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Zacks Small-Cap Core Fund
SUMMARY SECTION   ZACKS SMALL-CAP CORE FUND
Investment Objective

The investment objective of the Zacks Small-Cap Core Fund is capital appreciation.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Zacks Small-Cap Core Fund.

SHAREHOLDER FEES (fees paid directly from your investment)
Shareholder Fees - Zacks Small-Cap Core Fund - USD ($)
Investor Class Shares
Institutional Class Shares
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases none 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 the value of your investment)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses - Zacks Small-Cap Core Fund
Investor Class Shares
Institutional Class Shares
Management fees 0.90% 0.90%
Distribution and/or service (Rule 12b-1) fees 0.25% none
Other expenses 0.38% 0.38%
Total annual fund operating expenses 1.53% 1.28%
Fees waived and/or expenses reimbursed [1] (0.14%) (0.14%)
Total annual fund operating expenses after waiving fees and/or reimbursing expenses1 [1] 1.39% 1.14%
[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 Form N-1A), expenses incurred in connection with any merger or reorganization, and extraordinary expenses such as litigation expenses) do not exceed 1.39%, and 1.14% of the average daily net assets of the Investor Class Shares, and 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 from 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 - Zacks Small-Cap Core Fund - USD ($)
One Year
Three Years
Five Years
Ten Years
Investor Class Shares 142 440 792 1,786
Institutional Class Shares 116 362 660 1,506
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 114% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund pursues its investment objective by applying a hybrid research process which uses both quantitative and qualitative criteria. Zacks Investment Management, Inc. (the "Advisor") uses a proprietary model to quantitatively assess the attractiveness of a large universe of stocks based on potential capital appreciation. The primary aim of the quantitative model is to identify those companies most likely to generate positive alpha, or excess return over the market, when adjusted for stock beta, or movement with the market. From a smaller universe of stocks that are highly ranked by the quantitative model, the portfolio manager selects small-cap stocks with attractive risk/return characteristics based on qualitative criteria. Portfolio construction incorporates risk controls.

 

Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (including amounts borrowed for investment purposes) in a diversified portfolio of equity securities of small capitalization companies, with an emphasis on equity securities of U.S. issuers. The Fund's investments in equity securities may include common stock, preferred stock and convertible securities. The Fund considers small capitalization companies to be companies within the range of those companies included in the Russell 2000 Index at the time of purchase. Because small capitalization companies are defined by reference to an index, the range of market capitalization companies in which the Fund invests may vary with market conditions. As of May 31, 2019, the market capitalizations of companies included in the Russell 2000 Index were between $7.5 million and $10.3 billion. The Russell 2000 Index is reconstituted annually, typically on May 31 of each year, to seek to ensure that larger stocks do not distort the performance and characteristics of the Index and that the represented companies continue to reflect small capitalization characteristics.

 

The Fund is designed to be a "core" fund that seeks to combine both value and growth characteristics within the small-cap universe. The Fund seeks to diversify its assets by investing in securities from a pool of more than one dozen industry sectors. The Advisor allocates assets opportunistically based on market information and is not constrained by investment style parameters. Sector and style allocations generally result from a hybrid research process using quantitative and qualitative criteria. The Fund may engage in short-sale transactions up to 25% of its net assets. The Fund's investment strategy involves active and frequent trading. In addition, the Fund may lend its portfolio securities to broker-dealers and other institutions as a means of earning additional income.

 

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.

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 objective.

 

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 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. For example, as of November 30, 2019, 25.7% of the Fund's assets were invested in the industrials sector, and 24.0% of the Fund's assets were invested in the financial sector. Companies in the industrials sector can be significantly affected by general economic trends, changes in consumer sentiment and spending, commodity prices, legislation, government regulation and spending, import controls, and worldwide competition. Companies in the financial sector may be adversely affected by many factors, including among others, fluctuations in interest rates, government regulation, economic conditions, credit rating downgrades, and decreased liquidity in the credit markets. The impact of more stringent capital requirements or future regulation on any individual financial company or on the sector as a whole cannot be predicted.

 

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.

 

Portfolio Turnover Risk. Active and frequent trading of the Fund's portfolio securities may lead to higher transaction costs and may result in a greater number of taxable transactions than would otherwise be the case, which could negatively affect the Fund's performance. A high rate of portfolio turnover is 100% or more.

 

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.

 

Small-Cap Companies Risk. The securities of small-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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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 Investor Class Shares and by showing how the average annual total return 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.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. 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 Investor Class For each calendar year at NAV
Bar Chart
Investor Class Shares    
Highest Calendar Quarter Return at NAV (non-annualized): 15.30% Quarter Ended 03/31/2013
Lowest Calendar Quarter Return at NAV(non-annualized): (20.62%) Quarter Ended 12/31/2018
Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2019
Average Annual Total Returns - Zacks Small-Cap Core Fund
1 Year
5 Years
Since Inception
[1]
Inception Date
Investor Class Shares 21.20% 7.77% 11.16% Jun. 30, 2011
Investor Class Shares | After Taxes on Distributions [2] 21.17% 6.30% 9.98% Jun. 30, 2011
Investor Class Shares | After Taxes on Distributions and Sales [2] 12.57% 5.69% 8.80% Jun. 30, 2011
Institutional Class Shares 21.54% 8.05% 11.44% Feb. 28, 2014
Russell 2000 Index (Reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) 25.53% 8.23% 10.12% Jun. 30, 2011
[1] Investor Class Shares were first offered on June 30, 2011. Institutional Class Shares were first offered on February 28, 2014. The performance figures for Institutional Class Shares include the performance for the Investor Class Shares for the period prior to February 28, 2014. For such period Institutional Class Shares would have had substantially similar performance as Investor Class because the shares are invested in the same portfolio of securities and the average annual total returns would have differed only to the extent that the expenses of Institutional Class Shares were lower than the expenses of Investor Class Shares and therefore, returns for Institutional Class Shares would have been higher than those of Investor Class Shares.
[2] 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.