. Mr. Shields has experience in and knowledge of the financial industry as a Director of CMA and CEO of the broker-dealer which serves as the distributor for the Fund. Mr. Shields also served as Trustee of the Trust since its inception until his resignation on April 10, 2019, which resignation was for the purpose of ensuring that the Board maintained a majority of Independent Trustees.
The Board has determined that each of the Trustees careers and background, combined with their interpersonal skills and general understanding of financial and other matters, enable the Trustees to effectively participate in and contribute to the Boards functions and oversight of the Trust. References to the qualifications, attributes and skills of Trustees are pursuant to requirements of the SEC, do not constitute holding out the Board or any Trustee as having any special expertise or experience, and shall not impose any greater responsibility on any such person or on the Board by reason thereof.
Trustee Standing Committees. The Trustees have established the following standing committees:
Audit Committee: The Independent Trustees are the current members of the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee oversees the Funds accounting and financial reporting policies and practices, reviews the results of the annual audits of the Funds financial statements, and interacts with the Funds independent auditors on behalf of all the Trustees. The Audit Committee operates pursuant to an Audit Committee Charter and meets periodically as necessary. The Audit Committee met one time during the Funds last fiscal year.
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Nominating Committee: The Independent Trustees are the current members of the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee nominates, selects, and appoints Independent Trustees to fill vacancies on the Board and to stand for election at meetings of the shareholders of the Trust. The nomination of Independent Trustees is in the sole discretion of the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee meets only as necessary and did not meet during the Funds last fiscal year. The Nominating Committee will not consider nominees recommended by shareholders of the Trust.
Proxy Voting Committee: The Independent Trustees are the current members of the Proxy Voting Committee. The Proxy Voting Committee will determine how the Fund should cast its vote, if called upon by the Board or the Advisor, when a matter with respect to which the Fund is entitled to vote presents a conflict between the interests of the Funds shareholders, on the one hand, and those of the Funds Advisor, principal underwriter or an affiliated person of the Fund, its investment adviser, or principal underwriter, on the other hand. The Proxy Voting Committee will review the Trusts Proxy Voting Policy and recommend any changes to the Board as it deems necessary or advisable. The Proxy Voting Committee will also decide if the Fund should participate in a class action settlement, if called upon by the Advisor, in cases where a class action settlement with respect to the which the Fund is eligible to participate presents a conflict between the interests of the Funds shareholders, on the one hand, and those of the Advisor, on the other hand. The Proxy Voting Committee meets only as necessary and did not meet during the Funds last fiscal year.
Qualified Legal Compliance Committee: The Independent Trustees are the current members of the Qualified Legal Compliance Committee. The Qualified Legal Compliance Committee receives, investigates and makes recommendations as to appropriate remedial action in connection with any report of evidence of a material violation of securities laws or breach of fiduciary duty or similar violation by the Trust, its officers, trustees or agents. The Qualified Legal Compliance Committee meets only as necessary and did not meet during the Funds last fiscal year.
Beneficial Equity Ownership Information. The table below shows for each Trustee, the amount of Fund equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee, and the aggregate value of all investments in equity securities of the Fund complex, as of a valuation date of December 31, 2024 and stated as one of the following ranges: A = None; B = $1-$10,000; C = $10,001-$50,000; D = $50,001-$100,000; and E = over $100,000.
|
Name of Director |
Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Fund |
Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity Securities in All Registered Investment Companies Overseen by Director in Family of Investment Companies | |
| Independent Trustees | |||
| Michael D. Cahill | |||
| All-Cap Fund | A | ||
| A | |||
| Paul J. Camilleri | |||
| All-Cap Fund | A | ||
| A | |||
| Interested Trustees | |||
| David V. Shields | |||
| All-Cap Fund | E | ||
| E | |||
Ownership of Securities of Advisor, Distributor, or Related Entities. As of December 31, 2024, none of the Independent Trustees and/or their immediate family members owned securities of the Advisor, Wellington Shields & Co., LLC (the Distributor), or any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the Advisor or Distributor.
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Compensation. Trustees and officers of the Trust who are interested persons of the Trust or the Advisor will receive no salary or fees from the Trust. Other Trustees will receive an annual fee of $2,000 per Fund each year plus $500 per Fund per meeting attended in person and $300 per Fund per meeting attended by telephone. The Trust will also reimburse each Trustee and officer for his or her travel and other expenses relating to attendance at such meetings. The table below reflects the amount of compensation received by each Trustee for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2024.
|
Name of Trustee |
Aggregate Compensation from the All-Cap Funds* |
Pension or Retirement Benefits Accrued As Part of Fund Expenses |
Estimated Annual Benefits Upon Retirement |
Total Compensation From the Funds and Trust Paid to Trustees |
| Michael D. Cahill | $8,000 | None | None | $8,000 |
| Paul J. Camilleri | $8,000 | None | None | $8,000 |
| David V. Shields | None | None | None | None |
Codes of Ethics. The Trust, the Advisor and the Distributor have each adopted a code of ethics, as required by applicable law, which is designed to prevent affiliated persons of the Trust, the Advisors and the Distributor from engaging in deceptive, manipulative, or fraudulent activities in connection with securities held or to be acquired by the Fund (which securities may also be held by persons subject to a code). There can be no assurance that the codes will be effective in preventing such activities.
Anti-Money Laundering Program. The Trust has adopted an anti-money laundering program, as required by applicable law, that is designed to prevent the Fund from being used for money laundering or the financing of terrorist activities. The Trusts Chief Compliance Officer is responsible for implementing and monitoring the operations and internal controls of the program. Compliance officers at certain of the Funds service providers are also responsible for monitoring the program. The anti-money laundering program is subject to the continuing oversight of the Trustees.
Proxy Voting Policies. The Trust has adopted a proxy voting and disclosure policy that delegates to the Advisor the authority to vote proxies for the Fund, subject to oversight of the Trustees. A copy of the Trusts Proxy Voting and Disclosure Policy and the Advisors Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures are included as Appendix A to this SAI.
No later than August 31 of each year, the Fund must file Form N-PX with the SEC. Form N-PX states how an investment company voted proxies for the prior twelve-month period ended June 30. The Funds proxy voting records, as set forth in the most recent Form N-PX filing, are available upon request, without charge, by calling the Fund at 1-888-626-3863. This information is also available on the SECs website at http://www.sec.gov.
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CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF VOTING SECURITIES. As of March 4, 2025, the Trustees and officers of the Trust as a group owned beneficially (i.e., directly or indirectly had voting and/or investment power) 12.49% of the then outstanding shares of the All-Cap Fund. Except as provided below, no person is known by the Trust to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of the outstanding shares of the Fund as of March 4, 2025.
All-Cap Fund
Institutional Shares
| Name and Address of Principal Holder | Percentage Owned of Record |
|
FOR BENEFIT OF A/C 189 PERSHING LLC ONE PERSHING PLAZA JERSEY CITY, NJ 07399
|
31.07% |
|
FOR BENEFIT OF A/C 171 PERSHING LLC ONE PERSHING PLAZA JERSEY CITY, NJ 07399
|
8.42% |
|
MATRIX TRUST COMPANY WELLINGTON SHIELDS 401(K) 140 BROADWAY NEW YORK, NY 10005 |
6.56% |
|
FOR BENEFIT OF A/C 582 PERSHING LLC ONE PERSHING PLAZA JERSEY CITY, NJ 07399
|
5.89% |
|
FOR BENEFIT OF A/C 398 PERSHING LLC ONE PERSHING PLAZA JERSEY CITY, NJ 07399
|
5.08% |
INVESTMENT ADVISER. Information about CMA, 60 Broad Street, 39th Floor, New York, New York 10004 and its duties and compensation as Advisor to the Fund is contained in the Funds Prospectus. The Advisor supervises the Funds investments pursuant to the investment advisory agreement for the Fund (Advisory Agreement). The Advisory Agreement is effective for a two-year period and will be renewed thereafter only so long as such renewal and continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the Trustees or by vote of a majority of the Funds outstanding voting securities, provided the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Trustees who are not parties to the Advisory Agreement or interested persons of any such party. The Advisory Agreement is terminable without penalty on 60 days notice by the Fund (as approved by the Trustees or by vote of a majority of the Funds outstanding voting securities) or by the Advisor. The Advisory Agreement provides that it will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment.
The Advisor manages the Funds investments in accordance with the stated policies of the Fund, subject to the approval of the Trustees. The Advisor is responsible for investment decisions and provides the Fund with portfolio managers who are authorized by the Trustees to execute purchases and sales of securities.
The portfolio managers for the Fund are Alexander L.M. Cripps, CFA, and W. Jameson McFadden. Messrs. Cripps and McFadden are primarily and jointly responsible for the daily operations of the Fund. They are assisted by Paul Gulden, co-Chief Investment Officer of Wellington Shields Capital Management, LLC, an affiliate of CMA.
The principal shareholders of CMA are W. Jameson McFadden, David V. Shields, and D. Larus Shields. The current ownership structure is the result of the distribution of the Estate of Mr. J.V. Shields, Jr. While this distribution resulted in a change in control of CMA, no material changes to the management or operations of CMA occurred. The officers and directors of CMA control CMA through ownership. Affiliates of CMA also control the Distributor. Under the Advisory Agreement, an Advisor is not liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Fund in connection with the performance of such agreement, except a loss resulting
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from a breach of fiduciary duty with respect to the receipt of compensation for services; or a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence on the part of the Advisor in the performance of its duties; or from its reckless disregard of its duties and obligations under the Advisory Agreement.
As compensation for its services to the All-Cap Fund, CMA receives a monthly management fee based on the All-Cap Funds daily net assets at an annual rate of 1.00% of the first $100 million of the Funds net assets, 0.90% of the next $150 million, 0.85% of the next $250 million and 0.80% of all assets over $500 million. For the fiscal year ended November 30, 2024, CMA received $558,257. For the fiscal year ended November 30, 2023, CMA received $478,888. For the fiscal year ended November 30, 2022, CMA received $542,642.
No waivers or reimbursements were incurred during the fiscal year ended November 30, 2023 and 2024. Additionally, as of November 30, 2023, there were no previously waived fees available for reimbursement to the Advisor. In accordance with the Expense Limitation Agreement, there were $68,962 of fees available for recoupment through November 30, 2022; however, the Advisor waived its recoupment rights for the remaining $68,962 related to the fiscal year 2022.
Portfolio Managers:
Compensation. The portfolio managers of the Funds are W. Jameson McFadden and Alexander L.M. Cripps, CFA. Their compensation consists of a fixed annual salary. The portfolio managers compensation is not linked to any specific factors, such as the Funds performance or asset level.
Ownership of Fund Shares. The table below shows the amount of Fund equity securities beneficially owned by each portfolio manager as of the end of November 30, 2024 stated as one of the following ranges: A = None; B = $1-$10,000; C = $10,001-$50,000; D = $50,001-$100,000; E = $100,001-$500,000; F = $500,001-$1,000,000; and G = over $1,000,000.
|
Name of Portfolio Manager |
Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Wellington Shields All-Cap Fund |
| W. Jameson McFadden | G |
| Alexander L.M. Cripps, CFA | C |
Other Accounts. Other than the Fund, the portfolio managers are responsible for the day-to-day management of certain other accounts. The table below shows the number of, and total assets in, such other accounts as of November 30, 2024:
| Name | Registered Investment Companies | Other Pooled Investment Vehicles | Other Accounts* | |||
| Number of Accounts | Total Assets | Number of Accounts | Total Assets | Number of Accounts | Total Assets | |
| W. Jameson McFadden | 0 | $0 | 0 | $0 | 31 | $111.568 million |
| Accounts where advisory fee is based upon account performance | 0 | $0 | 0 | $0 | 0 | $0 |
| Alexander L.M. Cripps, CFA | 0 | $0 | 0 | $0 | 32 | $110.242 million |
| Accounts where advisory fee is based upon account performance | 0 | $0 | 0 | $0 | 0 | $0 |
* Mr. McFadden manages three Other Accounts holding $2.258 million (after excluding unsupervised assets); Mr. Cripps manages four Other Accounts holding $0.932 million (excluding unsupervised assets); and Messrs. McFadden and Cripps co-manage twenty-eight Other Accounts holding $109.31 million (excluding unsupervised assets).
