Harbor International Compounders Fund

 

 

Retirement Class HNICX

Institutional Class HSICX

Investor Class HVICX

 

Summary Prospectus – March 1, 2025

Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund’s prospectus and other information about the Fund online at harborcapital.com/prospectus. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 800-422-1050 or by sending an email request to funddocuments@harborcapital.com. If you purchase shares of the Fund through a financial intermediary, the prospectus and other information will also be available from your financial intermediary. The current prospectus and statement of additional information, dated March 1, 2025, as amended or supplemented from time to time, are incorporated by referenced into this summary prospectus and may be obtained, free of charge, at the website, phone number or email address noted above.

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks long-term growth of capital.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. 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.

 

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

 

	Retirement Class	Institutional Class	Investor Class
Management Fees	0.50%	0.50%	0.50%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	None	None	0.25%
Other Expenses1	0.57%	0.65%	0.75%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	1.07%	1.15%	1.50%
Expense Reimbursement2	(0.52)%	(0.52)%	(0.52)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Expense Reimbursement2	0.55%	0.63%	0.98%

1 Restated to reflect current fees.

2  The Advisor has contractually agreed to limit the Fund’s operating expenses, excluding interest expense (if any), to 0.55%, 0.63%, and 0.98% for the Retirement Class, Institutional Class, and Investor Class, respectively, through February 28, 2026. Only the Fund’s Board of Trustees may modify or terminate these agreements.

 

Expense Example

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, under these assumptions, your costs would be: 

	One Year	Three Years	Five Years	Ten Years
Retirement	$56	$289	$540	$1,259
Institutional	$64	$314	$583	$1,351
Investor	$100	$423	$769	$1,746

 

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when shares of the Fund are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Expense Example, do affect the

Fund’s performance. For the period from March 1, 2024 (commencement of operations) through October 31, 2024, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 8%.

Principal Investment Strategy

The Fund invests primarily (no less than 65% of its total assets under normal circumstances) in common stock of non-U.S. companies, including those located in emerging market countries. The investment strategy utilized by C WorldWide Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A/S, the Fund’s subadvisor (the “Subadvisor”), focuses on identifying companies with market capitalizations of at least $5 billion at the time of acquisition the Subadvisor believes are “compounders.” Companies with market capitalizations of $5 billion or more include mid-and large-capitalization companies. A company is considered a “compounder” if, in the Subadvisor’s view, it is expected to experience sustainable growth and compound its earnings over the long-term investment horizon (generally defined as five years or more).

In seeking to identify companies for the Fund’s portfolio, the Subadvisor conducts qualitative assessments of companies, including, among other criteria, each company’s business model, management, and financial and valuation metrics. The Subadvisor seeks to identify what it believes to be high-quality companies with consistent, recurring revenues; stable free cash flows (consistent levels of cash left after paying expenses); and sustainable returns on invested capital (a level of return on investment that can be maintained over the long term). The Subadvisor aims to construct a portfolio of companies exposed to diverse structural growth themes (i.e., a variety of potential drivers of growth). The investment process generally results in a portfolio of 25-30 companies and, from time to time, may result in more substantial investments in particular countries, geographic regions or sectors. Country, geographic region and sector allocations are the outcome of the Subadvisor’s stock selection process.

The Subadvisor’s assessment of a company’s business practices includes a consideration of environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors. In incorporating ESG factors into its investment process, the Subadvisor seeks to identify sustainable growth companies that follow good business practices. In the Subadvisor’s view, these are companies with strong corporate governance practices and ethics, laying the foundation for a sustainable business model. The Subadvisor’s assessment is based on its internal research as well as third-party data. The key ESG considerations may vary depending on the industry, sector, geographic region or other factors and the business of each issuer.

The Subadvisor’s approach to portfolio selection is based on fundamental research informed by visiting companies, participating in investment workshops and seminars, generating proprietary research and reviewing third-party research. The Subadvisor’s fundamental evaluation of stocks is dependent on a combination of factors, including risk return considerations, market sentiment (i.e., the overall optimism or pessimism of investors with respect to a stock) and economic data.

1

Summary Prospectus Harbor International Compounders Fund

The Fund may also invest in depositary receipts. The Fund may invest in foreign currencies and may engage in other foreign currency transactions for investment or hedging purposes.

The Fund is classified as non-diversified, which means the Fund may invest in the securities of a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund.

The Subadvisor maintains a long-term investment horizon. The Subadvisor monitors investments for changes in the factors above, which may trigger a decision to sell a security, but does not require such a decision. The Subadvisor also may consider selling a security if the Subadvisor develops alternative investment ideas or in order to meet redemption requests.

Principal Risks

There is no guarantee that the investment objective of the Fund will be achieved. Stocks fluctuate in price and the value of your investment in the Fund may go down. This means that you could lose money on your investment in the Fund or the Fund may not perform as well as other investment options. Principal risks impacting the Fund (in alphabetical order after the first five risks) include:

Foreign Securities Risk: Because the Fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers, an investment in the Fund is subject to special risks in addition to those of U.S. securities. These risks include heightened political and economic risks, greater volatility, currency fluctuations, higher transaction costs, delayed settlement, possible foreign controls on investment, possible sanctions by governmental bodies of other countries and less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards of foreign markets. Foreign securities are sometimes less liquid and harder to value than securities of U.S. issuers. These risks are more significant for issuers in emerging market countries. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, and conditions and events in one country, region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market.

