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EuroPac Gold Fund
SUMMARY SECTION – EuroPac Gold Fund
Investment Objective

The investment objective of the EuroPac Gold Fund (the "Fund") is to seek long-term 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 $50,000 in the Fund. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in the section titled "Sales Charge Schedule" on page 56 of this prospectus and in "APPENDIX A – Waivers and Discounts Available from Intermediaries" of the Prospectus.

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Shareholder Fees - EuroPac Gold Fund - USD ($)
Class A
Class I
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price) 4.50% none
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) none none
Redemption fee if redeemed within 30 days of purchase (as a percentage of amount redeemed) 2.00% 2.00%
Wire Fee $ 20 $ 20
Overnight check delivery fee 25 25
Retirement account fees (annual maintenance fee) $ 15 $ 15
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of your investment)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses - EuroPac Gold Fund
Class A
Class I
Management fees 0.80% 0.80%
Distribution and service (Rule 12b-1) fees 0.25% none
Shareholder service fees 0.09% 0.09%
All other expenses 0.38% 0.38%
Other expenses 0.47% 0.47%
Total annual fund operating expenses 1.52% 1.27%
Fees waived and/or expenses reimbursed [1] (0.02%) (0.02%)
Total annual fund operating expenses after waiving fees and/or reimbursing expenses [1] 1.50% 1.25%
[1] 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 any taxes, leverage interest, brokerage commissions, dividend and interest expenses on short sales, acquired fund fees and expenses (as determined in accordance with SEC Form N-1A), expenses incurred in connection with any merger or reorganization, and extraordinary expenses such as litigation expenses) do not exceed 1.50% and 1.25% of average daily net assets of Class A and Class I shares of the Fund, respectively. This agreement is in effect until February 28, 2021, 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, subject to certain limitations, of fees waived or payments made to 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 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.
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. The example reflects the Fund's contractual fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement only for the term of the contractual fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Expense Example - EuroPac Gold Fund - USD ($)
One Year
Three Years
Five Years
Ten Years
Class A 596 907 1,240 2,179
Class I 127 401 695 1,532
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. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 18% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in the securities of gold companies located in Europe and the Pacific Rim. The Fund's advisor defines securities of gold companies as equity securities of companies that derive at least 50% of gross revenue or profit from mining, processing, or dealing and investing in gold, as well as companies whose primary business is exploring for gold or that provide services to the gold industry. The advisor considers a country to be part of Europe if it is included in the MSCI All Country Europe Index and part of the Pacific Rim if any of its borders touches the Pacific Ocean. The Fund also invests in shares of exchange-traded funds ("ETFs") and closed end funds that invest in gold bullion. ETFs are pooled investment vehicles that trade on exchanges. The advisor considers a company to be located in Europe or the Pacific Rim if (1) the company is organized under the laws of a country that is a part of Europe or the Pacific Rim or has its principal office in a country that is a part of Europe or the Pacific Rim; (2) at the time of investment, the company derived a significant portion (i.e., 50% or more) of its total revenues during its most recent completed fiscal year from business activities in Europe or the Pacific Rim; or (3) the company's equity securities are traded principally on stock exchanges or over-the-counter markets in Europe or the Pacific Rim. The Fund will invest primarily in non-U.S. companies. The Advisor considers a company to be a non-U.S. company if (1) the company is organized under the laws of a country, or has its principal office in a country, other than the United States; (2) at the time of investment, the company derived at least 50% of its total revenues during its most recent completed fiscal year from business activities outside of the United States; or (3) the company's equity securities are traded principally on stock exchanges or over-the-counter markets outside of the United States. The Fund may also invest in American and Global Depository Receipts ("ADRs" and "GDRs"), including unsponsored ADRs. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in the equity securities of other precious metals companies, such as silver, platinum and palladium companies. The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in private placements and other restricted securities.

 

The Fund concentrates its investments in companies engaged in the gold industry. The Fund invests in large-, mid-, small-, and micro-capitalization companies that are considered by the Fund's advisor to be attractively valued.

 

The Fund may also use derivative instruments, primarily writing (i.e., selling) put options on individual securities, indexes and ETFs, to manage the position size of individual security holdings, and to seek to enhance the Fund's return and reduce volatility. The Fund will generally invest in derivatives to seek to manage underlying equity exposures while seeking to maximize the efficiency of invested capital and expected return. When evaluating options, the Fund's advisor considers the amount of premium received or invested (which is a function of the implied volatility of the underlying security, the strike price, and the time to expiration), the valuation of the underlying security at the exercise price, the weighting of the security in the portfolio if exercised, and the expiration date. In addition, the Fund may write (sell) covered call options on securities the Fund holds in its portfolio.

 

In selecting investments for the Fund, the Fund's advisor employs a long-term value orientation, looking for companies selling at attractive prices that can be held for a long time horizon. The advisor's overall approach to investment management involves several key factors. First, the global universe is used to screen potential European and Pacific Rim investments. Second, the advisor identifies securities of companies in the gold or other precious metals sector that it believes are valued at a low price in relation to their book value or earnings, or at a discount to future book value given the likelihood the company will be able to increase resources through exploration. Lastly, a long-term investment horizon (five years) is applied to give investments time to realize full value. In investing in growth and more speculative investments, such as exploration, the advisor looks for companies with a risk-mitigating approach to these inherently risky activities. Ultimately, the advisor seeks to construct a portfolio with a solid long-term foundation in which growth and more speculative investments are added.

