Securities Act of 1933 Registration No. 333-139427
Investment Company Act of 1940 Registration No. 811-21991
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM N-1A
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 [X]
[ ] Pre-Effective Amendment No. ______
[X] Post-Effective Amendment No. 111
and
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 [X]
[X] Amendment No. 114
Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)
245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)(Zip Code)
Registrant’s Telephone Number: 617-563-7000
|
Christina H. Lee Secretary and Chief Legal Officer 245 Summer Street Boston, Massachusetts 02210 (Name and Address of Agent for Service) |
With copies to: John V. O’Hanlon, Esq. Dechert LLP One International Place, 40th Floor 100 Oliver Street Boston, Massachusetts 02110 |
It is proposed that this filing will become effective on June 16, 2021 pursuant to paragraph (b) of Rule 485 at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
Fund/Ticker
Strategic Advisers® Municipal Bond Fund/FSMUX
Offered exclusively to certain managed account clients of Strategic Advisers LLC or its affiliates - not available for sale to the general public
Prospectus
June 16, 2021
|
Like securities of all mutual funds, these securities have not been approved or disapproved by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Securities and Exchange Commission has not determined if this prospectus is accurate or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense. |
 245 Summer Street, Boston, MA 02210 |
Contents
| Fund Summary | ||
| Fund Basics | ||
| Shareholder Information |
Additional Information about the Purchase and Sale of Shares |
|
| Fund Services | ||
Fund Summary
Fund:
Strategic Advisers® Municipal Bond Fund
Investment Objective
The fund seeks to provide a high current yield exempt from federal income tax.
Fee Table
The following table describes the fees and expenses that may be incurred when you buy and hold shares of the fund.
Shareholder fees
| (fees paid directly from your investment) |
Annual Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
| Management fee (fluctuates based on the fund's allocation among underlying funds and sub-advisers)(a),(b) | ||
| Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) fees | ||
| Other expenses(b) | ||
| Acquired fund fees and expenses(b) | ||
| Total annual operating expenses | ||
| Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement(a) | ||
| Total annual operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement |
(a)Strategic Advisers LLC (Strategic Advisers) has contractually agreed that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee
will not exceed 0.60% of the fund's average daily net assets. In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to
waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets. This arrangement
will remain in effect through
(b)
This example helps compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other funds.
Let's say, hypothetically, that the annual return for shares of the fund is 5% and that your shareholder fees and the annual operating expenses for shares of the fund are exactly as described in the fee table. This example illustrates the effect of fees and expenses, but is not meant to suggest actual or expected fees and expenses or returns, all of which may vary. For every $10,000 you invested, here's how much you would pay in total expenses if you sell all of your shares at the end of each time period indicated:
| 1 year | $ |
| 3 years | $ |
Portfolio Turnover
The fund will not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of affiliated mutual funds but may incur transaction costs when buying or selling non-affiliated funds and other types of securities (including exchange traded funds (ETFs)) directly (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate 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 operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's performance.
Principal Investment Strategies
- Normally investing at least 80% of assets in municipal securities whose interest is exempt from federal income tax.
- Normally investing primarily in investment-grade municipal securities.
- Allocating assets across different market sectors and maturities.
- Potentially investing more than 25% of total assets in municipal securities that finance similar types of projects.
- Implementing investment strategies by investing directly in securities through one or more managers (sub-advisers) or indirectly in securities through one or more other funds, referred to as underlying funds, which in turn invest directly in securities (as described below).
- Allocating assets among affiliated fixed-income funds (i.e., Fidelity® funds, including mutual funds and ETFs), non-affiliated fixed-income funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork®, non-affiliated ETFs (collectively, underlying funds), and sub-advisers.
- Allocating assets among sub-advisers and underlying funds using proprietary fundamental and quantitative research, considering factors including, but not limited to, performance in different market environments, manager experience and investment style, management company infrastructure, costs, asset size, and portfolio turnover.
- Investing up to 30% in lower-quality debt securities (those of less than investment-grade quality, also referred to as high yield debt securities or junk bonds).
- Analyzing the credit quality of the issuer, the issuer's potential for success, the credit, currency and economic risks of the security and its issuer, security-specific features, current and potential future valuation, and trading opportunities to select investments.
Pursuant to an exemptive order granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Strategic Advisers LLC (Strategic Advisers) is permitted, subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees, to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund’s sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement.
Principal Investment Risks
- Multiple Sub-Adviser Risk. Separate investment decisions and the resulting purchase and sale activities of the fund's sub-advisers might adversely affect the fund's performance or lead to disadvantageous tax consequences.
- Investing in Other Funds. Regulatory restrictions may limit the amount that one fund can invest in another, which means that the fund's manager may not be able to invest as much as it wants to in some other funds. The fund bears all risks of investment strategies employed by the underlying funds, including the risk that the underlying funds will not meet their investment objectives. Underlying funds that are passively managed attempt to track the performance of an unmanaged index of securities and as such their performance could be lower than actively managed funds, which may shift their portfolio assets to take advantage of market opportunities or lessen the impact of a market decline. In addition, errors in the construction of the index tracked by an underlying passively managed fund may have an adverse impact on the performance of such underlying fund.
- Municipal Market Volatility. The municipal market is volatile and can be significantly affected by adverse tax, legislative, or political changes and the financial condition of the issuers of municipal securities.
- Interest Rate Changes. Interest rate increases can cause the price of a debt security to decrease.
- Issuer-Specific Changes. The value of an individual security or particular type of security can be more volatile than, and can perform differently from, the market as a whole. A decline in the credit quality of an issuer or a provider of credit support or a maturity-shortening structure for a security can cause the price of a security to decrease. Lower-quality debt securities (those of less than investment-grade quality, also referred to as high yield debt securities or junk bonds) and certain types of other securities involve greater risk of default or price changes due to changes in the credit quality of the issuer. The value of lower-quality debt securities and certain types of other securities can be more volatile due to increased sensitivity to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market, or economic developments and can be difficult to resell.
- Investing in ETFs. ETFs may trade in the secondary market at prices below the value of their underlying portfolios and may not be liquid. ETFs that track an index are subject to tracking error and may be unable to sell poorly performing assets that are included in their index or other benchmark.
- Quantitative Investing. Securities selected using quantitative analysis can perform differently from the market as a whole as a result of the factors used in the analysis, the weight placed on each factor, and changes in the factors' historical trends.
Performance
Investment Adviser
Strategic Advisers (the Adviser) is the fund's manager. FIAM LLC (FIAM), MacKay Shields LLC (MacKay Shields), and T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. (T. Rowe Price) have been retained to serve as sub-advisers for the fund. FMR Investment Management (UK) Limited (FMR UK), Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited (FMR H.K.), and Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Limited (FMR Japan) have been retained to serve as sub-subadvisers for the fund. The Adviser may change a sub-adviser's asset allocation at any time, including allocating no assets to, or terminating the sub-advisory contract with, a sub-adviser.
Portfolio Manager(s)
Christopher Heavey (portfolio manager) has managed the fund since 2021.
Purchase and Sale of Shares
The fund is not available for sale to the general public.
The price to buy one share is its net asset value per share (NAV). Shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
The price to sell one share is its NAV. Shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
The fund is open for business each day the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open.
There is no purchase minimum for fund shares.
Tax Information
The fund seeks to earn income and pay dividends exempt from federal income tax. Income exempt from federal income tax may be subject to state or local tax. A portion of the dividends you receive may be subject to federal and state income taxes and may also be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. You may also receive taxable distributions attributable to the fund's sale of municipal bonds.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
The fund, the Adviser, Fidelity Distributors Company LLC (FDC), and/or their affiliates may pay intermediaries, which may include banks, broker-dealers, retirement plan sponsors, administrators, or service-providers (who may be affiliated with the Adviser or FDC), for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your intermediary and your investment professional to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your investment professional or visit your intermediary's web site for more information.
Fund Basics
Investment Details
Investment Objective
Strategic Advisers® Municipal Bond Fund seeks to provide a high current yield exempt from federal income tax.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Adviser normally invests at least 80% of the fund's assets in municipal securities whose interest is exempt from federal income tax. The municipal securities in which the fund invests are normally investment-grade (those of medium and high quality). Although the Adviser does not currently intend to invest the fund's assets in municipal securities whose interest is subject to federal income tax, the Adviser may invest all of the fund's assets in municipal securities whose interest is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax.
The Adviser allocates the fund's assets among underlying funds and sub-advisers to attempt to diversify the fund’s portfolio among different market sectors (for example, general obligation bonds of a state or bonds financing a specific project) and different maturities based on its view of the relative value of each sector and maturity.
The Adviser may invest more than 25% of the fund's total assets in municipal securities that finance similar projects, such as those relating to education, health care, transportation, and utilities.
The Adviser may also invest up to 30% of the fund's assets in lower-quality debt securities (those of less than investment-grade quality, also referred to as high yield debt securities or junk bonds).
The fund implements its investment strategies by investing directly in securities through one or more sub-advisers or indirectly in securities through one or more underlying funds, which in turn invest directly in securities.
The Adviser may allocate the fund's assets among any number of underlying funds or sub-advisers at any time. The Adviser may adjust allocations among underlying funds or sub-advisers from time to time, including making no allocation at all to one or more sub-advisers.
The Adviser pursues a disciplined, benchmark-driven approach to portfolio construction, and monitors and adjusts allocations to underlying funds and sub-advisers as necessary to favor those underlying funds and sub-advisers that the Adviser believes will provide the most favorable outlook for achieving the fund's investment objective.
When determining how to allocate the fund’s assets among sub-advisers and underlying funds, the Adviser uses proprietary fundamental and quantitative research, considering factors including, but not limited to, performance in different market environments, manager experience and investment style, management company infrastructure, costs, asset size, and portfolio turnover.
The fund may invest in affiliated fixed-income funds (i.e., Fidelity® funds, including mutual funds and ETFs), non-affiliated fixed-income funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork® and in non-affiliated ETFs. Underlying funds include both funds managed by Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC (FMR) (an affiliated company that, together with the Adviser, is part of Fidelity Investments) or an affiliate and funds managed by investment advisers other than Fidelity. Fidelity may receive service fees that typically are at an annual rate of up to 0.40% of a non-affiliated underlying fund's average daily net assets attributable to purchases through Fidelity's FundsNetwork®, though such fees may be higher or lower, or may be charged as transaction and/or account fees. In addition, the fund may invest in ETFs in transactions not occurring through Fidelity's FundsNetwork®.
The Adviser generally classifies funds by reference to a fund's name, policies, or classification by a third-party ranking or ratings organization at the time of investment. Investments in funds whose names, policies or classifications change after purchase continue to be considered subject to the classification at time of investment for purposes of the 80% policy.
To select investments, a sub-adviser may analyze the credit quality of the issuer, security-specific features, current valuation relative to alternatives in the market, short-term trading opportunities resulting from market inefficiencies, and potential future valuation. In managing the fund's exposure to various risks, including interest rate risk, a sub-adviser may consider, among other things, the market's overall risk characteristics, the market's current pricing of those risks, information on the fund's competitive universe and internal views of potential future market conditions.
It is not possible to predict the extent to which the fund's assets will be invested by a particular sub-adviser at any given time and one or more sub-advisers may not be managing any assets for the fund at any given time.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting the Adviser to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, the Adviser has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
Description of Principal Security Types
In addition to investing in underlying funds, the fund may invest directly in the following principal security types:
Debt securities are used by issuers to borrow money. The issuer usually pays a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest, and must repay the amount borrowed, usually at the maturity of the security. Some debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, do not pay current interest but are sold at a discount from their face values. Municipal debt securities include general obligation bonds of municipalities, local or state governments, project or revenue-specific bonds, or pre-refunded or escrowed bonds, municipal money market securities, and other securities believed to have debt-like characteristics, including hybrids and synthetic securities.
Municipal securities are issued to raise money for a variety of public and private purposes, including general financing for state and local governments, or financing for a specific project or public facility. Municipal securities may be fully or partially backed by the local government, by the credit of a private issuer, by the current or anticipated revenues from a specific project or specific assets, or by domestic or foreign entities providing credit support such as letters of credit, guarantees, or insurance.
Principal Investment Risks
Many factors affect the fund's performance. Developments that disrupt global economies and financial markets, such as pandemics and epidemics, may magnify factors that affect a fund’s performance. The fund's share price changes daily based on the performance of the underlying funds and securities in which it invests and on changes in market conditions and interest rates and in response to other economic, political, or financial developments. The fund's reaction to these developments will be affected by the types of underlying funds and securities in which the fund invests, the financial condition, industry and economic sector, and geographic location of an issuer, and the fund's level of investment in the securities of that underlying fund or issuer.
If the Adviser's or a sub-adviser's allocation strategies do not work as intended, the fund may not achieve its objective. A portfolio manager's evaluations and assumptions in selecting underlying funds or individual securities may be incorrect in view of actual market conditions.
When your shares are sold they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them, which means that you could lose money by investing in the fund.
The following factors can significantly affect the fund's performance:
Multiple Sub-Adviser Risk. Because each sub-adviser manages its allocated portion, if any, independently from another sub-adviser, it is possible that the sub-advisers' security selection processes may not complement one another. As a result, the fund's aggregate exposure to a particular industry or group of industries, or to a single issuer, could unintentionally be larger or smaller than intended. Because each sub-adviser directs the trading for its own portion, if any, of the fund, and does not aggregate its transactions with those of the other sub-advisers, the fund may incur higher brokerage costs than would be the case if a single sub-adviser were managing the entire fund.
Investing in Other Funds. Regulatory restrictions may limit the amount that one fund can invest in another, and in certain cases further limit investments to the extent a fund's shares are already held by the Adviser or its affiliates. The fund bears all risks of investment strategies employed by the underlying funds. The fund does not control the investments of the underlying funds, which may have different investment objectives and may engage in investment strategies that the fund would not engage in directly. Aggregation of underlying fund holdings may result in indirect concentration of assets in a particular industry or group of industries, or in a single issuer, which may increase volatility. Some of the underlying funds in which the fund invests are managed with a passive investment strategy, attempting to track the performance of an unmanaged index of securities, regardless of the current or projected performance of an underlying fund's index or of the actual securities included in the index. This differs from an actively managed fund, which typically seeks to outperform a benchmark index. As a result, the performance of these underlying passively managed funds could be lower than actively managed funds that may shift their portfolio assets to take advantage of market opportunities or lessen the impact of a market decline or a decline in the value of one or more issuers. In addition, errors in the construction or calculation of the index tracked by an underlying passively managed fund may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected for some period of time, which may have an adverse impact on the performance of the underlying fund and its shareholders.
Municipal Market Volatility. Municipal securities can be significantly affected by political changes as well as uncertainties in the municipal market related to taxation, legislative changes, or the rights of municipal security holders. Because many municipal securities are issued to finance similar projects, especially those relating to education, health care, transportation, and utilities, conditions in those sectors can affect the overall municipal market. Budgetary constraints of local, state, and federal governments upon which the issuers may be relying for funding may also impact municipal securities. In addition, changes in the financial condition of an individual municipal insurer can affect the overall municipal market, and market conditions may directly impact the liquidity and valuation of municipal securities.
Interest Rate Changes. Debt securities, including money market securities, have varying levels of sensitivity to changes in interest rates. In general, the price of a debt security can fall when interest rates rise and can rise when interest rates fall. Securities with longer maturities can be more sensitive to interest rate changes, meaning the longer the maturity of a security, the greater the impact a change in interest rates could have on the security's price. Short-term and long-term interest rates do not necessarily move in the same amount or the same direction. Short-term securities tend to react to changes in short-term interest rates, and long-term securities tend to react to changes in long-term interest rates. Securities with floating interest rates can be less sensitive to interest rate changes, but may decline in value if their interest rates do not rise as much as interest rates in general. The discontinuation and replacement of London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) (an indicative measure of the average interest rate at which major global banks could borrow from one another) and other benchmark rates may have a significant impact on the financial markets and may adversely impact a fund’s performance.
Issuer-Specific Changes. Changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular type of security or issuer, and changes in general economic or political conditions can increase the risk of default by an issuer or counterparty, which can affect a security's or instrument's credit quality or value. Entities providing credit support or a maturity-shortening structure also can be affected by these types of changes, and if the structure of a security fails to function as intended, the security could decline in value. Lower-quality debt securities (those of less than investment-grade quality, also referred to as high yield debt securities or junk bonds) tend to be particularly sensitive to these changes. Municipal securities backed by current or anticipated revenues from a specific project or specific assets can be negatively affected by the discontinuance of the taxation supporting the project or assets or the inability to collect revenues for the project or from the assets. If the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) determines an issuer of a municipal security has not complied with applicable tax requirements, interest from the security could become taxable and the security could decline significantly in value.
Lower-quality debt securities involve greater risk of default or price changes due to changes in the credit quality of the issuer. The value of lower-quality debt securities often fluctuates in response to company, political, or economic developments and can decline significantly over short as well as long periods of time or during periods of general or regional economic difficulty.
Generally, the fund purchases municipal securities whose interest, in the opinion of bond counsel, is free from federal income tax. Neither the Adviser nor the fund guarantees that this opinion is correct, and there is no assurance that the IRS will agree with bond counsel's opinion. Issuers or other parties generally enter into covenants requiring continuing compliance with federal tax requirements to preserve the tax-free status of interest payments over the life of the security. If at any time the covenants are not complied with, or if the IRS otherwise determines that the issuer did not comply with relevant tax requirements, interest payments from a security could become federally taxable, possibly retroactively to the date the security was issued. For certain types of structured securities, the tax status of the pass-through of tax-free income may also be based on the federal tax treatment of the structure.
Investing in ETFs. ETFs may trade in the secondary market (e.g., on a stock exchange) at prices below the value of their underlying portfolios and may not be liquid. An ETF that is not actively managed cannot sell poorly performing stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in its index or other benchmark. ETFs that track an index are subject to tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to its index or other benchmark).
Quantitative Investing. The value of securities selected using quantitative analysis can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole or securities selected using only fundamental analysis. 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.
In response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, a fund may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If the fund does so, different factors could affect its performance, and the fund could distribute income subject to federal income tax.
Other Investment Strategies
In addition to the principal investment strategies discussed above, the Adviser may invest the fund's assets in municipal debt securities by investing in other funds.
The fund may also use various techniques, such as buying and selling futures contracts, to increase or decrease its exposure to changing security prices or other factors that affect security values. The fund may also enter into foreign currency forward contracts for hedging purposes. In addition, the fund may have indirect exposure to derivatives through its investments in underlying funds.
Fundamental Investment Policies
The following is fundamental, that is, subject to change only by shareholder approval:
Strategic Advisers® Municipal Bond Fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in municipal securities whose interest is exempt from federal income tax.
Valuing Shares
The fund is open for business each day the NYSE is open.
The NAV is the value of a single share. Fidelity normally calculates NAV as of the close of business of the NYSE, normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The fund's assets normally are valued as of this time for the purpose of computing NAV.
NAV is not calculated and the fund will not process purchase and redemption requests submitted on days when the fund is not open for business. The time at which shares are priced and until which purchase and redemption orders are accepted may be changed as permitted by the SEC.
To the extent that the fund's assets are traded in other markets on days when the fund is not open for business, the value of the fund's assets may be affected on those days. In addition, trading in some of the fund's assets may not occur on days when the fund is open for business.
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) are valued at their respective NAVs. NAV is calculated using the values of the underlying funds in which the fund invests. For an explanation of the circumstances under which the underlying funds will use fair value pricing and the effects of using fair value pricing, see the underlying funds' prospectuses and statements of additional information (SAIs). Other assets (including securities issued by ETFs) are valued primarily on the basis of market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service. Certain short-term securities are valued on the basis of amortized cost. If market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available or, in the Adviser's opinion, are deemed unreliable for a security, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by the Adviser in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in the Adviser's opinion, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before a fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, then that security will be fair valued in good faith by the Adviser in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. Fair value pricing will be used for high yield debt securities when available pricing information is determined to be stale or for other reasons not to accurately reflect fair value.
Arbitrage opportunities may exist when trading in a portfolio security or securities is halted and does not resume before a fund calculates its NAV. These arbitrage opportunities may enable short-term traders to dilute the NAV of long-term investors. Fair valuation of a fund's portfolio securities can serve to reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders, but there is no assurance that fair value pricing policies will prevent dilution of NAV by short-term traders.
Fair value pricing is based on subjective judgments and it is possible that the fair value of a security may differ materially from the value that would be realized if the security were sold.
Shareholder Information
Additional Information about the Purchase and Sale of Shares
NOT AVAILABLE FOR SALE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
As used in this prospectus, the term "shares" generally refers to the shares offered through this prospectus.
General Information
Shares can be purchased only through certain discretionary investment programs offered by the Adviser or its affiliates. If you are not currently a client of a Fidelity discretionary investment program, please call 1-800-544-3455 (9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday) for more information. Additional fees apply for discretionary investment programs. For more information on these fees, please refer to the "Buying and Selling Information" section of the SAI.
The fund may reject for any reason, or cancel as permitted or required by law, any purchase orders.
Excessive trading of fund shares can harm shareholders in various ways, including reducing the returns to long-term shareholders by increasing costs to the fund (such as brokerage commissions or spreads paid to dealers who sell money market instruments), disrupting portfolio management strategies, and diluting the value of the shares in cases in which fluctuations in markets are not fully priced into the fund's NAV.
Because investments in the fund can be made only by the Adviser or an affiliate on behalf of its clients, the potential for excessive or short-term disruptive purchases and sales is reduced. Accordingly, the Board of Trustees has not adopted policies and procedures designed to discourage excessive trading of fund shares and the fund accommodates frequent trading.
The fund does not place a limit on purchases or sales of fund shares by the Adviser or its affiliates. The fund reserves the right, but does not have the obligation, to reject any purchase transaction at any time. In addition, the fund reserves the right to impose restrictions on disruptive, excessive, or short-term trading.
Buying Shares
Eligibility
Shares are generally available only to investors residing in the United States.
Shares are available only to certain discretionary investment programs offered by the Adviser or its affiliates.
There is no minimum balance or purchase minimum for fund shares.
Price to Buy
The price to buy one share is its NAV. Shares are sold without a sales charge.
Shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form.
Provided the fund receives an order to buy shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to buy shares of an underlying Fidelity® fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.
The fund may stop offering shares completely or may offer shares only on a limited basis, for a period of time or permanently.
Under applicable anti-money laundering rules and other regulations, purchase orders may be suspended, restricted, or canceled and the monies may be withheld.
Selling Shares
The price to sell one share is its NAV.
Shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after an order is received in proper form. Normally, redemptions will be processed by the next business day, but it may take up to seven days to pay the redemption proceeds if making immediate payment would adversely affect the fund.
Provided the fund receives an order to sell shares in proper form before the close of business, the fund may place an order to sell shares of an underlying Fidelity® fund after the close of business, pursuant to a pre-determined allocation, and receive that day's NAV.
See "Policies Concerning the Redemption of Fund Shares" below for additional redemption information.
Redemptions may be suspended or payment dates postponed when the NYSE is closed (other than weekends or holidays), when trading on the NYSE is restricted, or as permitted by the SEC.
Redemption proceeds may be paid in underlying fund shares, securities, or other property rather than in cash if the Adviser determines it is in the best interests of the fund.
Under applicable anti-money laundering rules and other regulations, redemption requests may be suspended, restricted, canceled, or processed and the proceeds may be withheld.
Policies Concerning the Redemption of Fund Shares
Shares of the fund are only available to certain discretionary investment programs offered by the Adviser or its affiliates.
If your account is held directly with a fund, the length of time that a fund typically expects to pay redemption proceeds depends on the method you have elected to receive such proceeds. A fund typically expects to make payment of redemption proceeds by wire, automated clearing house (ACH) or by issuing a check by the next business day following receipt of a redemption order in proper form. Proceeds from the periodic and automatic sale of shares of a Fidelity® money market fund that are used to buy shares of another Fidelity® fund are settled simultaneously.
If your account is held through an intermediary, the length of time that a fund typically expects to pay redemption proceeds depends, in part, on the terms of the agreement in place between the intermediary and a fund. For redemption proceeds that are paid either directly to you from a fund or to your intermediary for transmittal to you, a fund typically expects to make payments by wire, by ACH or by issuing a check on the next business day following receipt of a redemption order in proper form from the intermediary by a fund. Redemption orders that are processed through investment professionals that utilize the National Securities Clearing Corporation will generally settle one to three business days following receipt of a redemption order in proper form.
As noted elsewhere, payment of redemption proceeds may take longer than the time a fund typically expects and may take up to seven days from the date of receipt of the redemption order as permitted by applicable law.
Redemption Methods Available. Generally a fund expects to pay redemption proceeds in cash. To do so, a fund typically expects to satisfy redemption requests either by using available cash (or cash equivalents) or by selling portfolio securities. On a less regular basis, a fund may also satisfy redemption requests by utilizing one or more of the following sources, if permitted: borrowing from another Fidelity® fund; drawing on an available line or lines of credit from a bank or banks; or using reverse repurchase agreements. These methods may be used during both normal and stressed market conditions.
In addition to paying redemption proceeds in cash, a fund reserves the right to pay part or all of your redemption proceeds in readily marketable securities instead of cash (redemption in-kind). Redemption in-kind proceeds will typically be made by delivering the selected securities to the redeeming shareholder within seven days after the receipt of the redemption order in proper form by a fund.
When your relationship with your managed account provider is terminated, your shares may be sold at the discretion of the managed account provider at the NAV next calculated after the sell order is placed, in which case the redemption proceeds will remain in your account pending your instruction.
Dividends and Capital Gain Distributions
The fund earns dividends, interest, and other income from its investments, and distributes this income (less expenses) to shareholders as dividends. The fund also realizes capital gains from its investments, and distributes these gains (less any losses) to shareholders as capital gain distributions.
The fund normally declares dividends daily and pays them monthly. The fund normally pays capital gain distributions in July and December.
Distribution Options
Any dividends and capital gain distributions may be reinvested in additional shares or paid in cash.
Tax Consequences
As with any investment, your investment in the fund could have tax consequences for you.
Taxes on Distributions
The fund seeks to earn income and pay dividends exempt from federal income tax.
Income exempt from federal income tax may be subject to state or local tax. A portion of the dividends you receive may be subject to federal and state income taxes and may also be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. You may also receive taxable distributions attributable to the fund's sale of municipal bonds.
For federal tax purposes, certain of the fund's distributions, including distributions of short-term capital gains and gains on the sale of bonds characterized as market discount, are taxable to you as ordinary income, while the fund's distributions of long-term capital gains are taxable to you generally as capital gains.
If the Adviser buys shares on your behalf when a fund has realized but not yet distributed income or capital gains, you will be "buying a dividend" by paying the full price for the shares and then receiving a portion of the price back in the form of a taxable distribution.
Any taxable distributions you receive from the fund will normally be taxable to you when you receive them, regardless of your distribution option.
Taxes on Transactions
Your redemptions may result in a capital gain or loss for federal tax purposes. A capital gain or loss on your investment in the fund generally is the difference between the cost of your shares and the price you receive when you sell them.
Fund Services
Fund Management
The fund is a mutual fund, an investment that pools shareholders' money and invests it toward a specified goal.
The fund employs a multi-manager and a fund of funds investment structure. The Adviser may allocate the fund's assets among any number of sub-advisers or underlying funds. The Adviser may adjust allocations among underlying funds or sub-advisers from time to time, including making no allocation to, or terminating the sub-advisory contract with, a sub-adviser.
Adviser
Strategic Advisers LLC. The Adviser is the fund's manager. The address of the Adviser is 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.
As of December 31, 2020, the Adviser had approximately $543.4 billion in discretionary assets under management, and approximately $3.8 trillion when combined with all of its affiliates' assets under management.
As the manager, the Adviser has overall responsibility for directing the fund's investments and handling its business affairs.
Sub-Adviser(s)
FIAM, at 900 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. FIAM is an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. As of December 31, 2020, FIAM had approximately $140.1 billion in discretionary assets under management.
Other investment advisers have been retained to assist FIAM with foreign investments:
•FMR UK, at 1 St. Martin's Le Grand, London, EC1A 4AS, United Kingdom, has been retained to serve as a sub-subadviser for the fund. As of December 31, 2020, FMR UK had approximately $25.4 billion in discretionary assets under management. FMR UK may provide investment research and advice on issuers based outside the United States and may also provide investment advisory services for the fund. FMR UK is an affiliate of both FIAM and the Adviser.
•FMR H.K., at Floor 19, 41 Connaught Road Central, Hong Kong, has been retained to serve as a sub-subadviser for the fund. As of December 31, 2020, FMR H.K. had approximately $22.3 billion in discretionary assets under management. FMR H.K. may provide investment research and advice on issuers based outside the United States and may also provide investment advisory services for the fund. FMR H.K. is an affiliate of both FIAM and the Adviser.
•FMR Japan, at Kamiyacho Prime Place, 1-17, Toranomon-4-Chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan, has been retained to serve as a sub-subadviser for the fund. As of March 31, 2020, FMR Japan had approximately $4.2 billion in discretionary assets under management. FMR Japan may provide investment research and advice on issuers based outside the United States and may also provide investment advisory services for the fund. FMR Japan is an affiliate of both FIAM and the Adviser.
MacKay Shields, at 1345 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10105, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of March 31, 2021, MacKay Shields had approximately $158 billion in assets under management.
T. Rowe Price, at 100 East Pratt Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, has been retained to serve as a sub-adviser for the fund. As of December 31, 2020, T. Rowe Price had approximately $1.47 trillion in assets under management.
Portfolio Manager(s)
Christopher Heavey is portfolio manager of the fund, which he has managed since 2021. He also manages other funds. Since joining Fidelity Investments in 1998, Mr. Heavey has worked as a senior research analyst and portfolio manager.
The statement of additional information (SAI) provides additional information about the compensation of, any other accounts managed by, and any fund shares held by the portfolio manager(s).
From time to time a manager, analyst, or other Fidelity employee may express views regarding a particular company, security, industry, or market sector. The views expressed by any such person are the views of only that individual as of the time expressed and do not necessarily represent the views of Fidelity or any other person in the Fidelity organization. Any such views are subject to change at any time based upon market or other conditions and Fidelity disclaims any responsibility to update such views. These views may not be relied on as investment advice and, because investment decisions for a Fidelity® fund are based on numerous factors, may not be relied on as an indication of trading intent on behalf of any Fidelity® fund.
Advisory Fee(s)
The fund pays a management fee to the Adviser. The management fee is calculated and paid to the Adviser every month.
The fund's management fee is calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers, if any, based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets. Because the fund's management fee rate may fluctuate, the fund's management fee may be higher or lower in the future. The fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 0.60% of the fund's average daily net assets.
The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets through September 30, 2024.
In return for the services of the fund's sub-advisers, the Adviser will pay FIAM, MacKay Shields, and T. Rowe Price the fee (as described above) payable to that sub-adviser. FIAM, in turn, will pay FMR UK, FMR H.K., and FMR Japan for providing sub-advisory services.
The basis for the Board of Trustees approving the management contract, sub-advisory agreements, and sub-subadvisory agreements for the fund will be included in the fund's semi-annual report for the fiscal period ending November 30, 2021, when available.
Fund Distribution
FDC distributes the fund's shares.
Distribution and Service Plan(s)
The fund has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act) with respect to its shares that recognizes that the Adviser may use its management fee revenues, as well as its past profits or its resources from any other source, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. The Adviser, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees of the fund has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
Affiliates of the Adviser may receive service fees or distribution fees or both with respect to underlying funds that participate in Fidelity's FundsNetwork®.
If payments made by the Adviser to FDC or to intermediaries under the Distribution and Service Plan were considered to be paid out of the fund's assets on an ongoing basis, they might increase the cost of your investment and might cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.
No dealer, sales representative, or any other person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations, other than those contained in this prospectus and in the related SAI, in connection with the offer contained in this prospectus. If given or made, such other information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the fund or FDC. This prospectus and the related SAI do not constitute an offer by the fund or by FDC to sell shares of the fund to or to buy shares of the fund from any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT OPENING A NEW ACCOUNT
To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT ACT), requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person or entity that opens an account.
For individual investors opening an account: When you open an account, you will be asked for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow Fidelity to identify you. You may also be asked to provide documents that may help to establish your identity, such as your driver's license.
For investors other than individuals: When you open an account, you will be asked for the name of the entity, its principal place of business and taxpayer identification number (TIN). You will be asked to provide information about the entity's control person and beneficial owners, and person(s) with authority over the account, including name, address, date of birth and social security number. You may also be asked to provide documents, such as drivers' licenses, articles of incorporation, trust instruments or partnership agreements and other information that will help Fidelity identify the entity.
You can obtain additional information about the fund. A description of the fund's policies and procedures for disclosing its holdings is available in its SAI and on Fidelity's web sites. The SAI also includes more detailed information about the fund and its investments. The SAI is incorporated herein by reference (legally forms a part of the prospectus). A financial report will be available once the fund has completed its first annual or semi-annual period. The fund's annual and semi-annual reports also include additional information. The fund's annual report includes a discussion of the fund's holdings and recent market conditions and the fund's investment strategies that affected performance.
For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information or ask questions about the fund, call Fidelity at 1-800-544-3455. In addition, you may visit Fidelity's web site at www.fidelity.com for a free copy of a prospectus, SAI, or annual or semi-annual report or to request other information.
The SAI, the fund's annual and semi-annual reports and other related materials are available from the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) Database on the SEC's web site (http://www.sec.gov). You can obtain copies of this information, after paying a duplicating fee, by sending a request by e-mail to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the Public Reference Section of the SEC, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You can also review and copy information about the fund, including the fund's SAI, at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Call 1-202-551-8090 for information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room.
Investment Company Act of 1940, File Number(s), 811-21991
FDC is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). You may obtain information about SIPC, including the SIPC brochure, by visiting www.sipc.org or calling SIPC at 202-371-8300.
Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design, Fidelity, and FundsNetwork are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2021 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.
Any third-party marks that may appear above are the marks of their respective owners.
| 1.9903611.100 | SAM-PRO-0621 |
| Fund | Ticker |
| Strategic Advisers® Municipal Bond Fund | FSMUX |
Fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
June 16, 2021
Offered exclusively to certain clients of Strategic Advisers LLC (Strategic Advisers) or its affiliates - not available for sale to the general public.
This statement of additional information (SAI) is not a prospectus. An annual report for the fund will be available once the fund has completed its first annual period.
To obtain a free additional copy of the prospectus or SAI, dated June 16, 2021, please call Fidelity at 1-800-544-3455 or visit Fidelity’s web site at www.fidelity.com.
SAM-PTB-0621
1.9903612.100
245 Summer Street, Boston, MA 02210
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND LIMITATIONS
The following policies and limitations supplement those set forth in the prospectus. Unless otherwise noted, whenever an investment policy or limitation states a maximum percentage of the fund's assets that may be invested in any security or other asset, or sets forth a policy regarding quality standards, such standard or percentage limitation will be determined immediately after and as a result of the fund's acquisition of such security or other asset. Accordingly, any subsequent change in values, net assets, or other circumstances will not be considered when determining whether the investment complies with the fund's investment policies and limitations.
The fund's fundamental investment policies and limitations cannot be changed without approval by a "majority of the outstanding voting securities" (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act)) of the fund. However, except for the fundamental investment limitations listed below, the investment policies and limitations described in this SAI are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
The following are the fund's fundamental investment limitations set forth in their entirety.
Diversification
The fund may not 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, or 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.
For purposes of the fund's diversification limitation discussed above, Strategic Advisers LLC (Strategic Advisers) identifies the issuer of a security depending on its terms and conditions. In identifying the issuer, Strategic Advisers will consider the entity or entities responsible for payment of interest and repayment of principal and the source of such payments; the way in which assets and revenues of an issuing political subdivision are separated from those of other political entities; and whether a governmental body is guaranteeing the security.
For purposes of the fund's diversification limitation discussed above, Strategic Advisers does not consider traditional bond insurance to be a separate security or the insurer to be a separate issuer. Therefore, the diversification limitation does not limit the percentage of fund assets that may be invested in securities insured by a single bond insurer.
Senior Securities
The fund may not issue senior securities, except as permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Borrowing
The fund may not borrow money, except that the fund may borrow money for temporary or emergency purposes (not for leveraging or investment) in an amount not exceeding 33 1/3% of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings). Any borrowings that come to exceed this amount will be reduced within three days (not including Sundays and holidays) to the extent necessary to comply with the 33 1/3% limitation.
Underwriting
The fund may not underwrite securities issued by others, except to the extent that the fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 in the disposition of restricted securities or in connection with investments in other investment companies.
Concentration
The fund may not purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or tax-exempt obligations issued or guaranteed by a U.S. territory or possession or a state or local government, or a political subdivision of any of the foregoing) if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be invested in securities of companies whose principal business activities are in the same industry (provided that investments in other investment companies shall not be considered an investment in any particular industry for purposes of this investment limitation).
For purposes of the fund's concentration limitation discussed above, with respect to any investment in repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities, Strategic Advisers looks through to the U.S. Government securities.
For purposes of the fund's concentration limitation discussed above, Strategic Advisers or an affiliate may analyze the characteristics of a particular issuer and security and assign an industry or sector classification consistent with those characteristics in the event that the third-party classification provider used by Strategic Advisers does not assign a classification.
Real Estate
The fund may not purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate or securities of companies engaged in the real estate business).
Commodities
The fund may not purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities).
Loans
The fund may not lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than 33 1/3% of its total assets would be lent to other parties, but this limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities or to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments.
The following investment limitations are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
Short Sales
The fund does not currently intend to sell securities short, unless it owns or has the right to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short, and provided that transactions in futures contracts, options, and swaps are not deemed to constitute selling securities short.
Margin Purchases
The fund does not currently intend to purchase securities on margin, except that the fund may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of transactions, and provided that margin payments in connection with futures contracts and options on futures contracts shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.
Borrowing
The fund may borrow money only (a) from a bank or from a registered investment company or portfolio for which Strategic Advisers or an affiliate serves as investment adviser or (b) by engaging in reverse repurchase agreements with any party (reverse repurchase agreements are treated as borrowings for purposes of the fundamental borrowing investment limitation).
Illiquid Securities
The fund does not currently intend to purchase any security if, as a result, more than 10% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are deemed to be illiquid because they are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale or because they cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are valued.
For purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation discussed above, if through a change in values, net assets, or other circumstances, the fund were in a position where more than 10% of its net assets were invested in illiquid securities, it would consider appropriate steps to protect liquidity.
To the extent that the fund acquires the shares of an underlying fund in accordance with Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act, the underlying fund is not obligated to redeem its shares in an amount exceeding 1% of its shares outstanding during any period of less than 30 days. Those underlying fund shares will not be treated as illiquid securities for purposes of the fund's illiquid securities limitation described above to the extent that the fund is able to dispose of such securities by distributing them in kind to redeeming shareholders. (See "Investment Policies and Limitations - Securities of Other Investment Companies.")
Loans
The fund does not currently intend to engage in repurchase agreements or make loans, but this limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities.
In addition to the fund's fundamental and non-fundamental investment limitations discussed above:
In order to qualify as a "regulated investment company" under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, the fund currently intends to comply with certain diversification limits imposed by Subchapter M.
For the fund's policies and limitations on futures and options transactions, see "Investment Policies and Limitations - Futures, Options, and Swaps."
Notwithstanding the foregoing investment limitations, the underlying funds in which the fund may invest have adopted certain investment limitations that may be more or less restrictive than those listed above, thereby permitting the fund to engage indirectly in investment strategies that are prohibited under the investment limitations listed above. The investment limitations of each underlying fund are set forth in its registration statement.
In accordance with its investment program as set forth in the prospectus, the fund may invest more than 25% of its assets in any one underlying Fidelity® fund. Although the fund does not intend to concentrate its investments in a particular industry, the fund may indirectly concentrate in a particular industry or group of industries through its investments in one or more underlying funds.
The following pages contain more detailed information about types of instruments in which the fund may invest, techniques the fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) may employ in pursuit of the fund's investment objective, and a summary of related risks. The fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) may not buy all of these instruments or use all of these techniques unless it believes that doing so will help the fund achieve its goal. However, the fund's adviser (or a sub-adviser) is not required to buy any particular instrument or use any particular technique even if to do so might benefit the fund.
