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cik0000889284:S000111288Member oef:RiskLoseMoneyMember 2026-11-11 2026-11-11 iso4217:USD pure false 485BPOS 2026-11-11 0000889284 N-1A STERLING CAPITAL FUNDS 2026-11-11 Sterling Capital Hedged BDC Income ETF Investment Objective <p id="xdx_A83_eoef--ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock_z6oxFrEmHUdj" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; text-align: left; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; padding-left: 27.27%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt">The Fund seeks to provide current income and total return. Fee Table <p id="xdx_A8B_eoef--ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock_zcVA9O9C3jGi" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; text-align: left; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; padding-left: 27.27%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt">This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. The investment advisory agreement between Sterling Capital Funds (the “Trust”) and Sterling Capital Management LLC (“Sterling Capital” or the “Adviser”) (the “Investment Advisory Agreement”) provides that the Adviser will pay all operating expenses of the Fund, except the Management Fees set forth in the table below, Distribution and Service (Rule 12b-1) Fees, distribution expenses, investment related expenses of any kind, borrowing and other investment-related costs and fees, acquired fund fees and expenses, interest expenses, taxes and governmental fees, litigation and indemnification fees and expenses of any kind, custody or other expenses attributable to negative interest rates on investments or cash, short dividend expense, salaries and other compensation or expenses, including travel expenses, of any of the Trust’s executive officers and employees, if any, who are not officers, directors, shareholders, members, partners or employees of the Adviser or its subsidiaries or affiliates, organizational and offering expenses of the Trust and the Fund, costs related to any meetings of shareholders, fees or expenses incurred in connection with securities lending, any other expenses which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, extraordinary expenses, and such other expenses as may be approved by the Fund’s Board. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) 0.0075 0 0.0000 0.1120 0.1195 “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses” (“AFFE”) are estimated based on indirect net expenses associated with the Fund’s investments in underlying investment companies, including business development companies, that are investment companies or would be an investment company but for an exception to that definition provided for in Sections 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act (each, an “Acquired Fund”). Some of the Acquired Funds in which the Fund will invest charge carried interest, incentive fees or incentive allocations based on such Acquired Funds’ performance. The AFFE disclosed above are based on estimated expected fees and expenses, and future AFFE may be substantially higher or lower because certain fees are based on the performance of the Acquired Funds, which may fluctuate over time. AFFE reflects operating expenses of the Acquired Funds (i.e., management fees, administration fees and professional and other direct, fixed fees and expenses of the Acquired Funds). The AFFE do not, however, reflect any performance-based fees or allocations paid by the Acquired Funds that are calculated solely on the realization and/or distribution of gains, or on the sum of such gains and unrealized appreciation of assets distributed in-kind. Example <p id="xdx_A83_eoef--ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock_z8Q94ElNMaEa" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; text-align: left; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; padding-left: 27.27%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt">This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be: 1153 3225 Portfolio Turnover <p id="xdx_A8E_eoef--PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock_z7ND7zU5ClG8" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; text-align: left; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; padding-left: 27.27%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt">The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund has not yet commenced operations as of the date of this prospectus, no portfolio turnover information is available. Strategy, Risks and Performance Principal Strategy <p id="xdx_A8A_eoef--StrategyNarrativeTextBlock_zQhmgoaQh6k9" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; text-align: left; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; padding-left: 27.27%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt">The Fund is an actively managed exchange traded fund (“ETF”). The Fund will pursue its investment objective by investing primarily in a portfolio of publicly traded business development companies (“BDCs”) and, to a lesser extent, debt securities issued by BDCs (“BDC Bonds”). To qualify as a BDC, a company must be organized under the laws of, and have its principal place of business in, the United States, be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and have elected to be regulated as a BDC under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). BDCs are vehicles whose principal business is to invest in, lend capital to or provide services to privately-held U.S. companies or thinly traded U.S. public companies. The Fund will typically invest in BDCs and BDC Bonds that at the time of purchase are rated investment grade, but at any given time the Fund may have investment exposure to BDCs, BDC Bonds or underlying portfolio investments of BDCs of any credit quality, including those that are rated below investment grade or unrated. The Fund will also employ a dynamic option overlay strategy by writing covered call options and buying protective put and put-spread options on up to 100% of the Fund’s portfolio in order to generate income and mitigate or hedge against downside risk. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets plus borrowings for investment purposes in equity securities of BDCs, BDC Bonds and option strategies on BDCs. <span class="xdx_phnt_RGlzY2xvc3VyZSAtIEludmVzdG1lbnQgU3RyYXRlZ3kA" id="xdx_907_efnd--NmRule35d1EightyPctInvstmntPlcyTextBlock_c20261111__20261111__dei--LegalEntityAxis__custom--S000111289Member_zR4fN8V5IXck">This investment policy is not fundamental, and if the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. For purposes of the Fund’s 80% investment policy, option strategies include, but are not limited to covered calls, protective puts and put-spread options. Investments in derivatives are counted toward the Fund’s 80% policy to the extent that they provide investment exposure to the securities included within that policy or to one or more market risk factors associated with such securities. Given that the Fund will invest primarily in BDC’s and a significant portion of BDC’s have exposure to the financials sector, a significant portion of the Fund’s assets will have exposure to the financials sector. The Investment Company Act of 1940 places limits on the percentage of the total outstanding stock of a BDC that may be owned by the Fund; however, a Securities and Exchange Commission rule applicable to the Fund permits it to invest in BDCs in excess of this limitation if certain conditions are met. BDC Selection: Sterling Capital Management LLC (the “Adviser”) determines final weightings of BDC investments within the Fund through its asset allocation process. The Adviser will employ a bottom-up fundamental approach to stock selection, focused on identifying high-quality BDC franchises with attractive valuations and strong long-term credit characteristics. The Sub-Adviser together with the Adviser seeks to concentrate the Fund’s exposure in what it identifies to be the highest quality BDC franchises, those with large scale and market leadership within the BDC sector. In selecting these franchises, the Sub-Adviser together with the Adviser focuses on BDCs that have strong relationships and sponsors that have demonstrated underwriting discipline and a track record of consistent credit performance. The Sub-Adviser together with the Adviser generally favors BDCs whose underlying loan portfolios exhibit low levels of non-accrual loans, strong interest coverage ratios across portfolio companies, and conservative leverage profiles. Options Overlay: To mitigate (or hedge against) downside risk and generate income the Sub-Adviser will employ a dynamic option overlay strategy including writing covered call options, and buying protective put options and put-spread options. Under the covered call option strategy, the Sub-Adviser will generally write “out-of-the-money” call options on up to approximately 100% of the value of the Fund’s portfolio. “Out-of-the-money” call options are call options whose underlying asset’s current market price is lower than that option’s strike price. The Sub-Adviser will typically invest in both exchange traded and over-the-counter out-of-the-money call options. The Sub-Adviser may write covered call options on a lesser percentage of the portfolio, based on its discretion and market outlook. The amount of cash flow generated by the covered call option writing strategy will be dependent on market prices and the volatility of the underlying common stocks at the time of each sale. In addition, the Sub-Adviser will seek to mitigate (or hedge against) downside risk in the portfolio by employing a protective put option or put-spread option strategy for capital preservation. The Fund employs these strategies to reduce exposure to market declines and to generate additional yield, while recognizing that the Fund may not fully benefit from strong positive market growth. The use of written covered call options may limit the Fund’s potential upside participation in the appreciation of the underlying securities. The Fund will operate as a non-diversified fund under the 1940 Act, which means that it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. The Fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or more of its total assets) in securities of issuers with principal business activities in the financial services industry. This investment policy is not fundamental, and if the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. For purposes of the Fund’s 80% investment policy, option strategies include, but are not limited to covered calls, protective puts and put-spread options. Investments in derivatives are counted toward the Fund’s 80% policy to the extent that they provide investment exposure to the securities included within that policy or to one or more market risk factors associated with such securities. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit or obligation of any bank, is not endorsed or guaranteed by any bank and is not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) or any other government agency. You may lose money by investing in the Fund. ETF Structure Risks. The Fund is structured as an ETF and is subject to risks related to exchange trading, including: <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; width: 72%; margin-left: 27.2%; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"> <tr style="vertical-align: top"> <td style="width: 13.5pt"> </td> <td style="width: 13.5pt; vertical-align: top; text-align: right"> ● </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left"> The Fund’s shares are listed for trading on a national securities exchange (the “Exchange”) and are bought and sold on the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Fund shares will typically approximate the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”), there may be times when the market price reflects a significant premium or discount to NAV, including during periods of high market volatility or other unusual market conditions. </td> </tr> </table> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; width: 72%; margin-left: 27.2%; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"> <tr style="vertical-align: top"> <td style="width: 13.5pt"> </td> <td style="width: 13.5pt; vertical-align: top; text-align: right"> ● </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left"> Although the Fund’s shares are listed on the Exchange, it is possible that an active trading market in the Fund’s shares may not be maintained. </td> </tr> </table> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; width: 72%; margin-left: 27.2%; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"> <tr style="vertical-align: top"> <td style="width: 13.5pt"> </td> <td style="width: 13.5pt; vertical-align: top; text-align: right"> ● </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left"> The Fund could potentially face trading halts and/or delisting from the Exchange. This risk is heightened in times of market stress, including at both the Fund share level and at the Fund holdings level. </td> </tr> </table> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; width: 72%; margin-left: 27.2%; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"> <tr style="vertical-align: top"> <td style="width: 13.5pt"> </td> <td style="width: 13.5pt; vertical-align: top; text-align: right"> ● </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left"> Only an authorized participant (an “Authorized Participant”) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund, and none of those Authorized Participants is obligated to engage in creation and/or redemption transactions. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as Authorized Participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units, Fund shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts or delisting. </td> </tr> </table> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; width: 72%; margin-left: 27.2%; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"> <tr style="vertical-align: top"> <td style="width: 13.5pt"> </td> <td style="width: 13.5pt; vertical-align: top; text-align: right"> ● </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left"> To the extent that the Fund effects its creation and redemptions in cash, as it intends regularly to do, the Fund may need to sell securities to generate the necessary funds for a redemption. Such sales may result in the Fund realizing capital gains, which under applicable tax regulations must be distributed to all shareholders, leading to potential tax liabilities for shareholders that would not have been incurred had the redemptions been in-kind. Such cash redemptions may also result in the Fund incurring brokerage costs that might not have been incurred if the purchase or redemption of Creation Units were effected in kind, and the imposition of such costs may decrease the Fund’s net asset value. The use of cash creations and redemptions may also cause the Fund’s shares to trade in the market at wider bid-ask spreads or greater premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV. </td> </tr> </table> Business Development Company Risk. The Fund invests in securities issued by BDCs and in debt instruments, including bonds, issued by BDCs. BDCs generally invest in and lend capital to less mature U.S. private companies and thinly traded and/or micro-cap U.S. public companies, as well as companies that are experiencing financial crises. As a result, an investment in a BDC, and in the debt securities that a BDC issues, is subject to the risks associated with the underlying portfolio companies in which the BDC invests, including the risk that those portfolio companies may be highly leveraged, have limited operating histories, have limited liquidity, may be difficult to value, face limited access to capital, or otherwise be more susceptible to adverse business or economic developments than larger, more established companies. Those companies with limited capital resources may have a greater risk of default on their debt and may not be able to distribute dividends on any preferred and common stock. While the BDCs in which the fund invests are expected to generate income in the form of dividends, certain BDCs during certain periods of time may not generate dividend income. The use of leverage by BDCs magnifies gains and losses on amounts invested and increases the risks associated with investing in BDCs. A BDC may make investments with a larger amount of risk of volatility and loss of principal than other investment options and may also be highly speculative and aggressive. Generally, little public information exists for private and thinly traded companies in which a BDC may invest, and there is a risk that investors may not be able to make a fully informed evaluation of a BDC and its portfolio of investments. Certain BDCs may also be difficult to value since many of the assets of BDCs do not have readily ascertainable market values. The Fund will indirectly bear its proportionate share of any management fees and other operating expenses incurred by the BDCs and of any performance-based or incentive fees payable by the BDCs in which it invests, in addition to the Fund’s management fee and any other expenses paid by the fund. Concentration Risk. The risk that a Fund’s concentration in certain investments, or certain sectors, may produce a greater risk of loss than a more diversified mutual fund. Investment Company Risk: Investing in another investment company or pooled vehicle, including ETFs and business development companies, subjects a Fund to that company’s risks, including the risk that the investment company or pooled vehicle will not perform as expected. The Adviser may have an economic incentive to invest a portion of a Fund’s assets in investment companies sponsored or managed by the Adviser or its affiliates in lieu of investments by such Fund directly in portfolio securities, or may choose to invest in such investment companies over investment companies sponsored or managed by others. Similarly, the Adviser may delay or decide against the sale of interests held by a Fund in investment companies sponsored or managed by the Adviser or its affiliates, where it might do otherwise if the Fund were invested in investment companies managed or sponsored by others. Investment Restrictions Risk. The Fund is subject to the conditions set forth in certain provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940 and Securities and Exchange Commission regulations thereunder that limit the amount that the Fund and its affiliates, in the aggregate, can invest in the outstanding voting securities of an unaffiliated investment company or business development company. The Fund and its affiliates may not actively acquire “control” of an investment company or business development company, which is presumed once ownership of an investment company’s outstanding voting securities exceeds 25%. Also, to comply with provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940 and regulations thereunder, the Adviser may be required to vote shares of an investment company or business development company in the same general proportion as shares held by other shareholders of the investment company or business development company. Industry or Sector Risk: From time to time, the Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in companies in one or more related industries or sectors, which would make the fund more vulnerable to adverse developments affecting those industries or sectors. BDCs, as financial services companies, may be affected by the availability and cost of capital; changes in interest rates; insurance claims activity; industry consolidation; reduced profitability from limitations on loans; proprietary trading; interest rates and fees charged as a result of extensive government regulations; and general market conditions. Financials Sector Risk: The Fund will be sensitive to, and its performance will depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the financials sector. Companies in the financials sector may be subject to extensive government regulation that affects the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge and the amount of capital they must maintain. The profitability of companies in the financials sector may be adversely affected by increases in interest rates, by loan losses, which usually increase in economic downturns, and by credit rating downgrades. In addition, the financials sector is undergoing numerous changes, including continuing consolidations, development of new products and structures and changes to its regulatory framework. Furthermore, some companies in the financials sector perceived as benefitting from government intervention in the past may be subject to future government-imposed restrictions on their businesses or face increased government involvement in their operations. Increased government involvement in the financials sector, including