Conflicts of Interests. A Portfolio Managers management of other accounts may give rise to potential conflicts of
| 15 |
interest in connection with his management of the Funds investments, on the one hand, and the investments of the other accounts, on the other. The other accounts include pension plans, foundations, endowments, mutual funds, and private clients (collectively, the Other Accounts). The Other Accounts might have similar investment objectives as the Fund, track the same index the Fund tracks or otherwise hold, purchase, or sell securities that are eligible to be held, purchased, or sold by the Fund. While the portfolio managers management of other accounts may give rise to the following potential conflicts of interest, the Advisor does not believe that the conflicts, if any, are material or, to the extent any such conflicts are material, the Advisor believes that it has designed policies and procedures that are designed to manage those conflicts in an appropriate way.
Knowledge of the Timing and Size of Fund Trades: A potential conflict of interest may arise as a result of the portfolio managers day-to-day management of the Fund. The portfolio manager knows the size and timing of trades for the Fund and the Other Accounts, and may be able to predict the market impact of Fund trades. It is theoretically possible that the portfolio manager could use this information to the advantage of Other Accounts it manages and to the possible detriment of the Fund, or vice versa.
Investment Opportunities: The Advisor provides investment supervisory services for a number of investment products that have varying investment guidelines. The portfolio manager works across different investment products. Differences in the compensation structures of the Advisors investment products may give rise to a conflict of interest by creating an incentive for the Advisor to allocate the investment opportunities it believes might be the most profitable to the client accounts where it might benefit the most from the investment gains.
ADMINISTRATOR AND TRANSFER AGENT. Premier Fund Solutions, Inc. (PFS or the Administrator), 1939 Friendship Drive, Suite C, El Cajon, CA 92020, is the administrator, and Mutual Shareholder Services, LLC (MSS), 8000 Town Centre Drive, Suite 400, Broadview Heights, Ohio 44147 is the accounting services agent and transfer agent. Services are provided pursuant to a services agreement (the Services Agreement). Under the Services Agreement, PFS and MSS are responsible for a wide variety of functions, including but not limited to: (a) fund accounting services; (b) financial statement preparation; (c) valuation of the Funds portfolio securities; (d) pricing the Funds shares; (e) assistance in preparing tax returns; (f) preparation and filing of required regulatory reports; (g) communications with shareholders; (h) coordination of Board and shareholder meetings; (i) monitoring the Funds legal compliance; and (j) maintaining shareholder account records. During the fiscal year ended November 30, 2024, the All-Cap Fund paid MSS $47,052 under the Services Agreement for fund accounting and transfer agent services. During the fiscal year ended November 30, 2024, the All-Cap Fund paid PFS $39,078 under the Services Agreement for administration services. During the fiscal year ended November 30, 2023, the All-Cap Fund paid MSS $41,725 under the Services Agreement for fund accounting and transfer agent services. During the fiscal year ended November 30, 2023, the All-Cap Fund paid PFS $33,522 under the Services Agreement for administration services. During the fiscal year ended November 30, 2022, the All-Cap Fund paid MSS $45,753 under the Services Agreement for fund accounting and transfer agent services. During the fiscal year ended November 30, 2022, the All-Cap Fund paid PFS $37,985 under the Services Agreement for administration services.
Unless sooner terminated as provided therein by either the Trust or PFS or MSS, the Services Agreements between the Trust and PFS and MSS will continue on a year-to-year basis.
DISTRIBUTOR. Wellington Shields & Co., LLC (Distributor), 60 Broad Street, 39th Floor, New York, New York 10004, is the principal underwriter and distributor of Fund shares pursuant to a Distribution Agreement with the Trust. The Distributor, which is affiliated with the Advisor, serves as exclusive agent for the distribution of the shares of the Fund. The Distributor may sell such shares to or through qualified securities dealers or others. David V. Shields and W. Jameson McFadden, affiliated persons of the Fund, are also affiliated persons of the Advisor and the Distributor.
SUB-DISTRIBUTOR. The Trust and the Distributor have entered into a Sub-Distribution Agreement with Arbor Court Capital, LLC (Sub-Distributor), 8000 Town Centre Drive, Suite 400, Broadview Heights, Ohio 44147, under which the Sub-Distributor provides certain assistance to the Distributor in connection with processing purchases, redemptions and other transactions involving shares of the Fund through the National Securities Clearing Corporation. Under the terms of the Sub-Distribution Agreement, the Distributor is responsible for paying the Sub-Distributor for its services.
CUSTODIAN. The Huntington National Bank (Custodian), 7 Easton Oval, Columbus, OH 43219, serves as custodian for the Funds assets as of the date of this SAI. The Custodian acts as the depository for the Fund, safekeeps its portfolio securities, collects all income and other payments with respect to portfolio securities, disburses monies at the Funds request and maintains records in connection with its duties as Custodian.
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INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM. Cohen & Company, Ltd., 1835 Market Street, Suite 310, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, serves as the independent registered public accounting firm for the Fund for the current fiscal year and to audit the annual financial statements of the Fund, prepare the Funds federal and state tax returns, and consult with the Fund on matters of accounting and federal and state income taxation.
The independent registered public accounting firm audits the financial statements of the Fund at least once each year. Shareholders will receive annual audited and semi-annual unaudited reports when published and written confirmation of all transactions in their account. A copy of the most recent Annual Report will accompany the SAI whenever a shareholder or a prospective investor requests it.
LEGAL COUNSEL. Practus, LLP, located at 11300 Tomahawk Creek Parkway, Suite 310, Leawood, KS 66211, serves as legal counsel to the Trust and the Fund.
PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS
Subject to the general supervision of the Trustees, the Advisor is responsible for, makes decisions with respect to, and places orders for all purchases and sales of portfolio securities for the Fund.
The annualized portfolio turnover rate for the Fund is calculated by dividing the lesser of purchases or sales of portfolio securities for the reporting period by the monthly average value of the portfolio securities owned during the reporting period. The calculation excludes all securities whose maturities or expiration dates at the time of acquisition are one year or less. Portfolio turnover of the Fund may vary greatly from year to year as well as within a particular year, and may be affected by cash requirements for redemption of shares and by requirements that enable the Fund to receive favorable tax treatment. Portfolio turnover will not be a limiting factor in making Fund decisions, and the Fund may engage in short-term trading to achieve its investment objectives. High rates of portfolio turnover could lower performance of the Fund due to increased transaction costs and may also result in the realization of short-term capital gains taxed at ordinary income tax rates.
Purchases of money market instruments by the Fund are made from dealers, underwriters, and issuers. The Fund currently does not expect to incur any brokerage commission expense on such transactions because money market instruments are generally traded on a net basis by a dealer acting as principal for its own account without a stated commission. The price of the security, however, usually includes a profit to the dealer. Securities purchased in underwritten offerings include a fixed amount of compensation to the underwriter, generally referred to as the underwriters concession or discount. When securities are purchased directly from or sold directly to an issuer, no commissions or discounts are paid.
Transactions on U.S. stock exchanges involve the payment of negotiated brokerage commissions. On exchanges on which commissions are negotiated, the cost of transactions may vary among different brokers. Transactions in the over-the-counter market are generally on a net basis (i.e., without commission) through dealers, or otherwise involve transactions directly with the issuer of an instrument.
The Fund may participate, if and when practicable, in bidding for the purchase of securities directly from an issuer in order to take advantage of the lower purchase price available to members of a bidding group. The Fund will engage in this practice, however, only when the Advisor, in its sole discretion, believes such practice to be otherwise in the Funds interest.
The Fund has adopted, and the Trustees have approved, policies and procedures relating to the direction of mutual fund portfolio securities transactions to broker-dealers. In accordance with these policies and procedures in executing Fund transactions and selecting brokers or dealers, the Advisor will seek to obtain the best overall terms available for the Fund. In assessing the best overall terms available for any transaction, the Advisor shall consider factors it deems relevant, including the breadth of the market in the security, the price of the security, the financial condition and execution capability of the broker or dealer, and the reasonableness of the commission, if any, both for the specific transaction and on a continuing basis. The Advisor may not give consideration to sales of shares of the Fund as a factor in selecting broker-dealers to execute portfolio securities transactions. The Advisor may, however, place portfolio transactions with broker-dealers that promote or sell the Funds shares so long as such transactions are done in accordance with the policies and procedures established by the Trustees that are designed to ensure that the selection is based on the quality of the broker-dealers execution and not on its sales efforts. The Advisor is authorized to cause the Fund to pay a broker-dealer that furnishes brokerage and research services a higher commission than that which might be charged by another broker-dealer for effecting the same transaction, provided that the Advisor determines in good faith that such commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research
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services provided by such broker-dealer, viewed in terms of either the particular transaction or the overall responsibilities of the Advisor to the Fund. Such brokerage and research services might consist of reports and statistics relating to specific companies or industries; general summaries of groups of stocks or bonds and their comparative earnings and yields; or broad overviews of the stock, bond, and government securities markets; and the economy.
Supplementary research information so received is in addition to, and not in lieu of, services required to be performed by the Advisor and does not reduce the advisory fees payable by the Fund. The Trustees will periodically review any commissions paid by the Fund to consider whether the commissions paid over representative periods of time appear to be reasonable in relation to the benefits inuring to the Fund. It is possible that certain of the supplementary research or other services received will primarily benefit one or more other investment companies or other accounts for which investment discretion is exercised by the Advisor. Conversely, the Fund may be the primary beneficiary of the research or services received as a result of securities transactions affected for such other account or investment company.
The Advisor may also utilize a brokerage firm affiliated with the Trust or the Advisor (including the Distributor, an affiliate of the Advisor) if it believes it can obtain the best execution of transactions from such broker. The Fund will not execute portfolio transactions through, acquire securities issued by, make savings deposits in, or enter into repurchase agreements with the Advisor or an affiliated person of the Advisor (as such term is defined in the 1940 Act) acting as principal, except to the extent permitted by the SEC. In addition, the Fund will not purchase securities during the existence of any underwriting or selling group relating thereto of which the Advisor, or an affiliated person of the Advisor, is a member, except to the extent permitted by the SEC. Under certain circumstances, the Fund may be at a disadvantage because of these limitations in comparison with other investment companies that have similar investment objectives but are not subject to such limitations.
Investment decisions for the Fund will be made independently from those for any other series of the Trust and for any other investment companies and accounts advised or managed by the Advisor. Such other investment companies and accounts may also invest in the same securities as the Fund. To the extent permitted by law, the Advisor may aggregate the securities to be sold or purchased for the Fund with those to be sold or purchased for other investment companies or accounts in executing transactions. When a purchase or sale of the same security is made at substantially the same time on behalf of the Fund and another investment company or account, the transaction will be averaged as to price and available investments allocated as to amount in a manner that the Advisor believes to be equitable to the Fund and such other investment company or account. In some instances, this investment procedure may adversely affect the price paid or received by the Fund or the size of the position obtained or sold by the Fund.
