485APOS 1 e460921_485apos.htm 485APOS

 

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 3, 2017

 

1933 Act File No. 033-11387

1940 Act File No. 811-04984

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM N-1A

 

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 x
  Pre-Effective Amendment No. ¨
  Post-Effective Amendment No. 279 x
 
and/or
 
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 x
  Amendment No. 280 x
(Check appropriate box or boxes.)
       

AMERICAN BEACON FUNDS

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

220 East Las Colinas Boulevard, Suite 1200

Irving, Texas 75039

(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

Registrant's Telephone Number, including Area Code: (817) 391-6100

 

Gene L. Needles, Jr., President With copies to:
220 East Las Colinas  Boulevard Kathy K. Ingber, Esq.
Suite 1200 K&L Gates LLP
Irving, Texas 75039 1601 K Street, NW
(Name and Address of Agent for Service) Washington, D.C. 20006-1600

 

It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box)

  ¨ immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)
  ¨ on (date) pursuant to paragraph (b)
  ¨ 60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)
  ¨ on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)
  ¨ 75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2)
  x on May 19, 2017 pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485

 

If appropriate, check the following box:

  ¨ This post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment.

 

 

 



American Beacon

PROSPECTUS

xx xx, 20xx

 

Share Class

Ultra

American Beacon IPM Systematic Macro Fund

XXXX

The information in this Prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This Prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

This Prospectus contains important information you should know about investing, including information about risks. Please read it before you invest and keep it for future reference.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of the prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.


Table of Contents


 

American Beacon
IPM Systematic Macro FundSM



Investment Objective

The Fund's investment objective is long-term capital appreciation.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This 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)

 

Share Class

Ultra

Maximum sales charge imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price)

None

Maximum deferred sales charge (as a percentage of the lower of original offering price or redemption proceeds)

None

 

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

Share Class

Ultra

Management Fee

1.81

%

Distribution (12b-1) Fees

0.00

%

Other Expenses 1

0.11

%

Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses 1

0.01

%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

1.93

%

Fee Waiver and/or expense reimbursement 2

(0.13

%)

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement

1.80

%

1 Other Expenses and Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are based on estimated expenses for the current fiscal year.

2 American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (the "Manager") has contractually agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses of the Fund's Ultra Class shares through October 28, 2018 to the extent that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses exceed 1.79% for the Ultra Class (excluding taxes, interest, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses, securities lending fees, expenses associated with securities sold short, litigation, and other extraordinary expenses). The contractual expense reimbursement can be changed only in the discretion and with the approval of a majority of the Fund's Board of Trustees. The Manager can be reimbursed by the Fund for any contractual fee waivers or expense reimbursements if reimbursement to the Manager (a) occurs within three years after the Manager's own waiver or reimbursement and (b) does not cause the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses of a class to exceed the lesser of the contractual percentage limit in effect at the time of the waiver/reimbursement or the time of the recoupment.

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 and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same except that this example reflects the fee waiver/expense reimbursement arrangement through October 28, 2018. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Share Class

1 Year

3 Years

Ultra

$179

$577

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. The Fund's portfolio turnover rate for the Fund's last fiscal year is not provided because the Fund had not commenced operations prior to the date of this Prospectus.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by implementing a systematic investment process and quantitative trading strategy designed to capitalize on price trends (up and/or down), investor sentiment and relative value discrepancies (e.g., securities deemed to be inexpensive relative to key characteristics of such investments) in global equity index, government bond and currency markets by using derivative instruments. As the owner of a "long" position in a derivative instrument, the Fund may benefit from an increase in the price of the underlying asset, and as owner of a "short" position, the Fund may benefit from a decrease in the price of the underlying asset. The Fund generally uses short positions to reduce or hedge exposures to certain assets and does not seek to maintain a net short exposure.

The Fund invests primarily in futures contracts based on global equity indices, government bonds and currencies; forward contracts on foreign currencies, including non-deliverable forwards ("NDFs"); and also invests directly in foreign currencies. In connection with the Fund's use of derivatives, the Fund also holds U.S. Treasury securities or other short-term investments, including money market mutual funds, cash and cash equivalents, in order to meet applicable asset coverage requirements under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"). As such, the sub-advisor to the Fund also makes investment decisions for cash management purposes.  The Fund's investments are generally made without restriction as to the country, currency, maturity, market capitalization or credit rating of the underlying issuer.

The sub-advisor's investment decision-making process is quantitative and is driven by mathematical models that utilize computerized processes to analyze data and identify investment opportunities. Investment decisions are implemented via the sub-advisor's proprietary execution system, which generally entails little or no human intervention. The investment process is supported by detailed risk controls, ongoing research, portfolio diversification and trading efficiency.

The basis for the sub-advisor's investment philosophy is that the financial markets are reasonably efficient but that investor behavior causes inefficiencies. The sub-advisor seeks to profit from these inefficiencies by gaining exposure to assets that appear to be undervalued and by reducing exposure to assets that

 

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1


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appear to be overvalued. Macroeconomic data is also analyzed to understand market activity and establish investment positions that may profit from investor reaction to economic changes. Macroeconomic analysis generally considers economic data, fiscal trends, political activity and other variables that affect global markets. Market valuations are examined to identify discrepancies between current market prices and longer-term, expected fundamental valuations. The sub-advisor seeks to take advantage of price fluctuations caused by various factors, including news headlines, trading volumes, investor sentiment or other short-term influences, that provide trading opportunities based on relative value discrepencies.

The Fund's holdings may be frequently adjusted to reflect the sub-advisor's assessment of changing risks, which could result in high portfolio turnover. The Fund is non-diversified, which means that it is not limited as to the percentage of assets that it may invest in any one issuer.

Principal Risks

There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective and you could lose part or all of your investment in the Fund. The Fund is not designed for investors who need an assured level of income and is intended to be a long-term investment. The Fund is not a complete investment program and may not be appropriate for all investors. Investors should carefully consider their own investment goals and risk tolerance before investing in the Fund. The principal risks of investing in the Fund are:

Allocation Risk
The sub-advisor's judgments about, and allocations among, asset classes and market exposures may adversely affect the Fund's performance. This risk may be increased by the use of derivatives to increase allocations to various market exposures.

Asset Selection Risk
Assets selected by the sub-advisor or the Manager for the Fund may not perform to expectations. The sub-advisor's investment models may rely in part on data derived from third parties and may not perform as intended. This could result in the Fund's underperformance compared to other funds with similar investment objectives.

Counterparty Risk
The Fund is subject to the risk that a party or participant to a transaction, such as a broker or derivative counterparty, will be unwilling or unable to satisfy its obligation to make timely principal, interest or settlement payments or to otherwise honor its obligations to the Fund.

Credit Risk
The Fund is subject to the risk that the issuer or guarantor of a debt security, or the counterparty to a derivatives contract or a loan will fail to make timely payment of interest or principal or otherwise honor its obligations or default completely. Credit risk is typically greater for securities with ratings that are below investment grade (commonly referred to as "junk bonds.").

Crowding/Convergence Risk
There is significant competition among quantitatively-focused managers, and the ability of the sub-advisor to outperform other funds is dependent on their ability to employ models that are simultaneously profitable and differentiated from those employed by other managers. To the extent that the sub-advisor is not able to develop sufficiently differentiated models the Fund's investment objective may not be met, irrespective of whether the models are profitable in an absolute sense.

Currency Risk
The Fund may have exposure to foreign currencies by making direct investments in non-U.S. currencies or in securities denominated in non-U.S. currencies, purchasing or selling forward currency exchange contracts in non-U.S. currencies, including both non-deliverable forwards ("NDFs") and deliverable forwards, non-U.S. currency futures contracts. Foreign currencies may decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar and other currencies and thereby affect the Fund's investments in foreign (non-U.S.) currencies or in securities that trade in, and receive revenues in, or in derivatives that provide exposure to, foreign (non-U.S.) currencies.

Cybersecurity and Operational Risk
The Fund and its service providers, and shareholders' 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 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.

Derivatives Risk
Derivatives may involve significant risk. The use of derivative instruments may expose the Fund to additional risks that it would not be subject to if it invested directly in the securities underlying those derivatives, including the high degree of leverage often embedded in such instruments, and potential material and prolonged deviations between the theoretical value and realizable value of a derivative.  Some derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of the Fund's initial investment. Derivatives may be illiquid and may be more volatile than other types of investments. The Fund may buy or sell derivatives not traded on an exchange and which may be subject to heightened liquidity and valuation risk. Derivative investments can increase portfolio turnover and transaction costs. Derivatives also are subject to counterparty risk. As a result, the Fund may obtain no recovery of its investment or may only obtain a limited recovery, and any recovery may be delayed. Not all derivative transactions require a counterparty to post collateral, which may expose the Fund to greater losses in the event of a default by a counterparty. In addition, the Fund's investments in derivatives are subject to the following risks:

Futures and Forward Contracts. Futures and forward contracts, including non-deliverable forwards ("NDFs"), are derivative instruments pursuant to a contract where one party pays a fixed price for an agreed amount of securities or other underlying assets at an agreed date or to buy or sell a specific currency at a future date at a price set at the time of the contract. There may be an imperfect correlation between the movement in the prices of futures contracts and the value of their underlying instruments or indexes. There can be no assurance that any strategy used will succeed. Not all forward contracts, including NDFs, require a counterparty to post collateral, which may expose the Fund to greater losses in the event of a default by a counterparty. There may not be a liquid secondary market for the futures contracts. Forward currency transactions, including NDFs, and forward currency contracts include the risks associated with fluctuations in currency. Interest rate and Treasury futures contracts expose the Fund to price fluctuations resulting from changes in interest rates. The Fund could suffer a loss if interest rates rise after the Fund has purchased an interest rate futures contract or fall after the Fund has sold an interest rate futures contract. Similarly, Treasury futures contracts expose the Fund to potential losses if interest rates do not move as expected.

Emerging Markets Risk
When investing in emerging markets, the risks of investing in foreign securities discussed below are heightened. Emerging markets are generally smaller, less developed, less liquid and more volatile than the securities markets of the U.S. and other developed markets. There are also risks of: greater political uncertainties; an economy's dependence on revenues from particular commodities or on international aid or development assistance; currency transfer

 

2

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restrictions; a limited number of potential buyers for such securities resulting in increased volatility and limited liquidity for emerging market securities; trading suspensions; and delays and disruptions in securities settlement procedures.

Foreign Investing Risk
Non-U.S. investments carry potential risks not associated with U.S. investments. Such risks include, but are not limited to: (1) currency exchange rate fluctuations, (2) political and financial instability, (3) less liquidity, (4) lack of uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, (5) increased price volatility, (6) less government regulation and supervision of foreign stock exchanges, brokers and listed companies, and (7) delays in transaction settlement in some foreign markets.

Hedging Risk
If the Fund uses a hedging instrument at the wrong time or judges the market conditions incorrectly, or the hedged instrument does not correlate to the risk sought to be hedged, the hedge might be unsuccessful, reduce the Fund's return, or create a loss.

High Portfolio Turnover Risk
Portfolio turnover is a measure of the Fund's trading activity over a one-year period. A portfolio turnover rate of 100% would indicate that the Fund sold and replaced the entire value of its securities holdings during the period. High portfolio turnover could increase the Fund's transaction costs, have a negative impact on performance, and generate higher capital gain distributions to shareholders than if the Fund has a lower portfolio turnover rate.

Interest Rate Risk
The Fund is subject to the risk that the market value of fixed income securities or derivatives it holds, particularly mortgage backed and other asset backed securities, will decline due to rising interest rates. Generally, the value of investments with interest rate risk, such as fixed income securities, will move in the opposite direction to movements in interest rates. The Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate in December 2016, marking only the second such interest rate hike in nearly a decade. The Federal Reserve has signaled additional increases in 2017. Interest rates may rise, perhaps significantly and/or rapidly, potentially resulting in substantial losses to the Fund. The prices of fixed income securities or derivatives are also affected by their duration. Fixed income securities or derivatives with longer duration generally have greater sensitivity to changes in interest rates. For example, if a bond has a duration of eight years, a 1% increase in interest rates could be expected to result in a 8% decrease in the value of the bond. An increase in interest rates can impact markets broadly as well. For example, some investors buy securities and derivatives with borrowed money; an increase in interest rates can cause a decline in those markets.

Investment Risk
An investment in the Fund is not a deposit with a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. When you sell your shares of the Fund, they could be worth less than what you paid for them. Therefore, you may lose money by investing in the Fund.

Issuer Risk
The value of, and/or the return generated by, a security may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.

Leverage Risk
Financial leverage magnifies the exposure to the swings in prices of an asset or class of assets underlying a derivative instrument and results in increased volatility, which means that the Fund will have the potential for greater losses than if the Fund does not use the derivative instruments that have a leveraging effect. Leverage tends to magnify, sometimes significantly, the effect of any increase or decrease in the Fund's exposure to an asset or class of assets and may cause the Fund's net asset value ("NAV") to be volatile.

Liquidity Risk
The Fund is susceptible to the risk that certain investments held by the Fund, such as structured notes and other derivative instruments, may have limited marketability or be subject to restrictions on sale, and may be difficult or impossible to purchase or sell at favorable times or prices. The Fund could lose money if it is unable to dispose of an investment at a time that is most beneficial to the Fund. The Fund may be required to dispose of investments at unfavorable times or prices to satisfy obligations, which may result in losses or may be costly to the Fund. For example, the Fund may be forced to sell certain investments at unfavorable prices to meet redemption requests or other cash needs. Judgment plays a greater role in pricing illiquid investments than in investments with more active markets.

Market Direction Risk
Since the Fund will typically hold both long and short positions, an investment in the Fund will involve market risks associated with different types of investment decisions than those made for a typical "long only" fund. The Fund's results could suffer both when there is a general market advance and the Fund holds significant "short" positions, and when there is a general market decline and the Fund holds significant "long" positions.

Market Risk
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 fixed income instruments experiencing unusual liquidity issues, increased price volatility and, in some cases, credit downgrades and increased likelihood of default. These events have reduced the willingness and ability of some lenders to extend credit, and have made it more difficult for some borrowers to obtain financing on attractive terms, if at all. In addition, global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers in a different country or region. The severity or duration of adverse economic conditions may also be affected by policy changes made by governments or quasi-governmental organizations.

In addition, political 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. High public debt in the U.S. and other countries creates ongoing systemic and market risks and policymaking uncertainty. 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. 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, whether brought about by U.S. policy makers or by dislocations in world markets. In addition, there is a risk that the prices of goods and services in the U.S. and many foreign economies may decline over time, known as deflation (the opposite of inflation). Deflation may have an adverse effect on stock prices and creditworthiness and may make defaults on debt more likely.

Model and Data Risk
The sub-advisor relies heavily on proprietary trading models ("Models") and both proprietary and external information and market data ("Data") to generate investment strategies, to estimate investment values and to identify specific trade recommendations. The sub-advisor also relies on Models and Data to identify and manage investment risk and to assist in determining appropriate hedging strategies that seek to reduce certain risks.

 

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Models and Data may be extremely complex and may have errors, omissions, imperfections and malfunctions (collectively referred to as "System Events"). More complex Models and Data typically have a higher potential for System Events and may result in investment losses in the Fund. Additionally, investments in derivative securities may increase the risks associated with System Events.

Non-Diversification Risk
The Fund is non-diversified, which means the Fund may focus its investments in the securities of a comparatively small number of issuers. Investments in securities of a limited number of issuers exposes the Fund to greater market risk and potential losses than if assets were diversified among the securities of a greater number of issuers.

Obsolescence Risk
The Fund is unlikely to be successful in its quantitative trading strategies unless the assumptions underlying the Models are realistic and either remain realistic and relevant in the future or are adjusted to account for changes in the overall market environment. If such assumptions are inaccurate or become inaccurate and are not promptly adjusted, it is likely that profitable trading signals will not be generated. If and to the extent that the Models do not reflect certain factors, and the sub-advisor does not successfully address such omission through its testing and evaluation and modify the Models accordingly, major losses may result — all of which will be borne by the Fund.

Other Investment Companies Risk
The Fund may invest in shares of other registered investment companies, including money market funds. To the extent that the Fund invests in shares of other registered investment companies, you will indirectly bear fees and expenses charged by those investment companies in addition to the Fund's direct fees and expenses and will be subject to the risks associated with investments in those funds. For example, money market funds are subject to interest rate risk, credit risk, and market risk.

Quantitative Strategy Risk
The success of the Fund's investment strategy may depend in part on the effectiveness of the sub-advisor's quantitative tools for screening securities. These strategies may incorporate factors that are not predictive of a security's 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 can 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 Programming and Modeling Error
The success of the sub-advisor's investment strategy depends largely on the effectiveness of its quantitative research models and investment programs. The programs may not react as expected to market events resulting in losses for the Fund. Additionally, programs may become outdated or experience malfunctions which may not be identified by the sub-advisor and therefore may also result in losses to the Fund.

Sector Risk
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 move up and down more than the broader market. The industries that constitute a sector may all react in the same way to economic, political or regulatory events. Because the Fund may hold a limited number of securities, it may at times be substantially over-weighted in certain economic sectors and under-weighted in others. As such, the Fund's performance is likely to be disproportionately affected by the factors influencing those sectors.

Segregated Assets Risk
In connection with certain transactions that may give rise to future payment obligations, including futures and forward contracts, the Fund may be required to maintain a segregated amount of, or otherwise earmark, cash or liquid securities to cover the obligation.  Segregated assets cannot be sold while the position they are covering is outstanding, unless they are replaced with other assets of equal value.  The need to maintain cash or other liquid securities in segregated accounts could limit the Fund's ability to pursue other opportunities as they arise.

Short Position Risk
The Fund's losses are potentially unlimited in a short position transaction because there is potentially no limit on the amount that the security that the Fund is required to purchase may have appreciated. Because the Fund may invest the proceeds of a short sale, another effect of short selling on the Fund is similar to the effect of leverage, in that it may amplify changes in the Fund's NAV since it may increase the exposure of the Fund to certain markets.

U.S. Government Securities and Government-Sponsored Enterprises Risk
A security backed by the U.S. Treasury or the full faith and credit of the United States is guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity. The market prices for such securities are not guaranteed and will fluctuate.  Securities held by the Fund that are issued by government-sponsored enterprises, such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (''Fannie Mae''), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (''Freddie Mac''), Federal Home Loan Banks, Federal Farm Credit Banks, and the Tennessee Valley Authority are not guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury and are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government and no assurance can be given that the U.S. Government will provide financial support if these organizations do not have the funds to meet future payment obligations. U.S. Government securities and securities of government sponsored entities are also subject to credit risk, interest rate risk and market risk.

Valuation Risk
The Fund may value certain assets at a price different from the price at which they can be sold. This risk may be especially pronounced for investments that are illiquid or which may become illiquid.

Volatility Risk
The Fund may have investments that appreciate or decrease significantly in value over short periods of time. This may cause the Fund's NAV to experience significant increases or declines in value over short periods of time.

Fund Performance

Performance information for the Fund is not provided because the Fund had not commenced operations prior to the date of this Prospectus. Performance information will be available in the Prospectus after the Fund has been in operation for one full calendar year.

Management

The Manager
The Fund has retained American Beacon Advisors, Inc. to serve as its Manager.

 

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Sub-Advisor
The Fund's investment sub-advisor is IPM Informed Portfolio Management AB

Portfolio Managers

IPM INFORMED PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT AB

Björn Österberg
CIO & Head of Research
Since Fund Inception (20xx)

Mattias Jansson
Executive Director, Deputy CIO
Since Fund Inception (20xx)

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

You may buy or sell shares of the Fund through a direct mutual fund account, through a retirement account, through an investment professional or another financial intermediary.  As a direct mutual fund account shareholder, you may buy or sell shares in various ways:

 

Internet

www.americanbeaconfunds.com

Phone

To reach an American Beacon representative call 1-800-658-5811, option 1

Through the Automated Voice Response Service call 1-800-658-5811, option 2 (Investor Class only)

Mail

American Beacon Funds

P.O. Box 219643

Kansas City, MO 64121-9643

Overnight Delivery:

American Beacon Funds

c/o BFDS 330 West 9th Street

Kansas City, MO 64105

You may purchase or redeem shares of the Fund on any day the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open, at the Fund's NAV per share next calculated after your order is received in proper form.

 

New Account

Existing Account

Share Class

Minimum

Purchase/Redemption Minimum by Check/ACH/Exchange

Purchase/Redemption Minimum by Wire

Ultra

$350,000,000

$50

None

Tax Information

Dividends and capital gain distributions, if any, that you receive from the Fund are subject to federal income tax and may also be subject to state and local income taxes, unless you are a tax-exempt entity or your account is tax-deferred (in which case you may be taxed later, upon the withdrawal of your investment from such account).

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and the Fund's distributor or the Manager may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your individual financial adviser to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial adviser or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.

 

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Additional Information About the Fund

To help you better understand the Fund, this section provides a detailed discussion of the Fund's investment policies, its principal strategies and risks and performance benchmark(s). However, this Prospectus does not describe all of the Fund's investment practices. For additional information, please see the Fund's SAI, which is available at www.americanbeaconfunds.com or by contacting us via telephone at 1-800-658-5811, by U.S. mail at P.O. Box 219643, Kansas City, MO 64121-9643, or by e-mail at americanbeaconfunds@ambeacon.com.

Additional Information About Investment Policies and Strategies

Investment Objective

The Fund's investment objective is long-term capital appreciation.

The Fund's investment objective is "non-fundamental," which means that it may be changed by the Fund's Board of Trustees ("Board") without the approval of Fund shareholders.

Temporary Defensive Policy

The Fund may depart from its principal investment strategy by taking temporary defensive positions in response to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions. During these times, the Fund may not achieve its investment objective.

Additional Information About the Management of the Fund

The Fund has retained American Beacon Advisors, Inc. to serve as its Manager. The Manager provides or oversees the provision of all administrative, investment advisory and portfolio management services to the Fund. The Manager:

develops overall investment strategies for the Fund, 

monitors and evaluates the sub-advisor's investment performance, 

monitors the sub-advisor's compliance with the Fund's investment objectives, policies and restrictions, and

oversees the Fund's securities lending activities and actions taken by the securities lending agent to the extent applicable.

The assets of the Fund are allocated by the Manager to one sub-advisor, IPM Informed Portfolio Management AB ("IPM"). IPM has full discretion to purchase and sell securities for the Fund in accordance with the Fund's objectives, policies, restrictions and more specific strategies provided by the Manager. The Manager oversees the sub-advisor but does not reassess individual security selections made by the sub-advisor for the Fund.