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 objective.

 

Management and Strategy Risk. The value of your investment depends on the judgment of the 'Fund's 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 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.

 

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.

 

Risks Related to the Gold and Precious Metals Industries. Because the Fund's investments are concentrated in the gold industry and because the fund may invest a significant amount of its assets in the precious metals industry, its performance will be significantly affected by developments in those industries. The Fund may be subject to greater risks and market fluctuations than a fund whose portfolio has exposure to a broader range of industries or sectors. Investments related to gold and other precious metals are considered speculative and are affected by a variety of worldwide economic, financial and political factors. The price of gold and other precious metals may fluctuate sharply over short periods of time, even during periods of rising prices, due to changes in inflation or expectations regarding inflation in various countries, the availability of supplies, changes in industrial and commercial demand, limited markets, fabricator demand, gold sales by governments, trade imbalances and restrictions, currency devaluation or revaluation, central banks or international agencies, investment speculation, inability to raise capital, increases in production costs, political unrest in nations where sources of precious metals are located, monetary and other economic policies of various governments and government restrictions on private ownership of precious metals and mining land. Therefore, markets are volatile at times, and there may be sharp fluctuations in prices even during periods of rising prices. The metals industry can be significantly affected by events relating to international political developments, the success of exploration projects, commodity prices and tax and government regulations.

 

Private Placements and Restricted Securities Risk. Private placements and other restricted securities may be considered illiquid securities. Private placements typically are subject to restrictions on resale as a matter of contract or under federal securities laws. Because there may be relatively few potential purchasers for such securities, especially under adverse market or economic conditions or in the event of adverse changes in the financial condition of the issuer, the Fund could find it more difficult to sell such securities when it may be advisable to do so or it may be able to sell such securities only at prices lower than if such securities were more widely held. The absence of a liquid trading market may also make it difficult to determine the fair value of such securities for purposes of computing the Fund's net asset value.

 

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 American Depository Receipts ("ADRs") and Global Depository Receipts ("GDRs"). Unsponsored ADRs and GDRs 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.

 

Market Capitalization Risk. Larger, more established companies may be unable to attain the high growth rates of successful, smaller companies during periods of economic expansion. The securities of micro-capitalization, 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.

 

Geographic Concentration Risk. A fund that is less diversified across countries or geographic regions is generally riskier than a more geographically diversified fund. Investments in a single region, even though representing a number of different countries within the region, may be affected by common economic forces and other factors. This vulnerability to factors affecting the value of investments is significantly greater for a fund that concentrates its investment in a particular region or regions than a more geographically diversified fund, and may result in greater losses and volatility. The economies and financial markets of certain regions, such as Latin America, Asia or Eastern Europe, can be interdependent and may decline all at the same time.

 

Geographic Risk Related to Europe. The Fund will be more susceptible to the economic, market, political and local risks of the European region than a fund that is more geographically diversified. Europe includes both developed and emerging markets. Most Western European countries are members of the European Union, which imposes restrictions on inflation rates, deficits and debt levels. Both developed and emerging market countries in Europe will be significantly affected by the fiscal and monetary controls of the European Monetary Union. Changes in regulations on trade, decreasing imports or exports, changes in the exchange rate of the euro and recessions among European countries may have a significant adverse effect on the economies of other European countries including those of Eastern Europe. The markets in Eastern Europe remain relatively undeveloped and can be particularly sensitive to political and economic developments. The European financial markets have recently experienced volatility and adverse trends due to concerns about rising government debt levels of certain European countries, each of which may require external assistance to meet its obligations and run the risk of default on its debt, possible bail-out by the rest of the European Union or debt restructuring. Assistance given to a European Union member state may be dependent on a country's implementation of reforms in order to curb the risk of default on its debt, and a failure to implement these reforms or increase revenues could result in a deep economic downturn. These events have adversely affected the exchange rate of the euro and therefore may adversely affect the Fund and its investments. On January 31, 2020, the United Kingdom formally withdrew from the EU, which withdrawal is commonly referred to as "Brexit." The Fund faces risks associated with the uncertainty and consequences following Brexit. Brexit could adversely affect European or worldwide political, regulatory, economic or market conditions, and could contribute to instability in global political institutions, regulatory agencies and financial markets. Any effects of Brexit could adversely affect any of the companies to which the Fund has exposure and any other assets in which the Fund invests.

 

Geographic Risk Related to Pacific Rim. The Fund will be more susceptible to the economic, market, regulatory, political, natural disasters and local risks of the Pacific Rim region than a fund that is more geographically diversified. The Pacific Rim region includes countries in all stages of economic development; however, it has a higher prevalence of emerging market countries as compared to other regions of the world. The region has historically been highly dependent on global trade, with nations taking strong roles in both the importing and exporting of goods; such a relationship creates a risk with this dependency on global growth. The respective stock markets tend to have a larger prevalence of smaller capitalization companies. Varying levels of accounting and disclosure standards, restrictions on foreign ownership, minority ownership rights, and corporate governance standards are also common for the region.