For the fiscal years ended November 30, 2024, 2023, and 2022, the All-Cap Fund paid commissions of $5,935, $7,209 and $8,374, respectively, of which $5,935, $7,209 and $8,374, respectively, were paid to the Distributor. For the fiscal years ended November 30, 2024, 2023, and 2022, transactions in which the All-Cap Fund used the Distributor as broker involved 100%, 100% and 100% respectively, of the aggregate dollar amount of transactions involving the payment of commissions and 100%, 100% and 100%, respectively, of the aggregate brokerage commissions paid by the All-Cap Fund. The difference in brokerage commissions paid by the Fund over the past two fiscal years is due primarily to a decrease in portfolio turnover and lower commission rate.
SPECIAL SHAREHOLDER SERVICES
The Fund offers the following shareholder services:
REGULAR ACCOUNT. The regular account allows for voluntary investments to be made at any time. Available to individuals, custodians, corporations, trusts, estates, corporate retirement plans, and others, investors are free to make additions and withdrawals to or from their account. When an investor makes an initial investment in the Fund, a shareholder account is opened in accordance with the investors registration instructions. Each time there is a transaction in a shareholder account, such as an additional investment or the reinvestment of a dividend or distribution, the shareholder will receive a confirmation statement showing the current transaction and all prior transactions in the shareholder account during the calendar year to date, along with a summary of the status of the account as of the transaction date. As stated in the Prospectus, share certificates are generally not issued.
AUTOMATIC INVESTMENT PLAN. The automatic investment plan enables shareholders to make regular monthly or quarterly investments in shares through automatic charges to their checking account. With shareholder authorization and bank approval, the Administrator will automatically charge the checking account for the amount specified ($100 minimum) that will be automatically invested in shares at the public offering price on or about the 21st
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day of the month. The shareholder may change the amount of the investment or discontinue the plan at any time by writing to the Fund.
SYSTEMATIC WITHDRAWAL PLAN. Shareholders owning shares with a value of $10,000 or more may establish a systematic withdrawal plan (Systematic Withdrawal Plan). A shareholder may receive monthly or quarterly payments, in amounts of not less than $100 per payment, by authorizing the Fund to redeem the necessary number of shares periodically (each month, or quarterly in the months of March, June, September, and December) in order to make the payments requested. The Fund has the capability of electronically depositing the proceeds of the systematic withdrawal directly to the shareholders personal bank account ($5,000 minimum per bank wire). Instructions for establishing this service are included in the Fund Shares Application, enclosed in the Prospectus, or are available by calling the Fund. If the shareholder prefers to receive his systematic withdrawal proceeds in cash, or if such proceeds are less than the $5,000 minimum for a bank wire, checks will be made payable to the designated recipient and mailed within seven days of the valuation date. If the designated recipient is other than the registered shareholder, the signature of each shareholder must be guaranteed on the application (see Investing in the Fund Redeeming Your Shares - Signature Guarantees in the Prospectus). A corporation (or partnership) must also submit a Corporate Resolution (or Certification of Partnership) indicating the names, titles, and required number of signatures authorized to act on its behalf. The application must be signed by a duly authorized officer(s) and the corporate seal affixed. No redemption fees are charged to shareholders under this plan. Costs in conjunction with the administration of the plan are borne by the Fund. Shareholders should be aware that such systematic withdrawals may deplete or use up entirely their initial investment and may result in realized long-term or short-term capital gains or losses. The Systematic Withdrawal Plan may be terminated at any time by the Fund upon 60-days written notice or by a shareholder upon written notice to the Fund. Applications and further details may be obtained by calling the Fund at 1-888-626-3863 or by writing to:
Wellington Shields All-Cap Fund
c/o Mutual Shareholder Services
8000 Town Centre Drive
Suite 400
Broadview Heights, Ohio 44147
PURCHASES IN KIND. The Fund may accept securities in lieu of payment for the purchase of shares in the Fund. The acceptance of such securities is at the sole discretion of the Advisor based upon the suitability of the securities accepted for inclusion as a long-term investment of the Fund, the marketability of such securities, and other factors that the Advisor may deem appropriate. If accepted, the securities will be valued using the same criteria and methods as described in Investing in the Fund Purchase and Redemption Price in the Prospectus.
TRANSFER OF REGISTRATION. To transfer shares to another owner, send a written request to the Fund at the address shown above. Your request should include the following: (i) the Fund name and existing account registration; (ii) signature(s) of the registered owner(s) exactly as the signature(s) appear(s) on the account registration; (iii) the new account registration, address, social security or taxpayer identification number, and how dividends and capital gains are to be distributed; (iv) signature guarantees (See the Prospectus under the heading Investing in the Fund Redeeming Shares - Signature Guarantees); and (v) any additional documents that are required for transfer by corporations, administrators, executors, trustees, guardians, etc. If you have any questions about transferring shares, call or write the Fund.
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
The Trustees have adopted a policy that governs the disclosure of portfolio holdings. This policy is intended to ensure that such disclosure is in the best interests of the shareholders of the Fund and to address possible conflicts of interest. Under the Funds policy, the Fund and the Advisor generally will not disclose the Funds portfolio holdings to a third party unless such information is made available to the public. The policy provides that the Fund and Advisor may disclose non-public portfolio holdings information as required by law and under other limited circumstances that are set forth in more detail below.
The Fund will make available to the public a complete schedule of the Funds portfolio holdings, as reported on a fiscal quarter basis. This information is generally available within 60 days of the Funds fiscal quarter end and will remain available until the next fiscal quarters portfolio holdings report becomes available. You may obtain a copy of these quarterly portfolio holdings reports by calling the Fund at 1-888-626-3863. The Fund will also file these quarterly portfolio holdings reports with the SEC on Form N-CSR or Form N-PORT, as applicable. The Funds Form N-CSR and Form N-PORT are available on the SECs website at http://www.sec.gov. The first and third quarter portfolio holdings reports will be filed with the SEC on Form N-PORT and the second and fourth fiscal
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quarter portfolio holdings reports will be included with the semi-annual and annual financial statements, respectively, that are sent to shareholders and filed with the SEC on Form N-CSR.
The officers of the Fund and/or the Advisor may share non-public portfolio holdings information with the Funds service providers, that require such information for legitimate business and Fund oversight purposes, such as the Funds fund accountant and administrator, transfer agent, distributor, custodian, proxy voting services (as identified in the Advisors Proxy Voting Policy included in Appendix A to this SAI), independent registered public accounting firm and legal counsel as identified in the Funds Prospectus and SAI, and financial typesetters and printers, such as V.G. Reed & Sons, PrintGrafix (a division of Sunbelt Graphic Systems, Inc.), Riverside Printing, Inc., PrinterLink Communications Group, Inc., Filepoint EDGAR Services and Quality Edgar Solutions, that the Fund may engage for, among other things, the edgarizing, typesetting, the printing and/or distribution of regulatory and compliance documents. The Fund and/or the Advisor may also provide non-public portfolio holdings information to appropriate regulatory agencies as required by applicable laws and regulations. The Funds service providers receiving such non-public information are subject to confidentiality obligations requiring such service providers to keep non-public portfolio holdings information confidential. Certain of the service providers have codes of ethics that prohibit trading based on, among other things, non-public portfolio holdings information.
The Fund currently does not provide non-public portfolio holdings information to any other third parties. In the future, the Fund may elect to disclose such information to other third parties if the officers of the Fund and/or Advisor determine that the Fund has a legitimate business purpose for doing so and the recipient is subject to a duty of confidentiality. The Advisor is responsible for determining which other third parties have a legitimate business purpose for receiving the Funds portfolio holdings information.
The Funds policy regarding disclosure of portfolio holdings is subject to the continuing oversight and direction of the Trustees. The Advisor and Administrator are required to report to the Trustees any known disclosure of the Funds portfolio holdings to unauthorized third parties. The Fund has not entered (and do not intend to enter) into any arrangement providing for the receipt of compensation or other consideration in exchange for the disclosure of non-public portfolio holdings information, other than the benefits that result to the Fund and its shareholders from providing such information, which include the publication of Fund ratings and rankings.
PURCHASE OF SHARES
The purchase price of shares of the Fund is the net asset value next determined after the order is received subject to the order being received by the Fund in good form. Net asset value per share is calculated for purchases and redemptions of shares of the Fund by dividing the value of total Fund assets, less liabilities (including Fund expenses, that are accrued daily), by the total number of outstanding shares of the Fund. The net asset value per share of the Fund is normally determined at the time regular trading closes on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on days the NYSE is open for regular trading (currently 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday, except when the NYSE closes earlier) as described under Net Asset Value below. The Funds net asset value per share is not calculated on business holidays when the NYSE is closed. An order received prior to the time regular trading closes on the NYSE will be executed at the price calculated on the date of receipt and an order received after the time regular trading closes on the NYSE will be executed at the price calculated as of that time on the next business day.
The Fund reserves the right in its sole discretion to (i) suspend the offering of its shares; (ii) reject purchase orders when in the judgment of management such rejection is in the best interest of the Fund and its shareholders; and (iii) reduce or waive the minimum for initial and subsequent investments under circumstances where certain economies can be achieved in sales of Fund shares.
EMPLOYEES AND AFFILIATES OF THE FUND. The Fund has adopted initial investment minimums for the purpose of reducing the cost to the Fund (and consequently to the shareholders) of communicating with and servicing its shareholders. In keeping with this purpose, a reduced minimum initial investment of $1,000 applies to Trustees, officers, and employees of the Fund; the Advisor and certain parties related thereto; including clients of the Advisor or any sponsor, officer, committee member thereof, or the immediate family of any of them. Accounts having the same mailing address may be aggregated for purposes of the minimum investment if they consent in writing to sharing a single mailing of shareholder reports, proxy statements (but each such shareholder would receive his/her own proxy) and other Fund literature.
DEALERS. The Distributor, at its expense, may provide compensation to dealers in connection with sales of shares of the Fund. Compensation may include financial assistance to dealers in connection with conferences, sales or training
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programs for their employees, seminars for the public, advertising campaigns regarding the Fund, and/or other dealer-sponsored special events. In some instances, this compensation may be made available only to certain dealers whose representatives have sold or are expected to sell a significant amount of such shares. Compensation may include payment for travel expenses, including lodging, incurred in connection with trips taken by invited registered representatives and members of their families to locations within or outside of the United States for meetings or seminars of a business nature. Dealers may not use sales of the Fund shares to qualify for this compensation to the extent such may be prohibited by the laws of any state or any self-regulatory agency, such as FINRA. None of the aforementioned compensation is paid for by the Fund or its shareholders.
REDEMPTION OF SHARES
The Fund may suspend redemption privileges or postpone the date of payment (i) during any period that the NYSE is closed for other than customary weekend and holiday closings, or that trading on the NYSE is restricted as determined by the SEC; (ii) during any period when an emergency exists as defined by the rules of the SEC as a result of which it is not reasonably practicable for the Fund to dispose of securities owned by it, or to determine fairly the value of its assets; and (iii) for such other periods as the SEC may permit. The Fund may also suspend or postpone the recordation of the transfer of shares upon the occurrence of any of the foregoing conditions. Any redemption may be more or less than the shareholders cost depending on the market value of the securities held by the Fund. No charge is made by the Fund for redemptions other than the possible charge for wiring redemption proceeds.
In addition to the situations described in the Prospectus under Investing in the Fund Redeeming Your Shares, the Fund may redeem shares involuntarily to reimburse the Fund for any loss sustained by reason of the failure of a shareholder to make full payment for shares purchased by the shareholder or to collect any charge relating to a transaction effected for the benefit of a shareholder that is applicable to Fund shares as provided in the Prospectus from time to time or to close a shareholders account if the Fund is unable to verify the shareholders identity.