Although the Manager has no current intention to do so, the Fund's assets may be allocated among one or more additional sub-advisors in the future by the Manager. The Fund operates in a manager of managers structure. The Fund and the Manager have received an exemptive order from the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") that permits the Fund, subject to certain conditions and approval by the Board, to hire and replace sub-advisors that are unaffiliated with the Manager without approval of shareholders. The Fund and the Manager may seek to receive a further exemptive order from the SEC in the future that, if granted, would permit the Fund to hire and replace sub-advisors that are affiliated and unaffiliated with the Manager without shareholder approval, subject to certain conditions. The Manager has ultimate responsibility, subject to oversight by the Board, to oversee sub-advisors and recommend their hiring, termination and replacement. The order also exempts the Fund from disclosing the advisory fees paid by the Fund to individual sub-advisors that are unaffiliated with the Manager in various documents filed with the SEC and provided to shareholders. Instead, the fees payable to unaffiliated sub-advisors are aggregated, and fees payable to sub-advisors that are affiliated with the Manager, if any, would be aggregated with fees payable to the Manager. Disclosure of the separate fees paid to an affiliated sub-advisor would be required. Whenever a sub-advisor change is proposed in reliance on the order, in order for the change to be implemented, the Board, including a majority of its "non-interested" trustees, must approve the change. In addition, the Fund is required to provide shareholders with certain information regarding any new sub-advisor within 90 days of the hiring of any new sub-advisor.

Additional Information About Investments

This section provides more detailed information regarding certain of the Fund's principal investment strategies as well as information regarding the Fund's strategy with respect to investment of cash balances.

Cash Equivalents

The Fund may invest in cash equivalents including, among others, time deposits, certificates of deposit, and government obligations. Time deposits are non-negotiable deposits maintained at a banking institution for a specified period of time at a specified interest rate. Certificates of deposit are issued against funds deposited in an eligible bank (including its domestic and foreign branches, subsidiaries and agencies), are for a definite period of time, earn a specified rate of return and are normally negotiable.

Currencies

The Fund may invest in foreign currency-denominated securities and may also purchase and sell foreign currency options and foreign currency futures contracts (see "Derivative Investments" below), and may engage in foreign currency transactions either on a spot (cash) basis at the rate prevailing in the currency exchange market at the time or through forward currency contracts ("forwards"). The Fund may engage in these transactions in order to hedge or protect against uncertainty in the level of future foreign exchange rates in the purchase and sale of securities or other derivative positions. The Fund also may use foreign currency forward contracts to increase exposure to a foreign currency or to shift exposure to foreign currency fluctuations from one country to another.

Derivative Investments

Derivatives are financial instruments that have a value which depends upon, or is derived from, a reference asset, such as one or more underlying securities, pools of securities, options, futures, indexes or currencies. The Fund may invest in the following derivative instruments:

Forward Contracts. Forward contracts are two-party contracts pursuant to which one party agrees to pay the counterparty a fixed price for an agreed upon amount of commodities or securities, or the cash value of commodities, securities or a securities index, at an agreed upon future date. A forward currency contract is an obligation to buy or sell a specific currency at a future date, which may be any fixed number of days from the date of the contract agreed upon by the parties, at a price set at the time of the contract. An NDF currency contract is a forward contract where there is no physical settlement of the two currencies at maturity. Rather, on the contract settlement date, a net cash settlement will be made by one party to the other based on the difference between the contracted forward rate and the prevailing spot rate, on an agreed notional amount.

Futures Contracts. A futures contract is a contract to purchase or sell a particular security, or the cash value of an index, at a specified future date at a price agreed upon when the contract is made. Under such contracts, no delivery of the actual securities is required. Rather, upon the expiration of the contract,

 

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settlement is made by exchanging cash in an amount equal to the difference between the contract price and the closing price of a security or index at expiration, net of the variation margin that was previously paid. An interest rate futures contract is a contract for the future delivery of an interest-bearing debt security. A treasury futures contract is a contract for the future delivery of a U.S. Treasury security. The Fund also may have to sell assets at inopportune times to satisfy its settlement or collateral obligations. The risks associated with the use of futures contracts also include that there may be an imperfect correlation between the changes in market value of the securities held by the Fund and the prices of futures contracts and that there may not be a liquid secondary market for a futures contract.

Other Investment Companies Securities

The Fund at times may invest in shares of other investment companies, including money market funds. The Fund may invest in investment company securities advised by the Manager or the sub-advisor. Investments in the securities of other investment companies may involve duplication of advisory fees and certain other expenses. By investing in another investment company, the Fund becomes a shareholder of that investment company. As a result, Fund shareholders indirectly will bear the Fund's proportionate share of the fees and expenses paid by shareholders of the other investment company, in addition to the fees and expenses Fund shareholders directly bear in connection with the Fund's own operations. These other fees and expenses are reflected as Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses and are included in the Fees and Expenses Table for the Fund in this Prospectus, if applicable. Investment in other investment companies may involve the payment of substantial premiums above the value of such issuer's portfolio securities.

The Fund can invest free cash balances in registered open-end investment companies regulated as money market funds under the Investment Company Act, to provide liquidity or for defensive purposes. The Fund would invest in money market funds rather than purchasing individual short-term investments. If the Fund invests in money market funds, shareholders will bear their proportionate share of the expenses, including for example, advisory and administrative fees, of the money market funds in which the Fund invests, including advisory fees charged by the Manager to any applicable money market funds advised by the Manager.

U.S. Government Securities

The Fund may invest in securities backed by the U.S. Treasury or the full faith and credit of the United States. These investments are only guaranteed by the applicable entity only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity. The market prices for such securities are not guaranteed and will fluctuate. In addition, because many types of U.S. Government securities trade actively outside the United States, their prices may rise and fall as changes in global economic conditions affect the demand for these securities. Like all bonds, U.S. Government bonds are also subject to credit risk and interest rate risk.

Additional Information About Risks

The greatest risk of investing in a mutual fund is that its returns will fluctuate and you could lose money. The following section provides additional information regarding the Fund's principal risk factors in light of its principal investment strategies.

Allocation Risk

This is the risk that the sub-advisor's judgments about, and allocations among, asset classes and market exposures may adversely affect the Fund's performance. This risk can be increased by the use of derivatives to increase allocations to various market exposures because derivatives can create investment leverage, which will magnify the impact to the Fund of its investment in any underperforming market exposure.

Asset Selection Risk

Assets selected by the sub-advisor or the Manager for the Fund may not perform to expectations. The portfolio managers' judgments about the attractiveness, value and potential performance of a particular asset class or individual security may be incorrect and there is no guarantee that individual securities will perform as anticipated. Additionally, different asset classes tend to go through cycles of outperformance and underperformance in comparison to each other and to the general securities markets. The sub-advisor's investment models may rely in part on data derived from third parties and may not perform as intended. This could result in the Fund's underperformance compared to other funds with similar investment objectives.

Counterparty Risk

The Fund is subject to the risk that a party or participant to a transaction, such as a broker or derivative counterparty, will be unwilling or unable to satisfy its obligation to make timely principal, interest or settlement payments or to otherwise honor its obligations to the Fund. As a result the Fund may obtain no recovery of its investment or may only obtain a limited recovery, and any recovery may be delayed. Not all derivative transactions require a counterparty to post collateral, which may expose the Fund to greater losses in the event of a default by a counterparty

Credit Risk

The Fund is subject to the risk that the issuer or guarantor of a debt security or the counterparty to a derivatives contract or a loan will fail to make timely payment of interest or principal or otherwise honor its obligations or default completely.  A decline in the credit rating of an individual security held by the Fund may have an adverse impact on its price and make it difficult for the Fund to sell it.  Ratings represent a rating agency's opinion regarding the quality of the security and are not a guarantee of quality.  Rating agencies might not always change their credit rating on an issuer or security in a timely manner to reflect events that could affect the issuer's ability to make timely payments on its obligations.  Credit risk is typically greater for securities with ratings that are below investment grade.  Since the Fund can invest significantly in high-yield investments considered speculative in nature, this risk will be substantial.

Crowding/Convergence Risk

There is significant competition among quantitatively-focused managers and the ability of the sub-advisor to deliver returns that outperform other funds is dependent on their ability to employ Models that are simultaneously profitable and differentiated from those employed by other managers. To the extent that the sub-advisor is not able to develop sufficiently differentiated Models, the Fund's investment objective may not be met, irrespective of whether the Models are profitable in an absolute sense. In addition, to the extent that the Models come to resemble those employed by other managers, there is an increased risk that a market disruption may negatively affect predictive Models such as those employed by the Fund, as such a disruption could accelerate reductions in liquidity or rapid re-pricing due to simultaneous trading across a number of funds utilizing Models (or similar quantitatively-focused investment strategies) in the marketplace.

Currency Risk

The Fund may have exposure to foreign currencies by making direct investments in non-U.S. currencies or in securities denominated in non-U.S. currencies, purchasing or selling forward currency exchange contracts in non-U.S. currencies, non-U.S. currency futures contracts, options on non-U.S. currencies and non-U.S. currency futures and swaps for cross-currency investments. Foreign currencies may decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar and thereby affect the Fund's investments in foreign (non-U.S.) currencies or in securities that trade in, and receive revenues in, or in derivatives that provide exposure to, foreign

 

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(non-U.S.) currencies. Currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time for a number of reasons, including changes in interest rates, intervention (or the failure to intervene) by U.S. or foreign governments, central banks or supranational entities such as the International Monetary Fund, or by the imposition of currency controls or other political developments in the United States or abroad. As a result, the Fund's investments in foreign currency denominated securities may reduce the returns of the Fund. Currency futures, forwards, options or swaps may not always work as intended, and in specific cases, the Fund may be worse off than if it had not used such instrument(s). There may not always be suitable hedging instruments available. Even where suitable hedging instruments are available, the Fund may choose to not hedge its currency risks.

Cybersecurity and Operational Risk

The Fund, its service providers, and third-party fund distribution platforms, and shareholders' ability to transact with the Fund, may be negatively impacted due to operational risks arising from, among other problems, systems and technology disruptions or failures, or cybersecurity incidents.  The occurrence of any of these problems could result in a loss of information, regulatory scrutiny, reputational damage and other consequences, any of which could have a material adverse effect on the Fund or its shareholders.  The Manager, through its monitoring and oversight of Fund service providers, endeavors to determine that service providers take appropriate precautions to avoid and mitigate risks that could lead to such problems.  However, it is not possible for the Manager, Fund service providers, or third-party fund distribution platforms 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.

Derivatives Risk

Derivatives are financial instruments that have a value which depends upon, or is derived from, a reference asset, such as one or more underlying securities, pools of securities, options, futures, indexes or currencies. The Fund may use derivatives to enhance total return, to hedge against fluctuations in securities prices, interest rates or currency exchange rates, to change the effective duration of its portfolio, to manage certain investment risks or as a substitute for the purchase or sale of the underlying currencies or securities. The Fund may also hold derivative instruments to obtain economic exposure to an issuer without directly holding its securities.

Derivatives can be highly complex and their use within a management strategy can require specialized skills. There can be no assurance that any strategy used will succeed. If the sub-advisor incorrectly forecasts stock market values, or the direction of interest rates or currency exchange rates in utilizing a specific derivatives strategy for the Fund, the Fund could lose money. In addition, leverage embedded in a derivative instrument can expose the Fund to greater risk. Gains or losses in the value of a derivative instrument may be magnified and be much greater than the derivative's original cost (generally the initial margin deposit).

Some derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, for example, where the Fund may be called upon to deliver a security it does not own. Derivatives may be illiquid and may be more volatile than other types of investments. The Fund may not be able to close out or sell a derivative at a particular time or at an anticipated price. The Fund may buy or sell derivatives not traded on organized exchanges and/or through clearing organizations which may be subject to heightened liquidity and valuation risk. Derivative investments can increase portfolio turnover and transaction costs. Derivatives also are subject to counterparty risk. As a result the Fund may obtain no recovery of its investment or may only obtain a limited recovery, and any recovery may be delayed. Not all derivative transactions require a counterparty to post collateral, which may expose the Fund to greater losses in the event of a default by a counterparty. Certain derivatives, including swaps, futures, forwards and written options, require the Fund to post margin to secure its future obligation; if the Fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell investments from its portfolio to meet daily variation margin requirements, at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so. The Fund's use of derivatives also may create financial leverage, which may result in losses that exceed the amount originally invested and accelerate the rate of losses. Suitable derivatives may not be available in all circumstances, and there can be no assurance that the Fund will use derivatives to reduce exposure to other risks when that might have been beneficial.

Although the Fund may attempt to hedge against certain risks, the hedging instruments may not perform as expected and could produce losses. Hedging instruments may also reduce or eliminate gains that may otherwise have been available had the Fund not used the hedging instruments. The Fund may not hedge certain risks in particular situations, even if suitable instruments are available.

Ongoing changes to regulation of the derivatives markets and potential changes in the regulation of funds using derivative instruments could limit the Fund's ability to pursue its investment strategies. The extent and impact of the regulation are not yet fully known and may not be for some time. New regulation of derivatives may make them more costly, may limit their availability, or may otherwise adversely affect their value or performance. In addition to other changes, these rules provide for central clearing of derivatives that in the past were traded exclusively over-the-counter and may increase costs and margin requirements, but are expected to reduce certain counterparty risks.

Because the markets for certain derivative instruments (including markets located in foreign countries) are relatively new and still developing, suitable derivatives transactions may not be available in all circumstances for risk management or other purposes. Upon the expiration of a particular contract, a sub-advisor may wish to retain the Fund's position in the derivative instrument by entering into a similar contract, but may be unable to do so if the counterparty to the original contract is unwilling to enter into the new contract and no other suitable counterparty can be found. The Fund's ability to use derivatives may also be limited by certain regulatory and tax considerations.

Certain of the other risks to which the Fund might be exposed due to its use of derivatives include the following:

Futures and Forward Contracts Risk. Futures and forward contracts, including non-deliverable forwards ("NDFs"), are derivative instruments pursuant to a contract where one party pays a fixed price for an agreed amount of securities or other underlying assets at an agreed date or to buy or sell a specific currency at a future date at a price set at the time of the contract. There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in the prices of futures contracts and the value of their underlying instruments or indexes. There are no limitations on daily price movements of forward contracts. There can be no assurance that any strategy used will succeed. Not all forward contracts, including NDFs, require a counterparty to post collateral, which may expose the Fund to greater losses in the event of a default by a counterparty. There may not be a liquid secondary market for the futures contracts. Forward currency transactions, including NDFs, include the risks associated with fluctuations in currency. Interest rate and treasury futures contracts expose the Fund to price fluctuations resulting from changes in interest rates. The Fund could suffer a loss if interest rates rise after the Fund has purchased an interest rate futures contract or fall after the Fund has sold an interest rate futures contract. Similarly, treasury futures contracts expose the Fund to potential losses if interest rates do not move as expected. Equity index futures contracts expose the Fund to volatility in an underlying securities index.

Foreign Investing & Emerging Markets Risk

Non-U.S. investments carry potential risks not associated with domestic investments. Such risks include, but are not limited to: (1) currency exchange rate fluctuations, (2) political and financial instability, (3) less liquidity and greater volatility of foreign investments, (4) lack of uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, (5) less government regulation and supervision of foreign banks, stock exchanges, brokers and listed companies, (6) increased price volatility, and (7) delays in transaction settlement in some foreign markets. There may be very limited oversight of certain foreign banks or securities

 

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depositories that hold foreign securities and currency and the laws of certain countries may limit the ability to recover such assets if a foreign bank or depository or their agents goes bankrupt. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in securities of a single country or region; it is more likely to be affected by events or conditions of that country or region. When investing in emerging markets, the risks of investing in foreign securities are heightened. Emerging markets have unique risks that are greater than or in addition to investing in developed markets because emerging markets are generally smaller, less developed, less liquid and more volatile than the securities markets of the U.S. and other developed markets. There are also risks of: greater political uncertainties; an economy's dependence on revenues from particular commodities or on international aid or development assistance; currency transfer restrictions; a limited number of potential buyers, resulting in increased volatility and limited liquidity for emerging market securities; trading suspensions; and delays and disruptions in securities settlement procedures. In addition, there may be less information available to make investment decisions.

Hedging Risk

Gains or losses from positions in hedging instruments may be much greater than the instrument's original cost. The counterparty may be unable to honor its financial obligation to the Fund. In addition, the sub-advisor may be unable to close the transaction at the time it would like or at the price it believes the security is currently worth. If the Fund uses a hedging instrument at the wrong time or judges the market conditions incorrectly, or the hedged instrument does not correlate to the risk sought to be hedged, the hedge might be unsuccessful, reduce the Fund's return, or create a loss.

High Portfolio Turnover Risk

Portfolio turnover is a measure of the Fund's trading activity over a one-year period. A portfolio turnover rate of 100% would indicate that the Fund sold and replaced the entire value of its securities holdings during the period. High portfolio turnover could increase the Fund's transaction costs because of increased broker commissions resulting from such transactions. These costs are not reflected in the Fund's annual operating expenses or in the expense example, but they can have a negative impact on performance. Frequent trading by the Fund could also result in increased realized net capital gains, distributions of which are taxable to the Fund's shareholders (including net short-term capital gain distributions, which are taxable to them as ordinary income).

Interest Rate Risk

Investments in investment-grade and non-investment grade fixed-income securities are subject to interest rate risk. The value of the Fund's fixed-income investments typically will fall when interest rates rise. The Fund may be particularly sensitive to changes in interest rates if it invests in debt securities with intermediate and long terms to maturity. Debt securities with longer durations tend to be more sensitive to changes in interest rates, usually making them more volatile than debt securities with shorter durations. Yields of debt securities will fluctuate over time. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the Federal Reserve has attempted to stabilize the economy and support the economic recovery by keeping the federal funds rate (the interest rate at which depository institutions lend reserve balances to other depository institutions overnight) at or near zero percent. The Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate in December 2016, marking only the second such interest rate hike in nearly a decade. The Federal Reserve has signaled additional increases in 2017. Interest rates may rise significantly and/or rapidly, potentially resulting in substantial losses to the Fund.  During periods of very low or negative interest rates, the Fund may be unable to maintain positive returns. Certain European countries and Japan have recently experienced negative interest rates on deposits and debt securities have traded at negative yields. Negative interest rates may become more prevalent among non-U.S. issuers, and potentially within the United States. 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 the Fund is exposed to such interest rates.

Investment Risk

An investment in the Fund is not a deposit with a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The Fund should not be relied upon as a complete investment program.  The share price of the Fund fluctuates, which means that when you sell your shares of the Fund, they could be worth less than what you paid for them. Therefore, you may lose money by investing in the Fund.

Issuer Risk

The value of, and/or the return generated by, a security may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.  When the issuer of a security implements strategic initiatives, including mergers, acquisitions and dispositions, there is the risk that the market response to such initiatives will cause the share price of the issuer's securities to fall.

Leverage Risk

Financial leverage magnifies the exposure to the movement in prices of an asset or class of assets underlying a derivative instrument and results in increased volatility, which means that the Fund will have the potential for greater losses than if the Fund does not use the derivative instruments that have a leveraging effect.  Leverage tends to magnify, sometimes significantly, the effect of any increase or decrease in the Fund's exposure to an asset or class of assets and may cause the Fund's NAV to be volatile.

The Fund may experience leveraging risk in connection with investments in derivatives because its investments in derivatives may be purchased with a fraction of the assets that would be needed to purchase the securities directly, so that the remainder of the assets may be invested in other investments. Such investments may have the effect of leveraging the Fund because the Fund may experience gains or losses not only on its investments in derivatives, but also on the investments purchased with the remainder of the assets. If the value of the Fund's investments in derivatives is increasing, this could be offset by declining values of the Fund's other investments. Conversely, it is possible that the rise in the value of the Fund's non-derivative investments could be offset by a decline in the value of the Fund's investments in derivatives. In either scenario, the Fund may experience losses. In a market where the value of the Fund's investments in derivatives is declining and the value of its other investments is declining, the Fund may experience substantial losses. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations or to meet any required asset segregation requirements.  In addition, the costs that the Fund pays to engage in these practices are additional costs borne by the Fund and could reduce or eliminate any net investment profits.

Liquidity Risk

When there is little or no active trading market for specific types of securities, such as futures and forward contracts, it can become more difficult to purchase or sell the securities at or near their perceived value. During such periods, certain investments held by the Fund may be difficult to sell or other investments may be difficult to purchase at favorable times or prices. As a result, the Fund may have to lower the price on certain securities that it is trying to sell, sell other securities instead or forgo an investment opportunity, any of which could have a negative effect on Fund management or performance. Redemptions by a few large investors in the Fund at such times may have a significant adverse effect on the Fund's NAV and remaining Fund shareholders. In addition, the market-making capacity of dealers in certain types of securities has been reduced in recent years, in part as a result of structural and regulatory changes, such as fewer proprietary trading desks and increased capital requirements for broker-dealers. Further, many broker-dealers have reduced their inventory of certain

 

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debt securities. This could negatively affect the Fund's ability to buy or sell debt securities and increase the related volatility and trading costs. The Fund may lose money if it is forced to sell certain investments at unfavorable prices to meet redemption requests or other cash needs.

Market Direction Risk

Since the Fund will typically hold both long and short positions, an investment in the Fund will involve market risks associated with different types of investment decisions than those made for a typical "long only" fund. The Fund's results could suffer both when there is a general market advance and the Fund holds significant "short" positions, and when there is a general market decline and the Fund holds significant "long" positions. In recent years, the markets have shown considerable volatility from day to day and even in intra-day trading.

Market Risk

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 fixed income instruments experiencing unusual liquidity issues, increased price volatility and, in some cases, credit downgrades and increased likelihood of default. These events have reduced the willingness and ability of some lenders to extend credit, and have made it more difficult for some borrowers to obtain financing on attractive terms, if at all.  Reduced liquidity in fixed income and credit markets may negatively affect many issuers worldwide. 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.