Strategic Advisers® Municipal Bond Fund may have exposure to instruments, techniques, and risks either directly or indirectly through an investment in an underlying fund. An underlying fund may invest in the same or other types of instruments and its adviser may employ the same or other types of techniques. Strategic Advisers® Municipal Bond Fund's performance will be affected by the instruments, techniques, and risks associated with an underlying fund, in proportion to the amount of assets that the fund allocates to that underlying fund.
On the following pages in this section titled "Investment Policies and Limitations," and except as otherwise indicated, references to "a fund" or "the fund" may relate to Strategic Advisers® Municipal Bond Fund or an underlying fund, and references to "an adviser" or "the adviser" may relate to Strategic Advisers (or its affiliates) or a sub-adviser of Strategic Advisers® Municipal Bond Fund, or an adviser of an underlying fund.
Asset-Backed Securities represent interests in pools of purchase contracts, financing leases, or sales agreements entered into by municipalities. Payment of interest and repayment of principal may be largely dependent upon the cash flows generated by the assets backing the securities and, in certain cases, supported by letters of credit, surety bonds, or other credit enhancements. Asset-backed security values may also be affected by other factors including changes in interest rates, the availability of information concerning the pool and its structure, the creditworthiness of the servicing agent for the pool, the originator of the loans or receivables, or the entities providing the credit enhancement. In addition, these securities may be subject to prepayment risk.
Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLO) are a type of asset-backed security. A CLO is a trust typically collateralized by a pool of loans, which may include, among others, domestic and foreign senior secured loans, senior unsecured loans, and subordinate corporate loans, including loans that may be rated below investment grade or equivalent unrated loans. CLOs may charge management fees and administrative expenses. For CLOs, the cash flows from the trust are split into two or more portions, called tranches, varying in risk and yield. The riskiest portion is the “equity” tranche which bears the bulk of defaults from the bonds or loans in the trust and serves to protect the other, more senior tranches from default in all but the most severe circumstances. Since they are partially protected from defaults, senior tranches from a CLO trust typically have higher ratings and lower yields than their underlying securities and can be rated investment grade. Despite the protection from the equity tranche, CLO tranches can experience substantial losses due to actual defaults, increased sensitivity to defaults due to collateral default and disappearance of protecting tranches, market anticipation of defaults, as well as aversion to CLO securities as a class. Normally, CLOs are privately offered and sold, and thus, are not registered under the securities laws. As a result, investments in CLOs may be characterized by a fund as illiquid securities, however an active dealer market may exist allowing them to qualify for Rule 144A transactions.
Borrowing. If a fund borrows money, its share price may be subject to greater fluctuation until the borrowing is paid off. If a fund makes additional investments while borrowings are outstanding, this may be considered a form of leverage.
Cash Management. A fund may hold uninvested cash or may invest it in cash equivalents such as money market securities, repurchase agreements, or shares of short-term bond or money market funds, including (for Fidelity® funds and other advisory clients only) shares of Fidelity® central funds. Generally, these securities offer less potential for gains than other types of securities. A municipal fund's uninvested cash may earn credits that reduce fund expenses.
Central Funds are special types of investment vehicles created by Fidelity for use by the Fidelity® funds and other advisory clients. Central funds are used to invest in particular security types or investment disciplines, or for cash management. Central funds incur certain costs related to their investment activity (such as custodial fees and expenses), but do not pay additional management fees. The investment results of the portions of a Fidelity® fund's assets invested in the central funds will be based upon the investment results of those funds.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Notice of Exclusion. The Adviser, on behalf of the Fidelity® fund to which this SAI relates, has filed with the National Futures Association a notice claiming an exclusion from the definition of the term "commodity pool operator" (CPO) under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, and the rules of the CFTC promulgated thereunder, with respect to the fund's operation. Accordingly, neither a fund nor its adviser is subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool or a CPO. However, the CFTC has adopted certain rule amendments that significantly affect the continued availability of this exclusion, and may subject advisers to funds to regulation by the CFTC. As of the date of this SAI, the adviser does not expect to register as a CPO of the fund. However, there is no certainty that a fund or its adviser will be able to rely on an exclusion in the future as the fund's investments change over time. A fund may determine not to use investment strategies that trigger additional CFTC regulation or may determine to operate subject to CFTC regulation, if applicable. If a fund or its adviser operates subject to CFTC regulation, it may incur additional expenses.
Debt Securities are used by issuers to borrow money. The issuer usually pays a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest, and must repay the amount borrowed, usually at the maturity of the security. Some debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, do not pay interest but are sold at a deep discount from their face values. Debt securities include corporate bonds, government securities, repurchase agreements, and mortgage and other asset-backed securities.
Disruption to Financial Markets and Related Government Intervention. Economic downturns can trigger various economic, legal, budgetary, tax, and regulatory reforms across the globe. Instability in the financial markets in the wake of events such as the 2008 economic downturn led the U.S. Government and other governments to take a number of then-unprecedented actions designed to support certain financial institutions and segments of the financial markets that experienced extreme volatility, and in some cases, a lack of liquidity. Federal, state, local, foreign, and other governments, their regulatory agencies, or self-regulatory organizations may take actions that affect the regulation of the instruments in which a fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that are unforeseeable. Reforms may also change the way in which a fund is regulated and could limit or preclude a fund's ability to achieve its investment objective or engage in certain strategies. Also, while reforms generally are intended to strengthen markets, systems, and public finances, they could affect fund expenses and the value of fund investments in unpredictable ways.
Similarly, widespread disease including pandemics and epidemics, and natural or environmental disasters, such as earthquakes, droughts, fires, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis and climate-related phenomena generally, have been and can be highly disruptive to economies and markets, adversely impacting individual companies, sectors, industries, markets, currencies, interest and inflation rates, credit ratings, investor sentiment, and other factors affecting the value of a fund's investments. Economies and financial markets throughout the world have become increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one region or country will adversely affect markets or issuers in other regions or countries, including the United States. Additionally, market disruptions may result in increased market volatility; regulatory trading halts; closure of domestic or foreign exchanges, markets, or governments; or market participants operating pursuant to business continuity plans for indeterminate periods of time. Further, market disruptions can (i) prevent a fund from executing advantageous investment decisions in a timely manner, (ii) negatively impact a fund's ability to achieve its investment objective, and (iii) may exacerbate the risks discussed elsewhere in a fund’s registration statement, including political, social, and economic risks.
The value of a fund's portfolio is also generally subject to the risk of future local, national, or global economic or natural disturbances based on unknown weaknesses in the markets in which a fund invests. In the event of such a disturbance, the issuers of securities held by a fund may experience significant declines in the value of their assets and even cease operations, or may receive government assistance accompanied by increased restrictions on their business operations or other government intervention. In addition, it remains uncertain that the U.S. Government or foreign governments will intervene in response to current or future market disturbances and the effect of any such future intervention cannot be predicted.
Dollar-Weighted Average Maturity is derived by multiplying the value of each security by the time remaining to its maturity, adding these calculations, and then dividing the total by the value of a fund's portfolio. An obligation's maturity is typically determined on a stated final maturity basis, although there are some exceptions to this rule.
Under certain circumstances, a fund may invest in nominally long-term securities that have maturity shortening features of shorter-term securities, and the maturities of these securities may be deemed to be earlier than their ultimate maturity dates by virtue of an existing demand feature or an adjustable interest rate. Under other circumstances, if it is probable that the issuer of an instrument will take advantage of a maturity-shortening device, such as a call, refunding, or redemption provision, the date on which the instrument will probably be called, refunded, or redeemed may be considered to be its maturity date. When a municipal bond issuer has committed to call an issue of bonds and has established an independent escrow account that is sufficient to, and is pledged to, refund that issue, the number of days to maturity for the prerefunded bond is considered to be the number of days to the announced call date of the bonds.
Duration is a measure of a bond's price sensitivity to a change in its yield. For example, if a bond has a 5-year duration and its yield rises 1%, the bond's value is likely to fall about 5%. Similarly, if a bond fund has a 5-year average duration and the yield on each of the bonds held by the fund rises 1%, the fund's value is likely to fall about 5%. For funds with exposure to foreign markets, there are many reasons why all of the bond holdings do not experience the same yield changes. These reasons include: the bonds are spread off of different yield curves around the world and these yield curves do not move in tandem; the shapes of these yield curves change; and sector and issuer yield spreads change. Other factors can influence a bond fund's performance and share price. Accordingly, a bond fund's actual performance will likely differ from the example.
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are shares of other investment companies, commodity pools, or other entities that are traded on an exchange. Typically, assets underlying the ETF shares are stocks, though they may also be commodities or other instruments. An ETF may seek to replicate the performance of a specific index or may be actively managed.
Typically, shares of an ETF that tracks an index are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark increases. However, in the case of inverse ETFs (also called "short ETFs" or "bear ETFs"), ETF shares are expected to increase in value as the value of the underlying benchmark decreases. Inverse ETFs seek to deliver the opposite of the performance of the benchmark they track and are often marketed as a way for investors to profit from, or at least hedge their exposure to, downward moving markets. Investments in inverse ETFs are similar to holding short positions in the underlying benchmark.
ETF shares are redeemable only in large blocks of shares often called "creation units" by persons other than a fund, and are redeemed principally in-kind at each day's next calculated net asset value per share (NAV). ETFs typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by a fund. A fund's purchase of ETFs results in the layering of expenses, such that the fund would indirectly bear a proportionate share of any ETF's operating expenses. Further, while traditional investment companies are continuously offered at NAV, ETFs are traded in the secondary market (e.g., on a stock exchange) on an intra-day basis at prices that may be above or below the value of their underlying portfolios.
Some of the risks of investing in an ETF that tracks an index are similar to those of investing in an indexed mutual fund, including tracking error risk (the risk of errors in matching the ETF's underlying assets to the index or other benchmark); and the risk that because an ETF that tracks an index is not actively managed, it cannot sell stocks or other assets as long as they are represented in the index or other benchmark. Other ETF risks include the risk that ETFs may trade in the secondary market at a discount from their NAV and the risk that the ETFs may not be liquid. ETFs also may be leveraged. Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver multiples of the performance of the index or other benchmark they track and use derivatives in an effort to amplify the returns (or decline, in the case of inverse ETFs) of the underlying index or benchmark. While leveraged ETFs may offer the potential for greater return, the potential for loss and the speed at which losses can be realized also are greater. Most leveraged and inverse ETFs "reset" daily, meaning they are designed to achieve their stated objectives on a daily basis. Leveraged and inverse ETFs can deviate substantially from the performance of their underlying benchmark over longer periods of time, particularly in volatile periods.
Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) are a type of senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt security issued by financial institutions that combines aspects of both bonds and ETFs. An ETN's returns are based on the performance of a market index or other reference asset minus fees and expenses. Similar to ETFs, ETNs are listed on an exchange and traded in the secondary market. However, unlike an ETF, an ETN can be held until the ETN's maturity, at which time the issuer will pay a return linked to the performance of the market index or other reference asset to which the ETN is linked minus certain fees. Unlike regular bonds, ETNs typically do not make periodic interest payments and principal typically is not protected.
ETNs also incur certain expenses not incurred by their applicable index. The market value of an ETN is determined by supply and demand, the current performance of the index or other reference asset, and the credit rating of the ETN issuer. The market value of ETN shares may differ from their intraday indicative value. The value of an ETN may also change due to a change in the issuer's credit rating. As a result, there may be times when an ETN's share trades at a premium or discount to its NAV. Some ETNs that use leverage in an effort to amplify the returns of an underlying index or other reference asset can, at times, be relatively illiquid and, thus, they may be difficult to purchase or sell at a fair price. Leveraged ETNs may offer the potential for greater return, but the potential for loss and speed at which losses can be realized also are greater.
Funds of Funds and Other Large Shareholders. Certain Fidelity® funds and accounts (including funds of funds) invest in other funds ("underlying funds") and, as a result, may at times have substantial investments in one or more underlying funds.
An underlying fund may experience large redemptions or investments due to transactions in its shares by funds of funds, other large shareholders, or similarly managed accounts. While it is impossible to predict the overall effect of these transactions over time, there could be an adverse impact on an underlying fund's performance. In the event of such redemptions or investments, an underlying fund could be required to sell securities or to invest cash at a time when it may not otherwise desire to do so. Such transactions may increase an underlying fund's brokerage and/or other transaction costs and affect the liquidity of a fund's portfolio. In addition, when funds of funds or other investors own a substantial portion of an underlying fund's shares, a large redemption by such an investor could cause actual expenses to increase, or could result in the underlying fund's current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the underlying fund's expense ratio. Redemptions of underlying fund shares could also accelerate the realization of taxable capital gains in the fund if sales of securities result in capital gains. The impact of these transactions is likely to be greater when a fund of funds or other significant investor purchases, redeems, or owns a substantial portion of the underlying fund's shares.
When possible, Fidelity will consider how to minimize these potential adverse effects, and may take such actions as it deems appropriate to address potential adverse effects, including redemption of shares in-kind rather than in cash or carrying out the transactions over a period of time, although there can be no assurance that such actions will be successful. A high volume of redemption requests can impact an underlying fund the same way as the transactions of a single shareholder with substantial investments. As an additional safeguard, Fidelity® fund of funds may manage the placement of their redemption requests in a manner designed to minimize the impact of such requests on the day-to-day operations of the underlying funds in which they invest. This may involve, for example, redeeming its shares of an underlying fund gradually over time.
Futures, Options, and Swaps. The success of any strategy involving futures, options, and swaps depends on an adviser's analysis of many economic and mathematical factors and a fund's return may be higher if it never invested in such instruments. Additionally, some of the contracts discussed below are new instruments without a trading history and there can be no assurance that a market for the instruments will continue to exist. Government legislation or regulation could affect the use of such instruments and could limit a fund's ability to pursue its investment strategies. If a fund invests a significant portion of its assets in derivatives, its investment exposure could far exceed the value of its portfolio securities and its investment performance could be primarily dependent upon securities it does not own.
Strategic Advisers® Municipal Bond Fund will not: (a) sell futures contracts, purchase put options, or write call options if, as a result, more than 25% of the fund's total assets would be hedged with futures and options under normal conditions; (b) purchase futures contracts or write put options if, as a result, the fund's total obligations upon settlement or exercise of purchased futures contracts and written put options would exceed 25% of its total assets under normal conditions; or (c) purchase call options if, as a result, the current value of option premiums for call options purchased by the fund would exceed 5% of the fund's total assets. These limitations do not apply to options attached to or acquired or traded together with their underlying securities, and do not apply to structured notes.
The policies and limitations regarding the fund's investments in futures contracts, options, and swaps may be changed as regulatory agencies permit.
The requirements for qualification as a regulated investment company may limit the extent to which a fund may enter into futures, options on futures, and forward contracts.
Futures Contracts. In purchasing a futures contract, the buyer agrees to purchase a specified underlying instrument at a specified future date. In selling a futures contract, the seller agrees to sell a specified underlying instrument at a specified date. Futures contracts are standardized, exchange-traded contracts and the price at which the purchase and sale will take place is fixed when the buyer and seller enter into the contract. Some currently available futures contracts are based on specific securities or baskets of securities, some are based on commodities or commodities indexes (for funds that seek commodities exposure), and some are based on indexes of securities prices (including foreign indexes for funds that seek foreign exposure). In addition, some currently available futures contracts are based on Eurodollars. Positions in Eurodollar futures reflect market expectations of forward levels of three-month London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) rates. Futures on indexes and futures not calling for physical delivery of the underlying instrument will be settled through cash payments rather than through delivery of the underlying instrument. Futures can be held until their delivery dates, or can be closed out by offsetting purchases or sales of futures contracts before then if a liquid market is available. A fund may realize a gain or loss by closing out its futures contracts.
The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of its underlying instrument. Therefore, purchasing futures contracts will tend to increase a fund's exposure to positive and negative price fluctuations in the underlying instrument, much as if it had purchased the underlying instrument directly. When a fund sells a futures contract, by contrast, the value of its futures position will tend to move in a direction contrary to the market for the underlying instrument. Selling futures contracts, therefore, will tend to offset both positive and negative market price changes, much as if the underlying instrument had been sold.
The purchaser or seller of a futures contract or an option for a futures contract is not required to deliver or pay for the underlying instrument or the final cash settlement price, as applicable, unless the contract is held until the delivery date. However, both the purchaser and seller are required to deposit "initial margin" with a futures broker, known as a futures commission merchant, when the contract is entered into. If the value of either party's position declines, that party will be required to make additional "variation margin" payments to settle the change in value on a daily basis. This process of "marking to market" will be reflected in the daily calculation of open positions computed in a fund's NAV. The party that has a gain is entitled to receive all or a portion of this amount. Initial and variation margin payments do not constitute purchasing securities on margin for purposes of a fund's investment limitations. Variation margin does not represent a borrowing or loan by a fund, but is instead a settlement between a fund and the futures commission merchant of the amount one would owe the other if the fund's contract expired. In the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of a futures commission merchant that holds margin on behalf of a fund, the fund may be entitled to return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the futures commission merchant's other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the fund. A fund is also required to segregate liquid assets equivalent to the fund's outstanding obligations under the contract in excess of the initial margin and variation margin, if any.
There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time. Exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for futures contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. The daily limit governs only price movements during a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses because the limit may work to prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. For example, futures prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of positions and subjecting some holders of futures contracts to substantial losses.
If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or other market conditions, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its futures positions could also be impaired. These risks may be heightened for commodity futures contracts, which have historically been subject to greater price volatility than exists for instruments such as stocks and bonds.
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded futures contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in futures contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the futures position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Futures prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Futures prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell futures contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's futures positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments. In addition, the price of a commodity futures contract can reflect the storage costs associated with the purchase of the physical commodity.
Futures contracts on U.S. Government securities historically have reacted to an increase or decrease in interest rates in a manner similar to the manner in which the underlying U.S. Government securities reacted. To the extent, however, that a fund enters into such futures contracts, the value of these futures contracts will not vary in direct proportion to the value of the fund's holdings of U.S. Government securities. Thus, the anticipated spread between the price of the futures contract and the hedged security may be distorted due to differences in the nature of the markets. The spread also may be distorted by differences in initial and variation margin requirements, the liquidity of such markets and the participation of speculators in such markets.
Options. By purchasing a put option, the purchaser obtains the right (but not the obligation) to sell the option's underlying instrument at a fixed strike price. In return for this right, the purchaser pays the current market price for the option (known as the option premium). Options have various types of underlying instruments, including specific assets or securities, baskets of assets or securities, indexes of securities or commodities prices, and futures contracts (including commodity futures contracts). Options may be traded on an exchange or over-the-counter (OTC). The purchaser may terminate its position in a put option by allowing it to expire or by exercising the option. If the option is allowed to expire, the purchaser will lose the entire premium. If the option is exercised, the purchaser completes the sale of the underlying instrument at the strike price. Depending on the terms of the contract, upon exercise, an option may require physical delivery of the underlying instrument or may be settled through cash payments. A purchaser may also terminate a put option position by closing it out in the secondary market at its current price, if a liquid secondary market exists.
The buyer of a typical put option can expect to realize a gain if the underlying instrument's price falls substantially. However, if the underlying instrument's price does not fall enough to offset the cost of purchasing the option, a put buyer can expect to suffer a loss (limited to the amount of the premium, plus related transaction costs).
The features of call options are essentially the same as those of put options, except that the purchaser of a call option obtains the right (but not the obligation) to purchase, rather than sell, the underlying instrument at the option's strike price. A call buyer typically attempts to participate in potential price increases of the underlying instrument with risk limited to the cost of the option if the underlying instrument's price falls. At the same time, the buyer can expect to suffer a loss if the underlying instrument's price does not rise sufficiently to offset the cost of the option.
The writer of a put or call option takes the opposite side of the transaction from the option's purchaser. In return for receipt of the premium, the writer assumes the obligation to pay or receive the strike price for the option's underlying instrument if the other party to the option chooses to exercise it. The writer may seek to terminate a position in a put option before exercise by closing out the option in the secondary market at its current price. If the secondary market is not liquid for a put option, however, the writer must continue to be prepared to pay the strike price while the option is outstanding, regardless of price changes. When writing an option on a futures contract, a fund will be required to make margin payments to a futures commission merchant as described above for futures contracts.
If the underlying instrument's price rises, a put writer would generally expect to profit, although its gain would be limited to the amount of the premium it received. If the underlying instrument's price remains the same over time, it is likely that the writer will also profit, because it should be able to close out the option at a lower price. If the underlying instrument's price falls, the put writer would expect to suffer a loss. This loss should be less than the loss from purchasing the underlying instrument directly, however, because the premium received for writing the option should mitigate the effects of the decline.
Writing a call option obligates the writer to sell or deliver the option's underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, upon exercise of the option. The characteristics of writing call options are similar to those of writing put options, except that writing calls generally is a profitable strategy if prices remain the same or fall. Through receipt of the option premium, a call writer should mitigate the effects of a price increase. At the same time, because a call writer must be prepared to deliver the underlying instrument or make a net cash settlement payment, as applicable, in return for the strike price, even if its current value is greater, a call writer gives up some ability to participate in price increases and, if a call writer does not hold the underlying instrument, a call writer's loss is theoretically unlimited.
Where a put or call option on a particular security is purchased to hedge against price movements in a related security, the price to close out the put or call option on the secondary market may move more or less than the price of the related security.
There is no assurance a liquid market will exist for any particular options contract at any particular time. Options may have relatively low trading volume and liquidity if their strike prices are not close to the underlying instrument's current price. In addition, exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for exchange-traded options contracts, and may halt trading if a contract's price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached or a trading halt is imposed, it may be impossible to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. If the market for a contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or otherwise, it could prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable positions, and potentially could require a fund to continue to hold a position until delivery or expiration regardless of changes in its value. As a result, a fund's access to other assets held to cover its options positions could also be impaired.
Unlike exchange-traded options, which are standardized with respect to the underlying instrument, expiration date, contract size, and strike price, the terms of OTC options (options not traded on exchanges) generally are established through negotiation with the other party to the option contract. While this type of arrangement allows the purchaser or writer greater flexibility to tailor an option to its needs, OTC options generally are less liquid and involve greater credit risk than exchange-traded options, which are backed by the clearing organization of the exchanges where they are traded.
Combined positions involve purchasing and writing options in combination with each other, or in combination with futures or forward contracts, to adjust the risk and return characteristics of the overall position. For example, purchasing a put option and writing a call option on the same underlying instrument would construct a combined position whose risk and return characteristics are similar to selling a futures contract. Another possible combined position would involve writing a call option at one strike price and buying a call option at a lower price, to reduce the risk of the written call option in the event of a substantial price increase. Because combined options positions involve multiple trades, they result in higher transaction costs and may be more difficult to open and close out.
A fund may also buy and sell options on swaps (swaptions), which are generally options on interest rate swaps. An option on a swap gives a party the right (but not the obligation) to enter into a new swap agreement or to extend, shorten, cancel or modify an existing contract at a specific date in the future in exchange for a premium. Depending on the terms of the particular option agreement, a fund will generally incur a greater degree of risk when it writes (sells) an option on a swap than it will incur when it purchases an option on a swap. When a fund purchases an option on a swap, it risks losing only the amount of the premium it has paid should it decide to let the option expire unexercised. However, when a fund writes an option on a swap, upon exercise of the option the fund will become obligated according to the terms of the underlying agreement. A fund that writes an option on a swap receives the premium and bears the risk of unfavorable changes in the preset rate on the underlying interest rate swap. Whether a fund's use of options on swaps will be successful in furthering its investment objective will depend on the adviser's ability to predict correctly whether certain types of investments are likely to produce greater returns than other investments. Options on swaps may involve risks similar to those discussed below in "Swap Agreements."
Because there are a limited number of types of exchange-traded options contracts, it is likely that the standardized contracts available will not match a fund's current or anticipated investments exactly. A fund may invest in options contracts based on securities with different issuers, maturities, or other characteristics from the securities in which the fund typically invests, which involves a risk that the options position will not track the performance of the fund's other investments.
Options prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match a fund's investments well. Options prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the options and futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how options and futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. A fund may purchase or sell options contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in a fund's options positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, the positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments.
Swap Agreements. Swap agreements are two-party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors. Cleared swaps are transacted through futures commission merchants that are members of central clearinghouses with the clearinghouse serving as a central counterparty similar to transactions in futures contracts. In a standard "swap" transaction, two parties agree to exchange one or more payments based, for example, on the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments (such as securities, commodities, indexes, or other financial or economic interests). The gross payments to be exchanged between the parties are calculated with respect to a notional amount, which is the predetermined dollar principal of the trade representing the hypothetical underlying quantity upon which payment obligations are computed.
Swap agreements can take many different forms and are known by a variety of names, including interest rate swaps (where the parties exchange a floating rate for a fixed rate), asset swaps (e.g., where parties combine the purchase or sale of a bond with an interest rate swap), total return swaps, and credit default swaps. Depending on how they are used, swap agreements may increase or decrease the overall volatility of a fund's investments and its share price and, if applicable, its yield. Swap agreements are subject to liquidity risk, meaning that a fund may be unable to sell a swap contract to a third party at a favorable price. Certain standardized swap transactions are currently subject to mandatory central clearing or may be eligible for voluntary central clearing. Central clearing is expected to decrease counterparty risk and increase liquidity compared to uncleared swaps because central clearing interposes the central clearinghouse as the counterpart to each participant's swap. However, central clearing does not eliminate counterparty risk or illiquidity risk entirely. In addition depending on the size of a fund and other factors, the margin required under the rules of a clearinghouse and by a clearing member futures commission merchant may be in excess of the collateral required to be posted by a fund to support its obligations under a similar uncleared swap. It is expected, however, that regulators will adopt rules imposing certain margin requirements, including minimums, on uncleared swaps in the near future, which could reduce the distinction.
A total return swap is a contract whereby one party agrees to make a series of payments to another party based on the change in the market value of the assets underlying such contract (which can include a security or other instrument, commodity, index or baskets thereof) during the specified period. In exchange, the other party to the contract agrees to make a series of payments calculated by reference to an interest rate and/or some other agreed-upon amount (including the change in market value of other underlying assets). A fund may use total return swaps to gain exposure to an asset without owning it or taking physical custody of it. For example, a fund investing in total return commodity swaps will receive the price appreciation of a commodity, commodity index or portion thereof in exchange for payment of an agreed-upon fee.
In a credit default swap, the credit default protection buyer makes periodic payments, known as premiums, to the credit default protection seller. In return the credit default protection seller will make a payment to the credit default protection buyer upon the occurrence of a specified credit event. A credit default swap can refer to a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets, each known as the reference entity or underlying asset. A fund may act as either the buyer or the seller of a credit default swap. A fund may buy or sell credit default protection on a basket of issuers or assets, even if a number of the underlying assets referenced in the basket are lower-quality debt securities. In an unhedged credit default swap, a fund buys credit default protection on a single issuer or asset, a basket of issuers or assets or index of assets without owning the underlying asset or debt issued by the reference entity. Credit default swaps involve greater and different risks than investing directly in the referenced asset, because, in addition to market risk, credit default swaps include liquidity, counterparty and operational risk.
Credit default swaps allow a fund to acquire or reduce credit exposure to a particular issuer, asset or basket of assets. If a swap agreement calls for payments by a fund, the fund must be prepared to make such payments when due. If a fund is the credit default protection seller, the fund will experience a loss if a credit event occurs and the credit of the reference entity or underlying asset has deteriorated. If a fund is the credit default protection buyer, the fund will be required to pay premiums to the credit default protection seller. In the case of a physically settled credit default swap in which a fund is the protection seller, the fund must be prepared to pay par for and take possession of debt of a defaulted issuer delivered to the fund by the credit default protection buyer. Any loss would be offset by the premium payments the fund receives as the seller of credit default protection. This risk for cleared swaps is generally lower than for uncleared swaps since the counterparty is a clearinghouse, but there can be no assurance that a clearinghouse or its members will satisfy its obligations.
If the creditworthiness of a fund's swap counterparty declines, the risk that the counterparty may not perform could increase, potentially resulting in a loss to the fund. To limit the counterparty risk involved in swap agreements, a Fidelity® fund will enter into swap agreements only with counterparties that meet certain standards of creditworthiness. Although there can be no assurance that a fund will be able to do so, a fund may be able to reduce or eliminate its exposure under a swap agreement either by assignment or other disposition, or by entering into an offsetting swap agreement with the same party or another creditworthy party. A fund may have limited ability to eliminate its exposure under a credit default swap if the credit of the reference entity or underlying asset has declined.
A fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. In order to cover its outstanding obligations to a swap counterparty, a fund would generally be required to provide margin or collateral for the benefit of that counterparty. If a counterparty to a swap transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited temporarily or permanently in exercising its right to the return of related fund assets designated as margin or collateral in an action against the counterparty.
Swap agreements are subject to the risk that the market value of the instrument will change in a way detrimental to a fund's interest. A fund bears the risk that an adviser will not accurately forecast market trends or the values of assets, reference rates, indexes, or other economic factors in establishing swap positions for a fund. If an adviser attempts to use a swap as a hedge against, or as a substitute for, a portfolio investment, a fund may be exposed to the risk that the swap will have or will develop imperfect or no correlation with the portfolio investment, which could cause substantial losses for a fund. While hedging strategies involving swap instruments can reduce the risk of loss, they can also reduce the opportunity for gain or even result in losses by offsetting favorable price movements in other fund investments. Swaps are complex and often valued subjectively.
Hybrid and Preferred Securities. A hybrid security may be a debt security, warrant, convertible security, certificate of deposit or other evidence of indebtedness on which the value of the interest on or principal of which is determined by reference to changes in the value of a reference instrument or financial strength of a reference entity (e.g., a security or other financial instrument, asset, currency, interest rate, commodity, index, or business entity such as a financial institution). Another example is contingent convertible securities, which are fixed income securities that, under certain circumstances, either convert into common stock of the issuer or undergo a principal write-down by a predetermined percentage if the issuer's capital ratio falls below a predetermined trigger level. The liquidation value of such a security may be reduced upon a regulatory action and without the need for a bankruptcy proceeding. Preferred securities may take the form of preferred stock and represent an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds generally take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
The risks of investing in hybrid and preferred securities reflect a combination of the risks of investing in securities, options, futures and currencies. An investment in a hybrid or preferred security may entail significant risks that are not associated with a similar investment in a traditional debt or equity security. The risks of a particular hybrid or preferred security will depend upon the terms of the instrument, but may include the possibility of significant changes in the value of any applicable reference instrument. Such risks may depend upon factors unrelated to the operations or credit quality of the issuer of the hybrid or preferred security. Hybrid and preferred securities are potentially more volatile and carry greater market and liquidity risks than traditional debt or equity securities. Also, the price of the hybrid or preferred security and any applicable reference instrument may not move in the same direction or at the same time. In addition, because hybrid and preferred securities may be traded over-the-counter or in bilateral transactions with the issuer of the security, hybrid and preferred securities may be subject to the creditworthiness of the counterparty of the security and their values may decline substantially if the counterparty's creditworthiness deteriorates. In addition, uncertainty regarding the tax and regulatory treatment of hybrid and preferred securities may reduce demand for such securities and tax and regulatory considerations may limit the extent of a fund's investments in certain hybrid and preferred securities.
Illiquid Investments means any investment that cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment. Difficulty in selling or disposing of illiquid investments may result in a loss or may be costly to a fund. Illiquid securities may include (1) repurchase agreements maturing in more than seven days without demand/redemption features, (2) OTC options and certain other derivatives, (3) private placements, (4) securities traded on markets and exchanges with structural constraints, and (5) loan participations.
Under the supervision of the Board of Trustees, a Fidelity® fund's adviser classifies the liquidity of the fund's investments and monitors the extent of funds’ illiquid investments.
Various market, trading and investment-specific factors may be considered in determining the liquidity of a fund's investments including, but not limited to (1) the existence of an active trading market, (2) the nature of the security and the market in which it trades, (3) the number, diversity, and quality of dealers and prospective purchasers in the marketplace, (4) the frequency, volume, and volatility of trade and price quotations, (5) bid-ask spreads, (6) dates of issuance and maturity, (7) demand, put or tender features, and (8) restrictions on trading or transferring the investment.
Fidelity classifies certain investments as illiquid based upon these criteria. Fidelity also monitors for certain market, trading and investment-specific events that may cause Fidelity to re-evaluate an investment’s liquidity status and may lead to an investment being classified as illiquid. In addition, Fidelity uses a third-party to assist with the liquidity classifications of the fund’s investments, which includes calculating the time to sell and settle a specified size position in a particular investment without the sale significantly changing the market value of the investment.
Increasing Government Debt. The total public debt of the United States and other countries around the globe as a percent of gross domestic product has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 2008 financial downturn. Although high debt levels do not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, they may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented.
A high national debt level may increase market pressures to meet government funding needs, which may drive debt cost higher and cause a country to sell additional debt, thereby increasing refinancing risk. A high national debt also raises concerns that a government will not be able to make principal or interest payments when they are due. In the worst case, unsustainable debt levels can decline the valuation of currencies, and can prevent a government from implementing effective counter-cyclical fiscal policy in economic downturns.
On August 5, 2011, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States one level to "AA+" from "AAA." While Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed the United States' short-term sovereign credit rating as "A-1+," there is no guarantee that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services will not decide to lower this rating in the future. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services stated that its decision was prompted by its view on the rising public debt burden and its perception of greater policymaking uncertainty. The market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government may be adversely affected by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services decisions to downgrade the long-term sovereign credit rating of the United States.
Indexed Securities are instruments whose prices are indexed to the prices of other securities, securities indexes, or other financial indicators. Indexed securities typically, but not always, are debt securities or deposits whose values at maturity or coupon rates are determined by reference to a specific instrument, statistic, or measure.
Indexed securities also include commercial paper, certificates of deposit, and other fixed-income securities whose values at maturity or coupon interest rates are determined by reference to the returns of particular stock indexes. Indexed securities can be affected by stock prices as well as changes in interest rates and the creditworthiness of their issuers and may not track the indexes as accurately as direct investments in the indexes.
Indexed securities may have principal payments as well as coupon payments that depend on the performance of one or more interest rates. Their coupon rates or principal payments may change by several percentage points for every 1% interest rate change.
Inflation-protected securities, for example, can be indexed to a measure of inflation, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
The performance of indexed securities depends to a great extent on the performance of the instrument or measure to which they are indexed, and may also be influenced by interest rate changes in the United States and abroad. Indexed securities may be more volatile than the underlying instruments or measures. Indexed securities are also subject to the credit risks associated with the issuer of the security, and their values may decline substantially if the issuer's creditworthiness deteriorates. Recent issuers of indexed securities have included banks, corporations, and certain U.S. Government agencies.
Insolvency of Issuers, Counterparties, and Intermediaries. Issuers of fund portfolio securities or counterparties to fund transactions that become insolvent or declare bankruptcy can pose special investment risks. In each circumstance, risk of loss, valuation uncertainty, increased illiquidity, and other unpredictable occurrences may negatively impact an investment. Each of these risks may be amplified in foreign markets, where security trading, settlement, and custodial practices can be less developed than those in the U.S. markets, and bankruptcy laws differ from those of the U.S.
As a general matter, if the issuer of a fund portfolio security is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock have priority over the claims of common stock owners. These events can negatively impact the value of the issuer's securities and the results of related proceedings can be unpredictable.
If a counterparty to a fund transaction, such as a swap transaction, a short sale, a borrowing, or other complex transaction becomes insolvent, the fund may be limited in its ability to exercise rights to obtain the return of related fund assets or in exercising other rights against the counterparty. Uncertainty may also arise upon the insolvency of a securities or commodities intermediary such as a broker-dealer or futures commission merchant with which a fund has pending transactions. In addition, insolvency and liquidation proceedings take time to resolve, which can limit or preclude a fund's ability to terminate a transaction or obtain related assets or collateral in a timely fashion. If an intermediary becomes insolvent, while securities positions and other holdings may be protected by U.S. or foreign laws, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether these protections are available to specific trades based on the circumstances. Receiving the benefit of these protections can also take time to resolve, which may result in illiquid positions.
Interfund Borrowing and Lending Program. Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a Fidelity® fund may lend money to, and borrow money from, other funds advised by Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC (FMR) or its affiliates. Municipal funds currently intend to participate in this program only as borrowers. A Fidelity® fund will borrow through the program only when the costs are equal to or lower than the costs of bank loans. Interfund borrowings normally extend overnight, but can have a maximum duration of seven days. Loans may be called on one day's notice. A Fidelity® fund may have to borrow from a bank at a higher interest rate if an interfund loan is called or not renewed.
Inverse Floaters have variable interest rates that typically move in the opposite direction from movements in prevailing short-term interest rate levels - rising when prevailing short-term interest rates fall, and falling when short-term interest rates rise. The prices of inverse floaters can be considerably more volatile than the prices of other investments with comparable maturities and/or credit quality.
Investment-Grade Debt Securities. Investment-grade debt securities include all types of debt instruments that are of medium and high-quality. Investment-grade debt securities include repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities as well as repurchase agreements collateralized by equity securities, non-investment-grade debt, and all other instruments in which a fund can perfect a security interest, provided the repurchase agreement counterparty has an investment-grade rating. Some investment-grade debt securities may possess speculative characteristics and may be more sensitive to economic changes and to changes in the financial conditions of issuers. An investment-grade rating means the security or issuer is rated investment-grade by a credit rating agency registered as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) with the SEC (for example, Moody's Investors Service, Inc.), or is unrated but considered to be of equivalent quality by a fund's adviser. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of an investment-grade debt security, an adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
Lower-Quality Debt Securities. Lower-quality debt securities include all types of debt instruments that have poor protection with respect to the payment of interest and repayment of principal, or may be in default. These securities are often considered to be speculative and involve greater risk of loss or price changes due to changes in the issuer's capacity to pay. The market prices of lower-quality debt securities may fluctuate more than those of higher-quality debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty, which may follow periods of rising interest rates.
The market for lower-quality debt securities may be thinner and less active than that for higher-quality debt securities, which can adversely affect the prices at which the former are sold. Adverse publicity and changing investor perceptions may affect the liquidity of lower-quality debt securities and the ability of outside pricing services to value lower-quality debt securities.
A fund may choose, at its expense or in conjunction with others, to pursue litigation or otherwise to exercise its rights as a security holder to seek to protect the interests of security holders if it determines this to be in the best interest of the fund's shareholders.
Low or Negative Yielding Securities. During periods of very low or negative interest rates, a fund may be unable to maintain positive returns. Interest rates in the U.S. and many parts of the world, including Japan and some European countries, are at or near historically low levels. Japan and those European countries have, from time to time, experienced negative interest rates on certain fixed income instruments. Very low or negative interest rates may magnify interest rate risk for the markets as a whole and for the funds. Changing interest rates, including rates that fall below zero, may have unpredictable effects on markets, may result in heightened market volatility and may detract from fund performance to the extent a fund is exposed to such interest rates.
Money Market Securities are high-quality, short-term obligations. Money market securities may be structured to be, or may employ a trust or other form so that they are, eligible investments for money market funds. For example, put features can be used to modify the maturity of a security or interest rate adjustment features can be used to enhance price stability. If a structure fails to function as intended, adverse tax or investment consequences may result. Neither the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) nor any other regulatory authority has ruled definitively on certain legal issues presented by certain structured securities. Future tax or other regulatory determinations could adversely affect the value, liquidity, or tax treatment of the income received from these securities or the nature and timing of distributions made by a fund.
Municipal Insurance. A municipal bond may be covered by insurance that guarantees the bond's scheduled payment of interest and repayment of principal. This type of insurance may be obtained by either (i) the issuer at the time the bond is issued (primary market insurance), or (ii) another party after the bond has been issued (secondary market insurance).
Both primary and secondary market insurance guarantee timely and scheduled repayment of all principal and payment of all interest on a municipal bond in the event of default by the issuer, and cover a municipal bond to its maturity, typically enhancing its credit quality and value.
Municipal bond insurance does not insure against market fluctuations or fluctuations in a fund's share price. In addition, a municipal bond insurance policy will not cover: (i) repayment of a municipal bond before maturity (redemption), (ii) prepayment or payment of an acceleration premium (except for a mandatory sinking fund redemption) or any other provision of a bond indenture that advances the maturity of the bond, or (iii) nonpayment of principal or interest caused by negligence or bankruptcy of the paying agent. A mandatory sinking fund redemption may be a provision of a municipal bond issue whereby part of the municipal bond issue may be retired before maturity.
