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Dec. 28, 2020
Jacob Internet Fund
JACOB INTERNET FUND
Investment Objectives
The Fund’s primary investment objective is long-term growth of capital.
Current income is a secondary objective.
Fees and Expenses
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and the Example below.
Shareholder Fees(fees paid directly from your investment)
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
Investor Class
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases
None
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load)
None
Redemption Fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed or
exchanged within 30 days of purchase)
2.00%
Annual Fund Operating Expenses(expenses paid each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses paid each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Investor Class
Advisory Fees
1.25%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees*
0.25%
Other Expenses
1.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
2.50%
Example:
This 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 over the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The Example reflects the effect of the 12b-1 fee reduction for the 1 Year example and for the first year of the 3, 5 and 10 Year examples only.
Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year3 Years5 Years10 Years
Investor Class$253$779$1,331$2,836
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. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 52% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objectives by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its assets in securities of companies in Internet and Internet-related industries. The Fund primarily invests in common stocks and securities convertible into common stocks, but may invest up to 35% in fixed income or debt securities. The Fund may invest without limitation in foreign securities, including securities of emerging market countries (i.e., those that are in the early stages of their industrial cycles), so that the Fund has the flexibility to take full advantage of investment opportunities in Internet companies and companies in Internet-related industries. The Adviser currently does not expect to invest more than 50% of the Fund’s net assets in foreign companies. The Adviser selects investments in companies that derive a substantial portion of their revenue from Internet businesses and businesses in Internet-related industries or those that are aggressively developing and expanding their Internet and Internet-related business operations. Such investments generally will be selected from companies in the following groups: media, e-commerce, computer software, internet service providers, internet portals, wireless/broadband access, and telecommunications.
The Fund invests in companies that emphasize research and development with respect to proprietary products and services for Internet users and businesses, because the Adviser believes that these stocks have the greatest potential to rise in value. Many Internet companies are newer and have small to medium market capitalizations. The Adviser’s overall process of stock selection for the Fund is not based on the capitalization of or size of the company but rather on an assessment of the company’s fundamental prospects. The Fund generally seeks to purchase securities as long-term investments, but when circumstances warrant, securities may be sold without regard to the length of time they have been held to reduce risk or volatility or to respond to changing fundamental information.
The Fund intends to hold some cash, short-term debt obligations, government securities or other high-quality investments for reserves to cover redemptions and unanticipated expenses, to seek income, or to maintain liquidity while seeking appropriate investments.
Principal Risks
Investing in a mutual fund has inherent risks, which could cause you to lose money. The principal risks of investing in the Fund, and the circumstances that could adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) and total return, are listed below.
Common Stock Risk: Common stock represents an ownership interest in a company. Holders of common stock are generally subject to greater risk than holders of preferred stocks and debt securities because common stockholders generally have inferior rights to receive payments from issuers in comparison with the rights of preferred stockholders, bondholders, and other creditors. Furthermore. common stocks are susceptible to general stock market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence in, and perceptions of, their issuers change.
Market Risk: The value of the securities in which the Fund invests may be adversely affected by fluctuations in the financial markets, regardless of how well the companies in which the Fund invests perform. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the Fund makes. Also, there is the risk that the price(s) of one or more of the securities or other instruments in the Fund’s portfolio will fall, or will fail to rise. Many factors can adversely affect a security’s performance, including both general financial market conditions and factors related to a specific company, government, industry, country, or geographic region. Extraordinary events, including extreme economic or political conditions, natural disasters, epidemics and pandemics, and other factors can lead to volatility in local, regional, or global markets, which can result in market losses that may be substantial. The impact of one of these types of events may be more pronounced in certain regions, sectors, industries, or asset classes in which the Fund invests, or it may be pervasive across the global financial markets. The timing and occurrence of future market disruptions cannot be predicted, nor can the
impact that government interventions, if any, adopted in response to such disruptions may have on the investment strategies of the Fund or the markets in which the Fund invests.

