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Class R6 Shares (NRREX) | Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund
Fund Summary
GOAL
The Fund seeks total return through investment in real estate securities, emphasizing both capital appreciation and current income.
FEES AND EXPENSES
These tables describe 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
Class R6 Shares (NRREX)
Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund
Class R6
USD ($)
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) none
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
Class R6 Shares (NRREX)
Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund
Class R6
Management fees 0.88%
Distribution and/or shareholder service (12b-1) fees none
Other expenses 0.10%
Total annual operating expenses 0.98%
Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement 0.20%
Total annual operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement 0.78% [1]
[1] Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC ("Manager") has contractually undertaken to waive and/or reimburse certain fees and expenses of Class R6 so that the total annual operating expenses (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses, dividend and interest expenses relating to short sales, and extraordinary expenses, if any) are limited to 0.78% of average net assets. This undertaking lasts until 8/31/2020 and may not be terminated during its term without the consent of the Board of Trustees. The Fund has agreed that Class R6 will repay the Manager for fees and expenses waived or reimbursed for that class provided that repayment does not cause annual operating expenses to exceed 0.78% of its average net assets. Any such repayment must be made within three years after the year in which the Manager incurred the expense.
Expense Example
The expense example can help you compare costs among mutual funds. The example assumes that you invested $10,000 for the periods shown, that you redeemed all of your shares at the end of those periods, that the Fund earned a hypothetical 5% total return each year, and that the Fund’s expenses were those in the table. Actual performance and expenses may be higher or lower.
Expense Example
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
Class R6 Shares (NRREX) | Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund | Class R6 | USD ($) 80 249 480 1,144
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 operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 49% of the average value of its portfolio.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
To pursue its goal, the Fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities issued by real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) and common stocks and other securities issued by other real estate companies. The Fund defines a real estate company as one that derives at least 50% of its revenue from, or has at least 50% of its assets in, real estate.

The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in debt securities of real estate companies. These debt securities can be either investment grade securities or below investment grade securities (commonly known as “junk bonds”), provided that, at the time of investment, they are rated at least B by Standard & Poor’s or Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (or comparably rated by at least one independent credit rating agency) or, if unrated, deemed by the Portfolio Managers to be of comparable quality. The Fund does not normally continue to hold securities that are in default or have defaulted with respect to the payment of interest or repayment of principal, but may do so depending on market conditions.

The Portfolio Managers make investment decisions through a fundamental analysis of each company. The Portfolio Managers review each company’s current financial condition and industry position, as well as economic and market conditions. In doing so, they evaluate the company’s growth potential, earnings estimates and quality of management, as well as other factors. In an effort to achieve its goal, the Fund may engage in active and frequent trading.

The Fund concentrates its assets in the real estate industry. The Fund may at times emphasize particular sub-sectors of the real estate business—for example, apartments, regional malls, offices, infrastructure, industrial, and health care.

Some of the REIT and other real estate securities in which the Fund invests may be preferred stock, which receives preference in the payment of dividends.

The Fund normally seeks to invest for the long-term, but it may sell securities regardless of how long they have been held if the Portfolio Managers find an opportunity they believe is more compelling, or if the Portfolio Managers’ outlook on the company or the market changes.

The Fund may change its goal without shareholder approval, although it does not currently intend to do so. The Fund will not change its strategy of normally investing at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities issued by REITs and common stocks and other securities issued by other real estate companies, without providing shareholders at least 60 days’ notice. This test and the test of whether a company is a real estate company are applied at the time the Fund invests; later percentage changes caused by a change in Fund assets, market values or company circumstances will not require the Fund to dispose of a holding.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT RISKS
Most of the Fund’s performance depends on what happens in the stock and real estate markets. The markets' behavior can be difficult to predict, particularly in the short term. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its goal. The Fund may take temporary defensive and cash management positions; in such a case, it will not be pursuing its principal investment strategies.

The Fund is a mutual fund, not a bank deposit, and is not guaranteed or insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The value of your investment may fall, sometimes sharply, and you could lose money by investing in the Fund.

The following risks, which are described in alphabetical order and not in order of importance or potential exposure, can significantly affect the Fund’s performance:

Credit Risk. Credit risk is the risk that issuers may fail, or become less able, to pay interest and/or principal when due. A downgrade or default affecting any of the Fund’s securities could affect the Fund’s performance.