REDEMPTIONS IN KIND. The Fund does not intend, under normal circumstances, to redeem its securities by payment in kind. It is possible, however, that conditions may arise in the future that would, in the opinion of the Trustees, make it undesirable for the Fund to pay for all redemptions in cash. In such cases, the Trustees may authorize payment to be made in readily marketable portfolio securities of the Fund, either through the distribution of selected individual portfolio securities or a pro-rata distribution of all portfolio securities held by the Fund. Securities delivered in payment of redemptions would be valued at the same value assigned to them in computing the net asset value per share. Shareholders receiving them may incur brokerage costs when these securities are sold and will be subject to market risk until such securities are sold. An irrevocable election has been filed under Rule 18f-1 of the 1940 Act, wherein the Fund must pay redemptions in cash, rather than in kind, to any shareholder of record of the Fund who redeems during any 90-day period, the lesser of (a) $250,000 or (b) one percent (1%) of the Funds net assets at the beginning of such period. Redemption requests in excess of this limit may be satisfied in cash or in kind at the Funds election. The Funds methods of satisfying shareholder redemption requests will normally be used during both regular and stressed market conditions.
NET ASSET VALUE
The net asset value per share of each class of shares of the Fund (Class) normally is determined at the time regular trading closes on the NYSE, currently 4:00 p.m., New York time, Monday through Friday, except when the NYSE closes earlier. The Funds net asset value per share of each Class of shares is not calculated on business holidays when the NYSE is closed. The NYSE recognizes the following holidays: New Years Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Any other holiday recognized by the NYSE will be deemed a business holiday on which the net asset value per share of each Class of the Fund will not be calculated.
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The net asset value per share of each Class of the Fund is calculated separately by adding the value of the Funds securities and other assets belonging to the Fund and attributable to that Class, subtracting the liabilities charged to the Fund and to that Class, and dividing the result by the number of outstanding shares of such Class. Assets belonging to the Fund consist of the consideration received upon the issuance of shares of the Fund together with all net investment income; realized gains/losses and proceeds derived from the investment thereof, including any proceeds from the sale of such investments; any funds or payments derived from any reinvestment of such proceeds; and a portion of any general assets of the Trust not belonging to a particular investment fund. Income, realized and unrealized capital gains and losses, and any expenses of the Fund not allocated to a particular Class of the Fund will be allocated to each Class of the Fund on the basis of the net asset value of that Class in relation to the net asset value of the Fund. Assets belonging to the Fund are charged with the direct liabilities of the Fund and with a share of the general liabilities of the Trust, that are normally allocated in proportion to the number of or the relative net asset values of all of the Trusts series at the time of allocation or in accordance with other allocation methods approved by the Trustees. Certain expenses attributable to a particular Class of shares (such as the distribution and service fees attributable to Investor Shares) will be charged against that Class of shares. Certain other expenses attributable to a particular Class of shares (such as registration fees, professional fees, and certain printing and postage expenses) may be charged against that Class of shares if such expenses are actually incurred in a different amount by that Class, or if the Class receives services of a different kind or to a different degree than other Classes, and the Trustees approve such allocation. Subject to the provisions of the Trusts Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust (Declaration of Trust), determinations by the Trustees as to the direct and allocable liabilities, and the allocable portion of any general assets, with respect to the Fund and the Classes of the Fund are conclusive.
The pricing and valuation of portfolio securities is determined in good faith in accordance with procedures established by, and under the direction of, the Trustees. The Board has designated the Adviser as valuation designee. The Board maintains responsibility for fair value determinations under Rule 2a-5 of the 1940 Act, and oversees the valuation designee.
Equity securities generally are valued by using market quotations, but may be valued on the basis of prices furnished by a pricing service when the valuation designee believes such prices accurately reflect the fair value of such securities. Securities that are traded on an exchange or on the NASDAQ over-the-counter market are generally valued at the last quoted sale price. Lacking a last sale price an equity security is generally valued at the last bid price. In the event of a short sale of an equity security, lacking a last sale price, an equity security is generally valued by the pricing service at its last ask price. If market prices are not available or, in the opinion of the valuation designee, market prices do not reflect fair value, or if an event occurs after the close of trading (but prior to the time the NAV is calculated) that materially affects fair value, the valuation designee may value the Fund's assets at their fair value according to policies approved by the Board.
ADDITIONAL TAX INFORMATION
The following discussion is a summary of certain U.S. federal income tax considerations affecting the Fund and its shareholders. The discussion reflects applicable U.S. federal income tax laws as of the date of this SAI, which tax laws may be changed or subject to new interpretations by the courts or the Internal Revenue Service (the IRS), possibly with retroactive effect. No attempt is made to present a detailed explanation of all U.S. income, estate or gift tax, or foreign, state or local tax concerns affecting the Fund and its shareholders (including shareholders owning large positions in the Fund). The discussion set forth herein does not constitute tax advice. Investors are urged to consult their own tax advisors to determine the tax consequences to them of investing in the Fund.
In addition, no attempt is made to address tax concerns applicable to an investor with a special tax status such as a financial institution, real estate investment trust (REIT), insurance company, regulated investment company (RIC), individual retirement account, other tax-exempt entity, or dealer in securities. Furthermore, this discussion does not reflect possible application of the alternative minimum tax (AMT). Unless otherwise noted, this discussion assumes shares of the Fund (Shares) are held by U.S. shareholders (defined below) and that such shares are held as capital assets.
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A U.S. shareholder is a beneficial owner of Shares that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
· a citizen or individual resident of the United States (including certain former citizens and former long-term residents);
· a corporation or other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, created or organized in or under the laws of the United States or any state thereof or the District of Columbia;
· an estate, the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source; or
· a trust with respect to which a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over its administration and one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control all of its substantial decisions or a trust that has a valid election in effect under applicable Treasury regulations to be treated as a U.S. person.
A Non-U.S. shareholder is a beneficial owner of Shares that is an individual, corporation, trust or estate and is not a U.S. shareholder. If a partnership (including any entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) holds Shares, the tax treatment of a partner in the partnership generally depends upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. A partner of a partnership holding Shares should consult its own tax advisor with respect to the purchase, ownership and disposition of the Shares by the partnership.
Taxation as a RIC. The Fund intends to qualify and remain qualified as a RIC under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code). There can be no assurance that is will so qualify. The Fund will qualify as a RIC if, among other things, it meets the source-of-income and the asset-diversification requirements. With respect to the source-of-income requirement, the Fund must derive in each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income (including tax-exempt interest) from (i) dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies, or other income (including but not limited to gains from options, futures and forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies and (ii) net income derived from an interest in a qualified publicly traded partnership (the Income Test). A qualified publicly traded partnership is generally defined as a publicly traded partnership under Code Section 7704. Income derived from a partnership (other than a qualified publicly traded partnership) or trust is qualifying income to the extent such income is attributable to items of income of the partnership or trust which would be qualifying income if realized by the Fund in the same manner as realized by the partnership or trust.
If a RIC fails the Income Test and such failure was due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect, generally it will not be subject to corporate U.S. federal income tax. Instead, the amount of the penalty for non-compliance is the amount by which the non-qualifying income exceeds one-ninth of the qualifying gross income.
With respect to the asset-diversification requirement, the Fund must diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each quarter of each taxable year (i) at least 50% of the value of the Funds total assets is represented by cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, the securities of other RICs and other securities, if such other securities of any one issuer do not represent more than 5% of the value of the Funds total assets or more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of the Funds total assets is invested in the securities other than U.S. government securities or the securities of other RICs of (a) one issuer, (b) two or more issuers that are controlled by the Fund and that are engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses, or (c) one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships (the Asset Test).
If a RIC fails the Asset Test, such RIC has a six-month period to correct any failure without incurring a penalty if such failure is de minimis, meaning that the failure does not exceed the lesser of 1% of the RICs assets, or $10 million.
Similarly, if a RIC fails the Asset Test and the failure is not de minimis, a RIC can cure the failure if: (i) the RIC files with the U.S. Treasury Department a description of each asset that caused the RIC to fail the Asset Test; (ii) the failure is due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect; and (iii) the failure is cured within six months (or such other period specified by the U.S. Treasury Department). In such cases, a tax is imposed on the RIC equal to the greater of: (i) $50,000 or (ii) an amount determined by multiplying the highest corporate U.S. federal income tax rate (currently 21%) by the amount of net income generated during the period of the Asset Test failure by the assets that caused the RIC to fail the Asset Test.
If the Fund qualifies as a RIC and distributes to its shareholders, for each taxable year, at least 90% of the sum of (i) its investment company taxable income as that term is defined in the Code (which includes, among other things, dividends, taxable interest, the excess of any net short-term capital gains over net long-term capital losses and certain
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net foreign exchange gains as reduced by certain deductible expenses) without regard to the deduction for dividends paid, and (ii) the excess of its gross tax-exempt interest, if any, over certain deductions attributable to such interest that are otherwise disallowed (the Distribution Test), the Fund will be relieved of U.S. federal income tax on any income of the Fund, including long-term capital gains, distributed to shareholders. However, any ordinary income or capital gain retained by the Fund will be subject to regular corporate U.S. federal income tax rates (currently at a maximum rate of 21%). The Fund intends to distribute at least annually substantially all of its investment company taxable income, net tax-exempt interest, and net capital gain.
The Fund will generally be subject to a nondeductible 4% U.S. federal excise tax on the portion of its undistributed ordinary income with respect to each calendar year and undistributed capital gains if it fails to meet certain distribution requirements with respect to the one-year period ending on October 31 in that calendar year. To avoid the 4% U.S. federal excise tax, the required minimum distribution is generally equal to the sum of (i) 98% of the Funds ordinary income (computed on a calendar year basis), (ii) 98.2% of the Funds capital gain net income (generally computed for the one-year period ending on October 31), and (iii) any income realized, but not distributed, and on which the Fund paid no U.S. federal income tax in preceding years. The Fund generally intends to make distributions in a timely manner in an amount at least equal to the required minimum distribution and therefore, under normal market conditions, does not expect to be subject to this excise tax.
The Fund may be required to recognize taxable income in circumstances in which it does not receive cash. For example, if the Fund holds debt obligations that are treated under applicable U.S. federal income tax rules as having original issue discount (OID), such as debt instruments with payment of in kind interest or, in certain cases, with increasing interest rates or that are issued with warrants, the Fund must include in income each year a portion of the OID that accrues over the life of the obligation regardless of whether cash representing such income is received by the Fund in the same taxable year. Because any accrued OID will be included in the Funds investment company taxable income (discussed above) for the year of accrual, the Fund may be required to make a distribution to its shareholders to satisfy the Distribution Test, even though it will not have received an amount of cash that corresponds with the accrued income.
A RIC is generally permitted to carry forward net capital losses indefinitely and may allow losses to retain their original character (as short or as long-term). These capital loss carryforwards may be utilized in future years to offset net realized capital gains of the Fund, if any, prior to distributing such gains to shareholders.
Except as set forth below in Failure to Qualify as a RIC, the remainder of this discussion assumes that the Fund will qualify as a RIC for each taxable year.
Failure to Qualify as a RIC. If the Fund is unable to satisfy the Distribution Test or otherwise fails to qualify as a RIC in any year, it will be subject to corporate U.S. federal income tax on all of its income and gain, regardless of whether or not such income was distributed. Distributions to the Funds shareholders of such income and gain will not be deductible by the Fund in computing its taxable income. In such event, the Funds distributions, to the extent derived from the Funds current or accumulated earnings and profits, would constitute ordinary dividends, which would generally be eligible for the dividends received deduction available to corporate U.S. shareholders, and non-corporate U.S. shareholders would generally be able to treat such distributions as qualified dividend income eligible for preferential rates of U.S. federal income taxation if certain holding period and other requirements are satisfied.
