485APOS 1 fp0027489_485apos.htm
 
AS FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION ON SEPTEMBER 29, 2017

 REGISTRATION NOS. 333 -122901
 811 -21719

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM N-1A
 
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
[  ]
PRE-EFFECTIVE AMENDMENT NO.
[  ]
POST-EFFECTIVE AMENDMENT NO. 889
[X]
AND/OR
 
   
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940
[  ]
AMENDMENT NO. 902
[X]
 

 
INVESTMENT MANAGERS SERIES TRUST
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

235 W. Galena Street
Milwaukee, WI 53212

(Address of Principal Executive Offices, including Zip Code)
Registrant's Telephone Number, Including Area Code: (414) 299-2295

Constance Dye Shannon
UMB Fund Services, Inc.
235 W. Galena Street
Milwaukee, WI 53212

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

COPIES TO:

Michael Glazer
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
300 South Grand Avenue, 22nd Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90071-3106
It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box):

 
[  ]
immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b) of Rule 485; or
[  ]
on _______________ pursuant to paragraph (b) of Rule 485; or
[  ]
60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) of Rule 485;
[  ]
on _______________ pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) of Rule 485; or
[X]
75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485; or
[  ]
on _______________ pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485; or
[  ]
on _______________ pursuant to paragraph (a)(3) of Rule 485.

If appropriate, check the following box:

[  ]
This post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment.
 

The information in this Prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This Prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

AAM/HIMCO Global Enhanced Dividend Fund
Class: Ticker
Class A: [ ]
Class C: [ ]
Class I: [ ]

PROSPECTUS
[November __, 2017]
 

 
The Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
 

 


AAM/HIMCO Global Enhanced Dividend Fund
A series of Investment Managers Series Trust (the “Trust”)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Summary Section
1
More About the Fund’s Investment Objectives, Principal Investment Strategies and Risks
7
Management of the Fund
13
Distribution and Shareholder Service Plan
19
Your Account with the Fund
21
Dividends and Distributions
36
Federal Income Tax Consequences
36
Financial Highlights
39
Appendix A – Waivers and Discounts Available from Intermediaries
40
 
This Prospectus sets forth basic information about the Fund that you should know before investing. It should be read and retained for future reference.

The date of this Prospectus is [November __, 2017].

SUMMARY SECTION

Investment Objectives
The investment objective of the AAM/HIMCO Global Enhanced Dividend Fund (the “Fund”) is to seek to provide a high level of current income. The Fund’s secondary investment objective 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. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $100,000 in Class A shares of the Fund. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in the section titled “YOUR ACCOUNT WITH THE FUND – Purchase of Shares” on page [16] of this Prospectus and in “APPENDIX A – Waivers and Discounts Available from Intermediaries” of the Prospectus.

     
Class A
Shares
     
Class C
Shares
     
Class I
Shares
 
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
                       
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price)
   
5.50%
     
None
     
None
 
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of the lesser of the value redeemed or the amount invested)
   
1.00%1
     
1.00%1
     
None
 
Redemption fee if redeemed within 90 days of purchase (as a percentage of amount redeemed)
   
2.00%
     
2.00%
     
2.00%
 
Wire fee
   
$20
     
$20
     
$20
 
Overnight check delivery fee
   
$25
     
$25
     
$25
 
Retirement account fees (annual maintenance fee)
   
$15
     
$15
     
$15
 
                         
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
                       
Management fees
   
[ ]%
     
[ ]%
     
[ ]%
 
Distribution and service (Rule 12b-1) fees
   
0.25%
     
1.00%
     
None
 
Other expenses2
   
0.95%
     
0.95%
     
0.95%
 
Shareholder service fees
0.15%
     
0.15%
     
0.15%
     
Dividend and interest expenses on securities sold short
[ ]%
     
[ ]%
     
[ ]%
     
All other expenses
[ ]%
     
[ ]%
     
[ ]%
     
Total annual fund operating expenses
   
%
     
%
     
%
 
Fees waived and/or expenses reimbursed3
   
( %)
     
( %)
     
( %)
 
Total annual fund operating expenses after waiving fees and/or reimbursing expenses2,3
   
%
     
%
     
%
 
                         
1
For Class A shares, no sales charge applies on investments of $1 million or more, but a contingent deferred sales charge (“CDSC”) of 1.00% will be imposed to the extent a finder’s fee was paid on certain redemptions of such shares within 18 months of the date of purchase. Class C shares of the Fund are subject to a CDSC of 1.00% on any shares sold within 12 months of purchasing them.
2
“Other expenses” have been estimated for the current fiscal year. Actual expenses may differ from estimates.
3
The Fund’s advisor has contractually agreed to waive its fees and/or pay for operating expenses of the Fund to ensure that total annual fund operating expenses (excluding, as applicable, taxes, leverage interest, brokerage commissions, dividend and interest expenses on short sales, acquired fund fees and expenses (as determined in accordance with Form N-1A), expenses incurred in connection with any merger or reorganization, and extraordinary expenses such as litigation expenses) do not exceed [ ]%, [ ]% and [ ]% of the average daily net assets of the Fund’s Class A, Class C and Class I shares, respectively. This agreement is effective until [ ], 2018, and it may be terminated before that date only by the Trust’s Board of Trustees. The Fund’s advisor is permitted to seek reimbursement from the Fund for a period ending three full fiscal years after the date of the waiver or payment. This reimbursement may be requested from the Fund if the reimbursement will not cause the Fund’s annual expense ratio to exceed the lesser of (a) the limitation on Fund expenses in effect at the time of the relevant reduction in advisory fees or payment of the Fund’s expenses, or (b) the limitation on Fund expenses at the time of the reimbursement.

1

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 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:

 
One Year
Three Years
Class A Shares
$__
$___
Class C Shares
$__
$__
Class I Shares
$__
$__

You would pay the following expenses on Class C shares if you did not redeem your shares:

 
One Year
Three Years
Class C Shares
$__
$__

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 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. The Fund is newly-created and, as a result, does not yet have a portfolio turnover rate.

Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objectives by taking long and short positions in domestic and foreign equity securities, which can include depository receipts. Depository receipts are negotiable financial instruments issued by a bank or trust company that evidence ownership of securities in a foreign company which have been deposited with such bank or trust company’s office or agent in a foreign country. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus borrowings for investment purposes) in dividend paying equity securities. The Fund will focus its investments on equity securities of companies with market capitalizations similar to those of companies in the Russell 3000 Index and the MSCI World Value Index. As of August 31, 2017, the market capitalization of companies within the Russell 3000 Index ranged from approximately $33.0 million to $847.1 billion. As of August 31, 2017 the market capitalization of companies within the MSCI World Value Index ranged from approximately $1.4 billion to $575.9 billion. Under normal market conditions, the Fund’s investments in foreign securities, including depository receipts, will range from 40% to 70% of the Fund’s net assets, and up to 25% of the Fund’s net assets may be invested in emerging market securities.

Dividend yield is a primary consideration in selecting equity securities for the Fund. The Fund will take long positions in equity securities that its sub-advisor, Hartford Investment Management Company (“HIMCO” or the “Sub-Advisor”), believes offer the potential for above average dividend yields and attractive returns. The Fund will sell short equity securities that HIMCO believes offer a below average dividend yield and less attractive returns. The Fund seeks to enhance yield by using the proceeds from short sales to purchase additional equity securities that provide an above average dividend yield. The Fund will generally hold long positions equal to approximately 140% of the Fund’s net assets and short positions equal to approximately 40% of the Fund’s net assets. As market conditions change, however, the Fund’s long positions may range from 100% to 150% of the Fund’s net assets, and its short positions may range from 0% to 50% of the Fund’s net assets. The Fund may engage in frequent and active trading of equity securities to achieve its investment objectives.

2

The Fund may invest in domestic master limited partnership (“MLPs”) and real estate investment trusts (“REITs”). MLPs are publicly traded companies organized as limited partnerships or limited liability companies and treated as partnerships for federal income tax purposes. REITs are pooled investment vehicles that invest primarily in income producing real estate or real estate related loans or interests.

The Fund may also transact in futures and forward contracts. The Fund may also invest in the securities of other investment companies, including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) and investment companies which may not be registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). ETFs are pooled investment vehicles that generally seek to track the performance of specific indices. ETF shares are listed on stock exchanges and can be traded throughout the day at market-determined prices.

Principal Risks of Investing
Risk is inherent in all investing. A summary description of certain principal risks of investing in the Fund is set forth below. Before you decide whether to invest in the Fund, carefully consider these risk factors associated with investing in the Fund, which may cause investors to lose money. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objectives.

Active Trading Risk. Active trading could increase the Fund’s transaction costs (thus affecting performance) and may increase investor taxable distributions. These effects may also adversely affect Fund performance.

Depository Receipt Risk. The Fund may invest in depository receipts. American Depository Receipts (“ADRs”) are negotiable receipts issued by a U.S. bank or trust company that evidence ownership of securities in a foreign company which have been deposited with such bank or trust company’s office or agent in a foreign country. European Depository Receipts (“EDRs”) are negotiable certificates held in the bank of one country representing a specific number of shares of a stock traded on an exchange of another country. Global Depository Receipts (“GDRs”) are negotiable certificates held in the bank of one country representing a specific number of shares of a stock traded on an exchange of another country. Canadian Depository Receipts (“CDRs”) are negotiable receipts issued by a Canadian bank or trust company that evidence ownership of securities in a foreign company which have been deposited with such bank or trust company’s office or agent in a foreign country.

Investing in ADRs, EDRs, GDRs, and CDRs presents risks that may not be equal to the risk inherent in holding the equivalent shares of the same companies that are traded in the local markets even though the Fund will purchase, sell and be paid dividends on ADRs in U.S. Dollars. These risks include fluctuations in currency exchange rates, which are affected by international balances of payments and other economic and financial conditions; government intervention; speculation; and other factors. With respect to certain foreign countries, there is the possibility of expropriation or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, political and social upheaval, and economic instability. The Fund may be required to pay foreign withholding or other taxes on certain ADRs, EDRs, GDRs, or CDRs that it owns, but investors may or may not be able to deduct their pro-rata share of such taxes in computing their taxable income, or take such shares as a credit against their U.S. federal income tax. See “Federal Income Tax Matters.” ADRs, EDRs, GDRs, and CDRs may be sponsored by the foreign issuer or may be unsponsored. Unsponsored ADRs, EDRs, GDRs, and CDRs are organized independently and without the cooperation of the foreign issuer of the underlying securities. Unsponsored ADRs, EDRs, GDRs, and CDRs are offered by companies which are not prepared to meet either the reporting or accounting standards of the United States. While readily exchangeable with stock in local markets, unsponsored ADRs, EDRs, GDRs, and CDRs may be less liquid than sponsored ADRs, EDRs, GDRs, and CDRs. Additionally, there generally is less publicly available information with respect to unsponsored ADRs, EDRs, GDRs, and CDRs.

3

Derivatives Risk. Derivatives include instruments and contracts that are based on and valued in relation to one or more underlying securities, financial benchmarks, indices, or other reference obligations or measures of value. Major types of derivatives include futures, options, swaps and forward contracts. Using derivatives can have a leveraging effect and increase Fund volatility. Derivatives transactions can be highly illiquid and difficult to unwind or value, and changes in the value of a derivative held by the Fund may not correlate with the value of the underlying instrument or the Fund’s other investments. Many of the risks applicable to trading the instruments underlying derivatives are also applicable to derivatives trading. However, additional risks are associated with derivatives trading that are possibly greater than the risks associated with investing directly in the underlying instruments. These additional risks include, but are not limited to, illiquidity risk and counterparty credit risk. For derivatives that are required to be cleared by a regulated clearinghouse, other risks may arise from the Fund’s relationship with a brokerage firm through which it submits derivatives trades for clearing, including in some cases from other clearing customers of the brokerage firm.

Dividend Paying Security Risk. An issuer may be unwilling or unable to pay dividends or may reduce the level of dividends declared. There is no guarantee that an issuer will pay a dividend. In addition, securities that pay high dividends as a group can fall out of favor with the market, causing the Fund during such periods to underperform funds that do not focus on dividends. The Fund’s focus on dividend paying investments may cause the Fund’s share price and total return to fluctuate more than the share price and total return of funds that do not focus their investments on dividend paying securities.

Emerging Market Risk. Many of the risks with respect to foreign investments are more pronounced for investments in issuers in developing or emerging market countries. Emerging market countries tend to have more government exchange controls, more volatile interest and currency exchange rates, less market regulation, and less developed economic, political and legal systems than those of more developed countries. In addition, emerging market countries may experience high levels of inflation and may have less liquid securities markets and less efficient trading and settlement systems.

ETF and Mutual Fund Risk. The Fund’s investment in ETFs and mutual funds generally reflects the risks of owning the underlying securities the ETF or mutual fund holds. It may also be more expensive for the Fund to invest in an ETF or mutual fund than to own the portfolio securities of these investment vehicles directly. Investing in an ETF will provide the Fund with exposure to the securities comprising the index on which the ETF is based and will expose the Fund to risks similar to those of investing directly in those securities. Shares of ETFs typically trade on securities exchanges and may at times trade at a premium or discount to their net asset values. In addition, an ETF may not replicate exactly the performance of the benchmark index it seeks to track for a number of reasons. Investing in ETFs, which are investment companies, may involve duplication of advisory fees and certain other expenses. The Fund will pay brokerage commissions in connection with the purchase and sale of shares of ETFs.

Equity Risk. The value of the equity securities held by the Fund may fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the issuers of securities held by the Fund participate, or factors relating to specific companies in which the Fund invests.

Foreign Investment Risk. The prices of foreign securities may be more volatile than the prices of securities of U.S. issuers because of economic and social conditions abroad, political developments, and changes in the regulatory environments of foreign countries. In addition, changes in exchange rates and interest rates may adversely affect the values of the Fund’s foreign investments. Foreign companies are generally subject to different legal and accounting standards than U.S. companies, and foreign financial intermediaries may be subject to less supervision and regulation than U.S. financial firms. Foreign securities include depository receipts. Unsponsored depository receipts are organized independently and without the cooperation of the foreign issuer of the underlying securities, and involve additional risks because U.S. reporting requirements do not apply. In addition, the issuing bank may deduct shareholder distribution, custody, foreign currency exchange, and other fees from the payment of dividends.

4

Forward Contracts Risk. The Fund may enter into forward contracts that are not traded on exchanges and may not be regulated. There are no limitations on daily price moves of forward contracts. Banks and other dealers with which the Fund maintains accounts may require that the Fund deposit margin with respect to such trading. The Fund’s counterparties are not required to continue making markets in such contracts. There have been periods during which certain counterparties have refused to continue to quote prices for forward contracts or have quoted prices with an unusually wide spread (the difference between the price at which the counterparty is prepared to buy and that at which it is prepared to sell). Arrangements to trade forward contracts may be made with only one or a few counterparties, and liquidity problems therefore might be greater than if such arrangements were made with numerous counterparties. The imposition of credit controls by governmental authorities might limit such forward trading to less than the amount that the Advisor would otherwise recommend, to the possible detriment of the Fund.

Futures Risk. Futures may be more volatile than direct investments in the securities underlying the futures, may not exactly correlate to the underlying securities, may involve additional costs, and may be considered illiquid. Futures may also involve a small initial investment relative to the risk assumed, which could result in losses greater than if such instruments had not been used. Futures are also subject to counterparty risk (e.g. the risk that the other party to the transaction defaults on its obligation).

Leveraging Risk. Certain Fund transactions, including entering into futures contracts and taking short positions in financial instruments, may give rise to a form of leverage. Leverage can magnify the effects of changes in the value of the Fund’s investments and make the Fund more volatile. Leverage creates a risk of loss of value on a larger pool of assets than the Fund would otherwise have had, potentially resulting in the loss of all assets. The Fund may also have to sell assets at inopportune times to satisfy its obligations in connection with such transactions.

Management and Strategy Risk. The value of your investment depends on the judgment of the Sub-Advisor about the quality, relative yield, value or market trends affecting a particular security, industry, sector or region, which may prove to be incorrect.

Market Capitalization Risk. The securities of small-capitalization and mid-capitalization companies may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements and may have lower trading volumes or more erratic trading than securities of larger, more established companies or market averages in general. In addition, such companies typically are more likely to be adversely affected than large capitalization companies by changes in earning results, business prospects, investor expectations or poor economic or market conditions. Larger, more established companies may be unable to attain the high growth rates of successful, smaller companies during periods of economic expansion.

Market Risk. The market price of a security or instrument may decline, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably, due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic or political conditions throughout the world, changes in the general outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates or adverse investor sentiment generally. The market value of a security or instrument also may decline because of factors that affect a particular industry or industries, such as labor shortages or increased production costs and competitive conditions within an industry.

5

No Operating History. The Fund is newly organized and has no operating history. As a result, prospective investors have no track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.

Risk of Increase in Expenses. Your actual costs of investing in the Fund may be higher than the expenses shown in “Annual fund operating expenses” in the “Fees and Expenses of the Fund” table in this Prospectus for a variety of reasons. For example, expense ratios may be higher than those shown if a fee limitation is changed or terminated or if average net assets decrease. Net assets are more likely to decrease and Fund expense ratios are more likely to increase when markets are volatile.

Sector Focus Risk. The Fund may invest a larger portion of its assets in one or more sectors than many other mutual funds, and thus will be more susceptible to negative events affecting those sectors.

Short Sales Risk. In connection with a short sale of a security or other instrument, the Fund is subject to the risk that instead of declining, the price of the security or other instrument sold short will rise. If the price of the security or other instrument sold short increases between the date of the short sale and the date on which the Fund replaces the security or other instrument borrowed to make the short sale, the Fund will experience a loss, which is theoretically unlimited since there is a theoretically unlimited potential for the market price of a security or other instrument sold short to increase.

Performance
The Fund is new and does not have a full calendar year performance record to compare against other mutual funds or broad measures of securities market performance such as indices. Performance information will be available after the Fund has been in operation for one calendar year.

Investment Advisor
Advisors Asset Management, Inc. (the “Advisor” or “AAM”).

Sub-Advisor
Hartford Investment Management Company.

Portfolio Managers
The portfolio management team is comprised of Paul Bukowski, Edward Caputo, and Daniel Segal. The portfolio managers have been jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio since its inception on [____].

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Currently, Class A Shares and Class C Shares are not available for purchase. To purchase shares of the Fund, you must invest at least the minimum amount.

6

Minimum Investments
To Open
Your Account
To Add to
Your Account
Class A & C Shares
   
Direct Regular Accounts
$[2,500]
$[500]
Direct Accounts
$[2,500]
$[500]
Automatic Investment Plan
$[2,500]
$[100]
Gift Account For Minors
$[2,500]
$[500]
Class I Shares
   
All Accounts
$[25,000]
$[5,000]

Fund shares are redeemable on any business day the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) is open for business, by written request or by telephone.

Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable, and will ordinarily be taxed as ordinary income, qualified dividend income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax- advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account. Shareholders investing through such tax- advantaged arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of monies from those arrangements.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
 
7

MORE ABOUT THE FUND’S INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS

Investment Objectives
The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to provide a high level of current income. The Fund’s secondary investment objective is capital appreciation. There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objectives.

The Fund’s investment objectives are not fundamental and may be changed by the Board of Trustees without shareholder approval, upon at least 60 days’ prior written notice to shareholders. The Fund’s investment strategies and policies may be changed from time to time without shareholder approval or prior written notice, unless specifically stated otherwise in this Prospectus or Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).

Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objectives by taking long and short positions in domestic and foreign equity securities, which can include depository receipts. Depository receipts are negotiable financial instruments issued by a bank or trust company that evidence ownership of securities in a foreign company which have been deposited with such bank or trust company’s office or agent in a foreign country. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus borrowings for investment purposes) in dividend paying equity securities. The Fund will focus its investments on equity securities of companies with market capitalizations similar to those of companies in the Russell 3000 Index and the MSCI World Value Index. As of August 31, 2017, the market capitalization of companies within the Russell 3000 Index ranged from approximately $33.0 million to $847.1 billion. As of August 31, 2017, the market capitalization of companies within the MSCI World Value Index ranged from approximately $1.4 billion to $575.9 billion. Under normal market conditions, the Fund’s investments in foreign securities, including ADRs, will range from 40% to 70% of the Fund’s net assets, and up to 25% of the Fund’s net assets may be invested in emerging market securities.

Dividend yield is a primary consideration in selecting equity securities for the Fund. The Fund will take long positions in equity securities that its Sub-Advisor believes offer the potential for above average dividend yields and attractive returns. The Fund will sell short equity securities that HIMCO believes offer a below average dividend yield and less attractive returns. The Fund seeks to enhance yield by using the proceeds from short sales to purchase additional equity securities that provide an above average dividend yield. The Fund will generally hold long positions equal to approximately 140% of the Fund’s net assets and short positions equal to approximately 40% of the Fund’s net assets. As market conditions change, however, the Fund’s long positions may range from 100% to 150% of the Fund’s net assets, and its short positions may range from 0% to 50% of the Fund’s net assets. The Fund may engage in frequent and active trading of equity securities to achieve its investment objectives.

When the Fund takes a long position, it purchases an equity security outright. When the Fund takes a short position, it sells at the current market price an equity security that it does not own but has borrowed in anticipation that the market price of the equity security will decline. To complete the short sale transaction, the Fund must replace the equity security borrowed by purchasing the same equity security in the market and returning it to the lender at or prior to the time of replacement. The Fund makes money when the market price of the borrowed equity security goes down and the Fund is able to replace it for less than the Fund earned by selling the equity security short. Conversely, if the price of the equity security goes up after the sale, the Fund will lose money because it will have to pay more to replace the borrowed equity security than the Fund received when it sold the equity security short.

The Fund may invest in domestic master limited partnership (“MLPs”) and real estate investment trusts (“REITs”). MLPs are publicly traded companies organized as limited partnerships or limited liability companies and treated as partnerships for federal income tax purposes. REITs are pooled investment vehicles that invest primarily in income producing real estate or real estate related loans or interests.

8

The Fund may also transact in futures and forward contracts. The Fund may also invest in the securities of other investment companies, including ETFs and investment companies which may not be registered under the 1940 Act.

The Sub-Advisor may sell all or a portion of a position of the Fund’s portfolio holding when in its opinion, one or more of the following occurs, among other reasons: (1) the Sub-Advisor believes the issuer’s fundamentals deteriorate; (2) the Sub-Advisor identifies more attractive investment opportunities for the Fund; or (3) the Fund requires cash to meet redemption requests.

When the Sub-Advisor believes that current market, economic, political or other conditions are unfavorable and would impair the pursuit of the Fund’s investment objectives, the Fund may invest some or all of its assets in cash or cash equivalents, including but not limited to obligations of the U.S. government, money market fund shares, commercial paper, certificates of deposit and/or bankers acceptances, as well as other interest bearing or discount obligations or debt instruments that carry an investment grade rating by a national rating agency. When the Fund takes a temporary defensive position, the Fund may not achieve its investment objectives.

Investment Policy
The Fund has a name which suggests a focus on a particular type of investment. In accordance with Rule 35d-1 under the 1940 Act, the Fund has adopted a policy that it will, under normal circumstances, invest at least 80% of the value of its assets (net assets plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in investments of the type suggested by its name, as set forth in the Fund’s Principal Investment Strategies section. This requirement is applied at the time the Fund invests its assets. If, subsequent to an investment by the Fund, this requirement is no longer met, the Fund’s future investments will be made in a manner that will bring the Fund into compliance with this requirement. In addition, in appropriate circumstances, synthetic investments may count toward the 80% minimum (based on market value) if the synthetic investments have economic characteristics similar to the other investments included in the 80% portion of the Fund. The Fund’s policy to invest at least 80% of its assets (net assets plus borrowings for investment purposes) in such a manner is not a fundamental one, which means that it may be changed without the vote of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding shares as defined in the 1940 Act. The name of the Fund may be changed at any time by a vote of the Board of Trustees. Shareholders will be provided written notice at least 60 days prior to such change.

Principal Risks of Investing
The Fund’s principal risks are set forth below. Before you decide whether to invest in the Fund, carefully consider these risk factors and special considerations associated with investing in the Fund, which may cause you to lose money.

Active Trading Risk. The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of portfolio securities. Active trading may result in increased transaction costs to the Fund, including brokerage commissions, dealer mark-ups and other transaction costs, which could adversely affect Fund performance. Active trading may also result in the realization and/or distribution to shareholders of higher capital gains or losses as compared to a fund with less active trading practices.

Depository Receipt Risk. The Fund may invest in depository receipts. ADRs are negotiable receipts issued by a U.S. bank or trust company that evidence ownership of securities in a foreign company which have been deposited with such bank or trust company’s office or agent in a foreign country. EDRs are negotiable certificates held in the bank of one country representing a specific number of shares of a stock traded on an exchange of another country. GDRs are negotiable certificates held in the bank of one country representing a specific number of shares of a stock traded on an exchange of another country. CDRs are negotiable receipts issued by a Canadian bank or trust company that evidence ownership of securities in a foreign company which have been deposited with such bank or trust company’s office or agent in a foreign country.

9

Investing in ADRs, EDRs, GDRs, and CDRs presents risks that may not be equal to the risk inherent in holding the equivalent shares of the same companies that are traded in the local markets even though the Fund will purchase, sell and be paid dividends on ADRs in U.S. Dollars. These risks include fluctuations in currency exchange rates, which are affected by international balances of payments and other economic and financial conditions; government intervention; speculation; and other factors. With respect to certain foreign countries, there is the possibility of expropriation or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, political and social upheaval, and economic instability. The Fund may be required to pay foreign withholding or other taxes on certain ADRs, EDRs, GDRs, or CDRs that it owns, but investors may or may not be able to deduct their pro-rata share of such taxes in computing their taxable income, or take such shares as a credit against their U.S. federal income tax. See “Federal Income Tax Matters.” ADRs, EDRs, GDRs, and CDRs may be sponsored by the foreign issuer or may be unsponsored. Unsponsored ADRs, EDRs, GDRs, and CDRs are organized independently and without the cooperation of the foreign issuer of the underlying securities. Unsponsored ADRs, EDRs, GDRs, and CDRs are offered by companies which are not prepared to meet either the reporting or accounting standards of the United States. While readily exchangeable with stock in local markets, unsponsored ADRs, EDRs, GDRs, and CDRs may be less liquid than sponsored ADRs, EDRs, GDRs, and CDRs. Additionally, there generally is less publicly available information with respect to unsponsored ADRs, EDRs, GDRs, and CDRs.

Derivatives Risk. A derivative is an instrument the value of which depends on, or is derived from, the value of an underlying asset, reference rate or index. The Fund may utilize derivatives to manage portfolio risk (i.e., hedge) and equitize cash. Derivatives are volatile and involve significant risks, including:

Counterparty Risk - The risk that the counterparty (i.e. the party on the other side of the derivatives transaction) will be unable or unwilling to honor its financial obligation to the Fund.

Credit Risk – The risk that the issuer of a security will not be able to make timely principal and interest payments. Changes in an issuer’s credit rating or the market’s perception of the issuer’s creditworthiness may affect the value of the Fund’s derivative exposure to that issuer.

Hedging Risk - Hedging is a strategy in which the Fund uses a derivative to offset the risks associated with other Fund holdings. While hedging can reduce losses, it can also reduce or eliminate gains or cause losses if the market moves in a manner different from that anticipated by the Fund or if the cost of the derivative outweighs the benefit of the hedge. Hedging also involves the risk that changes in the value of the derivative will not match those of the holdings being hedged as expected by the Fund, in which case any losses on the holdings being hedged may not be reduced and may be increased. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s hedging strategy will reduce risk or that hedging transactions will be either available or cost effective. The Fund is not required to use hedging and may choose not to do so.

Index Risk - If a derivative is linked to the performance of an index, it will be subject to the risks associated with changes in that index. If the index changes, the Fund could receive lower interest payments or experience a reduction in the value of the derivative to below what the Fund paid. Certain indexed securities, including inverse securities (which move in an opposite direction to the index), may create leverage, to the extent that they increase or decrease in value at a rate that is a multiple of the changes in the applicable index. For this reason, the Fund’s investment in these instruments may decline significantly in value if index levels move in a way that is not anticipated.

10

Leverage Risk - The risk associated with certain types of investments or trading strategies that relatively small market movements may result in large changes in the value of an investment. Certain investments or trading strategies that involve leverage can result in losses that greatly exceed the amount originally invested.

Liquidity & Valuation Risk - The risk that certain securities may be difficult or impossible to sell at the time that the seller would like or at the price that the seller believes the security is currently worth. The potential lack of a liquid secondary market for derivatives could result in the Fund being unable to sell or close a derivatives position at the time or price that it would like thereby resulting in losses to the Fund. The lack of a liquid secondary market for derivatives could also make derivatives more difficult for the Fund to value accurately. Valuation of derivatives may be more difficult in times of market turmoil when many investors and market makers may be reluctant to transact in complex instruments or publish prices for them.

Regulatory Risk – Government legislation or regulation may make derivatives more costly, may limit the availability of derivatives, or may otherwise adversely affect the use, value or performance of derivatives.

Volatility Risk – The Fund’s use of derivatives may increase its volatility. Volatility is the characteristic of a security, an index or a market to undergo significant price fluctuations within a short period of time. Such fluctuations in value of derivatives may not correlate perfectly with the overall securities market.

Dividend Paying Security Risk. An issuer may be unwilling or unable to pay dividends or may reduce the level of dividends declared. There is no guarantee that an issuer will pay a dividend. In addition, securities that pay high dividends as a group can fall out of favor with the market, causing the Fund during such periods to underperform funds that do not focus on dividends. The Fund’s focus on dividend paying investments may cause the Fund’s share price and total return to fluctuate more than the share price and total return of funds that do not focus their investments on dividend paying securities.

Emerging Market Risk. Many of the risks with respect to foreign investments are more pronounced for investments in issuers in developing or emerging market countries. Emerging market countries tend to have more government exchange controls, more volatile interest and currency exchange rates, less market regulation, and less developed economic, political and legal systems than those of more developed countries. In addition, emerging market countries may experience high levels of inflation and may have less liquid securities markets and less efficient trading and settlement systems. Their economies also depend heavily upon international trade and may be adversely affected by protective trade barriers and the economic conditions of their trading partners. Emerging market countries may have fixed or managed currencies that are not free-floating against the U.S. Dollar and may not be traded internationally. Some countries with emerging securities markets have experienced high rates of inflation for many years. Inflation and rapid fluctuations in inflation rates have had and may continue to have negative effects on the economies and securities markets of certain countries. Emerging securities markets typically have substantially less volume than U.S. markets, securities in these markets are less liquid, and their prices often are more volatile than those of comparable U.S. companies. Delays may occur in settling securities transactions in emerging market countries, which could adversely affect the Fund’s ability to make or liquidate investments in those markets in a timely fashion. In addition, it may not be possible for the Fund to find satisfactory custodial services in an emerging market country, which could increase the Fund’s costs and cause delays in the transportation and custody of its investments.

11

ETF and Mutual Fund Risk. The Fund’s investment in ETFs and mutual funds generally reflects the risks of owning the underlying securities the ETF or mutual fund holds. It may also be more expensive for the Fund to invest in an ETF or mutual fund than to own the portfolio securities of these investment vehicles directly. Investing in an ETF will provide the Fund with exposure to the securities comprising the index on which the ETF is based and will expose the Fund to risks similar to those of investing directly in those securities. Shares of ETFs typically trade on securities exchanges and may at times trade at a premium or discount to their net asset values. In addition, an ETF may not replicate exactly the performance of the benchmark index it seeks to track for a number of reasons, including transaction costs incurred by the ETF, the temporary unavailability of certain index securities in the secondary market or discrepancies between the ETF and the index with respect to the weighting of securities or the number of securities held. Investing in ETFs, which are investment companies, may involve duplication of advisory fees and certain other expenses. The Fund will pay brokerage commissions in connection with the purchase and sale of shares of ETFs.

Equity Risk. The value of equity securities held by the Fund may fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the issuers of securities held by the Fund participate, or factors relating to specific companies in which the Fund invests. The price of common stock of an issuer in the Fund’s portfolio may decline if the issuer fails to make anticipated dividend payments because, among other reasons, the financial condition of the issuer declines. Common stock is subordinated to preferred stocks, bonds and other debt instruments in a company’s capital structure in terms of priority with respect to corporate income, and therefore will be subject to greater dividend risk than preferred stocks or debt instruments of such issuers. In addition, while broad market measures of common stocks have historically generated higher average returns than fixed income securities, common stocks have also experienced significantly more volatility in those returns.

Foreign Investment Risk. Investments in foreign securities are affected by risk factors generally not thought to be present in the United States. The prices of foreign securities may be more volatile than the prices of securities of U.S. issuers because of economic and social conditions abroad, political developments, and changes in the regulatory environments of foreign countries. Special risks associated with investments in foreign markets include less liquidity, less developed or less efficient trading markets, lack of comprehensive company information, less government supervision of exchanges, brokers and issuers, greater risks associated with counterparties and settlement, and difficulty in enforcing contractual obligations. In addition, changes in exchange rates and interest rates, and imposition of foreign taxes, may adversely affect the value of the Fund’s foreign investments. Foreign companies are generally subject to different legal and accounting standards than U.S. companies, and foreign financial intermediaries may be subject to less supervision and regulation than U.S. financial firms. The Fund’s investments in depository receipts (including ADRs) are subject to these risks, even if denominated in U.S. Dollars, because changes in currency and exchange rates affect the values of the issuers of depository receipts. In addition, the underlying issuers of certain depository receipts, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depository receipts, are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities.

Forward Contracts Risk. The Fund may enter into forward contracts that are not traded on exchanges and may not be regulated. There are no limitations on daily price moves of forward contracts. Banks and other dealers with which the Fund maintains accounts may require that the Fund deposit margin with respect to such trading. The Fund’s counterparties are not required to continue making markets in such contracts. There have been periods during which certain counterparties have refused to continue to quote prices for forward contracts or have quoted prices with an unusually wide spread (the difference between the price at which the counterparty is prepared to buy and that at which it is prepared to sell). Arrangements to trade forward contracts may be made with only one or a few counterparties, and liquidity problems therefore might be greater than if such arrangements were made with numerous counterparties. The imposition of credit controls by governmental authorities might limit such forward trading to less than the amount that the Advisor would otherwise recommend, to the possible detriment of the Fund.

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Futures Risk. Futures may be more volatile than direct investments in the securities underlying the futures and may not correlate perfectly to the underlying securities. Futures also involve additional expenses as compared to investing directly in the underlying securities, which could reduce any benefit or increase any loss to the Fund from using the strategy. Futures also may involve a small initial investment relative to the risk assumed, which could result in losses greater than if such instruments had not been used.

Leveraging Risk. The use of leverage, such as entering into futures contracts and short sales, may magnify the Fund’s gains or losses. Because many derivatives have a leverage component, adverse changes in the value or level of the underlying instrument can result in a loss substantially greater than the amount invested in the derivative itself. Certain derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of the initial investment.

Management and Strategy Risk. The value of your investment depends on the judgment of the Sub-Advisor about the quality, relative yield, value or market trends affecting a particular security, industry, sector or region, which may prove to be incorrect. Investment strategies employed by the Sub-Advisor in selecting investments for the Fund may not result in an increase in the value of your investment or in overall performance equal to other investments.

Market Capitalization Risk. The securities of small-capitalization and mid-capitalization companies may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements and may have lower trading volumes or more erratic trading than securities of larger, more established companies or market averages in general. In addition, such companies typically are more likely to be adversely affected than large capitalization companies by changes in earning results, business prospects, investor expectations or poor economic or market conditions. Larger, more established companies may be unable to attain the high growth rates of successful, smaller companies during periods of economic expansion.

Market Risk. The market price of a security or instrument may decline, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably, due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic or political conditions throughout the world, changes in the general outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates or adverse investor sentiment generally. The market value of a security or instrument also may decline because of factors that affect a particular industry or industries, such as labor shortages or increased production costs and competitive conditions within an industry. For example, the financial crisis that began in 2008 caused a significant decline in the value and liquidity of many securities; in particular, the values of some sovereign debt and of securities of issuers that invest in sovereign debt and related investments fell, credit became more scarce worldwide and there was significant uncertainty in the markets. Such environments could make identifying investment risks and opportunities especially difficult for the Sub-Advisor. In addition, policy and legislative changes in the United States and in other countries are changing many aspects of financial regulation. The impact of these changes on the markets, and the practical implications for market participants, may not be fully known for some time.

No Operating History. The Fund is a newly organized series of an open-end management investment company and has no operating history. As a result, prospective investors have no track record or history on which to base their investment decisions. Among other things, this means that investors will not be able to evaluate the Fund against one or more comparable mutual funds on the basis of relative performance until the Fund has established a track record.