Non-Diversification Risk: Because the Fund is non-diversified and may invest a greater percentage of its assets in securities of a single issuer, and/or invest in a relatively small number of issuers, it is more susceptible to risks associated with a single economic, political or regulatory occurrence than a more diversified portfolio.

Limited Number of Holdings Risk: The Fund may invest in a limited number of companies. As a result, an adverse event affecting a particular company may hurt the Fund’s performance more than if it had invested in a larger number of companies. In addition, the Fund’s performance may be more volatile than a fund that invests in a larger number of companies.

Market Risk: Securities markets are volatile and can decline significantly in response to adverse market, economic, political, regulatory or other developments, which may lower the value of securities held by the Fund, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. Events such as war, acts of terrorism, social unrest, natural disasters, recessions, inflation, rapid interest rate changes, supply chain disruptions, sanctions, the spread of infectious illness or other public health threats could also significantly impact the Fund and its investments.

Equity Risk: The values of equity or equity-related securities may decline due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions, changes in the general outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates or adverse investor sentiment generally. They may also decline due to factors that affect a particular industry or industries, such as labor shortages

or increased production costs and competitive conditions within an industry. Equity securities generally have greater price volatility than fixed income securities.

Depositary Receipts Risk: Depositary receipts are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer. These certificates are issued by depository banks and generally trade on an established market in the U.S. or elsewhere. The underlying shares are held in trust by a custodian bank or similar financial institution. The depository bank may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services, including forwarding dividends and interest and corporate actions. Depositary receipts are alternatives to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their national markets and currencies. The issuers of depositary receipts may discontinue issuing new depositary receipts and withdraw existing depositary receipts at any time, which may result in costs and delays in the distribution of the underlying assets to the Fund and may negatively impact the Fund’s performance. Depositary receipts are subject to the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities.

Emerging Market Risk: Foreign securities risks are more significant in emerging market countries. These countries may have relatively unstable governments and less-established market economies than developed countries. Emerging markets may face greater social, economic, regulatory and political uncertainties. These risks make emerging market securities more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Securities exchanges in emerging markets may suspend listed securities from trading for substantially longer periods of time than exchanges in developed markets, including for periods of a year or longer. If the Fund is holding a suspended security, that security would become completely illiquid as the Fund would not be able to dispose of the security until the suspension is lifted. In such instances, it can also be difficult to determine an appropriate valuation for the security because of a lack of trading and uncertainty as to when trading may resume.

ESG Factors Risk: The consideration of ESG factors by the Subadvisor and/or Advisor, as applicable, could cause the Fund to perform differently than other funds. ESG factors are not the only consideration used by the Subadvisor and/or Advisor, as applicable, in making investment decisions for the Fund and the Fund may invest in a company that scores poorly on ESG factors if it scores well on other criteria. ESG factors may not be considered for every investment decision.

Foreign Currency Risk: As a result of the Fund’s investments in securities denominated in, and/or receiving revenues in, foreign currencies, the Fund will be subject to currency risk. Currency risk is the risk that foreign currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar or, in the case of hedging positions, that the U.S. dollar will decline in value relative to the currency hedged. In either event, the dollar value of an investment in the Fund would be adversely affected.

Geographic Focus Risk: The Fund may invest a substantial amount of its assets in securities of issuers located in a single country or geographic region. As a result, any changes to the regulatory, political, social or economic conditions in such country or geographic region will generally have greater impact on the Fund than such changes would have on a more geographically diversified fund and may result in increased volatility and greater losses.

Issuer Risk: An adverse event affecting a particular issuer in which the Fund is invested, such as an unfavorable earnings report, may depress the value of that issuer’s securities, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably.

Large Cap Risk: Large cap stocks may fall out of favor relative to small or mid cap stocks, which may cause the Fund to

2

Summary Prospectus Harbor International Compounders Fund

underperform other equity funds that focus on small or mid cap stocks. Large cap companies may be less able than smaller cap companies to adapt to changing market conditions and may be more mature and subject to more limited growth potential than smaller cap companies.

Mid Cap Risk: The Fund’s performance may be more volatile because it invests primarily in mid cap stocks. Mid cap companies may have limited product lines, markets and financial resources. Securities of mid cap companies are usually less stable in price and less liquid than those of larger, more established companies. Additionally, mid cap stocks may fall out of favor relative to small or large cap stocks, which may cause the Fund to underperform other equity funds that focus on small or large cap stocks.

New Fund Risk: There can be no assurance that the Fund will grow to or maintain an economically viable size, in which case the Board of Trustees may determine to liquidate the Fund. The Board of Trustees may liquidate the Fund at any time in accordance with the Declaration of Trust and governing law. As a result, the timing of the Fund’s liquidation may not be favorable.

