XML 19 R75.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT

Brown Advisory Strategic Bond Fund

Investment Objective

The Brown Advisory Strategic Bond Fund (the “Fund”) (formerly, Brown Advisory Tactical Bond Fund) seeks to achieve capital appreciation and income with a low correlation to interest rate movements.

Fees and Expenses

The following table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees Brown Advisory Strategic Bond Fund	Institutional Shares	Investor Shares	Advisor Shares
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) imposed on Purchases (as a % of the offering price)	none	none	none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) imposed on Redemptions (as a % of the sale price)	none	none	none
Redemption Fee (as a % of amount redeemed on shares held for 14 days or less)	1.00%	1.00%	1.00%
Exchange Fee (as a % of amount exchanged on shares held for 14 days or less)	1.00%	1.00%	1.00%

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses Brown Advisory Strategic Bond Fund		Institutional Shares	Investor Shares	Advisor Shares
Management Fees	^[1]	0.40%	0.40%	0.40%
Distribution (12b-1) Fees		none	none	0.25%
Shareholder Servicing Fees	^[2]	none	0.05%	0.05%
Other Expenses		0.33%	0.33%	0.33%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses	^[3]	0.01%	0.01%	0.01%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	^[4]	0.74%	0.79%	1.04%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement		(0.08%)	(0.08%)	(0.08%)
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver	^[5]	0.66%	0.71%	0.96%

[1]	Effective October 31, 2014, the Management Fee for the Fund was decreased to 0.40%.
[2]	Effective October 31, 2014, the Shareholder Servicing Fee for the Fund was decreased to 0.05%.
[3]	Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are indirect fees and expenses that a Fund incurs from investing in the shares of other mutual funds, including money market funds and exchange traded funds. Please note that the amount of Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses shown in the above table will differ from the "Financial Highlights" section of the Prospectus which reflects the operating expenses of the Fund and does not include indirect expenses such as Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.
[4]	Expenses have been restated to reflect current fees.
[5]	The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive its fees and/or reimburse certain expenses (exclusive of any front-end or contingent deferred sales loads, taxes, interest, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses, expenses incurred in connection with any merger or reorganization and extraordinary expenses) in order to limit the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement for Institutional Shares, Investor Shares and Advisor Shares to 0.65%, 0.70% and 0.95%, respectively, of the Fund's average daily net assets through October 31, 2015. The Fund may have Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement higher than these expense caps as a result of any acquired fund fees and expenses or other expenses that are excluded from the calculation. The contractual waivers and expense reimbursements may be changed or eliminated at any time by the Board of Trustees, on behalf of the Fund, upon 60 days written notice to the Adviser. The contractual waivers and expense reimbursements may not be terminated by the Adviser without the consent of the Board of Trustees. The Adviser may recoup any waived amount from the Fund pursuant to this agreement if such reimbursement does not cause the Fund to exceed existing expense limitations and the reimbursement is made within three years after the year in which the Adviser incurred the expense.

Example

The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of each period. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% annual return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same.

Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Expense Example Brown Advisory Strategic Bond Fund (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Institutional Shares	67	229	404	911
Investor Shares	73	244	431	970
Advisor Shares	98	323	566	1,264

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover 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 fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the portfolio turnover rate for the Fund was 1,010% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of the value of its net assets (plus borrowings for investment purposes) in fixed income securities. Brown Advisory LLC (the “Adviser”) seeks to achieve the Fund’s investment objective by investing in tax-exempt municipal bonds, corporate bonds (including junk bonds), U.S. Treasury bonds, Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS), non-U.S. dollar bonds, mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, derivatives (including credit default swaps, other swaps, futures and options), bank loans, collateralized loan obligations, and cash equivalents. Allocations to these investments will be made tactically; meaning that the fund will hold such investments only as long as the Adviser believes the relative value is attractive, which at times may be a matter of days or weeks, as opposed to holding investments for years at a time.

The Adviser’s strategy may result in the Fund holding relatively concentrated positions in certain investments and will result in a relatively high degree of portfolio turnover. The Fund is non-diversified which means that it may invest a significant portion of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or small number of issuers. The Fund may invest in securities of any maturity and/or credit quality rating. The Fund has no limit in its investment in high-yield securities, which are speculative in nature. The Fund may utilize derivatives, mutual funds, or exchange-traded funds which invest in any of the previously mentioned types of fixed income securities. Investments in derivatives may be counted towards the Fund’s 80% investment policy if they have economic characteristics similar to the other investments that are included in the Fund’s 80% investment policy.