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Risk of Increase in Expenses. Your actual costs of investing in the Fund may be higher than the expenses shown in “Annual fund operating expenses” in the “Fees and Expenses of the Fund” table in this Prospectus for a variety of reasons. For example, expense ratios may be higher than those shown if a fee limitation is changed or terminated or if average net assets decrease. Net assets are more likely to decrease and Fund expense ratios are more likely to increase when markets are volatile. In addition, the Advisor has agreed to waive all or a portion of its fees and to subsidize the Fund’s other operating expenses for a specified period to maintain the Fund’s expense ratio at a level the Advisor believes will be competitive, but no assurance exists that the Fund’s assets will reach a level that will be adequate to maintain its expense ratio at such a level without such a waiver and subsidy or that the Advisor will be willing to continue to manage the Fund beyond such period if the Advisor cannot do so profitably.

Sector Focus Risk. The Fund may invest a larger portion of its assets in one or more sectors than many other mutual funds and thus will be more susceptible to negative events affecting those sectors.

Short Sales Risk. In connection with a short sale of a security or other instrument, the Fund is subject to the risk that instead of declining, the price of the security or other instrument sold short will rise. If the price of the security or other instrument sold short increases between the date of the short sale and the date on which the Fund replaces the security or other instrument borrowed to make the short sale, the Fund will experience a loss, which is theoretically unlimited since there is a theoretically unlimited potential for the market price of a security or other instrument sold short to increase. By investing the proceeds received from selling securities short, the Fund is employing leverage, which creates special risks. Furthermore, until the Fund replaces a security borrowed, or sold short, it must pay to the lender amounts equal to any dividends that accrue during the period of the short sale. In addition, the Fund will incur certain transaction fees associated with short selling.

Portfolio Holdings Information
A description of the Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio securities is available in the Fund’s SAI. Currently, disclosure of the Fund’s holdings is required to be made quarterly within 60 days of the end of each fiscal quarter in the Fund’s Annual Report and Semi-Annual Report to Fund shareholders and in its quarterly holdings report on Form N-Q.
 
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND

Investment Advisor and Sub-Advisor
The Fund’s investment advisor, Advisors Asset Management, Inc., 18925 Base Camp Road, Suite 203, Monument, Colorado 80132, is registered as an investment advisor with the SEC. As the Fund’s investment advisor, AAM provides investment advisory services to the Fund, including: (i) the selection, oversight, termination and replacement of sub-advisors; (ii) ensuring quality control of the sub-advisor’s investment process; and (iii) monitoring and measuring the Fund’s risk and return against appropriate benchmarks and peers. As of ________, 2017, the Advisor had approximately $__ billion in assets under management and provides investment advice to high-net-worth and retail investors.

Pursuant to the Advisory Agreement, the Fund pays the Advisor an annual advisory fee of __% of the Fund’s average daily net assets for the services and facilities it provides, payable on a monthly basis.

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HIMCO is registered as an investment advisor with the SEC. HIMCO serves as the Fund’s sub-advisor and provides day-to-day management for the Fund’s portfolio. HIMCO is a professional asset management firm that provides services to investment companies, employee benefit plans, its affiliated insurance companies and other institutional accounts. HIMCO is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Hartford. As of June 30, 2017, HIMCO had investment management authority over approximately $96.3 billion in assets. HIMCO is principally located at One Hartford Plaza, Hartford, Connecticut 06155.

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of the Advisory Agreement and Sub-Advisory Agreement will be available in the Fund’s Annual Report to shareholders dated as of _________.

Portfolio Managers
Paul Bukowski, Edward Caputo, and Daniel Segal are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio.

Paul Bukowski, CFA. Mr. Bukowski is an Executive Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager and Head of Quantitative Equities, Passive Equities and Asset Allocation. Prior to joining HIMCO in 2005, Paul was a Senior Quantitative Analyst for ING Investment Management. He earned his BA in Statistics and Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin and his MBA in Finance and Policy from the University of Chicago. Additionally, Paul is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society.

Edward Caputo, CFA. Mr. Caputo is a Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager within the Quantitative Equities, Passive Equities and Asset Allocation Team. Prior to this he served as a Portfolio Manager for several fund of funds including asset allocation portfolios and 529 plans. Ed joined HIMCO in 2001 as a Risk Management Analyst in the Corporate and High Yield sector, and previously was with TimesSquare Capital Management, Inc. Ed earned his BS in Finance and Accounting from Drexel University and his MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Daniel Segal, CFA. Mr. Segal is a Research Analyst and a member of HIMCO’s Quantitative Equities Team, responsible for the development and maintenance of comprehensive research and portfolio management systems since July 1, 2015. In addition, he has served as Director of IT Business Analysis - Quantitative Equity, since April 15, 2011. Prior to joining HIMCO in 2006, he was a senior applications analyst at ING Investment Management. Dan earned his BS in Finance from Bryant College and is a Certified Financial Risk Manager and a Microsoft Certified Professional.

The SAI provides additional information about the portfolio managers’ method of compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers and the portfolio managers’ ownership of Fund securities.

Soft Dollar Practices
HIMCO is responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management activities of the Fund, including effecting securities transactions. To the extent consistent with Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “1934 Act”), HIMCO may obtain “soft dollar” benefits in connection with the execution of transactions for the Fund. HIMCO may cause the Fund to pay a broker-dealer an amount in excess of the amount that another broker-dealer would have charged for the same transaction, in exchange for “brokerage and research services” (as defined in the 1934 Act). The management fees are not reduced because HIMCO receives these products and services. These products and services may be of value to HIMCO in advising its clients (including the Fund), although not all of these products and services are necessarily useful and of value in managing the Fund. These products and services may include research reports, access to management personnel, financial newsletters and trade journals, seminar and conference fees, quantitative analytical software, data services, communication services relating to (or incidental to) the execution, clearing and settlement of securities transactions, post-trade services relating to functions incidental to trade execution, and other products and services that are permitted under Section 28(e), as interpreted by the SEC from time to time. In certain instances, these products and services may have additional uses that are not related to brokerage or research. For such “mixed use” items, in accordance with SEC guidance, HIMCO will make a reasonable allocation of the cost of the item according to its expected use, and will pay for that portion of the item that does not have a brokerage or research-related component out of its own pocket.

15

Other Service Providers
IMST Distributors, LLC (the “Distributor”) is the Trust’s principal underwriter and acts as the Trust’s distributor in connection with the offering of Fund shares. The Distributor may enter into agreements with banks, broker-dealers, or other financial intermediaries through which investors may purchase or redeem shares. The Distributor is not affiliated with the Trust, the Advisor, the Sub-Advisor or any other service provider for the Fund.

Fund Expenses
The Fund is responsible for its own operating expenses (all of which will be borne directly or indirectly by the Fund’s shareholders), including among others, legal fees and expenses of counsel to the Fund and the Fund’s Independent Trustees; insurance (including Trustees’ and officers’ errors and omissions insurance); auditing and accounting expenses; taxes and governmental fees; listing fees; fees and expenses of the Fund’s custodians, administrators, transfer agents, registrars and other service providers; expenses for portfolio pricing services by a pricing agent, if any; expenses in connection with the issuance and offering of shares; brokerage commissions and other costs of acquiring or disposing of any portfolio holding of the Fund; and any litigation expenses.

The Advisor has contractually agreed to waive its fees and/or pay for operating expenses of the Fund to ensure that the total annual fund operating expenses (excluding any taxes, leverage interest, brokerage commissions, dividend and interest expenses on short sales, acquired fund fees and expenses (as determined in accordance with Form N-1A), expenses incurred in connection with any merger or reorganization, and extraordinary expenses such as litigation expenses) do not exceed [ ]%, [ ]% and [ ]% of the average daily net assets of the Class A, Class C and Class I shares of the Fund, respectively. This agreement is in effect until __________, 2018, and it may be terminated before that date only by the Trust’s Board of Trustees.

In addition, the Advisor has agreed to voluntarily waive its fees and/or pay for operating expenses of the Fund to ensure that the total annual fund operating expenses (excluding any front-end or contingent deferred loads, taxes, leverage interest, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses (as determined in accordance with Form N-1A), expenses incurred in connection with any merger or reorganization, and extraordinary expenses such as litigation expenses) do not exceed 0.25%, 1.00% and 0.00% on the capital used to seed the Fund’s Class A, Class C and Class I Shares, respectively. The Advisor will not seek recoupment of the voluntary advisory fees waived and/or reimbursement of expenses with the exception of the situation described in the following paragraph.

Any reduction in advisory fees or payment of the Fund’s expenses made by the Advisor in a fiscal year may be reimbursed by the Fund for a period ending three full fiscal years after the date of reduction or payment if the Advisor so requests. This reimbursement may be requested from the Fund if the reimbursement will not cause the Fund’s annual expense ratio to exceed the lesser of (a) the limitation on Fund expenses in effect at the time of the relevant reduction in advisory fees or payment of the Fund’s expenses, or (b) the limitation on Fund expenses at the time of the reimbursement. However, the reimbursement amount may not exceed the total amount of fees waived and/or Fund expenses paid by the Advisor and will not include any amounts previously reimbursed to the Advisor by the Fund. Any such reimbursement is contingent upon the Board’s subsequent review of the reimbursed amounts and no reimbursement may cause the total operating expenses paid by the Fund in a fiscal year to exceed the applicable limitation on Fund expenses. The Fund must pay current ordinary operating expenses before the Advisor is entitled to any reimbursement of fees and/or Fund expenses.

16

Related Composite Performance

The Fund is new and does not have a full calendar year performance record to compare against other mutual funds or other broad measures of securities market performance such as indices. Performance information for the Fund will be made available after the Fund has been in operation for one calendar year.

The following tables present the past performance of a composite of certain accounts managed by the Sub-Advisor. The Sub-Advisor’s Global Enhanced Dividend composite (the “Composite”) consists of all accounts under discretionary management by the Sub-Advisor in its Global Enhanced Dividend investment strategy that have investment objectives, policies and strategies substantially similar to those of the Fund. The Composite has been managed by the Sub-Advisor since October 2007 and consists of three accounts, none of which had performance throughout the entire history of the Composite. One of the accounts making up the Composite is a registered open-end management investment company (the “Composite Fund Account”). The other two accounts making up the Composite are private accounts (collectively “Composite Private Accounts”), owned by an affiliate of the Sub-Advisor. The Composite Private Accounts are not subject to the diversification requirements, specific tax restrictions and investment limitations that are imposed on the Fund by the 1940 Act or Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code. Consequently, the performance results for the Composite may have been less favorable had all its component accounts been regulated as investment companies under the federal securities laws.

The performance data provided shows the gross and net returns of the Composite. The gross return of the Composite reflects the deduction of operating and non-advisory expenses paid by the accounts in the Composite. The net returns of the Composite reflect the deduction of the highest total annual operating expenses (including the management fee) paid by the A, C and I share classes (respectively) of the Composite Fund Account while it was in the Composite. Such expenses are higher than those paid by the two Private Accounts in the Composite and are higher than the total annual operating expenses paid by the comparable share classes of the Fund. The data provided does not represent the performance of the Fund. You should not consider the performance data of the Composite as an indication of future performance of the Fund.

The data provided illustrates the past performance of the Sub-Advisor in managing the Composite as measured against the MSCI World Value Index. The MSCI World Value Index is the Benchmark for the Composite. Unlike the Composite, the Benchmark is not actively managed and does not reflect the deduction of advisory or other fees. It is not possible to invest directly in an index such as the Benchmark.

The historical performance of the Composite is not that of the Fund, is not a substitute for the Fund’s performance and is not necessarily indicative of the Fund’s future results. The Fund’s actual performance may differ significantly from the past performance of the Composite. The personnel who managed the accounts that make up the Composite, and who therefore generated, or contributed to, the historical performance shown may differ from the personnel managing the Fund and may have varied over the life of the Composite.

Returns reflect all income, gains and losses and reinvestment of any dividends or capital gains without provision for federal or state income tax. Performance of the Composite was calculated differently than the method used for calculating fund performance pursuant to SEC guidelines. The Composite returns are calculated on a monthly basis and annualized for the periods shown below.

17

Global Enhanced Dividend Composite
Annualized Returns, Expressed in U.S. Dollars
For the Periods Ended June 30. 2017

 
One
Year
Three
Years
Five
Years
Since
Inception (1)
Composite Returns
       
Net of Composite Fund Account Class A total annual operating expenses (2)
9.28%
3.14%
7.01%
1.08%
Net of Composite Fund Account Class C total annual operating expenses (3)
8.46%
2.37%
6.21%
0.32%
Net of Composite Fund Account Class I total annual operating expenses (4)
9.55%
3.40%
7.28%
1.33%
Gross of Fee Returns
11.86%
5.58%
9.54%
3.46%
Benchmark (5)
19.56%
4.32%
11.46%
3.40%
 
(1)
The Global Enhanced Dividend Composite inception date is October 1, 2007.
(2)
The returns are net of the highest total annual operating expenses (including the management fee) paid by the Class A shares of the Composite Fund Account while it was in the Composite (2.33%). Such expenses are higher than those paid by the two Private Accounts in the Composite and are higher than the total annual operating expenses paid by the Class A shares of the Fund.
(3)
The returns are net of the highest total annual operating expenses (including the management fee) paid by the Class C shares of the Composite Fund Account while it was in the Composite (3.08%). Such expenses are higher than those paid by the two Private Accounts in the Composite and are higher than the total annual operating expenses paid by the Class A shares of the Fund.
(4)
The returns are net of the highest total annual operating expenses (including the management fee) paid by the Class I shares of the Composite Fund Account while it was in the Composite (2.08%). Such expenses are higher than those paid by the two Private Accounts in the Composite and are higher than the total annual operating expenses paid by the Class A shares of the Fund.
(5)
The Benchmark is the MSCI World Value Index (gross dividends).

Past performance does not guarantee future results. Performance for periods subsequent to those periods reflected herein may be lower.

Global Enhanced Dividend Composite
Calendar Year Returns, Expressed in U.S. Dollars

 
Composite Returns
 
Benchmark(4)
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
 
Period Ending Number of Accounts in Composite
Net of Composite Fund Account Class A total annual operating expenses (1)
Net of Composite Fund Account Class C total
annual operating
expenses (2)
Net of Composite Fund Account Class I total
annual operating
expenses (3)
Gross of Fees
10/1/07 – 12/31/07
(9.10)%
(9.27)%
(9.04)%
(8.57)%
(4.64)%
2
2008
(33.51)%
(34.00)%
(33.34)%
(31.94)%
(39.85)%
1
2009
15.33%
14.47%
15.62%
18.05%
27.70%
1
2010
8.08%
7.27%
8.35%
10.63%
9.77%
1
2011
1.78%
1.01%
2.03%
4.18%
(4.92)%
1
2012
6.66%
5.86%
6.93%
9.18%
16.42%
1
2013
17.12%
16.24%
17.41%
19.88%
27.52%
1
2014
2.32%
1.55%
2.58%
4.74%
4.42%
1
2015
(3.32)%
(4.05)%
(3.08)%
(1.04)%
(4.11)%
1
2016
12.74%
11.89%
13.02%
15.40%
13.23%
1
1/1/17 – 6/30/17
3.91%
3.52%
4.04%
5.13%
7.62%
1

(1)
The returns are net of the highest total annual operating expenses (including the management fee) paid by the Class A shares of the Composite Fund Account while it was in the Composite (2.33%). Such expenses are higher than those paid by the two Private Accounts in the Composite and are higher than the total annual operating expenses paid by the Class A shares of the Fund.
 
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(2)
The returns are net of the highest total annual operating expenses (including the management fee) paid by the Class C shares of the Composite Fund Account while it was in the Composite (3.08%). Such expenses are higher than those paid by the two Private Accounts in the Composite and are higher than the total annual operating expenses paid by the Class A shares of the Fund.
(3)
The returns are net of the highest total annual operating expenses (including the management fee) paid by the Class I shares of the Composite Fund Account while it was in the Composite (2.08%). Such expenses are higher than those paid by the two Private Accounts in the Composite and are higher than the total annual operating expenses paid by the Class A shares of the Fund.
(4)
The Benchmark is the MSCI World Value Index (gross dividends).

Past performance does not guarantee future results. Performance for periods subsequent to those periods reflected herein may be lower.
 
DISTRIBUTION AND SHAREHOLDER SERVICE PLAN

Distribution and Service (Rule 12b-1) Fees
The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, has adopted a Rule 12b-1 plan (the “Plan”) with respect to the Fund’s Class A shares and Class C shares. Under the Plan, the Fund pays to the Distributor distribution fees in connection with the sale and distribution of the Fund’s Class A and Class C shares and/or shareholder liaison service fees in connection with the provision of personal services to shareholders of each such class and the maintenance of their shareholder accounts.

For Class A shares, the maximum annual fee payable to the Distributor for such distribution and/or administrative services is 0.25% of the average daily net assets of such shares. For Class C shares, the maximum annual fees payable to the Distributor for distribution services and administrative services are 0.75% and 0.25%, respectively, of the average daily net assets of such shares. The Distributor may pay any or all amounts received under the Plan to other persons for any distribution or shareholder liaison services provided by such persons to the Fund. Payments under the Plan are not tied exclusively to distribution expenses actually incurred by the Distributor or others and the payments may exceed or be less than the amount of expenses actually incurred.

To promote the sale of the Fund’s Class C shares and to pay for certain shareholder liaison services, the Distributor may pay broker-dealers up to 1.00% of the amount invested by their clients in the Class C shares of the Fund at the time the shares are purchased (which includes prepayment of the first year’s 0.25% shareholder liaison service fee). These up-front payments to broker-dealers are financed solely by the Advisor and are not financed by investors or the Fund. However, the Distributor receives and can pay as reimbursement to the Advisor all of the 12b-1 fees with respect to such shares. During the first 12 months, the Advisor may retain the full 1.00% 12b-1 fee to recoup the up-front payment advanced at the time of purchase. After the Distributor has reimbursed the Advisor for the amounts that the Advisor has financed, the broker-dealers will receive the ongoing 12b-1 fees associated with their clients’ investments.

Because the Fund pays distribution fees on an ongoing basis, your investment cost over time will increase and may be higher than paying other types of sales charges.

The payments that broker-dealers and their affiliates receive for selling and providing services to investment products can vary from one product to another. For this reason, if your broker-dealer receives greater payments with respect to this Fund than it does with respect to other products, your representative may be more inclined to sell you shares of this Fund over another product.

Class I shares are not subject to any distribution or service fees under the Plan.

Shareholder Service Fee
The Fund may pay a fee at an annual rate of up to 0.15% of its average daily net assets to shareholder servicing agents. Shareholder servicing agents provide non-distribution administrative and support services to their customers, which may include establishing and maintaining accounts and records relating to shareholders, processing dividend and distribution payments from the Fund on behalf of shareholders, forwarding communications from the Fund, providing sub-accounting with respect to Fund shares, and other similar services.

19

Additional Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
The Advisor may pay service fees to intermediaries such as banks, broker-dealers, financial advisors or other financial institutions, some of which may be affiliates, for sub-administration, sub-transfer agency and other shareholder services associated with shareholders whose shares are held of record in omnibus accounts, other group accounts or accounts traded through registered securities clearing agents.

The Advisor, out of its own resources, and without additional cost to the Fund or its shareholders, may provide additional cash payments or non-cash compensation to broker-dealers or intermediaries that sell shares of the Fund. These additional cash payments are generally made to intermediaries that provide shareholder servicing, marketing support and/or access to sales meetings, sales representatives and management representatives of the intermediary. The Advisor may pay cash compensation for inclusion of the Fund on a sales list, including a preferred or select sales list, or in other sales programs, or may pay an expense reimbursement in cases where the intermediary provides shareholder services to the Fund’s shareholders. The Advisor may also pay cash compensation in the form of finder’s fees that vary depending on the dollar amount of the shares sold.

These additional payments may give your financial intermediary an incentive to sell and recommend this Fund over other products for which it may receive less compensation. You may contact your financial intermediary if you want information regarding the payments it receives.
 
20

YOUR ACCOUNT WITH THE FUND

Share Price
The offering price of each class of the Fund’s shares is the net asset value per share (“NAV”) of that class (plus any sales charges, as applicable). The difference among the classes’ NAVs reflects the daily expense accruals of the distribution fees applicable to Class A shares and Class C shares. The Fund’s NAVs are calculated as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, the normal close of regular trading on the NYSE, on each day the NYSE is open for trading. If for example, the NYSE closes at 1:00 p.m. New York time, the Fund’s NAVs would still be determined as of 4:00 p.m. New York time. In this example, portfolio securities traded on the NYSE would be valued at their closing prices unless the Trust’s Valuation Committee determines that a “fair value” adjustment is appropriate due to subsequent events. The NAV for each class is determined by dividing the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities, cash and other assets (including accrued interest) allocable to such class, less all liabilities (including accrued expenses) allocable to such class, by the total number of outstanding shares of such class. The Fund’s NAVs may be calculated earlier if trading on the NYSE is restricted or if permitted by the SEC. The NYSE is closed on weekends and most U.S. national holidays. However, foreign securities listed primarily on non-U.S. markets may trade on weekends or other days on which the Fund does not value its shares, which may significantly affect the Fund’s NAVs on days when you are not able to buy or sell Fund shares.

The Fund’s securities generally are valued at market price. Securities are valued at fair value when market quotations are not readily available. The Board has adopted procedures to be followed when the Fund must utilize fair value pricing, including when reliable market quotations are not readily available, when the Fund’s pricing service does not provide a valuation (or provides a valuation that, in the judgment of the Advisor, does not represent the security’s fair value), or when, in the judgment of the Advisor, events have rendered the market value unreliable (see, for example, the discussion of fair value pricing of foreign securities in the paragraph below). Valuing securities at fair value involves reliance on the judgment of the Advisor and the Board (or a committee thereof), and may result in a different price being used in the calculation of the Fund’s NAVs from quoted or published prices for the same securities. Fair value determinations are made in good faith in accordance with procedures adopted by the Board. There can be no assurance that the Fund will obtain the fair value assigned to a security if it sells the security.

In certain circumstances, the Fund employs fair value pricing to ensure greater accuracy in determining daily NAVs and to prevent dilution by frequent traders or market timers who seek to exploit temporary market anomalies. Fair value pricing may be applied to foreign securities held by the Fund upon the occurrence of an event after the close of trading on non-U.S. markets but before the close of trading on the NYSE when the Fund’s NAVs are determined. If the event may result in a material adjustment to the price of the Fund’s foreign securities once non-U.S. markets open on the following business day (such as, for example, a significant surge or decline in the U.S. market), the Fund may value such foreign securities at fair value, taking into account the effect of such event, in order to calculate the Fund’s NAVs.

Other types of portfolio securities that the Fund may fair value include, but are not limited to: (1) investments that are illiquid or traded infrequently, including “restricted” securities and private placements for which there is no public market; (2) investments for which, in the judgment of the Advisor, the market price is stale; (3) securities of an issuer that has entered into a restructuring; (4) securities for which trading has been halted or suspended; and (5) fixed income securities for which there is no current market value quotation.

Purchase of Shares
This Prospectus offers three classes of shares of the Fund, designated as Class A shares, Class C shares and Class I shares.

Class A shares generally incur sales loads at the time of purchase and are subject to annual distribution fees and shareholder service fees.

21

Class C shares generally incur contingent deferred sales loads on any shares sold within 12 months of purchase and are subject to annual distribution fees and shareholder service fees.

Class I shares are not subject to any sales loads or distribution fees or shareholder service fees.

By offering multiple classes of shares, the Fund permits each investor to choose the class of shares that is most beneficial given the type of investor, the amount to be invested and the length of time the investor expects to hold the shares.

Before you invest, you should compare the features of each share class, so that you can choose the class that is right for you. When selecting a share class, you should consider the following:

·
which shares classes are available to you;
·
how long you expect to own your shares;
·
how much you intend to invest;
·
total costs and expenses associated with a particular share class; and
·
whether you qualify for any reduction or waiver of sales charges.

Class A and Class C shares are generally available to all investors; however, share class availability depends upon your financial intermediary’s policies and procedures. Class I shares are subject to different eligibility requirements, fees and expenses, may have different minimum investment requirements. For eligible investors, Class I shares may be more suitable than Class A or Class C shares. You should consult with your financial advisor for more information to determine which share class is most appropriate for your situation.

Each class of shares generally has the same rights, except for the distribution fees, and related expenses associated with each class of shares, and the exclusive voting rights by each class with respect to any distribution plan or service plan for such class of shares.

Currently, Class A Shares and Class C Shares are not available for purchase. To purchase shares of the Fund, you must invest at least the minimum amount indicated in the following table.

Minimum Investments
To Open
Your Account
To Add to
Your Account
Class A & C Shares
   
Direct Regular Accounts
[$2,500]
[$500]
Direct Retirement Accounts
[$2,500]
[$500]
Automatic Investment Plan
[$2,500]
[$100]
Gift Account For Minors
[$2,500]
[$500]
Class I Shares
   
All Accounts
[$25,000]
[$5,000]

Shares of the Fund may be purchased by check, by wire transfer of funds via a bank or through an approved financial intermediary (i.e., a supermarket, investment advisor, financial planner or consultant, broker, dealer or other investment professional and their agents) authorized by the Fund to receive purchase orders. Financial intermediaries may provide varying arrangements for their clients to purchase and redeem shares, which may include different sales charges as described in this Prospectus, additional fees and different investment minimums. In addition, from time to time, a financial intermediary may modify or waive the initial and subsequent investment minimums. Your financial intermediary may receive different compensation for selling Class A, Class C, and Class I shares due to different sales charges among the classes. Please see “Class A Shares – Sales Charge Schedule” on page [18], “Class C Shares Purchase Programs” on page [21] and “Appendix A – Waivers and Discounts Available From Intermediaries.” The share classes your financial intermediary sells may depend on, among other things, the type of investor account and the policies, procedures and practices adopted by your financial intermediary. You should review these arrangements with your financial intermediary.

22

There is an annual pass through IRA maintenance fee of $15 that is charged by the IRA custodian on a per-account basis. You may make an initial investment in an amount greater than the minimum amounts shown in the preceding table and the Fund may, from time to time, reduce or waive the minimum initial investment amounts. The minimum initial investment amount is automatically waived for Fund shares purchased by Trustees of the Trust and current or retired directors and employees of the Advisor and its affiliates, as well as employees of the Sub-Advisor.

To the extent allowed by applicable law, the Fund reserves the right to discontinue offering shares at any time or to cease operating entirely.

Class A Shares
Class A shares of the Fund are sold at the public offering price, which is the NAV plus an initial maximum sales charge that varies with the amounts you invest as shown in the following chart. This means that part of your investment in the Fund will be used to pay the sales charge.

Class A Shares—Sales Charge Schedule
Your Investment
Front-End Sales
Charge as a % of
Offering Price*
Front-End Sales
Charge as a % of
Net Investment
Dealer Reallowance
as a % of
Offering Price
Up to $99,999
[ ]%
[ ]%
[ ]%
$100,000-$499,999
[ ]%
[ ]%
[ ]%
$500,000-$999,999
[ ]%
[ ]%
[ ]%
$1 million or more
[See below**]
[See below**]
[See below**]

*
The offering price includes the sales charge.
**
There is no initial sales charge on purchases of Class A shares in an account or accounts with an accumulated value of $1 million or more, but a CDSC of 1.00% will be imposed to the extent a finder’s fee was paid in the event of certain redemptions within 18 months of the date of purchase. See the “Large Order Net Asset Value Purchase Privilege” section on page [20].

Because of rounding in the calculation of front-end sales charges, the actual front-end sales charge paid by an investor may be higher or lower than the percentages noted above. No sales charge is imposed on Class A shares received from reinvestment of dividends or capital gain distributions.

Class A Shares Purchase Programs
Eligible purchasers of Class A shares also may be entitled to reduced sales charges through the Quantity Discount programs offered by the Fund as discussed below. Eligible purchases of Class A shares also may be entitled to waived sales charges as discussed below under “Net Asset Value Purchases” and “Large Order Net Asset Value Purchase Privilege.” The availability of certain sales charge waivers and discounts will depend on whether you purchase your shares directly from the Fund or through a financial intermediary. As described in Appendix A to this Prospectus, financial intermediaries may have different policies and procedures regarding the availability of front-end sales load waivers or CDSC waivers. In all instances, it is the purchaser’s responsibility to notify the Fund or the purchaser’s financial intermediary at the time of purchase of any relationship or other facts qualifying the purchaser for sales charge waivers or discounts. For waivers and discounts not available through a particular intermediary, shareholders will have to purchase Fund shares directly from the Fund or through another intermediary to receive these waivers or discounts. Please see “Appendix A – Waivers and Discounts Available from Intermediaries” of the Prospectus for a description of waivers or discounts available through certain intermediaries.

23

Quantity Discounts
When purchasing Class A shares, if the dollar amount of your purchase reaches a specified level, known as a breakpoint, you are entitled to pay a discounted initial sales charge. For example, a purchase of up to $99,999 of Class A shares of the Fund would be charged an initial charge of 5.50%, while a purchase of $100,000 would be charged an initial charge of [ ]%. There are several breakpoints, as shown in the “Class A Shares - Sales Charge Schedule” table above. The greater the investment, the greater the sales charge discount. Investments above $1,000,000 have no front-end sales charge (please see “Large Order Net Asset Value Purchase Privilege” below for more information).
 
You may lower your Class A shares sales charges for the Fund if:

you assure the Fund in writing that you intend to invest at least $100,000 in Class A shares of the Fund over the next 13 months in exchange for a reduced sales charge (“Letter of Intent”) (see below); or

the amount of Class A shares you already own in the Fund plus the amount you intend to invest in Class A shares is at least $100,000 (“Cumulative Discount”) (see below).

By signing a Letter of Intent you can purchase shares of the Fund at a lower sales charge level. Your individual purchases will be made at the applicable sales charge based on the amount you intend to invest over a 13-month period as stated in the Letter of Intent. Purchases resulting from the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains do not apply toward fulfillment of the Letter of Intent. Shares equal to 2.50% of the amount stated in the Letter of Intent will be held in escrow during the 13-month period. If, at the end of the period, the total net amount invested is less than the amount stated in the Letter of Intent, you will be required to pay the difference between the reduced sales charge and the sales charge applicable to the individual net amounts invested had the Letter of Intent not been in effect. This amount will be obtained from redemption of the escrowed shares. Any remaining escrowed shares after payment to the Fund of the difference in applicable sales charges will be released to you. If you establish a Letter of Intent with the Fund you can aggregate your accounts as well as the accounts of your immediate family members. You will need to provide written instructions with respect to the other accounts whose purchases should be considered in fulfillment of the Letter of Intent.

The Letter of Intent and Cumulative Discount are intended to let you combine investments made at other times for purposes of calculating your present sales charge. Any time you can use any of these quantity discounts to “move” your investment into a lower sales charge level, it is generally beneficial for you to do so.

For purposes of determining whether you are eligible for a reduced Class A sales charge, you and your immediate family members (i.e., your spouse or domestic partner and your children or stepchildren age 21 or younger) may aggregate your investments in the Fund. This includes, for example, investments held in a retirement account, an employee benefit plan, or through a financial advisor other than the one handling your current purchase. These combined investments will be valued at their current offering price to determine whether your current investment amount qualifies for a reduced sales charge.

You must notify the Fund or an approved financial intermediary at the time of purchase whenever a quantity discount is applicable to purchases and you may be required to provide the Fund, or an approved financial intermediary, with certain information or records to verify your eligibility for a quantity discount. Such information or records may include account statements or other records regarding the shares of the Fund held in all accounts (e.g., retirement accounts) by you and other eligible persons which may include accounts held at the Fund or at other approved financial intermediaries. Upon such notification, you will pay the sales charge at the lowest applicable sales charge level. You should retain any records necessary to substantiate the purchase price of the Fund’s shares, as the Fund and approved financial intermediaries may not retain this information.

24

Information about sales charges can be found on the Fund’s website www. aamlive.com/publicsite/mutual-funds, obtained by calling the Fund at 1-888-966-9661 or you can consult with your financial representative.

Net Asset Value Purchases

Class A shares are available for purchase without a sales charge if you are:

·
reinvesting dividends or capital gains distributions;

·
participating in an investment advisory or agency commission program under which you pay a fee to an investment advisor or other firm for portfolio management or brokerage services;

·
a financial intermediary purchasing on behalf of its clients that: (i) is compensated by clients on a fee-only basis, including but not limited to investment advisors, financial planners, and bank trust departments; or (ii) has entered into an agreement with the Fund to offer Class A shares through a no-load network or platform (please see Appendix A for a list of financial intermediaries that have these arrangements);

·
a financial intermediary who has entered into an agreement with the Distributor to offer shares to self-directed investment brokerage accounts that may or may not charge a transaction fee to its customers (please see Appendix A for a list of financial intermediaries that have these arrangements);

·
a current Trustee of the Trust; or

·
an employee (including the employee’s spouse, domestic partner, children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, siblings and any dependent of the employee, as defined in Section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code) of the Advisor, the Sub-Advisor, and their affiliates or of a broker-dealer authorized to sell shares of the Fund.

Your financial advisor or the Fund’s transfer agent (the “Transfer Agent”) can answer your questions and help you determine if you are eligible.

Large Order Net Asset Value Purchase Privilege
There is no initial sales charge on purchases of Class A shares in an account or accounts with an accumulated value of $1 million or more, but a CDSC of 1.00% will be imposed to the extent a finder’s fee was paid in the event of certain redemptions within 18 months of the date of purchase. The CDSC is assessed on an amount equal to the lesser of the then current market value of the shares or the historical cost of the shares (which is the amount actually paid for the shares at the time of purchase) being redeemed.

From its own profits and resources, the Advisor may pay a finder’s fee to authorized dealers that initiate or are responsible for purchases of $1 million or more of Class A shares of the Fund equal to 1.00% of the amount under $3 million, 0.50% of the next $2 million, and 0.25% thereafter.

A CDSC will be waived in the following circumstances:
 
·
if you are a current Trustee of the Trust; or
 
25

·
if you are an employee (including the employee’s spouse, domestic partner, children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, siblings and any dependent of the employee, as defined in Section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code) of the Advisor, the Sub-Advisor, and their affiliates or of a broker-dealer authorized to sell shares of the Fund.
 
Your financial advisor or the Transfer Agent can answer your questions and help you determine if you are eligible.

Class C Shares
Class C shares are designed for retail investors and are available for purchase only through an approved broker-dealer or financial intermediary. Under the Plan, a distribution fee at an annual rate of 0.75% of average daily net assets and an administrative services fee at an annual rate of 0.25% of average daily net assets are deducted from the assets of the Fund’s Class C shares.

Class C shares of the Fund are sold at NAV and are subject to a CDSC of 1.00% on any shares you sell within 12 months of purchasing them.

The CDSC is assessed on an amount equal to the lesser of the then current market value of the shares or the historical cost of the shares (which is the amount actually paid for the shares at the time of purchase) being redeemed. Accordingly, no CDSC is imposed on increases in the NAV above the initial purchase price. You should retain any records necessary to substantiate the historical cost of your shares, as the Fund and authorized dealers may not retain this information. In addition, no CDSC is assessed on shares received from reinvestment of dividends or capital gain distributions. The Fund will not accept a purchase order for Class C shares in the amount of $1 million or more.

In determining whether a CDSC applies to a redemption, the Fund assumes that the shares being redeemed first are any shares in your account that are not subject to a CDSC, followed by shares held the longest in your account.

Information on sales charges can also be found on the Fund’s website at www.aamlive.com/publicsite/mutual-funds, or obtained by calling the Fund at 1-888-966-9661, or consulting with your financial advisor.

Class C Shares Purchase Programs
The availability of certain sales charge waivers and discounts will depend on whether you purchase your shares directly from the Fund or through a financial intermediary. As described in Appendix A to this Prospectus, financial intermediaries may have different policies and procedures regarding the availability of CDSC waivers. In all instances, it is the purchaser’s responsibility to notify the Fund or the purchaser’s financial intermediary at the time of purchase of any relationship or other facts qualifying the purchaser for sales charge waivers or discounts. For waivers and discounts not available through a particular intermediary, shareholders will have to purchase Fund shares directly from the Fund or through another intermediary to receive these waivers or discounts. Please see “Appendix A – Waivers and Discounts Available from Intermediaries” of the Prospectus for a description of waivers or discounts available through certain intermediaries.

As described below, eligible purchasers of Class C shares may be entitled to the elimination of CDSC. You may be required to provide the Fund, or its authorized dealer, with certain information or records to verify your eligibility.

 A CDSC will not be applied in the following cases:

26

·
the death or disability of an account owner (including a joint owner). This waiver applies only under certain conditions. Your financial representative or the Transfer Agent must be contacted to determine if the conditions exist;

·
withdrawals made through an automatic withdrawal plan. Such withdrawals may be made up to a maximum of 12% of the net asset value of the account on the date of the withdrawal;

·
withdrawals related to certain retirement or benefit plans; or

·
redemptions for certain loan advances, hardship provisions or returns of excess contributions from retirement plans.

 Your financial advisor or the Transfer Agent can answer questions and help determine if you are eligible.

Information on sales charges can also be found on the Fund’s website at www.aamlive.com/publicsite/mutual-funds, or obtained by calling the Fund at 1-888-966-9661, or consulting with your financial advisor.
 