Participatory Notes Risk: The return on a P-note is linked to the performance of the issuers of the underlying securities. The performance of P-notes will not replicate exactly the performance of the issuers that they seek to replicate due to transaction costs and other expenses.  P-notes are subject to counterparty risk since the notes constitute general unsecured contractual obligations of the financial institutions issuing the notes, and the Fund is relying on the creditworthiness of such institutions and has no rights under the notes against the issuers of the underlying securities.  P-notes may also be less liquid and more difficult to sell.

Sector Risk: Because the Fund may, from time to time, be more heavily invested in particular sectors, the value of its shares may be especially sensitive to factors and economic risks that specifically affect those sectors. As a result, the Fund’s share price may fluctuate more widely than the value of shares of a mutual fund that invests in a broader range of sectors.

Selection Risk: The Subadvisors' judgment about the attractiveness, value and growth potential of a particular security may be incorrect. The Subadvisor and/or Advisor, as applicable, potentially will be prevented from investment decisions at an advantageous time or price as a result of domestic or global market disruptions, particularly disruptions causing heightened market volatility and reduced market liquidity, as well as increased or changing regulations.  Thus, investments that a Subadvisor and/or Advisor, as applicable, believes represent an attractive opportunity or in which the Fund seeks to obtain exposure may be unavailable entirely or in the specific quantities or prices sought by a Subadvisor and/or Advisor, as applicable, and the Fund may need to obtain the exposure through less advantageous or indirect investments or forgo the investment at the time.

Performance

Because the Fund does not yet have a complete calendar year of performance history, the bar chart and total return tables are not provided. Once the Fund has operated for at least one calendar year, a bar chart and performance table will be included in the prospectus to show the performance of the Fund. When such information is included, this section will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance history from year to year and showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance and an additional index.Please note that the Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will

perform in the future. To obtain performance information, please visit the Fund’s website at harborcapital.com or call 800-422-1050.

Portfolio Management

Investment Advisor

Harbor Capital Advisors, Inc.

 

Subadvisor

C WorldWide Asset Management
Fondsmaeglerselskab A/S (“C WorldWide”) has subadvised the Fund since 2024.

 

Portfolio Managers

The portfolio managers are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day investment decision making for the Fund. 

    Bo Almar Knudsen C WorldWide Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A/S

Mr. Knudsen is the Chief Executive Officer and Portfolio Manager of C WorldWide and has co-managed the Fund since 2024. 

    Bengt Seger C WorldWide Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A/S

Mr. Seger is a Portfolio Manager of C WorldWide and has co-managed the Fund since 2024. 

    Peter O’Reilly C WorldWide Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A/S

Mr. O’Reilly is a Portfolio Manager of C WorldWide and has co-managed the Fund since 2024. 

    Mattias Kolm C WorldWide Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A/S

Mr. Kolm is a Portfolio Manager of C WorldWide and has co-managed the Fund since 2024.

3

Summary Prospectus Harbor International Compounders Fund

Buying and Selling Fund Shares

Shareholders may purchase or sell (redeem) Fund shares on any business day (normally any day the New York Stock Exchange is open). You may conduct transactions by mail, by telephone or through our website. 

By Mail	Harbor Funds P.O. Box 804660 Chicago, IL 60680-4108
By Telephone	800-422-1050
By Visiting Our Website	harborcapital.com

Investors who wish to purchase, exchange or redeem shares held through a financial intermediary should contact the financial intermediary directly.

The minimum initial investment amounts are shown below. The minimums may be reduced or waived in some cases. There are no minimums for subsequent investments. 

Type of Account	Retirement Class1	Institutional Class	Investor Class
Regular	$1,000,000	$50,000	$2,500
Individual Retirement Account (IRA)	$1,000,000	$50,000	$1,000
Custodial (UGMA/UTMA)	$1,000,000	$50,000	$1,000

1  There is no minimum investment for (1) employer-sponsored group retirement or benefit plans (with more than one participant) that maintain accounts with Harbor Funds at an omnibus or plan level, including: (i) plans established under Internal Revenue Code Sections 401(a), 403(b) or 457, (ii) profit-sharing plans, cash balance plans and money purchase pension plans, (iii) non-qualified deferred compensation plans, and (iv) retiree health benefit plans; and (2) certain wrap or model-driven asset allocation program accounts for the benefit of clients of financial intermediaries, as approved by the Distributor.

Tax Information

Distributions you receive from the Fund are subject to federal income tax and may also be subject to state and local taxes. These distributions will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred retirement account, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account. Investments in tax-deferred accounts may be subject to tax when they are withdrawn.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

The Fund, the Advisor and/or its related companies have in the past and could in the future pay intermediaries, which may include banks, broker-dealers, or financial professionals, for marketing activities and presentations, educational training programs, conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems and data or other services related to the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your sales representative to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your sales representative or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

4

 

 

[THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK]

5

 

Summary Prospectus

HARBOR INTERNATIONAL COMPOUNDERS FUND

March 1, 2025 

Retirement Class	Institutional Class	Investor Class
HNICX	HSICX	HVICX

 

HF.SP.ICOM.0325

111 South Wacker Drive, 34th Floor

Chicago, IL 60606-4302