Because a significant portion of the municipal securities issued and outstanding is insured by a small number of insurance companies, not all of which have the highest credit rating, an event involving one or more of these insurance companies could have a significant adverse effect on the value of the securities insured by that insurance company and on the municipal markets as a whole. Ratings of insured bonds reflect the credit rating of the insurer, based on the rating agency's assessment of the creditworthiness of the insurer and its ability to pay claims on its insurance policies at the time of the assessment. While the obligation of a municipal bond insurance company to pay a claim extends over the life of an insured bond, there is no assurance that municipal bond insurers will meet their claims. A higher-than-anticipated default rate on municipal bonds or in connection with other insurance the insurer provides could strain the insurer's loss reserves and adversely affect its ability to pay claims to bondholders.
Strategic Advisers may decide to retain an insured municipal bond that is in default, or, in Strategic Advisers' view, in significant risk of default. While a fund holds a defaulted, insured municipal bond, the fund collects interest payments from the insurer and retains the right to collect principal from the insurer when the municipal bond matures, or in connection with a mandatory sinking fund redemption.
Municipal Leases and participation interests therein may take the form of a lease, an installment purchase, or a conditional sale contract and are issued by state and local governments and authorities to acquire land or a wide variety of equipment and facilities. Generally, a fund will not hold these obligations directly as a lessor of the property, but will purchase a participation interest in a municipal obligation from a bank or other third party. A participation interest gives the purchaser a specified, undivided interest in the obligation in proportion to its purchased interest in the total amount of the issue.
Municipal leases frequently have risks distinct from those associated with general obligation or revenue bonds. State constitutions and statutes set forth requirements that states or municipalities must meet to incur debt. These may include voter referenda, interest rate limits, or public sale requirements. Leases, installment purchases, or conditional sale contracts (which normally provide for title to the leased asset to pass to the governmental issuer) have evolved as a means for governmental issuers to acquire property and equipment without meeting their constitutional and statutory requirements for the issuance of debt. Many leases and contracts include "non-appropriation clauses" providing that the governmental issuer has no obligation to make future payments under the lease or contract unless money is appropriated for such purposes by the appropriate legislative body on a yearly or other periodic basis. Non-appropriation clauses free the issuer from debt issuance limitations. If a municipality stops making payments or transfers its obligations to a private entity, the obligation could lose value or become taxable.
Municipal Market Disruption Risk. The value of municipal securities may be affected by uncertainties in the municipal market related to legislation or litigation involving the taxation of municipal securities or the rights of municipal securities holders in the event of a bankruptcy. Proposals to restrict or eliminate the federal income tax exemption for interest on municipal securities are introduced before Congress from time to time. Proposals also may be introduced before state legislatures that would affect the state tax treatment of a municipal fund's distributions. If such proposals were enacted, the availability of municipal securities and the value of a municipal fund's holdings would be affected, and the Trustees would reevaluate the fund's investment objectives and policies. Municipal bankruptcies are relatively rare, and certain provisions of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code governing such bankruptcies are unclear and remain untested. Further, the application of state law to municipal issuers could produce varying results among the states or among municipal securities issuers within a state. These legal uncertainties could affect the municipal securities market generally, certain specific segments of the market, or the relative credit quality of particular securities. Any of these effects could have a significant impact on the prices of some or all of the municipal securities held by a fund.
Municipal securities may be susceptible to downgrade, default, and bankruptcy, particularly during economic downturns. Factors affecting municipal securities include the budgetary constraints of local, state, and federal governments upon which the municipalities issuing municipal securities may be relying for funding, as well as lower tax collections, fluctuations in interest rates, and increasing construction costs. Municipal securities are also subject to the risk that the perceived likelihood of difficulties in the municipal securities markets could result in increased illiquidity, volatility, and credit risk. Certain municipal issuers may be unable to obtain additional financing through, or be required to pay higher interest rates on, new issues, which may reduce revenues available for these municipal issuers to pay existing obligations. In addition, certain municipal issuers may be unable to issue or market securities, resulting in fewer investment opportunities for funds investing in municipal securities.
Education. In general, there are two types of education-related bonds: those issued to finance projects for public and private colleges and universities, and those representing pooled interests in student loans. Bonds issued to supply educational institutions with funds are subject to the risk of unanticipated revenue decline, primarily the result of decreasing student enrollment or decreasing state and federal funding. Among the factors that may lead to declining or insufficient revenues are restrictions on students' ability to pay tuition, availability of state and federal funding, and general economic conditions. Student loan revenue bonds are generally offered by state (or substate) authorities or commissions and are backed by pools of student loans. Underlying student loans may be guaranteed by state guarantee agencies and may be subject to reimbursement by the United States Department of Education through its guaranteed student loan program. Others may be private, uninsured loans made to parents or students which are supported by reserves or other forms of credit enhancement. Recoveries of principal due to loan defaults may be applied to redemption of bonds or may be used to re-lend, depending on program latitude and demand for loans. Cash flows supporting student loan revenue bonds are impacted by numerous factors, including the rate of student loan defaults, seasoning of the loan portfolio, and student repayment deferral periods of forbearance. Other risks associated with student loan revenue bonds include potential changes in federal legislation regarding student loan revenue bonds, state guarantee agency reimbursement and continued federal interest and other program subsidies currently in effect.
Electric Utilities. The electric utilities industry has been experiencing, and will continue to experience, increased competitive pressures. Federal legislation in the last two years will open transmission access to any electricity supplier, although it is not presently known to what extent competition will evolve. Other risks include: (a) the availability and cost of fuel, (b) the availability and cost of capital, (c) the effects of conservation on energy demand, (d) the effects of rapidly changing environmental, safety, and licensing requirements, and other federal, state, and local regulations, (e) timely and sufficient rate increases, and (f) opposition to nuclear power.
Health Care. The health care industry is subject to regulatory action by a number of private and governmental agencies, including federal, state, and local governmental agencies. A major source of revenues for the health care industry is payments from the Medicare and Medicaid programs. As a result, the industry is sensitive to legislative changes and reductions in governmental spending for such programs. Numerous other factors may affect the industry, such as general and local economic conditions; demand for services; expenses (including malpractice insurance premiums); and competition among health care providers. In the future, the following elements may adversely affect health care facility operations: adoption of legislation proposing a national health insurance program; other state or local health care reform measures; medical and technological advances which dramatically alter the need for health services or the way in which such services are delivered; changes in medical coverage which alter the traditional fee-for-service revenue stream; and efforts by employers, insurers, and governmental agencies to reduce the costs of health insurance and health care services.
Housing. Housing revenue bonds are generally issued by a state, county, city, local housing authority, or other public agency. They generally are secured by the revenues derived from mortgages purchased with the proceeds of the bond issue. It is extremely difficult to predict the supply of available mortgages to be purchased with the proceeds of an issue or the future cash flow from the underlying mortgages. Consequently, there are risks that proceeds will exceed supply, resulting in early retirement of bonds, or that homeowner repayments will create an irregular cash flow. Many factors may affect the financing of multi-family housing projects, including acceptable completion of construction, proper management, occupancy and rent levels, economic conditions, and changes to current laws and regulations.
Transportation. Transportation debt may be issued to finance the construction of airports, toll roads, highways, or other transit facilities. Airport bonds are dependent on the general stability of the airline industry and on the stability of a specific carrier who uses the airport as a hub. Air traffic generally follows broader economic trends and is also affected by the price and availability of fuel. Toll road bonds are also affected by the cost and availability of fuel as well as toll levels, the presence of competing roads and the general economic health of an area. Fuel costs and availability also affect other transportation-related securities, as do the presence of alternate forms of transportation, such as public transportation.
Water and Sewer. Water and sewer revenue bonds are often considered to have relatively secure credit as a result of their issuer's importance, monopoly status, and generally unimpeded ability to raise rates. Despite this, lack of water supply due to insufficient rain, run-off, or snow pack is a concern that has led to past defaults. Further, public resistance to rate increases, costly environmental litigation, and Federal environmental mandates are challenges faced by issuers of water and sewer bonds.
Put Features entitle the holder to sell a security back to the issuer at any time or at specified intervals. In exchange for this benefit, a fund may accept a lower interest rate. Securities with put features are subject to the risk that the put provider is unable to honor the put feature (purchase the security). Demand features and standby commitments are types of put features.
Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). REITs issue debt securities to fund the purchase and/or development of commercial properties. The value of these debt securities may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property owned by the trusts, the creditworthiness of the trusts, interest rates, and tax and regulatory requirements. REITs are dependent upon management skill and the cash flow generated by the properties owned by the trusts. REITs are at the risk of the possibility of failing to qualify for tax-free status of income under the Internal Revenue Code and failing to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act.
Refunding Contracts. Securities may be purchased on a when-issued basis in connection with the refinancing of an issuer's outstanding indebtedness. Refunding contracts require the issuer to sell and a purchaser to buy refunded municipal obligations at a stated price and yield on a settlement date that may be several months or several years in the future. A purchaser generally will not be obligated to pay the full purchase price if the issuer fails to perform under a refunding contract. Instead, refunding contracts generally provide for payment of liquidated damages to the issuer. A purchaser may secure its obligations under a refunding contract by depositing collateral or a letter of credit equal to the liquidated damages provisions of the refunding contract.
Repurchase Agreements involve an agreement to purchase a security and to sell that security back to the original seller at an agreed-upon price. The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an agreed-upon incremental amount which is unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased security. As protection against the risk that the original seller will not fulfill its obligation, the securities are held in a separate account at a bank, marked-to-market daily, and maintained at a value at least equal to the sale price plus the accrued incremental amount. The value of the security purchased may be more or less than the price at which the counterparty has agreed to purchase the security. In addition, delays or losses could result if the other party to the agreement defaults or becomes insolvent. A fund may be limited in its ability to exercise its right to liquidate assets related to a repurchase agreement with an insolvent counterparty. A Fidelity® fund may engage in repurchase agreement transactions with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser.
Restricted Securities (including Private Placements) are subject to legal restrictions on their sale. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or be costly to a fund. Restricted securities, including private placements of private and public companies, generally can be sold in privately negotiated transactions, pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act), or in a registered public offering. Where registration is required, the holder of a registered security may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expense and a considerable period may elapse between the time it decides to seek registration and the time it may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the holder might obtain a less favorable price than prevailed when it decided to seek registration of the security.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. In a reverse repurchase agreement, a fund sells a security to another party, such as a bank or broker-dealer, in return for cash and agrees to repurchase that security at an agreed-upon price and time. A Fidelity® fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the fund's adviser. Such transactions may increase fluctuations in the market value of a fund's assets and, if applicable, a fund's yield, and may be viewed as a form of leverage.
Securities of Other Investment Companies, including shares of closed-end investment companies (which include business development companies (BDCs)), unit investment trusts, and open-end investment companies, represent interests in professionally managed portfolios that may invest in any type of instrument. Investing in other investment companies involves substantially the same risks as investing directly in the underlying instruments, but may involve additional expenses at the underlying investment company-level, such as portfolio management fees and operating expenses. Fees and expenses incurred indirectly by a fund as a result of its investment in shares of one or more other investment companies generally are referred to as "acquired fund fees and expenses" and may appear as a separate line item in a fund's prospectus fee table. For certain investment companies, such as BDCs, these expenses may be significant. Certain types of investment companies, such as closed-end investment companies, issue a fixed number of shares that trade on a stock exchange or over-the-counter at a premium or a discount to their NAV. Others are continuously offered at NAV, but may also be traded in the secondary market.
The securities of closed-end funds may be leveraged. As a result, a fund may be indirectly exposed to leverage through an investment in such securities. An investment in securities of closed-end funds that use leverage may expose a fund to higher volatility in the market value of such securities and the possibility that the fund's long-term returns on such securities will be diminished.
A fund's ability to invest in securities of other investment companies may be limited by federal securities laws. To the extent a fund acquires securities issued by unaffiliated investment companies, the Adviser's access to information regarding such underlying fund's portfolio may be limited and subject to such fund's policies regarding disclosure of fund holdings.
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPACs”). A fund may invest in stock, warrants, and other securities of SPACs or similar special purpose entities that pool money to seek potential acquisition opportunities. SPACs are collective investment structures formed to raise money in an initial public offering for the purpose of merging with or acquiring one or more operating companies (the “de-SPAC Transaction”). Until an acquisition is completed, a SPAC generally invests its assets in US government securities, money market securities and cash. In connection with a de-SPAC Transaction, the SPAC may complete a PIPE (private investment in public equity) offering with certain investors. A fund may enter into a contingent commitment with a SPAC to purchase PIPE shares if and when the SPAC completes its de-SPAC Transaction.
Because SPACs do not have an operating history or ongoing business other than seeking acquisitions, the value of their securities is particularly dependent on the ability of the SPAC’s management to identify and complete a profitable acquisition. Some SPACs may pursue acquisitions only within certain industries or regions, which may increase the volatility of their prices. An investment in a SPAC is subject to a variety of risks, including that (i) an attractive acquisition or merger target may not be identified at all and the SPAC will be required to return any remaining monies to shareholders; (ii) an acquisition or merger once effected may prove unsuccessful and an investment in the SPAC may lose value; (iii) the values of investments in SPACs may be highly volatile and may depreciate significantly over time; (iv) no or only a thinly traded market for shares of or interests in a SPAC may develop, leaving a fund unable to sell its interest in a SPAC or to sell its interest only at a price below what the fund believes is the SPAC interest’s intrinsic value; (v) any proposed merger or acquisition may be unable to obtain the requisite approval, if any, of shareholders; (vi) an investment in a SPAC may be diluted by additional later offerings of interests in the SPAC or by other investors exercising existing rights to purchase shares of the SPAC; (vii) the warrants or other rights with respect to the SPAC held by a fund may expire worthless or may be repurchased or retired by the SPAC at an unfavorable price; (viii) a fund may be delayed in receiving any redemption or liquidation proceeds from a SPAC to which it is entitled; and (ix) a significant portion of the monies raised by the SPAC for the purpose of identifying and effecting an acquisition or merger may be expended during the search for a target transaction.
Purchased PIPE shares will be restricted from trading until the registration statement for the shares is declared effective. Upon registration, the shares can be freely sold, but only pursuant to an effective registration statement or other exemption from registration. The securities issued by a SPAC, which are typically traded either in the over-the-counter market or on an exchange, may be considered illiquid, more difficult to value, and/or be subject to restrictions on resale.
Sources of Liquidity or Credit Support. Issuers may employ various forms of credit and liquidity enhancements, including letters of credit, guarantees, swaps, puts, and demand features, and insurance provided by domestic or foreign entities such as banks and other financial institutions. An adviser and its affiliates may rely on their evaluation of the credit of the issuer or the credit of the liquidity or credit enhancement provider in determining whether to purchase or hold a security supported by such enhancement. In evaluating the credit of a foreign bank or other foreign entities, factors considered may include whether adequate public information about the entity is available and whether the entity may be subject to unfavorable political or economic developments, currency controls, or other government restrictions that might affect its ability to honor its commitment. Changes in the credit quality of the issuer and/or entity providing the enhancement could affect the value of the security or a fund's share price.
Standby Commitments are puts that entitle holders to same-day settlement at an exercise price equal to the amortized cost of the underlying security plus accrued interest, if any, at the time of exercise. A fund may acquire standby commitments to enhance the liquidity of portfolio securities.
Ordinarily a fund will not transfer a standby commitment to a third party, although it could sell the underlying municipal security to a third party at any time. A fund may purchase standby commitments separate from or in conjunction with the purchase of securities subject to such commitments. In the latter case, the fund would pay a higher price for the securities acquired, thus reducing their yield to maturity.
Issuers or financial intermediaries may obtain letters of credit or other guarantees to support their ability to buy securities on demand. An adviser may rely upon its evaluation of a bank's credit in determining whether to purchase an instrument supported by a letter of credit. In evaluating a foreign bank's credit, an adviser will consider whether adequate public information about the bank is available and whether the bank may be subject to unfavorable political or economic developments, currency controls, or other governmental restrictions that might affect the bank's ability to honor its credit commitment.
Standby commitments are subject to certain risks, including the ability of issuers of standby commitments to pay for securities at the time the commitments are exercised; the fact that standby commitments are not generally marketable; and the possibility that the maturities of the underlying securities may be different from those of the commitments.
Structured Securities (also called "structured notes") are derivative debt securities, the interest rate on or principal of which is determined by an unrelated indicator. The value of the interest rate on and/or the principal of structured securities is determined by reference to changes in the value of a reference instrument (e.g., a security or other financial instrument, asset, currency, interest rate, commodity, or index) or the relative change in two or more reference instruments. A structured security may be positively, negatively, or both positively and negatively indexed; that is, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument increases. Similarly, its value or interest rate may increase or decrease if the value of the reference instrument decreases. Further, the change in the principal amount payable with respect to, or the interest rate of, a structured security may be calculated as a multiple of the percentage change (positive or negative) in the value of the underlying reference instrument(s); therefore, the value of such structured security may be very volatile. Structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of debt securities because the investor bears the risk of the reference instrument. Structured securities may also be more volatile, less liquid, and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities or more traditional debt securities. In addition, because structured securities generally are traded over-the-counter, structured securities are subject to the creditworthiness of the counterparty of the structured security, and their values may decline substantially if the counterparty's creditworthiness deteriorates.
Temporary Defensive Policies. Strategic Advisers® Municipal Bond Fund reserves the right to invest without limitation in short-term instruments, to hold a substantial amount of uninvested cash, or to invest more than normally permitted in federally taxable obligations for temporary, defensive purposes.
Tender Option Bonds are created by depositing intermediate- or long-term, fixed-rate or variable rate, municipal bonds into a trust and issuing two classes of trust interests (or "certificates") with varying economic interests to investors. Holders of the first class of trust interests, or floating rate certificates, receive tax-exempt interest based on short-term rates and may tender the certificate to the trust at par. As consideration for providing the tender option, the trust sponsor (typically a bank, broker-dealer, or other financial institution) receives periodic fees. The trust pays the holders of the floating rate certificates from proceeds of a remarketing of the certificates or from a draw on a liquidity facility provided by the sponsor. A fund investing in a floating rate certificate effectively holds a demand obligation that bears interest at the prevailing short-term tax-exempt rate. The floating rate certificate is typically an eligible security for money market funds. Holders of the second class of interests, sometimes called the residual income certificates, are entitled to any tax-exempt interest received by the trust that is not payable to floating rate certificate holders, and bear the risk that the underlying municipal bonds decline in value. In selecting tender option bonds, FMR will consider the creditworthiness of the issuer of the underlying bond deposited in the trust, the experience of the custodian, and the quality of the sponsor providing the tender option. In certain instances, the tender option may be terminated if, for example, the issuer of the underlying bond defaults on interest payments.
Transfer Agent Bank Accounts. Proceeds from shareholder purchases of a Fidelity® fund may pass through a series of demand deposit bank accounts before being held at the fund's custodian. Redemption proceeds may pass from the custodian to the shareholder through a similar series of bank accounts.
If a bank account is registered to the transfer agent or an affiliate, who acts as an agent for the fund when opening, closing, and conducting business in the bank account, the transfer agent or an affiliate may invest overnight balances in the account in repurchase agreements. Any balances that are not invested in repurchase agreements remain in the bank account overnight. Any risks associated with such an account are investment risks of the fund. The fund faces the risk of loss of these balances if the bank becomes insolvent.
Variable and Floating Rate Securities provide for periodic adjustments in the interest rate paid on the security. Variable rate securities provide for a specified periodic adjustment in the interest rate, while floating rate securities have interest rates that change whenever there is a change in a designated benchmark rate or the issuer's credit quality, sometimes subject to a cap or floor on such rate. Some variable or floating rate securities are structured with put features that permit holders to demand payment of the unpaid principal balance plus accrued interest from the issuers or certain financial intermediaries. For purposes of determining the maximum maturity of a variable or floating rate security, a fund's adviser may take into account normal settlement periods.
In addition to other interbank offered rates (IBORs), the most common benchmark rate for floating rate securities is LIBOR, which is the rate of interest offered on short-term interbank deposits, as determined by trading between major international banks. After the global financial crisis, regulators globally determined that existing interest rate benchmarks should be reformed based on concerns that LIBOR and other IBORs were susceptible to manipulation. Replacement rates that have been identified include the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR, which is intended to replace U.S. dollar LIBOR and measures the cost of U.S. dollar overnight borrowings) and the Sterling Overnight Index Average rate (SONIA, which is intended to replace pound sterling LIBOR and measures the overnight interest rate paid by banks in the sterling market). In 2017, the head of the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority announced a desire to phase out the use of LIBOR by the end of 2021. While various regulators and industry bodies are working globally on transitioning to alternative rates, there remains uncertainty regarding the future utilization of the IBORs and the transition to, and the nature of, replacement rates. As such, the effect of a transition away from the IBORs on a fund and the financial instruments in which it invests cannot yet be determined, and may depend on factors that include, but are not limited to: (i) existing fallback or termination provisions in individual contracts and (ii) whether, how, and when industry participants develop and adopt new reference rates and fallbacks for both legacy and new products and instruments. Such transition may result in a reduction in the value of IBOR-based instruments held by a fund, a reduction in the effectiveness of certain hedging transactions and increased illiquidity and volatility in markets that currently rely on an IBOR to determine interest rates, any of which could adversely impact the fund’s performance.
In many instances bonds and participation interests have tender options or demand features that permit the holder to tender (or put) the bonds to an institution at periodic intervals and to receive the principal amount thereof. Variable rate instruments structured in this fashion are considered to be essentially equivalent to other variable rate securities. The IRS has not ruled whether the interest on these instruments is tax-exempt. Fixed-rate bonds that are subject to third-party puts and participation interests in such bonds held by a bank in trust or otherwise may have similar features.
When-Issued and Forward Purchase or Sale Transactions
involve a commitment to purchase or sell specific securities at a predetermined price or yield in which payment and delivery take place after the customary settlement period for that type of security. Typically, no interest accrues to the purchaser until the security is delivered.
When purchasing securities pursuant to one of these transactions, the purchaser assumes the rights and risks of ownership, including the risks of price and yield fluctuations and the risk that the security will not be issued as anticipated. Because payment for the securities is not required until the delivery date, these risks are in addition to the risks associated with a fund's investments. If a fund remains substantially fully invested at a time when a purchase is outstanding, the purchases may result in a form of leverage. When a fund has sold a security pursuant to one of these transactions, the fund does not participate in further gains or losses with respect to the security. If the other party to a delayed-delivery transaction fails to deliver or pay for the securities, a fund could miss a favorable price or yield opportunity or suffer a loss.
A fund may renegotiate a when-issued or forward transaction and may sell the underlying securities before delivery, which may result in capital gains or losses for the fund.
Under the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s “Single Security Initiative” intended to maximize liquidity for both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities in the TBA market, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac expect to start issuing UMBS in place of their current separate offerings of TBA-eligible mortgage-backed securities. The effects of the issuance of UMBS on the TBA market are uncertain.
Zero Coupon Bonds do not make interest payments; instead, they are sold at a discount from their face value and are redeemed at face value when they mature. Because zero coupon bonds do not pay current income, their prices can be more volatile than other types of fixed-income securities when interest rates change. In calculating a fund's dividend, a portion of the difference between a zero coupon bond's purchase price and its face value is considered income.
In addition to the investment policies and limitations discussed above, a fund is subject to the additional operational risk discussed below.
Considerations Regarding Cybersecurity. With the increased use of technologies such as the Internet to conduct business, a fund’s service providers are susceptible to operational, information security and related risks. In general, cyber incidents can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional events and may arise from external or internal sources. Cyber attacks include, but are not limited to, gaining unauthorized access to digital systems (e.g., through “hacking” or malicious software coding) for purposes of misappropriating assets or sensitive information; corrupting data, equipment or systems; or causing operational disruption. Cyber attacks may also be carried out in a manner that does not require gaining unauthorized access, such as causing denial-of-service attacks on websites (i.e., efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users). Cyber incidents affecting a fund’s manager, any sub-adviser and other service providers (including, but not limited to, fund accountants, custodians, transfer agents and financial intermediaries) have the ability to cause disruptions and impact business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses, interference with a fund’s ability to calculate its NAV, impediments to trading, the inability of fund shareholders to transact business, destruction to equipment and systems, violations of applicable privacy and other laws, regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs, or additional compliance costs. Similar adverse consequences could result from cyber incidents affecting issuers of securities in which a fund invests, counterparties with which a fund engages in transactions, governmental and other regulatory authorities, exchange and other financial market operators, banks, brokers, dealers, insurance companies and other financial institutions (including financial intermediaries and service providers for fund shareholders) and other parties. In addition, substantial costs may be incurred in order to prevent any cyber incidents in the future.
While a fund’s service providers have established business continuity plans in the event of, and risk management systems to prevent, such cyber incidents, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems including the possibility that certain risks have not been identified. Furthermore, a fund cannot control the cyber security plans and systems put in place by its service providers or any other third parties whose operations may affect a fund or its shareholders. A fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result.
PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS
To the extent that Strategic Advisers grants investment management authority over an allocated portion of the fund's assets to a sub-adviser (see the section entitled "Management Contract"), that sub-adviser is authorized to provide the services described in the respective sub-advisory agreement, and in accordance with the policies described in this section.
Orders for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities are placed on behalf of the fund by Strategic Advisers (either directly or through its affiliates) or a sub-adviser, pursuant to authority contained in the management contract and the respective sub-advisory agreement.
Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser may be responsible for the placement of portfolio securities transactions for other investment companies and investment accounts for which it has or its affiliates have investment discretion.
The fund will not incur any commissions or sales charges when it invests in affiliated mutual funds, but it may incur such costs when it invests in non-affiliated funds and when it invests directly in other types of securities, including exchange traded funds (ETFs).
Purchases and sales of equity securities on a securities exchange or OTC are effected through brokers who receive compensation for their services. Generally, compensation relating to securities traded on foreign exchanges will be higher than compensation relating to securities traded on U.S. exchanges and may not be subject to negotiation. Compensation may also be paid in connection with principal transactions (in both OTC securities and securities listed on an exchange) and agency OTC transactions executed with an electronic communications network (ECN) or an alternative trading system. Equity securities may be purchased from underwriters at prices that include underwriting fees.
Purchases and sales of fixed-income securities are generally made with an issuer or a primary market-maker acting as principal. Although there is no stated brokerage commission paid by the fund for any fixed-income security, the price paid by the fund to an underwriter includes the disclosed underwriting fee and prices in secondary trades usually include an undisclosed dealer commission or markup reflecting the spread between the bid and ask prices of the fixed-income security. New issues of equity and fixed-income securities may also be purchased in underwritten fixed price offerings.
The Trustees of the fund periodically review Strategic Advisers' and its affiliates' and each sub-adviser's performance of their respective responsibilities in connection with the placement of portfolio securities transactions on behalf of the fund. The Trustees also review the compensation paid by the fund over representative periods of time to determine if it was reasonable in relation to the benefits to the fund.
Strategic Advisers.
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates generally have authority to select securities brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting securities brokers, including affiliates of Strategic Advisers, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using ECNs or venues, including algorithmic trading, crossing networks, direct market access and program trading, or by actively working an order. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to, the following: price; the size and type of the securities transaction; the reasonableness of compensation to be paid, including spreads and commission rates; the speed and certainty of trade executions, including broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and characteristics of the markets for the security to be purchased or sold, including the degree of specialization of the broker in such markets or securities; the availability of liquidity in the security, including the liquidity and depth afforded by a market center or market-maker; the reliability of a market center or broker; the broker's overall trading relationship with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; the degree of anonymity that a particular broker or market can provide; the potential for avoiding or lessening market impact; the execution services rendered on a continuing basis; the execution efficiency, settlement capability, and financial condition of the firm; arrangements for payment of fund expenses, if applicable; and the provision of additional brokerage and research products and services, if applicable.
The trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities.
In seeking best qualitative execution for portfolio securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker may charge a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates also may select a broker that charges more than the lowest commission rate available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of Strategic Advisers or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker may be higher than the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of a futures commission merchant is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the futures commission merchant. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may choose to execute futures transactions electronically.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
Brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) that execute transactions for the fund may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.
Research Products and Services. These products and services may include, when permissible under applicable law: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund.
Execution Services. In addition, when permissible under applicable law, brokerage and research products and services include those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although Strategic Advisers or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates will make a good faith judgment to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefit to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these brokerage and research products or services with their own resources. To minimize the potential for conflicts of interest, the trading desks through which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the quality of execution without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the broker or dealer may provide. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, which means that traders have no responsibility for administering soft dollar activities. Furthermore, certain of the brokerage and research products and services Strategic Advisers or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services may be provided at no additional cost to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates or have no explicit cost associated with them. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may request that a broker provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, certain of which third-party products or services may be provided by a broker that is not a party to a particular transaction and is not connected with the transacting broker's overall services.
Strategic Advisers' Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund. While Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist Strategic Advisers or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other investment companies and investment accounts for which Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have investment discretion. Certain funds or investment accounts may use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other funds or accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates.
Research Contracts. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom Strategic Advisers or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates view hard dollar payments for research products and services as likely to reduce the fund's total commission costs even though it is expected that in such hard dollar arrangements the commissions available for recapture and used to pay fund expenses, as described below, will decrease. Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' determination to pay for research products and services separately is wholly voluntary on Strategic Advisers' or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.
Commission Recapture
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may allocate brokerage transactions to brokers (who are not affiliates of Strategic Advisers) who have entered into arrangements with Strategic Advisers or its affiliates under which the broker may rebate a portion of the compensation paid by a fund. Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with certain brokers, including National Financial Services LLC (NFS), through its Fidelity Capital Markets (FCM) division, and Luminex Trading & Analytics LLC (Luminex), with whom they are under common control or affiliated, provided Strategic Advisers or its affiliates determine that these affiliates' trade-execution abilities and costs are comparable to those of non-affiliated, qualified brokerage firms. In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may place trades with brokers that use NFS or Fidelity Clearing Canada ULC (FCC) as a clearing agent.
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund is permitted to purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-United States securities transactions, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates may effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers. In certain circumstances, due to local law and regulation, logistical or operational challenges, or the process for settling securities transactions in certain markets (e.g., short settlement periods), spot currency transactions may be effected on behalf of funds by parties other than Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, including funds' custodian banks (working through sub-custodians or agents in the relevant non-U.S. jurisdiction) or broker-dealers that executed the related securities transaction.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other funds managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts) managed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by Strategic Advisers to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.
FIAM LLC (FIAM).
The Selection of Securities Brokers and Dealers
FIAM or its affiliates generally have authority to select brokers (whether acting as a broker or a dealer) with which to place the fund's portfolio securities transactions. In selecting brokers, including affiliates of FIAM, to execute the fund's portfolio securities transactions, FIAM or its affiliates consider the factors they deem relevant in the context of a particular trade and in regard to FIAM's or its affiliates' overall responsibilities with respect to the fund and other investment accounts, including any instructions from the fund's portfolio manager, which may emphasize, for example, speed of execution over other factors. Based on the factors considered, FIAM or its affiliates may choose to execute an order using electronic channels, including broker-sponsored algorithms, internal crossing, or by verbally working an order with one or more brokers. Other possibly relevant factors may include, but are not limited to the following: price; costs; the size, nature and type of the order; speed of execution, financial condition and reputation of the broker; broker-specific considerations (e.g., not all brokers are able to execute all types of trades); broker willingness to commit capital; the nature and characteristics of the markets in which the security is traded; the trader's assessment of whether and how closely the broker likely will follow the trader's instructions to the broker; confidentiality and the potential for information leakage; the nature of existence of post-trade clearing, settlement, custody and currency convertibility mechanisms; and the provision of brokerage and research products and services, if applicable and where allowed by law.
In seeking best execution for portfolio securities transactions, FIAM and/or its affiliates from time to time select a broker that uses a trading method, including algorithmic trading, for which the broker charges a higher commission than its lowest available commission rate. FIAM and/or its affiliates may also select brokers that charge more than the lowest commission rate available from another broker. Occasionally FIAM and/or its affiliates execute an entire securities transaction with a broker and allocate all or a portion of the transaction and/or related commissions to a second broker where a client does not permit trading with an affiliate of FIAM or in other limited situations. In those situations, the commission rate paid to the second broker may be higher than the commission rate paid to the executing broker. For futures transactions, the selection of a futures commission merchant is generally based on the overall quality of execution and other services provided by the futures commission merchant. FIAM and/or its affiliates execute futures transactions verbally and electronically.
The Acquisition of Brokerage and Research Products and Services
To the extent permitted by applicable law, brokers (who are not affiliates of FIAM) that execute transactions for the fund managed outside of the European Union may receive higher compensation from the fund than other brokers might have charged the fund, in recognition of the value of the brokerage or research products and services they provide to FIAM or its affiliates.
Research Products and Services. Products and services that FIAM or its affiliates have received during the last fiscal year include, when permissible under applicable law, but are not limited to: economic, industry, company, municipal, sovereign (U.S. and non-U.S.), legal, or political research reports; market color; company meeting facilitation; compilation of securities prices, earnings, dividends and similar data; quotation services, data, information and other services; analytical computer software and services; and investment recommendations. In addition to receiving brokerage and research products and services via written reports and computer-delivered services, such reports may also be provided by telephone and in-person meetings with securities analysts, corporate and industry spokespersons, economists, academicians and government representatives and others with relevant professional expertise. Brokers also provide brokerage and research products and services in the form of a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, upon request by FIAM or its affiliates. Some of these brokerage and research products and services supplement FIAM's or its affiliates' own research activities in providing investment advice to the fund.
Execution Services. In addition, when permissible under applicable law, brokerage and research products and services include those that assist in the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions, as well as other incidental functions (including, but not limited to, communication services related to trade execution, order routing and algorithmic trading, post-trade matching, exchange of messages among brokers or dealers, custodians and institutions, and the use of electronic confirmation and affirmation of institutional trades).
Mixed-Use Products and Services. Although FIAM or its affiliates do not use fund commissions to pay for products or services that do not qualify as brokerage and research products and services or eligible external research under MiFID II and FCA regulations (as defined below), where allowed by applicable law, they may use commission dollars to obtain certain products or services that are not used exclusively in their investment decision-making process (mixed-use products or services). In those circumstances, FIAM or its affiliates will make a good faith effort to evaluate the various benefits and uses to which they intend to put the mixed-use product or service, and will pay for that portion of the mixed-use product or service that does not qualify as brokerage and research products and services or eligible external research with their own resources (referred to as "hard dollars").
Benefits to FIAM. FIAM's or its affiliates' expenses likely would be increased if they attempted to generate these additional brokerage and research products and services through their own efforts, or if they paid for these products or services with their own resources. Therefore, an economic incentive exists for FIAM or its affiliates to select or recommend a broker-dealer based on its interest in receiving the brokerage and research products and services, rather than on FIAM’s or its affiliates’ clients interest in receiving most favorable execution. FIAM and its affiliates manage the receipt of brokerage and research products and services and the potential conflicts through their Commission Uses Program. The Commission Uses Program effectively “unbundles” commissions paid to brokers who provide brokerage and research products and services, i.e., commissions consist of an execution commission, which covers the execution of the trade (including clearance and settlement), and a research charge, which is used to cover brokerage and research products and services. Those brokers have client commission arrangements (each a CCA) in place with FIAM and its affiliates (each of those brokers is referred to as CCA brokers). In selecting brokers for executing transactions on behalf of the fund, the trading desks through which FIAM or its affiliates may execute trades are instructed to execute portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund based on the brokers' quality of execution and without any consideration of brokerage and research products and services the CCA broker provides. Commissions paid to a CCA broker include both an execution commission and either credits or transmits the research portion (also known as “soft dollars,”) to a CCA pool maintained by each CCA broker. Soft dollar credits ("credits") accumulated in CCA pools are used to pay research expenses. In some cases, FIAM or its affiliates request that a broker which is not a party to any particular transaction provide a specific proprietary or third-party product or service, which would be paid with credits from the CCA pool. The administration of brokerage and research products and services is managed separately from the trading desks, and the traders have no responsibility for administering the research program, including the payment for research. FIAM or its affiliates may use a third-party aggregator to facilitate payments to research providers. Where an aggregator is involved, the aggregator would maintain credits in an account that is segregated from the aggregator’s proprietary assets and the assets of its other clients (“segregated account”) and use those credits to pay research providers as instructed by FIAM or its affiliates. Furthermore, where permissible under applicable law, certain of the brokerage and research products and services that FIAM or its affiliates receive are furnished by brokers on their own initiative, either in connection with a particular transaction or as part of their overall services. Some of these brokerage and research products or services are provided at no additional cost to FIAM or its affiliates or might not have an explicit cost associated with them.
FIAM's Decision-Making Process. In connection with the allocation of fund brokerage, FIAM or its affiliates make a good faith determination that the compensation paid to brokers and dealers is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and/or research products and services provided to FIAM or its affiliates, viewed in terms of the particular transaction for the fund or FIAM's or its affiliates' overall responsibilities to that fund or other clients for which FIAM or its affiliates have investment discretion; however, each brokerage and research product or service received in connection with the fund's brokerage may not benefit the fund and certain clients may receive the benefit of the brokerage and research product or service obtained with other clients’ commissions. As required under applicable laws or client policy, commissions generated by certain clients may only be used to obtain certain brokerage and research products and services. As a result, certain client accounts may pay more proportionately of certain types of brokerage and research products and services than others, while the overall amount of brokerage and research products and services paid by each client continues to be allocated equitably. Certain non-equity accounts that on rare occasion may receive an equity security through an issuer restructuring or other event and are required or determine to dispose of such equity security, subject to applicable law and client policy, may trade at execution only rates outside of the Commission Usage Program. While FIAM or its affiliates take into account the brokerage and/or research products and services provided by a broker or dealer in determining whether compensation paid is reasonable, neither FIAM, its affiliates, nor the fund incur an obligation to any broker, dealer, or third party to pay for any brokerage and research product or service (or portion thereof) by generating a specific amount of compensation or otherwise. Typically, these brokerage and research products and services assist FIAM or its affiliates in terms of their overall investment responsibilities to the fund or any other client accounts for which FIAM or its affiliates may have investment discretion. Certain client accounts use brokerage commissions to acquire brokerage and research products and services that may also benefit other client accounts managed by FIAM or its affiliates, and not every client account uses the brokerage and research products and services that have been acquired through that account’s commissions.
Research Contracts. FIAM or its affiliates have arrangements with certain third-party research providers and brokers through whom FIAM or its affiliates effect fund trades, whereby FIAM or its affiliates pay with fund commissions or hard dollars for all or a portion of the cost of research products and services purchased from such research providers or brokers. If hard dollar payments are used, FIAM or its affiliates may still cause the fund to pay more for execution than the lowest commission rate available from the broker providing research products and services to FIAM or its affiliates, or that may be available from another broker. FIAM's or its affiliates' potential determination to pay for research products and services separately (e.g., with hard dollars) is wholly voluntary on FIAM's or its affiliates' part and may be extended to additional brokers or discontinued with any broker participating in this arrangement.
Funds Managed within the European Union. FIAM and its affiliates have established policies and procedures relating to brokerage commission uses in compliance with the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive in the European Union, commonly referred to as “MiFID II”, as implemented in the United Kingdom through the Conduct of Business Sourcebook Rules of the UK Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”), where applicable.
For accounts that are managed within the United Kingdom, FIAM's affiliate FMR Investment Management (UK) Limited (FMRIM (UK)) uses research payment accounts (RPAs) to cover costs associated with equity and high income external research that is consumed by those accounts in accordance with MiFID II and FCA regulations. With RPAs, clients pay for external research through a separate research charge that is generally assessed and collected alongside the execution commission1. For clients that use an RPA, FMRIM (UK) establishes a research budget. The budget is set by first grouping accounts by strategy (e.g., asset allocation, blend, growth, etc.), and then determining what external research is consumed to support the strategies and portfolio management services provided within the European Union or the United Kingdom. In this regard, research budgets are set by research needs and are not otherwise linked to the volume or value of transactions executed on behalf of the account. For clients where portions are managed both within and outside of the United Kingdom, external research is paid using both a CCA and an RPA. Determinations of what is eligible research and how costs are allocated are made in accordance with FIAM’s and its affiliates’ policies and procedures. Costs for research consumed by accounts that use an RPA are allocated among the accounts within defined strategies pro rata based on the assets under management for each account. While the research charge paid on behalf of any one client that uses an RPA varies over time, the overall research charge determined at the client level on an annual basis will not be exceeded.
