Document and Entity Information |
Oct. 19, 2018 |
|---|---|
| Prospectus: | |
| Document Type | 497 |
| Document Period End Date | Oct. 19, 2018 |
| Registrant Name | NEUBERGER BERMAN ALTERNATIVE FUNDS |
| Entity Central Index Key | 0001317474 |
| Entity Inv Company Type | N-1A |
| Amendment Flag | false |
| Document Creation Date | Oct. 19, 2018 |
| Document Effective Date | Oct. 19, 2018 |
| Prospectus Date | Feb. 28, 2018 |
Oct. 19, 2018 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neuberger Berman Risk Balanced Commodity Strategy Fund | ||||||||||||
| Supplement to the Summary Prospectus | ||||||||||||
This supplement describes important changes affecting Neuberger Berman Risk Balanced Commodity Strategy Fund (the “Fund”), effective November 8, 2018. If you have any questions regarding these changes, please contact Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC at 877-628-2583. Effective November 8, 2018, the name of Neuberger Berman Risk Balanced Commodity Strategy Fund will change to Neuberger Berman Commodity Strategy Fund. Also effective November 8, 2018, the following information supplements and supersedes any contrary information in the Fund’s Summary Prospectus, Prospectus, and Statement of Additional Information.
The Fund seeks to achieve its goal by investing under normal circumstances in commodity-linked derivative instruments and fixed income instruments. Commodities are assets that have tangible properties, such as oil, natural gas, agricultural products or metals. The Fund seeks to gain long and short exposure to the commodity markets by investing, directly or indirectly, in futures contracts on individual commodities and other commodity-linked derivative instruments. The performance of these commodity-linked derivative instruments is expected to correspond to the performance of the commodity underlying the derivative instrument, without requiring the Fund to invest directly in commodities. Although the Fund may make these investments in commodity-linked derivative instruments directly, the Fund expects to gain exposure to these investments primarily by investing in a wholly owned subsidiary of the Fund formed in the Cayman Islands (“Subsidiary”). The Subsidiary is managed by Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC and has the same investment goal as the Fund. The Subsidiary may invest without limitation in commodity-linked derivative instruments. The Subsidiary also may invest in fixed income securities, cash or cash equivalent instruments, or money market mutual funds, some of which may serve as collateral for the Subsidiary’s derivative instruments. The Fund will not invest more than 25% of the value of its total assets in the Subsidiary at the end of any quarter of its taxable year. Fund assets not invested either in the Subsidiary or directly in commodity-linked derivative instruments will be invested in fixed income securities, cash or cash equivalent instruments, or money market mutual funds. The Fund (and the Subsidiary) may hold commodity-linked derivative instruments that provide leveraged exposure to commodities so that the Fund’s (and the Subsidiary’s) investment exposure to commodities (through their use of commodity- linked derivative instruments) may exceed the Fund’s net assets (including its interest in the Subsidiary). In managing the Fund’s commodity investments, the Portfolio Managers seek to identify investment opportunities using quantitative investment models and fundamental analyses with an emphasis on risk management in an attempt to take advantage of both short-term and long-term opportunities in commodity markets. By managing a broadly diversified portfolio of commodity investments with an active investment approach, the Portfolio Managers seek to provide investors with an investment vehicle whose returns are not highly correlated with other major asset classes. The Fund may take short positions in one or more separate commodities. The short positions used by the Fund primarily involve buying a derivative on a commodity in anticipation that the price of the commodity will decline. The Portfolio Managers will use various quantitative models employing strategies intended to identify investment opportunities and determine portfolio weightings in different commodity sectors and markets. These strategies include: (i) a risk-balancing strategy that considers the total portfolio risk the Portfolio Managers believe to be associated with each commodity; (ii) a strategy that endeavors to assess top down macro variables among various commodity sectors (such as, energy, industrial, precious metals, agricultural, livestock and softs (e.g., sugar, cotton, cocoa and coffee); and/or (iii) a strategy that endeavors to assess the outlook for individual commodities within each commodity sector. From time to time, the Fund’s investment program may emphasize a particular sector of the commodities markets. If the Fund emphasizes one or more sectors the performance of your investment in the Fund will likely be affected by events affecting the performance of those sectors. Additional information about certain risks related to the various commodities markets are summarized under “Additional Information about Principal Investment Risks” in the Prospectus. The Fund’s fixed income investments will be mainly in investment grade fixed income securities and are intended to provide liquidity and preserve capital and may serve as collateral for the Fund’s derivative instruments. These may include fixed income securities issued by the U.S. government and its agencies and instrumentalities, mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, and corporate securities. The Fund considers fixed income securities to be investment grade if, at the time of investment, they are rated within the four highest categories by at least one independent credit rating agency or, if unrated, are determined by the Portfolio Managers to be of comparable quality. The Fund may invest in cash or cash equivalent instruments. Because the Fund will use derivatives to gain exposure to commodities, and because derivatives may not require the Fund to deposit the full notional amount of the investment, the Fund may invest a significant amount of its assets in money market mutual funds or other fixed income investments, as described above. The Fund’s use of commodity-linked derivative instruments to obtain long and short exposure to the commodity markets may result in leverage, which amplifies the risks that are associated with the commodities underlying the derivative instruments. The Fund’s aggregate investment exposure, as measured on a notional basis, may be greater than 100% of the Fund’s total assets from time to time. Although the Fund invests primarily in domestic securities and other instruments, it may also invest in foreign securities and other instruments. In an effort to achieve its goal, the Fund may engage in active and frequent trading.