The Adviser may sell an investment or reduce its position if:

●	Revised economic forecasts or interest rate outlook requires a repositioning of the portfolio;

●	The investment subsequently fails to meet the investment criteria;

●	Changing credit profile and/or conditions result in an unacceptable risk condition;

●	A more attractive investment is found; or

●	The Adviser believes that the investment has reached its appreciated potential.

In order to respond to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions, the Fund may assume a temporary defensive position that is inconsistent with its investment objective and principal investment strategies and invest, without limitation, in cash or prime quality cash equivalents.

Principal Investment Risks

As with all mutual funds, there is the risk that you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The following are the principal risks that could affect the value of your investment:

●

Credit Risk. The value of your investment in the Fund may change in response to changes in the credit ratings of the Fund’s portfolio securities. Generally, investment risk and price volatility increase as a security’s credit rating declines. The financial condition of an issuer of a fixed income security held by a Fund may cause it to default or become unable to pay interest or principal due on the security.

●

Debt/Fixed Income Securities Risk. An increase in interest rates typically causes a fall in the value of the debt securities in which the Fund may invest. The value of your investment in the Fund may change in response to changes in the credit ratings of the Fund’s portfolio of debt securities. Interest rates in the United States are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Fund’s exposure to risks associated with rising interest rates. Moreover, rising interest rates or lack of market participants may lead to decreased liquidity in the bond and loan markets, making it more difficult for the Fund to sell its holdings at a time when the Fund’s manager might wish to sell. Lower rated securities (“junk bonds”) are generally subject to greater risk of loss of your money than higher rated securities. Issuers may (increase) decrease prepayments of principal when interest rates (fall) increase, affecting the maturity of the debt security and causing the value of the security to decline.

●

Derivatives Risk. The risk that an investment in derivatives will not perform as anticipated, cannot be closed out at a favorable time or price, or will increase the Fund’s volatility; that derivatives may create investment leverage; that, when a derivative is used as a substitute or alternative to a direct cash investment, the transaction may not provide a return that corresponds precisely with that of the cash investment; that a derivative will not perform in the manner anticipated by the Adviser; or that, when used for hedging purposes, derivatives will not provide the anticipated protection, causing the Fund to lose money on both the derivatives transaction and the exposure the Fund sought to hedge. Additionally, any derivatives held by the Fund will have counterparty associated risks, which are the risks that the other party to the derivative contract will fail to make required payments or otherwise to comply with the terms of the contract. In the event the counterparty to such a derivative instrument becomes insolvent, the Fund potentially could lose all or a large portion of its investment in the derivative instrument.

●

ETF Risk. ETFs may trade at a discount to the aggregate value of the underlying securities and although expense ratios for ETFs are generally low, frequent trading of ETFs by the Fund can generate brokerage expenses. Shareholders of the Fund will indirectly be subject to the fees and expenses of the individual ETFs in which the Fund invests.

●	Foreign Securities Risk. Foreign securities, including ADRs, are subject to additional risks including international trade, currency, political, regulatory and diplomatic risks.

●	Inflation-Indexed Securities Risk. The risk that the Consumer Price Index moves in a manner that is adverse to the Fund’s positions in Treasury Inflation Protected Securities.

●

Interest Rate Risk. An increase in interest rates typically causes a fall in the value of the fixed income securities in which the Fund may invest. Interest rates currently are at, or near, historic lows, and may increase, with potentially sudden and unpredictable effects on the markets and the Fund’s investments.

●

Liquidity Risk. Certain fixed income securities held by the Fund may be difficult (or impossible) to sell at the time and at the price the Adviser would like. As a result, the Fund may have to hold these securities longer than it would like and may forego other investment opportunities. There is the possibility that the Fund may lose money or be prevented from realizing capital gains if it cannot sell a security at a particular time and price.

●	Management Risk. The Fund may not meet its investment objective based on the Adviser’s success or failure to implement investment strategies for the Fund.

●

Mortgage- and Asset-Backed Securities Risk . The Fund may invest in mortgage- and asset-backed securities, which represent “pools” of mortgages or other assets, including consumer loans or receivables held in trust. In a period of rising interest rates, these securities may exhibit additional volatility.

●	Municipal Securities Risk. Adverse economic or political factors in the municipal bond market, including changes in the tax law, could impact the Fund in a negative manner.

●

Non-Investment Grade (Junk Bond) Securities Risk. Below investment grade debt securities (also known as “junk bonds”) are speculative and involve a greater risk of default and price change due to changes in the issuer’s creditworthiness. The market prices of these debt securities may fluctuate more than the market prices of investment grade debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty.

●	Non-Diversification Risk. Investment by the Fund in securities of a limited number of issuers exposes it to greater market risk and potential monetary losses than if its assets were diversified among the securities of a greater number of issuers.