Class I Shares
To purchase Class I shares of the Fund, you generally must invest at least $25,000. Class I shares are not subject to any initial sales charge. No CDSC is imposed on redemptions of Class I shares, and you do not pay any ongoing distribution/service fees.

Class I shares are available for purchase by clients of financial intermediaries who charge such clients an ongoing fee for advisory, investment, consulting or similar services. Such clients may include individuals, corporations, endowments and foundations.

Exchange Privilege
You may exchange Class A, Class C and Class I shares of the Fund for the same class of shares of the other funds managed by the Advisor, which are offered in separate prospectuses (Please contact the Fund at 1-888-966-9661 to receive the prospectuses for the other funds). The amount of the exchange must be equal to or greater than the required minimum initial investment of the other Fund, as stated in that Fund’s prospectus. You may realize either a gain or loss on those shares and will be responsible for paying the appropriate taxes. If you exchange shares through a broker, the broker may charge you a transaction fee. You may exchange shares by sending a written request to the Fund or by telephone. Be sure that your written request includes the dollar amount or number of shares to be exchanged, the name(s) on the account, the account number(s), and signed by all shareholders on the account. In order to limit expenses, the Fund reserves the right to limit the total number of exchanges you can make in any year. There are no sales charges for exchanges of Class A, Class C and Class I shares.

Conversion of Shares
A share conversion is a transaction in which shares of one class of the Fund are exchanged for shares of another class of the Fund. Share conversions can occur between Class A, Class C and Class I shares of the Fund. Generally, share conversions occur when a shareholder becomes eligible for another share class of the Fund or no longer meets the eligibility criteria of the share class owned by the shareholder (and another class exists for which the shareholder would be eligible). Please note that a share conversion is generally a non-taxable event, but you should consult with your personal tax advisor on your particular circumstances. Please also note, all share conversion requests must be approved by the Advisor.

A request for a share conversion will not be processed until it is received in “good order” (as defined below) by the Fund or your financial intermediary. To receive the NAV of the new class calculated that day, conversion requests must be received in good order by the Fund or your financial intermediary before 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time or the financial intermediary’s earlier applicable deadline. Please note that, because the NAV of each class of the Fund will generally vary from the NAV of the other class due to differences in expenses, you will receive a number of shares of the new class that is different from the number of shares that you held of the old class, but the total value of your holdings will remain the same.

27

The Fund’s frequent trading policies will not be applicable to share conversions. If you hold your shares through a financial intermediary, please contact the financial intermediary for more information on share conversions. Please note that certain financial intermediaries may not permit all types of share conversions. The Fund reserves the right to terminate, suspend or modify the share conversion privilege for any shareholder or group of shareholders.

The Fund reserves the right to automatically convert shareholders from one class to another if they either no longer qualify as eligible for their existing class or if they become eligible for another class. Such mandatory conversions may be as a result of a change in value of an account due to market movements, exchanges or redemptions. The Fund will notify affected shareholders in writing prior to any mandatory conversion.

In-Kind Purchases and Redemptions
The Fund reserves the right to accept payment for shares in the form of securities that are permissible investments for the Fund. The Fund also reserves the right to pay redemptions by an “in-kind” distribution of portfolio securities (instead of cash) from the Fund. In-kind purchases and redemptions are taxable events and may result in the recognition of gain or loss for federal income tax purposes. See the SAI for further information about the terms of these purchases and redemptions.

Additional Investments
Additional subscriptions in the Fund generally may be made by investing at least the minimum amount shown in the Minimum Investments table above. Exceptions may be made at the Fund’s discretion. You may purchase additional shares of the Fund by sending a check together with the investment stub from your most recent account statement to the Fund at the applicable address listed in the table below. Please ensure that you include your account number on the check. If you do not have the investment stub from your account statement, list your name, address and account number on a separate sheet of paper and include it with your check. You may also make additional investments in the Fund by wire transfer of funds or through an approved financial intermediary. The minimum additional investment amount is automatically waived for shares purchased by Trustees of the Trust and current or retired directors and employees of the Advisor and its affiliates. Please follow the procedures described in this Prospectus.

Dividend Reinvestment
You may reinvest dividends and capital gains distributions in shares of the Fund. Such shares are acquired at NAV (without a sales charge) on the applicable payable date of the dividend or capital gain distribution. Unless you instruct otherwise, dividends and distributions on Fund shares are automatically reinvested in shares of the same class of the Fund paying the dividend or distribution. This instruction may be made by writing to the Transfer Agent or by telephone by calling 1-888-966-9661. You may, on the account application form or prior to any declaration, instruct that dividends and/or capital gain distributions be paid in cash or be reinvested in the Fund at the next determined NAV. If you elect to receive dividends and/or capital gain distributions in cash and the U.S. Postal Service cannot deliver the check, or if a check remains outstanding for six months or more, the Fund reserves the right to reinvest the distribution check in your account at the Fund’s current NAV and to reinvest all subsequent distributions.

Customer Identification Information
To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. When you open an account, you will be asked for your name, date of birth (for a natural person), your residential address or principal place of business, and mailing address, if different, as well as your Social Security Number or Taxpayer Identification Number. Additional information is required for corporations, partnerships and other entities. Applications without such information will not be considered in good order. The Fund reserves the right to deny any application if the application is not in good order.

28

This Prospectus should not be considered a solicitation to purchase or as an offer to sell shares of the Fund in any jurisdiction where it would be unlawful to do so under the laws of that jurisdiction. Please note that the value of your account may be transferred to the appropriate state if no activity occurs in the account within the time period specified by state law.

Automatic Investment Plan
If you intend to use the Automatic Investment Plan (“AIP”), you may open your account with the initial minimum investment amount. Once an account has been opened, you may make additional investments in the Fund at regular intervals through the AIP. If elected on your account application, funds can be automatically transferred from your checking or savings account on the 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th or 25th of each month. In order to participate in the AIP, each additional subscription must be at least $100, and your financial institution must be a member of the Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) network. The first AIP purchase will be made 15 days after the Transfer Agent receives your request in good order. The Transfer Agent will charge a $25 fee for any ACH payment that is rejected by your bank. Your AIP will be terminated if two successive mailings we send to you are returned by the U.S. Postal Service as undeliverable. You may terminate your participation in the AIP at any time by notifying the Transfer Agent at 1-888-966-9661 at least five days prior to the date of the next AIP transfer. The Fund may modify or terminate the AIP at any time without notice.

Timing and Nature of Requests
The purchase price you will pay for the Fund’s shares will be the next NAV (plus any sales charge, as applicable) calculated after the Transfer Agent or your authorized financial intermediary receives your request in good order. “Good order” means that your purchase request includes: (1) the name of the Fund, (2) the dollar amount of shares to be purchased, (3) your purchase application or investment stub, and (4) a check payable to AAM Funds. All requests received in good order before 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on any business day will be processed on that same day. Requests received at or after 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) will be transacted at the next business day’s NAV. All purchases must be made in U.S. Dollars and drawn on U.S. financial institutions.

29

Methods of Buying
Through a broker-
dealer or other
financial
intermediary
The Fund is offered through certain approved financial intermediaries (and their agents). The Fund is also offered directly. A purchase order placed with a financial intermediary or its authorized agent is treated as if such order were placed directly with the Fund, and will be deemed to have been received by the Fund when the financial intermediary or its authorized agent receives the order and executed at the next NAV (plus any sales charge, as applicable) calculated by the Fund. Your financial intermediary will hold your shares in a pooled account in its (or its agent’s) name. The Fund may pay your financial intermediary (or its agent) to maintain your individual ownership information, maintain required records, and provide other shareholder services. A financial intermediary which offers shares may charge its individual clients transaction fees which may be in addition to those described in this Prospectus. If you invest through your financial intermediary, its policies and fees may be different than those described in this Prospectus. For example, the financial intermediary may charge transaction fees or set different minimum investments. Your financial intermediary is responsible for processing your order correctly and promptly, keeping you advised of the status of your account, confirming your transactions and ensuring that you receive copies of the Fund’s Prospectus. Please contact your financial intermediary to determine whether it is an approved financial intermediary of the Fund or for additional information.
By mail
The Fund will not accept payment in cash, including cashier’s checks. Also, to prevent check fraud, the Fund will not accept third party checks, Treasury checks, credit card checks, traveler’s checks, money orders or starter checks for the purchase of shares. All checks must be made in U.S. Dollars and drawn on U.S. financial institutions.
 
To buy shares directly from the Fund by mail, complete an account application and send it together with your check for the amount you wish to invest to the Fund at the address indicated below. To make additional investments once you have opened your account, write your account number on the check and send it to the Fund together with the most recent confirmation statement received from the Transfer Agent. If your check is returned for insufficient funds, your purchase will be canceled and a $25 fee will be assessed against your account by the Transfer Agent.
 
Regular Mail
AAM Funds
P.O. Box 2175
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201
Overnight Delivery
AAM Funds
235 W. Galena Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212
 
The Fund does not consider the U.S. Postal Service or other independent delivery services to be its agents.

30

By telephone
To make additional investments by telephone, you must authorize telephone purchases on your account application. If you have given authorization for telephone transactions and your account has been open for at least 15 days, call the Transfer Agent toll-free at 1-888-966-9661 and you will be allowed to move money in amounts of at least $500, but not greater than $50,000, from your bank account to the Fund’s account upon request. Only bank accounts held at U.S. institutions that are ACH members may be used for telephone transactions. If your order is placed before 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on a business day shares will be purchased in your account at the NAV (plus any sales charge, as applicable) calculated on that day. Orders received at or after 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) will be transacted at the next business day’s NAV. For security reasons, requests by telephone will be recorded.
By wire
To open an account by wire, a completed account application form must be received by the Fund before your wire can be accepted. You may mail or send by overnight delivery your account application form to the Transfer Agent. Upon receipt of your completed account application form, an account will be established for you. The account number assigned to you will be required as part of the wiring instruction that should be provided to your bank to send the wire. Your bank must include the name of the Fund, the account number, and your name so that monies can be correctly applied. Your bank should transmit monies by wire to:
 
UMB Bank, n.a.
ABA Number 101000695
For credit to AAM Funds
A/C # 987 201 3735
 
For further credit to:
Your account number
AAM/HIMCO Global Enhanced Dividend Fund
Name(s) of investor(s)
Social Security Number or Taxpayer Identification Number
 
Before sending your wire, please contact the Transfer Agent at 1-888-966-9661 to notify it of your intention to wire funds. This will ensure prompt and accurate credit upon receipt of your wire. Your bank may charge a fee for its wiring service.
 
Wired funds must be received prior to 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on a business day to be eligible for same day pricing. The Fund and UMB Bank, n.a. are not responsible for the consequences of delays resulting from the banking or Federal Reserve wire system, or from incomplete wiring instructions.

Selling (Redeeming) Fund Shares
Through a broker-
dealer or other
financial
intermediary
If you purchased your shares through an approved financial intermediary, your redemption order must be placed through the same financial intermediary. The Fund will be deemed to have received a redemption order when a financial intermediary (or its authorized agent) receives the order. The financial intermediary must receive your redemption order prior to 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on a business day for the redemption to be processed at the current day’s NAV. Orders received at or after 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on a business day or on a day when the Fund does not value its shares will be transacted at the next business day’s NAV. Please keep in mind that your financial intermediary may charge additional fees for its services. In the event your approved financial intermediary is no longer available or in operation, you may place your redemption order directly with the Fund as described below.

31

By mail
You may redeem shares purchased directly from the Fund by mail. Send your written redemption request to AAM Funds at the address indicated below. Your request must be in good order and contain the Fund name, the name(s) on the account, your account number and the dollar amount or the number of shares to be redeemed. The redemption request must be signed by all shareholders listed on the account. Additional documents are required for certain types of shareholders, such as corporations, partnerships, executors, trustees, administrators, or guardians (i.e., corporate resolutions dated within 60 days, or trust documents indicating proper authorization).
 
Regular Mail
AAM Funds
P.O. Box 2175
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201
Overnight Delivery
AAM Funds
235 W. Galena Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212
 
A Medallion signature guarantee must be included if any of the following situations apply:
 
 You wish to redeem more than $50,000 worth of shares;
 When redemption proceeds are sent to any person, address or bank account not on record;
 If a change of address was received by the Transfer Agent within the last 15 days;
 If ownership is changed on your account; or
 When establishing or modifying certain services on your account.
By telephone
To redeem shares by telephone, call the Fund at 1-888-966-9661 and specify the amount of money you wish to redeem. You may have a check sent to the address of record, or, if previously established on your account, you may have proceeds sent by wire or electronic funds transfer through the ACH network directly to your bank account. Wire transfers are subject to a $20 fee paid by the shareholder and your bank may charge a fee to receive wired funds. Checks sent via overnight delivery are subject to a $15 charge. You do not incur any charge when proceeds are sent via the ACH network; however, credit may not be available for two to three business days.
 
If you are authorized to perform telephone transactions (either through your account application form or by subsequent arrangement in writing with the Fund), you may redeem shares worth up to $50,000, by instructing the Fund by phone at 1-888-966-9661. Unless noted on the initial account application, a Medallion signature guarantee is required of all shareholders in order to qualify for or to change telephone redemption privileges.
 
Note: The Fund and all of its service providers will not be liable for any loss or expense in acting upon instructions that are reasonably believed to be genuine. To confirm that all telephone instructions are genuine, the caller must verify the following:
 
 The Fund account number;
 The name in which his or her account is registered;
 The Social Security Number or Taxpayer Identification Number under which the account is registered; and
 The address of the account holder, as stated in the account application form.
 
32

Medallion Signature Guarantee
In addition to the situations described above, the Fund reserves the right to require a Medallion signature guarantee in other instances based on the circumstances relative to the particular situation.

Shareholders redeeming more than $50,000 worth of shares by mail should submit written instructions with a Medallion signature guarantee from an eligible institution acceptable to the Transfer Agent, such as a domestic bank or trust company, broker, dealer, clearing agency or savings association, or from any participant in a Medallion program recognized by the Securities Transfer Association. The three currently recognized Medallion programs are Securities Transfer Agents Medallion Program, Stock Exchanges Medallion Program and New York Stock Exchange, Inc. Medallion Signature Program. Signature guarantees that are not part of these programs will not be accepted. Participants in Medallion programs are subject to dollar limitations which must be considered when requesting their guarantee. The Transfer Agent may reject any signature guarantee if it believes the transaction would otherwise be improper. A notary public cannot provide a Medallion signature guarantee.

Systematic Withdrawal Plan
You may request that a predetermined dollar amount be sent to you on a monthly or quarterly basis. Your account must maintain a value of at least $2,500 for you to be eligible to participate in the Systematic Withdrawal Plan (“SWP”). The minimum withdrawal amount is $1,000. If you elect to receive redemptions through the SWP, the Fund will send a check to your address of record, or will send the payment via electronic funds transfer through the ACH network, directly to your bank account on record. You may request an application for the SWP by calling the Transfer Agent toll-free at 1-888-966-9661. The Fund may modify or terminate the SWP at any time. You may terminate your participation in the SWP by calling the Transfer Agent at least five business days before the next withdrawal.

Payment of Redemption Proceeds
You may redeem shares of the Fund at a price equal to the NAV next determined after the Transfer Agent and/or authorized agent receives your redemption request in good order. Generally your redemption request cannot be processed on days the NYSE is closed. Redemption proceeds for requests received in good order by the Transfer Agent and/or authorized agent before the close of the regular trading session of the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time) will usually be sent to the address of record or the bank you indicate or wired using the wire instructions on record on the following business day. Payment of redemption proceeds may take longer than typically expected, but will be sent within seven calendar days after the Fund receives your redemption request, except as specified below.

If you purchase shares using a check and request a redemption before the check has cleared, the Fund may postpone payment of your redemption proceeds up to 15 calendar days while the Fund waits for the check to clear. Furthermore, the Fund may suspend the right to redeem shares or postpone the date of payment upon redemption for more than seven calendar days: (1) for any period during which the NYSE is closed (other than customary weekend or holiday closings) or trading on the NYSE is restricted; (2) for any period during which an emergency exists affecting the sale of the Fund’s securities or making such sale or the fair determination of the value of the Fund’s net assets not reasonably practicable; or (3) for such other periods as the SEC may permit for the protection of the Fund’s shareholders.

Other Redemption Information
Shareholders who hold shares of the Fund through an IRA or other retirement plan must indicate on their redemption requests whether to withhold federal income tax. Redemption requests failing to indicate an election not to have taxes withheld will generally be subject to a 10% federal income tax withholding. In addition, if you are a resident of certain states, state income tax also applies to non-Roth IRA distributions when federal withholding applies. Please consult with your tax professional.

The Fund generally pays sale (redemption) proceeds in cash. The Fund will sell securities in order to raise cash to meet redemption requests. The Fund typically expects to satisfy redemption requests by selling portfolio assets or by using holdings of cash or cash equivalents. The Fund uses these methods during both normal and stressed market conditions. During conditions that make the payment of cash unwise and/or in order to protect the interests of the Fund’s remaining shareholders, the Fund may pay all or part of a shareholder’s redemption proceeds in portfolio securities with a market value equal to the redemption price (redemption-in-kind) in lieu of cash. The Fund may redeem shares in-kind during both normal and stressed market conditions. Generally, in kind redemptions will be effected through pro rata distribution of the Fund's portfolio securities. If the Fund redeems your shares in kind, you will bear any market risks associated with investment in these securities, and you will be responsible for the costs (including brokerage charges) of converting the securities to cash.

33

The Fund may redeem all of the shares held in your account if your balance falls below the Fund’s minimum initial investment amount due to your redemption activity. In these circumstances, the Fund will notify you in writing and request that you increase your balance above the minimum initial investment amount within [90] days of the date of the notice. If, within [90] days of the Fund’s written request, you have not increased your account balance, your shares will be automatically redeemed at the current NAV. The Fund will not require that your shares be redeemed if the value of your account drops below the investment minimum due to fluctuations of the Fund’s NAV.

Cost Basis Information
Federal law requires that regulated investment companies, such as the Fund, report their shareholders’ cost basis, gain/loss, and holding period to the IRS on the shareholders’ Consolidated Form 1099s when “covered” shares of the regulated investment companies are sold. Covered shares are any shares acquired (including pursuant to a dividend reinvestment plan) on or after January 1, 2012.

The Fund has chosen “first-in, first-out” (“FIFO”) as its standing (default) tax lot identification method for all shareholders, which means this is the method the Fund will use to determine which specific shares are deemed to be sold when there are multiple purchases on different dates at differing net asset values and the entire position is not sold at one time. The Fund’s standing tax lot identification method is the method it will use to report the sale of covered shares on your Consolidated Form 1099 if you do not select a specific tax lot identification method. Redemptions are taxable and you may realize a gain or a loss. Certain shareholders may be subject to backup withholding.

Subject to certain limitations, you may choose a method other than the Fund’s standing method at the time of your purchase or upon the sale of covered shares. Please refer to the appropriate Treasury regulations or consult your tax advisor with regard to your personal circumstances.

Tools to Combat Frequent Transactions
The Trust’s Board of Trustees has adopted policies and procedures with respect to frequent purchases and redemptions of Fund shares by Fund shareholders. The Trust discourages excessive, short-term trading and other abusive trading practices that may disrupt portfolio management strategies and harm the Fund’s performance. The Trust takes steps to reduce the frequency and effect of these activities in the Fund. These steps may include monitoring trading activity and using fair value pricing. In addition, the Trust may take action, which may include using its best efforts to restrict a shareholder’s trading privileges in the Fund, if that shareholder has engaged in four or more “round trips” in the Fund during a 12-month period. Although these efforts (which are described in more detail below) are designed to discourage abusive trading practices, these tools cannot eliminate the possibility that such activity may occur. Further, while the Trust makes efforts to identify and restrict frequent trading, the Trust receives purchase and sale orders through financial intermediaries and cannot always know or detect frequent trading that may be facilitated by the use of intermediaries or the use of group or omnibus accounts by those intermediaries. The Trust seeks to exercise its judgment in implementing these tools to the best of its ability in a manner that the Trust believes is consistent with the interests of Fund shareholders.

34

Redemption Fee
You will be charged a redemption fee of 2.00% of the value of the Fund shares being redeemed if you redeem your shares of the Fund within [90] days of purchase. The FIFO method is used to determine the holding period; this means that if you bought shares on different days, the shares purchased first will be redeemed first for the purpose of determining whether the redemption fee applies. The redemption fee is deducted from the sale proceeds and is retained by the Fund for the benefit of its remaining shareholders. The fee will not apply to redemptions (i) due to a shareholder’s death or disability, (ii) from certain omnibus accounts with systematic or contractual limitations, (iii) of shares acquired through reinvestments of dividends or capital gains distributions, (iv) through certain employer-sponsored retirement plans or employee benefit plans or, with respect to any such plan, to comply with minimum distribution requirements, (v) effected pursuant to asset allocation programs, wrap fee programs, and other investment programs offered by financial institutions where investment decisions are made on a discretionary basis by investment professionals, (vi) effected pursuant to an automatic non-discretionary rebalancing program, (vii) effected pursuant to the SWP, or (viii) by the Fund with respect to accounts falling below the minimum initial investment amount. The Trust reserves the right to waive this fee in other circumstances if the Advisor determines that doing so is in the best interests of the Fund.
Monitoring Trading
Practices
The Trust may monitor trades in Fund shares in an effort to detect short-term trading activities. If, as a result of this monitoring, the Trust believes that a shareholder of the Fund has engaged in excessive short-term trading, it may, in its discretion, ask the shareholder to stop such activities or refuse to process purchases in the shareholder’s accounts. In making such judgments, the Trust seeks to act in a manner that it believes is consistent with the best interest of Fund shareholders. Due to the complexity and subjectivity involved in identifying abusive trading activity, there can be no assurance that the Trust’s efforts will identify all trades or trading practices that may be considered abusive.

General Transaction Policies
Some of the following policies are mentioned above. In general, the Fund reserves the right to:

vary or waive any minimum investment requirement;
refuse, change, discontinue, or temporarily suspend account services, including purchase or telephone redemption privileges (if redemption by telephone is not available, you may send your redemption order to the Fund via regular or overnight delivery), for any reason;
reject any purchase request for any reason (generally the Fund does this if the purchase is disruptive to the efficient management of the Fund due to the timing of the investment or an investor’s history of excessive trading);
delay paying redemption proceeds for up to seven calendar days after receiving a request, if an earlier payment could adversely affect the Fund;
reject any purchase or redemption request that does not contain all required documentation; and
subject to applicable law and with prior notice, adopt other policies from time to time requiring mandatory redemption of shares in certain circumstances.

If you elect telephone privileges on the account application or in a letter to the Fund, you may be responsible for any fraudulent telephone orders as long as the Fund and/or its service providers have taken reasonable precautions to verify your identity. In addition, once you place a telephone transaction request, it cannot be canceled or modified.

35

During periods of significant economic or market change, telephone transactions may be difficult to complete. If you are unable to contact the Fund by telephone, you may also mail your request to the Fund at the address listed under “Methods of Buying.”

Your broker or other financial intermediary may establish policies that differ from those of the Fund. For example, the organization may charge transaction fees, set higher minimum investments, or impose certain limitations on buying or selling shares in addition to those identified in this Prospectus. Contact your broker or other financial intermediary for details.

Please note that the value of your account may be transferred to the appropriate state if no activity occurs in the account within the time period specified by state law.

Availability of Information
Information regarding sales charges of the Fund and the applicability and availability of discounts from sales charges is available free of charge on the Fund’s website at www.aamlive.com/publicsite/mutual-funds. The Prospectus and SAI are also available on the website.

Prospectus and Shareholder Report Mailings
In order to reduce the amount of mail you receive and to help reduce expenses, we generally send a single copy of any shareholder report and Prospectus to each household. If you do not want the mailing of these documents to be combined with those of other members of your household, please contact your authorized dealer or the Transfer Agent.

Additional Information
The Fund enters into contractual arrangements with various parties, including among others the Advisor and Sub-Advisor, who provide services to the Fund. Shareholders are not parties to, or intended (or “third party”) beneficiaries of, those contractual arrangements.

The Prospectus and the SAI provide information concerning the Fund that you should consider in determining whether to purchase shares of the Fund. The Fund may make changes to this information from time to time. Neither this prospectus nor the SAI is intended to give rise to any contract rights or other rights in any shareholder, other than any rights conferred by federal or state securities laws that may not be waived.
 
DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS

The Fund will make distributions of net investment income [monthly] and net capital gains, if any, at least annually, typically in December. The Fund may make additional payments of dividends or distributions if it deems it desirable at any other time during the year.

All dividends and distributions will be reinvested in Fund shares unless you choose one of the following options: (1) to receive net investment income dividends in cash, while reinvesting capital gain distributions in additional Fund shares; or (2) to receive all dividends and distributions in cash. If you wish to change your distribution option, please write to the Transfer Agent before the payment date of the distribution.

If you elect to receive distributions in cash and the U.S. Postal Service cannot deliver your check, or if your distribution check has not been cashed for six months, the Fund reserves the right to reinvest the distribution check in your account at the Fund’s then current NAV and to reinvest all subsequent distributions.
 
FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES

The following discussion is very general and does not address investors subject to special rules, such as investors who hold Fund shares through an IRA, 401(k) plan or other tax-advantaged account. The SAI contains further information about taxes. Because each shareholder’s circumstances are different and special tax rules may apply, you should consult your tax advisor about your investment in the Fund.

36

You will generally have to pay federal income taxes, as well as any state or local taxes, on distributions received from the Fund, whether paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares. If you sell Fund shares, it is generally considered a taxable event. If you exchange shares of the Fund for shares of another fund, the exchange will be treated as a sale of the Fund’s shares and any gain on the transaction may be subject to federal income tax.

Distributions of net investment income, other than “qualified dividend income,” and distributions of net short-term capital gains, are taxable for federal income tax purposes at ordinary income tax rates. Distributions from the Fund’s net capital gain (i.e., the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss) are taxable for federal income tax purposes as long-term capital gain, regardless of how long the shareholder has held Fund shares.

Dividends paid by the Fund (but none of the Fund’s capital gain distributions) may qualify in part for the dividends-received deduction available to corporate shareholders, provided certain holding period and other requirements are satisfied. Distributions of investment income that the Fund reports as “qualified dividend income” may be eligible to be taxed to non-corporate shareholders at the reduced rates applicable to long-term capital gain if derived from the Fund’s qualified dividend income and if certain other requirements are satisfied. “Qualified dividend income” generally is income derived from dividends paid by U.S. corporations or certain foreign corporations that are either incorporated in a U.S. possession or eligible for tax benefits under certain U.S. income tax treaties. In addition, dividends that the Fund receives in respect of stock of certain foreign corporations may be qualified dividend income if that stock is readily tradable on an established U.S. securities market.

You may want to avoid buying shares of the Fund just before it declares a distribution (on or before the record date), because such a distribution will be taxable to you even though it may effectively be a return of a portion of your investment.

Although distributions are generally taxable when received, dividends declared in October, November or December to shareholders of record as of a date in such month and paid during the following January are treated as if received on December 31 of the calendar year when the dividends were declared.

Information on the federal income tax status of dividends and distributions is provided annually.

Dividends and distributions from the Fund and net gain from redemptions of Fund shares will generally be taken into account in determining a shareholder’s “net investment income” for purposes of the Medicare contribution tax applicable to certain individuals, estates and trusts.

If you do not provide the Fund with your correct taxpayer identification number and any required certifications, you will be subject to backup withholding on your redemption proceeds, dividends and other distributions. The backup withholding rate is currently 28%.

Dividends and certain other payments made by the Fund to a non-U.S. shareholder are subject to such withholding of federal income tax at the rate of 30% (or such lower rate as may be determined in accordance with any applicable treaty). Dividends that are reported by the Fund as “interest-related dividends” or “short-term capital gain dividends” are generally exempt from such withholding. In general, the Fund may report interest-related dividends to the extent of its net income derived from U.S.-source interest and the Fund may report short-term capital gain dividends to the extent its net short-term capital gain for the taxable year exceeds its net long-term capital loss. Backup withholding will not be applied to payments that have been subject to the 30% withholding tax described in this paragraph.

37

Unless certain non-U.S. entities that hold shares comply with IRS requirements that will generally require them to report information regarding U.S. persons investing in, or holding accounts with, such entities, a 30% withholding tax may apply to distributions and, after December 31, 2018, to redemption proceeds and certain capital gain dividends payable to such entities. A non-U.S. shareholder may be exempt from the withholding described in this paragraph under an applicable intergovernmental agreement between the United States and a foreign government, provided that the shareholder and the applicable foreign government comply with the terms of the agreement.

Some of the Fund’s investment income may be subject to foreign income taxes that are withheld at the country of origin. Tax treaties between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes, but there can be no assurance that the Fund will qualify for treaty benefits.
 
38

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Because the Fund has not commenced operations as of the date of this Prospectus, no financial information is available.
 
39

APPENDIX A – Waivers and Discounts Available from Intermediaries

The availability of certain sales charge waivers and discounts will depend on whether you purchase your shares directly from the Fund or through a financial intermediary. Intermediaries may have different policies and procedures regarding the availability of front-end sales load waivers or contingent deferred sales load (“CDSC”) waivers, which are discussed below. In all instances, it is the purchaser’s responsibility to notify the Fund or the purchaser’s financial intermediary at the time of purchase of any relationship or other facts qualifying the purchaser for sales charge waivers or discounts. For waivers and discounts not available through a particular intermediary, shareholders will have to purchase Fund shares directly from the Fund or through another intermediary to receive these waivers or discounts.
 
Merrill Lynch:

Shareholders purchasing Fund shares through a Merrill Lynch platform or account will be eligible only for the following sales charge waivers (front-end sales charge waivers and CDSC waivers) and discounts, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in the Prospectus or SAI.

Front-End Sales Charge Waivers for Class A Shares Available at Merrill Lynch

·
Employer-sponsored retirement, deferred compensation and employee benefit plans (including health savings accounts) and trusts used to fund those plans, provided that the shares are not held in a commission-based brokerage account and shares are held for the benefit of the plan
·
Shares purchased by or through a 529 Plan
·
Shares purchased through a Merrill Lynch affiliated investment advisory program
·
Shares purchased by third party investment advisors on behalf of their advisory clients through Merrill Lynch’s platform
·
Shares of funds purchased through the Merrill Edge Self-Directed platform (if applicable)
·
Shares purchased through reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend reinvestment when purchasing shares of the same Fund (but not any other fund within the Fund family)
·
Shares exchanged from Class C (i.e. level-load) shares of the same Fund in the month of or following the 10-year anniversary of the purchase date
·
Employees and registered representatives of Merrill Lynch or its affiliates and their family members
·
Trustees of the Trust, and employees of the Advisor or any of its affiliates, as described in the this Prospectus
·
Shares purchased from the proceeds of redemptions within the Fund family, provided (1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (2) the redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end or deferred sales load (known as Rights of Reinstatement)

CDSC Waivers on Class A and C Shares Available at Merrill Lynch

·
Death or disability of the shareholder
·
Shares sold as part of a SWP as described in the Fund’s Prospectus
·
Return of excess contributions from an IRA Account
·
Shares sold as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts due to the shareholder reaching age 70½
·
Shares sold to pay Merrill Lynch fees but only if the transaction is initiated by Merrill Lynch
·
Shares acquired through a right of reinstatement
 
40

·
Shares held in retirement brokerage accounts, that are exchanged for a lower cost share class due to transfer to certain fee based accounts or platforms (applicable to Class A and C shares only)

Front-End Sales Charge Discounts For Class A Shares Available at Merrill Lynch: Breakpoints, Rights of Accumulation & Letters of Intent

·
Breakpoints as described in this Prospectus.
·
Rights of Accumulation (ROA) which entitle shareholders to breakpoint discounts will be automatically calculated based on the aggregated holding of Fund family assets held by accounts within the purchaser’s household at Merrill Lynch. Eligible Fund family assets not held at Merrill Lynch may be included in the ROA calculation only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such assets
·
Letters of Intent (LOI) which allow for breakpoint discounts based on anticipated purchases within the Fund family through Merrill Lynch over a 13-month period of time (if applicable)
 
*************

No initial sales charge is imposed on purchases of Class A shares by the following financial institutions that (i) offer Fund shares in self-directed investment brokerage accounts, (ii) are compensated by clients on a fee-only basis, or (iii) have entered into an agreement with the Fund to offer Class A shares through no-load network or platforms as described in “Net Asset Value Purchases” beginning on page [20] of this Prospectus:
 
[ ]

41

Investment Advisor
Advisors Asset Management, Inc.
18925 Base Camp Road, Suite 203
Monument, Colorado 80132

Sub-Advisor
Hartford Investment Management Company
One Hartford Plaza
Hartford, Connecticut 06155

Fund Co-Administrator
Mutual Fund Administration, LLC
2220 E. Route 66, Suite 226
Glendora, California 91740

Fund Co-Administrator, Transfer Agent and Fund Accountant
UMB Fund Services, Inc.
235 West Galena Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212

Custodian
UMB Bank, n.a.
928 Grand Boulevard, 5th Floor
Kansas City, Missouri 64106

Distributor
IMST Distributors, LLC
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100
Portland, Maine 04101
www.foreside.com

Counsel to the Trust
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
300 S. Grand Avenue, 22nd Floor
Los Angeles, California 90071

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
[ ]

42

AAM/HIMCO Global Enhanced Dividend Fund
A series of Investment Managers Series Trust

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Statement of Additional Information
The SAI provides additional details about the investments and techniques of the Fund and certain other additional information. A current SAI is on file with the SEC and is incorporated into this Prospectus by reference. This means that the SAI is legally considered a part of this Prospectus even though it is not physically within this Prospectus.

Shareholder Reports
Additional information about the Fund’s investments will be available in the Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. In the Fund’s annual report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund’s performance during its most recent fiscal year.

The Fund’s SAI and annual and semi-annual reports will be available, free of charge, on the Fund’s website at www.aamlive.com/publicsite/mutual-funds. You can also obtain a free copy of the Fund’s SAI or annual and semi-annual reports, request other information, or inquire about the Fund by contacting a broker that sells shares of the Fund or by calling the Fund (toll-free) at 1-888-966-9661 or by writing to:

AAM/HIMCO Global Enhanced Dividend Fund
P.O. Box 2175
Milwaukee, WI 53201

Information about the Fund (including the SAI) can be reviewed and copied at the Public Reference Room of the SEC in Washington, DC. You can obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-202-551-8090. Reports and other information about the Fund are also available:

Free of charge, on the SEC’s EDGAR Database on the SEC’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov;
For a duplication fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov; or
For a duplication fee, by writing to the SEC’s Public Reference Section, Washington, DC 20549-1520.

(Investment Company Act file no. 811- 21719.)

43

The information in this Statement of Additional Information is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This Statement of Additional Information is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

Statement of Additional Information
[November __, 2017]

AAM/HIMCO Global Enhanced Dividend Fund
Class A Shares (Ticker Symbol: [ ])
Class C Shares (Ticker Symbol: [ ])
Class I Shares (Ticker Symbol: [ ])

A series of Investment Managers Series Trust

This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus, and it should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus dated [November __, 2017], as may be amended from time to time, of the AAM/HIMCO Global Enhanced Dividend Fund (the “Fund”), a series of Investment Managers Series Trust (the “Trust”). Advisors Asset Management, Inc. (the “Advisor”) is the investment advisor to the Fund. Hartford Investment Management Company (the “Sub-Advisor” or “HIMCO”) is the sub-advisor to the Fund. A copy of the Fund’s Prospectus may be obtained by contacting the Fund at the address or telephone number specified below.

AAM Funds
P.O. Box 2175
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201
1-888-966-9661

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Trust and The Fund
2
Investment Strategies, Policies and Risks
2
Management of the Fund
18
Portfolio Transactions and Brokerage
31
Holdings of Securities of the Fund’s Regular Brokers or Dealers
32
Portfolio Turnover
32
Proxy Voting Policy
32
Anti-Money Laundering Program
33
Portfolio Holdings Information
33
Determination of Net Asset Value
35
Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares
36
Federal Income Tax Matters
37
Dividends and Distributions
43
General Information
43
Financial Statements
46
Appendix “A” Description of Securities Ratings
47
Appendix “B” Proxy Voting Policies and Guidelines for the Advisor, Sub-Advisor and the Trust
53
 
B-1

THE TRUST AND THE FUND

The Trust is an open-end management investment company organized as a Delaware statutory trust under the laws of the State of Delaware on February 15, 2005. The Trust currently consists of several other series of shares of beneficial interest. This SAI relates only to the Fund and not to the other series of the Trust.

The Trust is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) as an open-end management investment company. Such a registration does not involve supervision of the management or policies of the Fund. The Prospectus of the Fund and this SAI omit certain of the information contained in the Registration Statement filed with the SEC. Copies of such information may be obtained from the SEC upon payment of the prescribed fee.