measures such as taking ownership positions in financial institutions, could result in a dilution of the Fund’s investments in financial institutions. Counterparty Risk: The possibility that a counterparty to a contract will default or otherwise become unable to honor a financial obligation. Estimated Maturity Risk: The possibility that an underlying security holder will exercise its right to pay principal on an obligation earlier or later than expected. This may happen when there is a rise or fall in interest rates. These events may shorten or lengthen the duration (i.e., interest rate sensitivity) and potentially reduce the value of these securities. Interest Rate Risk. The possibility that the value of the Fund’s investments will decline due to an increase in interest rates. Interest rate risk is generally higher for longer-term debt instruments and lower for shorter-term debt instruments. Credit Risk: The possibility that an issuer cannot make timely interest and principal payments on its debt securities such as bonds. The lower a security’s rating, the greater its credit risk. Changes in actual or perceived creditworthiness may occur quickly. Income Risk: The possibility that the Fund’s income will decline due to a decrease in interest rates. Income risk is generally higher for shorter-term bonds and lower for longer-term bonds. Fixed Income Market Risk: Fixed income securities markets may, in response to governmental intervention, economic or market developments (including potentially a reduction in the number of broker-dealers willing to engage in market-making activity), or other factors, experience periods of increased volatility and reduced liquidity. High-Yield/High-Risk Debt Securities: High-yield/high-risk debt securities are securities that are rated below investment grade by the primary rating agencies. These securities are considered speculative and involve greater risk of loss than investment grade debt securities. Derivatives Risk: The possibility that the Fund will suffer a loss from its use of derivatives. The primary risk with many derivatives is that they can amplify a gain or loss, potentially earning or losing substantially more money than the actual cost of the derivative instrument. It is possible that the Fund’s liquid assets may be insufficient to support its obligations under its derivatives positions. The Fund’s use of derivatives such as swap transactions involves other risks, such as the credit risk relating to the other party to a derivative contract (which is heightened for over-the-counter swaps and other derivatives as compared to centrally cleared derivatives), the risk of difficulties in pricing and valuation, and the risk that changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with relevant assets, rates or indices. There is also the risk that the Fund may be unable to terminate or sell a derivatives position at an advantageous time or price. When the Fund uses credit default swaps to gain indirect long exposure to an issuer or a fixed income security by selling credit protection on such issuer or security, the Fund is exposed to the risk that it will be required to pay the full notional value of the swap contract in the event of a default. The use of written covered call options may limit the Fund’s potential upside participation in the appreciation of the underlying securities. Liquidity Risk: The possibility that certain securities may be difficult or impossible to sell at the time and the price that would normally prevail in the market. The seller may have to lower the price, sell other securities instead or forego an investment opportunity, any of which could have a negative effect on Fund management or performance. Prepayment/Call Risk: When obligations are prepaid and when securities are called, the Fund may have to reinvest in securities with a lower yield or fail to recover additional amounts (i.e., premiums) paid for securities with higher interest rates, resulting in an unexpected capital loss. Call risk is the possibility that, during periods of declining interest rates, a bond issuer will “call” — or repay — higher-yielding bonds before their stated maturity date. In both cases, investors receive their principal back and are typically forced to reinvest it in bonds that pay lower interest rates. Options Risk: There are significant differences between the securities and options markets that could result in an imperfect correlation between these markets, causing an options transaction not to achieve its objectives. A decision as to whether, when and how to use options involves the exercise of skill and judgment, and even a well conceived transaction may be unsuccessful to some degree because of market behavior or unexpected events. There can be no assurance that a liquid secondary market will exist for any particular option at a particular time; as a result, it may be costly to liquidate options. There is also no assurance that a liquid market will exist for any particular option contract on an exchange. Valuation Risk. Certain securities may be difficult to value, and there can be no assurance that the valuation placed on a security held by a Fund will reflect that actual price at which the security might be sold in a market transaction. Swap Risk: A swap is a contract that generally obligates the parties to exchange payments based on a specified reference security, basket of securities, security index or index component. Swaps can involve greater risks than direct investment in securities because swaps may be leveraged and are subject to counterparty risk (e.g., the risk of a counterparty defaulting on the obligation or bankruptcy), credit risk and valuation risk (i.e., swaps may be difficult to value). Certain swaps may also be considered illiquid. It may not be possible for the Fund to liquidate a swap position at an advantageous time or price, which may result in significant losses. Credit Default Swaps Risk: A credit default swap enables an investor to buy or sell protection against a credit event with respect to an issuer, such as an issuer’s failure to make timely payments of interest or principal on its debt obligations, bankruptcy or restructuring. Credit default swaps are subject to credit risk of the underlying issuer and to counterparty credit risk. If the counterparty fails to meet its obligations, the Fund may lose money. Market Risk: The possibility that the Fund’s stock holdings will decline in price because of a stock market decline or other domestic, regional, or global events. Markets generally move in cycles, with periods of rising prices followed by periods of falling prices. The value of your investment will tend to increase or decrease in response to these movements. Investment Style Risk: The possibility that a market segment on which this Fund focuses whether growth or value; large-, mid- or small-cap; could underperform other kinds of investments or market averages. Dividend Risk: Companies that issue dividend-yielding securities are not required to continue to pay dividends on such securities. Therefore, there is the possibility that such companies could reduce or eliminate the payment of dividends in the future. Company-Specific Risk: The possibility that a particular stock may lose value due to factors specific to the company itself, including deterioration of its fundamental characteristics, an occurrence of adverse events at the company, or a downturn in its business prospects. Mid Capitalization Company Risk: Investments in middle capitalization companies may be riskier, more volatile and more vulnerable to economic, market and industry changes than investments in larger, more established companies. As a result, share price changes may be more sudden or erratic than the prices of other equity securities, especially over the short term. Small Capitalization Company Risk: Investing in smaller, lesser-known companies involves greater risk than investing in those that are more established. A small company’s financial well-being may, for example, depend heavily on just a few products or services. In addition, small company stocks tend to trade less frequently and in lesser quantities, and their market prices often fluctuate more, than those of larger firms. Non-Diversified Risk: Because the Fund is non-diversified, it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in a particular issuer compared with other funds. Accordingly, the Fund’s portfolio may be more sensitive to changes in the market value of a single issuer or industry. Active Trading Risk: The Fund may trade securities actively, which could increase its transaction costs (thereby lowering its performance) and may increase the amount of taxes that a shareholder pays, by increasing the amount of the Fund’s realized capital gains and increasing the portion of the Fund’s realized capital gains that are short-term capital gains. Operational and Technology Risk: Cyber-attacks, disruptions, or failures that affect the Fund’s service providers, counterparties, market participants, or issuers of securities held by the Fund may adversely affect the Fund and its shareholders, including by causing losses for the Fund or impairing Fund operations. Focused Investment Risk: Investments focused in asset classes, countries, regions, sectors, industries, or issuers that are subject to the same or similar risk factors and investments whose prices are closely correlated are subject to greater overall risk than investments that are more diversified or whose prices are not as closely correlated. Management Risk: The risk that an investment technique used by the Fund’s portfolio manager may fail to produce the intended result. New Fund Risk: Because the Fund is new, it has a relatively small number of shareholders and assets under management. As a result, the portfolio managers may experience difficulties in fully implementing the Fund’s investment program and may be less able to respond to increases in shareholder transaction activity. The Fund’s limited operating history could make it more difficult to evaluate the performance of the portfolio managers and the Fund’s investment strategies. In addition, there can be no assurance that the Fund will ultimately grow to an economically viable size, which could lead to the Fund eventually ceasing its operations. Performance <p id="xdx_A8D_eoef--PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock_zs9TxmePww5l" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; text-align: left; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; padding-left: 