485APOS 1 acibf20140425_485apos.htm FORM 485APOS acibf20140425_485apos.htm

As Filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on May 1, 2014

1933 Act File No. 033-43321

1940 Act File No. 811-06441

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

__________________

 

FORM N-1A

__________________

   

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

   

Pre-Effective Amendment No.

   

Post-Effective Amendment No. 42

   

and/or

   

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940

   

Amendment No. 43

(Check appropriate box or boxes.)

__________________

 

American Century International Bond Funds

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

__________________

 

4500 MAIN STREET, KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI 64111

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)(Zip Code)

 

REGISTRANT'S TELEPHONE NUMBER, INCLUDING AREA CODE: (816) 531-5575

 

CHARLES A. ETHERINGTON

4500 MAIN STREET, KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI 64111

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

 

Approximate Date of Proposed Public Offering: July 24, 2014

 
   

It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box)

 

immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)

on (date) pursuant to paragraph (b)

60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)

on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)

75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2)

on July 24, 2014, at 8:30 a.m. Central pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485.

   

If appropriate, check the following box:

   

this post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment.

 

 
 

 

 

July 24, 2014  

 

American Century Investments

Prospectus

 

 

 

Emerging Markets Debt Fund

   Investor Class (XXXXX)

   Institutional Class (XXXXX)

   A Class (XXXXX)

   C Class (XXXXX)

   R Class (XXXXX)

   R6 Class (XXXXX)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Securities and Exchange Commission has
not approved or disapproved these securities or
passed upon the adequacy of this prospectus. Any
representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

 

 
 

 

 

 Table of Contents

 

Fund Summary

2

Investment Objective

2

Fees and Expenses

2

Principal Investment Strategies

3

Principal Risks

3

Fund Performance

4

Portfolio Management

4

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

5

Tax Information

5

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

5

Objectives, Strategies and Risks

6

Management

8

Investing Directly with American Century Investments

10

Investing Through a Financial Intermediary

12

Additional Policies Affecting Your Investment

17

Share Price and Distributions

21

Taxes

23

Multiple Class Information

25

 

 

©2014 American Century Proprietary Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.  

 
 

 

 

Fund Summary

 

Investment Objective

 

The fund seeks long-term total return.

 

Fees and Expenses

 

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $100,000 in American Century Investments funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in Calculation of Sales Charges on page 14 of the fund’s prospectus and Sales Charges in Appendix B of the statement of additional information.

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

 

Investor

Institutional

A

C

R

R6

Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on
Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)

None

None

4.50%

None

None

None

Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a
percentage of the lower of the original offering
price or redemption proceeds when redeemed
within one year of purchase)

None

None

None1

1.00%

None

None

Maximum Annual Account Maintenance Fee
(waived if eligible investments total at least $10,000)

$25

None

None

None

None

None

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

Investor

Institutional

A

C

R

R6

Management Fee

0.96%

0.76%

0.96%

0.96%

0.96%

0.71%

Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees

None

None

0.25%

1.00%

0.50%

None

Other Expenses

0.01%

0.01%

0.01%

0.01%

0.01%

0.01%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.97%

0.77%

1.22%

1.97%

1.47%

0.72%

 

1

Investments of $1 million or more may be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% if the shares are redeemed within one year of the date of purchase.

 

Example

 

The example below is intended to help you compare the costs of investing in the fund with the costs of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you  invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods, that you earn 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:

 

 

1 year

3 years

Investor Class

  $99

$310

Institutional Class

  $79

$246

A Class

$569

$820

C Class

$200

$619

R Class

$150

$466

R6 Class

  $74

$231

 

Portfolio Turnover

 

The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s performance. Because the fund is new, the fund’s portfolio turnover is not available.

 

 
2

 

 

Principal Investment Strategies

 

Under normal market conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in fixed income instruments of issuers that are economically tied to emerging markets. The fund will invest in debt instruments issued by foreign governments and corporations. Investments will typically be made in U.S. dollar denominated instruments, but may be denominated in local emerging markets currency as well.

 

The fund considers an emerging market to be one of the countries included in the JP Morgan Corporate Emerging Markets Bond Index. As of the date of this prospectus, those countries include: Argentina, Bahrain, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Nigeria, Oman, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan Province of China, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine and United Arab Emirates.     

 

The fund may invest without limitation in both investment grade and high-yield securities. A high-yield security is one that has been rated below the four highest categories used by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization, or determined by the investment advisor to be of similar quality.

 

The fund also invests in derivative instruments, including foreign currency exchange contracts, in order to shift its investment exposure from one currency into another for hedging purposes or to enhance returns. The fund may also invest in other types of derivative instruments such as futures contracts and swap agreements in order to manage duration, credit exposure and country exposure.

 

To determine whether to buy or sell a security, the portfolio managers consider, among other things, various fund requirements and standards, along with economic conditions, alternative investments, interest rates and whether to alter geographic or currency exposure.

 

Principal Risks

Foreign Securities Risk – The fund may invest in foreign securities, which are generally riskier than U.S. securities. As a result the fund may be subject to foreign risk, meaning that political events (such as civil unrest, national elections and imposition of exchange controls), social and economic events (such as labor strikes and rising inflation), and natural disasters occurring in a country where the fund invests could cause the fund’s investments in that country to experience losses. For these and other reasons, securities of foreign issuers may be less liquid, more volatile and harder to value than U.S. securities.

Emerging Market Risk – Investing in securities of companies located in emerging market countries generally is also riskier than investing in securities of companies located in foreign developed countries. Emerging market countries may have unstable governments and/or economies that are subject to sudden change. These changes may be magnified by the countries’ emergent financial markets, resulting in significant volatility to investments in these countries. These countries also may lack the legal, business and social framework to support securities markets.

Currency Risk – Because the fund may invest in securities denominated in foreign currencies, the fund may be subject to currency risk, meaning that the fund could experience gains or losses based solely on changes in the exchange rate between foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar.

Credit Risk – Debt securities, especially high-yield debt securities, are subject to credit risk. Credit risk is the risk that the inability or perceived inability of the issuer to make interest and principal payments will cause the value of the securities to decrease. As a result the fund’s share price could also decrease. Changes in the credit rating of a debt security held by the fund could have a similar effect. Issuers of high-yield securities are more vulnerable to real or perceived economic changes (such as an economic down turn or a prolonged period or rising interest rates), political changes or adverse developments specific to an issuer.

Interest Rate Risk – Investments in debt securities are sensitive to interest rate changes. Generally, the value of debt securities and the funds that hold them decline as interest rates rise. The fund’s investments are designed to reduce this risk. Interest rate risk, however, is generally higher for the fund than for funds that have a shorter-weighted average maturity, such as money market funds and short-term bond funds. The fund will also be exposed to interest rate risk outside of the U.S. where interest rate trends may differ from the U.S.

Liquidity Risk – The fund may also be subject to liquidity risk. During periods of market turbulence or unusually low trading activity, in order to meet redemptions it may be necessary for the fund to sell securities at prices that could have an adverse effect on the fund’s price.

Single Country Risk – Investing a significant portion of assets in one country or region makes the fund more dependent upon the political and economic circumstances of that particular country or region than a fund that is more widely diversified.

 

 
3

 

 

Derivative Risk  The use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional instruments. Derivatives are subject to a number of risks, including liquidity, interest rate, market, credit, and correlation risk.

Nondiversification – The fund is classified as nondiversified. A nondiversified fund may invest a greater percentage of its assets in a smaller number of securities than a diversified fund. This gives the portfolio managers the flexibility to hold large positions in a smaller number of securities. If so, a price change in any one of those securities may have a greater impact on the fund’s share price than would be the case in a diversified fund and the fund may be more volatile than if it was diversified.

Redemption Risk –The fund may need to sell securities at times it would not otherwise do so in order to meet shareholder redemption requests. Selling securities to meet such redemptions may cause the fund to experience a loss, increase the fund's transaction costs or have tax consequences. To the extent that a large shareholder (including a fund of funds or 529 college savings plan) invests in the fund, the fund may experience relatively large redemptions as such shareholder reallocates its assets.

Market Risk – The risk that the value of securities owned by the fund may go up and down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably.

Principal Loss – At any given time your shares may be worth less than the price you paid for them. In other words, it is possible to lose money by investing in the fund.

 

An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit, and it is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency.

 

Fund Performance

 

The fund’s performance history is not available as of the date of this prospectus. When the fund has investment results for a full calendar year, this section will feature charts that show annual total returns, highest and lowest quarterly returns and average annual total returns for the fund. This information indicates the volatility of the fund’s historical returns from year to year. For current performance information, including yields, please visit americancentury.com.

 

Performance information is designed to help you see how fund returns can vary. Keep in mind that past performance (before and after taxes) does not predict how the fund will perform in the future.

 

Portfolio Management

 

Investment Advisor

 

American Century Investment Management, Inc.

 

Portfolio Managers

 

Margé Karner, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager, has served on teams managing fixed-income investments for American Century Investments since joining the advisor in 2014.

 

John A. Lovito, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager, has served on teams managing fixed-income investments for American Century Investments since joining the advisor in 2009.

 

Brian Howell, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager, has served on teams managing fixed-income investments for American Century Investments since joining the advisor in 1987.

 

Kevin Akioka, CFA, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager, has served on teams managing fixed-income investments for American Century Investments since joining the advisor in 2010.

 

 
4

 

 

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

 

You may purchase or redeem shares of the fund on any business day through our website at americancentury.com, in person (at one of our Investor Centers), by mail (American Century Investments, P.O. Box 419200, Kansas City, MO 64141-6200), by telephone at 1-800-345-2021 (Investor Services Representative) or 1-800-345-3533 (Business, Not-For-Profit and Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans), or through a financial intermediary. Shares may be purchased and redemption proceeds received by electronic bank transfer, by check or by wire.

 

Unless otherwise specified below, the minimum initial investment amount to open an account is $2,500 ($2,000 for Coverdell Education Savings Accounts). Investors opening accounts through financial intermediaries may open an account with $250 for all classes except the Institutional and R6 Classes, but the financial intermediaries may require their clients to meet different investment minimums. The minimum may be waived for broker-dealer sponsored wrap program accounts, fee based accounts, and accounts through bank/trust and wealth management advisory organizations.

 

The minimum initial investment amount for Institutional Class is generally $5 million ($3 million for endowments and foundations), but the minimum may be waived if you, or your financial intermediary if you invest through an omnibus account, have an aggregate investment in the American Century family of funds of $10 million or more.

 

There is no minimum initial investment amount for R6 Class shares.

 

For all share classes, there is no minimum initial investment amount for certain employer-sponsored retirement plans, however, financial intermediaries or plan recordkeepers may require plans to meet different minimums. For purposes of fund minimums, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs or SARSEPs.

 

There is a $50 minimum for subsequent purchases, except that there is no subsequent purchase minimum for financial intermediaries or employer-sponsored retirement plans.

 

Tax Information

 

Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred account such as a 401(k) or individual retirement account (in which case you may be taxed upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

 

If you purchase the fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank, insurance company, plan sponsor or financial professional), the fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services for investments in all classes except the R6 Class. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 

 
5

 

 

Objectives, Strategies and Risks

 

What is the fund’s investment objective?

 

The fund seeks total return.

 

The fund's investment objective is a nonfundamental investment policy and may be changed by the Board of Trustees without shareholder approval upon 60 days' notice to shareholders.

 

What are the fund’s principal investment strategies?

 

Under normal market conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in fixed income instruments of issuers that are economically tied to emerging markets. The fund will invest in debt instruments issued by foreign governments and corporations. Investments will typically be made in U.S. dollar denominated instruments, but may be denominated in local emerging markets currency as well.

 

The fund considers an emerging market to be one of the countries included in the JP Morgan Corporate Emerging Markets Bond Index. As of the date of this prospectus, those countries include: Argentina, Bahrain, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Nigeria, Oman, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan Province of China, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine and United Arab Emirates. In determining an issuer’s location, the portfolio managers may consider various factors including where the company is headquartered, where the company’s principal operations are located, where the company’s revenues are derived, where the principal trading market is located and the country in which the company was legally organized. The weight given to each of these factors will vary depending on the circumstances in a given case.

 

The fund may invest in both investment grade and high-yield debt securities without limitation. A high-yield security is one that has been rated below the four highest categories used by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization, or determined by the investment advisor to be of similar quality.

 

The fund also invests in derivative instruments, including foreign currency exchange contracts, in order to shift its investment exposure from one currency into another for hedging purposes or to enhance returns. The fund may also invest in other types of derivative instruments such as futures contracts and swap agreements in order to manage duration, credit exposure and country exposure.

 

In the event of exceptional market or economic conditions, the fund may, as a temporary defensive measure, invest all or a substantial portion of its assets in cash or cash-equivalent securities. To the extent the fund assumes a defensive position, it will not be pursuing its objective.

 

The portfolio managers decide which debt securities to buy and sell by, among other things,

 

identifying debt securities that satisfy the fund’s credit quality standards

determining whether to alter the fund’s geographic or currency exposure

determining which debt securities help the fund meet its maturity requirements

assessing current and anticipated interest rates

evaluating current economic conditions and the risk of inflation

evaluating special features of the debt securities that may make them more or less attractive to alternatives

 

A description of the policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the fund’s portfolio securities is available in the statement of additional information.

 

What are the principal risks of investing in the fund?

 

The fund may invest in foreign securities, which are generally riskier than U.S. securities. As a result, the fund may be subject to foreign risk, meaning that political events (such as civil unrest, national elections and imposition of exchange controls), social and economic events (such as labor strikes and rising inflation), and natural disasters occurring in a country where the fund invests could cause the fund’s investments in that country to experience losses. In addition, foreign securities can have reduced availability of public information, and the lack of uniform financial reporting and regulatory practices similar to those that apply to U.S. issuers. For these and other reasons, securities of foreign companies are often more volatile, less liquid and harder to value than those of U.S. issuers.

 

 

 

 

Investing in securities of companies located in emerging market countries generally is also riskier than investing in securities of companies located in foreign developed countries. Emerging market countries may have unstable governments and/or economies that are subject to sudden change. These changes may be magnified by the countries’ emergent financial markets, resulting in significant volatility to investments in these countries. These countries also may lack the legal, business and social framework to support securities markets.

  

In addition, investments in foreign countries are subject to currency risk, meaning that because a portion of the fund’s investments may be denominated in foreign currencies, the fund could experience gains or losses based solely on changes in the exchange rate between foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar.

 

Debt securities, especially high-yield debt securities, are subject to credit risk. Credit risk is the risk that the inability or perceived inability of the issuer to make interest and principal payments will cause the value of the securities to decrease. As a result the fund’s share price could also decrease. A high credit rating indicates a high degree of confidence by the rating organization that the issuer will be able to withstand adverse business, financial or economic conditions and make interest and principal payments on time. A lower credit rating indicates a greater risk of non-payment. Changes in the credit rating of a debt security held by the fund could have a similar effect. The fund may invest without limitation in securities rated below investment grade. As a result, the fund may have increased credit risk. Issuers of high-yield securities are more likely to have problems making interest and principal payments than issuers of higher-rated securities. Such issuers are vulnerable to real or perceived economic changes (such as an economic downturn or a prolonged period of rising interest rates), political changes or adverse developments specific to the issuer. In addition, lower-rated securities may be unsecured or subordinated to other obligations of the issuer. These factors may be more likely to cause an issuer of low-quality debt securities to default on its obligation to pay the interest and principal due under its securities.

 

When interest rates change, the fund’s share value will be affected. Generally, when interest rates rise, the fund’s share value will decline. The opposite is true when interest rates decline. The degree to which interest rate changes affect the fund’s performance varies and is related to the weighted average maturity of the fund. For example, when interest rates rise, you can expect the share value of a long-term bond fund to fall more than that of a short-term bond fund. When rates fall, the opposite is true. Interest rate risk, however, is generally higher for the fund than for funds that have shorter-weighted average maturities, such as money market and short-term bond funds. The fund will also be exposed to interest rate risk outside of the U.S. where interest rate trends may differ from those in the U.S.

 

The fund may also be subject to liquidity risk. The chance that a fund will have difficulty selling its debt securities is called liquidity risk. During periods of market turbulence or unusually low trading activity, in order to meet redemptions it may be necessary for the fund to sell securities at prices that could have an adverse effect on the fund’s price. The market for lower-quality debt securities is generally even less liquid than the market for higher-quality securities. Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, as well as new and proposed laws, also may have a greater negative impact on the market for lower-quality securities.

 

Investing a significant portion of assets in one country or region makes the fund more dependent upon the political and economic circumstances of that particular country or region than a fund that is more widely diversified.

 

The use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional instruments. Derivatives are subject to a number of risks, including liquidity, interest rate, market, and credit risk. They also involve the risk of mispricing or improper valuation, the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index, and the risk of default or bankruptcy of the other party to the instrument. Gains or losses involving some futures, options, and other derivatives may be substantial – in part because a relatively small price movement in these securities may result in an immediate and substantial gain or loss for the fund.

 

The fund is classified as nondiversified. This means that the fund’s portfolio managers may choose to invest in a relatively small number of securities. If so, a price change in any one of these securities may have a greater impact on the fund’s share price than would be the case if the fund were diversified and the fund may be more volatile than if it was diversified.

 

The fund may need to sell securities at times it would not otherwise do so in order to meet shareholder redemption requests. The fund could experience a loss when selling securities, particularly if the redemption requests are unusually large or frequent, occur in times of overall market turmoil or declining pricing for the securities sold or when the securities the fund wishes to sell are illiquid. Selling securities to meet such redemption requests also may increase transaction costs or have tax consequences. To the extent that a large shareholder (including a fund of funds or 529 college savings plan) invests in the fund, the fund may experience relatively large redemptions as such shareholder reallocates its assets. Although the advisor seeks to minimize the impact of such transactions where possible, the fund’s performance may be adversely affected.

 

The value of securities owned by the fund may go up and down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably, due to factors affecting securities markets generally, particular industries, real or perceived adverse economic conditions or investor sentiment generally.

 

The fund’s share value will fluctuate, and at any given time your shares may be worth less than the price you paid for them. As a result, it is possible to lose money by investing in the fund. In general, funds that have higher potential income have higher potential loss.

 

 
7

 

 

Management

 

Who manages the fund?

 

The Board of Trustees, investment advisor and fund management team play key roles in the management of the fund.

 

The Board of Trustees

 

The Board of Trustees is responsible for overseeing the advisor’s management and operations of the fund pursuant to the management agreement. In performing their duties, Board members receive detailed information about the fund and its advisor regularly throughout the year, and meet at least quarterly with management of the advisor to review reports about fund operations. The trustees’ role is to provide oversight and not to provide day-to-day management. More than three-fourths of the trustees are independent of the fund’s advisor. They are not employees, directors or officers of, and have no financial interest in, the advisor or any of its affiliated companies (other than as shareholders of American Century Investments funds), and do not have any other affiliations, positions, or relationships that would cause them to be considered “interested persons” under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

 

The Investment Advisor

 

The fund’s investment advisor is American Century Investment Management, Inc. (the advisor). The advisor has been managing mutual funds since 1958 and is headquartered at 4500 Main Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64111.

 

The advisor is responsible for managing the investment portfolio of the fund and directing the purchase and sale of its investment securities. The advisor also arranges for transfer agency, custody and all other services necessary for the fund to operate.

 

For the services it provides to the fund, the advisor receives a unified management fee based on a percentage of the daily net assets of each class of shares of the fund. The management fee is calculated daily and paid monthly in arrears. Out of the fund’s fee, the advisor pays all expenses of managing and operating the fund except brokerage expenses, taxes, interest, fees and expenses of the independent trustees (including legal counsel fees), extraordinary expenses, and expenses incurred in connection with the provision of shareholder services and distribution services under a plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. For all classes other than R6 Class, a portion of the fund’s management fee may be paid by the fund’s advisor to unaffiliated third parties who provide recordkeeping and administrative services that would otherwise be performed by an affiliate of the advisor.

 

The fund will pay the advisor a unified management fee of 0.96% for Investor Class, A Class, C Class and R Class, a unified management fee of 0.76% for the Institutional Class and a unified management fee of 0.71% for the R6 Class.

 

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board of Trustees’ approval of the fund’s investment advisory agreement with the advisor will be available in the fund’s semiannual report to shareholders dated December 31, 2014.

 

The Fund Management Team

 

The advisor uses teams of portfolio managers and analysts, organized by broad investment categories such as money markets, corporate bonds, government bonds and municipal bonds, in its management of fixed-income funds. Designated portfolio managers serve on the firm’s Global Macro Strategy Team, which is responsible for periodically adjusting the fund’s strategic investment parameters based on economic and market conditions. The fund’s other portfolio managers are responsible for security selection and portfolio construction for the fund within these strategic parameters, as well as compliance with stated investment objectives and cash flow monitoring. Other members of the investment team provide research and analytical support but generally do not make day-to-day investment decisions for the fund.

 

 
8

 

 

The individuals listed below are primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund described in this prospectus.

 

Margé Karner, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager, has served on teams managing fixed-income investments for American Century Investments since joining the advisor in 2014. Prior to joining American Century Investments, she worked at International Finance Corporation as a principal investment officer. She spent five years at HSBC Global Asset Management as a senior portfolio manager in global emerging markets debt and head of special situations. She has a bachelor’s degree in international relations and economics from Wheaton College and a master’s degree in international economics and east European studies from The John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

 

John A. Lovito, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager, has served on teams managing fixed-income investments since joining the advisor in 2009. Prior to joining American Century Investments, he spent seven years at Lehman Brothers Asset Management, most recently as managing director and head of global fixed income strategies. He previously served as senior vice president and team leader for international fixed income at Lehman Brothers Asset Management. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics and an MBA in finance from Fordham University.

 

Brian Howell, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager, has served on teams managing fixed-income investments for American Century Investments since joining the advisor in 1987. He has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics/statistics and an MBA in finance from the University of California – Berkeley.

 

Kevin Akioka (Global Macro Strategy Team Representative), Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager, has served on teams managing fixed-income investments for American Century Investments since joining the advisor in 2010. Prior to joining American Century Investments, he spent four years at Macquarie Group, Ltd. as a senior vice president and portfolio manager, managing high-yield bond allocations and credit derivative positions. From 1997 to 2006, he was a principal at Payden & Rygel and head of their corporate credit department. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics and psychology from the University of California, Irvine and an MBA from New York University. He is a CFA charterholder.

 

The statement of additional information provides additional information about the accounts managed by the portfolio managers, the structure of their compensation, and their ownership of fund securities.

 

Fundamental Investment Policies

 

Fundamental investment policies contained in the statement of additional information may not be changed without shareholder approval. The Board of Trustees and/or the advisor may change any other policies and investment strategies, including the fund's investment objective.

 

 
9

 

 

Investing Directly with American Century Investments

 

Services Automatically Available to You

 

Most accounts automatically have access to the services listed under Ways to Manage Your Account when the account is opened. If you have questions about the services that apply to your account type, please call us.

 

Generally, once your account is established, any registered owner (including those on jointly owned accounts) or any trustee (including those on trust accounts with multiple trustees), or any authorized signer on business accounts with multiple authorized signers, may transact business by any of the methods described below. American Century reserves the right to require all owners or trustees or authorized signers to act together, at our discretion.

 

Account Maintenance Fee

 

If you hold Investor Class shares of any American Century Investments fund, or Institutional Class shares of the American Century Diversified Bond Fund, in an American Century Investments account (i.e., not through a financial intermediary or employer-sponsored retirement plan account), we may charge you a $12.50 semiannual account maintenance fee if the value of those shares is less than $10,000. We will determine the amount of your total eligible investments twice per year, generally the last Friday in October and April. If the value of those investments is less than $10,000 at that time, we will automatically redeem shares in one of your accounts to pay the $12.50 fee as soon as administratively possible. Please note that you may incur tax liability as a result of the redemption. In determining your total eligible investment amount, we will include your investments in all personal accounts (including American Century Investments brokerage accounts) registered under your Social Security number. We will not charge the fee as long as you choose to manage your accounts exclusively online. You may enroll for exclusive online account management by visiting americancentury.com.

 

 

Personal accounts include individual accounts, joint accounts, UGMA/UTMA accounts, personal trusts, Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, IRAs (including traditional, Roth, Rollover, SEP-, SARSEP- and SIMPLE-IRAs), and certain other retirement accounts. If you have only business, business retirement, employer-sponsored or American Century Investments brokerage accounts, you are currently not subject to this fee, but you may be subject to other fees.

 

 

Wire Purchases

 

Current Investors: If you would like to make a wire purchase into an existing account, your bank will need the following information. (To invest in a new fund, please call us first to set up the new account.)

 

American Century Investments bank information: Commerce Bank N.A., Routing No. 101000019, Account No. 2804918

Your American Century Investments account number and fund name

Your name

The contribution year (for IRAs only)

Dollar amount

 

New Investors: To make a wire purchase into a new account, please complete an application or call us prior to wiring money.

 

 
10

 

 

Ways to Manage Your Account

 

Online


americancentury.com

 

Open an account: If you are a current or new investor, you can open an account by completing and submitting our online application. Current investors also can open an account by exchanging shares from another American Century Investments account with an identical registration.

Exchange shares: Exchange shares from another American Century Investments account with an identical registration.

Make additional investments: Make an additional investment into an established American Century Investments account. If we do not have your bank information, you can add it.

Sell shares*: Redeem shares and choose whether the proceeds are electronically transferred to your authorized bank account or sent by check to your address of record.

* Online redemptions up to $25,000 per day per account.

 

In person


If you prefer to handle your transactions in person, visit one of our Investor Centers and a representative can help you open an account, make additional investments, and sell or exchange shares.

4500 Main Street, Kansas City, MO — 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday – Friday

4917 Town Center Drive, Leawood, KS — 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday – Friday; 8 a.m. to noon, Saturday

1665 Charleston Road, Mountain View, CA — 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday – Friday

 

By telephone


Investor Services Representative: 1-800-345-2021

Business, Not-For-Profit and Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans: 1-800-345-3533

Automated Information Line: 1-800-345-8765

Open an account: If you are a current investor, you can open an account by exchanging shares from another American Century Investments account with an identical registration.

Exchange shares: Call or use our Automated Information Line if you have authorized us to accept telephone instructions. The Automated Information Line is available only to Investor Class shareholders.

Make additional investments: Call or use our Automated Information Line if you have authorized us to invest from your bank account. The Automated Information Line is available only to Investor Class shareholders.

Sell shares: Call a Service Representative.

 

By mail or fax


Mail Address: P.O. Box 419200, Kansas City, MO 64141-6200 — Fax: 1-888-327-1998

Open an account: Send a signed, completed application and check or money order payable to American Century Investments.

Exchange shares: Send written instructions to exchange your shares from one American Century Investments account to another with an identical registration.

Make additional investments: Send your check or money order for at least $50 with an investment slip. If you don’t have an investment slip, include your name, address and account number on your check or money order.

Sell shares: Send written instructions or a redemption form to sell shares. Call a Service Representative to request a form.

 

Automatically


Open an account: Not available.

Exchange shares: Send written instructions to set up an automatic exchange of your shares from one American Century Investments account to another with an identical registration.

Make additional investments: With the automatic investment service, you can purchase shares on a regular basis. You must invest at least $50 per month per account.

Sell shares: You may sell shares automatically by establishing a systematic redemption plan.

 

See Additional Policies Affecting Your Investment for more information about investing with us.

 

 
11

 

 

Investing Through a Financial Intermediary

 

The fund may be purchased by participants in employer-sponsored retirement plans or through financial intermediaries that provide various administrative and distribution services.

 

 

Financial intermediaries include banks, broker-dealers, insurance companies, plan sponsors and financial professionals

 

 

Although each class of the fund’s shares represents an interest in the same fund, each has a different cost structure, as described below. Which class is right for you depends on many factors, including how long you plan to hold the shares, how much you plan to invest, the fee structure of each class, and how you wish to compensate your financial professional for the services provided to you. Your financial professional can help you choose the option that is most appropriate.

 

Investor Class

 

Investor Class shares are available for purchase without sales charges or commissions but may be subject to account or transaction fees if purchased through financial intermediaries. These shares are available to investors in retail brokerage accounts, broker-dealer-sponsored fee-based advisory accounts, other advisory accounts where fees are charged, and employer-sponsored retirement plans.

 

Institutional Class

 

Institutional Class shares are available for purchase without sales charges or commissions by endowments, foundations, large institutional investors, employer-sponsored retirement plans and other financial intermediaries.

 

A Class

 

A Class shares are available for purchase through broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries. These shares carry an initial sales charge and an ongoing distribution and service (12b-1) fee that is used to compensate your financial professional. See Calculation of Sales Charges below for commission amounts received by financial professionals on the purchase of A Class shares. The sales charge decreases with the size of the purchase, and may be reduced or eliminated in certain situations. See Reductions and Waivers of Sales Charges for A Class and CDSC Waivers below for a full description of the breakpoints, reductions and waivers that may be available through financial intermediaries in certain types of accounts or products.

 

C Class

 

C Class shares are available for purchase through broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries. These shares do not have an initial sales charge but carry an ongoing distribution and service (12b-1) fee. Except as noted below, the commission paid to your financial professional for purchases of C Class shares is 1.00% of the amount invested, and the shares have a contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) when redeemed within one year of purchase. Your financial professional does not receive the distribution and service (12b-1) fee until the CDSC period has expired (it is retained by the distributor). See CDSC Waivers below for a full description of the waivers that may be available.

 

R Class

 

R Class shares are only available for purchase through certain employer-sponsored retirement plans without sales charges or commissions but carry an ongoing distribution and service (12b-1) fee. However, IRA accounts in R Class shares established through financial intermediaries prior to August 1, 2006, may make additional purchases. R Class shares are not available for purchase in the following types of employer-sponsored retirement plans: SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs or SARSEPs, provided however, that investors in such plans with accounts in R Class shares established prior to March 1, 2009, may make additional purchases.

 

R6 Class

 

R6 Class shares are available for purchase without sales charges or commissions by participants in certain employer-sponsored retirement plans. R6 Class shares may be purchased or redeemed only through employer-sponsored retirement plans where a financial intermediary provides retirement recordkeeping services to plan participants.

 

 
12

 

 

Calculation of Sales Charges

 

The information regarding sales charges provided herein is included free of charge and in a clear and prominent format at americancentury.com in the Investors Using Advisors and Investment Professionals portions of the website. From the description of A or C Class shares, a hyperlink will take you directly to this disclosure.

 

A Class

 

A Class shares are sold at their offering price, which is net asset value plus an initial sales charge. This sales charge varies depending on the amount of your investment, and is deducted from your purchase before it is invested. The sales charges and the amounts paid to your financial professional are:

 

Purchase Amount

Sales Charge as a
% of Offering Price

Sales Charge as a %
of Net Amount Invested

Dealer Commission
as a % of Offering Price

Less than $100,000

4.50%

4.71%

4.00%

$100,000 - $249,999

3.50%

3.63%

3.00%

$250,000 - $499,999

2.50%

2.56%

2.00%

$500,000 - $999,999

2.00%

2.04%

1.75%

$1,000,000 - $3,999,999

0.00%

0.00%

0.75%

$4,000,000 - $9,999,999

0.00%

0.00%

0.50%

$10,000,000 or more

0.00%

0.00%

0.25%

 

There is no front-end sales charge for purchases of $1,000,000 or more, but if you redeem your shares within one year of purchase you will pay a deferred sales charge of 1.00% of the lower of the original purchase price or the current market value at redemption, subject to the exceptions listed below. No sales charge applies to reinvested dividends. No dealer commission will be paid to your financial professional for purchases by certain employer-sponsored retirement plans. For this purpose, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs or SARSEPs.

 

Reductions and Waivers of Sales Charges for A Class

 

You may qualify for a reduction or waiver of certain sales charges, but you or your financial professional must provide certain information, including the account numbers of any accounts to be aggregated, to American Century Investments at the time of purchase in order to take advantage of such reduction or waiver. If you hold assets among multiple intermediaries, it is your responsibility to inform your intermediary and/or American Century Investments at the time of purchase of any accounts to be aggregated.

 

You and your immediate family (your spouse and your children under the age of 21) may combine investments in any share class of any American Century Investments fund (excluding certain assets in money market accounts, but including, beginning January 1, 2011, account assets invested in Qualified Tuition Programs under Section 529) to reduce your A Class sales charge in the following ways:

 

Account Aggregation. Investments made by you and your immediate family may be aggregated at each account’s current market value if made for your own account(s) and/or certain other accounts, such as:

 

Certain trust accounts

Solely controlled business accounts

Single-participant retirement plans

Endowments or foundations established and controlled by you or an immediate family member

 

 
13

 

 

For purposes of aggregation, only investments made through individual-level accounts may be combined. Assets held in multiple participant employer-sponsored retirement plans may be aggregated at a plan level.

 

Concurrent Purchases. You may combine simultaneous purchases in any share class of any American Century Investments fund to qualify for a reduced A Class sales charge.

 

Rights of Accumulation. You may take into account the current value of your existing holdings, less commissionable shares in the money market funds, in any share class of any American Century Investments fund to qualify for a reduced A Class sales charge.

 

Letter of Intent. A Letter of Intent allows you to combine all non-money market fund purchases of any share class of any American Century Investments fund you intend to make over a 13-month period to determine the applicable sales charge. At your request, existing holdings may be combined with new purchases and sales charge amounts may be adjusted for purchases made within 90 days prior to our receipt of the Letter of Intent. Capital appreciation, capital gains and reinvested dividends earned during the Letter of Intent period do not apply toward its completion. A portion of your account will be held in escrow to cover additional A Class sales charges that will be due if your total investments over the 13-month period do not qualify for the applicable sales charge reduction.

 

Waivers for Certain Investors. The sales charge on A Class shares may be waived for:

 

Purchases by registered representatives and other employees of certain financial intermediaries (and their immediate family members) having selling agreements with the advisor or distributor

Broker-dealer sponsored wrap program accounts and/or fee-based accounts maintained for clients of certain financial intermediaries who have entered into selling agreements with American Century Investments

Present or former officers, directors and employees (and their families) of American Century Investments

Certain group employer-sponsored retirement plans, where plan level or omnibus accounts are held with the fund, or shares are purchased by certain retirement plans that are part of a retirement plan or platform offered by banks, broker dealers, financial advisors or insurance companies, or serviced by retirement recordkeepers. For purposes of this waiver, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs or SARSEPs. However, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA or SARSEP retirement plans that (i) held shares of an A Class fund prior to March 1, 2009 that received sales charge waivers or (ii) held shares of an Advisor Class fund that was renamed A Class on March 1, 2010, may permit additional purchases by new and existing participants in A Class shares without an initial sales charge. Refer to Buying and Selling Fund Shares in the statement of additional information

IRA Rollovers from any American Century Investments fund held in an employer-sponsored retirement plan

Purchases of additional shares in accounts that held shares of an Advisor Class fund that was renamed A Class on either September 4, 2007, December 3, 2007 or March 1, 2010. However, if you close your account or if you transfer your account to another financial intermediary, future purchases of A Class shares of a fund may not receive a sales charge waiver.