Dividend Risk. There is no guarantee that the companies in which the Fund invests will declare dividends in the future or that dividends, if declared, will remain at current levels or increase over time.

High Portfolio Turnover. The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading and may have a high portfolio turnover rate, which may increase the Fund’s transaction costs, may adversely affect the Fund’s performance and may generate a greater amount of capital gain distributions to shareholders than if the Fund had a low portfolio turnover rate.

Interest Rate Risk. In general, the value of investments with interest rate risk, such as debt securities, will move in the direction opposite to movements in interest rates. If interest rates rise, the value of such securities may decline. Typically, the longer the maturity or duration of a debt security, the greater the effect a change in interest rates could have on the security's price.

Issuer-Specific Risk. An individual security may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the market as a whole.

In addition, the Fund is classified as non-diversified. As such, the percentage of the Fund’s assets invested in any single issuer or a few issuers is not limited by the Investment Company Act of 1940. Investing a higher percentage of its assets in any one or a few issuers could increase the Fund’s risk of loss and its share price volatility, because the value of its shares would be more susceptible to adverse events affecting those issuers.

Lower-Rated Debt Securities Risk. Lower-rated debt securities (commonly known as “junk bonds”) involve greater risks than investment grade debt securities. Lower-rated debt securities may fluctuate more widely in price and yield and may fall in price during times when the economy is weak or is expected to become weak. Lower-rated debt securities also may be difficult to sell at the time and price the Fund desires. Lower-rated debt securities are considered by the major rating agencies to be predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer’s continuing ability to pay principal and interest and carry a greater risk that the issuer of such securities will default in the timely payment of principal and interest. Issuers of securities that are in default or have defaulted may fail to resume principal or interest payments, in which case the Fund may lose its entire investment. The creditworthiness of issuers of lower-rated debt securities may be more complex to analyze than that of issuers of investment grade debt securities, and the overreliance on credit ratings may present additional risks.

Market Capitalization Risk. To the extent the Fund invests in securities of small-, mid-, or large-cap companies, it takes on the associated risks. At times, any one of these market capitalizations may be out of favor with investors. Compared to small- and mid-cap companies, large-cap companies may be less responsive to changes and opportunities. Compared to large-cap companies, small- and mid-cap companies may depend on a more limited management group, may have a shorter history of operations, and may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources. The securities of small- and mid-cap companies are often more volatile and less liquid than the securities of larger companies and may be more affected than other types of securities by the underperformance of a sector or during market downturns.

Market Volatility Risk. Markets may be volatile and values of individual securities and other investments, including those of a particular type, may decline significantly in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market, economic or other developments that may cause broad changes in market value, public perceptions concerning these developments, and adverse investor sentiment. If the Fund sells a portfolio position before it reaches its market peak, it may miss out on opportunities for better performance.

Operational Risk. The Fund and its service providers, and your ability to transact with the Fund, may be negatively impacted due to operational risks arising from, among other problems, human errors, systems and technology disruptions or failures, or cybersecurity incidents. It is not possible for the Manager or the other Fund service providers to identify all of the operational risks that may affect the Fund or to develop processes and controls to completely eliminate or mitigate their occurrence or effects. Cybersecurity incidents could also affect issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, leading to significant loss of value.

Recent Market Conditions. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in slower growth and an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets, both domestic and foreign. Because the impact on the markets has been widespread, it may be difficult to identify both risks and opportunities using past models of the interplay of market forces, or to predict the duration of these market conditions. In addition, global economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers in a different country or region. Official statistics indicate a recent growth rate in China that is significantly lower than that in the early part of the decade. This is adversely affecting worldwide commodity prices and the economies of many countries, especially those that depend heavily on commodity production and/or trade with China. The severity or duration of adverse economic conditions may also be affected by policy changes made by governments or quasi-governmental organizations.

High public debt in the U.S. and other countries creates ongoing systemic and market risks and policymaking uncertainty. Interest rates have been unusually low in recent years in the U.S. and abroad. Because there is little precedent for this situation, it is difficult to predict the impact on various markets of a significant rate increase or other significant policy changes, whether brought about by U.S. policy makers or by dislocations in world markets.