Distributions in excess of the Funds current and accumulated earnings and profits would be treated first as a return of capital to the extent of a shareholders tax basis in its Shares, and any remaining distributions would be treated as a capital gain. To qualify as a RIC in a subsequent taxable year, the Fund would be required to satisfy the Income Test, Asset Test, and Distribution Test for that year and distribute any earnings and profits from any year in which the Fund failed to qualify for tax treatment as a RIC. Subject to a limited exception applicable to RICs that qualified as such under the Code for at least one year prior to disqualification and that requalify as a RIC no later than the second year following the nonqualifying year, the Fund would be subject to tax on any unrealized built-in gains in the assets held by it during the period in which the Fund failed to qualify for tax treatment as a RIC that are recognized within the subsequent five years, unless the Fund made a special election to pay corporate-level U.S. federal income tax on such built-in gain at the time of its requalification as a RIC.
Taxation of U.S. Shareholders. Distributions paid to U.S. shareholders by the Fund from its investment company taxable income (which is, generally, the Funds ordinary income plus net realized short-term capital gains in excess of net realized long-term capital losses) are generally taxable to U.S. shareholders as ordinary income to the extent of the Funds earnings and profits, whether paid in cash or reinvested in additional Shares. Such distributions (if designated by the Fund) may qualify (i) for the dividends received deduction in the case of corporate U.S. shareholders to the
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extent that the Funds income consists of dividend income from U.S. corporations, excluding distributions from tax-exempt organizations, exempt farmers cooperatives or REITs or (ii) in the case of non-corporate U.S. shareholders, as qualified dividend income eligible to be taxed at preferential rates to the extent that the Fund receives qualified dividend income, and provided in each case certain holding period and other requirements are met. Qualified dividend income is, in general, dividend income from taxable domestic corporations and qualified foreign corporations (which generally include foreign corporations incorporated in a possession of the United States or in certain countries with a qualified comprehensive income tax treaty with the United States, or the stock with respect to which such dividend is paid is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States). A qualified foreign corporation generally excludes any foreign corporation, which for the taxable year of the corporation in which the dividend was paid, or the preceding taxable year, is a passive foreign investment company (a PFIC). Distributions made to a U.S. shareholder from an excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses (Capital Gain Dividends), including Capital Gain Dividends credited to such shareholder but retained by the Fund, are taxable to such U.S. shareholder as long-term capital gain if they have been properly designated by the Fund, regardless of the length of time such U.S. shareholder owned the Shares. The maximum tax rate on Capital Gain Dividends received by individuals is generally 20%. Distributions in excess of the Funds earnings and profits will be treated by the U.S. shareholder, first, as a tax-free return of capital, which is applied against and will reduce the adjusted tax basis of the U.S. shareholders Shares and, after such adjusted tax basis is reduced to zero, will constitute capital gain to the U.S. shareholder. The Fund is not required to provide written notice designating the amount of any qualified dividend income or Capital Gain Dividends and other distributions. The Forms 1099 sent to U.S. shareholders will instead serve this notice purpose.
As a RIC, the Fund will be subject to the AMT, but any items that are treated differently for AMT purposes must be apportioned between the Fund and the shareholders and this may affect the U.S. shareholders AMT liabilities. The Fund intends in general to apportion these items in the same proportion that dividends paid to each shareholder bear to the Funds taxable income, determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction.
For purpose of determining (i) whether the Distribution Test is satisfied for any year and (ii) the amount of Capital Gain Dividends paid for that year, the Fund may, under certain circumstances, elect to treat a dividend that is paid during the following taxable year as if it had been paid during the prior taxable year. If the Fund makes such an election, a U.S. shareholder will still be treated as receiving the dividend in the taxable year in which the distribution is made. However, any dividend declared by the Fund in October, November or December of any calendar year, payable to shareholders of record on a specified date in such a month and actually paid during January of the following year, will be treated as if it had been received by the U.S. shareholders on December 31 of the year in which the dividend was declared.
The Fund intends to distribute all realized capital gains, if any, at least annually. If, however, the Fund were to retain any net capital gain, the Fund may designate the retained amount as undistributed capital gains in a notice to shareholders who, if subject to U.S. federal income tax on long-term capital gains, (i) will be required to include in income as long-term capital gain, their proportionate shares of such undistributed amount, and (ii) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the U.S. federal income tax paid by the Fund on the undistributed amount against their U.S. federal income tax liabilities, if any, and to claim refunds to the extent the credit exceeds such liabilities. If such an event occurs, the tax basis of Shares owned will, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, generally be increased by the difference between the amount of undistributed net capital gain included in the shareholders gross income and the tax deemed paid by the shareholder.
Sales and other dispositions of Shares, such as exchanges, generally are taxable events. U.S. shareholders should consult their own tax advisors with reference to their individual circumstances to determine whether any particular transaction in the Shares is properly treated as a sale or exchange for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as the following discussion assumes, and the tax treatment of any gains or losses recognized in such transactions. The sale or other disposition of Shares will generally result in capital gain or loss to the shareholder equal to the difference between the amount realized and the shareholders adjusted tax basis in the Shares sold or exchanged, and will be long-term capital gain or loss if the Shares have been held for more than one year at the time of sale. Any loss upon the sale or exchange of Shares held for six months or less will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of any Capital Gain Dividends received (including amounts credited as an undistributed Capital Gain Dividend) by such shareholder with respect to such Shares. A loss realized on a sale or exchange of Shares generally will be disallowed if other Shares are acquired within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the date that the Shares are sold or exchanged. In such case, the tax basis of the Shares acquired will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss. Both long-term and short-term capital gain of U.S. corporations are taxed at the rates applicable to ordinary income of corporations. For non-corporate U.S. shareholders, short-term capital gain is currently taxed at the rate applicable to
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ordinary income, while long-term capital gain generally is taxed at a maximum rate of 20%. Capital losses are subject to certain limitations.
The Fund is required to report its shareholders cost basis, gain/loss, and holding period for Shares to the IRS on the Funds shareholders Consolidated Form 1099s. The Fund has chosen average cost as its standing (default) tax lot identification method for all shareholders. A tax lot identification method is the way the Fund will determine which specific Shares are deemed to be sold when there are multiple purchases on different dates at differing prices, and the entire position is not sold at one time. The Funds standing tax lot identification method is the method Shares will be reported on a U.S. shareholders Consolidated Form 1099 if the U.S. shareholder does not select a different tax lot identification method. U.S. shareholders may choose a method different than the Funds standing method and will be able to do so at the time of purchase or upon the sale of Shares. The Fund and its service providers do not provide tax advice. U.S. shareholders should consult independent sources, which may include a tax professional, with respect to choosing a tax lot identification method.
Certain U.S. shareholders, including individuals, estates and trusts, may subject to an additional 3.8% Medicare tax on all or a portion of their net investment income, which should include dividends from the Fund and net gains from the disposition of Shares. U.S. shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the implications of the additional Medicare tax resulting from an investment in the Fund.
Pay-In-Kind Securities. Pay-in-kind securities will give rise to income that is required to be distributed and is taxable even though the Fund holding the security receives no interest payment in cash on the security during the year.
If the Fund holds the foregoing securities, it may be required to pay out as an income distributions each year an amount that is greater than the total amount of cash interest the Fund actually receives. Such distributions may be made from the cash assets of the Fund or by liquidation of portfolio securities, if necessary (including when it is not advantageous to do so). The Fund may realize gains or losses from such liquidations. In the event the Fund realizes net capital gains from such transactions, its shareholders may receive a larger capital gain distribution than they would in the absence of such transactions.
Warrants. Gain or loss realized by the Fund from the sale or exchange of warrants, as well as any loss attributable to the lapse of such warrants, generally will be treated as capital gain or loss. Such gain or loss generally will be long-term or short-term, depending on how long the Fund held a particular warrant. Upon the exercise of a warrant acquired by the Fund, the Funds tax basis in the stock purchased under the warrant will equal the sum of the amount paid for the warrant plus the strike price paid on the exercise of the warrant.
Securities Lending. While securities are loaned out by the Fund, the Fund generally will receive from the borrower amounts equal to any dividends or interest paid on the borrowed securities. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, payments made in lieu of dividends are not considered dividend income. These distributions will neither qualify for the preferential rate of taxation for non-corporate U.S. shareholders on qualified dividend income nor the dividends-received deduction for corporate U.S. shareholders. Also, any foreign tax withheld on payments made in lieu of dividends or interest will not qualify for the pass-through of foreign tax credits to shareholders.
Foreign Currency Transactions. The Funds transactions in foreign currencies, foreign currency-denominated debt obligations and certain foreign currency options, futures contracts and forward contracts (and similar instruments) may give rise to ordinary income or loss to the extent such income or loss results from fluctuations in the value of the foreign currency concerned. Any such income could require a larger distribution from the Fund. Any such net losses will generally reduce and potentially require the recharacterization of prior ordinary income distributions. Such ordinary income treatment may accelerate Fund distributions to shareholders and increase the distributions taxed to shareholders as ordinary income. Any net ordinary losses so created cannot be carried forward by the Fund to offset income or gains earned in subsequent taxable years.
Foreign Taxation. Income received by the Fund from sources within foreign countries may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by such countries. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes. The Fund does not expect to be eligible to pass through to shareholders a credit or deduction for such taxes.
Tax-Exempt Shareholders. A tax-exempt U.S. shareholder could recognize unrelated business taxable income (UBTI) by virtue of its investment in the Fund if Shares constitute debt-financed property in the hands of the tax-exempt U.S. shareholder within the meaning of Code Section 514(b). Furthermore, a tax-exempt U.S. shareholder may recognize UBTI if the Fund recognizes excess inclusion income derived from direct or indirect investments in
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residual interests in real estate mortgage investment conduits (REMICs) or equity interests in taxable mortgage pools (TMPs) if the amount of such income recognized by the Fund exceeds the Funds investment company taxable income (after taking into account deductions for dividends paid by the Fund).
In addition, special tax consequences apply to charitable remainder trusts (CRTs) that invest in RICs that invest directly or indirectly in residual interests in REMICs or equity interests in TMPs. A CRT (as defined in Code Section 664) that realizes any UBTI for a taxable year, must pay an excise tax annually of an amount equal to such UBTI. Under IRS guidance issued in October 2006, a CRT will not recognize UBTI solely as a result of investing in the Fund if it recognizes excess inclusion income. Rather, if at any time during any taxable year a CRT (or one of certain other tax-exempt shareholders, such as the United States, a state or political subdivision, or an agency or instrumentality thereof, and certain energy cooperatives) is a record holder of a Share and the Fund recognizes excess inclusion income, then the Fund will be subject to a tax on that portion of its excess inclusion income for the taxable year that is allocable to such shareholders, at the highest corporate U.S. federal income tax rate. The extent to which this IRS guidance remains applicable is unclear. To the extent permitted under the 1940 Act, the Fund may elect to specially allocate any such tax to the applicable CRT, or other shareholder, and thus reduce such shareholders distributions for the year by the amount of the tax that relates to such shareholders interest in the Fund. The Fund has not yet determined whether such an election will be made. CRTs and other tax-exempt investors are urged to consult their own tax advisors concerning the consequences of investing in the Fund.
Passive Foreign Investment Companies. A PFIC is any foreign corporation: (i) 75% or more of the gross income of which for the taxable year is passive income, or (ii) the average percentage of the assets of which produce or are held for the production of passive income is at least 50%. Generally, passive income for this purpose means dividends, interest, royalties, rents, annuities, the excess of gains over losses from certain property transactions and commodities transactions, and foreign currency gains.
