The investment objective of The U.S. Equity Portfolio is to provide capital appreciation,

The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” investments in its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Total Annual Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s turnover was 8% of the average value of its portfolio.

The Portfolio is a diversified investment company that is designed to provide broad exposure to the U.S. equity market. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily (i.e., at least 80% of its net assets) in U.S. equity securities. In the unlikely event that a change in this investment policy is adopted by the Board of Trustees, shareholders will receive at least 60 days prior written notice before such change is implemented. The Portfolio will invest in equity securities of issuers of any capitalization. The Portfolio may invest up to 20% of the total assets of the actively managed portion of the Portfolio in income-producing securities other than common stock, such as bonds, including those that are convertible into common stock. These income-producing securities may be of any quality or maturity. Up to 20% of the total assets of the total Portfolio may also be invested in securities issued by non-U.S. companies. The Portfolio may invest in securities issued by other investment companies, including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), that invest in equity securities. Although some of the equity securities in which the Portfolio will invest are expected to be dividend paying issues, income is a secondary consideration in the stock selection process.

The Portfolio may be managed using an “active” investment approach and/or a “passive” investment approach designed to approximate as closely as practicable, before expenses, the performance of either the Portfolio’s benchmark index or, from time to time, one or more identifiable subsets or other portions of that index. The relative weighting of these two approaches may vary anywhere from 0% to 100% of the Portfolio’s assets at any given time.

The Portfolio is authorized to operate on a multi-manager basis. This means that a single Portfolio may be managed by more than one investment subadviser (“Specialist Manager”). The multi-manager structure is generally designed to provide investors access to broadly diversified investment styles. HC Capital Trust (the “Trust”) seeks to engage skilled Specialist Managers to provide a broad exposure to the relevant asset class and returns in excess of the Portfolio’s benchmark over time.

Consistent with their respective investment styles, the Portfolio’s Specialist Managers may use option or futures contracts in order to hedge against investment risks, seek to efficiently obtain or adjust exposure to certain securities or groups of securities, or otherwise to increase returns. The Portfolio may also write (sell) call options and put options, in order to receive premiums, on individual securities, U.S. stock market indexes, and/or on substitutes for such indexes, which may include futures contracts or ETFs. The Portfolio normally writes covered call and put options which have an initial maturity of up to nine months and that are “out of the money” at the time of initiation such that the call options sold generally will be above the current price level of the index when written and the exercise price of put options sold generally will be below the current price level of the index when written. In accordance with applicable interpretations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), certain derivative instruments may be counted as equity securities for purposes of the Portfolio’s policies regarding investments in equity securities, to the extent that such derivative instruments have economic characteristics similar to those of equity securities.

Performance. The chart and table below show how The U.S. Equity Portfolio has performed, and how its performance has varied, from year to year. The bar chart shows returns on a before-tax basis and gives some indication of risk by showing changes in the Portfolio’s yearly performance for each of the last ten full calendar years. The table accompanying the bar chart compares the Portfolio’s performance over time on a before and after-tax basis to that of a broad based market index. As of April 17, 2024, the Portfolio changed its investment strategies and certain investment policies. In view of these changes, the Portfolio’s performance record prior to this period might be less pertinent for investors considering whether to purchase shares of the Portfolio. Of course, past performance, before and after taxes, does not indicate how the Portfolio will perform in the future.

The Portfolio’s before-tax return for the period from January 1, 2026 through September 30, 2026 (non-annualized) was 12.48%.