Recent Market Events Risk: U.S. and international markets have experienced a significant period of volatility in recent months and years due to a number of economic, political and global macro factors, including the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) as a global pandemic, which has resulted in public health issues, business interruptions, growth concerns in the U.S. and overseas, layoffs, rising unemployment claims, changed travel and social behaviors and reduced consumer spending. The effects of COVID-19 may lead to a substantial economic downturn or recession in the U.S. and global economies, the recovery from which is uncertain and may last for an extended period of time.
•    Internet and Internet-Related Industries Risk: The Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in Internet and Internet-related industries and thus the value of the Fund’s shares may be susceptible to factors affecting such industries, including factors affecting the computer/Internet technology area generally, and may be susceptible to greater risk and market fluctuation than an investment in a fund that invests in a broader range of portfolio securities not concentrated in any particular area or industry. Companies in Internet and Internet-related industries face special risks associated with the rapidly changing field of computer/Internet technology. For example, their products or services may not prove commercially successful or may become obsolete quickly. The computer/Internet technology area may be subject to greater governmental regulation than many other areas and changes in governmental policies and the need for regulatory approvals may have a material adverse effect on these areas. Additionally, companies in these areas may be subject to risks of developing technologies, competitive pressures and other factors and are dependent upon consumer and business acceptance as new technologies evolve. Many Internet and Internet-related companies incur large losses in the hope of capturing market share and generating future revenues, but may never be profitable.
•    Smaller Capitalized or Unseasoned Company Risk:  The Adviser believes that smaller capitalized or unseasoned companies generally have greater earnings and sales growth potential than larger capitalized companies. However, investments in smaller capitalized or unseasoned companies may involve greater risks, in part because they have limited product lines, markets and financial or managerial resources. In addition, less frequently-traded securities may be subject to more abrupt price movements than securities of larger capitalized companies.
•    Convertible Securities Risk:  The market value of convertible securities tends to decline as interest rates increase and, conversely, to increase as interest rates decline. In addition, convertible securities generally offer lower interest or dividend yields than non-convertible securities of similar quality.
•    Foreign and Emerging Market Risk:  The risks of investing in foreign companies, including those located in emerging market countries, can increase the potential for losses in the Fund and may include currency fluctuations, political and economic instability, less government regulation, less publicly available information, limited trading markets, differences in financial reporting standards and less stringent regulation of securities markets. Foreign securities markets generally have less volume than U.S. securities exchanges and securities of some foreign companies are less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. companies. Additional risks include future political and economic developments, the possibility that a foreign jurisdiction might impose or increase withholding taxes on income payable with respect to foreign securities, the possible seizure, nationalization or expropriation of the foreign issuer or foreign deposits (in which the Fund could lose its entire investment in a certain market) and the possible adoption of foreign governmental restrictions such as exchange controls.
•    Fixed Income Risk: Yields and principal values of fixed income securities (bonds) will fluctuate. Generally, values of fixed income securities change inversely with interest rates. As interest rates go up, the value of debt securities tends to go down. As a result, to the extent the Fund holds fixed income investments, the value of the Fund may go down.
Performance Information
The performance information that follows gives some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows the Fund’s performance from year to year, and the table compares the Fund’s average annual returns with those of a broad measure of market performance and an index of Internet stocks. Please note that the Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on the Fund's website at www.jacobmutualfunds.com.
Annual Total Returns through December 31, 2019 (Investor Class)
ck0001090372-20200831_g2.jpg
Best Quarter
Q3 2010
21.20%
Worst Quarter
Q3 2011
-16.67%
Average Annual Total Returns through December 31, 2019
Jacob Internet Fund1 Year5 Years10 Years
Investor Class (Inception 12/14/1999)
Return Before Taxes21.69%13.86%14.05%
Return After Taxes on Distributions18.36%11.20%12.43%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares15.14%10.56%11.46%
S&P 500 Index
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
31.49%11.70%13.56%
NASDAQ Composite Index
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
36.74%15.00%16.14%
NASDAQ Internet Index*
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
29.72%16.81%19.27%
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. 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. The return after taxes on distribution and sale of fund shares may be higher than the return before taxes because the method of calculation assumes generally that you can use the short-term capital loss realized upon the sale of fund shares to offset income of the same tax character from other sources thereby reducing the amount of tax you otherwise might owe.