Equity investments by the Fund in certain PFICs could potentially subject the Fund to a U.S. federal income tax or other charge (including interest charges) on the distributions received from the PFIC or on proceeds received from the disposition of shares in the PFIC. This tax cannot be eliminated by making distributions to the Fund shareholders. However, the Fund may elect to avoid the imposition of that tax. For example, if the Fund is in a position to and elects to treat a PFIC as a qualified electing fund (a QEF), the Fund will be required to include its share of the PFICs income and net capital gains annually, regardless of whether it receives any distribution from the PFIC. Alternatively, the Fund may make an election to mark-to-market the gains (and to a limited extent losses) in its PFIC holdings as though it had sold and repurchased its holdings in that PFIC on the last day of the Funds taxable year. Such gains and losses are treated as ordinary income and loss. The QEF and mark-to-market elections may accelerate the recognition of income (without the receipt of cash) and increase the amount required to be distributed by the Fund to avoid taxation. Making either of these elections therefore may require the Fund to liquidate other investments (including when it is not advantageous to do so) to meet its distribution requirement, which also may accelerate the recognition of gain and affect the Funds total return. Dividends paid by PFICs will not be eligible to be treated as qualified dividend income. Because it is not always possible to identify a foreign corporation as a PFIC, the Fund may incur the tax and interest charges described above in some instances.
Taxation of Non-U.S. Shareholders. Capital Gain Dividends are generally not subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax. Absent a specific statutory exemption, dividends other than Capital Gain Dividends paid by the Fund to a Non-U.S. shareholder are subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax at a rate of 30% (or lower applicable treaty rate) even if they are funded by income or gains (such as portfolio interest, short-term capital gains, or foreign-source dividend and interest income) that, if paid to a foreign person directly, would not be subject to withholding.
A RIC generally is not required to withhold any amounts (i) with respect to distributions (other than distributions to a Non-U.S. shareholder (a) that does not provide a satisfactory statement that the beneficial owner is not a U.S. person, (b) to the extent that the dividend is attributable to certain interest on an obligation if the Non-U.S. shareholder is the issuer or is a 10% shareholder of the issuer, (c) that is within a foreign country that has inadequate information exchange with the United States, or (d) to the extent the dividend is attributable to interest paid by a person that is a related person of the Non-U.S. shareholder and the Non-U.S. shareholder is a controlled foreign corporation) from U.S.-source interest income of types similar to those not subject to U.S. federal income tax if earned directly by a Non-U.S. shareholder, to the extent such distributions are properly reported as such by the Fund in a written notice to shareholders (Interest-Related Dividends), and (ii) with respect to distributions (other than (a) distributions to an individual Non-U.S. shareholder who is present in the United States for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the year of the distribution and (b) distributions subject to special rules regarding the disposition of U.S. real property interests (USRPIs) as described below) of net short-term capital gains in excess of net long-term capital losses to the extent such distributions are properly reported by the RIC (Short-Term Capital Gain Dividends). If the
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Fund invests in an underlying RIC that pays such distributions to the Fund, such distributions retain their character as not subject to withholding if properly reported when paid by the Fund to Non-U.S. shareholders.
The Fund is permitted to report such part of its dividends as Interest-Related Dividends or Short-Term Capital Gain Dividends as are eligible, but is not required to do so. These exemptions from withholding will not be available to Non-U.S. shareholders that do not currently report their dividends as Interest-Related Dividends or Short-Term Capital Gain Dividends.
In the case of Shares held through an intermediary, the intermediary may withhold even if the Fund reports all or a portion of a payment as an Interest-Related Dividend or Short-Term Capital Gain Dividend to shareholders. Non-U.S. shareholders should contact their intermediaries regarding the application of these rules to their accounts.
A Non-U.S. shareholder generally is not subject to U.S. federal income tax on gains (and is not allowed a deduction for losses) realized on the sale of Shares or on Capital Gain Dividends unless (i) such gain or dividend is effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business carried on by such shareholder within the United States, (ii) in the case of an individual shareholder, the shareholder is present in the United States for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the year of the sale or the receipt of the Capital Gain Dividend and certain other conditions are met, or (iii) the special rules relating to gain attributable to the sale or exchange of USRPIs apply to the Non-U.S. shareholders sale of Shares or to the Capital Gain Dividend received by the Non-U.S. shareholder received (as described below).
Special rules would apply if the Fund were either a U.S. real property holding corporation (USRPHC) or would be a USRPHC but for the operation of certain exceptions to the definition thereof. Very generally, a USRPHC is a U.S. corporation that holds USRPIs the fair market value of which equals or exceeds 50% of the sum of the fair market values of the corporations USPRIs, interests in real property located outside the United States, and other assets. USRPIs are generally defined as any interest in U.S. real property and any interest (other than solely as a creditor) in a USRPHC or former USRPHC.
If the Fund were a USRPHC or would be a USRPHC but for certain exceptions, any distributions by the Fund to a Non-U.S. shareholder (including, in certain cases, distributions made by the Fund in redemption of its Shares) attributable to gains realized by the Fund on the disposition of USRPIs or to distributions received by the Fund from a lower-tier RIC or REIT that the Fund is required to treat as USRPI gain in its hands generally would be subject to U.S. federal income tax withholding. In addition, such distributions could result in a Non-U.S. shareholder being required to file a U.S. federal income tax return and pay tax on the distributions at regular U.S. federal income tax rates. The consequences to a Non-U.S. shareholder, including the rate of such withholding and character of such distributions, would vary depending upon the extent of the Non-U.S. shareholders current and past ownership of the Fund. This look-through USRPI treatment for distributions by the Fund, if it were either a USRPHC or would be a USRPHC but for the operation of certain exceptions, to Non-U.S. shareholders applies only to those distributions that, in turn, are attributable to distributions received by the Fund from a lower-tier RIC or REIT, unless Congress enacts legislation providing otherwise.
In addition, if the Fund were a USRPHC or former USRPHC, it could be required to withhold U.S. federal income tax on the proceeds of a Share redemption by a greater-than-5% Non-U.S. shareholder, in which case such shareholder generally would also be required to file a U.S. federal income tax return and pay any additional taxes due in connection with the redemption.
Whether or not the Fund is characterized as a USRPHC will depend upon the nature and mix of the Funds assets. The Fund does not expect to be a USRPHC. Non-U.S. shareholders should consult their own tax advisors concerning the application of these rules to their investment in the Fund.
If a Non-U.S. shareholder has a trade or business in the United States, and the dividends from the Fund are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. shareholders conduct of that trade or business, the dividend will be subject to net U.S. federal income taxation at regular income tax rates.
If a Non-U.S. shareholder is eligible for the benefits of a tax treaty, any effectively connected income or gain will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net basis only if it is also attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by that Non-U.S. shareholder in the United States.
To qualify for any exemptions from withholding described above or for lower withholding tax rates under income tax treaties, or to establish an exemption from backup withholding, a Non-U.S. shareholder must comply with special
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certification and filing requirements relating to its non-US status (including, in general, furnishing an applicable IRS Form W-8). Non-U.S. shareholders should consult their own tax advisors in this regard.
A Non-U.S. shareholder may be subject to U.S. state and local tax and to the U.S. federal estate tax in addition to the U.S. federal income tax referred to above.
Backup Withholding. The Fund generally is required to backup withhold and remit to the U.S. Treasury Department a percentage of the taxable distributions and redemption proceeds paid to any individual shareholder who fails to properly furnish the Fund with a correct taxpayer identification number, who has under-reported dividend or interest income, or who fails to properly certify to the Fund that he or she is not subject to such withholding.
Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld may be credited against the shareholders U.S. federal income tax liability, provided the appropriate information is furnished to the IRS.
Tax Shelter Reporting Regulations. If a U.S. shareholder recognizes a loss with respect to Shares of $2 million or more for an individual U.S. shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate U.S. shareholder, the U.S. shareholder generally must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a RIC are not excepted. Future guidance may extend the current exception from this reporting requirement to shareholders of most or all RICs. The fact that a loss is reportable does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayers treatment of the loss is proper. U.S. shareholders should consult their own tax advisors to determine the applicability of this requirement in light of their individual circumstances.
Shares Purchased through Tax-Qualified Plans. Special tax rules apply to investments through defined contribution plans and other tax-qualified plans. Shareholders should consult their own tax advisors to determine the suitability of Shares as an investment through such plans, and the precise effect of an investment on their particular tax situation.
FATCA. Payments to a shareholder that is either a foreign financial institution (FFI) or a non-financial foreign entity (NFFE) within the meaning of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) may be subject to a generally nonrefundable 30% withholding tax on: (i) income dividends paid by the Fund and (ii) possibly in the future, certain capital gain distributions and the proceeds arising from the sale of Shares. FATCA withholding tax generally can be avoided: (i) by an FFI, subject to any applicable intergovernmental agreement or other exemption, if it enters into a valid agreement with the IRS to, among other requirements, report required information about certain direct and indirect ownership of foreign financial accounts held by U.S. persons with the FFI and (ii) by an NFFE, if it: (a) certifies that it has no substantial U.S. persons as owners or (b) if it does have such owners, reports information relating to them. The Fund may disclose the information that it receives from its shareholders to the IRS, non-U.S. taxing authorities or other parties as necessary to comply with FATCA. Withholding also may be required if a foreign entity that is a shareholder of the Fund fails to provide the Fund with appropriate certifications or other documentation concerning its status under FATCA, generally on an applicable IRS Form W-8.
Possible Tax Law Changes. At the time that this SAI was being prepared, various administrative and legislative changes to the U.S. federal tax laws are under consideration, but it is not possible at this time to determine whether any of these changes will take place or what the changes might entail.
The foregoing is a general and abbreviated summary of the provisions of the Code and the U.S. Treasury regulations in effect as they directly govern the taxation of the Fund and its shareholders. These provisions are subject to change by legislative and administrative action, and any such change may be retroactive. Shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding specific questions as to U.S. federal income, estate or gift taxes, or foreign, state, local taxes or other taxes.
CAPITAL SHARES AND VOTING
The Declaration of Trust authorizes the issuance of shares in two or more series. Currently, the Trust consists of one series which offers one class of Institutional Shares: Wellington Shields All-Cap Fund. The Fund has one Class of Institutional Shares as described in the prospectus for the series. At a shareholder meeting held November 22, 2019, shareholders of the Wellington Shields Small-Cap Fund approved the reorganization of the Wellington Shields Small-Cap Fund into the Capital Management All-Cap Fund (the Reorganization) effective as of November 22, 2019.
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Shares of the Fund, when issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and have no preemptive or conversion rights. Shareholders are entitled to one vote for each full share and a fractional vote for each fractional share held. Shares have non-cumulative voting rights, which means that the holders of more than 50% of the shares voting for the election of Trustees can elect 100% of the Trustees, and in this event, the holders of the remaining shares voting will not be able to elect any Trustees. Shareholders of all of the series of the Trust, including the Fund, will vote together and not separately on a series-by-series or class-by-class basis, except as otherwise required by law or when the Trustees determine that the matter to be voted upon affects only the interests of the shareholders of a particular series or class. The rights of shareholders may not be modified by less than a majority vote. The Trustees will hold office indefinitely, except that: (1) any Trustee may resign or retire and (2) any Trustee may be removed: (a) at any time by written instrument signed by at least two-thirds of the number of Trustees prior to such removal; (b) at any meeting of shareholders of the Trust by a vote of two-thirds of the outstanding shares of the Trust; or (c) by a written declaration signed by shareholders holding not less than two-thirds of the outstanding shares of the Trust and filed with the Trusts custodian. Shareholders have certain rights, as set forth in the Declaration of Trust, including the right to call a meeting of the shareholders. Shareholders holding not less than 10% of the shares then outstanding may require the Trustees to call a meeting, and the Trustees are obligated to provide certain assistance to shareholders desiring to communicate with other shareholders in such regard (e.g., providing access to shareholder lists, etc.). In case a vacancy or an anticipated vacancy on the Board shall for any reason exist, the vacancy shall be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining Trustees, subject to certain restrictions under the 1940 Act. Otherwise, there will normally be no meeting of shareholders for the purpose of electing Trustees, and the Trust does not expect to have an annual meeting of shareholders.