In response to the financial crisis, the U.S. and other governments and the Federal Reserve and certain foreign central banks have taken steps to support financial markets. In some countries where economic conditions are recovering, they are nevertheless perceived as still fragile. Withdrawal of government support, failure of efforts in response to the crisis, or investor perception that such efforts are not succeeding, could adversely impact the value and liquidity of certain securities. The severity or duration of adverse economic conditions may also be affected by policy changes made by governments or quasi-governmental organizations, including changes in tax laws. The impact of new financial regulation legislation on the markets and the practical implications for market participants may not be fully known for some time. Regulatory changes are causing some financial services companies to exit long-standing lines of business, resulting in dislocations for other market participants. In addition, political and diplomatic events within the U.S. and abroad, such as the U.S. government's inability at times to agree on a long-term budget and deficit reduction plan, threats of a federal government shutdown and threats not to increase the federal government's debt limit, 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 may result in significant changes in certain policies. These changes 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.

Changes in market conditions will not have the same impact on all types of securities. 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 of a significant rate increase on various markets. For example, because investors may buy securities or other investments with borrowed money, a significant increase in interest rates may cause a decline in the markets for those investments.  Because of the sharp decline in the worldwide price of oil, there is a concern that oil producing nations may withdraw significant assets now held in U.S. Treasuries, which could force a substantial increase in interest rates. Regulators have expressed concern that rate increases may cause investors to sell fixed income securities faster than the market can absorb them, contributing to price volatility. In addition, there is a risk that the prices of goods and services in the U.S. and many foreign economies may decline over time, known as deflation (the opposite of inflation). Deflation may have an adverse effect on stock prices and creditworthiness and may make defaults on debt more likely. If a country's economy slips into a deflationary pattern, it could last for a prolonged period and may be difficult to reverse.  The abandonment of the euro or withdrawal from the European Union ("EU") on the part of the United Kingdom or any other member could significantly adversely affect the value of the Fund's investments in Europe. Particularly, the United Kingdom's vote to leave the EU could lead to a prolonged period of uncertainty as to the exact terms of exit and the impact on different industry sectors and increased market volatility.

Model and Data Risk

The sub-advisor relies heavily on quantitative models (both proprietary models developed by the sub-advisor, and those supplied by third parties, collectively "Models") and information and data both developed by the sub-advisor and those supplied by third parties (collectively, "Data") rather than granting trade-by-trade discretion to the sub-advisor's investment professionals. Models and Data are used to construct sets of transactions and investments, to value investments or potential investments (including, without limitation, for trading purposes), to provide risk management insights and to assist in hedging the Fund's investments. Models and Data are known to have errors, omissions, imperfections and malfunctions (collectively, "System Events"). System Events in third-party Models are generally entirely outside of the control of the sub-advisor. The sub-advisor seeks to reduce the incidence and impact of System Events through a certain degree of internal testing and real-time monitoring, and the use of independent safeguards in the overall portfolio management system and often, with respect to proprietary models, in the software code itself. Despite such testing, monitoring and independent safeguards, System Events may result in, among other things, the execution of unanticipated trades, the failure to execute anticipated trades, delays to the execution of anticipated trades, the failure to properly allocate trades, the failure to properly gather and organize available data, the failure to take certain hedging or risk reducing actions and/or the taking of actions which increase certain risk(s) — all of which may negatively effect the Fund and/or its returns.

The Fund will bear the risks associated with the reliance on Models and Data including that the Fund will bear all losses related to System Events unless otherwise determined by the sub-advisor in accordance with its internal policies or as may be required by applicable law.

Data Selection Risk. The investment strategies of the Fund are highly reliant on the gathering, cleaning, culling and analysis of large amounts of Data. Models rely heavily on appropriate Data inputs. However, it is not possible or practicable to factor all relevant, available Data into forecasts and/or investment decisions of the Models. The sub-advisor will use its discretion to determine what Data to gather with respect to each investment strategy and what subset of that Data the Models take into account to produce forecasts which may have an impact on ultimate investment decisions. In addition, due to the automated nature of Data gathering, the volume and depth of Data available, the complexity and often manual nature of Data cleaning, and the fact that the substantial majority of Data comes from third-party sources, it is inevitable that not all desired and/or relevant Data will be available to, or processed by, the sub-advisor at all times. Additionally, the sub-advisor may determine that certain available Data, while potentially useful in generating forecasts and/or making investment decisions, is not cost effective to gather due to either the technology costs or third-party vendor costs and, in such cases, the sub-advisor will not utilize such Data. Shareholders should be aware that there is no guarantee that any specific Data or type of Data will be utilized in generating forecasts or making investment decisions with respect to the Models. Further, even if Data is input correctly, "model prices" anticipated by the Data through the Models may differ substantially from market prices, especially for securities with complex characteristics, such as derivatives.

Incorrect Data Risk. If incorrect Data is fed into even a well-founded Model, it may lead to a System Event subjecting the Fund to loss. Where incorrect or incomplete Data is available, the sub-advisor may, and often will, continue to generate forecasts and make investment decisions based on the Data available to it. Shareholders also should be aware that there is no guarantee that the Data actually utilized in generating forecasts or making investment

 

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decisions underlying the Models will be (i) the most accurate data available or (ii) free of errors. Shareholders should assume that the Data set used in connection with the Models is limited and should understand that the foregoing risks associated with gathering, cleaning, culling and analysis of large amounts of Data are an inherent part of investing with a process-driven, systematic adviser such as the sub-advisor. When Models and Data prove to be incorrect or incomplete, any decisions made in reliance thereon expose the Fund to potential risks. For example, by relying on Models and Data, the sub-advisor may be induced to buy certain investments at prices that are too high, to sell certain other investments at prices that are too low, or to miss favorable opportunities altogether. Similarly, any hedging based on faulty Models and Data may prove to be unsuccessful and any valuations of the Fund's investments that are based on valuation Models may prove to be incorrect.

Model Error Risk. Models may incorrectly forecast future behavior, leading to potential losses on a cash flow and/or a mark-to-market basis. Furthermore, in unforeseen or certain low-probability scenarios (often involving a market disruption of some kind), Models may produce unexpected results which may or may not be System Events.

Error Detection Risk. Errors in Models and Data are often extremely difficult to detect, and the difficulty of detecting System Events may be exacerbated by the lack of design documents or specifications. Regardless of how difficult their detection appears in retrospect, some System Events may go undetected for long periods of time and some may never be detected. The degradation or impact caused by these System Events can compound over time. Finally, the sub-advisor may detect certain System Events that it chooses, in its sole discretion, not to address or fix, and the use of third party software may also lead to System Events known to the sub-advisor that it chooses, in its sole discretion, not to address or fix. The sub-advisor believes that the testing and monitoring performed on its models may enable the sub-advisor to identify and address those System Events that a prudent person managing a process-driven, systematic and computerized investment program would identify and address by correcting the underlying issue(s) giving rise to the System Events or limiting the use of proprietary and third party models, generally or in a particular application. Shareholders should assume that the potential of System Events and their ensuing risks and impact are an inherent part of investing with a process-driven, systematic investment manager such as the sub-advisor. Accordingly, the sub-advisor does not expect to disclose discovered System Events to the Fund or to shareholders.

The success of the sub-advisor's investment strategy depends largely on the effectiveness of its process for screening assets for investment. Assets 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, which could adversely affect value. Factors that affect an asset's value can change over time and these changes may not be accurately reflected in a Model. The data used to build a Model is extremely complex and involves financial, economic, econometric and statistical theories, research and modelling which is then translated into computer code to create the applicable program. Human judgment also plays a role in building, utilizing, testing and modifying the financial algorithms and formulas used in each Model. Additionally, the data, which is typically supplied by third parties, can be imprecise or become stale due to new events or changing circumstances. Market performance can be affected by non-quantitative factors (for example, investor fear or over-reaction or other emotional considerations) that are not easily integrated into quantitative analysis. There may also be errors in the computer code for a Model or issues relating to the computer systems used to screen markets. The sub-advisor's market selection can be adversely affected if it relies on erroneous or outdated data and there is a risk that a Model may contain an error; one or more of such errors could adversely affect the Fund's performance.

Non-Diversification Risk

The Fund is non-diversified, which means that it may invest a high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers. When the Fund invests in a relatively small number of issuers it may be more susceptible to risks associated with a single economic, political or regulatory occurrence than a more diversified portfolio might be. Some of those issuers may also present substantial credit or other risks. Since the Fund is non-diversified, its NAV and total return may also fluctuate more or be subject to declines in weaker markets than a diversified mutual fund.

Obsolescence Risk

The Fund is unlikely to be successful in its quantitative trading strategies unless the assumptions underlying the Models are realistic and either remain realistic and relevant in the future or are adjusted to account for changes in the overall market environment. If such assumptions are inaccurate or become inaccurate and are not promptly adjusted, it is likely that profitable trading signals will not be generated. If and to the extent that the Models do not reflect certain factors, and the sub-advisor does not successfully address such omission through its testing and evaluation and modify the Models accordingly, major losses may result — all of which will be borne by the Fund. The sub-advisor will continue to test, evaluate and add new Models, which may lead to the Models being modified from time to time. Any modification of the Models or strategies will not be subject to any requirement that shareholders receive notice of the change or that they consent to it. There can be no assurance as to the effects (positive or negative) of any modification to the Models or strategies on the Fund's performance.

Other Investment Companies Risk

The Fund may invest in shares of other registered investment companies, including money market funds. To the extent that the Fund invests in shares of other registered investment companies, the Fund will indirectly bear fees and expenses, including for example, advisory and administrative fees, charged by those investment companies in addition to the Fund's direct fees and expenses and will be subject to the risks associated with investments in those funds.  For example, the Fund's investments in money market funds are subject to interest rate risk, credit risk, and market risk. The Fund must rely on the investment company in which it invests to achieve its investment objective.  If the investment company fails to achieve its investment objective, the value of the Fund's investment will decline, adversely affecting the Fund's performance.

Quantitative Strategy Risk

The success of the Fund's investment strategy may depend in part on the effectiveness of a sub-advisor's quantitative tools for screening securities. 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, which could adversely affect their value. The sub-advisor's quantitative tools may use factors that may not be predictive of a security's value, and any changes over time in the factors that affect a security's value may not be reflected in the quantitative model. The sub-advisor's stock selection can be adversely affected if it relies on insufficient, erroneous or outdated data or flawed models or computer systems.

Risk Management

Management undertakes certain analyses with the intention of identifying particular types of risks and reducing the Fund's exposure to them. However, risk is an essential part of investing, and the degree of return an investor might expect is often tied to the degree of risk the investor is willing to accept. By its very nature, risk involves exposure to the possibility of adverse events. Accordingly, no risk management program can eliminate the Fund's exposure to such events; at best, it can only reduce the possibility that the Fund will be affected by adverse events, and especially those risks that are not intrinsic to the Fund's investment program. While the prospectus describes material risk factors associated with the Fund's investment program, there is no assurance that as a particular situation unfolds in the markets, the Portfolio Managers will identify all of the risks that might affect the Fund, rate their probability or potential

 

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magnitude correctly, or be able to take appropriate measures to reduce the Fund's exposure to them. Measures taken with the intention of decreasing exposure to identified risks might have the unintended effect of increasing exposure to other risks.

Risk of Programming and Modeling Error

The success of the sub-advisor's investment strategy depends largely on the effectiveness of its research models for screening assets for investment. Assets selected using models and programs can react differently to issuer, political, market, and economic developments than the market as a whole or securities selected using only fundamental analysis, which could adversely affect value. Factors that affect an asset's value can change over time and these changes may not be reflected in the quantitative model. The data used to build the model is extremely complex and involves financial, economic, econometric and statistical theories which are then translated into computer code to create the applicable program. Human judgment plays a role in building, utilizing, testing and modifying the financial algorithms and formulas used in these models. Additionally, the data, which is typically supplied by third parties, can be imprecise or become stale due to new events or changing circumstances. Market performance can be affected by non-quantitative factors (for example, investor fear or over-reaction or other emotional considerations) that are not easily integrated into modeling programs. There may also be errors in the code for the models or issues relating to the computer systems used to screen securities. The sub-advisor's security selection can be adversely affected if it relies on erroneous or outdated data, and there is a risk that the finished model may contain errors; one or more of which could adversely affect the Fund's performance.

Sector Risk

The Fund's investing approach may dictate an emphasis on certain sectors or sub-sectors of the market at any given time. To the extent the Fund invests more heavily in one sector, industry, or sub-sector of the market, it thereby presents a more concentrated risk and its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors or sub-sectors. In addition, the value of the Fund's shares may change at different rates compared to the value of shares of another Fund with investments in a more diversified mix of sectors and industries. An individual sector, industry, or sub-sector of the market may have above-average performance during particular periods, but may also move up and down more than the broader market. The industries that constitute a sector may all react in the same way to economic, political or regulatory events. The Fund's performance could also be affected if the sectors, industries, or sub-sectors do not perform as expected. Alternatively, the lack of exposure to one or more sectors or industries may adversely affect performance.

Segregated Assets Risk

In connection with certain transactions that may give rise to future payment obligations, including futures and forward contracts, the Fund may be required to maintain a segregated amount of, or otherwise earmark, cash or liquid securities to cover the position. Segregated or earmarked securities cannot be sold while the position or transaction they are covering is outstanding, unless they are replaced with other securities of equal value. There is the possibility that the segregation or earmarking of a large percentage of the Fund's assets may, in some circumstances, limit the Fund's ability to take advantage of investment opportunities or meet redemption requests.

Short Position Risk

The Fund's short positions are subject to special risks. A short position involves the sale by the Fund of a security that it does not own. The Fund then intends to purchase the same security at a later date at a lower price. The Fund may enter into a short position through a forward commitment, a futures contract or swap agreement. If the price of the security or derivative has increased during the time the Fund holds the short position, then the Fund will incur a loss equal to the increase in price from the time that the short position was entered into plus any premiums and interest paid to the third party. Therefore, short positions involve the risk that losses may be exaggerated, potentially losing more money than the actual cost of the investment. The Fund's losses are potentially unlimited in a short position because the price appreciation of the security that the Fund is required to purchase is unlimited. In addition, because the Fund may invest the proceeds of a short sale, the Fund may be subject to the effect of leverage, in that it amplifies changes in the Fund's net asset value since it increases the exposure of the Fund to the market. Also, there is the risk that the third party to the short position may fail to honor its contract terms, causing a loss to the Fund.

U.S. Government Securities and Government-Sponsored Enterprises Risk

A security backed by the U.S. Treasury or the full faith and credit of the United States is guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity. The market prices for such securities are not guaranteed and will fluctuate. Additionally, circumstances could arise that would prevent the payment of interest or principal. This could result in losses to the Fund. Investments in securities issued by government-sponsored enterprises are debt obligations issued by agencies and instrumentalities of the U.S. Government.  These obligations vary in the level of support they receive from the U.S. Government.  They may be: (i) supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury, such as those of Ginnie Mae'; (ii) supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury, such as those of the Federal Home Loan Bank and the Federal Farm Credit Banks; (iii) supported by the discretionary authority of the U.S. Government to purchase the agency obligations, such as those of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or (iv) supported only by the credit of the issuer, such as those of the Federal Farm Credit Bureau.  The U.S. Government may choose not to provide financial support to U.S. Government-sponsored agencies or instrumentalities if it is not legally obligated to do so, in which case, if the issuer defaulted, to the extent the Fund holds securities of such issuer, it might not be able to recover its investment from the U.S. Government.

Valuation Risk

This is the risk that the Fund has valued a security at a price different from the price at which it can be sold. This risk may be especially pronounced for investments, such as derivatives, which may be illiquid or which may become illiquid and for securities that trade in relatively thin markets and/or markets that experience extreme volatility. If market conditions make it difficult to value certain investments, the Fund may value these investments using more subjective methods, such as fair-value methodologies. Investors who purchase or redeem Fund shares on days when the Fund is holding fair-valued securities may receive fewer or more shares, or lower or higher redemption proceeds, than they would have received if the Fund had not fair-valued the securities or had used a different valuation methodology. The value of foreign securities, certain fixed income securities and currencies, as applicable, may be materially affected by events after the close of the markets on which they are traded, but before the Fund determines its NAV. 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.

Volatility Risk

The Fund may have investments that appreciate or decrease significantly in value over short periods of time. This may cause the Fund's NAV to experience significant increases or declines in value over short periods of time. Because the Fund may use some derivatives that involve economic leverage, this economic leverage will increase the volatility of a derivative instrument, as they may increase or decrease in value more quickly than the reference asset.

 

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Additional Information About Performance Benchmark

The annual total return of the Fund will be compared to the BofA Merrill Lynch 3-Month Treasury Bill Index. The BofA Merrill Lynch 3-Month Treasury Bill Index is designed to measure the total return on cash, including price and interest income, based on short-term government Treasury Bills of about 90-day maturity. IPM uses a benchmark agnostic approach to investing. Thus, exposure to individual investments, use of instruments, volatility and tracking error will differ and as a result performance of the Fund is expected to vary significantly from that of the BofA Merrill Lynch 3-Month Treasury Bill Index.

Notice Regarding Index Data

Source BofA Merrill Lynch, used with permission. BOFA MERRILL LYNCH IS LICENSING THE BOFA MERRILL LYNCH INDICES AND RELATED DATA "AS IS," MAKES NO WARRANTIES REGARDING SAME, DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE SUITABILITY, QUALITY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, AND/OR COMPLETENESS OF THE INDICES OR ANY DATA INCLUDED IN, RELATED TO, OR DERIVED THEREFROM, ASSUMES NO LIABILITY IN CONNECTION WITH THEIR USE, AND DOES NOT SPONSOR, ENDORSE, OR RECOMMEND American Beacon IPM Systematic Macro Fund.

 

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Fund Management

The Manager

AMERICAN BEACON ADVISORS, INC. (the "Manager") serves as the Manager and administrator of the Fund(s). The Manager, located at 220 East Las Colinas Boulevard, Suite 1200, Irving, Texas 75039, is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Resolute Investment Holdings, LLC, which is owned primarily by Kelso Investment Associates VIII, L.P., KEP VI, LLC and Estancia Capital Partners L.P.

The Manager was organized in 1986 to provide investment management, advisory, and administrative services. The Manager is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.  The Manager is also registered as a commodity pool operator (''CPO'') under the Commodity Exchange Act and serves as the CPO with respect to the Fund.

Normally, under CFTC regulations, if a registered investment company, such as the Fund, has less than a three-year operating history, the Manager is required to show the performance of all accounts and pools managed by the Manager that have investment objectives, policies, and strategies substantially similar to the Fund. The Manager is not providing such performance as the Manager does not have any such accounts or pools.

The Fund's Management Agreement with the Manager provides for the Fund to pay the Manager an annualized management fee based on a percentage of the Fund's average daily net assets that is calculated and accrued daily according to the following schedule:

First $1 billion

0.425%

Next $4 billion

0.40%

Next $5 billion

0.375%

Over $10 billion

0.35%

The Manager also may receive up to 10% of the net monthly income generated from the Fund's securities lending activities as compensation for oversight of the Fund's securities lending program, including the securities lending agent, State Street Bank and Trust Company. The SEC has granted exemptive relief that permits the Fund to invest cash collateral received from securities lending transactions in shares of one or more private or registered investment companies managed by the Manager.  As of the date of this Prospectus, the Fund does not intend to engage in securities lending activities. The Trust is currently transitioning its securities lending arrangement from Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. to State Street Bank and Trust Company. During this period of transition there may be loans that remain outstanding with Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

A discussion of the Board's consideration and approval of the Management Agreement between the Fund and the Manager and the Investment Advisory Agreement among the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, the sub-advisor and the Manager will be available in the Fund's annual report for the period ended June 30, 2017.

The Manager has contractually agreed from time to time to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses for the Fund in order to maintain competitive expense ratios for the Fund. The Board has approved a policy whereby the Manager may seek repayment for any contractual or voluntary fee waivers or expense reimbursements if reimbursement to the Manager (a) occurs within three years after the Manager's own waiver or reimbursement and (b) does not cause the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses of a class to exceed the contractual percentage limit.

The Sub-Advisor

Set forth below is a brief description of the sub-advisor and the portfolio managers with joint and primary responsibility for the day-to-day management of the Fund. The Fund's SAI provides additional information about the portfolio managers, including other accounts they manage, their ownership in the Fund and their compensation.

IPM Informed Portfolio Management AB ("IPM"), was incorporated in Sweden on 3rd November 1998 as a private company limited by shares. As of the date of this Prospectus, IPM managed approximately USD $6 billion of assets. IPM is regulated by the Finansinspektionen (Swedish FSA) as a full scope alternative investment fund manager for the purposes of the AIFMD legislation and is licensed to conduct discretionary investment management. Further information on the Sub-Advisor can be found on its website www.ipm.se.

Additionally, the Sub-Advisor is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser under the U.S. Investment Advisers Act and the CFTC under the U.S. Commodity Exchange Act as a commodity pool operator and a commodity trading advisor with respect to the Fund and is a member of the NFA in such capacities. Such registrations and membership do not imply that the SFSA, the SEC, the CFTC or the NFA have endorsed the Sub-Advisors's qualifications to provide the advisory services set forth in this Prospectus.

The Investment Advisory Agreement among the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, the Manager and the sub-advisor provides for the Fund to pay the sub-advisor an annualized investment advisory fee based on a percentage of the Fund's average daily net assets that is calculated and accrued daily according to the following schedule:

American Beacon IPM Systematic Macro Fund

First $1 billion

1.38%

Over $1 billion

1.28%

Björn Österberg is Chief Investment Officer and Head of Research.  Mr. Österberg is responsible for the management and development of IPM's investment activities. He is a member of the Investment and Risk Management committees. Mr. Osterberg joined IPM in 2008 with extensive experience in managing quantitative research teams as well as in proprietary trading in a range of asset classes. Prior to IPM he was Head of Quantitative Research and a member of the proprietary trading team at JP Bank, Head of Quantitative Research at Unibank/Nordea, and a Senior Equity Portfolio Manager at AP4. Mr. Osterberg holds a Masters of Science in Engineering Physics from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, and has several years of additional studies in both Financial Economics and Macro Economics from Stockholm University.

Mattias Jansson is the Executive Director, Deputy CIO.  Mr. Jansson joined IPM in 2005 and has been extensively involved in the research and development of the Systematic Macro strategy. His first years with the firm were spent in the research department where he worked closely with the advisory board on risk allocation issues developing the novel approach still in place today. Mr. Jansson joined the trading desk between 2007-2009, gaining an in-depth and practical understanding of financial markets. Since 2009, he has been fully dedicated to researching the strategy and has been involved in most of its developments. Mr. Jansson holds a Masters of Science in Engineering Physics from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.

 

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Valuation of Shares

The price of the Fund's shares is based on its NAV per share. The Fund's NAV is computed by adding total assets, subtracting all of the Fund's liabilities, and dividing the result by the total number of shares outstanding.

