OPPENHEIMER INTERNATIONAL SMALL COMPANY FUND
Supplement dated October 29, 2015 to the Prospectus and
Statement of Additional Information, each dated December 29, 2014
Important Notice Regarding Change in Investment Policy
This supplement amends the Oppenheimer International Small Company Fund (the “Fund”) prospectus (the “Prospectus”) and Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”), each dated December 29, 2014, and is in addition to any other supplements.
Effective as of December 29, 2015:
1. | The Fund will change its name to “Oppenheimer International Small-Mid Company Fund”. All references to “Oppenheimer International Small Company Fund” in the Prospectus and SAI are replaced by references to “Oppenheimer International Small-Mid Company Fund”. |
2. | The first full paragraph on the front cover of the Prospectus is deleted in its entirety and replaced by the following: |
Oppenheimer International Small-Mid Company Fund is a mutual fund that seeks capital appreciation. It invests mainly in common stock of small- and mid-cap companies outside the United States.
3. | The section titled “Principal Investment Strategies” beginning on page 3 of the Prospectus is deleted in its entirety and replaced by the following: |
Principal Investment Strategies. The Fund invests mainly in common stock of small- and mid-cap companies that are domiciled, or have their primary operations, outside the United States.
Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities of small- and mid-cap companies. The Fund considers small- and mid-cap companies to be those having a market capitalization in the range of the MSCI All Country World (ACWI) ex-U.S. SMID Index. The capitalization range of the index is subject to change at any time due to market activity or changes in its composition. The range of the index generally widens over time and is reconstituted periodically to preserve its market cap characteristics.
The Fund measures a company's capitalization at the time the Fund buys a security and is not required to sell a security if the company's capitalization moves outside of the Fund's capitalization definition. The Fund will invest at least 65% of its total assets in foreign securities.
The Fund's portfolio manager evaluates investment opportunities on a company-by-company basis. This approach includes fundamental analysis of a company's financial statements, management record and structure, operations, product development and industry competitive position. The portfolio manager also looks for companies with the ability to take advantage of business opportunities, and companies that are anticipated to have a positive cash flow in the future, although current cash flow may be negative. These factors may vary in particular cases and may change over time.
The portfolio manager considers the effect of worldwide trends on the growth of particular business sectors and looks for companies that may benefit from those trends. The portfolio manager monitors individual issuers for changes in the factors above, which may trigger a decision to sell a security.
4. | The section titled “Risks of Small-Cap Companies” on page 4 of the Prospectus is deleted in its entirety and replaced by the following: |
Risks of Small- and Mid-Cap Companies. The prices of securities issued by small- and mid-cap companies may be more volatile and such securities may be more difficult to sell than those of larger companies. They may not have established markets, may have fewer customers and product lines, may have unseasoned management or less management depth and may have more limited access to financial resources. Smaller companies may not pay dividends or their securities may not provide capital gains for some time, if at all.
5. | The section titled “Who Is The Fund Designed For?” on page 5 of the Prospectus is deleted in its entirety and replaced by the following: |
Who Is The Fund Designed For? The Fund is designed primarily for investors seeking capital appreciation. Those investors should be willing to assume the risks of short-term share price fluctuations and losses that are typical for an aggressive growth fund focusing on stocks of small- and mid-cap issuers in foreign countries. The Fund is not designed for investors needing current income. The Fund is not a complete investment program. You should carefully consider your own investment goals and risk tolerance before investing in the Fund.
6. | The section titled “Small-Cap Investments” on page 7 of the Prospectus is deleted in its entirety and replaced
with the following: |
Small- and Mid-Cap Companies. Small- and mid-cap companies may be either established or newer companies, including "unseasoned" companies that have been in operation for less than three years. While smaller companies might offer greater opportunities for gain than larger companies, they also may involve greater risk of loss. They may be more sensitive to changes in a company's earnings expectations and may experience more abrupt and erratic price movements. Smaller companies' securities often trade in lower volumes and in many instances, are traded over-the-counter or on a regional securities exchange, where the frequency and volume of trading is substantially less than is typical for securities of larger companies traded on national securities exchanges. Therefore, the securities of smaller companies may be subject to wider price fluctuations and it might be harder for the Fund to dispose of its holdings at an acceptable price when it wants to sell them. Small- and mid-cap companies may not have established markets for their products or services and may have fewer customers and product lines. They may have more limited access to financial resources and may not have the financial strength to sustain them through business downturns or adverse market conditions. Since small- and mid-cap companies typically reinvest a high proportion of their earnings in their business, they may not pay dividends for some time, particularly if they are newer companies. Smaller companies may have unseasoned management or less depth in management skill than larger, more established companies. They may be more reliant on the efforts of particular members of their management team and management changes may pose a greater risk to the success of the business. Securities of small, unseasoned companies may be particularly volatile, especially in the short term, and may have very limited liquidity in a declining market. It may take a substantial period of time to realize a gain on an investment in a small- or mid-cap company, if any gain is realized at all.