Certain other investors as deemed appropriate by American Century Investments

 

An investor who receives a sales charge waiver for purchases of fund shares through a financial intermediary may become ineligible to receive such waiver if the nature of the investor’s relationship with and/or the services it receives from the financial intermediary changes. Please consult with your financial professional for further details.

 

C Class

 

C Class shares are sold at their net asset value without an initial sales charge. If you purchase shares through a financial intermediary who receives a commission from the fund’s distributor on the purchase and redeem your shares within 12 months of purchase, you will pay a CDSC of 1.00% of the original purchase price or the current market value at redemption, whichever is less. The purpose of the CDSC is to permit the fund’s distributor to recoup all or a portion of the up-front payment made to your financial professional. There is no CDSC on shares acquired through reinvestment of dividends or capital gains.

 

American Century Investments generally limits purchases of C Class shares to investors whose aggregate investments in American Century Investments funds are less than $1,000,000. However, it is your responsibility to inform your financial intermediary and/or American Century Investments at the time of purchase of any accounts to be aggregated, including investments in any share class of any American Century Investments fund (excluding certain assets in money market accounts, but including, beginning January 1, 2011, account assets invested in Qualified Tuition Programs under Section 529) in accounts held by you and your immediate family members (your spouse and children under the age of 21). Once you reach this limit, you should work with your financial intermediary to determine what share class is most appropriate for additional purchases.

 

 
14

 

 

Calculation of Contingent Deferred Sales Charge (CDSC)

 

To minimize the amount of the CDSC you may pay when you redeem shares, the fund will first redeem shares acquired through reinvested dividends and capital gain distributions, which are not subject to a CDSC. Shares that have been in your account long enough that they are not subject to a CDSC are redeemed next. For any remaining redemption amount, shares will be sold in the order they were purchased (earliest to latest).

 

CDSC Waivers

 

Any applicable CDSC for A or C Classes may be waived in the following cases:

 

redemptions through systematic withdrawal plans not exceeding annually 12% of the lesser of the original purchase cost or current market value

redemptions through employer-sponsored retirement plans. For this purpose, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs or SARSEPs.

distributions from IRAs due to attainment of age 59½ for A and C Class shares

required minimum distributions from retirement accounts upon reaching age 70½

tax-free returns of excess contributions to IRAs

redemptions due to death or post-purchase disability

exchanges, unless the shares acquired by exchange are redeemed within the original CDSC period

IRA Rollovers from any American Century Investments fund held in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, for A Class shares only

if no dealer commission was paid to the financial intermediary on the purchase for any other reason

 

Reinstatement Privilege

 

Within 90 days of a redemption, dividend payment or capital gains distribution of any A or B Class shares, you may reinvest all or a portion of the proceeds in A Class shares of any American Century Investments fund at the then-current net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. At your request, any CDSC you paid on an A Class redemption that you are reinvesting will be credited to your account. You may use the privilege only once per account. This privilege may only be invoked by the original account owner to reinvest shares in an account with the same registration as the account from which the redemption or distribution originated. This privilege does not apply to systematic or automatic transactions, including, for example, automatic purchases, withdrawals and payroll deductions. If you wish to use this reinvestment privilege, you or your financial professional must provide written notice to American Century Investments.

 

Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans

 

Certain group employer-sponsored retirement plans that hold a single account for all plan participants with the fund, or that are part of a retirement plan or platform offered by banks, broker-dealers, financial advisors or insurance companies, or serviced by retirement recordkeepers are eligible to purchase Investor, Institutional, A, C, R and R6 Class shares. For more information regarding employer-sponsored retirement plan types, please refer to Buying and Selling Fund Shares in the statement of additional information. A and C Class purchases are available at net asset value with no dealer commission paid to the financial professional, and do not incur a CDSC. A, C and R Class shares purchased in employer-sponsored retirement plans are subject to applicable distribution and service (12b-1) fees, which the financial intermediary begins receiving immediately at the time of purchase. American Century Investments does not impose minimum initial investment amount, plan size or participant number requirements by class for employer-sponsored retirement plans; however, financial intermediaries or plan recordkeepers may require plans to meet different requirements.

 

 
15

 

 

Exchanging Shares

 

You may exchange shares of the fund for shares of the same class of another American Century Investments fund without a sales charge if you meet the following criteria:

 

The exchange is for a minimum of $100

For an exchange that opens a new account, the amount of the exchange must meet or exceed the minimum account size requirement for the fund receiving the exchange

 

For purposes of computing any applicable CDSC on shares that have been exchanged, the holding period will begin as of the date of purchase of the original fund owned. Exchanges from a money market fund are subject to a sales charge on the fund being purchased, unless the money market fund shares were acquired by exchange from a fund with a sales charge or by reinvestment of dividends or capital gains distributions.

 

Moving Between Share Classes and Accounts

 

You may move your investment between share classes (within the same fund or between different funds) in certain circumstances deemed appropriate by American Century Investments. You also may move investments held in certain accounts to a different type of account if you meet certain criteria. Please contact your financial professional for more information about moving between share classes or account types.

 

Buying and Selling Shares Through a Financial Intermediary

 

Your ability to purchase, exchange, redeem and transfer shares will be affected by the policies of the financial intermediary through which you do business. Some policy differences may include

 

minimum investment requirements

exchange policies

fund choices

cutoff time for investments

trading restrictions

 

In addition, your financial intermediary may charge a transaction fee for the purchase or sale of fund shares. Those charges are retained by the financial intermediary and are not shared with American Century Investments or the fund. Please contact your financial intermediary or plan sponsor for a complete description of its policies. Copies of the fund’s annual report, semiannual report and statement of additional information are available from your financial intermediary or plan sponsor.

 

The fund has authorized certain financial intermediaries to accept orders on the fund’s behalf. American Century Investments has selling agreements with these financial intermediaries requiring them to track the time investment orders are received and to comply with procedures relating to the transmission of orders. Orders must be received by the financial intermediary on the fund’s behalf before the time the net asset value is determined in order to receive that day’s share price. If those orders are transmitted to American Century Investments and paid for in accordance with the selling agreement, they will be priced at the net asset value next determined after your request is received in the form required by the financial intermediary.

 

See Additional Policies Affecting Your Investment for more information about investing with us.

 

 
16

 

 

Additional Policies Affecting Your Investment

 

Eligibility for Investor Class Shares

 

The fund’s Investor Class shares are available for purchase directly from American Century Investments and through the following types of products, programs or accounts offered by financial intermediaries:

 

self-directed accounts on transaction-based platforms that may or may not charge a transaction fee 

employer-sponsored retirement plans

broker-dealer sponsored fee-based wrap programs or other fee-based advisory accounts 

insurance products and bank/trust products where fees are being charged

 

The fund reserves the right, when in the judgment of American Century Investments it is not adverse to the fund’s interest, to permit all or only certain types of investors to open new accounts in the fund, to impose further restrictions, or to close the fund to any additional investments, all without notice.

 

Minimum Initial Investment Amounts (other than Institutional and R6 Classes)

 

Unless otherwise specified below, the minimum initial investment amount to open an account is $2,500. Investors opening accounts through financial intermediaries may open an account with $250, but the financial intermediaries may require their clients to meet different investment minimums. See Investing Through a Financial Intermediary for more information.

 

Broker-dealer sponsored wrap program accounts and/or fee-based advisory accounts

No minimum

Coverdell Education Savings Account (CESA)

$2,0001

Employer-sponsored retirement plans2

No minimum

 

1

The minimum initial investment for shareholders investing through financial intermediaries is $250. Financial intermediaries may have different minimums for their clients.

 

2

For this purpose, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs or SARSEPs.

 

Subsequent Purchases

 

There is a $50 minimum for subsequent purchases. See Ways to Manage Your Account for more information about making additional investments directly with American Century Investments. However, there is no subsequent purchase minimum for financial intermediaries or employer-sponsored retirement plans, but financial intermediaries may require their clients to meet different subsequent purchase requirements.

 

Eligibility for Institutional Class Shares

 

The Institutional Class shares are made available for purchase by individuals and large institutional shareholders such as bank trust departments, corporations, retirement plans, endowments, foundations and financial advisors that meet the fund’s minimum investment requirements.

 

Minimum Initial Investment Amounts (Institutional Class)

 

The minimum initial investment amount is generally $5 million ($3 million for endowments and foundations) per fund. If you invest with us through a financial intermediary, this requirement may be met if your financial intermediary aggregates your investments with those of other clients into a single group, or omnibus, account that meets the minimum. The minimum investment requirement may be waived if you, or your financial intermediary if you invest through an omnibus account, have an aggregate investment in our family of funds of $10 million or more ($5 million for endowments and foundations), or in other situations as determined by American Century Investments. American Century Investments may permit an intermediary to waive the initial minimum per shareholder as provided in Buying and Selling Fund Shares in the statement of additional information.

  

In addition, there is no minimum initial investment amount for employer-sponsored retirement plans where a financial intermediary provides retirement recordkeeping services to plan participants and where plan level or omnibus accounts are held on the books of the fund. Financial intermediaries or plan recordkeepers may require plans to meet certain other conditions, such as plan size or a minimum level of assets per participant, in order to be eligible to purchase Institutional Class shares.

 

 
17

 

 

Eligibility for R6 Class Shares

 

The fund’s R6 Class shares are generally available only through employer-sponsored retirement plans where a financial intermediary provides retirement recordkeeping services to plan participants. To be eligible, plan level or omnibus accounts must be held on the books of the fund. R6 Class shares also are available to funds of funds advised by American Century and unaffiliated funds of funds sold primarily to the employer-sponsored retirement plan market.

 

R6 Class shares are not available to retail accounts, traditional or Roth IRAs, SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, SARSEPs or Coverdell education savings accounts.

 

Minimum Initial Investment Amounts (R6 Class)

 

There is no minimum initial investment amount or subsequent investment amount for R6 Class shares, but financial intermediaries or plan recordkeepers may require plans to meet different investment minimums.

 

Redemptions

 

If you sell C or, in certain cases, A Class shares, you may pay a sales charge, depending on how long you have held your shares, as described above. Your redemption proceeds will be calculated using the net asset value (NAV) next determined after we receive your transaction request in good order.

 

However, we reserve the right to delay delivery of redemption proceeds up to seven days. For example, each time you make an investment with American Century Investments, there is a seven-day holding period before we will release redemption proceeds from those shares, unless you provide us with satisfactory proof that your purchase funds have cleared. Investments by wire generally require only a one-day holding period. If you change your address, we may require that any redemption request made within seven days be submitted in writing and be signed by all authorized signers with their signatures guaranteed. If you change your bank information, we may impose a seven-day holding period before we will transfer or wire redemption proceeds to your bank. Please remember, if you request redemptions by wire, $10 will be deducted from the amount redeemed. Your bank also may charge a fee.

 

In addition, we reserve the right to honor certain redemptions with securities, rather than cash, as described in the next section.

 

Special Requirements for Large Redemptions

 

If, during any 90-day period, you redeem fund shares worth more than $250,000 (or 1% of the value of a fund’s assets if that amount is less than $250,000), we reserve the right to pay part or all of the redemption proceeds in excess of this amount in readily marketable securities instead of in cash. The portfolio managers would select these securities from the fund’s portfolio.

 

We will value these securities in the same manner as we do in computing the fund’s net asset value. We may provide these securities in lieu of cash without prior notice. Also, if payment is made in securities, you may have to pay brokerage or other transaction costs to convert the securities to cash.

 

If your redemption would exceed this limit and you would like to avoid being paid in securities, please provide us with an unconditional instruction to redeem at least 15 days prior to the date on which the redemption transaction is to occur. The instruction must specify the dollar amount or number of shares to be redeemed and the date of the transaction. This minimizes the effect of the redemption on a fund and its remaining investors.

 

Redemption of Shares in Accounts Below Minimum

 

If your account balance falls below the minimum initial investment amount for any reason, American Century Investments reserves the right to redeem the shares in the account and send the proceeds to your address of record. Prior to doing so, we will notify you and give you 60 days to meet the minimum. Please note that shares redeemed in this manner may be subject to a sales charge if held less than the applicable time period. You also may incur tax liability as a result of the redemption. For Institutional Class shares, we reserve the right to convert your shares to Investor Class shares of the same fund. The Investor Class shares have a unified management fee that is 0.20 percentage points higher than the Institutional Class.

 

 
18

 

 

Signature Guarantees

 

A signature guarantee — which is different from a notarized signature — is a warranty that the signature presented is genuine. We may require a signature guarantee for the following transactions.

 

Your redemption or distribution check or automatic redemption is made payable to someone other than the account owners.

Your redemption proceeds or distribution amount is sent by EFT (ACH or wire) to a destination other than your personal bank account.

You are transferring ownership of an account over $100,000.

You change your address and request a redemption over $100,000 within seven days.

 

We reserve the right to require a signature guarantee for other transactions, or we may employ other security measures, such as signature comparison, at our discretion.

 

Modifying or Canceling a Transaction

 

Transaction instructions are irrevocable. That means that once you have mailed or otherwise transmitted your transaction instruction, you may not modify or cancel it. The fund reserves the right to suspend the offering of shares for a period of time and to reject any specific investment (including a purchase by exchange). Additionally, we may refuse a purchase if, in our judgment, it is of a size that would disrupt the management of a fund.

 

Abusive Trading Practices

 

Short-term trading and other abusive trading practices may disrupt portfolio management strategies and harm fund performance. If the cumulative amount of short-term trading activity is significant relative to a fund’s net assets, the fund may incur trading costs that are higher than necessary as securities are first purchased then quickly sold to meet the redemption request. In such case, the fund’s performance could be negatively impacted by the increased trading costs created by short-term trading if the additional trading costs are significant.

 

Because of the potentially harmful effects of abusive trading practices, the fund’s Board of Trustees has approved American Century Investments’ abusive trading policies and procedures, which are designed to reduce the frequency and effect of these activities in our funds. These policies and procedures include monitoring trading activity, imposing trading restrictions on certain accounts, imposing redemption fees on certain funds, and using fair value pricing when current market prices are not readily available. Although these efforts are designed to discourage abusive trading practices, they cannot eliminate the possibility that such activity will occur. American Century Investments seeks to exercise its judgment in implementing these tools to the best of its ability in a manner that it believes is consistent with shareholder interests.

 

American Century Investments uses a variety of techniques to monitor for and detect abusive trading practices. These techniques may vary depending on the type of fund, the class of shares or whether the shares are held directly or indirectly with American Century Investments. They may change from time to time as determined by American Century Investments in its sole discretion. To minimize harm to the funds and their shareholders, we reserve the right to reject any purchase order (including exchanges) from any shareholder we believe has a history of abusive trading or whose trading, in our judgment, has been or may be disruptive to the funds. In making this judgment, we may consider trading done in multiple accounts under common ownership or control.

 

Currently, for shares held directly with American Century Investments, we may deem the sale of all or a substantial portion of a shareholder’s purchase of fund shares to be abusive if the sale is made

 

within seven days of the purchase, or

within 30 days of the purchase, if it happens more than once per year.

 

To the extent practicable, we try to use the same approach for defining abusive trading for shares held through financial intermediaries. American Century Investments reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to identify other trading practices as abusive and to modify its monitoring and other practices as necessary to deal with novel or unique abusive trading practices.

 

In addition, American Century Investments reserves the right to accept purchases and exchanges in excess of the trading restrictions discussed above if it believes that such transactions would not be inconsistent with the best interests of fund shareholders or this policy.

 

 
19

 

 

American Century Investments’ policies do not permit us to enter into arrangements with fund shareholders that permit such shareholders to engage in frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares. Due to the complexity and subjectivity involved in identifying abusive trading activity and the volume of shareholder transactions American Century Investments handles, there can be no assurance that American Century Investments’ efforts will identify all trades or trading practices that may be considered abusive. American Century Investments monitors aggregate trades placed in omnibus accounts and works with financial intermediaries to identify shareholders engaging in abusive trading practices and impose restrictions to discourage such practices. Because American Century Investments relies on financial intermediaries to provide information and impose restrictions, our ability to monitor and discourage abusive trading practices in omnibus accounts may be dependent upon the intermediaries’ timely performance of such duties.

 

Your Responsibility for Unauthorized Transactions

 

American Century Investments and its affiliated companies use procedures reasonably designed to confirm that telephone, electronic and other instructions are genuine. These procedures include recording telephone calls, requiring personalized security codes or other information online, and sending confirmation of transactions. If we follow these procedures, we are not responsible for any losses that may occur due to unauthorized instructions. For transactions conducted over the Internet, we recommend the use of a secure Internet browser. In addition, you should verify the accuracy of your confirmation statements immediately after you receive them.

 

A Note About Mailings to Shareholders

 

To reduce the amount of mail you receive from us, we generally deliver a single copy of fund documents (like shareholder reports, proxies and prospectuses) to investors who share an address, even if their accounts are registered under different names. Investors who share an address may also receive account-specific documents (like statements) in a single envelope. If you prefer to receive your documents addressed individually, please call us or your financial professional. For American Century Investments brokerage accounts, please call 1-888-345-2071.

 

Right to Change Policies

 

We reserve the right to change any stated investment requirement, including those that relate to purchases, exchanges and redemptions. We also may alter, add or discontinue any service or privilege. Changes may affect all investors or only those in certain classes or groups. In addition, from time to time we may waive a policy on a case-by-case basis, as the advisor deems appropriate.

 

 
20

 

 

Share Price and Distributions

 

Share Price

 

American Century Investments will price the fund shares you purchase, exchange or redeem based on the net asset value (NAV) next determined after your order is received in good order by the fund’s transfer agent, or other financial intermediary with the authority to accept orders on the fund’s behalf. We determine the NAV of the fund as of the close of regular trading (usually 4 p.m. Eastern time) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on each day the NYSE is open. On days when the NYSE is closed (including certain U.S. national holidays), we do not calculate the NAV.

 

 

The net asset value, or NAV, of each class of the fund is the current value of the fund’s assets attributable to the class, minus any liabilities, divided by the number of shares of the class outstanding.

 

 

Readily available market quotations for fixed income securities shall generally be received from independent pricing services that have been approved by the Board. It is anticipated that such pricing services will generally provide evaluated prices based on accepted industry conventions. Evaluated prices are commonly derived through utilization of market models. Such models take into consideration various market factors and security characteristics. These include, but are not limited to, the following: trade data, quotations from broker-dealers and active market makers, relevant yield curve and spread data, related sector levels, creditworthiness, trade data or market information on comparable securities and other relevant security specific information. Debt obligations with 60 days or less remaining until maturity may be valued at amortized cost.

 

If the fund determines that the market price for a portfolio security is not readily available or that the valuation methods mentioned above do not reflect the security’s fair value, such security is valued as determined in good faith by the fund’s board or its designee, in accordance with procedures adopted by the fund’s board. Circumstances that may cause the fund to use alternate procedures to value a security include, but are not limited to:

 

if, after the close of the foreign exchange on which a portfolio security is principally traded, but before the close of the NYSE, an event occurs that may materially affect the value of the security;

a debt security has been declared in default; or

trading in a security has been halted during the trading day.

 

If such circumstances occur, the fund will fair value the security if the fair valuation would materially impact the fund’s NAV. While fair value determinations involve judgments that are inherently subjective, these determinations are made in good faith in accordance with procedures adopted by the fund’s board.

 

The effect of using fair value determinations is that the fund’s NAV will be based, to some degree, on security valuations that the board or its designee believes are fair rather than being solely determined by the market.

 

With respect to any portion of the fund’s assets that are invested in one or more open-end management investment companies that are registered with the SEC (known as registered investment companies, or RICs), the fund’s NAV will be calculated based upon the NAVs of such RICs. These RICs are required by law to explain the circumstances under which they will use fair value pricing and the effects of using fair value pricing in their prospectuses.

 

Securities and other assets quoted in foreign currencies are valued in U.S. dollars based on the prevailing exchange rates on that day.

 

Trading of securities in foreign markets may not take place every day the NYSE is open. Also, trading in some foreign markets and on some electronic trading networks may take place on weekends or holidays when the fund’s NAV is not calculated. So, the value of the fund’s portfolio may be affected on days when you will not be able to purchase, exchange or redeem fund shares.

 

 
21

 

 

Distributions

 

Federal tax laws require the fund to make distributions to its shareholders in order to qualify as a regulated investment company. Qualification as a regulated investment company means that the fund should not be subject to state or federal income tax on amounts distributed. The distributions generally consist of dividends and interest received by the fund, as well as capital gains realized by the fund on the sale of its investment securities.

 

 

Capital gains are increases in the values of capital assets, such as stock, from the time the assets are purchased.

 

 

The fund generally expects to pay distributions from net income, if any, quarterly, but may pay less frequently. The fund generally pays distributions from capital gains, if any, once a year in December. The fund may make more frequent distributions, if necessary, to comply with Internal Revenue Code provisions.

 

You will participate in fund distributions when they are declared, starting the next business day after your purchase is effective. For example, if you purchase shares on a day that a distribution is declared, you will not receive that distribution. If you redeem shares, you will receive any distribution declared on the day you redeem. If you redeem all shares, we will include any distributions received with your redemption proceeds.

 

Generally, participants in tax-deferred retirement plans must reinvest all distributions. For investors investing through taxable accounts, we will reinvest distributions unless you elect to have dividends and/or capital gains sent to another American Century Investments account, to your bank electronically, or to your home address or to another person or address by check.

 

 
22

 

 

Taxes

 

Some of the tax consequences of owning shares of a fund will vary depending on whether you own them through a taxable or tax-deferred account. Distributions by a fund of dividend and interest income, capital gains and other income it has generated through its investment activities will generally be taxable to shareholders who hold shares in a taxable account. Tax consequences also may result when investors sell fund shares after the net asset value has increased or decreased.

 

Tax-Deferred Accounts

 

If you purchase fund shares through a tax-deferred account, such as an IRA or employer-sponsored retirement or savings plan, income and capital gains distributions usually will not be subject to current taxation but will accumulate in your account under the plan on a tax-deferred basis. Likewise, moving from one fund to another fund within a plan or tax-deferred account generally will not cause you to be taxed. For information about the tax consequences of making purchases or withdrawals through a tax-deferred account, please consult your plan administrator, your summary plan description or a tax advisor.

 

Taxable Accounts

 

If you own fund shares through a taxable account, you may be taxed on your investments if the fund makes distributions or if you sell your fund shares.

 

Taxability of Distributions

 

Fund distributions may consist of income, such as dividends and interest earned by the fund from its investments, or capital gains generated by the fund from the sale of its investment securities. Distributions of income are taxed as ordinary income, unless they are designated as qualified dividend income and you meet a minimum required holding period with respect to your shares of the fund, in which case they are taxed at the same rates as long-term capital gains. The fund does not expect a significant portion of its distributions to be derived from qualified dividend income.

 

 

Qualified dividend income is a dividend received by a fund from the stock of a domestic or qualifying foreign corporation, provided that the fund has held the stock for a required holding period.

 

  

The tax character of any distributions from capital gains is determined by how long the fund held the underlying security that was sold, not by how long you have been invested in the fund, or whether you reinvest your distributions or take them in cash. Short-term (one year or less) capital gains are taxable as ordinary income. Gains on securities held for more than one year are taxed at the lower rates applicable to long-term capital gains.

 

If the fund’s distributions exceed its taxable income and net capital gains realized during the tax year, all or a portion of the distributions made by the fund in that tax year will generally be considered a return of capital. A return of capital distribution is generally not subject to tax, but will reduce your cost basis in the fund and result in higher realized capital gains (or lower realized capital losses) upon the sale of fund shares.

 

For taxable accounts, American Century Investments or your financial intermediary will inform you of the tax character of fund distributions for each calendar year in an annual tax mailing.

 

If you meet specified income levels, you will also be subject to a 3.8% Medicare contribution tax which is imposed on net investment income, including interest, dividends and capital gains. Distributions also may be subject to state and local taxes. Because everyone’s tax situation is unique, you may want to consult your tax professional about federal, state and local tax consequences.

 

 
23

 

 

Taxes on Transactions

 

Your redemptions — including exchanges to other American Century Investments funds — are subject to capital gains tax. Short-term capital gains are gains on fund shares you held for 12 months or less. Long-term capital gains are gains on fund shares you held for more than 12 months. If your shares decrease in value, their sale or exchange will result in a long-term or short-term capital loss. However, you should note that loss realized upon the sale or exchange of shares held for six months or less will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any distribution of long-term capital gain to you with respect to those shares. If a loss is realized on the redemption of fund shares, the reinvestment in additional fund shares within 30 days before or after the redemption may be subject to the wash sale rules of the Internal Revenue Code. This may result in a postponement of the recognition of such loss for federal income tax purposes.

 

If you have not certified to us that your Social Security number or tax identification number is correct and that you are not subject to withholding, we are required to withhold and pay to the IRS the applicable federal withholding tax rate on taxable dividends, capital gains distributions and redemption proceeds.

 

Buying a Dividend

 

Purchasing fund shares in a taxable account shortly before a distribution is sometimes known as buying a dividend. In taxable accounts, you must pay income taxes on the distribution whether you reinvest the distribution or take it in cash. In addition, you will have to pay taxes on the distribution whether the value of your investment decreased, increased or remained the same after you bought the fund shares.

 

The risk in buying a dividend is that the fund’s portfolio may build up taxable income and gains throughout the period covered by a distribution, as income is earned and securities are sold at a profit. The fund distributes the income and gains to you, after subtracting any losses, even if you did not own the shares when the income was earned or the gains occurred.

 

If you buy a dividend, you incur the full tax liability of the distribution period, but you may not enjoy the full benefit of the income earned or the gains realized in the fund’s portfolio.

 

 
24

 

 

Multiple Class Information

 

The fund offers multiple classes of shares. The classes have different fees, expenses and/or minimum investment requirements. The difference in the fee structures between the classes is the result of their separate arrangements for shareholder and distribution services. It is not the result of any difference in advisory or custodial fees or other expenses related to the management of the fund’s assets, which do not vary by class. The Institutional Class and R6 Class shareholders do not require the same level of shareholder and administrative services from the advisor as shareholders of the other classes. In addition, American Century does not pay any service, distribution or administrative fees to financial intermediaries for R6 Class shares. As a result, the advisor is able to charge these classes lower unified management fees. Different fees and expenses will affect performance.

 

Except as described below, all classes of shares of the fund have identical voting, dividend, liquidation and other rights, preferences, terms and conditions. The only differences among the classes are (a) each class may be subject to different expenses specific to that class; (b) each class has a different identifying designation or name; (c) each class has exclusive voting rights with respect to matters solely affecting such class; (d) each class may have different exchange privileges; and (e) the Institutional Class may provide for conversion from that class into shares of the Investor Class of the same fund.

 

Service, Distribution and Administrative Fees

 

Investment Company Act Rule 12b-1 permits mutual funds that adopt a written plan to pay certain expenses associated with the distribution of their shares out of fund assets. The fund’s A Class, C Class and R Class each have a 12b-1 plan. The plans provide for the fund to pay annual fees of 0.25% for A Class, 1.00% for C Class and 0.50% for R Class to the distributor for distribution and individual shareholder services, including past distribution services. The distributor pays all or a portion of such fees to the financial intermediaries that make the classes available. Because these fees may be used to pay for services that are not related to prospective sales of the fund, each class will continue to make payments under its plan even if it is closed to new investors. Because these fees are paid out of the fund’s assets on an ongoing basis, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges. The higher fees for C Class shares may cost you more over time than paying the initial sales charge for A Class shares. For additional information about the plans and their terms, see Multiple Class Structure in the statement of additional information.

 

Certain financial intermediaries perform recordkeeping and administrative services for their clients that would otherwise be performed by American Century Investments’ transfer agent. In some circumstances, the advisor will pay such service providers a fee for performing those services. Also, the advisor and the fund’s distributor may make payments to intermediaries for various additional services, other expenses and/or the intermediaries’ distribution of the fund out of their profits or other available sources. Such payments may be made for one or more of the following: (1) distribution, which may include expenses incurred by intermediaries for their sales activities with respect to the fund, such as preparing, printing and distributing sales literature and advertising materials and compensating registered representatives or other employees of such financial intermediaries for their sales activities, as well as the opportunity for the fund to be made available by such intermediaries; (2) shareholder services, such as providing individual and custom investment advisory services to clients of the financial intermediaries; and (3) marketing and promotional services, including business planning assistance, educating personnel about the fund, and sponsorship of sales meetings, which may include covering costs of providing speakers, meals and other entertainment. The distributor may sponsor seminars and conferences designed to educate intermediaries about the fund and may cover the expenses associated with attendance at such meetings, including travel costs. These payments and activities are intended to provide an incentive to intermediaries to sell the fund by educating them about the fund and helping defray the costs associated with offering the fund. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the intermediary to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information. The amount of any payments described by this paragraph is determined by the advisor or the distributor, and all such amounts are paid out of the available assets of the advisor and distributor, and not by you or the fund. As a result, the total expense ratio of the fund will not be affected by any such payments.

 

American Century Investments does not pay any service, distribution or administrative fees to financial intermediaries on R6 Class shares.

 

 
25

 

 

Notes

 

 
 

 

 

Where to Find More Information

 

Annual and Semiannual Reports

 

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

 

Statement of Additional Information (SAI)

 

The SAI contains a more detailed legal description of the fund’s operations, investment restrictions, policies and practices. The SAI is incorporated by reference into this prospectus. This means that it is legally part of this prospectus, even if you don’t request a copy.

 

You may obtain a free copy of the SAI, annual reports and semiannual reports, and you may ask questions about the fund or your accounts, online at americancentury.com, by contacting American Century Investments at the addresses or telephone numbers listed below or by contacting your financial intermediary.

 

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

 

Information about the fund (including the SAI) can be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C., and information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-202-551-8090. Reports and other information about the fund are available on the EDGAR database on the SEC’s website at sec.gov, and copies of this information may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following email address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing the SEC’s Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520.

 

 

 

Fund Reference

Fund Code

Emerging Markets Debt Fund

 

Investor Class

 

Institutional Class

 

A Class

 

C Class

 

R Class

 

R6 Class

 

 

 

This prospectus shall not constitute an offer to sell securities of the fund in any state, territory, or other jurisdiction where the fund’s shares have not been registered or qualified for sale, unless such registration or qualification is not required, or under any circumstances in which such offer or solicitation would be unlawful.

 

 

American Century Investments
americancentury.com

 

 

Retail Investors

P.O. Box 419200
Kansas City, Missouri 64141-6200
1-800-345-2021 or 816-531-5575

Financial Professionals

P.O. Box 419385
Kansas City, Missouri 64141-6385
1-800-345-6488

 

 

 

 

Investment Company Act File No. 811-06441

CL-PRS-xxxxx   1407 

 
 

 

 

July 24, 2014

 

American Century Investments

Statement of Additional Information

 

American Century International Bond Funds

 

 

Emerging Markets Debt Fund

   Investor Class (XXXXX)

   Institutional Class (XXXXX)

   A Class (XXXXX)

   C Class (XXXXX)

   R Class (XXXXX)

   R6 Class (XXXXX)

 

Global Bond Fund

   Investor Class (AGBVX)

   Institutional Class (AGBNX)

   A Class (AGBAX)

   C Class (AGBTX)

   R Class (AGBRX)

   R6 Class (AGBDX)

 

International Bond Fund

   Investor Class (BEGBX)

   Institutional Class (AIDIX)

   A Class (AIBDX)

   C Class (AIQCX)

   R Class (AIBRX)

   R6 Class (AIDDX)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This statement of additional information adds to the discussion in the funds’ prospectuses dated
July 24, 2014 and November 1, 2013, but is not a prospectus. The statement of additional information
should be read in conjunction with the funds’ current prospectuses. If you would like a copy of a
prospectus, please contact us at one of the addresses or telephone numbers listed on the
back cover or visit American Century Investments’ website at americancentury.com.

 

This statement of additional information incorporates by reference
certain information that appears in the funds’ annual and semiannual reports,
which are delivered to all investors. You may obtain a free copy
of the funds’ annual or semiannual reports by calling 1-800-345-2021.

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

©2014 American Century Proprietary Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.

 

 
 

 

 

Table of Contents

 

The Funds’ History

2

Fund Investment Guidelines

2

Emerging Markets Debt Fund 3

Global Bond Fund

3

International Bond Fund

4

Currency Management

4

Fund Investments and Risks

5

Investment Strategies and Risks

5

Investment Policies

25

Temporary Defensive Measures

27

Portfolio Turnover

27

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

27

Management

32

Board of Trustees

32

Officers

38

Code of Ethics

38

Proxy Voting Policies

39

Service Providers

40

Investment Advisor

40

Portfolio Manager

43

Transfer Agent and Administrator

46

Sub-Administrator

46

Distributor

47

Custodian Bank

47

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

47

Brokerage Allocation

47

Regular Broker-Dealers

49

Information About Fund Shares

49

Multiple Class Structure

50

Valuation of the Fund’s Securities

53

Taxes

54

Federal Income Tax

54

State and Local Taxes

55

Financial Statements

56

   

Appendix A – Principal Shareholders

A-1

Appendix B – Sales Charges and Payments to Dealers

B-1

Appendix C – Buying and Selling Fund Shares

C-1

Appendix D – Explanation of Fixed-Income Securities Ratings

D-1

 

 
1

 

 

The Funds’ History

 

American Century International Bond Funds is a registered open-end management investment company that was organized as a Massachusetts business trust in 1991 under the name Benham International Funds. In October 1996, it changed its name to American Century International Bond Funds. Throughout this statement of additional information we refer to American Century International Bond Funds as the trust. The trust’s fiscal year end was changed from December 31 to June 30 beginning on January 1, 2007.

 

Each fund described in this statement of additional information is a separate series of the trust and operates for many purposes as if it were an independent company. Each fund has its own investment objective, strategy, management team, assets and tax identification and stock registration numbers.