The NAV of each class of the Fund's shares is determined based on a pro rata allocation of the Fund's investment income, expenses and total capital gains and losses. The Fund's NAV per share is determined each business day as of the regular close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (‘‘NYSE‘'), which is typically 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. However, if trading on the NYSE closes at a time other than 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, the Fund's NAV per share typically would still be determined as of the regular close of trading on the NYSE. The Fund does not price its shares on days that the NYSE is closed. Foreign exchanges may permit trading in foreign securities on days when the Fund is not open for business, which may result in the value of the Fund's portfolio investments being affected at a time when you are unable to buy or sell shares.

Equity securities and certain derivative instruments that are traded on an exchange are valued based on market value. Certain derivative instruments (other than short-term securities) usually are valued on the basis of prices provided by a pricing service. The price of debt securities generally is determined using pricing services or quotes obtained from broker/dealers who may consider a number of inputs and factors, such as comparable characteristics, yield curve, credit spreads, estimated default rates, coupon rates, underlying collateral and estimated cash flow. Investments in other mutual funds are valued at the closing NAV per share of the mutual funds on the day of valuation. Equity securities, including shares of closed-end funds and ETFs, are valued at the last sale price or official closing price.

The valuation of securities traded on foreign markets and certain fixed income securities will generally be based on prices determined as of the earlier closing time of the markets on which they primarily trade, unless a significant event has occurred. When the Fund holds securities or other assets that are denominated in a foreign currency, the Fund will normally use the currency exchange rates as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern time.

Securities may be valued at fair value, as determined in good faith and pursuant to procedures approved by the Board of Trustees, under certain limited circumstances. For example, fair value pricing will be used when market quotations are not readily available or reliable, as determined by the Manager, such as when (i) trading for a security is restricted or stopped; (ii) a security's trading market is closed (other than customary closings); or (iii) a security has been de-listed from a national exchange. A security with limited market liquidity may require fair value pricing if the Manager determines that the available price does not reflect the security's true market value. In addition, if a significant event that the Manager determines to affect the value of one or more securities held by the Fund occurs after the close of a related exchange but before the determination of the Fund's NAV, fair value pricing may be used on the affected security or securities.  Securities of small capitalization companies are also more likely to require a fair value determination using these procedures because they are more thinly traded and less liquid than the securities of larger capitalization companies. The Fund may fair value securities as a result of significant events occurring after the close of the foreign markets in which the Fund invests. In addition, the Fund may invest in illiquid securities requiring these procedures.

Attempts to determine the fair value of securities introduce an element of subjectivity to the pricing of securities. As a result, the price of a security determined through fair valuation techniques may differ from the price quoted or published by other sources and may not accurately reflect the market value of the security when trading resumes. If a reliable market quotation becomes available for a security formerly valued through fair valuation techniques, the Manager compares the new market quotation to the fair value price to evaluate the effectiveness of the Fund's fair valuation procedures. If any significant discrepancies are found, the Manager may adjust the Fund's fair valuation procedures. You may view the Fund's most recent NAV per share at www.americanbeaconfunds.com by clicking on ‘‘Quick Links'' and then ‘‘Daily NAVs.''

 

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Purchase and Redemption of Shares

Eligibility

The Ultra Class shares offered in this Prospectus are available to eligible investors who meet the minimum initial investment. American Beacon Funds do not accept accounts registered to foreign individuals or entities, including foreign correspondent accounts. The Fund does not conduct operations and is not offered for purchase outside of the United States.

Subject to your eligibility, you may invest in the Fund directly or through intermediary organizations, such as broker-dealers, insurance companies, plan sponsors, third party administrators, and retirement plans.

If you invest directly with the Fund, the fees and policies with respect to the Fund's shares that are outlined in this Prospectus are set by the Fund. The Manager and the Fund are not responsible for determining the suitability of the Fund or share class for any investor.

If you invest through a financial intermediary, most of the information you will need for managing your investment will come from your financial intermediary. This includes information on how to buy, sell and exchange shares of the Fund. If you establish an account through a financial intermediary, the investment minimums described in this section may not apply. Investors investing in the Fund through a financial intermediary should consult with their financial intermediary to ensure they obtain all information regarding the differences between available share classes. Your broker-dealer or financial intermediary also may charge fees that are in addition to those described in this Prospectus. Please contact your intermediary for information regarding investment minimums, how to purchase and redeem shares and applicable fees.

Minimum Initial Investment by Share Class

New Account

Existing Account

Share Class

Minimum

Purchase/Redemption Minimum by check/ACH/Exchange

Purchase/Redemption Minimum by Wire

Ultra

$350,000,000

$50

None

The Manager may allow a reasonable period of time after opening an account for a Ultra Class account for the investor to meet the initial investment requirement. In addition, for investors such as trust companies and financial advisors who make investments for a group of clients, the minimum initial investment can be met through aggregated purchase orders for more than one client.

Opening an Account

You may open an account through your broker-dealer or other financial intermediary. Please contact your financial intermediary for more information on how to open an account. Shares you purchase through your broker-dealer will normally be held in your account with that firm.

To open an account directly with the Fund, a completed, signed application is required.  You may obtain an account application from the Fund's website www.americanbeaconfunds.com or by calling 1-800-658-5811.   Institutional shareholders should call 1-800-967-9009.

Complete the application, sign it and send it:

 

Regular Mail to:
American Beacon Funds
P.O. Box 219643
Kansas City, MO 64121-9643
(or institutional shareholders may fax to)
(816) 374-7408

For Overnight Delivery:
American Beacon Funds
c/o BFDS
330 West 9th Street
Kansas City, MO 64105
(800) 658-5811

To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. When you open an account, you will be asked for information that will allow the Fund or your financial institution to identify you. Non-public corporations and other entities may be required to provide articles of incorporation, trust or partnership agreements, and Social Security or other taxpayer identification numbers on the account or other documentation. The Fund is required by law to reject your new account application if the required identifying information is not provided.

The Fund reserves the right to liquidate a shareholder's account at the current day's NAV and remit proceeds via check if the Fund or a financial institution is unable to verify the shareholder's identity within three days of account opening.

Purchase Policies

Shares of the Fund are offered and purchase orders are typically accepted until 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time or the close of the NYSE (whichever comes first) on each day on which the NYSE is open for business. If a purchase order is received by the Fund in good order prior to the Fund's deadline, the purchase price will be the NAV per share next determined on that day. If a purchase order is received in good order after the applicable deadline, the purchase price will be the NAV per share of the following day that the Fund is open for business.  Shares of the Fund will only be issued against full payment, as described more fully in this Prospectus and SAI.

The Fund has authorized certain third party financial intermediaries, such as broker-dealers, insurance companies, third-party administrators and trust companies, to receive purchase and redemption orders on behalf of the Fund and to designate other intermediaries to receive purchase and redemption orders on behalf of the Fund. The Fund is deemed to have received such orders when they are received by the financial intermediaries or their designees. Thus, an order to purchase or sell Fund shares will be priced at the Fund's next determined NAV after receipt by the financial intermediary or its designee. It is the responsibility of your broker-dealer or financial intermediary to transmit orders that will be received by the Fund in proper form and in a timely manner.

Fund shares may be purchased only in U.S. States and Territories in which they can be legally sold. Prospective investors should inquire as to whether shares of the Fund are available for offer and sale in their jurisdiction. The Fund reserves the right to refuse purchases if, in the judgment of the Fund, the transaction would adversely affect the Fund and its shareholders. The Fund has the right to reject any purchase order or cease offering any or all classes of shares at any time. Checks to purchase shares are accepted subject to collection at full face value in U.S. funds and must be drawn in U.S. dollars on a U.S. bank. The Fund will not accept ‘‘starter'' checks, credit card checks, money orders, cashier's checks, or third-party checks.

If your payment is not received and collected, your purchase may be canceled and you could be liable for any losses or fees the Fund or the Manager has incurred.  Under applicable anti-money laundering regulations and other federal regulations, purchase orders may be suspended, restricted or canceled and the monies may be withheld.

 

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Please refer to the section titled ‘‘Frequent Trading and Market Timing'' for information on the Fund's policies regarding frequent purchases, redemptions, and exchanges.

Redemption Policies

If you purchased shares of the Fund through your financial intermediary, please contact your broker-dealer or other financial intermediary to sell shares of the Fund.

The redemption price will be the NAV next determined after a redemption request is received in good order. In order to receive the redemption price calculated on a particular business day, redemption requests must be received in good order by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time or by the close of the NYSE (whichever comes first).

Wire proceeds from redemption requests received in good order by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time or by the close of the NYSE (whichever comes first) generally are transmitted to shareholders on the next day the Fund is open for business. In any event, proceeds from a redemption request will typically be transmitted to a shareholder by no later than seven days after the receipt of a redemption request in good order. Delivery of proceeds from shares purchased by check or pre-authorized automatic investment may be delayed until the funds have cleared, which may take up to ten days.

The Fund reserves the right to suspend redemptions or postpone the date of payment for more than seven days (i) when the NYSE is closed (other than for customary weekend and holiday closings); (ii) when trading on the NYSE is restricted; (iii) when the SEC determines that an emergency exists so that disposal of the Fund's investments or determination of its NAV is not reasonably practicable; or (iv) by order of the SEC for protection of the Fund's shareholders.

Although the Fund intends to redeem shares in cash, the Fund reserves the right to pay the redemption price in whole or in part by a distribution of securities or other assets held by the Fund. To the extent that the Fund redeems its shares in this manner, the shareholder assumes the risk of a subsequent change in the market value of those securities, the cost of liquidating the securities and the possibility of a lack of a liquid market for those securities.

Please refer to the section titled ‘‘Frequent Trading and Market Timing'' for information on the Fund's policies regarding frequent purchases, redemptions, and exchanges.

Exchange Policies

If you purchased shares of the Fund through your financial intermediary, please contact your financial intermediary to determine if you may take advantage of the exchange policies described in this section and for its policies to effect an exchange. 

Shares of any class of the Fund may be exchanged for shares of the same class of another American Beacon Fund under certain limited circumstances.  Since an exchange involves a concurrent purchase and redemption, please review the sections titled ‘‘Purchase Policies'' and ‘‘Redemption Policies'' for additional limitations that apply to purchase and redemptions. If shares were purchased by check, a shareholder must have owned shares of the redeeming fund for at least ten days prior to exchanging out of one fund and into another.

The eligibility and minimum investment requirement must be met for the class into which the shareholder is exchanging. Fund shares may be acquired through exchange only in U.S. states and Territories in which they can be legally sold. The Fund reserves the right to charge a fee and to modify or terminate the exchange privilege at any time. The Fund reserves the right to refuse exchange requests if, in the judgment of the Fund, the transaction would adversely affect the Fund and its shareholders.  Please refer to the section titled "Frequent Trading and Market Timing" for information on the Fund's policies regarding frequent purchases, redemptions, and exchanges.  

For federal income tax purposes, the conversion of shares of one share class for shares of a different share class of the Fund will not result in the realization of a capital gain or loss. However, an exchange of shares of the Fund for shares of a different American Beacon Fund is considered a sale and a purchase, respectively, and may result in a gain or loss for those purposes. There can be no assurance of any particular tax treatment, however, and you are urged and advised to consult with your own tax advisor regarding a share class conversion or exchange of Fund shares. 

How to Purchase, Redeem or Exchange Shares

If your account is through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary, please contact them directly to purchase, redeem or exchange shares of the Fund. Your broker-dealer or financial intermediary can help you open a new account, review your financial needs and formulate long-term investment goals and objectives. Your broker dealer or financial intermediary will transmit your request to the Fund and may charge you a fee for this service. Dealers, other financial intermediaries or fiduciaries purchasing shares for their customers are responsible for determining the suitability of a particular share class for an investor. You should include the following information with any order:

• Your name/account registration

• Your account number

• Type of transaction requested

• Fund name and fund numbers

• Dollar amount or number of shares

Transactions for direct shareholders are conducted through:

 

Internet

www.americanbeaconfunds.com

Phone

To reach an American Beacon representative call 1-800-658-5811, option 1

Through the Automated Voice Response Service call 1-800-658-5811, option 2 (Investor Class Only)

Mail

American Beacon Funds

PO Box 219643

Kansas City, MO 64121-9643

Overnight Delivery:

American Beacon Funds

c/o BFDS

330 West 9th Street

Kansas City, MO 64105

 

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Purchases by Wire:

Send a bank wire to State Street Bank and Trust Co. with these instructions:

ABA# 0110-0002-8; AC-9905-342-3,

Attn: American Beacon Funds

the fund name and fund number, and

shareholder account number and registration.

Redemption Proceeds will be mailed to account of record or transmitted to commercial bank designated on the account application form.

 

New Account

Existing Account

Class

Minimum

Purchase/Redemption Minimum by check/ACH/Exchange

Purchase/Redemption Minimum by Wire

Ultra

$350,000,000

$50

None

Supporting documents may be required for redemptions by estates, trusts, guardianships, custodians, corporations, and welfare, pension and profit sharing plans. Redemption requests must also include authorized signature(s) of all persons required to sign for the account. Call 1-800-658-5811 for instructions.

To protect the Fund and your account from fraud, a STAMP 2000 Medallion signature guarantee is required for redemption orders:

with a request to send the proceeds to an address or commercial bank account other than the address or commercial bank account designated on the account application,

for an account whose address has changed within the last 30 days if proceeds are sent by check.

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

The Fund and its affiliates (at their own expense) may pay compensation to financial intermediaries for shareholder-related services and, if applicable, distribution-related services, including administrative, sub-transfer agency type, recordkeeping and shareholder communication services. For example, compensation may be paid to make Fund shares available to sales representatives and/or customers of a fund supermarket platform or similar program sponsor or for services provided in connection with such fund supermarket platforms and programs.

The amount of compensation paid to different financial intermediaries may differ. The compensation paid to a financial intermediary may be based on a variety of factors, including average assets under management in accounts distributed and/or serviced by the financial intermediary, gross sales by the financial intermediary and/or the number of accounts serviced by the financial intermediary that invest in the Fund. To the extent that the Fund pays any such compensation, it is designed to compensate the financial intermediary for providing services that would otherwise be provided by the Manager, the Fund or its transfer agent. To the extent the Fund affiliate pays such compensation, it would likely include amounts from that affiliate's own resources and constitute what is sometimes referred to as ''revenue sharing.''

Compensation received by a financial intermediary from the Manager or another Fund affiliate may include payments for marketing and/or training expenses incurred by the financial intermediary, including expenses incurred by the financial intermediary in educating (itself and) its salespersons with respect to Fund shares. For example, such compensation may include reimbursements for expenses incurred in attending educational seminars regarding the Fund, including travel and lodging expenses. It may also cover costs incurred by financial intermediaries in connection with their efforts to sell Fund shares, including costs incurred compensating (registered) sales representatives and preparing, printing and distributing sales literature.

Any compensation received by a financial intermediary, whether from the Fund or its affiliate(s), and the prospect of receiving it may provide the financial intermediary with an incentive to recommend the shares of the Fund, or a certain class of shares of the Fund, over other potential investments. Similarly, the compensation may cause financial intermediaries to elevate the prominence of the Fund within its organization by, for example, placing it on a list of preferred funds. You should ask your financial intermediary for details about any such payments it receives from the Manager or the Distributor, or any other fees, expenses, or commissions your financial intermediary may charge you in addition to those disclosed in this Prospectus.

General Policies

If a shareholder's account balance falls below the following minimum levels, the shareholder may be asked to increase the balance.

Share Class

Account Balance

Ultra

$175,000,000

If the account balance remains below the applicable minimum account balance after 45 days, the Fund reserves the right to close the account and send the proceeds to the shareholder. The Fund reserves the authority to modify minimum account balances in its discretion.

A Signature Validation Program (‘‘SVP'') stamp may be required in order to change an account's registration or banking instructions. You may obtain a SVP stamp at participating banks, broker-dealers and credit unions, but not from a notary public. The SVP stamp is analogous to the STAMP 2000 Medallion guarantee in that it is provided at similar institutions. However, it is used only for non-financial transactions.

The following policies apply to instructions you may provide to the Fund by telephone:

The Fund, its officers, trustees, employees, or agents are not responsible for the authenticity of instructions provided by telephone, nor for any loss, liability, cost or expense incurred for acting on them.

The Fund employs procedures reasonably designed to confirm that instructions communicated by telephone are genuine.

Due to the volume of calls or other unusual circumstances, telephone redemptions may be difficult to implement during certain time periods.

The Fund reserves the right to:

liquidate a shareholder's account at the current day's NAV and remit proceeds via check if the Fund or a financial institution are unable to verify the shareholder's identity within three business days of account opening,

seek reimbursement from the shareholder for any related loss incurred by the Fund if payment for the purchase of Fund shares by check does not clear the shareholder's bank, and

reject a purchase order and seek reimbursement from the shareholder for any related loss incurred by the Fund if funds are not received by the applicable wire deadline.

 

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Escheatment

Certain state escheatment laws may require the Fund to turn over your mutual fund account to the state listed in your account registration as abandoned property unless you contact the Fund. Many states have added ‘‘inactivity'' or the absence of customer initiated contact as a component of their rules and guidelines for the escheatment of unclaimed property. These states consider property to be abandoned when there is no shareholder initiated activity on an account for at least three (3) to five (5) years.

Depending on the laws in your jurisdiction, customer initiated contact might be achieved by one of the following methods:

Send a letter to American Beacon Funds via the United States Post Office,

Speak to a Customer Service Representative on the phone after you go through a security verification process. For residents of certain states, contact cannot be made by phone but must be in writing or through the Fund's secure web application,

Access your account through the Fund's secure web application,

Cashing checks that are received and are made payable to the owner of the account.

The Fund, the Manager, and the Transfer Agent will not be liable to shareholders or their representatives for good faith compliance with escheatment laws. To learn more about the escheatment rules for your particular state, please contact your attorney or State Treasurer's and/or Controller's Offices.  If you do not hold your shares directly with the Fund, you should contact your broker-dealer, retirement plan, or other third-party intermediary regarding applicable state escheatment laws.

Contact information:

American Beacon Funds
P.O. Box 219643
Kansas City, MO 64121-9643
1-800-658-5811 
www.americanbeaconfunds.com 

Frequent Trading and Market Timing

Frequent trading by Fund shareholders poses risks to other shareholders in the Fund, including (i) the dilution of the Fund's NAV, (ii) an increase in the Fund's expenses, and (iii) interference with the portfolio managers' ability to execute efficient investment strategies. Frequent, short-term trading of Fund shares in an attempt to profit from day-to-day fluctuations in the Fund's NAV is known as market timing.

The Fund's Board of Trustees has adopted policies and procedures intended to discourage frequent trading and market timing. Shareholders may transact one ‘‘round trip'' in the Fund in any rolling 90-day period. A ‘‘round trip'' is defined as two transactions, each in an opposite direction. A round trip may involve either (i) a purchase or exchange into the Fund followed by a redemption or exchange out of the Fund or (ii) a redemption or exchange out of the Fund followed by a purchase or exchange into the Fund. If the Manager detects that a shareholder has exceeded one round trip in the Fund in any rolling 90-day period, the Manager, without prior notice to the shareholder, may prohibit the shareholder from making further purchases of the Fund. In general, the Fund reserves the right to reject any purchase order, terminate the exchange privilege, or liquidate the account of any shareholder that the Manager determines has engaged in frequent trading or market timing, regardless of whether the shareholder's activity violates any policy stated in this Prospectus. Additionally, the Manager may in its discretion, reject any purchase or exchange into the Fund from any individual investor, institutional investor, or group whose trading activity could disrupt the management of the Fund or dilute the value of the Fund's shares, including collective trading (e.g., following the advice of an investment newsletter). Such investors may be barred from future purchases of American Beacon Funds.

The round-trip limit does not apply to the following transaction types:

shares acquired through the reinvestment of dividends and other distributions;

systematic purchases and redemptions;

shares redeemed to return excess IRA contributions; or

certain transactions made within a retirement or employee benefit plan, such as payroll contributions, minimum required distributions, loans, and hardship withdrawals, or other transactions that are initiated by a party other than the plan participant.

Financial intermediaries that offer Fund shares, such as broker-dealers, third-party administrators of retirement plans, and trust companies, will be asked to enforce the Fund's policies to discourage frequent trading and market timing by investors. However, certain intermediaries that offer Fund shares have informed the Fund that they are currently unable to enforce the Fund's policies on an automated basis. In those instances, the Manager will monitor trading activity of the intermediary in an attempt to detect patterns of activity that indicate frequent trading or market timing by underlying investors. In some cases, intermediaries that offer Fund shares have their own policies to deter frequent trading and market timing that differ from the Fund's policies. The Fund may defer to an intermediary's policies. For more information, please contact the financial intermediary through which you invest in the Fund.

The Manager monitors trading activity in the Fund to attempt to identify shareholders engaged in frequent trading or market timing. The Manager may exclude transactions below a certain dollar amount from monitoring and may change that dollar amount from time to time. The ability of the Manager to detect frequent trading and market timing activity by investors who own shares through an intermediary is dependent upon the intermediary's provision of information necessary to identify transactions by the underlying investors. The Fund has entered into agreements with the intermediaries that service the Fund's investors, pursuant to which the intermediaries agree to provide information on investor transactions to the Fund and to act on the Fund's instructions to restrict transactions by investors who the Manager has identified as having violated the Fund's policies and procedures to deter frequent trading and market timing.

Wrap programs offered by certain intermediaries may be designated ''Qualified Wrap Programs'' by the Fund based on specific criteria established by the Fund and a certification by the intermediary that the criteria have been met. A Qualified Wrap Program is a wrap program whose sponsoring intermediary: (i) certifies that it has investment discretion over $50 million or more in client assets invested in mutual funds at the time of the certification, (ii) certifies that it directs transactions in accounts participating in the wrap program(s) in concert with changes in a model portfolio, (iii) provides the Manager a description of the wrap program(s), and (iv) managed by an intermediary that agrees to provide the Manager sufficient information to identify individual accounts in the intermediary's wrap program(s). For purposes of applying the round-trip limit, transactions initiated by clients invested in a Qualified Wrap Program will not be matched to transactions initiated by the intermediary sponsoring the Qualified Wrap Program. For example, a client's purchase of the Fund followed within 90 days by the intermediary's redemption of the same Fund would not be considered a round trip. However, transactions initiated by a Qualified Wrap Program client are subject to the round-trip limit and will be matched to determine if the client has exceeded the round-trip limit. In addition, the Manager will monitor transactions initiated by Qualified Wrap Program intermediaries to determine whether any intermediary has engaged in frequent trading or market timing. If

 

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the Manager determines that an intermediary has engaged in activity that is harmful to the Fund, the Manager will revoke the intermediary's Qualified Wrap Program status. Upon termination of status as a Qualified Wrap Program, all account transactions will be matched for purposes of testing compliance with the Fund's frequent trading and market timing policies, including any applicable redemption fees.