●

Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Adviser’s investment process is expected to result in a high portfolio turnover rate. High portfolio turnover involves correspondingly greater expenses to a Fund, including brokerage commissions or dealer mark-ups and other transaction costs on the sale of securities and reinvestments in other securities. Higher portfolio turnover also may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account.

●

Prepayment/Extension Risk. Issuers may experience an acceleration in prepayments of mortgage loans or other receivables backing the issuers’ fixed income securities when interest rates decline, which can shorten the maturity of the security, force the Fund to invest in securities with lower interest rates, and reduce the Fund’s return. Issuers may decrease prepayments of principal when interest rates increase, extending the maturity of a fixed income security and causing the value of the security to decline.

●

Rating Agencies Risk. Ratings are not an absolute standard of quality, but rather general indicators that reflect only the view of the originating rating agencies from which an explanation of the significance of such ratings may be obtained. There is no assurance that a particular rating will continue for any given period of time or that any such rating will not be revised downward or withdrawn entirely if, in the judgment of the agency establishing the rating, circumstances so warrant. A downward revision or withdrawal of such ratings, or either of them, may have an effect on the liquidity or market price of the securities in which the Fund invests. The ratings of securitized assets may not adequately reflect the credit risk of those assets due to their structure.

●

U.S. Government Securities Risk. Although the Fund’s U.S. Government securities are considered to be among the safest investments, they are not guaranteed against price movements due to changing interest rates. Some obligations issued or guaranteed by U.S. Government agencies and instrumentalities, including, for example, Ginnie Mae pass-through certificates, are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury. Other obligations issued by or guaranteed by federal agencies, such as those securities issued by Fannie Mae, are supported by the discretionary authority of the U.S. Government to purchase certain obligations of the federal agency, while other obligations issued by or guaranteed by federal agencies, such as those of the Federal Home Loan Banks, are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury. While the U.S. Government provides financial support to such U.S. Government-sponsored federal agencies, no assurance can be given that the U.S. Government will always do so, since the U.S. Government is not so obligated by law.

●

Valuation Risk . The prices provided by the Fund’s pricing services or independent dealers or the fair value determinations made by the valuation committee of the Adviser may be different from the prices used by other mutual funds or from the prices at which securities are actually bought and sold. The prices of certain securities provided by pricing services may be subject to frequent and significant change, and will vary depending on the information that is available.

Performance Information

The following performance information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The chart shows the Fund’s performance of Advisor Shares. The table shows how the average annual returns of Advisor Shares for one year and since inception compare to a broad-based market index.

The Fund is the successor to the investment performance of the Brown Advisory Tactical Bond Fund (the “Predecessor Fund”) as a result of the reorganization of the Predecessor Fund into the Fund on October 19, 2012. Accordingly, the performance information shown below for periods prior to October 19, 2012 is that of the Predecessor Fund. The Predecessor Fund was advised by the Adviser and had the same investment objective and strategies as the Fund prior to October 31, 2014. Effective October 31, 2014, certain changes to the Fund’s principal investment strategies were implemented and the name of the Fund was changed.

Performance information represents only past performance, before and after taxes, and does not necessarily indicate future results. Updated performance information is available online at www.brownadvisoryfunds.com or by calling 800-540-6807 (toll free).

Brown Advisory Strategic Bond Fund - Advisor Shares Calendar Year Total Return

The Fund’s calendar year-to-date total return as of September 30, 2014 was 3.09%. During the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 2.48% for the quarter ended September 30, 2012 and the lowest quarterly return was -2.22% for the quarter ended June 30, 2013.

Brown Advisory Strategic Bond Fund Average Annual Total Returns

Average Annual Returns Brown Advisory Strategic Bond Fund	Label	Average Annual Returns, 1 Year	Average Annual Returns, Since Inception	Average Annual Returns, Inception Date
Advisor Shares	Advisor Shares - Return Before Taxes	(0.34%)	(0.08%)	Sep. 30, 2011
After Taxes on Distributions Advisor Shares	Advisor Shares - Return After Taxes on Distributions	(0.54%)	(0.51%)
After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares Advisor Shares	Advisor Shares - Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	(0.19%)	(0.21%)
Barclays Intermediate U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses and taxes)	Barclays Intermediate U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses and taxes)	(1.02%)	1.51%	Sep. 30, 2011

After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual Federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. In certain cases, the figure representing “Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares” may be higher than the other return figures for the same period, since a higher after-tax return results when a capital loss occurs upon redemption and provides an assumed tax deduction that benefits the investor. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns are shown for Advisor Shares only. After-tax returns for Investor Shares and Institutional Shares would vary.