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Zacks All-Cap Core Fund
SUMMARY SECTION   ZACKS ALL-CAP CORE FUND
Investment Objectives

The investment objectives of the Zacks All-Cap Core Fund are primarily capital appreciation

and secondarily, to provide shareholders with income through dividends.

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.

SHAREHOLDER FEES (fees paid directly from your investment)
Shareholder Fees
Zacks All-Cap Core Fund
Institutional Class Shares
USD ($)
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases none
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) none
Redemption fee if redeemed within 30 days of purchase (as a percentage of amount redeemed) 2.00%
Wire Fee $ 20
Overnight check delivery fee 25
Retirement account fees (annual maintenance fee) $ 15
ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
Zacks All-Cap Core Fund
Institutional Class Shares
Management fees 0.80%
Other expenses 0.48%
Total annual fund operating expenses 1.28%
Fees waived and/or expenses reimbursed (0.28%) [1]
Total annual fund operating expenses after waiving fees and/or reimbursing expenses1 1.00% [1]
[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, 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 1.00% of the average daily net assets for Institutional Class Shares of the Fund, respectively. This agreement is in effect until March 31, 2023, 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
One Year
Three Years
Five Years
Ten Years
Zacks All-Cap Core Fund | Institutional Class Shares | USD ($) 102 318 617 1,467
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's portfolio turnover rate for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2019 was 38% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund pursues its investment objectives by applying a hybrid research process, which uses both quantitative and qualitative criteria. Zacks Investment Management, Inc. (the "Advisor") uses the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model, to quantitatively assess the attractiveness of a large universe of stocks based primarily on an analysis of changing patterns of earnings estimates for a company. The primary aim of the Zacks Rank model is to identify those companies most likely to experience positive earnings estimate revisions. From a smaller universe of stocks that are highly ranked by the quantitative model (approximately 300 securities), the portfolio manager selects stocks with strong earnings potential using traditional "bottom-up" valuation metrics. Portfolio construction is driven by modern portfolio theory incorporating strict risk controls. Under normal circumstances, the Advisor expects to invest primarily in equity securities with an emphasis on equity securities of U.S. issuers. The Fund seeks to diversify its assets by investing in securities from a pool of more than one dozen industry sectors and over 200 industry groups. The Advisor allocates assets opportunistically based on market information and is not constrained by market capitalization or style parameters. Sector, capitalization and style allocations generally result from market trends regarding earnings information.

 

The Fund is designed to be a "core" fund that seeks to combine both value and growth characteristics. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests primarily in equity securities of U.S. issuers. The Fund also may invest in equity securities of Canadian issuers and American Depository Receipts ("ADRs"). ADRs are receipts that represent interests in foreign securities held on deposit by U.S. banks. In addition, the Fund may lend its portfolio securities to broker-dealers and other institutions as a means of earning additional income.

Principal Risks of Investing

Risk is inherent in all investing and you could lose money by investing in the Fund. 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.

 

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. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, or other events could have a significant impact on a security or instrument. 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.

 

Market Turbulence Resulting from COVID-19.   An outbreak of an infectious respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 has negatively affected the worldwide economy, as well as the economies of individual countries, the financial health of individual companies and the market in general in significant and unforeseen ways. The future impact of COVID-19 is currently unknown, and it may exacerbate other risks that apply to the Fund. Any such impact could adversely affect the Fund's performance, the performance of the securities in which the Fund invests and may lead to losses on your investment in the Fund.

 

Quantitative Model Risk. There are limitations inherent in every quantitative model. The factors used in quantitative analysis and the weight placed on those factors may not be predictive of a security's value. In addition, factors that affect a security's value can change over time and these changes may not be reflected in the quantitative model. Investments selected using the Zacks Rank and other quantitative models may perform differently from the market as a whole or from their expected performance. There can be no assurance that use of a quantitative model will enable the Fund to achieve positive returns or outperform the market.

 

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.

 

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 ADRs. Unsponsored ADRs 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.

 

Growth-Oriented Investment Strategies Risk. Growth funds generally focus on stocks of companies believed to have above-average potential for growth in revenue and earnings. Growth securities typically are very sensitive to market movements because their market prices frequently reflect projections of future earnings or revenues, and when it appears that those expectations will not be met the prices of growth securities typically fall.

 

Value-Oriented Investment Strategies Risk. Value stocks are those that are believed to be undervalued in comparison to their peers due to adverse business developments or other factors. Value investing is subject to the risk that the market will not recognize a security's inherent value for a long time or at all, or that a stock judged to be undervalued may actually be appropriately priced or overvalued. In addition, during some periods (which may be extensive) value stocks generally may be out of favor in the markets.

 

Lending Portfolio Securities Risk. The Fund may lend its portfolio securities to broker-dealers and banks, provided that it may not lend securities if, as a result, the aggregate value of all securities loaned would exceed 33 1/3% of its total assets. The collateral, including the investment of any cash collateral, is subject to market depreciation. In the event of bankruptcy or other default of the borrower, the Fund could experience delays in both liquidating the loan collateral and recovering the loaned securities and losses. The collateral (including any investment of cash collateral) is not subject to the percentage limitations on the Fund's investments described elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

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

 

Income and Distribution Risk. The income that shareholders receive from the Fund through annual distributions is based primarily on the dividends and interest the Fund earns from its investments. Dividend payments the Fund receives in respect of its portfolio securities can vary widely over the short and long term.

 

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 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.

 

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. Issuers of securities in which the Fund invests are also subject to cybersecurity risks, and the value of those securities could decline if the issuers experience cybersecurity incidents.

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 Institutional Class Shares and by showing how the average annual total returns of each class of the Fund compare with the average annual total returns of a broad-based market index. Performance for periods prior to April 16, 2018, reflect performance of the Investor Class, which were re-designated as Institutional Class shares on April 16, 2018. The Investor Class shares were subject to a distribution fee pursuant to a Rule 12b-1 Plan and therefore had a higher expense ratio than the Institutional Class. The distribution fee is reflected in the Fund's performance for periods prior to April 16, 2018. Prior to October 31, 2016, the Investor Class Shares of the Fund were designated as Class A Shares. Sales loads applicable to the Class A Shares are not reflected in the bar chart, and if those charges were included, returns would be less than those shown.

 

Updated performance information is available at the Fund's website, www.zacksfunds.com, or by calling the Fund at 888-453-4003. The Fund's past performance, before and after taxes, is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.

Calendar-Year Total Return (before taxes) For Institutional Class Shares For each calendar year at NAV
Bar Chart
Institutional Class Shares
Highest Calendar Quarter Return at NAV (non-annualized): 12.95% Quarter Ended 03/31/2019
Lowest Calendar Quarter Return at NAV (non-annualized): (14.75%) Quarter Ended 09/30/2011
Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2019
Average Annual Total Returns - Zacks All-Cap Core Fund
1 Year
5 Years
10 Years
Institutional Class Shares 29.22% 9.78% 11.73%
Institutional Class Shares | After Taxes on Distributions 26.59% 7.77% 10.55%
Institutional Class Shares | After Taxes on Distributions and Sales 19.12% 7.43% 9.57%
Russell 3000 Index (Reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) 31.02% 11.24% 13.42%

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. Prior to October 31, 2016, Institutional Class Shares were designated as Class A Shares, which were subject to a 5.75% sales charge that is not reflected in the total return figures.