The Fund is a diversified fund, which means it is subject to the diversification requirements under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). Under the 1940 Act, a diversified fund may not, with respect to 75% of its total assets, invest more than 5% of its total assets in the securities of one issuer (and in not more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of an issuer), excluding cash, Government securities, and securities of other investment companies.

The Fund currently offers three classes of shares: Class A, Class C and Class I. Other classes may be established from time to time in accordance with the provisions of the Trust’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust (the “Declaration of Trust”). Each class of shares of the Fund generally is identical in all respects except that each class of shares is subject to its own distribution expenses and minimum investments. Each class of shares also has exclusive voting rights with respect to its distribution fees.
 
INVESTMENT STRATEGIES, POLICIES AND RISKS

The discussion below supplements information contained in the Fund’s Prospectus pertaining to the investment policies of the Fund.

PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES, POLICIES AND RISKS

Equity Securities

Common Stock

The Fund may invest in common stock. Common stock represents an equity (ownership) interest in a company, and usually possesses voting rights and earns dividends. Dividends on common stock are not fixed but are declared at the discretion of the issuer. Common stock generally represents the riskiest investment in a company. In addition, common stock generally has the greatest appreciation and depreciation potential because increases and decreases in earnings are usually reflected in a company’s stock price.

The fundamental risk of investing in common stock is that the value of the stock might decrease. Stock values fluctuate in response to the activities of an individual company or in response to general market and/or economic conditions. While common stocks have historically provided greater long-term returns than preferred stocks, fixed-income and money market investments, common stocks have also experienced significantly more volatility than the returns from those other investments.

Small- and Mid-Cap Stocks

The Fund may invest in stock of companies with market capitalizations that are small compared to other publicly traded companies. Investments in larger companies present certain advantages in that such companies generally have greater financial resources, more extensive research and development, manufacturing, marketing and service capabilities, and more stability and greater depth of management and personnel. Investments in smaller, less seasoned companies may present greater opportunities for growth but also may involve greater risks than customarily are associated with more established companies. The securities of smaller companies may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than larger, more established companies. These companies may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources, or they may be dependent upon a limited management group. Their securities may be traded in the over-the-counter market or on a regional exchange, or may otherwise have limited liquidity. As a result of owning large positions in this type of security, the Fund is subject to the additional risk of possibly having to sell portfolio securities at disadvantageous times and prices if redemptions require the Fund to liquidate its securities positions. In addition, it may be prudent for the Fund, as its asset size grows, to limit the number of relatively small positions it holds in securities having limited liquidity in order to minimize its exposure to such risks, to minimize transaction costs, and to maximize the benefits of research. As a consequence, as the Fund’s asset size increases, the Fund may reduce its exposure to illiquid small capitalization securities, which could adversely affect performance.

B-2

The Fund may also invest in stocks of companies with medium market capitalizations (i.e., mid-cap companies). Such investments share some of the risk characteristics of investments in stocks of companies with small market capitalizations described above, although mid cap companies tend to have longer operating histories, broader product lines and greater financial resources and their stocks tend to be more liquid and less volatile than those of smaller capitalization issuers.

Foreign Investments

The Fund may make foreign investments. Investments in the securities of foreign issuers and other non-U.S. investments may involve risks in addition to those normally associated with investments in the securities of U.S. issuers or other U.S. investments. All foreign investments are subject to risks of foreign political and economic instability, adverse movements in foreign exchange rates, and the imposition or tightening of exchange controls and limitations on the repatriation of foreign capital. Other risks stem from potential changes in governmental attitude or policy toward private investment, which in turn raises the risk of nationalization, increased taxation or confiscation of foreign investors’ assets.

The financial problems in global economies over the past several years, including the European sovereign debt crisis, may continue to cause high volatility in global financial markets. In addition, global economies are increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact a different country or region. The severity or duration of these conditions may also be affected if one or more countries leave the Euro currency or by other policy changes made by governments or quasi-governmental organizations.

Additional non-U.S. taxes and expenses may also adversely affect the Fund’s performance, including foreign withholding taxes on foreign securities’ dividends. Brokerage commissions and other transaction costs on foreign securities exchanges are generally higher than in the United States. Foreign companies may be subject to different accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards. To the extent foreign securities held by the Fund are not registered with the SEC or with any other U.S. regulator, the issuers thereof will not be subject to the reporting requirements of the SEC or any other U.S. regulator. Accordingly, less information may be available about foreign companies and other investments than is generally available on issuers of comparable securities and other investments in the United States. Foreign securities and other investments may also trade less frequently and with lower volume and may exhibit greater price volatility than U.S. securities and other investments.

Changes in foreign exchange rates will affect the value in U.S. Dollars of any foreign currency-denominated securities and other investments held by the Fund. Exchange rates are influenced generally by the forces of supply and demand in the foreign currency markets and by numerous other political and economic events occurring outside the United States, many of which may be difficult, if not impossible, to predict.

B-3

Income from any foreign securities and other investments will be received and realized in foreign currencies, and the Fund is required to compute and distribute income in U.S. Dollars. Accordingly, a decline in the value of a particular foreign currency against the U.S. Dollar occurring after the Fund’s income has been earned and computed in U.S. Dollars may require the Fund to liquidate portfolio securities or other investments to acquire sufficient U.S. Dollars to make a distribution. Similarly, if the exchange rate declines between the time the Fund incurs expenses in U.S. Dollars and the time such expenses are paid, the Fund may be required to liquidate additional portfolio securities or other investments to purchase the U.S. Dollars required to meet such expenses.

The Fund may purchase foreign bank obligations. In addition to the risks described above that are generally applicable to foreign investments, the investments that the Fund makes in obligations of foreign banks, branches or subsidiaries may involve further risks, including differences between foreign banks and U.S. banks in applicable accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, and the possible establishment of exchange controls or other foreign government laws or restrictions applicable to the payment of certificates of deposit or time deposits that may affect adversely the payment of principal and interest on the securities and other investments held by the Fund.

Emerging Markets

The Fund may invest in companies organized or doing substantial business in emerging market countries or developing countries as defined by the World Bank, International Financial Corporation or the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) emerging market indices or other comparable indices. Developing countries may impose restrictions on the Fund’s ability to repatriate investment income or capital. Even where there is no outright restriction on repatriation of investment income or capital, the mechanics of repatriation may affect certain aspects of the operations of the Fund.

Some of the currencies in emerging markets have experienced devaluations relative to the U.S. Dollar, and major adjustments have been made periodically in certain of such currencies. Certain developing countries face serious exchange constraints.

Governments of some developing countries exercise substantial influence over many aspects of the private sector. In some countries, the government owns or controls many companies. Therefore, government actions in the future could have a significant effect on economic conditions in developing countries, which could affect the private sector companies in which the Fund invests.

Depository Receipts

The Fund may invest in depository receipts. American Depository Receipts (“ADRs”) are negotiable receipts issued by a U.S. bank or trust company that evidence ownership of securities in a foreign company which have been deposited with such bank or trust company’s office or agent in a foreign country. European Depository Receipts (“EDRs”) are negotiable certificates held in the bank of one country representing a specific number of shares of a stock traded on an exchange of another country. Global Depository Receipts (“GDRs”) are negotiable certificates held in the bank of one country representing a specific number of shares of a stock traded on an exchange of another country. Canadian Depository Receipts (“CDRs”) are negotiable receipts issued by a Canadian bank or trust company that evidence ownership of securities in a foreign company which have been deposited with such bank or trust company’s office or agent in a foreign country.

Investing in ADRs, EDRs, GDRs, and CDRs presents risks that may not be equal to the risk inherent in holding the equivalent shares of the same companies that are traded in the local markets even though the Fund will purchase, sell and be paid dividends on ADRs in U.S. Dollars. These risks include fluctuations in currency exchange rates, which are affected by international balances of payments and other economic and financial conditions; government intervention; speculation; and other factors. With respect to certain foreign countries, there is the possibility of expropriation or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, political and social upheaval, and economic instability. The Fund may be required to pay foreign withholding or other taxes on certain ADRs, EDRs, GDRs, or CDRs that it owns, but investors may or may not be able to deduct their pro-rata share of such taxes in computing their taxable income, or take such shares as a credit against their U.S. federal income tax. See “Federal Income Tax Matters.” ADRs, EDRs, GDRs, and CDRs may be sponsored by the foreign issuer or may be unsponsored. Unsponsored ADRs, EDRs, GDRs, and CDRs are organized independently and without the cooperation of the foreign issuer of the underlying securities. Unsponsored ADRs, EDRs, GDRs, and CDRs are offered by companies which are not prepared to meet either the reporting or accounting standards of the United States. While readily exchangeable with stock in local markets, unsponsored ADRs, EDRs, GDRs, and CDRs may be less liquid than sponsored ADRs, EDRs, GDRs, and CDRs. Additionally, there generally is less publicly available information with respect to unsponsored ADRs, EDRs, GDRs, and CDRs.

B-4

Derivatives

The Fund may utilize futures and forward contracts for hedging purposes and to equitize cash. Derivatives are instruments whose value depends on, or is derived from, the value of an underlying asset, reference rate or index (each an “Underlying Instrument”). While hedging can reduce losses it can also reduce or eliminate gains or causes losses if the market moves in a manner different from that anticipated by the Sub-Advisor or if the cost of the derivative offsets the advantage of the hedge. Hedging involves special risks including, but not limited to, correlation risk. Correlation risk is the risk that changes in the value of the derivative will not match changes in the value of the holdings being hedged as expected by the Sub-Advisor. In such a situation, any losses on the holdings being hedged may not be reduced or may even be increased as a result of the use of the derivative. There can be no assurance that the use of hedging will be effective. Further, the Fund is not required to engage in hedging transactions and may choose not to do so. Moreover, it should be noted that the Fund’s portfolio will always be exposed to unidentified systematic risk factors and to certain risks that cannot be hedged, in whole or in part.

Successful use of derivative instruments by the Fund depends on the Sub-Advisor’s judgment with respect to a number of factors and the Fund’s performance could be worse and/or more volatile than if it had not used these instruments. Depending on how the Fund uses derivatives and the relationship between the market value of the derivative and the Underlying Instrument, derivatives could increase or decrease the Fund’s exposure to the risks of the Underlying Instrument.

The use of derivatives involves significant risks, including:

Counterparty Risk – The risk that the counterparty may be unable or unwilling to honor its obligations under the contract.
Credit Risk – The risk that the issuer of a security will not be able to make timely principal and interest payments. Changes in an issuer’s credit rating or the market’s perception of the issuer’s creditworthiness may affect the value of the Fund’s derivative exposure to that issuer.
Hedging Risk – Hedging is a strategy in which a derivative is used to offset the risks associated with other holdings. While hedging can reduce losses, it can also reduce or eliminate gains or create losses if the market moves in a manner different from that anticipated by the Fund or if the cost of the derivative outweighs the benefit of the hedge. There can be no assurance that hedging will reduce risk or that hedging transactions will be either available or cost effective. The Fund is not required to hedge and may choose not to do so.
Index Risk – With respect to index-linked derivatives, the risks that the underlying index changes in a way that causes a reduction in the value of the derivative to below what the Fund paid.
Leverage Risk – The risk associated with certain types of investments or trading strategies whereby relatively small market movements may result in large changes in the value of an investment. Leverage can result in losses that substantially exceed the amount originally invested.
 
B-5

Liquidity & Valuation Risk – The risk that certain derivatives may be difficult or impossible to sell at the time that the seller would like to sell them or at the price the seller believes they are worth. The potential lack of a liquid secondary market for derivatives could result in the Fund being unable to sell or close a derivatives position at the time or price that it would like thereby resulting in losses to the Fund. The lack of a liquid secondary market for derivatives could also make derivatives more difficult for the Fund to value accurately.
Regulatory Risk – The risk that government legislation or regulation may make derivatives more costly, may limit the availability of derivatives, or may otherwise adversely affect the use, value or performance of derivatives.
Volatility Risk – The Fund’s use of derivatives may increase its volatility. Volatility is the characteristic of a derivative, an index or a market to undergo significant price fluctuations within a short period of time. Such fluctuations in value of derivatives may not correlate perfectly with the overall securities market.

Certain risk factors related to derivatives are further discussed below:

In a cleared derivatives transaction (which includes futures transactions), the Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house (such as CME Clearing, ICE Clearing or LCH.Clearnet), rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house can participate directly in the clearing house, the Fund holds cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members, who are futures commission merchants that are members of the clearing houses and who have the appropriate regulatory approvals to engage in cleared derivatives transactions. The Fund makes and receives payments owed under cleared derivatives transactions (including margin payments) through its accounts at clearing members. Clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the clearing house. In contrast to bilateral over-the-counter (“OTC”) transactions, following a period of advance notice to the Fund, clearing members generally can require termination of existing cleared derivatives transactions at any time and increases in margin above the margin that it required at the beginning of a transaction. Clearing houses also have broad rights to increase margin requirements for existing transactions and to terminate transactions. Any such increase or termination could interfere with the ability of the Fund to pursue its investment strategy. Also, the Fund is subject to execution risk if it enters into a derivatives transaction that is required to be cleared (or that the Sub-Advisor expects to be cleared), and no clearing member is willing or able to clear the transaction on the Fund’s behalf. In addition, regulations could, among other things, restrict the Fund’s ability to engage in, or increase the cost to the Fund of, derivatives transactions, for example, by making some types of derivatives no longer available to the Fund or increasing margin or capital requirements. If the Fund is not able to enter into a particular derivatives transaction, the Fund’s investment performance and risk profile could be adversely affected as a result.

Counterparty risk with respect to OTC derivatives may be affected by regulations promulgated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and SEC affecting the derivatives market. As described above, some derivatives transactions are required to be cleared, and a party to a cleared derivatives transaction is subject to the credit risk of the clearing house and the clearing member through which it holds its cleared position, rather than the credit risk of its original counterparty to the derivative transaction. Clearing members are required to segregate all funds received from customers with respect to cleared derivatives transactions from the clearing member’s proprietary assets. However, all funds and other property received by a clearing member from its customers are generally held by the clearing member on a commingled basis in an omnibus account, and the clearing member may also invest those funds in certain instruments permitted under the applicable regulations. The assets of the Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the bankruptcy of the Fund’s clearing member because the Fund would be limited to recovering only its pro rata share of all available funds segregated on behalf of the clearing member’s customers for a relevant account class. Also, the clearing member transfers to the clearing house the amount of margin required by the clearing house for cleared derivatives transactions, which amounts are generally held in the relevant omnibus account at the clearing house for all customers of the clearing member. For commodities futures positions, the clearing house may use all of the collateral held in the clearing member’s omnibus account to meet a loss in that account, without regard to which customer in fact supplied that collateral. As such, in addition to bearing the credit risk of its clearing member, each customer also bears “fellow customer” risk from other customers of the clearing member.

B-6

Described below are various derivative instruments and trading strategies that the Fund may use (either separately or in combination) in seeking to achieve its overall investment objectives. There can be no assurance that any instrument or strategy used will succeed. Further, the Fund’s ability to use certain derivative transactions may be limited by tax considerations or legal considerations.

Futures Contracts

The Fund may use futures contracts. A futures contract provides for the future sale by one party and purchase by another party of a specified quantity of the security or other financial instrument at a specified price and time. A futures contract on an index is an agreement pursuant to which two parties agree to take or make delivery of an amount of cash equal to the difference between the value of the index at the close of the last trading day of the contract and the price at which the index contract originally was written. Although the value of an index might be a function of the value of certain specified securities, physical delivery of these securities is not always made. A public market exists in futures contracts covering a number of indexes, as well as financial instruments, including, without limitation: U.S. Treasury bonds; U.S. Treasury notes; GNMA Certificates; three-month U.S. Treasury bills; 90-day commercial paper; bank certificates of deposit; Eurodollar certificates of deposit; the Australian Dollar; the Canadian Dollar; the British Pound; the Japanese Yen; the Swiss Franc; the Mexican Peso; and certain multinational currencies, such as the Euro. It is expected that other futures contracts will be developed and traded in the future.

When a purchase or sale of a futures contract is made by the Fund, the Fund is required to deposit with its futures commission merchant a specified amount of liquid assets (“initial margin”). The margin required for a futures contract is set by the exchange on which the contract is traded, but may be modified by the futures commission merchant and/or the exchange during the term of the contract. The initial margin is in the nature of a performance bond or good faith deposit on the futures contract that is returned to the Fund upon termination of the contract, assuming all contractual obligations have been satisfied. The Fund expects to earn taxable interest income on its initial margin deposits.

Futures are regulated by the CFTC. The Fund invests in futures subject to regulation by the CFTC in reliance upon and in accordance with CFTC Regulation 4.5. Under Regulation 4.5, if the Fund uses futures other than for bona fide hedging purposes (as defined by the CFTC), the aggregate initial margin and premiums on these positions (after taking into account unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions and excluding the amount by which options that are “in-the-money” at the time of purchase of a new position are “in-the-money”) may not exceed 5% of the Fund’s liquidation value, or alternatively, the aggregate net notional value of those positions at the time may not exceed 100% of the Fund’s liquidation value (after taking into account unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions). The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, has filed a notice of eligibility for exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” in accordance with CFTC Regulation 4.5. Therefore, as of the date of this SAI neither the Trust nor the Fund is deemed to be a “commodity pool” or “commodity pool operator” under the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”), and they are not subject to registration or regulation as such under the CEA. As of the date of this SAI, the Advisor is not deemed to be a “commodity pool operator” or “commodity trading adviser” with respect to the advisory services it provides to the Fund. In the future, if the Fund’s use of futures or forwards requires the Advisor to register as a commodity pool operator with the CFTC with respect to the Fund, the Advisor will do so at that time.

B-7

A futures contract held by the Fund is valued daily at the official settlement price of the exchange on which it is traded. Each day the Fund pays or receives cash, called “variation margin”, equal to the daily change in value of the futures contract. This process is known as “marking to market”. Variation margin does not represent a borrowing or loan by the Fund but is instead a settlement between the Fund and the broker of the amount one would owe the other if the futures contract expired. In computing daily net asset value, the Fund will mark to market its open futures positions. Although some futures contracts call for making or taking delivery of the underlying securities, generally these obligations are closed out prior to delivery by offsetting purchases or sales of matching futures contracts (involving the same exchange, underlying security or index and delivery month). If an offsetting purchase price is less than the original sale price, the Fund realizes a capital gain, or if it is more, the Fund realizes a capital loss. Conversely, if an offsetting sale price is more than the original purchase price, the Fund realizes a capital gain, or if it is less, the Fund realizes a capital loss. The transaction costs also must be included in these calculations.

With respect to futures contracts that are cash settled, the Fund is permitted to set aside liquid assets in an amount equal to the Fund’s daily marked-to-market net obligations under the contracts (less any amounts the Fund has posted as margin), if any, rather than the full notional value. In the case of futures contracts that are not cash settled, the Fund will set aside liquid assets equal to the full notional value of the contracts (less any amounts the Fund has posted as margin), while the positions are open.

Over-the-Counter Derivatives Transactions

The Fund may enter into OTC derivatives transactions. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”), which was signed into law on July 21, 2010, established a new statutory framework that comprehensively regulated the OTC derivatives markets for the first time. Key Dodd-Frank Act provisions relating to OTC derivatives require rulemaking by the SEC and the CFTC, not all of which has been proposed or finalized as at the date of this SAI. Prior to the Dodd-Frank Act, the OTC derivatives markets were traditionally traded on a bilateral basis (so-called “bilateral OTC transactions”). Now certain OTC derivatives contracts are required to be centrally cleared and traded on exchanges.

Bilateral OTC transactions differ from exchange-traded or cleared derivatives transactions in several respects. Bilateral OTC transactions are transacted directly with dealers and not with a clearing corporation. Without the availability of a clearing corporation, bilateral OTC transaction pricing is normally done by reference to information from market makers, which information is carefully monitored by the Advisor and verified in appropriate cases. As bilateral OTC transactions are entered into directly with a dealer, there is a risk of nonperformance by the dealer as a result of its insolvency or otherwise.

Furthermore, a bilateral OTC transaction may only be terminated voluntarily by entering into a closing transaction with the dealer with which the Fund originally dealt. Any such cancellation may require the Fund to pay a premium to that dealer. In those cases in which the Fund has entered into a covered transaction and cannot voluntarily terminate the transaction, the Fund will not be able to sell the underlying security until the transaction expires or is exercised or different cover is substituted. There is also no assurance that the Fund will be able to liquidate a bilateral OTC transaction at any time prior to expiration.

B-8

Investment Company Securities

The Fund may invest in shares of other investment companies (each, an “Underlying Fund”), including open-end funds, closed-end funds, unit investment trusts (“UITs”) and exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), to the extent permitted by applicable law and subject to certain restrictions set forth in this SAI.

Under Sections 12(d)(1)(A) and 12(d)(1)(B) of the 1940 Act, the Fund and any companies controlled by the Fund may hold securities of an Underlying Fund in amounts which (i) do not exceed 3% of the total outstanding voting stock of such Underlying Fund, (ii) do not exceed 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets and (iii) when added to all other Underlying Fund securities held by the Fund, do not exceed 10% of the value of the Fund’s total assets. The Fund may exceed these limits when permitted by SEC order or other applicable law or regulatory guidance, such as is the case with many ETFs.

Generally, under Sections 12(d)(1)(F) and 12(d)(1)(G) of the 1940 Act and SEC rules adopted pursuant to the 1940 Act, the Fund may acquire the securities of affiliated and unaffiliated Underlying Funds subject to the following guidelines and restrictions:
 
·
 
The Fund may own an unlimited amount of the securities of any registered open-end fund or registered UIT that is affiliated with the Fund, so long as any such Underlying Fund has a policy that prohibits it from acquiring any securities of registered open-end funds or registered UITs in reliance on certain sections of the 1940 Act.
·
The Fund and its “affiliated persons” may own up to 3% of the outstanding stock of any fund, subject to the following restrictions:
i.
the Fund and each Underlying Fund, in the aggregate, may not charge a sales load greater than the limits set forth in Rule 2830(d)(3) of the Conduct Rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) applicable to funds of funds;
ii.
each Underlying Fund is not obligated to redeem more than 1% of its total outstanding securities during any period less than 30 days; and
iii.
 
the Fund is obligated either to (i) seek instructions from its shareholders with regard to the voting of all proxies with respect to the Underlying Fund and to vote in accordance with such instructions, or (ii) to vote the shares of the Underlying Fund held by the Fund in the same proportion as the vote of all other shareholders of the Underlying Fund.
Acquired funds typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by the Fund. The Fund’s purchase of such investment company securities results in the layering of expenses as Fund shareholders would indirectly bear a proportionate share of the operating expenses of such investment companies, including advisory fees, in addition to paying Fund expenses. In addition, the securities of other investment companies may also be leveraged and will therefore be subject to certain leverage risks. The net asset value and market value of leveraged securities will be more volatile and the yield to shareholders will tend to fluctuate more than the yield generated by unleveraged securities. Investment companies may have investment policies that differ from those of the Fund.

Under certain circumstances an open-end investment company in which the Fund invests may determine to make payment of a redemption by the Fund wholly or in part by a distribution in kind of securities from its portfolio, instead of in cash. As a result, the Fund may hold such securities until the Advisor determines it is appropriate to dispose of them. Such disposition will impose additional costs on the Fund.

Investment decisions by the investment advisors to the registered investment companies in which the Fund invests are made independently of the Fund. At any particular time, one Underlying Fund may be purchasing shares of an issuer whose shares are being sold by another Underlying Fund. As a result, under these circumstances the Fund indirectly would incur certain transactional costs without accomplishing any investment purpose.

B-9

Short Sales

The Fund engages in short sales. A short sale is a transaction in which the Fund sells a security it does not own in anticipation that the market price of that security will decline. If the price of the security sold short increases between the time of the short sale and the time the Fund replaces the borrowed security, the Fund will incur a loss; conversely, if the price declines, the Fund will realize a capital gain. Any gain will be decreased, and any loss will be increased, by the transaction costs incurred by the Fund, including the costs associated with providing collateral to the broker-dealer (usually cash and liquid securities) and the maintenance of collateral with its custodian. The Fund also may be required to pay a premium to borrow a security, which would increase the cost of the security sold short. Although the Fund’s gain is limited to the price at which it sold the security short, its potential loss is theoretically unlimited.

The broker-dealer will retain the net proceeds of the short sale to the extent necessary to meet margin requirements until the short position is closed out.

To the extent the Fund sells securities short, it is required to confirm and document that it has an amount of cash or liquid securities on its records equal to the market price of the securities sold short. Such assets are marked to market daily in an attempt to ensure that the amount is at least equal to the market value of the securities sold short. These securities cannot be sold while the position they are covering is outstanding, unless they are replaced with similar securities. As a result, there is the possibility that such restriction of a large percentage of the Fund’s assets could affect its portfolio management.

OTHER INVESTMENT STRATEGIES, POLICIES AND RISKS

Government Obligations

The Fund may invest in U.S. government obligations. Such obligations include Treasury bills, certificates of indebtedness, notes and bonds. U.S. government obligations include securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities. Treasury bills, the most frequently issued marketable government securities, have a maturity of up to one year and are issued on a discount basis. U.S. government obligations include securities issued or guaranteed by government-sponsored enterprises.

Payment of principal and interest on U.S. government obligations may be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States or may be backed solely by the issuing or guaranteeing agency or instrumentality itself. In the latter case, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, which agency or instrumentality may be privately owned. There can be no assurance that the U.S. government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities, including government-sponsored enterprises, where it is not obligated to do so. In addition, U.S. government obligations are subject to fluctuations in market value due to fluctuations in market interest rates. As a general matter, the value of debt instruments, including U.S. government obligations, declines when market interest rates increase and rises when market interest rates decrease. Certain types of U.S. government obligations are subject to fluctuations in yield or value due to their structure or contract terms.

Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”)

The Fund may invest in REITs. REITs are pooled investment vehicles that invest primarily in income producing real estate or real estate related loans or interests. REITs are generally classified as equity REITs, mortgage REITs, or a combination of equity and mortgage REITs. Equity REITs invest the majority of their assets directly in real property and derive income primarily from the collection of rents. Equity REITs can also realize capital gains by selling properties that have appreciated in value. Mortgage REITs invest the majority of their assets in real estate mortgages and derive income from the collection of principal and interest payments. Similar to investment companies such as the Fund, REITs are not taxed on income distributed to shareholders provided they comply with several requirements of the Code. The Fund will indirectly bear its proportionate share of expenses incurred by REITs in which the Fund invests in addition to the expenses incurred directly by the Fund.

B-10

Investing in REITs involves certain unique risks in addition to those risks associated with investing in the real estate industry in general. Equity REITs may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property owned by the REITs, while mortgage REITs may be affected by the quality of any credit extended. REITs are dependent upon management skills, are not diversified, and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency, default by borrowers and self-liquidation.

Investing in REITs involves risks similar to those associated with investing in small capitalization companies. REITs may have limited financial resources, may trade less frequently and in a limited volume and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than larger company securities. Historically, small capitalization stocks, such as REITs, have had more price volatility than larger capitalization stocks.

REITs may fail to qualify for the favorable federal income tax treatment generally available to them under the Code and may fail to maintain their exemptions from registration under the 1940 Act. REITs (especially mortgage REITs) also are subject to interest rate risks. When interest rates decline, the value of a REIT’s investment in fixed-rate obligations can be expected to rise. Conversely, when interest rates rise, the value of a REIT’s investment in fixed-rate obligations can be expected to decline. In contrast, as interest rates on adjustable rate mortgage loans are reset periodically, yields on a REIT’s investments in such loans will gradually align themselves to reflect changes in market interest rates, causing the value of such investments to fluctuate less dramatically in response to interest rate fluctuations than would investments in fixed-rate obligations.

Temporary Investments

The Fund may take temporary defensive measures that are inconsistent with the Fund’s normal fundamental or non-fundamental investment policies and strategies in response to adverse market, economic, political, or other conditions as determined by the Advisor. Such measures could include, but are not limited to, investments in (1) highly liquid short-term fixed income securities issued by or on behalf of municipal or corporate issuers, obligations of the U.S. government and its agencies, commercial paper, and bank certificates of deposit; (2) repurchase agreements involving any such securities; and (3) other money market instruments. The Fund also may invest in shares of money market mutual funds to the extent permitted under applicable law. Money market mutual funds are investment companies, and the investments in those companies by the Fund are in some cases subject to certain fundamental investment restrictions. As a shareholder in a mutual fund, the Fund will bear its ratable share of its expenses, including management fees, and will remain subject to payment of the fees to the Advisor, with respect to assets so invested. The Fund may not achieve its investment objectives during temporary defensive periods.

Short-Term Investments

The Fund may invest in any of the following securities and instruments:

Bank Certificates of Deposit, Bankers’ Acceptances and Time Deposits. The Fund may acquire certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances and time deposits in U.S. Dollar or foreign currencies. Certificates of deposit are negotiable certificates issued against monies deposited in a commercial bank for a definite period of time and earning a specified return. Bankers’ acceptances are negotiable drafts or bills of exchange, normally drawn by an importer or exporter to pay for specific merchandise, which are “accepted” by a bank, meaning in effect that the bank unconditionally agrees to pay the face value of the instrument on maturity. The commercial banks issuing these short-term instruments which the Fund may acquire must, at the time of purchase, have capital, surplus and undivided profits in excess of $100 million (including assets of both domestic and foreign branches), based on latest published reports, or less than $100 million if the principal amount of such bank obligations are fully insured by the U.S. government. If the Fund holds instruments of foreign banks or financial institutions, it may be subject to additional investment risks that are different in some respects from those incurred if the Fund invests only in debt obligations of U.S. domestic issuers. See “Foreign Investments” above. Such risks include impact to the Fund from future political and economic developments, the possible imposition of withholding taxes by the particular country in which the issuer is located, the possible confiscation or nationalization of foreign deposits, the possible establishment of exchange controls, or the adoption of other foreign governmental restrictions which may adversely affect the payment of principal and interest on these securities.

B-11

Domestic banks and foreign banks are subject to different governmental regulations with respect to the amount and types of loans that may be made and interest rates that may be charged. In addition, the profitability of the banking industry depends largely upon the availability and cost of funds and the interest income generated from lending operations. General economic conditions and the quality of loan portfolios affect the banking industry.

As a result of federal and state laws and regulations, domestic banks are required to maintain specified levels of reserves, limited in the amount that they can loan to a single borrower, and are subject to regulations designed to promote financial soundness. However, such laws and regulations may not necessarily apply to foreign banks, thereby affecting the risk involved in bank obligations that the Fund may acquire.

In addition to purchasing certificates of deposit and bankers’ acceptances, to the extent permitted under its investment strategies and policies stated above and in the Prospectus, the Fund may invest in interest-bearing time deposits or other interest-bearing deposits in commercial or savings banks. Time deposits are non-negotiable deposits maintained at a banking institution for a specified period of time at a specified interest rate.

Savings Association Obligations. The Fund may invest in certificates of deposit (interest-bearing time deposits) issued by savings banks or savings and loan associations that have capital, surplus and undivided profits in excess of $100 million, based on latest published reports, or less than $100 million if the principal amount of such obligations is fully insured by the U.S. government.

Commercial Paper, Short-Term Notes and Other Corporate Obligations. The Fund may invest a portion of its assets in commercial paper and short-term notes. Commercial paper consists of unsecured promissory notes issued by corporations. Issues of commercial paper and short-term notes will normally have maturities of less than nine months and fixed rates of return, although such instruments may have maturities of up to one year.

The Fund’s investment in commercial paper and short-term notes will consist of issues rated at the time of purchase “A-2” or higher by S&P, “Prime-1” or “Prime-2” by Moody’s, or similarly rated by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization or, if unrated, will be determined by the Advisor or the Sub-Advisor to be of comparable quality. These rating symbols are described in Appendix A.

Corporate debt obligations are subject to the risk of an issuer’s inability to meet principal and interest payments on the obligations, i.e., credit risk. The Advisor or the Sub-Advisor may actively expose the Fund to credit risk. However, there can be no guarantee that the Advisor or the Sub-Advisor will be successful in making the right selections and thus fully mitigate the impact of credit risk changes on the Fund.

B-12

Debt Securities

The Fund may invest in debt securities. Debt securities are used by issuers to borrow money. Generally, issuers pay investors periodic interest and repay the amount borrowed either periodically during the life of the security and/or at maturity. Some debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, do not pay current interest, but are purchased at a discount from their face values and accrue interest at the applicable coupon rate over a specified time period. Some debt securities pay a periodic coupon that is not fixed; instead payments “float” relative to a reference rate, such as LIBOR. This “floating rate” debt may pay interest at levels above or below the previous interest payment. The market prices of debt securities fluctuate depending on such factors as interest rates, credit quality and maturity. In general, market prices of debt securities decline when interest rates rise and increase when interest rates fall.

Lower rated debt securities, those rated Ba or below by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) and/or BB or below by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group (“S&P”) or unrated but determined by the Sub-Advisor to be of comparable quality, are described by the rating agencies as speculative and involve greater risk of default or price changes than higher rated debt securities due to changes in the issuer’s creditworthiness or the fact that the issuer may already be in default. The market prices of these securities may fluctuate more than higher quality securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty. It may be more difficult to sell or to determine the value of lower rated debt securities.

Certain additional risk factors related to debt securities are discussed below:

Sensitivity to interest rate and economic changes. Debt securities may be sensitive to economic changes, political and corporate developments, and interest rate changes. In addition, during an economic downturn or periods of rising interest rates, issuers that are highly leveraged may experience increased financial stress that could adversely affect their ability to meet projected business goals, obtain additional financing, and service their principal and interest payment obligations. Furthermore, periods of economic change and uncertainty can be expected to result in increased volatility of market prices and yields of certain debt securities. For example, prices of these securities can be affected by financial contracts held by the issuer or third parties (such as derivatives) related to the security or other assets or indices.

Payment expectations. Debt securities may contain redemption or call provisions. If an issuer exercises these provisions in a lower interest rate environment, the Fund would have to replace the security with a lower yielding security, resulting in decreased income to investors. If the issuer of a debt security defaults on its obligations to pay interest or principal or is the subject of bankruptcy proceedings, the Fund may incur losses or expenses in seeking recovery of amounts owed to it.

Liquidity. Liquidity risk may result from the lack of an active market, or reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in fixed income securities, and may be magnified in a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances where investor redemptions from fixed income mutual funds may be higher than normal, causing increased supply in the market due to selling activity. In such cases, the Fund, due to limitations on investments in illiquid securities and the difficulty in purchasing and selling such securities or instruments, may be unable to achieve its desired level of exposure to a certain sector. To the extent that the Fund’s principal investment strategies involve investments in securities of companies with smaller market capitalizations, foreign non-U.S. securities, Rule 144A securities, illiquid sectors of fixed income securities, derivatives or securities with substantial market and/or credit risk, the Fund will tend to have the greatest exposure to liquidity risk. Further, fixed income securities with longer durations until maturity face heightened levels of liquidity risk as compared to fixed income securities with shorter durations until maturity. Finally, liquidity risk also refers to the risk of unusually high redemption requests or other unusual market conditions that may make it difficult for the Fund to fully honor redemption requests within the allowable time period. Meeting such redemption requests could require the Fund to sell securities at reduced prices or under unfavorable conditions, which would reduce the value of the Fund. It may also be the case that other market participants may be attempting to liquidate fixed income holdings at the same time as the Fund, causing increased supply in the market and contributing to liquidity risk and downward pricing pressure.

B-13

The Sub-Advisor attempts to reduce the risks described above through diversification of the Fund’s portfolio, and by monitoring broad economic trends as well as corporate and legislative developments, but there can be no assurance that it will be successful in doing so. Credit ratings of debt securities provided by rating agencies indicate a measure of the safety of principal and interest payments, not market value risk. The rating of an issuer is a rating agency’s view of past and future potential developments related to the issuer and may not necessarily reflect actual outcomes. There can be a lag between corporate developments and the time a rating is assigned and updated.

Changing Fixed Income Market Conditions. Following the financial crisis that began in 2007, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”) has attempted to stabilize the U.S. economy and support the U.S. economic recovery by keeping the federal funds rate at or near zero percent. In addition, the Federal Reserve has purchased large quantities of securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities on the open market (“Quantitative Easing”). As the Federal Reserve “tapers” or reduces Quantitative Easing, and when the Federal Reserve raises the federal funds rate, there is a risk that interest rates across the U.S. financial system will rise. These policy changes may expose fixed-income and related markets to heightened volatility and may reduce liquidity for certain Fund investments, which could cause the value of the Fund’s investments and share price to decline. Because the Fund may invest in derivatives tied to fixed income markets it may be more substantially exposed to these risks than a fund that does not invest in derivatives. To the extent the Fund experiences high redemptions because of these policy changes, the Fund may experience increased portfolio turnover, which will increase the costs that the Fund incurs and may lower the Fund’s performance. The liquidity levels of the Fund’s portfolio may also be affected.