Jacob Small Cap Growth Fund
JACOB SMALL CAP GROWTH FUND
Investment Objective
The Fund’s investment objective is long-term growth of capital.
Fees and Expenses
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and the Example below.
Shareholder Fees(fees paid directly from your investment)
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
Investor
Class
Institutional
Class
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases
NoneNone
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load)
NoneNone
Redemption Fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed or exchanged
within 30 days of purchase)
2.00%2.00%
Annual Fund Operating Expenses(expenses paid each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses paid each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Investor
Class
Institutional
Class
Advisory Fees
0.80%0.80%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees*
0.25%0.00%
Other Expenses
1.76%1.76%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
2.81%2.56%
Fee Waiver**
-0.56%-0.61%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver
2.25%1.95%
Example:
This 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 over the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The Example reflects the effect of the 12b-1 fee reduction (Investor Class shares only) and adjustments made to the Fund’s operating expenses due to the fee waiver by the Adviser for the 1 Year numbers and for the first year of the 3, 5, and 10 Year numbers only.
Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year3 Years5 Years10 Years
Investor Class$228$818$1,435$3,097
Institutional Class$198$739$1,306$2,850
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. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 89% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its assets in small capitalization companies. Small capitalization companies are defined as those companies with market capitalizations (share price multiplied by number of shares outstanding) within the capitalization range of the Russell 2000® Growth Index at the time of purchase. As of August 31, 2020, the market capitalization of the largest company in the Russell 2000® Growth Index was approximately $7.204 billion, and the weighted average and median market capitalizations of the Russell 2000® Growth Index were approximately $2.93 billion and $962 million, respectively.
The Fund maintains a diversified portfolio of investments consisting primarily of common stocks. The Fund may also invest in other equity securities, such as preferred stocks, rights, or warrants. The Adviser expects to select investments for the Fund in companies across various industry groups.
The Adviser manages the Fund’s portfolio in an aggressive growth style. The Adviser believes that investments in small capitalization companies can have greater earnings and sales growth potential than larger capitalized companies and can offer substantial opportunities for long-term growth of capital. The Adviser’s overall stock selections are based on its qualitative and quantitative assessment of a company’s fundamental prospects and whether it has an above-average potential for long-term growth of capital.
The Adviser expects to invest the Fund’s net assets primarily in U.S. companies, but may gain exposure to foreign markets, including emerging markets, through the global operations of U.S. companies, by purchasing depositary receipts or securities of foreign companies traded on U.S. exchanges, or through direct investment in foreign companies. The Adviser will not invest more than 25% of the Fund’s net assets directly in foreign companies.
The Fund intends to hold some cash, short-term debt obligations, government securities or other high-quality investments for reserves to cover redemptions and unanticipated expenses, or to maintain liquidity while seeking appropriate investments.
Principal Risks
Investing in a mutual fund has inherent risks, which could cause you to lose money. The principal risks of investing in the Fund, and the circumstances that could adversely affect the Fund’s NAV and total return, are listed below.
Common Stock Risk: Common stock represents an ownership interest in a company. Holders of common stock are generally subject to greater risk than holders of preferred stocks and debt securities because common stockholders generally have inferior rights to receive payments from issuers in comparison with the rights of preferred stockholders, bondholders, and other creditors. Furthermore. common stocks are susceptible to general stock market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence in, and perceptions of, their issuers change.
•    Market Risk: The value of the securities in which the Fund invests may be adversely affected by fluctuations in the financial markets, regardless of how well the companies in which the Fund invests perform. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the Fund makes. Also, there is the risk that the price(s) of one or more of the securities or other instruments in the Fund’s portfolio will fall, or will fail to rise. Many factors can adversely affect a security’s performance, including both general financial market conditions and factors related to a specific company, government, industry, country, or geographic region. Extraordinary events, including extreme economic or political conditions, natural disasters, epidemics and pandemics, and other factors can lead to volatility in local, regional, or global markets, which can result in market losses that may be substantial. The impact of one of these types of events may be more pronounced in certain regions, sectors, industries, or asset classes in which the Fund invests, or it may be pervasive across the global financial markets. The timing and occurrence of future market disruptions cannot be predicted, nor can the impact that government interventions, if any, adopted in response to such disruptions may have on the investment strategies of the Fund or the markets in which the Fund invests.
