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Class A Shares (NMUAX), Class C Shares (NMUCX), Institutional Class Shares (NMULX) | Neuberger Berman Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund
GOAL
The Fund seeks long-term total return.
Fees and Expenses
These tables describe the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold or sell shares of the Fund. Under the Fund’s policies, you may qualify for initial sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in Neuberger Berman funds. Certain financial intermediaries have sales charges and/or policies and procedures regarding sales charge waivers applicable to their customers that differ from those described below. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial intermediary, in “Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers” on page 246 in the Fund’s prospectus, and in Appendix A to the Fund’s prospectus. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Shareholder Fees - Class A Shares (NMUAX), Class C Shares (NMUCX), Institutional Class Shares (NMULX) - Neuberger Berman Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund
Class A
Class C
Institutional Class
Maximum initial sales charge on purchases (as a % of offering price) 5.75% none none
Maximum contingent deferred sales charge (as a % of the lower of original purchase price or current market value) [1] none 1.00% none
[1] For Class A shares, a contingent deferred sales charge (“CDSC”) of 1.00% applies on certain redemptions made within 18 months following purchases of $1 million or more made without an initial sales charge. For Class C shares, the CDSC is eliminated one year after purchase.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses - Class A Shares (NMUAX), Class C Shares (NMUCX), Institutional Class Shares (NMULX) - Neuberger Berman Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund
Class A
Class C
Institutional Class
Management fees 0.84% 0.84% 0.73%
Distribution and/or shareholder service (12b-1) fees 0.25% 1.00% none
Other expenses 0.10% 0.09% 0.09%
Total annual operating expenses 1.19% 1.93% 0.82%
Expense Example
The expense example can help you compare costs among mutual funds. The example assumes that you invested $10,000 for the periods shown, that you redeemed all of your shares at the end of those periods, that the Fund earned a hypothetical 5% total return each year, and that the Fund’s expenses were those in the table. For Class A and Institutional Class shares, your costs would be the same whether you sold your shares or continued to hold them at the end of each period. Actual performance and expenses may be higher or lower.
(assuming redemption)
Expense Example - Class A Shares (NMUAX), Class C Shares (NMUCX), Institutional Class Shares (NMULX) - Neuberger Berman Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund - USD ($)
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
Class A 689 931 1,192 1,935
Class C 296 606 1,042 2,254
Institutional Class 84 262 455 1,014
(assuming no redemption)
Expense Example No Redemption - Class A Shares (NMUAX), Class C Shares (NMUCX), Institutional Class Shares (NMULX) - Neuberger Berman Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund - USD ($)
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
Class A 689 931 1,192 1,935
Class C 196 606 1,042 2,254
Institutional Class 84 262 455 1,014
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 15% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
To pursue its goal, the Fund invests in a concentrated portfolio, consisting mainly of common stocks of companies that are selected using a fundamental, bottom-up research approach. The Fund may hold stocks of companies of any market capitalization and in any sector. Under normal market conditions, the Fund typically will hold a limited number of stocks.
Portfolio construction is an important component of the investment process and primarily consists of three distinct investment categories: Special Situations, Opportunistic, and Classic. Special Situations have unique attributes (e.g., restructurings, spin-offs, post-bankruptcy equities) that require specific methodologies and customized investment research. Opportunistic investments are companies that have become inexpensive for a tangible reason that the Portfolio Manager believes is temporary. Classic investments are those companies with long histories of shareholder-friendly policies, high-quality management teams and consistent operating performance.
The Portfolio Manager performs both quantitative and qualitative analysis in an effort to identify companies that he believes have the potential to increase in value. This potential may be realized in many ways, some of which include: free cash flow generation, product or process enhancements, margin increases, and improved capital structure management. Investments are selected primarily based on fundamental analysis of issuers and their potential in light of their financial condition, industry position, market opportunities, senior management teams and any special situations as well as any relevant economic, political and regulatory factors.