Market Direction Risk. Since the Fund will typically hold both long and short positions, an investment in the Fund will involve market risks associated with different types of investment decisions than those made for a typical “long only” fund. The Fund’s results could suffer when there is a general market advance and the Fund holds significant “short” positions, or when there is a general market decline and the Fund holds significant “long” positions. The markets may have considerable volatility from day to day and even in intra-day trading. Short Sale Risk. Short sales, at least theoretically, present a risk of unlimited loss on an individual security basis, since the Fund may be required to buy the security sold short at a time when the security has appreciated in value, and there is potentially no limit to the amount of such appreciation. The Fund may not always be able to close out a short position at a favorable time or price. If the Fund covers its short position or exits a short position at an unfavorable price, it is likely to reduce or eliminate any gain, or cause a loss to the Fund. When the Fund is taking a short position, it must maintain collateral with the counterparty or maintain a segregated account of cash or high-grade securities equal to the margin requirement. As a result, the Fund may maintain high levels of cash or other liquid assets (such as U.S. Treasury bills, money market instruments, repurchase agreements, certificates of deposit, high quality commercial paper and long equity positions). The need to maintain cash or other liquid assets as collateral, or in segregated accounts, could limit the Fund’s ability to pursue other opportunities as they arise. The date of this supplement is October 18, 2018. Please retain this supplement for future reference.
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| Label | Element | Value | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neuberger Berman Risk Balanced Commodity Strategy Fund | ||||||||||||||
| Risk/Return: | rr_RiskReturnAbstract | |||||||||||||
| Supplement to Prospectus [Text Block] | rr_SupplementToProspectusTextBlock |
This supplement describes important changes affecting Neuberger Berman Risk Balanced Commodity Strategy Fund (the “Fund”), effective November 8, 2018. If you have any questions regarding these changes, please contact Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC at 877-628-2583. Effective November 8, 2018, the name of Neuberger Berman Risk Balanced Commodity Strategy Fund will change to Neuberger Berman Commodity Strategy Fund. Also effective November 8, 2018, the following information supplements and supersedes any contrary information in the Fund’s Summary Prospectus, Prospectus, and Statement of Additional Information.
The Fund seeks to achieve its goal by investing under normal circumstances in commodity-linked derivative instruments and fixed income instruments. Commodities are assets that have tangible properties, such as oil, natural gas, agricultural products or metals. The Fund seeks to gain long and short exposure to the commodity markets by investing, directly or indirectly, in futures contracts on individual commodities and other commodity-linked derivative instruments. The performance of these commodity-linked derivative instruments is expected to correspond to the performance of the commodity underlying the derivative instrument, without requiring the Fund to invest directly in commodities. Although the Fund may make these investments in commodity-linked derivative instruments directly, the Fund expects to gain exposure to these investments primarily by investing in a wholly owned subsidiary of the Fund formed in the Cayman Islands (“Subsidiary”). The Subsidiary is managed by Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC and has the same investment goal as the Fund. The Subsidiary may invest without limitation in commodity-linked derivative instruments. The Subsidiary also may invest in fixed income securities, cash or cash equivalent instruments, or money market mutual funds, some of which may serve as collateral for the Subsidiary’s derivative instruments. The Fund will not invest more than 25% of the value of its total assets in the Subsidiary at the end of any quarter of its taxable year. Fund assets not invested either in the Subsidiary or directly in commodity-linked derivative instruments will be invested in fixed income securities, cash or cash equivalent instruments, or money market mutual funds. The Fund (and the Subsidiary) may hold commodity-linked derivative instruments that provide leveraged exposure to commodities so that the Fund’s (and the Subsidiary’s) investment exposure to commodities (through their use of commodity- linked derivative instruments) may exceed the Fund’s net assets (including its interest in the Subsidiary). In managing the Fund’s commodity investments, the Portfolio Managers seek to identify investment opportunities using quantitative investment models and fundamental analyses with an emphasis on risk management in an attempt to take advantage of both short-term and long-term opportunities in commodity markets. By managing a broadly diversified portfolio of commodity investments with an active investment approach, the Portfolio Managers seek to provide