FMRIM (UK) is responsible for managing the RPA and may delegate its administration to a third-party administrator for the facilitation of the purchase of external research and payments to research providers. RPA assets are maintained in accounts at a third-party depository institution, held in the name of FMRIM (UK). FMRIM (UK) provides to client accounts, on request, a summary of: (i) the providers paid from the RPA; (ii) the total amount they were paid over a defined period; (iii) the benefits and services received by FMRIM (UK); and (iv) how the total amount spent from the RPA compares to the research budget set for that period, noting any rebate or carryover if residual funds remain in the RPA.
Impacted accounts, like those accounts that participate in CCA pools, may make payments to a broker that include both an execution commission and a research charge, but unlike CCAs (for which research charges may be retained by the CCA broker and credited to the CCA, as described above), the broker will receive separate payments for the execution commission and the research charge and will promptly remit the research charge to the RPA. Assets in the RPA are used to satisfy external research costs consumed by the accounts.
If the costs of paying for external research exceed the amount initially agreed in relation to accounts in a given strategy, FIAM or its affiliates may continue to charge those accounts beyond the initially agreed amount in accordance with MiFID II, continue to acquire external research for the accounts using its own resources, or cease to purchase external research for those accounts until the next annual research budget. If assets for specific accounts remain in the RPA at the end of a period, they may be rolled over to the next period to offset next year’s research charges for those accounts or rebated to those accounts.
Accounts managed by FIAM or its affiliates that trade only fixed income securities will not participate in RPAs because fixed income securities trade based on spreads rather than commissions, and thus unbundling the execution commission and research charge is impractical. Therefore, FIAM and its affiliates have established policies and procedures to ensure that external research that is paid for through RPAs is not made available to FMRIM (UK) portfolio managers that manage fixed income accounts in any manner inconsistent with MiFID II and FCA regulations.
1The staff of the SEC addressed concerns that reliance on an RPA mechanism to pay for research would be permissible under Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by indicating that they would not recommend enforcement against investment advisers who used an RPA to pay for brokerage and research products and services so long as certain conditions were met. Therefore, references to "research charges" as part of the RPA mechanism to satisfy MiFID II requirements can be considered "commissions" for Section 28(e) purposes.
Commission Recapture
From time to time, FIAM or its affiliates engages in brokerage transactions with brokers who are not affiliates of FIAM who have entered into arrangements with FIAM or its affiliates under which the broker may rebate a portion of the compensation paid by a fund ("commission recapture"). Not all brokers with whom the fund trades have been asked to participate in brokerage commission recapture.
Affiliated Transactions
FIAM or its affiliates place trades with certain brokers, including NFS and Luminex, with whom they are under common control or otherwise affiliated, provided FIAM or its affiliates determine that these affiliates' trade execution abilities and costs are comparable to those of non-affiliated, qualified brokerage firms, and that such transactions be executed in accordance with applicable rules under the 1940 Act and procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Fund and subject to other applicable law. In addition, from time to time, FIAM or its affiliates place trades with brokers that use NFS or FCC as a clearing agent. Similarly, equity trades may be executed through national securities exchanges in which FIAM or its affiliates have an interest. Any decision to execute a trade through an alternative trading system or exchange in which FIAM or its affiliates have an interest are made in accordance with applicable law, including best execution obligations. For trades placed on such a system or exchange, FIAM or its affiliates may benefit in the form of increased valuations(s) of its equity interest, or other renumeration, but it is not possible to predict the likelihood of that occurring or quantify the amount of any such benefit in advance.
The Trustees of the fund have approved procedures whereby a fund is permitted to purchase securities that are offered in underwritings in which an affiliate of the adviser or certain other affiliates participate. In addition, for underwritings where such an affiliate participates as a principal underwriter, certain restrictions may apply that could, among other things, limit the amount of securities that the fund could purchase in the underwritings.
Non-U.S. Securities Transactions
To facilitate trade settlement and related activities in non-U.S. securities transactions, FIAM or its affiliates effect spot foreign currency transactions with foreign currency dealers or may engage a third party to do so. Due to local law and regulation, logistical or operational challenges, or the process for settling securities transactions in certain markets (e.g., short settlement periods), in certain circumstances, spot currency transactions are effected on behalf of funds by parties other than FIAM or its affiliates, including funds' custodian banks (working through sub-custodians or agents in the relevant non-U.S. jurisdiction) or broker-dealers that executed the related securities transaction.
Trade Allocation
Although the Trustees and officers of the fund are substantially the same as those of certain other Fidelity® funds, investment decisions for the fund are made independently from those of other Fidelity® funds or investment accounts (including proprietary accounts). The same security is often held in the portfolio of more than one of these funds or investment accounts. Simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several funds and investment accounts are managed by the same investment adviser, or an affiliate thereof, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objective of more than one fund or investment account.
When two or more funds or investment accounts are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security or instrument, the prices and amounts are allocated in accordance with procedures believed by FIAM to be appropriate and equitable to each fund or investment account. In some cases this could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security or instrument as far as the fund is concerned. In other cases, however, the ability of the fund to participate in volume transactions will produce better executions and prices for the fund.
MacKay Shields LLC (MacKay Shields).
MacKay Shields determines which securities are to be purchased and sold for the portion of the Fund managed by MacKay Shields and which broker-dealers are eligible to execute such transactions. Where possible, purchase and sale transactions will be effected through dealers (including banks) that specialize in the types of securities to be purchased on behalf of the Fund, as well as directly from issuers or from underwriters, who usually act as principal for their own accounts. Purchases from underwriters will typically 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 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.
MacKay Shields will seek best execution in placing transactions on behalf of the Fund. MacKay Shields expects that it will typically effect transactions on behalf of the portion of the Fund that it manages in over-the-counter ("OTC") securities directly with principals or market makers by paying an execution price within the spread of the bid and ask prices of the security and without incurring a commission charge.
When MacKay Shields selects a broker-dealer to execute a transaction on behalf of the Fund, MacKay Shields weighs a combination of criteria regarding the broker-dealer and the reasonableness of the offered execution price, including, but not limited to, the broker-dealer’s: (i) quality of executions, accuracy and timeliness of executions, clearance of transactions and error/dispute resolution; (ii) integrity to handle transactions and ability to maintain the confidentiality of trading activity and information; (iii) reputation, financial condition, disciplinary history and stability;(iv) ability to execute a security transaction in the desired volume, the security price or the spread between the bid and asked prices of the security, and the size of a particular security order; (v) ability to provide access to securities in underwritten offerings and in the secondary market, its willingness to commit its own capital, its trading expertise and market knowledge, and the nature and frequency of its coverage in terms of providing market outlook, quotes on specific securities and sector research; (vi) responsiveness to MacKay Shields’ portfolio managers, traders and investment operations personnel; and (vii) research services, including research created or developed by the broker-dealer and the broker-dealer’s access to research that the broker-dealer itself has not created or developed (such as, without limitation, information on the economy and global market direction, industries, groups of securities, individual companies (including corporate historical data); technical market information, index holdings and data; earnings and revenue estimates and forecasts; price quotes; empirical and analytical research on the global economy; global short sale data; issuer-related data and reports, including data and meetings with corporate representatives, and reports from and calls and meetings with securities analysts and industry experts).
In evaluating the execution price to be paid to a broker-dealer in connection with a transaction executed on behalf of the Fund, MacKay Shields may determine that it is in the best interest of the Fund to pay a higher price than would be the case if no weight were given to the furnishing of brokerage and/or research services as described above, provided, however, that such price has been determined in good faith by MacKay Shields to be reasonable in relation to the services provided by such broker-dealer and consistent with its duty to achieve best execution on behalf of the Fund. Transactions may also be placed with broker-dealers who sell shares of the Fund subject to rules adopted by FINRA and the SEC, but under no circumstances may MacKay Shields consider a broker-dealer’s promotion or sales of shares issued by the Fund as part of the broker-dealer selection process.
MacKay Shields does not utilize soft dollars for its fixed income business, including its investment strategy employed on behalf of the Fund, because the trading of fixed income securities, including municipal securities, typically does not generate a broker commission; instead, such securities are traded with a bid-asked spread to compensate the trading broker. However, as noted above, MacKay Shields may from time-to-time allocate transactions to broker-dealers that furnish it research, statistical information or other services. Supplementary research services furnished by broker-dealers through whom MacKay Shields effects transactions is in addition to and not in lieu of the broker-dealer’s execution services, and is useful in varying degrees and may be used in servicing all of its client accounts; certain research services may not be directly useful to the Fund, but may be useful to MacKay Shields in advising its other clients. For the avoidance of doubt, pursuant to its Best Execution Policy, MacKay Shields is prohibited from paying a mark-up in connection with the purchase of, or accepting a mark-down in connection with the sale of, a fixed income security in order to receive research services from a broker-dealer.
It is possible that at times identical securities will be acceptable for both the Fund and one or more of other client accounts or pooled investment vehicles managed by MacKay Shields. In such event, the position of the Fund and such client account(s) or pooled investment vehicles in the same issuer may vary and the length of time that each may choose to hold its investment in the same issuer may likewise vary. To the extent any of these client accounts or pooled investment vehicles seek to acquire the same security as the Fund at the same time, the Fund may not be able to acquire as large a portion of 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. If one or more of such client accounts or pooled investment vehicles simultaneously purchases or sells the same security that a Fund is purchasing or selling, each day’s transactions in such security will be allocated between the Fund and all such client accounts or pooled investment vehicles in a manner deemed fair and reasonable by MacKay Shields, taking into account the respective sizes of the accounts and the amount of cash available for investment, the investment objective of the account, and the ease with which a client’s appropriate amount can be bought, as well as the liquidity and volatility of the account and the urgency involved in making an investment decision for the client. It is recognized that in some cases this methodology could have a detrimental effect on the price or value of the security insofar as the Fund is concerned. In other cases, however, it is believed that the ability of the Fund to participate in volume transactions may produce better executions for the Fund.
T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. (T. Rowe Price).
Investment or Brokerage Discretion
Decisions with respect to the selection, purchase, and sale of portfolio securities on behalf of an allocated portion of the fund’s assets (the sub-fund) are made by T. Rowe Price. T. Rowe Price is responsible for implementing the decisions for the sub-fund, including, where applicable, the negotiation of commissions, the allocation of portfolio brokerage and principal business, and the use of affiliates to assist in routing orders for execution. Each T. Rowe Price and its affiliated advisers entity (the "T. Rowe Price Advisers") may delegate actual trade execution to the trading desks of other T. Rowe Price Advisers and may use these affiliated investment advisers for certain other trading-related services.
How Broker-Dealers Are Selected
With respect to equity, fixed income, and derivative transactions, the T. Rowe Price may effect principal transactions on behalf of a fund with a broker-dealer that furnishes brokerage and in certain cases research services, designate a broker-dealer to receive selling concessions, discounts, or other allowances, and otherwise deal with a broker-dealer in the acquisition of securities in underwritings.
In purchasing and selling fixed income securities, T. Rowe Price ordinarily place transactions with the issuer or a broker-dealer acting as principal for the securities on a net basis, with no stated brokerage commission being paid by the client, although the price usually reflects undisclosed compensation to the broker-dealer. Fixed income transactions may also be placed with underwriters at prices that include underwriting fees. Fixed income transactions through broker-dealers reflect the spread between the bid and asked prices.
T. Rowe Price may engage in foreign currency transactions ("FX") to facilitate trading in or settlement of trades in foreign securities. T. Rowe Price may use FX, including forward currency contracts, when seeking to manage exposure to or profit from changes in interest or exchange rates; protect the value of portfolio securities; or to facilitate cash management. T. Rowe Price selects broker-dealers that it believes will provide best execution on behalf of the investment accounts that it manages, frequently via electronic platforms. To minimize transaction costs, certain FX trading activity may be aggregated across accounts, but each account’s trade is individually settled with the counterparty.
In purchasing and selling equity securities, T. Rowe Price seeks to obtain best execution at favorable security prices through responsible broker-dealers and, in the case of agency transactions, at competitive commission rates. However, under certain conditions, higher brokerage commissions may be paid to broker-dealers providing brokerage and research services to T. Rowe Price than might be paid to other broker-dealers in accordance with Section 28(e) under the 1934 Act and subsequent guidance from regulators.
In selecting broker-dealers to execute T. Rowe Price’s portfolio transactions, consideration is given to such factors as the (i) liquidity of the security; (ii) the size and difficulty of the order; (iii) the speed and likelihood of execution and settlement; (iv) the reliability, integrity and creditworthiness, general execution and operational capabilities of competing broker-dealers and services provided; and (v) expertise in particular markets. It is not the policy of T. Rowe Price to seek the lowest available commission rate where it is believed that a broker-dealer charging a higher commission rate would offer greater reliability, provide better pricing, or more efficient execution. Therefore, T. Rowe Price pays higher commission rates to broker-dealers that are believed to offer greater reliability, better pricing, or more efficient execution.
Best Execution
T. Rowe Price’s Global Trading Committee (“GTC”) oversees the brokerage allocation and trade execution policies for the T. Rowe Price Advisers. The GTC is supported by the equity and fixed income best execution subcommittees in monitoring T. Rowe Price’s compliance with the execution policy. The execution policy requires T. Rowe Price to execute trades consistent with the principles of best execution which requires an adviser to take all sufficient steps to obtain the best possible result for the T. Rowe Price Funds and our clients taking into account various factors.
Research Benefits
T. Rowe Price believes that original in-house research is the primary driver of value-added active management. Although research created or developed by a broker-dealer or its affiliate and research created or developed by an independent third party is an important component of the T. Rowe Price’s investment approach, T. Rowe Price relies primarily upon their own research and subject any outside research to internal analysis before incorporating it into the investment process.
T. Rowe Price Advisers have used, and continue to use, equity brokerage commissions or "soft dollars" consistent with Section 28(e) under the 1934 Act ("Section 28(e)") and other relevant regulatory guidance to acquire research services from broker-dealers. Section 28(e) permits an investment adviser to cause an account to pay a higher commission to a broker-dealer that provides research services than the commission another broker-dealer would charge, provided the adviser determines in good faith that the commission paid is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services received. An adviser may make this good faith determination based upon either the particular transaction involved or the overall responsibilities of the adviser with respect to the accounts over which it exercises investment discretion.
T. Rowe Price bears the cost of research services for all client accounts we advise. Client accounts only pay execution commissions in connection with equity securities transaction. For certain proprietary pooled investment vehicles, T. Rowe Price continues to use equity brokerage commissions from client transactions through commission sharing arrangements (consistent with Section 28(e)) to compensate certain U.S. broker-dealers for research services. However, we voluntarily reimburse such pooled investment vehicles for any amount collected into the commission sharing arrangements.
T. Rowe Price acquires proprietary research from broker-dealers who also provide trade execution, clearing settlement and/or other services. Research received from broker-dealers or independent third party research providers generally includes information on the economy, industries, groups of securities, individual companies, statistical information, accounting and tax law interpretations, political developments, legal developments affecting portfolio securities, technical market action, pricing and appraisal services, credit analysis, currency and commodity market analysis, risk measurement analysis, performance analysis, and analysis of corporate, environmental, social and governance responsibility issues. Research services are received in the form of written reports, computer generated data, telephone contacts, investment conferences, bespoke services, financial models and personal meetings with security analysts, market specialists, corporate and industry executives, and other persons. Research may also include access to unaffiliated individuals with expertise in various industries, businesses, or other related areas, including use of expert referral networks which provide access to industry consultants, vendors, and suppliers. T. Rowe Price may use a limited number of expert networks.
Each T. Rowe Price Adviser generally pays for data subscriptions, investment technology tools and other specialized services to assist with the investment process directly from its own resources. Each T. Rowe Price Adviser also pays for fixed income research and services directly from its own resources where feasible or required.
Allocation of Brokerage Business*
T. Rowe Price has a policy of not pre-committing a specific amount of business to any broker-dealer over any specific time period. It makes brokerage placement determinations, as appropriate, based on the needs of a specific transaction such as market-making, availability of a buyer or seller of a particular security, or specialized execution skills. T. Rowe Price may choose to allocate brokerage among several broker-dealers able to meet the needs of the transaction. Allocation of brokerage business is monitored on a regularly scheduled basis by appropriate personnel and GTC.
T. Rowe Price may have brokerage relationships with broker-dealers who are, or are an affiliate of, clients that have appointed T. Rowe Price or an affiliate to serve as investment adviser, trustee, or recordkeeper. T. Rowe Price also has other relationships with or may own positions in the publicly traded securities of the broker-dealers with whom we transact with or on behalf of our clients.
Evaluating the Overall Reasonableness of Brokerage Commissions Paid
On a continuing basis, T. Rowe Price seeks to determine what levels of commission rates are reasonable in the marketplace for transactions executed on behalf of mutual funds and other institutional clients. In evaluating the reasonableness of commission rates, T. Rowe Price may consider any or all of the following: (a) rates quoted by broker-dealers; (b) the size of a particular transaction, in terms of the number of shares, dollar amount, and number of clients involved; (c) the complexity of a particular transaction in terms of both execution and settlement; (d) the level and type of business conducted with a particular firm over a period of time; (e) the extent to which the broker-dealer has capital at risk in the transaction; (f) historical commission rates; (g) rates paid by other institutional investors based on available public information; and (h) research provided by the broker-dealer.
Commission Recapture
Currently, T, Rowe Price does not recapture commissions, underwriting discounts, or selling-group concessions for equity or fixed income securities acquired in underwritten offerings. T. Rowe Price may, however, designate a portion of the underwriting spread to broker-dealers that participate in the offering.
Block Trading/Aggregated Orders/Order Sequencing*
Because certain investment vehicles managed by T. Rowe Price and other affiliated investment advisers have similar investment objectives and programs, investment decisions may be made that result in the simultaneous purchase or sale of securities. As a result, the demand for, or supply of, securities may increase or decrease, which could have an adverse effect on prices. Aggregation of orders may be a collaborative process between trading and portfolio management staff. T. Rowe Price’s policy is not to favor one client over another in grouping orders for various clients.
The grouping of orders could at times result in more or less favorable prices. In certain cases, where the aggregated order is executed in a series of transactions at various prices on a given day, each participating investment vehicle’s proportionate share of grouped orders reflects the average price paid or received. T. Rowe Price may include orders on behalf of T. Rowe Price Funds and other clients and products advised by T. Rowe Price and their affiliates, including the not-for-profit entities T. Rowe Price Foundation, Inc., the T. Rowe Price Program for Charitable Giving, Inc., employee stock for certain Retirement Plan Services relationships and T. Rowe Price and its affiliates’ proprietary investments, in its aggregated orders.
T. Rowe Price developed written trade allocation guidelines for its trading desks. Generally, when the amount of securities available in a public or initial offering or the secondary markets is insufficient to satisfy the volume for participating clients, T. Rowe Price will make pro rata allocations based upon the relative sizes of the participating client orders or the relative sizes of the participating client portfolios, depending upon the market involved subject to portfolio manager and trader input. For example, a portfolio manager may choose to receive a non-pro rata allocation to comply with certain client guidelines, manage anticipated cash flows, or achieve the portfolio manager's long-term vision for the portfolio. Each investment vehicle receives the same average share price of the securities for each aggregated order. Because a pro rata allocation may not always accommodate all facts and circumstances, the guidelines provide for adjustments to allocation amounts in certain cases. For example, adjustments may be made: (i) to eliminate de minimis positions or satisfy minimum denomination requirements; (ii) to give priority to accounts with specialized investment policies and objectives; and (iii) to allocate in light of a participating portfolio’s characteristics such as available cash, industry or issuer concentration, duration, and credit exposure. Such allocation processes may result in a partial execution of a proposed purchase or sale order.
T. Rowe Price employs certain guidelines in an effort to ensure equitable distribution of investment opportunities among clients of the firm, which may occasionally serve to limit the participation of certain clients in a particular security, based on factors such as client mandate or a sector or industry specific investment strategy or focus. For example, accounts that maintain a broad investment mandate may have less access than targeted investment mandates to certain securities (e.g., sector specific securities) where T. Rowe Price does not receive a fully filled order (e.g., certain IPO transactions) or where aggregate ownership of such securities is approaching firm limits.
Also, for certain types of investments, most commonly private placement transactions, conditions imposed by the issuer may limit the number of clients allowed to participate or number of shares offered to T. Rowe Price.
T. Rowe Price has developed written trade sequencing and execution guidelines that it believes are reasonably designed to provide the fair and equitable allocation of equity trades, both long and short, to minimize the impact of trading activity across client accounts. The policies and procedures are intended to: (i) mitigate conflicts of interest when trading both long and short in the same equity security; and (ii) mitigate conflicts when shorting an equity security that is held by other accounts managed by T. Rowe Price that are not simultaneously transacting in the security. Notwithstanding the application of T. Rowe Price’s policies and procedures, it may not be possible to mitigate all conflicts of interest when transacting both long and short in the same equity security; therefore, there is a risk that one transaction will be completed ahead of the other transaction, that the pricing may not be consistent between long and short transactions, or that an equity long or short transaction may have an adverse impact on the market price of the security being traded.
Miscellaneous
The brokerage allocation policies for T. Rowe Price are generally applied to all of their fully discretionary accounts, which represent a substantial majority of all assets under management. Research services furnished by broker-dealers through which the T. Rowe Price effect securities transactions at various prices may be used in servicing all accounts managed by T. Rowe Price. Therefore, research services received from broker-dealers that execute transactions for a particular fund will not necessarily be used by T. Rowe Price in connection with the management of that fund. T. Rowe Price does not allocate business to any broker-dealer on a basis of its sales of the funds’ shares. However, this does not mean that broker-dealers who purchase fund shares for their clients will not receive business from the fund.
T. Rowe Price may give advice and take action for clients, including the T. Rowe Price Funds, which differs from advice given or the timing or nature of action taken for other clients. T. Rowe Price is not obligated to initiate transactions for clients in any security that their principals, affiliates, or employees may purchase or sell for their own accounts or for other clients.
Purchase and sale transactions may be effected directly among and between non-ERISA client accounts (including affiliated mutual funds), provided no commission is paid to any broker-dealer, the security traded has readily available market quotations, and the transaction is effected at the independent current market price.
The GTC is responsible for developing brokerage policies, monitoring their implementation, and resolving any questions that arise in connection with these policies for T. Rowe Price.
T. Rowe Price has established a general investment policy that they will ordinarily not make additional purchases of a common stock for their clients if, as a result of such purchases, 10% or more of the outstanding common stock of the issuer would be held by clients in the aggregate. Approval may be given for aggregate ownership up to 20%, and in certain instances, higher amounts. All aggregate ownership decisions are reviewed by the appropriate oversight committee. For purposes of monitoring both of these limits, securities held by clients and clients of affiliated advisers are included.
Conflicts of Interest
Portfolio managers at T. Rowe Price and its affiliates may manage multiple accounts. These accounts may include, among others, mutual funds, separate accounts (assets managed on behalf of institutions such as pension funds, colleges and universities, and foundations), offshore funds and common trust funds. Portfolio managers make investment decisions for each portfolio based on the investment objectives, policies, practices, and other relevant investment considerations that the managers believe are applicable to that portfolio. Consequently, portfolio managers may purchase (or sell) securities for one portfolio and not another portfolio. T. Rowe Price and its affiliates have adopted brokerage and trade allocation policies and procedures that they believe are reasonably designed to address any potential conflicts associated with managing multiple accounts for multiple clients. Also, as disclosed under the “Portfolio Manager Compensation” section, the portfolio managers’ compensation is determined in the same manner with respect to all portfolios managed by the portfolio manager.
The T. Rowe Price Funds may, from time to time, own shares of Morningstar, Inc. Morningstar is a provider of investment research to individual and institutional investors, and publishes ratings on mutual funds, including the T. Rowe Price Funds. T. Rowe Price manages the Morningstar retirement plan and acts as subadvisor to two mutual funds offered by Morningstar. In addition, T. Rowe Price and its affiliates pay Morningstar for a variety of products and services. In addition, Morningstar may provide investment consulting and investment management services to clients of T. Rowe Price or its affiliates.
Since the T. Rowe Price Funds and other accounts have different investment objectives or strategies, potential conflicts of interest may arise in executing investment decisions or trades among client accounts. For example, if T. Rowe Price purchases a security for one account and sells the same security short for another account, such a trading pattern could disadvantage either the account that is long or short. It is possible that short sale activity could adversely affect the market value of long positions in one or more T. Rowe Price Funds and other accounts (and vice versa) and create potential trading conflicts, such as when long and short positions are being executed at the same time. To mitigate these potential conflicts of interest, T. Rowe Price has implemented policies and procedures requiring trading and investment decisions to be made in accordance with T. Rowe Price’s fiduciary duties to all accounts, including the T. Rowe Price Funds. Pursuant to these policies, portfolio managers are generally prohibited from managing multiple strategies where they hold the same security long in one strategy and short in another, except in certain circumstances, including where an investment oversight committee has specifically reviewed and approved the holdings or strategy. Additionally, T. Rowe Price has implemented policies and procedures that it believes are reasonably designed to ensure the fair and equitable allocation of trades, both long and short, to minimize the impact of trading activity across client accounts. T. Rowe Price monitors short sales to determine whether its procedures are working as intended and that such short sale activity is not materially impacting our trade executions and long positions for other clients.
Commissions Paid A fund may pay compensation including both commissions and spreads in connection with the placement of portfolio transactions. The amount of brokerage commissions paid by a fund may change from year to year because of, among other things, changing asset levels, shareholder activity, and/or portfolio turnover.
VALUATION
The NAV is the value of a single share. NAV is computed by adding the value of a fund's investments, cash, and other assets, subtracting its liabilities, and dividing the result by the number of shares outstanding.
The Board of Trustees has ultimate responsibility for pricing, but has delegated day-to-day valuation responsibilities to Strategic Advisers. Strategic Advisers has established the Strategic Advisers Fair Value Committee (the Committee) to fulfill these responsibilities. The Committee may rely on information and recommendations provided by affiliates of Strategic Advisers in fulfilling its responsibilities, including the fair valuation of securities.
Shares of underlying funds (other than ETFs) held by a fund are valued at their respective NAVs. If an underlying fund's NAV is unavailable, shares of that underlying fund will be fair valued in good faith by the Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies.
Generally, other portfolio securities and assets held by a fund, as well as portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity® non-money market fund, are valued as follows:
Most equity securities (including securities issued by ETFs) are valued at the official closing price or the last reported sale price or, if no sale has occurred, at the last quoted bid price on the primary market or exchange on which they are traded.
Debt securities and other assets for which market quotations are readily available may be valued at market values in the principal market in which they normally are traded, as furnished by recognized dealers in such securities or assets. Or, debt securities and convertible securities may be valued on the basis of information furnished by a pricing service that uses a valuation matrix which incorporates both dealer-supplied valuations and electronic data processing techniques.
Futures contracts are valued at the settlement or closing price. Options are valued at their market quotations, if available. Swaps are valued daily using quotations received from independent pricing services or recognized dealers.
Prices described above are obtained from pricing services that have been approved by the Board of Trustees. A number of pricing services are available and the funds may use more than one of these services. The funds may also discontinue the use of any pricing service at any time. Strategic Advisers engages in oversight activities with respect to the fund's pricing services, which includes, among other things, testing the prices provided by pricing services prior to calculation of a fund's NAV, conducting periodic due diligence meetings, and periodically reviewing the methodologies and inputs used by these services.
The Board of Trustees of the underlying Fidelity® funds has ultimate responsibility for pricing portfolio securities and assets held by those funds, but has delegated day-to-day valuation responsibilities to FMR. FMR has established the FMR Fair Value Committee (FMR Committee) to fulfill these responsibilities.
Other portfolio securities and assets for which market quotations, official closing prices, or information furnished by a pricing service are not readily available or, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Committee, are deemed unreliable will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. For example, if, in the opinion of the FMR Committee or the Committee, a security's value has been materially affected by events occurring before a fund's pricing time but after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, that security will be fair valued in good faith by the FMR Committee or the Committee in accordance with applicable fair value pricing policies. In fair valuing a security, the FMR Committee and the Committee may consider factors including price movements in futures contracts and American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), market and trading trends, the bid/ask quotes of brokers, and off-exchange institutional trading.
Portfolio securities and assets held by an underlying Fidelity® money market fund are valued on the basis of amortized cost. This technique involves initially valuing an instrument at its cost as adjusted for amortization of premium or accretion of discount rather than its current market value. The amortized cost value of an instrument may be higher or lower than the price a money market fund would receive if it sold the instrument.
At such intervals as they deem appropriate, the Trustees of an underlying Fidelity® money market fund consider the extent to which NAV calculated using market valuations would deviate from the $1.00 per share calculated using amortized cost valuation. If the Trustees believe that a deviation from a money market fund's amortized cost per share may result in material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders, the Trustees have agreed to take such corrective action, if any, as they deem appropriate to eliminate or reduce, to the extent reasonably practicable, the dilution or unfair results. Such corrective action could include selling portfolio instruments prior to maturity to realize capital gains or losses or to shorten average portfolio maturity; withholding dividends; redeeming shares in kind; establishing NAV by using available market quotations; and such other measures as the Trustees may deem appropriate.
In determining the fair value of a private placement security for which market quotations are not available, the Committee generally applies one or more valuation methods including the market approach, income approach and cost approach. The market approach considers factors including the price of recent investments in the same or a similar security or financial metrics of comparable securities. The income approach considers factors including expected future cash flows, security specific risks and corresponding discount rates. The cost approach considers factors including the value of the security’s underlying assets and liabilities.
The fund's adviser reports to the Board on the Committee’s activities and fair value determinations. The Board monitors the appropriateness of the procedures used in valuing the fund’s investments and ratifies the fair value determinations of the Committee.
BUYING AND SELLING INFORMATION
Shares of the fund are offered only to certain clients of Strategic Advisers or its affiliates that have granted Strategic Advisers discretionary investment authority. If you are not currently a client in a discretionary investment program offered by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, please call 1-800-544-3455 for more information.
Investors participating in a discretionary investment program are charged an annual advisory fee based on a percentage of the average market value of assets in their account. The stated fee is then reduced by a credit reflecting the amount of fees, if any, received by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates from mutual funds for investment management or certain other services.
The fund may make redemption payments in whole or in part in readily marketable securities or other property pursuant to procedures approved by the Trustees if Strategic Advisers determines it is in the best interests of the fund. Such securities or other property will be valued for this purpose as they are valued in computing the fund's NAV. Shareholders that receive securities or other property will realize, upon receipt, a gain or loss for tax purposes, and will incur additional costs and be exposed to market risk prior to and upon the sale of such securities or other property.
The fund, in its discretion, may determine to issue its shares in kind in exchange for securities held by the purchaser having a value, determined in accordance with the fund's policies for valuation of portfolio securities, equal to the purchase price of the fund shares issued. The fund will accept for in-kind purchases only securities or other instruments that are appropriate under its investment objective and policies. In addition, the fund generally will not accept securities of any issuer unless they are liquid, have a readily ascertainable market value, and are not subject to restrictions on resale. All dividends, distributions, and subscription or other rights associated with the securities become the property of the fund, along with the securities. Shares purchased in exchange for securities in kind generally cannot be redeemed for fifteen days following the exchange to allow time for the transfer to settle.
DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES
Dividends. To the extent that the fund's income is reported in a written statement to shareholders as federally tax-exempt interest, the dividends declared by the fund will be federally tax-exempt, provided that the fund qualifies to pay tax-exempt dividends. In order to qualify to pay tax-exempt dividends, at least 50% of the value of the fund's total assets (including uninvested assets) must consist of tax-exempt municipal securities at the close of each quarter of the fund's taxable year.
Generally, the fund purchases municipal securities whose interest, in the opinion of bond counsel, is free from federal income tax. Neither Strategic Advisers nor the fund guarantees that this opinion is correct, and there is no assurance that the IRS will agree with bond counsel's opinion. Issuers or other parties generally enter into covenants requiring continuing compliance with federal tax requirements to preserve the tax-free status of interest payments over the life of the security. If at any time the covenants are not complied with, or if the IRS otherwise determines that the issuer did not comply with relevant tax requirements, interest payments from a security could become federally taxable, possibly retroactively to the date the security was issued and you may need to file an amended income tax return. For certain types of structured securities, the tax status of the pass-through of tax-free income may also be based on the federal tax treatment of the structure.
Interest on certain "private activity" securities is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax (AMT) for individuals, although the interest continues to be excludable from gross income for other tax purposes. Interest from private activity securities is a tax preference item for the purposes of determining whether an individual is subject to the AMT and the amount of AMT to be paid, if any.
A portion of the gain on municipal bonds purchased at market discount is taxable to shareholders as ordinary income, not as capital gains.
You may also receive distributions attributable to interest payments on taxable money market securities. Such distributions will generally be taxable as ordinary income at the federal, state, and local levels.
Capital Gain Distributions. Unless your shares of the fund are held in a tax-advantaged retirement plan, the fund's long-term capital gain distributions, including amounts attributable to an underlying fund's long-term capital gain distributions, are federally taxable to shareholders generally as capital gains.
Returns of Capital. If the fund's distributions exceed its taxable income and capital gains realized during a taxable year, all or a portion of the distributions made in the same taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable, but will reduce each shareholder's cost basis in the fund and result in a higher reported capital gain or lower reported capital loss when those shares on which the distribution was received are sold in taxable accounts.
Foreign Taxation. Foreign governments may impose withholding taxes on dividends and interest earned by the fund with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund. Foreign governments may also impose taxes on other payments or gains with respect to foreign securities held directly by the fund.
Tax Status of the Fund. The fund intends to qualify each year as a "regulated investment company" under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code so that it will not be liable for federal tax on income and capital gains distributed to shareholders. In order to qualify as a regulated investment company, and avoid being subject to federal income or excise taxes at the fund level, the fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains within each calendar year as well as on a fiscal year basis (if the fiscal year is other than the calendar year), and intends to comply with other tax rules applicable to regulated investment companies.
Fund of Funds. Because the fund is expected to invest in underlying funds in a fund of funds structure, the fund’s realized losses on sales of shares of an underlying fund may be indefinitely or permanently deferred as “wash sales.” Distributions of short-term capital gains by an underlying fund will be recognized as ordinary income by the upper-tier fund and would not be offset by the upper-tier fund’s capital loss carryforwards, if any. Capital loss carryforwards of an underlying fund, if any, would not offset net capital gains of the upper-tier fund or of any other underlying fund.
Other Tax Information. The information above is only a summary of some of the tax consequences generally affecting the fund and its shareholders, and no attempt has been made to discuss individual tax consequences. It is up to you or your tax preparer to determine whether the sale of shares of the fund resulted in a capital gain or loss or other tax consequence to you. In addition to federal income taxes, shareholders may be subject to state and local taxes on fund distributions, and shares may be subject to state and local personal property taxes. Investors should consult their tax advisers to determine whether the fund is suitable to their particular tax situation.
TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS
The Trustees, Members of the Advisory Board (if any), and officers of the trust and fund, as applicable, are listed below. The Board of Trustees governs the fund and is responsible for protecting the interests of shareholders. The Trustees are experienced executives who meet periodically throughout the year to oversee the fund's activities, review contractual arrangements with companies that provide services to the fund, oversee management of the risks associated with such activities and contractual arrangements, and review the fund's performance. If the interests of the fund and an underlying Fidelity® fund were to diverge, a conflict of interest could arise and affect how the Trustees and Members of the Advisory Board fulfill their fiduciary duties to the affected funds. Strategic Advisers has structured the fund to avoid these potential conflicts, although there may be situations where a conflict of interest is unavoidable. In such instances, Strategic Advisers, the Trustees, and Members of the Advisory Board would take reasonable steps to minimize and, if possible, eliminate the conflict. Each of the Trustees oversees 12 funds.
The Trustees hold office without limit in time except that (a) any Trustee may resign; (b) any Trustee may be removed by written instrument, signed by at least two-thirds of the number of Trustees prior to such removal; (c) any Trustee who requests to be retired or who has become incapacitated by illness or injury may be retired by written instrument signed by a majority of the other Trustees; and (d) any Trustee may be removed at any special meeting of shareholders by a two-thirds vote of the outstanding voting securities of the trust. Each Independent Trustee shall retire not later than the last day of the calendar year in which his or her 75th birthday occurs. The Independent Trustees may waive this mandatory retirement age policy with respect to individual Trustees. Officers and Advisory Board Members hold office without limit in time, except that any officer or Advisory Board Member may resign or may be removed by a vote of a majority of the Trustees at any regular meeting or any special meeting of the Trustees. Except as indicated, each individual has held the office shown or other offices in the same company for the past five years.
Each Trustee who is not an interested person (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the trust and the fund is referred to herein as an Independent Trustee.
Experience, Skills, Attributes, and Qualifications of the Trustees. The Governance and Nominating Committee has adopted a statement of policy that describes the experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills that are necessary and desirable for potential Independent Trustee candidates (Statement of Policy). The Board believes that each Trustee satisfied at the time he or she was initially elected or appointed a Trustee, and continues to satisfy, the standards contemplated by the Statement of Policy. The Governance and Nominating Committee may also engage professional search firms to help identify potential Independent Trustee candidates with experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills consistent with the Statement of Policy. Additional criteria based on the composition and skills of the current Independent Trustees, as well as experience or skills that may be appropriate in light of future changes to board composition, business conditions, and regulatory or other developments, may be considered by the professional search firms and the Governance and Nominating Committee. In addition, the Board takes into account the Trustees' commitment and participation in Board and committee meetings, as well as their leadership of standing and ad hoc committees throughout their tenure.
In determining that a particular Trustee was and continues to be qualified to serve as a Trustee, the Board has considered a variety of criteria, none of which, in isolation, was controlling. The Board believes that, collectively, the Trustees have balanced and diverse experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills, which allow the Board to operate effectively in governing the fund and protecting the interests of shareholders. Information about the specific experience, skills, attributes, and qualifications of each Trustee, which in each case led to the Board's conclusion that the Trustee should serve (or continue to serve) as a trustee of the fund, is provided below.
Board Structure and Oversight Function. Robert A. Lawrence is an interested person and currently serves as Chairman. The Trustees have determined that an interested Chairman is appropriate and benefits shareholders because an interested Chairman has a personal and professional stake in the quality and continuity of services provided to the fund. Independent Trustees exercise their informed business judgment to appoint an individual of their choosing to serve as Chairman, regardless of whether the Trustee happens to be independent or a member of management. The Independent Trustees have determined that they can act independently and effectively without having an Independent Trustee serve as Chairman and that a key structural component for assuring that they are in a position to do so is for the Independent Trustees to constitute a substantial majority for the Board. The Independent Trustees also regularly meet in executive session. Mary C. Farrell serves as the lead Independent Trustee and as such (i) acts as a liaison between the Independent Trustees and management with respect to matters important to the Independent Trustees and (ii) with management prepares agendas for Board meetings.
Fidelity® funds are overseen by different Boards of Trustees. The fund's Board oversees asset allocation funds. Other Boards oversee Fidelity's investment-grade bond, money market, and asset allocation funds, and Fidelity's equity and high income funds. The fund may invest in Fidelity® funds overseen by such other Boards. The use of separate Boards, each with its own committee structure, allows the Trustees of each group of Fidelity® funds to focus on the unique issues of the funds they oversee, including common research, investment, and operational issues.
The Trustees primarily operate as a full Board, but also operate in committees, to facilitate the timely and efficient consideration of all matters of importance to the Trustees, the fund, and fund shareholders and to facilitate compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and oversight of the fund's activities and associated risks. The Board has charged Strategic Advisers and its affiliates with (i) identifying events or circumstances the occurrence of which could have demonstrably adverse effects on the fund's business and/or reputation; (ii) implementing processes and controls to lessen the possibility that such events or circumstances occur or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur; and (iii) creating and maintaining a system designed to evaluate continuously business and market conditions in order to facilitate the identification and implementation processes described in (i) and (ii) above. Because the day-to-day operations and activities of the fund are carried out by or through Strategic Advisers, its affiliates and other service providers, the fund's exposure to risks is mitigated but not eliminated by the processes overseen by the Trustees. Board oversight of different aspects of the fund's activities is exercised primarily through the full Board, but also through the Audit and Compliance Committee. Appropriate personnel, including but not limited to the fund's Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), FMR's internal auditor, the independent accountants, the fund's Treasurer and portfolio management personnel, make periodic reports to the Board's committees, as appropriate. The responsibilities of each standing committee, including their oversight responsibilities, are described further under "Standing Committees of the Trustees."