The Portfolio Manager systematically and explicitly includes material Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) risks and opportunities in investment analysis and investment decisions for all securities to help identify high quality securities. The Portfolio Manager conducts ongoing proprietary ESG research, including proactive engagement on ESG issues. The Portfolio Manager assesses all securities in relation to their exposure to and the management of material ESG risks.
The Portfolio Manager employs disciplined valuation criteria and dynamic price limits to determine when to buy or sell a stock. The valuation criteria and price limits will change over time as a result of changes in company-specific, industry and market factors. The Portfolio Manager follows a disciplined selling strategy and may sell a stock when it reaches a dynamic price target, when other opportunities appear more attractive, or when the Portfolio Manager’s research indicates deteriorating fundamentals.
Although the Fund invests primarily in domestic stocks, it may also invest in stocks of foreign companies.
At times, the Portfolio Manager may emphasize certain sectors that he believes will benefit from market or economic trends.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT RISKS
Most of the Fund’s performance depends on what happens in the stock market, the Portfolio Manager's evaluation of those developments, and the success of the Portfolio Manager in implementing the Fund's investment strategies. The market's 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; to the extent it does, it will not be pursuing its principal investment strategies.
The actual risk exposure taken by the Fund in its investment program will vary over time, depending on various factors including the Portfolio Manager's evaluation of issuer, political, regulatory, market, or economic developments. There can be no guarantee that the Portfolio Manager will be successful in its attempts to manage the risk exposure of the Fund or will appropriately evaluate or weigh the multiple factors involved in investment decisions, including issuer, market and/or instrument-specific analysis, valuation and environmental, social and governance factors.
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.
Each of the following risks, which are described in alphabetical order and not in order of any presumed importance, can significantly affect the Fund’s performance. The relative importance of, or potential exposure as a result of, each of these risks will vary based on market and other investment-specific considerations.
Currency Risk. Currency risk is the risk that foreign currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar. To the extent that the Fund invests in securities or other instruments denominated in or indexed to foreign currencies, changes in currency exchange rates could adversely impact investment gains or add to investment losses. Currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time and can be affected unpredictably by various factors, including investor perception and changes in interest rates; intervention, or failure to intervene, by U.S. or foreign governments, central banks, or supranational entities; or by currency controls or political developments in the U.S. or abroad.
Foreign Risk. Foreign securities involve risks in addition to those associated with comparable U.S. securities. Additional risks include exposure to less developed or less efficient trading markets; social, political, diplomatic, or economic instability; trade barriers and other protectionist trade policies (including those of the U.S.); fluctuations in foreign currencies or currency redenomination; potential for default on sovereign debt; nationalization or expropriation of assets; settlement, custodial or other operational risks; higher transaction costs; confiscatory withholding or other taxes; and less stringent auditing, corporate disclosure, governance, and legal standards. As a result, foreign securities may fluctuate more widely in price, and may also be less liquid, than comparable U.S. securities. World markets, or those in a particular region, may all react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, foreign markets may perform differently than the U.S. market. The effect of economic instability on specific foreign markets or issuers may be difficult to predict or evaluate. Regardless of where a company is organized or its stock is traded, its performance may be affected significantly by events in regions from which it derives its profits or in which it conducts significant operations.
Securities of issuers traded on foreign exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange, or by governmental authorities. Trading suspensions may be applied from time to time to the securities of individual issuers for reasons specific to that issuer, or may be applied broadly by exchanges or governmental authorities in response to market events. In the event that the Fund holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Fund’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Fund could incur significant losses.
Growth Stock Risk. Because the prices of most growth stocks are based on future expectations, these stocks tend to be more sensitive than value stocks to bad economic news and negative earnings surprises. When these expectations are not met or decrease, the prices of these stocks may decline, sometimes sharply, even if earnings showed an absolute increase. Bad economic news or changing investor perceptions may adversely affect growth stocks across several sectors and industries simultaneously.
Issuer-Specific Risk. An individual security may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the market as a whole.
The Fund's portfolio may contain fewer securities than the portfolios of other mutual funds, which increases the risk that the value of the Fund could go down because of the poor performance of one or a few investments.