The Fund measures the market capitalization of an issuer at the time of investment. Because the relative sizes of companies
change over time as the securities market changes, the Fund's definition of what is a "small-cap," "mid-cap"
or "large-cap" company may change over time as well. After the Fund buys the security of an individual company,
that company may expand or contract and no longer fall within the designated capitalization range. Although the Fund is not
required to sell the security of companies whose market capitalizations have grown or decreased beyond the Fund's capitalization-range
definition, it might sell some of those holdings to try to adjust the dollar-weighted median capitalization of its portfolio. That
might cause the Fund to realize capital gains on an investment and could increase taxable distributions to shareholders.
When the Fund invests in smaller company securities that might trade infrequently, investors might seek to trade fund shares
based on their knowledge or understanding of the value of those securities (this is sometimes referred to as "price arbitrage").
If such price arbitrage were successful, it might interfere with the efficient management of the Fund's portfolio and the Fund
may be required to sell securities at disadvantageous times or prices to satisfy the liquidity requirements created by that activity.
Successful price arbitrage might also dilute the value of fund shares held by other shareholders.
7. | The section titled “Investments in Equity Securities.” on page 1 of the SAI is deleted in its entirety and replaced by the following: |
Common Stock. Common stock represents an ownership interest in a company. It ranks below preferred stock and debt securities in claims for dividends and in claims for assets of the issuer in a liquidation or bankruptcy. Common stocks may be exchange-traded or over-the-counter securities. Over-the-counter securities may be less liquid than exchange-traded securities.
Risks of Investing in Stocks. Stocks fluctuate in price, and their short-term volatility at times may be great. To the extent that the Fund invests in equity securities, the value of the Fund's portfolio will be affected by changes in the stock markets. Market risk can affect the Fund's net asset value per share, which will fluctuate as the values of the Fund's portfolio securities change. The prices of individual stocks do not all move in the same direction uniformly or at the same time. Different stock markets may behave differently from each other.
Other factors can affect a particular stock's price, such as poor earnings reports by the issuer, loss of major customers, major litigation against the issuer, or changes in government regulations affecting the issuer or its industry. The Fund can invest in securities of large companies and mid-cap companies, but may also buy stocks of small companies, which may have more volatile stock prices than large companies.
Risks of Small- and Mid-Cap Companies. Small- and mid-cap companies may be either established or newer companies, including "unseasoned" companies that have been in operation for less than three years. While smaller companies might offer greater opportunities for gain than larger companies, they also may involve greater risk of loss. They may be more sensitive to changes in a company's earnings expectations and may experience more abrupt and erratic price movements. Smaller companies' securities often trade in lower volumes and in many instances, are traded over-the-counter or on a regional securities exchange, where the frequency and volume of trading is substantially less than is typical for securities of larger companies traded on national securities exchanges. Therefore, the securities of smaller companies may be subject to wider price fluctuations and it might be harder for the Fund to dispose of its holdings at an acceptable price when it wants to sell them. Small- and mid-cap companies may not have established markets for their products or services and may have fewer customers and product lines. They may have more limited access to financial resources and may not have the financial strength to sustain them through business downturns or adverse market conditions. Since small- and mid-cap companies typically reinvest a high proportion of their earnings in their business, they may not pay dividends for some time, particularly if they are newer companies. Smaller companies may have unseasoned management or less depth in management skill than larger, more established companies. They may be more reliant on the efforts of particular members of their management team and management changes may pose a greater risk to the success of the business. Securities of small, unseasoned companies may be particularly volatile, especially in the short term, and may have very limited liquidity. It may take a substantial period of time to realize a gain on an investment in a small- or mid-cap company, if any gain is realized at all.
October 29, 2015 | PS0815.040 |