Interested Trustees*:
Correspondence intended for a Trustee who is an interested person may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.
Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience+
Robert A. Lawrence (1952)
Year of Election or Appointment: 2016
Trustee
Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Mr. Lawrence also serves as Trustee of other funds. Previously, Mr. Lawrence served as a Member of the Advisory Board of certain funds. Prior to his retirement in 2008, Mr. Lawrence served as Vice President of certain Fidelity® funds (2006-2008), Senior Vice President, Head of High Income Division of Fidelity Management & Research Company (investment adviser firm, 2006-2008), and President of Fidelity Strategic Investments (investment adviser firm, 2002-2005).
Charles S. Morrison (1960)
Year of Election or Appointment: 2020
Trustee
Mr. Morrison also serves as Trustee of other funds. Previously, Mr. Morrison served as President (2017-2018) and Director (2014-2018) of Fidelity SelectCo, LLC (investment adviser firm), President of Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR) (investment adviser firm, 2016-2018), a Director of Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. (investment adviser firm, 2014-2018), President, Asset Management (2014-2018), Trustee of the Fidelity Equity and High Income Funds (283 funds as of December 2018) (2014-2018), and was an employee of Fidelity Investments. Mr. Morrison also previously served as Vice President of Fidelity's Fixed Income and Asset Allocation Funds (2012-2014), President, Fixed Income (2011-2014), Vice President of Fidelity's Money Market Funds (2005-2009), President, Money Market Group Leader of FMR (2009), and Senior Vice President, Money Market Group of FMR (2004-2009). Mr. Morrison also served as Vice President of Fidelity's Bond Funds (2002-2005), certain Balanced Funds (2002-2005), and certain Asset Allocation Funds (2002-2007), and as Senior Vice President (2002-2005) of Fidelity's Bond Division.
* Determined to be an "Interested Trustee" by virtue of, among other things, his or her affiliation with the trust or various entities under common control with Strategic Advisers.
+ The information includes the Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to the Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that the Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Independent Trustees:
Correspondence intended for an Independent Trustee may be sent to Fidelity Investments, P.O. Box 55235, Boston, Massachusetts 02205-5235.
Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupations and Other Relevant Experience+
Peter C. Aldrich (1944)
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006
Trustee
Mr. Aldrich also serves as Trustee of other funds. Mr. Aldrich is a Director of the U.S. Core Property Fund (and, previously, other funds) of BlackRock Realty Group (2006-present). Previously, Mr. Aldrich served as a Managing Member of Poseidon, LLC (foreign private investment, 1998-2004), and Chairman and Managing Member of AEGIS, LLC (foreign private investment, 1997-2004). Mr. Aldrich previously was a founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of AEW Capital Management, L.P. (then “Aldrich, Eastman and Waltch, L.P.”). Mr. Aldrich also served as a Director of LivelyHood, Inc. (private corporation, 2013-2020), a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010), a Director of Zipcar, Inc. (car sharing services, 2001-2009) and as Faculty Chairman of The Research Council on Global Investment of The Conference Board (business and professional education non-profit, 1999-2004). Mr. Aldrich is a Member Emeritus of the Board of Directors of the National Bureau of Economic Research and the Board of Trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.
Mary C. Farrell (1949)
Year of Election or Appointment: 2013
Trustee
Ms. Farrell also serves as Trustee of other funds. Ms. Farrell is a Director of the W.R. Berkley Corporation (insurance provider) and President (2009-present) and Director (2006-present) of the Howard Gilman Foundation (charitable organization). Previously, Ms. Farrell was Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist at UBS Wealth Management USA and Co-Head of UBS Wealth Management Investment Strategy & Research Group (2003-2005). Ms. Farrell also served as Investment Strategist at PaineWebber (1982-2000) and UBS PaineWebber (2000-2002). Ms. Farrell serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Yale-New Haven Hospital and Vice Chairman of the Yale New Haven Health System Board and previously served as Trustee on the Board of Overseers of the New York University Stern School of Business.
Karen Kaplan (1960)
Year of Election or Appointment: 2006
Trustee
Ms. Kaplan also serves as Trustee of other funds. Ms. Kaplan is Chairman (2014-present) and Chief Executive Officer (2013-present) of Hill Holliday (advertising and specialized marketing). Ms. Kaplan is a Director of The Michaels Companies, Inc. (specialty retailer, 2015-present), Member of the Board of Governors of the Chief Executives’ Club of Boston (2010-present), Member of the Executive Committee of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce (2006-present), Advisory Board Member of the National Association of Corporate Directors Chapter (2012-present), Member of the Board of Trustees of the Post Office Square Trust (2012-present), Trustee of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital (2016-present), Overseer of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (2014-present), Member of the Board of Directors of The Advertising Council, Inc. (2016-present), Member of the Ron Burton Training Village Executive Board of Advisors (2018-present), Member of the Executive Committee of The Ad Council, Inc. (2019-present), and Member of the Board of Directors of The Ad Club of Boston (2020-present). Previously, Ms. Kaplan served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010), a member of the Clinton Global Initiative (2010-2015), Director of DSM (dba Delta Dental and DentaQuest) (2004-2014), Formal Appointee of the 2015 Baker-Polito Economic Development Council, Director of Vera Bradley Inc. (designer of women’s accessories, 2012-2015), Member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Conference for Women (2008-2015), Member of the Board of Directors of Jobs for Massachusetts (2012-2015), President of the Massachusetts Women’s Forum (2008-2010), Treasurer of the Massachusetts Women’s Forum (2002-2006), and Vice Chair of the Board of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (2003-2010).
Christine Marcks (1955)
Year of Election or Appointment: 2020
Trustee
Ms. Marcks also serves as Trustee of other Funds. Prior to her retirement, Ms. Marcks served as Chief Executive Officer and President – Prudential Retirement (2007-2017) and Vice President for Rollover and Retirement Income Strategies (2005-2007), Prudential Financial, Inc. (financial services). Previously, Ms. Marcks served as a Member of the Advisory Board of certain Fidelity® funds (2019-2020), was Senior Vice President and Head of Financial Horizons (2002-2004) and Vice President, Strategic Marketing (2000-2002) of Voya Financial (formerly ING U.S.) (financial services), held numerous positions at Aetna Financial Services (financial services, 1987-2000) and served as an International Economist for the United States Department of the Treasury (1980-1987). Ms. Marcks also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees, Audit Committee and Benefits & Operations Committee of the YMCA Retirement Fund (2018-present), a non-profit organization providing retirement plan benefits to YMCA staff members, and as a member of the Board of Trustees of Assumption College (2019-present).
Heidi L. Steiger (1953)
Year of Election or Appointment: 2017
Trustee
Ms. Steiger also serves as Trustee of other funds. Ms. Steiger serves as Managing Partner of Topridge Associates, LLC (consulting, 2005-present) and a member of the Board of Directors (2013-present) and member of the Membership and Executive Committee (2017-present) of Business Executives for National Security (nonprofit). Previously, Ms. Steiger served as a member of the Board of Directors Chair of the Remuneration Committee of Imagine Intelligent Materials Limited (2019-2021) (technology company), a member of the Advisory Board of the joint degree program in Global Luxury Management at North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC) and Skema (Paris) (2018-2021), a Non-Executive Director of CrowdBureau Corporation (financial technology company and index provider, 2018-2021), a member of the Global Advisory Board and Of Counsel to Signum Global Advisors (international policy and strategy, 2018-2020), Eastern Region President of The Private Client Reserve of U.S. Bancorp (banking and financial services, 2010-2015), Advisory Director of Berkshire Capital Securities, LLC (financial services, 2009-2010), President and Senior Advisor of Lowenhaupt Global Advisors, LLC (financial services, 2005-2007), and President and Contributing Editor of Worth Magazine (2004-2005) and held a variety of positions at Neuberger Berman Group, LLC (financial services, 1986-2004), including Partner and Executive Vice President and Global Head of Private Asset Management at Neuberger Berman (1999-2004). Ms. Steiger also served as a member of the Board of Directors of Nuclear Electric Insurance Ltd (insurer of nuclear utilities, 2006-2017), a member of the Board of Trustees and Audit Committee of the Eaton Vance Funds (2007-2010), a member of the Board of Directors of Aviva USA (formerly AmerUs) (insurance, 2004-2014), and a member of the Board of Trustees and Audit Committee and Chair of the Investment Committee of CIFG (financial guaranty insurance, 2009-2012), and a member of the Board of Directors of Kin Group Plc (formerly, Fitbug Holdings) (health and technology, 2016-2017).
+ The information includes the Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to the Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that the Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
Advisory Board Members and Officers:
Correspondence intended for a Member of the Advisory Board (if any) may be sent to Fidelity Investments, P.O. Box 55235, Boston, Massachusetts 02205-5235. Correspondence intended for an officer or Howard E. Cox, Jr. may be sent to Fidelity Investments, 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210. Officers appear below in alphabetical order.
Name, Year of Birth; Principal Occupation
Ralph F. Cox (1932)
Year of Election or Appointment: 2020
Member of the Advisory Board
Mr. Cox also serves as a Member of the Advisory Board of other funds. Mr. Cox is President of RABAR Enterprises (management consulting for the petroleum industry). Mr. Cox is a Director of Abraxas Petroleum (exploration and production, 1999-present). Mr. Cox is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Business and Engineering Schools of Texas A&M University and the Engineering School of University of Texas at Austin. Previously, Mr. Cox served as Trustee of other funds (2006-2020), a Trustee for the Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2005-2010) and as an Advisory Director of CH2M Hill Companies (engineering, 1981-2011). Mr. Ralph F. Cox and Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. are not related.
Howard E. Cox, Jr. (1944)
Year of Election or Appointment: 2009
Member of the Advisory Board
Mr. Cox also serves as a Member of the Advisory Board of other funds. Mr. Cox is a Partner of Greylock (venture capital, 1971-present) and a Director of Stryker Corporation (medical products and services, 1974-present). Previously, Mr. Cox served as an Advisory Board Member of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust (2006-2010). Mr. Cox also serves as a Member of the Secretary of Defense's Business Board of Directors (2008-present), a Director of Business Executives for National Security (1997-present), a Director of the Brookings Institution (2010-present), a Director of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders Foundation (2009-present), and is a Member of the Harvard Medical School Board of Fellows (2002-present). Mr. Howard E. Cox, Jr. and Mr. Ralph F. Cox are not related.
Craig S. Brown (1977)
Year of Election or Appointment: 2019
Assistant Treasurer
Mr. Brown also serves as Assistant Treasurer of other funds. Mr. Brown is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2013-present).
John J. Burke III (1964)
Year of Election or Appointment: 2018
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Burke also serves as Chief Financial Officer of other funds. Mr. Burke serves as Head of Investment Operations for Fidelity Fund and Investment Operations (2018-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (1998-present). Previously Mr. Burke served as head of Asset Management Investment Operations (2012-2018).
Jonathan Davis (1968)
Year of Election or Appointment: 2010
Assistant Treasurer
Mr. Davis also serves as Assistant Treasurer of other funds. Mr. Davis serves as Assistant Treasurer of FMR Capital, Inc. (2017-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Mr. Davis served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel of FMR LLC (diversified financial services company, 2003-2010).
Laura M. Del Prato (1964)
Year of Election or Appointment: 2018
Assistant Treasurer
Ms. Del Prato also serves as an officer of other funds. Ms. Del Prato is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2017-present). Previously, Ms. Del Prato served as President and Treasurer of The North Carolina Capital Management Trust: Cash Portfolio and Term Portfolio (2018-2020). Prior to joining Fidelity Investments, Ms. Del Prato served as a Managing Director and Treasurer of the JPMorgan Mutual Funds (2014-2017). Prior to JPMorgan, Ms. Del Prato served as a partner at Cohen Fund Audit Services (accounting firm, 2012-2013) and KPMG LLP (accounting firm, 2004-2012).
James D. Gryglewicz (1972)
Year of Election or Appointment: 2015
Chief Compliance Officer
Mr. Gryglewicz also serves as Chief Compliance Officer of other funds. Mr. Gryglewicz serves as Compliance Officer of Strategic Advisers LLC (investment adviser firm, 2015-present), Senior Vice President of Asset Management Compliance (2009-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2004-present). Previously, Mr. Gryglewicz served as Compliance Officer of Fidelity SelectCo, LLC (investment adviser firm, 2014-2019), and as Chief Compliance Officer of certain Fidelity® funds (2014-2018).
Colm A. Hogan (1973)
Year of Election or Appointment: 2016
Assistant Treasurer
Mr. Hogan also serves as an officer of other funds. Mr. Hogan serves as Assistant Treasurer of FMR Capital, Inc. (2017-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2005-present). Previously, Mr. Hogan served as Deputy Treasurer of certain Fidelity® funds (2016-2020) and Assistant Treasurer of certain Fidelity® funds (2016-2018).
Christina H. Lee (1975)
Year of Election or Appointment: 2020
Secretary and Chief Legal Officer
Ms. Lee also serves as Secretary and CLO of other funds. Ms. Lee serves as Vice President, Associate General Counsel (2014-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2007-present). Previously, Ms. Lee served as Assistant Secretary of certain funds (2018-2019).
Cynthia Lo Bessette (1969)
Year of Election or Appointment: 2020
Assistant Secretary
Ms. Lo Bessette also serves as an officer of other funds. Ms. Lo Bessette serves as CLO, Secretary, and Senior Vice President of Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC (investment adviser firm, 2019-present); and CLO of Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited, FMR Investment Management (UK) Limited, and Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Limited (investment adviser firms, 2019-present). She is a Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of FMR LLC (diversified financial services company, 2019-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments. Previously, Ms. Lo Bessette served as CLO, Secretary, and Senior Vice President of FMR Co., Inc. (investment adviser firm, 2019); Secretary of Fidelity SelectCo, LLC and Fidelity Investments Money Management, Inc. (investment adviser firms, 2019). Prior to joining Fidelity Investments, Ms. Lo Bessette was Executive Vice President, General Counsel (2016-2019) and Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel (2015-2016) of OppenheimerFunds (investment management company) and Deputy Chief Legal Officer (2013-2015) of Jennison Associates LLC (investment adviser firm).
Chris Maher (1972)
Year of Election or Appointment: 2016
Assistant Treasurer
Mr. Maher also serves as an officer of other funds. Mr. Maher serves as Assistant Treasurer of FMR Capital, Inc. (2017-present), and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2008-present). Previously, Mr. Maher served as Assistant Treasurer of certain funds (2013-2020); Vice President of Asset Management Compliance (2013), Vice President of the Program Management Group of FMR (investment adviser firm, 2010-2013), and Vice President of Valuation Oversight (2008-2010).
Brett Segaloff (1972)
Year of Election or Appointment: 2021
Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Officer
Mr. Segaloff also serves as an AML Officer of other funds and other related entities. He is Director, Anti-Money Laundering (2007-present) of FMR LLC (diversified financial services company) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (1996-present).
Stacie M. Smith (1974)
Year of Election or Appointment: 2020
President and Treasurer
Ms. Smith also serves as an officer of other funds. Ms. Smith serves as Assistant Treasurer of FMR Capital, Inc. (2017-present), is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2009-present), and has served in other fund officer roles. Prior to joining Fidelity Investments, Ms. Smith served as Senior Audit Manager of Ernst & Young LLP (accounting firm, 1996-2009). Previously, Ms. Smith served as Assistant Treasurer (2013-2019) and Deputy Treasurer (2013-2016) of certain Fidelity® funds.
Marc L. Spector (1972)
Year of Election or Appointment: 2016
Assistant Treasurer
Mr. Spector also serves as an officer of other funds. Mr. Spector serves as Assistant Treasurer of FMR Capital, Inc. (2017-present) and is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2016-present). Prior to joining Fidelity Investments, Mr. Spector served as Director at the Siegfried Group (accounting firm, 2013-2016), and prior to Siegfried Group as audit senior manager at Deloitte & Touche LLP (accounting firm, 2005-2013).
Jim Wegmann (1979)
Year of Election or Appointment: 2019
Assistant Treasurer
Mr. Wegmann also serves as Assistant Treasurer of other funds. Mr. Wegmann is an employee of Fidelity Investments (2011-present).
Standing Committees of the Trustees. The Board of Trustees has established two committees to supplement the work of the Board as a whole. The members of each committee are Independent Trustees.
The Audit and Compliance Committee is composed of all of the Independent Trustees, with Ms. Steiger currently serving as Chair. All committee members must be able to read and understand fundamental financial statements, including a company's balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. The committee determines whether at least one member of the committee is an "audit committee financial expert" as defined in rules promulgated by the SEC under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The committee normally meets in conjunction with in person meetings of the Board of Trustees, or more frequently as called by the Chair or a majority of committee members. The committee meets separately periodically with the fund's Treasurer, the fund's Chief Financial Officer, the fund's CCO, personnel responsible for the internal audit function of FMR LLC, and the fund's outside auditors. The committee has direct responsibility for the appointment, compensation, and oversight of the work of the outside auditors employed by the fund for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work. The committee assists the Trustees in overseeing and monitoring: (i) the systems of internal accounting and financial controls of the fund and the fund's service providers, (ii) the financial reporting processes of the fund, (iii) the independence, objectivity and qualification of the auditors to the fund, (iv) the annual audits of the fund's financial statements, and (v) the accounting policies and disclosures of the fund. The committee considers and acts upon (i) the provision by any outside auditor of any non-audit services for any fund, and (ii) the provision by any outside auditor of certain non-audit services to fund service providers and their affiliates to the extent that such approval (in the case of this clause (ii)) is required under applicable regulations (auditor independence regulations) of the SEC. It is responsible for approving all audit engagement fees and terms for the fund and for resolving disagreements between the fund and any outside auditor regarding any fund's financial reporting, and has sole authority to hire and fire any auditor. Auditors of the fund report directly to the committee. The committee will obtain assurance of independence and objectivity from the outside auditors, including a formal written statement delineating all relationships between the auditor and the fund and any service providers consistent with Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Ethics and Independence Rule 3526, Communication with Audit Committees Concerning Independence. The committee will discuss with the outside auditors any such disclosed relationships and their impact on the auditor's independence and objectivity. The committee will receive reports of compliance with provisions of the auditor independence regulations relating to the hiring of employees or former employees of the outside auditors. It oversees and receives reports on the fund's service providers' internal controls and reviews with management, internal audit personnel of FMR LLC, and outside auditors the adequacy and effectiveness of the fund's and service providers' accounting and financial controls, including: (i) any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting that are reasonably likely to adversely affect the fund's ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial data; (ii) any change in the fund's internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the fund's internal control over financial reporting; and (iii) any fraud, whether material or not, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the fund's or service provider's internal controls over financial reporting. The committee will review with counsel any legal matters that may have a material impact on the fund's financial statements and any material reports or inquiries received from regulators or governmental agencies. The committee reviews at least annually a report from the outside auditor describing (i) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality control review, peer review, or PCAOB examination of the auditing firm and (ii) any material issues raised by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities of the auditing firm since the most recent report and in each case any steps taken to deal with such issues. The committee will oversee and receive reports on the fund's financial reporting process from the fund's Treasurer and outside auditors and will receive reports from any outside auditor relating to (i) critical accounting policies and practices used by the fund, (ii) alternative accounting treatments that the auditor has discussed with Strategic Advisers, and (iii) other material written communications between the auditor and Strategic Advisers (as determined by the auditor). The committee will discuss with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors and, if appropriate, internal audit personnel of FMR LLC, their qualitative judgments about the appropriateness and acceptability of accounting principles and financial disclosure practices used or proposed for adoption by the fund. The committee will review with Strategic Advisers, the fund's Treasurer, outside auditors, and internal audit personnel of FMR LLC (to the extent relevant) the results of audits of the fund's financial statements. The committee will discuss regularly and oversee the review of the fund's major internal controls exposures, the steps that have been taken to monitor and control such exposures, and any risk management programs relating to the fund. The committee also oversees the administration and operation of the compliance policies and procedures of the fund and fund's service providers as required by Rule 38a-1 of the 1940 Act. The committee is responsible for the review and approval of policies and procedures relating to (i) provisions of the Code of Ethics, (ii) anti-money laundering requirements, (iii) compliance with investment restrictions and limitations, (iv) privacy, (v) recordkeeping, and (vi) other compliance policies and procedures which are not otherwise delegated to another committee of the Board of Trustees or reserved to the Board itself. The committee has responsibility for recommending to the Board the designation of a CCO of the fund. The committee serves as the primary point of contact between the CCO and the Board, it oversees the annual performance review and compensation of the CCO and, if required, makes recommendations to the Board with respect to the removal of the appointed CCO. The committee receives reports on significant correspondence with regulators or governmental agencies, employee complaints or published reports which raise concerns regarding compliance matters, and copies of significant non-routine correspondence with the SEC. The committee receives reports from the CCO including the annual report concerning the fund's compliance policies as required by Rule 38a-1 and quarterly reports in respect of any breaches of fiduciary duty or violations of federal securities laws. During the fiscal year ended May 31, 2020, the committee held four meeting(s).
The Governance and Nominating Committee is composed of all of the Independent Trustees, with Ms. Farrell currently serving as Chair. The committee meets as called by the Chair. With respect to fund governance and board administration matters, the committee periodically reviews procedures of the Board of Trustees and its committees (including committee charters) and periodically reviews compensation of Independent Trustees. The committee monitors corporate governance matters and makes recommendations to the Board of Trustees on the frequency and structure of the Board of Trustee meetings and on any other aspect of Board procedures. It reviews the performance of legal counsel employed by the funds and the Independent Trustees. On behalf of the Independent Trustees, the committee will make such findings and determinations as to the independence of counsel for the Independent Trustees as may be necessary or appropriate under applicable regulations or otherwise. The committee is also responsible for Board administrative matters applicable to Independent Trustees, such as expense reimbursement policies and compensation for attendance at meetings, conferences and other events. The committee monitors compliance with, acts as the administrator of, and makes determinations in respect of, the provisions of the Statement of Policy Relating to Personal Investing by the Independent Trustees and Independent Advisory Board Members. The committee monitors the functioning of each Board committee and makes recommendations for any changes, including the creation or elimination of standing or ad hoc Board committees. The committee monitors regulatory and other developments to determine whether to recommend modifications to the committee's responsibilities or other Trustee policies and procedures in light of rule changes, reports concerning "best practices" in corporate governance and other developments in mutual fund governance. The committee recommends that the Board establish such special or ad hoc Board committees as may be desirable or necessary from time to time in order to address ethical, legal, or other matters that may arise. The committee also oversees the annual self-evaluation of the Board of Trustees and establishes procedures to allow it to exercise this oversight function. In conducting this oversight, the committee shall address all matters that it considers relevant to the performance of the Board of Trustees and shall report the results of its evaluation to the Board of Trustees, including any recommended amendments to the principles of governance, and any recommended changes to the fund's or the Board of Trustees' policies, procedures, and structures. The committee reviews periodically the size and composition of the Board of Trustees as a whole and recommends, if necessary, measures to be taken so that the Board of Trustees reflects the appropriate balance of knowledge, experience, skills, expertise, and diversity required for the Board as a whole and contains at least the minimum number of Independent Trustees required by law. The committee makes nominations for the election or appointment of Independent Trustees and for membership on committees. The committee shall have authority to retain and terminate any third-party advisers, including authority to approve fees and other retention terms. Such advisers may include search firms to identify Independent Trustee candidates and board compensation consultants. The committee may conduct or authorize investigations into or studies of matters within the committee's scope of responsibilities, and may retain, at the fund's expense, such independent counsel or other advisers as it deems necessary. The committee will consider nominees to the Board of Trustees recommended by shareholders based upon the criteria applied to candidates presented to the committee by a search firm or other source. Recommendations, along with appropriate background material concerning the candidate that demonstrates his or her ability to serve as an Independent Trustee of the fund, should be submitted to the Chair of the committee at the address maintained for communications with Independent Trustees. If the committee retains a search firm, the Chair will generally forward all such submissions to the search firm for evaluation. During the fiscal year ended May 31, 2020, the committee held four meeting(s).
The following table sets forth information describing the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee in the fund and in all funds in the aggregate within the same fund family overseen by the Trustee for the calendar year ended December 31, 2020.
| Interested Trustees | ||
| DOLLAR RANGE OF FUND SHARES |
Robert A.Lawrence | Charles S.Morrison |
| Strategic Advisers® Municipal Bond Fund | none | none |
| AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF FUND SHARES IN ALL FUNDS OVERSEEN WITHIN FUND FAMILY |
none | over $100,000 |
| Independent Trustees | ||||
| DOLLAR RANGE OF FUND SHARES |
Peter C.Aldrich | Mary C.Farrell | KarenKaplan | ChristineMarcks |
| Strategic Advisers® Municipal Bond Fund | none | none | none | none |
| AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF FUND SHARES IN ALL FUNDS OVERSEEN WITHIN FUND FAMILY |
over $100,000 | none | over $100,000 | none |
| DOLLAR RANGE OF FUND SHARES |
Heidi L.Steiger | |||
| Strategic Advisers® Municipal Bond Fund | none | |||
| AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF FUND SHARES IN ALL FUNDS OVERSEEN WITHIN FUND FAMILY |
over $100,000 | |||
The following table sets forth information describing the compensation of each Trustee and Member of the Advisory Board (if any) for his or her services for the fiscal year ending May 31, 2022, or calendar year ended December 31, 2020, as applicable.
| Compensation Table(1) | ||||
| AGGREGATE COMPENSATION FROM A FUND |
Peter C.Aldrich | Ralph F.Cox(2) | Mary C.Farrell | KarenKaplan |
| Strategic Advisers® Municipal Bond Fund(3) | $5,335 | $5,335 | $6,185 | $5,335 |
| TOTAL COMPENSATION FROM THE FUND COMPLEX(4) |
$282,500 | $282,500 | $327,500 | $282,500 |
| AGGREGATE COMPENSATION FROM A FUND |
ChristineMarcks(5) | Heidi L.Steiger | ||
| Strategic Advisers® Municipal Bond Fund(3) | $5,335 | $6,232 | ||
| TOTAL COMPENSATION FROM THE FUND COMPLEX(4) |
$282,500 | $330,000 | ||
(1) Charles S. Morrison, Robert A. Lawrence, and Howard E. Cox, Jr. are interested persons and are compensated by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate (including FMR).
(2) Ralph F. Cox served as a Trustee of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II through June 3, 2020, at which time he was appointed as a Member of the Advisory Board.
(3) Estimated for the fund's first full fiscal year.
(4) Reflects compensation received for the calendar year ended December 31, 2020, for 12 funds of one trust. Compensation figures include cash and may include amounts elected to be deferred.
(5) Ms. Marcks served as a Member of the Advisory Board of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II from September 4, 2019 through November 1, 2020. Ms. Marcks serves as a Trustee of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II effective November 2, 2020.
As of the public offering of shares of the fund, 100% of the fund's total outstanding shares was held by Strategic Advisers and/or another entity or entities of which FMR LLC is the ultimate parent.
CONTROL OF INVESTMENT ADVISERS
FMR LLC, as successor by merger to FMR Corp., is the ultimate parent company of Strategic Advisers, FIAM, FMR Investment Management (UK) Limited (FMR UK), Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited (FMR H.K.), and Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Limited (FMR Japan). The voting common shares of FMR LLC are divided into two series. Series B is held predominantly by members of the Johnson family, including Abigail P. Johnson, directly or through trusts, and is entitled to 49% of the vote on any matter acted upon by the voting common shares. Series A is held predominantly by non-Johnson family member employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates and is entitled to 51% of the vote on any such matter. The Johnson family group and all other Series B shareholders have entered into a shareholders' voting agreement under which all Series B shares will be voted in accordance with the majority vote of Series B shares. Under the 1940 Act, control of a company is presumed where one individual or group of individuals owns more than 25% of the voting securities of that company. Therefore, through their ownership of voting common shares and the execution of the shareholders' voting agreement, members of the Johnson family may be deemed, under the 1940 Act, to form a controlling group with respect to FMR LLC.
At present, the primary business activities of FMR LLC and its subsidiaries are: (i) the provision of investment advisory, management, shareholder, investment information and assistance and certain fiduciary services for individual and institutional investors; (ii) the provision of securities brokerage services; (iii) the management and development of real estate; and (iv) the investment in and operation of a number of emerging businesses.
FIAM is a registered investment adviser. FMR LLC is the ultimate parent company of FIAM. Information regarding the ownership of FMR LLC is disclosed above.
MacKay Shields is a registered investment adviser. MacKay Shields is 100% owned by New York Life Investment Management Holdings LLC, which is wholly owned by New York Life Insurance Company, their ultimate parent.
T. Rowe Price is a registered investment adviser. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., a publicly-traded financial services holding company (NASDAQ: TROW), owns 100% of the stock of T. Rowe Price and all of its subsidiaries.
Strategic Advisers, FIAM, FMR UK, FMR H.K., FMR Japan, MacKay Shields, T. Rowe Price (the Investment Advisers), Fidelity Distributors Company LLC (FDC), and the fund have adopted codes of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that set forth employees' fiduciary responsibilities regarding the fund, establish procedures for personal investing, and restrict certain transactions. Employees subject to the codes of ethics, including the Investment Advisers' investment personnel, may invest in securities for their own investment accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund.
MANAGEMENT CONTRACT
The fund has entered into a management contract with Strategic Advisers, pursuant to which Strategic Advisers furnishes investment advisory and other services.
The fund's initial shareholder approved a proposal permitting Strategic Advisers to enter into new or amended sub-advisory agreements with one or more unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval of such agreements, subject to conditions of an exemptive order that has been granted by the SEC (Exemptive Order). One of the conditions of the Exemptive Order requires the Board of Trustees to approve any such agreement. Subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, Strategic Advisers has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the fund's sub-advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement. In the event the Board of Trustees approves a sub-advisory agreement with a new unaffiliated sub-adviser, shareholders will be provided with information about the new sub-adviser and sub-advisory agreement within ninety days of appointment.
Strategic Advisers has retained FIAM, MacKay Shields, and T. Rowe Price to serve as sub-advisers for the fund. FIAM, in turn, has retained FMR UK, FMR H.K., and FMR Japan to serve as sub-subadvisers for the fund. The sub-advisers do not sponsor the fund.
It is not possible to predict the extent to which the fund's assets will be invested by a particular sub-adviser at any given time and one or more sub-advisers may not be managing any assets for the fund at any given time.
Management and Sub-Advisory Services. Under the terms of its management contract with the fund, Strategic Advisers acts as investment adviser and, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, directs the investments of the fund in accordance with its investment objective, policies and limitations. Strategic Advisers is authorized, in its discretion, to allocate the fund's assets pursuant to its investment strategy. Strategic Advisers or its affiliates provide the fund with all necessary office facilities and personnel for servicing the fund's investments, compensate all officers of the fund and all Trustees who are interested persons of the trust or of Strategic Advisers, and compensate all personnel of the fund or Strategic Advisers performing services relating to research, statistical and investment activities.
In addition, Strategic Advisers or its affiliates, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, provide the management and administrative services necessary for the operation of the fund. These services include providing facilities for maintaining the fund's organization; supervising relations with custodians, transfer and pricing agents, accountants, underwriters and other persons dealing with the fund; preparing all general shareholder communications and conducting shareholder relations; maintaining the fund's records and the registration of the fund's shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws; developing management and shareholder services for the fund; and furnishing reports, evaluations and analyses on a variety of subjects to the Trustees.
Under its respective sub-advisory agreement, and subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, each sub-adviser directs the investment of its allocated portion of the fund's assets in accordance with the fund's investment objective, policies and limitations.
Management-Related Expenses. In addition to the management fee payable to Strategic Advisers, the fund pays all of its expenses that are not assumed by Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. Under the terms of separate agreements between Strategic Advisers and the fund’s transfer agent and service agent, Strategic Advisers or an affiliate is responsible for the payment of any fees associated with the transfer agent and service agent agreements. The fund pays for the typesetting, printing, and mailing of its proxy materials to shareholders, legal expenses, and the fees of the custodian, auditor, and Independent Trustees. The fund's management contract further provides that the fund will pay for typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, notices, and reports to shareholders. Other expenses paid by the fund include interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, fees and expenses associated with the fund's securities lending program, if applicable, the fund's proportionate share of insurance premiums and Investment Company Institute dues, and the costs of registering shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws. The fund is also liable for such non-recurring expenses as may arise, including costs of any litigation to which the fund may be a party, and any obligation it may have to indemnify its officers and Trustees with respect to litigation.
Management Fee.
For the services of Strategic Advisers under the management contract, the fund pays Strategic Advisers a monthly management fee calculated by adding the annual rate of 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month plus the total fees payable monthly to the fund's sub-advisers, if any, based upon each sub-adviser's respective allocated portion of the fund's assets; provided, however, that the fund's maximum aggregate annual management fee will not exceed 0.60% of the fund's average daily net assets.
In addition, Strategic Advisers has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the fund's management fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the average daily net assets of the fund until September 30, 2024. The fee waiver will increase returns.
Strategic Advisers may, from time to time, voluntarily reimburse all or a portion of a fund's or, in the case of a multiple class fund, a class's operating expenses. Strategic Advisers retains the ability to be repaid for these expense reimbursements in the amount that expenses fall below the limit prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Expense reimbursements will increase returns, and repayment of the reimbursement will decrease returns.
Sub-Adviser - FIAM. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with FIAM pursuant to which FIAM may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays FIAM fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by FIAM pursuant to a separately negotiated investment mandate (a "Strategy"). The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by FIAM under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by FIAM pursuant to that Strategy.
The following fee rate schedule applies to the mandate below.
Municipal Income: 0.175% of the first $250 million in assets; 0.150% of the next $250 million in assets; and 0.120% on any amount in excess of $500 million in assets.
On behalf of the fund, FIAM, in turn, has entered into sub-subadvisory agreements with FMR UK, FMR H.K., and FMR Japan. Pursuant to the sub-subadvisory agreement, FIAM may receive from the sub-subadviser investment research and advice on issuers outside the United States (non-discretionary services) and FIAM may grant the sub-subadviser investment management authority and the authority to buy and sell securities if FIAM believes it would be beneficial to the fund (discretionary services). FIAM, not the fund, pays the sub-subadvisers.
Sub-Adviser - MacKay Shields. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with MacKay Shields pursuant to which MacKay Shields may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays MacKay Shields fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by MacKay Shields pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by MacKay Shields under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by MacKay Shields pursuant to that Strategy.
Sub-Adviser - T. Rowe Price. The fund and Strategic Advisers have entered into a sub-advisory agreement with T. Rowe Price pursuant to which T. Rowe Price may provide investment advisory services for the fund. Under the terms of the sub-advisory agreement, for providing investment management services to the fund, Strategic Advisers pays T. Rowe Price fees based on the net assets of the portion of the fund managed by T. Rowe Price pursuant to a separately negotiated Strategy. The fees are calculated using the effective rate applicable to Aggregated Assets managed by T. Rowe Price under a particular Strategy. Aggregated Assets for a particular Strategy means the assets of all registered investment companies managed by Strategic Advisers that are managed by T. Rowe Price pursuant to that Strategy.
Christopher Heavey is an employee of Strategic Advisers, a subsidiary of FMR LLC and an affiliate of FMR. Strategic Advisers is the adviser to the fund.
Mr. Heavey is lead portfolio manager of the fund, and receives compensation for those services. As of April 30, 2021, portfolio manager compensation generally consists of a fixed base salary determined periodically (typically annually), a bonus, in certain cases, participation in several types of equity-based compensation plans, and, if applicable, relocation plan benefits. A portion of each portfolio manager's compensation may be deferred based on criteria established by Strategic Advisers or at the election of the portfolio manager.
The portfolio manager's base salary is determined by level of responsibility and tenure at Strategic Advisers or its affiliates. The primary components of the portfolio manager's bonus are based on (i) the pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) measured against a benchmark index and a defined peer group assigned to each fund or account, and (ii) the investment performance of a broad range of Strategic Advisers® funds and accounts, including the fund. Accounts may include model portfolios designed for asset allocation, retirement planning, or tax-sensitive goals. The pre-tax investment performance of the portfolio manager's fund(s) and account(s) is weighted according to the portfolio manager’s tenure on those fund(s) and account(s), and the average asset size of those fund(s) and account(s) over the portfolio manager’s tenure. Each component is calculated separately over a measurement period that initially is contemporaneous with the portfolio manager's tenure, but that eventually encompasses rolling periods of up to five years for the comparison to a benchmark index and peer group. A smaller subjective component of the bonus is based on the portfolio manager's overall contribution to management of Strategic Advisers. The portion of the portfolio manager's bonus that is linked to the investment performance of the portfolio manager’s fund is based on the fund's pre-tax investment performance measured against the Bloomberg Barclays Municipal Bond Index, and the pre-tax investment performance of the fund measured against the Morningstar® Municipal National Long Category. The portfolio manager may be compensated under equity-based compensation plans linked to increases or decreases in the net asset value of the stock of FMR LLC, Strategic Advisers' parent company. FMR LLC is a diverse financial services company engaged in various activities that include fund management, brokerage, retirement, and employer administrative services. If requested to relocate their primary residence, portfolio managers also may be eligible to receive benefits, such as home sale assistance and payment of certain moving expenses, under relocation plans for most full-time employees of FMR LLC and its affiliates.
The portfolio manager's compensation plan may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Although investors in the fund may invest through either tax-deferred accounts or taxable accounts, the portfolio manager's compensation is linked to the pre-tax performance of the fund, rather than its after-tax performance. The portfolio manager's base pay tends to increase with additional and more complex responsibilities that include increased assets under management and a portion of the bonus relates to marketing efforts, which together indirectly link compensation to sales. When a portfolio manager takes over a fund or an account, the time period over which performance is measured may be adjusted to provide a transition period in which to assess the portfolio. The management of multiple funds and accounts (including proprietary accounts) may give rise to potential conflicts of interest if the funds and accounts have different objectives, benchmarks, time horizons, and fees as the portfolio manager must allocate time and investment ideas across multiple funds and accounts. In addition, a fund's trade allocation policies and procedures may give rise to conflicts of interest if the fund's orders do not get fully executed due to being aggregated with those of other accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or an affiliate. The portfolio manager may execute transactions for another fund or account that may adversely impact the value of securities held by a fund. Securities selected for other funds or accounts may outperform the securities selected for the fund. Portfolio managers may be permitted to invest in the funds they manage, even if a fund is closed to new investors. Trading in personal accounts, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, is restricted by a fund's Code of Ethics.
The following table provides information relating to other accounts managed by Mr. Heavey as of April 30, 2021:
| Registered Investment Companies* |
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
Other Accounts** |
|
| Number of Accounts Managed | 2 | none | 12 |
| Number of Accounts Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees | none | none | none |
| Assets Managed (in millions) | $11,625 | none | $24,355 |
| Assets Managed with Performance-Based Advisory Fees (in millions) | none | none | none |
*Does not include Strategic Advisers® Municipal Bond Fund, which is expected to commence operations on or about June 17, 2021.
**Includes assets invested in registered investment companies managed by the portfolio manager.
As of April 30, 2021, the dollar range of shares of Strategic Advisers® Municipal Bond Fund beneficially owned by Mr. Heavey was none (Strategic Advisers® Municipal Bond Fund is expected to commence operations on or about June 17, 2021).
PROXY VOTING GUIDELINES
Proxy Voting - Strategic Advisers.
The following Proxy Voting Guidelines were established by the Board of Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II on behalf of the fund, after consultation with Strategic Advisers. (The guidelines are reviewed periodically by Strategic Advisers and its affiliates and by the Independent Trustees of the fund, and, accordingly, are subject to change.)
I. General Principles
A. The funds in the trust generally intend to vote shares of underlying funds using echo voting procedures (that is, in the same proportion as the holders of all other shares of the particular underlying fund).
B. Any proposals not covered by paragraph A above or other special circumstances will be evaluated based on a proposal's likelihood to enhance the long-term economic returns or profitability of the company or to maximize long-term shareholder value.
Sub-Adviser(s):
Proxy voting policies and procedures are used by a sub-adviser to determine how to vote proxies relating to the securities held by its allocated portion of the fund's assets. The proxy voting policies and procedures used by a sub-adviser are described below.
