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Investor Class Shares | SA U.S. Fixed Income Fund
SA U.S. Fixed Income Fund
Goal

The Fund’s goal is to achieve a generally stable return consistent with preservation of capital.

Fees and Expenses

The tables below describe the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Shareholder Fees
Investor Class Shares
SA U.S. Fixed Income Fund
SA U.S. Fixed Income Fund
USD ($)
Sales charge (load) imposed on purchases none
Sales charge (load) imposed on reinvested dividends none
Redemption fee none
Exchange fee none
Annual Class Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
Investor Class Shares
SA U.S. Fixed Income Fund
SA U.S. Fixed Income Fund
Management fees 0.18%
Shareholder servicing fee 0.25%
Other expenses 0.21%
Total annual operating expenses 0.64%
Expense Example

This expense example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost 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. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Expense Example
1 year
3 years
5 years
10 years
Investor Class Shares | SA U.S. Fixed Income Fund | SA U.S. Fixed Income Fund | USD ($) 66 205 358 800
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 Investor Class operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 88% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund pursues its goal by investing primarily in:

obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities;
   
dollar-denominated obligations of foreign issuers issued in the United States;
   
bank obligations, including those of U.S. banks and savings and loan associations and dollar-denominated obligations of U.S. subsidiaries and branches of foreign banks, such as certificates of deposit (including marketable variable rate certificates of deposit) and bankers’ acceptances;
   
corporate debt obligations;
   
commercial paper;
   
obligations of supranational organizations, such as the World Bank and the European Investment Bank; and
   
repurchase agreements.

Generally, the Fund acquires obligations that mature within three years from the date of settlement. The Fund has a non-fundamental investment policy that, under normal circumstances, it will invest at least 80% of its net assets in fixed income securities issued in the U.S.

The Fund generally invests in fixed income securities that are rated investment grade. The Fund considers fixed income securities to be investment grade if, at the time of investment, they are rated at least BBB-by S&P Global Ratings, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (“S&P”), Baa3 by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”), or BBB- by Fitch Ratings Ltd. (“Fitch”) or, if unrated, have been determined by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the “Sub-Adviser”) to be of comparable quality.

With respect to corporate debt securities (e.g., bonds and debentures), the Fund generally invests in investment grade securities that are issued by U.S. issuers and dollar-denominated obligations of foreign issuers issued in the U.S.

The Fund may invest in U.S. Treasury bonds, bills and notes and obligations of federal agencies or instrumentalities. Some U.S. government obligations that the Fund may invest in, such as Treasury bills, notes and bonds and securities guaranteed by the Government National Mortgage Association, are supported by the full faith and credit of the United States, while others are not such as those of or guaranteed by the Federal Home Loan Banks, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation and Federal National Mortgage Association.

The Fund will invest more than 25% of its total assets in dollar-denominated obligations of U.S. banks and U.S. subsidiaries and branches of foreign banks and bank holding companies when the yield to maturity on these investments exceeds the yield to maturity on all other eligible portfolio investments of similar quality for a period of five consecutive days during which the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for trading. To determine that yields on dollar-denominated bank obligations are more attractive than yields on all other eligible portfolio investments of similar quality, the Sub-Adviser will examine the yield to maturity information for available fixed income securities of other industry sectors as compared to bank obligations after eliminating individual securities in each industry sector that would not be eligible for investment by the Fund. If the yield to maturity for eligible bank obligations is higher than that of eligible portfolio investments of similar quality of all other industry sectors, investments in bank obligations will be considered to have a yield that generally exceeds the yield on other eligible investments as a group. When investments in such bank obligations exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets, the Fund’s investments will be concentrated in the banking industry.

The types of bank and bank holding company obligations in which the Fund may invest include, without limitation: dollar-denominated certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances, commercial paper, repurchase agreements and other debt obligations that mature within three years of the date of settlement, provided that such obligations meet the Fund’s established credit rating or other criteria. Commercial paper and certificates of deposit must, at the time of investment, be rated at least A-3 by S&P, P-3 by Moody’s or F3 by Fitch or, if unrated, issued by a corporation having an outstanding unsecured debt issue rated at least BBB- by S&P or Fitch or Baa3 by Moody’s.