Bond markets have consistently grown over the past three decades while the capacity for traditional dealer counterparties to engage in fixed income trading has not kept pace and in some cases has decreased. As a result, dealer inventories of corporate bonds, which provide a core indication of the ability of financial intermediaries to “make markets,” are at or near historic lows in relation to market size. Because market makers provide stability to a market through their intermediary services, the significant reduction in dealer inventories could potentially lead to decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed income markets. Such issues may be exacerbated during periods of economic uncertainty.

Bond Ratings. Bond rating agencies may assign modifiers (such as +/–) to ratings categories to signify the relative position of a credit within the rating category. Investment policies that are based on ratings categories should be read to include any security within that category, without considering the modifier. Please refer to Appendix A for more information about credit ratings.

Borrowing

The Fund may engage in borrowing activities subject to the investment restrictions described below. Borrowing creates an opportunity for increased return, but, at the same time, creates special risks. Furthermore, if the Fund were to engage in borrowing, an increase in interest rates could reduce the value of the Fund’s shares by increasing the Fund’s interest expense. Subject to the limitations described under “Investment Limitations” below, the Fund may be permitted to borrow for temporary purposes and/or for investment purposes. Such a practice will result in leveraging of the Fund’s assets and may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it would not be advantageous to do so. This borrowing may be secured or unsecured. Provisions of the 1940 Act require the Fund to maintain continuous asset coverage (that is, total assets including borrowings, less liabilities exclusive of borrowings) of 300% of the amount borrowed, with an exception for borrowings not in excess of 5% of the Fund’s total assets made for temporary administrative purposes. Any borrowings for temporary administrative purposes in excess of 5% of the Fund’s total assets will count against this asset coverage requirement. If the 300% asset coverage should decline as a result of market fluctuations or other reasons, the Fund may be required to sell some of its portfolio holdings within three days to reduce the debt and restore the 300% asset coverage, even though it may be disadvantageous from an investment standpoint if the Fund sells securities at that time. Borrowing will tend to exaggerate the effect on net asset value of any increase or decrease in the market value of the Fund’s portfolio. Money borrowed will be subject to interest charges which may or may not be recovered by appreciation of the securities purchased, if any. The Fund also may be required to maintain minimum average balances in connection with such borrowings or to pay a commitment or other fee to maintain a line of credit; either of these requirements would increase the cost of borrowing over the stated interest rate.

B-14

Illiquid and Restricted Securities

The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities, including (i) securities for which there is no readily available market; (ii) securities in which the disposition would be subject to legal restrictions (so called “restricted securities”); and (iii) repurchase agreements having more than seven days to maturity. However, the Fund will not acquire illiquid securities if, as a result, such securities would comprise more than 15% of the value of the Fund’s net assets. The Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) or its delegate has the ultimate authority to determine, to the extent permissible under the federal securities laws, which securities are liquid or illiquid for purposes of this 15% limitation. The Board has delegated to the Advisor the day-to-day determination of the illiquidity of any security held by the Fund, although it has retained oversight and ultimate responsibility for such determinations. Although no definitive liquidity criteria are used, the Board has directed the Advisor to consider to such factors as (a) frequency of trading and availability of quotations; (b) the number of dealers willing to purchase or sell the security and the availability of buyers; (c) the willingness of dealers to be market makers in the security; and (d) the nature of trading activity including (i) the time needed to dispose of a position or part of a position and (ii) offer and solicitation methods. A considerable period of time may elapse between the Fund’s decision to sell such securities and the time when the Fund is able to sell them, during which time the value of the securities could decline. Illiquid securities will usually be priced at fair value as determined in good faith by the Board or its delegate. If, through the appreciation of illiquid securities or the depreciation of liquid securities, more than 15% of the value of the Fund’s net assets is invested in illiquid securities, including restricted securities which are not readily marketable, the Fund will take such steps as are deemed advisable, if any, to protect liquidity.

The Fund may invest in restricted securities. Restricted securities may be sold only in privately negotiated transactions or in a public offering with respect to which a registration statement is in effect under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”). Where registration is required, the Fund may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expenses and a considerable period may elapse between the time of the decision to sell and the time the Fund may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the Fund might obtain a less favorable price than that which prevailed when it decided to sell. Restricted securities issued pursuant to Rule 144A under the 1933 Act that have a readily available market usually are not deemed illiquid for purposes of this limitation by the Fund. However, investing in Rule 144A securities could result in increasing the level of the Fund’s illiquidity if qualified institutional buyers become, for a time, uninterested in purchasing these securities.

The Fund may purchase commercial paper issued pursuant to Section 4(a)(2) of the 1933 Act. 4(a)(2) commercial paper has substantially the same price and liquidity characteristics as commercial paper generally, except that the resale of 4(a)(2) commercial paper is limited to the institutional investor marketplace. Such a restriction on resale makes 4(a)(2) commercial paper technically a restricted security under the 1933 Act. In practice, however, 4(a)(2) commercial paper can be resold as easily as any other unrestricted security held by the Fund. Accordingly, 4(a)(2) commercial paper has been determined to be liquid under procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees.

B-15

Large Shareholder Redemption Risk

Certain account holders may from time to time own (beneficially or of record) or control a significant percentage of the Fund’s shares. Redemptions by these account holders of their shares in the Fund may impact the Fund’s liquidity and net asset value. Such redemptions may also force the Fund to sell securities at a time when it would not otherwise do so, which may increase the Fund’s broker costs and impact shareholder taxes.

Market Conditions

The equity and debt capital markets in the United States and internationally experienced unprecedented volatility from 2008 through 2012. These conditions caused a significant decline in the value and liquidity of many securities and other instruments. It is impossible to predict whether such conditions will recur. Because such situations may be widespread, it may be unusually difficult to identify both risks and opportunities using past models of the interplay of market forces, or to predict the duration of such events.

Developments in the China Region

After nearly 30 years of unprecedented growth, the People's Republic of China now faces a slowing economy. The real estate market, which many observers believed to be inflated, has begun to decline. Local governments, which had borrowed heavily to bolster growth, face high debt burdens and limited revenue sources. As a result, demand for Chinese exports by the United States and countries in Europe and demands for Chinese imports from such countries may weaken due to the effects of more limited economic growth. Additionally, Chinese actions to lay claim to disputed islands have caused relations with China's regional trading partners to suffer, and could cause further disruption to regional and international trade. In the long run, China's ability to develop and sustain a credible legal, regulatory, monetary, and socioeconomic system could influence the course of outside investment.

Europe – Recent Events

A number of countries in Europe have experienced severe economic and financial difficulties. Many non-governmental issuers, and even certain governments, have defaulted on, or been forced to restructure, their debts; many other issuers have faced difficulties obtaining credit or refinancing existing obligations; financial institutions have in many cases required government or central bank support, have needed to raise capital, and/or have been impaired in their ability to extend credit; and financial markets in Europe and elsewhere have experienced extreme volatility and declines in asset values and liquidity. These difficulties may continue, worsen or spread within and without Europe. Responses to the financial problems by European governments, central banks and others, including austerity measures and reforms, may not work, may result in social unrest and may limit future growth and economic recovery or have other unintended consequences. Further defaults or restructurings by governments and others of their debt could have additional adverse effects on economies, financial markets and asset valuations around the world. The European Union (the “EU”) currently faces major issues involving its membership, structure, procedures and policies, including the successful political, economic and social integration of new member states, the EU’s resettlement and distribution of refugees, and resolution of the EU’s problematic fiscal and democratic accountability. In addition, one or more countries may abandon the Euro, the common currency of the EU, and/or withdraw from the EU. The impact of these actions, especially if they occur in a disorderly fashion, is not clear but could be significant and far-reaching.

B-16

In June 2016, the United Kingdom (the “UK”) voted in a referendum to leave the EU. On March 29, 2017, UK Prime Minister Theresa May delivered a letter invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and notifying the European Council of the UK’s decision to withdraw from the EU. The letter triggered the two year withdrawal negotiation process, and thus it is anticipated that the UK will leave the EU on or before March 29, 2019. It is unclear how withdrawal negotiations will be conducted and what the potential consequences may be. In addition, it is possible that measures could be taken to revote on the issue of Brexit, or that portions of the UK could seek to separate and remain a part of the EU. As a result of the political divisions within the UK and between the UK and the EU that the referendum vote has highlighted and the uncertain consequences of a Brexit, the UK and European economies and the broader global economy could be significantly impacted, which may result in increased volatility and illiquidity, and potentially lower economic growth on markets in the UK, Europe and globally that could potentially have an adverse effect on the value of the Fund’s investments.

Whether or not the Fund invests in securities of issuers located in Europe or with significant exposure to European issuers or countries, these events could negatively affect the value and liquidity of the Fund’s investments due to the interconnected nature of the global economy and capital markets. The Fund may also be susceptible to these events to the extent that the Fund invests in municipal obligations with credit support by non-U.S. financial institutions.

Cyber Security Risk

Investment companies, such as the Fund, and its service providers may be subject to operational and information security risks resulting from cyber attacks. Cyber attacks include, among other behaviors, stealing or corrupting data maintained online or digitally, denial of service attacks on websites, the unauthorized release of confidential information or various other forms of cyber security breaches. Cyber attacks affecting the Fund or the Advisor, the Sub-Advisor, the Fund’s custodian or transfer agent, or intermediaries or other third-party service providers may adversely impact the Fund. For instance, cyber attacks may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, impact the Fund’s ability to calculate its net asset value, cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential company information, impede trading, subject the Fund to regulatory fines or financial losses, and cause reputational damage. The Fund may also incur additional costs for cyber security risk management purposes. While the Fund and its service providers have established business continuity plans and risk management systems designed to prevent or reduce the impact of cyber security attacks, such plans and systems have inherent limitations due in part to the ever-changing nature of technology and cyber security attack tactics, and there is a possibility that certain risks have not been adequately identified or prepared for. Furthermore, the Fund cannot control any cyber security plans or systems implemented by its service providers.

Similar types of cyber security risks are also present for issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers, and may cause the Fund’s investment in such portfolio companies to lose value.

INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS

The Fund has adopted the following restrictions as fundamental policies, which may not be changed without the favorable “vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities” of the Fund, as defined in the 1940 Act. Under the 1940 Act, the “vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities” of the Fund means the vote of the holders of the lesser of (i) 67% of the shares of the Fund represented at a meeting at which the holders of more than 50% of its outstanding shares are represented or (ii) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund. The Fund’s investment objective is a non-fundamental policy and may be changed without shareholder approval.

B-17

The Fund may not:

1.
Issue senior securities, borrow money or pledge its assets, except that (i) the Fund may borrow from banks in amounts not exceeding one-third of its net assets (including the amount borrowed); and (ii) this restriction shall not prohibit the Fund from engaging in options transactions or short sales or investing in financial futures, swaps, when-issued or delayed delivery securities, or reverse repurchase agreements.

2.
Act as underwriter, except to the extent the Fund may be deemed to be an underwriter in connection with the sale of securities in its investment portfolio;

3.
With respect to 75% of the Fund’s total assets, purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities and securities of other investment companies) if, as a result, (a) more than 5% of the Fund’s total assets would be invested in the securities of that issuer, or (b) the Fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer;

4.
Invest 25% or more of its total assets, calculated at the time of purchase, in any one industry (other than securities issued by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities);

5.
Purchase or sell real estate or interests in real estate or real estate limited partnerships (although the Fund may purchase and sell securities which are secured by real estate and securities of companies which invest or deal in real estate, such as REITs;

6.
Make loans of money, except (a) for purchases of debt securities consistent with the investment policies of the Fund, (b) by engaging in repurchase agreements or, (c) through the loan of portfolio securities in an amount up to 33 1/3% of the Fund’s net assets; or

7.
Purchase or sell physical commodities, unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments. This limitation shall not prevent the Fund from purchasing, selling or entering into future contracts, or acquiring securities or other instruments and options thereon backed by, or related to, physical commodities.

The Fund observes the following restriction as a matter of operating but not fundamental policy, pursuant to positions taken by federal regulatory authorities:

The Fund may not invest, in the aggregate, more than 15% of its net assets in securities with legal or contractual restrictions on resale, securities that are not readily marketable and repurchase agreements with more than seven days to maturity.

Except with respect to borrowing, if a percentage or rating restriction on investment or use of assets set forth herein or in the Prospectus is adhered to at the time a transaction is effected, later changes in percentage resulting from any cause other than actions by the Fund will not be considered a violation.
 
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND

Trustees and Officers

The overall management of the business and affairs of the Trust is vested with its Board of Trustees. The Board approves all significant agreements between the Trust and persons or companies furnishing services to it, including the agreements with the Advisor, Sub-Advisor, co-administrators, distributor, custodian and transfer agent. The day-to-day operations of the Trust are delegated to its officers, except that the Advisor and Sub-Advisor are responsible for making day-to-day investment decisions in accordance with the Fund’s investment objective, strategies, and policies, all of which are subject to general supervision by the Board.

B-18

The Trustees and officers of the Trust, their years of birth and positions with the Trust, term of office with the Trust and length of time served, their business addresses and principal occupations during the past five years and other directorships held during the past five years are listed in the table below. Unless noted otherwise, each person has held the position listed for a minimum of five years. Charles H. Miller, Ashley Toomey Rabun, William H. Young and John P. Zader are all of the Trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Trust, as that term is defined in the 1940 Act (collectively, the “Independent Trustees”).

Name, Address, Year of Birth and Position(s) held with Trust
Term of Officec and Length of Time Served
Principal Occupation During the Past Five Years and Other Affiliations
Number of Portfolios in the Fund Complex
Overseen by Trusteed
Other Directorships Held by Trustee During the Past Five Years
“Independent” Trustees:
     
Charles H. Miller a
(born 1947)
Trustee
Since November 2007
Retired (2013 – present). Executive Vice President, Client Management and Development, Access Data, a Broadridge company, a provider of technology and services to asset management firms (1997-2012).
[4]
None.
Ashley Toomey Rabun a
(born 1952)
Trustee and Chairperson of the Board
 
Since November 2007
Retired (2016 – present). President and Founder, InvestorReach, Inc., a financial services consulting firm (1996 – 2015).
[4]
Select Sector SPDR Trust, a registered investment company (includes 10 portfolios).
William H. Young a
(born 1950)
Trustee
Since November 2007
Retired (2014 - present). Independent financial services consultant (1996 – 2014). Interim CEO, Unified Fund Services Inc. (now Huntington Fund Services), a mutual fund service provider (2003 – 2006). Senior Vice President, Oppenheimer Management Company (1983 – 1996). Chairman, NICSA, an investment management trade association (1993 – 1996).
[4]
None.
John P. Zader a
(born 1961)
Trustee
Since November 2007
Retired (June 2014 - present). CEO, UMB Fund Services, Inc., a mutual fund and hedge fund service provider, and the transfer agent, fund accountant, and co-administrator for the Fund (December 2006 - June 2014). President, Investment Managers Series Trust (December 2007 - June 2014).
[4]
Investment Managers Series Trust II, a registered investment company (includes 13 portfolios).
 
B-19

Name, Address, Year of Birth and Position(s) held with Trust
Term of Officec and Length of Time Served
Principal Occupation During the Past Five Years and Other Affiliations
Number of Portfolios in the Fund Complex
Overseen by Trusteed
Other Directorships Held by Trustee During the Past Five Years
Interested Trustee:
     
Eric M. Banhazl b†
(born 1957)
Trustee
 
 
Since January 2008
 
 
Chairman (2016 – present), and President (2006 – 2015), Mutual Fund Administration, LLC, the co-administrator for the Fund. Trustee and Vice President, Investment Managers Series Trust (December 2007 – March 2016).
[4]
Investment Managers Series Trust II, a registered investment company (includes 13 portfolios).
Officers of the Trust:
   
Maureen Quill a
(born 1963)
President
Since June 2014
Chief Operating Officer (June 2014 - present), and Executive Vice President, UMB Fund Services, Inc. (January 2007 – June 2014). Vice President, Investment Managers Series Trust (December 2013 - June 2014).
N/A
N/A
Rita Dam b
(born 1966)
Treasurer and Assistant Secretary
Since December 2007
Co-Chief Executive Officer (2016 – present), and Vice President (2006 – 2015), Mutual Fund Administration, LLC.
N/A
N/A
Joy Ausili b
(born 1966)
Vice President, Assistant Secretary and Assistant Treasurer
Since March 2016
Co-Chief Executive Officer (2016 – present), and Vice President (2006 – 2015), Mutual Fund Administration, LLC. Secretary and Assistant Treasurer, Investment Managers Series Trust (December 2007 – March 2016).
N/A
N/A
Diane Drake b
(born 1967)
Secretary
Since March 2016
Senior Counsel, Mutual Fund Administration, LLC (October 2015 – present). Managing Director and Senior Counsel, BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (2010 – 2015).
N/A
N/A
Martin Dziura b
(born 1959)
Chief Compliance Officer
Since June 2014
Principal, Dziura Compliance Consulting, LLC (October 2014 – present). Managing Director, Cipperman Compliance Services (2010 – September 2014). Chief Compliance Officer, Hanlon Investment Management (2009 – 2010). Vice President − Compliance, Morgan Stanley Investment Management (2000 − 2009).
N/A
N/A

B-20

a
Address for certain Trustees and certain officers: 235 W. Galena Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212.
b
Address for Mr. Banhazl, Ms. Ausili, Ms. Dam and Ms. Drake: 2220 E. Route 66, Suite 226, Glendora, California 91740.
Address for Mr. Dziura: 309 Woodridge Lane, Media Pennsylvania 19063.
c
Trustees and officers serve until their successors have been duly elected.
d
The Trust is comprised of numerous series managed by unaffiliated investment advisors. The term “Fund Complex” applies only to the Fund(s) managed by the same investment advisor. The Advisor also serves as investment advisor to the AAM/Bahl & Gaynor Income Growth Fund, the AAM/Insight Select Income Fund, and the AAM/HIMCO Short Duration Fund, which are offered in separate prospectuses. The Fund does not hold itself out as related to any other series within the Trust, for purposes of investment and investor services.
Mr. Banhazl is an "interested person" of the Trust by virtue of his position with Mutual Fund Administration, LLC.

Compensation

Each Independent Trustee receives from the Trust a quarterly retainer of $30,000. Each Independent Trustee also receives $4,000 for each special in-person meeting attended and $1,000 for each telephonic meeting attended. In addition, Ms. Rabun receives an additional annual retainer of $25,000 for serving as Chairperson of the Board; and each of Mr. Young, Mr. Miller and Mr. Zader receives an additional annual retainer of $10,000 for serving as Audit Committee Chair, Valuation Committee Chair and Nominating, Governance and Regulatory Review Committee Chair, respectively. The Trust has no pension or retirement plan.

Name of Person/Position
Aggregate
Compensation
From the
Fund ($)1
Pension or
Retirement
Benefits
Accrued as Part of Fund’s Expenses($)
Estimated
Annual
Benefits Upon
Retirement ($)
Total
Compensation
from Fund and Fund Complex Paid to
Trustees ($)2
Charles H. Miller, Independent Trustee and Valuation Committee Chair
$1,500
None
None
$[ ]
Ashley Toomey Rabun, Independent Trustee and Chairperson
$1,500
None
None
$[ ]
William H. Young, Independent Trustee and Audit Committee Chair
$1,500
None
None
$[ ]
John P. Zader, Independent Trustee and Nominating, Governance and Regulatory Review Committee Chair
$1,500
None
None
$[ ]

1
Estimated annual compensation for the first year.
2
There are currently numerous portfolios comprising the Trust. The term “Fund Complex” applies only to the Fund(s). The Advisor also serves as investment advisor to the AAM/Bahl & Gaynor Income Growth Fund, the AAM/Insight Select Income Fund and the AAM/HIMCO Short Duration Fund, which are offered in separate prospectuses.  The Fund does not hold itself out as related to any other series within the Trust, for purposes of investment and investor services. For the [Fund’s/Funds’] fiscal year ended [_____, 20__], the aggregate Independent Trustees’ fees for the Trust were [$______].

Mr. Banhazl is not compensated for his service as Trustee because of his affiliation with the Trust. Officers of the Trust are not compensated by the Fund for their services.

B-21

Additional Information Concerning the Board and the Trustees

The current Trustees were selected in November 2007 (January 2008 for Mr. Banhazl) with a view towards establishing a Board that would have the broad experience needed to oversee a registered investment company comprised of multiple series employing a variety of different investment strategies. As a group, the Board has extensive experience in many different aspects of the financial services and asset management industries.

The Trustees were selected to join the Board based upon the following factors, among others: character and integrity; willingness to serve and willingness and ability to commit the time necessary to perform the duties of a Trustee; as to each Trustee other than Mr. Banhazl and Mr. Zader (at that time), satisfying the criteria for not being classified as an “interested person” of the Trust as defined in the 1940 Act; and, as to Mr. Banhazl his position with Mutual Fund Administration, LLC, one of the Trust’s co-administrators. In addition, the Trustees have the following specific experience, qualifications, attributes and/or skills relevant to the operations of the Trust:

Ms. Rabun has substantial senior executive experience in mutual fund marketing and distribution and serving in senior executive and board positions with mutual funds, including multiple series trusts similar to the Trust.

Mr. Miller has significant senior executive experience with respect to marketing and distribution of mutual funds, including multiple series trusts similar to the Trust.

Mr. Young has broad senior executive experience with respect to the operations and management of mutual funds and administrative service providers, including multiple series trusts similar to the Trust.

Mr. Banhazl has significant experience serving in senior executive and board positions for mutual funds and with respect to the organization and operation of mutual funds and multiple series trusts similar to the Trust.

Mr. Zader has substantial experience serving in senior executive positions at mutual fund administrative service providers.

In its periodic self-assessment of the effectiveness of the Board, the Board considers the complementary individual skills and experience of the individual Trustees primarily in the broader context of the Board’s overall composition so that the Board, as a body, possesses the appropriate (and appropriately diverse) skills and experience to oversee the business of the Fund. The summaries set forth above as to the qualifications, attributes and skills of the Trustees are required by the registration form adopted by the SEC, do not constitute holding out the Board or any Trustee as having any special expertise or experience, and do not impose any greater responsibility or liability on any such person or on the Board as a whole than would otherwise be the case.

The Board of Trustees has three standing committees: the Audit Committee, the Nominating, Governance and Regulatory Review Committee (the “Nominating Committee”), and the Valuation Committee.

The function of the Audit Committee, with respect to each series of the Trust, is to review the scope and results of the series’ annual audit and any matters bearing on the audit or the series’ financial statements and to assist the Board’s oversight of the integrity of the series’ pricing and financial reporting. The Audit Committee is comprised of Mr. Miller, Ms. Rabun and Mr. Young and is chaired by Mr. Young. It does not include any Interested Trustees. The Audit Committee is expected to meet at least twice a year with respect to each series of the Trust.

B-22

The Audit Committee also serves as the Qualified Legal Compliance Committee for the Trust for the purpose of compliance with Rules 205.2(k) and 205.3(c) of the Code of Federal Regulations regarding alternative reporting procedures for attorneys retained or employed by an issuer who appear and practice before the SEC on behalf of the issuer.

The Nominating Committee is responsible for reviewing matters pertaining to composition, committees, and operations of the Board, as well as assisting the Board in overseeing matters related to certain regulatory issues. The Nominating Committee meets from time to time as needed. The Nominating Committee will consider trustee nominees properly recommended by the Trust’s shareholders. Shareholders who wish to recommend a nominee should send nominations that include, among other things, biographical data and the qualifications of the proposed nominee to the Trust’s Secretary. The Independent Trustees comprise the Nominating Committee, and the Committee is chaired by Mr. Zader.

The function of the Valuation Committee is to recommend to the Board for its approval methodologies for valuing securities held by any series of the Trust for which current and reliable market quotations are not readily available; monitor prices determined by officers of the Trust pursuant to such methodologies; and approve fair valued security prices that are not determined pursuant to an approved methodology. The actions of the Valuation Committee are subsequently reviewed by the Board. The Valuation Committee is comprised of all the Trustees and is chaired by Mr. Miller, but action may be taken by any one of the Trustees. The Valuation Committee meets as needed.

Independent Trustees comprise 80% of the Board and Ashley Toomey Rabun, an Independent Trustee, serves as Chairperson of the Board. The Chairperson serves as a key point person for dealings between the Trust’s management and the other Independent Trustees. As noted above, through the committees of the Board the Independent Trustees consider and address important matters involving each series of the Trust, including those presenting conflicts or potential conflicts of interest. The Independent Trustees also regularly meet outside the presence of management and are advised by independent legal counsel. The Board has determined that its organization and leadership structure are appropriate in light of its fiduciary and oversight obligations, the special obligations of the Independent Trustees, and the relationship between the Interested Trustees and the Trust’s co-administrators. The Board also believes that its structure facilitates the orderly and efficient flow of information to the Independent Trustees from management.

Consistent with its responsibility for oversight of the Fund in the interests of shareholders, the Board among other things oversees risk management of the Fund’s investment programs and business affairs directly and through the Audit Committee. The Board has emphasized to the Advisor the importance of maintaining vigorous risk management programs and procedures.

The Fund faces a number of risks, such as investment risk, valuation risk, reputational risk, risk of operational failure or lack of business continuity, and legal, compliance and regulatory risk. Risk management seeks to identify and address risks, i.e., events or circumstances that could have material adverse effects on the business, operations, shareholder services, investment performance or reputation of the Fund. Under the overall supervision of the Board, the Advisor, Sub-Advisor and other service providers to the Fund employ a variety of processes, procedures and controls to identify various of those possible events or circumstances, to lessen the probability of their occurrence and/or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur. Different processes, procedures and controls are employed with respect to different types of risks. Various personnel, including the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer (the “CCO”), the Advisor’s management, and other service providers (such as the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm) make periodic reports to the Board or to the Audit Committee with respect to various aspects of risk management. The Board recognizes that not all risks that may affect the Fund can be identified, that it may not be practical or cost-effective to eliminate or mitigate certain risks, that it may be necessary to bear certain risks (such as investment-related risks) to achieve the Fund’s investment objective, and that the processes, procedures and controls employed to address certain risks may be limited in their effectiveness. Moreover, reports received by the Trustees as to risk management matters are typically summaries of the relevant information. As a result of the foregoing and other factors, the Board’s risk management oversight is subject to substantial limitations.

B-23

Fund Shares Beneficially Owned by Trustees

Certain information regarding ownership by the Trustees of the Fund and other series of the Trust, as of December 31, 2016, is set forth in the following table.

Name of Trustee
Dollar Range of Equity
Securities in the Fund
Aggregate Dollar Range of
Equity Securities in all
Registered Investment
Companies Overseen by
Trustee in Family of
Investment Companies
Charles H. Miller, Independent Trustee
None
$10,001 - $50,000
Ashley Toomey Rabun, Independent Trustee
None
None
William H. Young, Independent Trustee
None
Above $100,000
John P. Zader, Independent Trustee
None
None
Eric M. Banhazl, Interested Trustee
None
Above $100,000

Control Persons, Principal Shareholders, and Management Ownership

A principal shareholder is any person who owns of record or beneficially 5% or more of the outstanding shares of any class of the Fund. A control person is one who owns beneficially or through controlled companies more than 25% of the voting securities of the Fund or acknowledges the existence of control. Shareholders with a controlling interest could affect the outcome of voting or the direction of management of the Fund.

As of the date of this SAI, the Fund is under the control of [__________________], which had voting authority with respect to 100% of the outstanding shares in the Fund on such date. However, once the Fund commences investment operations and its shares are sold to the public, this control will be diluted.

The Trustees and officers of the Trust as a group did not own more than 1% of the outstanding shares of the Fund. Furthermore, neither the Independent Trustees, nor members of their immediate families, own securities beneficially or of record in the Advisor, the Sub-Advisor, the Fund’s distributor, IMST Distributors, LLC (the “Distributor”), or any of their respective affiliates.

The Advisor

Advisors Asset Management, Inc., 18925 Base Camp Road, Suite 203 Monument, Colorado 80132, acts as investment advisor to the Fund pursuant to an Investment Advisory Agreement (the “Advisory Agreement”). The Advisor is 100% owned by AAM Holdings, Inc.

Pursuant to the terms of the Advisory Agreement, the Advisor provides the Fund with investment advice, makes recommendations with respect to the selection and continued employment of sub-advisors to manage the Fund’s assets, performs diligence on and monitors any such sub-advisors, investment performance and adherence to compliance procedures, and oversees the investments made by the sub-advisors. The Advisor also continuously monitors the sub-advisors’ compliance with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions. Subject to such policies as the Board of Trustees may determine, the Advisor is ultimately responsible for investment decisions for the Fund.

B-24

The Advisory Agreement will remain in effect for an initial two-year period. After the initial two-year period, the Advisory Agreement will continue in effect with respect to the Fund from year to year only if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the Board or by vote of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities and by a majority of the Trustees who are not parties to the Advisory Agreement or interested persons of any such party, at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on the Advisory Agreement. The Advisory Agreement is terminable without penalty by the Trust on behalf of the Fund, upon giving the Advisor 60 days’ notice when authorized either by a majority vote of the Fund’s shareholders or by a vote of a majority of the Board, or by the Advisor on 60 days’ written notice, and will automatically terminate in the event of its “assignment” (as defined in the 1940 Act). The Advisory Agreement provides that the Advisor shall not be liable for any error of judgment or for any loss suffered by the Trust in connection with the Advisory Agreement, except for a loss resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty, or for a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its duties, or from reckless disregard by the Advisor of its duties under the Advisory Agreement.

In consideration of the services to be provided by the Advisor pursuant to the Advisory Agreement, the Advisor is entitled to receive from the Fund an investment advisory fee computed daily and paid monthly based on an annual rate equal to a percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets specified in the Prospectus.

Sub-Advisor

The Advisor has entered into a sub-advisory agreement with the Sub-Advisor with respect to the Fund (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement”). The Sub-Advisor is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (“The Hartford”).

The Advisor compensates the Sub-Advisor out of the investment advisory fees the Advisor receives from the Fund. The Sub-Advisor makes investment decisions for the assets it has been allocated to manage, subject to the overall supervision of the Advisor.

The Sub-Advisory Agreement will remain in effect for an initial two-year period. After the initial two-year period, the Sub-Advisory Agreement will continue in effect from year to year only as long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by (i) the Board of Trustees of the Trust or by the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting shares of the Fund, and (ii) by the vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust who are not parties to the Sub-Advisory Agreement or interested persons of the Advisor or the Sub-Advisor or the Trust. The Sub-Advisory Agreement may be terminated at any time without the payment of any penalty by the Board of Trustees of the Trust or by the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting shares of the Fund, or by the Sub-Advisor or the Advisor, upon 60 days’ written notice to the other party. Additionally, the Sub-Advisory Agreement automatically terminates in the event of its assignment. The Sub-Advisory Agreement provides that the Sub-Advisor shall not be liable for any error of judgment or for any loss suffered by the Trust in connection with the Sub-Advisory Agreement, except for a loss resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty, or for a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its duties, or from reckless disregard by the Sub-Advisor of its duties under the Sub-Advisory Agreement.

Fund Expenses

The Fund is responsible for its own operating expenses (all of which will be borne directly or indirectly by the Fund’s shareholders), including among others, legal fees and expenses of counsel to the Fund and the Independent Trustees; insurance (including Trustees’ and officers’ errors and omissions insurance); auditing and accounting expenses; taxes and governmental fees; listing fees; dues and expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; fees and expenses of the Fund’s custodians, administrators, transfer agents, registrars and other service providers; expenses for portfolio pricing services by a pricing agent, if any; expenses in connection with the issuance and offering of shares; expenses relating to investor and public relations; expenses of registering or qualifying securities of the Fund for public sale; brokerage commissions and other costs of acquiring or disposing of any portfolio holding of the Fund; expenses of preparation and distribution of reports, notices and dividends to shareholders; expenses of the dividend reinvestment plan; compensation and expenses of Trustees; any litigation expenses; and costs of shareholders’ and other meetings.

B-25

The Advisor has contractually agreed to waive its fees and/or pay for operating expenses of the Fund to ensure that the total annual fund operating expenses (excluding, as applicable, any taxes, leverage interest, brokerage commissions, dividend and interest expenses on short sales, acquired fund fees and expenses (as determined in accordance with Form N-1A), expenses incurred in connection with any merger or reorganization, and extraordinary expenses such as litigation expenses) do not exceed [ ]%, [ ]% and [ ]% of the average daily net assets of the Fund's Class A, Class C and Class I shares, respectively. This agreement is effective until [____________, 2018], and it may be terminated before that date only by the Board of Trustees.

Any reduction in advisory fees or payment of the Fund’s expenses made by the Advisor in a fiscal year may be reimbursed by the Fund for a period ending three full fiscal years after the date of reduction or payment if the Advisor so requests. This reimbursement may be requested from the Fund if the reimbursement will not cause the Fund's annual expense ratio to exceed the lesser of (a) the expense limitation in effect at the time such fees were waived or payments made, or (b) the expense limitation in effect at the time of the reimbursement. However, the reimbursement amount may not exceed the total amount of fees waived and/or Fund expenses paid by the Advisor and will not include any amounts previously reimbursed to the Advisor by the Fund. Any such reimbursement is contingent upon the Board’s subsequent review of the reimbursed amounts. The Fund must pay current ordinary operating expenses before the Advisor is entitled to any reimbursement of fees and/or Fund expenses.

Portfolio Managers

Other Accounts Managed by the Portfolio Managers. As of [November __, 2017], information on other accounts managed by the Fund’s portfolio managers is as follows.

 
Registered
Investment Companies
Other Pooled
Investment Vehicles
Other
Accounts
Portfolio Managers
Number of Accounts
Total Assets
(in millions)
Number of Accounts
Total Assets
(in millions)
Number of Accounts
Total Assets (in millions)
Paul Bukowski
[2]
[$1,393.2]
[0]
[$0]
[8]
[$43.5]
Edward Caputo
[2]
[$1,174.6]
[2]
[$2,377.2]
[6]
[$1,477.0]
Daniel Segal
[0]
[$0]
[0]
[$0]
[0]
[$0]

B-26

 
Number of Accounts with Advisory Fee Based on Performance
 
Registered
Investment Companies
Other Pooled
Investment Vehicles
Other
Accounts
Portfolio Managers
Number of
Accounts
Total Assets
Number of
Accounts
Total Assets
Number of
Accounts
Total Assets
Paul Bukowski
0
$0
0
$0
0
$0
Edward Caputo
0
$0
0
$0
0
$0
Daniel Segal
0
$0
0
$0
0
$0

Material Conflicts of Interest. Actual or apparent conflicts of interest may arise when a portfolio manager has day-to-day management responsibilities with respect to more than one fund or other account. Where conflicts of interest arise between the Fund and other accounts managed by the portfolio manager, the Sub-Advisor will proceed in a manner that ensures that the Fund will not be treated less favorably. There may be instances where similar portfolio transactions may be executed for the same security for numerous accounts managed by the portfolio managers. In such instances, securities will be allocated in accordance with the Sub-Advisor’s trade allocation policy.

Compensation. Each portfolio manager is eligible to receive a compensation package consisting of three components, base salary from the Sub-Advisor, an annual discretionary cash bonus, and long-term incentive compensation in the form of equity-based awards. The annual discretionary bonus provides cash bonuses dependent upon the combined financial performance of The Hartford and HIMCO, along with individual achievement. The long-term incentive plan provides an opportunity for portfolio managers to be rewarded in the future based on the performance of HIMCO and the broader success of The Hartford. Long-term awards are delivered primarily in the form of restricted stock units of The Hartford. Restricted stock units represent a contingent right to receive shares of The Hartford’s common stock. Compensation of the Fund’s portfolio managers is not discretely related to the Fund’s performance nor is such compensation based on the value of the assets held by the Fund.

Ownership of the Fund by the Portfolio Manager. The following chart sets forth the dollar range of Fund shares owned by each portfolio manager in the Fund as of the date of this SAI.

Name of Portfolio Manager
Dollar Range of Securities in the Fund
(None, $1-$10,000, $10,001-$50,000, $50,001-$100,000,
$100,001 - $500,000, $500,001 - $1,000,000, Over $1,000,000)
Paul Bukowski
[None]
Edward Caputo
[None]
Daniel Segal
[None]
 
Service Providers

Pursuant to a Co-Administration Agreement (the “Co-Administration Agreement”), UMB Fund Services, Inc. (“UMBFS”), 235 W. Galena Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212, and Mutual Fund Administration, LLC (“MFAC”), 2220 E. Route 66, Suite 226, Glendora, California 91740 (collectively the “Co-Administrators”), act as co-administrators for the Fund. The Co-Administrators provide certain administrative services to the Fund, including, among other responsibilities, coordinating the negotiation of contracts and fees with, and the monitoring of performance and billing of, the Fund’s independent contractors and agents; preparing for signature by an officer of the Trust of all documents required to be filed for compliance with applicable laws and regulations including those of the securities laws of various states; arranging for the computation of performance data, including net asset value and yield; arranging for the maintenance of books and records of the Fund; and providing, at their own expense, office facilities, equipment and personnel necessary to carry out their duties. In this capacity, the Co-Administrators do not have any responsibility or authority for the management of the Fund, the determination of investment policy, or for any matter pertaining to the distribution of Fund shares. The Co-Administration Agreement provides that neither Co-Administrator shall be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Trust or its series, except for losses resulting from a Co-Administrator’s willful misfeasance, bad faith or negligence in the performance of its duties or from reckless disregard by it of its obligations and duties under the Agreement.