Proxy Voting - FIAM
I. Introduction
These guidelines are intended to help Fidelity’s customers and the companies in which Fidelity invests understand how Fidelity votes proxies to further the values that have sustained Fidelity for over 70 years. In particular, these guidelines are animated by two fundamental principles: 1) putting first the long-term interests of our customers and fund shareholders; and 2) investing in companies that share our approach to creating value over the long-term. Fidelity generally adheres to these guidelines in voting proxies and our Stewardship Principles serve as the foundation for these guidelines. Our evaluation of proxies reflects information from many sources, including management or shareholders of a company presenting a proposal and proxy voting advisory firms. Fidelity maintains the flexibility to vote individual proxies based on our assessment of each situation.
In evaluating proxies, we recognize that companies can conduct themselves in ways that have important environmental and social consequences. While Fidelity always remains focused on maximizing long-term shareholder value, we also consider potential environmental, social and governance (ESG) impacts that we believe are material to individual companies and investing funds' investment objectives and strategies.
Fidelity will vote on proposals not specifically addressed by these guidelines based on an evaluation of a proposal's likelihood to enhance the long-term economic returns or profitability of the company or to maximize long-term shareholder value. Fidelity will not be influenced by business relationships or outside perspectives that may conflict with the interests of the funds and their shareholders.
II. Board of Directors and Corporate Governance
Directors of public companies play a critical role in ensuring that a company and its management team serve the interests of its shareholders. Fidelity believes that through proxy voting, it can help ensure accountability of management teams and boards of directors, align management and shareholder interests, and monitor and assess the degree of transparency and disclosure with respect to executive compensation and board actions affecting shareholders’ rights. The following general guidelines are intended to reflect these proxy voting principles.
A. Election of Directors
Fidelity will generally support director nominees in elections where all directors are unopposed (uncontested elections), except where board composition raises concerns, and/or where a director clearly appears to have failed to exercise reasonable judgment or otherwise failed to sufficiently protect the interests of shareholders.
Fidelity will evaluate board composition and generally will oppose the election of certain or all directors if, by way of example:
1. Inside or affiliated directors serve on boards that are not composed of a majority of independent directors.
2. There are no women on the board or if a board of ten or more members has fewer than two women directors.
3. The director is a public company CEO who sits on more than two unaffiliated public company boards.
Fidelity will evaluate board actions and generally will oppose the election of certain or all directors if, by way of example:
1. The director attended fewer than 75% of the total number of meetings of the board and its committees on which the director served during the company's prior fiscal year, absent extenuating circumstances.
2. The company made a commitment to modify a proposal or practice to conform to these guidelines, and failed to act on that commitment.
3. For reasons described below under the sections entitled Compensation and Anti-Takeover Provisions and Director Elections.
B. Contested Director Elections
On occasion, directors are forced to compete for election against outside director nominees (contested elections). Fidelity believes that strong management creates long-term shareholder value. As a result, Fidelity generally will vote in support of management of companies in which the funds’ assets are invested. Fidelity will vote its proxy on a case-by-case basis in a contested election, taking into consideration a number of factors, amongst others:
1. Management’s track record and strategic plan for enhancing shareholder value;
2. The long-term performance of the company compared to its industry peers; and
3. The qualifications of the shareholder’s and management’s nominees.
Fidelity will vote for the outcome it believes has the best prospects for maximizing shareholder value over the long-term.
C. Cumulative Voting Rights
Under cumulative voting, each shareholder may exercise the number of votes equal to the number of shares owned multiplied by the number of directors up for election. Shareholders may cast all of their votes for a single nominee (or multiple nominees in varying amounts). With regular (non-cumulative) voting, by contrast, shareholders cannot allocate more than one vote per share to any one director nominee. Fidelity believes that cumulative voting can be detrimental to the overall strength of a board. Generally, therefore, Fidelity will oppose the introduction of, and support the elimination of, cumulative voting rights.
D. Classified Boards
A classified board is one that elects only a percentage of its members each year (usually one-third of directors are elected to serve a three-year term). This means that at each annual meeting only a subset of directors is up for re-election. Fidelity believes that, in general, classified boards are not as accountable to shareholders as declassified boards. For this and other reasons, Fidelity generally will oppose a board’s adoption of a classified board structure and support declassification of existing boards.
E. Independent Chairperson
In general, Fidelity believes that boards should have a process and criteria for selecting the board chair, and will oppose shareholder proposals calling for, or recommending the appointment of, a non-executive or independent chairperson. If, however, based on particular facts and circumstances, Fidelity believes that appointment of a non-executive or independent chairperson appears likely to further the interests of shareholders and promote effective oversight of management by the board of directors, Fidelity will consider voting to support a proposal for an independent chairperson under such circumstances.
F. Majority Voting in Director Elections
In general, Fidelity supports proposals calling for directors to be elected by a majority of votes cast if the proposal permits election by a plurality in the case of contested elections (where, for example, there are more nominees than board seats). Fidelity may oppose a majority voting shareholder proposal where a company’s board has adopted a policy requiring the resignation of an incumbent director who fails to receive the support of a majority of the votes cast in an uncontested election.
G. Proxy Access
Proxy access proposals generally require a company to amend its by-laws to allow a qualifying shareholder or group of shareholders to nominate directors on a company’s proxy ballot. Fidelity believes that certain safeguards as to ownership threshold and duration of ownership are important to assure that proxy access is not misused by those without a significant economic interest in the company or those driven by short term goals. Fidelity will evaluate proxy access proposals on a case-by-case basis, but generally will support proposals that include ownership of at least 3% (5% in the case of small-cap companies) of the company’s shares outstanding for at least three years; limit the number of directors that eligible shareholders may nominate to 20% of the board; and limit to 20 the number of shareholders that may form a nominating group.
H. Indemnification of Directors and Officers
In many instances there are sound reasons to indemnify officers and directors, so that they may perform their duties without the distraction of unwarranted litigation or other legal process. Fidelity generally supports charter and by-law amendments expanding the indemnification of officers or directors, or limiting their liability for breaches of care unless Fidelity is dissatisfied with their performance or the proposal is accompanied by anti-takeover provisions (see Anti-Takeover Provisions and Shareholders Rights Plans below).
III. Compensation
Incentive compensation plans can be complicated and many factors are considered when evaluating such plans. Fidelity evaluates such plans based on protecting shareholder interests and our historical knowledge of the company and its management.
A. Equity Compensation Plans
Fidelity encourages the use of reasonably designed equity compensation plans that align the interest of management with those of shareholders by providing officers and employees with incentives to increase long-term shareholder value. Fidelity considers whether such plans are too dilutive to existing shareholders because dilution reduces the voting power or economic interest of existing shareholders as a result of an increase in shares available for distribution to employees in lieu of cash compensation. Fidelity will generally oppose equity compensation plans or amendments to authorize additional shares under such plans if:
1. The company grants stock options and equity awards in a given year at a rate higher than a benchmark rate (“burn rate”) considered appropriate by Fidelity and there were no circumstances specific to the company or the compensation plans that leads Fidelity to conclude that the rate of awards is otherwise acceptable.
2. The plan includes an evergreen provision, which is a feature that provides for an automatic increase in the shares available for grant under an equity compensation plan on a regular basis.
3. The plan provides for the acceleration of vesting of equity compensation even though an actual change in control may not occur.
As to stock option plans, considerations include the following:
1. Pricing: We believe that options should be priced at 100% of fair market value on the date they are granted. We generally oppose options priced at a discount to the market, although the price may be as low as 85% of fair market value if the discount is expressly granted in lieu of salary or cash bonus.
2. Re-pricing: An “out-of-the-money” (or underwater) option has an exercise price that is higher than the current price of the stock. We generally oppose the re-pricing of underwater options because it is not consistent with a policy of offering options as a form of long-term compensation. Fidelity also generally opposes a stock option plan if the board or compensation committee has re-priced options outstanding in the past two years without shareholder approval.
Fidelity generally will support a management proposal to exchange, re-price or tender for cash, outstanding options if the proposed exchange, re-pricing, or tender offer is consistent with the interests of shareholders, taking into account a variety of factors such as:
1. Whether the proposal excludes senior management and directors;
2. Whether the exchange or re-pricing proposal is value neutral to shareholders based upon an acceptable pricing model;
3. The company's relative performance compared to other companies within the relevant industry or industries;
4. Economic and other conditions affecting the relevant industry or industries in which the company competes; and
5. Any other facts or circumstances relevant to determining whether an exchange or re-pricing proposal is consistent with the interests of shareholders.
B. Employee Stock Purchase Plans
These plans are designed to allow employees to purchase company stock at a discounted price and receive favorable tax treatment when the stock is sold. Fidelity generally will support employee stock purchase plans if the minimum stock purchase price is equal to or greater than 85% (or at least 75% in the case of non-U.S. companies where a lower minimum stock purchase price is equal to the prevailing “best practices” in that market) of the stock's fair market value and the plan constitutes a reasonable effort to encourage broad based participation in the company's stock.
IV. Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation (Say on Pay) and Frequency of Say on Pay Vote
Current law requires companies to allow shareholders to cast non-binding votes on the compensation for named executive officers, as well as the frequency of such votes. Fidelity generally will support proposals to ratify executive compensation unless the compensation appears misaligned with shareholder interests or is otherwise problematic, taking into account:
- The actions taken by the board or compensation committee in the previous year, including whether the company re-priced or exchanged outstanding stock options without shareholder approval; adopted or extended a golden parachute without shareholder approval; or adequately addressed concerns communicated by Fidelity in the process of discussing executive compensation;
- The alignment of executive compensation and company performance relative to peers; and
- The structure of the compensation program, including factors such as whether incentive plan metrics are appropriate, rigorous and transparent; whether the long-term element of the compensation program is evaluated over at least a three-year period; the sensitivity of pay to below median performance; the amount and nature of non-performance-based compensation; the justification and rationale behind paying discretionary bonuses; the use of stock ownership guidelines and amount of executive stock ownership; and how well elements of compensation are disclosed.
When presented with a frequency of Say on Pay vote, Fidelity generally will support holding an annual advisory vote on Say on Pay.
A. Compensation Committee
Directors serving on the compensation committee of the Board have a special responsibility to ensure that management is appropriately compensated and that compensation, among other things, fairly reflects the performance of the company. Fidelity believes that compensation should align with company performance as measured by key business metrics. Compensation policies should align the interests of executives with those of shareholders. Further, the compensation program should be disclosed in a transparent and timely manner.
Fidelity will oppose the election of directors on the compensation committees if:
1. The company has not adequately addressed concerns communicated by Fidelity in the process of discussing executive compensation.
2. Within the last year, and without shareholder approval, a company's board of directors or compensation committee has either:
a) Re-priced outstanding options, exchanged outstanding options for equity, or tendered cash for outstanding options; or
b) Adopted or extended a golden parachute.
B. Executive Severance Agreements
Executive severance compensation and benefit arrangements resulting from a termination following a change in control are known as “golden parachutes.” Fidelity generally will oppose proposals to ratify golden parachutes where the arrangement includes an excise tax gross-up provision; single trigger for cash incentives; or may result in a lump sum payment of cash and acceleration of equity that may total more than three times annual compensation (salary and bonus) in the event of a termination following a change in control.
V. Environmental and Social Issues
Grounded in our Stewardship Principles, these guidelines outline our views on corporate governance. As part of our efforts to maximize long-term shareholder value, we incorporate environmental and social issues into our evaluation of a company, particularly if we believe an issue is material to that company and the investing fund's investment objective and strategies.
Fidelity generally considers management’s recommendation and current practice when voting on shareholder proposals concerning environmental or social issues because it generally believes that management and the board are in the best position to determine how to address these matters. Fidelity, however, also believes that transparency is critical to sound corporate governance. Therefore, Fidelity may support shareholder proposals that request additional disclosures from companies regarding environmental or social issues, including where it believes that the proposed disclosures could provide meaningful information to the investment management process without unduly burdening the company. This means that Fidelity may support shareholder proposals calling for reports on sustainability, renewable energy, and environmental impact issues. Fidelity also may support proposals on issues in other areas, including but not limited to equal employment, board diversity and workforce diversity.
VI. Anti-Takeover Provisions and Shareholders Rights Plans
Fidelity generally will oppose a proposal to adopt an anti-takeover provision.
Anti-takeover provisions include:
- classified boards;
- “blank check” preferred stock (whose terms and conditions may be expressly determined by the company’s board, for example, with differential voting rights);
- golden parachutes;
- supermajority provisions (that require a large majority (generally between 67-90%) of shareholders to approve corporate changes as compared to a majority provision that simply requires more than 50% of shareholders to approve those changes);
- poison pills;
- restricting the right to call special meetings;
- provisions restricting the right of shareholders to set board size; and
- any other provision that eliminates or limits shareholder rights.
A. Shareholders Rights Plans (“poison pills”)
Poison pills allow shareholders opposed to a takeover offer to purchase stock at discounted prices under certain circumstances and effectively give boards veto power over any takeover offer. While there are advantages and disadvantages to poison pills, they can be detrimental to the creation of shareholder value and can help entrench management by deterring acquisition offers not favored by the board, but that may, in fact, be beneficial to shareholders.
Fidelity generally will support a proposal to adopt or extend a poison pill if the proposal:
1. Includes a condition in the charter or plan that specifies an expiration date (sunset provision) of no greater than five years;
2. Is integral to a business strategy that is expected to result in greater value for the shareholders;
3. Requires shareholder approval to be reinstated upon expiration or if amended;
4. Contains a mechanism to allow shareholders to consider a bona fide takeover offer for all outstanding shares without triggering the poison pill; and
5. Allows the Fidelity funds to hold an aggregate position of up to 20% of a company's total voting securities, where permissible.
Fidelity generally also will support a proposal that is crafted only for the purpose of protecting a specific tax benefit if it also believes the proposal is likely to enhance long-term economic returns or maximize long-term shareholder value.
B. Shareholder Ability to Call a Special Meeting
Fidelity generally will support shareholder proposals regarding shareholders' right to call special meetings if the threshold required to call the special meeting is no less than 25% of the outstanding stock.
C. Shareholder Ability to Act by Written Consent
Fidelity generally will support proposals regarding shareholders' right to act by written consent if the proposals include appropriate mechanisms for implementation. This means that proposals must include record date requests from at least 25% of the outstanding stockholders and consents must be solicited from all shareholders.
D. Supermajority Shareholder Vote Requirement
Fidelity generally will support proposals regarding supermajority provisions if Fidelity believes that the provisions protect minority shareholder interests in companies where there is a substantial or dominant shareholder.
VII. Anti-Takeover Provisions and Director Elections
Fidelity will oppose the election of all directors or directors on responsible committees if the board adopted or extended an anti-takeover provision without shareholder approval.
Fidelity will consider supporting the election of directors with respect to poison pills if:
- All of the poison pill’s features outlined under the Anti-Takeover Provisions and Shareholders Rights section above are met when a poison pill is adopted or extended.
- A board is willing to consider seeking shareholder ratification of, or adding the features outlined under the Anti-Takeover Provisions and Shareholders Rights Plans section above to, an existing poison pill. If, however, the company does not take appropriate action prior to the next annual shareholder meeting, Fidelity will oppose the election of all directors at that meeting.
- It determines that the poison pill was narrowly tailored to protect a specific tax benefit, and subject to an evaluation of its likelihood to enhance long-term economic returns or maximize long-term shareholder value.
VIII. Capital Structure and Incorporation
These guidelines are designed to protect shareholders’ value in the companies in which the Fidelity funds invest. To the extent a company’s management is committed and incentivized to maximize shareholder value, Fidelity generally votes in favor of management proposals; Fidelity may vote contrary to management where a proposal is overly dilutive to shareholders and/or compromises shareholder value or other interests. The guidelines that follow are meant to protect shareholders in these respects.
A. Increases in Common Stock
Fidelity may support reasonable increases in authorized shares for a specific purpose (a stock split or re-capitalization, for example). Fidelity generally will oppose a provision to increase a company's authorized common stock if such increase will result in a total number of authorized shares greater than three times the current number of outstanding and scheduled to be issued shares, including stock options.
In the case of REITs, however, Fidelity will oppose a provision to increase the REIT’s authorized common stock if the increase will result in a total number of authorized shares greater than five times the current number of outstanding and scheduled to be issued shares.
B. Multi-Class Share Structures
Fidelity generally will support proposals to recapitalize multi-class share structures into structures that provide equal voting rights for all shareholders, and generally will oppose proposals to introduce or increase classes of stock with differential voting rights. However, Fidelity will evaluate all such proposals in the context of their likelihood to enhance long-term economic returns or maximize long-term shareholder value.
C. Incorporation or Reincorporation in another State or Country
Fidelity generally will support management proposals calling for, or recommending that, a company reincorporate in another state or country if, on balance, the economic and corporate governance factors in the proposed jurisdiction appear reasonably likely to be better aligned with shareholder interests, taking into account the corporate laws of the current and proposed jurisdictions and any changes to the company's current and proposed governing documents. Fidelity will consider supporting these shareholder proposals in limited cases if, based upon particular facts and circumstances, remaining incorporated in the current jurisdiction appears misaligned with shareholder interests.
IX. Shares of Fidelity Funds, ETFs, or other non-Fidelity Mutual Funds and ETFs
When a Fidelity fund invests in an underlying Fidelity fund with public shareholders, an exchange traded fund (ETF), or fund that is not affiliated, Fidelity will vote in the same proportion as all other voting shareholders of the underlying fund (this is known as “echo voting”). Fidelity may not vote if "echo voting" is not operationally practical or not permitted under applicable laws and regulations. For Fidelity fund investments in a Fidelity Series Fund, Fidelity generally will vote in a manner consistent with the recommendation of the Fidelity Series Fund's Board of Trustees on all proposals.
X. Foreign Markets
Many Fidelity funds invest in voting securities issued by companies that are domiciled outside the United States and are not listed on a U.S. securities exchange. Corporate governance standards, legal or regulatory requirements and disclosure practices in foreign countries can differ from those in the United States. When voting proxies relating to non-U.S. securities, Fidelity generally will evaluate proposals under these guidelines and where applicable and feasible, take into consideration differing laws, regulations and practices in the relevant foreign market in determining how to vote shares.
In certain non-U.S. jurisdictions, shareholders voting shares of a company may be restricted from trading the shares for a period of time around the shareholder meeting date. Because these trading restrictions can hinder portfolio management and could result in a loss of liquidity for a fund, Fidelity generally will not vote proxies in circumstances where such restrictions apply. In addition, certain non-U.S. jurisdictions require voting shareholders to disclose current share ownership on a fund-by-fund basis. When such disclosure requirements apply, Fidelity generally will not vote proxies in order to safeguard fund holdings information.
XI. Securities on Loan
Securities on loan as of a record date cannot be voted. In certain circumstances, Fidelity may recall a security on loan before record date (for example, in a particular contested director election or a noteworthy merger or acquisition). Generally, however, securities out on loan remain on loan and are not voted because, for example, the income a fund derives from the loan outweighs the benefit the fund receives from voting the security. In addition, Fidelity may not be able to recall and vote loaned securities if Fidelity is unaware of relevant information before record date, or is otherwise unable to timely recall securities on loan.
XII. Avoiding Conflicts of Interest
Voting of shares is conducted in a manner consistent with the best interests of the Fidelity funds. In other words, securities of a company generally will be voted in a manner consistent with these guidelines and without regard to any other Fidelity companies' business relationships.
Fidelity takes its responsibility to vote shares in the best interests of the funds seriously and has implemented policies and procedures to address actual and potential conflicts of interest.
XIII. Conclusion
Since its founding more than 70 years ago, Fidelity has been driven by two fundamental values: 1) putting the long-term interests of our customers and fund shareholders first; and 2) investing in companies that share our approach to creating value over the long-term. With these fundamental principles as guideposts, the funds are managed to provide the greatest possible return to shareholders consistent with governing laws and the investment guidelines and objectives of each fund.
Fidelity believes that there is a strong correlation between sound corporate governance and enhancing shareholder value. Fidelity, through the implementation of these guidelines, puts this belief into action through consistent engagement with portfolio companies on matters contained in these guidelines, and, ultimately, through the exercise of voting rights by the funds.
Glossary
• Burn rate means the total number of stock option and full value equity awards granted as compensation in a given year divided by the weighted average common stock outstanding for that same year.
- For a large-capitalization company, burn rate higher than 1.5%.
- For a small-capitalization company, burn rate higher than 2.5%.
- For a micro-capitalization company, burn rate higher than 3.5%.
• Golden parachute means employment contracts, agreements, or policies that include an excise tax gross-up provision; single trigger for cash incentives; or may result in a lump sum payment of cash and acceleration of equity that may total more than three times annual compensation (salary and bonus) in the event of a termination following a change in control.
• Large-capitalization company means a company included in the Russell 1000® Index or the Russell Global ex-U.S. Large Cap Index.
• Micro-capitalization company means a company with market capitalization under US $300 million.
• Poison pill refers to a strategy employed by a potential takeover / target company to make its stock less attractive to an acquirer. Poison pills are generally designed to dilute the acquirer's ownership and value in the event of a takeover.
• Small-capitalization company means a company not included in the Russell 1000® Index or the Russell Global ex-U.S. Large Cap Index that is not a Micro-Capitalization Company.
Proxy Voting - MacKay Shields.
Introduction
MacKay Shields LLC (“MacKay Shields” or the “Firm”), has adopted these “Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures” (the “Policy”) to ensure the Firm’s compliance with Rule 206(4)-6 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the “Advisers Act”) and other applicable fiduciary obligations. The Policy applies to proxies relating to securities held by clients of MacKay Shields who have delegated the responsibility of voting proxies to the Firm. The Policy is designed to assist Firm employees in meeting their specific responsibilities in this area and to reasonably ensure that proxies are voted in the best interests of the Firm’s clients.
Statement of Policy
It is the policy of MacKay Shields that where the Firm has voting authority, all proxies are to be voted in the best interest of the client without regard to the interests of MacKay Shields or other related parties. Specifically, MacKay Shields shall not subordinate the interests of clients to unrelated objectives, including MacKay Shields’ interests. MacKay Shields shall act with the care, skill, prudence and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent person acting in a like capacity and familiar with such matters would use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like character and with like aims. For purposes of the Policy, the “best interests of clients” shall mean, unless otherwise specified by the client, the clients’ best economic interests over the long term – that is, the common interest that all MacKay Shields clients share in seeing the value of a common investment increase over time. It is further the policy of the Firm that complete and accurate disclosure concerning its proxy voting policies and procedures and proxy voting records as required by the Advisers Act, be made available to its clients.
When proxies with respect to securities held by clients of MacKay Shields have not been received by MacKay Shields or its proxy voting service provider, MacKay Shields will make reasonable efforts to obtain missing proxies. MacKay Shields is not responsible for voting proxies it or its proxy voting service provider does not receive.
MacKay Shields may choose not to vote proxies under the following circumstances:
• If the effect on the client’s economic interests or the value of the portfolio holding is indeterminable or insignificant;
• If the cost of voting the proxy outweighs the possible benefit to the client; or
• If a jurisdiction imposes share blocking restrictions which prevent the Firm from trading shares.
Use of Third Party Proxy Voting Service Provider
To discharge its responsibility, MacKay Shields has examined third-party services that assist in the researching and voting of proxies and the development of voting guidelines. After such review, the Firm has selected Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc., (“ISS”), to research voting proposals, analyze the financial implications of voting proposals and vote proxies. MacKay Shields utilizes the research and analytical services, operational implementation, administration, record-keeping and reporting services provided by ISS.
Proxy Voting Guidelines
MacKay Shields has determined that, except as set forth in Sections 6 and 7, proxies for non-union clients who so specify will be voted in accordance with the voting recommendations contained in the applicable ISS non-union domestic or global proxy voting guidelines, as in effect from time to time (“Non-Union Guidelines”). Refer to Exhibit A for the current U.S. Summary Proxy Voting Guidelines.
MacKay Shields has determined that, except as set forth in Sections 6 and 7, proxies for union or Taft-Hartley clients who so specify will be voted in accordance with the voting recommendations contained in the applicable ISS Taft-Hartley domestic or international proxy voting guidelines, as in effect from time to time (“Union Guidelines”). A summary of the current Taft-Hartley U.S. Voting Guidelines and Taft- Hartley International Voting Guidelines are attached as Exhibit B.
For purposes of the Policy, the Non-Union and Union Guidelines are collectively referred to as the Standard Guidelines.
A client may choose to use proxy voting guidelines different from the Standard Guidelines (“Custom Guidelines”). Any Custom Guidelines must be furnished by the client to MacKay Shields in writing.
In the event the Standard Guidelines or any client’s Custom Guidelines do not address how a proxy should be voted or state that the vote is to be determined on a “case- by-case” basis, the proxy will be voted in accordance with ISS recommendations, subject to Section 6. In the event that ISS has not made a recommendation, MacKay Shields will follow the procedure set forth in Section 7.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, MacKay Shields will vote a proxy with respect to a particular security held by a client in accordance with such client’s specific request even if it is in a manner inconsistent with the Standard Guidelines or the client’s Custom Guidelines, as the case may be. Any such specific requests must be furnished to MacKay Shields by the client in writing and must be received by MacKay on a timely basis for instructing ISS how to cast the vote.
In order to avoid possible conflicts of interest, MacKay Shields votes proxies based on the Standard Guidelines or a client’s Custom Guidelines, as the case may be. However, it is recognized that the Firm’s portfolio management team has the ultimate responsibility for proxy voting.
For clients using the Standard Guidelines, the Firm will instruct ISS to cast votes in accordance with the Standard Guidelines. For clients using Custom Guidelines, the Firm will provide ISS with a copy of such Custom Guidelines and will instruct ISS to cast votes in accordance with such Custom Guidelines. ISS will cast votes in accordance with the Standard Guidelines or Custom Guidelines, as the case may be, unless instructed otherwise by MacKay Shields as set forth in Sections 6 and 7. Upon receipt of a specific request from a client pursuant to Section 4.6, the Firm will instruct ISS to cast such client’s proxy in accordance with such request.
Client Account Set-up and Review
Initially, MacKay Shields must determine whether the client seeks to retain the responsibility of voting proxies, or seeks to delegate that responsibility to the Firm. The marketing or client service person responsible for setting up the account, in conjunction with MacKay’s Legal/Compliance Department, will have primary responsibility for making that determination. In its sole discretion, the Firm may decline to accept authority to vote a client’s proxies. Any such refusal shall be in writing.
If MacKay Shields has authority to vote a client’s proxies, the marketing or client service person responsible for setting up the account will ask the client to specify in writing (which may be by e-mail) whether the Firm should vote proxies in accordance with the Non-Union Guidelines, Union Guidelines or Custom Guidelines, unless specified in the client’s investment management agreement.
In most cases, the delegation of voting authority to MacKay Shields, and the Firm’s use of a third-party proxy voting service provider shall be memorialized in the client’s investment management agreement.
MacKay Shields shall notify ISS of new client accounts using such form as ISS shall specify from time to time. Designated personnel within the Firm will be responsible for ensuring that each new client’s account for which the Firm has proxy voting authority is established on the appropriate systems and that each such account is properly coded for voting under the appropriate Non-Union Guidelines, Union Guidelines or Custom Guidelines, as the case may be.
Overriding Guidelines
A portfolio manager may propose that a particular proxy vote be cast in a manner different from the Standard Guidelines or an ISS voting recommendation, or may propose an abstention from voting, if he/she believes that to do so, based on all facts and circumstances, is in the best interest of the Firm’s clients as a whole. Any portfolio manager who proposes to override the Standard Guidelines or an ISS voting recommendation on a particular vote or to abstain from voting must complete a Proxy Vote Override/Decision Form, which is set forth in Schedule C.
Referral of Voting Decision by ISS to MacKay Shields
In the event that the Standard Guidelines or a client’s Custom Guidelines do not address how a proxy should be voted on a specific proposal for an issuer and ISS has not made a recommendation as to how such proxy should be voted, ISS will so advise MacKay Shields. In that event, the Legal/Compliance Department will request that the appropriate portfolio manager make a voting recommendation and complete a Proxy Vote Override/Decision Form.
In the event that the Standard Guidelines or a client’s Custom Guidelines require a “case-by-case” determination on a particular proxy vote and ISS has not made a recommendation as to how such proxy should be voted, ISS will so advise MacKay Shields. In that event, the Legal/Compliance Department will request that the appropriate portfolio manager make a voting recommendation and complete a Proxy Vote Override/Decision Form.
In the event that ISS determines that a conflict of interest exists as a result of which ISS is precluded from making a recommendation as to how a proxy should be voted on a specific proposal for an issuer, ISS will so advise MacKay Shields. In that event, the Legal/Compliance Department will request that the appropriate portfolio manager make a voting recommendation and complete a Proxy Vote Override/Decision Form.
Conflicts of Interest
The Firm’s portfolio managers may make proxy voting decisions in connection with (i) overriding the Standard Guidelines or an ISS voting recommendation pursuant to Section 6, or (ii) deciding on a vote pursuant to Section 7. In such event, the portfolio managers have an affirmative duty to disclose any potential conflict of interest known to them that exists between the Firm and the client on whose behalf the proxy is to be voted (“Conflict”).
By way of example, Conflicts may exist in situations where the Firm is called to vote on a proxy involving an issuer or proponent of a proxy proposal regarding the issuer where MacKay Shields or an affiliated person of the Firm also:
• Manages the issuer’s or proponent’s pension plan;
• Administers the issuer’s or proponent’s employee benefit plan;
• Provided brokerage, underwriting, insurance or banking services to the issuer or proponent; or
• Manages money for an employee group.
Additional Conflicts may exist, among others, if an executive of the Firm or its control affiliates is a close relative of, or has a personal or business relationship with:
• An executive of the issuer or proponent;
• A director of the issuer or proponent;
• A person who is a candidate to be a director of the issuer;
• A participant in the proxy contest; or
• A proponent of a proxy proposal.
Whether a relationship creates a Conflict will depend on the facts and circumstances. Even if these parties do not attempt to influence the Firm with respect to voting, the value of the relationship to MacKay Shields or an affiliate can create a Conflict.
After a Proxy Vote Override/Decision Form is completed pursuant to Sections 6 or 7, such Form, which elicits information as to whether a potential Conflict exists, must be submitted to the Legal/Compliance Department for review. If the Firm’s General Counsel (“GC”) or Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”) determines that there is no potential Conflict, the GC or CCO or their designee may instruct ISS to vote the proxy issue as set forth in the completed Form.
If the GC or CCO determines that there exists or may exist a Conflict, he or she will refer the issue to the Compliance Committee for consideration by convening (in person or via telephone) an emergency meeting of the Compliance Committee. For purposes of this Policy, a majority vote of those members present shall resolve any Conflict. The Compliance Committee will consider the facts and circumstances of the pending proxy vote and the potential or actual Conflict and make a determination as to how to vote the proxy – i.e., whether to permit or deny the recommendation of the portfolio manager, or whether to take other action, such as delegating the proxy vote to an independent third party or obtaining voting instructions from clients.
In considering the proxy vote and potential Conflict, the Compliance Committee may review the following factors, including but not limited to:
• The percentage of outstanding securities of the issuer held on behalf of clients by the Firm.
• The nature of the relationship of the issuer or proponent with the Firm, its affiliates or its executive officers.
• Whether there has been any attempt to directly or indirectly influence the portfolio manager’s decision.
• Whether the direction (for or against) of the proposed vote would appear to benefit the Firm or a related party.
• Whether an objective decision to vote in a certain way will still create a strong appearance of a Conflict.
MacKay Shields may not abstain from voting any such proxy for the purpose of avoiding Conflict.
Securities Lending
If MacKay Shields portfolio managers or their designees become aware of an upcoming shareholder meeting where there is an important vote to be taken, or become aware of a request for consent of security holders on a material matter affecting the investment, MacKay Shields will consider whether to request that clients call back securities loans, if applicable. In determining whether to request that clients call back securities loans, the relevant portfolio manager(s) shall consider whether the benefit to the client in voting the matter or giving or withholding consent outweighs the benefit to the client in keeping the security on loan. There may be instances when MacKay Shields may not be aware of the upcoming shareholder meeting or request for consent with sufficient time in advance to make such a request, or when MacKay Shields’ request that a client call back a securities loan in sufficient time to vote or give or withhold consent may not be successful.
Reporting
Upon request, MacKay Shields shall report annually (or more frequently if specifically requested) to its clients on proxy votes cast on their behalf. MacKay Shields will provide any client who makes a written or verbal request with a copy of a report disclosing how MacKay Shields voted securities held in that client’s portfolio. The report will generally contain the following information:
• The name of the issuer of the security;
• The security’s exchange ticker symbol;
• The security’s CUSIP number;
• The shareholder meeting date;
• A brief identification of the matter voted on;
• Whether the matter was proposed by the issuer or by a security holder;
• Whether MacKay Shields cast its vote on the matter on behalf of the client;
• How MacKay Shields voted on behalf of the client; and
• Whether MacKay Shields voted for or against management on behalf of the client.
Record-Keeping
Either MacKay Shields or ISS as indicated below will maintain the following records:
• A copy of the Policy and MacKay’s Standard Guidelines and Custom Guidelines;
• A copy of each proxy statement received by MacKay Shields or forwarded to ISS by the client’s custodian regarding client securities;
• A record of each vote cast by MacKay Shields on behalf of a client;
• A copy of all documents created by MacKay Shields that were material to making a decision on the proxy voting (or abstaining from voting) of client securities or that memorialize the basis for that decision including the resolution of any Conflict, a copy of all guideline override requests and all supporting documents; and
• A copy of each written request by a client for information on how MacKay Shields voted proxies on behalf of the client, as well as a copy of any written response by MacKay Shields to any request by a client for information on how MacKay Shields voted proxies on behalf of the client; records of oral requests for information or oral responses will not be kept.
Such records must be maintained for at least eight years, the first two years in an appropriate office of MacKay Shields.
Review of Voting and Guidelines
As part of its periodic reviews, MacKay Shields’ Legal/Compliance Department will conduct an annual review of the prior year’s proxy voting as well as the guidelines established for proxy voting. Documentation shall be maintained of this review and a report setting forth the results of the review will be presented annually to the Compliance Committee.
How to Request Information On How the Firm Voted Proxies
Clients may, at anytime, request and receive information from MacKay Shields as to how the Firm voted proxies for securities held in their account. Any such proxy information request should be in writing and mailed or faxed [(212) 303-6397] to MacKay Shields Client Services Department at:
MacKay Shields LLC
1345 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10105
ATTN: Client Services
Exhibits:
Exhibit A - 2020 U.S. Summary Proxy Voting Guidelines (Standard Guidelines for non-union clients) – published November 18, 2019. Effective for Meetings on or after February 1, 2020
Exhibit B (Part I and II) - 2020 U.S. Taft-Hartley Proxy Voting Guidelines and 2020 International Taft-Hartley Proxy Voting Guidelines (Standard Guidelines for union clients (Taft-Hartley) (US and International)) – published December 31, 2019
Schedule C - Proxy Vote Override/Decision Form
Access to the ISS Voting Guidelines mentioned above and other ISS Voting Guidelines are available at https://www.issgovernance.com/policy-gateway/voting-policies/
T. ROWE PRICE ASSOCIATES, INC. AND ITS INVESTMENT ADVISER AFFILIATES PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
RESPONSIBILITY TO VOTE PROXIES
T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., and its affiliated investment advisers (collectively, “T. Rowe Price”) recognize and adhere to the principle that one of the privileges of owning stock in a company is the right to vote in the election of the company’s directors and on matters affecting certain important aspects of the company’s structure and operations that are submitted to shareholder vote. The U.S.-registered investment companies which T. Rowe Price sponsors and serves as investment adviser (the “Price Funds”) as well as other investment advisory clients have delegated to T. Rowe Price certain proxy voting powers. As an investment adviser, T. Rowe Price has a fiduciary responsibility to such clients when exercising its voting authority with respect to securities held in their portfolios. T. Rowe Price reserves the right to decline to vote proxies in accordance with client-specific voting guidelines.
T. Rowe Price has adopted these Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures (“Policies and Procedures”) for the purpose of establishing formal policies and procedures for performing and documenting its fiduciary duty with regard to the voting of client proxies. This document is reviewed at least annually and updated as necessary.
Fiduciary Considerations. It is the policy of T. Rowe Price that decisions with respect to proxy issues will be made in light of the anticipated impact of the issue on the desirability of investing in the portfolio company from the viewpoint of the particular advisory client or Price Fund. Proxies are voted solely in the interests of the client, Price Fund shareholders or, where employee benefit plan assets are involved, in the interests of plan participants and beneficiaries. Our intent has always been to vote proxies, where possible to do so, in a manner consistent with our fiduciary obligations and responsibilities.
One of the primary factors T. Rowe Price considers when determining the desirability of investing in a particular company is the quality and depth of its management. We recognize that a company’s management is entrusted with the day-to-day operations of the company, as well as its long-term direction and strategic planning, subject to the oversight of the company’s board of directors. Accordingly, our proxy voting guidelines are not intended to substitute our judgment for management’s with respect to the company’s day-to-day operations. Rather, our proxy voting guidelines are designed to promote accountability of a company's management and board of directors to its shareholders; to align the interests of management with those of shareholders; and to encourage companies to adopt best practices in terms of their corporate governance and disclosure. In addition to our proxy voting guidelines, we rely on a company's public filings, its board recommendations, its track record, country-specific best practices codes, our research providers and – most importantly – our investment professionals’ views in making voting decisions.
T. Rowe Price seeks to vote all of its clients’ proxies. In certain circumstances, T. Rowe Price may determine that refraining from voting a proxy is in a client’s best interest, such as when the cost of voting outweighs the expected benefit to the client. For example, the practicalities and costs involved with international investing may make it impossible at times, and at other times disadvantageous, to vote proxies in every instance.
ADMINISTRATION OF POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Environmental, Social and Governance Committee. T. Rowe Price’s Environmental, Social and Governance Committee (“ESG Committee”) is responsible for establishing positions with respect to corporate governance and other proxy issues. Certain delegated members of the ESG Committee also review questions and respond to inquiries from clients and mutual fund shareholders pertaining to proxy issues. While the ESG Committee sets voting guidelines and serves as a resource for T. Rowe Price portfolio management, it does not have proxy voting authority for any Price Fund or advisory client. Rather, voting authority and responsibility is held by the Chairperson of the Price Fund’s Investment Advisory Committee or the advisory client’s portfolio manager. The ESG Committee is also responsible for the oversight of third-party proxy services firms that T. Rowe Price engages to facilitate the proxy voting process.
Proxy Voting Team. The Proxy Voting team is responsible for administering the proxy voting process as set forth in the Policies and Procedures.
Governance Team. Our Governance team is responsible for reviewing the proxy agendas for all upcoming meetings and making company-specific recommendations to our global industry analysts and portfolio managers with regard to the voting decisions in their portfolios.
Responsible Investment Team. Our Responsible Investment team oversees the integration of environmental and social factors into our investment processes across asset classes. In formulating vote recommendations for matters of an environmental or social nature, the Governance team frequently consults with the appropriate sector analyst from the Responsible Investment team.
HOW PROXIES ARE REVIEWED, PROCESSED AND VOTED
In order to facilitate the proxy voting process, T. Rowe Price has retained Institutional Shareholder Services ("ISS") as an expert in the proxy voting and corporate governance area. ISS specializes in providing a variety of fiduciary-level proxy advisory and voting services. These services include custom vote recommendations, research, vote execution, and reporting. Services provided by ISS do not include automated processing of votes on our behalf using the ISS Benchmark Policy recommendations. Instead, in order to reflect T. Rowe Price’s issue-by-issue voting guidelines as approved each year by the ESG Committee, ISS maintains and implements custom voting policies for the Price Funds and other advisory client accounts.
Meeting Notification
T. Rowe Price utilizes ISS' voting agent services to notify us of upcoming shareholder meetings for portfolio companies held in client accounts and to transmit votes to the various custodian banks of our clients. ISS tracks and reconciles our clients' holdings against incoming proxy ballots. If ballots do not arrive on time, ISS procures them from the appropriate custodian or proxy distribution agent. Meeting and record date information is updated daily and transmitted to T. Rowe Price through ProxyExchange, an ISS application.