All ratings described above apply at the time of investment.

Principal Investment Risks

The Fund’s share price and yield may change daily because of changes in interest rates and other market conditions and factors. Therefore, you may lose money if you invest in the Fund.

The principal risks that apply to the Fund are:

Market Risk: The value of securities may go up or down in response to the prospects of individual issuers, general economic or market conditions, and/or investor behavior that leads investors’ perceptions of value (as reflected in the price of the security) to diverge from fundamental value.
   
Interest Rate and Related Risks: Generally, when market interest rates rise, the value of fixed income securities declines, and vice versa. Investing in such securities means that the Fund’s net asset value will tend to decline if market interest rates rise. Interest rate risk is generally greater for fixed-income securities with longer maturities or durations. Low interest rates in the United States and other countries relative to historic rates may increase the Fund’s exposure to risks associated with rising interest rates. In addition, fluctuations in interest rates may adversely affect the liquidity of certain fixed-income securities held by the Fund.
   
Credit Risk: The risk that the issuer or the guarantor of a fixed income security, or the counterparty to a derivatives contract, repurchase agreement, loan of portfolio securities or other transaction, is unable or unwilling, or is perceived (whether by market participants, ratings agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as unable or unwilling, to make timely principal and/or interest payments, or otherwise honor its obligations. Securities are subject to varying degrees of credit risk, which are often reflected in their credit ratings. The downgrade of the credit rating of a security may decrease its value.
   
Income Risk: Because the Fund can only distribute what it earns, the Fund’s distributions to shareholders may decline when prevailing interest rates fall or if the Fund experiences defaults on debt securities it holds.
   
Investment Grade Securities Risk: Fixed income securities commonly are rated by national bond ratings agencies. Securities rated in the lower investment grade rating categories (e.g., BBB by S&P or Fitch or Baa by Moody’s) are considered investment grade securities, but are somewhat riskier than higher rated obligations because they are regarded as having only an adequate capacity to pay principal and interest, and are considered to lack outstanding investment characteristics.
   
U.S. Government Securities Risk: U.S. government guarantees on fixed income securities do not extend to shares of the Fund itself and do not guarantee the market price of the securities. Furthermore, not all securities issued by the U.S. government and its agencies and instrumentalities are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury. There is no guarantee that the U.S. government will support securities not backed by its full faith and credit.
   
Sector Risk: Companies with similar characteristics may be grouped together in broad categories called sectors. The Fund may be overweight in certain sectors at various times. To the extent the Fund invests more heavily in a particular sector, its performance will be especially sensitive to any economic, business, regulatory or other developments which generally affect that sector. Individual sectors may underperform other sectors or the market as a whole.
   
Banking Concentration Risk: To the extent the Fund invests more than 25% of its total assets in bank and bank holding company obligations, such banking industry investments would link the performance of the Fund to changes in the performance of the banking industry generally. Banks are subject to extensive government regulation that may affect the scope of their activities, their profitability, the prices that they can charge and the amount of capital that they must maintain. In addition, unstable interest rates can have a disproportionate effect on the banking industry; banks whose securities the Fund may purchase may themselves have concentrated portfolios of loans or investments that make them vulnerable to economic conditions that affect that industry.
   
European Economic Risk: The European Union’s (“EU”) Economic and Monetary Union requires member countries to comply with restrictions on interest rates, deficits, debt levels, inflation rates and other factors, each of which may significantly impact every European country. The economies of EU member countries and their trading partners may be adversely affected by changes in the Euro’s exchange rate, changes in EU or governmental regulations on trade, and the threat of default or default by an EU member country on its sovereign debt, which could negatively impact the Fund’s investments and cause it to lose money. In June 2016, citizens of the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU in a popular referendum (commonly referred to as “Brexit”). In addition, the United Kingdom subsequently invoked Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which triggered a two-year period of negotiations on the terms of Brexit. The initial two-year period has been extended and it is possible that the negotiation period may be further extended; however, it remains unclear whether negotiations will be successful and what form the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the EU will take. Brexit may have a significant impact on the economies of the United Kingdom and Europe as well as the broader global economy, which may cause increased volatility and illiquidity, and potentially lower economic growth in these markets. In addition, other member states may contemplate departing the EU, which would likely perpetuate political and economic instability in the region and cause additional market disruption in global financial markets.
   