 

Fund/Class

Ticker Symbol

Inception Date

Emerging Markets Debt

   

Investor Class

XXXXX

07/24/2014

Institutional Class

XXXXX

07/24/2014

A Class

XXXXX

07/24/2014

C Class

XXXXX

07/24/2014

R Class

XXXXX

07/24/2014

R6 Class

XXXXX

07/24/2014

Global Bond

   

Investor Class

AGBVX

01/31/2012

Institutional Class

AGBNX

01/31/2012

A Class

AGBAX

01/31/2012

C Class

AGBTX

01/31/2012

R Class

AGBRX

01/31/2012

R6 Class

AGBDX

07/26/2013

International Bond

   

Investor Class

BEGBX

01/07/1992

Institutional Class

AIDIX

08/02/2004

A Class

AIBDX

10/27/1998

C Class

AIQCX

09/28/2007

R Class

AIBRX

09/28/2007

R6 Class

AIDDX

07/26/2013

 

Fund Investment Guidelines

 

This section explains the extent to which the funds’ advisor, American Century Investment Management, Inc. (ACIM), can use various investment vehicles and strategies in managing a fund’s assets. Descriptions of the investment techniques and risks associated with each appear in the section Investment Strategies and Risks, which begins on page 5. In the case of the funds’ principal investment strategies, these descriptions elaborate upon the discussion contained in the prospectus.

 

 
2

 

 

Each fund is nondiversified as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the Investment Company Act). Diversified means that, with respect to 75% of its total assets, the fund will not invest more than 5% of its total assets in the securities of a single issuer or own more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of a single issuer (other than U.S. government securities and securities of other investment companies). Nondiversified means that a fund may invest a greater percentage of its assets in a smaller number of securities than a diversified fund.

 

To meet federal tax requirements for qualification as a regulated investment company, each fund must limit its investments so that at the close of each quarter of its taxable year  

 

(1)

no more than 25% of its total assets are invested in the securities of a single issuer (other than the U.S. government or a regulated investment company); and

(2)

with respect to at least 50% of its total assets, no more than 5% of its total assets are invested in the securities of a single issuer (other than the U.S. government or a regulated investment company) and it does not own more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of a single issuer.

 

International Bond Fund does not invest in securities issued by companies assigned the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) for the tobacco industry. If the issuer of a security purchased by the fund is subsequently found to be classified in the tobacco industry (due to acquisition, merger or otherwise), the fund will sell the security as soon as reasonably possible.

 

Emerging Markets Debt Fund

 

Under normal market conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in fixed income instruments of issuers that are economically tied to emerging markets. The fund will invest in debt instruments issued by foreign governments and corporations. Investments will typically be made in U.S. dollar denominated instruments, but may be denominated in local emerging markets currency as well.

 

The fund considers an emerging market to be one of the countries included in the JP Morgan Corporate Emerging Markets Bond Index. As of the date of this statement of additional information, those countries include: Argentina, Bahrain, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Nigeria, Oman, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan Province of China, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine and United Arab Emirates.

 

The fund may invest without limitation in both investment grade and high-yield securities. A high-yield security is one that has been rated below the four highest categories used by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization, or determined by the investment advisor to be of similar quality.

 

The fund also invests in derivative instruments, including foreign currency exchange contracts, in order to shift its investment exposure from one currency into another for hedging purposes or to enhance returns. The fund may also invest in other types of derivative instruments such as futures contracts and swap agreements in order to manage duration, credit exposure and country exposure.

 

Global Bond Fund

 

The portfolio managers intend to invest in foreign and domestic debt securities. Under normal market conditions, the fund will invest at least 40% of its assets in foreign investments (unless the portfolio managers deem market conditions unfavorable, in which case the fund would invest at least 30% of its assets in foreign investments). The fund will allocate its assets among at least three different countries (one of which may be the United States).

 

 
3

 

 

International Bond Fund

 

The portfolio managers intend to keep the fund fully invested in foreign debt securities. Under normal market conditions, the fund will invest at least 65% of its total assets in bonds issued or guaranteed by foreign governments or their agencies and by foreign authorities, provinces and municipalities. The fund may invest up to 35% of its total assets in high-quality (i.e., rated “AA” or higher) foreign corporate debt securities.

 

The fund’s investments may include but shall not be limited to: (1) debt obligations issued or guaranteed by (a) a foreign sovereign government or one of its agencies, authorities, instrumentalities or political subdivisions including a foreign state, province or municipality, and (b) supranational organizations such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Investment Bank, and European Economic Community; (2) debt obligations of (a) foreign banks and bank holding companies, and (b) domestic banks and corporations issued in foreign currencies; and (3) foreign corporate debt securities and commercial paper. All of these investments must satisfy the credit quality standards (i.e., “AA” or higher) established by the trustees of the fund.

 

The fund’s credit quality requirements effectively limit the countries in which the fund may invest. As of the date of this statement of additional information, the fund expects to invest in the securities of issuers located in and governments of the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States. To limit the possibility that the fund will become unduly concentrated in Japan, the fund currently limits its investment in issuers located in Japan to no more than 25% of total assets.

 

Some securities will also have the country of issue reported as “Supranational.’ These are organizations that cannot be aligned with one particular country, such as the International Finance Corporation or the European Development Bank.

 

For an explanation of the securities ratings referred to in the prospectus and this statement of additional information, see Explanation of Fixed-Income Securities Ratings in Appendix D.

 

Currency Management

 

The rate of exchange between U.S. dollars and foreign currencies fluctuates, which results in gains and losses to the funds. Even if the funds’ foreign security holdings perform well, an increase in the value of the dollar relative to the currencies in which portfolio securities are denominated can offset net investment income.

 

The advisor intends to hedge the currency risk of Global Bond Fund to help lower the price volatility associated with currency risk. The fund will normally limit its foreign currency exposure (from non-U.S. dollar-denominated securities or currencies) to 30% of its total assets.

 

Because International Bond Fund is designed for U.S. investors seeking currency and interest rate diversification, the fund’s advisor limits its use of hedging strategies intended to minimize the effect of currency fluctuations. Although hedging strategies (if they are successful) reduce exchange rate risk, they also reduce the potential for share price appreciation when foreign currencies increase in value relative to the U.S. dollar.

 

When the advisor considers the U.S. dollar to be attractive relative to foreign currencies, as much as 25% of International Bond Fund’s total assets may be hedged into U.S. dollars. For temporary defensive purposes and under extraordinary circumstances (such as significant political events), more than 25% of the fund’s total assets may be hedged in this manner.

 

In managing the funds’ currency exposure, the advisor will buy and sell foreign currencies regularly, either in the spot (i.e., cash) market or the forward market. Forward foreign currency exchange contracts (forward contracts) are individually negotiated and privately traded between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. In most cases, no deposit requirements exist, and these contracts are traded at a net price without commission. Forward contracts involve an obligation to purchase or sell a specific currency at an agreed-upon price on a future date. Most contracts expire in less than one year. The funds also may use futures and options for currency management purposes. For more information on futures and options, please see Futures and Options on page 12.

 

 
4

 

 

Fund Investments and Risks

 

Investment Strategies and Risks

 

This section describes investment vehicles and techniques the portfolio managers can use in managing a fund’s assets. It also details the risks associated with each, because each investment vehicle and technique contributes to a fund’s overall risk profile.

 

Asset-Backed Securities (ABS)

 

To the extent permitted by its investment objective, each fund may invest in ABS. ABS are structured like mortgage-backed securities, but instead of mortgage loans or interest in mortgage loans, the underlying assets may include, for example, such items as motor vehicle installment sales or installment loan contracts, leases of various types of real and personal property, home equity loans, student loans, small business loans, and receivables from credit card agreements. The ability of an issuer of ABS to enforce its security interest in the underlying assets may be limited. The value of an ABS is affected by changes in the market’s perception of the assets backing the security, the creditworthiness of the servicing agent for the loan pool, the originator of the loans, the financial institution providing any credit enhancement, and subordination levels.

 

Payments of principal and interest passed through to holders of ABS are typically supported by some form of credit enhancement, such as a letter of credit, surety bond, limited guarantee by another entity or a priority to certain of the borrower’s other securities. The degree of credit enhancement varies, and generally applies to only a fraction of the asset-backed security’s par value until exhausted. If the credit enhancement of an ABS held by a fund has been exhausted, and if any required payments of principal and interest are not made with respect to the underlying loans, a fund may experience losses or delays in receiving payment.

 

Some types of ABS may be less effective than other types of securities as a means of “locking in” attractive long-term interest rates. One reason is the need to reinvest prepayments of principal; another is the possibility of significant unscheduled prepayments resulting from declines in interest rates. These prepayments would have to be reinvested at lower rates. As a result, these securities may have less potential for capital appreciation during periods of declining interest rates than other securities of comparable maturities, although they may have a similar risk of decline in market value during periods of rising interest rates. Prepayments may also significantly shorten the effective maturities of these securities, especially during periods of declining interest rates. Conversely, during periods of rising interest rates, a reduction in prepayments may increase the effective maturities of these securities, subjecting them to a greater risk of decline in market value in response to rising interest rates than traditional debt securities, and, therefore, potentially increasing the volatility of a fund.

 

The risks of investing in ABS are ultimately dependent upon the repayment of loans by the individual or corporate borrowers. Although a fund would generally have no recourse against the entity that originated the loans in the event of default by a borrower, ABS typically are structured to mitigate this risk of default.

 

ABS are generally issued in more than one class, each with different payment terms. Multiple class ABS may be used as a method of providing credit support through creation of one or more classes whose right to payments is made subordinate to the right to such payments of the remaining class or classes. Multiple classes also may permit the issuance of securities with payment terms, interest rates or other characteristics differing both from those of each other and from those of the underlying assets. Examples include so-called strips (ABS entitling the holder to disproportionate interests with respect to the allocation of interest and principal of the assets backing the security), and securities with classes having characteristics such as floating interest rates or scheduled amortization of principal.

 

 
5

 

 

Bank Loans

 

Global Bond and Emerging Markets Debt may invest in bank loans, which include senior secured and unsecured floating rate loans of corporations, partnerships, or other entities. Typically, these loans hold a senior position in the borrower's capital structure, may be secured by the borrower's assets and have interest rates that reset frequently. These loans are usually rated non-investment grade by the rating agencies. An economic downturn generally leads to higher non-payment and default rates by borrowers, and a bank loan can lose a substantial part of its value due to these and other adverse conditions and events. However, as compared to junk bonds, senior floating rate loans are typically senior in the capital structure and are often secured by collateral of the borrower. A fund’s investments in bank loans are subject to credit risk, and there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral would satisfy the claims of the borrower’s obligations in the event of non-payment of scheduled interest or principal, or that the collateral could be readily liquidated. The interest rates on many bank loans reset frequently, and therefore investors are subject to the risk that the return will be less than anticipated when the investment was first made. Most bank loans, like most investment grade bonds, are not traded on any national securities exchange. Bank loans generally have less liquidity than investment grade bonds and there may be less publicly available information about them.

 

A fund eligible to invest in bank loans may purchase bank loans from other lenders (sometimes referred to as loan assignments) or it may also acquire a participation interest in another lender's portion of the bank loan. Large bank loans to corporations or governments may be shared or syndicated among several lenders, usually commercial or investment banks. A fund may participate in such syndicates, or can buy part of a loan, becoming a direct lender. Participation interests involve special types of risk, including liquidity risk and the risks of being a lender. Risks of being a lender include credit risk (the borrower’s ability to meet required principal and interest payments under the terms of the loan), industry risk (the borrower’s industry’s exposure to rapid change or regulation), financial risk (the effectiveness of the borrower’s financial policies and use of leverage), liquidity risk (the adequacy of the borrower’s back-up sources of cash), and collateral risk (the sufficiency of the collateral’s value to repay the loan in the event of non-payment or default by the borrower). If a fund purchases a participation interest, it may only be able to enforce its rights through the lender, and may assume the credit risk of the lender in addition to the credit risk of the borrower.

 

Collateralized Debt Obligations

 

Each fund, other than International Bond, may invest in collateralized debt obligations (“CDOs”), including collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”), collateralized bond obligations (“CBOs”), and other similarly structured securities. CBOs and CLOs are types of asset backed securities. A CLO is a trust or other special purpose entity that is typically collateralized by a pool of loans, which may include, among others, U.S. and non-U.S. senior secured loans, senior unsecured loans, and subordinate corporate loans, including loans that may be rated below investment grade or equivalent unrated loans. A CBO is generally a trust which is backed by a diversified pool of high risk, below investment grade fixed income securities. The risks of an investment in a CDO depend largely on the type of the collateral backing the obligation and the class of the CDO in which a fund invests. CDOs are subject to credit, interest rate, valuation, prepayment and extension risks. These securities are also subject to risk of default on the underlying asset, particularly during periods of economic downturn. CDOs carry additional risks including, but not limited to, (i) the possibility that distributions from collateral securities will not be adequate to make interest or other payments, (ii) the collateral may decline in value or default, (iii) a fund may invest in CDOs that are subordinate to other classes, and (iv) the complex structure of the security may not be fully understood at the time of investment and may produce disputes with the issuer or unexpected investment results.

 

Commercial Paper

 

The funds may invest in commercial paper (CP) that is issued by utility, financial, and industrial companies, supranational organizations and foreign governments and their agencies and instrumentalities. Rating agencies assign ratings to CP issuers indicating the agencies’ assessment of credit risk. Investment-grade CP ratings assigned by three rating agencies are provided in the following table.

 

 
6

 

 

 

Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.

Standard & Poor’s

Fitch Investors Service, Inc.

Highest Ratings

Prime-1

A-1/A-1+

F-1/F-1+

 

Prime-2

A-2

F-2

 

Prime-3

A-3

F-3

 

Some examples of CP and CP issuers are provided in the following paragraphs.

 

Domestic CP is issued by U.S. industrial and finance companies, utility companies, thrifts and bank holding companies. Foreign CP is issued by non-U.S. industrial and finance companies and financial institutions. Domestic and foreign corporate issuers occasionally have the underlying support of a well-known, highly rated commercial bank or insurance company. Bank support is provided in the form of a letter of credit (an LOC) or irrevocable revolving credit commitment (an IRC). Insurance support is provided in the form of a surety bond.

 

Bank holding company CP is issued by the holding companies of many well-known domestic banks, including Citicorp, J.P. Morgan Chase & Company and First Union National Bank. Bank holding company CP may be issued by the parent of a money center or regional bank.

 

Thrift CP is issued by major federal- or state-chartered savings and loan associations and savings banks.

 

Schedule B Bank CP is short-term, U.S. dollar-denominated CP issued by Canadian subsidiaries of non-Canadian banks (Schedule B banks). Whether issued as CP, a certificate of deposit or a promissory note, each instrument issued by a Schedule B bank ranks equally with any other deposit obligation. CP issued by Schedule B banks provides an investor with the comfort and reduced risk of a direct and unconditional parental bank guarantee.

 

Schedule B instruments generally offer higher rates than the short-term instruments of the parent bank or holding company.

 

Asset-backed CP is issued by corporations through special programs. In a typical program, a special purpose corporation (SPC), created and/or serviced by a bank or other financial institution, uses the proceeds from an issuance of CP to purchase receivables or other financial assets from one or more corporations (sellers). The sellers transfer their interest in the receivables or other financial assets to the SPC, and the cash flow from the receivables or other financial assets is used to pay interest and principal on the CP. Letters of credit or other forms of credit enhancement may be available to cover the risk that the cash flow from the receivables or other financial assets will not be sufficient to cover the maturing CP.

 

Convertible Securities

 

Emerging Markets Debt may invest in convertible securities. A convertible security is a bond, debenture, note, preferred stock or other security that may be converted into or exchanged for a prescribed amount of common stock of the same or a different issuer within a particular time period at a specified price or formula. A convertible security entitles the holder to receive the interest paid or accrued on debt or the dividend paid on preferred stock until the convertible security matures or is redeemed, converted or exchanged. Before conversion or exchange, such securities ordinarily provide a stream of income with generally higher yields than common stocks of the same or similar issuers, but lower than the yield on non-convertible debt. Of course, there can be no assurance of current income because issuers of convertible securities may default on their obligations. In addition, there can be no assurance of capital appreciation because the value of the underlying common stock will fluctuate. Because of the conversion feature, the managers consider some convertible securities to be equity equivalents.

 

The price of a convertible security will normally fluctuate in some proportion to changes in the price of the underlying asset. A convertible security is subject to risks relating to the activities of the issuer and/or general market and economic conditions. The stream of income typically paid on a convertible security may tend to cushion the security against declines in the price of the underlying asset. However, the stream of income causes fluctuations based upon changes in interest rates and the credit quality of the issuer. In general, the value of a convertible security is a function of (1) its yield in comparison with yields of other securities of comparable maturity and quality that do not have a conversion privilege and (2) its worth, at market value, if converted or exchanged into the underlying common stock. The price of a convertible security often reflects such variations in the price of the underlying common stock in a way that a non-convertible security does not. At any given time, investment value generally depends upon such factors as the general level of interest rates, the yield of similar nonconvertible securities, the financial strength of the issuer and the seniority of the security in the issuer’s capital structure.

 

 
7

 

 

A convertible security may be subject to redemption at the option of the issuer at a predetermined price. If a convertible security held by a fund is called for redemption, the fund would be required to permit the issuer to redeem the security and convert it to underlying common stock or to cash, or would sell the convertible security to a third party, which may have an adverse effect on the fund. A convertible security may feature a put option that permits the holder of the convertible security to sell that security back to the issuer at a predetermined price. A fund generally invests in convertible securities for their favorable price characteristics and total return potential and normally would not exercise an option to convert unless the security is called or conversion is forced.

 

Derivative Securities

 

To the extent permitted by its investment objectives and policies, a fund may invest in securities that are commonly referred to as derivative securities. Generally, a derivative security is a financial arrangement, the value of which is based on, or derived from, a traditional security, asset, or market index.

 

Certain derivative securities may be described as structured investments. A structured investment is a security whose value or performance is linked to an underlying index or other security or asset class. Structured investments include asset-backed securities (ABS), commercial and residential mortgage-backed securities (MBS and CMBS), and collateralized mortgage obligations (CMO), which are described more fully herein. Structured investments also include securities backed by other types of collateral. Structured investments involve the transfer of specified financial assets to a special purpose entity, generally a corporation or trust, or the deposit of financial assets with a custodian; and the issuance of securities or depositary receipts backed by, or representing interests in, those assets.

 

Some structured investments are individually negotiated agreements or are traded over the counter. Structured investments may be organized and operated to restructure the investment characteristics of the underlying security. The cash flow on the underlying instruments may be apportioned among the newly issued structured securities to create securities with different investment characteristics, such as varying maturities, payment priorities and interest rate provisions, and the extent of such payments made with respect to structured securities is dependent on the extent of the cash flow on the underlying instruments. Because structured securities typically involve no credit enhancement, their credit risk generally will be equivalent to that of the underlying instruments. Structured securities are subject to such risks as the inability or unwillingness of the issuers of the underlying securities to repay principal and interest, and requests by the issuers of the underlying securities to reschedule or restructure outstanding debt and to extend additional loan amounts.

 

Some derivative securities, such as mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities, are in many respects like any other investment, although they may be more volatile or less liquid than more traditional debt securities.

 

There are many different types of derivative securities and many different ways to use them. Futures and options are commonly used for traditional hedging purposes to attempt to protect a fund from exposure to changing interest rates, securities prices or currency exchange rates, and for cash management purposes as a low-cost method of gaining exposure to a particular securities market without investing directly in those securities.

 

The return on a derivative security may increase or decrease, depending upon changes in the reference index or instrument to which it relates.

 

There is a range of risks associated with investments in derivative securities, including:

 

the risk that the underlying security, interest rate, market index or other financial asset will not move in the direction the portfolio managers anticipate or that the value of the structured or derivative security will not move or react to changes in the underlying security, interest rate, market index or other financial asset as anticipated;

the possibility that there may be no liquid secondary market, or the possibility that price fluctuation limits may be imposed by the exchange, either of which may make it difficult or impossible to close out a position when desired;

the risk that adverse price movements in an instrument can result in a loss substantially greater than a fund’s initial investment;

the risk that a fund will have an obligation to deliver securities or currency pursuant to a derivatives transaction that such fund does not own at the inception of the derivatives trade;

the risk that the counterparty will fail to perform its obligations; and

the risk that a fund will be subject to higher volatility because some derivative securities create leverage.

 

 
8

 

 

A fund may not invest in a derivative security if its credit, interest rate, liquidity, counterparty and other risks associated with ownership of the security are outside acceptable limits set forth in the fund’s prospectus. The funds’ Board of Trustees has reviewed the advisor’s policy regarding investments in derivative securities. That policy specifies factors that must be considered in connection with a purchase of derivative securities and provides that a fund may not invest in a derivative security if it would be possible for a fund to lose more money than the notional value of the investment. The policy also establishes a committee that must review certain proposed purchases before the purchases can be made. The advisor will report on fund activity in derivative securities to the Board of Trustees as necessary.

 

Foreign Currency Exchange Transactions

 

Each fund expects to exchange dollars for its underlying currencies, and vice versa, in the normal course of managing the fund’s underlying investments. The advisor does not expect that a fund will hold currency that is not earning income on a regular basis, although a fund may do so temporarily when suitable investments are not available. A fund may purchase and sell currencies on a spot basis (i.e., for prompt delivery and settlement), or by entering into forward currency exchange contracts (also called forward contracts) or other contracts to purchase and sell currencies for settlement at a future date. A fund will incur costs in converting assets from one currency to another. Foreign exchange dealers may charge a fee for conversion; in addition, they realize a profit based on the difference (i.e., the spread) between the prices at which they buy and sell various currencies in the spot and forward markets. Thus, a dealer may offer to sell a foreign currency to a fund at one rate and repurchase it at a lesser rate should the fund desire to resell the currency to the dealer.

 

Each fund may use foreign currency forward contracts to enhance returns by increasing exposure to a foreign currency, or by shifting exposure to the fluctuations in the value of foreign currencies from one foreign currency to another foreign currency. Open positions in forwards used for non-hedging purposes will be covered by the segregation of liquid assets, marked to market daily. Forward contracts are agreements to exchange a specific amount of one currency for a specified amount of another at a future date. The date may be any agreed fixed number of days in the future. The amount of currency to be exchanged, the price at which the exchange will take place, and the date of the exchange are negotiated when a fund enters into the contract and are fixed for the term of the contract. Forward contracts are traded in an interbank market conducted directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. A forward contract generally has no deposit requirement and is consummated without payment of any commission. However, a fund may enter into forward contracts with deposit requirements or commissions.

 

At the maturity of a forward contract, a fund may complete the contract by paying for and receiving the underlying currency, or may seek to roll forward its contractual obligation by entering into an offsetting transaction with the same currency trader and paying or receiving the difference between the contractual exchange rate and the current exchange rate. A fund also may be able to enter into an offsetting contract prior to the maturity of the underlying contract. This practice is sometimes referred to as “cross hedging” and may be employed if, for example, the advisor believes that one foreign currency (in which a portion of a fund’s foreign currency holdings are denominated) will change in value relative to the U.S. dollar differently than another foreign currency. There is no assurance that offsetting transactions, or new forward contracts, will always be available to a fund.

 

Investors should realize that the use of forward contracts does not eliminate fluctuations in the underlying prices of the securities. Such contracts simply establish a rate of exchange that the fund can achieve at some future point in time. Additionally, although such contracts tend to minimize the risk of loss due to fluctuations in the value of the hedged currency when used as a hedge against foreign currency declines, at the same time they tend to limit any potential gain that might result from the change in the value of such currency.

 

Because investments in, and redemptions from, a fund will be in U.S. dollars, the advisor expects that a fund’s normal investment activity will involve a significant amount of currency exchange. For example, a fund may exchange its underlying foreign currencies for U.S. dollars in order to meet shareholder redemption requests or to pay expenses. These transactions may be executed in the spot or forward markets.

 

In addition, a fund may combine forward transactions in its underlying currency with investments in U.S. dollar-denominated instruments, in an attempt to construct an investment position whose overall performance will be similar to that of a security denominated in its underlying currency. If the amount of dollars to be exchanged is properly matched with the anticipated value of the dollar-denominated securities, a fund should be able to lock in the foreign currency value of the securities, and the fund’s overall investment return from the combined position should be similar to the return from purchasing a foreign currency-denominated instrument. This is sometimes referred to as a synthetic investment position or a position hedge.

 

 
9

 

 

The execution of a synthetic investment position may not be successful. It is impossible to forecast with absolute precision what the market value of a particular security will be at any given time. If the value of a dollar-denominated security is not exactly matched with a fund’s obligation under the forward contract on the contract’s maturity date, a fund may be exposed to some risk of loss from fluctuation of the dollar. Although the advisor will attempt to hold such mismatchings to a minimum, there can be no assurance that the advisor will be successful in doing so.

 

The funds may also invest in nondeliverable forward (NDF) currency transactions. An NDF is a transaction that represents an agreement between the fund and a counterparty to buy or sell a specified amount of a particular currency at an agreed upon foreign exchange rate on a future date. Unlike other currency transactions, there is no physical delivery of the currency on the settlement of an NDF transaction. Rather, the fund and the counterparty agree to net the settlement by making a payment in U.S. dollars or another fully convertible currency that represents any difference between the foreign exchange rate agreed upon at the inception of the NDF agreement and the actual exchange rate on the agreed upon future date. The funds may use an NDF contract to gain exposure to foreign currencies that are not internationally traded or if the markets for such currencies are heavily regulated or highly taxed. When currency exchange rates do not move as anticipated, a fund could sustain losses on the NDF transaction. This risk is heightened when the transactions involve currencies of emerging market countries. Additionally, in certain less developed countries or with respect to certain currencies, some of these contracts may be relatively liquid.

 

Foreign Securities

 

Each fund invests in the securities of foreign issuers, including foreign governments, when these securities meet the fund’s standards of selection.

 

A description of the funds’ investment strategies regarding foreign securities is contained in the funds’ prospectuses. Investing in securities of foreign issuers generally involves greater risks than investing in the securities of domestic companies including:

 

Currency Risk – The value of the foreign investments held by a fund may be significantly affected by changes in currency exchange rates. The dollar value of a foreign security generally decreases when the value of the dollar rises against the foreign currency in which the security is denominated, and tends to increase when the value of the dollar falls against such currency. In addition, the value of fund assets may be affected by losses and other expenses incurred in converting between various currencies in order to purchase and sell foreign securities, and by currency restrictions, exchange control regulation, currency devaluations and political developments. Please see Currency Management on page 4 for more information.

 

Social, Political and Economic Risk – The economies of many of the countries in which each fund invests are not as developed as the economy of the United States and may be subject to significantly different forces. Political or social instability, expropriation, nationalization, confiscatory taxation and limitations on the removal of funds or other assets also could adversely affect the value of investments. Further, a fund may find it difficult or be unable to enforce ownership rights, pursue legal remedies or obtain judgments in foreign courts.

 

Regulatory Risk – Foreign companies generally are not subject to the regulatory controls imposed on U.S. issuers and, in general, there is less publicly available information about foreign securities than is available about domestic securities. Many foreign companies are not subject to uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, practices and requirements comparable to those applicable to domestic companies and there may be less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards in some foreign markets. Income from foreign securities owned by a fund may be reduced by a withholding tax at the source, which would reduce dividend income payable to shareholders.

 

Market and Trading Risk – Brokerage commission rates in foreign countries, which generally are fixed rather than subject to negotiation as in the United States, are likely to be higher. The securities markets in many of the countries in which a fund invests will have substantially less trading volume than the principal U.S. markets. As a result, the securities of some companies in these countries may be less liquid, more volatile and harder to value than comparable U.S. securities. Furthermore, one securities broker may represent all or a significant part of the trading volume in a particular country, resulting in higher trading costs and decreased liquidity due to a lack of alternative trading partners. There generally is less government regulation and supervision of foreign stock exchanges, brokers and issuers, which may make it difficult to enforce contractual obligations. In addition, it may be more difficult in foreign countries to accurately determine appropriate brokerage commissions, taxes and other trading costs related to securities trades.

 

 
10

 

 

Clearance and Settlement Risk – Foreign securities markets also have different clearance and settlement procedures, and in certain markets there have been times when settlements have been unable to keep pace with the volume of securities transactions, making it difficult to conduct such transactions. Delays in clearance and settlement could result in temporary periods when assets of a fund are uninvested and no return is earned. The inability of a fund to make intended security purchases due to clearance and settlement problems could cause the fund to miss attractive investment opportunities. Inability to dispose of portfolio securities due to clearance and settlement problems could result either in losses to the fund due to subsequent declines in the value of the portfolio security or, if a fund has entered into a contract to sell the security, liability to the purchaser.

 

Ownership Risk – Evidence of securities ownership may be uncertain in many foreign countries. As a result, there is a risk that a fund’s trade details could be incorrectly or fraudulently entered at the time of the transaction, resulting in a loss to the fund.

 

Emerging Markets Risk – The funds may invest their holdings in securities of issuers located in emerging market (developing) countries. Investing in securities of issuers in emerging market countries involves exposure to significantly higher risk than investing in countries with developed markets. Emerging market countries may have economic structures that generally are less diverse and mature, and political systems that can be expected to be less stable than those of developed countries. Securities prices in emerging market countries can be significantly more volatile than in developed countries, reflecting the greater uncertainties of investing in lesser developed markets and economies. In particular, emerging market countries may have relatively unstable governments, and may present the risk of nationalization of businesses, expropriation, confiscatory taxation or in certain instances, reversion to closed-market, centrally planned economies. Such countries may also have less protection of property rights than developed countries.

 

The economies of emerging market countries may be based predominantly on only a few industries or may be dependent on revenues from particular commodities or on international aid or developmental assistance, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from extreme and volatile debt burdens or inflation rates. In addition, securities markets in emerging market countries may trade a relatively small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially resulting in a lack of liquidity and in volatility in the price of securities traded on those markets. Also, securities markets in emerging market countries typically offer less regulatory protection for investors.

 

Risk of Focusing Investment on Region or Country

 

Investing a significant portion of assets in one country or region makes a fund more dependent upon the political and economic circumstances of that particular country or region.

 

Eurozone Investment Risk – The recent global economic crisis brought several small economies in Europe to the brink of bankruptcy and many other economies into recession and weakened the banking and financial sector of many European countries. For example, the governments of Greece, Spain, Portugal and the Republic of Ireland have all recently experienced large public budget deficits, the effects of which are still unknown and may slow the overall recovery of the European economies from the recent global economic crisis. In addition, due to large public deficits, some European countries may be dependent on assistance from other European governments and institutions or agencies. Assistance may be dependent on a country’s implementation of reforms or reaching a certain level of performance. Failure to reach those objectives or an insufficient level of assistance could result in an economic downturn that could significantly affect the value of the fund’s European investments.

 

The Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union (EMU) is comprised of the European Union members that have adopted the euro currency. By adopting the euro as its currency, a member state relinquishes control of its own monetary policies. As a result, European countries are significantly affected by fiscal and monetary controls implemented by the EMU. The euro currency may not fully reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the various economies that comprise the EMU and Europe generally.

 

It is possible that EMU member countries could abandon the euro and return to a national currency and/or that the euro will cease to exist as a single currency in its current form. The effects of such an abandonment or a country’s forced expulsion from the euro on that country, the rest of the EMU, and global markets are impossible to predict, but are likely to be negative. The exit of any country out of the euro would likely have an extremely destabilizing effect on all EMU countries and their economies and a negative effect on the global economy as a whole. In addition, under these circumstances, some of the most significant challenges faced by the funds with euro-denominated holdings and derivatives involving the euro would include diminished market liquidity, operational issues relating to the settlement of trades, difficulty in establishing the fair values of holdings, and the redenomination of holdings into other existing or replacement currencies.

 

 
11

 

 

Japanese Investment Risk – Each fund may invest in securities offered by Japanese issuers. The value of such securities may be significantly affected by economic, political and regulatory developments in Japan. The Japanese government contends with persistent economic problems, including deflation, a banking system that has suffered from non-performing loans, and tax laws that dampen growth. Other factors having a negative impact include a heavy government budget deficit and low interest rates.

 

The Japanese economy lacks diversification, relying heavily on a small number of industries, including the electronic machinery sector. Japan is relatively poor in natural resources, and so it is dependent on imports, especially in the agricultural sector. It also relies on international trade to procure commodities needed for its strong heavy industrial sector, and therefore it is vulnerable to fluctuations in commodity prices. Japan has a high volume of exports, partly due to the government’s protectionist policies, which have caused tension with Japan’s trading partners, including the United States.

 

Generally, Japanese corporations are required to provide less disclosure than that required by U.S. law and accounting practice. Japanese accounting and auditing practices differ significantly from U.S. standards in specific areas, including regarding unconsolidated subsidiaries and related structures.

 

United Kingdom Investment Risk – Each fund may invest in securities offered by United Kingdom issuers including government and government related entities. A fund may also own exposure to the foreign exchange rate of the British Pound. The sovereign risks associated with the United Kingdom are currently considered to be low. However, in recent years a rise in the fiscal deficit, a deterioration in the United Kingdom’s debt to GDP ratio and exposure to contingent liabilities to the United Kingdom banking sector have increased government and United Kingdom related investment risks. The United Kingdom government currently owns substantial stakes in two of the largest banking groups in the country, the Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc and Lloyds Banking Group plc.

 

The United Kingdom government has implemented plans to reduce the deficit and reduce government debt levels, but these plans remain reliant on moderate economic growth at a time of increasing challenges. The accommodative monetary environment has reduced the measures at the United Kingdom’s disposal to help support economic activity. The high level of household and corporate debt pose potential structural risks to United Kingdom related investments. The gradual recovery of the UK banking sector from the 2008 financial crisis also remains fragile in the face of potential recessionary economic conditions and due to international exposures, in particular to weaker Eurozone countries.

 

The United Kingdom has a high value-added and diversified economy, robust institutions, a transparent and broadly consensual political process and financial flexibility. The United Kingdom also has a good historical track record of relatively stable regulatory and taxation regimes. However, risks remain that the economy cannot grow as planned due to a fall in global demand and economic activity, government austerity plans and constrained private consumption and investment. General political risk also remains inherent to country risk. In addition, significant risks remain within the banking sector. These factors, amongst others, may negatively impact the United Kingdom economy and specific United Kingdom investments which in turn could have a significant negative impact on United Kingdom related securities and the foreign exchange rate of the British Pound.

 

Futures and Options

 

Each fund may enter into futures contracts, options or options on futures contracts. Futures contracts provide for the sale by one party and purchase by another party of a specific security at a specified future time and price. Generally, futures transactions will be used to:

 

protect against a decline in market value of a fund’s securities (taking a short futures position),

protect against the risk of an increase in market value for securities in which a fund generally invests at a time when the fund is not fully-invested (taking a long futures position), or

provide a temporary substitute for the purchase of an individual security that may not be purchased in an orderly fashion.