The Fund reserves the right to modify the frequent trading and market timing policies and procedures and grant or eliminate waivers to such policies and procedures at any time without advance notice to shareholders. There can be no assurance that the Fund's policies and procedures to deter frequent trading and market timing will have the intended effect nor that the Manager will be able to detect frequent trading and market timing.

Distributions and Taxes

The Fund annually distributes most or all of its net earnings and gains, if any, in the form of dividends from net investment income ("dividends") and distributions of realized net capital gains ("capital gain distributions") and net gains from foreign currency transactions (sometimes referred to below collectively as "other distributions") (and dividends and other distributions are sometimes referred to below collectively as "distributions"). Different tax treatment applies to different types of distributions (as described in the table below).

The Fund does not have a fixed dividend rate or guarantee that it will pay any distributions in any particular period. Distributions paid by the Fund with respect to each class of shares are calculated in the same manner and at the same time, but dividends on different classes of shares may be different as a result of the services and/or fees applicable to certain classes of shares.

Options for Receiving Dividends and other Distributions

When you open your Fund account, you can specify on your application how you want to receive distributions. To change that option, you must notify the transfer agent. Unless you instruct otherwise in your account application, distributions payable to you will be reinvested in additional shares of the distributing class of the Fund. There are four payment options available:

Reinvest All Distributions. You can elect to reinvest all distributions in additional shares of the distributing class of the Fund.

Reinvest Only Some Distributions. You can elect to reinvest some types of distributions in additional shares of the distributing class of the Fund while receiving the other types of distributions by check or having them sent to your bank account by ACH ("in cash").

Receive All Distributions in Cash. You can elect to receive all distributions in cash.

Reinvest Your Distributions in another American Beacon Fund. You can reinvest all of your distributions by the Fund or a particular class of shares in shares of the same class of another American Beacon Fund that is available for exchanges. You must have an existing account in the same share class of the selected fund.

If you invest directly with the Fund, any election to receive distributions payable by check will only apply to distributions totaling $10.00 or more. Any distribution totaling less than $10.00 will be reinvested in shares of the distributing class of the Fund and will not be paid to you by check. This policy does not apply to you if you have elected to receive distributions that are directly deposited in your bank account by ACH.

If you elect to receive a distribution by check and the U.S. Postal Service cannot deliver your check, or if your check remains uncashed for at least six months, the Fund reserves the right to reinvest the amount of your check, and to reinvest all subsequent distributions, in shares of the distributing class of the Fund at the NAV per share on the day of the reinvestment. Interest will not accrue on amounts represented by uncashed distribution or redemption checks.

Shareholders investing in the Fund through a financial intermediary should discuss their options for receiving distributions with the intermediary.

Taxes

Fund distributions are taxable to shareholders other than tax-qualified retirement accounts and other tax-exempt investors. However, the portion of the Fund's dividends derived from its investments in U.S. Government obligations, if any, is generally exempt from state and local income taxes. The following table outlines the typical status of transactions in taxable accounts:

Type of Transaction

Federal Tax Status

Dividends from net investment income *

Ordinary income **

Distributions of the excess of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss *

Ordinary income

Distributions of net gains from certain foreign currency transactions *

Ordinary income

Distributions of the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss ("net capital gain'') *

Long-term capital gains

Redemptions or exchanges of shares owned for more than one year

Long-term capital gains or losses

Redemptions or exchanges of shares owned for one year or less

Net gains are taxed at the same rate as ordinary income; net losses are subject to special rules

*  Whether reinvested or taken in cash.

** Except for dividends that are attributable to ‘‘qualified dividend income'' (as described below), if any.

To the extent distributions are attributable to net capital gain that the Fund recognizes on sales or exchanges of capital assets, they are subject to a 15% maximum federal income tax rate for individual and certain other non-corporate shareholders (each, an ‘‘individual'') (20% for individuals with taxable income exceeding certain thresholds, which are indexed for inflation annually), regardless of how long the shareholder held his or her Fund shares.

A portion of the dividends the Fund pays to individuals may be ‘‘qualified dividend income'' (‘‘QDI'') and thus eligible for the preferential rates that apply to net capital gain. QDI is the aggregate of dividends the Fund receives on shares of most domestic corporations and certain foreign corporations with respect to which the Fund satisfies certain holding period and other restrictions. To be eligible for those rates, a shareholder must meet similar restrictions with respect to his or her Fund shares.

A portion of the distributions the Fund pays may also be eligible for the dividends-received deduction allowed to corporations ("DRD"), subject to similar holding period and other restrictions, but the eligible portion may not exceed the aggregate dividends the Fund receives from domestic corporations only. However, dividends that a corporate shareholder receives and deducts pursuant to the DRD may be subject indirectly to the federal alternative minimum tax. 

A shareholder may realize a taxable gain or loss when redeeming or exchanging shares. That gain or loss is treated as a short-term or long-term capital gain or loss, depending on how long the redeemed or exchanged shares were held. Any capital gain an individual recognizes on a redemption or exchange of Fund shares that have been held for more than one year will qualify for the 15% and 20% tax rates mentioned above.

 

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A shareholder who wants to use an acceptable basis determination method with respect to Fund shares other than the average basis method (the Fund's default method) must elect to do so in writing, which may be electronic. The Fund, or its administrative agent, must report to the Internal Revenue Service and furnish to its shareholders the basis information for dispositions of Fund shares. See "Tax Information" in the SAI for a description of the rules regarding that election and the Fund's reporting obligation.

An individual must pay a 3.8% tax on the lesser of (1) the individual's ‘‘net investment income,'' which generally includes distributions the Fund pays and net gains realized on a redemption or exchange of Fund shares, or (2) the excess of the individual's ‘‘modified adjusted gross income'' over a threshold amount ($250,000 for married persons filing jointly and $200,000 for single taxpayers). This tax is in addition to any other taxes due on that income. A similar tax applies to estates and trusts.  Shareholders should consult their own tax advisers regarding the effect, if any, this tax may have on their investment in Fund shares.

Each year, the Fund's shareholders will receive tax information to assist them in preparing their income tax returns.

The foregoing is only a summary of some of the important federal income tax considerations that may affect Fund shareholders, who should consult their tax advisers regarding specific questions as to the effect of federal, state and local income taxes on an investment in the Fund.

 

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Additional Information

The Fund's Board of Trustees oversees generally the operations of the Fund. The Trust enters into contractual arrangements with various parties, including among others, the Fund's manager, sub-advisor, custodian, transfer agent, and accountants, who provide services to the Fund. Shareholders are not parties to any such contractual arrangements and those contractual arrangements are not intended to create in any shareholder any right to enforce them directly against the service providers or to seek any remedy under them directly against the service providers.

This Prospectus provides information concerning the Fund that you should consider in determining whether to purchase Fund shares. Neither this Prospectus nor the Statement of Additional Information is intended, or should be read, to be or create an agreement or contract between the Trust or the Fund and any investor, or to create any rights in any shareholder or other person other than any rights under federal or state law that may not be waived. Nothing in this Prospectus, the Statement of Additional Information or the Fund's reports to shareholders is intended to provide investment advice and should not be construed as investment advice.

Portfolio Holdings

A complete list of the Fund's holdings is made available on the Fund's website on a quarterly basis approximately sixty days after the end of each calendar quarter and remains available for six months thereafter. A list of the Fund's ten largest holdings is made available on the Fund's website on a quarterly basis. The ten largest holdings of the Fund are generally posted to the website approximately fifteen days after the end of each calendar quarter and remain available until the next quarter. To access the holdings information, go to www.americanbeaconfunds.com. The Fund's ten largest holdings may also be accessed by selecting the Fund's fact sheet.

A description of the Fund's policies and procedures regarding the disclosure of portfolio holdings is available in the Fund's SAI, which you may access on the Fund's website at www.americanbeaconfunds.com or call 1-800-658-5811 to request a free copy.

Delivery of Documents

If you are interested in electronic delivery of the Fund's summary prospectus and shareholder reports, please go to www.americanbeaconfunds.com and click on ‘‘Resource Center'' and then ‘‘Register for E-Delivery.''

To reduce expenses, your financial institution may mail only one copy of the summary prospectus, Annual Report and Semi-Annual Report to those addresses shared by two or more accounts. If you wish to receive individual copies of these documents, please contact your financial institution. Delivery of individual copies will commence thirty days after receiving your request.

Financial Highlights

The financial highlights tables are intended to help you understand the Fund's financial performance for the period of the Fund's operation. Financial highlights are not provided because the Fund had not commenced operations prior to the date of this Prospectus.

 

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Additional Information

Additional information about the Fund is found in the documents listed below. Request a free copy of these documents by calling 1-800-658-5811 or you may access them on the Fund's website at www.americanbeaconfunds.com.

Annual Report/Semi-Annual Report

The Fund's Annual and Semi-Annual Reports list the Fund's actual investments as of the report's date. They also include a discussion by the Manager of market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund's performance. The report of the Fund's Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm will be included in the Annual Report. Reports will be available approximately 60 days after the Fund passes its first annual and semi-annual reporting periods.

Statement of Additional Information (''SAI'')

The SAI contains more details about the Fund and its investment policies. The SAI is incorporated in this Prospectus by reference (it is legally part of this Prospectus). A current SAI is on file with the SEC.

To obtain more information about the Fund or to request a copy of the documents listed above:

By Telephone:

Call
1-800-658-5811

By Mail:

American Beacon Funds
P.O. Box 219643
Kansas City, MO 64121-9643

By E-mail:

americanbeaconfunds@ambeacon.com

On the Internet:

Visit our website at www.americanbeaconfunds.com
Visit the SEC website at www.sec.gov

The SAI and other information about the Fund are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov. Copies of this information may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic mail to publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing to the SEC's Public Reference Section, 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. The SAI and other information about the Fund may also be reviewed and copied at the SEC's Public Reference Room. Information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at (202) 551-8090.

 

American Beacon is a registered service mark of American Beacon Advisors, Inc. The American Beacon Funds, American Beacon IPM Systematic Macro Fund are service marks of American Beacon Advisors, Inc.



SEC File Number 811-4984

 

 

 

The information in this statement of additional information is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This statement of additional information is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.



Statement of Additional Information
 xx xx, 20xx

 

Share Class

Ultra

American Beacon IPM Systematic Macro Fund

XXXX

This Statement of Additional Information ("SAI") should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus dated xx xx, 20xx (the "Prospectus") for the American Beacon IPM Systematic Macro Fund (the "Fund"), a series of American Beacon Funds, a Massachusetts business trust. Copies of the Prospectus may be obtained without charge by calling (800) 658-5811. You also may obtain copies of the Prospectus without charge by visiting the Fund's website at www.americanbeaconfunds.com. This SAI is incorporated by reference into the Fund's Prospectus. In other words, it is legally a part of the Prospectus. This SAI is not a prospectus and is authorized for distribution to prospective investors only if preceded or accompanied by a current Prospectus.  Capitalized terms in this SAI have the same definition as in the Prospectus, unless otherwise defined.

The Fund had not commenced operations prior to the date hereof. Accordingly, financial statements for the Fund are not available. Copies of the Fund's Annual Report may be obtained when available, without charge, upon request by calling (800) 658-5811 or visiting www.americanbeaconfunds.com.


Table of Contents

Organization and History of the Fund

1

Non-Diversified Status

1

Additional Information About Investment Strategies and Risks

1

Other Investment Strategies and Risks

14

Investment Restrictions

15

Temporary Defensive Investments

16

Portfolio Turnover

16

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

16

Lending of Portfolio Securities

18

Trustees and Officers of the Trust

18

Code of Ethics

24

Proxy Voting Policies

24

Control Persons and 5% Shareholders

24

Investment Sub-Advisory Agreements

24

Management, Administrative and Distribution Services

25

Other Service Providers

26

Portfolio Managers

26

Portfolio Securities Transactions

27

Redemptions in Kind

28

Tax Information

28

Description of the Trust

32

Financial Statements

34

Appendix A: Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures for the Trust

35

Appendix B Ratings Definitions

37


ORGANIZATION AND HISTORY OF THE FUND

The Fund is a separate series of the American Beacon Funds (the "Trust"), an open- end management investment company organized as a Massachusetts business trust on January 16, 1987. The Fund constitutes a separate investment portfolio with a distinct investment objective and distinct purpose and strategy. The Fund is non-diversified. The Fund is comprised of multiple classes of shares designed to meet the needs of different groups of investors. This SAI relates to the Ultra Class shares of the Fund.

NON-DIVERSIFIED STATUS

The Fund is "non-diversified" under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "Investment Company Act"), which means that the Fund may invest a greater portion of its assets in a more limited number of issuers than a diversified fund. An investment in the Fund may present greater risk to an investor than an investment in a diversified portfolio because changes in the financial condition or market assessment of a single issuer, or the effects of a single economic, political or regulatory event, may cause greater fluctuations in the value of its shares. Although the Fund is non-diversified under the Investment Company Act, it is subject to the diversification rules of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Internal Revenue Code"), that apply to all "regulated investment companies" ("RICs"). These rules provide that, among the requirements to maintain the favorable tax treatment applicable to RICs, the Fund may not acquire a security if, as a result, with respect to 50% of the value of its total assets, more than 5% of the value of the Fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of a single issuer or more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of an issuer would be held by the Fund. With respect to the remaining 50% of the value of its total assets, the Fund is limited to holding no more than 25% of its total asset value in the securities of any one issuer, the securities of any two or more issuers that the Fund controls (by owning 20% or more of their voting power) and that are determined to be engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships. These limits apply only as of the end of each quarter of the Fund's taxable (fiscal) year and do not apply to securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, or by other RICs.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS

The investment objective and principal investment strategies and risks of the Fund are described in the Prospectus. This section contains additional information about the Fund's investment policies and risks and types of investments the Fund may purchase. The composition of the Fund's portfolio and the strategies that the Fund may use in selecting investments may vary over time. The Fund is not required to use all of the investment strategies described below in pursuing its investment objective. It may use some of the investment strategies only at some times or it may not use them at all.

Borrowing Risks — The Fund may borrow money in an amount up to one-third of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) from banks and other financial institutions. The Fund may borrow for temporary purposes or to facilitate short sales. Borrowing may exaggerate changes in the Fund's net asset value ("NAV") and in its total return. Interest expense and other fees associated with borrowing may reduce the Fund's return.

Cash Equivalents — Cash equivalents include certificates of deposit, time deposits, bearer deposit notes, bankers' acceptances, government obligations, commercial paper, short-term corporate debt securities and repurchase agreements.

Bankers' acceptances are short-term credit instruments designed to enable businesses to obtain funds to finance commercial transactions. Generally, an acceptance is a time draft drawn on a bank by an exporter or an importer to obtain a stated amount of funds to pay for specific merchandise. The draft is then "accepted" by a bank that, in effect, unconditionally guarantees to pay the face value of the instrument on its maturity date. The acceptance may then be held by the accepting bank as an earning asset or it may be sold in the secondary market at the going rate of discount for a specific maturity. Although maturities for acceptances can be as long as 270 days, most acceptances have maturities of six months or less.

Certificates of deposit ("CDs") are issued against funds deposited in an eligible bank (including its domestic and foreign branches, subsidiaries and agencies), are for a definite period of time, earn a specified rate of return and are normally negotiable. U.S. dollar denominated CDs issued by banks abroad are known as Eurodollar CDs. CDs issued by foreign branches of U.S. banks are known as Yankee CDs.

Time deposits are non-negotiable deposits maintained at a banking institution for a specified period of time at a specified interest rate.

Cover and Asset Segregation — The Fund may make investments or employ trading practices that obligate the Fund, on a fixed or contingent basis, to deliver an asset or make a cash payment to another party in the future. The Fund will comply with guidance from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") with respect to coverage of certain investments and trading practices. This guidance requires segregation (which may include earmarking) by the Fund of cash or liquid assets with its custodian or a designated sub-custodian to the extent the Fund's obligations with respect to these strategies are not otherwise "covered" through ownership of the underlying security or financial instrument or by offsetting portfolio positions.

For example, if the Fund enters into a currency forward contract to sell foreign currency on a future date, the Fund may cover its obligation to deliver the foreign currency by segregating cash or liquid assets having a value at least equal to the value of the deliverable currency on a marked to market basis. Alternatively, the Fund could cover its obligation by entering into an offsetting transaction to acquire, on or before the date such foreign currency must be delivered, an amount of foreign currency at least equal to the deliverable amount at a price at or below the sale price to be received by the Fund under the currency forward contract.

The Fund's approach to asset coverage may vary among different types of transactions. For example, if the Fund's forward obligation on the transaction is only to make a cash payment equal to the amount, if any, by which the value of the Fund's position is less than that of its counterparty, the Fund will segregate cash or liquidate assets equal to that difference calculated on a daily marked-to-market basis (a "net amount"). Additionally, if the Fund is a protection seller in a credit default swap, the Fund, depending on how the credit default swap is settled, usually will segregate assets equal to the full notional value of the swap. If the Fund is protection buyer in a credit default swap, depending on how the credit default swap is settled, it usually will cover the total amount of required premium payments plus the prepayment penalty. With respect to certain investments, the Fund calculates the obligations of the parties to the agreement on a "net basis" (i.e., the two payment streams are netted out with the Fund receiving

 

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or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments). Under such circumstances, the Fund's current obligations will generally be equal only to the net amount to be paid by the Fund based on the relative values of the positions held by each party to the agreement (the "net amount").

Inasmuch as the Fund covers its obligations under these transactions as described above, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (the "Manager") and the Fund believe such obligations do not constitute senior securities. Earmarking or otherwise segregating a large percentage of the Fund's assets could impede the sub-advisor's ability to manage the Fund's portfolio.

Currencies Risk — The Fund may have significant exposure to foreign currencies for investment or hedging purposes by making direct investments in non- U.S. currencies or in securities denominated in non-U.S. currencies, purchasing or selling forward currency exchange contracts in non-U.S. or emerging market currencies, non-U.S. currency futures contracts, options on non-U.S. currencies and non-U.S. currency futures and swaps for cross-currency investments.

Foreign currencies may decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar and affect the Fund's investments in foreign (non-U.S.) currencies or in securities that trade in, and receive revenues in, or in derivatives that provide exposure to, foreign (non-U.S.) currencies.

Custody Risk — A Fund may invest in markets that are less developed than those in the U.S., which may expose the Fund to risks in the process of clearing and settling trades and the holding of securities by foreign banks, agents and depositories. Investments in frontier and emerging markets may be subject to greater custody risks than investments in more developed markets.

Creditor Liability and Participation on Creditors' Committees — When the Fund holds bonds or other similar fixed income securities of an issuer, the Fund becomes a creditor of the issuer. If the Fund is a creditor of an issuer it may be subject to challenges related to the securities that it holds, either in connection with the bankruptcy of the issuer or in connection with another action brought by other creditors of the issuer, shareholders of the issuer or the issuer itself. The Fund may from time to time participate on committees formed by creditors to negotiate with the management of financially troubled issuers of securities held by the Fund. Such participation may subject the Fund to expenses such as legal fees and may make the Fund an "insider" of the issuer for purposes of the federal securities laws, and therefore may restrict such Fund's ability to trade in or acquire additional positions in a particular security when it might otherwise desire to do so. Participation on such committees also may expose the Fund to potential liabilities under the federal bankruptcy laws or other laws governing the rights of creditors and debtors.

Cyber-Security Risk — With the increased use of technologies such as the Internet and the dependence on computer systems to perform necessary business functions, the Fund and its service providers may be prone to operational and information security risks resulting from cyber-attacks. Cyber-attacks include, among other behaviors, stealing or corrupting data maintained online or digitally, denial of service attacks on websites, the unauthorized release of confidential information or various other forms of cyber security breaches. Cyber-attacks affecting the Fund or the sub-advisor, custodian, transfer agent, intermediaries and other third-party service providers may adversely impact the Fund. For instance, cyber-attacks may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, result in the loss or theft of customer data or funds, impact the Fund' ability to calculate its net asset value ("NAV"), cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential business information, impede trading, subject the Fund to regulatory fines or financial losses and/or cause reputational damage. A cyber-attack may also result in customers or employees being unable to access electronic systems ("denial of services"), loss or theft of proprietary information or corporate data, physical damage to a computer or network system, or remediation costs associated with system repairs. The Fund may also incur additional costs for cyber-security risk management purposes. Similar types of cyber-security risks are also present for issues or securities in which the Fund may invest, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Fund's investment in such companies to lose value.

Any of these results could have a substantial adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. For example, if a cyber-security incident results in a denial of service, Fund shareholders could lose access to their electronic accounts and be unable to buy or sell Fund shares for an unknown period of time, and employees could be unable to access electronic systems to perform critical duties for the Fund, such as trading, NAV calculation, shareholder accounting or fulfillment of Fund share purchases and redemptions. Cyber-security incidents could cause the Fund or Fund service provider to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures, or financial loss of a significant magnitude and could result in allegations that the Fund or Fund service provider violated privacy and other laws. Similar adverse consequences could result from cyber-security incidents affecting issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, counterparties with which the Fund engages in transactions, governmental and other regulatory authorities, exchange and other financial market operators, banks, brokers, dealers, insurance companies, and other financial institutions and other parties. Although the Fund, its Manager, and the sub-advisor endeavor to determine that service providers have established risk management systems that seek to reduce the risks associated with cybersecurity, and business continuity plans in the event there is a cyber-security breach, there are inherent limitations in these systems and plans, including the possibility that certain risks may not have been identified, in large part because different or unknown threats may emerge in the future. Furthermore, the Fund does not control the cyber-security systems and plans of the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests or the Fund's third party service providers or trading counterparties or any other service providers whose operations may affect the Fund or its shareholders.

Debentures — Debentures are unsecured debt securities. The holder of a debenture is protected only by the general creditworthiness of the issuer.

Derivatives — Generally a derivative is a financial arrangement, the value of which is based on, or "derived" from, a traditional security, asset, currency, or market index. Some "derivatives" such as mortgage-related and other asset backed securities are in many respects like any other investment, although they may be more volatile or less liquid than more traditional securities. There are, in fact, many different types of derivatives and many different ways to use them. The value of certain derivative securities is linked to other equity securities (such as depositary receipts), currencies, interest rates, indices or other financial indicators (reference assets).