B-27

As compensation for their services, the Fund pays the Co-Administrators an administration fee payable monthly at the annual rate set forth below as a percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets:

Net Assets
Rate
First $150 million
0.10%
Next $100 million
0.08%
Thereafter
0.05%

Because the Fund is a newly formed fund and has yet to commence operations, the Fund has not paid any fees to the Co-Administrators as of the date of this SAI.

UMBFS also acts as the Trust’s fund accountant, transfer agent and dividend disbursing agent pursuant to separate agreements.

UMB Bank, n.a. (the “Custodian”), an affiliate of UMBFS, is the custodian of the assets of the Fund pursuant to a custody agreement between the Custodian and the Trust, whereby the Custodian provides services for fees on a transactional basis plus out-of-pocket expenses. The Custodian’s address is 928 Grand Boulevard, Kansas City, Missouri 64106. The Custodian does not participate in decisions pertaining to the purchase and sale of securities by the Fund.

[ ], is the independent registered public accounting firm for the Fund. Its services include auditing the Fund’s financial statements and the performance of related tax services.

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP (“Morgan Lewis”), 300 South Grand Avenue, 22nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90071, serves as legal counsel to the Trust.

Paul Hastings LLP (“Paul Hastings”), 101 California Street, 48th Floor, San Francisco, California 94111, serves as independent legal counsel to the Independent Trustees.

Distributor and the Distribution Agreement

IMST Distributors, LLC is the distributor (also known as the principal underwriter) of the shares of the Fund and is located at Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101. The Distributor is a registered broker-dealer and is a member of FINRA. The Distributor is not affiliated with the Trust, the Advisor, the Sub-Advisor or any other service provider for the Fund.

Under a Distribution Agreement with the Trust dated January 1, 2013 (the “Distribution Agreement”), the Distributor acts as the agent of the Trust in connection with the continuous offering of shares of the Fund. The Distributor continually distributes shares of the Fund on a best efforts basis. The Distributor has no obligation to sell any specific quantity of Fund shares. The Distributor and its officers have no role in determining the investment policies or which securities are to be purchased or sold by the Trust.

B-28

The Distributor may enter into agreements with selected broker-dealers, banks or other financial intermediaries for distribution of shares of the Fund. With respect to certain financial intermediaries and related fund “supermarket” platform arrangements, the Fund and/or the Advisor, rather than the Distributor, typically enter into such agreements. These financial intermediaries may charge a fee for their services and may receive shareholder service or other fees from parties other than the Distributor. These financial intermediaries may otherwise act as processing agents and are responsible for promptly transmitting purchase, redemption and other requests to the Fund.

Investors who purchase shares through financial intermediaries will be subject to the procedures of those intermediaries through which they purchase shares, which may include charges, investment minimums, cutoff times and other restrictions in addition to, or different from, those listed herein. Information concerning any charges or services will be provided to customers by the financial intermediary through which they purchase shares. Investors purchasing shares of the Fund through financial intermediaries should acquaint themselves with their financial intermediary’s procedures and should read the Prospectus in conjunction with any materials and information provided by their financial intermediary. The financial intermediary, and not its customers, will be the shareholder of record, although customers may have the right to vote shares depending upon their arrangement with the financial intermediary. The Distributor does not receive compensation from the Fund for its distribution services except the distribution/service fees with respect to the shares of those classes for which a Rule 12b-1 distribution plan is effective. The Advisor pays the Distributor a fee for certain distribution-related services.

The Distribution Agreement has an initial term of up to two years and will continue in effect only if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the Board or by vote of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities in accordance with the 1940 Act. The Distribution Agreement is terminable without penalty by the Trust on behalf of the Fund on no less than 60 days’ written notice when authorized either by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund or by vote of a majority of the members of the Board who are not “interested persons” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Distribution Agreement, or by the Distributor, and will automatically terminate in the event of its “assignment” (as defined in the 1940 Act). The Distribution Agreement provides that the Distributor shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Trust in connection with the performance of the Distributor’s obligations and duties under the Distribution Agreement, except a loss resulting from the Distributor’s willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of such duties and obligations, or by reason of its reckless disregard thereof.

Pursuant to the Distribution Agreement, amounts received by the Distributor are not held for profit by the Distributor, but instead are used to pay for and/or reimburse the Advisor for distribution-related expenditures.

Rule 12b-1 Plan

The Trust has adopted a plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the “12b-1 Plan”) that provides for Fund assets to be used for the payment for distribution services for Class A shares and Class C shares. The 12b-1 Plan provides alternative methods for paying sales charges and may help the Fund grow or maintain asset levels to provide operational efficiencies and economies of scale. The 12b-1 Plan also provides for the payment of service fees in connection with the provision of post-sales shareholder liaison services to holders of Class A shares and Class C shares, as defined in FINRA regulations, including personal services such as responding to customer inquiries, and services related to the maintenance of shareholder accounts. Because 12b-1 fees are paid out of Fund assets attributable to Class A shares and Class C shares on an ongoing basis, they will, over time, increase the cost of an investment and may cost more than other types of sales charges.

The 12b-1 Plan provides that the distribution fees paid by Class A or Class C shares of the Fund may be used to pay for any expenses primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of such class, including, but not limited to: (a) costs of payments, including incentive compensation, made to agents for and consultants to the Distributor or the Trust, including pension administration firms that provide distribution services and broker-dealers that engage in the distribution of the shares of such class of the Fund; (b) payments made to, and expenses of, persons who provide support services in connection with the distribution of shares of such class of the Fund; (c) payments made pursuant to any dealer agreements between the Distributor and certain broker-dealers, financial institutions and other service providers with respect to such class of the Fund; (d) costs relating to the formulation and implementation of marketing and promotional activities; (e) costs of printing and distributing prospectuses, statements of additional information and reports of the Fund to prospective shareholders of such class of the Fund; (f) costs involved in preparing, printing and distributing sales literature pertaining to such class of the Fund; (g) costs involved in obtaining such information, analyses and reports with respect to marketing and promotional activities that the Trust may deem advisable with respect to such class of the Fund; and (h) reimbursement to the Advisor for expenses advanced on behalf of the Fund or class with respect to such activities. The 12b-1 Plan is a compensation plan, which means that the Distributor is compensated regardless of its expenses, as opposed to a reimbursement plan which reimburses only for expenses incurred. The Distributor does not retain any 12b-1 fees for profit. All 12b-1 fees are held in a retention account by the Distributor to pay for and/or reimburse the Advisor for distribution-related expenditures.

B-29

The 12b-1 Plan may not be amended to materially increase the amount to be paid by the Fund‘s Class A or Class C shares for distribution services without the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of such shares. The 12b-1 Plan shall continue in effect indefinitely with respect to a class, provided that such continuance is approved at least annually by a vote of a majority of the Trustees, including the Independent Trustees, cast in person at a meeting called for such purpose or by vote of at least a majority of the outstanding voting securities of such class. The 12b-1 Plan may be terminated with respect to a class at any time without penalty by vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees or by vote of the majority of the outstanding voting securities of such class.

If the 12b-1 Plan is terminated for the Fund‘s Class A shares or Class C shares in accordance with its terms, the obligation of the Fund to make payments pursuant to the 12b-1 Plan with respect to such class will cease and the Fund will not be required to make any payments past the termination date. Thus, there will be no legal obligation for the Fund to make any payments other than for fees already payable under the 12b-1 Plan, if the 12b-1 Plan is terminated in accordance with its terms for any reason.

Shareholder Service Plan

The Board has adopted, on behalf of the Fund, a Shareholder Service Plan (the “Service Plan”) under which the Advisor will provide, or arrange for others (such as banks, trust companies, broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries (each, a “Service Organization”)) to provide, certain specified non-distribution shareholder servicing functions for Fund shares owned by its respective customers, including but not limited to (a) establishing and maintaining accounts and records relating to customers who invest in the Fund; (b) aggregating and processing orders involving Fund shares; (c) processing dividend and other distribution payments from the Fund on behalf of customers; (d) preparing tax reports or forms on behalf of customers; (e) forwarding communications from the Fund; (f) providing sub-accounting with respect to Fund shares; (g) providing customers with a service that invests the assets of their accounts in Fund shares pursuant to specific or pre-authorized instructions; and (h) providing such other similar services as the Advisor may reasonably request to the extent it or a Service Organization is permitted to do so under applicable statutes, rules or regulations. The Fund will pay the Advisor or Service Organizations, as applicable, at an annual rate of up to 0.15% of the Fund’s average daily net assets, payable monthly.

B-30

Marketing and Support Payments

The Advisor, out of its own resources and without additional cost to the Fund or its shareholders, may provide cash payments or other compensation to certain financial intermediaries who sell shares of the Fund. These payments are in addition to other fees described in the Fund’s Prospectus and this SAI, and are generally provided for shareholder services or marketing support. Payments for marketing support are typically for inclusion of the Fund on sales lists, including electronic sales platforms. Investors may wish to take these payments into account when considering and evaluating recommendations to purchase shares of the Fund.

Dealer Reallowances

The Fund’s shares are subject to a sales charge that includes a dealer reallowance, which varies depending on how much the shareholder invests. The Distributor pays the appropriate dealer reallowance to dealers who have entered into an agreement with the Distributor to sell shares of the Fund. The Advisor, a registered broker-dealer, may receive sales charges from the Distributor for activities relating to the marketing of the Fund’s shares pursuant to an agreement with the Distributor. More detailed information on the sales charge and its application is contained in the Prospectus.
 
PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS AND BROKERAGE

Pursuant to the Advisory Agreement and Sub-Advisory Agreement, the Advisor and Sub-Advisor determine which securities are to be purchased and sold by the Fund and which broker-dealers are eligible to execute the Fund’s portfolio transactions. The purchases and sales of securities in the OTC market will generally be executed by using a broker for the transaction.

Purchases of portfolio securities for the Fund also may be made directly from issuers or from underwriters. Where possible, purchase and sale transactions will be effected through dealers (including banks) that specialize in the types of securities which the Fund will be holding unless better executions are available elsewhere. Dealers and underwriters usually act as principals for their own accounts. Purchases from underwriters will include a concession paid by the issuer to the underwriter and purchases from dealers will include the spread between the bid and the asked price. If the execution and price offered by more than one dealer or underwriter are comparable, the order may be allocated to a dealer or underwriter that has provided research or other services as discussed below.

In placing portfolio transactions, the Advisor and Sub-Advisor will use reasonable efforts to choose broker-dealers capable of providing the services necessary to obtain the most favorable price and execution available. The full range and quality of services available will be considered in making these determinations, such as the size of the order, the difficulty of execution, the operational facilities of the broker-dealer involved, the risk in positioning the block of securities, and other factors. In those instances where it is reasonably determined that more than one broker-dealer can offer the services needed to obtain the most favorable price and execution available, consideration may be given to those broker-dealers which furnish or supply research and statistical information to the Advisor and Sub-Advisor that they may lawfully and appropriately use in their investment advisory capacities, as well as provide other services in addition to execution services. Each of the Advisor and the Sub-Advisor considers such information, which is in addition to and not in lieu of the services required to be performed by it under its Advisory Agreement and Sub-Advisory Agreement with the Fund, to be useful in varying degrees, but of indeterminable value.

While it is the Fund’s general policy to seek to obtain the most favorable price and execution available in selecting a broker-dealer to execute portfolio transactions for the Fund, weight is also given to the ability of a broker-dealer to furnish brokerage and research services as defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, to the Fund or to the Advisor, even if the specific services are not directly useful to the Fund and may be useful to the Advisor in advising other clients. In negotiating commissions with a broker or evaluating the spread to be paid to a dealer, the Fund may therefore pay a higher commission or spread than would be the case if no weight were given to the furnishing of these supplemental services, provided that the amount of such commission or spread has been determined in good faith by the Advisor and Sub-Advisor to be reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research services provided by such broker-dealer. The standard of reasonableness is to be measured in light of the Advisor’s or Sub-Advisor’s overall responsibilities to the Fund.

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Investment decisions for the Fund are made independently from those of other client accounts that may be managed or advised by the Advisor or Sub-Advisor. Nevertheless, it is possible that at times, identical securities will be acceptable for both the Fund and one or more of such client accounts. In such event, the position of the Fund and such client accounts in the same issuer may vary and the holding period may likewise vary. However, to the extent any of these client accounts seek to acquire the same security as the Fund at the same time, the Fund may not be able to acquire as large a position in such security as it desires, or it may have to pay a higher price or obtain a lower yield for such security. Similarly, the Fund may not be able to obtain as high a price for, or as large an execution of, an order to sell any particular security at the same time as the Advisor’s or Sub-Advisor’s other client accounts.

The Fund does not effect securities transactions through brokers in accordance with any formula, nor does it effect securities transactions through brokers for selling shares of the Fund. However, broker-dealers who execute brokerage transactions may effect purchases of shares of the Fund for their customers.
 
Holdings of Securities of the Fund’s Regular Brokers or Dealers

From time to time, the Fund may acquire and hold securities issued by its “regular brokers or dealers” or the parents of those brokers or dealers. “Regular brokers or dealers” (as such term is defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund are the ten brokers or dealers that, during the most recent fiscal year, (i) received the greatest dollar amounts of brokerage commissions from the Fund’s portfolio transactions, (ii) engaged as principal in the largest dollar amounts of the portfolio transactions of the Fund, or (iii) sold the largest dollar amounts of the Fund’s shares. Any securities of any “regular brokers or dealers” held by the Fund during a fiscal year will be disclosed by the Fund after the end of such fiscal year.

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

Although the Fund generally will not invest for short-term trading purposes, portfolio securities may be sold without regard to the length of time they have been held when, in the opinion of the Sub-Advisor, investment considerations warrant such action. Portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing (1) the lesser of purchases or sales of portfolio securities for the fiscal year by (2) the monthly average of the value of portfolio securities owned during the fiscal year. A 100% turnover rate would occur if all the securities in the Fund’s portfolio, with the exception of securities whose maturities at the time of acquisition were one year or less, were sold and either repurchased or replaced within one year. A high rate of portfolio turnover (100% or higher) generally leads to higher transaction costs and may result in a greater number of taxable transactions. To the extent net short-term capital gains are realized, any distributions resulting from such gains will generally be taxed at ordinary income tax rates for federal income tax purposes.

The Fund is newly-created and, as a result, does not yet have a portfolio turnover rate.
 
PROXY VOTING POLICY

The Board has adopted Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures (the “Trust Policies”) on behalf of the Trust, which delegates the responsibility for voting the Fund’s proxies to the Advisor and Sub-Advisor, subject to the Board’s continuing oversight. The Trust Policies require that the Advisor and Sub-Advisor vote proxies received in a manner consistent with the best interests of the Fund. The Trust Policies also require the Advisor and Sub-Advisor present to the Board, at least annually, the Advisor’s and Sub-Advisor’s Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures (together, the “Advisor Policies”) and a record of each proxy voted by the Advisor and Sub-Advisor on behalf of the Fund, including a report on the resolution of all proxies identified by the Advisor and Sub-Advisor as involving a conflict of interest. See Appendix B for the Trust Policies and Advisor Policies. The Trust Policies and Advisor Policies are intended to serve as guidelines and to further the economic value of each security held by the Fund. The Trust’s CCO will review the Trust Policies and Advisor Policies annually. Each proxy will be considered individually, taking into account the relevant circumstances at the time of each vote.

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If a proxy proposal raises a material conflict between the Advisor’s or Sub-Advisor’s interests and the Fund’s interests, the Advisor or Sub-Advisor will resolve the conflict by following the policy guidelines or the recommendation of an independent third party.

The Fund is required to annually file Form N-PX, which lists the Fund’s complete proxy voting record for the 12-month period ending June 30 of each year. Once filed, the Fund’s proxy voting record will be available without charge, upon request, by calling toll-free 1-888-966-9661 and on the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov.

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING PROGRAM

The Trust has established an Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Program (the “Program”) as required by the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (“USA PATRIOT Act”). In order to ensure compliance with this law, the Program provides for the development and implementation of internal practices, procedures and controls, designation of anti-money laundering compliance officers, an ongoing training program and an independent audit function to determine the effectiveness of the Program.

Procedures to implement the Program include, but are not limited to, determining that the Distributor and the Fund’s transfer agent have established proper anti-money laundering procedures, reporting suspicious and/or fraudulent activity, checking shareholder names against designated government lists, including Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), and a complete and thorough review of all new opening account applications. The Trust will not transact business with any person or entity whose identity cannot be adequately verified under the provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act.
 
PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS INFORMATION

The Trust has adopted policies and procedures regarding disclosure of portfolio holdings information (the “Disclosure Policy”). The Board of Trustees determined that the adoption of the Disclosure Policy, including the disclosure permitted therein, was in the best interests of the Trust. The Disclosure Policy applies to the Fund, Advisor, Sub-Advisor and other internal parties involved in the administration, operation or custody of the Fund, including, but not limited to UMBFS, MFAC, the Board of Trustees, counsel to the Trust, Morgan Lewis, counsel to the Independent Trustees, Paul Hastings, and the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm, [ ] (collectively, the “Service Providers”). Pursuant to the Disclosure Policy, non-public information concerning the Fund’s portfolio holdings may be disclosed to its Service Providers only if such disclosure is consistent with the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and the fiduciary duties owed by the Fund and the Advisor to the Fund’s shareholders. The Fund and its Service Providers may not receive compensation or any other consideration (which includes any agreement to maintain assets in the Fund or in other investment companies or accounts managed by the Advisor, Sub-Advisor or any affiliated person of the Advisor or Sub-Advisor) in connection with the disclosure of portfolio holdings information of the Fund. The Fund’s Disclosure Policy is implemented and overseen by the CCO of the Trust, subject to the oversight of the Board of Trustees. Periodic reports regarding these procedures will be provided to the Trust’s Board.

Portfolio holdings information will be deemed public when it has been (1) posted to the Fund’s public website (www.aamlive.com/publicsite/mutual-funds) or (2) disclosed in periodic regulatory filings on the SEC’s website (www.sec.gov). Management of the Fund may make publicly available its portfolio holdings on the Fund’s public website no earlier than five days after the date of such information (e.g., information as of January 31 may be made available no earlier than February 5).

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Non-Public Portfolio Holdings Information Policy. All portfolio holdings information that has not been disseminated in a manner making it available to investors generally as described above is considered non-public portfolio holdings information for the purposes of the Disclosure Policy. Pursuant to the Disclosure Policy, the Fund or its Service Providers may disclose non-public portfolio holdings information to certain third parties who fall within pre-authorized categories on a daily basis, with no lag time unless otherwise specified below. These third parties include: (i) the Fund’s Service Providers and others who need access to such information in the performance of their contractual or other duties and responsibilities to the Fund (e.g., custodians, accountants, the Advisor, the Sub-Advisor, administrators, attorneys, officers and Trustees) and who are subject to duties of confidentiality imposed by law or contract, (ii) brokers who execute trades for the Fund, (iii) evaluation service providers (as described below) and (iv) shareholders receiving in-kind redemptions (as described below).

Evaluation Service Providers. These third parties include mutual fund evaluation services, such as Morningstar, Inc. and Lipper, Inc., if the Fund has a legitimate business purpose for disclosing the information, provided that the third party expressly agrees to maintain the non-public portfolio holdings information in confidence and not to trade portfolio securities based on the non-public portfolio holdings information. Subject to the terms and conditions of any agreement between the Fund or its authorized Service Providers and the third party, if these conditions for disclosure are satisfied, there shall be no restriction on the frequency with which the Fund’s non-public portfolio holdings information is released, and no lag period shall apply. In addition, persons who owe a duty of trust or confidence to the Fund or its Service Providers (such as legal counsel) may receive non-public portfolio holdings information without entering into a non-disclosure agreement.

Shareholder In-Kind Distributions. The Fund may, in certain circumstances, pay redemption proceeds to a shareholder by an in-kind distribution of portfolio securities (instead of cash). In such circumstances, pursuant to the Disclosure Policy, Fund shareholders may receive a complete listing of the portfolio holdings of the Fund up to seven (7) calendar days prior to making the redemption request provided that they represent orally or in writing that they agree to maintain the confidentiality of the portfolio holdings information and not to trade portfolio securities based on the non-public holdings information.

Other Entities. Pursuant to the Disclosure Policy, the Fund, the Advisor, or the Sub-Advisor may disclose non-public portfolio holdings information to a third party who does not fall within the pre-approved categories, and who are not executing broker-dealers; however, prior to the receipt of any non-public portfolio holdings information by such third party, the recipient must have entered into a non-disclosure agreement and the disclosure arrangement must have been approved by the CCO of the Trust. The CCO will report to the Board of Trustees on a quarterly basis regarding any recipients of non-public portfolio holdings information approved pursuant to this paragraph. There are no other ongoing arrangements as of the date of this SAI.

The Advisor, the Sub-Advisor, and their affiliates may provide investment advice to clients other than the Fund that have investment objectives that may be substantially similar to those of the Fund. These clients also may have portfolios consisting of holdings substantially similar to those of the Fund and generally have access to current portfolio holdings information for their accounts. These clients do not owe the Advisor, the Sub-Advisor, or the Fund a duty of confidentiality with respect to disclosure of their portfolio holdings.

Current Arrangements Regarding Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings. As of the date of this SAI, the Trust or the Fund has ongoing business arrangements with the following entities which involve making portfolio holdings information available to such entities as an incidental part of the services they provide to the Trust: (i) the Advisor, the Sub-Advisor, the Co-Administrators and the Custodian pursuant to investment management, administration and custody agreements, respectively, under which the Trust’s portfolio holdings information is provided daily on a real-time basis (i.e. with no time lag); (ii) [ ] (independent registered public accounting firm), Morgan Lewis and Paul Hastings (attorneys), and other professionals engaged by the Trust to whom the Trust provides portfolio holdings information on a regular basis with varying lag times after the date of the information, and (iii) Morningstar, Inc., Lipper Inc., Thomson Financial, Vickers Stock Research Corporation, and Bloomberg L.P., to which the Fund’s portfolio holdings information is provided quarterly after the end of the previous fiscal quarter, with a 60-day time lag and no earlier than the date such information is filed on the SEC’s EDGAR system on Form N-Q (for the first and third fiscal quarters) or the Annual or Semi-Annual Report is mailed to shareholders (for the second and fourth fiscal quarters), as applicable.

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In addition, the Fund has entered into ongoing arrangements to disclose portfolio holdings to the following entities:

Barclays Capital Inc. (POINT software)
BlackRock Solutions
Citigroup (Yield Book software)
Class Action Claims Management
Cognizant Technology Solutions
FactSet Research Systems Inc.
Glass Lewis & Company
Markit EDM (formerly CADIS Software Limited)
Markit Group (formerly Quantitative Services Group LLC)
StarCompliance Inc.
SS&C Technologies
TerraNua/MyComplianceOffice

Portfolio holdings are disclosed on a daily basis to BlackRock Solutions, TerraNua/MyComplianceOffice, StarCompliance Inc., FactSet Research Systems Inc., Glass Lewis & Co., and Markit Group (formerly Quantitative Services Group LLC). Portfolio holdings are disclosed monthly to Class Action Claims Management. Portfolio holdings are disclosed to Barclays Capital Inc. (POINT software), Markit EDM formerly (CADIS Software Limited), Citigroup (Yield Book software), and SS&C Technologies periodically, as needed, with no delay. Cognizant Technology Solutions an information technology consultants that may access daily holdings information as needed.
 
DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE

The net asset values per share (the “NAVs”) of the Fund’s shares will fluctuate and are determined as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, the normal close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) on each day the NYSE is open for trading. The NAVs may be calculated earlier if trading on the NYSE is restricted or if permitted by the SEC. The NYSE annually announces the days on which it will not be open for trading. The most recent announcement indicates that the NYSE will not be open for the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. However, the NYSE may close on days not included in that announcement.

The NAV of each class is computed by dividing (a) the difference between the value of the Fund’s securities, cash and other assets and the amount of the Fund’s expenses and liabilities attributable to the class by (b) the number of shares outstanding in that class (assets – liabilities / # of shares = NAV). Each NAV takes into account all of the expenses and fees of that class of the Fund, including management fees and administration fees, which are accrued daily.

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Net Assets
=
NAV
Shares Outstanding

Generally, the Fund’s investments are valued at market value or, in the absence of a market value, at fair value as determined in good faith by the Advisor and the Trust’s Valuation Committee pursuant to procedures approved by or under the direction of the Board. Pursuant to those procedures, the Board considers, among other things: 1) the last sale price on the securities exchange, if any, on which a security is primarily traded; 2) the mean between the bid and ask prices; 3) price quotations from an approved pricing service (which use information provided by market makers or estimates of market value based on similar securities), and 4) other factors as necessary to determine a fair value under certain circumstances.

The Fund’s securities which are traded on securities exchanges are valued at the last sale price on the exchange on which such securities are traded, as of the close of business on the day the securities are being valued or, lacking any reported sales, at the mean between the last available bid and ask prices.

Securities that are traded on more than one exchange are valued on the exchange determined by the Advisor to be the primary market. Securities primarily traded in the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation (“NASDAQ”), National Market System for which market quotations are readily available shall be valued using the NASDAQ Official Closing Price (“NOCP”). If the NOCP is not available, such securities shall be valued at the last sale price on the day of valuation, or if there has not been any sale on such day, at the mean between the bid and ask prices. OTC securities which are not traded in the NASDAQ National Market System are valued at the most recent trade price.

Stocks that are “thinly traded” or events occurring when a foreign market is closed but the NYSE is open (for example, the value of a security held by the Fund has been materially affected by events occurring after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded) may create a situation where a market quote would not be readily available. When a market quote is not readily available, the security’s value is based on “fair value” as determined by procedures adopted by the Board. The Board will periodically review the reliability of the Fund’s fair value methodology. The Fund may hold portfolio securities, such as those traded on foreign securities exchanges that trade on weekends or other days when the Fund’s shares are not priced. Therefore, the value of the Fund’s shares may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or redeem shares.

Short-term debt obligations with remaining maturities in excess of 60 days are valued at current market prices, as discussed above. Short-term securities with 60 days or less remaining to maturity are, unless conditions indicate otherwise, amortized to maturity based on their cost to the Fund if acquired within 60 days of maturity or, if already held by the Fund on the 60th day, based on the value determined on the 61st day.

All other assets of the Fund are valued in such manner as the Board in good faith deems appropriate to reflect as their fair value.
 
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION OF FUND SHARES

Detailed information on the purchase and redemption of shares is included in the Fund’s Prospectus. Shares of the Fund are sold at the next offering price calculated after receipt of an order for purchase. In order to purchase shares of the Fund, you must invest the initial minimum investment for the relevant class of shares. However, the Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to waive the minimum initial investment amount for certain investors, or to waive or reduce the minimum initial investment for 401(k) plans or other tax-deferred retirement plans. You may purchase shares on any day that the NYSE is open for business by placing orders with the Fund.

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The Fund reserves the right to refuse any purchase requests, particularly those that would not be in the best interests of the Fund or its shareholders and could adversely affect the Fund or its operations. This includes those from any individual or group who, in the Fund’s view, is likely to engage in or has a history of excessive trading (usually defined as more than four round-trip transactions out of the Fund within a calendar year). Furthermore, the Fund may suspend the right to redeem its shares or postpone the date of payment upon redemption for more than seven calendar days (i) for any period during which the NYSE is closed (other than customary weekend or holiday closings) or trading on the NYSE is restricted; (ii) for any period during which an emergency exists affecting the sale of the Fund’s securities or making such sale or the fair determination of the value of the Fund’s net assets not reasonably practicable; or (iii) for such other periods as the SEC may permit for the protection of the Fund’s shareholders. In addition, if shares are purchased using a check and a redemption is requested before the check has cleared, the Fund may postpone payment of the redemption proceeds up to 15 days while the Fund waits for the check to clear.

Redemptions In Kind

The Trust has filed an election under SEC Rule 18f-1 committing to pay in cash all redemptions by a shareholder of record up to amounts specified by the rule (the lesser of (i) $250,000 or (ii) 1% of the Fund’s assets). The Fund has reserved the right to pay the redemption price of its shares in excess of the amounts specified by the rule, either totally or partially, by an in-kind distribution of portfolio securities (instead of cash). The securities so distributed would be valued at the same amounts as those assigned to them in calculating the NAV for the Fund shares being redeemed. If a shareholder receives an in-kind distribution, the shareholder could incur brokerage or other charges in converting the securities to cash.

The Fund does not intend to hold any significant percentage of its portfolio in illiquid securities, although the Fund, like virtually all mutual funds, may from time to time hold a small percentage of securities that are illiquid. In the unlikely event the Fund were to elect to make an in-kind redemption, the Fund expects that it would follow the normal protocol of making such distribution by way of a pro rata distribution based on its entire portfolio. If the Fund held illiquid securities, such distribution may contain a pro rata portion of such illiquid securities or the Fund may determine, based on a materiality assessment, not to include illiquid securities in the in-kind redemption. The Fund does not anticipate that it would ever selectively distribute a greater than pro rata portion of any illiquid securities to satisfy a redemption request. If such securities are included in the distribution, shareholders may not be able to liquidate such securities and may be required to hold such securities indefinitely. Shareholders’ ability to liquidate such securities distributed in-kind may be restricted by resale limitations or substantial restrictions on transfer imposed by the issuers of the securities or by law. Shareholders may only be able to liquidate such securities distributed in-kind at a substantial discount from their value, and there may be higher brokerage costs associated with any subsequent disposition of these securities by the recipient.
 
FEDERAL INCOME TAX MATTERS

The following is a summary of certain material U.S. federal (and, where noted, state and local) income tax considerations affecting the Fund and its shareholders. The discussion is very general. Current and prospective shareholders are therefore urged to consult their own tax advisors with respect to the specific federal, state, local and foreign tax consequences of investing in the Fund. The summary is based on the laws in effect on the date of this SAI and existing judicial and administrative interpretations thereof, all of which are subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect.

The Fund is treated as a separate entity from other series of the Trust for federal income tax purposes. The Fund has elected (or intends to elect) to be treated and intends to qualify each year for treatment as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Code by complying with all applicable requirements of the Code, including, among other things, requirements as to the sources of the Fund’s income, diversification of the Fund’s assets and timing of Fund distributions. To so qualify, the Fund must, among other things: (a) derive at least 90% of its gross income in each taxable year from dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities loans, and gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities or foreign currencies, or other income (including, but not limited to, gains from futures or forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies, and net income derived from interests in “qualified publicly traded partnerships” (i.e., partnerships that are traded on an established securities market or tradable on a secondary market, other than partnerships that derive 90% of their income from interest, dividends, capital gains, and other traditionally permitted mutual fund income); (b) diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each quarter of the Fund’s taxable year, (i) at least 50% of the market value of the Fund’s assets is represented by cash, securities of other regulated investment companies, U.S. government securities and other securities, with such other securities limited, in respect of any one issuer, to an amount not greater than 5% of the Fund’s assets and not greater than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of its assets is invested in the securities (other than U.S. government securities or securities of other regulated investment companies) of any one issuer, in the securities (other than the securities of other regulated investment companies) of any two or more issuers that the Fund controls and that are determined to be engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses or related trades or businesses, or in the securities of one or more “qualified publicly traded partnerships;” and (c) distribute an amount equal to the sum of at least 90% of its investment company taxable income (computed without regard to the dividends-paid deduction) and 90% of its net tax-exempt income, if any, for the tax year (including, for purposes of satisfying this distribution requirement, certain distributions made by the Fund after the close of its taxable year that are treated as made during such taxable year).

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As a regulated investment company, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its taxable investment income and capital gains that it distributes to its shareholders provided that it satisfies a minimum distribution requirement. In order to also avoid liability for a non-deductible federal excise tax, the Fund must distribute (or be deemed to have distributed) by December 31 of each calendar year at least the sum of (i) 98% of its ordinary income for such year, (ii) 98.2% of the excess of its realized capital gains over its realized capital losses for the 12-month period generally ending on October 31 during such year and (iii) any amounts from the prior calendar year that were not distributed and on which the Fund paid no federal income tax. The Fund will be subject to income tax at regular corporate tax rates on any taxable income or gains that it does not distribute to its shareholders. The Fund's policy is to distribute to its shareholders all investment company taxable income (determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid) and any net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss)for each fiscal year in a manner that complies with the distribution requirements of the Code, so that the Fund will not be subject to any federal income or excise taxes.

If, for any taxable year, the Fund were to fail to qualify as a regulated investment company or were to fail to meet certain minimum distribution requirements under the Code, it would be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation and distributions to its shareholders would not be deductible by the Fund in computing its taxable income. In addition, in the event of a failure to qualify, the Fund’s distributions, to the extent derived from the Fund’s current or accumulated earnings and profits, including any distributions of net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss), would be taxable to shareholders as ordinary dividend income for federal income tax purposes. However, such dividends would be eligible, subject to any generally applicable limitations, (i) to be treated as qualified dividend income in the case of shareholders taxed as individuals and (ii) for the dividends received deduction in the case of corporate shareholders. Moreover, if the Fund were to fail to qualify as a regulated investment company in any year, it would be required to pay out its earnings and profits accumulated in that year in order to qualify again as a regulated investment company. Under certain circumstances, the Fund may be able to cure a failure to qualify as a regulated investment company, but in order to do so the Fund might incur significant Fund-level taxes and might be forced to dispose of certain assets. If the Fund failed to qualify as a regulated investment company for a period greater than two taxable years, the Fund would generally be required to recognize any net built-in gains with respect to certain of its assets upon a disposition of such assets within ten years of qualifying as a regulated investment company in a subsequent year.

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Shareholders generally will be subject to federal income taxes on distributions made by the Fund whether paid in cash or additional shares. Distributions of net investment income (including interest, dividend income and net short-term capital gain in excess of any net long-term capital loss, less certain expenses), other than qualified dividend income, will be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income. Distributions of qualified dividend income generally will be taxed to non-corporate shareholders at the federal income tax rates applicable to net capital gain, provided the Fund reports the amount distributed as qualified dividend income.

Distributions of net capital gain, if any, that the Fund reports as capital gain dividends will be taxable to non-corporate shareholders as long-term capital gain without regard to how long a shareholder has held shares of the Fund. The Fund may retain certain amounts of capital gains and designate them as undistributed net capital gain in a notice to its shareholders, who (i) will be required to include in income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gain, their proportionate shares of the undistributed amounts so designated, (ii) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the income tax paid by the Fund on those undistributed amounts against their federal income tax liabilities and to claim refunds to the extent such credits exceed their liabilities and (iii) will be entitled to increase their federal income tax basis in their shares by an amount equal to the excess of the amounts of undistributed net capital gain included in their respective income over their respective income tax credits.

Dividends paid by the Fund may qualify in part for the dividends-received deduction available to corporate shareholders, provided the Fund reports the amount distributed as a qualifying dividend and certain holding period and other requirements under the Code are satisfied. The reported amount, however, cannot exceed the aggregate amount of qualifying dividends received by the Fund for its taxable year. Eligibility for qualified dividend income treatment and the dividends-received deduction may be reduced or eliminated if, among other things, (i) the shareholder is under an obligation (whether pursuant to a short sale or otherwise) to make related payments with respect to positions in substantially similar or related property or (ii) certain holding period requirements are not satisfied at both the Fund and shareholder levels. In addition, qualified dividend income treatment is not available if a shareholder elects to have the dividend income treated as investment income for purposes of the limitation on deductibility of investment interest.

Distributions in excess of earnings and profits will, as to each shareholder, be treated as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of the shareholder’s basis in his or her Fund shares. A distribution treated as a return of capital will reduce the shareholder’s basis in his or her shares, which will result in an increase in the amount of gain (or a decrease in the amount of loss) that will be recognized by the shareholder for tax purposes on a later sale of such shares. After the shareholder’s basis is reduced to zero, any distributions in excess of earnings and profits will be treated as a capital gain, assuming the shareholder holds his or her shares as capital assets.

A 3.8% Medicare contribution tax generally applies to all or a portion of the net investment income of a shareholder who is an individual and not a nonresident alien for federal income tax purposes and who has adjusted gross income (subject to certain adjustments) that exceeds a threshold amount ($250,000 if married filing jointly or if considered a “surviving spouse” for federal income tax purposes, $125,000 if married filing separately, and $200,000 in other cases). This 3.8% tax also applies to all or a portion of the undistributed net investment income of certain shareholders that are estates and trusts. For these purposes, interest, dividends and certain capital gains (among other categories of income) are generally taken into account in computing a shareholder’s net investment income.