 

Some futures and options strategies, such as selling futures, buying puts and writing calls, hedge the fund’s investments against price fluctuations. Other strategies, such as buying futures, writing puts and buying calls, tend to increase market exposure.

 

Although other techniques may be used to control a fund’s exposure to market fluctuations, the use of futures contracts may be a more effective means of hedging this exposure. While a fund pays brokerage commissions in connection with opening and closing out futures positions, these costs are lower than the transaction costs incurred in the purchase and sale of the underlying securities.

 

 
12

 

 

For example, the sale of a future by a fund means a fund becomes obligated to deliver the security (or securities, in the case of an index future) at a specified price on a specified date. The purchase of a future means a fund becomes obligated to buy the security (or securities) at a specified price on a specified date. The portfolio manager may engage in futures and options transactions based on securities indices provided that the transactions are consistent with a fund’s investment objectives. Examples of indices that may be used include the Morgan Stanley Capital International Europe, Australasia, Far East Index (MSCI EAFE) and Morgan Stanley Capital International Emerging Markets Free Index (MSCI EMF). The portfolio manager also may engage in futures and options transactions based on specific securities, such as U.S. Treasury bonds or notes. Futures contracts are traded on national futures exchanges. Domestic futures exchanges and trading are regulated under the Commodity Exchange Act by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a U.S. government agency.

 

Index futures contracts differ from traditional futures contracts in that when delivery takes place, no stocks or bonds change hands. Instead, these contracts settle in cash at the spot market value of the index. Although other types of futures contracts by their terms call for actual delivery or acceptance of the underlying securities, in most cases the contracts are closed out before the settlement date. A futures position may be closed by taking an opposite position in an identical contract (i.e., buying a contract that has previously been sold or selling a contract that has previously been bought).

 

Unlike when a fund purchases or sells a bond, no price is paid or received by a fund upon the purchase or sale of the future. Initially, a fund will be required to deposit an amount of cash or securities equal to a varying specified percentage of the contract amount. This amount is known as initial margin. The margin deposit is intended to ensure completion of the contract (delivery or acceptance of the underlying security) if it is not terminated prior to the specified delivery date. A margin deposit does not constitute a margin transaction for purposes of a fund’s investment restrictions. Minimum initial margin requirements are established by the futures exchanges and may be revised. In addition, brokers may establish margin deposit requirements that are higher than the exchange minimums. Cash held in the margin accounts generally is not income-producing. However, coupon bearing securities, such as Treasury bills and bonds, held in margin accounts generally will earn income. Subsequent payments to and from the broker, called variation margin, will be made on a daily basis as the price of the underlying debt securities or index fluctuates, making the future more or less valuable, a process known as marking the contract to market. Changes in variation margin are recorded by a fund as unrealized gains or losses.

 

At any time prior to expiration of the future, a fund may elect to close the position by taking an opposite position. A final determination of variation margin is then made; additional cash is required to be paid by or released to a fund and that fund realizes a loss or gain.

 

Purchasing Put and Call Options

 

By purchasing a put option, a fund obtains the right (but not the obligation) to sell the option’s underlying instrument at a fixed strike price. In return for this right, a fund pays the current market price for the option (known as the option premium). Options have various types of underlying instruments, including specific securities, indices of securities prices, and futures contracts. A fund may terminate its position in a put option it has purchased by allowing it to expire or by exercising the option. If the option is allowed to expire, a fund will lose the entire premium it paid. If a fund exercises the option, it completes the sale of the underlying instrument at the strike price. A fund also may terminate a put option position by closing it out in the secondary market at its current price if a liquid secondary market exists.

 

The buyer of a typical put option can expect to realize a gain if security prices fall substantially. However, if the underlying instrument’s price does not fall enough to offset the cost of purchasing the option, a put buyer can expect to suffer a loss (limited to the amount of the premium paid, plus related transaction costs).

 

The features of call options are essentially the same as those of put options, except that the purchaser of a call option obtains the right to purchase, rather than sell, the underlying instrument at the option’s strike price. A call buyer typically attempts to participate in potential price increases of the underlying instrument with risk limited to the cost of the option if security prices fall. At the same time, the buyer can expect to suffer a loss if security prices do not rise sufficiently to offset the cost of the option.

 

 
13

 

 

Writing Put and Call Options

 

If a fund writes a put option, it takes the opposite side of the transaction from the option’s purchaser. In return for receipt of the premium, a fund assumes the obligation to pay the strike price for the option’s underlying instrument if the other party chooses to exercise the option. When writing an option on a futures contract, a fund will be required to make margin payments to a broker or custodian as described above for futures contracts. A fund may seek to terminate its position in a put option it writes before exercise by closing out the option in the secondary market at its current price. However, if the secondary market is not liquid for a put option a fund has written, the fund must continue to be prepared to pay the strike price while the option is outstanding, regardless of price changes, and must continue to set aside assets to cover its position.

 

If security prices rise, a put writer would generally expect to profit, although the gain would be limited to the amount of the premium received. If security prices remain the same over time, the writer also would likely profit by being able to close out the option at a lower price. If security prices fall, the put writer would expect to suffer a loss. This loss should be less than the loss from purchasing the underlying instrument directly, however, because the premium received for writing the option should mitigate the effects of the decline.

 

Writing a call option obligates a fund to sell or deliver the option’s underlying instrument in return for the strike price upon exercise of the option. The characteristics of writing call options are similar to those of writing put options, except that writing calls generally is a profitable strategy if prices remain the same or fall. Through receipt of the option premium, a call writer mitigates the effects of a price decline. At the same time, because a call writer must be prepared to deliver the underlying instrument in return for the strike price even if its current value is greater, a call writer gives up some ability to participate in security price increases.

 

Combined Positions

 

A fund may purchase and write options in combination with one another, or in combination with futures or forward contracts, to adjust the risk and return characteristics of the overall position. For example, a fund may purchase a put option and write a call option on the same underlying instrument to construct a combined position whose risk and return characteristics are similar to selling a futures contract. Another possible combined position would involve writing a call option at one strike price and buying a call option at a lower price to reduce the risk of the written call option in the event of a substantial price increase. Because combined options positions involve multiple trades, they result in higher transaction costs and may be more difficult to open and close out.

 

Over-the-Counter Options

 

Unlike exchange-traded options, which are standardized with respect to the underlying instrument, expiration date, contract size, and strike price, the terms of over-the-counter (OTC) options (options not traded on exchanges) generally are established through negotiation with the other party to the option contract. While this type of arrangement allows the fund greater flexibility to tailor an option to its needs, OTC options generally involve greater credit risk than exchange-traded options, which are guaranteed by the clearing organizations of the exchanges where they are traded. The risk of illiquidity also is greater with OTC options because these options generally can be closed out only by negotiation with the other party to the option.

 

Risks Related to Futures and Options Transactions

 

Futures and options prices can be volatile, and trading in these markets involves certain risks. If the portfolio manager applies a hedge at an inappropriate time or judges interest rate trends incorrectly, futures and options strategies may lower a fund’s return.

 

A fund could suffer losses if it is unable to close out its position because of an illiquid secondary market. Futures contracts may be closed out only on an exchange that provides a secondary market for these contracts, and there is no assurance that a liquid secondary market will exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time. Consequently, it may not be possible to close a futures position when the portfolio manager considers it appropriate or desirable to do so. In the event of adverse price movements, a fund would be required to continue making daily cash payments to maintain its required margin. If a fund had insufficient cash, it might have to sell portfolio securities to meet daily margin requirements at a time when the portfolio manager would not otherwise elect to do so. In addition, a fund may be required to deliver or take delivery of instruments underlying futures contracts it holds. The portfolio manager will seek to minimize these risks by limiting the futures contracts entered into on behalf of a fund to those traded on national futures exchanges and for which there appears to be a liquid secondary market.

 

 
14

 

 

A fund could suffer losses if the prices of its futures and options positions were poorly correlated with its other investments, or if securities underlying futures contracts purchased by a fund had different maturities than those of the portfolio securities being hedged. Such imperfect correlation may give rise to circumstances in which a fund loses money on a futures contract at the same time that it experiences a decline in the value of its hedged portfolio securities. A fund also could lose margin payments it has deposited with a margin broker if, for example, the broker became bankrupt.

 

Most futures exchanges limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in futures contract prices during a single trading day. The daily limit establishes the maximum amount that the price of a futures contract may vary either up or down from the previous day’s settlement price at the end of the trading session. Once the daily limit has been reached in a particular type of contract, no trades may be made on that day at a price beyond the limit. However, the daily limit governs only price movement during a particular trading day and, therefore, does not limit potential losses. In addition, the daily limit may prevent liquidation of unfavorable positions. Futures contract prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of futures positions and subjecting some futures traders to substantial losses.

 

Options on Futures

 

By purchasing an option on a futures contract, a fund obtains the right, but not the obligation, to sell the futures contract (a put option) or to buy the contract (a call option) at a fixed strike price. A fund can terminate its position in a put option by allowing it to expire or by exercising the option. If the option is exercised, a fund completes the sale of the underlying security at the strike price. Purchasing an option on a futures contract does not require a fund to make margin payments unless the option is exercised.

 

Correlation of Price Changes

 

Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded futures and options contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund’s current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in futures and options contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which it typically invests (for example, by hedging intermediate-term securities with a futures contract based on an index of long-term bond prices); this involves a risk that the futures position will not track the performance of a fund’s other investments.

 

Options and futures prices can diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments even if the underlying instruments correlate well with a fund’s investments. Options and futures prices are affected by factors such as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation also may result from differing levels of demand in the options and futures markets and securities markets, from structural differences in how options and futures and securities are traded, or from the imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell options and futures contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in an effort to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund’s options or futures positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments.

 

Futures and Options Contracts Relating to Foreign Currencies

 

A fund may purchase and sell currency futures and purchase and write currency options to increase or decrease its exposure to different foreign currencies. A fund also may purchase and write currency options in connection with currency futures or forward contracts.

 

Currency futures contracts are similar to forward currency exchange contracts, except that they are traded on exchanges and have standard contract sizes and delivery dates. Most currency futures contracts call for payment or delivery in U.S. dollars.

 

The uses and risks of currency futures are similar to those of futures relating to securities or indices, as described above. Currency futures values can be expected to correlate with exchange rates but may not reflect other factors that affect the value of a fund’s investments. A currency hedge, for example, should protect a German-mark-denominated security from a decline in the German mark, but it will not protect a fund against a price decline resulting from a deterioration in the issuer’s creditworthiness.

 

 
15

 

 

Liquidity of Futures Contracts and Options

 

There is no assurance that a liquid secondary market will exist for any particular futures contract or option at any particular time. Options may have relatively low trading volume and liquidity if their strike prices are not close to the underlying instrument’s current price. In addition, exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for futures contracts and options and may halt trading if a contract’s price moves upward or downward more than the limit on a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible for a fund to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. If the secondary market for a contract was not liquid, because of price fluctuation limits or otherwise, prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions could be difficult or impossible, and a fund could be required to continue holding a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. Under these circumstances, a fund’s access to assets held to cover its future positions also could be impaired.

 

Futures and options trading on foreign exchanges may not be regulated as effectively as similar transactions in the U.S. and may not involve clearing mechanisms or guarantees similar to those available in the U.S. The value of a futures contract or option traded on a foreign exchange may be adversely affected by the imposition of different exercise and settlement terms, trading procedures, margin requirements and lesser trading volume.

 

Restrictions on the Use of Futures Contracts and Options

 

Each fund may enter into futures contracts, options, options on futures contracts, or swap agreements as permitted by its investment policies and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) rules. The advisor to each fund has claimed an exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” under the Commodity Exchange Act and, therefore, the advisor is not subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool operator under that Act with respect to its provision of services to each fund.

 

The CFTC recently adopted certain rule amendments that may impose additional limits on the ability of a fund to invest in futures contracts, options on futures, swaps, and certain other commodity interests if its investment advisor does not register with the CFTC as a “commodity pool operator” with respect to such fund. It is expected that the funds will be able to execute their investment strategies within the limits adopted by the CFTC’s rules. As a result, the advisor does not intend to register with the CFTC as a commodity pool operator on behalf of any of the funds. In the event that one of the funds engages in transactions that necessitate future registration with the CFTC, the advisor will register as a commodity pool operator and comply with applicable regulations with respect to that fund.

 

To the extent required by law, each fund will segregate cash, cash equivalents or other appropriate liquid securities on its records in an amount sufficient to cover its obligations under the futures contracts and options.

 

Inflation-Linked Securities

 

Global Bond and International Bond may purchase inflation-linked securities issued by the U.S. Treasury, U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities other than the U.S. Treasury, and entities other than the U.S. Treasury or U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities, including those issued by governments of other countries and other foreign entities.

 

Inflation-linked securities are designed to offer a return linked to inflation, thereby protecting future purchasing power of the money invested in them. However, inflation-linked securities provide this protected return only if held to maturity. In addition, inflation-linked securities may not trade at par value. Real interest rates (the market rate of interest less the anticipated rate of inflation) change over time as a result of many factors, such as what investors are demanding as a true value for money. When real rates do change, inflation-linked securities prices will be more sensitive to these changes than conventional bonds, because these securities were sold originally based upon a real interest rate that is no longer prevailing. Should market expectations for real interest rates rise, the price of inflation-linked securities and the share price of a fund holding these securities will fall. Investors in the funds should be prepared to accept not only this share price volatility but also the possible adverse tax consequences it may cause.

 

An investment in securities featuring inflation-adjusted principal and/or interest involves factors not associated with more traditional fixed-principal securities. Such factors include the possibility that the inflation index may be subject to significant changes, that changes in the index may or may not correlate to changes in interest rates generally or changes in other indices, or that the resulting interest may be greater or less than that payable on other securities of similar maturities. In the event of sustained deflation, it is possible that the amount of semiannual interest payments, the inflation-adjusted principal of the security or the value of the stripped components will decrease. If any of these possibilities are realized, a fund’s net asset value could be negatively affected.

 

 
16

 

 

Inflation-Linked Treasury Securities

 

Inflation-linked U.S. Treasury securities are U.S. Treasury securities with a final value and interest payment stream linked to the inflation rate. Inflation-linked U.S. Treasury securities may be issued in either note or bond form. Inflation-linked U.S. Treasury notes have maturities of at least one year, but not more than 10 years. Inflation-linked U.S. Treasury bonds have maturities of more than 10 years.

 

Inflation-linked U.S. Treasury securities may be attractive to investors seeking an investment backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government that provides a return in excess of the rate of inflation. These securities were first sold in the U.S. market in January 1997. Inflation-linked U.S. Treasury securities are auctioned and issued on a quarterly basis.

 

Structure and Inflation Index – The principal value of inflation-linked U.S. Treasury securities will be adjusted to reflect changes in the level of inflation. The index for measuring the inflation rate for inflation-linked U.S. Treasury securities is the non-seasonally adjusted U.S. City Average All Items Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (Consumer Price Index) published monthly by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

 

Semiannual coupon interest payments are made at a fixed percentage of the inflation-linked principal value. The coupon rate for the semiannual interest rate of each issuance of inflation-linked U.S. Treasury securities is determined at the time the securities are sold to the public (i.e., by competitive bids in the auction). The coupon rate will likely reflect real yields available in the U.S. Treasury market; real yields are the prevailing yields on U.S. Treasury securities with similar maturities, less then-prevailing inflation expectations. While a reduction in inflation will cause a reduction in the interest payment made on the securities, the repayment of principal at the maturity of the security is guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury to be no less than the original face or par amount of the security at the time of issuance.

 

Indexing Methodology - The principal value of inflation-linked U.S. Treasury securities will be indexed, or adjusted, to account for changes in the Consumer Price Index. Semiannual coupon interest payment amounts will be determined by multiplying the inflation-linked principal amount by one-half the stated rate of interest on each interest payment date.

 

Taxation - The taxation of inflation-linked U.S. Treasury securities is similar to the taxation of conventional bonds. Both interest payments and the difference between original principal and the inflation-adjusted principal will be treated as interest income subject to taxation. Interest payments are taxable when received or accrued. The inflation adjustment to the principal is subject to tax in the year the adjustment is made, not at maturity of the security when the cash from the repayment of principal is received. If an upward adjustment has been made, investors in non-tax-deferred accounts will pay taxes on this amount currently. Decreases in the indexed principal can be deducted only from current or previous interest payments reported as income.

 

Inflation-linked U.S. Treasury securities therefore have a potential cash flow mismatch to an investor, because investors must pay taxes on the inflation-adjusted principal before the repayment of principal is received. It is possible that, particularly for high income tax bracket investors, inflation-linked U.S. Treasury securities would not generate enough cash in a given year to cover the tax liability they could create. This is similar to the current tax treatment for zero-coupon bonds and other discount securities. If inflation-linked U.S. Treasury securities are sold prior to maturity, capital losses or gains are realized in the same manner as traditional bonds.

 

Investors in a fund will receive dividends that represent both the interest payments and the principal adjustments of the inflation-linked securities held in the fund’s portfolio. An investment in a fund may, therefore, be a means to avoid the cash flow mismatch associated with a direct investment in inflation-linked securities. For more information about taxes and their effect on you as an investor in the funds, see Taxes, page 54.

 

U.S. Government Agencies

 

A number of U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities other than the U.S. Treasury may issue inflation-linked securities. Some U.S. government agencies have issued inflation-linked securities whose design mirrors that of the inflation-linked U.S. Treasury securities described above.

 

 
17

 

 

Other/Foreign Entities

 

Entities other than the U.S. Treasury or U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities may issue inflation-linked securities. While some entities have issued inflation-linked securities whose design mirrors that of the inflation-linked U.S. Treasury securities described above, others utilize different structures. For example, the principal value of these securities may be adjusted with reference to the Consumer Price Index, but the semiannual coupon interest payments are made at a fixed percentage of the original issue principal. Alternatively, the principal value may remain fixed, but the coupon interest payments may be adjusted with reference to the Consumer Price Index.

 

Inflation-linked securities issued by a foreign government are generally adjusted to reflect an index comparable to the U.S.'s CPI index, as calculated by such foreign government. There can be no assurance that the foreign inflation index will accurately measure the real rate of inflation in the prices of goods and services. Moreover, there can be no assurance that the rate of inflation in a foreign country will be correlated to the rate of inflation in the U.S. In addition, to the extent that the currency used to calculate the fund's NAV is different from the currencies of the underlying inflation-linked securities held by the fund, changes in foreign exchange rates may negate the impact of any adjustments to interest rates payable on inflation-linked securities when the fund's NAV is calculated. As inflation generally has the effect of diluting the value of a given currency against other currencies, any increase in the value of the fund attributable to increased interest income resulting from an adjustment to the interest rate of an inflation-linked security may be lost through a decrease in value of the underlying bond when its value is translated into U.S. dollars.

 

Loans of Portfolio Securities

 

In order to realize additional income, a fund may lend its portfolio securities. Such loans may not exceed one-third of a fund’s total assets valued at market, however, this limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities in accordance with a fund’s investment objectives, policies and limitations, or to repurchase agreements with respect to portfolio securities.

 

Cash received from the borrower as collateral through loan transactions may be invested in other eligible securities. Investing this cash subjects that investment to market appreciation or depreciation. If a borrower defaults on a securities loan because of insolvency or other reasons, the lending fund could experience delays or costs in recovering the securities it loaned; if the value of the loaned securities increased over the value of the collateral, a fund could suffer a loss. To minimize the risk of default on securities loans, the advisor adheres to guidelines prescribed by the Board of Trustees governing lending of securities. These guidelines strictly govern:

 

the type and amount of collateral that must be received by the fund;

the circumstances under which additions to that collateral must be made by borrowers;

the return to be received by the fund on the loaned securities;

the limitations on the percentage of fund assets on loan; and

the credit standards applied in evaluating potential borrowers of portfolio securities.

 

In addition, the guidelines require that the fund have the option to terminate any loan of a portfolio security at any time and set requirements for recovery of securities from borrowers.

 

Mortgage-Related Securities

 

To the extent permitted by its investment objective, a fund may invest in mortgage-related securities.

 

Background

 

A mortgage-backed security represents an ownership interest in a pool of mortgage loans. The loans are made by financial institutions to finance home and other real estate purchases. As the loans are repaid, investors receive payments of both interest and principal.

 

Like fixed-income securities, mortgage-backed securities pay a stated rate of interest during the life of the security. However, unlike a bond, which returns principal to the investor in one lump sum at maturity, mortgage-backed securities return principal to the investor in increments during the life of the security.

 

Because the timing and speed of principal repayments vary, the cash flow on mortgage-backed securities is irregular. If mortgage holders sell their homes, refinance their loans, prepay their mortgages or default on their loans, the principal is distributed pro rata to investors.

 

 
18

 

 

As with other fixed-income securities, the prices of mortgage-backed securities fluctuate in response to changing interest rates; when interest rates fall, the prices of mortgage-backed securities rise, and vice versa. Changing interest rates have additional significance for mortgage-backed securities investors, however, because they influence prepayment rates (the rates at which mortgage holders prepay their mortgages), which in turn affect the yields on mortgage-backed securities. When interest rates decline, prepayment rates generally increase. Mortgage holders take advantage of the opportunity to refinance their mortgages at lower rates with lower monthly payments. When interest rates rise, mortgage holders are less inclined to refinance their mortgages. The effect of prepayment activity on yield depends on whether the mortgage-backed security was purchased at a premium or at a discount.

 

A fund may receive principal sooner than it expected because of accelerated prepayments. Under these circumstances, a fund might have to reinvest returned principal at rates lower than it would have earned if principal payments were made on schedule. Conversely, a mortgage-backed security may exceed its anticipated life if prepayment rates decelerate unexpectedly. Under these circumstances, the fund might miss an opportunity to earn interest at higher prevailing rates.

 

A fund may invest in covered bonds or covered mortgages. Covered bonds are securities issued by a bank and backed by a dedicated group of loans known as a cover pool.

 

Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (CMOs)

 

A CMO is a multiclass bond backed by a pool of mortgage pass-through certificates or mortgage loans. In structuring a CMO, an issuer distributes cash flow from the underlying collateral over a series of classes called tranches. Each CMO is a set of two or more tranches, with average lives and cash flow patterns designed to meet specific investment objectives. The average life expectancies of the different tranches in a four-part deal, for example, might be two, five, seven and 20 years.

 

As payments on the underlying mortgage loans are collected, the CMO issuer pays the coupon rate of interest to the bondholders in each tranche. At the outset, scheduled and unscheduled principal payments go to investors in the first tranches. Investors in later tranches do not begin receiving principal payments until the prior tranches are paid off. This basic type of CMO is known as a sequential pay or plain vanilla CMO.

 

Some CMOs are structured so that the prepayment or market risks are transferred from one tranche to another. Prepayment stability is improved in some tranches if other tranches absorb more prepayment variability.

 

The final tranche of a CMO often takes the form of a Z-bond, also known as an accrual bond or accretion bond. Holders of these securities receive no cash until the earlier tranches are paid in full. During the period that the other tranches are outstanding, periodic interest payments are added to the initial face amount of the Z-bond but are not paid to investors. When the prior tranches are retired, the Z-bond receives coupon payments on its higher principal balance plus any principal prepayments from the underlying mortgage loans. The existence of a Z-bond tranche helps stabilize cash flow patterns in the other tranches. In a changing interest rate environment, however, the value of the Z-bond tends to be more volatile.

 

As CMOs have evolved, some classes of CMO bonds have become more prevalent. The planned amortization class (PAC) and targeted amortization class (TAC), for example, were designed to reduce prepayment risk by establishing a sinking-fund structure. PAC and TAC bonds assure to varying degrees that investors will receive payments over a predetermined period under various prepayment scenarios. Although PAC and TAC bonds are similar, PAC bonds are better able to provide stable cash flows under various prepayment scenarios than TAC bonds because of the order in which these tranches are paid.

 

The existence of a PAC or TAC tranche can create higher levels of risk for other tranches in the CMO because the stability of the PAC or TAC tranche is achieved by creating at least one other tranche — known as a companion bond, support or non-PAC bond — that absorbs the variability of principal cash flows. Because companion bonds have a high degree of average life variability, they generally pay a higher yield. A TAC bond can have some of the prepayment variability of a companion bond if there is also a PAC bond in the CMO issue.

 

Floating-rate CMO tranches (floaters) pay a variable rate of interest. Institutional investors with short-term liabilities, such as commercial banks, often find floating-rate CMOs attractive investments. Super floaters and inverse floaters are variations on the floater structure that have highly variable cash flows.

 

 
19

 

 

Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities (CMBS)

 

CMBS are securities created from a pool of commercial mortgage loans, such as loans for hotels, shopping centers, office buildings, apartment buildings, and the like. Interest and principal payments from these loans are passed on to the investor according to a particular schedule of payments. The credit quality of CMBS depends primarily on the quality of the underlying loans and on the structure of the particular deal. Generally, deals are structured with senior and subordinate classes. Multiple classes may permit the issuance of securities with payment terms, interest rates, or other characteristics differing both from those of each other and those of the underlying assets. Examples include classes having characteristics such as floating interest rates or scheduled amortization of principal. Rating agencies rate the individual classes of the deal based on the degree of seniority or subordination of a particular class and other factors. The value of these securities may change because of actual or perceived changes in the creditworthiness of individual borrowers, their tenants, the servicing agents, or the general state of commercial real estate and other factors.

 

CMBS may be partially stripped so that each investor class receives some interest and some principal. When securities are completely stripped, however, all of the interest is distributed to holders of one type of security, known as an interest-only security (IO), and all of the principal is distributed to holders of another type of security known as a principal-only security (PO). The funds are permitted to invest in IO classes of CMBS. As interest rates rise and fall, the value of IOs tends to move in the same direction as interest rates. The cash flows and yields on IO classes are extremely sensitive to the rate of principal payments (including prepayments) on the related underlying mortgage assets. In the cases of IOs, prepayments affect the amount of cash flows provided to the investor. If the underlying mortgage assets experience greater than anticipated prepayments of principal, an investor may fail to fully recoup its initial investment in an IO class of a stripped mortgage-backed security, even if the IO class is rated AAA or Aaa or is derived from a full faith and credit obligation. However, because commercial mortgages are often locked out from prepayment, or have high prepayment penalties or a defeasance mechanism, the prepayment risk associated with a CMBS IO class is generally less than that of a residential IO.

 

Adjustable Rate Mortgage Securities

 

Adjustable rate mortgage securities (ARMs) have interest rates that reset at periodic intervals. Acquiring ARMs permits a fund to participate in increases in prevailing current interest rates through periodic adjustments in the coupons of mortgages underlying the pool on which ARMs are based. In addition, when prepayments of principal are made on the underlying mortgages during periods of rising interest rates, a fund can reinvest the proceeds of such prepayments at rates higher than those at which they were previously invested. Mortgages underlying most ARMs, however, have limits on the allowable annual or lifetime increases that can be made in the interest rate that the mortgagor pays. Therefore, if current interest rates rise above such limits over the period of the limitation, a fund holding an ARM does not benefit from further increases in interest rates. Moreover, when interest rates are in excess of coupon rates (i.e., the rates being paid by mortgagors) of the mortgages, ARMs behave more like fixed income securities and less like adjustable rate securities and are subject to the risks associated with fixed income securities. In addition, during periods of rising interest rates, increases in the coupon rate of adjustable rate mortgages generally lag current market interest rates slightly, thereby creating the potential for capital depreciation on such securities.

 

GNMA Certificates

 

The Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) is a wholly owned corporate instrumentality of the United States within the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The National Housing Act of 1934 (Housing Act), as amended, authorizes GNMA to guarantee the timely payment of interest and repayment of principal on certificates that are backed by a pool of mortgage loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration under the Housing Act, or by Title V of the Housing Act of 1949 (FHA Loans), or guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs under the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (VA Loans), as amended, or by pools of other eligible mortgage loans. The Housing Act provides that the full faith and credit of the U.S. government is pledged to the payment of all amounts that may be required to be paid under any guarantee. GNMA has unlimited authority to borrow from the U.S. Treasury in order to meet its obligations under this guarantee.

 

GNMA certificates represent a pro rata interest in one or more pools of the following types of mortgage loans: (a) fixed-rate level payment mortgage loans; (b) fixed-rate graduated payment mortgage loans (GPMs); (c) fixed-rate growing equity mortgage loans (GEMs); (d) fixed-rate mortgage loans secured by manufactured (mobile) homes (MHs); (e) mortgage loans on multifamily residential properties under construction (CLCs); (f) mortgage loans on completed multifamily projects (PLCs); (g) fixed-rate mortgage loans that use escrowed funds to reduce the borrower’s monthly payments during the early years of the mortgage loans (buydown mortgage loans); and (h) mortgage loans that provide for payment adjustments based on periodic changes in interest rates or in other payment terms of the mortgage loans.

 

 
20

 

 

Fannie Mae Certificates

 

The Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA or Fannie Mae) is a federally chartered and privately owned corporation established under the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act. Fannie Mae was originally established in 1938 as a U.S. government agency designed to provide supplemental liquidity to the mortgage market and was reorganized as a stockholder-owned and privately managed corporation by legislation enacted in 1968. Fannie Mae acquires capital from investors who would not ordinarily invest in mortgage loans directly and thereby expands the total amount of funds available for housing. This money is used to buy home mortgage loans from local lenders, replenishing the supply of capital available for mortgage lending.

 

Fannie Mae certificates represent a pro rata interest in one or more pools of FHA Loans, VA Loans, or, most commonly, conventional mortgage loans (i.e., mortgage loans that are not insured or guaranteed by a government agency) of the following types: (a) fixed-rate level payment mortgage loans; (b) fixed-rate growing equity mortgage loans; (c) fixed-rate graduated payment mortgage loans; (d) adjustable-rate mortgage loans; and (e) fixed-rate mortgage loans secured by multifamily projects.

 

Fannie Mae certificates entitle the registered holder to receive amounts representing a pro rata interest in scheduled principal and interest payments (at the certificate’s pass-through rate, which is net of any servicing and guarantee fees on the underlying mortgage loans), any principal prepayments, and a proportionate interest in the full principal amount of any foreclosed or otherwise liquidated mortgage loan. The full and timely payment of interest and repayment of principal on each Fannie Mae certificate is guaranteed by Fannie Mae; this guarantee is not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. See Recent Events Regarding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac below.

 

Freddie Mac Certificates

 

The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC or Freddie Mac) is a corporate instrumentality of the United States created pursuant to the Emergency Home Finance Act of 1970 (FHLMC Act), as amended. Freddie Mac was established primarily for the purpose of increasing the availability of mortgage credit. Its principal activity consists of purchasing first-lien conventional residential mortgage loans (and participation interests in such mortgage loans) and reselling these loans in the form of mortgage-backed securities, primarily Freddie Mac certificates.

 

Freddie Mac certificates represent a pro rata interest in a group of mortgage loans (a Freddie Mac certificate group) purchased by Freddie Mac. The mortgage loans underlying Freddie Mac certificates consist of fixed- or adjustable-rate mortgage loans with original terms to maturity of between 10 and 30 years, substantially all of which are secured by first-liens on one- to four-family residential properties or multifamily projects. Each mortgage loan must meet standards set forth in the FHLMC Act. A Freddie Mac certificate group may include whole loans, participation interests in whole loans, undivided interests in whole loans, and participations composing another Freddie Mac certificate group.

 

Freddie Mac guarantees to each registered holder of a Freddie Mac certificate the timely payment of interest at the rate provided for by the certificate. Freddie Mac also guarantees ultimate collection of all principal on the related mortgage loans, without any offset or deduction, but generally does not guarantee the timely repayment of principal. Freddie Mac may remit principal at any time after default on an underlying mortgage loan, but no later than 30 days following (a) foreclosure sale, (b) payment of a claim by any mortgage insurer, or (c) the expiration of any right of redemption, whichever occurs later, and in any event no later than one year after demand has been made upon the mortgager for accelerated payment of principal. Obligations guaranteed by Freddie Mac are not backed by the full faith and credit pledge of the U.S. government. See Recent Events Regarding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac below.

 

Recent Events Regarding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

 

Since September 2008, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have operated under a conservatorship administered by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). In addition, the U.S. Treasury has entered into senior preferred stock purchase agreements to provide additional financing to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Under the terms of the agreements (as amended), the Treasury has committed funding to each entity up to $200 billion plus the cumulative amount of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac’s net worth deficit as of the end of any calendar quarter in 2010, 2011 and 2012, less any positive net worth as of December 31, 2012. While the Treasury’s capital support is substantial, it is not unlimited.

 

The future status and role of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac could be impacted by, among other things, the actions taken and restrictions placed on Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac by the FHFA in its role as conservator, the restrictions placed on Fannie Mae’s or Freddie Mac’s operations and activities under the senior preferred stock purchase agreements, market responses to developments at Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, and future legislative and regulatory action that alters the operations, ownership, structure and/or mission of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, each of which may, in turn, impact the value of, and cash flows on, any securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

 

 
21

 

 

Stripped Mortgage-Backed Securities

 

Stripped mortgage-backed securities are created by segregating the cash flows from underlying mortgage loans or mortgage securities to create two or more new securities, each with a specified percentage of the underlying security’s principal or interest payments. Mortgage-backed securities may be partially stripped so that each investor class receives some interest and some principal. When securities are completely stripped, however, all of the interest is distributed to holders of one type of security, known as an interest-only security, or IO, and all of the principal is distributed to holders of another type of security known as a principal-only security, or PO. Strips can be created in a pass-through structure or as tranches of a CMO.

 

The market values of IOs and POs are very sensitive to interest rate and prepayment rate fluctuations. POs, for example, increase (or decrease) in value as interest rates decline (or rise). The price behavior of these securities also depends on whether the mortgage collateral was purchased at a premium or discount to its par value. Prepayments on discount coupon POs generally are much lower than prepayments on premium coupon POs. IOs may be used to hedge a fund’s other investments because prepayments cause the value of an IO strip to move in the opposite direction from other mortgage-backed securities.

 

Municipal Obligations

 

The funds may invest in tax-exempt or taxable municipal obligations, which are generally issued by state and local governments or government entities. Interest payments from municipal obligations are generally exempt from federal income tax. Interest payments from certain municipal obligations, however, are subject to federal income tax because of the degree of non-government involvement in the transaction or because federal tax code limitations on the issuance of tax-exempt bonds that benefit private entities have been exceeded. Some typical examples of these taxable municipal obligations include industrial revenue bonds and economic development bonds issued by state or local governments to aid private enterprise. The interest on a taxable municipal bond is often exempt from state taxation in the issuing state. The funds do not expect to be eligible to pass through to shareholders the tax-exempt character of interest on municipal obligations.