Recent Market Events Risk: U.S. and international markets have experienced a significant period of volatility in recent months and years due to a number of economic, political and global macro factors, including the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) as a global pandemic, which has resulted in public health issues, business interruptions, growth concerns in the U.S. and overseas, layoffs, rising unemployment claims, changed travel and social behaviors and reduced consumer spending. The effects of COVID-19 may lead to a substantial economic downturn or recession in the U.S. and global economies, the recovery from which is uncertain and may last for an extended period of time.
•    Smaller Capitalized Company Risk:  Investments in small capitalization companies may involve greater risks, as these companies tend to have limited product lines, markets and financial or managerial resources. Small cap stocks often also have a more limited trading market, such that the Adviser may not be able to sell stocks at an optimal time or price. In addition, less frequently-traded securities may be subject to more abrupt price movements than securities of larger capitalized companies.
•    Growth Companies Risk:  Growth companies are expected to increase their earnings at a certain rate. When these expectations are not met, the prices of these stocks may go down, even if earnings showed an absolute increase. Growth company stocks also typically lack the dividend yield that can cushion stock prices in market downturns. Different investment styles tend to shift in and out of favor, depending on market conditions and investor sentiment. The Fund’s growth style may cause the Fund to underperform funds that have a broader investment style.
•    Science and Technology Risk: The Fund’s investments in science and technology companies expose the Fund to special risks. For example, rapid advances in science and technology might cause existing products to become obsolete, and the Fund’s returns could suffer to the extent it holds an affected company’s shares. Companies in a number of science and technology industries are also subject to more government regulations and approval processes than many other industries. This fact may affect a company’s overall profitability and cause its stock price to be more volatile. Additionally, science and technology companies are dependent upon consumer and business acceptance as new technologies evolve.
•    Foreign and Emerging Market Risk:  The risks of investing in foreign companies, including those located in emerging market countries, can increase the potential for losses in the Fund and may include currency fluctuations, political and economic instability, less government regulation, less publicly available information, limited trading markets, differences in financial reporting standards and less stringent regulation of securities markets. Foreign securities markets generally have less volume than U.S. securities exchanges and securities of some foreign companies are less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. companies. Additional risks include future political and economic developments, the possibility that a foreign jurisdiction might impose or increase withholding taxes on income payable with respect to foreign securities,
the possible seizure, nationalization or expropriation of the foreign issuer or foreign deposits (in which the Fund could lose its entire investment in a certain market) and the possible adoption of foreign governmental restrictions such as exchange controls.
Performance Information
The performance information that follows gives some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows the Fund’s performance for the last calendar year, and the table compares the Fund’s average annual returns with those of a broad measure of market performance. Please note that the Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on the Fund's website at www.jacobmutualfunds.com.
Annual Total Returns through December 31, 2019 (Investor Class)
ck0001090372-20200831_g3.jpg
Best Quarter
Q3 2016
21.01%
Worst Quarter
Q3 2015
-28.19%
Average Annual Total Returns through December 31, 2019
1 Year5 Years
Since Inception
(February 1, 2010)*
Jacob Small Cap Growth Fund – Investor Class
Return Before Taxes20.00%7.66%9.97%
Return After Taxes on Distributions19.05%7.36%9.63%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares12.13%5.92%8.07%
Russell 2000® Growth Index
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
28.48%9.34%13.51%
1 Year5 Years
Since Inception
(November 12, 2012)
Jacob Small Cap Growth Fund – Institutional Class
Return Before Taxes20.34%7.95%11.30%
Russell 2000® Growth Index
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
28.48%9.34%13.83%
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. 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. The return after taxes on distribution and sale of fund shares may be higher than the return before taxes because the method of calculation assumes generally that you can use the short-term capital loss realized upon the sale of fund shares to offset income of the same tax character from other sources thereby reducing the amount of tax you otherwise might owe. After-tax returns are shown for Investor Class shares only and after-tax returns for Institutional Class shares will vary.