Distributions are generally taxable when received. However, distributions declared in October, November or December to shareholders of record on a date in such a month and paid the following January are taxable for federal income tax purposes as if received on December 31 of the calendar year in which declared. Distributions are includable in alternative minimum taxable income in computing a shareholder's liability for the federal alternative minimum tax. In addition, certain distributions made after the close of a taxable year of the Fund may be “spilled back” and treated for certain purposes as paid by the Fund during such taxable year. In such case, shareholders generally will be treated as having received such dividends in the taxable year in which the distributions were actually made. For purposes of calculating the amount of a regulated investment company’s undistributed income and gain subject to the 4% excise tax described above, such “spilled back” dividends are treated as paid by the regulated investment company when they are actually paid.

B-39

A redemption of Fund shares may result in recognition of a taxable gain or loss. The gain or loss will generally be treated as a long-term capital gain or loss if the shares are held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if the shares are held for one year or less. Any loss realized upon a redemption or exchange of shares held for six months or less will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any amounts treated as distributions of long-term capital gains during such six-month period. Any loss realized upon a redemption may be disallowed under certain wash sale rules to the extent shares of the Fund or substantially identical stock or securities are purchased (through reinvestment of distributions or otherwise) within 30 days before or after the redemption.

If a shareholder recognizes a loss with respect to the Fund’s shares of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder (or certain greater amounts over a combination of years), the shareholder must file with the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) a disclosure statement on Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases exempted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a regulated investment company are not exempted. The fact that a loss is so reportable does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper.

The Fund’s transactions in futures may be subject to special provisions of the Code that, among other things, affect the character of any income realized by the Fund from such investments, accelerate recognition of income to the Fund, defer Fund losses, affect the holding period of the Fund's securities, affect whether distributions will be eligible for the dividends received deduction or be treated as qualified dividend income and affect the determination of whether capital gain and loss is characterized as long-term or short-term capital gain or loss. These rules could therefore affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to shareholders. These provisions may also require the Fund to “mark-to-market” certain types of the positions in its portfolio (i.e., treat them as if they were closed out), which may cause the Fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the distribution requirements for avoiding U.S. federal income and excise taxes. The Fund will monitor these transactions and will make the appropriate entries in its books and records, and if the Fund deems it advisable, will make appropriate elections if available in order to mitigate the effect of these rules, prevent disqualification of the Fund as a regulated investment company and minimize the imposition of U.S. federal income and excise taxes.

The Fund’s transactions in broad based equity index futures contracts and certain other futures contracts are generally considered “Section 1256 contracts” for federal income tax purposes. Any unrealized gains or losses on such Section 1256 contracts are treated as though they were realized at the end of each taxable year. The resulting gain or loss is treated as 60% long-term capital gain or loss and 40% short-term capital gain or loss. Gain or loss recognized on actual sales of Section 1256 contracts is treated in the same manner. As noted above, distributions of net short-term capital gain are taxable to shareholders as ordinary income while distributions of net long-term capital gain are taxable to shareholders as long-term capital gain, regardless of how long the shareholder has held shares of the Fund.

The Fund’s entry into a short sale transaction or certain other contracts, such as futures, could be treated as the constructive sale of an appreciated financial position, causing the Fund to realize gain, but not loss, on the position.

B-40

If the Fund invests in certain pay-in-kind securities, zero coupon securities, deferred interest securities or, in general, any other securities with original issue discount (or with market discount if the Fund elects to include market discount in income currently), the Fund must accrue income on such investments for each taxable year, which generally will be prior to the receipt of the corresponding cash payments. However, the Fund must distribute, at least annually, all or substantially all of its investment company taxable income (determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid), including such accrued income to shareholders to avoid federal income and excise taxes. Therefore, the Fund may have to sell portfolio securities (potentially under disadvantageous circumstances) to generate cash, or may have to undertake leverage by borrowing cash, to satisfy these distribution requirements. Dispositions of portfolio securities may result in additional gains and additional distribution requirements.

If the Fund invests in a market discount bond, it will be required to treat any gain recognized on the disposition of such market discount bond as ordinary income (instead of capital gain) to the extent of the accrued market discount, unless the Fund elects to include the market discount in income as it accrues as discussed above. A market discount bond is a security acquired in the secondary market at a price below its redemption value (or its adjusted issue price if it is also an original issue discount bond).

The Fund may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries, including taxes on interest, dividends and capital gains with respect to its investments in those countries, which would, if imposed, reduce the yield on or return from those investments. Tax treaties between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes in some cases. So long as the Fund qualifies for treatment as a regulated investment company and incurs “qualified foreign taxes,” if more than 50% of its net assets at the close of its taxable year consist of stock or securities of foreign corporations, the Fund may elect to “pass through” to its shareholders the amount of such foreign taxes paid. If this election is made, information with respect to the amount of the foreign income taxes that are allocated to the Fund's shareholders will be provided to them and any shareholder subject to tax on dividends will be required (i) to include in ordinary gross income (in addition to the amount of the taxable dividends actually received) his/her proportionate share of the foreign taxes paid that are attributable to such dividends; and (ii) either to deduct his/her proportionate share of such foreign taxes in computing his/her taxable income or to claim that amount as a foreign tax credit (subject to applicable limitations) against U.S. income taxes. The Fund does not expect to satisfy the requirements for passing through to its shareholders their respective pro rata shares of qualified foreign taxes paid by the Fund, with the result that the shareholders will not be required to include such taxes in their gross incomes and will not be entitled to a tax deduction or credit for such taxes on their own federal income tax returns.

Foreign exchange gains or losses realized by the Fund in connection with certain transactions involving foreign currency-denominated debt securities, certain futures contracts relating to foreign currency, foreign currency forward contracts, foreign currencies, or payables or receivables denominated in a foreign currency are subject to Section 988 of the Code, which generally causes such gains or losses to be treated as ordinary gain or loss and may affect the amount, timing and character of distributions to shareholders.

The Fund may purchase the securities of certain foreign companies called passive foreign investment companies (“PFICs”). PFICs may be the only or primary means by which the Fund may invest in some countries. If the Fund invests in PFICs, it may be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a portion of any “excess distribution” or gain from the disposition of such shares even if such income is distributed as a taxable dividend to shareholders. Additional charges in the nature of interest may be imposed on either the Fund or shareholders with respect to deferred taxes arising from such distributions or gains. Capital gains on the sale of such holdings will be deemed to be ordinary income regardless of how long such PFICs are held. A “qualified electing fund” election or a “mark to market” election may generally be available that would ameliorate these adverse tax consequences, but such elections could require the Fund to recognize taxable income or gain (subject to the distribution requirements applicable to regulated investment companies, as described above) without the concurrent receipt of cash. In order to satisfy the distribution requirements and avoid a tax on the Fund, the Fund may be required to liquidate portfolio securities that it might otherwise have continued to hold, potentially resulting in additional taxable gain or loss to the Fund. In order for the Fund to make a qualified electing fund election with respect to a PFIC, the PFIC would have to agree to provide certain tax information to the Fund on an annual basis, which it might not agree to do. The Fund may limit and/or manage its holdings in PFICs to limit its tax liability or maximize its return from these investments.

B-41

The Fund is required to withhold (as “backup withholding”) a portion of reportable payments, including dividends, capital gain distributions and the proceeds of redemptions and exchanges or repurchases of Fund shares, paid to shareholders who have not complied with certain IRS regulations. The backup withholding rate is 28%. In order to avoid this withholding requirement, shareholders, other than certain exempt entities, must certify on IRS Forms W-9 or on certain other documents, that the Social Security Numbers or other Taxpayer Identification Numbers they provide are their correct numbers and that they are not currently subject to backup withholding, or that they are exempt from backup withholding. The Fund may nevertheless be required to backup withhold if it receives notice from the IRS or a broker that a number provided is incorrect or that backup withholding is applicable as a result of previous underreporting of interest or dividend income.

Ordinary dividends and certain other payments made by the Fund to non-U.S. shareholders are generally subject to withholding tax at a 30% rate (or at a lower rate as may be determined in accordance with any applicable treaty). In order to obtain a reduced rate of withholding, a non-U.S. shareholder will be required to provide an IRS Form W-8BEN certifying its entitlement to benefits under a treaty. The withholding tax does not apply to regular dividends paid to a non-U.S. shareholder who provides an IRS Form W-8ECI, certifying that the dividends are effectively connected with the non-U.S. shareholder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States. Instead, the effectively connected dividends in this particular instance will be subject to regular U.S. income tax as if the non-U.S. shareholder were a U.S. shareholder. A non-U.S. corporation receiving effectively connected dividends may also be subject to additional “branch profits tax” imposed at a rate of 30% (or at a lower rate, depending on the applicable tax treaty). A non-U.S. shareholder who fails to provide an IRS Form W-8BEN or other applicable form may be subject to backup withholding at the appropriate rate.

The 30% withholding tax described in the preceding paragraph generally will not apply to distributions of net capital gain, to redemption proceeds, or to dividends that the Fund reports as (a) interest-related dividends, to the extent such dividends are derived from the Fund’s “qualified net interest income,” or (b) short-term capital gain dividends, to the extent such dividends are derived from the Fund’s “qualified short-term gain.” “Qualified net interest income” is the Fund’s net income derived from U.S.-source interest and original issue discount, subject to certain exceptions and limitations. “Qualified short-term gain” generally means the excess of the net short-term capital gain of the Fund for the taxable year over its net long-term capital loss, if any. In order to qualify for this exemption from withholding, a non-U.S. shareholder will need to comply with applicable certification requirements relating to its non-U.S. status (including, in general, furnishing an IRS Form W-8BEN or other applicable form). Backup withholding will not be applied to payments that are subject to this 30% withholding tax.

Unless certain non-U.S. entities that hold Fund shares comply with IRS requirements that will generally require them to report information regarding U.S. persons investing in, or holding accounts with, such entities, a 30% withholding tax may apply to the Fund’s distributions and, after December 31, 2018, to redemptions and certain capital gain dividends payable to such entities. A non-U.S. shareholder may be exempt from the withholding described in this paragraph under an applicable intergovernmental agreement between the United States and a foreign government, provided that the shareholder and the applicable foreign government comply with the terms of such agreement.

This discussion and the related discussion in the Prospectus have been prepared by management of the Fund, and counsel to the Trust has expressed no opinion in respect thereof.

Shareholders and prospective shareholders of the Fund should consult their own tax advisors concerning the effect of owning shares of the Fund in light of their particular tax situations.
 
B-42

DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS

The Fund will receive income in the form of dividends and interest earned on its investments in securities. This income, less the expenses incurred in its operations, is the Fund’s net investment income, substantially all of which will be declared as dividends to the Fund’s shareholders.

The amount of income dividend payments by the Fund is dependent upon the amount of net investment income received by the Fund from its portfolio holdings, is not guaranteed and is subject to the discretion of the Board. The Fund does not pay “interest” or guarantee any fixed rate of return on an investment in its shares.

The Fund also may derive capital gains or losses in connection with sales or other dispositions of its portfolio securities. Any net gain the Fund may realize from transactions involving investments held for less than the period required for long-term capital gain or loss recognition or otherwise producing short-term capital gains and losses (taking into account any available carryover of capital losses), although a distribution from capital gains, will be distributed to shareholders with and as a part of the income dividends paid by the Fund and will be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income for federal income tax purposes. If during any year the Fund realizes a net gain on transactions involving investments held for more than the period required for long-term capital gain or loss recognition or otherwise producing long-term capital gains and losses, the Fund will have a net long-term capital gain. After deduction of the amount of any net short-term capital loss, the balance (to the extent not offset by any capital losses available to be carried over) generally will be distributed and treated as long-term capital gains in the hands of the shareholders regardless of the length of time the Fund’s shares may have been held by the shareholders. For more information concerning applicable capital gains tax rates, see your tax advisor.

Any dividend or distribution paid by the Fund reduces the Fund’s NAVs on the date paid by the amount of the dividend or distribution per share. Accordingly, a dividend or distribution paid shortly after a purchase of shares by a shareholder will generally be taxable, even if it effectively represents a partial return of the shareholder’s capital.

Dividends and other distributions will be made in the form of additional shares of the Fund unless the shareholder has otherwise indicated. Investors have the right to change their elections with respect to the reinvestment of dividends and distributions by notifying the transfer agent in writing, but any such change will be effective only as to dividends and other distributions for which the record date is seven or more business days after the transfer agent has received the written request.

The Fund’s investments in partnerships, if any, including in qualified publicly traded partnerships, may result in that Fund being subject to state, local or foreign income, franchise or withholding tax liabilities.
 
GENERAL INFORMATION

Investment Managers Series Trust is an open-end management investment company organized as a Delaware statutory trust under the laws of the State of Delaware on February 15, 2005. The Trust has a number of outstanding series of shares of beneficial interest, each of which represents interests in a separate portfolio of securities.

The Trust’s Declaration of Trust permits the Trustees to create additional series of shares, to issue an unlimited number of full and fractional shares of beneficial interest of each series, including the Fund, and to divide or combine the shares of any series into a greater or lesser number of shares without thereby changing the proportionate beneficial interest in the series. The assets belonging to a series are charged with the liabilities in respect of that series and all expenses, costs, charges and reserves attributable to that series only. Therefore, any creditor of any series may look only to the assets belonging to that series to satisfy the creditor’s debt. Any general liabilities, expenses, costs, charges or reserves of the Trust which are not readily identifiable as pertaining to any particular series are allocated and charged by the Trustees to and among the existing series in the sole discretion of the Trustees. Each share of the Fund represents an interest in the Fund proportionately equal to the interest of each other share. Upon the Fund’s liquidation, all shareholders would share pro rata in the net assets of the Fund available for distribution to shareholders.

B-43

The Trust may offer more than one class of shares of any series. Each share of a series or class represents an equal proportionate interest in that series or class with each other share of that series or class. With respect to the Fund, the Trust currently offers three classes of shares: Class A, Class C and Class I. The Trust has reserved the right to create and issue additional series or classes. Each share of a series or class represents an equal proportionate interest in that series or class with each other share of that series or class.

The shares of each series or class participate equally in the earnings, dividends and assets of that particular series or class. Expenses of the Trust, which are not attributable to a specific series or class, are allocated among all the series in a manner believed by management of the Trust to be fair and equitable. Shares issued do not have pre-emptive or conversion rights. Shares when issued are fully paid and non-assessable, except as set forth below. Shareholders are entitled to one vote for each share held. Shares of each series or class generally vote together, except when required under federal securities laws to vote separately on matters that only affect a particular series or class, such as the approval of distribution plans for a particular class.

The Trust is not required to hold annual meetings of shareholders but will hold special meetings of shareholders of a series or class when, in the judgment of the Board, it is necessary or desirable to submit matters for a shareholder vote. Shareholders have, under certain circumstances, the right to communicate with other shareholders in connection with requesting a meeting of shareholders for the purpose of removing one or more Trustees. Shareholders also have, in certain circumstances, the right to remove one or more Trustees without a meeting. No material amendment may be made to the Trust’s Declaration of Trust without the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of each portfolio affected by the amendment.

The Trust’s Declaration of Trust provides that, at any meeting of shareholders of the Trust or of any series or class, a shareholder servicing agent may vote any shares as to which such shareholder servicing agent is the agent of record for shareholders who are not represented in person or by proxy at the meeting, proportionately in accordance with the votes cast by holders of all shares of that portfolio otherwise represented at the meeting in person or by proxy as to which such shareholder servicing agent is the agent of record. Any shares so voted by a shareholder servicing agent will be deemed represented at the meeting for purposes of quorum requirements. Any series or class may be terminated (i) upon the merger or consolidation with, or the sale or disposition of all or substantially all of its assets to, another entity, if approved by the vote of the holders of two-thirds of its outstanding shares, except that if the Board recommends such merger, consolidation or sale or disposition of assets, the approval by vote of the holders of a majority of the series’ or class’ outstanding shares will be sufficient, (ii) by the vote of the holders of a majority of its outstanding shares, or (iii) by the Board by written notice to the series’ or class’ shareholders. Unless each series and class is so terminated, the Trust will continue indefinitely.

Shareholders may send communications to the Board. Shareholders should send communications intended for the Board by addressing the communications to the Board, in care of the Secretary of the Trust and sending the communication to 2220 E. Route 66, Suite 226, Glendora, California 91740. A shareholder communication must (i) be in writing and be signed by the shareholder, (ii) provide contact information for the shareholder, (iii) identify the Fund to which it relates, and (iv) identify the class and number of shares held by the shareholder. The Secretary of the Trust may, in good faith, determine that a shareholder communication should not be provided to the Board because it does not reasonably relate to the Trust or its operations, management, activities, policies, service providers, Board, officers, shareholders or other matters relating to an investment in the Fund or is otherwise immaterial in nature. Other shareholder communications received by the Fund not directly addressed and sent to the Board will be reviewed and generally responded to by management, and will be forwarded to the Board only at management's discretion based on the matters contained therein.

B-44

The Declaration of Trust provides that no Trustee or officer of the Trust shall be subject to any personal liability in connection with the assets or affairs of the Trust or any of its series except for losses in connection with his or her willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of his or her duties. The Trust has also entered into an indemnification agreement with each Trustee which provides that the Trust shall advance expenses and indemnify and hold harmless the Trustee in certain circumstances against any expenses incurred by the Trustee in any proceeding arising out of or in connection with the Trustee's service to the Trust, to the maximum extent permitted by the Delaware Statutory Trust Act, the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act, and which provides for certain procedures in connection with such advancement of expenses and indemnification.

The Trust’s Declaration of Trust also provides that the Trust shall maintain appropriate insurance (for example, fidelity bonding and errors and omissions insurance) for the protection of the Trust, its shareholders, Trustees, officers, employees and agents covering possible tort and other liabilities.

The Declaration of Trust does not require the issuance of stock certificates. If stock certificates are issued, they must be returned by the registered owners prior to the transfer or redemption of shares represented by such certificates.

Rule 18f-2 under the 1940 Act provides that as to any investment company which has two or more series outstanding and as to any matter required to be submitted to shareholder vote, such matter is not deemed to have been effectively acted upon unless approved by the holders of a “majority” (as defined in the rule) of the voting securities of each series affected by the matter. Such separate voting requirements do not apply to the election of Trustees or the ratification of the selection of accountants. The Rule contains special provisions for cases in which an advisory contract is approved by one or more, but not all, series. A change in investment policy may go into effect as to one or more series whose holders so approve the change even though the required vote is not obtained as to the holders of other affected series.

The Trust, the Advisor, and the Sub-Advisor have adopted Codes of Ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act. These codes of ethics permit, subject to certain conditions, personnel of each of those entities to invest in securities that may be purchased or held by the Fund.
 
B-45

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

As the Fund has recently commenced operations, there are no financial statements available at this time. Shareholders of the Fund will be informed of the Fund’s progress through periodic reports when those reports become available. Financial statements certified by the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm will be submitted to shareholders at least annually.
 
B-46

APPENDIX “A”
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES RATINGS

In the case of “split-rated” securities or loans (i.e., securities or loans assigned non-equivalent credit quality ratings, such as Baa by Moody’s but BB by S&P or Ba by Moody’s and BB by S&P but B by Fitch), the Sub-Advisor will determine whether a particular security or loan is considered investment grade or below-investment grade for the Fund as follows: (a) if all three credit rating agencies have rated a security or loan the median credit rating is used for this determination; (b) if only two credit rating agencies have rated a security, the lower (e.g., most conservative) credit rating is used; and (c) if only one credit rating agency has rated a security that agency’s rating is used.

Standard & Poor’s Corporation

A brief description of the applicable Standard & Poor’s Corporation (“S&P”) rating symbols and their meanings (as published by S&P) follows:

Long-Term Debt

An S&P corporate or municipal debt rating is a current assessment of the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific obligation. This assessment may take into consideration obligors such as guarantors, insurers or lessees. The debt rating is not a recommendation to purchase, sell or hold a security, inasmuch as it does not comment as to market price or suitability for a particular investor. The ratings are based on current information furnished by the issuer or obtained by S&P from other sources it considers reliable. S&P does not perform an audit in connection with any rating and may, on occasion, rely on unaudited financial information. The ratings may be changed, suspended or withdrawn as a result of changes in, or unavailability of, such information, or based on other circumstances. The ratings are based, in varying degrees, on the following considerations:

1.
Likelihood of default-capacity and willingness of the obligor as to the timely payment of interest and repayment of principal in accordance with the terms of the obligation;

2.
Nature of and provisions of the obligation; and

3.
Protection afforded by, and relative position of, the obligation in the event of bankruptcy, reorganization, or other arrangement under the laws of bankruptcy and other laws affecting creditors’ rights.

Investment Grade

AAA
Debt rated “AAA” has the highest rating assigned by S&P. Capacity to pay interest and repay principal is extremely strong.

AA
Debt rated “AA” has a very strong capacity to pay interest and repay principal and differs from the highest rated issues only in small degree.

A
Debt rated “A” has a strong capacity to pay interest and repay principal although it is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than debt in higher rated categories.

BBB
Debt rated “BBB” is regarded as having an adequate capacity to pay interest and repay principal. Whereas it normally exhibits adequate protection parameters, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity to pay interest and repay principal for debt in this category than in higher rated categories.

B-47

Speculative Grade Rating

Debt rated “BB”, “B”, “CCC”, “CC” and “C” is regarded as having predominantly speculative characteristics with respect to capacity to pay interest and repay principal. “BB” indicates the least degree of speculation and “C” the highest. While such debt will likely have some quality and protective characteristics these are outweighed by major uncertainties or major exposures to adverse conditions.

BB
Debt rated “BB” has less near-term vulnerability to default than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions which could lead to inadequate capacity to meet timely interest and principal payments. The “BB” rating category is also used for debt subordinated to senior debt that is assigned an actual or implied “BBB” rating.

B
Debt rated “B” has a greater vulnerability to default but currently has the capacity to meet interest payments and principal repayments. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair capacity or willingness to pay interest and repay principal. The “B” rating category is also used for debt subordinated to senior debt that is assigned an actual or implied “BB” or “BB” rating.

CCC
Debt rated “CCC” has a currently identifiable vulnerability to default, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions to meet timely payment of interest and repayment of principal. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, it is not likely to have the capacity to pay interest and repay principal. The “CCC” rating category is also used for debt subordinated to senior debt that is assigned an actual or implied “B” or “B” rating.

CC
The rating “CC” typically is applied to debt subordinated to senior debt that is assigned an actual or implied “CCC” debt rating.

C
The rating “C” typically is applied to debt subordinated to senior debt which is assigned an actual or implied “CCC” debt rating. The “C” rating may be used to cover a situation where a bankruptcy petition has been filed, but debt service payments are continued.

CI
The rating “CI” is reserved for income bonds on which no interest is being paid.

D
Debt rated “D” is in payment default. The “D” rating category is used when interest payments or principal payments are not made on the date due even if the applicable grace period has not expired, unless S&P believes that such payments will be made during such grace period. The “D” rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition if debt service payments are jeopardized.

Plus (+) or Minus (-): The ratings from “AA” to “CCC” may be modified by the addition of a plus or minus sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.

Provisional Ratings: The letter “p” indicates that the rating is provisional. A provisional rating assumes the successful completion of the project financed by the debt being rated and indicates that payment of debt service requirements is largely or entirely dependent upon the successful and timely completion of the project. This rating, however, while addressing credit quality subsequent to completion of the project, makes no comment on the likelihood of, or the risk of default upon failure of, such completion. The investor should exercise judgment with respect to such likelihood and risk.

B-48

r
The letter “r” is attached to highlight derivative, hybrid, and certain other obligations that S&P believes may experience high volatility or high variability in expected returns due to non-credit risks. Examples of such obligations are: securities whose principal or interest return is indexed to equities, commodities, or currencies; certain swaps and options; and interest only and principal only mortgage securities. The absence of an “r” symbol should not be taken as an indication that an obligation will exhibit no volatility or variability in total return.

L
The letter “L” indicates that the rating pertains to the principal amount of those bonds to the extent that the underlying deposit collateral is Federally insured by the Federal Savings & Loan Insurance Corporation or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation* In the case of certificates of deposit the letter “L” indicates that the deposit, combined with other deposits being held in the same right and capacity will be honored for principal and accrued pre-default interest up to the Federal insurance limits within 30 days after closing of the insured institution or, in the event that the deposit is assumed by a successor insured institution, upon maturity.

NR
Indicates no rating has been requested, that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that S&P does not rate a particular type of obligation as a matter of policy.

Commercial Paper

An S&P commercial paper rating is a current assessment of the likelihood of timely payment of debt having an original maturity of no more than 365 days. Ratings are graded into several categories, ranging from “A-1” for the highest quality obligations to “D” for the lowest. These categories are as follows:

A-1
This highest category indicates that the degree of safety regarding timely payment is strong. Those issues determined to possess extremely strong safety characteristics are denoted with a plus sign (+) designation.

A-2
Capacity for timely payment on issues with this designation is satisfactory. However, the relative degree of safety is not as high as for issues designated “A-1.”

*
Continuance of the rating is contingent upon S&P’s receipt of an executed copy of the escrow agreement or closing documentation confirming investments and cash flow.

A-3
Issues carrying this designation have adequate capacity for timely payment. They are, however, somewhat more vulnerable to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances than obligations carrying the higher designations.

B
Issues rated “B” are regarded as having only speculative capacity for timely payment.

C
This rating is assigned to short-term debt obligations with a doubtful capacity for payment.

D
Debt rated “D” is in payment default. The “D” rating category is used when interest payments or principal Payments are not made on the date due, even if the applicable grace period has not expired, unless S&P believes that such payments will be made during such grace period.

A commercial rating is not a recommendation to purchase, sell or hold a security inasmuch as it does not comment as to market price or suitability for a particular investor. The ratings are based on current information furnished to S&P by the issuer or obtained by S&P from other sources it considers reliable.

B-49

S&P does not perform an audit in connection with any rating and may, on occasion, rely on unaudited financial information. The ratings may be changed, suspended or withdrawn as a result of changes in or unavailability of such information or based on other circumstances.

Preferred Securities

AAA
This is the highest rating that may be assigned to a preferred stock issue and indicates an extremely strong capacity to pay the preferred stock obligations.

AA
A preferred stock issue rated AA also qualifies as a high quality fixed income security. The capacity to pay preferred stock obligations is very strong, although not as overwhelming as for issues rated AAA.

A
An issue rated A is backed by a sound capacity to pay the preferred stock obligations, although it is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions.

BBB
An issue rated BBB is regarded as backed by an adequate capacity to pay preferred stock obligations. Although it normally exhibits adequate protection parameters, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity to make payments for preferred stock in this category for issues in the A category.

BB
As issue rated BB is regarded, on balance, as predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay the preferred stock obligation. While such issues will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, they are outweighed by large uncertainties or major risk exposures to adverse conditions.

Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.

A brief description of the applicable Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) rating symbols and their meanings (as published by Moody’s) follows:

Long-Term Debt

The following summarizes the ratings used by Moody’s for corporate and municipal long-term debt:

Aaa
Bonds are judged to be of the best quality. They carry the smallest degree of investment risk and are generally referred to as “gilt edged.” Interest payments are protected by a large or by an exceptionally stable margin and principal is secure. While the various protective elements are likely to change, such changes as can be visualized are most unlikely to impair the fundamentally strong position of such issuer.

Aa
Bonds are judged to be of high quality by all standards. Together with the “Aaa” group they comprise what are generally known as high-grade bonds. They are rated lower than the best bonds because margins of protection may not be as large as in “Aaa” securities or fluctuation of protective elements may be of greater amplitude or there may be other elements present which make the long-term risks appear somewhat larger than in “Aaa” securities.

A
Bonds possess many favorable investment attributes and are to be considered as upper medium-grade obligations. Factors giving security to principal and interest are considered adequate but elements may be present which suggest a susceptibility to impairment sometime in the future.

B-50

Baa Bonds considered medium-grade obligations, i.e., they are neither highly protected nor poorly secured. Interest payments and principal security appear adequate for the present but certain protective elements may be lacking or may be characteristically unreliable over any great length of time. Such bonds lack outstanding investment characteristics and in fact have speculative characteristics as well.

Ba,
B, Caa, Ca, and C Bonds that possess one of these ratings provide questionable protection of interest and principal (“Ba” indicates some speculative elements; “B” indicates a general lack of characteristics of desirable investment; “Caa” represents a poor standing; “Ca” represents obligations which are speculative in a high degree; and “C” represents the lowest rated class of bonds). “Caa,” “Ca” and “C” bonds may be in default.

Con. (---)
Bonds for which the security depends upon the completion of some act or the fulfillment of some condition are rated conditionally. These are bonds secured by (a) earnings of projects under construction, (b) earnings of projects unseasoned in operation experience, (c) rentals which begin when facilities are completed, or (d) payments to which some other limiting condition attaches. Parenthetical rating denotes probable credit stature upon completion of construction or elimination of basis of condition.

(P)
When applied to forward delivery bonds, indicates that the rating is provisional pending delivery of the bonds. The rating may be revised prior to delivery if changes occur in the legal documents or the underlying credit quality of the bonds.

Note: Those bonds in the Aa, A, Baa, Ba and B groups which Moody’s believes possess the strongest investment attributes are designated by the symbols, Aa1, A1, Ba1 and B1.

Short-Term Loans

MIG 1/VMIG 1
This designation denotes best quality. There is present strong protection by established cash flows, superior liquidity support or demonstrated broad based access to the market for refinancing.

MIG 2/VMIG 2
This designation denotes high quality. Margins of protection are ample although not so large as in the preceding group.

MIG 3/VMIG 3
This designation denotes favorable quality. All security elements are accounted for but there is lacking the undeniable strength of the preceding grades. Liquidity and cash flow protection may be narrow and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established.

MIG 4/VMIG 4
This designation denotes adequate quality. Protection commonly regarded as required of an investment security is present and although not distinctly or predominantly speculative, there is specific risk.

S.G.
This designation denotes speculative quality. Debt instruments in this category lack margins of protection.

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Commercial Paper

Issuers rated Prime-1 (or related supporting institutions) have a superior capacity for repayment of short-term promissory obligations. Prime-1 repayment capacity will normally be evidenced by the following characteristics:

-
Leading market positions in well-established industries.

-
High rates of return on Funds employed.

-
Conservative capitalization structures with moderate reliance on debt and ample asset protection.

-
Broad margins in earnings coverage of fixed financial charges and high internal cash generation.

-
Well-established access to a range of financial markets and assured sources of alternate liquidity.

Issuers rated Prime-2 (or related supporting institutions) have a strong capacity for repayment of short-term promissory obligations. This will normally be evidenced by many of the characteristics cited above but to a lesser degree. Earnings trends and coverage ratios, while sound, will be more subject to variation. Capitalization characteristics, while still appropriate, may be more affected by external conditions. Ample alternate liquidity is maintained. Issuers rated Prime-3 (or related supporting institutions) have an acceptable capacity for repayment of short-term promissory obligations. The effect of industry characteristics and market composition may be more pronounced. Variability in earnings and profitability may result in changes in the level of debt protection measurements and the requirement for relatively high financial leverage. Adequate alternate liquidity is maintained.

Issuers rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.

Preferred Securities Ratings

aaa
Preferred stocks which are rated “aaa” are considered to be top quality. This rating indicates good asset protection and the least risk of dividend impairment within the universe of preferred stocks.

aa
Preferred stocks which are rated “aa” are considered to be high grade. This rating indicates that there is reasonable assurance that earnings and asset protection will remain relatively well maintained in the foreseeable future.

a
Preferred stocks which are rated “a” are considered to be upper-medium grade. While risks are judged to be somewhat greater than in the “aaa” and “aa” classifications, earnings and asset protection are, nevertheless, expected to be maintained at adequate levels.

baa
Preferred stocks which are rated “baa” are judged over-medium grade, neither highly protected nor poorly secured. Earnings and asset protection appear adequate at present but may be questionable over any great length of time.

ba
Preferred stocks which are rated “ba” are considered to have speculative elements and their future cannot be considered well assured. Earnings and asset protection may be very moderate and not well safeguarded during adverse periods. Uncertainty of position characterizes preferred stocks in this class.
 
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APPENDIX “B”
PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES


INVESTMENT MANAGERS SERIES TRUST
PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Investment Managers Series Trust (the “Trust”) is registered as an open-end investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (“1940 Act”). The Trust offers multiple series (each a “Fund” and, collectively, the “Funds”). Consistent with its fiduciary duties and pursuant to Rule 30b1-4 under the 1940 Act (the “Proxy Rule”), the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”) has adopted this proxy voting policy on behalf of the Trust (the “Policy”) to reflect its commitment to ensure that proxies are voted in a manner consistent with the best interests of the Funds’ shareholders.

Delegation of Proxy Voting Authority to Fund Advisors

The Board believes that the investment advisor of each Fund (each an “Advisor” and, collectively, the “Advisors”), as the entity that selects the individual securities that comprise its Fund’s portfolio, is the most knowledgeable and best-suited to make decisions on how to vote proxies of portfolio companies held by that Fund. The Trust shall therefore defer to, and rely on, the Advisor of each Fund to make decisions on how to cast proxy votes on behalf of such Fund.

The Trust hereby designates the Advisor of each Fund as the entity responsible for exercising proxy voting authority with regard to securities held in the Fund’s investment portfolio. Consistent with its duties under this Policy, each Advisor shall monitor and review corporate transactions of corporations in which the Fund has invested, obtain all information sufficient to allow an informed vote on all proxy solicitations, ensure that all proxy votes are cast in a timely fashion, and maintain all records required to be maintained by the Fund under the Proxy Rule and the 1940 Act. Each Advisor shall perform these duties in accordance with the Advisor’s proxy voting policy, a copy of which shall be presented to this Board for its review. Each Advisor shall promptly provide to the Board updates to its proxy voting policy as they are adopted and implemented.

Availability of Proxy Voting Policy and Records Available to Fund Shareholders

If a Fund or an Advisor has a website, a copy of the Advisor’s proxy voting policy and this Policy may be posted on such website. A copy of such policies and of each Fund’s proxy voting record shall also be made available, without charge, upon request of any shareholder of the Fund, by calling the applicable Fund’s toll-free telephone number as printed in the Fund’s prospectus. The Trust’s administrator shall reply to any Fund shareholder request within three business days of receipt of the request, by first-class mail or other means designed to ensure equally prompt delivery.

Each Advisor shall provide a complete voting record, as required by the Proxy Rule, for each series of the Trust for which it acts as advisor, to the Trust’s co-administrator within 30 days after June 30 of each year. The Trust’s co-administrator, MFAC, will file a report based on such record on Form N-PX on an annual basis with the Securities and Exchange Commission no later than August 31st of each year.
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ADVISOR’S/SUB-ADVISOR'S PROXY POLICIES AND GUIDELINES

Advisors Asset Management, Inc.

Proxy Voting Policy

Advisors Asset Management, Inc., as a matter of policy and as a fiduciary to our clients, has responsibility for voting proxies for portfolio securities consistent with the best economic interests of the clients. Our firm maintains written policies and procedures as to the handling, research, voting and reporting of proxy voting and makes appropriate disclosures about our firm’s proxy policies and practices. Our policy and practice includes the responsibility to monitor corporate actions, receive and vote client proxies and disclose any potential conflicts of interest as well as making information available to clients about the voting of proxies for their portfolio securities and maintaining relevant and required records.

Our firm votes Proxies for primary accounts and may vote for Sub-Advised accounts if so contracted for by the primary advisor, including some ERISA accounts. That is, unless the authority to vote has been expressly (and properly) reserved or delegated to another fiduciary in accordance with ERISA, the fiduciary who is responsible for the management of securities held by a plan will also be responsible for voting those securities.

Background
Proxy voting is an important right of shareholders and reasonable care and diligence must be undertaken to ensure that such rights are properly and timely exercised.

Investment advisers registered with the SEC, and which exercise voting authority with respect to client securities, are required by Rule 206(4)-6 of the Advisers Act to (a) adopt and implement written policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to ensure that client securities are voted in the best interests of clients, which must include how an adviser addresses material conflicts that may arise between an adviser’s interests and those of its clients; (b) to disclose to clients how they may obtain information from the adviser with respect to the voting of proxies for their securities; (c) to describe to clients a summary of its proxy voting policies and procedures and, upon request, furnish a copy to its clients; and (d) maintain certain records relating to the adviser’s proxy voting activities when the adviser does have proxy voting authority.

Responsibility
Sr. Executive Vice President, Asset Management (see Schedule X), has the responsibility for the implementation and monitoring of our proxy voting policy, practices, disclosures and record keeping, including outlining our voting guidelines in our procedures.

Procedure
Advisors Asset Management, Inc. has adopted procedures to implement the department’s policy and conducts reviews to monitor and ensure the department’s policy is observed, implemented properly and amended or updated, as appropriate, which include the following:

Voting Procedures
All employees will forward any proxy materials received on behalf of clients to Sr. Executive Vice President, Asset Management;
Sr. Executive Vice President, Asset Management will determine which client accounts hold the security to which the proxy relates;
Absent material conflicts, Sr. Executive Vice President, Asset Management, or designee, will determine how Advisors Asset Management, Inc. should vote the proxy in accordance with applicable voting guidelines, complete the proxy and vote the proxy in a timely and appropriate manner.