 

Other Investment Companies

 

A fund may invest in other investment companies, such as closed-end investment companies, unit investment trusts, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other open-end investment companies, provided that the investment is consistent with a fund’s investment policies and restrictions. Under the Investment Company Act, a fund’s investment in such securities, subject to certain exceptions, currently is limited to

 

3% of the total voting stock of any one investment company

5% of the fund’s total assets with respect to any one investment company and

10% of the fund’s total assets in the aggregate.

 

A fund’s investments in other investment companies may include money market funds managed by the advisor. Investments in money market funds are not subject to the percentage limitations set forth above.

 

Such purchases will be made in the open market where no commission or profit to a sponsor or dealer results from the purchase other than the customary brokers’ commissions. As a shareholder of another investment company, a fund would bear, along with other shareholders, its pro rata portion of the other investment company’s expenses, including advisory fees. These expenses would be in addition to the management fee that each fund bears directly in connection with its own operations.

 

ETFs, such as Standard & Poor’s Depositary Receipts (SPDRs) and the Barclays Aggregate Bond ETF, are types of funds bought and sold on a securities exchange. An ETF trades like common stock and usually represents a fixed portfolio of securities designed to track the performance and dividend yield of a particular domestic or foreign market index. A fund may purchase an ETF to temporarily gain exposure to a portion of the U.S. or a foreign market while awaiting purchase of underlying securities. The risks of owning an ETF generally reflect the risks of owning the underlying securities they are designed to track, although the lack of liquidity on an ETF could result in it being more volatile and the market price for the ETF may be higher than or lower than the ETF’s net asset value. Additionally, ETFs have management fees, which increase their cost.

 

Repurchase Agreements

 

Each fund may invest in repurchase agreements when they present an attractive short-term return on cash that is not otherwise committed to the purchase of securities pursuant to the investment policies of the fund.

 

 
22 

 

 

A repurchase agreement occurs when, at the time a fund purchases an interest-bearing obligation, the seller (a bank or a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) agrees to purchase it on a specified date in the future at an agreed-upon price. The repurchase price reflects an agreed-upon interest rate during the time a fund’s money is invested in the security.

 

Because the security purchased constitutes collateral for the repurchase obligation, a repurchase agreement can be considered a loan collateralized by the security purchased. A fund’s risk is the seller’s ability to pay the agreed-upon repurchase price on the repurchase date. If the seller defaults, a fund may incur costs in disposing of the collateral, which would reduce the amount realized thereon. If the seller seeks relief under the bankruptcy laws, the disposition of the collateral may be delayed or limited. To the extent the value of the security decreases, a fund could experience a loss.

 

Each fund will limit repurchase agreement transactions to securities issued by the U.S. government and its agencies and instrumentalities, and will enter into such transactions with those banks and securities dealers who are deemed creditworthy pursuant to criteria adopted by the funds’ advisor.

 

Repurchase agreements maturing in more than seven days would count toward a fund’s 15% limit on illiquid securities.

 

Short-Term Securities

 

In order to meet anticipated redemptions, anticipated purchases of additional securities for a fund’s portfolio, or, in some cases, for temporary defensive purposes, each fund may invest a portion of its assets in money market and other short-term securities.

 

Examples of those securities include:

 

Securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government and its agencies and instrumentalities;

Commercial Paper;

Certificates of Deposit and Euro Dollar Certificates of Deposit;

Bankers’ Acceptances;

Short-term notes, bonds, debentures or other debt instruments;

Repurchase agreements; and

Money market funds.

 

Swap Agreements

 

Each fund may invest in swap agreements, consistent with its investment objective and strategies. A fund may enter into a swap agreement in order to, for example, attempt to obtain or preserve a particular return or spread at a lower cost than obtaining a return or spread through purchases and/or sales of instruments in other markets; protect against currency fluctuations; attempt to manage duration to protect against any increase in the price of securities a fund anticipates purchasing at a later date; or gain exposure to certain markets in the most economical way possible.

 

Swap agreements are two-party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors for periods ranging from a few weeks to more than one year. In a standard “swap” transaction, two parties agree to exchange the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments, which may be adjusted for an interest factor. The gross returns to be exchanged or “swapped” between the parties are generally calculated with respect to a “notional amount,” i.e., the return on or increase in value of a particular dollar amount invested at a particular interest rate, in a particular foreign currency, or in a “basket” of securities representing a particular index. Forms of swap agreements include, for example, interest rate swaps, under which fixed- or floating-rate interest payments on a specific principal amount are exchanged and total return swaps, under which one party agrees to pay the other the total return of a defined underlying asset (usually an index [including inflation indexes], stock, bond or defined portfolio of loans and mortgages) in exchange for fee payments, often a variable stream of cash flows based on LIBOR. A fund may enter into credit default swap agreements to hedge an existing position by purchasing or selling credit protection. Credit default swaps enable an investor to buy/sell protection against a credit event of a specific issuer. The seller of credit protection against a security or basket of securities receives an up-front or periodic payment to compensate against potential default event(s). A fund may enhance returns by selling protection or attempt to mitigate credit risk by buying protection. Market supply and demand factors may cause distortions between the cash securities market and the credit default swap market.

 

Whether a fund’s use of swap agreements will be successful depends on the advisor’s ability to predict correctly whether certain types of investments are likely to produce greater returns than other investments. Interest rate swaps could result in losses if interest rate changes are not correctly anticipated by the fund. Total return swaps could result in losses if the reference index, security, or investments do not perform as anticipated by the fund. Credit default

 

 
23 

 

 

swaps could result in losses if the fund does not correctly evaluate the creditworthiness of the issuer on which the credit default swap is based. Because they are two-party contracts and because they may have terms of greater than seven days, swap agreements may be considered to be illiquid. Moreover, a fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. The funds will enter into swap agreements only with counterparties that meet certain standards of creditworthiness or that are cleared through a Derivatives Clearing Organization (“DCO”). Certain restrictions imposed on the funds by the Internal Revenue Code may limit the funds’ ability to use swap agreements.

 

The swaps market is an evolving market and was largely unregulated prior to the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”). The Dodd-Frank Act and related regulatory developments have imposed several new requirements on swap market participants, including: (i) new registration and business conduct requirements on swap dealers; (ii) mandatory execution of certain swaps on swap execution facilities or designated contract markets; and (iii) mandatory clearing of certain swaps with DCOs. The mandatory execution and clearing requirements will occur on a phased-in basis. Although central clearing is designed to decrease counterparty risk, it does not do so entirely since a fund will still be subject to the credit risk of the central clearing entity. In addition, swaps that are not cleared will be subject to regulatory collateral requirements that could limit or adversely affect a fund’s ability to enter into such swaps. Additionally, such collateral requirements, or other government regulations, could cause a fund to terminate new or existing swaps or to realize amounts to be received under such instruments at inopportune times.

 

U.S. Government Securities

 

Each fund may invest in U.S. government securities including bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury and securities issued or guaranteed by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government.

 

Some U.S. government securities are supported by the direct full faith and credit of the U.S. government; others are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury; others, such as securities issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), are supported by the discretionary authority of the U.S. government to purchase the agencies’ obligations; and others are supported only by the credit of the issuing or guaranteeing instrumentality. There is no assurance that the U.S. government will provide financial support to an instrumentality it sponsors when it is not obligated by law to do so.

 

Variable-, Floating- and Auction-Rate Securities

 

Variable- and floating-rate securities, including floating-rate notes (FRNs), provide for periodic adjustments to the interest rate. The adjustments are generally based on an index-linked formula, or determined through a remarketing process.

 

These types of securities may be combined with a put or demand feature that permits the fund to demand payment of principal plus accrued interest from the issuer or a financial institution. One example is the variable-rate demand note (VRDN). VRDNs combine a demand feature with an interest rate reset mechanism designed to result in a market value for the security that approximates par. VRDNs are generally designed to meet the requirements of money market fund Rule 2a-7. 

 

Auction Rate Securities (ARS) are variable rate bonds whose interest rates are reset at specified intervals through a Dutch auction process. A Dutch auction is a competitive bidding process designed to determine a single uniform clearing rate that enables purchases and sales of the ARS to take place at par. All accepted bids and holders of the ARS receive the same rate. ARS holders rely on the liquidity generated by the Dutch auction. There is a risk that an auction will fail due to insufficient demand for the securities. If an auction fails, an ARS may become illiquid until either a subsequent successful auction is conducted, the issuer redeems the issue, or a secondary market develops. 

 

When-Issued and Forward Commitment Agreements

 

Each fund may sometimes purchase new issues of securities on a when-issued or forward commitment basis in which the transaction price and yield are each fixed at the time the commitment is made, but payment and delivery occur at a future date.

 

For example, a fund may sell a security and at the same time make a commitment to purchase the same or a comparable security at a future date and specified price. Conversely, a fund may purchase a security and at the same time make a commitment to sell the same or a comparable security at a future date and specified price. These types of transactions are executed simultaneously in what are known as dollar-rolls, buy/sell back transactions, cash and carry, or financing transactions. For example, a broker-dealer may seek to purchase a particular security that a fund owns. A fund will sell that security to the broker-dealer and simultaneously enter into a forward commitment agreement to buy it back at a future date. This type of transaction generates income for the fund if the dealer is

 

 
24 

 

 

willing to execute the transaction at a favorable price in order to acquire a specific security.

 

When purchasing securities on a when-issued or forward commitment basis, a fund assumes the rights and risks of ownership, including the risks of price and yield fluctuations. Market rates of interest on debt securities at the time of delivery may be higher or lower than those contracted for on the when-issued security. Accordingly, the value of the security may decline prior to delivery, which could result in a loss to a fund. While a fund will make commitments to purchase or sell securities with the intention of actually receiving or delivering them, it may sell the securities before the settlement date if doing so is deemed advisable as a matter of investment strategy.

 

In purchasing securities on a when-issued or forward commitment basis, a fund will segregate cash, cash equivalents or other appropriate liquid securities on its record in an amount sufficient to meet the purchase price. To the extent a fund remains fully invested or almost fully invested at the same time it has purchased securities on a when-issued basis, there will be greater fluctuations in its net asset value than if it solely set aside cash to pay for when-issued securities. When the time comes to pay for the when-issued securities, a fund will meet its obligations with available cash, through the sale of securities, or, although it would not normally expect to do so, by selling the when-issued securities themselves (which may have a market value greater or less than the fund’s payment obligation). Selling securities to meet when-issued or forward commitment obligations may generate taxable capital gains or losses.

 

Investment Policies

 

Unless otherwise indicated, with the exception of the percentage limitations on borrowing, the policies described below apply at the time a fund enters into a transaction. Accordingly, any later increase or decrease beyond the specified limitation resulting from a change in a fund’s assets will not be considered in determining whether it has complied with its investment policies.

 

Fundamental Investment Policies

 

The funds’ fundamental investment policies are set forth below. These investment policies, the investment objective of each fund except Emerging Markets Debt, as set forth in the applicable fund's prospectus, and a fund’s status as diversified may not be changed without approval of a majority of the outstanding votes of shareholders of the fund, as determined in accordance with the Investment Company Act.

 

Subject

Policy

Senior
Securities

A fund may not issue senior securities, except as permitted under the Investment Company Act.

Borrowing

A fund may not borrow money, except that a fund may borrow for temporary or emergency purposes (not for leveraging or investment) in an amount not exceeding 33⅓% of the fund’s total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings).

Lending

A fund may not lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than 33⅓% of the fund’s total assets would be lent to other parties, except, (i) through the purchase of debt securities in accordance with its investment objective, policies and limitations or (ii) by engaging in repurchase agreements with respect to portfolio securities.

Real Estate

A fund may not purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments. This policy shall not prevent a fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate or securities of companies that deal in real estate or are engaged in the real estate business.

Concentration

A fund may not concentrate its investments in securities of issuers in a particular industry (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities).

Underwriting

A fund may not act as an underwriter of securities issued by others, except to the extent that the fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 in the disposition of restricted securities.

Commodities

A fund may not purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments provided that this limitation shall not prohibit the fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities.

Control

A fund may not invest for purposes of exercising control over management.

 

For purposes of the investment policy relating to senior securities, a fund may borrow from any bank provided that immediately after any such borrowing there is asset coverage of at least 300% for all borrowings of such fund. In the event that such asset coverage falls below 300%, the fund shall, within three days thereafter (not including Sundays and holidays) or such longer period as the SEC may prescribe by rules and regulations, reduce the amount of its

 

 
25 

 

 

borrowings to an extent that the asset coverage of such borrowings is at least 300%. In addition, when a fund enters into certain transactions involving potential leveraging, it will hold offsetting positions or segregate assets to cover such obligations at levels consistent with the guidance of the SEC and its staff.

 

For purposes of the investment policies relating to lending and borrowing, the funds have received an exemptive order from the SEC regarding an interfund lending program. Under the terms of the exemptive order, the funds may borrow money from or lend money to other American Century Investments-advised funds that permit such transactions. All such transactions will be subject to the limits for borrowing and lending set forth above. The funds will borrow money through the program only when the costs are equal to or lower than the costs of short-term bank loans. Interfund loans and borrowings normally extend only overnight but can have a maximum duration of seven days. The funds will lend through the program only when the returns are higher than those available from other short-term instruments (such as repurchase agreements). The funds may have to borrow from a bank at a higher interest rate if an interfund loan is called or not renewed. Any delay in repayment to a lending fund could result in a lost investment opportunity or additional borrowing costs.

 

For purposes of the investment policy relating to concentration, a fund shall not purchase any securities that would cause 25% or more of the value of the fund’s net assets at the time of purchase to be invested in the securities of one or more issuers conducting their principal business activities in the same industry, provided that

 

(a)

there is no limitation with respect to obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, any state, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia or any of their authorities, agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions and repurchase agreements secured by such obligations (except that an Industrial Development Bond backed only by the assets and revenues of a non-governmental user will be deemed to be an investment in the industry represented by such user),

(b)

wholly owned finance companies will be considered to be in the industries of their parents if their activities are primarily related to financing the activities of their parents,

(c)

utilities will be divided according to their services, for example, gas, gas transmission, electric and gas, electric, and telephone will each be considered a separate industry, and

(d)

personal credit and business credit businesses will be considered separate industries.

 

Nonfundamental Investment Policies

 

In addition, the funds are subject to the following investment policies that are not fundamental. These policies, along with the investment objective of Emerging Markets Debt, as set forth in its prospectus, may be changed by the Board of Trustees.

 

Subject

Policy

Leveraging

A fund may not purchase additional investment securities at any time during which outstanding borrowings exceed 5% of the total assets of the fund.

Liquidity

A fund may not purchase any security or enter into a repurchase agreement if, as a result, more than 15% of its net assets would be invested in illiquid securities. Illiquid securities include repurchase agreements not entitling the holder to payment of principal and interest within seven days and in securities that are illiquid by virtue of legal or contractual restrictions on resale or the absence of a readily available market.

Short Sales

A fund may not sell securities short, unless it owns or has the right to obtain securities equivalent in-kind and amount to the securities sold short, and provided that transactions in futures contracts and options are not deemed to constitute selling securities short.

Margin

A fund may not purchase securities on margin, except to obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of transactions, and provided that margin payments in connection with futures contracts and options on futures contracts shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.

Futures and
Options

A fund may enter into futures contracts and write and buy put and call options relating to futures contracts. A fund may not, however, enter into leveraged futures transactions if it would be possible for the fund to lose more than the notional value of the investment.

Issuers with
Limited
Operating
Histories

A fund may invest a portion of its assets in the securities of issuers with limited operating histories. An issuer is considered to have a limited operating history if that issuer has a record of less than three years of continuous operation. Periods of capital formation, incubation, consolidations, and research and development may be considered in determining whether a particular issuer has a record of three years of continuous operation.

 

 
26

 

 

The Investment Company Act imposes certain additional restrictions upon the funds’ ability to acquire securities issued by insurance companies, broker-dealers, underwriters or investment advisors, and upon transactions with affiliated persons as defined by the Act. It also defines and forbids the creation of cross and circular ownership. Neither the SEC nor any other agency of the federal or state government participates in or supervises the management of the funds or their investment practices or policies.

 

Temporary Defensive Measures

 

For temporary defensive purposes, a fund may invest in securities that may not fit its investment objective or its stated market. During a temporary defensive period, a fund may direct its assets to the following investment vehicles:

 

interest-bearing bank accounts or Certificates of Deposit;

U.S. government securities and repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. government securities; and

money market funds.

 

To the extent a fund assumes a defensive position, it will not be pursuing its investment objective.

 

Portfolio Turnover

 

The portfolio turnover rate of each fund for its most recent fiscal year is included in the Fund Summary section of that fund’s prospectus. The portfolio turnover rate for each fund’s last five fiscal years (or shorter period if the fund is less than five years old) is shown in the Financial Highlights tables in the prospectus.

 

The portfolio manager will sell securities without regard to the length of time the security has been held. Accordingly, the fund’s rate of portfolio turnover may be substantial.

 

The portfolio managers intend to purchase a particular security whenever they believe it will contribute to the stated objective of a particular fund. In order to achieve each fund’s investment objective, the portfolio managers may sell a given security, regardless of the length of time it has been held in the portfolio, and, regardless of the gain or loss realized on the sale. The managers may sell a portfolio security if they believe that the security is not fulfilling its purpose because, among other things, it did not live up to the managers’ expectations, because it may be replaced with another security holding greater promise, because it has reached its optimum potential, because of a change in the circumstances of a particular company or industry or in general economic conditions, or because of some combination of such reasons.

 

Because investment decisions are based on a particular security’s anticipated contribution to a fund’s objectives, the managers believe that the rate of portfolio turnover is irrelevant when they determine that a change is required to pursue the fund’s investment objective. As a result, a fund’s annual portfolio turnover rate cannot be anticipated and may be higher than other mutual funds with similar investment objectives. Portfolio turnover also may affect the character of capital gains realized and distributed by the fund, if any, since short-term capital gains are taxable as ordinary income.

 

Because the managers do not take portfolio turnover rate into account in making investment decisions, (1) the managers have no intention of maintaining any particular rate of portfolio turnover, whether high or low, and (2) the portfolio turnover rates in the past should not be considered as representative of the rates that will be attained in the future.

 

Variations in a fund’s portfolio turnover rate from year to year may be due to a fluctuating volume of shareholder purchase and redemption activity, varying market conditions, and/or changes in the manager’s investment outlook.

 

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

 

The advisor (ACIM) has adopted policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of fund portfolio holdings and characteristics, which are described below.

 

 
27

 

 

Distribution to the Public

 

Full portfolio holdings for each fund will be made available for distribution 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter, and will be posted on americancentury.com at approximately the same time. This disclosure is in addition to the portfolio disclosure in annual and semi-annual shareholder reports, and on Form N-Q, which disclosures are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 60 days of each fiscal quarter end and also posted on americancentury.com at the time the filings are made.

 

Top 10 holdings for each fund will be made available for distribution 30 days after the end of each month, and will be posted on americancentury.com at approximately the same time.

 

Portfolio characteristics that are derived from portfolio holdings but do not identify any specific security will be made available for distribution 15 days after the end of the period to which such data relates. Characteristics that identify any specific security will be made available 30 days after the end of the period to which such data relates. Characteristics in both categories will generally be posted on americancentury.com at approximately the time they are made available for distribution. Data derived from portfolio returns and any other characteristics not deemed confidential will be available for distribution at any time. The advisor may make determinations of confidentiality on a fund-by-fund basis, and may add or delete characteristics to or from those considered confidential at any time.

 

Any American Century Investments fund that sells securities short as an investment strategy will disclose full portfolio holdings only in annual and semi-annual shareholder reports and on form N-Q. These funds will make long holdings available for distribution 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter, but the funds will keep short holdings confidential. Top 10 long holdings and portfolio characteristics will be made available for distribution in accordance with the policies set forth above.

 

So long as portfolio holdings are disclosed in accordance with the above parameters, the advisor makes no distinction among different categories of recipients, such as individual investors, institutional investors, intermediaries that distribute the fund’s shares, third-party service providers, rating and ranking organizations, and fund affiliates. Because this information is publicly available and widely disseminated, the advisor places no conditions or restrictions on, and does not monitor, its use. Nor does the advisor require special authorization for its disclosure.

 

Accelerated Disclosure

 

The advisor recognizes that certain parties, in addition to the advisor and its affiliates, may have legitimate needs for information about portfolio holdings and characteristics prior to the times prescribed above. Such accelerated disclosure is permitted under the circumstances described below.

 

Ongoing Arrangements

 

Certain parties, such as investment consultants who provide regular analysis of fund portfolios for their clients and intermediaries who pass through information to fund shareholders, may have legitimate needs for accelerated disclosure. These needs may include, for example, the preparation of reports for customers who invest in the funds, the creation of analyses of fund characteristics for intermediary or consultant clients, the reformatting of data for distribution to the intermediary’s or consultant’s clients, and the review of fund performance for ERISA fiduciary purposes.

 

In such cases, accelerated disclosure is permitted if the service provider enters an appropriate non-disclosure agreement with the fund’s distributor in which it agrees to treat the information confidentially until the public distribution date and represents that the information will be used only for the legitimate services provided to its clients (i.e., not for trading). Non-disclosure agreements require the approval of an attorney in the advisor’s legal department. The advisor’s compliance department receives quarterly reports detailing which clients received accelerated disclosure, what they received, when they received it and the purposes of such disclosure. Compliance personnel are required to confirm that an appropriate non-disclosure agreement has been obtained from each recipient identified in the reports.

 

Those parties who have entered into non-disclosure agreements as of March 31, 2014, are as follows:

 

American Fidelity Assurance Co.

Ameritas Life Insurance Corporation

Annuity Investors Life Insurance Company

Asset Services Company L.L.C.

Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company

AUL/American United Life Insurance Company

 

 
28

 

 

Bell Globemedia Publishing

Bellwether Consulting, LLC

Bidart & Ross, Inc.

Callan Associates, Inc.

Calvert Asset Management Company, Inc.

Cambridge Associates, LLC

Cambridge Financial Services, Inc.

Capital Cities, LLC

Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.

Cleary Gull Inc.

Commerce Bank

Connecticut General Life Insurance Company

Curcio Webb LLC

Defined Contribution Advisors, Inc.

DWS Investments Distributors, Inc.

EquiTrust Life Insurance Company

Evaluation Associates, LLC

Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC

Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company

FIL Investments International

First MetLife Investors Insurance Company

Fund Evaluation Group, LLC

Gavion, LLC

The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America

Hammond Associates, Inc.

Hewitt Associates LLC

Hewitt EnnisKnupp, Inc.

ICMA Retirement Corporation

ING Insurance Company of America

Iron Capital Advisors

J.P. Morgan Retirement Plan Services LLC

Jefferson National Life Insurance Company

John Hancock Financial Services, Inc.

Kansas City Life Insurance Company

Kmotion, Inc.

The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company

Lipper Inc.

Marquette Associates

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company

McGladrey Wealth Management LLC

Mercer Global Investments Canada Limited

Mercer Investment Management, Inc.

Merrill Lynch

MetLife Investors Insurance Company

MetLife Investors Insurance Company of California

Midland National Life Insurance Company

Minnesota Life Insurance Company

 

Modern Woodmen of America

 

Montana Board of Investments

 

Morgan Keegan & Co., Inc.

 

 

 
29

 

 

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC

 

Morningstar Associates LLC

 

Morningstar, Inc.

 

Morningstar Investment Services, Inc.

 

National Life Insurance Company

 

Nationwide Financial

 

NEPC

 

The Newport Group

 

Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.

 

NYLIFE Distributors, LLC

 

Pacific Life Insurance Company

 

Principal Life Insurance Company

 

Prudential Financial

 

RidgeWorth Capital Management, Inc.

 

Rocaton Investment Advisors, LLC

 

S&P Financial Communications

 

Security Benefit Life Insurance Co.

 

Segal RogersCasey, Inc.

 

SEI Investments (Europe) Limited

 

Slocum

 

SunTrust Bank

 

Symetra Life Insurance Company

 

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co., Ltd.

 

Towers Watson Investment Services, Inc.

 

Towers Watson Limited

 

Towry Investment Management

 

UBS Financial Services, Inc.

 

Union Bank, N.A.

 

The Union Central Life Insurance Company

 

Valic Financial Advisors Inc.

 

VALIC Retirement Services Company

 

Vestek Systems, Inc.

 

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.

 

Wilshire Associates Incorporated

 

 

Once a party has executed a non-disclosure agreement, it may receive any or all of the following data for funds in which its clients have investments or are actively considering investment:

 

(1)

Full holdings quarterly as soon as reasonably available;

(2)

Full holdings monthly as soon as reasonably available;

(3)

Top 10 holdings monthly as soon as reasonably available; and

(4)

Portfolio characteristics monthly as soon as reasonably available.

 

The types, frequency and timing of disclosure to such parties vary. In most situations, the information provided pursuant to a non-disclosure agreement is limited to certain portfolio characteristics and/or top 10 holdings, which information is provided on a monthly basis. In limited situations, and when approved by a member of the legal department and responsible chief investment officer, full holdings may be provided.

 

 
30

 

 

Single Event Requests

 

In certain circumstances, the advisor may provide fund holding information on an accelerated basis outside of an ongoing arrangement with manager-level or higher authorization. For example, from time to time the advisor may receive requests for proposals (RFPs) from consultants or potential clients that request information about a fund’s holdings on an accelerated basis. As long as such requests are on a one-time basis, and do not result in continued receipt of data, such information may be provided in the RFP as of the most recent month end regardless of lag time. Such information will be provided with a confidentiality legend and only in cases where the advisor has reason to believe that the data will be used only for legitimate purposes and not for trading.

 

In addition, the advisor occasionally may work with a transition manager to move a large account into or out of a fund. To reduce the impact to the fund, such transactions may be conducted on an in-kind basis using shares of portfolio securities rather than cash. The advisor may provide accelerated holdings disclosure to the transition manager with little or no lag time to facilitate such transactions, but only if the transition manager enters into an appropriate non-disclosure agreement.

 

Service Providers

 

Various service providers to the fund and the fund’s advisor must have access to some or all of the fund’s portfolio holdings information on an accelerated basis from time to time in the ordinary course of providing services to the funds. These service providers include the fund’s custodian (daily, with no lag), auditors (as needed) and brokers involved in the execution of fund trades (as needed). Additional information about these service providers and their relationships with the fund and the advisor are provided elsewhere in this statement of additional information. In addition, the fund’s investment advisor may use analytical systems provided by third party data aggregators who have access to the fund’s portfolio holdings daily, with no lag. These data aggregators enter into separate non-disclosure agreements after authorization by an appropriate officer of the advisor. The agreements with service providers and data aggregators generally require that they treat the funds’ portfolio holdings information confidentially until the public distribution date and represent that the information will be used only for the legitimate services it provides (i.e., not for trading).

 

Additional Safeguards

 

The advisor’s policies and procedures include a number of safeguards designed to control disclosure of portfolio holdings and characteristics so that such disclosure is consistent with the best interests of fund shareholders, including procedures to address conflicts between the interests of shareholders and those of the advisor and its affiliates. First, the frequency with which this information is disclosed to the public, and the length of time between the date of the information and the date on which the information is disclosed, are selected to minimize the possibility of a third party improperly benefiting from fund investment decisions to the detriment of fund shareholders. In the event that a request for portfolio holdings or characteristics creates a potential conflict of interest that is not addressed by the safeguards and procedures described above, the advisor’s procedures require that such requests may only be granted with the approval of the advisor’s legal department and the relevant chief investment officers. In addition, distribution of portfolio holdings information, including compliance with the advisor’s policies and the resolution of any potential conflicts that may arise, is monitored quarterly by the advisor’s compliance department. Finally, the funds’ Board of Trustees exercises oversight of disclosure of the funds’ portfolio securities. The board has received and reviewed a summary of the advisor’s policy and is informed on a quarterly basis of any changes to or violations of such policy detected during the prior quarter.

 

Neither the advisor nor the funds receive any compensation from any party for the distribution of portfolio holdings information.

 

The advisor reserves the right to change its policies and procedures with respect to the distribution of portfolio holdings information at any time. There is no guarantee that these policies and procedures will protect the funds from the potential misuse of holdings information by individuals or firms in possession of such information.

 

 
31

 

 

Management

 

Board of Trustees

 

The individuals listed below serve as trustees of the funds. Each trustee will continue to serve in this capacity until death, retirement, resignation or removal from office. The board has adopted a mandatory retirement age for trustees who are not “interested persons,” as that term is defined in the Investment Company Act (independent trustees). Independent trustees shall retire on December 31 of the year in which they reach their 75th birthday; provided, however, that on or after January 1, 2022, independent trustees shall retire on December 31 of the year in which they reach their 76th birthday.

 

Mr. Thomas is an “interested person” because he currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of American Century Companies, Inc. (ACC), the parent company of American Century Investment Management, Inc. (ACIM or the advisor).The other trustees (more than three-fourths of the total number) are independent. They are not employees, directors or officers of, and have no financial interest in, ACC or any of its wholly owned, direct or indirect, subsidiaries, including ACIM, American Century Investment Services, Inc. (ACIS) and American Century Services, LLC (ACS), and do not have any other affiliations, positions or relationships that would cause them to be considered “interested persons” under the Investment Company Act. The trustees serve in this capacity for eight (in the case of Mr. Thomas, 15) registered investment companies in the American Century Investments family of funds.

 

The following table presents additional information about the trustees. The mailing address for each trustee other than Mr. Thomas is 1665 Charleston Road, Mountain View, California 94043. The mailing address for Mr. Thomas is 4500 Main Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64111.

 

Name (Year of Birth)

Position(s)

Held with

Funds

Length of

Time Served

Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years

 

Number of

American

Century

Portfolios

Overseen

by Trustee

Other Directorships

Held During

Past 5 Years

Independent Trustees

         

Tanya S. Beder
(1955)

Trustee

Since 2011

Chairman, SBCC Group Inc. (independent advisory services) (2006 to present)

 

42

CYS Investments, Inc. (specialty finance company)

Jeremy I. Bulow
(1954)

Trustee

Since 2011

Professor of Economics, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business (1979 to present)

 

42

None

Ronald J. Gilson
(1946)

Trustee

and

Chairman

of the

Board

Since 1995
(Chairman

since 2005)

Charles J. Meyers Professor of Law and Business, Stanford Law School (1979 to present); Marc and Eva Stern Professor of Law and Business, Columbia University School of Law (1992 to present)

 

42

None

Frederick L. A. Grauer
(1946)

Trustee

Since 2008

Senior Advisor, BlackRock, Inc. (investment management firm) (2010 to 2011); Senior Advisor, Barclays Global Investors (investment management firm) (2003 to 2009)

 

42

None

Peter F. Pervere
(1947)

Trustee

Since 2007

Retired

 

42

Intraware, Inc. (2003 to 2009)

 

 
32

 

 

Myron S. Scholes
(1941)

Trustee

Since 1980

Chairman, Platinum Grove Asset Management, L.P. (asset manager) (1999 to 2009); Frank E. Buck Professor of Finance-Emeritus, Stanford Graduate School of Business (1996 to present)

 

42

Dimensional Fund Advisors (investment advisor); CME Group, Inc. (futures and options exchange)

John B. Shoven
(1947)

Trustee

Since 2002

Professor of Economics, Stanford University (1973 to present)

 

42

Cadence Design Systems; Exponent; Financial Engines

Interested Trustee

         

Jonathan S. Thomas
(1963)

Trustee

and

President

Since 2007

President and Chief Executive Officer, ACC (March 2007 to present). Also serves as Chief Executive Officer and Manager, ACS; Executive Vice President, ACIM; Director, ACC, ACIM and other ACC subsidiaries

 

115

None

 

Qualifications of Trustees

 

Generally, no one factor was decisive in the selection of the trustees to the board. Qualifications considered by the board to be important to the selection and retention of trustees include the following: (i) the individual’s business and professional experience and accomplishments; (ii) the individual’s educational background and accomplishments; (iii) the individual’s experience and expertise performing senior policy-making functions in business, government, education, accounting, law and/or administration; (iv) how the individual’s expertise and experience would contribute to the mix of relevant skills and experience on the board; (v) the individual’s ability to work effectively with the other members of the board; and (vi) the individual’s ability and willingness to make the time commitment necessary to serve as an effective trustee. In addition, the individuals’ ability to review and critically evaluate information, their ability to evaluate fund service providers, their ability to exercise good business judgment on behalf of fund shareholders, their prior service on the board, and their familiarity with the funds are considered important assets.

 

While the board has not adopted a specific policy on diversity, it takes overall diversity into account when considering and evaluating nominees for trustee. The board generally considers the manner in which each trustee's professional experience, background, skills, and other individual attributes will contribute to the effectiveness of the board. Additional information about each trustee's individual educational and professional experience (supplementing the information provided in the table above) follows.

 

Tanya S. Beder: BA, Yale University; MBA, Harvard University; Fellow in Practice, International Center for Finance, Yale University, School of Management; Lecturer at Law, Stanford University; formerly, Chief Executive Officer, Tribeca Global Management LLC (asset management firm); formerly, Managing Director and Head of Strategic Quantitative Investment Division, Caxton Associates LLC; formerly, President and Co-Founder, Capital Market Risk Advisors Inc.; formerly Founder and Chief Executive Officer, SB Consulting Corp.

 

Jeremy I. Bulow: BA, MA, Yale University; PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; formerly, Director, Bureau of Economics, Federal Trade Commission

 

Ronald J. Gilson: BA, Washington University; JD, Yale Law School; formerly, Attorney, Steinhart, Goldberg, Feigenbaum & Ladar

 

Frederick L.A. Grauer: BA in Economics, University of British Columbia; MA in Economics, University of Chicago; PhD in Business, Stanford University; formerly, Executive Chairman, Barclays Global Investors; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Wells Fargo Nikko Investment Advisors; and Vice President, Merrill Lynch Capital Markets Group; formerly, Faculty Member, Graduate School of Business, Columbia University and Alfred P. Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

 

 
33

 

 

Peter F. Pervere: BA in History, Stanford University; CPA; formerly, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Commerce One, Inc. (software and services provider); formerly, Vice President and Corporate Controller, Sybase, Inc.; formerly with accounting firm of Arthur Young & Co.