Jacob Micro Cap Growth Fund
JACOB DISCOVERY FUND
Investment Objective
The Fund’s investment objective is long-term growth of capital.
Fees and Expenses
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and the Example below.
Shareholder Fees(fees paid directly from your investment)
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
Investor
Class
Institutional Class
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases
NoneNone
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load)
NoneNone
Redemption Fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed or
exchanged within 30 days of purchase)
2.00%2.00%
Annual Fund Operating Expenses(expenses paid each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses paid each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Investor
Class
Institutional Class
Advisory Fees
1.10%1.10%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees*
0.25%0.00%
Other Expenses
1.80%1.80%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses
0.01%0.01%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses**
3.16%2.91%
Fee Waiver***
-0.85%-0.90%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver**
2.31%2.01%
Example:
This 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 over the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The Example reflects the effect of the 12b-1 fee reduction (Investor Class shares only) and adjustments made to the Fund’s operating expenses due to the fee waiver by the Adviser for the 1 Year numbers and for the first year of the 3, 5, and 10 Year numbers only.
Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year3 Years5 Years10 Years
Investor Class$233$892$1,576$3,399
Institutional Class$203$813$1,449$3,159
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. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 83% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its assets in micro capitalization companies. Micro capitalization companies are defined as those companies with market capitalizations (share price multiplied by number of shares outstanding) of (1) less than or equal to $600 million; or (2) within the capitalization range of the Russell Micro Cap® Growth Index at the time of purchase. As of August 31, 2020, the market capitalization of the largest company in the Russell Micro Cap® Growth Index was approximately $3.85 billion, and the weighted average and median market capitalizations of the Russell Micro Cap® Growth Index were approximately $759 million and $211 million, respectively.
The Fund maintains a diversified portfolio of investments consisting primarily of common stocks. The Fund may also invest in other equity securities, such as preferred stocks, rights, or warrants. The Adviser expects to select investments for the Fund in companies across various industry groups.
The Adviser manages the Fund’s portfolio in an aggressive growth style. The Adviser believes that investments in micro capitalization companies can have greater earnings and sales growth potential than larger capitalized companies and can offer substantial opportunities for long-term growth of capital. The Adviser’s overall stock selections are based on its qualitative and quantitative assessment of a company’s fundamental prospects and whether it has an above-average potential for long-term growth of capital.
The Adviser expects to invest the Fund’s net assets primarily in U.S. companies, but may gain exposure to foreign markets, including emerging markets, through the global operations of U.S. companies, by purchasing depositary receipts or securities of foreign companies traded on U.S. exchanges, or through direct investment in foreign companies. The Adviser will not invest more than 25% of the Fund’s net assets directly in foreign companies.
The Fund intends to hold some cash, short-term debt obligations, government securities or other high-quality investments for reserves to cover redemptions and unanticipated expenses, or to maintain liquidity while seeking appropriate investments.
Principal Risks
Investing in a mutual fund has inherent risks, which could cause you to lose money. The principal risks of investing in the Fund, and the circumstances that could adversely affect the Fund’s NAV and total return, are listed below.
Common Stock Risk: Common stock represents an ownership interest in a company. Holders of common stock are generally subject to greater risk than holders of preferred stocks and debt securities because common stockholders generally have inferior rights to receive payments from issuers in comparison with the rights of preferred stockholders, bondholders, and other creditors. Furthermore. common stocks are susceptible to general stock market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence in, and perceptions of, their issuers change.
•    Market Risk: The value of the securities in which the Fund invests may be adversely affected by fluctuations in the financial markets, regardless of how well the companies in which the Fund invests perform. The market as a whole may not favor the types of investments the Fund makes. Also, there is the risk that the price(s) of one or more of the securities or other instruments in the Fund’s portfolio will fall, or will fail to rise. Many factors can adversely affect a security’s performance, including both general financial market conditions and factors related to a specific company, government, industry, country, or geographic region. Extraordinary events, including extreme economic or political conditions, natural disasters, epidemics and pandemics, and other factors can lead to volatility in local, regional, or global markets, which can result in market losses that may be substantial. The impact of one of these types of events may be more pronounced in certain regions, sectors, industries, or asset classes in which the Fund invests, or it may be pervasive across the global financial markets. The timing and occurrence of future market disruptions cannot be predicted, nor can the impact that government interventions, if any, adopted in response to such disruptions may have on the investment strategies of the Fund or the markets in which the Fund invests.