 

Covered Call Options Risk. The Fund may write (sell) covered call options on securities the Fund holds in its portfolio. This strategy is designed to generate additional gains from option premiums, but also results in certain risks. With respect to portfolio holdings on which the Fund has written a covered call option, the Fund will forgo the opportunity to benefit from potential increases in the value of that security, but will continue to bear the risk of declines in the value of the security.

 

Currency Risk. The values of investments in securities denominated in foreign currencies increase or decrease as the rates of exchange between those currencies and the U.S. Dollar change. Currency conversion costs and currency fluctuations could erase investment gains or add to investment losses. Currency exchange rates can be volatile and are affected by factors such as general economic conditions, the actions of the United States and foreign governments or central banks, the imposition of currency controls, and speculation.

 

Cybersecurity Risk. Cybersecurity incidents may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, or cause the Fund, the Advisor, and/or other service providers (including custodians, sub-custodians, transfer agents and financial intermediaries) to suffer data breaches, data corruption or loss of operational functionality. In an extreme case, a shareholder's ability to exchange or redeem Fund shares may be affected.

 

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.

 

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 Risk. 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, involves 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.

 

Liquidity Risk. The Fund may not be able to sell some or all of the investments that it holds due to a lack of demand in the marketplace or other factors such as market turmoil, or if the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid asset to meet redemption requests or other cash needs it may only be able to sell those investments at a loss. Illiquid assets may also be difficult to value.

 

Options Risk. Purchasing and writing put and call options are highly specialized activities and entail greater than ordinary investment risks. The Fund may not fully benefit from or may lose money on an option if changes in its value do not correspond as anticipated to changes in the value of the underlying securities. If the Fund is not able to sell an option held in its portfolio, it would have to exercise the option to realize any profit and would incur transaction costs upon the purchase or sale of the underlying securities. Ownership of options involves the payment of premiums, which may adversely affect the Fund's performance. To the extent that the Fund invests in over-the-counter options, the Fund may be exposed to counterparty risk.

 

Tax Risk. In order to qualify for the favorable U.S. federal income tax treatment accorded to regulated investment companies, the Fund must, among other requirements, derive at least 90% of its gross income in each taxable year from certain categories of income ("qualifying income"). Certain of the Fund's investments may generate income that is not qualifying income. If the Fund were to fail to meet the qualifying income test and fail to qualify as a regulated investment company, 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.

 

The Fund may hold equity interests in certain foreign entities treated as "passive foreign investment companies" ("PFICs") for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Certain foreign mining corporations in which the Fund invests may be treated as PFICs. 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 regardless of whether the Fund distributes substantially all of its income to shareholders. Additional charges in the nature of interest may be imposed with respect to deferred taxes arising from such distributions or gains. Capital gains on the sale of such holdings may 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) 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. Under proposed Treasury Regulations, certain income derived by the Fund for a taxable year from a PFIC with respect to which the Fund has made a qualified electing fund election would generally constitute qualifying income for purposes of the 90% test described above, only to the extent the PFIC makes distributions in respect of that income to the Fund for that taxable year.

Performance

The bar chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund's performance from year to year for Class A shares and by showing how the average annual total returns of Class A shares of the Fund compare with the average annual total returns of a broad-based market index. Performance for classes other than those shown may vary from the performance shown to the extent the expenses for those classes differ. Updated performance information is available at the Fund's website, www.europacificfunds.com, or by calling the Fund at 1-888-558-5851. The Fund's past performance, before and after taxes, is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Sales loads are not reflected in the bar chart, and if those charges were included, returns would be less than those shown.

Calendar Year Total Return (before taxes) for Class A Shares For each calendar year at NAV
Bar Chart
Class A Shares    
Highest Calendar Quarter Return at NAV 54.86% Quarter Ended 06/30/2016
Lowest Calendar Quarter Return at NAV (21.67)% Quarter Ended 09/30/2015
Average Annual Total Returns (for periods ended December 31, 2019)
Average Annual Total Returns - EuroPac Gold Fund
1 Year
5 Years
Since Inception
Inception Date
Class A 31.09% 10.05% 3.31% Jul. 19, 2013
Class A | After Taxes on Distributions [1] 31.09% 8.50% 2.14% Jul. 19, 2013
Class A | After Taxes on Distributions and Sales [1] 18.40% 7.14% 1.96% Jul. 19, 2013
Class I [2] 37.47% 11.14% 4.09% Nov. 20, 2018
Philadelphia Gold & Silver Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 52.89% 10.11% 2.83% Jul. 19, 2013
NYSE ARCA Gold Miners Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 39.72% 9.92% 2.24% Jul. 19, 2013
[1] After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
[2] Class A shares were first offered on July 19, 2013. Class I shares were first offered on November 20, 2018. The performance figures for Class I include the performance for the Class A for the periods prior to the start date of Class I. Class A imposes higher expenses than Class I.