Vote Determination
Each day, ISS delivers into T. Rowe Price’s customized ProxyExchange environment a comprehensive summary of upcoming meetings, proxy proposals, publications discussing key proxy voting issues, and custom vote recommendations to assist us with proxy research and processing. The final authority and responsibility for proxy voting decisions remains with T. Rowe Price. Decisions with respect to proxy matters are made primarily in light of the anticipated impact of the issue on the desirability of investing in the company from the perspective of our clients.
Portfolio managers execute their responsibility to vote proxies in different ways. Some have decided to vote their proxies generally in line with the guidelines as set by the ESG Committee. Others review the customized vote recommendations and approve them before the votes are cast. Portfolio managers have access to current reports summarizing all proxy votes in their client accounts. Portfolio managers who vote their proxies inconsistent with T. Rowe Price guidelines are required to document the rationale for their votes. The Proxy Voting team is responsible for maintaining this documentation and assuring that it adequately reflects the basis for any vote which is contrary to our proxy voting guidelines.
T. Rowe Price Voting Policies
Specific proxy voting guidelines have been adopted by the ESG Committee for all regularly occurring categories of management and shareholder proposals. A detailed set of proxy voting guidelines is available on the T. Rowe Price website, www.troweprice.com/esgpolicy.
Global Portfolio Companies
The ESG Committee has developed custom international proxy voting guidelines based on ISS’ general global policies, regional codes of corporate governance, and our own views as investors in these markets. ISS applies a two-tier approach to determining and applying global proxy voting policies. The first tier establishes baseline policy guidelines for the most fundamental issues, which span the corporate governance spectrum without regard to a company’s domicile. The second tier takes into account various idiosyncrasies of different countries, making allowances for standard market practices, as long as they do not violate the fundamental goals of good corporate governance. The goal is to enhance shareholder value through effective use of the shareholder franchise, recognizing that application of a single set of policies is not appropriate for all markets.
Fixed Income and Passively Managed Strategies
Proxy voting for our fixed income and indexed portfolios is administered by the Proxy Voting team using T. Rowe Price’s guidelines as set by the ESG Committee. Indexed strategies generally vote in line with the T. Rowe Price guidelines. Fixed income strategies generally follow the proxy vote determinations on security holdings held by our equity accounts unless the matter is specific to a particular fixed income security such as consents, restructurings, or reorganization proposals.
Shareblocking
Shareblocking is the practice in certain countries of “freezing” shares for trading purposes in order to vote proxies relating to those shares. In markets where shareblocking applies, the custodian or sub-custodian automatically freezes shares prior to a shareholder meeting once a proxy has been voted. T. Rowe Price’s policy is generally to refrain from voting shares in shareblocking countries unless the matter has compelling economic consequences that outweigh the loss of liquidity in the blocked shares.
Securities on Loan
The Price Funds and our institutional clients may participate in securities lending programs to generate income for their portfolios. Generally, the voting rights pass with the securities on loan; however, lending agreements give the lender the right to terminate the loan and pull back the loaned shares provided sufficient notice is given to the custodian bank in advance of the applicable deadline. T. Rowe Price’s policy is generally not to vote securities on loan unless we determine there is a material voting event that could affect the value of the loaned securities. In this event, we have the discretion to pull back the loaned securities in order to cast a vote at an upcoming shareholder meeting. A monthly monitoring process is in place to review securities on loan and how they may affect proxy voting.
Monitoring and Resolving Conflicts of Interest
The ESG Committee is also responsible for monitoring and resolving potential material conflicts between the interests of T. Rowe Price and those of its clients with respect to proxy voting. We have adopted safeguards to ensure that our proxy voting is not influenced by interests other than those of our fund shareholders and other investment advisory clients. While membership on the ESG Committee is diverse, it does not include individuals whose primary duties relate to client relationship management, marketing, or sales. Since T. Rowe Price’s voting guidelines are predetermined by the ESG Committee, application of the guidelines by portfolio managers to vote client proxies should in most instances adequately address any potential conflicts of interest. However, consistent with the terms of the Policies and Procedures, which allow portfolio managers to vote proxies opposite our general voting guidelines, the ESG Committee regularly reviews all such proxy votes that are inconsistent with the proxy voting guidelines to determine whether the portfolio manager’s voting rationale appears reasonable. The ESG Committee also assesses whether any business or other material relationships between T. Rowe Price and a portfolio company (unrelated to the ownership of the portfolio company’s securities) could have influenced an inconsistent vote on that company’s proxy. Issues raising potential conflicts of interest are referred to designated members of the ESG Committee for immediate resolution prior to the time T. Rowe Price casts its vote.
With respect to personal conflicts of interest, T. Rowe Price’s Code of Ethics and Conduct requires all employees to avoid placing themselves in a “compromising position” in which their interests may conflict with those of our clients and restrict their ability to engage in certain outside business activities. Portfolio managers or ESG Committee members with a personal conflict of interest regarding a particular proxy vote must recuse themselves and not participate in the voting decisions with respect to that proxy.
Specific Conflict of Interest Situations - Voting of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. common stock (sym: TROW) by certain T. Rowe Price Index Funds will be done in all instances in accordance with T. Rowe Price voting guidelines and votes inconsistent with the guidelines will not be permitted. In the event that there is no previously established guideline for a specific voting issue appearing on the T. Rowe Price Group proxy, the Price Funds will abstain on that voting item. In addition, T. Rowe Price has voting authority for proxies of the holdings of certain Price Funds that invest in other Price Funds. In cases where the underlying fund of an investing Price Fund, including a fund-of-funds, holds a proxy vote, T. Rowe Price will mirror vote the fund shares held by the upper-tier fund in the same proportion as the votes cast by the shareholders of the underlying funds (other than the T. Rowe Price Reserve Investment Fund).
Limitations on Voting Proxies of Banks
T. Rowe Price has obtained relief from the U.S. Federal Reserve Board (the “FRB Relief”) which permits, subject to a number of conditions, T. Rowe Price to acquire in the aggregate on behalf of its clients, 10% or more of the total voting stock of a bank, bank holding company, savings and loan holding company or savings association (each a “Bank”), not to exceed a 15% aggregate beneficial ownership maximum in such Bank. One such condition affects the manner in which T. Rowe Price will vote its clients’ shares of a Bank in excess of 10% of the Bank’s total voting stock (“Excess Shares”). The FRB Relief requires that T. Rowe Price use its best efforts to vote the Excess Shares in the same proportion as all other shares voted, a practice generally referred to as “mirror voting,” or in the event that such efforts to mirror vote are unsuccessful, Excess Shares will not be voted. With respect to a shareholder vote for a Bank of which T. Rowe Price has aggregate beneficial ownership of greater than 10% on behalf of its clients, T. Rowe Price will determine which of its clients’ shares are Excess Shares on a pro rata basis across all of its clients’ portfolios for which T. Rowe Price has the power to vote proxies.
REPORTING, RECORD RETENTION AND OVERSIGHT
The ESG Committee, and certain personnel under the direction of the ESG Committee, perform the following oversight and assurance functions, among others, over T. Rowe Price’s proxy voting: (1) periodically samples proxy votes to ensure that they were cast in compliance with T. Rowe Price’s proxy voting guidelines; (2) reviews, no less frequently than annually, the adequacy of the Policies and Procedures to make sure that they have been implemented effectively, including whether they continue to be reasonably designed to ensure that proxies are voted in the best interests of our clients; (3) performs due diligence on whether a retained proxy advisory firm has the capacity and competency to adequately analyze proxy issues, including the adequacy and quality of the proxy advisory firm’s staffing and personnel and its policies; and (4) oversees any retained proxy advisory firms and their procedures regarding their capabilities to (i) produce proxy research that is based on current and accurate information and (ii) identify and address any conflicts of interest and any other considerations that we believe would be appropriate in considering the nature and quality of the services provided by the proxy advisory firm.
T. Rowe Price will furnish Vote Summary Reports, upon request, to its institutional clients that have delegated proxy voting authority. The report specifies the portfolio companies, meeting dates, proxy proposals, and votes which have been cast for the client during the period and the position taken with respect to each issue. Reports normally cover quarterly or annual periods and are provided to such clients upon request.
T. Rowe Price retains proxy solicitation materials, memoranda regarding votes cast in opposition to the position of a company’s management, and documentation on shares voted differently. In addition, any document which is material to a proxy voting decision such as the T. Rowe Price proxy voting guidelines, ESG Committee meeting materials, and other internal research relating to voting decisions are maintained in accordance with applicable requirements.
To view a fund's proxy voting record for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, if applicable, visit www.fidelity.com/proxyvotingresults or visit the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov.
DISTRIBUTION SERVICES
The fund has entered into a distribution agreement with FDC, an affiliate of Strategic Advisers. The principal business address of FDC is 900 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917. FDC is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. The distribution agreement calls for FDC to use all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to secure purchasers for shares of the fund, which are continuously offered at NAV. Promotional and administrative expenses in connection with the offer and sale of shares are paid by Strategic Advisers.
The Trustees have approved a Distribution and Service Plan with respect to shares of the fund (the Plan) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the Rule). The Rule provides in substance that a fund may not engage directly or indirectly in financing any activity that is primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund except pursuant to a plan approved on behalf of the fund under the Rule. The Plan, as approved by the Trustees, allows shares of the fund and/or Strategic Advisers to incur certain expenses that might be considered to constitute indirect payment by the fund of distribution expenses.
The Plan adopted for the fund is described in the prospectus.
Under the Plan, if the payment of management fees by the fund to Strategic Advisers is deemed to be indirect financing by the fund of the distribution of its shares, such payment is authorized by the Plan. The Plan specifically recognizes that Strategic Advisers may use its management fee revenue, as well as its past profits or its other resources, to pay FDC for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund and/or shareholder support services. In addition, the Plan provides that Strategic Advisers, directly or through FDC, may pay significant amounts to intermediaries that provide those services. Currently, the Board of Trustees has authorized such payments for shares of the fund.
Prior to approving the Plan, the Trustees carefully considered all pertinent factors relating to the implementation of the Plan, and determined that there is a reasonable likelihood that the Plan will benefit the fund and its shareholders. In particular, the Trustees noted that the Plan does not authorize payments by shares of the fund other than those made to Strategic Advisers under its management contract with the fund. To the extent that the Plan gives Strategic Advisers and FDC greater flexibility in connection with the distribution of shares, additional sales of shares or stabilization of cash flows may result. Furthermore, certain shareholder support services may be provided more effectively under the Plan by local entities with whom shareholders have other relationships.
TRANSFER AND SERVICE AGENT AGREEMENTS
The fund has entered into a transfer agent agreement with Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Company LLC (FIIOC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers, which is located at 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210. Under the terms of the agreement, FIIOC (or an agent, including an affiliate) performs transfer agency services.
For providing transfer agency services, FIIOC receives no fees from the fund; however, each underlying Fidelity® fund pays its respective transfer agent (either FIIOC or an affiliate of FIIOC) fees based, in part, on the number of positions in and/or assets of the fund invested in such underlying Fidelity® fund. Strategic Advisers or an affiliate of Strategic Advisers will bear the costs of the transfer agency services with respect to assets managed by one or more sub-advisers and assets invested in non-affiliated ETFs under the terms of an agreement between Strategic Advisers and FIIOC.
FIIOC may collect fees charged in connection with providing certain types of services such as exchanges, closing out fund balances, maintaining fund positions with low balances, checkwriting, wire transactions, and providing historical account research, as applicable.
FIIOC bears the expense of typesetting, printing, and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, and all other reports, notices, and statements to existing shareholders, with the exception of proxy statements.
The fund has entered into a service agent agreement with Fidelity Service Company, Inc. (FSC), an affiliate of Strategic Advisers (or an agent, including an affiliate). Under the terms of the agreement, FSC calculates the NAV and dividends for shares, maintains the fund's portfolio and general accounting records, and administers the fund's securities lending program.
For providing pricing and bookkeeping services, FSC receives a monthly fee based on the fund's average daily net assets throughout the month.
Strategic Advisers or its affiliate bears the cost of pricing and bookkeeping services under the terms of an agreement between Strategic Advisers and FSC.
DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST
Trust Organization. Strategic Advisers® Municipal Bond Fund is a fund of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, an open-end management investment company created under an initial trust instrument dated March 8, 2006. The Trustees are permitted to create additional funds in the trust and to create additional classes of the fund.
The assets of the trust received for the issue or sale of shares of each of its funds and all income, earnings, profits, and proceeds thereof, subject to the rights of creditors, are allocated to such fund, and constitute the underlying assets of such fund. The underlying assets of each fund in the trust shall be charged with the liabilities and expenses attributable to such fund. Any general expenses of the trust shall be allocated between or among any one or more of the funds.
Shareholder Liability. The trust is a statutory trust organized under Delaware law. Delaware law provides that, except to the extent otherwise provided in the Trust Instrument, shareholders shall be entitled to the same limitations of personal liability extended to stockholders of private corporations for profit organized under the general corporation law of Delaware. The courts of some states, however, may decline to apply Delaware law on this point. The Trust Instrument contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for the debts, liabilities, obligations, and expenses of the trust. The Trust Instrument provides that the trust shall not have any claim against shareholders except for the payment of the purchase price of shares and requires that each agreement, obligation, or instrument entered into or executed by the trust or the Trustees relating to the trust or to a fund shall include a provision limiting the obligations created thereby to the trust or to one or more funds and its or their assets. The Trust Instrument further provides that shareholders of a fund shall not have a claim on or right to any assets belonging to any other fund.
The Trust Instrument provides for indemnification out of a fund's property of any shareholder or former shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund solely by reason of his or her being or having been a shareholder and not because of his or her acts or omissions or for some other reason. The Trust Instrument also provides that a fund shall, upon request, assume the defense of any claim made against any shareholder for any act or obligation of the fund and satisfy any judgment thereon. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which Delaware law does not apply, no contractual limitation of liability was in effect, and a fund is unable to meet its obligations. Strategic Advisers believes that, in view of the above, the risk of personal liability to shareholders is extremely remote.
Voting Rights. Each fund's capital consists of shares of beneficial interest. Shareholders are entitled to one vote for each dollar of net asset value they own. The voting rights of shareholders can be changed only by a shareholder vote. Shares may be voted in the aggregate, by fund, and by class.
The shares have no preemptive or conversion rights. Shares are fully paid and nonassessable, except as set forth under the heading "Shareholder Liability" above.
The trust or a fund or a class may be terminated upon the sale of its assets to, or merger with, another open-end management investment company, series, or class thereof, or upon liquidation and distribution of its assets. The Trustees may reorganize, terminate, merge, or sell all or a portion of the assets of the trust or a fund or a class without prior shareholder approval. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of the trust, shareholders of each of its funds are entitled to receive the underlying assets of such fund available for distribution. In the event of the dissolution or liquidation of a fund or a class, shareholders of that fund or that class are entitled to receive the underlying assets of the fund or class available for distribution.
Custodian. The Bank of New York Mellon, 1 Wall Street, New York, New York, is custodian of the assets of the fund. The custodian is responsible for the safekeeping of the fund's assets and the appointment of any subcustodian banks and clearing agencies. From time to time, subject to approval by a fund's Treasurer, a Fidelity® fund may enter into escrow arrangements with other banks if necessary to participate in certain investment offerings.
Strategic Advisers, its officers and directors, its affiliated companies, Members of the Advisory Board (if any), and Members of the Board of Trustees may, from time to time, conduct transactions with various banks, including banks serving as custodians for certain funds advised by Strategic Advisers. Transactions that have occurred to date include mortgages and personal and general business loans. In the judgment of the fund's adviser, the terms and conditions of those transactions were not influenced by existing or potential custodial or other fund relationships.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 101 Seaport Boulevard, Boston, Massachusetts, independent registered public accounting firm, audits financial statements for the fund and provides other audit, tax, and related services.
FUND HOLDINGS INFORMATION
The fund views holdings information as sensitive and limits its dissemination. The Board authorized Strategic Advisers, in consultation with FMR, to establish and administer guidelines for the dissemination of fund holdings information, which may be amended at any time without prior notice. FMR's Disclosure Policy Committee (comprising executive officers of FMR) evaluates disclosure policy with the goal of serving the fund's best interests by striking an appropriate balance between providing information about the fund's portfolio and protecting the fund from potentially harmful disclosure. The Board reviews the administration and modification of these guidelines and receives reports from the fund's chief compliance officer periodically.
Other registered investment companies that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser may be subject to different portfolio holdings disclosure policies, and neither Strategic Advisers nor the Board exercises control over such policies or disclosure. In addition, separate account clients of Strategic Advisers and the sub-advisers have access to their portfolio holdings and are not subject to the fund's portfolio holdings disclosure policies. Some of the funds that are advised or sub-advised by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser and some of the separate accounts managed by Strategic Advisers or a sub-adviser have investment objectives and strategies that are substantially similar or identical to the fund's and, therefore, potentially substantially similar, and in certain cases nearly identical, portfolio holdings as the fund.
The fund will provide a full list of holdings monthly on www.fidelity.com 30 days after the month-end.
The fund will provide its top mutual fund positions (if any) on Fidelity's web site (i) monthly, 30 days after month-end, and (ii) quarterly, 15 or more days after the quarter-end.
Unless otherwise indicated, this information will be available on the web site until updated for the next applicable period.
The fund may also from time to time provide or make available to the Board or third parties upon request specific fund level performance attribution information and statistics. Third parties may include fund shareholders or prospective fund shareholders, members of the press, consultants, and ratings and ranking organizations. Nonexclusive examples of performance attribution information and statistics may include (i) the allocation of the fund’s portfolio holdings and other investment positions among various asset classes, sectors, industries, and countries, (ii) the characteristics of the stock and bond components of the fund’s portfolio holdings and other investment positions, (iii) the attribution of fund returns by asset class, sector, industry, and country and (iv) the volatility characteristics of the fund.
FMR’s Disclosure Policy Committee may approve a request for fund level performance attribution and statistics as long as (i) such disclosure does not enable the receiving party to recreate the complete or partial portfolio holdings of any Fidelity fund prior to such fund’s public disclosure of its portfolio holdings and (ii) Fidelity has made a good faith determination that the requested information is not material given the particular facts and circumstances. Fidelity may deny any request for performance attribution information and other statistical information about a fund made by any person, and may do so for any reason or for no reason.
Disclosure of non-public portfolio holdings information for a Fidelity fund’s portfolio may only be provided pursuant to the guidelines below.
The Use of Holdings In Connection With Fund Operations. Material non-public holdings information may be provided as part of the activities associated with managing Fidelity® funds to: entities which, by explicit agreement or by virtue of their respective duties to the fund, are required to maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed; other parties if legally required; or persons Strategic Advisers believes will not misuse the disclosed information. These entities, parties, and persons include, but are not limited to: the fund's trustees; the fund's manager, its sub-advisers, if any, and their affiliates whose access persons are subject to a code of ethics (including portfolio managers of affiliated funds of funds); contractors who are subject to a confidentiality agreement; the fund's auditors; the fund's custodians; proxy voting service providers; financial printers; pricing service vendors; broker-dealers in connection with the purchase or sale of securities or requests for price quotations or bids on one or more securities; securities lending agents; counsel to the fund or its Independent Trustees; regulatory authorities; stock exchanges and other listing organizations; parties to litigation; third parties in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding relating to a fund holding; and third parties who have submitted a standing request to a money market fund for daily holdings information. Non-public holdings information may also be provided to an issuer regarding the number or percentage of its shares that are owned by the fund and in connection with redemptions in kind.
Other Uses Of Holdings Information. In addition, the fund may provide material non-public holdings information to (i) third parties that calculate information derived from holdings for use by Strategic Advisers, a sub-adviser, or their affiliates, (ii) ratings and rankings organizations, and (iii) an investment adviser, trustee, or their agents to whom holdings are disclosed for due diligence purposes or in anticipation of a merger involving the fund. Each individual request is reviewed by the Disclosure Policy Committee which must find, in its sole discretion that, based on the specific facts and circumstances, the disclosure appears unlikely to be harmful to the fund. Entities receiving this information must have in place control mechanisms to reasonably ensure or otherwise agree that, (a) the holdings information will be kept confidential, (b) no employee shall use the information to effect trading or for their personal benefit, and (c) the nature and type of information that they, in turn, may disclose to third parties is limited. Strategic Advisers relies primarily on the existence of non-disclosure agreements and/or control mechanisms when determining that disclosure is not likely to be harmful to the fund.
At this time, the entities receiving information described in the preceding paragraph are: Factset Research Systems Inc. (full or partial holdings daily, on the next business day) and MSCI Inc. and certain affiliates (full or partial fund holdings daily, on the next business day).
Strategic Advisers, its affiliates, or the fund will not enter into any arrangements with third parties from which they derive consideration for the disclosure of material non-public holdings information. If, in the future, such an arrangement is desired, prior Board approval would be sought and any such arrangements would be disclosed in the fund's SAI.
There can be no assurance that the fund's policies and procedures with respect to disclosure of fund portfolio holdings will prevent the misuse of such information by individuals and firms that receive such information.
APPENDIX
Strategic Advisers, Fidelity Investments & Pyramid Design, and Fidelity are registered service marks of FMR LLC. © 2021 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.
Any third-party marks that may appear above are the marks of their respective owners.
Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II
Post-Effective Amendment No. 111 (’33 Act)
Amendment No. 114 (’40 Act)
PART C. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 28.
Exhibits
(a)
(b)
(c)
Not applicable.
(d)
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)
(13)
(14)
(15)
(16)
(17)
(18)
(19)
(20)
(21)
(22)
(23)
(24)
(25)
(26)
(27)
(28)
(29)
(30)
(31)
(32)
(33)
(34)
(35)
(36)
(37)
(38)
(39)
Amended and Restated Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated September 2, 2020, between Strategic Advisers LLC and Massachusetts Financial Services Company (currently known as MFS Investment Management (MFS)), on behalf of Strategic Advisers International Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(38) of Post-Effective Amendment Nos. 110 & 113.
(40)
(41)
(42)
(43)
(44)
(45)
(46)
(47)
(48)
(49)
(50)
(51)
(52)
(53)
(54)
(55)
(56)
(57)
(58)
(59)
Sub-Advisory Agreement, between Strategic Advisers LLC and FIAM LLC, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Municipal Bond Fund, is to be filed by subsequent amendment.
(60)
Sub-Advisory Agreement, between Strategic Advisers LLC and MacKay Shields, on behalf of Strategic Advisers Municipal Bond Fund, is to be filed by subsequent amendment.
(61)
Sub-Advisory Agreement, between Strategic Advisers LLC and T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., on behalf of Strategic Advisers Municipal Bond Fund, is to be filed by subsequent amendment.
(62)
(63)
(64)
(65)
(66)
(67)
(68)
(69)
(70)
(71)
(72)
(73)
(74)
(75)
(76)
(77)
(78)
(79)
(80)
(81)
(82)
(83)
(84)
(85)
(86)
(87)
(e)
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)
(13)
(f)
(g)
(1)
(2)
(h)
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)
(13)
(i)
Legal Opinion of Dechert LLP, dated June 8, 2021, is filed herein as Exhibit (i).
(j)
Not applicable.
(k)
Not applicable.
(l)
Not applicable.
(m)
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)
(13)
(n)
Not applicable.
(p)
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)
(13)
(14)
(15)
(16)
(17)
(18)
(19)
(20)
(21)
(22)
(23)
(24)
(25)
(26)
(27)
(28)
(29)
(30)
(31)
(32)
(33)
(34)
Item 29.
Trusts Controlled by or Under Common Control with this Trust
The Board of Trustees of the Trust is the same as the board of other Fidelity funds, each of which has Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, or an affiliate, or Geode Capital Management LLC, as its investment adviser. In addition, the officers of the Trust are substantially identical to those of the other Fidelity funds. Nonetheless, the Trust takes the position that it is not under common control with other Fidelity funds because the power residing in the respective boards and officers arises as the result of an official position with the respective trusts.
Item 30.
Indemnification
Pursuant to Del. Code Ann. title 12 § 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. Article X, Section 10.02 of the Trust Instrument sets forth the reasonable and fair means for determining whether indemnification shall be provided to any past or present Trustee or officer. It states that the Trust shall indemnify any present or past trustee or officer to the fullest extent permitted by law against liability, and all expenses reasonably incurred by him or her in connection with any claim, action, suit or proceeding in which he or she is involved by virtue of his or her service as a trustee or officer and against any amount incurred in settlement thereof. Indemnification will not be provided to a person adjudged by a court or other adjudicatory body to be liable to the Trust or its shareholders by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of his or her duties (collectively, “disabling conduct”), or not to have acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that his or her action was in the best interest of the Trust. In the event of a settlement, no indemnification may be provided unless there has been a determination, as specified in the Trust Instrument, that the officer or trustee did not engage in disabling conduct.
Pursuant to Section 11 of the Distribution Agreement, the Trust agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Distributor and each of its directors and officers and each person, if any, who controls the Distributor within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act against any loss, liability, claim, damages or expense (including the reasonable cost of investigating or defending any alleged loss, liability, claim, damages, or expense and reasonable counsel fees incurred in connection therewith) arising by reason of any person acquiring any shares, based upon the ground that the registration statement, Prospectus, Statement of Additional Information, shareholder reports or other information filed or made public by the Trust (as from time to time amended) included an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated or necessary in order to make the statements not misleading under the 1933 Act, or any other statute or the common law. However, the Trust does not agree to indemnify the Distributor or hold it harmless to the extent that the statement or omission was made in reliance upon, and in conformity with, information furnished to the Trust by or on behalf of the Distributor. In no case is the indemnity of the Trust in favor of the Distributor or any person indemnified to be deemed to protect the Distributor or any person against any liability to the Issuer or its security holders to which the Distributor or such person would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under this Agreement.
Pursuant to the agreement by which Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Company LLC (“FIIOC”) is appointed transfer agent, the Registrant agrees to indemnify and hold FIIOC harmless against any losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses (including reasonable counsel fees and expenses) resulting from:
(1)
any claim, demand, action or suit brought by any person other than the Registrant, including by a shareholder, which names FIIOC and/or the Registrant as a party and is not based on and does not result from FIIOC’s willful misfeasance, bad faith or negligence or reckless disregard of duties, and arises out of or in connection with FIIOC’s performance under the Transfer Agency Agreement; or
(2)
any claim, demand, action or suit (except to the extent contributed to by FIIOC’s willful misfeasance, bad faith or negligence or reckless disregard of duties) which results from the negligence of the Registrant, or from FIIOC’s acting upon any instruction(s) reasonably believed by it to have been executed or communicated by any person duly authorized by the Registrant, or as a result of FIIOC’s acting in reliance upon advice reasonably believed by FIIOC to have been given by counsel for the Registrant, or as a result of FIIOC’s acting in reliance upon any instrument or stock certificate reasonably believed by it to have been genuine and signed, countersigned or executed by the proper person.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling the Registrant, the Registrant has been informed 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.
Item 31.
Business and Other Connections of Investment Advisors
(1) STRATEGIC ADVISERS LLC
Strategic Advisers LLC serves as investment adviser to and provides investment supervisory services to individuals, banks, thrifts, pension and profit sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations, and other business organizations, and provides a variety of publications on investment and personal finance. Strategic Advisers LLC may also provide investment advisory services to other investment advisers. The directors and officers of have held the following positions of a substantial nature during the past two fiscal years.
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Peter Brian Enyeart |
President. |
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Wilfred Chilangwa |
Vice President of Strategic Advisers LLC. |
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James Cracraft |
Senior Vice President of Strategic Advisers LLC. |
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Barry J. Golden |
Vice President of Strategic Advisers LLC. |
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David Coyne |
Director. |
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Sriram Subramaniam |
Director. |
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Eric C. Green |
Assistant Treasurer of Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, Strategic Advisers LLC, Fidelity Distributors Company LLC, and FMR Capital Inc; Executive Vice President, Tax and Assistant Treasurer of FMR LLC. Previously served as Assistant Treasurer of FMRC, FIMM, SelectCo, LLC, and Fidelity Distributors Corporation (2019). |
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Scott B. Kuldell |
Senior Vice President of Strategic Advisers LLC. |
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Kevin M. Meagher |
Chief Compliance Officer of Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, FMR H.K., FMR Japan, FMR Investment Management (UK) Limited, FIAM, and Strategic Advisers LLC. Previously served as Chief Compliance Officer of FMRC, FIMM, SelectCo, LLC. |
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James Gryglewicz |
Compliance Officer of SelectCo and Strategic Advisers LLC. Previously served as Chief Compliance Officer of Strategic Advisers LLC. |
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Christopher Rimmer |
Treasurer of Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, FMR H.K., FMR Japan, and Strategic Advisers LLC; President and Director FMR Capital Inc.; Director of FMR Investment Management (UK) Limited (2021). Previously served as Treasurer of FMRC, FIMM, and SelectCo, LLC; Chief Accounting Officer FMR LLC. |
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Brian C. McLain |
Assistant Secretary Strategic Advisers LLC. Previously served as Assistant Secretary of Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC). |
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John A. Stone |
Vice President of Strategic Advisers LLC. |
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Scott Kirwin |
Chief Legal Officer. |
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Stephanie Caron |
Chief Operating Officer (2019). |
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Paul Quistberg |
Chief Information Officer (2019). Previously served Chief Investment Officer (2019). |
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(2)
FIAM, LLC (FIAM)
The directors and officers of FIAM, LLC have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
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Martin McGee |
Director and Chief Financial Officer (2020). |
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Vadim Zlotnikov |
Director and President (2020). |
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Casey M. Condron |
Director, Head of FIAM Institutional Client Group (2020); Previously served as Head of FIAM Institutional Sales and Relationship Management (2020). |
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Ian Baker |
Senior Vice President. |
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Horace Codjoe |
Vice President. |
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James S. Carroll |
Director. |
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Kim Daniels |
Assistant Treasurer. |
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Timothy Abbuhl |
Treasurer (2020). |
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Jennifer R. Suellentrop |
Secretary. |
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Brian C. McLain |
Assistant Secretary Strategic Advisers LLC. Previously served as Assistant Secretary of Fidelity Distributors Corporation (FDC) (2019). |
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John Bertone |
Assistant Secretary. |
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Kevin M. Meagher |
Chief Compliance Officer of Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, FMR H.K., FMR Japan, FMR Investment Management (UK) Limited, FIAM, and Strategic Advisers LLC. Previously served as Chief Compliance Officer of FMRC, FIMM, SelectCo, LLC. |
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Kimberly L. Perry |
Director (2021). |
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(3) FIDELITY MANAGEMENT & RESEARCH (HONG KONG) LIMITED (FMR H.K.)
FMR H.K. provides investment advisory services to other investment advisers. The directors and officers of the Sub-Adviser have held the following positions of a substantial nature during the past two fiscal years.
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Sharon Yau Lecornu |
Chief Executive Officer of FMR H.K., Executive Director of FMR H.K., Director of Investment Services – Asia, and Director of FMR H.K. |
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William Francis Shanley III |
Director of FMR Japan and FMR H.K. |
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Christopher J. Seabolt |
Director of FMR H.K. and FMR UK. |
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Adrian James Tyerman |
Compliance Officer FMR H.K. and FMR UK, Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer of FMR Investment Management (UK) Limited. |
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Kevin M. Meagher |
Chief Compliance Officer of Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, FMR H.K., FMR Japan, FMR Investment Management (UK) Limited, FIAM, and Strategic Advisers LLC. Previously served as Chief Compliance Officer of FMRC, FIMM, SelectCo, LLC. |
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Christopher Rimmer |
Treasurer of Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, FMR H.K., FMR Japan, and Strategic Advisers LLC; President and Director FMR Capital Inc.; Director of FMR Investment Management (UK) Limited (2021). Previously served as Treasurer of FMRC, FIMM, and SelectCo, LLC; Chief Accounting Officer FMR LLC. |
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Cynthia Lo Bessette |
Senior Vice President, Secretary and Chief Legal Officer Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC (2019); Chief Legal Officer FMR H.K (2019), FMR Japan (2019) and FMR Investment Management (UK) Limited (2020); Previously served as Senior Vice President, Secretary and Chief Legal Officer FMRC (2019); Secretary SelectCo, LLC and FIMM (2019). |
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(4) FIDELITY MANAGEMENT & RESEARCH (JAPAN) LIMITED (FMR JAPAN)
FMR Japan provides investment advisory services to other investment advisers. The directors and officers of the Sub-Adviser have held the following positions of a substantial nature during the past two fiscal years.
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Timothy M. Cohen |
Director of FMR Japan; Executive Vice President SelectCo, LLC (2019). |
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Risteard Hogan |
Director of FMR Japan (2020). |
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Rieko Hirai |
Director of FMR Japan. |
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Kan Man Wong |
Director of FMR Japan (2019). |
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Kirk Roland Neureiter |
Director of FMR Japan. |
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William Francis Shanley III |
Director of FMR Japan and FMR H.K. |
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Koichi Iwabuchi |
Statutory Auditor of FMR Japan (2020); Previously served as Compliance Officer of FMR Japan (2020). |
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Ryo Sato |
Compliance Officer of FMR Japan (2020). |
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Kevin M. Meagher |
Chief Compliance Officer of Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, FMR H.K., FMR Japan, FMR Investment Management (UK) Limited, FIAM, and Strategic Advisers LLC. Previously served as Chief Compliance Officer of FMRC, FIMM, SelectCo, LLC. |
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Cynthia Lo Bessette |
Senior Vice President, Secretary and Chief Legal Officer Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC (2019); Chief Legal Officer FMR H.K (2019), FMR Japan (2019) and FMR Investment Management (UK) Limited (2020); Previously served as Senior Vice President, Secretary and Chief Legal Officer FMRC (2019); Secretary SelectCo, LLC and FIMM (2019). |
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Christopher Rimmer |
Treasurer of Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, FMR H.K., FMR Japan, and Strategic Advisers LLC; President and Director FMR Capital Inc.; Director of FMR Investment Management (UK) Limited (2021). Previously served as Treasurer of FMRC, FIMM, and SelectCo, LLC; Chief Accounting Officer FMR LLC. |
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(5) FMR INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT (UK) LIMITED (FMR UK)
FMR UK provides investment advisory services to other investment advisers. The directors and officers of the Sub-Adviser have held the following positions of a substantial nature during the past two fiscal years.
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Mark D. Flaherty |
Director FMR Investment Management (UK) Limited. |
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Niamh Brodie-Machura |
Director FMR Investment Management (UK) Limited (2020). |
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Christopher J. Seabolt |
Director of FMR H.K. and FMR UK. |
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Adrian James Tyerman |
Compliance Officer FMR H.K. Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer of FMR Investment Management (UK) Limited. |
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Kevin M. Meagher |
Chief Compliance Officer of Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, FMR H.K., FMR Japan, FMR Investment Management (UK) Limited, FIAM, and Strategic Advisers LLC. Previously served as Chief Compliance Officer of FMRC, FIMM, SelectCo, LLC. |
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Cynthia Lo Bessette |
Senior Vice President, Secretary and Chief Legal Officer Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC (2019); Chief Legal Officer FMR H.K (2019), FMR Japan (2019) and FMR Investment Management (UK) Limited (2020); Previously served as Senior Vice President, Secretary and Chief Legal Officer FMRC (2019); Secretary SelectCo, LLC and FIMM (2019). |
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(6) FIL INVESTMENT ADVISORS (FIA)
The directors and officers of FIA have held the following positions of a substantial nature during the past two fiscal years.
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Rohit Mangla |
Chief Compliance Officer of FIA, Director of FIJ (2020). |
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Paras Anand |
Director of FIA (2020). |
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Elizabeth Hickmott |
Assistant Secretary of FIA. |
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May Huimei Li |
SFC Emergency Contact Person and Compliant Officer of FIA (2020). |
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Michael Ng |
SFC Emergency Contact Person and Compliant Officer of FIA. |
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Allan Pelvang |
Director of FIA. Previously Director of FIJ. |
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Matthew Heath |
Director. |
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Rosalie Powell |
Company Secretary of FIA. |
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Deborah Speight |
Alternate Director to all Directors of FIA. |
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Neal Turchairo |
Director of FIA. |
(7) FIL INVESTMENT ADVISORS (UK) LIMITED (FIA(UK))
The directors and officers of FIA(UK) have held the following positions of a substantial nature during the past two fiscal years.
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Dominic Rossi |
Director of FIA(UK). |
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Andrew McCaffery |
Director of FIA(UK) (2019). |
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Victoria Kelly |
Director of FIA(UK) (2019). |
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Maria Abbonizio |
Director of FIA(UK) (2019). |
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Malcolm Palmer |
Director of FIA(UK) (2021). |
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FIL Investment Management Limited |
Company Secretary of FIA(UK) (2020). |
(8) GEODE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC (Geode)
Geode serves as investment adviser to a number of other investment companies AND OTHER ACCOUNTS. Geode may also provide investment advisory services to other investment advisers. The directors and officers have held the following positions of a substantial nature during the past two fiscal years.
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Robert Minicus |
President and Chief Executive Officer (2021); Previously served as Director (2020), Director of FMR Investment Management (UK) Limited (2020). |
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Jeffrey S. Miller |
Chief Operating Officer. |
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Joseph Ciardi |
Chief Compliance Officer. |
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Sorin Codreanu |
Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. |
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Matt Nevins |
General Counsel. |
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Lionel Harris |
Director (2021). |
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Franklin Corning Kenly |
Director. |
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Arlene Rockefeller |
Director. |
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Eric Roiter |
Director. |
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Jennifer Uhrig |
Director. |
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Philip L. Bullen |
Director. |
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Thomas Sprague |
Director (2019). |
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Michael Even |
Director (2019). |
(9)
ACADIAN ASSET MANAGEMENT, LLC
The directors and officers of Acadian Asset Management, LLC have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
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Alexandre Voitenok |
SVP, Director, Portfolio Construction and Implementation/Executive Committee Member |
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Brendan Bradley |
CIO, Execuitve Committee member |
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Charmaine Catania |
SVP, Chief Financial Officer |
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Elie Sugarman |
Manager |
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John Chisholm |
Co-CEO, Member of Board of Managers |
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Kelly Young |
EVP, Chief Marketing Officer, Executive Committee member |
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Mark Minichiello |
Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, Treasurer, Secretary, Member of Board of Managers |
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Marlene Shaw |
SVP, Director, Americas Relationship Management/Executive Committee Member |
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Mike Miles |
SVP, Global Director, Human Resources, Executive Committee member |
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Peter Noll |
SVP, CTO, Executive Committee member |
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Richard Hart |
Manager |
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Ross Dowd |
Co-CEO, Member of Board of Managers |
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Ryan Taliaferro |
SVP, Director, Equity Strategies/Executive Committee Member |
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Scott Dias |
SVP, CCO, General Counsel, Executive Committee member |
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Surender Rana |
Manager |
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Ted Noon |
SVP, Director, Americas Client Group, Executive Committee member |
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(10)
ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN L.P.