In the event of a liquidation or dissolution of the Trust or an individual series, such as the Fund, shareholders of a particular series would be entitled to receive the assets available for distribution belonging to such series. Shareholders of a series are entitled to participate equally in the net distributable assets of the particular series involved on liquidation, based on the number of shares of the series that are held by each shareholder. If there are any assets, income, earnings, proceeds, funds or payments that are not readily identifiable as belonging to any particular series, the Trustees shall allocate them among any one or more of the series as they, in their sole discretion, deem fair and equitable.
The Declaration of Trust provides that the Trustees will not be liable in any event in connection with the affairs of the Trust, except as such liability may arise from his/her own bad faith, willful misfeasance, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of duties. It also provides that all third parties shall look solely to the Trust property for satisfaction of claims arising in connection with the affairs of the Trust. With the exception stated, the Declaration of Trust provides that a Trustee or officer is entitled to be indemnified against all liability in connection with the affairs of the Trust.
Under Massachusetts law, a shareholder of a Massachusetts business trust may be held liable as a partner under certain circumstances. The Declaration of Trust, however, contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for its acts or obligations. The Declaration of Trust provides for indemnification and reimbursement of expenses out of the Funds property for any shareholder held personally liable for its obligations. In addition, the operation of the Fund as an investment company would not likely give rise to liabilities in excess of its assets. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is highly unlikely and is limited to the relatively remote circumstances in which the Fund would be unable to meet its obligations.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2024, including the financial highlights that appear in the Funds Annual Report to Shareholders, are incorporated herein by reference and made a part of this document.
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APPENDIX A PROXY VOTING POLICIES
The following proxy voting policies are provided:
(1) the Trusts Proxy Voting and Disclosure Policy and
| (2) | the Advisors Proxy Voting and Disclosure Policy, including a detailed description of the Advisors specific proxy voting guidelines. |
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CAPITAL MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT TRUST PROXY VOTING AND DISCLOSURE POLICY
| I. | Introduction |
Effective April 14, 2003, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted rule and form amendments under the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Investment Company Act of 1940 (Investment Company Act) to require registered management investment companies to provide disclosure about how they vote proxies for their portfolio securities (collectively, the rule and form amendments are referred to herein as the IC Amendments).
The IC Amendments require that the Capital Management Investment Trust (Trust) and its series of shares, the Wellington Shields All-Cap Fund (the Fund), disclose the policies and procedures used to determine how to vote proxies for portfolio securities. The IC Amendments also require the Fund to file with the SEC and to make available to their shareholders the specific proxy votes cast for portfolio securities.
This Proxy Voting and Disclosure Policy (Policy) is designed to ensure that the Fund complies with the requirements of the IC Amendments, and otherwise fulfills their obligations with respect to proxy voting, disclosure, and recordkeeping. The overall goal is to ensure that the Funds proxy voting is managed in an effort to act in the best interests of its shareholders. While decisions about how to vote must be determined on a case-by-case basis, proxy voting decisions will be made considering these guidelines and following the procedures recited herein.
| II. | Specific Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures |
| A. | General |
The Trusts Board (Board) believes that the voting of proxies is an important part of portfolio management as it represents an opportunity for shareholders to make their voices heard and to influence the direction of a company. The Trust and the Fund are committed to voting corporate proxies in the manner that best serves the interests of the Funds shareholders.
| B. | Delegation to Funds Advisor |
The Board believes that Capital Management Associates, Inc. (Advisor), as the Funds investment advisor, is in the best position to make individual voting decisions for the Fund consistent with this Policy. Therefore, subject to the oversight of the Board, the Advisor is hereby delegated the following duties:
| (1) | to make the proxy voting decisions for the Fund; and |
| (2) | to assist the Fund in disclosing the Funds proxy voting record as required by Rule 30b1-4 under the Investment Company Act, including providing the following information for each matter with respect to which the Fund was entitled to vote: (a) information identifying the matter voted on; (b) whether the matter was proposed by the issuer or by a security holder; (c) whether and how the Fund cast its vote; and (d) whether the Fund cast its vote for or against management. |
The Board, including a majority of the independent trustees of the Board, must approve the Advisors Proxy Voting and Disclosure Policy (Advisors Voting Policy) as it relates to the Fund. The Board must also approve any material changes to the Advisors Voting Policy no later than four (4) months after adoption by the Advisor.
| C. | Conflicts |
In cases where a matter with respect to which the Fund is entitled to vote presents a conflict between the interest of the Funds shareholders, on the one hand, and those of the Funds investment advisor, principal underwriter, or an affiliated person of the Fund, its investment advisor or principal underwriter, on the other hand, the Fund shall always vote in the best interest of the Funds shareholders. For purposes of this Policy a vote shall be considered in the best interest of the Funds shareholders (i) when a vote is cast consistent with
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a specific voting policy as set forth in the Advisors Voting Policy, provided such specific voting policy was approved by the Board or (ii) when a vote is cast consistent with the decision of the Trusts Proxy Voting Committee (as defined below). In addition, provided the Advisor is not affiliated with the Funds principal underwriter or an affiliated person of the principal underwriter and neither the Funds principal underwriter nor an affiliated person of the principal underwriter has influenced the Advisor with respect to a matter to which the Fund is entitled to vote, a vote by the Advisor shall not be considered a conflict between the Funds shareholders and the Funds principal underwriter or affiliated person of the principal underwriter.
| III. | Fund Disclosure |
| A. | Disclosure of Fund Policies and Procedures With Respect to Voting Proxies Relating to Portfolio Securities |
Beginning with the Funds next annual update to its Statement of Additional Information (SAI) on Form N-1A after July 1, 2003, the Fund shall disclose this Policy, or a description of the policies and procedures of this Policy, to its shareholders. The Fund will notify shareholders in the SAI and the Funds shareholder reports that a description of this Policy is available upon request, without charge, by calling a specified toll-free telephone number, by reviewing the Funds website, if applicable, and by reviewing filings available on the SECs website at http://www.sec.gov. The Fund will send this description of the Funds Policy within three business days of receipt of any shareholder request, by first- class mail or other means designed to ensure equally prompt delivery.
| B. | Disclosure of the Funds Complete Proxy Voting Record |
In accordance with Rule 30b1-4 of the Investment Company Act, beginning after June 30, 2004, the Fund shall disclose to its shareholders on Form N-PX the Funds complete proxy voting record for the twelve month period ended June 30 by no later than August 31 of each year.
The Fund shall disclose the following information on Form N-PX for each matter relating to a portfolio security considered at any shareholder meeting held during the period covered by the report and with respect to which to the Fund was entitled to vote:
| (i) | The name of the issuer of the portfolio security; |
| (ii) | The exchange ticker symbol of the portfolio security (if available through reasonably practicable means); |
| (iii) | The Council on Uniform Security Identification Procedures (CUSIP) number for the portfolio security (if available through reasonably practicable means); |
| (iv) | The shareholder meeting date; |
| (v) | A brief identification of the matter voted on; |
| (vi) | Whether the matter was proposed by the issuer or by a security holder; |
| (vii) | Whether the Fund cast its vote on the matter; |
| (viii) | How the Fund cast its vote (e.g., for or against proposal, or abstain; for or withhold regarding election of directors); and |
| (ix) | Whether the Fund cast its vote for or against management. |
The Fund shall make its proxy voting record available to shareholders either upon request or by making available an electronic version on or through the Funds website, if applicable. If the Fund discloses its proxy voting record on or through its website, the Fund shall post the information disclosed in the Funds most recently filed report on Form N-PX on the website beginning the same day it files such information with the SEC.
The Fund shall also include in its annual reports, semi-annual reports and SAI a statement that information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent twelve-month period ended June 30 is available (1) without charge upon request, by calling a specified toll-free (or collect) telephone number, or (if applicable) on or through the Funds website at a specified Internet address; and (2) on the SECs website. If the Fund discloses that its proxy voting record is available by calling a toll-free (or collect) telephone number, it shall send the information disclosed in the Funds most recently filed report on
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Form N-PX within three business days of receipt of a request for this information, by first-class mail or other means designed to ensure equally prompt delivery.
| IV. | Recordkeeping |
The Trust shall keep the following records for a period of at least five years, the first two in an easily accessible place:
| (i) | A copy of this Policy; |
| (ii) | Proxy statements received regarding the Funds securities; |
| (iii) | Records of votes cast on behalf of the Fund; and |
| (iv) | A record of each shareholder request for proxy voting information and the Funds response, including the date of the request, the name of the shareholder, and the date of the response. |
The foregoing records may be kept as part of the Advisors records.
The Fund may rely on proxy statements filed on the SEC EDGAR system instead of keeping its own copies, and may rely on proxy statements and records of proxy votes cast by the Advisor that are maintained with a third party such as a proxy voting service, provided that an undertaking is obtained from the third party to provide a copy of the documents promptly upon request.
| V. | Proxy Voting Committee |
| A. | General |
The proxy voting committee of the Trust (Proxy Voting Committee) shall be composed entirely of independent trustees of the Board and may be comprised of one or more such independent trustees as the Board may, from time to time, decide. The purpose of the Proxy Voting Committee shall be to determine how the Fund should cast its vote, if called upon by the Board or the Advisor, when a matter with respect to which the Fund is entitled to vote presents a conflict between the interest of the Funds shareholders, on the one hand, and those of the Funds investment advisor, principal underwriter, or an affiliated person of the Fund, its investment advisor or principal underwriter, on the other hand.
| B. | Powers and Methods of Operation |
The Proxy Voting Committee shall have all the powers necessary to fulfill its purpose as set forth above and such other powers and perform such other duties as the Board may, from time to time, grant and/or assign the Proxy Voting Committee. The Proxy Voting Committee shall meet at such times and places as the Proxy Voting Committee or the Board may, from time to time, determine. The act of a majority of the members of the Proxy Voting Committee in person, by telephone conference or by consent in writing without a meeting shall be the act of the Proxy Voting Committee. The Proxy Voting Committee shall have the authority to utilize Trust counsel at the expense of the Trust if necessary. The Proxy Voting Committee shall prepare minutes of each meeting and keep such minutes with the Trusts records. The Proxy Voting Committee shall review this Policy and recommend any changes to the Board as it deems necessary or advisable.
| VI. | Other |
This Policy may be amended, from time to time, as determined by the Board.
Adopted as of this 22nd day of May, 2003.
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Capital Management Associates, Inc. Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures
Background
Effective March 10, 2003, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a new rule and rule amendments under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Rule 206(4)-6 imposes a number of requirements on investment advisors that have voting authority with respect to securities held in their clients accounts.
These written policies and procedures are designed to reasonably ensure that Capital Management Associates, Inc. (hereinafter CMA) votes proxies in the best interest of clients who have given CMA voting authority and describes how CMA addresses material conflicts between its interests and those of its clients with respect to proxy voting. In accordance with the requirements of the new Rule, Policies and Procedures for CMA are herewith provided.
Proxy Voting
CMA will not be responsible for the voting of proxies for securities held in client accounts unless we are specifically instructed otherwise. If we are directed by our clients, we will research, vote and record all proxy ballots for the security positions we maintain on our clients behalf. To execute this responsibility CMA relies on Broadridge to provide proxy research and recommendations, as well as record keeping.