The Fund may invest in various types of derivatives, including among others, options (including non-deliverable options), futures and options thereon, forward currency and other forwards (including non-deliverable forwards), forwards for currency hedges, warrants, structured products (including credit-linked and structured notes), interest rate caps, floors, collars, reverse collars, total return swaps, and credit default swaps. The enactment of the

 

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Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act") resulted in historic and comprehensive reform relating to derivatives, including the manner in which they are entered into, reported, recorded, executed, and settled or cleared. Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act the SEC and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") have promulgated a broad range of new regulations with respect to security-based swaps (e.g., derivatives based on a single security or narrow-based securities index), which are regulated by the SEC, and other swaps, which are regulated by the CFTC and the markets in which these instruments trade.

Prior to 2012, advisers of registered investment companies, like the Fund, that trade commodity interests (such as futures contracts, options on futures contracts, non-deliverable forwards and swaps), were excluded from regulation as commodity pool operators ("CPOs") pursuant to CFTC Regulation 4.5. In 2012, the CFTC amended Regulation 4.5 to dramatically narrow this exclusion. Under the amended Regulation 4.5 exclusion, in order to rely on the exclusion the Fund's commodity interests – other than those used for bona fide hedging purposes (as defined by the CFTC) – must be limited such that the aggregate initial margin and premiums required to establish the positions (after taking into account unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions and excluding the amount by which options are "in-the-money" at the time of purchase) does not exceed 5% of the Fund's total NAV, or alternatively, the aggregate net notional value of the positions, determined at the time the most recent position was established, does not exceed 100% of the Fund's total NAV (after taking into account unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions). Further, to qualify for the exclusion in amended Regulation 4.5, the Fund must satisfy a marketing test, which requires, among other things, that the Fund not hold itself out as a vehicle for trading commodity interests. The Fund's ability to use these instruments also may be limited by tax considerations.

Amended Regulation 4.5 was effective on April 24, 2012.  As the Fund cannot comply with the limitations in Regulation 4.5 above, the Manager registered as a CPO with respect to the Fund. As a result, the Manager and the Fund are subject to regulation by the CFTC.

Derivatives may involve significant risk. Some derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of the Fund's initial investment. Not all derivative transactions require a counterparty to post collateral, which may expose the Fund to greater losses in the event of a default by a counterparty.

Derivatives may be illiquid and may be more volatile than other types of investments. The Fund may buy and sell derivatives that are neither centrally cleared nor traded on an exchange. Such derivatives may be subject to heightened counterparty, liquidity and valuation risk.

Transactions in derivatives may expose the Fund to an obligation to another party and, as a result, the Fund may need to "cover" the obligation or segregate liquid assets in compliance with SEC guidelines, as discussed above under "Cover and Asset Segregation."

Expense Risk — Fund expenses are subject to a variety of factors, including fluctuations in the Fund's net assets. Accordingly, actual expenses may be greater or less than those indicated. For example, to the extent that the Fund's net assets decrease due to market declines or redemptions, the Fund's expenses will increase as a percentage of Fund net assets. During periods of high market volatility, these increases in the Fund's expense ratio could be significant.

Fixed-Income Investments — A Fund may hold debt, including government and corporate debt, and other fixed-income securities. Typically, the values of fixed-income securities change inversely with prevailing interest rates. Therefore, a fundamental risk of fixed-income securities is interest rate risk, which is the risk that their value will generally decline as prevailing interest rates rise, which may cause a Fund's net asset value to likewise decrease, and vice versa. How specific fixed-income securities may react to changes in interest rates will depend on the specific characteristics of each security. For example, while securities with longer maturities tend to produce higher yields, they also tend to be more sensitive to changes in prevailing interest rates and are, therefore, more volatile than shorter-term securities and are subject to greater market fluctuations as a result of changes in interest rates. Fixed-income securities are also subject to credit risk, which is the risk that the credit strength of an issuer of a fixed-income security will weaken and/or that the issuer will be unable to make timely principal and interest payments and that the security may go into default. In addition, there is prepayment risk, which is the risk that during periods of falling interest rates, certain fixed-income securities with higher interest rates, such as mortgage- and asset-backed securities, may be prepaid by their issuers thereby reducing the amount of interest payments. This may result in a Fund having to reinvest its proceeds in lower yielding securities. Securities underlying mortgage- and asset-backed securities, which may include subprime mortgages, also may be subject to a higher degree of credit risk, valuation risk, and liquidity risk.

Foreign Securities — The Fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers. Foreign issuers are issuers organized and doing business principally outside the United States and include corporations, banks, non-U.S. governments, and quasi-governmental organizations. While investments in foreign securities are intended to reduce risk by providing further diversification, such investments involve sovereign and other risks, in addition to the credit and market risks normally associated with domestic securities. These additional risks include the possibility of adverse political and economic developments (including political or social instability, nationalization, expropriation, or confiscatory taxation); the potentially adverse effects of unavailability of public information regarding issuers, less governmental supervision and regulation of financial markets, reduced liquidity of certain financial markets, and the lack of uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting standards or the application of standards that are different or less stringent than those applied in the United States; different laws and customs governing securities tracking; and possibly limited access to the courts to enforce the Fund's rights as an investor.

The Fund also may invest in equity, debt, or other income-producing securities that are denominated in or indexed to foreign currencies, including (1) common and preferred stocks, (2) CDs, commercial paper, fixed time deposits, and bankers' acceptances issued by foreign banks, (3) obligations of other corporations, and (4) obligations of foreign governments and their subdivisions, agencies, and instrumentalities, international agencies, and supranational entities. Investing in foreign currency denominated securities involves the special risks associated with investing in non-U.S. issuers, as described in the preceding paragraph, and the additional risks of (1) adverse changes in foreign exchange rates and (2) adverse changes in investment or exchange control regulations (which could prevent cash from being brought back to the United States). Additionally, dividends and interest payable on foreign securities (and gains realized on disposition thereof) may be subject to foreign taxes, including taxes withheld from those payments.

The Fund may also invest in foreign "market access" investments, such as participatory notes, low-exercise price options or warrants, equity-linked notes, or equity swaps. These investments may provide economic exposure to an issuer without directly holding its securities. For example, market

 

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access investments may be used where regulatory or exchange restrictions make it difficult or undesirable for the Fund to invest directly in an issuer's common stock. Use of market access investments may involve risks associated with derivative investments (see "Derivatives"). Market access investments can be either exchange-traded or over-the-counter. Certain market access investments can be subject to the credit risk of both the underlying issuer and a counterparty. Holders of certain market access investments might not have voting, dividend or other rights associated with shareholders of the referenced securities. Holders of market access investments might not have any right to make a claim against an issuer or counterparty in the event of their bankruptcy or other restructuring. It may be more difficult or time consuming to dispose of certain market access investments than the referenced security.

Commissions on foreign securities exchanges are often at fixed rates and are generally higher than negotiated commissions on U.S. exchanges, although the sub-advisor endeavors to achieve the most favorable net results on portfolio transactions.

Foreign securities may trade with less frequency and in less volume than domestic securities and therefore may exhibit greater price volatility. Additional costs associated with an investment in foreign securities may include higher custodial fees than apply to domestic custody arrangements and transaction costs of foreign currency conversions.

Foreign markets also have different clearance and settlement procedures. In certain markets, there have been times when settlements have been unable to keep pace with the volume of securities transactions, making it difficult to conduct such transactions. Delays in settlement could result in temporary periods when a portion of the assets of the Fund is not invested and no return is earned thereon. The inability of the Fund to make intended security purchases due to settlement problems could cause the Fund to miss attractive investment opportunities. Inability to dispose of portfolio securities due to settlement problems could result in losses to the Fund due to subsequent declines in value of the securities or, if the Fund has entered into a contract to sell the securities, could result in possible liability to the purchaser.

Interest rates prevailing in other countries may affect the prices of foreign securities and exchange rates for foreign currencies. Local factors, including the strength of the local economy, the demand for borrowing, the government's fiscal and monetary policies, and the international balance of payments, often affect interest rates in other countries. Individual foreign economies may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of gross national product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency, and balance of payments position.

Brexit Risk. The risk of investing in Europe may be heightened due to the recent referendum in which the United Kingdom voted to exit the European Union (EU). It is expected that the United Kingdom will invoke article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to withdraw from the EU in due course, however, there is a significant degree of uncertainty about how negotiations relating to the United Kingdom's withdrawal will be conducted, as well as the potential consequences and precise timeframe for "Brexit." It is expected that the United Kingdom's exit from the EU will take place within two years of the United Kingdom notifying the European Council that it intends to withdraw from the EU. While it is not possible to determine the precise impact these events may have on a Fund, during this period and beyond, the impact on the United Kingdom and European economies and the broader global economy could be significant, resulting in negative impacts, such as increased volatility and illiquidity, and potentially lower economic growth, on markets in the United Kingdom, Europe and globally, which may adversely affect the value of a Fund's investments. In addition, if one or more other countries were to exit the EU or abandon the use of the euro as a currency, the value of investments tied to those countries or the euro could decline significantly and unpredictably.

Emerging Market Securities. The Fund may invest in emerging market securities. Investments in emerging market country securities involve special risks. The economies, markets and political structures of a number of the emerging market countries in which the Fund can invest do not compare favorably with the United States and other mature economies in terms of wealth and stability. Therefore, investments in these countries may be riskier, and will be subject to erratic and abrupt price movements. Some economies are less well developed and less diverse (for example, Latin America, Eastern Europe and certain Asian countries), and more vulnerable to the ebb and flow of international trade, trade barriers and other protectionist or retaliatory measures. Similarly, many of these countries, particularly in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, are grappling with severe inflation or recession, high levels of national debt, currency exchange problems and government instability. Investments in countries that have recently begun moving away from central planning and state-owned industries toward free markets, such as the Eastern European, Russian or Chinese economies, should be regarded as speculative.

Certain emerging market countries have historically experienced, and may continue to experience, high rates of inflation, high interest rates, exchange rate fluctuations, large amounts of external debt, balance of payments and trade difficulties and extreme poverty and unemployment. The issuer or governmental authority that controls the repayment of an emerging market country's debt may not be able or willing to repay the principal and/or interest when due in accordance with the terms of such debt. A debtor's willingness or ability to repay principal and interest due in a timely manner may be affected by, among other factors, its cash flow situation, and, in the case of a government debtor, the extent of its foreign reserves, the availability of sufficient foreign exchange on the date a payment is due, the relative size of the debt service burden to the economy as a whole and the political constraints to which a government debtor may be subject. Government debtors may default on their debt and may be dependent on expected disbursements from foreign governments, multilateral agencies and others abroad to satisfy unpaid principal and interest balances due on their debt. Holders of government debt may be requested to participate in the rescheduling of such debt and to extend further loans to government debtors.

If such an event occurs, the Fund may have limited legal recourse against the issuer and/or guarantor.

Remedies must, in some cases, be pursued in the courts of the defaulting party itself, and the ability of the holder of foreign government fixed income securities to obtain recourse may be subject to the political climate in the relevant country. In addition, no assurance can be given that the holders of commercial bank debt will not contest payments to the holders of other foreign government debt obligations in the event of default under their commercial bank loan agreements.

The economies of individual emerging market countries may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of gross domestic product, rate of inflation, currency depreciation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency and balance of payments position. Further, the economies of developing countries generally are heavily dependent upon international trade and, accordingly, have been, and may continue to be,

 

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adversely affected by trade barriers, exchange controls, managed adjustments in relative currency values and other protectionist measures imposed or negotiated by the countries with which they trade. These economies also have been, and may continue to be, adversely affected by economic conditions in the countries with which they trade.

Investing in emerging market countries may entail purchasing securities issued by or on behalf of entities that are insolvent, bankrupt, in default or otherwise engaged in an attempt to reorganize or reschedule their obligations, and in entities that have little or no proven credit rating or credit history. In any such case, the issuer's poor or deteriorating financial condition may increase the likelihood that the investing Fund will experience losses or diminution in available gains due to bankruptcy, insolvency or fraud.

Investments in the securities and derivatives with exposure to countries with emerging capital markets involve significantly higher risks not involved in investments in securities in more developed capital markets, such as (i) low or non-existent trading volume, resulting in a lack of liquidity and increased volatility in prices for such securities, as compared to securities from more developed capital markets, (ii) uncertain national policies and social, political and economic instability, increasing the potential for expropriation of assets, confiscatory taxation, high rates of inflation or unfavorable diplomatic developments, (iii) possible fluctuations in exchange rates, differing legal systems and the existence or possible imposition of exchange controls, custodial restrictions or other non-U.S. or U.S. governmental laws or restrictions applicable to such investments, (iv) national policies that may limit the Fund's investment opportunities such as restrictions on investment in issuers or industries deemed sensitive to national interests, (v) the lack or relatively early development of legal structures governing private and foreign investments and private property, and (vi) less diverse or immature economic structures. In addition to withholding taxes on investment income, some countries with emerging capital markets may impose differential capital gain taxes on foreign investors.

Such capital markets are emerging in a dynamic political and economic environment brought about by events over recent years that have reshaped political boundaries and traditional ideologies. In such a dynamic environment, there can be no assurance that these capital markets will continue to present viable investment opportunities for the Fund. In the past, governments of such nations have expropriated substantial amounts of private property, and most claims of the property owners have never been fully settled. There is no assurance that such expropriations will not reoccur. In such event, it is possible that the Fund could lose the entire value of its investments in the affected markets. The economies of emerging market countries may be based predominately on only a few industries or may be dependent on revenues from participating commodities or on international aid or developmental assistance, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from extreme and volatile debt burdens or inflation rates.

Also, there may be less publicly available information about emerging markets than would be available in more developed capital markets, and such issuers may not be subject to accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and requirements comparable to those to which U.S. companies are subject. In certain countries with emerging capital markets, reporting standards vary widely. As a result, traditional investment measurements used in the U.S., may not be applicable. Emerging market securities may be substantially less liquid and more volatile than those of mature markets, and securities may be held by a limited number of investors. This may adversely affect the timing and pricing of the Fund's acquisition or disposal of securities.

The laws in certain emerging market countries may be based upon or be highly influenced by religious codes or rules. The interpretation of how these laws apply to certain investments may change over time, which could have a negative impact on those investments and the Fund.

Practices in relation to settlement of securities transactions in emerging markets involve higher risks than those in developed markets, in part because the Fund may use brokers and counterparties that are less well capitalized, and custody and registration of assets in some countries may be unreliable.

The Fund may consider a country to be an emerging market country based on a number of factors including, but not limited to, if the country is classified as an emerging or developing economy by any supranational organization such as the World Bank, International Finance Corporation or the United Nations, or related entities, or if the country is considered an emerging market country for purposes of constructing emerging markets indices.

Eastern European and Russian Securities. Investing in the securities of Eastern European and Russian issuers is highly speculative and involves risks not usually associated with investing in the more developed markets of Western Europe. Political and economic reforms are too recent to establish a definite trend away from centrally planned economies and state-owned industries. Investments in Eastern European countries may involve risks of nationalization, expropriation, and confiscatory taxation. Many Eastern European countries continue to move towards market economies at different paces with appropriately different characteristics. Most Eastern European markets suffer from thin trading activity, dubious investor protections, and often a dearth of reliable corporate information. Information and transaction costs, differential taxes, and sometimes political or transfer risk give a comparative advantage to the domestic investor rather than the foreign investor. In addition, these markets are particularly sensitive to social, political, economic, and currency events in Western Europe and Russia and may suffer heavy losses as a result of their trading and investment links to these economies and currencies. Additionally, Russia may attempt to assert its influence in the region through economic or even military measures. The United States and the European Union have imposed economic sanctions on Russia over its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. These sanctions, or even the threat of further sanctions, may result in the decline of the value and liquidity of Russian securities, a weakening of the ruble or other adverse consequences to the Russian economy. These sanctions could also result in the immediate freeze of Russian securities, either by issuer, sector or the Russian markets as a whole, impairing the ability of a Fund to buy, sell, receive or deliver those securities. In such circumstances, a Fund may be forced to liquidate non-restricted assets in order to satisfy shareholder redemptions. Such liquidation of Fund assets could result in the Fund receiving substantially lower prices for its securities. Sanctions could also result in Russia taking counter measures or retaliatory actions which may further impair the value and liquidity of Russian securities. As a result, a Fund's performance may be adversely affected.

In some of the countries of Eastern Europe, there is no stock exchange or formal market for securities. Such countries may also have government exchange controls, currencies with no recognizable market value relative to the established currencies of Western market economies, little or no experience in trading in securities, no accounting or financial reporting standards, a lack of banking and securities infrastructure to handle such trading and a legal tradition that does not recognize rights in private property. Credit and debt issues and other economic difficulties affecting Western Europe and its financial institutions can negatively affect Eastern European countries.

 

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Eastern European economies may also be particularly susceptible to the international credit market due to their reliance on bank related inflows of foreign capital. The recent global financial crisis restricted international credit supplies and several Eastern European economies faced significant credit and economic crises. Although some Eastern European economies are expanding again, major challenges are still present as a result of their continued dependence on the Western European zone for credit and trade. Accordingly, the European crisis may present serious risks for Eastern European economies, which may have a negative effect on a Fund's investments in the region.

Compared to most national stock markets, the Russian securities market suffers from a variety of problems not encountered in more developed markets. There is little long-term historical data on the Russian securities market because it is relatively new and a substantial proportion of securities transactions in Russia are privately negotiated outside of stock exchanges. The inexperience of the Russian securities market and the limited volume of trading in securities in the market may make obtaining accurate prices on portfolio securities from independent sources more difficult than in more developed markets. Additionally, there is little solid corporate information available to investors. As a result, it may be difficult to assess the value or prospects of an investment in Russian companies.

Because of the recent formation of the Russian securities market as well as the underdeveloped state of the banking and telecommunications systems, settlement, clearing and registration of securities transactions are subject to significant risks not normally associated with securities transactions in the United States and other more developed markets. Prior to 2013, there was no central registration system for equity share registration in Russia and registration was carried out by either the issuers themselves or by registrars located throughout Russia. Such registrars were not necessarily subject to effective state supervision nor were they licensed with any governmental entity, thereby increasing the risk that a Fund could lose ownership of its securities through fraud, negligence, or even mere oversight. With the implementation of the National Settlement Depository ("NSD") in Russia as a recognized central securities depository, title to Russian equities is now based on the records of the Depository and not the registrars. Although the implementation of the NSD is generally expected to decrease the risk of loss in connection with recording and transferring title to securities, issues resulting in loss still might occur. In addition, issuers and registrars are still prominent in the validation and approval of documentation requirements for corporate action processing in Russia. Because the documentation requirements and approval criteria vary between registrars and/or issuers, there remain unclear and inconsistent market standards in the Russian market with respect to the completion and submission of corporate action elections. To the extent that a Fund suffers a loss relating to title or corporate actions relating to its portfolio securities, it may be difficult for the Fund to enforce its rights or otherwise remedy the loss.

The Russian economy is heavily dependent upon the export of a range of commodities including most industrial metals, forestry products, oil, and gas. Accordingly, it is strongly affected by international commodity prices and is particularly vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. As the recent global financial crisis caused price volatility in commodities, especially oil, many sectors in the Russian economy fell into turmoil, pushing the whole economy into recession. In addition, prior to the global financial crisis, Russia's economic policy encouraged excessive foreign currency borrowing as high oil prices increased investor appetite for Russian financial assets. As a result of this credit boom, Russia reached alarming debt levels and suffered from the effects of tight credit markets. Russia continues to face significant economic challenges, including weak levels of investment and a sluggish recovery in external demand. In the near term, the fallout from the European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for Russian exports such as oil and gas, which could limit Russia's economic recovery. Over the long-term, Russia faces challenges including a shrinking workforce, a high level of corruption, and difficulty in accessing capital for smaller, non-energy companies and poor infrastructure in need of large investments. European Securities. The European Union's (the "EU") Economic and Monetary Union ("EMU") requires eurozone countries to comply with restrictions on interest rates, deficits, debt levels, and inflation rates, fiscal and monetary controls, and other factors, each of which may significantly impact every European country and their economic partners. Decreasing imports or exports, changes in governmental or other regulations on trade, changes in the exchange rate of the euro (the common currency of the EU), the threat of default or actual default by one or more EU member countries on its sovereign debt, and/or an economic recession in one or more EU member countries may have a significant adverse effect on the economies of other EU member countries and major trading partners outside Europe.

In recent years, the European financial markets have experienced volatility and adverse trends due to concerns relating to economic downturns, rising government debt levels and national unemployment and the possible default of government debt in several European countries. Several countries have agreed to multi-year bailout loans from the European Central Bank, International Monetary Fund, and other institutions. Responses to financial problems by European governments, central banks, and others, including austerity measures and reforms, may not produce the desired results, may result in social unrest and may limit future growth and economic recovery or have unintended consequences. A default or debt restructuring by any European country can adversely impact holders of that country's debt and sellers of credit default swaps linked to that country's creditworthiness, which may be located in other countries and can affect exposures to other EU countries and their financial companies as well. The manner in which the EU and EMU responded to the global recession and sovereign debt issues raised questions about their ability to react quickly to rising borrowing costs and the potential default by an EU country of its sovereign debt and revealed a lack of cohesion in dealing with the fiscal problems of member states. To address budget deficits and public debt concerns, a number of European countries have imposed strict austerity measures and comprehensive financial and labor market reforms, which could increase political or social instability. Some European countries continue to suffer from high unemployment rates. In addition, one or more members could abandon the euro or withdraw from the EU, which could significantly adversely affect the value of a Fund's investments in Europe.

Particularly, if a country were to vote to leave the EU, there would exist a prolonged period of uncertainty as to the exact terms of exit and the impact on different industry sectors. For example, it will take time to establish the parameters of an exiting country's relationship with the EU on trade, and it will also take time to establish any trade agreements with other regions because the exiting country would not benefit from free trade agreements negotiated by the EU in the future. Much depends on the extent of the withdrawal agreement and other trade agreements that the country reaches after its exit. There is also the risk that many international companies would no longer choose the exiting country as a base for their European operations. Moreover, a country's decision to withdraw from the EU may adversely affect foreign direct investments and immigration and economic regulations in that country as well as increased transition costs of implementing new policies and agreements.