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 of these market capitalizations may be out of favor with investors. Compared to small- and mid-cap companies, large-cap companies may be unable to respond as quickly to changes and opportunities and may grow at a slower rate. 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, less publicly available information, less stable earnings, and limited product lines, markets or financial resources. The securities of small- and mid-cap companies are often more volatile, which at times can be rapid and unpredictable, 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, during market downturns, or by adverse publicity and investor perceptions.
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 or publicity. Geopolitical and other risks, including environmental and public health risks may add to instability in world economies and markets generally. Changes in value may be temporary or may last for extended periods. If the Fund sells a portfolio position before it reaches its market peak, it may miss out on opportunities for better performance.
Recent Market Conditions. National economies are substantially interconnected, as are global financial markets, which creates the possibility that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers in a different country or region. Some countries, including the U.S., have in recent years adopted more protectionist trade policies. The rise in protectionist trade policies, changes to some major international trade agreements and the potential for changes to others, could affect the economies of many nations in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time. Equity markets in the U.S. and China have been very sensitive to the outlook for resolving the U.S.-China “trade war,” a trend that may continue in the future.
High public debt in the U.S. and other countries creates ongoing systemic and market risks and policymaking uncertainty, and there may be a further increase in public debt due to the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing economic relief and public health measures. Governments and central banks have moved to limit the potential negative economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic with interventions that are unprecedented in size and scope and may continue to do so, but the ultimate impact of these efforts is uncertain. Governments’ efforts to limit potential negative economic effects of the pandemic may be altered, delayed, or eliminated at inopportune times for political, policy or other reasons. Interest rates have been unusually low in recent years in the U.S. and abroad, and central banks have reduced rates further in an effort to combat the
economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. 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, perhaps in response to indications of increasing inflation. Over the longer term, rising interest rates may present a greater risk than has historically been the case due to the current period of relatively low rates and the effect of government fiscal and monetary policy initiatives and potential market reaction to those initiatives or their alteration or cessation.
The impact of the pandemic has negatively affected and may continue to affect the economies of many nations, individual companies and the global securities and commodities markets, including their liquidity, in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time. The pandemic has accelerated trends toward working remotely and shopping on-line, which may negatively affect the value of office and commercial real estate and companies that have been slow to transition to an on-line business model, and has disrupted the supply chains that many businesses depend on. The travel, hospitality and public transit industries may suffer long-term negative effects from the pandemic and resulting changes to public behavior.
Funds and their advisers, as well as many of the companies in which they invest, are subject to regulation by the federal government. Over the past several years, the U.S. has moved away from tighter industry regulation, a trend that appears to be changing. Increased regulation may impose added costs on the Fund and its service providers for monitoring and compliance, and affect the businesses of various portfolio companies, in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time.
Climate Change. There is widespread concern about the potential effects of global climate change on property and security values. A rise in sea levels, an increase in powerful windstorms and/or a climate-driven increase in flooding could cause coastal properties to lose value or become unmarketable altogether. Unlike previous declines in the real estate market, properties in affected coastal zones may not ever recover their value. Large wildfires driven by high winds and prolonged drought may devastate businesses and entire communities and may be very costly to any business found to be responsible for the fire. The U.S. administration appears concerned about the climate change problem and is focusing regulatory and public works projects around those concerns. Regulatory changes tied to concerns about climate change could adversely affect the value of certain land and the viability of certain industries.
Losses related to climate change could adversely affect corporate issuers and mortgage lenders, the value of mortgage-backed securities, the bonds of municipalities that depend on tax or other revenues and tourist dollars generated by affected properties, and insurers of the property and/or of corporate, municipal or mortgage-backed securities. Since property and security values are driven largely by buyers’ perceptions, it is difficult to know the time period over which these market effects might unfold.