27.27%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt">Because the Fund has not yet commenced investment operations, no performance information is presented for the Fund at this time. In the future, performance information will be presented in this section of this prospectus. Updated performance information is available at no cost by visiting www.sterlingcapitalfunds.com or by calling 1-888-637-7798. Because the Fund has not yet commenced investment operations, no performance information is presented for the Fund at this time. www.sterlingcapitalfunds.com 1-888-637-7798 Sterling Capital Macro-Led International Equity ETF Investment Objective <p id="xdx_A8E_eoef--ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock_zKWSO2kdYbGd" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; text-align: left; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; padding-left: 27.27%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt">The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation. Fee Table <p id="xdx_A8F_eoef--ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock_zs2z9NHjoGH5" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; text-align: left; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; padding-left: 27.27%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt">This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. The investment advisory agreement between Sterling Capital Funds (the “Trust”) and Sterling Capital Management LLC (“Sterling Capital” or the “Adviser”) (the “Investment Advisory Agreement”) provides that the Adviser will pay all operating expenses of the Fund, except the Management Fees set forth in the table below, Distribution and Service (Rule 12b-1) Fees, distribution expenses, investment related expenses of any kind, borrowing and other investment-related costs and fees, acquired fund fees and expenses, interest expenses, taxes and governmental fees, litigation and indemnification fees and expenses of any kind, custody or other expenses attributable to negative interest rates on investments or cash, short dividend expense, salaries and other compensation or expenses, including travel expenses, of any of the Trust’s executive officers and employees, if any, who are not officers, directors, shareholders, members, partners or employees of the Adviser or its subsidiaries or affiliates, organizational and offering expenses of the Trust and the Fund, costs related to any meetings of shareholders, fees or expenses incurred in connection with securities lending, any other expenses which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, extraordinary expenses, and such other expenses as may be approved by the Fund’s Board. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) 0.0060 0 0.0000 0.0060 Example <p id="xdx_A86_eoef--ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock_zBVenAlK6VA8" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; text-align: left; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; padding-left: 27.27%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt">This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be: 61 192 Portfolio Turnover <p id="xdx_A8C_eoef--PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock_z2Drs0f4zbr9" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; text-align: left; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; padding-left: 27.27%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt">The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund has not yet commenced operations as of the date of this prospectus, no portfolio turnover information is available. Strategy, Risks and Performance Principal Strategy <p id="xdx_A8D_eoef--StrategyNarrativeTextBlock_znu3ZeoRmtEk" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; text-align: left; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; padding-left: 27.27%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt">The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”). The Fund will pursue its investment objective through a globally diversified investment strategy that combines top-down investment analysis, active security selection, currency management, and risk management techniques. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets plus borrowings for investment purposes in equity securities of issuers located in countries throughout the world. <span class="xdx_phnt_RGlzY2xvc3VyZSAtIEludmVzdG1lbnQgU3RyYXRlZ3kA" id="xdx_908_efnd--NmRule35d1EightyPctInvstmntPlcyTextBlock_c20261111__20261111__dei--LegalEntityAxis__custom--S000111290Member_zCI2YN7bZkJ5">This investment policy is not fundamental, and if the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. Investments in derivatives are counted toward the Fund’s 80% policy to the extent that they provide investment exposure to the securities included within that policy or to one or more market risk factors associated with such securities. For purposes of the Fund’s 80% Policy, equity securities of issuers located in countries throughout the world are equity securities of issuers that are located in countries included within the Bloomberg Developed Markets ex North America Large & Mid Cap Index. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest primarily in equity securities listed in developed markets. However, the Fund may obtain limited exposure to emerging markets through investments in American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) or exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”). The Fund intends to invest in emerging market countries included in the Bloomberg Emerging Markets Large & Mid Cap Total Return Index, and the Fund's total exposure to emerging markets will generally not at the time of purchase exceed 10% of its net assets. The Fund may invest in securities of any market capitalization. The Fund employs a disciplined, contrarian and value-oriented investment process that is guided primarily by a top-down, fundamental assessment of global investment opportunities. Guardian Capital LP (the “Sub-Adviser”) evaluates market conditions through a proprietary framework that incorporates analysis of three principal factors and associated variables: (i) the macroeconomic environment (e.g., economic activity, economic surveys, monetary & fiscal policies, and earnings and sales growth), (ii) market valuations (e.g., price/earnings multiples, price to book multiples, aggregate valuations, and distribution yields), and (iii) investor sentiment (e.g., historical performance, investment sentiment indices, investor positioning, and beta/realized volatility). Using this framework, the Sub-Adviser develops a forward-looking investment outlook, generally over a 12- to 18-month horizon, and determines the Fund’s overall portfolio positioning. Each factor is analyzed and assessed a score depending on the fundamental analysis research based on these variables. The sum of the score for the three factors will help the investment team in establishing investment convictions and security selection relative to the Fund’s strategy benchmark. The greater the score, the greater the exposure to the investment convictions relative to the benchmark weight. The lower the score, the lower the exposure relative to the benchmark weight. Each factor assessment is weighted equally in the overall scoring. The factors and variables analyzed are not limited solely to the examples described above, and the Sub-Adviser may consider other factors and variable from time to time in its discretion and as market conditions, investment opportunities, or risk assessments change. This analysis informs decisions regarding the Fund’s risk exposure, geographic allocations, country weightings, sector and industry exposures, thematic investment opportunities, currency positions, and security selection. Portfolio holdings and allocations may also be adjusted as market conditions, investment opportunities, or risk assessments change. The Sub-Adviser actively manages the Fund’s currency exposures as part of the overall investment strategy to reduce risks associated with adverse currency movements and to provide an additional potential source of return. Currency positions may be established, adjusted, hedged, or otherwise managed based on the Sub-Adviser’s assessment of relative value, economic conditions, interest rate expectations, monetary policy developments, and other factors affecting foreign exchange markets. The Fund may also use derivatives as part of its investment strategy to gain or reduce exposure to particular markets, countries, sectors, currencies, or securities; manage portfolio risk; hedge existing positions; equitize cash balances; or implement investment views in a cost-efficient manner. Derivatives used by the Fund may include, among others, futures contracts, forward foreign currency contracts, options, swaps, and other instruments that provide exposure to equity, currency, interest rate, or other market factors. This investment policy is not fundamental, and if the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. Investments in derivatives are counted toward the Fund’s 80% policy to the extent that they provide investment exposure to the securities included within that policy or to one or more market risk factors associated with such securities. For purposes of the Fund’s 80% Policy, equity securities of issuers located in countries throughout the world are equity securities of issuers that are located in countries included within the Bloomberg Developed Markets ex North America Large & Mid Cap Index. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest primarily in equity securities listed in developed markets. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit or obligation of any bank, is not endorsed or guaranteed by any bank and is not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) or any other government agency. You may lose money by investing in the Fund. ETF Structure Risks. The Fund is structured as an ETF and is subject to risks related to exchange trading, including: <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; width: 72%; margin-left: 27.2%; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"> <tr style="vertical-align: top"> <td style="width: 13.5pt"> </td> <td style="width: 13.5pt; vertical-align: top; text-align: right"> ● </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left"> The Fund’s shares are listed for trading on a national securities exchange (the “Exchange”) and are bought and sold on the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Fund shares will typically approximate the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”), there may be times when the market price reflects a significant premium or discount to NAV, including during periods of high market volatility or other unusual market conditions. </td> </tr> </table> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; width: 72%; margin-left: 27.2%; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"> <tr style="vertical-align: top"> <td style="width: 13.5pt"> </td> <td style="width: 13.5pt; vertical-align: top; text-align: right"> ● </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left"> Although the Fund’s shares are listed on the Exchange, it is possible that an active trading market in the Fund’s shares may not be maintained. </td> </tr> </table> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; width: 72%; margin-left: 27.2%; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"> <tr style="vertical-align: top"> <td style="width: 13.5pt"> </td> <td style="width: 13.5pt; vertical-align: top; text-align: right"> ● </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left"> The Fund could potentially face trading halts and/or delisting from the Exchange. This risk is heightened in times of market stress, including at both the Fund share level and at the Fund holdings level. </td> </tr> </table> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; width: 72%; margin-left: 27.2%; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"> <tr style="vertical-align: top"> <td style="width: 13.5pt"> </td> <td style="width: 13.5pt; vertical-align: top; text-align: right"> ● </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left"> Only an authorized participant (an “Authorized Participant”) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund, and none of those Authorized Participants is obligated to engage in creation and/or redemption transactions. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as Authorized Participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units, Fund shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts or delisting. </td> </tr> </table> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; width: 72%; margin-left: 27.2%; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"> <tr style="vertical-align: top"> <td style="width: 13.5pt"> </td> <td style="width: 13.5pt; vertical-align: top; text-align: right"> ● </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left"> To the extent that the Fund effects its creation and redemptions in cash, as it intends regularly to do, the Fund may need to sell securities to generate the necessary funds for a redemption. Such sales may result in the Fund realizing capital gains, which under applicable tax regulations must be distributed to all shareholders, leading to potential tax liabilities for shareholders that would not have been incurred had the redemptions been in-kind. Such cash redemptions may also result in the Fund incurring brokerage costs that might not have been incurred if the purchase or redemption of Creation Units were effected in kind, and the imposition of such costs may decrease the Fund’s net asset value. The use of cash creations and redemptions may also cause the Fund’s shares to trade in the market at wider bid-ask spreads or greater premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV. </td> </tr> </table> Foreign Investment Risk: Foreign securities involve risks in addition to the risks typically associated with investing in U.S. securities, and the market prices of many foreign securities fluctuate more than those of U.S. securities. Many foreign securities markets are less stable, smaller, less liquid, and less regulated than U.S. securities markets. The cost of trading in those markets is often higher than in U.S. securities markets, and subjects the Fund to taxation by countries other than the U.S. In addition, foreign issuers often are subject to less regulation than U.S. issuers. Foreign securities may be adversely affected by various factors, including currency fluctuations and social, economic, or political instability. These risks are particularly pronounced for emerging markets. Foreign Currency Transaction Risk: Funds that invest directly in foreign currencies and in securities that trade in, or receive revenues in, foreign currencies are subject to the risk that those currencies will fluctuate in value relative to the U.S. dollar. Market Risk: The possibility that the Fund’s stock holdings will decline in price because of a stock market decline or other domestic, regional, or global events. Markets generally move in cycles, with periods of rising prices followed by periods of falling prices. The value of your investment will tend to increase or decrease in response to these movements. Investment Style Risk: The possibility that a market segment on which this Fund focuses - foreign stocks - will underperform other kinds of investments or market averages. There can be no guarantee that the factors that the Fund’s investment adviser considers in selecting stocks, and the weight that the adviser puts on each factor, will be effective in identifying and capitalizing on stock price anomalies. Derivatives Risk: The possibility that the Fund will suffer a loss from its use of derivatives. The primary risk with many derivatives is that they can amplify a gain or loss, potentially earning or losing substantially more money than the actual cost of the derivative instrument. It is possible that the Fund’s liquid assets may be insufficient to support its obligations under its derivatives positions. The Fund’s use of derivatives such as futures transactions and swap transactions involves other risks, such as the credit risk relating to the other party to a derivative contract (which is heightened for over-the-counter swaps and other derivatives as compared to centrally cleared derivatives), the risk of difficulties in pricing and valuation, and the risk that changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with relevant assets, rates or indices. There is also the risk that the Fund may be unable to terminate or sell a derivatives position at an advantageous time or price. Options Risk: There are significant differences between the securities and options markets that could result in an imperfect correlation between these markets, causing an options transaction not to achieve its objectives. A decision as to whether, when and how to use options involves the exercise of skill and judgment, and even a well conceived transaction may be unsuccessful to some degree because of market behavior or unexpected events. There can be no assurance that a liquid secondary market will exist for any particular option at a particular time; as a result, it may be costly to liquidate options. There is also no assurance that a liquid market will exist for any particular option contract on an exchange. Forward Foreign Currency Contracts Risk: A forward currency contract is an agreement between two parties to buy and sell a currency at a set price on a future date. The market value of a forward currency contract fluctuates with changes in foreign currency exchange rates. While forward foreign currency exchange contracts do not eliminate fluctuations in the value of foreign securities, they do allow the Fund to establish a fixed rate of exchange for a future point in time. Use of such contracts, therefore, can have the effect of reducing returns and minimizing opportunities for gain. The Fund could also lose money when the contract is settled. Futures Contracts Risk: The volatility of futures contracts prices has been historically greater than the volatility of stocks and bonds. The liquidity of the futures market depends on participants entering into offsetting transactions rather than making or taking delivery. To the extent participants decide to make or take delivery, liquidity in the futures market could be reduced. Swap Risk: A swap is a contract that generally obligates the parties to exchange payments based on a specified reference security, basket of securities, security index or index component. Swaps can involve greater risks than direct investment in securities because swaps may be leveraged and are subject to counterparty risk (e.g., the risk of a counterparty defaulting on the obligation or bankruptcy), credit risk and valuation risk (i.e., swaps may be difficult to value). Certain swaps may also be considered illiquid. It may not be possible for the Fund to liquidate a swap position at an advantageous time or price, which may result in significant losses. Liquidity Risk: The possibility that certain securities may be difficult or impossible to sell at the time and the price that would normally prevail in the market. The seller may have to lower the price, sell other securities instead or forego an investment opportunity, any of which could have a negative effect on Fund management or performance. Company-Specific Risk: The possibility that a particular stock may lose value due to factors specific to the company itself, including deterioration of its fundamental characteristics, an occurrence of adverse events at the company, or a downturn in its business prospects. Large Capitalization Company Risk: Investments in large capitalization companies generally exhibit less price volatility than smaller-cap companies and typically offer more stability but may carry specific risks like slower growth, overvaluation, macroeconomic sensitivity, concentration risk, and difficulty adapting to disruptive innovations. Mid Capitalization Company Risk: Investments in middle capitalization companies may be riskier, more volatile and more vulnerable to economic, market and industry changes than investments in larger, more established companies. As a result, share price changes may be more sudden or erratic than the prices of other equity securities, especially over the short term. Small Capitalization Company Risk: Investing in smaller, lesser-known companies involves greater risk than investing in those that are more established. A small company’s financial well-being may, for example, depend heavily on just a few products or services. In addition, small company stocks tend to trade less frequently and in lesser quantities, and their market prices often fluctuate more, than those of larger firms. ETF Risk: The risks associated with investing in ETFs include the