In addition, political and diplomatic events within the U.S. and abroad may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy, perhaps suddenly and to a significant degree. The results of the recent U.S. presidential election appear to herald significant changes in certain policies, which may result in lower corporate taxes, higher levels of public debt, higher interest rates, more restrictions on international trade, and less stringent prudential regulation of certain players in the financial markets.

Redemption Risk. The Fund may experience periods of heavy redemptions that could cause the Fund to sell assets at inopportune times or at a loss or depressed value. Redemption risk is heightened during periods of declining or illiquid markets. Heavy redemptions could hurt the Fund’s performance.

REITs and Other Real Estate Companies Risk. REIT and other real estate company securities are subject to, among other risks: declines in property values; defaults by mortgagors or other borrowers and tenants; increases in property taxes and other operating expenses; overbuilding in their sector of the real estate market; fluctuations in rental income; changes in interest rates; lack of availability of mortgage funds or financing; extended vacancies of properties, especially during economic downturns; changes in tax and regulatory requirements; losses due to environmental liabilities; or casualty or condemnation losses. REITs also are dependent upon the skills of their managers and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency or self-liquidation. Domestic REITs could be adversely affected by failure to qualify for tax-free “pass-through” of net income and gains under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or to maintain their exemption from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. The value of REIT common shares may decline when interest rates rise. REIT and other real estate company securities tend to be small- to mid-cap securities and are subject to the risks of investing in small- to mid-cap securities.

Risk Management. Risk is an essential part of investing. No risk management program can eliminate the Fund’s exposure to adverse events; at best, it may only reduce the possibility that the Fund will be affected by such events, and especially those risks that are not intrinsic to the Fund’s investment program.

Risk of Increase in Expenses. A decline in the Fund’s average net assets during the current fiscal year due to market volatility or other factors could cause the Fund’s expenses for the current fiscal year to be higher than the expense information presented in “Fees and Expenses.”

Sector Risk. Although the Fund will not invest in real estate directly, because it concentrates its assets in the real estate industry your investment in the Fund will be closely linked to the performance of the real estate markets and the value of the Fund’s shares may change at different rates compared to the value of shares of a fund with investments in a mix of different sectors or industries.

The Fund may at times emphasize particular sub-sectors of the real estate business—for example, apartments, regional malls, offices, infrastructure, industrial, and health care. As such, the Fund’s performance would be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those businesses.

Individual sectors may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. The industries that constitute a sector may all react in the same way to economic, political or regulatory events.

Valuation Risk. The Fund may not be able to sell an investment at the price at which the Fund has valued the investment. The Fund’s ability to value its investments in an accurate and timely manner may be impacted by technological issues and/or errors by third party service providers, such as pricing services or accounting agents.
PERFORMANCE
The following bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the Fund’s performance has varied from year to year. The table next to the bar chart shows what the returns would equal if you averaged out actual performance over various lengths of time and compares the returns with the returns of a broad-based market index. The index, which is described in “Descriptions of Indices” in the prospectus, has characteristics relevant to the Fund's investment strategy.

As of June 19, 2012, the Fund changed its investment policy to become “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Its performance prior to this change might have been different if current policies had been in effect.

The following performance prior to March 15, 2013, is that of the Fund's Trust Class. Because Trust Class has higher expenses than Class R6, its performance typically would have been lower than that of Class R6. Returns would have been lower if the Manager had not reimbursed certain expenses and/or waived a portion of the investment management fees during certain of the periods shown.
  

Past performance (before and after taxes) is not a prediction of future results. Visit www.nb.com or call 800-366-6264 for updated performance information.
YEAR-BY-YEAR % RETURNS AS OF 12/31 EACH YEAR
Bar Chart
Best quarter:    Q2 '09, 33.20%

Worst quarter:    Q1 '09, -32.76%

Year-to-date performance as of 9/30/2016:     8.76%
AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL % RETURNS AS OF 12/31/15
Average Annual Returns - Class R6 Shares (NRREX) - Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund
1 Year
5 Years
10 Years
Class R6 3.39% 10.41% 8.25%
After Taxes on Distributions | Class R6 0.92% 8.64% 6.50%
After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | Class R6 3.41% 7.83% 6.25%
FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 2.83% 11.91% 7.38%
After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares may be higher than other returns for the same period due to a tax benefit of realizing a capital loss upon the sale of Fund shares.