Redemption Risk. The Fund may experience periods of large or frequent redemptions that could cause the Fund to sell assets at inopportune times, which could have a negative impact on the Fund’s overall liquidity, or at a loss or depressed value. Redemption risk is greater to the extent that one or more investors or intermediaries control a large percentage of investments in the Fund and the risk is heightened during periods of declining or illiquid markets. Large redemptions could hurt the Fund’s performance, increase transaction costs, and create adverse tax consequences.
Sector Risk. From time to time, based on market or economic conditions, the Fund may have significant positions in one or more sectors of the market. To the extent the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors. 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.
Special Situations Risk. Companies that are considered “special situations” include, among others: companies that have unrecognized recovery prospects or new management teams; companies involved in restructurings or spin-offs; companies emerging from, or restructuring as a result of, bankruptcy; companies making initial public offerings that trade below their initial offering prices; and companies with a break-up value above their market price. Investing in special situations carries the risk that certain of such situations may not happen as anticipated or the market may react differently than expected to such situations. The securities of companies involved in special situations may be more volatile than other securities, may at times be illiquid, or may be difficult to value.
Certain special situations carry the additional risks inherent in difficult corporate transitions and the securities of such companies may be more likely to lose value than the securities of more stable companies.
Value Stock Risk. Value stocks may remain undervalued for extended periods of time, may decrease in value during a given period, may not ever realize what the portfolio management team believes to be their full value, or the portfolio management
team’s assumptions about intrinsic value or potential for appreciation may be incorrect. This may happen, among other reasons, because of a failure to anticipate which stocks or industries would benefit from changing market or economic conditions or investor preferences.
A summary of the Fund’s additional principal investment risks is as follows:
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.”
Operational and Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund and its service providers, and your ability to transact with the Fund, may be negatively impacted due to operational matters arising from, among other problems, human errors, systems and technology disruptions or failures, or cybersecurity incidents. Cybersecurity incidents may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to fund assets, customer data, or proprietary information, or cause the Fund or its service providers, as well as the securities trading venues and their service providers, to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality. Cybersecurity incidents can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional events. It is not possible for the Manager or the other Fund service providers to identify all of the cybersecurity or other operational risks that may affect the Fund or to develop processes and controls to completely eliminate or mitigate their occurrence or effects. Most issuers in which the Fund invests are heavily dependent on computers for data storage and operations, and require ready access to the internet to conduct their business. Thus, cybersecurity incidents could also affect issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, leading to significant loss of value.
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. The Fund could experience losses if judgments about risk prove to be incorrect.
Valuation Risk. The Fund may not be able to sell an investment at the price at which the Fund has valued the investment. Such differences could be significant, particularly for illiquid securities and securities that trade in relatively thin markets and/or markets that experience extreme volatility. If market or other conditions make it difficult to value some investments, SEC rules and applicable accounting protocols may require the Fund to value these investments using more subjective methods, known as fair value methodologies. Using fair value methodologies to price investments may result in a value that is different from an investment’s most recent price and from the prices used by other mutual funds to calculate their NAVs. 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, as represented by the performance of the Fund's Institutional Class. The returns in the bar chart do not reflect any applicable sales charges. If sales charges were reflected, returns would be lower than those shown. The table below 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. Unlike the returns in the bar chart, the returns in the table reflect the maximum applicable sales charges.
Returns would have been lower if Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC 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 '20, 18.74%
Worst quarter:    Q1 '20, -24.94%
Year-to-date performance as of 9/30/2021:     15.35%
average annual total % returns as of 12/31/20
Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund
Average Annual Returns - Class A Shares (NMUAX), Class C Shares (NMUCX), Institutional Class Shares (NMULX) - Neuberger Berman Multi-Cap Opportunities Fund
1 Year
5 Years
10 Years
Institutional Class 12.66% 14.24% 13.50%
Class A 5.75% 12.47% 12.41%
Class C 10.51% 12.97% 12.24%
After Taxes on Distributions | Institutional Class 7.28% 10.95% 11.45%
After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | Institutional Class 11.11% 11.02% 10.94%
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 18.40% 15.22% 13.88%
After-tax returns are shown for Institutional Class shares only and after-tax returns for other classes may vary. 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.