 

Myron S. Scholes: BA in Economics, McMaster University (Ontario); MBA and PhD, University of Chicago; formerly, Senior Research Fellow at the Hoover Institute; formerly, Edward Eagle Brown Professor of Finance, University of Chicago; recipient of the Alfred Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences

 

John B. Shoven: BA in Physics, University of California; PhD in Economics, Yale University; Director of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (1999 to present); formerly, Chair of Economics and Dean of Humanities and Sciences, Stanford University

 

Jonathan S. Thomas: BA in Economics, University of Massachusetts; MBA, Boston College; formerly held senior leadership roles with Fidelity Investments, Boston Financial Services, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley; serves on the Board of Governors of the Investment Company Institute

 

Responsibilities of the Board

 

The board is responsible for overseeing the advisor’s management and operations of the fund pursuant to the management agreement. Trustees also have significant responsibilities under the federal securities laws. Among other things, they:

 

oversee the performance of the funds;

oversee the quality of the advisory and shareholder services provided by the advisor;

review annually the fees paid to the advisor for its services;

monitor potential conflicts of interest between the funds and their affiliates, including the advisor;

oversee custody of assets and the valuation of securities; and

oversee the funds’ compliance program.

 

In performing their duties, board members receive detailed information about the funds and the advisor regularly throughout the year, and meet at least quarterly with management of the advisor to review reports about fund operations. The trustees’ role is to provide oversight and not to provide day-to-day management.

 

The board has all powers necessary or convenient to carry out its responsibilities. Consequently, the board may adopt bylaws providing for the regulation and management of the affairs of the funds and may amend and repeal them to the extent that such bylaws do not reserve that right to the funds’ shareholders. They may increase or reduce the number of board members and may, subject to the Investment Company Act, fill board vacancies. Board members also may elect and remove such officers and appoint and terminate such agents as they consider appropriate. They may establish and terminate committees consisting of two or more trustees who may exercise the powers and authority of the board as determined by the trustees. They may, in general, delegate such authority as they consider desirable to any officer of the funds, to any board committee and to any agent or employee of the funds or to any custodian, transfer agent, investor servicing agent, principal underwriter or other service provider for a fund.

 

To communicate with the board, or a member of the board, a shareholder should send a written communication addressed to the board or member of the board to the attention of the Corporate Secretary at the following address: P.O. Box 418210, Kansas City, Missouri 64141-9210. Shareholders who prefer to communicate by email may send their comments to corporatesecretary@americancentury.com. All shareholder communications received will be forwarded to the board or to the independent chairman of such board.

 

 
34

 

 

Board Leadership Structure and Standing Board Committees

 

Ronald J. Gilson currently serves as the independent chairman of the board and has served in such capacity since 1995. Of the board’s members, Jonathan S. Thomas is the only member who is an “interested person” as that term is defined in the Investment Company Act. The remaining members are independent trustees. The independent trustees meet separately to consider a variety of matters that are scheduled to come before the board and meet periodically with the fund’s Chief Compliance Officer and fund auditors. They are advised by independent legal counsel. No independent trustee may serve as an officer or employee of a fund. The board has also established several committees, as described below. Each committee is comprised solely of independent trustees. The board believes that the current leadership structure, with independent trustees filling all but one position on the board, with an independent trustee serving as chairman of the board and with the board committees comprised only of independent trustees, is appropriate and allows for independent oversight of the fund.

 

The board has an Audit and Compliance Committee that approves the funds’ engagement of the independent registered public accounting firm and recommends approval of such engagement to the independent trustees. The committee also oversees the activities of the accounting firm, receives regular reports regarding fund accounting, oversees securities valuation (approving the funds’ or the trust’s valuation policy and receiving reports regarding instances of fair valuation thereunder), and receives regular reports from the advisor’s internal audit department. The committee also reviews the results of the funds’ compliance testing program, meets regularly with the fund’s Chief Compliance Officer, and monitors implementation of the funds’ Code of Ethics. The committee currently consists of Peter F. Pervere (chair), Tanya S. Beder and Ronald J. Gilson. It met four times during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2013.

 

The board also has a Portfolio Committee that meets quarterly to review the investment activities and strategies used to manage the funds’ assets and monitor investment performance. The committee regularly receives reports from the advisor’s Chief Investment Officer, portfolio managers, credit analysts and other investment personnel concerning the funds’ investments. The committee also receives information regarding fund trading activities and monitors derivative usage. It currently consists of Myron S. Scholes (chair), Tanya S. Beder and Jeremy I. Bulow. The committee met four times during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2013.

 

The Client Experience Oversight Committee monitors the quality of services that the funds offer both to direct customers and to intermediaries who offer fund shares to their customers. All channels of communication (written, telephone, web and mobile) are reviewed. The level of performance is compared to peer competitors. The committee also monitors payments to intermediaries and trading in fund shares that could harm the interests of other shareholders. The committee currently consists of John B. Shoven (chair), Ronald J. Gilson, Frederick L.A. Grauer and Peter F. Pervere. It met four times during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2013.

 

The Risk Management Oversight Committee coordinates the board’s oversight of the funds’ risk management processes and monitors the systems, practices and procedures the advisor uses to manage the funds’ risks. It also makes recommendations to the board regarding the allocation of risk oversight activities among the board’s committees. The committee currently consists of Tanya S. Beder (chair), Ronald J. Gilson (ex officio), Frederick L.A. Grauer and Myron S. Scholes. It met four times during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2013.

 

Finally, the board has a Corporate Governance Committee that is responsible for reviewing board procedures and committee structures. The committee also considers and recommends individuals for nomination as trustees. The names of potential trustee candidates may be drawn from a number of sources, including recommendations from members of the board, the advisor (in the case of interested trustees only), shareholders and third party search firms. The committee seeks to identify and recruit the best available candidates and will evaluate qualified shareholder nominees on the same basis as those identified through other sources. Although not written, the fund has a policy of considering all candidates recommended in writing by shareholders. Shareholders may submit trustee nominations in writing to the Corporate Secretary, P.O. Box 418210, Kansas City, Missouri 64141-9210, or by email to corporatesecretary@americancentury.com. The nomination should include the following information:

 

 
35

 

 

Shareholder’s name, the fund name, number of fund shares owned and length of period held;

Name, age and address of the candidate;

A detailed resume describing, among other things, the candidate’s educational background, occupation, employment history, financial knowledge and expertise and material outside commitments (e.g., memberships on other boards and committees, charitable foundations, etc.);

Any other information relating to the candidate that is required to be disclosed in solicitations of proxies for election of trustees in an election contest pursuant to Regulation 14A under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934;

A supporting statement that (i) describes the candidate’s reasons for seeking election to the board and
(ii) documents his/her qualifications to serve as a trustee; and

A signed statement from the candidate confirming his/her willingness to serve on the board.

 

The Corporate Governance Committee also may consider, and make recommendations to the board regarding, other matters relating to the corporate governance of the funds. It currently consists of Frederick L.A. Grauer (chair), Jeremy I. Bulow, Ronald J. Gilson (ex officio) and John B. Shoven. The committee met four times during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2013.

 

Risk Oversight by the Board

 

As previously disclosed, the board oversees the advisor’s management of the funds and meets at least quarterly with management of the advisor to review reports and receive information regarding fund operations. Risk oversight relating to the funds is one component of the board’s oversight and is undertaken in connection with the duties of the board. As described in the previous section, the board’s committees, including the Risk Management Oversight Committee, assist the board in overseeing various types of risks relating to the funds. The board receives regular reports from each committee regarding the committee’s areas of oversight responsibility. In addition, the board receives information regarding, and has discussions with senior management of the advisor about, the advisor’s enterprise risk management systems and strategies. There can be no assurance that all elements of risk, or even all elements of material risk, will be disclosed to or identified by the board, or that the advisor’s risk management systems and strategies, and the board’s oversight thereof, will mitigate all elements of risk, or even all elements of material risk, to the funds.

 

Board Compensation

 

Each independent trustee receives compensation for service as a member of the board. None of the interested trustees or officers of the fund receive compensation from the funds. Under the terms of each management agreement with the advisor, the fund is responsible for paying such fees and expenses. For the fiscal year ended June 30, [2013,] the funds and the American Century family of funds paid the independent trustees the amounts shown in the following table.

 

Name of Trustee

Total Compensation
from the Fund
1

Total Compensation from the American
Century Investments Family of Funds
2

Tanya S. Beder

$6,742

$230,000

Jeremy I. Bulow

$6,004

$205,000

Ronald J. Gilson

$10,033

$343,500

Frederick L.A. Grauer

$6,493

$222,000

Peter F. Pervere

$6,688

$228,000

Myron S. Scholes

$6,299

$215,000

John B. Shoven

$6,299

$215,000

 

1

Includes compensation paid to the trustees for fiscal year ended June 30, 2013, and also includes amounts deferred at the election of the trustees under the American Century Mutual Funds’ Independent Directors’ Deferred Compensation Plan.

 

2

Includes compensation paid by the investment companies of the American Century Investments family of funds served by this board. The total amount of deferred compensation included in the table is as follows: Ms. Beder, $119,000; Mr. Gilson, $343,500; and Mr. Pervere, $88,400.

 

 
36

 

 

None of the funds currently provides any pension or retirement benefits to the trustees except pursuant to the American Century Mutual Funds’ Independent Directors’ Deferred Compensation Plan adopted by the trust. Under the plan, the independent trustees may defer receipt of all or any part of the fees to be paid to them for serving as trustees of the funds. All deferred fees are credited to accounts established in the names of the trustees. The amounts credited to each account then increase or decrease, as the case may be, in accordance with the performance of one or more American Century funds selected by the trustees. The account balance continues to fluctuate in accordance with the performance of the selected fund or funds until final payment of all amounts credited to the account. Trustees are allowed to change their designation of funds from time to time.

 

Generally, deferred fees are not payable to a trustee until the distribution date elected by the trustee in accordance with the terms of the plan. Such distribution date may be a date on or after the trustee’s retirement date, but may be earlier if the trustee agrees not to make any additional deferrals. Distributions may commence prior to the elected payment date for certain reasons specified in the plan, such as unforeseeable emergencies, death or disability. Trustees may receive deferred fee account balances either in a lump sum payment or in substantially equal installment payments to be made over a period not to exceed 10 years. Upon the death of a trustee, all remaining deferred fee account balances are paid to the trustee’s beneficiary or, if none, to the trustee’s estate.

 

The plan is an unfunded plan and, accordingly, the funds have no obligation to segregate assets to secure or fund the deferred fees. To date, the funds have met all payment obligations under the plan. The rights of trustees to receive their deferred fee account balances are the same as the rights of a general unsecured creditor of the fund. The plan may be terminated at any time by the administrative committee of the plan. If terminated, all deferred fee account balances will be paid in a lump sum.

 

Ownership of Fund Shares

 

The trustees owned shares in the funds as of December 31, 2013, as shown in the table below.

 

 

Name of Trustees

 

Jonathan S.
Thomas
1

Tanya S.
Beder

Jeremy I.
Bulow

Ronald J.
Gilson
1

Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Fund:

   Global Bond

C

A

A

A

   International Bond

A

A

A

A

Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity
Securities in all Registered Investment
Companies Overseen by Trustees in
Family of Investment Companies

E

A

B

E

 

Ranges: A—none, B—$1-$10,000, C—$10,001-$50,000, D—$50,001-$100,000, E—More than $100,000

 

1

This trustee owns shares of one or more registered investment companies in the American Century Investments family of funds that are not overseen by this board.

   
 

Name of Trustees

 

Frederick L.A.
Grauer

Peter F.
Pervere
1

Myron S.
Scholes
1

John B.
Shoven
1

Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Fund:

   Global Bond

A

A

A

A

   International Bond

A

A

A

A

Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity
Securities in all Registered Investment
Companies Overseen by Trustees in
Family of Investment Companies

A

A

E

E

 

Ranges: A—none, B—$1-$10,000, C—$10,001-$50,000, D—$50,001-$100,000, E—More than $100,000

  

1

This trustee owns shares of one or more registered investment companies in the American Century Investments family of funds that are not overseen by this board.

 

 
37

 

 

Beneficial Ownership of Affiliates by Independent Trustees

 

No independent trustee or his or her immediate family members beneficially owned shares of the advisor, the principal underwriter of the funds or any other person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the advisor or the funds’ principal underwriter as of December 31, 2013.

 

Officers

 

The following table presents certain information about the executive officers of the funds. Each officer serves as an officer for each of the 15 investment companies in the American Century family of funds, unless otherwise noted. No officer is compensated for his or her service as an officer of the funds. The listed officers are interested persons of the funds and are appointed or re-appointed on an annual basis. The mailing address for each of the officers listed below is 4500 Main Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64111.

 

Name (Year
of Birth)
Offices with
the Funds
Principal Occupation(s) During the Past Five Years
Jonathan S.
Thomas
(1963)
Trustee and
President
since 2007
President and Chief Executive Officer, ACC (March 2007 to present). Also serves as Chief Executive Officer and Manager, ACS; Executive Vice President, ACIM; Director, ACC, ACIM and other ACC subsidiaries

Amy D. Shelton
(1964)

Chief Compliance
Officer since 2014

Chief Compliance Officer, American Century funds, (March 2014 to present); Chief Compliance Officer, ACIM (February 2014 to present); Chief Compliance Officer, ACIS (October 2009 to present); Vice President, Client Interactions and Marketing, ACIS (February 2013 to January 2014); Director, Client Interactions and Marketing, ACIS (June 2007 to January 2013). Also serves as Vice President, ACIS

Charles A.
Etherington
(1957)

General Counsel
since 2007 and
Senior Vice
President since 2006

Attorney, ACC (February 1994 to present); Vice President, ACC (November 2005 to present); General Counsel, ACC (March 2007 to present). Also serves as General Counsel, ACIM, ACS, ACIS and other ACC subsidiaries; and Senior Vice President, ACIM and ACS

C. Jean Wade
(1964)

Vice President,
Treasurer and
Chief Financial
Officer since 2012

Vice President, ACS (February 2000 to present)

Robert J.
Leach
(1966)

Vice President
since 2006 and
Assistant Treasurer
since 2012

Vice President, ACS (February 2000 to present)

David H.
Reinmiller
(1963)

Vice President
since 2001

Attorney, ACC (January 1994 to present); Associate General Counsel, ACC (January 2001 to present). Also serves as Vice President, ACIM and ACS

Ward D.
Stauffer
(1960)

Secretary
since 2005

Attorney, ACC (June 2003 to present)

 

Code of Ethics

 

The funds, their investment advisor and principal underwriter have adopted codes of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the Investment Company Act. They permit personnel subject to the codes to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the funds, provided that they first obtain approval from the compliance department before making such investments.

 

 
38

 

 

Proxy Voting Policies

 

The funds’ Board of Trustees has adopted a general statement of proxy voting principles that governs the exercise of voting and consent rights associated with the securities purchased and/or held by the funds. The funds have delegated to the advisor the responsibility for exercising such rights, subject to the board’s oversight. The advisor has adopted proxy voting policies that describe in detail how the advisor intends to exercise its delegated proxy voting authority in a manner consistent with the board’s principles.

 

In exercising its voting obligations, the advisor is also guided by general fiduciary principles. It must act prudently, solely in the interest of the fund whose votes it is casting and for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits to that fund. Accordingly, in making its voting decisions the advisor will seek to maximize the return to the fund on a risk-adjusted basis.

 

The advisor’s proxy voting policies specifically address a number of matters that are often the subject of proxy solicitations for shareholder meetings and establish a framework for the advisor’s consideration of the vote that would be appropriate for the funds. In particular, the proxy voting policies outline factors to be considered in the exercise of voting authority for proposals addressing:

 

Routine Matters

• Election of Directors

 

• Ratification of Selection of Auditors

Compensation Matters

 

• Executive Compensation

 

• Equity-Based Compensation Plans

Anti-Takeover Proposals

 

• Cumulative Voting

 

• Staggered Boards

 

• "Blank Check" Preferred Stock

 

• Elimination of Preemptive Rights

 

• Non-targeted Share Repurchase

 

• Increase in Authorized Common Stock

 

• "Supermajority" Voting Provisions or Super Voting Share Classes

 

• "Fair Price" Amendments

 

• Limiting the Right to Call Special Shareholder Meetings

 

• Poison Pills or Shareholder Rights Plans

 

• Golden Parachutes

 

• Reincorporation

 

• Confidential Voting

 

• Opting In or Out of State Takeover Laws

Other Matters

 

• Shareholder Proposals Involving Social, Moral or Ethical Matters

 

• Anti-Greenmail Proposals

 

• Changes to Indemnification Provisions

 

• Non-Stock Incentive Plans

 

• Director Tenure

 

• Directors’ Stock Options Plans

 

• Director Share Ownership

 

• Non-U.S. Proxies

 

Finally, the proxy voting policies establish procedures for voting of proxies in cases in which the advisor may have a potential conflict of interest. Companies with which the advisor has direct business relationships could theoretically use these relationships to attempt to unduly influence the manner in which American Century Investments votes on matters for the funds. To ensure that such a conflict of interest does not affect proxy votes cast for the funds, all discretionary (including case-by-case) voting for these companies will be voted in direct consultation with a committee of the independent trustees of the funds.

 

 
39

 

 

In addition, to avoid any potential conflict of interest that may arise when one American Century Investments fund owns shares of another American Century Investments fund, the advisor will “echo vote” such shares, if possible. That is, it will vote the shares in the same proportion as the vote of all other holders of the shares. Shares of American Century Investments “NT” funds will be voted in the same proportion as the vote of the shareholders of the corresponding American Century Investments policy portfolio for proposals common to both funds. For example, NT Growth Fund shares will be echo voted in accordance with the votes of Growth Fund shareholders. In all other cases, the shares will be voted in direct consultation with a committee of the independent directors of the voting fund.

 

Copies of the board’s proxy voting principles and the advisor’s proxy voting policies, as well as information regarding how the advisor voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 are available on the “About Us” page at americancentury.com. The advisor’s proxy voting record also is available on the SEC’s website at sec.gov.

 

Service Providers

 

The funds have no employees. To conduct the funds’ day-to-day activities, the trust has hired a number of service providers. Each service provider has a specific function to fill on behalf of the funds that is described below.

 

ACIM, ACS and ACIS are wholly owned, directly or indirectly, by ACC. The Stowers Institute for Medical Research (SIMR) controls ACC by virtue of its beneficial ownership of more than 25% of the voting securities of ACC. SIMR is part of a not-for-profit biomedical research organization dedicated to finding the keys to the causes, treatments and prevention of disease.

 

Investment Advisor

 

American Century Investment Management, Inc. (ACIM) serves as the investment advisor for each of the funds. A description of the responsibilities of the advisor (ACIM) appears in each prospectus under the heading Management.

 

For the services provided to each fund, the advisor receives a unified management fee based on a percentage of the daily net assets of each class of shares of the fund. For more information about the unified management fee, see The Investment Advisor under the heading Management in each fund’s prospectus.

 

Emerging Markets Debt Fund

 

The unified management fee for each of the Investor Class, A Class, C Class and R Class is 0.96%. The unified management fee for the Institutional Class is 0.76%. The unified management fee for the R6 Class is 0.71%. The amount of the fee is calculated daily and paid monthly in arrears.

 

Global Bond Fund

 

The unified management fee for each of the Investor Class, A Class, C Class and R Class is 0.95%. The unified management fee for the Institutional Class is 0.75%. The unified management fee for the R6 Class is 0.70%. The amount of the fee is calculated daily and paid monthly in arrears.

 

International Bond Fund

 

The annual rate at which the unified management fee is assessed is determined daily in a multi-step process. First, the trust’s fund is categorized according to the broad asset class in which it invests (e.g., money market, bond or equity), and the assets of the fund in each category are totaled (“Fund Category Assets”). Second, the assets are totaled for certain other accounts managed by the advisor (“Other Account Category Assets”). To be included, these accounts must have the same management team and investment objective as a fund in the same category with the same Board of Trustees as the trust. Together, the Fund Category Assets and the Other Account Category Assets comprise the “Investment Category Assets.” The Investment Category Fee Rate is then calculated by applying the fund’s Investment Category Fee Schedule to the Investment Category Assets and dividing the result by the Investment Category Assets.

 

Finally, a separate Complex Fee Schedule is applied to the assets of all of the funds in the American Century Investments family of funds (the “Complex Assets”), and the Complex Fee Rate is calculated based on the resulting total. The Investment Category Fee Rate and the Complex Fee Rate are then added to determine the Management Fee Rate payable by a class of the fund to the advisor.

 

 
40

 

 

For purposes of determining the assets that comprise the Fund Category Assets, Other Account Category Assets and Complex Assets, the assets of registered investment companies managed by the advisor that invest primarily in the shares of other registered investment companies shall not be included.

 

The schedules by which the unified management fee for International Bond is determined are shown below.

 

Investment Category Fee Schedule for International Bond

Category Assets

Fee Rate

First $1 billion

0.6100%

Next $1 billion

0.5580%

Next $3 billion

0.5280%

Next $5 billion

0.5080%

Next $15 billion

0.4950%

Next $25 billion

0.4930%

Thereafter

0.4925%

 

The Complex Fee is determined according to the schedule below.

 

Complex Assets

Investor, A, C and
R Class Fee Rate

Institutional Class
Fee Rate

R6 Class
Fee Rate

First $2.5 billion

0.3100%

0.1100%

0.0600%

Next $7.5 billion

0.3000%

0.1000%

0.0500%

Next $15 billion

0.2985%

0.0985%

0.0485%

Next $25 billion

0.2970%

0.0970%

0.0470%

Next $25 billion

0.2870%

0.0870%

0.0370%

Next $25 billion

0.2800%

0.0800%

0.0300%

Next $25 billion

0.2700%

0.0700%

0.0200%

Next $25 billion

0.2650%

0.0650%

0.0150%

Next $25 billion

0.2600%

0.0600%

0.0100%

Next $25 billion

0.2550%

0.0550%

0.0050%

Thereafter

0.2500%

0.0500%

0.0000%

 

On each calendar day, each class of each fund accrues a management fee that is equal to the class’s Management Fee Rate times the net assets of the class divided by 365 (366 in leap years). On the first business day of each month, the funds pay a management fee to the advisor for the previous month. The fee for the previous month is the sum of the calculated daily fees for each class of a fund during the previous month.

 

The management agreement between the trust and the advisor shall continue in effect for a period of two years from its effective date (unless sooner terminated in accordance with its terms) and shall continue in effect from year to year thereafter for each fund so long as such continuance is approved at least annually by:

 

(1)

either the funds’ Board of Trustees, or a majority of the outstanding voting securities of such fund (as defined in the Investment Company Act); and

(2)

the vote of a majority of the trustees of the funds who are not parties to the agreement, or interested persons of the advisor, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

 

The management agreement states that the funds’ Board of Trustees or a majority of the outstanding voting securities of each class of such fund may terminate the management agreement at any time without payment of any penalty on 60 days’ written notice to the advisor. The management agreement shall be automatically terminated if it is assigned.

 

 
41

 

 

The management agreement states that the advisor shall not be liable to the funds or its shareholders for anything other than willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of its obligations and duties.

 

The management agreement also provides that the advisor and its officers, trustees or directors and employees may engage in other business, render services to others, and devote time and attention to any other business whether of a similar or dissimilar nature.

 

Certain investments may be appropriate for the funds and also for other clients advised by the advisor. Investment decisions for the funds and other clients are made with a view to achieving their respective investment objectives after consideration of such factors as their current holdings, availability of cash for investment and the size of their investment generally. A particular security may be bought or sold for only one client or fund, or in different amounts and at different times for more than one but less than all clients or funds. A particular security may be bought for one client or fund on the same day it is sold for another client or fund, and a client or fund may hold a short position in a particular security at the same time another client or fund holds a long position. In addition, purchases or sales of the same security may be made for two or more clients or funds on the same date. The advisor has adopted procedures designed to ensure such transactions will be allocated among clients and funds in a manner believed by the advisor to be equitable to each. In some cases this procedure could have an adverse effect on the price or amount of the securities purchased or sold by the fund.

 

The advisor may aggregate purchase and sale orders of the funds with purchase and sale orders of its other clients when the advisor believes that such aggregation provides the best execution for the funds. The Board of Trustees has approved the policy of the advisor with respect to the aggregation of portfolio transactions. Fixed-income securities transactions are not executed through a centralized trading desk. Instead, portfolio teams are responsible for executing trades with broker-dealers in a predominantly dealer marketplace. Trade allocation decisions are made by the portfolio managers at the time of trade execution and orders entered on the fixed-income order management system. The advisor will not aggregate portfolio transactions of the funds unless it believes such aggregation is consistent with its duty to seek best execution on behalf of the funds and the terms of the management agreement. The advisor receives no additional compensation or remuneration as a result of such aggregation.

 

Unified management fees incurred by the funds for the fiscal years ended [June 30, 2013, June 30, 2012 and June 30, 2011] are indicated in the following table. Because Emerging Markets Debt is new, it is not included in the table below.

 

Unified Management Fees

Fund

2013

2012

2011

Global Bond

$263,411

$101,8681

N/A

International Bond

$9,113,603

$10,289,561

$11,311,394

 

1

For the period January 31, 2012, the fund’s inception date, to June 30, 2012.

 

 
42

 

 

Portfolio Manager

 

Accounts Managed

 

The portfolio managers are responsible for the day-to-day management of various accounts, as indicated by the following table. None of these accounts has an advisory fee based on the performance of the account.

 

Accounts Managed (As of June 30, [2013)]

   

Registered Investment
Companies (e.g.,
other American
Century Investments
funds and American
Century Investments-
subadvised funds)

Other Pooled
Investment Vehicles
(e.g., commingled
trusts and 529
education
savings plans)

Other Accounts
(e.g., separate
accounts and
corporate accounts,
including incubation
strategies and
corporate money)

John A. Lovito

Number of Accounts

3

0

1

 

Assets

$1.2 billion1

N/A

$994.3 thousand

Edward Boyle

Number of Accounts

3

0

1

 

Assets

$1.2 billion1

N/A

$994.3 thousand

Simon Chester

Number of Accounts

2

0

0

 

Assets

$1.1 billion1

N/A

N/A

Robert V. Gahagan

Number of Accounts

19

2

2

 

Assets

$22.9 billion2

$98.2 million

$1.3 billion

G. David MacEwen

Number of Accounts

9

1

1

 

Assets

$12.7 billion2

$10.3 million

$890.0 million

 

1

Includes $1.1 billion in International Bond Fund; and $29.6 million in Global Bond Fund.

 

2

Includes $29.6 million in Global Bond Fund.

 

Potential Conflicts of Interest

 

Certain conflicts of interest may arise in connection with the management of multiple portfolios. Potential conflicts include, for example, conflicts among investment strategies, such as one portfolio buying or selling a security while another portfolio has a differing, potentially opposite position in such security. This may include one portfolio taking a short position in the security of an issuer that is held long in another portfolio (or vice versa). Other potential conflicts may arise with respect to the allocation of investment opportunities, which are discussed in more detail below. American Century Investments has adopted policies and procedures that are designed to minimize the effects of these conflicts.

 

 
43

 

 

Responsibility for managing American Century Investments client portfolios is organized according to investment discipline. Investment disciplines include, for example, quantitative equity, U.S. growth mid- and small-cap, U.S. growth large-cap, value, global and non-U.S. fixed-income and asset allocation. Within each discipline are one or more portfolio teams responsible for managing specific client portfolios. Generally, client portfolios with similar strategies are managed by the same team using the same objective, approach, and philosophy. Accordingly, portfolio holdings, position sizes, and industry and sector exposures tend to be similar across similar portfolios, which minimizes the potential for conflicts of interest. In addition, American Century Investments maintains an ethical wall around each of its equity investment disciplines (U.S. growth large-cap, U.S. growth mid- and small-cap, value, quantitative equity and global and non-U.S.), meaning that access to information regarding any portfolio’s transactional activities is only available to team members of the investment discipline that manages such portfolio. The ethical wall is intended to aid in preventing the misuse of portfolio holdings information and trading activity in other disciplines.

 

For each investment strategy, one portfolio is generally designated as the “policy portfolio.” Other portfolios with similar investment objectives, guidelines and restrictions, if any, are referred to as “tracking portfolios.” When managing policy and tracking portfolios, a portfolio team typically purchases and sells securities across all portfolios that the team manages. American Century Investments’ trading systems include various order entry programs that assist in the management of multiple portfolios, such as the ability to purchase or sell the same relative amount of one security across several funds. In some cases a tracking portfolio may have additional restrictions or limitations that cause it to be managed separately from the policy portfolio. Portfolio managers make purchase and sale decisions for such portfolios alongside the policy portfolio to the extent the overlap is appropriate, and separately, if the overlap is not.

 

American Century Investments may aggregate orders to purchase or sell the same security for multiple portfolios when it believes such aggregation is consistent with its duty to seek best execution on behalf of its clients. Orders of certain client portfolios may, by investment restriction or otherwise, be determined not available for aggregation. American Century Investments has adopted policies and procedures to minimize the risk that a client portfolio could be systematically advantaged or disadvantaged in connection with the aggregation of orders. To the extent equity trades are aggregated, shares purchased or sold are generally allocated to the participating portfolios pro rata based on order size. Because initial public offerings (IPOs) are usually available in limited supply and in amounts too small to permit across-the-board pro rata allocations, American Century Investments has adopted special procedures designed to promote a fair and equitable allocation of IPO securities among clients over time. Fixed-income securities transactions are not executed through a centralized trading desk. Instead, portfolio teams are responsible for executing trades with broker/dealers in a predominantly dealer marketplace. Trade allocation decisions are made by the portfolio manager at the time of trade execution and orders entered on the fixed-income order management system.

 

Finally, investment of American Century Investments’ corporate assets in proprietary accounts may raise additional conflicts of interest. To mitigate these potential conflicts of interest, American Century Investments has adopted policies and procedures intended to provide that trading in proprietary accounts is performed in a manner that does not give improper advantage to American Century Investments to the detriment of client portfolios.

 

Compensation

 

American Century Investments portfolio manager compensation is structured to align the interests of portfolio managers with those of the shareholders whose assets they manage. As of June 30, [2013,] it included the components described below, each of which is determined with reference to a number of factors such as overall performance, market competition, and internal equity. Compensation is not directly tied to the value of assets held in client portfolios.

 

Base Salary

 

Portfolio managers receive base pay in the form of a fixed annual salary.

 

 
44

 

 

Bonus

 

A significant portion of portfolio manager compensation takes the form of an annual incentive bonus tied to performance. Bonus payments are determined by a combination of factors. One factor is fund investment performance. Fund investment performance is generally measured by a combination of one-, three- and five-year pre-tax performance relative to various benchmarks and/or internally-customized peer groups, such as those indicated below. The performance comparison periods may be adjusted based on a fund’s inception date or a portfolio manager’s tenure on the fund.

 

Fund

Benchmarks

Peer Group1

Global Bond

Barclays Global Aggregate Bond Index

N/A

International Bond

Barclays Global Treasury ex-U.S. Bond
Index; 25% weight in Japan and 5% maximum
weights in Austria, Ireland, Finland and Portugal;
minimum AA quality; FX-adjusted (investable index)

Lipper International Income Funds2

 

1

Custom peer groups are constructed using all the funds in the indicated categories as a starting point. Funds are then eliminated from the peer group based on a standardized methodology designed to result in a final peer group that is both more stable (i.e., has less peer turnover) over the long term and that more closely represents the fund’s true peers based on internal investment mandates.

 

2

Peer group performance after June 30, 2010 is no longer included, but performance prior to that date is included and weighted in the fund’s longer-term performance comparison period through December 31, 2012.

 

Portfolio managers may have responsibility for multiple American Century Investments mutual funds. In such cases, the performance of each is assigned a percentage weight appropriate for the portfolio manager’s relative levels of responsibility. Portfolio managers also may have responsibility for other types of similarly managed portfolios. If the performance of a similarly managed account is considered for purposes of compensation, it is either measured in the same way as a comparable American Century Investments mutual fund (i.e., relative to the performance of a benchmark and/or peer group) or relative to the performance of such mutual fund.

 

A second factor in the bonus calculation relates to the performance of a number of American Century Investments funds managed according to one of the following investment styles: U.S. growth, U.S. value, international, quantitative and fixed-income. Performance is measured for each product individually as described above and then combined to create an overall composite for the product group. These composites may measure one-year performance (equal weighted) or a combination of one-, three- and five-year performance (equal or asset weighted) depending on the portfolio manager’s responsibilities and products managed. This feature is designed to encourage effective teamwork among portfolio management teams in achieving long-term investment success for similarly styled portfolios.

 

A portion of portfolio managers’ bonuses may be tied to individual performance goals, such as research projects and the development of new products.

 

Restricted Stock Plan

 

Portfolio managers are eligible for grants of restricted stock of ACC. These grants are discretionary, and eligibility and availability can vary from year to year. The size of an individual’s grant is determined by individual and product performance as well as other product-specific considerations. Grants can appreciate/depreciate in value based on the performance of the ACC stock during the restriction period (generally three to four years).

 

Deferred Compensation Plans

 

Portfolio managers are eligible for grants of deferred compensation. These grants are used in very limited situations, primarily for retention purposes. Grants are fixed and can appreciate/depreciate in value based on the performance of the American Century Investments mutual funds in which the portfolio manager chooses to invest them.

 

 
45

 

 

Ownership of Securities

 

The following table indicates the dollar range of securities of the fund beneficially owned by each fund’s portfolio managers as of June 30, [2013.]

 

Ownership of Securities

 

Aggregate Dollar Range of Securities in Fund

International Bond Fund

 

John A. Lovito

C

Edward Boyle

A

Simon Chester

A

Global Bond Fund

 

John A. Lovito

A

Edward Boyle

A

Simon Chester

A

Robert V. Gahagan

A

G. David MacEwen

A

 

Ranges: A – none; B – $1-$10,000; C – $10,001-$50,000; D – $50,001-$100,000; E – $100,001-$500,000; F – $500,001-$1,000,000; G – More than $1,000,000.

 

Transfer Agent and Administrator

 

American Century Services, LLC (ACS), 4500 Main Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64111, serves as transfer agent and dividend-paying agent for the funds. It provides physical facilities, computer hardware and software and personnel, for the day-to-day administration of the funds and the advisor. The advisor pays ACS’s costs for serving as transfer agent and dividend-payment agent for the funds out of the advisor’s unified management fee. For a description of this fee and the terms of its payment, see the above discussion under the caption Investment Advisor on page 40.

 

Proceeds from purchases of fund shares may pass through accounts maintained by the transfer agent at Commerce Bank, N.A. or UMB Bank, n.a. before being held at the fund’s custodian. Redemption proceeds also may pass from the custodian to the shareholder through such bank accounts.

 

From time to time, special services may be offered to shareholders who maintain higher share balances in our family of funds. These services may include the waiver of minimum investment requirements, expedited confirmation of shareholder transactions, newsletters and a team of personal representatives. Any expenses associated with these special services will be paid by the advisor.