The directors and officers of AllianceBernstein L.P. have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
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Ali Dibadj |
Head of Finance & Strategy |
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Bertram L. Scott |
Director - AllianceBernstein Corporation |
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Charles G. T. Stonehill |
Director – AllianceBernstein Corporation (and Director - AXA Equitable Holdings, Inc., AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company; Founding Partner - Green & Blue Advisors LLC) |
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Daniel G. Kaye |
Director - AllianceBernstein Corporation (and Director - AXA Equitable Holdings, Inc., AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, MONY Life Insurance Company of America) |
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Das Narayandas |
Director - AllianceBernstein Corporation (and Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School) |
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Jeffrey J. Hurd |
Director – AllianceBernstein Corporation (and Chief Operating Officer - AXA Equitable Holdings, Inc.) |
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John C. Weisenseel |
Chief Financial Officer |
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Kate C. Burke |
Chief Operating Officer |
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Kristi A. Matus |
Director - AllianceBernstein Corporation (and Director - AXA Equitable Holdings, Inc., AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, MONY Life Insurance Company of America; Executive Advisor - Thomas H. Lee Partners) |
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Laurence E. Cranch |
Chief Legal Officer |
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Mark Pearson |
Director - AllianceBernstein Corporation (and Director, President and CEO - AXA Equitable Holdings, Inc.; Chairman and CEO - AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company; Director - MONY Life Insurance Company of America) |
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Nella Domenici |
Director – AllianceBernstein Corporation |
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Nicholas Lane |
Director – AllianceBernstein Corporation (and President - AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company; Senior Exec VP and Head of US Life, Retirement and Wealth Mgmt - AXA Equitable Holdings, Inc.) |
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Paul L. Audet |
Director - AllianceBernstein Corporation (and Founder/Managing Member - Symmetrical Ventures) |
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Ramon de Oliveira |
Chairman of the Board and Director - AllianceBernstein Corporation (and Chairman/Director - AXA Equitable Holdings, Inc.; Director - AXA; Managing Director - Investment Audit Practice) |
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Seth Bernstein |
President and Chief Executive Officer and Director - AllianceBernstein Corporation |
(11)
ARISTOTLE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC
The directors and officers of Aristotle Capital, LLC have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
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Catalina Llinas |
Co-Chief Investment Officer |
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Gary Lisenbee |
Co-CEO |
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Howard Gleicher |
CEO and Chief Investment Officer |
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Michelle Gosom |
Chief Compliance Officer |
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Nancy Scarlett |
Chief Risk Officer |
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Richard S. Hollander |
Chairman |
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Richard Schweitzer |
Chief Financial Officer & Chief Operating Officer |
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Sona Chandwani |
Chief Administrative Officer |
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Steve Borowski |
President |
(12)
ARROWMARK COLORADO HOLDINGS, LLC
The directors and officers of Arrowmark Colorado Holdings, LLC, have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
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Brian Schaub, CFA |
Partner, Portfolio Manager |
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Chad Meade |
Partner, Portfolio Manager |
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Chris Dunne |
Managing Director, Investor Relations |
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David Corkins |
Partner, Portfolio Manager |
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Kaelyn Abrell |
Partner, Analyst |
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Karen Reidy, CFA |
Partner, Portfolio Manager |
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Rick Grove |
CCO |
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Sanjai Bhonsle |
Partner, Portfolio Manager |
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(13)
ARROWSTREET CAPITAL, LIMITED PARTNERSHIP
The directors and officers of Arrowstreet Capital, Limited Partnership have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
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Albert S. Kyle |
Non-Executive Director |
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Anthony Ryan |
Chief Executive Officer, Executive Director |
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Bruce Clarke |
Non-Executive Director |
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Derek Vance |
Executive Director |
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Eric Burnett |
Chief Compliance Officer |
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John Y. Campbell |
Executive Director |
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Nirali Maniar Gandhi |
Chief Financial Officer |
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Peter Rathjens |
Chief Investment Officer, Executive Director |
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Sarah Fromson |
Non-Executive Director |
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Thomas DeLong |
Non-Executive Director |
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Tuomo Vuolteenaho |
Executive Director |
(14)
BOSTON PARTNERS GLOBAL INVESTORS, INC (Formerly ROBECO INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, INC.)
The directors and officers of Robeco Investment Management, Inc. have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
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David Van Hooser |
Director |
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Greg Varner |
CFO |
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Joseph Feeney, CFA |
Director, CEO |
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Kenneth Lengieza |
CCO |
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Mark Donovan, CFA |
Director |
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Mark Kuzminskas |
Chief Operating Officer (COO) |
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Paul Wilson |
Director |
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Stan Koyanagi |
Director, Chairperson of the Board of Directors |
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William Butterly, III, Esq. |
General Counsel, Secretary |
(15)
BRANDYWINE GLOBAL INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, LLC.
The directors and officers of Brandywine Global Investment Management, LLC. have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
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Adam B. Spector |
Managing Director |
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Christopher David Marzullo |
General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer |
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David Fenno Hoffman |
Senior Managing Director and Board Chairman |
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Henry F. Otto |
Senior Managing Director |
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Jed A. Plafker |
Elected Manager |
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Mark Paul Glassman |
Chief Administrative Officer & Treasurer |
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Matthew Nicholls |
Elected Manager |
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Patrick S. Kaser |
Managing Director |
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Steven M. Tonkovich |
Senior Managing Director |
(16)
CAUSEWAY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC. (Causeway)
The directors and officers of Causeway have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
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Dawn M. Vroegop |
Independent Manager of Board of Managers of Causeway’s parent holding company |
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Gracie Varras Fermelia |
Chief Operating Officer, member of Board of Managers of Causeway’s parent holding company |
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Harry William Hartford |
President, Portfolio Manager, member of Board of Managers of Causeway’s parent holding company |
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Kurt J. Decko |
Chief Compliance Officer / General Counsel |
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Sarah Hotchkis Ketterer |
Chief Executive Officer, Portfolio Manager, member of Board of Managers of Causeway’s parent holding company |
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(17)
CLARIVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LLC
The directors and officers of Clarivest Asset Management LLC have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
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Aaron Ochstein |
Member |
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David Raymond Vaughn |
CIO - Non-U.S. and Global Strategies, Member |
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Ed Rick |
Member |
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Eric Wilwant |
Member |
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J. Cooper Abbott |
Member |
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Jeff A. Jacobson |
Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operations Officer |
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Tiffany Ann Ayres |
President, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, Member |
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Todd Nathan Wolter |
CIO - U.S. and Alternative Strategies, Member |
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(18)
CLEARBRIDGE INVESTMENTS, LLC.
The directors and officers of ClearBridge Investments, LLC have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
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Barbara Brooke Manning |
General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer |
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Cynthia List |
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER; DIRECTOR |
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Gwen Louise Shaneyfelt |
Director |
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Harry Cohen |
Co-Chief Investment Officer |
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Jed Andrew Plafker |
Director |
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Jennifer Morrow Johnson |
Director |
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John Haller |
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER |
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Matthew Nicholls |
Director |
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Scott Glasser |
CO-CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER; DIRECTOR |
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Terrence Murphy |
PRESIDENT; DIRECTOR; CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER |
(19)
INVESCO ADVISERS, INC. (Invesco)
The directors and officers of Invesco have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
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A. George Baumann |
Assistant Vice President |
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Amanda Roberts |
Assistant Secretary |
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Amy L. Pitts |
Limited Signer - Compliance Certifications and RIA Letters |
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Andrew R. Schlossberg |
Senior Vice President |
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Anita Karier |
Vice President |
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Ann White |
Senior Vice President |
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Annette Lege |
Chief Accounting Officer, CFO and Treasurer |
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Aroon Balani |
Vice President |
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Bernard Langer |
Vice President |
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Beth Zayicek |
Vice President |
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Betsy Warrick |
Assistant Vice President |
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Brian Kramer |
Senior Vice President |
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Bruce Simmons |
Assistant Vice President |
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Bunyak, Jared |
Limited Signer - Operational/Trading/Settlement |
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Caleb Wong |
Vice President |
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Carolyn L. Gibbs |
Vice President |
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Catherine McLagan |
Vice President |
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Charles S. Pulire |
Vice President |
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Chiusano, Dominick |
Vice President |
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Chris Devine |
Vice President |
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Christopher Kelly |
Senior Vice President |
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Clas G. Olsson |
Vice President |
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Clint Harris |
Vice President |
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Colin D. Meadows |
Director |
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Crissie M. Wisdom |
Anti-Money Laundering Officer |
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Deberghes, Adrien |
Vice President |
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Donna Wilson |
Vice President |
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Doshi, Pratik |
Vice President |
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Dukes, Allison |
Director |
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Duncan Walker |
Vice President |
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Duy Nguyen |
Vice President |
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Elizabeth Nelson |
Assistant Secretary |
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Erik Esselink |
Assistant Vice President |
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Erik Voss |
Vice President |
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Erven, James |
Vice President |
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Filingeri, Nicole |
Vice President |
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Frank Jennings |
Senior Vice President |
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Galateria, John |
Vice President |
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Gary DeMoss |
Assistant Vice President |
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Gary K. Wendler |
Senior Vice President |
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George Evans |
Senior Vice President |
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Gerald Cubbin |
Senior Vice President |
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Gerry, Anne |
Assistant Secretary |
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Geyer, Will S. |
Senior Vice President |
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Glen Murphy |
Vice President |
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Gregory Freer |
Vice President |
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Gregory G. McGreevey |
Director, President and Chief Executive Officer |
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Elizabeth Nelson |
Assistant Secretary |
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Erik Esselink |
Assistant Vice President |
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Erik Voss |
Vice President |
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Erven, James |
Vice President |
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Filingeri, Nicole |
Vice President |
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Frank Jennings |
Senior Vice President |
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Galateria, John |
Vice President |
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Gary DeMoss |
Assistant Vice President |
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Gary K. Wendler |
Senior Vice President |
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George Evans |
Senior Vice President |
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Gerald Cubbin |
Senior Vice President |
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Gerry, Anne |
Assistant Secretary |
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Geyer, Will S. |
Senior Vice President |
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Glen Murphy |
Vice President |
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Gregory Freer |
Vice President |
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Gregory G. McGreevey |
Director, President and Chief Executive Officer |
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Elizabeth Nelson |
Assistant Secretary |
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Erik Esselink |
Assistant Vice President |
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Erik Voss |
Vice President |
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Erven, James |
Vice President |
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Filingeri, Nicole |
Vice President |
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Frank Jennings |
Senior Vice President |
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|
Galateria, John |
Vice President |
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|
Gary DeMoss |
Assistant Vice President |
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|
Gary K. Wendler |
Senior Vice President |
||
|
George Evans |
Senior Vice President |
||
|
Gerald Cubbin |
Senior Vice President |
||
|
Gerry, Anne |
Assistant Secretary |
||
|
Geyer, Will S. |
Senior Vice President |
||
|
Glen Murphy |
Vice President |
||
|
Gregory Freer |
Vice President |
||
|
Gregory G. McGreevey |
Director, President and Chief Executive Officer |
||
|
Elizabeth Nelson |
Assistant Secretary |
|
Erik Esselink |
Assistant Vice President |
|
Erik Voss |
Vice President |
|
Erven, James |
Vice President |
|
Filingeri, Nicole |
Vice President |
|
Frank Jennings |
Senior Vice President |
|
Galateria, John |
Vice President |
|
Gary DeMoss |
Assistant Vice President |
|
Gary K. Wendler |
Senior Vice President |
|
George Evans |
Senior Vice President |
|
Gerald Cubbin |
Senior Vice President |
|
Gerry, Anne |
Assistant Secretary |
|
Geyer, Will S. |
Senior Vice President |
|
Glen Murphy |
Vice President |
|
Gregory Freer |
Vice President |
|
Gregory G. McGreevey |
Director, President and Chief Executive Officer |
|
Hettich, Josh |
Limited Signer - Operational/Trading/Settlement |
|
Hill, Ken W. |
Assistant Vice President |
|
Hormoz Haghbin |
Senior Vice President |
|
Hubbard, Peter D. |
Vice President |
|
James Kennedy |
Senior Vice President |
|
Jason W. Geer |
Assistant Vice President |
|
Jeanette, Michael C. |
Vice President |
|
Jeanine Parker |
Assistant Vice President |
|
Jeffrey H. Kupor |
Secretary & Senior Vice President |
|
Jennifer Foxson |
Senior Vice President and Assistant Secretary |
|
Jennifer Gilmore |
Vice President |
|
Joe Portera |
Vice President |
|
Joe V. Rodriguez |
Vice President |
|
Joel Breitenbach |
Assistant Vice President |
|
John Anzalone |
Vice President |
|
John Boydell |
Senior Vice President |
|
John Galateria |
Vice President |
|
John M. Zerr |
Senior Vice President |
|
Juenke, Mary E. |
Vice President |
|
Kathleen Schmitz |
Assistant Vice President |
|
Kelli R. Gallegos |
Vice President |
|
Kellie K. Veazey |
Assistant Vice President |
|
Kevin Holt |
Vice President |
|
Kevin M. Carome |
Director |
|
Kuehl, Todd F. |
Chief Compliance Officer |
|
Laurie Brignac |
Vice President |
|
Lee Phegley |
Assistant Vice President |
|
Leslie Schmidt |
Senior Vice President |
|
Lukkes, David |
Vice President |
|
M. Kevin Cronin |
Senior Vice President |
|
Manind Govil |
Senior Vice President and Assistant Treasurer |
|
Mario Clemente |
Vice President |
|
Mark Blackburn |
Assistant Vice President |
|
Mark Gregson |
Controller |
|
Mark Paris |
Vice President |
|
Mark R. Demitry |
Vice President |
|||
|
Marvin Flewellen |
Vice President |
|||
|
McAvoy, Collin R. |
Limited Signer - Operational/Trading/Settlement Documents |
|||
|
McDonough, John |
Senior Vice President |
|||
|
McMaster, Mike |
Vice President |
|||
|
Melanie Ringold |
Assistant Secretary |
|||
|
Michael Kirby |
Assistant Vice President |
|||
|
Michael L. Camarella |
Vice President |
|||
|
Mike Hyman |
Vice President |
|||
|
Miller, Jan |
Vice President |
|||
|
Mossow, Elizabeth S. |
Vice President |
|||
|
Neznek, Kevin |
Senior Vice President |
|||
|
Olson, Susan P. |
Vice President |
|||
|
Patel, Parimal |
Limited Signer – Compliance Certifications and RIA Letters |
|||
|
Peter S. Gallagher |
Vice President |
|||
|
R. Scott Dennis |
Senior Vice President |
|||
|
Randall Dishmon |
Senior Vice President |
|||
|
Ray Uy |
Assistant Vice President |
|||
|
Rob Waldner |
Vice President |
|||
|
Robert R. Smith |
Vice President |
|||
|
Robert Rigsby |
Senior Vice President |
|||
|
Robin Dey |
Senior Vice President |
|||
|
Ronald S. Sloan |
Vice President |
|||
|
Schlobohm, John L. |
Limited Signer - Operational/Trading/Settlement Documents |
|||
|
Scott Cottier |
Senior Vice President |
|||
|
Scott West |
Assistant Vice President |
|
Scott Wolle |
Vice President |
|
Seisser, Tony J. |
Vice President |
|
Sheri Morris |
Senior Vice President |
|
Silva, Christopher E. |
Limited Signer - Operational/Trading/Settlement |
|
Smith, Cynthia |
Limited Signer - Operational/Trading/Settlement |
|
Smith, Stuart |
Limited Signer - Operational/Trading/Settlement |
|
Stephanie Bullington |
Vice President |
|
Stephen R. Rimes |
Assistant Secretary |
|
Stephen Swanson |
Assistant Secretary |
|
Stephen Swanson |
Assistant Secretary |
|
Stuart Cartner |
Senior Vice President |
|
Suzanne Christensen |
Vice President |
|
Thomas Wilson |
Senior Vice President |
|
Tony Oh |
Senior Vice President |
|
Tony Wong |
Vice President |
|
Tucci, Vincent |
Limited Signer - Operational/Trading/Settlement Documents |
|
Valerie Sanders |
Senior Vice President |
|
Vataj, Zoje |
Limited Signer – Proxy Documents |
|
Veronica Castillo |
Assistant Secretary |
|
Volpe, Steve C. |
Limited Signer – Compliance Certifications and RIA Letters |
|
Waldron, Haley |
Assistant Vice President |
|
Walker, Robert J. |
Limited Signer - Operational/Trading/Settlement |
|
Walker, Robert J. |
Limited Signer - Operational/Trading/Settlement |
|
Warrick, Betsy |
Assistant Vice President |
|
Washington Dender |
Vice President |
|
Watson, Brian D. |
Senior Vice President |
|
Wunderlich, Erich |
Limited Signer - Compliance Certifications and RIA Letters |
|
Zayicek, Beth |
Vice President |
|
Zerr, John M. |
Senior Vice President |
(20)
J.P. MORGAN INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC.
The directors and officers of J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc. have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
|
Camacho, Michael |
Director/Head of Investment Platforms/Managing Director |
|
Donohue, John T |
Director/President/CEO/Head of Global Liquidity/Managing Director |
|
Dowd, Joy C |
Director/Managing Director |
|
Gatch, George C |
Director/Chairman/Managing Director |
|
Laskowitz, Jedediah |
Head of Asset Management Solutions/Managing Director |
|
Michele, Robert C |
Director/CIO and Head of Global Fixed Income, Currency & Commodities/Managing Director |
|
Oliva, John, L |
Chief Compliance Officer/Managing Director |
|
Pil, Anton |
Director/Global Head of Global Alternatives/Managing Director |
|
Powell, Andrew |
Director/AM CAO/Head of Global Client Service/Managing Director/Senior Business Manager |
|
Quinsee, Paul A |
Global Head of Equity/Director/Managing Director |
|
Richter, Scott |
Secretary/Managing Director |
|
Sullivan, Craig |
Director/Treasurer/CFO/Managing Director |
(21)
LOOMIS, SAYLES & COMPANY, L.P.
The directors and officers of Loomis, Sayles & Company, L.P have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
|
Aziz V. Hamzaogullari |
Director, Executive Vice President, Chief Investment Officer of the Growth Equity Strategies Team, and Portfolio Manager |
||
|
Beverly M. Bearden |
Director, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Natixis Investment Managers, L.P. |
||
|
Daniel J. Fuss, CFA, CIC |
Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, Executive Vice President, and Portfolio Manager |
||
|
David Giunta |
Director, Chief Executive Officer of Natixis Investment Managers US and Canada |
||
|
David Waldman |
Director, Executive Vice President, Deputy Chief Investment Officer |
||
|
Donald P. Ryan |
Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer, and Counsel |
||
|
Elaine M. Stokes |
Director, Executive Vice President, Portfolio Manager, and Co-Head of the Full Discretion Team |
||
|
Estelle H. Burton |
Controller |
||
|
Gregory B. Woodgate |
Vice President and Treasurer |
||
|
Jaehoon Park |
Director, Executive Vice President, and Chief Investment Officer |
||
|
Jean Raby |
Director and Chief Executive Officer of Natixis Investment Managers |
||
|
Jean S. Loewenberg |
Director, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary |
||
|
John F. Gallagher, III |
Director, Executive Vice President, and Director of Institutional Services |
||
|
John F. Russell |
Director, Executive Vice President, and Head of Human Resources |
||
|
John R. Gidman |
Director, Executive Vice President, and Chief Operating Officer |
||
|
Kevin P. Charleston |
Chairman of the Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer and President |
||
|
Matthew J. Eagan |
Director, Executive Vice President, and Portfolio Manager |
||
|
Maurice Leger |
Director, Executive Vice President, and Director of Product Management and Strategic Planning |
||
|
Paul J. Sherba |
Director, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer |
||
|
Richard G. Raczkowski |
Director, Executive Vice President, Portfolio Manager, and Co-Head of the Relative Return Team |
||
(22)
LSV ASSET MANAGEMENT
The directors and officers of LSV Asset Management have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
|
Josef Lakonishok |
Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer |
|
Josh O’Donnell |
Chief Legal Officer and Chief Compliance Officer |
|
Kevin Phelan |
Chief Operating Officer |
(23)
MFS Investment Management
The directors and officers of MFS Investment Management have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
|
Amanda S. Mooradian |
Assistant Secretary |
|
Amrit Birsingh Kanwal |
Executive Vice President; Chief Financial Officer |
|
Carol W. Geremia |
Director, President and Head of Global Distribution |
|
Colm J. Freyne |
Director |
|
Daniel W. Finegold |
Assistant Secretary |
|
David A. Antonelli |
Vice Chairman |
|
Edward M. Maloney |
EVP and CIO |
|
Heidi W Hardin |
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary |
|
Jacques Goulet |
Director |
|
Jessica Howell |
Assistant Secretary |
|
Jonathan N. Aliber |
EVP and Chief Technology Officer |
|
Joseph A. Zelic |
Tax Officer and Assistant Treasurer |
|
Kevin D. Strain |
Director |
|
Kimberly M. Collins |
Assistant Secretary |
|
Mark A. Leary |
Executive Vice President; Chief Human Resources Officer |
|
Martin J. Wolin |
Chief Compliance Officer |
|
Melissa J. Kennedy |
Director |
|
Michael William Roberge |
Director and Chief Executive Officer |
|
Mitchell C. Freestone |
Assistant Secretary |
|
Robert James Manning |
Director; Non-Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board of Directors |
|
Robin Ann Stelmach |
Vice Chairman |
|
Scott Chin |
Treasurer |
|
Stephen C. Peacher |
Director |
(24)
PGIM
The directors and officers of PGIM (Formerly Prudential Investment Management, Inc.) have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
|
Allen A. Weaver |
Director, Senior Managing Director & Vice President |
|
Chad A. Earnst |
Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer |
|
David A. Hunt |
Chairman, Director, President & CEO PGIM |
|
David M. Durning |
Senior Managing Director, PGIM Real Estate Finance & Vice President |
|
Eric B. Collinet-Adler |
Senior Managing Director, PGIM Real Estate Finance & Vice President |
|
Jurgen Muhlhauser |
Director, Vice President, and Chief Financial Officer |
|
Maureen Baker Fialcowitz |
Vice President and Chief Legal Officer |
|
Michael Lillard |
Director, Senior Managing Director, Senior Vice President |
|
Taimur Hyat |
Chief Operating Officer, Vice President |
(25)
PINEBRIDGE INVESTMENTS LLC
The directors and officers of PineBridge Investments LLC. have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
|
Eric Smith |
General Counsel |
|
Gregory Ehret |
Director and Chief Executive Officer |
|
John Blevins |
Chief Compliance Officer |
|
Michael Karpik |
Director and Chief Operating Officer |
|
Pierre Mellinger |
President of PineBridge Investments Partners LLC |
|
Tracie Ahern |
Director and Chief Financial Officer |
(26)
PORTOLAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC
The directors and officers of Portolan Capital Management, LLC have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
|
Christopher Nardone |
Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Financial Officer |
|
George McCabe |
Owner, Chief Investment Officer |
|
Nancy Bonner |
Chief Operating Officer |
(27)
PRINCIPAL GLOBAL INVESTORS, LLC
The directors and officers of Principal Global Investors, LLC, Inc. have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
|
Amy C. Friedrich |
President - U.S. Insurance Solutions |
|
Angela R. Sanders |
Senior Vice President/Controller |
|
Barbara McKenzie |
Senior Executive Director - Investments |
|
Bethany A. Wood |
Senior Vice President/Chief Marketing Officer |
|
Betsy J. Bernard |
Director |
|
Blair C. Pickerell |
Director |
|
C. Daniel Gelatt, Jr. |
Director |
|
Christopher J. Littlefield |
Executive Vice President/General Counsel/Secretary |
|
Daniel Houston |
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer - Principal Financial Group |
|
David Blake |
Senior Executive Director - Fixed Income |
|
Deanna D. Strable-Soethout |
Executive Vice President/Chief Financial Officer |
|
Dennis Jon Menken |
Senior Vice President |
|
Diane C. Nordin |
Director |
|
Elizabeth Bandoli Happe |
Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer |
|
Elizabeth E. Tallett |
Director |
|
Ellen Shumway |
Senior Executive Directory - Strategy & Investment |
|
Gary P. Scholten |
Executive Vice President/Chief Information Officer/Chief Digital Officer |
|
Gerald W. Patterson |
Senior Vice President/Retirement and Income Solutions |
|
Gregory A. Linde |
Senior Vice President/Individual Life |
|
Jill Hittner |
Executive Director - Chief Financial Officer, Principal Global Investors |
|
Jocelyn Carter-Miller |
Director |
|
Jon N. Couture |
Senior Vice President/Chief Human Resources Officer |
|
Jonathan S. Auerbach |
Director |
|
Kamal Bhatia |
President, Principal Funds |
|
Kara M. Hoogensen |
Senior Vice President/Specialty Benefits |
|
Kevin McCullum |
Senior Vice President and Chief Risk Officer |
|
Leanne M. Valentine |
Senior Vice President/Deputy General Counsel |
|
Luis E. Valdes |
President - International Asset Management and Accumulation |
|
Mark S. Lagomarcino |
Senior Vice President/Deputy General Counsel |
|
Michael T. Dan |
Director |
|
Nicholas M. Cecere |
Senior Vice President - USIS Distribution |
|
Patrick Halter |
Chief Executive Officer & President - Principal Global Asset Management |
|
Pedro Esteban Borda Teruggi |
Senior Vice President/Chief Operating Officer, Principal International |
|
Renee V. Schaaf |
President - Retirement and Income Solutions |
|
Roberto Andres Walker |
Senior Vice President/President, Principal Financial Group - Latin America |
|
Roger C. Hochschild |
Director |
|
Sandra L. Helton |
Director |
|
Scott M. Mills |
Director |
|
Srinivas Dharam Reddy |
Senior Vice President/Retirement and Income Solutions |
|
Wee Yee (Thomas) Cheong |
Senior Vice President/President, Principal Asia |
(28)
RICE HALL JAMES & ASSOCIATES, LLC
The directors and officers of Rice Hall James & Associates, LLC, Inc. have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
|
Cara Thome |
Managing Member, Portfolio Manager |
|
Carl Obeck |
Member, CFO |
|
Janine Marquez |
CCO |
|
Lou Holtz |
Managing Member, CIO, Portfolio Manager |
|
Thao Buuhoan |
Managing Member, President & COO |
|
Thomas McDowell |
Managing Member, CEO/CIO |
|
Timothy Todaro |
Managing Member, Portfolio Manager |
|
Yossi Lipsker |
Managing Member, Portfolio Manager |
(29)
RIVER ROAD ASSET MANAGEMENT
The directors and officers of River Road Asset Management have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
|
Elizabeth A. Brenner, PhD, SPHR |
Director of Strategic Human Resources |
|
Greg E. Deuser, CFA |
Chief Investment Risk & Analytics Officer |
|
Henry W. Sanders III, CFA |
Executive Vice President & Senior Portfolio Manager |
|
J. Alex Brown |
Co-Chief Investment Officer & Director of Research |
|
R. Andrew Beck |
Chief Executive Officer & Senior Portfolio Manager |
|
Robert W. Wainwright |
Chief Business Development Officer |
|
Thomas D. Mueller, CFA, CPA |
Chief Operating Officer & Chief Compliance Officer |
|
Thomas S. Forsha, CFA |
Co-Chief Investment Officer & Portfolio Manager |
(30)
SCHRODER INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT NORTH AMERICA INC.,
The directors and officers of Schroder Investment Management North America Inc., have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
|
Andrew Moscow |
Head of FIxed Income Mangement SIMNA Ltd |
|
Carin Muhlbaum |
Assistant Secretary- SIMNA Inc. |
|
Christopher Neil Taylor |
Director- SIMNA Ltd |
|
Janice McCann |
Assistant Secretary- SIMNA Inc. |
|
Joseph Bertini |
Compliance Officer- SIMNA Inc. |
|
Lance DeLuca |
COO Investment SIMNA Ltd |
|
Marc Brookman |
CEO of North America |
|
Mark A. Hemenetz |
Director and Chief Operating Officer- SIMNA Inc. |
|
Patricia Woolridge |
Secretary-SIMNA Inc. |
|
Paul James Chislett |
Director- SIMNA Ltd |
|
Richard Lowe |
Director - Head of Regulatory Reporting/Head of Finance US - SIMNA Inc |
|
Ryan Chelf |
Assistant Secretary- SIMNA Inc. |
|
SchroderCorporateServices Ltd |
Secretary- SIMNA Ltd |
(31)
SOMERSET CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLP (SOMERSET)
The directors and officers of Somerset have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
|
Dominic Johnson |
Chief Executive Officer & Founding Partner |
|
Edward Robertson |
Founding Partner |
|
Henrietta Seligman |
Partner |
|
Oliver Crawley |
Partner |
|
Robert Diggle |
Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Operating Officer & Partner |
(32)
T. ROWE PRICE ASSOCIATES, INC.
The directors and officers of T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
|
Céline Dufétel (TPRA) |
Chief Financial Officer |
|
Céline Dufétel (TPRIL) |
Director |
|
Christopher D. Alderson (TRPIL) |
Director |
|
David Oestreicher (TRPA) |
Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary |
|
David Oestreicher (TRPIL) |
Secretary |
|
Emma Beal (TRPIL) |
Assistant Secretary/Director |
|
Jeremy M. Fisher (TRPIL) |
Chief Compliance Officer/Director |
|
John Raymond Gilner (TRPA) |
Chief Compliance Officer |
|
Rober W. Sharps (TRPA) |
Director |
|
Robert C.T. Higginbotham (TRPIL) |
President/Director |
|
William Joseph Stromberg (TRPA) |
President/Director |
(33)
TCW INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT COMPANY
The directors and officers of TCW Investment Management Company have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
|
Daisuke Fukayama, CFA |
Managing Director, Corporate Management, The TCW Group, Inc. |
|
David Lippman |
President & Chief Executive Officer, The TCW Group, Inc. |
|
Eliot P. S. Merrill |
Managing Director, The Carlyle Group |
|
Gladys Xiques |
Global Chief Compliance Officer |
|
James F. Burr |
Managing Director, The Carlyle Group |
|
John Redett |
Managing Director, The Carlyle Group |
|
Laird R. Landmann |
Group Managing Director, Co-Director Fixed Income, The TCW Group, Inc. |
|
Marc I. Stern |
Chairman. The TCW Group, Inc. |
|
Meredith Jackson |
Executive Vice President, General Counsel |
|
Penelope D. Foley |
Group Managing Director, Emerging Markets & International Equities Group, The TCW Group, Inc. |
|
Richard Villa |
Chief Financial Officer |
|
Yutaka Ideguchi |
Member of the Board of Directors, Managing Executive Officer, Head of Global Business Nippon Life Insurance Company |
(34)
THOMPSON, SIEGEL & Walmsley, LLC
The directors and officers of Thompson, Siegel & Walmsley, LLC Inc. have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
|
Brett Phelan Hawkins |
Chief Investment Officer |
|
John Lawrence Reifsnider |
Managing Member & Chief Executive Officer/President |
|
Joseph M. VanCaster |
Chief Financial Officer |
|
Lori Nardulli Anderson |
Managing Member, Risk Manager & Director of Operations |
|
Surender Singh Rana |
Managing Member, BSIG Representative |
|
Wayne Winborne Boyles |
Chief Compliance Officer |
(35)
VICTORY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT INC.
The directors and officers of Victory Capital Management Inc. have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
|
Alan Rappaport |
Director, VCH |
|
Alex Binderow |
Director, VCH |
|
David C. Brown |
Chairman, Director, and Chief Executive Officer, VCM and VCH |
|
James Hawkes |
Director, VCH |
|
Karin Hirtler-Garvey |
Director, VCH |
|
Kelly S. Cliff |
President - Investment Franchises, Director, VCM; President - Investment Franchises, VCH |
|
Larry Davanzo |
Director, VCH |
|
Michael D. Policarpo |
President, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Administrative Officer, Director, VCM and VCH |
|
Milton Berlinski |
Director, VCH |
|
Nina Gupta |
Chief Legal Officer, Head of Human Resource Administration, and Secretary, Director |
|
Richard M. DeMartini |
Director, VCH |
|
Robert J. Hurst, Director |
Director, VCH |
(36)
WELLS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT INC.
The directors and officers of WellsCap have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
|
Sallie Squire |
Director, EVP, Chief Administrative Officer |
|
Francis Jon Baranko |
Director, SVP, Deputy Chief Investment Officer |
|
Daniel Mavico |
SVP, Chief Compliance Officer |
|
Siobhan Foy |
Director |
|
Randy Mangelsen |
Director |
|
Ann Miletti |
Director |
(37)
WILLIAM BLAIR INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, LLC
The directors and officers of William Blair have held, during the past two fiscal years, the following positions of a substantial nature.
|
Arthur Joseph Simon |
General Counsel, Executive Committee Member |
|
Brent Walker Gledhill |
Executive Committee Member |
|
Edgar David Coolidge III |
Vice Chairman |
|
John Carroll Moore |
Executive Committee Member |
|
John Roger Ettelson |
President, CEO, Executive Committee Member |
|
Jon Walter Zindel |
Executive Committee Member, CFO |
|
Ryan DeVore |
Executive Committee Member |
|
Stephanie Braming |
Head of Investment Management, Executive Committee Member |
Principal business addresses of the investment adviser, sub-advisers and affiliates.
Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC (FMR)
245 Summer Street
Boston, MA 02210
Fidelity Management & Research (Hong Kong) Limited (FMR H.K.)
Floor 19, 41 Connaught Road Central
Hong Kong
Fidelity Management & Research (Japan) Limited (FMR Japan)
245 Summer Street
Boston, MA 02210
FMR Investment Management (UK) Limited (FMR UK)
245 Summer Street
Boston, MA 02210
FIL Investment Advisors (FIA)
Pembroke Hall
42 Crow Lane
Pembroke HM19, Bermuda
FIL Investment Advisors (UK) Limited (FIA(UK))
Beech Gate Millfield Lane
Lower Kingswood, Tadworth, Surrey
KT20 6RP, United Kingdom
FIL Investments (Japan) Limited (FIJ)
Tri Seven Roppongi
7-7-7 Roppongi, Minato-ku,
Tokyo, Japan 106-0032
Strategic Advisers LLC
245 Summer Street
Boston, MA 02210
FMR LLC
245 Summer Street
Boston, MA 02210
Fidelity Distributors Company LLC (FDC)
900 Salem Street
Smithfield, RI 02917
Geode Capital Management, LLC (Geode)
100 Summer Street
12th Floor
Boston, MA 02110
Fidelity Management Trust Company
245 Summer Street
Boston, MA 02210
Fidelity Investors Management LLC
245 Summer Street
Boston, MA 02210
Acadian Asset Management LLC
260 Franklin St,
Boston, MA 02110
AllianceBernstein L.P.
1345 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10105
Aristotle Capital Management, LLC
11100 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 1700,
Los Angeles, CA 90025
ArrowMark Partners
100 Fillmore Street, Suite 325
Denver, Colorado 80206
Arrowstreet Capital, LP
200 Clarendon Street, 30th Floor
Boston, Massachusetts 02116
Boston Partners Global Investors, Inc.
One Beacon Street
30th Floor
Boston, MA 02108
Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC
1735 Market Street
Suite 1800
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Causeway Capital Management, Inc. (Causeway)
11111 Santa Monica Boulevard, 15th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90025
ClariVest Asset Management LLC
3611 Valley Centre Drive, Suite 100
San Diego, CA 92130
ClearBridge Investments
620 Eighth Ave
New York, NY 10018
FIAM, LLC
900 Salem Street
Smithfield, RI 02917
Invesco Advisers Inc. (Invesco)
1555 Peachtree, N.E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30309
J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc.
383 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10179
Loomis, Sayles & Company, L.P.
One Financial Center
Boston, Massachusetts, 02111
LSV Asset Management
155 North Wacker Drive, Suite 4600
Chicago, IL 60606
MFS Investment Management
111 Huntington Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts, 02199
PineBridge Investments LLC
Park Avenue Tower
65 E 55th St., 6th Floor
New York, NY 10022
Portolan Capital Management, LLC
Two International Place, 26th Floor
Boston, Massachusetts 02110
PGIM, Inc.
655 Broad Street
Newark, NJ 07102
Principal Global Investors, LLC
801 Grand Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50392
Rice Hall James & Associates LLC
600 West Broadway Suite 1000
San Diego, CA 92101-3383
River Road Asset Management
462 S 4th Street
Louisville, KY 40202
Somerset Capital Management LLP
Manning House, 22 Carlisle Place
London SW1P 1JA
United Kingdom
Schroder Investment Management North America Inc.
7 Bryant Park,
New York, New York,
T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.
100 East Pratt Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
TCW Investment Management Company
865 South Figueroa Street
Suite 1800
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Thompson, Siegel & Walmsley, LLC
6641 West Broad Street, Suite 600
Richmond, Virginia 23230
Victory Capital Management Inc.
4900 Tiedeman Road 4th Floor
Brooklyn, OH 44144
Wells Capital Management Incorporated
525 Market Street, 10th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
William Blair & Company, LLC
150 North Riverside Plaza
Chicago, IL 60606
Item 32.
Principal Underwriters
(a)
Fidelity Distributors Company LLC (FDC) acts as distributor for all funds advised by FMR or an affiliate, as well as Fidelity Commodity Strategy Central Fund and Fidelity Series Commodity Strategy Fund.
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(b) |
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Name and Principal |
Positions and Offices |
Positions and Offices |
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Business Address* |
with Underwriter |
with Fund |
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Sanjiv H. Mirchandani |
President |
None |
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Robert F. Bachman |
Executive Vice President |
None |
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Eric C. Green |
Assistant Treasurer |
None |
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Natalie Kavanaugh |
Chief Legal Officer |
None |
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Michael Lyons |
Chief Financial Officer |
None |
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Judy A. Marlinski |
Director |
None |
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John McGinty |
Chief Compliance Officer (2021) |
None |
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Timothy Mulcahy |
Director |
None |
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Matthew DePiero |
Director |
None |
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Michael Kearney |
Treasurer |
None |
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Natalie Kavanaugh |
Secretary (2019) |
None |
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Lisa D. Krieser |
Assistant Secretary |
None |
* 900 Salem Street, Smithfield, RI
(c)
Not applicable.
Item 33.
Location of Accounts and Records
All accounts, books, and other documents required to be maintained by Section 31(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder are maintained by Strategic Advisers LLC and Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Company LLC, 245 Summer Street, Boston, MA 02210, or the funds’ respective custodians, The Bank of New York Mellon, 1 Wall Street, New York, NY and State Street Bank & Trust Company, 1 Lincoln Street, Boston, MA. The Bank of New York Mellon and JPMorgan Chase Bank, each headquartered in New York, also may serve as a special purpose custodian of certain assets in connection with repurchase agreement transactions.
Item 34.
Management Services
Not applicable.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant certifies that it meets all of the requirements for the effectiveness of this Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 485(b) under the Securities Act of 1933 and has duly caused this Post-Effective Amendment No. 111 & 114 to the Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Boston, and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, on the 15th day of June 2021.
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Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II |
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By |
/s/Stacie M. Smith |
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Stacie M. Smith, President |
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Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
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(Signature) |
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(Title) |
(Date) |
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/s/Stacie M. Smith |
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President and Treasurer |
June 15, 2021 |
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Stacie M. Smith |
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(Principal Executive Officer) |
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/s/John J. Burke III |
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Chief Financial Officer |
June 15, 2021 |
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John J. Burke III |
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(Principal Financial Officer) |
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/s/Peter C. Aldrich |
* |
Trustee |
June 15, 2021 |
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Peter C. Aldrich |
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/s/Mary C. Farrell |
* |
Trustee |
June 15, 2021 |
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Mary C. Farrell |
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/s/Karen Kaplan |
* |
Trustee |
June 15, 2021 |
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Karen Kaplan |
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/s/Robert A. Lawrence |
* |
Trustee |
June 15, 2021 |
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Robert A. Lawrence |
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/s/Christine Marcks |
* |
Trustee |
June 15, 2021 |
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Christine Marcks |
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/s/Charles S. Morrison |
* |
Trustee |
June 15, 2021 |
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Charles S. Morrison |
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/s/Heidi L. Steiger |
* |
Trustee |
June 15, 2021 |
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Heidi L. Steiger |
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* |
By: |
/s/Megan C. Johnson |
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Megan C. Johnson,pursuant to a power of attorney dated January 1, 2021 and filed herewith. |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
We, the undersigned Trustees of Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II (the “Trust”), pursuant to the authority granted to the Trust’s Board of Trustees in Section 4.01(l) of Article IV of the Trust’s Trust Instrument dated March 8, 2006, hereby constitute and appoint Thomas C. Bogle, John V. O’Hanlon, Robert W. Helm, Megan C. Johnson, and Anthony H. Zacharski, each of them singly, our true and lawful attorneys-in-fact, with full power of substitution, and with full power to each of them, to sign for us and in our names in the appropriate capacities, all Registration Statements of the Trust on Form N-1A, or any successors thereto, any and all subsequent Amendments, Pre-Effective Amendments, or Post-Effective Amendments to said Registration Statements or any successors thereto, and any supplements or other instruments in connection therewith, and generally to do all such things in our names and on our behalf in connection therewith as said attorneys-in-fact deem necessary or appropriate, to comply with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, and all related requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission. We hereby ratify and confirm all that said attorneys-in-fact or their substitutes may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof. This power of attorney is effective for all documents filed on or after January 1, 2021.
WITNESS our hands on this first day of January, 2021.
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/s/Peter C. Aldrich |
/s/Christine Marcks |
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Peter C. Aldrich
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Christine Marcks |
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/s/Mary C. Farrell |
/s/Charles S. Morrison |
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Mary C. Farrell |
Charles S. Morrison
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/s/Karen Kaplan |
/s/Heidi L. Steiger |
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Karen Kaplan
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Heidi L. Steiger |
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/s/Robert A. Lawrence |
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Robert A. Lawrence |
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