risks of owning the underlying securities the ETF is designed to track. Lack of liquidity in an ETF could result in the ETF being more volatile than the underlying portfolio of securities. When the Fund invests in an ETF, in addition to directly bearing expenses associated with its own operations, the Fund will bear a pro rata portion of the ETF’s expenses. As a result, it may be more costly to own an ETF than owning the underlying portfolio of securities directly. Emerging Markets Risk: The risks associated with foreign investments (see “Foreign Investment Risk” above) are particularly pronounced in connection with investments in emerging markets. Developed Market Risk. Investing in securities of companies located in, or with exposure to, developed countries will subject the Fund to the regulatory, political, currency, security, economic and other risks associated with such countries. In recent periods, countries with developed markets have generally experienced slower economic growth than some less developed countries. Services sectors (e.g., the financial services sector) generally tend to represent the primary source of economic growth in developed markets, which can make them susceptible to the risks of individual service sectors. In addition, developed countries will be impacted by changes to the economic conditions of certain key trading partners, regulatory burdens, and the price or availability of certain commodities, among other things. Active Trading Risk: The Fund may trade securities actively, which could increase its transaction costs (thereby lowering its performance) and may increase the amount of taxes that a shareholder pays, by increasing the amount of the Fund’s realized capital gains and increasing the portion of the Fund’s realized capital gains that are short-term capital gains. Operational and Technology Risk: Cyber-attacks, disruptions, or failures that affect the Fund’s service providers, counterparties, market participants, or issuers of securities held by the Fund may adversely affect the Fund and its shareholders, including by causing losses for the Fund or impairing Fund operations. Focused Investment Risk: Investments focused in asset classes, countries, regions, sectors, industries, or issuers that are subject to the same or similar risk factors and investments whose prices are closely correlated are subject to greater overall risk than investments that are more diversified or whose prices are not as closely correlated. Management Risk: The risk that an investment technique used by the Fund’s portfolio manager may fail to produce the intended result. New Fund Risk: Because the Fund is new, it has a relatively small number of shareholders and assets under management. As a result, the portfolio managers may experience difficulties in fully implementing the Fund’s investment program and may be less able to respond to increases in shareholder transaction activity. The Fund’s limited operating history could make it more difficult to evaluate the performance of the portfolio managers and the Fund’s investment strategies. In addition, there can be no assurance that the Fund will ultimately grow to an economically viable size, which could lead to the Fund eventually ceasing its operations. Performance <p id="xdx_A86_eoef--PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock_z1YhT8mq1lD6" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; text-align: left; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; padding-left: 27.27%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt">Because the Fund has not yet commenced investment operations, no performance information is presented for the Fund at this time. In the future, performance information will be presented in this section of this prospectus. Updated performance information is available at no cost by visiting www.sterlingcapitalfunds.com or by calling 1-888-637-7798. Because the Fund has not yet commenced investment operations, no performance information is presented for the Fund at this time. www.sterlingcapitalfunds.com 1-888-637-7798 Sterling Capital AI Leaders ETF Investment Objective <p id="xdx_A8A_eoef--ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock_zhGPlccxa2nc" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; text-align: left; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; padding-left: 27.27%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt">The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation. Fee Table <p id="xdx_A84_eoef--ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock_zG7T5DYykolk" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; text-align: left; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; padding-left: 27.27%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt">This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. The investment advisory agreement between Sterling Capital Funds (the “Trust”) and Sterling Capital Management LLC (“Sterling Capital” or the “Adviser”) (the “Investment Advisory Agreement”) provides that the Adviser will pay all operating expenses of the Fund, except the Management Fees set forth in the table below, Distribution and Service (Rule 12b-1) Fees, distribution expenses, investment related expenses of any kind, borrowing and other investment-related costs and fees, acquired fund fees and expenses, interest expenses, taxes and governmental fees, litigation and indemnification fees and expenses of any kind, custody or other expenses attributable to negative interest rates on investments or cash, short dividend expense, salaries and other compensation or expenses, including travel expenses, of any of the Trust’s executive officers and employees, if any, who are not officers, directors, shareholders, members, partners or employees of the Adviser or its subsidiaries or affiliates, organizational and offering expenses of the Trust and the Fund, costs related to any meetings of shareholders, fees or expenses incurred in connection with securities lending, any other expenses which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, extraordinary expenses, and such other expenses as may be approved by the Fund’s Board. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) 0.0075 0 0.0000 0.0075 Example <p id="xdx_A8C_eoef--ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock_zoChV9msR0c5" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; text-align: left; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; padding-left: 27.27%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt">This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be: 77 240 Portfolio Turnover <p id="xdx_A87_eoef--PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock_zZVZYxLcGXz" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; text-align: left; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; padding-left: 27.27%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt">The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund has not yet commenced operations as of the date of this prospectus, no portfolio turnover information is available. Strategy, Risks and Performance Principal Strategy <p id="xdx_A83_eoef--StrategyNarrativeTextBlock_zLf8Mdmisjj1" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; text-align: left; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; padding-left: 27.27%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt">The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”). The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing primarily in equity securities of companies that Guardian Capital LP, the Fund’s sub-adviser (the “Sub-Adviser”) identifies as being positioned to benefit from the investment, development, deployment, or adoption, of artificial intelligence (“AI”) technologies. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets plus borrowings for investment purposes in securities of AI Technology company leaders. <span class="xdx_phnt_RGlzY2xvc3VyZSAtIEludmVzdG1lbnQgU3RyYXRlZ3kA" id="xdx_90A_efnd--NmRule35d1EightyPctInvstmntPlcyTextBlock_c20261111__20261111__dei--LegalEntityAxis__custom--S000111288Member_zx7mq64gOGaa">This investment policy is not fundamental, and if the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. For purposes of the Fund’s 80% investment policy, AI Technology companies are businesses listed globally that either have meaningful exposure to businesses that generate revenue from AI-related activities or are investing heavily in AI technology. Investments in derivatives are counted toward the Fund’s 80% policy to the extent that they provide investment exposure to the securities included within that policy or to one or more market risk factors associated with such securities. The Fund’s investment team identifies AI Technology companies and AI Technology company “leaders” using a systematic, rules-based process in which the Sub-Adviser compiles, reviews and analyzes publicly available information about companies and their nexus to AI. Publicly available information includes, but is not limited to, company announcements, press releases and reports, SEC filings, regulatory reports, financial statements and other financial information, and earnings call transcripts (collectively, “Company Public Information”). Each company receives two ratings: an AI Centrality rating and an AI Economic Output rating. AI Centrality is measured on a scale of 0 to 4 and measures how central AI is to the company’s core business and whether a company has meaningful exposure to AI-related activities or is investing heavily in AI technology. The scale runs from no material relevance (0) to providing foundational AI infrastructure, such as AI chips or large-scale cloud computing (4). AI Economic Impact is measured on a scale from low to high and measures whether AI is affecting the company’s reported financial results, such as revenue, orders, pricing, margins and capital spending. Each company is also assigned to a category along the AI value chain, from energy and semiconductor equipment through AI models and applications. An “AI Technology” company is a company rated at least 2 for AI Centrality and at least medium for AI Economic Impact. A “leader” is an AI Technology company rated at least 3 for AI Centrality and high for AI Economic Impact. Companies satisfying both criteria are considered AI Technology company leaders for purposes of the Fund’s 80% investment policy. Ratings are updated periodically based on analysis and review of the publicly available information