| Silk Invest New Horizons Frontier Fund | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| <p style="text-align: center; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; text-transform: uppercase"><b>SUMMARY SECTION </b></p> | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Investment Objective. The investment objective of the Silk Invest New Horizons Frontier Fund (the “Fund”) is capital appreciation. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fees and Expenses of the Fund. This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| <p style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><b>Shareholder Fees<br /> </b> <font style="font-weight: normal">(fees paid directly from your investment)</font></p> | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| <p style="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt"><b>Annual Fund Operating Expenses<br /> </b> <font style="font-weight: normal">(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)</font> </p> | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Example. The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of 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 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: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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. For the fiscal year, the portfolio turnover rate for the Fund was 39% of the average value of its portfolio. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Principal Investment Strategy. Under normal market conditions the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets in securities of issuers located in frontier markets, or whose primary operations or principal trading markets are in frontier markets, and depositary receipts (including American Depositary Receipts) of such issuers. “Frontier markets” are a subset of “emerging markets,” representing countries that generally have smaller economies or less developed capital markets than traditional emerging market countries. In general, “frontier” market countries are currently considered by the Fund’s adviser, Silk Invest Limited (the “Adviser”), to be those countries included in at least one of the following frontier markets indices: MSCI Frontier Markets Index, Russell Frontier Index, FTSE Frontier Index or S&P Frontier BMI Index. These countries typically are located in Central and Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Central and South America.
The Adviser currently considers the following countries, among others, to be frontier market countries:
The Adviser may make adjustments to the list of frontier market countries from time to time based on economic criteria, market changes, or other factors. The Fund may invest a portion of its assets in investments that are economically tied to traditional emerging market countries.
The Fund will predominantly invest in equity securities. The Fund may invest in companies of any market capitalization. The Fund’s exposure to certain frontier markets typically will be effected through participation notes (“P-Notes”), which are equity-linked derivatives issued by banks or broker-dealers that are designed to replicate the performance of certain issuers. The Fund will have significant investments in the financial services and telecommunications services sectors.
The Adviser makes investment decisions, predominantly within a defined country universe and liquidity parameters, based on a combination of qualitative and quantitative factors, including macroeconomic factors (such as the overall economy and industry conditions) and company-specific factors (such as management quality). The Adviser may sell securities which no longer meet its investment criteria, to secure gains, limit losses or redeploy assets to more promising opportunities. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| <p style="text-align: left; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif"><b>Principal Investment Risks. </b></p> | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Market Risks. The Fund’s investments are subject to market risk, which may cause the value of the Fund’s investments to decline. If the value of the Fund’s investments goes down, the share price of the Fund will go down, and you may lose money. U.S. and international markets have experienced volatility in recent years. Global economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibility that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers in a different country or region. Continuing market volatility may have adverse effects on the Fund.
Equity Securities Risks. Common stocks and other equity securities held by the Fund will fluctuate in value based on the earnings of the company and on general industry and market conditions. A fund that invests a significant amount of its assets in common stocks and other equity securities is likely to have greater fluctuations in share price than a fund that invests a significant portion of its assets in fixed income securities.
Stock Selection Risks. The stocks selected for the Fund may decline in value or not increase in value when the stock market in general is rising.
Foreign Securities Risks. Investments in securities of foreign companies involve additional risks, including less liquidity, currency-rate fluctuations, political and economic instability, differences in financial reporting standards and securities market regulation, and imposition of foreign withholding taxes. Geopolitical events, including those in North Korea, Ukraine and the Middle East, may also cause market disruptions.
Depositary Receipts Risks. The risks of depositary receipts (including American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”) and European Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”)) include many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities, such as currency-rate fluctuations and political and economic instability.
Frontier Markets Risks. Investments in frontier markets can involve risks in addition to and greater than those generally associated with investing in more developed foreign markets. Frontier market countries generally have smaller economies or less developed capital markets than traditional emerging market countries and, as a result, the risks of investing in emerging market countries are magnified in frontier market countries. Frontier market economies can be subject to greater social, economic, regulatory, and political uncertainties. Adverse government policies, taxation, restrictions on foreign investment and on currency convertibility and repatriation, currency fluctuations and other developments in laws and regulations of frontier countries in which Fund investments may be made, including expropriation, nationalism and other confiscation, could result in loss. Frontier market securities also tend to be less liquid.
Emerging Markets Risks. Emerging market countries may have relatively unstable governments, weaker economies and less developed legal systems with fewer securities holder rights. Emerging market economies may be based on only a few industries and security issuers may be more susceptible to economic weakness and more likely to default. Emerging market securities also tend to be less liquid.