We have fully reviewed and approved the Broadridge Proxy Voting Guidelines and follow their recommendations on most Broadridge issues brought to a shareholder vote.
In the rare instance where our research or security analyst believes that a Broadridge recommendation would be to the detriment of our investment clients, we can and will override the Broadridge recommendation through a manual vote. The final authorization to override a Broadridge recommendation must be approved by the Director of Research or President of CMA. A written record supporting the decision to override the Broadridge recommendation will be maintained.
Proxy Voting Process
A portfolio companys custodian, in advance of each companys annual or special meeting provides Broadridge with the appropriate proxies to be voted. Broadridge is responsible for maintaining records of all proxy statements received and all votes cast. The compliance officer at CMA is responsible for maintaining copies of all proxy policies and procedures and for determining when a potential conflict of interest exists (see Conflicts of Interest below).
CMA will provide copies of the policies and procedures to clients upon request. Clients can obtain information on how their proxies were voted and request copies of the proxy voting policies and procedures by calling CMA at (212) 320-2000.
Conflicts of Interest
Resolving Potential Conflicts of Interest:
Each proxy is reviewed by the portfolio management staff to identify potential conflicts of interest in regard to the proxy voting process. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include:
| 1 | The advisor manages a pension plan for a portfolio company whose management is soliciting proxies |
| 2 | The advisor has a material business relationship with a proponent of a proxy proposal and this business relationship may influence how the proxy vote is cast |
| 3 | The advisor or its principals have a business or personal relationship with participants in a proxy contest, corporate directors or candidates for directorships. |
In cases where a potential conflict of interest exists, Broadridge will vote in accordance with Broadridge recommendations if application of such recommendations to the matter at hand involves little discretion on the part of the Adviser. If such recommendations do not apply or involve adviser discretion, then the adviser will either disclose the conflict to the client and obtain their consents before voting or suggest that the client engage another party to determine how the proxies should be voted.
Adopted November 17, 2010
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PART C
FORM N-1A
OTHER INFORMATION
| ITEM 28. | Exhibits |
| (i)(4) | Opinion and Consent of Practus, LLP regarding the legality of the securities being registered with respect to the Reorganization of the Capital Management Small-Cap Fund of the Trust.15 | |
| (i)(5) | Consent of Practus, LLP (Filed herewith) | |
| (j) | Consent of Independent Registered Public Accountants (Filed herewith) | |
| (k) | Not applicable. | |
| (l) | Initial Capital Agreement.1 | |
| (m)(1) | Not applicable | |
| (n) | Amended and Restated Rule 18f-3 Multi-Class Plan.10 | |
| (p)(1) | Amended and Restated Code of Ethics for the Capital Management Investment Trust.6 | |
| (p)(2) | Amended and Restated Code of Ethics for Capital Management Associates, Inc.11 | |
| (p)(3) | Code of Ethics for Wellington Shields & Co. LLC, as distributor.8 | |
| (p)(4) | Code of Ethics for Arbor Court Capital, LLC, as sub-distributor. 14 | |
| (q)(1) | Powers of Attorney. 14 | |
| (q)(2) | Powers of Attorney 15 |
| 1. | Incorporated herein by reference to Capital Management Investment Trusts Post-Effective Amendment No. 3 to Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed on March 26, 1996 (File No. 33-85242). | |
| 2. | Incorporated herein by reference to Capital Management Investment Trusts Post-Effective Amendment No. 5 to Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed on March 31, 1998 (File No. 33-85242). | |
| 3. | Incorporated herein by reference to Capital Management Investment Trusts Post-Effective Amendment No. 6 to Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed on October 29, 1998 (File No. 33-85242). | |
| 4. | Incorporated herein by reference to Capital Management Investment Trusts Post-Effective Amendment No. 9 to Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed on April 2, 2001 (File No. 33-85242). | |
| 5. | Incorporated herein by reference to Capital Management Investment Trusts Post-Effective Amendment No. 14 to Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed on March 30, 2006 (File No. 33-85242). | |
| 6. | Incorporated herein by reference to Capital Management Investment Trusts Post-Effective Amendment No. 16 to Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed on March 31, 2008 (File No. 33-85242) | |
| 7. | Incorporated herein by reference to Capital Management Investment Trusts Post-Effective Amendment No. 17 to Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed on March 31, 2009 (File No. 33-85242) | |
| 8. | Incorporated herein by reference to Capital Management Investment Trusts Post-Effective Amendment No. 18 to Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed on January 28, 2010 (File No. 33-85242) | |
| 9. | Incorporated herein by reference to Capital Management Investment Trusts Post-Effective Amendment No. 19 to Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed on March 30, 2010 (File No. 33-85242) | |
| 10. | Incorporated herein by reference to Capital Management Investment Trusts Post-Effective Amendment No. 31 to Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed on December 2, 2014 (File No. 33-85242) | |
| 11. | Incorporated herein by reference to Capital Management Investment Trusts Post-Effective Amendment No. 33 to Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed on March 26, 2015 (File No. 33-85242) |
| 12. | Incorporated herein by reference to Capital Management Investment Trusts Post-Effective Amendment No. 41 to Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed on March 30, 2018 (File No. 33-85242). | |
| 13. | Incorporated herein by reference to Capital Management Investment Trusts Post-Effective Amendment No. 43 to Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed on March 29, 2019 (File No. 33-85242). | |
| 14. | Incorporated herein by reference to Capital Management Investment Trusts Post-Effective Amendment No. 45 to Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed on September 18, 2019 (File No. 33-85242). | |
| 15 | Incorporated herein by reference to Capital Management Investment Trusts Post-Effective Amendment No. 47 to Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed on November 26, 2019 (File No. 33-85242). | |
| 16 | Incorporated herein by reference to Capital Management Investment Trusts Post-Effective Amendment No. 55 to Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed on March 26, 2024 (File No. 33-85242). |
| ITEM 29. | Persons Controlled by or Under Common Control with the Registrant |
No person is controlled by or under common control with the Trust.
ITEM 30. |
Indemnification |
As permitted by Section 17(h) and (i) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, officers, trustees, employees and agents of the Registrant will not be liable to the Registrant, any shareholder, officer, trustee, employee, agent or other person for any action or failure to act, except for bad faith, willful misfeasance, gross negligence or reckless disregard of duties, and those individuals may be indemnified against liabilities in connection with the Registrant, subject to the same exceptions.
The Registrants Declaration of Trust (Exhibit 28(a) to the Registrant Statement), investment advisory agreements (Exhibits 28(d)(1) to the Registration Statement), distribution agreements (Exhibits 28(e)(1), (e)(2) and (e)(3), sub-distribution agreement (Exhibit 28(e)(4)) and administration agreements (Exhibits 28(h)(1) and (h)(2) to the Registrant Statement) provide for indemnification of certain persons acting on behalf of the Trust. The Registrant may, from time to time, enter other contractual arrangements that provide for indemnification.
Insofar as indemnification for liability arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 1933 Act), may be permitted to directors, 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 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the 1933 Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defenses of any action, suite or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the 1933 Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
|
ITEM 31. |
Business and Other Connections of the Investment Advisors |
The list required by this Item 31 as to any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature in which each of the investment advisers, and each director, officer or partner of such investment advisers, is or has been engaged within the last two fiscal years for his or her own account or in the capacity of director, officer, employee, partner or trustee, is incorporated herein by reference to Schedules A and D of each investment adviser's Form ADV listed opposite such investment adviser's name below, which is currently on file with the SEC as required by the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended.
| Name of Investment Adviser | Form ADV File No. |
| Capital Management Associates, Inc. | 801-17691 |
|
ITEM 32. |
Principal Underwriters |
| (a) | Wellington Shields & Co, LLC serves as the principal underwriter for only the Fund (underwriter and distributor), 60 Broad Street, 39th Floor, New York, New York 10004. |
|
Arbor Court Capital, LLC (ACC), 8000 Town Centre Drive, Suite 400, Broadview Heights, Ohio 44147, serves as the Trusts sub-distributor. ACC also serves as principal underwriter for the following investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended: Ancora Trust, Archer Investment Series Trust, Berkshire Focus Fund, Clark Fork Trust, Frank Funds, Monteagle Funds, Manor Investment Funds, MP63 Fund, Inc., Neiman Funds, One Rock Fund, Parvin Hedged Equity Solari World Fund, PFS Funds, Spend Life Wisely Funds Investment Trust and WP Trust.
| |
| (b) | Wellington Shields & Co, LLC. The information required by this Item 32(b) with respect to each director, officer or partner of Wellington Shield & Co, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Schedule A of Form BD, filed by Wellington Shields & Co, LLC with the SEC pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. |
| Arbor Court Capital, LLC. (sub-distributor) The information required by this Item 32(b) with respect to each director, officer or partner of Arbor Court Capital, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Schedule A of Form BD, filed by Arbor Court Capital, LLC with the SEC pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. |
| (c) | Not applicable. |
ITEM 33. |
Location of Accounts and Records |
The
accounts, books or other documents of the Registrant required to be maintained by Section 31(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940,
as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder are kept in several locations:
| a) | Premier Funds Solutions, Inc., 1939 Friendship Drive, Suite C, El Cajon, California 92020 (records relating to its function as Administrator). |
| b) | Mutual Shareholder Services, LLC, 8000 Town Centre Drive, Suite 400, Broadview Heights, Ohio 44147 (records relating to its function as Fund Accounting Services and Transfer Agent). |
| c) | Wellington Shields & Co., LLC, 60 Broad Street, 39th Floor, New York, New York 10004 (records relating to its function as Distributor). |
| d) | Arbor Court Capital, LLC, 8000 Town Centre Drive, Suite 400, Broadview Heights, Ohio 44147 (records relating to its function as Sub-Distributor). |
| e) | Argent Institutional Trust Company, 1715 N Westshore Blvd, Suite 750, Tampa, FL 33607 (records relating to its function as Custodian for the Funds). |
| f) | Capital Management Associates, Inc., 60 Broad Street, 39th Floor, New York, New York 10004 (records relating to its function as investment advisor to the Wellington Shields All-Cap Fund). | ||
|
ITEM 34. |
Management Services | ||
There are no management-related service contracts not discussed in Parts A or B of this Form.
|
ITEM 35. |
Undertakings |
Not applicable.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the Registrant certifies that it meets all of the requirements for effectiveness of this registration statement under Rule 485(b) of the Securities Act and has duly caused this Post-Effective Amendment to the Registrants Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of New York, and State of New York, on this 26th day of March, 2026.
CAPITAL MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT TRUST
By:
/s/ W. Jameson McFadden
W. Jameson McFadden, President, Principal
Executive Officer, Principal Financial Officer and
Secretary
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Post-Effective Amendment to the Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the date indicated.
| * | 3/26/2026 |
| Michael D. Cahill, Trustee | Date |
| * | 3/26/2026 |
| Paul J. Camilleri, Trustee | Date |
| * | 3/26/2026 |
| David V. Shields, Trustee | Date |
| /s/ W. Jameson McFadden | 3/26/2026 |
| W. Jameson McFadden, President, Principal Executive | Date |
| Officer, Principal Financial Officer and Secretary | |
| /s/ James D. Craft | 3/26/2026 |
| James D. Craft, Treasurer | Date |
| *By: /s/ Stephen J. Portas | 3/26/2026 |
| Stephen J. Portas, Chief Compliance Officer | Date |
| *Pursuant to Power of Attorney |
EXHIBITS
| (d)(4) | Investment Advisory Agreement between the Registrant and Capital Management Associates, Inc., as Adviser, with respect to the Wellington Shields All-Cap Fund |
| (i)(5) | Consent of Practus, LLP |
(j) Consent of Independent Registered Public Accountants