described above. The Fund will operate as a non-diversified fund under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), which means that it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. The Fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or more of its total assets) in securities of companies with principal business activities in groups of industries that comprise the information technology sector. The Fund utilizes a proprietary investment process that consists of three principal phases: (i) creating an investable universe of AI Technology companies through AI-powered company identification, (ii) evaluating and ranking those companies using a proprietary AI-driven analytical system, and (iii) applying portfolio management review and discretion to construct the Fund’s portfolio. Investment Process The Sub-Adviser utilizes a proprietary AI-powered agentic research process (the “AI Agent”) to assist the Sub-Adviser in compiling, reviewing and analyzing Company Public Information. The AI Agent scans and extracts Company Public Information to identify companies that are actively investing in AI technology through either the development of critical AI infrastructure technology or the investment in AI solutions to improve their current business structure, which in turn are used to generate the Sub-Adviser’s AI Centrality and AI Economic Output ratings. After a company has received sufficient ratings to be included in the investable universe of AI Technology companies, the Sub-Adviser evaluates each company through a proprietary investment analytics platform that utilizes an ensemble methodology that incorporates multiple AI models and analytical techniques, including machine learning, deep learning, and large language models. The system analyzes a broad range of Company Public Information. Through this analysis AI Centrality and AI Economic ratings are further analyzed and refined and AI Technology company leaders are identified for investment. All ratings are subject to review by the Sub-Adviser’s portfolio management team. The portfolio management team evaluates the highest-ranked companies and typically performs additional analysis of company-specific fundamentals, valuation considerations, market conditions, industry developments, macroeconomic factors, and portfolio-level risk characteristics. The team also reviews potential investments for consistency with the Fund’s investment objective, portfolio guidelines, and risk management parameters. While the Sub-Adviser uses information generated by these AI systems in making investment decisions and adjusting portfolio positions, the Sub-Adviser’s portfolio management team retains full authority and discretion over all investment decisions and is not required to purchase, hold, or sell any security based solely on recommendations generated by the AI systems. In addition, the Manager may determine to rely on a different database or selection process to construct or modify the portfolio in order to meet the Fund’s investment objective and strategies. The Fund will invest primarily in equity securities of issuers located or organized in the United States. However, the Fund may also invest in non-U.S. issuers, including through investments in American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”). The Fund may invest in securities of any market capitalization. Use of Artificial Intelligence The Fund’s investment process incorporates AI technologies as decision-support tools. These technologies are used to assist in identifying potential investment opportunities, analyzing information, and generating security rankings. AI models are not used to make final investment decisions for the Fund. All investment decisions are made by the Sub-Adviser, which maintains ultimate responsibility and discretion for the management of the Fund’s portfolio. This investment policy is not fundamental, and if the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. For purposes of the Fund’s 80% investment policy, AI Technology companies are businesses listed globally that either have meaningful exposure to businesses that generate revenue from AI-related activities or are investing heavily in AI technology. Investments in derivatives are counted toward the Fund’s 80% policy to the extent that they provide investment exposure to the securities included within that policy or to one or more market risk factors associated with such securities. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit or obligation of any bank, is not endorsed or guaranteed by any bank and is not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) or any other government agency. You may lose money by investing in the Fund. ETF Structure Risks: The Fund is structured as an ETF and is subject to risks related to exchange trading, including: <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; width: 72%; margin-left: 27.2%; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"> <tr style="vertical-align: top"> <td style="width: 13.5pt"> </td> <td style="width: 13.5pt; vertical-align: top; text-align: right"> ● </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left"> The Fund’s shares are listed for trading on a national securities exchange (the “Exchange”) and are bought and sold on the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Fund shares will typically approximate the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”), there may be times when the market price reflects a significant premium or discount to NAV, including during periods of high market volatility or other unusual market conditions. </td> </tr> </table> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; width: 72%; margin-left: 27.2%; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"> <tr style="vertical-align: top"> <td style="width: 13.5pt"> </td> <td style="width: 13.5pt; vertical-align: top; text-align: right"> ● </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left"> Although the Fund’s shares are listed on the Exchange, it is possible that an active trading market in the Fund’s shares may not be maintained. </td> </tr> </table> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; width: 72%; margin-left: 27.2%; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"> <tr style="vertical-align: top"> <td style="width: 13.5pt"> </td> <td style="width: 13.5pt; vertical-align: top; text-align: right"> ● </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left"> The Fund could potentially face trading halts and/or delisting from the Exchange. This risk is heightened in times of market stress, including at both the Fund share level and at the Fund holdings level. </td> </tr> </table> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; width: 72%; margin-left: 27.2%; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"> <tr style="vertical-align: top"> <td style="width: 13.5pt"> </td> <td style="width: 13.5pt; vertical-align: top; text-align: right"> ● </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left"> Only an authorized participant (an “Authorized Participant”) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund, and none of those Authorized Participants is obligated to engage in creation and/or redemption transactions. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as Authorized Participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units, Fund shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts or delisting. </td> </tr> </table> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; width: 72%; margin-left: 27.2%; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"> <tr style="vertical-align: top"> <td style="width: 13.5pt"> </td> <td style="width: 13.5pt; vertical-align: top; text-align: right"> ● </td> <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left"> To the extent that the Fund effects its creation and redemptions in cash, as it intends regularly to do, the Fund may need to sell securities to generate the necessary funds for a redemption. Such sales may result in the Fund realizing capital gains, which under applicable tax regulations must be distributed to all shareholders, leading to potential tax liabilities for shareholders that would not have been incurred had the redemptions been in-kind. Such cash redemptions may also result in the Fund incurring brokerage costs that might not have been incurred if the purchase or redemption of Creation Units were effected in kind, and the imposition of such costs may decrease the Fund’s net asset value. The use of cash creations and redemptions may also cause the Fund’s shares to trade in the market at wider bid-ask spreads or greater premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV. </td> </tr> </table> AI Risk: The Fund’s portfolio managers, the Fund and the issuers in which they invest, service providers, and other market participants may utilize AI technologies in investment and business operations. It is possible that the information provided through use of AI could be insufficient, incomplete, inaccurate or biased leading to adverse effects for the Fund, including, potentially, operational errors and investment losses. The legal and regulatory frameworks within which AI technologies operate continue to rapidly evolve, and it is not possible to predict the full extent of current or future risks related thereto. Technology Sector Risk: The Fund will invest substantially in companies in the information technology sector, and therefore the performance of the Fund could be negatively impacted by events affecting this sector. Market or economic factors impacting technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technological advances could have a significant effect on the value of the Fund’s investments. The value of stocks of information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology is particularly vulnerable to rapid changes in technology product cycles, rapid product obsolescence, government regulation and competition, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Stocks of information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology, especially those of smaller, less-seasoned companies, tend to be more volatile than the overall market. Information technology companies are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights, the loss or impairment of which may adversely affect profitability. Quantitative Model Risk: The Fund’s portfolio managers may use quantitative models as part of their investment process. Securities