Foreign Government and Supranational Organization Obligations Risk: Investments in foreign government obligations are exposed to the direct or indirect consequences of political, social, and economic changes in various countries. There is generally limited legal recourse in the event of a default with respect to foreign government and supranational organization obligations.
   
Foreign Securities Risk: U.S. dollar-denominated securities of foreign issuers or U.S. subsidiaries or branches of foreign banks involve risks in addition to those associated with comparable U.S. securities. These risks may include social, political or economic instability; nationalization or expropriation of assets; changes in tax policy; and less stringent accounting, auditing, financial reporting, and legal standards and practices.
   
Liquidity Risk: Liquidity risk exists when particular portfolio investments are difficult to purchase or sell. To the extent that the Fund holds illiquid investments, the Fund’s performance may be reduced due to an inability to sell the investments at opportune prices or times. Liquid portfolio investments may become illiquid or less liquid after purchase by the Fund due to low trading volume, adverse investor perceptions and/or other market developments. Liquidity risk includes the risk that the Fund will experience significant net redemptions at a time when it cannot find willing buyers for its portfolio securities or can only sell its portfolio securities at a material loss. Liquidity risk can be more pronounced during periods of market turmoil or economic uncertainty.
   
Cybersecurity Risk: Cybersecurity breaches may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data, or proprietary information, or cause the Fund and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality. Cyber-attacks affecting the Fund, any of its service providers or any issuer in which the Fund invests may adversely impact the Fund. 
   
Management Risk: The investment techniques and risk analyses applied by the Sub-Adviser may not produce the desired results. Furthermore, legislative, regulatory, or tax restrictions, policies, or developments may affect the investment techniques available to the Sub-Adviser in connection with managing the Fund. There is no guarantee that the investment objective of the Fund will be achieved. 
   
Large Investor Risk. Ownership of shares of the Fund may be concentrated in one or a few large investors. Such investors may redeem shares in large quantities or on a frequent basis. Redemptions by a large investor may: affect the performance of the Fund; increase realized capital gains; accelerate the realization of taxable income to shareholders; and increase transaction costs and/or other expenses for the Fund.
Performance

The bar chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the Fund’s performance has varied from year to year. The table shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for certain time periods compare to those of a broad-based securities market index. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how it will perform in the future. Updated Fund performance information can be obtained by visiting http://www.sa-funds.com.

Annual Total Returns – Investor Class Shares (per calendar year)
Bar Chart

The year-to-date return through the calendar quarter ended September 30, 2019 was 2.01%.

Highest/lowest quarterly return during the periods shown:

    Quarter Ended   Total Return
Best Quarter     6/30/2009     0.87%
Worst Quarter     12/31/2015     (0.47)%
Average Annual Total Returns (for periods ended December 31, 2018)
Average Annual Total Returns - Investor Class Shares - SA U.S. Fixed Income Fund
1 Year
5 Years
10 Years
SA U.S. Fixed Income Fund 1.18% 0.41% 0.58%
SA U.S. Fixed Income Fund | After Taxes on Distributions 0.58% 0.16% 0.33%
SA U.S. Fixed Income Fund | After Taxes on Distributions and Sales 0.70% 0.21% 0.36%
ICE BofA Merrill Lynch 1-3 Year U.S. Corporate / Government Bond Index 1.63% 1.04% 1.56%

After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. In certain situations, the “Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares” may be higher than the other return figures for the same period. A higher after-tax return can occur when a capital loss occurs upon redemption and translates into an assumed tax deduction that benefits the shareholder. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.