 

Sub-Administrator

 

The advisor has entered into an Administration Agreement with State Street Bank and Trust Company (SSB) to provide certain fund accounting, fund financial reporting, tax and treasury/tax compliance services for the funds, including striking the daily net asset value for the funds. The advisor pays SSB a monthly fee as compensation for these services that is based on the total net assets of accounts in the American Century complex serviced by SSB. ACS does pay SSB for some additional services on a per fund basis. While ACS continues to serve as the administrator of the funds, SSB provides sub-administrative services that were previously undertaken by ACS.

 

 
46

 

 

Distributor

 

The funds’ shares are distributed by American Century Investment Services, Inc. (ACIS), a registered broker-dealer. The distributor is a wholly owned subsidiary of ACC, and its principal business address is 4500 Main Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64111.

 

The distributor is the principal underwriter of the funds’ shares. The distributor makes a continuous, best-efforts underwriting of the funds’ shares. This means the distributor has no liability for unsold shares. The advisor pays ACIS’s costs for serving as principal underwriter of the funds’ shares out of the advisor’s unified management fee. For a description of this fee and the terms of its payment, see the above discussion under the caption Investment Advisor on page 40. ACIS does not earn commissions for distributing the funds’ shares.

 

Certain financial intermediaries unaffiliated with the distributor or the funds may perform various administrative and shareholder services for their clients who are invested in the funds. These services may include assisting with fund purchases, redemptions and exchanges, distributing information about the funds and their performance, preparing and distributing client account statements, and other administrative and shareholder services that would otherwise be provided by the distributor or its affiliates. The distributor may pay fees out of its own resources to such financial intermediaries for providing these services.

 

Custodian Bank

 

State Street Bank and Trust Company (SSB), Lafayette Corporate Center, 2 Avenue de Lafayette, Boston, Massachusetts 02111 serves as custodian of the funds’ cash and securities. Foreign securities, if any, are held by foreign banks participating in a network coordinated by SSB. The custodian takes no part in determining the investment policies of the funds or in deciding which securities are purchased or sold by the funds. The funds, however, may invest in certain obligations of the custodian and may purchase or sell certain securities from or to the custodian.

 

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is the independent registered public accounting firm of the funds. The address of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is 1100 Walnut, Suite 1300, Kansas City, Missouri 64106. As the independent registered public accounting firm of the funds, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP provides services including auditing the annual financial statements and financial highlights for each fund.

 

Brokerage Allocation

 

The advisor places orders for equity portfolio transactions with broker-dealers, who receive commissions for their services. Generally, commissions relating to securities traded on foreign exchanges will be higher than commissions relating to securities traded on U.S. exchanges. The advisor purchases and sells fixed-income securities through principal transactions, meaning the advisor normally purchases securities on a net basis directly from the issuer or a primary market-maker acting as principal for the securities. The funds generally do not pay a stated brokerage commission on these transactions, although the purchase price for debt securities usually includes an undisclosed compensation. Purchases of securities from underwriters typically include a commission or concession paid by the issuer to the underwriter, and purchases from dealers serving as market-makers typically include a dealer’s mark-up (i.e., a spread between the bid and asked prices).

 

Under the management agreement between the funds and the advisor, the advisor has the responsibility of selecting brokers and dealers to execute portfolio transactions. The funds’ policy is to secure the most favorable prices and execution of orders on its portfolio transactions. The advisor selects broker-dealers on their perceived ability to obtain “best execution” in effecting transactions in its clients’ portfolios. In selecting broker-dealers to effect portfolio transactions relating to equity securities, the advisor considers the full range and quality of a broker-dealer’s research and brokerage services, including, but not limited to, the following:

 

 
47

 

 

applicable commission rates and other transaction costs charged by the broker-dealer

value of research provided to the advisor by the broker-dealer (including economic forecasts, fundamental and technical advice on individual securities, market analysis, and advice, either directly or through publications or writings, as to the value of securities, availability of securities or of purchasers/sellers of securities)

timeliness of the broker-dealer’s trade executions

efficiency and accuracy of the broker-dealer’s clearance and settlement processes

broker-dealer’s ability to provide data on securities executions

financial condition of the broker-dealer

the quality of the overall brokerage and customer service provided by the broker-dealer

 

In transactions to buy and sell fixed-income securities, the selection of the broker-dealer is determined by the availability of the desired security and its offering price, as well as the broker-dealer’s general execution and operational and financial capabilities in the type of transaction involved. The advisor will seek to obtain prompt execution of orders at the most favorable prices or yields. The advisor does not consider the receipt of products or services other than brokerage or research services in selecting broker-dealers.

 

On an ongoing basis, the advisor seeks to determine what levels of commission rates are reasonable in the marketplace. In evaluating the reasonableness of commission rates, the advisor considers:

 

rates quoted by broker-dealers

the size of a particular transaction, in terms of the number of shares, dollar amount, and number of clients involved

the ability of a broker-dealer to execute large trades while minimizing market impact the complexity of a particular transaction

the nature and character of the markets on which a particular trade takes place

the level and type of business done with a particular firm over a period of time

the ability of a broker-dealer to provide anonymity while executing trades

historical commission rates

rates that other institutional investors are paying, based on publicly available information

 

The brokerage commissions paid by the funds may exceed those that another broker-dealer might have charged for effecting the same transactions, because of the value of the brokerage and research services provided by the broker-dealer. Research services furnished by broker-dealers through whom the funds effect securities transactions may be used by the advisor in servicing all of its accounts, and not all such services may be used by the advisor in managing the portfolios of the funds.

 

Pursuant to its internal allocation procedures, the advisor regularly evaluates the brokerage and research services provided by each broker-dealer that it uses. On a semi-annual basis, each member of the advisor’s portfolio management team rates the quality of research and brokerage services provided by each broker-dealer that provides execution services and research to the advisor for its clients’ accounts. The resulting scores are used to rank these broker-dealers on a broker research list. In the event that the advisor has determined that best execution for a particular transaction may be obtained by more than one broker-dealer, the advisor may consider the relative positions of the broker-dealer on this list in determining the party through which to execute the transaction. Actual business received by any firm may be more or less than other broker-dealers with a similar rank. Execution-only brokers are used where deemed appropriate.

 

In the fiscal years ended [June 30, 2013, June 30, 2012 and June 30, 2011], the brokerage commissions including, as applicable, futures commissions, of each fund are listed in the following table. Because Emerging Markets Debt is new, it is not included in the table below.

 

Fund

2013

2012

2011

Global Bond

$204

$1011

N/A

International Bond

$2,349

$5,747

$21,054

 

1

For the period January 31, 2012, the fund’s inception date, to June 30, 2012.

 

Brokerage commissions paid by a fund may vary significantly from year to year as a result of changing asset levels throughout the year, portfolio turnover, varying market conditions, and other factors.

 

 
48

 

 

Regular Broker-Dealers

 

As of the end of its most recently completed fiscal year, International Bond Fund owned no securities of its regular brokers or dealers (as defined by Rule 10b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940) or of their parent companies. Global Bond Fund owned securities of its regular brokers or dealers (as defined by Rule 10b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940) or of their parent companies, as listed below. Because Emerging Markets Debt is new, it is not included in the table below.

 

Fund

Broker, Dealer or Parent

Value of Securities Owned as of
June 30, [2013] (in thousands)

Global Bond

Bank of America Corp.

$246

 

HSBC Holdings PLC

$204

 

Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc.

$134

 

Goldman Sachs & Co.

$111

 

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

$110

 

Citigroup, Inc.

$110

 

Wells Fargo Securities LLC

$53

 

Credit Suisse Group

$42

 

Barclays Capital, Inc.

$38

 

Information About Fund Shares

 

The Declaration of Trust permits the Board of Trustees to issue an unlimited number of full and fractional shares of beneficial interest without par value, which may be issued in series (or funds). Each of the funds named on the front of this statement of additional information is a series of shares issued by the trust. In addition, each series (or fund) may be divided into separate classes. See Multiple Class Structure which follows. Additional funds and classes may be added without a shareholder vote.

 

Each fund votes separately on matters affecting that fund exclusively. Voting rights are not cumulative, so that investors holding more than 50% of the trust’s (all funds’) outstanding shares may be able to elect a Board of Trustees. The trust undertakes dollar-based voting, meaning that the number of votes a shareholder is entitled to is based upon the dollar amount of the shareholder’s investment. The election of trustees is determined by the votes received from all the trust’s shareholders without regard to whether a majority of shares of any one fund voted in favor of a particular nominee or all nominees as a group.

 

Each shareholder has rights to dividends and distributions declared by the fund he or she owns and to the net assets of such fund upon its liquidation or dissolution proportionate to his or her share ownership interest in the fund. Shares of each fund have equal voting rights, although each fund votes separately on matters affecting that fund exclusively.

 

The trust shall continue unless terminated by (1) approval of at least two-thirds of the shares of each fund entitled to vote or (2) the trustees by written notice to shareholders of each fund. Any fund may be terminated by (1) approval of at least two-thirds of the shares of that fund or (2) the trustees by written notice to shareholders of that fund.

 

Upon termination of the trust or a fund, as the case may be, the trust shall pay or otherwise provide for all charges, taxes, expenses and liabilities belonging to the trust or the fund. Thereafter, the trust shall reduce the remaining assets belonging to each fund (or the particular fund) to cash, shares of other securities or any combination thereof, and distribute the proceeds belonging to each fund (or the particular fund) to the shareholders of that fund ratably according to the number of shares of that fund held by each shareholder on the termination date.

 

 
49

 

 

Shareholders of a Massachusetts business trust could, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable for its obligations. However, the Declaration of Trust contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for acts or obligations of the trust. The Declaration of Trust also provides for indemnification and reimbursement of expenses of any shareholder held personally liable for obligations of the trust. The Declaration of Trust provides that the trust will, upon request, assume the defense of any claim made against any shareholder for any act or obligation of the trust and satisfy any judgment thereon. The Declaration of Trust further provides that the trust may maintain appropriate insurance (for example, fidelity, bonding and errors and omissions insurance) for the protection of the trust, its shareholders, trustees, officers, employees and agents to cover possible tort and other liabilities. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss as a result of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which both inadequate insurance exists and the trust is unable to meet its obligations.

 

The assets belonging to each series or class of shares are held separately by the custodian and the shares of each series or class represent a beneficial interest in the principal, earnings and profit (or losses) of investments and other assets held for each fund or class. Your rights as a shareholder are the same for all series of securities unless otherwise stated. Within their respective series or class, all shares have equal redemption rights. Each share, when issued, is fully paid and non-assessable.

 

Multiple Class Structure 

 

The Board of Trustees has adopted a multiple class plan pursuant to Rule 18f-3 adopted by the SEC. The plan is described in the prospectus of any fund that offers more than one class. Pursuant to such plan, the funds may issue up to six classes of shares: Investor Class, Institutional Class, A Class, C Class, R Class and R6 Class.

 

The Investor Class is made available to investors directly from American Century Investments and/or through some financial intermediaries. Investor Class shares charge a single unified management fee, without any load or commission payable to American Century Investments. Additional information regarding eligibility for Investor Class shares may be found in the funds’ prospectuses. The Institutional Class is made available to institutional shareholders or through financial intermediaries that provide various shareholder and administrative services. The R6 Class is generally available only to participants in employer-sponsored retirement plans where a financial intermediary provides recordkeeping services to plan participants. Because Institutional Class and R6 Class shareholders do not require the same level of shareholder and administrative services from the advisor as Investor Class shareholders, and because American Century does not pay any service, distribution or administrative fees to financial intermediaries for R6 Class shares, the advisor is able to charge these classes lower total management fees. The A and C Classes also are made available through financial intermediaries, for purchase by individual investors who receive advisory and personal services from the intermediary. The R Class is made available through financial intermediaries and is generally used in 401(k) and other retirement plans. The unified management fee for the A, C and R Classes is the same as for Investor Class, but the A, C and R Class shares each are subject to a separate Master Distribution and Individual Shareholder Services Plan (the A Class Plan, C Class Plan and R Class Plan, respectively and collectively, the plans) described below. The plans have been adopted by the fund’s Board of Trustees in accordance with Rule 12b-1 adopted by the SEC under the Investment Company Act.

 

Rule 12b-1

 

Rule 12b-1 permits an investment company to pay expenses associated with the distribution of its shares in accordance with a plan adopted by its Board of Trustees and approved by its shareholders. Pursuant to such rule, the Board of Trustees of the funds’ A, C and R Classes have approved and entered into the A Class Plan, C Class Plan and R Class Plan, respectively. The plans are described below.

 

 
50

 

 

In adopting the plans, the Board of Trustees (including a majority of trustees who are not interested persons of the funds [as defined in the Investment Company Act], hereafter referred to as the independent trustees) determined that there was a reasonable likelihood that the plans would benefit the funds and the shareholders of the affected class. Some of the anticipated benefits include improved name recognition of the funds generally; and growing assets in existing funds, which helps retain and attract investment management talent, provides a better environment for improving fund performance, and can lower the total expense ratio for funds with stepped-fee schedules. Pursuant to Rule 12b-1, information about revenues and expenses under the plans is presented to the Board of Trustees quarterly. Continuance of the plans must be approved by the Board of Trustees, including a majority of the independent trustees, annually. The plans may be amended by a vote of the Board of Trustees, including a majority of the independent trustees, except that the plans may not be amended to materially increase the amount to be spent for distribution without majority approval of the shareholders of the affected class. The plans terminate automatically in the event of an assignment and may be terminated upon a vote of a majority of the independent trustees or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the affected class.

 

All fees paid under the plans will be made in accordance with Section 2830 of the Conduct Rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

 

The Share Class Plans

 

As described in the prospectuses, the A, C and R Class shares of the funds are made available to participants in employer-sponsored retirement plans and to persons purchasing through broker-dealers, banks, insurance companies and other financial intermediaries that provide various administrative, shareholder and distribution services. The funds’ distributor enters into contracts with various banks, broker-dealers, insurance companies and other financial intermediaries, with respect to the sale of the funds’ shares and/or the use of the funds’ shares in various investment products or in connection with various financial services.

 

Certain recordkeeping and administrative services that would otherwise be performed by the funds’ transfer agent may be performed by a plan sponsor (or its agents) or by a financial intermediary for A, C and R Class investors. In addition to such services, the financial intermediaries provide various individual shareholder and distribution services.

 

To enable the funds’ shares to be made available through such plans and financial intermediaries, and to compensate them for such services, the funds’ Board of Trustees has adopted the A, C and R Class Plans. Pursuant to the plans, the following fees are paid and described further below.

 

A Class

 

The A Class pays the funds’ distributor 0.25% annually of the average daily net asset value of the A Class shares. The distributor may use these fees to pay for certain ongoing shareholder and administrative services and for distribution services, including past distribution services. This payment is fixed at 0.25% and is not based on expenses incurred by the distributor.

 

C Class

 

The C Class pays the funds’ distributor 1.00% annually of the average daily net asset value of the funds’ C Class shares, 0.25% of which is paid for certain ongoing individual shareholder and administrative services and 0.75% of which is paid for distribution services, including past distribution services. This payment is fixed at 1.00% and is not based on expenses incurred by the distributor.

 

R Class

 

The R Class pays the funds’ distributor 0.50% annually of the average daily net asset value of the R Class shares. The distributor may use these fees to pay for certain ongoing shareholder and administrative services and for distribution services, including past distribution services. This payment is fixed at 0.50% and is not based on expenses incurred by the distributor.

 

 
51

 

 

During the fiscal year ended [June 30, 2013], the aggregate amount of fees paid under each class plan is included in the table below. Because Emerging Markets Debt is new, it is not included:

 

 

A Class

C Class

R Class

Global Bond

$16,942

$27,825

$13,884

International Bond

$243,498

$63,031

$1,153

 

The distributor then makes these payments to the financial intermediaries (including underwriters and broker-dealers, who may use some of the proceeds to compensate sales personnel) who offer the A, C and R Class shares for the services described below. No portion of these payments is used by the distributor to pay for advertising, printing costs or interest expenses.

 

Payments may be made for a variety of individual shareholder services, including, but not limited to:

 

(a)

providing individualized and customized investment advisory services, including the consideration of shareholder profiles and specific goals;

(b)

creating investment models and asset allocation models for use by shareholders in selecting appropriate funds;

(c)

conducting proprietary research about investment choices and the market in general;

(d)

periodic rebalancing of shareholder accounts to ensure compliance with the selected asset allocation;

(e)

consolidating shareholder accounts in one place;

(f)

paying service fees for providing personal, continuing services to investors, as contemplated by the Conduct Rules of FINRA; and

(g)

other individual services.

 

Individual shareholder services do not include those activities and expenses that are primarily intended to result in the sale of additional shares of the funds.

 

Distribution services include any activity undertaken or expense incurred that is primarily intended to result in the sale of A, C and/or R Class shares, which services may include but are not limited to:

 

(a)

paying sales commissions, on-going commissions and other payments to brokers, dealers, financial institutions or others who sell these shares pursuant to selling agreements;

(b)

compensating registered representatives or other employees of the distributor who engage in or support distribution of these shares;

(c)

compensating and paying expenses (including overhead and telephone expenses) of the distributor;

(d)

printing prospectuses, statements of additional information and reports for other-than-existing shareholders;

(e)

preparing, printing and distributing sales literature and advertising materials provided to the funds’ shareholders and prospective shareholders;

(f)

receiving and answering correspondence from prospective shareholders, including distributing prospectuses, statements of additional information, and shareholder reports;

(g)

providing facilities to answer questions from prospective shareholders about fund shares;

(h)

complying with federal and state securities laws pertaining to the sale of fund shares;

(i)

assisting shareholders in completing application forms and selecting dividend and other account options;

(j)

providing other reasonable assistance in connection with the distribution of fund shares;

(k)

organizing and conducting sales seminars and payments in the form of transactional and compensation or promotional incentives;

(l)

profit on the foregoing; and

(m)

such other distribution and services activities as the advisor determines may be paid for by the funds pursuant to the terms of the agreement between the corporation and the funds’ distributor and in accordance with Rule 12b-1 of the Investment Company Act.

 

 
52

 

 

Valuation of the Fund’s Securities

 

The net asset value (NAV) for each class of each fund is calculated by adding the value of all portfolio securities and other assets attributable to the class, deducting liabilities and dividing the result by the number of shares of the class outstanding. Expenses and interest earned on portfolio securities are accrued daily.

 

All classes of the funds except the A Class are offered at their NAV. The A Class of the funds is offered at its public offering price, which is the NAV plus the appropriate sales charge. This calculation may be expressed as a formula:

 

Offering Price = NAV/(1 – Sales Charge as a % of Offering Price)

 

For example, if the NAV of a fund’s A Class shares is $5.00, the public offering price would be $5.00/(1-4.50%) = $5.24.

 

Each fund’s NAV is calculated as of the close of business of the New York Stock Exchange (the NYSE), each day the NYSE is open for business. The NYSE usually closes at 4 p.m. Eastern time. The NYSE typically observes the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Although the fund expects the same holidays to be observed in the future, the NYSE may modify its holiday schedule at any time.

 

Debt securities not traded on a principal securities exchange are valued through valuations obtained from a commercial pricing service or at the most recent mean of the bid and asked prices provided by investment dealers in accordance with procedures established by the Board of Trustees.

 

The advisor typically completes its trading on behalf of the fund in various markets before the NYSE closes for the day. Foreign currency exchange rates also are determined prior to the close of the NYSE. If an event were to occur after the value of a security was established but before the NAV per share was determined that was likely to materially change the NAV, then that security would be valued as determined in accordance with procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees.

 

Securities maturing within 60 days of the valuation date may be valued at cost, plus or minus an amortized discount or premium, unless the trustees determine that this would not result in fair valuation of a given security. Other assets and securities for which quotations are not readily available are valued in good faith using methods approved by the Board of Trustees.

 

The value of an exchange-traded foreign security is determined in its national currency as of the close of trading on the foreign exchange on which it is traded or as of the close of business on the NYSE, if that is earlier. That value is then translated to dollars at the prevailing foreign exchange rate.

 

Trading in securities on European and Far Eastern securities exchanges and over-the-counter markets is normally completed at various times before the close of business on each day that the NYSE is open. If an event were to occur after the value of a security was established, but before the NAV was determined, that was likely to materially change the NAV, then that security would be valued as determined in accordance with procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees.

 

Trading of these securities in foreign markets may not take place on every day that the NYSE is open. In addition, trading may take place in various foreign markets and on some electronic trading networks on Saturdays or on other days when the NYSE is not open and on which the funds’ NAVs are not calculated. Therefore, these calculations do not take place contemporaneously with the determination of the prices of many of the portfolio securities used in such calculation, and the value of the funds’ portfolios may be affected on days when shares of the funds may not be purchased or redeemed.

 

 
53

 

 

Taxes

 

Federal Income Tax

 

Each fund intends to qualify annually as a regulated investment company (RIC) under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code). RICs are not subject to federal and state income taxes. To qualify as a RIC a fund must, among other requirements, distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains (if any) to investors each year. If a fund were not eligible to be treated as a RIC, it would be liable for taxes at the fund level on all its income, significantly reducing its distributions to investors and eliminating investors’ ability to treat distributions received from the fund in the same manner in which they were realized by the fund. However, the Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010, under certain circumstances, allows funds to cure deficiencies that would otherwise result in the loss of RIC status.

 

To qualify as a RIC, a fund must meet certain requirements of the Code, among which are requirements relating to sources of its income and diversification of its assets. A fund is also required to distribute 90% of its investment company taxable income each year. Additionally, a fund must declare dividends by December 31 of each year equal to at least 98% of ordinary income (as of December 31) and 98.2% of capital gains (as of October 31) to avoid the nondeductible 4% federal excise tax on any undistributed amounts.

 

Certain bonds purchased by a fund may be treated as bonds that were originally issued at a discount. Original issue discount represents interest for federal income tax purposes and can generally be defined as the difference between the price at which a security was issued and its stated redemption price at maturity. Although no cash is actually received by a fund until the maturity of the bond, original issue discount is treated for federal income tax purposes as income earned by a fund over the term of the bond, and therefore is subject to the distribution requirements of the Code. The annual amount of income earned on such a bond by a fund generally is determined on the basis of a constant yield to maturity that takes into account the semiannual compounding of accrued interest. In addition, some of the bonds may be purchased by a fund at a discount that exceeds the original issue discount on such bonds, if any. This additional discount represents market discount for federal income tax purposes. The gain realized on the disposition of any bond having market discount generally will be treated as taxable ordinary income to the extent it does not exceed the accrued market discount on such bond (unless a fund elects to include market discount in income in tax years to which it is attributable or if the amount is considered de minimis). Generally, market discount accrues on a daily basis for each day the bond is held by a fund on a constant yield to maturity basis. In the case of any debt security having a fixed maturity date of not more than one year from date of issue, the gain realized on disposition generally will be treated as a short-term capital gain.

 

A fund’s investments in foreign securities may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries. However, tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes. Any foreign taxes paid by a fund will reduce its dividends distributions to investors.

 

A fund’s transactions in foreign currencies, forward contracts, options and futures contracts (including options and futures contracts on foreign currencies) will be subject to special provisions of the Code that, among other things, may affect the character of gains and losses realized by the fund (i.e., may affect whether gains or losses are ordinary or capital), accelerate recognition of income to the fund, defer fund losses, and affect the determination of whether capital gains and losses are characterized as long-term or short-term capital gains or losses. These rules could therefore affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to shareholders. These provisions also may require a fund to mark-to-market certain types of the positions in its portfolio (i.e., treat them as if they were sold), which may cause the fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the distribution requirements of the Code for relief from income and excise taxes. A fund will monitor its transactions and may make such tax elections as fund management deems appropriate with respect to these transactions.

 

Under the Code, gains or losses attributable to fluctuations in exchange rates that occur between the time a fund accrues income or other receivables or accrues expenses or other liabilities denominated in a foreign currency and the time a fund actually collects such receivables or pays such liabilities generally are treated as ordinary income or loss. Similarly, in disposing of debt securities denominated in foreign currencies, certain forward currency contracts, or other instruments, gains or losses attributable to fluctuations in the value of a foreign currency between the date the security, contract, or other instrument is acquired and the date it is disposed of are also usually treated as ordinary income or loss. Under Section 988 of the Code, these gains or losses may increase or decrease the amount of a fund’s investment company taxable income distributed to shareholders as ordinary income.

 

 
54

 

 

As of June 30, 2013, the funds in the table below had the following capital loss carryovers. The Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010 allows the funds to carry forward capital losses incurred in future taxable years for an unlimited period. When a fund has a capital loss carryover, it does not make capital gains distributions until the loss has been offset. Because Emerging Markets Debt is new, it is not included in the table below.

 

Fund

Unlimited

Global Bond

International Bond

$(4,388,251)

 

If you have not complied with certain provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and Regulations, either American Century Investments or your financial intermediary is required by federal law to withhold and remit to the IRS the applicable federal withholding rate of reportable payments (which may include dividends, capital gains distributions and redemption proceeds). Those regulations require you to certify that the Social Security number or tax identification number you provide is correct and that you are not subject to withholding for previous under-reporting to the IRS. You will be asked to make the appropriate certification on your account application. Payments reported by us to the IRS that omit your Social Security number or tax identification number will subject us to a non-refundable penalty of $50, which will be charged against your account if you fail to provide the certification by the time the report is filed.

 

If fund shares are purchased through taxable accounts, distributions of either cash or additional shares of net investment income and net short-term capital gains are taxable to you as ordinary income, unless they are designated as qualified dividend income and you meet a minimum required holding period with respect to your shares of a fund, in which case such distributions are taxed at the same rate as long-term capital gains. Qualified dividend income is a dividend received by a fund from the stock of a domestic or qualifying foreign corporation, provided that the fund has held the stock for a required holding period. The required holding period for qualified dividend income is met if the underlying shares are held more than 60 days in the 121-day period beginning 60 days prior to the ex-dividend date. Dividends received by a fund on shares of stock of domestic corporations may qualify for the 70% dividends received deduction available to corporate shareholders to the extent that a fund held those shares for more than 45 days. The funds do not expect a significant portion of their distributions to be qualified dividend income or to qualify for the corporate dividends-received deduction.

 

Distributions from gains on assets held by a fund longer than 12 months are taxable as long-term gains regardless of the length of time you have held your shares in the fund. If you purchase shares in a fund and sell them at a loss within six months, your loss on the sale of those shares will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any long-term capital gains dividends you received on those shares.

 

A redemption of shares of a fund (including a redemption made in an exchange transaction) will be a taxable transaction for federal income tax purposes and you generally will recognize gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the basis of the shares and the amount received. If a loss is realized on the redemption of fund shares, the reinvestment in additional fund shares within 30 days before or after the redemption may be subject to the “wash sale” rules of the Code, resulting in a postponement of the recognition of such loss for federal income tax purposes.

 

Beginning in 2013, a 3.8% Medicare contribution tax will be imposed on net investment income, including interest, dividends and capital gains, provided you meet specified income levels.

 

State and Local Taxes

 

Distributions by the funds also may be subject to state and local taxes, even if all or a substantial part of such distributions are derived from interest on U.S. government obligations which, if you received such interest directly, would be exempt from state income tax. However, most but not all states allow this tax exemption to pass through to fund shareholders when a fund pays distributions to its shareholders. You should consult your tax advisor about the tax status of such distributions in your state.

 

The information above is only a summary of some of the tax considerations affecting the funds and their shareholders. No attempt has been made to discuss individual tax consequences. A prospective investor should consult with his or her tax advisors or state or local tax authorities to determine whether the funds are suitable investments.

 

 
55

 

 

Financial Statements

 

Because Emerging Markets Debt is new, it does not have financial statements or financial highlights. The other funds’ financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2013 have been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm. Their Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm and the financial statements included in the funds’ annual report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2013, and the funds' financial statements for the six-month period ended December 31, 2013 (unaudited) are incorporated herein by reference. The financial statements for the six-month period ended December 31, 2013 include all adjustments that American Century Investments considers necessary for a fair presentation of such information. All such adjustments are of a normal recurring nature.

 

 
56

 

 

Appendix A – Principal Shareholders

 

As of [September 30, 2013,] the following shareholders owned more than 5% of the outstanding shares of a class of the fund. The table shows shares owned of record unless otherwise noted.

 

Fund/
Class

Shareholder

Percentage of Outstanding
Shares Owned of Record

Global Bond

Investor Class

 
 

American Century Investment Management, Inc
Kansas City, Missouri

      Shares owned of record and beneficially

80%

Institutional Class

 
 

American Century Investment Management, Inc
Kansas City, Missouri

      Shares owned of record and beneficially

100%

A Class

 
 

American Century Investment Management, Inc
Kansas City, Missouri

      Shares owned of record and beneficially

96%

C Class

 
 

American Century Investment Management, Inc
Kansas City, Missouri

      Shares owned of record and beneficially

98%

R Class

 
 

American Century Investment Management, Inc
Kansas City, Missouri

      Shares owned of record and beneficially

100%

R6 Class

 
 

American Century Investment Management, Inc
Kansas City, Missouri

      Shares owned of record and beneficially

100%

International Bond

Investor Class

 
 

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
Jersey City, New Jersey

16%

 

Charles Schwab & Co. Inc

San Francisco, California

10%

 

American Century Serv Corp SSB&T Custodian
One Choice Portfolio Conservative Omnibus
Kansas City, Missouri

      Shares owned of record and beneficially

10%

 

Pershing LLC
Jersey City, New Jersey

9%

 

National Financial Services Corp
New York, New York

7%

 

American Century Serv Corp SSB&T Custodian
One Choice Portfolio Moderate Omnibus
Kansas City, Missouri

      Shares owned of record and beneficially

5%

 

American Century Serv Corp SSB&T Custodian
One Choice Portfolio Very Conservative Omnibus
Kansas City, Missouri

      Shares owned of record and beneficially

5%

 

 
A-1

 

 

Fund/
Class
Shareholder Percentage of Outstanding
Shares Owned of Record
International Bond  

Institutional Class

 
 

American Century Serv Corp SSB&T Custodian
One ChoiceSM 2025 Portfolio IBond Omnibus
Kansas City, Missouri

      Shares owned of record and beneficially

21%

 

American Century Serv Corp SSB&T Custodian
One ChoiceSM 2015 Portfolio IBond Omnibus
Kansas City, Missouri

      Shares owned of record and beneficially

20%

 

National Financial Services Corp

New York, New York

18%

 

American Century Services LLC SSB&T Custodian
One ChoiceSM 2020 Portfolio International Bond Omnibus
Kansas City, Missouri

      Shares owned of record and beneficially

16%

 

American Century Serv Corp SSB&T Custodian
One ChoiceSM In Retirement Portfolio IBond Omnibus
Kansas City, Missouri

      Shares owned of record and beneficially

9%

A Class

 
 

KS Postsecondary Education SP SSB&T Custodian
Kansas City, Missouri

      Includes 16.42% registered for the benefit of Schwab-Moderate Intl Bond Advisor Omnibus; 14.38%

      registered for the benefit of Schwab-Moderately Aggressive Intl Bond Advisor Omnibus; 12.67%

      registered for the benefit of Schwab-Moderately Conservative Intl Bond Advisor Omnibus; 12.44%

      registered for the benefit of Schwab-Conservative Intl Bond Advisor Omnibus; and 5.99% registered

      for the benefit of Schwab-Short-Term Intl Bond Advisor Omnibus.

62%

 

American Enterprise Investment Svc

Minneapolis, Minnesota

22%

C Class

 
 

JP Morgan Clearing Corp Omnibus
Brooklyn, New York

32%

 

MLPF&S
Jacksonville, Florida

19%

 

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
Jersey City, New Jersey

10%

 

First Clearing LLC
Saint Louis, Missouri

8%

 

Pershing LLC
Jersey City, New Jersey

6%

 

American Enterprise Investment Svc
Minneapolis, Minnesota

5%

 

 
A-2

 

 

Fund/
Class

Shareholder

Percentage of Outstanding
Shares Owned of Record

International Bond

R Class

 

MG Trust Company Cust
Denver, Colorado

      Includes 22.00% registered for the benefit of Cooper Safe Harbor 401K Plan; 16.04% registered

      for the benefit of Rich, Wightman & Company Certified; 7.51% registered for the benefit of NL

      Technology LLC 401K Plan; 6.52% registered for the benefit of August Law Group 401K PS Plan;

      and 5.87% registered for the benefit of Ronal Industries Inc. Employees Sav

64%

 

Alerus Financial FBO GMI Inc 401k Plan
Saint Paul, Minnesota

15%

 

Pershing LLC
Jersey City, New Jersey

14%

R6 Class

 

American Century Investment Management, Inc
Kansas City, Missouri

      Shares owned of record and beneficially

80%

 

American Century Serv Corp SSB&T Custodian
One ChoiceSM In Retiremt R6 Portfolio International Bond Omnibus
Kansas City, Missouri

      Shares owned of record and beneficially

6%

 

American Century Serv. Corp. SSB&T Custodian
One ChoiceSM 2015 R6 Portfolio International Bond Omnibus
Kansas City, Missouri

      Shares owned of record and beneficially

5%

 

The fund is unaware of any other shareholders, beneficial or of record, who own more than 5% of any class of the fund’s outstanding shares or who own more than 25% of the voting securities of the trust. A shareholder owning beneficially more than 25% of the trust’s outstanding shares may be considered a controlling person. The vote of any such person could have a more significant effect on matters presented at a shareholders’ meeting than votes of other shareholders. As of [September 30, 2013,] the officers and trustees of the fund, as a group, owned less than 1% of any class of the fund’s outstanding shares.

 

 
A-3

 

 

Appendix B – Sales Charges and Payments to Dealers

 

Sales Charges

 

The sales charges applicable to the A and C Classes of the funds are described in the prospectuses for those classes in the section titled Investing Through a Financial Intermediary. Shares of the A Class are subject to an initial sales charge, which declines as the amount of the purchase increases. Additional information regarding reductions and waivers of the A Class sales charge may be found in the funds’ prospectuses. Prior to October 21, 2011, International Bond Fund also offered B Class shares. However, B Class shares were converted to A Class shares and B Class shares are no longer available for the fund.

 

Shares of the A and C Classes are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) upon redemption of the shares in certain circumstances. The specific charges and when they apply are described in the relevant prospectuses. The CDSC may be waived for certain redemptions by some shareholders, as described in the prospectuses.