 

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Latin America.  Inflation. Most Latin American countries have experienced, at one time or another, severe and persistent levels of inflation, including, in some cases, hyperinflation. This has, in turn, led to high interest rates, extreme measures by governments to keep inflation in check, and a generally debilitating effect on economic growth. Although inflation in many countries has lessened, there is no guarantee it will remain at lower levels.

Political Instability. As an emerging market, Latin America historically suffered from social, political, and economic instability. For investors, this has meant additional risk caused by periods of regional conflict, political corruption, totalitarianism, protectionist measures, nationalization, hyperinflation, debt crises, sudden and large currency devaluation, and intervention by the military in civilian and economic spheres. However, in some Latin American countries, a move to sustainable democracy and a more mature and accountable political environment is under way. Domestic economies have been deregulated, privatization of state-owned companies is almost completed and foreign trade restrictions have been relaxed.

Nonetheless, to the extent that events such as those listed above continue in the future, they could reverse favorable trends toward market and economic reform, privatization, and removal of trade barriers, and result in significant disruption in securities markets in the region. In addition, recent favorable economic performance in much of the region has led to a concern regarding government overspending in certain Latin American countries. Investors in the region continue to face a number of potential risks.

Dependence on Exports and Economic Risk. Certain Latin American countries depend heavily on exports to the U.S. and investments from a small number of countries. Accordingly, these countries may be sensitive to fluctuations in demand, exchange rates and changes in market conditions associated with those countries. The economic growth of most Latin American countries is highly dependent on commodity exports and the economies of certain Latin American countries, particularly Mexico and Venezuela, are highly dependent on oil exports. As a result, these economies are particularly susceptible to fluctuations in the price of oil and other commodities and currency fluctuations. The recent global financial crisis weakened the global demand for oil and other commodities and, as a result, Latin American countries faced significant economic difficulties that led certain countries into recession. If global economic conditions worsen, prices for Latin American commodities may experience increased volatility and demand may continue to decrease. Although certain of these countries have recently shown signs of recovery, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. In addition, prolonged economic difficulties may have negative effects on the transition to a more stable democracy in some Latin American countries. In certain countries, political risk, including nationalization risk, is high.

Sovereign Debt. A number of Latin American countries are among the largest debtors of developing countries, and have a history of reliance on foreign debt and default. The majority of the region's economies have become dependent upon foreign credit and loans from external sources to fund government economic plans. Historically, these plans have frequently resulted in little benefit accruing to the economy. Most countries have been forced to restructure their loans or risk default on their debt obligations. In addition, interest on the debt is subject to market conditions and may reach levels that would impair economic activity and create a difficult and costly environment for borrowers. Accordingly, these governments may be forced to reschedule or freeze their debt repayment, which could negatively affect local markets. Because of their dependence on foreign credit and loans, a number of Latin American economies faced significant economic difficulties and some economies fell into recession as the recent global financial crisis tightened international credit supplies. While the region has recently shown signs of economic improvement, recovery from past economic downturns in Latin America has historically been slow, and any such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. The European crisis and weakened global economy may reduce demand for exports from Latin America and limit the availability of foreign credit for some countries in the region. As a result, a Fund's investments in Latin American securities could be harmed if economic recovery in the region is limited.

Pacific Basin Region. Many Asian countries may be subject to a greater degree of social, political and economic instability than is the case in the U.S. and Western European countries. Such instability may result from, among other things, (i) authoritarian governments or military involvement in political and economic decision-making, including changes in government through extra-constitutional means; (ii) popular unrest associated with demands for improved political, economic and social conditions; (iii) internal insurgencies; (iv) hostile relations with neighboring countries; and (v) ethnic, religious and racial disaffection. In addition, the Asia Pacific geographic region has historically been prone to natural disasters. The occurrence of a natural disaster in the region could negatively impact the economy of any country in the region. The existence of overburdened infrastructure and obsolete financial systems also presents risks in certain Asian countries, as do environmental problems.

The economies of most of the Asian countries are heavily dependent on international trade and are accordingly affected by protective trade barriers and the economic conditions of their trading partners, principally, the U.S., Japan, China and the European Union. The enactment by the U.S. or other principal trading partners of protectionist trade legislation, reduction of foreign investment in the local economies and general declines in the international securities markets could have a significant adverse effect upon the securities markets of the Asian countries. The recent global financial crisis spread to the region, significantly lowering its exports and foreign investments in the region, which are driving forces of its economic growth. In addition, the economic crisis also significantly affected consumer confidence and local stock markets. Although the economies of many countries in the region have recently shown signs of recovery from the crisis, such recovery, if sustained, may be gradual. Furthermore, any such recovery may be limited or hindered by the reduced demand for exports and lack of available capital for investment resulting from the European crisis and weakened global economy. The economies of certain Asian countries depend to a significant degree upon exports of primary commodities and, therefore, are vulnerable to changes in commodity prices that, in turn, may be affected by a variety of factors. In addition, certain developing Asia countries, such as the Philippines and India are especially large debtors to commercial banks and foreign governments.

Some developing Asian countries prohibit or impose substantial restrictions on investments in their capital markets, particularly their equity markets, by foreign entities such as a Fund. As illustrations, certain countries may require governmental approval prior to investments by foreign persons or limit the amount of investment by foreign persons in a particular company or limit the investment by foreign persons to only a specific class of securities of a company which may have less advantageous terms (including price and shareholder rights) than securities of the company available for purchase by nationals. There can be no assurance that a Fund will be able to obtain required governmental approvals in a timely manner. In addition, changes to restrictions on foreign ownership of securities subsequent to a Fund's purchase of such securities may have an adverse effect on the value of such shares. Certain countries may restrict investment opportunities in issuers or industries deemed important to national interests.

 

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The securities markets in Asia are substantially smaller, less liquid and more volatile than the major securities markets in the U.S. A high proportion of the shares of many issuers may be held by a limited number of persons and financial institutions, which may limit the number of shares available for investment by a Fund. Similarly, volume and liquidity in the bond markets in Asia are less than in the U.S. and, at times, price volatility can be greater than in the U.S. A limited number of issuers in Asian securities markets may represent a disproportionately large percentage of market capitalization and trading value. The limited liquidity of securities markets in Asia may also affect a Fund's ability to acquire or dispose of securities at the price and time it wishes to do so. In addition, the Asian securities markets are susceptible to being influenced by large investors trading significant blocks of securities.

Many stock markets are undergoing a period of growth and change which may result in trading volatility and difficulties in the settlement and recording of transactions, and in interpreting and applying the relevant law and regulations. With respect to investments in the currencies of Asian countries, changes in the value of those currencies against the U.S. dollar will result in corresponding changes in the U.S. dollar value of a Fund's assets denominated in those currencies.

Chinese Companies. Investing in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan involves a high degree of risk and special considerations not typically associated with investing in other more established economies or securities markets. Such risks may include: (a) the risk of nationalization or expropriation of assets or confiscatory taxation; (b) greater social, economic and political uncertainty (including the risk of war); (c) dependency on exports and the corresponding importance of international trade; (d) the increasing competition from Asia's other low-cost emerging economies; (e) greater price volatility, substantially less liquidity and significantly smaller market capitalization of securities markets, particularly in China; (f) currency exchange rate fluctuations and the lack of available currency hedging instruments; (g) higher rates of inflation; (h) controls on foreign investment and limitations on repatriation of invested capital and on the Fund's ability to exchange local currencies for U.S. dollars; (i) greater governmental involvement in and control over the economy; (j) the risk that the Chinese government may decide not to continue to support the economic reform programs implemented since 1978 and could return to the prior, completely centrally planned, economy; (k) the fact that Chinese companies, particularly those located in China, may be smaller, less seasoned and newly-organized companies; (1) the difference in, or lack of auditing and financial reporting standards which may result in unavailability of material information about issuers, particularly in China; (m) the fact that statistical information regarding the Chinese economy may be inaccurate or not comparable to statistical information regarding the U.S. or other economies; (n) the less extensive, and still developing, regulation of the securities markets, business entities and commercial transactions; (o) the fact that the settlement period of securities transactions in foreign markets may be longer; (p) the willingness and ability of the Chinese government to support the Chinese and Hong Kong economies and markets is uncertain; (q) the risk that it may be more difficult or impossible, to obtain and/ or enforce a judgment than in other countries; (r) the rapidity and erratic nature of growth, particularly in China, resulting in inefficiencies and dislocations; and (s) the risk that, because of the degree of interconnectivity between the economies and financial markets of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, any sizable reduction in the demand for goods from China, or an economic downturn in China could negatively affect the economies and financial markets of Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well.

Investment in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan is subject to certain political risks. China's economy has transitioned from a rigidly central-planned state-run economy to one that has been only partially reformed by more market-oriented policies. Although the Chinese government has implemented economic reform measures, reduced state ownership of companies and established better corporate governance practices, a substantial portion of productive assets in China are still owned by the Chinese government. The government continues to exercise significant control over regulating industrial development and, ultimately, control over China's economic growth through the allocation of resources, controlling payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies.

China continues to limit direct foreign investments generally in industries deemed important to national interests. Foreign investment in domestic securities are also subject to substantial restrictions. Some believe that China's currency is undervalued. Currency fluctuations could significantly affect China and its trading partners. China continues to exercise control over the value of its currency, rather than allowing the value of the currency to be determined by market forces. This type of currency regime may experience sudden and significant currency adjustments, which may adversely impact investment returns. For decades, a state of hostility has existed between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China. Beijing has long deemed Taiwan a part of the "one China" and has made a nationalist cause of recovering it. This situation poses a threat to Taiwan's economy and could negatively affect its stock market. By treaty, China has committed to preserve Hong Kong's autonomy and its economic, political and social freedoms until 2047. However, if China would exert its authority so as to alter the economic, political or legal structures or the existing social policy of Hong Kong, investor and business confidence in Hong Kong could be negatively affected, which in turn could negatively affect markets and business performance.

Forward Contracts and Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts — The Fund may enter into forward contracts and forward foreign currency exchange contracts ("forward currency contracts"). Forward contracts are two-party contracts pursuant to which one party agrees to pay the counterparty a fixed price for an agreed upon amount of commodities, securities, or the cash value of the commodities, securities or the securities index, at an agreed upon date. A forward currency contract involves an obligation to purchase or sell a specified currency at a future date, which may be any fixed number of days from the date of the contract agreed upon by the parties at a price set at the time of the contract. Because these forward currency contracts are normally settled through an exchange of currencies, they are traded in the interbank market directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers.

Forward currency contracts may serve as long hedges — for example, the Fund may purchase a forward currency contract to lock in the U.S. dollar price of a security denominated in a foreign currency that it intends to acquire. Forward currency contract transactions also may serve as short hedges — for example, the Fund may sell a forward currency contract to lock in the U.S. dollar equivalent of the proceeds from the anticipated sale of a security or from a dividend or interest payment on a security denominated in a foreign currency.

The Fund may enter into forward currency contracts to sell a foreign currency for a fixed U.S. dollar amount approximating the value of some or all its portfolio securities denominated in such foreign currency. In addition, the Fund may use forward currency contracts when a sub-advisor wishes to "lock in" the U.S. dollar price of a security when the Fund is purchasing or selling a security denominated in a foreign currency or anticipates receiving a dividend or interest payment denominated in a foreign currency.

 

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The Fund may enter into forward currency contracts for the purchase or sale of a specified currency at a specified future date either with respect to specific transactions or with respect to portfolio positions in order to minimize the risk to the Fund from adverse changes in the relationship between the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies.

The Fund may seek to hedge against changes in the value of a particular currency by using forward currency contracts on another foreign currency or a basket of currencies, the value of which the applicable sub-advisor believes will have a positive correlation to the values of the currency being hedged. Use of a different foreign currency magnifies the risk that movements in the price of the forward contract will not correlate or will correlate unfavorably with the foreign currency being hedged.

In addition, the Fund may use forward currency contracts to shift exposure to foreign currency fluctuations from one country to another. For example, if the Fund owned securities denominated in a foreign currency that a sub-advisor believed would decline relative to another currency, it might enter into a forward currency contract to sell an appropriate amount of the first foreign currency, with payment to be made in the second currency. Transactions that use two foreign currencies are sometimes referred to as "cross hedging." Use of a different foreign currency magnifies the Fund's exposure to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations.

The cost to the Fund of engaging in forward currency contracts varies with factors such as the currency involved, the length of the contract period and the market conditions then prevailing. Because forward currency contracts usually are entered into on a principal basis, no fees or commissions are involved. When the Fund enters into a forward currency contract, it relies on the counterparty to make or take delivery of the underlying currency at the maturity of the contract. Failure by the counterparty to do so would result in the loss of any expected benefit of the transaction.

Sellers or purchasers of forward currency contracts can enter into offsetting closing transactions, similar to closing transactions on futures, by purchasing or selling, respectively, an instrument identical to the instrument sold or bought, respectively. Secondary markets generally do not exist for forward currency contracts, however, with the result that closing transactions generally can be made for forward currency contracts only by negotiating directly with the counterparty. Thus, there can be no assurance that the Fund will in fact be able to close out a forward currency contract at a favorable price prior to maturity. In addition, in the event of insolvency of the counterparty, the Fund might be unable to close out a forward currency contract at any time prior to maturity. In either event, the Fund would continue to be subject to market risk with respect to the position, and would continue to be required to maintain a position in the securities or currencies that are the subject of the hedge or to maintain cash or securities.

The precise matching of forward currency contract amounts and the value of securities whose U.S. dollar value is being hedged by those contracts involved generally will not be possible because the value of such securities, measured in the foreign currency, will change after the forward currency contract has been established. Thus, the Fund might need to purchase or sell foreign currencies in the spot (cash) market to the extent such foreign currencies are not covered by forward contracts. The projection of short-term currency market movements is extremely difficult, and the successful execution of a short-term hedging strategy is highly uncertain.

The Fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a forward currency contract in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a counterparty. If such a default occurs, the Fund may have contractual remedies pursuant to the forward currency contract, but such remedies may be subject to bankruptcy and insolvency laws which could affect the Fund's rights as a creditor.

Non-Deliverable Currency Forwards — The Fund also may enter into non-deliverable currency forwards ("NDFs"). NDFs are cash-settled, short-term forward contracts on foreign currencies (each a "Reference Currency"), generally on currencies that are non-convertible, and may be thinly traded or illiquid. NDFs involve an obligation to pay an amount (the "Settlement Amount") equal to the difference between the prevailing market exchange rate for the Reference Currency and the agreed upon exchange rate (the "NDF Rate"), with respect to an agreed notional amount. NDFs have a fixing date and a settlement (delivery) date. The fixing date is the date and time at which the difference between the prevailing market exchange rate and the agreed upon exchange rate is calculated. The settlement (delivery) date is the date by which the payment of the Settlement Amount is due to the party receiving payment.

Although NDFs are similar to other forward currency contracts, NDFs do not require physical delivery of each Reference Currency on the settlement date. Rather, on the settlement date, one counterparty pays the Settlement Amount. NDFs typically may have terms from one month up to two years and are settled in U.S. dollars.

The Fund will typically use NDFs for hedging purposes or for direct investment in a foreign country for income or gain. The use of NDFs for hedging or to increase income or gain may not be successful, resulting in losses to the Fund, and the cost of such strategies may reduce the Fund's respective returns.

NDFs are subject to many of the risks associated with derivatives in general and forward currency transactions including risks associated with fluctuations in foreign currency and the risk that the counterparty will fail to fulfill its obligations. In addition, pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act and regulations adopted by the CFTC in connection with implementing the Dodd-Frank Act, NDFs are deemed to be swaps, and consequently commodity interests for purposes of amended Regulation 4.5.

Although NDFs have historically been traded OTC, in the future pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, they may be exchange-traded. Under such circumstances, they will be centrally cleared and a secondary market for them will exist. All NDFs are subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the counterparty will not perform as contractually required under the NDF. With respect to NDFs that are centrally-cleared, the Fund could lose margin payments it has deposited with the clearing organization as well as the net amount of gains not yet paid by the clearing organization if it breaches its obligations under the NDF, becomes insolvent or goes into bankruptcy. In the event of bankruptcy of the clearing organization, the investor may be entitled to the net amount of gains the investor is entitled to receive plus the return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the clearing organization's other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the investor.

Futures Contracts — Futures contracts, including interest rate and treasury futures contracts, obligate the purchaser to take delivery of, or cash settle, a specific amount of an obligation underlying the contract at a specified time in the future for a specified price. Likewise, the seller incurs an

 

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obligation to deliver the specified amount of the underlying obligation against receipt of the specified price. Futures are traded on both U.S. and foreign commodities exchanges. Futures contracts will be traded for the same purposes as entering into forward contracts. The purchase of futures can serve as a long hedge, and the sale of futures can serve as a short hedge

No price is paid upon entering into a futures contract. Instead, at the inception of a futures contract the Fund is required to deposit "initial margin" consisting of cash or U.S. Government Securities in an amount set by the exchange on which the contract is traded and varying based on the volatility of the underlying asset. Margin must also be deposited when writing a call or put option on a futures contract, in accordance with applicable exchange rules. Unlike margin in securities transactions, initial margin on futures contracts does not represent a borrowing, but rather is in the nature of a performance bond or good-faith deposit that is returned to the Fund at the termination of the transaction if all contractual obligations have been satisfied. Under certain circumstances, such as periods of high volatility, the Fund may be required by a futures exchange to increase the level of its initial margin payment, and initial margin requirements might be increased generally in the future by regulatory action.

Subsequent "variation margin" payments are made to and from the futures broker daily as the value of the futures position varies, a process known as "marking-to-market." Variation margin does not involve borrowing, but rather represents a daily settlement of the Fund's obligations to or from a futures broker. When the Fund purchases or sells a futures contract, it is subject to daily variation margin calls that could be substantial in the event of adverse price movements. If the Fund has insufficient cash to meet daily variation margin requirements, it might need to sell securities at a time when such sales are disadvantageous.

Purchasers and sellers of futures contracts can enter into offsetting closing transactions, by selling or purchasing, respectively, an instrument identical to the instrument purchased or sold. Positions in futures contracts may be closed only on a futures exchange or board of trade that trades the contract. The Fund intends to enter into futures contracts only on exchanges or boards of trade where there appears to be a liquid secondary market. However, there can be no assurance that such a market will exist for a particular contract at a particular time. In such event, it may not be possible to close a futures contract.

Although many futures contracts by their terms call for the actual delivery or acquisition of the underlying asset, in most cases the contractual obligation, is fulfilled before the date of the contract without having to make or take such delivery of the securities or currency.

The offsetting of a contractual obligation is accomplished by buying (or selling, as appropriate) on a commodities exchange an identical futures contract calling for delivery in the same month. Such a transaction, which is effected through a member of an exchange, cancels the obligation to make or take delivery of the securities or currency. Since all transactions in the futures market are made, offset or fulfilled through a clearinghouse associated with the exchange on which the contracts are traded, the Fund will incur brokerage fees when it purchases or sells futures contracts.

Under certain circumstances, futures exchanges may establish daily limits on the amount that the price of a futures contract can vary from the previous day's settlement price; once that limit is reached, no trades may be made that day at a price beyond the limit. Daily price limits do not limit potential losses because prices could move to the daily limit for several consecutive days with little or no trading, thereby preventing liquidation of unfavorable positions.

If the Fund were unable to liquidate a futures contract due to the absence of a liquid secondary market or the imposition of price limits, it could incur substantial losses. The Fund would continue to be subject to market risk with respect to the position. In addition, the Fund would continue to be required to make daily variation margin payments and might be required to maintain the position being hedged by the futures contract or option thereon or to maintain cash or securities in a segregated account.

The ordinary spreads between prices in the cash and futures markets, due to differences in the nature of those markets, are subject to distortions. First, all participants in the futures market are subject to initial deposit and variation margin requirements. Rather than meeting additional variation margin deposit requirements, investors may close futures contracts through offsetting transactions that could distort the normal relationship between the cash and futures markets. Second, the liquidity of the futures market depends on participants entering into offsetting transactions rather than making or taking delivery. To the extent participants decide to make or take delivery, liquidity in the futures market could be reduced, thus producing distortion. Third, from the point of view of speculators, the margin deposit requirements in the futures market are less onerous than margin requirements in the securities market. Therefore, increased participation by speculators in the futures market may cause temporary price distortions. Due to the possibility of distortion, a correct forecast of securities price or currency exchange rate trends by the sub-advisor may still not result in a successful transaction.

Futures contracts also entail other risks. Although the use of such contracts may benefit the Fund, if investment judgment about the general direction of, for example, an index is incorrect, the Fund's overall performance would be worse than if it had not entered into any such contract. There are differences between the securities and futures markets that could result in an imperfect correlation between the markets, causing a given transaction not to achieve its objectives.

High-Yield Bonds — High-yield, non-investment grade bonds (also known as "junk bonds") are low-quality, high-risk corporate bonds that generally offer a high level of current income. These bonds are considered speculative by rating organizations. For example, Moody's, Standard & Poor's and Fitch, Inc. rate them below Baa and BBB, respectively. Please see "Appendix C Ratings Definitions" below for an explanation of the ratings applied to high-yield bonds. High-yield bonds are often issued as a result of corporate restructurings, such as leveraged buyouts, mergers, acquisitions, or other similar events. They may also be issued by smaller, less creditworthy companies or by highly leveraged firms, which are generally less able to make scheduled payments of interest and principal than more financially stable firms. Because of their low credit quality, high-yield bonds must pay higher interest to compensate investors for the substantial credit risk they assume. In order to minimize credit risk, the Fund intends to diversify its holdings among multiple bond issuers.

Lower-rated securities are subject to certain risks that may not be present with investments in higher-grade securities. Investors should consider carefully their ability to assume the risks associated with lower-rated securities before investing in the Fund. The lower rating of certain high yielding corporate income securities reflects a greater possibility that the financial condition of the issuer or adverse changes in general economic conditions may impair the ability of the issuer to pay income and principal. Changes by rating agencies in their ratings of a fixed income security also may affect

 

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the value of these investments. However, allocating investments in the Fund among securities of different issuers should reduce the risks of owning any such securities separately. The prices of these high yielding securities tend to be less sensitive to interest rate changes than higher-rated investments, but more sensitive to adverse economic changes or individual corporate developments. During economic downturns or periods of rising interest rates, highly leveraged issuers may experience financial stress that adversely affects their ability to service principal and interest payment obligations, to meet projected business goals or to obtain additional financing, and the markets for their securities may be more volatile. If an issuer defaults, the Fund may incur additional expenses to seek recovery. Additionally, accruals of interest income for the Fund may have to be adjusted in the event of default. In the event of an issuer's default, the Fund may write off prior income accruals for that issuer, resulting in a reduction in the Fund's current dividend payment. Frequently, the higher yields of high-yielding securities may not reflect the value of the income stream that holders of such securities may expect, but rather the risk that such securities may lose a substantial portion of their value as a result of their issuer's financial restructuring or default. Additionally, an economic downturn or an increase in interest rates could have a negative effect on the high-yield securities market and on the market value of the high-yield securities held by the Fund, as well as on the ability of the issuers of such securities to repay principal and interest on their borrowings.