Recent Market Events Risk: U.S. and international markets have experienced a significant period of volatility in recent months and years due to a number of economic, political and global macro factors, including the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) as a global pandemic, which has resulted in public health issues, business interruptions, growth concerns in the U.S. and overseas, layoffs, rising unemployment claims, changed travel and social behaviors and reduced consumer spending. The effects of COVID-19 may lead to a substantial economic downturn or recession in the U.S. and global economies, the recovery from which is uncertain and may last for an extended period of time.
•    Micro Capitalized Company Risk:  Investments in micro capitalization companies may involve greater risks, as these companies tend to have limited product lines, markets and financial or managerial resources. Micro cap stocks often also have a more limited trading market, such that the Adviser may not be able to sell stocks at an optimal time or price. In addition, less frequently-traded securities may be subject to more abrupt price movements than securities of larger capitalized companies.
•    Growth Companies Risk:  Growth companies are expected to increase their earnings at a certain rate. When these expectations are not met, the prices of these stocks may go down, even if earnings showed an absolute increase. Growth company stocks also typically lack the dividend yield that can cushion stock prices in market downturns. Different investment styles tend to shift in and out of favor, depending on market conditions and investor sentiment. The Fund’s growth style may cause the Fund to underperform funds that have a broader investment style.
•    Science and Technology Risk: The Fund’s investments in science and technology companies expose the Fund to special risks. For example, rapid advances in science and technology might cause existing products to become obsolete, and the Fund’s returns could suffer to the extent it holds an affected company’s shares. Companies in a number of science and technology industries are also subject to more government regulations and approval processes than many other industries. This fact may affect a company’s overall profitability and cause its stock price to be more volatile. Additionally, science and technology companies are dependent upon consumer and business acceptance as new technologies evolve.
•    Foreign and Emerging Market Risk:  The risks of investing in foreign companies, including those located in emerging market countries, can increase the potential for losses in the Fund and may include currency fluctuations, political and economic instability, less government regulation, less publicly available information, limited trading markets, differences in financial reporting standards and less stringent regulation of securities markets. Foreign securities markets generally have less volume than U.S. securities exchanges and securities of some foreign companies are less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. companies. Additional risks include future political and economic developments, the possibility that a foreign jurisdiction might impose or increase withholding taxes on income payable with respect to foreign securities,
the possible seizure, nationalization or expropriation of the foreign issuer or foreign deposits (in which the Fund could lose its entire investment in a certain market) and the possible adoption of foreign governmental restrictions such as exchange controls.
Performance Information
The performance information that follows gives some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows the Fund’s performance for the last calendar year, and the table compares the Fund’s average annual returns with those of a broad measure of market performance. Please note that the Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on the Fund's website at www.jacobmutualfunds.com.
Annual Total Returns through December 31, 2019 (Investor Class)
ck0001090372-20200831_g4.jpg
Best Quarter
Q1 2019
18.89%
Worst Quarter
Q3 2015
-22.48%
Average Annual Total Returns through December 31, 2019
1 Year5 Years
Since Inception
(October 16, 2012)*
Jacob Discovery Fund – Investor Class
Return Before Taxes42.47%10.44%10.55%
Return After Taxes on Distributions42.47%8.74%7.45%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares25.14%7.42%7.06%
Jacob Discovery Fund – Institutional Class
Return Before Taxes42.89%10.73%10.87%
Russell Microcap Growth Index
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
23.33%4.87%9.93%
Russell 2000® Growth Index
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
28.48%9.34%12.80%
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. 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. The return after taxes on distribution and sale of fund shares may be higher than the return before taxes because the method of calculation assumes generally that you can use the short-term capital loss realized upon the sale of fund shares to offset income of the same tax character from other sources thereby reducing the amount of tax you otherwise might owe. After-tax returns are shown for Investor Class shares only and after-tax returns for Institutional Class shares will vary.