 

An investor may terminate his relationship with an intermediary at any time. If the investor does not establish a relationship with a new intermediary and transfer any accounts to that new intermediary, such accounts may be exchanged to the Investor Class of the fund, if such class is available. The investor will be the shareholder of record of such accounts. In this situation, any applicable CDSCs will be charged when the exchange is made.

 

During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2013, Global Bond had no CDSCs paid to the distributor from the A and C Class shares. The aggregate CDSCs paid to the distributor from the A and C Class shares of International Bond in the fiscal year ended June 30, [2013,] were:

 

A Class

$4,697

C Class

$1,942

 

Payments to Dealers

 

The funds’ distributor expects to pay dealer commissions to the financial intermediaries who sell A and/or C Class shares of the funds at the time of such sales. Payments for A Class shares will be as follows

 

Purchase Amount

Dealer Commission as a %
of Offering Price

< $99,999

4.00%

$100,000 - $249,999

3.00%

$250,000 - $499,999

2.00%

$500,000 - $999,999

1.75%

$1,000,000 - $3,999,999

1.00%

$4,000,000 - $9,999,999

0.50%

> $10,000,000

0.25%

 

No dealer commission will be paid on purchases by employer-sponsored retirement plans. For this purpose, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs or SARSEPs. Payments will equal 1.00% of the purchase price of the C Class shares sold by the intermediary. The distributor will retain the 12b-1 fee paid by the C Class of funds for the first 12 months after the shares are purchased. This fee is intended in part to permit the distributor to recoup a portion of on-going sales commissions to dealers plus financing costs, if any. Beginning with the first day of the 13th month, the distributor will make the C Class distribution and individual shareholder services fee payments described above to the financial intermediaries involved on a quarterly basis. In addition, C Class purchases, and A Class purchases greater than $1,000,000, are subject to a CDSC as described in the prospectuses.

 

 
B-1

 

 

From time to time, the distributor may make additional payments to dealers, including but not limited to payment assistance for conferences and seminars, provision of sales or training programs for dealer employees and/or the public (including, in some cases, payment for travel expenses for registered representatives and other dealer employees who participate), advertising and sales campaigns about a fund or funds, and assistance in financing dealer-sponsored events. Other payments may be offered as well, and all such payments will be consistent with applicable law, including the then-current rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Such payments will not change the price paid by investors for shares of the funds.

 

 
B-2

 

 

Appendix C – Buying and Selling Fund Shares

 

Information about buying, selling, exchanging and, if applicable, converting fund shares is contained in the funds’ prospectuses. The prospectuses are available to investors without charge and may be obtained by calling us.

 

Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans

 

Certain group employer-sponsored retirement plans that hold a single account for all plan participants with the fund, or that are part of a retirement plan or platform offered by banks, broker-dealers, financial advisors or insurance companies, or serviced by retirement recordkeepers are eligible to purchase Investor, Institutional, A, C, R and R6 Class shares. A and C Class purchases are available at net asset value with no dealer commission paid to the financial professional and do not incur a CDSC. A, C and R Class shares purchased in employer-sponsored retirement plans are subject to applicable distribution and service (12b-1) fees, which the financial intermediary begins receiving immediately at the time of purchase. American Century Investments does not impose minimum initial investment amount, plan size or participant number requirement by class for employer-sponsored retirement plans; however, financial intermediaries or plan recordkeepers may require plans to meet different requirements.

 

Examples of employer-sponsored retirement plans include the following:

 

401(a) plans

pension plans

profit sharing plans

401(k) plans

money purchase plans

target benefit plans

Taft-Hartley multi-employer pension plans

SERP and “Top Hat” plans

ERISA trusts

employee benefit plans and trusts

employer-sponsored health plans

457 plans

KEOGH or HR(10) plans

employer-sponsored 403(b) plans

nonqualified deferred compensation plans

nonqualified excess benefit plans

nonqualified retirement plans

 

Traditional and Roth IRAs are not considered employer-sponsored retirement plans, and SIMPLE IRAs, SEP IRAs and SARSEPs are collectively referred to as Business IRAs. Business IRAs that (i) held shares of an A Class fund prior to March 1, 2009 that received sales charge waivers or (ii) held shares of an Advisor Class fund that was renamed A Class on March 1, 2010, may permit additional purchases by new and existing participants in A Class shares without an initial sales charge.

 

R Class IRA Accounts established prior to August 1, 2006 may make additional purchases.

 

 
C-1

 

 

Waiver of Minimum Initial Investment Amounts — Institutional Class

 

A financial intermediary, upon receiving prior approval from American Century Investments, may waive applicable minimum initial investment amounts per shareholder for Institutional Class shares in the following situations:

 

Broker-dealers purchasing fund shares for clients in broker-sponsored discretionary fee-based advisory programs where the portfolio manager of the program acts on behalf of the shareholder through omnibus accounts;

Trust companies and bank wealth management organizations purchasing shares in a fiduciary, discretionary trustee or advisory account on behalf of the shareholder, through omnibus accounts or nominee name accounts;

Financial intermediaries with clients of a registered investment advisor (RIA) purchasing fund shares in fee based advisory accounts with a $100,000 initial minimum per client or $250,000 aggregated initial investment across multiple clients, where the RIA is purchasing shares through certain broker-dealers through omnibus accounts;

Qualified Tuition Programs under Section 529 that have entered into an agreement with the distributor; and

Certain other situations deemed appropriate by American Century Investments.

 

 
C-2

 

 

Appendix D – Explanation of Fixed-Income Securities Ratings

 

As described in the prospectus, the funds invest in fixed-income securities. Those investments, however, are subject to certain credit quality restrictions, as noted in the prospectus. The following is a summary of the rating categories referenced in the prospectuses.

 

Ratings of Corporate Debt Securities

Standard & Poor’s

AAA

This is the highest rating assigned by S&P to a debt obligation. It indicates an extremely strong capacity to pay interest and repay principal.

AA

Debt rated in this category is considered to have a very strong capacity to pay interest and repay principal. It differs from the highest-rated obligations only in small degree.

A

Debt rated A has a strong capacity to pay interest and repay principal, although it is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than debt in higher-rated categories.

BBB

Debt rated in this category is regarded as having an adequate capacity to pay interest and repay principal. While it normally exhibits adequate protection parameters, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity to pay interest and repay principal for debt in this category than in higher-rated categories. Debt rated below BBB is regarded as having significant speculative characteristics.

BB

Debt rated in this category has less near-term vulnerability to default than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions that could lead to inadequate capacity to meet timely interest and principal payments. The BB rating also is used for debt subordinated to senior debt that is assigned an actual or implied BBB rating.

B

Debt rated in this category is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated BB, but currently has the capacity to pay interest and repay principal. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligor’s capacity or willingness to pay interest and repay principal.

CCC

Debt rated in this category is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions to meet timely payment of interest and repayment of principal. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, it is not likely to have the capacity to pay interest and repay principal. The CCC rating category is also used for debt subordinated to senior debt that is assigned an actual or implied B or B- rating.

CC

Debt rated in this category is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. This rating category is also applied to debt subordinated to senior debt that is assigned an actual or implied CCC rating.

C

The rating C typically is applied to debt subordinated to senior debt, and is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment of interest and principal. This rating may be used to cover a situation where a bankruptcy petition has been filed or similar action taken, but debt service payments are being continued.

D

Debt rated in this category is in default. This rating is used when interest payments or principal repayments are not made on the date due even if the applicable grace period has not expired, unless S&P believes that such payments will be made during such grace period. It also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action if debt service payments are jeopardized.

 

 
D-1

 

 

Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.

Aaa

This is the highest rating assigned by Moody’s to a debt obligation. It indicates an extremely strong capacity to pay interest and repay principal.

Aa

Debt rated in this category is considered to have a very strong capacity to pay interest and repay principal and differs from Aaa issues only in a small degree. Together with Aaa debt, it comprises what are generally known as high-grade bonds.

A

Debt rated in this category possesses many favorable investment attributes and is to be considered as upper-medium-grade debt. Although capacity to pay interest and repay principal are considered adequate, it is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than debt in higher-rated categories.

Baa

Debt rated in this category is considered as medium-grade debt having an adequate capacity to pay interest and repay principal. While it normally exhibits adequate protection parameters, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity to pay interest and repay principal for debt in this category than in higher-rated categories. Debt rated below Baa is regarded as having significant speculative characteristics.

Ba

Debt rated Ba has less near-term vulnerability to default than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial or economic conditions that could lead to inadequate capacity to meet timely interest and principal payments. Often the protection of interest and principal payments may be very moderate.

B

Debt rated B has a greater vulnerability to default, but currently has the capacity to meet financial commitments. Assurance of interest and principal payments or of maintenance of other terms of the contract over any long period of time may be small. The B rating category is also used for debt subordinated to senior debt that is assigned an actual or implied Ba or Ba3 rating.

Caa

Debt rated Caa is of poor standing, has a currently identifiable vulnerability to default, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial and economic conditions to meet timely payment of interest and repayment of principal. In the event of adverse business, financial or economic conditions, it is not likely to have the capacity to pay interest and repay principal. Such issues may be in default or there may be present elements of danger with respect to principal or interest. The Caa rating is also used for debt subordinated to senior debt that is assigned an actual or implied B or B3 rating.

Ca

Debt rated in this category represent obligations that are speculative in a high degree. Such debt is often in default or has other marked shortcomings.

C

This is the lowest rating assigned by Moody’s, and debt rated C can be regarded as having extremely poor prospects of attaining investment standing.

 

Fitch Investors Service, Inc.

AAA

Debt rated in this category has the lowest expectation of credit risk. Capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is exceptionally strong and highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.

AA

Debt rated in this category has a very low expectation of credit risk. Capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is very strong and not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.

A

Debt rated in this category has a low expectation of credit risk. Capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is strong, but may be more vulnerable to changes in circumstances or in economic conditions than debt rated in higher categories.

BBB

Debt rated in this category currently has a low expectation of credit risk and an adequate capacity for timely payment of financial commitments. However, adverse changes in circumstances and in economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity. This is the lowest investment grade category.

BB

Debt rated in this category has a possibility of developing credit risk, particularly as the result of adverse economic change over time. However, business or financial alternatives may be available to allow financial commitments to be met. Securities rated in this category are not investment grade.

 

 
D-2

 

 

Fitch Investors Service, Inc.

B

Debt rated in this category has significant credit risk, but a limited margin of safety remains. Financial commitments currently are being met, but capacity for continued debt service payments is contingent upon a sustained, favorable business and economic environment.

CCC, CC, C

Debt rated in these categories has a real possibility for default. Capacity for meeting financial commitments depends solely upon sustained, favorable business or economic developments. A CC rating indicates that default of some kind appears probable; a C rating signals imminent default.

DDD, DD, D

The ratings of obligations in these categories are based on their prospects for achieving partial or full recovery in a reorganization or liquidation of the obligor. While expected recovery values are highly speculative and cannot be estimated with any precision, the following serve as general guidelines. DDD obligations have the highest potential for recovery, around 90%-100% of outstanding amounts and accrued interest. DD indicates potential recoveries in the range of 50%-90% and D the lowest recovery potential, i.e., below 50%. Entities rated in these categories have defaulted on some or all of their obligations.

Entities rated DDD have the highest prospect for resumption of performance or continued operation with or without a formal reorganization process. Entities rated DD and D are generally undergoing a formal reorganization or liquidation process; those rated DD are likely to satisfy a higher portion of their outstanding obligations, while entities rated D have a poor prospect of repaying all obligations.

 

To provide more detailed indications of credit quality, the Standard & Poor’s ratings from AA to CCC may be modified by the addition of a plus or minus sign to show relative standing within these major rating categories. Similarly, Moody’s adds numerical modifiers (1, 2, 3) to designate relative standing within its major bond rating categories. Fitch also rates bonds and uses a ratings system that is substantially similar to that used by Standard & Poor’s.

 

Commercial Paper Ratings

S&P

Moody’s

Description

A-1

Prime-1
(P-1)

This indicates that the degree of safety regarding timely payment is strong. Standard & Poor’s rates those issues determined to possess extremely strong safety characteristics as A-1+.

A-2

Prime-2
(P-2)

Capacity for timely payment on commercial paper is satisfactory, but the relative degree of safety is not as high as for issues designated A-1. Earnings trends and coverage ratios, while sound, will be more subject to variation. Capitalization characteristics, while still appropriated, may be more affected by external conditions. Ample alternate liquidity is maintained.

A-3

Prime-3
(P-3)

Satisfactory capacity for timely repayment. Issues that carry this rating are somewhat more vulnerable to the adverse changes in circumstances than obligations carrying the higher designations.

 

Municipal Note and Variable Rate Security Ratings

S&P

Moody’s

Description

SP-1

MIG-1;
VMIG-1

Notes are of the highest quality enjoying strong protection from established cash flows of funds for their servicing or from established and broad-based access to the market for refinancing, or both.

SP-2

MIG-2;
VMIG-2

Notes are of high quality with margins of protection ample, although not so large as in the preceding group.

SP-3

MIG-3;
VMIG-3

Notes are of favorable quality with all security elements accounted for, but lacking the undeniable strength of the preceding grades. Market access for refinancing, in particular, is likely to be less well established.

SP-4

MIG-4;
VMIG-4

Notes are of adequate quality carrying specific risk but having protection and not distinctly or predominantly speculative.

 

 
D-3

 

 

Notes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

American Century Investments
americancentury.com

 

 

Retail Investors

P.O. Box 419200
Kansas City, Missouri 64141-6200
1-800-345-2021 or 816-531-5575

Financial Professionals

P.O. Box 419385
Kansas City, Missouri 64141-6385
1-800-345-6488

 

 

Investment Company Act File No. 811-06441

 

 

 

CL-SAI-xxxxx   1407

 

 
 

 

 

 

AMERICAN CENTURY INTERNATIONAL BOND FUNDS

 

PART C     OTHER INFORMATION

 

Item 28. Exhibits

 

  (a)     (1)     Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust, dated March 26, 2004 (filed electronically as Exhibit a to Post-Effective Amendment No. 19 to the Registration Statement of the Registrant on April 29, 2004, File No. 33-43321, and incorporated herein by reference).

 

(2)     Amendment No. 1 to the Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust, dated June 14, 2004 (filed electronically as Exhibit a2 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 21 to the Registration Statement of the Registrant on July 29, 2004, File No. 33-43321, and incorporated herein by reference).

 

(3)     Amendment No. 2 to the Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust, dated March 8, 2007 (filed electronically as Exhibit a3 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 25 to the Registration Statement of the Registrant on April 30, 2007, File No. 33-43321, and incorporated herein by reference).

 

(4)     Amendment No. 3 to the Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust, dated August 31, 2007 (filed electronically as Exhibit a4 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 26 to the Registration Statement of the Registrant on September 27, 2007, File No. 33-43321, and incorporated herein by reference).

 

(5)     Amendment No. 4 to the Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust, dated September 28, 2011 (filed electronically as Exhibit a5 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 32 to the Registration Statement of the Registrant on October 28, 2011, File No. 33-43321, and incorporated herein by reference).

 

(6)     Amendment No. 5 to the Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust, dated April 5, 2012 (filed electronically as Exhibit a6 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 36 to the Registration Statement of the Registrant on October 26, 2012, File No. 33-43321, and incorporated herein by reference).

 

(7)     Amendment No. 6 to the Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust, dated April 4, 2013 (filed electronically as Exhibit a7 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 38 to the Registration Statement of the Registrant on July 25, 2013, File No. 33-43321, and incorporated herein by reference).

 

(8)     Amendment No. 7 to the Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust (to be filed by amendment).

 

  (b)     Amended and Restated Bylaws, dated December 18, 2012 (filed electronically as Exhibit b to Post-Effective Amendment No. 38 to the Registration Statement of the Registrant on July 25, 2013, File No. 33-43321, and incorporated herein by reference).

 

  (c)     Registrant hereby incorporates by reference, as though set forth fully herein, Article III, IV, V, VI and Article VIII of Registrant's Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust, appearing as Exhibit (a) herein and Article II, Article VII, and Article IX of Registrant's Amended and Restated Bylaws, appearing as Exhibit (b) herein.

 

  (d)     (1)     Management Agreement with American Century Investment Management, Inc., effective as of July 16, 2010 (filed electronically as Exhibit d to Post-Effective Amendment No. 30 to the Registration Statement of the Registrant on October 28, 2010, File No. 33-43321, and incorporated herein by reference).

 

(2)     Amendment No. 1 to Management Agreement with American Century Investment Management, Inc., effective as of July 26, 2013 (filed electronically as Exhibit d2 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 38 to the Registration Statement of the Registrant on July 25, 2013, File No. 33-43321, and incorporated herein by reference).

 

 
1

 

 

(3)     Management Agreement with American Century Investment Management, Inc., effective as of January 31, 2012 (filed electronically as Exhibit d2 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 34 to the Registration Statement of the Registrant on January 30, 2012, File No. 33-43321, and incorporated herein by reference).

 

(4)     Amendment No. 1 to Management Agreement with American Century Investment Management, Inc., effective as of July 26, 2013 (filed electronically as Exhibit d4 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 38 to the Registration Statement of the Registrant on July 25, 2013, File No. 33-43321, and incorporated herein by reference).

 

(5)     Amendment No. 2 to Management Agreement with American Century Investment Management, Inc. (to be filed by amendment).

 

      (e)     (1)     Amended and Restated Distribution Agreement with American Century Investment Services, Inc., effective as of July 26, 2013 (filed electronically as Exhibit e to Post-Effective Amendment No. 38 to the Registration Statement of the Registrant on July 25, 2013, File No. 33-43321, and incorporated herein by reference).

 

(2)     Amended and Restated Distribution Agreement with American Century Investment Services, Inc. (to be filed by amendment).

 

  (f)      Not applicable.

 

      (g)     (1)     Master Custodian Agreement with State Street Bank and Trust Company, made as of July 29, 2011 (filed electronically as Exhibit g2 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 to the Registration Statement of American Century Government Income Trust on July 29, 2011, File No. 2-99222, and incorporated herein by reference).

 

(2)     Custody Fee Schedule with State Street Bank and Trust Company, dated as of July 29, 2011 (filed electronically as Exhibit g3 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 to the Registration Statement of American Century Government Income Trust on July 29, 2011, File No. 2-99222, and incorporated herein by reference).

 

(3)     Notice of Additional Portfolios, dated November 29, 2011 (filed electronically as Exhibit g4 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 32 to the Registration Statement of American Century Strategic Asset Allocations, Inc. on January 30, 2012, File No. 33-79482, and incorporated herein by reference).

 

  (h)     Amended and Restated Transfer Agency Agreement with American Century Services Corporation, dated as of August 1, 2007 (filed electronically as Exhibit h1 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 26 to the Registration Statement of the Registrant on September 27, 2007, File No. 33-43321, and incorporated herein by reference).

 

  (i)      Opinion and Consent of Counsel (to be filed by amendment).

 

  (j)      Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm (to be filed by amendment).

 

  (k)     Not applicable.

 

  (l)      Not applicable.

 

     (m)     (1)     Amended and Restated Master Distribution and Individual Shareholder Services Plan (A Class), dated January 1, 2008 (filed electronically as Exhibit m1 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 27 to the Registration Statement of the Registrant on October 28, 2008, File No. 33-43321, and incorporated herein by reference).

 

(2)     Amendment No. 1 to Amended and Restated Master Distribution and Individual Shareholder Services Plan (A Class), effective as of January 31, 2012 (filed electronically as Exhibit m2 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 34 to the Registration Statement of the Registrant on January 30, 2012, File No. 33-43321, and incorporated herein by reference).

 

 
2

 

 

(3)     Amendment No. 2 to Amended and Restated Master Distribution and Individual Shareholder Services Plan (A Class) (to be filed by Amendment).

 

(4)     Amended and Restated Master Distribution and Individual Shareholder Services Plan (C Class), dated January 1, 2008 (filed electronically as Exhibit m3 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 27 to the Registration Statement of the Registrant on October 28, 2008, File No. 33-43321, and incorporated herein by reference).

 

(5)     Amendment No. 1 to Amended and Restated Master Distribution and Individual Shareholder Services Plan (C Class), effective as of January 31, 2012 (filed electronically as Exhibit m4 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 34 to the Registration Statement of the Registrant on January 30, 2012, File No. 33-43321, and incorporated herein by reference).

 

(6)     Amendment No. 2 to Amended and Restated Master Distribution and Individual Shareholder Services Plan (C Class) (to be filed by amendment).

 

(7)     Amended and Restated Master Distribution and Individual Shareholder Services Plan (R Class), dated January 1, 2008 (filed electronically as Exhibit m4 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 27 to the Registration Statement of the Registrant on October 28, 2008, File No. 33-43321, and incorporated herein by reference).

 

(8)     Amendment No. 1 to Amended and Restated Master Distribution and Individual Shareholder Services Plan (R Class), effective as of January 31, 2012 (filed electronically as Exhibit m6 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 34 to the Registration Statement of the Registrant on January 30, 2012, File No. 33-43321, and incorporated herein by reference).

 

(9)     Amendment No. 2 to Master Distribution and Individual Shareholder Services Plan (R Class) (to be filed by amendment).

 

      (n)     (1)     Amended and Restated Multiple Class Plan, effective as of July 26, 2013 (filed electronically as Exhibit n to Post-Effective Amendment No. 38 to the Registration Statement of the Registrant on July 25, 2013, File No. 33-43321, and incorporated herein by reference).

 

(2)     Amended and Restated Multiple Class Plan (to be filed by amendment).

 

  (o)     Reserved.

 

      (p)     (1)     American Century Investments Code of Ethics (filed electronically as Exhibit p1 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 48 to the Registration Statement of American Century California Tax-Free and Municipal Funds on December 29, 2010, File No. 2-82734, and incorporated herein by reference).

 

(2)     Independent Directors’ Code of Ethics amended February 28, 2000 (filed electronically as Exhibit p2 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 40 to the Registration Statement of American Century Target Maturities Trust on November 30, 2004, File No. 2-94608, and incorporated herein by reference).

 

      (q)     (1)     Power of Attorney, dated December 18, 2012 (filed electronically as Exhibit q1 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 51 to the Registration Statement of American Century California Tax-Free and Municipal Funds on December 28, 2012, File No. 2-82734, and incorporated herein by reference).

 

(2)     Secretary’s Certificate, dated December 18, 2012 (filed electronically as Exhibit q2 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 51 to the Registration Statement of American Century California Tax-Free and Municipal Funds on December 28, 2012, File No. 2-82734, and incorporated herein by reference).

 

 
3

 

 

Item 29. Persons Controlled by or Under Common Control with Registrant

 

 The persons who serve as the trustees or directors of the Registrant also serve, in substantially identical capacities, the following investment companies:

 

American Century California Tax-Free and Municipal Funds

American Century Government Income Trust

American Century International Bond Funds

American Century Investment Trust

American Century Municipal Trust

American Century Quantitative Equity Funds, Inc.

American Century Target Maturities Trust

American Century Variable Portfolios II, Inc.

 

 Because the boards of each of the above-named investment companies are identical, these companies may be deemed to be under common control. 

 

Item 30. Indemnification

 

 As stated in Article VII, Section 3 of the Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust, incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (a1)to the Registration Statement, "The Trustees shall be entitled and empowered to the fullest extent permitted by law to purchase insurance for and to provide by resolution or in the Bylaws for indemnification out of Trust assets for liability and for all expenses reasonably incurred or paid or expected to be paid by a Trustee or officer in connection with any claim, action, suit, or proceeding in which he becomes involved by virtue of his capacity or former capacity with the Trust. The provisions, including any exceptions and limitations concerning indemnification, may be set forth in detail in the Bylaws or in a resolution of the Trustees."

 

 The Registrant hereby incorporates by reference, as though set forth fully herein, Article VI of the Registrant's Amended and Restated Bylaws, appearing as Exhibit (b) herein.

 

 The Registrant has purchased an insurance policy insuring its officers and directors against certain liabilities which such officers and directors may incur while acting in such capacities and providing reimbursement to the Registrant for sums which it may be permitted or required to pay to its officers and directors by way of indemnification against such liabilities, subject in either case to clauses respecting deductibility and participation.

 

Item 31. Business and other Connections of Investment Advisor

 

 In addition to serving as the Registrant’s advisor, American Century Investment Management, Inc. (ACIM) provides portfolio management services for other investment companies as well as for other business and institutional clients. Except as listed below, none of the directors or officers of the advisor are or have been engaged in any business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature, other than on behalf of the advisor and its affiliates, within the last two fiscal years.

 

Edward Boyle (Vice President of ACIM). Served as Portfolio Manager, FX Concepts, principal address is 3 Park Ave, New York, NY 10016, 2007 to 2013.

 

Radu Gabudean (Vice President of ACIM). Served as Vice President of Quantitative Strategies, Barclays Capital, principal address is 745 7th Avenue, New York, NY 10019, 2010 to 2013.

 

Vinod Chandrashekaran (Senior Vice President of ACIM). Served as Head of Risk Management-Quantitative Equity and Global Macro strategies, BlackRock/Barclays Global Investors, principal address is 400 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94005, 2003 to 2013.

 

Victor Zhang (Co-Chief Investment Officer of ACIM). Served as President, Chief Investment Officer and Chairman of the Investment Committee, Wilshire Funds Management, principal address is 1299 Ocean Avenue, Suite 700, Santa Monica, CA 90401, 2006 to 2014.

 

 
4

 

 

 Nathan Chaudoin (Vice President of ACIM). Served as Senior Emerging Market Debt Product Specialist, HSBC Global Asset Management, principal address is 453 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10018, 2011 to 2014.

 

 The principal address for ACIM is 4500 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64111.

 

Item 32. Principal Underwriters

 

I.                   (a)     American Century Investment Services, Inc. (ACIS) acts as principal underwriter for the following investment companies:

 

American Century Asset Allocation Portfolios, Inc.

American Century California Tax-Free and Municipal Funds

American Century Capital Portfolios, Inc.

American Century Government Income Trust

American Century Growth Funds, Inc.

American Century International Bond Funds

American Century Investment Trust

American Century Municipal Trust

American Century Mutual Funds, Inc.

American Century Quantitative Equity Funds, Inc.

American Century Strategic Asset Allocations, Inc.

American Century Target Maturities Trust

American Century Variable Portfolios, Inc.

American Century Variable Portfolios II, Inc.

American Century World Mutual Funds, Inc.

 

 ACIS is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a broker-dealer and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. ACIS is located at 4500 Main Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64111. ACIS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Century Companies, Inc.

 

 (b)    The following is a list of the directors, executive officers and partners of ACIS as of February 15, 2014:

 

Name and Principal

Business Address*

Positions and Offices

With Underwriter

Positions and Offices

With Registrant

     

Peter Cieszko

Director, President and Chief

Executive Officer

none

     

Sheila Hartnett-Devlin

Director and Senior Vice President

none

     

Steven J. McClain

Director and Senior Vice President

none

     

Joe Schultz

Director and Senior Vice President

none

     

Joseph D’Agostino

Senior Vice President

none

     

Gary P. Kostuke

Senior Vice President

none

     

Richard T. Luchinsky

Senior Vice President

none

     

Michael J. Raddie

Senior Vice President

none

     

Elizabeth A. Young

Chief Privacy Officer, Senior AML

Officer and Vice President

none

     

 

 
5

 

 

Name and Principal

Business Address*

Positions and Offices

With Underwriter

Positions and Offices

With Registrant

     

Ward D. Stauffer

Secretary

Secretary

     

Charles A. Etherington

Assistant Secretary and

General Counsel

Senior Vice President and

General Counsel

     

Brian L. Brogan

Assistant Secretary

Assistant Vice President and

Assistant Secretary

     

Otis H. Cowan

Assistant Secretary

Assistant Vice President and

Assistant Secretary

     

Janet A. Nash

Assistant Secretary

Assistant Vice President and

Assistant Secretary

     

David H. Reinmiller

Assistant Secretary

Vice President

     

Ryan Ander

Vice President

none

     

Jennifer L. Barron

Vice President

none

     

Matthew R. Beck

Vice President

none

     

David Bedrick

Vice President

none

     

Stacey L. Belford

Vice President

none

     

Hayden S. Berk

Vice President

none

     

Stacy Bernstein

Vice President

none

     

Andrew M. Billingsley

Vice President

none

     

James D. Blythe

Vice President

none

     

Don Bonder

Vice President

none

     

James H. Breitenkamp

Vice President

none

     

Bruce W. Caldwell

Vice President

none

     

Alan D. Chingren

Vice President

none

     

William Collins

Vice President

none

     

D. Alan Critchell, Jr.

Vice President

none

     

Ellen DeNicola

Vice President

none

     

Christopher J. DeSimone

Vice President

none

     

David P. Donovan

Vice President

none

     

 

 
6

 

 

Name and Principal

Business Address*

Positions and Offices

With Underwriter

Positions and Offices

With Registrant

     

G. Patrick Dougherty

Vice President

none

     

Kenneth J. Dougherty

Vice President

none

     

Ryan C. Dreier

Vice President

none

     

Joseph G. Eck

Vice President

none

     

Kevin G. Eknaian

Vice President

none

     

Jill A. Farrell

Vice President

none

     

William D. Ford

Vice President

none

     

Michael C. Galkoski

Vice President

none

     

Diane Gallagher

Vice President

none

     

Gregory O. Garvin

Vice President

none

     

Owen Geisz

Vice President

none

     

Wendy Goodyear

Vice President

none

     

John (Jay) L. Green

Vice President

none

     

Michael K. Green

Vice President

none

     

Brandon G. Grier

Vice President

none

     

Timothy R. Guay

Vice President

none

     

Steven Hanson

Vice President

none

     

Marni B. Harp

Vice President

none

     

Brett G. Hart

Vice President

none

     

Stacey L. Hoffman

Vice President

none

     

B.D. Horton

Vice President

none

     

Robert O. Houston

Vice President

none

     

Terence M. Huddle

Vice President

none

     

Jennifer Ison

Vice President

none

     

Christopher T. Jackson

Vice President

none

     

Michael A. Jackson

Vice President

none

     

Cindy A. Johnson

Vice President

none

     

 

 
7

 

 

Name and Principal

Business Address*

Positions and Offices

With Underwriter

Positions and Offices

With Registrant

     

Wesley S. Kabance

Vice President

none

     

David A. Keefer

Vice President

none

     

Aysun Kilic

Vice President

none

     

Matthew S. Kives

Vice President

none

     

Matthew Kobata

Vice President

none

     

William L. Kreiling

Vice President

none

     

Jack R. Kulpa

Vice President

none

     

John A. Leis

Vice President

none

     

Edward Lettieri

Vice President

none

     

Dennis Logan

Vice President

none

     

Jesse C. Martin

Vice President

none

     

Thomas C. McCarthy

Vice President

none

     

Jeff McCroy

Vice President

none

     

Joseph P. McGivney, Jr.

Vice President

none

     

Peter J. McHugh

Vice President

none

     

Victor V. Melinauskas

Vice President

none

     

Christopher M. Monachino

Vice President

none

     

Debra K. Morris

Vice President

none

     

Sandra K. Morris

Vice President

none

     

Susan M. Morris

Vice President

none

     

David M. Murphy

Vice President

none

     

Kathleen L. Nelkin

Vice President

none

     

Kelly A. Ness

Vice President

none

     

John E. O’Connor

Vice President

none

     

Patrick J. Palmer

Vice President

none

     

Christy A. Poe

Vice President

none

     

William Rader

Vice President

none

     

 

 
8

 

 

Name and Principal

Business Address*

Positions and Offices

With Underwriter

Positions and Offices

With Registrant

     

Douglas K. Reber

Vice President

none

     

Cheryl Redline

Vice President and Treasurer

none

     

David E. Rogers

Vice President

none

     

Gerald M. Rossi

Vice President

none

     

Brett A. Round

Vice President

none

     

Michael (Mick) F. Schell

Vice President

none

     

Keith Seidman

Vice President

none

     

Tracey L. Shank

Vice President

none

     

Amy D. Shelton

Vice President and Chief

Compliance Officer

none

     

Daniel E. Shepard

Vice President

none

     

Steven Silverman

Vice President

none

     

Michael W. Suess

Vice President

none

     

Michael T. Sullivan

Vice President

none

     

Stephen C. Thune

Vice President

none

     

Robert Thurling

Vice President

none

     

Tina Ussery-Franklin

Vice President

none

     

Margaret E. VanWagoner

Vice President

none

     

James T. Walden

Vice President

none

     

Benjamin M. Williams

Vice President

none

     

Noah Wimmer

Vice President

none

     

J. Mitch Wurzer

Vice President

none

 

* All addresses are 4500 Main Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64111

 

 (c)        Not applicable.

 

Item 33. Location of Accounts and Records

 

 All accounts, books and other documents required to be maintained by Section 31(a) of the 1940 Act, and the rules promulgated thereunder, are in the possession of American Century Investment Management, Inc., 4500 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64111; 666 Third Avenue, 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10017; and 1665 Charleston Road, Mountain View, CA 94043; American Century Services, LLC, 4500 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64111; JPMorgan Chase Bank, 4 Metro Tech Center, Brooklyn, NY 11245; and State Street Bank and Trust Company, 2 Avenue de Lafayette, Boston, MA 02111.

 

 
9

 

 

Item 34. Management Services – Not Applicable.

 

Item 35. Undertakings – Not Applicable.

 

 
10

 

  

SIGNATURES

 

 Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant has duly caused this amendment to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, duly authorized, in the City of Kansas City, State of Missouri on the 1st day of May, 2014.

 

 

American Century International Bond Funds

 

(Registrant)

 

By:

*

___________________________________

Jonathan S. Thomas

President

   
   

 

 

 Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement amendment has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

SIGNATURE

TITLE

DATE

     

*

_________________________________

Jonathan S. Thomas

President and Trustee

May 1, 2014

     

*

_________________________________

C. Jean Wade

Vice President, Treasurer and

Chief Financial Officer

May 1, 2014

     

*

_________________________________

Tanya S. Beder

Trustee

May 1, 2014

     

*

_________________________________

Jeremy I. Bulow

Trustee

May 1, 2014

     

*

_________________________________

Ronald J. Gilson

Chairman of the Board and Trustee

May 1, 2014

     

*

_________________________________

Frederick L.A. Grauer

Trustee

May 1, 2014

     

*

_________________________________

Peter F. Pervere

Trustee

May 1, 2014

     

*

_________________________________

Myron S. Scholes

Trustee

May 1, 2014

 

 
 

 

 

 

     

*

_________________________________

John B. Shoven

Trustee

May 1, 2014

     

 

*By:

 

/s/ Christine J. Crossley                                            

 

Christine J. Crossley

 

Attorney in Fact

 

(pursuant to Power of Attorney

 

dated December 18, 2012)