Valuation Risks. The sale price the Fund could receive for any particular portfolio investment may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the investment, particularly for securities that trade in thin or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology.
Sector Weightings Risk. To the extent the Fund emphasizes, from time to time, investments in a particular sector, the Fund will be subject to a greater degree to the risks particular to that sector, including the sectors described below. Market conditions, interest rates, and economic, regulatory, or financial developments could significantly affect all the securities in a single sector. If the Fund invests in a few sectors, it may have increased exposure to the price movements of those sectors.
Financial Services Sector Risks. To the extent that the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in the financial services sector, the Fund will be sensitive to changes in, and its performance will depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the financial services sector. Companies in the financial services sector may also be subject to extensive government regulation that affects the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge and the amount of capital they must maintain.
Telecommunication Services Sector Risk. To the extent that the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in the telecommunications services sector, the Fund will be sensitive to changes in, and its performance will depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition of the telecommunications services sector. Companies in the telecommunication services sector may encounter distressed cash flows due to the need to commit substantial capital to meet increasing competition, particularly in formulating new products and services using new technology.
Currency Risks. The value of the Fund’s foreign holdings as measured in U.S. dollars may be affected unfavorably by changes in foreign currency exchange rates. The Fund may also incur costs in connection with conversions between various currencies. Currency rates in foreign countries may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time for a number of reasons, including, but not limited to, changes in interest rates, intervention (or the failure to intervene) by U.S. or foreign governments, central banks or supranational entities such as the International Monetary Fund (“IMF”) or managed adjustments in relative currency values and other protectionist measures imposed or negotiated by countries with which frontier market companies trade. For example, Nigeria has experienced economic challenges and liquidity issues with respect to its currency.
Small- and Medium-Capitalization Company Risks. Small-capitalization and medium-capitalization companies are often more volatile and less liquid than investments in larger companies. The frequency and volume of trading in securities of medium-capitalization and small-capitalization companies may be substantially less than is typical of larger companies.
P-Note Risks. P-Notes are issued by banks or broker-dealers and are designed to offer a return linked to the performance of an underlying security or market. The risks of P-Notes include many of the risks associated investing directly in foreign securities. Additionally, P-Notes may be subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the broker-dealer or bank that issues the notes will not fulfill its contractual obligations under the notes.
Management Risks. The Fund is subject to management risk as an actively-managed investment portfolio and depends on the decisions of the portfolio management team to produce the desired results.
Liquidity Risks. From time to time, the trading market for a particular security or type of security in which the Fund invests may become less liquid or even illiquid. The Fund may not be able to sell certain securities when the Adviser considers it desirable to do so and/or may have to sell the security at a lower price. Market prices for such securities may be volatile.
Cybersecurity Risks. Despite the various protections utilized by the Fund and its service providers, systems, networks, or devices utilized by the Fund potentially can be breached. The Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result of a cybersecurity breach. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| <p style="text-align: left; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif"><b>Performance.</b></p> | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Fund is the successor to the Frontier Silk Invest New Horizons Fund (the “Predecessor Fund”), a series of Frontier Funds, Inc. The Predecessor Fund reorganized into the Fund on April 9, 2018. The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year as represented by the performance of Institutional Class shares. The table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare over time to those of a broad-based securities market index. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Past performance of the Fund is not necessarily an indication of how it will perform in the future. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| <p style="text-align: center; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif"><b>Institutional Class Annual Total Return</b><font style="font-weight: normal"> (year ended December 31st)</font></p> <p style="text-align: center; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif"><font style="font-weight: normal"> </font></p> <p style="text-align: center; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif"><font style="font-weight: normal">YEAR-BY-YEAR TOTAL RETURN AS OF DECEMBER 31<sup>ST</sup></font></p> | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this time period were:
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| <p style="text-align: left; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif"><i><b>Average Annual Total Returns</b></i><font style="font-weight: normal"> </font><i>(for periods ended 12/31/17)</i><font style="font-weight: normal"> </font></p> | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”). After-tax returns are shown for the Institutional Class only and will vary for the Service Class. The returns of the index presented above assume reinvestment of all distributions and exclude the effect of taxes and fees (if expenses and taxes were deducted, the actual returns of the index would be lower).
Current performance of the Fund may be lower or higher than the performance quoted above. Performance data current to the most recent month end may be obtained by calling 1-800-797-9745, or data current to the most recent quarter end may be accessed on the Fund’s website at www.silkinvest.com/silk-invest-new-horizons-frontier-fund. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||