or other investments selected using quantitative methods may perform differently from the market as a whole or from their expected performance for many reasons, including factors used in building the quantitative analytical framework, the weights placed on each factor, and changing sources of market returns. There can be no assurance that these methodologies will produce the desired results or enable the Fund to achieve its objectives. A given model may be more effective with certain instruments or strategies than others, and there can be no assurance that any model can identify and incorporate all factors that will affect an investment’s price or performance. When models prove to be incorrect or incomplete, including because data is stale, missing or unavailable, any decisions made in reliance thereon expose the Fund to potential risks. Models rely on correct data inputs. If incorrect data is entered into even a well-founded model, the resulting information will be incorrect. Concentration Risk: The risk that a Fund’s concentration in certain investments, or certain sectors, may produce a greater risk of loss than a more diversified mutual fund. Foreign Investment Risk: Foreign securities involve risks not typically associated with investing in U.S. securities. Foreign securities may be adversely affected by various factors, including currency fluctuations and social, economic or political instability. These risks are particularly pronounced for emerging markets. Market Risk: The possibility that the Fund’s stock holdings will decline in price because of a stock market decline or other domestic, regional, or global events. Markets generally move in cycles, with periods of rising prices followed by periods of falling prices. The value of your investment will tend to increase or decrease in response to these movements. Large Capitalization Company Risk: Investments in large capitalization companies generally exhibit less price volatility than smaller-cap companies and typically offer more stability but may carry specific risks like slower growth, overvaluation, macroeconomic sensitivity, concentration risk, and difficulty adapting to disruptive innovations. Mid Capitalization Company Risk: Investments in middle capitalization companies may be riskier, more volatile and more vulnerable to economic, market and industry changes than investments in larger, more established companies. As a result, share price changes may be more sudden or erratic than the prices of other equity securities, especially over the short term. Small Capitalization Company Risk: Investing in smaller, lesser-known companies involves greater risk than investing in those that are more established. A small company’s financial well-being may, for example, depend heavily on just a few products or services. In addition, small company stocks tend to trade less frequently and in lesser quantities, and their market prices often fluctuate more, than those of larger firms. Artificial Intelligence Related Companies Risk: Companies involved in, or exposed to, AI-related businesses may be significantly affected by rapid technological change, obsolescence, evolving government regulation, short product cycles, shifting consumer and business preferences, competition for and retention of skilled employees, cybersecurity incidents and intense competition generally, all of which could adversely affect AI companies’ business operations and financial performance. AI companies are also potential targets for cyberattacks, which can have a materially adverse impact on the performance of these companies. AI companies, especially smaller companies, tend to be more volatile than companies that do not rely heavily on technology. Companies that fail to anticipate or adapt to changes in AI technology, or that cannot fund the substantial research, development, and infrastructure investments needed to remain competitive, may experience reduced profitability or business failure. Companies that adopt AI technologies to develop or enhance their products, services, or business processes may face additional risks, such as the possibility of such technologies not performing as anticipated or expected. There can be no assurance that a company considered to be a leader in or significantly exposed to AI will maintain its competitive position or successfully benefit from the development or adoption of AI. Investment Style Risk: The possibility that the market segment on which this Fund focuses - AI company stocks - will underperform other kinds of investments or market averages. Non-Diversified Risk: Because the Fund is non-diversified, it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in a particular issuer compared with other funds. Accordingly, the Fund’s portfolio may be more sensitive to changes in the market value of a single issuer or industry. Company-Specific Risk: The possibility that a particular stock may lose value due to factors specific to the company itself, including deterioration of its fundamental characteristics, an occurrence of adverse events at the company, or a downturn in its business prospects. Active Trading Risk: The Fund may trade securities actively, which could increase its transaction costs (thereby lowering its performance) and may increase the amount of taxes that a shareholder pays, by increasing the amount of the Fund’s realized capital gains and increasing the portion of the Fund’s realized capital gains that are short-term capital gains. Operational and Technology Risk: Cyber-attacks, disruptions, or failures that affect the Fund’s service providers, counterparties, market participants, or issuers of securities held by the Fund may adversely affect the Fund and its shareholders, including by causing losses for the Fund or impairing Fund operations. Focused Investment Risk: Investments focused in asset classes, countries, regions, sectors, industries, or issuers that are subject to the same or similar risk factors and investments whose prices are closely correlated are subject to greater overall risk than investments that are more diversified or whose prices are not as closely correlated. Management Risk: The risk that an investment technique used by the Fund’s portfolio manager may fail to produce the intended result. New Fund Risk: Because the Fund is new, it has a relatively small number of shareholders and assets under management. As a result, the portfolio managers may experience difficulties in fully implementing the Fund’s investment program and may be less able to respond to increases in shareholder transaction activity. The Fund’s limited operating history could make it more difficult to evaluate the performance of the portfolio managers and the Fund’s investment strategies. In addition, there can be no assurance that the Fund will ultimately grow to an economically viable size, which could lead to the Fund eventually ceasing its operations. Performance <p id="xdx_A86_eoef--PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock_zpceRYKx5TWf" style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; text-align: left; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; padding-left: 27.27%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt">Because the Fund has not yet commenced investment operations, no performance information is presented for the Fund at this time. In the future, performance information will be presented in this section of this prospectus. Updated performance information is available at no cost by visiting www.sterlingcapitalfunds.com or by calling 1-888-637-7798. Because the Fund has not yet commenced investment operations, no performance information is presented for the Fund at this time. www.sterlingcapitalfunds.com 1-888-637-7798 The Fund has adopted a Rule 12b-1 Distribution Plan, and the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) has authorized a 12b-1 fee not to exceed 0.25% of the average daily net assets of Fund shares. No Distribution and Service (12b-1) fee is currently paid by the Fund or will be made during the first twelve (12) month period from the date of this prospectus. Thereafter, 12b-1 fees may only be imposed after approval by the Fund’s Board. Amounts have been estimated for the current fiscal year. “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses” (“AFFE”) are estimated based on indirect net expenses associated with the Fund’s investments in underlying investment companies, including business development companies, that are investment companies or would be an investment company but for an exception to that definition provided for in Sections 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act (each, an “Acquired Fund”). Some of the Acquired Funds in which the Fund will invest charge carried interest, incentive fees or incentive allocations based on such Acquired Funds’ performance. The AFFE disclosed above are based on estimated expected fees and expenses, and future AFFE may be substantially higher or lower because certain fees are based on the performance of the Acquired Funds, which may fluctuate over time. AFFE reflects operating expenses of the Acquired Funds (i.e., management fees, administration fees and professional and other direct, fixed fees and expenses of the Acquired Funds). The AFFE do not, however, reflect any performance-based fees or allocations paid by the Acquired Funds that are calculated solely on the realization and/or distribution of gains, or on the sum of such gains and unrealized appreciation of assets distributed in-kind. The Fund has adopted a Rule 12b-1 Distribution Plan, and the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) has authorized a 12b-1 fee not to exceed 0.25% of the average daily net assets of Fund shares. No Distribution and Service (12b-1) fee is currently paid by the Fund or will be made during the first twelve (12) month period from the date of this prospectus. Thereafter, 12b-1 fees may only be imposed after approval by the Fund’s Board. Amounts have been estimated for the current fiscal year. The Fund has adopted a Rule 12b-1 Distribution Plan, and the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) has authorized a 12b-1 fee not to exceed 0.25% of the average daily net assets of Fund shares. No Distribution and Service (12b-1) fee is currently paid by the Fund or will be made during the first twelve (12) month period from the date of this prospectus. Thereafter, 12b-1 fees may only be imposed after approval by the Fund’s Board. Amounts have been estimated for the current fiscal year.