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Disclosure
Advisors Asset Management, Inc. will provide required disclosures in response to Item 17 of Form ADV Part 2A summarizing this proxy voting policy and procedures, including a statement that clients may request information regarding how Advisors Asset Management, Inc. voted a client’s proxies, and that clients may request a copy of the firm’s proxy policies and procedures.
Advisors Asset Management, Inc. uses ProxyEdge, a third party proxy voting platform, to aid in the voting process as well as record maintenance. Votes are submitted through the platform in accordance with Advisors Asset Management, Inc. written voting policies and procedures. Voting records are maintained through the platform in accordance with Advisors Asset Management, Inc. written policies and procedures.
Advisors Asset Management, Inc. or designee, will also send a copy of this summary to all existing clients who have previously received Advisors Asset Management, Inc. Form ADV Part 2; or Sr. Executive Vice President or designee, Asset Management, may send each client the amended Form ADV Part 2.

Client Requests for Information
All client requests for information regarding proxy votes, or policies and procedures, received by any employee should be forwarded to Sr. Executive Vice President, Asset Management or Designee.
In response to any request Sr. Executive Vice President, Asset Management, or designee, will prepare a written response to the client with the information requested, and as applicable will include the name of the issuer, the proposal voted upon, and how Advisors Asset Management, Inc. voted the client’s proxy with respect to each proposal about which client inquired.

Voting Guidelines
In the absence of specific voting guidelines from the client, Advisors Asset Management, Inc. will vote proxies in the best interests of each particular client. Advisors Asset Management, Inc.’s policy is to vote all proxies from a specific issuer the same way for each client absent qualifying restrictions from a client. Clients are permitted to place reasonable restrictions on Advisors Asset Management, Inc.’s voting authority in the same manner that they may place such restrictions on the actual selection of account securities.
Advisors Asset Management, Inc. will generally vote in favor of routine corporate housekeeping proposals such as the election of directors and selection of auditors absent conflicts of interest raised by an auditors non-audit services.
Advisors Asset Management, Inc. will generally vote against proposals that cause board members to become entrenched or cause unequal voting rights.
In reviewing proposals, Advisors Asset Management, Inc. will further consider the opinion of management and the effect on management, and the effect on shareholder value and the issuer’s business practices.

Conflicts of Interest
Advisors Asset Management, Inc. will identify any conflicts that exist between the interests of the adviser and the client by reviewing the relationship of Advisors Asset Management, Inc. with the issuer of each security to determine if Advisors Asset Management, Inc. or any of its employees has any financial, business or personal relationship with the issuer.
If a material conflict of interest exists, Sr. Executive Vice President, Asset Management will determine whether it is appropriate to disclose the conflict to the affected clients, to give the clients an opportunity to vote the proxies themselves, or to address the voting issue through other objective means such as voting in a manner consistent with a predetermined voting policy or receiving an independent third party voting recommendation.
Advisors Asset Management, Inc. will maintain a record of the voting resolution of any conflict of interest.

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Recordkeeping
Sr. Executive Vice President, Asset Management shall retain the following proxy records in accordance with the SEC’s five-year retention requirement.

These policies and procedures and any amendments;
Each proxy statement that Advisors Asset Management, Inc. receives;
A record of each vote that Advisors Asset Management, Inc. casts;
Any document Advisors Asset Management, Inc. created that was material to making a decision how to vote proxies, or that memorializes that decision including periodic reports to Sr. Executive Vice President, Asset Management or proxy committee, if applicable.
A copy of each written request from a client for information on how Advisors Asset Management, Inc. voted such client’s proxies, and a copy of any written response.
 
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Hartford Investment Management Company (“HIMCO”)
Proxy Voting Policy

The Investment Managers Series Trust (the “Trust”) has granted to HIMCO the authority to vote proxies on their behalf with respect to the Global Enhanced Dividend Fund (the “Fund”) to which HIMCO serves as sub-adviser. The goal of HIMCO is to vote proxies in what it believes are the best economic interests of its clients, free from conflicts of interest. The Proxy Voting Committee of HIMCO has determined that this goal is best achieved by retaining the services of Glass Lewis & Co., LLC, an independent research firm that provides proxy voting services to institutional clients (“Glass Lewis”).

In general, all proxies received from issuers of securities held in client accounts are referred to Glass Lewis for its analysis and recommendation as to each matter being submitted for a vote. Glass Lewis reviews such proxy proposals and makes voting recommendations in accordance with its proxy voting guidelines. These guidelines address a wide variety of topics, including among others, shareholder voting rights, anti-takeover defenses, board structures, the election of directors, executive and director compensation, reorganizations, mergers and various shareholder proposals. HIMCO has concluded that the Glass Lewis guidelines are substantially in accord with HIMCO’s own philosophy regarding appropriate corporate governance and conduct. In most cases, securities will be voted in accordance with Glass Lewis’ voting recommendations, but HIMCO may deviate from Glass Lewis’s recommendations on specific proxy proposals. To ensure that no voting decision is influenced by a conflict of interest, a portfolio manager who intends to vote contrary to a Glass Lewis recommendation must notify HIMCO’s Proxy Committee of such intent, and obtain its approval before voting.

The Proxy Voting Committee evaluates the performance of Glass Lewis at least annually.

Material Conflict of Interest Identification and Resolution Processes

While it is HIMCO’s general policy to follow the proxy voting guidelines and recommendations of Glass Lewis (“Proxy Voting Guidelines”), HIMCO retains the authority on any particular proxy to vote differently from the Proxy Voting Guidelines or a related Glass Lewis recommendation. However, such decisions are subject to review and approval to ensure that the decision is not influenced by any conflict of interest.

In certain circumstances, one or more HIMCO portfolio managers may disagree with and elect to diverge from Glass Lewis’ recommendation. It is also possible, that with respect to a particular vote, a HIMCO portfolio manager may wish to vote proxies in accordance with Glass Lewis’ recommendation for certain of its clients and differently for other clients with different investment objectives, risk profiles, or time horizons. In each such case, the portfolio manager in question must notify HIMCO’s Proxy Voting Committee of such an election and obtain approval before voting or instructing Glass Lewis to vote any proxies.

In addition, HIMCO’s Proxy Committee has approved a change to the Exclusive Forum and the Fee-Shifting Bylaw Provisions portion of the Glass Lewis U.S. Proxy Voting Guidelines, and has directed Glass Lewis to in all cases vote in favor of those positions (rather than against them, as was Glass Lewis’s default stance).

Where Glass Lewis does not cover a company or otherwise cannot recommend a vote, or the portfolio manager does not want to vote with the Glass Lewis recommendation, the portfolio manager will inform HIMCO’s Chief Compliance Officer (or his/her designee) of such fact and give his/her recommendation as to how the proxy should be voted. The Chief Compliance Officer will then conduct a conflicts investigation on behalf of the Proxy Voting Committee and report the findings to the members. If the Proxy Voting Committee determines that no conflict exists (or that any conflict is immaterial) the portfolio manager may vote the proxy. If the Proxy Voting Committee determines that a conflict of interest exists, the portfolio manager will not be permitted to vote the proxy and will either refer the matter to his or her client and recommend that they vote the proxy themselves or vote the proxy in accordance with Glass Lewis’ recommendation.

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HIMCO will record and maintain minutes for the Proxy Voting Committee meetings to document the factors that were considered to evidence that there was a reasonable basis for the Proxy Voting Committee’s decision. Potential conflicts of interest may include:

The portfolio manager responsible for voting a proxy has identified a personal or business interest either in a company soliciting proxies or in the outcome of a shareholder vote; or
The responsible portfolio manager has identified that he or she is related to an incumbent director or a candidate seeking a seat on the board; or
A current HIMCO client is affiliated with the company soliciting the proxy or has communicated its view to HIMCO on an impending proxy vote; or
The proxy relates to The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.; or
A third party (including an affiliate or parent company) with an interest in the outcome of a shareholder vote has attempted to influence either HIMCO or the portfolio manager responsible for voting the proxy; or
A company with respect to which the proxy is being solicited is on HIMCO’s Restricted List.

In addition, Glass Lewis has adopted conflict management procedures (“Conflict Management Procedures”) which are intended to ensure the objectivity of its proxy research and voting recommendations, as well as the integrity of the proxy votes it casts on behalf of its clients. These Conflict Management Procedures include procedures such as:
 
Operating as an independent company without any involvement from its owners in the daytoday management of the business and excluding its owners from any involvement in the formulation and implementation of the Glass Lewis proxy voting policies and guidelines, and in the determination of voting recommendations for specific shareholder meetings;
Requiring employees and independent contractors to annually acknowledge receipt of and compliance with Glass Lewis’ Code of Ethics, which sets forth the standards of conduct they are expected to exhibit while carrying out Glass Lewis’ affairs, which also includes personal trading policies and procedures. In addition, all employees and independent contractors of Glass Lewis, and its subsidiaries, as well as all members of Glass Lewis’ Research Advisory Council and Strategic Committee must disclose whether they serve as an executive or director of a corporate issuer;
Restricting research analyst access to client holdings files, custom policies, and/or voting activity;
Basing analysis and recommendations solely on publicly available information;
Limiting communications with outsiders relating to Glass Lewis research and vote recommendations to senior members of the research team;
Prohibiting research analysts from involvement in the management of any commercial relationship Glass Lewis may have with a vendor and/or business partner; and
Disclosing the existence of a potential conflict to its clients on the cover of relevant research report and describing the exact nature of the conflict in the appendix to the report.
 
Situations in which HIMCO might not vote a proxy

It may not be possible to cast an informed vote in certain circumstances due to the lack of information provided in the proxy statement or by the issuer or other resolution sponsor, and HIMCO may abstain from voting in those instances. Proxy materials not being delivered in a timely fashion also may prevent analysis or entry of a vote by voting deadlines. In some cases HIMCO may determine that it is in the best economic interests of its clients not to vote certain proxies. For example, in general HIMCO does not vote proxies requiring a formal power of attorney designation, or that subject the underlying shares to share blocking or other liquidity restrictions. In addition, where local sub-custodians are used, certain jurisdictions may require that additional forms be executed by HIMCO, and votes cast may be rejected if those forms are not completed. In general, Glass Lewis will provide HIMCO with such additional forms only to the extent that Glass Lewis deems the vote to be controversial or significant. In deciding whether to complete such forms, HIMCO’s portfolio managers will in turn consider factors including the materiality of the position size and whether HIMCO has performed sufficient fundamental research on the issuer to have a developed view of the proxy vote.
 
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Glass Lewis United States Proxy Voting Guidelines Summary1

Anti-Takeover Measures

Poison Pills (Shareholder Rights Plans). Typically Glass Lewis recommends that shareholders vote against these plans to protect their financial interests and ensure that they have an opportunity to consider any offer for their shares, especially those at a premium. In certain limited circumstances, Glass Lewis will support a limited poison pill to accomplish a particular objective, such as the closing of an important merger, or a pill that contains what Glass Lewis believes to be a reasonable ‘qualifying offer’ clause.

Advance Notice Requirements for Shareholder Ballot Proposals. Glass Lewis typically recommends that shareholders vote against these proposals.

Cumulative Voting. Glass Lewis reviews these proposals on a case-by-case basis, factoring in the independence of the board and the status of the company’s governance structure. However, Glass Lewis typically finds that these proposals are on ballots at companies where independence is lacking and where the appropriate checks and balances that favor shareholders are not in place. In those instances Glass Lewis typically recommends in favor of cumulative voting.

Supermajority Vote Requirements. Glass Lewis believes that supermajority vote requirements impede shareholder action on ballot items critical to shareholder interests.

Election of Directors

Voting Recommendation on the Basis of Independence: Glass Lewis looks at each director nominee and examines the director’s relationships with the company, the company’s executives and other directors. Glass Lewis does this to find personal, familial, or financial relationships (not including director compensation) that may impact the director’s decisions. Glass Lewis believes that such relationships makes it difficult for a director to put shareholders’ interests above the director’s or the related party’s interests. Glass Lewis also believes that a director who owns more than 20% of a company can exert disproportionate influence on the board and, in particular, the audit committee.

In general, Glass Lewis believes a board will be most effective in protecting shareholders’ interests if it is at least two-thirds’ independent. In the event that more than one third of the members are affiliated or inside directors, Glass Lewis typically2 recommends withholding votes from some of the inside and/or affiliated directors in order to satisfy the two-thirds threshold.

Glass Lewis believes that only independent directors should serve on a company’s audit, compensation, nominating and governance committees.3 Glass Lewis typically recommends that shareholders withhold their votes for any affiliated or inside director seeking appointment to an audit, compensation, nominating or governance committee, or who has served in that capacity in the past year.

1
This summary outlines the United States Proxy Voting Guidelines of Glass Lewis.  Glass Lewis’ Proxy Voting Guidelines for countries other than the United States may vary to what is described herein.
2
In the case of a staggered board, if the affiliates or insiders that Glass Lewis believes should not be on the board are not standing for election, Glass Lewis will express its concern regarding those directors, but Glass Lewis will not recommend withholding from the affiliates or insiders who are up for election just to achieve two-thirds independence.
3
Glass Lewis will recommend withholding votes from any member of the audit committee who owns 20% or more of the company’s stock, and Glass Lewis believes that there should be a maximum of one director (or no directors if the committee is comprised of less than three directors) who owns 20% or more of the company’s stock on the compensation, nominating and governance committees.

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Voting Recommendation on the Basis of Performance: Glass Lewis disfavors directors who have a record of not fulfilling their responsibilities to shareholders at any company where they have held a board or executive position. See full guidelines for criteria.

Voting Recommendation on the Basis of Experience: Glass Lewis typically recommends that shareholders withhold votes from directors who have served on boards or as executives of companies with records of poor performance, overcompensation, audit- or accounting-related issues and/or other indicators of mismanagement or actions against the interests of shareholders.

Voting Recommendation on the Basis of Other Considerations: Glass Lewis recommends shareholders withhold votes from certain types of affiliated or inside directors under nearly all circumstances.

Appointment of Auditors

Glass Lewis generally supports management’s choice of auditor except when Glass Lewis believes the auditor’s independent or audit integrity has been compromised. Where a board has not allowed shareholders to review and ratify an auditor, Glass Lewis typically recommends withholding votes from the audit committee chairman. When there have been material restatements of annual financial statements or material weakness in internal controls, Glass Lewis usually recommends withholding votes from the entire committee.

Glass Lewis typically supports audit-related proposals regarding mandatory auditor rotation when the proposal uses a reasonable period of time (usually not less than 5-7 years).

Changes to Capital Structure

When analyzing a request for additional shares, Glass Lewis typically reviews four common reasons why a company might need additional capital stock beyond what is currently available:

Stock Split – Glass Lewis typically considers three metrics when evaluating whether Glass Lewis thinks a stock split is likely or necessary: the historical stock pre-split price, if any; the current price relative to the Company’s most common trading price over the past 52 weeks; and some absolute limits on stock price that in Glass Lewis’ view either always make a stock split appropriate if desired by management or would almost never be a reasonable price at which to split a stock.

Shareholder Defenses – Additional authorized shares could be used to bolster takeover defenses such as a “poison pill.” Proxy filings often discuss the usefulness of additional shares in defending against or discouraging a hostile takeover as a reason for a requested increase. Glass Lewis is typically against such defenses and will oppose actions intended to bolster such defenses.

Financing for Acquisitions – Glass Lewis looks at whether the company has a history of using stock for acquisitions and attempts to determine what levels of stock have typically been required to accomplish such transactions. Likewise, Glass Lewis looks to see whether this is discussed as a reason for additional shares in the proxy.

Financing for Operations – Glass Lewis reviews the company’s cash position and its ability to secure financing through borrowing or other means. Glass Lewis looks at the company’s history of capitalization and whether the company has had to use stock in the recent past as a means of raising capital.

Issuing additional shares can dilute existing holders in limited circumstances. Further, the availability of additional shares, where the board has discretion to implement a poison pill, can often serve as a deterrent to interested suitors. Accordingly, where Glass Lewis finds that the company has not detailed a plan for use of the proposed shares, or where the number of shares far exceeds those needed to accomplish a detailed plan, Glass Lewis typically recommends against the authorization of additional shares. While Glass Lewis thinks that having adequate shares to allow management to make quick decisions and effectively operate the business is critical, Glass Lewis prefers that, for significant transactions, management come to shareholders to justify their use of additional shares rather than providing a blank check in the form of a large pool of unallocated shares available for any purpose.

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Equity Based Compensation Plans

Glass Lewis evaluates option- and other equity-based compensation plans using a detailed model and analyst review. Glass Lewis believes that equity compensation awards are useful, when not abused, for retaining employees and providing an incentive for them to act in a way that will improve company performance.

Glass Lewis’ analysis is quantitative and focused on the plan’s cost as compared with the business’s operating metrics. Glass Lewis runs a number of different analyses, comparing the program with absolute limits Glass Lewis believes are key to equity value creation and with a carefully chosen peer group. In general, Glass Lewis’ model seeks to determine whether the proposed plan is either absolutely excessive or is more than one standard deviation away from the average plan for the peer group on a range of criteria, including dilution to shareholders and the projected annual cost relative to the company’s financial performance. Each of the analyses (and their constituent parts) is weighted and the plan is scored in accordance with that weight.

Option Exchanges. Glass Lewis views option repricing plans and option exchange programs with great skepticism. Shareholders have substantial risk in owning stock and, as a general matter, Glass Lewis believes that the employees, officers and directors who receive stock options should be similarly situated to align their interests with shareholder interests.

Pay for Performance. Glass Lewis believes an integral part of a well-structured compensation package is a successful link between pay and performance. Glass Lewis’ proprietary pay-for-performance model was developed to better evaluate the link between pay and performance of the top five executives at US companies. Glass Lewis’ model benchmarks these executives’ pay and company performance against peers selected by Equilar’s market-based peer groups and across five performance metrics. By measuring the magnitude of the gap between two weighted-average percentile rankings (executive compensation and performance), Glass Lewis grades companies from a school letter system: “A”, “B”, “F”, etc. The grades guide Glass Lewis’ evaluation of compensation committee effectiveness and Glass Lewis generally recommends voting against compensation committee of companies with a pattern of failing our pay-for-performance analysis.

Glass Lewis also uses this analysis to inform their voting decisions on say-on-pay proposals. As such, if a company receives a failing grade from Glass Lewis’ proprietary model, they are likely to recommend that shareholders vote against the say-on-pay proposal. However, there may be exceptions to this rule such as when a company makes significant enhancements to its compensation programs that may not be reflected yet in a quantitative assessment.

162(m) Plans. Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code allows companies to deduct compensation in excess of $1 million for the CEO and the next three most highly compensated executive officers, excluding the CFO, if the compensation is performance-based and is paid upon shareholder-approved plans. Glass Lewis recognizes the value of executive incentive programs and the tax benefit of shareholder-approved incentive plans. Glass Lewis believes the best practice for companies is to provide robust disclosure to shareholders so that they can make sound judgments about the reasonableness of the proposed compensation plan. To allow for meaningful shareholder review, Glass Lewis prefers that these proposals include: specific performance goals, a maximum award pool and a maximum award amount per employee. Glass Lewis also believes it is important to analyze the estimated grants to see if they are reasonable and in line with the company’s peers. Glass Lewis typically recommends against a 162(m) plan where: a company fails to provide at least a list of performance targets; a company fails to provide one of either a total pool or an individual maximum; or the proposed plan is excessive when compared with the plans of the company’s peers. However, where a company has a record of reasonable pay relative to business performance, Glass Lewis is not typically inclined to recommend against a plan even if the plan caps seem large relative to peers because they recognize the value in special pay arrangements for continued exceptional performance.

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Director Compensation Plans. Glass Lewis believes that non-employee directors should receive compensation for the time and effort they spend serving on the board and its committees. In particular, Glass Lewis supports compensation plans that include option grants or other equity-based awards, which help to align the interests of outside directors with those of shareholders. Director fees should be competitive in order to retain and attract qualified individuals. However, equity grants to directors should not be performance-based to ensure directors are not incentivized in the same manner as executives but rather serve as a check on imprudent risk-taking in executive compensation plan design.

Company Responsiveness. At companies that received a significant level of shareholder disapproval (25% or greater) to their say-on-pay proposal at the previous annual meeting, Glass Lewis believes the board should demonstrate some level of engagement and responsiveness to the shareholder concerns behind the discontent. While Glass Lewis recognizes that sweeping changes cannot be made to a compensation program without due consideration and that a majority of shareholders voted in favor of the proposal, they will look for disclosure in the proxy statement and other publicly-disclosed filings that indicates the compensation committee is responding to the prior year’s vote results including engaging with large shareholders to identify the concerns causing the substantial vote against. In the absence of any evidence that the board is actively engaging shareholders on these issues and responding accordingly, Glass Lewis may recommend holding compensation committee members accountable for failing to adequately respond to shareholder opposition, giving careful consideration to the level of shareholder protest and the severity and history of compensation problems.

Where Glass Lewis identifies egregious compensation practices, they may also recommend voting against the compensation committee based on the practices or actions of its members during the year, such as approving large one-off payments, the inappropriate, unjustified use of discretion, or sustained poor pay for performance practices.

Full Disclosure of Executive Compensation. Glass Lewis believes that complete, timely and transparent disclosure of executive pay is critical to allowing shareholders to evaluate the extent to which the pay is keeping pace with company performance. However, Glass Lewis is concerned when a proposal goes too far in the level of detail that it requests for executives other than the most high-ranking leaders of the company. While Glass Lewis is in favor of full disclosure for senior executives and Glass Lewis views pay disclosure at the aggregate level (e.g., the number of employees being paid over a certain amount or in certain categories) as potentially very useful, Glass Lewis does not believe that shareholders need or will benefit from detailed reports about individual management employees other than the most senior executives.

Social and Corporate Responsibility

Glass Lewis typically prefers to leave decisions regarding day-to-day management and policy decisions, including those related to social, environmental or political issues, to management and the board, except when there is a clear link between the proposal and value enhancement or risk mitigation. Glass Lewis feels strongly that shareholders should not attempt to micromanage the company, its businesses or its executives through the shareholder initiative process. Rather, Glass Lewis believes shareholders should use their influence to push for governance structures that protect shareholders and promote director accountability. Shareholders should then put in place a board they can trust to make informed decisions that are in the best interests of the business and its owners, and then hold directors accountable for management and policy decisions through board elections. However, Glass Lewis recognizes that support of appropriately crafted shareholder initiatives may at times serve to promote or protect shareholder value.

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To this end, Glass Lewis evaluates shareholder proposals on a case-by-case basis. Glass Lewis generally recommends supporting shareholder proposals calling for the elimination of, as well as to require shareholder approval of, antitakeover devices such as poison pills and classified boards. Glass Lewis generally recommends supporting proposals likely to increase and/or protect shareholder value and also those that promote the furtherance of shareholder rights. In addition, Glass Lewis also generally recommends supporting proposals that promote director accountability and those that seek to improve compensation practices, especially those promoting a closer link between compensation and performance.
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PART C: OTHER INFORMATION

AAM/HIMCO Global Enhanced Dividend Fund
 
ITEM 28.
EXHIBITS

(a)
(1)  Agreement and Declaration of Trust of Registrant (1)
(2)  Certificate of Trust (1)
(3)  Amendment to Certificate of Trust (1)
(4)  Amendment to Certificate of Trust (2)
(5)  Amendment to Certificate of Trust (7)
(6)  Amendment to Agreement and Declaration of Trust (2)
(7)  Amendment to Agreement and Declaration of Trust (4)
(8)  Amendment to Agreement and Declaration of Trust (6)
(9)  Amendment to Agreement and Declaration of Trust (15)
 (10)  Certificate of Designation of the AAM/Bahl & Gaynor Income Growth Fund (9)
 (11)  Certificate of Designation of the AAM/Cutwater Select Income Fund (11)
 (12)  Certificate of Designation of the AAM/HIMCO Short Duration Fund (16)
 (13) Certificate of Designation of the AAM/HIMCO Unconstrained Bond Fund (19)
 (14) Certificate of Designation of the AAM/HIMCO Global Enhanced Dividend Fund – filed herewith
(b) Amended By-Laws of Registrant (5), (13),(22)
(c) Instruments Defining Rights of Security Holders is incorporated by reference to Registrant’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust and Bylaws.
(d) Investment Advisory Agreement (12)
(1) Amended and Restated Appendix A to the Investment Advisory Agreement (20) to be filed by amendment
(2) Sub-Advisory Agreement with Bahl & Gaynor, Inc. (10)
(3) Sub-Advisory Agreement with Cutwater Investment Services Corp.
      (under the brand Insight Investment) (22)
(4) Amended and Restated Appendix A to the Sub-Advisory Agreement with Hartford Investment Management Company 20) to be filed by amendment
(e) Amended Distribution Agreement -to be filed by amendment
(f)  Bonus or Profit Sharing Contracts is not applicable.
(g) Custody Agreement (3)
(h) Other Material Contracts
(1)  Transfer Agency Agreement (6)
(2)  Fund Accounting Agreement (14)
(3)  Co-Administration Agreement (14)
(4)  Operating Expenses Limitation Agreement (20)
     (i)  Amended and Restated Operating Expenses Limitation Agreement – to be filed by amendment
(5) Amended and Restated Shareholder Service Plan – to be filed by amendment
(i)  Opinion and Consent of Legal Counsel to be filed by amendment
(j)  Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm – to be filed by amendment
(k) Not applicable
(l)  Initial Subscription Agreement
(1) AAM/Bahl & Gaynor Income Growth Fund (10)
(2) AAM/Cutwater Select Income Fund (12)
(3) AAM/HIMCO Short Duration Fund (17)
(4) AAM/HIMCO Unconstrained Bond Fund (20)
(m) Amended and Restated Rule 12b-1 Plan – to be filed by amendment
(n) Rule 18f-3 Plan– to be filed by amendment
(o) Powers of Attorney (18)
(p) Code of Ethics
(1) Code of Ethics of the Trust (8)
(2) Codes of Ethics of the Advisor (10)
(3) Codes of Ethics of the Sub-advisor
(i)  Bahl & Gaynor, Inc.(10)
(ii) Cutwater Investor Services Corp (a wholly owned subsidiary of BNY Mellon) (21)
(iii) Hartford Investment Management Company (18)


(1)
Previously filed in Registrant's Post-Effective Amendment No. 14 filed with the Commission on March 31, 2006.
(2)
Previously filed in Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 29 filed with the Commission on December 5, 2007.
(3)
Previously filed in Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 31 filed with the Commission on February 1, 2008.
(4)
Previously filed in Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 33 filed with the Commission on March 14, 2008.
(5)
Previously filed in Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 34 filed with the Commission on March 31, 2008.
(6)
Previously filed in Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 56 filed with the Commission on April 1, 2009.
(7)
Previously filed in Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 73 filed with the Commission on December 30, 2009.
(8)
Previously filed in Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 96 filed with the Commission on June 29, 2010.
(9)
Previously filed in Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 250 filed with the Commission on April 20, 2012.
(10)
Previously filed in Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 266 filed with the Commission on July 5, 2012.
(11)
Previously filed in Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 296 filed with the Commission on December 21, 2012.
(12)
Previously filed in Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 337 filed with the Commission on April 2, 2013.
(13)
Previously filed in Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 436 filed with the Commission on December 20, 2013.
(14)
Previously filed in Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 490 filed with the Commission on March 28, 2014.
(15)
Previously filed in Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 494 filed with the Commission on March 28, 2014.
(16)
Previously filed in Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 506 filed with the Commission on April 16, 2014.
(17)
Previously filed in Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 527 filed with the Commission on June 25, 2014.
(18)
Previously filed in Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 558 filed with the Commission on September 30, 2014.
(19)
Previously filed in Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 567 filed with the Commission on October 17, 2014.
(20)
Previously filed in Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 585 filed with the Commission on December 19, 2014.
(21)
Previously filed in Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 701 filed with the Commission on October 28, 2015
(22)
Previously filed in Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 784 filed with the Commission on August 23, 2016.
(23)
Previously filed in Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 847 filed with the Commission on March 30, 2017.
 
ITEM  29.
PERSONS CONTROLLED BY OR UNDER COMMON CONTROL WITH THE FUND

See the Statement of Additional Information.

ITEM 30.
INDEMNIFICATION

Pursuant to Del. Code Ann. Title 12 Section 3817, a Delaware statutory trust may provide in its governing instrument for the indemnification of its officers and Trustees from and against any and all claims and demands whatsoever.

Reference is made to Article 8, Section 8.4 of the Registrant's Agreement and Declaration of Trust, which provides:

Subject to the limitations, if applicable, hereinafter set forth in this Section 8.4, the Trust shall indemnify (from the assets of the Series or Series to which the conduct in question relates) each of its Trustees, officers, employees and agents (including Persons who serve at the Trust's request as directors, officers or trustees of another organization in which the Trust has any interest as a shareholder, creditor or otherwise (hereinafter, together with such Person's heirs, executors, administrators or personal representative, referred to as a "Covered Person")) against all liabilities, including but not limited to amounts paid in satisfaction of judgments, in compromise or as fines and penalties, and expenses, including reasonable accountants' and counsel fees, incurred by any Covered Person in connection with the defense or disposition of any action, suit or other proceeding, whether civil or criminal, before any court or administrative or legislative body, in which such Covered Person may be or may have been involved as a party or otherwise or with which such Covered Person may be or may have been threatened, while in office or thereafter, by reason of being or having been such a Trustee or officer, director or trustee, except with respect to any matter as to which it has been determined that such Covered Person (i) did not act in good faith in the reasonable belief that such Covered Person's action was in or not opposed to the best interests of the Trust; (ii) had acted with willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of such Covered Person's office (iii) for a criminal proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that his conduct was unlawful (the conduct described in (i), (ii) and (iii) being referred to hereafter as "Disabling Conduct"). A determination that the Covered Person is entitled to indemnification may be made by (i) a final decision on the merits by a court or other body before whom the proceeding was brought that the Covered Person to be indemnified was not liable by reason of Disabling Conduct, (ii) dismissal of a court action or an administrative proceeding against a Covered Person for insufficiency of evidence of Disabling Conduct, or (iii) a reasonable determination, based upon a review of the facts, that the indemnity was not liable by reason of Disabling Conduct by (a) a vote of a majority of a quorum of Trustees who are neither "interested persons" of the Trust as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act nor parties to the proceeding (the "Disinterested Trustees"), or (b) an independent legal counsel in a written opinion. Expenses, including accountants' and counsel fees so incurred by any such Covered Person (but excluding amounts paid in satisfaction of judgments, in compromise or as fines or penalties), may be paid from time to time by one or more Series to which the conduct in question related in advance of the final disposition of any such action, suit or proceeding; provided that the Covered Person shall have undertaken to repay the amounts so paid to such Series if it is ultimately determined that indemnification of such expenses is not authorized under this Article 8 and (i) the Covered Person shall have provided security for such undertaking, (ii) the Trust shall be insured against losses arising by reason of any lawful advances, or (iii) a majority of a quorum of the disinterested Trustees, or an independent legal counsel in a written opinion, shall have determined, based on a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial type inquiry), that there is reason to believe that the Covered Person ultimately will be found entitled to indemnification.


Insofar as indemnification for liability arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to trustees, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable.  In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a trustee, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such trustee, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

The Registrant has also entered into Indemnification Agreements with each of its trustees which provide that the Registrant shall advance expenses and indemnify and hold harmless each trustee in certain circumstances against any expenses incurred by a trustee in any proceeding arising out of or in connection with the trustee's service to the Registrant, to the maximum extent permitted by the Delaware Statutory Trust Act, the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, and which provide for certain procedures in connection with such advancement of expenses and indemnification.

Pursuant to the Distribution Agreement between the Trust and IMST Distributors, LLC (the “Distributor”), the Trust has agreed to indemnify, defend and hold the Distributor, and each of its present or former directors, members, officers, employees, representatives and any person who controls or previously controlled the Distributor within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act (“Distributor Indemnitees”), free and harmless (a) from and against any and all losses, claims, demands, liabilities, damages, charges, payments, costs and expenses (including the costs of investigating or defending any alleged losses, claims, demands, liabilities, damages, charges, payments, costs or expenses and any counsel fees incurred in connection therewith) of any and every nature (“Losses”) which Distributor and/or each of the Distributor Indemnitees may incur under the 1933 Act, the 1934 Act, any other statute (including Blue Sky laws) or any rule or regulation thereunder, or under common law or otherwise, arising out of or based upon any untrue statement, or alleged untrue statement, of a material fact contained in the registration statement or any prospectus, an annual or interim report to shareholders or sales literature, or any amendments or supplements thereto, or arising out of or based upon any omission, or alleged omission, to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; provided, however, that the Trust’s obligation to indemnify Distributor and any of the Distributor Indemnitees shall not be deemed to cover any Losses arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made therein in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to the Distributor and furnished to the Trust or its counsel by Distributor in writing for the purpose of, and used in, the preparation thereof; (b) from and against any and all Losses which Distributor and/or each of the Distributor Indemnitees may incur in connection with this Agreement or the Distributor’s performance hereunder, except to the extent the Losses result from the Distributor’s willful misfeasance, bad faith or negligence in the performance of its duties, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under this Agreement, (c) from and against any and all Losses which Distributor and/or each of the Distributor Indemnitees may incur resulting from the actions or inactions of any prior service provider to the Trust or any Funds in existence prior to, and added to Schedule A after, the date of this Agreement, or (d) from and against any and all Losses which Distributor and/or each of the Distributor Indemnitees may incur when acting in accordance with instructions from the Trust or its representatives; and provided further that to the extent this agreement of indemnity may require indemnity of any Distributor Indemnitee who is also a trustee or officer of the Trust, no such indemnity shall inure to the benefit of such trustee or officer if to do so would be against public policy as expressed in the 1933 Act or the 1940 Act.

ITEM 31.
BUSINESS AND OTHER CONNECTIONS OF THE INVESTMENT ADVISER

With respect to the Advisor, the response to this Item is incorporated by reference to the Advisor’s Uniform Application for Investment Adviser Registration (Form ADV) on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).  The Advisor’s Form ADV may be obtained, free of charge, at the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.

ITEM 32.
IMST DISTRIBUTORS, LLC

 
(a)
IMST Distributors, LLC (the “Distributor”) serves as principal underwriter for the following investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended:

 
1.
 Investment Managers Series Trust
 
2.
 Investment Managers Series Trust II


 
(b)
The following are the Officers and Manager of the Distributor.  The Distributor’s main business address is Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101.
 
Name
Address
Position with Underwriter
Position with Registrant
Richard J. Berthy
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101
President, Treasurer and Manager
 
Mark A. Fairbanks
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101
Vice President
None
Jennifer K. DiValerio
 
899 Cassatt Road, 400 Berwyn Park, Suite 110, Berwyn, PA 19312
Vice President
None
Susan K. Moscaritolo
899 Cassatt Road, 400 Berwyn Park, Suite 110,
Berwyn, PA 19312
Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer
None
Jennifer E. Hoopes
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101
Secretary
None

 
(c)  
Not applicable.

ITEM 33.
LOCATION OF ACCOUNTS AND RECORDS.

The books and records required to be maintained by Section 31(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 are maintained at the following locations:
 
Records Relating to:
Are located at:
Registrant’s Transfer Agent, Fund Accountant and Co-Administrator
UMB Fund Services, Inc.
235 W. Galena Street
Milwaukee, WI 53212 
Registrant’s Co-Administrator
Mutual Fund Administration, LLC
2220 E. Route 66, Suite 226
Glendora, California 91740 
Registrant’s Custodian
UMB Bank, n.a.
928  Grand Boulevard, 5th Floor
Kansas City, Missouri, 64106
Registrant’s Investment Adviser
Advisors Asset Management, Inc.
18925 Base Camp Road, Suite 203
Monument, Colorado 80132
Registrant’s Sub-adviser
 
Hartford Investment Management Company
One Hartford Plaza
Hartford, Connecticut 06155
Registrant’s Distributor
IMST Distributors, LLC
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100
Portland, Maine 04101 
 
ITEM 34.
MANAGEMENT SERVICES

Not applicable
 
ITEM 35.
UNDERTAKINGS

Not applicable

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, duly authorized, in the City of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin on the 29th day of September, 2017.
 
  INVESTMENT MANAGERS SERIES TRUST  
       
  By: 
/s/ Maureen Quill
 
    Maureen Quill, President
 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed on the 29th day of September, 2017, by the following persons in the capacities set forth below.
 
Signature
 
Title
 
   
Ashley Toomey Rabun
 
Trustee
     
   
William H. Young
 
Trustee
     
   
Charles H. Miller
 
Trustee
     
 
   
John P. Zader
 
Trustee
     
   
Eric M. Banhazl
 
Trustee
     
/s/ Maureen Quill    
Maureen Quill
 
President
     
/s/ Rita Dam    
Rita Dam
 
Treasurer
 
By
/s/ Rita Dam
 
Attorney-in-fact, pursuant to power of attorney previously filed
with Post-Effective Amendment No. 558 on September 30, 2014.

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit
Exhibit No.
Certificate of Designation of the AAM/HIMCO Global Enhanced Dividend Fund
EX99.28(a)(14)