investors with an investment vehicle whose returns are not highly correlated with other major asset classes. The Fund may take short positions in one or more separate commodities. The short positions used by the Fund primarily involve buying a derivative on a commodity in anticipation that the price of the commodity will decline. The Portfolio Managers will use various quantitative models employing strategies intended to identify investment opportunities and determine portfolio weightings in different commodity sectors and markets. These strategies include: (i) a risk-balancing strategy that considers the total portfolio risk the Portfolio Managers believe to be associated with each commodity; (ii) a strategy that endeavors to assess top down macro variables among various commodity sectors (such as, energy, industrial, precious metals, agricultural, livestock and softs (e.g., sugar, cotton, cocoa and coffee); and/or (iii) a strategy that endeavors to assess the outlook for individual commodities within each commodity sector. From time to time, the Fund’s investment program may emphasize a particular sector of the commodities markets. If the Fund emphasizes one or more sectors the performance of your investment in the Fund will likely be affected by events affecting the performance of those sectors. Additional information about certain risks related to the various commodities markets are summarized under “Additional Information about Principal Investment Risks” in the Prospectus. The Fund’s fixed income investments will be mainly in investment grade fixed income securities and are intended to provide liquidity and preserve capital and may serve as collateral for the Fund’s derivative instruments. These may include fixed income securities issued by the U.S. government and its agencies and instrumentalities, mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, and corporate securities. The Fund considers fixed income securities to be investment grade if, at the time of investment, they are rated within the four highest categories by at least one independent credit rating agency or, if unrated, are determined by the Portfolio Managers to be of comparable quality. The Fund may invest in cash or cash equivalent instruments. Because the Fund will use derivatives to gain exposure to commodities, and because derivatives may not require the Fund to deposit the full notional amount of the investment, the Fund may invest a significant amount of its assets in money market mutual funds or other fixed income investments, as described above. The Fund’s use of commodity-linked derivative instruments to obtain long and short exposure to the commodity markets may result in leverage, which amplifies the risks that are associated with the commodities underlying the derivative instruments. The Fund’s aggregate investment exposure, as measured on a notional basis, may be greater than 100% of the Fund’s total assets from time to time. Although the Fund invests primarily in domestic securities and other instruments, it may also invest in foreign securities and other instruments. In an effort to achieve its goal, the Fund may engage in active and frequent trading.
Market Direction Risk. Since the Fund will typically hold both long and short positions, an investment in the Fund will involve market risks associated with different types of investment decisions than those made for a typical “long only” fund. The Fund’s results could suffer when there is a general market advance and the Fund holds significant “short” positions, or when there is a general market decline and the Fund holds significant “long” positions. The markets may have considerable volatility from day to day and even in intra-day trading. Short Sale Risk. Short sales, at least theoretically, present a risk of unlimited loss on an individual security basis, since the Fund may be required to buy the security sold short at a time when the security has appreciated in value, and there is potentially no limit to the amount of such appreciation. The Fund may not always be able to close out a short position at a favorable time or price. If the Fund covers its short position or exits a short position at an unfavorable price, it is likely to reduce or eliminate any gain, or cause a loss to the Fund. When the Fund is taking a short position, it must maintain collateral with the counterparty or maintain a segregated account of cash or high-grade securities equal to the margin requirement. As a result, the Fund may maintain high levels of cash or other liquid assets (such as U.S. Treasury bills, money market instruments, repurchase agreements, certificates of deposit, high quality commercial paper and long equity positions). The need to maintain cash or other liquid assets as collateral, or in segregated accounts, could limit the Fund’s ability to pursue other opportunities as they arise. The date of this supplement is October 18, 2018. Please retain this supplement for future reference.
|
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| Risk/Return [Heading] | rr_RiskReturnHeading | Supplement to the Summary Prospectus |
| Label | Element | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Risk/Return: | rr_RiskReturnAbstract | |
| Prospectus Date | rr_ProspectusDate | Feb. 28, 2018 |