Illiquid and Restricted Securities — Generally, an illiquid asset is an asset that cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business within seven days at approximately the price at which it has been valued.

Historically, illiquid securities have included securities that have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), securities that are otherwise not readily marketable, and repurchase agreements having a remaining maturity of longer than seven calendar days. Securities that have not been registered under the Securities Act are referred to as private placements or restricted securities and are purchased directly from the issuer or in the secondary market. These securities may be sold only in a privately negotiated transaction or pursuant to an exemption from registration. A large institutional market exists for certain securities that are not registered under the Securities Act, including repurchase agreements, commercial paper, foreign securities, municipal securities and corporate bonds and notes. Institutional investors depend on an efficient institutional market in which the unregistered security can be readily resold or on an issuer's ability to honor a demand for repayment. However, the fact that there are contractual or legal restrictions on resale of such investments to the general public or to certain institutions may not be indicative of their liquidity.

Limitations on resale may have an adverse effect on the marketability of portfolio securities, and the Fund might be unable to dispose of restricted or other illiquid securities promptly or at reasonable prices and might thereby experience difficulty satisfying redemptions within seven calendar days. In addition, the Fund may get only limited information about an issuer, so it may be less able to predict a loss. The Fund also might have to register such restricted securities in order to dispose of them resulting in additional expense and delay. Adverse market conditions could impede such a public offering of securities.

In recognition of the increased size and liquidity of the institutional market for unregistered securities and the importance of institutional investors in the formation of capital, the SEC adopted Rule 144A under the Securities Act. Rule 144A is designed to facilitate efficient trading among institutional investors by permitting the sale of certain unregistered securities to qualified institutional buyers. To the extent privately placed securities held by the Fund qualify under Rule 144A and an institutional market develops for those securities, the Fund likely will be able to dispose of the securities without registering them under the Securities Act. To the extent that institutional buyers become, for a time, uninterested in purchasing these securities, investing in Rule 144A securities could increase the level of the Fund's illiquidity. The Manager or a sub-advisor, as applicable, acting under guidelines established by the Trust's Board, may determine that certain securities qualified for trading under Rule 144A are liquid. Regulation S under the Securities Act permits the sale abroad of securities that are not registered for sale in the United States and includes a provision for U.S. investors, such as the Fund, to purchase such unregistered securities if certain conditions are met. 

Securities sold in private placement offerings made in reliance on the "private placement" exemption from registration afforded by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act and resold to qualified institutional buyers under Rule 144A under the Securities Act ("Section 4(a)(2) securities") are restricted as to disposition under the federal securities laws, and generally are sold to institutional investors, such as the Fund that agree they are purchasing the securities for investment and not with an intention to distribute to the public. Any resale by the purchaser must be pursuant to an exempt transaction and may be accomplished in accordance with Rule 144A. Section 4(a)(2) securities normally are resold to other institutional investors through or with the assistance of the issuer or dealers that make a market in the Section 4(a)(2) securities, thus providing liquidity.

The Manager and the sub-advisor will carefully monitor the Fund's investments in Section 4(a)(2) securities offered and sold under Rule 144A, focusing on such important factors, among others, as valuation, liquidity, and availability of information. Investments in Section 4(a)(2) securities could have the effect of reducing the Fund's liquidity to the extent that qualified institutional buyers no longer wish to purchase these restricted securities.

Index Futures Contracts — A Fund may invest in index futures contracts for investment purposes, including for short-term cash management purposes. Like other futures contracts, index futures contracts are derivatives. For a further discussion of the risks of derivatives instruments, see "Derivatives."

U.S. futures contracts traded on exchanges that have been designated "contract markets" by the CFTC and must be executed through a futures commission merchant, or brokerage firm, which is a member of the relevant contract market. Futures contracts are traded on a number of exchanges.

At the same time a futures contract on an index is purchased or sold, a Fund must allocate cash or securities as a deposit payment ("initial deposit") based on the contract's face value. Daily thereafter, the futures contract is valued and the payment of "variation margin" may be required.

Futures Contracts on Stock Indices — A Fund may enter into contracts providing for the making and acceptance of a cash settlement based upon changes in the value of an index of securities ("Index Futures Contracts"). This technique may be used to hedge against anticipated future change in general market prices that otherwise might either adversely affect the value of securities held by a Fund or adversely affect the prices of securities that are intended to be purchased at a later date for a Fund.

 

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In general, each hedging transaction in Index Futures Contracts involves the establishment of a position that will move in a direction opposite to that of the investment being hedged. If these hedging transactions are successful, the futures positions taken for a Fund will rise in value by an amount that approximately offsets the decline in value of the portion of a Fund's investments that are being hedged. Should general market prices move in an unexpected manner, the full anticipated benefits of Index Futures Contracts may not be achieved or a loss may be realized.

Transactions in Index Futures Contracts involve certain risks. These risks could include a lack of correlation between the Futures Contract and the equity market, a potential lack of liquidity in the market and incorrect assessments of market trends, which may result in worse overall performance than if a Futures Contract had not been entered into.

Brokerage costs will be incurred and "margin" will be required to be posted and maintained as a good-faith deposit against performance of obligations under Futures Contracts written into by a Fund.

Inflation-Indexed Securities — Inflation-indexed securities, also known as inflation-protected securities, are fixed income instruments structured such that their interest and principal payments are adjusted to keep up with inflation.

In periods of deflation when the inflation rate is declining, the principal value of an inflation-indexed security will be adjusted downward. This will result in a decrease in the interest payments. The U.S. Treasury is obligated to repay at least the original principal value at maturity for inflation-indexed securities issued directly by the U.S. Government. However, inflation-indexed securities of other issuers may or may not have the same principal guarantee and may repay an amount less than the original principal value at maturity. Any increase in the principal amount of an inflation-indexed debt security will be considered ordinary income, even though the Fund will not receive the principal until maturity.

There can be no assurance that the inflation index used will accurately measure the real rate of inflation in the prices of goods and services. The Fund's investments in inflation-indexed securities may lose value if the actual rate of inflation is different than the rate of the inflation index. In addition, inflation-indexed securities are subject to the risk that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (the index used for U.S. Treasury inflation-indexed securities) or other relevant pricing index may be discontinued, fundamentally altered in a manner materially adverse to the interests of an investor in the securities, altered by legislation or Executive Order in a materially adverse manner to the interests of an investor in the securities or substituted with an alternative index.

Interfund Lending — Pursuant to an order issued by the SEC, each series of the Trust (each an "American Beacon Fund" or "Fund", and together, the "American Beacon Funds" or "Funds") may participate in a credit facility whereby each American Beacon Fund, under certain conditions, is permitted to lend money directly to and borrow directly from other American Beacon Funds for temporary purposes. The credit facility is administered by a credit facility team consisting of professionals from the Manager's asset management, compliance, and accounting areas who report on credit facility activities to the Board. The credit facility can provide a borrowing Fund with savings at times when its cash position is insufficient to meet temporary cash requirements. This situation could arise when shareholder redemptions exceed anticipated volumes and certain Funds have insufficient cash on hand to satisfy such redemptions or when sales of securities do not settle as expected, resulting in a cash shortfall for a fund. When the Funds liquidate portfolio securities to meet redemption requests, they often do not receive payment in settlement for up to three days (or longer for certain foreign transactions). However, redemption requests normally are satisfied immediately. The credit facility provides a source of immediate, short-term liquidity pending settlement of the sale of portfolio securities. Although the credit facility may reduce the Fund's need to borrow from banks, the Fund remains free to establish lines of credit or other borrowing arrangements with banks.

Issuer Risk — The value of an investment may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.

Investment Grade Securities — Investment grade securities that the Fund may purchase, either as part of its principal investment strategy or to implement its temporary defensive policy, include securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities, as well as securities rated in one of the four highest rating categories by at least two rating organizations rating that security (such as Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, Fitch, Inc. or Moody's Investors Service, Inc.) or rated in one of the four highest rating categories by one rating organization if it is the only organization rating that security. The Fund, at the discretion of the Manager or the applicable sub-advisor, may retain a security that has been downgraded below the initial investment criteria. Please see "Appendix B Ratings Definitions" for an explanation of rating categories.

Legal and Litigation Risk — In certain emerging markets, fraud and corruption may be more prevalent than in developed market countries. Securities and issuers that a Fund may invest in are exposed to these risks, which could have a negative impact on a security's value.

It may be difficult for a Fund to obtain or enforce judgments against parties located outside of the U.S. It may be difficult or impossible to obtain or enforce remedies against non-U.S. governments, their agencies, quasi-sovereign entities, other foreign issuers or counterparties.

Loan Transactions — Loan transactions involve the lending of securities to a broker-dealer or institutional investor for its use in connection with short sales, arbitrages or other security transactions. Such loan transactions are referred to in this SAI as "qualified" loan transactions. The purpose of a qualified loan transaction is to capture a demand premium paid by the borrower or to afford a lender the opportunity to continue to earn income on the securities loaned and at the same time earn fee income or income on the collateral held or reinvested by it. Cash collateral received through qualified loan transactions may be invested only in those categories of high quality liquid securities previously authorized by the Board. Please see the "Lending of Portfolio Securities" section for additional information.

Securities loans will be made in accordance with the following conditions: (1) a Fund receives at least 100% collateral in the form of cash or cash equivalents, securities of the U.S. Government and its agencies and instrumentalities, and approved bank letters of credit; (2) the borrower increases the collateral whenever the market value of the loaned securities (determined on a daily basis) rises above the level of collateral; (3) a Fund is able to terminate the loan after notice, at any time; (4) a Fund receives reasonable interest on the loan or a flat fee from the borrower, as well as amounts equivalent to any dividends, interest or other distributions on the securities loaned, and any increase in market value of the loaned securities; (5) a Fund

 

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only pays reasonable custodian fees in connection with the loan; and (6) voting rights on the securities loaned may pass to the borrower, provided, however, that if a material event affecting the investment is known with sufficient time in advance of the shareholder meeting record date, the Fund would be allowed to terminate the loan in an attempt to facilitate the voting of proxies.

While there may be delays in recovery of loaned securities or even a loss of rights in collateral supplied should the borrower fail financially, loans will be made only to firms deemed to be of good financial standing pursuant to procedures adopted by the Board and will not be made unless the consideration to be earned from such loans is deemed by the Manager to justify the risk. If the borrower of the securities fails financially, there is a risk of delay in recovery of the securities loaned or loss of rights in the collateral.

The cash collateral so acquired through qualified loan transactions may be invested only in those categories of high quality liquid securities previously authorized by the Board.

Market Events — Turbulence in the economic, political and financial system has historically resulted, and may continue to result, in an unusually high degree of volatility in the capital markets. Both domestic and foreign capital markets have been experiencing increased volatility and turmoil, with issuers that have exposure to the real estate, mortgage and credit markets particularly affected, and it is uncertain whether or for how long these conditions could continue.

Reduced liquidity in equity, credit and fixed-income markets may adversely affect many issuers worldwide. This reduced liquidity may result in less money being available to purchase raw materials, goods and services from emerging markets, which may, in turn, bring down the prices of these economic staples. It may also result in small or emerging market issuers having more difficulty obtaining financing, which may, in turn, cause a decline in their security prices. These events and possible continued market turbulence may have an adverse effect on the Fund.

Model and Data Risk
The sub-advisor relies heavily on proprietary quantitative models (each, a "Model") and information and data both developed by the sub-advisor and those supplied by third parties (collectively, "Data"). Models and Data are used to construct investment decisions and orders, to value potential and actual investments (including, without limitation, for trading purposes), to provide risk management insights and to assist in hedging the Fund's investments. Models and Data are known to have errors, omissions, imperfections and malfunctions (collectively, "System Events"). System Events in third-party Data are generally entirely outside of the control of the sub-advisor.

The research and modeling processes engaged in by the sub-advisor are extremely complex and involves the use of financial, economic, econometric and statistical theories, research and modeling; the results of this investment approach must then be translated into computer code. Although the sub-advisor seeks to hire individuals skilled in each of these functions and to provide appropriate levels of oversight and employ other measures and processes in an effort to mitigate potential errors the complexity of the individual tasks, the difficulty of integrating such tasks, and the limited ability to perform "real world" testing of the end product, even with simulations and similar methodologies, raise chances that Model code may contain one or more coding errors; one or more of such coding errors could adversely affect the Funds' investment performance. It is highly likely, based upon the complexities of the quantitative investment process that certain Model code errors will not be identified and even if identified an appropriate solution for correcting the Model code error may not be known.

System Events may result in, among other things, the failure to properly gather and organize available data, the execution of unanticipated trades, the failure to execute anticipated trades, delays to the execution of anticipated trades, the failure to properly allocate trades, the failure to take certain hedging or risk reducing actions and/or the taking of actions which increase certain risk(s) — all of which may negatively impact the Fund's portfolio and/or its returns. In addition, if incorrect Data is fed into a Model, it may lead to a System Event. Even if Data is input correctly, "model prices" may differ substantially from market prices, especially for securities with complex characteristics, such as derivatives. The Fund will bear the risks associated with the reliance on Models and Data and all losses related to System Events unless otherwise determined by the sub-advisor in accordance with its internal policies or as may be required by applicable law.

Other Investment Company Securities and Exchange Traded Products — The Fund at times may invest in shares of other investment companies and exchange-traded products, including open-end funds, closed-end funds, business development companies, exchange-traded funds ("ETFs"), exchange-traded notes ("ETNs"), and unit investment trusts. The Fund may invest in investment company securities advised by the Manager or a sub- advisor. Investments in the securities of other investment companies may involve duplication of advisory fees and certain other expenses. By investing in another investment company, the Fund becomes a shareholder of that investment company. As a result, Fund shareholders indirectly will bear the Fund's proportionate share of the fees and expenses paid by shareholders of the other investment company, in addition to the fees and expenses Fund shareholders directly bear in connection with the Fund's own operations. These other fees and expenses are reflected as Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses and are included in the Fees and Expenses Table for the Fund in its Prospectus, if applicable. Investment in other investment companies may involve the payment of substantial premiums above the value of such issuer's portfolio securities.

The Fund can invest free cash balances in registered open-end investment companies regulated as money market funds under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "Investment Company Act"), to provide liquidity or for defensive purposes. The Fund would invest in money market funds rather than purchasing individual short-term investments. If the Fund invests in money market funds shareholders will bear their proportionate share of the expenses, including for example, advisory and administrative fees, of the money market funds in which the Fund invests, including such fees charged by the Manager to any applicable money market funds advised by the Manager.

Although a money market fund is designed to be a relatively low risk investment, it is not free of risk. Despite the short maturities and high credit quality of a money market fund's investments, increases in interest rates and deteriorations in the credit quality of the instruments the money market fund has purchased may reduce the money market fund's yield and can cause the price of a money market security to decrease. In addition, a money market fund is subject to the risk that the value of an investment may be eroded over time by inflation.

In July 2014, the SEC adopted amendments to Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act, as amended, that will affect the manner in which money market funds are structured and operated. Money market funds must comply with the rule amendments in various stages through October 2016. The

 

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precise impact such amendments will have on a money market fund's structure and operations and on the money market fund industry has not yet been determined, but any related changes may negatively affect a money market fund's expenses, liquidity, yield and return potential.

The Fund may purchase shares of ETFs. ETFs trade like a common stock and passive ETFs usually represent a fixed portfolio of securities designed to track the performance and dividend yield of a particular domestic or foreign market index. Typically, the Fund would purchase passive ETF shares to obtain exposure to all or a portion of the stock or bond market. As a shareholder of an ETF, the Fund would be subject to its ratable share of the ETF's expenses, including its advisory and administration expenses.

An investment in an ETF generally presents the same primary risks as an investment in a conventional mutual fund (i.e., one that is not exchange traded) that has the same investment objective, strategies, and policies. The price of an ETF can fluctuate within a wide range, and the Fund could lose money investing in an ETF if the prices of the securities owned by the ETF go down. In addition, ETFs are subject to the following risks that do not apply to conventional funds: (1) the market price of the ETF's shares may trade at a discount or premium to their net asset value; (2) an active trading market for an ETF's shares may not develop or be maintained; or (3) trading of an ETF's shares may be halted if the listing exchange's officials deem such action appropriate, the shares are de-listed from the exchange, or the activation of market-wide "circuit breakers" (which are tied to large decreases in stock prices) halts stock trading generally. The Fund may also invest in ETNs, which are structured debt securities. Whereas ETFs' liabilities are secured by their portfolio securities, ETNs' liabilities are unsecured general obligations of the issuer. ETFs and ETNs have expenses associated with their operation, typically including, with respect to ETFs, advisory fees.

Time-Zone Arbitrage — Investing in foreign securities may involve a greater risk for excessive trading due to "time-zone arbitrage." If an event occurring after the close of a foreign market, but before the time a Fund computes its current net asset value, causes a change in the price of the foreign securities and such price is not reflected in a Fund's current net asset value, investors may attempt to take advantage of anticipated price movements in securities held by a Fund based on such pricing discrepancies.

U.S. Treasury Obligations — U.S. Treasury obligations include bills (initial maturities of one year or less), notes (initial maturities between two and ten years), and bonds (initial maturities over ten years) issued by the U.S. Treasury, Separately Traded Registered Interest and Principal component parts of such obligations known as STRIPS and inflation-indexed securities. The prices of these securities (like all debt securities) change between issuance and maturity in response to fluctuating market interest rates. U.S. Treasury obligations are subject to credit risk and interest rate risk.

Valuation Risk — This is the risk that a Fund has valued certain securities at a price different from the price at which they can be sold. This risk may be especially pronounced for investments, such as certain credit linked notes and other derivatives, which may be illiquid or which may become illiquid.

When-Issued and Forward Commitment Transactions — These transactions involve a commitment by the Fund to purchase or sell securities at a future date. These transactions enable the Fund to "lock-in" what the Manager or a sub-advisor, as applicable, believes to be an attractive price or yield on a particular security for a period of time, regardless of future changes in interest rates. For instance, in periods of rising interest rates and falling prices, the Fund might sell securities it owns on a forward commitment basis to limit its exposure to falling prices. In periods of falling interest rates and rising prices, the Fund might purchase a security on a when-issued or forward commitment basis and sell a similar security to settle such purchase, thereby obtaining the benefit of currently higher yields. If the other party fails to complete the trade, the Fund may lose the opportunity to obtain a favorable price. For purchases on a when-issued basis, the price of the security is fixed at the date of purchase, but delivery of and payment for the securities is not set until after the securities are issued. The value of when-issued securities is subject to market fluctuation during the interim period and no income accrues to the Fund until settlement takes place. Such transactions therefore involve a risk of loss if the value of the security to be purchased declines prior to the settlement date or if the value of the security to be sold increases prior to the settlement date. A sale of a when-issued security also involves the risk that the other party will be unable to settle the transaction. Forward commitment transactions involve a commitment to purchase or sell securities with payment and delivery to take place at some future date, normally one to two months after the date of the transaction. The payment obligation and interest rate are fixed at the time the buyer enters into the forward commitment. Forward commitment transactions are typically used as a hedge against anticipated changes in interest rates and prices. Forward commitment transactions are executed for existing obligations, whereas in a when-issued transaction, the obligations have not yet been issued.

The Fund maintains with its custodian segregated (or earmarked) liquid securities in an amount at least equal to the when-issued or forward commitment transaction. When entering into a when-issued or forward commitment transaction, the Fund will rely on the other party to consummate the transaction; if the other party fails to do so, the Fund may be disadvantaged. Inasmuch as the Fund covers its obligations under these transactions, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (the "Manager") and the Fund believe such obligations do not constitute senior securities. Earmarking or otherwise segregating a large percentage of the Fund's assets could impede the sub-advisors' ability to manage the Fund's portfolio.

OTHER INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS

In addition to the investment strategies and risks described in the Prospectus, the Fund may:

1

Engage in dollar rolls or purchase or sell securities on a when-issued or forward commitment basis. The purchase or sale of when-issued securities enables an investor to hedge against anticipated changes in interest rates and prices by locking in an attractive price or yield. The price of when-issued securities is fixed at the time the commitment to purchase or sell is made, but delivery and payment for the when-issued securities takes place at a later date, normally one to two months after the date of purchase. During the period between purchase and settlement, no payment is made by the purchaser to the issuer and no interest accrues to the purchaser. Such transactions therefore involve a risk of loss if the value of the security to be purchased declines prior to the settlement date or if the value of the security to be sold increases prior to the settlement date. A sale of a when-issued security also involves the risk that the other party will be unable to settle the transaction. Dollar rolls are a type of forward commitment transaction. Purchases and sales of securities on a forward commitment basis involve a commitment to purchase or sell securities with payment and delivery to take place at some future date, normally one to two months after the date of the transaction. As with when-issued securities, these transactions involve certain risks, but they also enable an investor to hedge against anticipated changes in interest rates and prices. Forward commitment transactions are executed for existing obligations, whereas in a when-issued transaction, the obligations have not yet been

 

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issued. When purchasing securities on a when-issued or forward commitment basis, a segregated amount of liquid assets at least equal to the value of purchase commitments for such securities will be maintained until the settlement date.

2

Invest in other investment companies (including affiliated investment companies) to the extent permitted by the Investment Company Act, or exemptive relief granted by the SEC.

3

Loan securities to broker-dealers or other institutional investors. Securities loans will not be made if, as a result, the aggregate amount of all outstanding securities loans by the Fund exceeds 33-1/3% of its total assets (including the market value of collateral received). For purposes of complying with the Fund's investment policies and restrictions, collateral received in connection with securities loans is deemed an asset of the Fund to the extent required by law.

4

Enter into repurchase agreements. A repurchase agreement is an agreement under which securities are acquired by the Fund from a securities dealer or bank subject to resale at an agreed upon price on a later date. The Fund bears a risk of loss in the event that the other party to a repurchase agreement defaults on its obligations and the Fund is delayed or prevented from exercising its rights to dispose of the collateral securities. However, the Manager or the sub-advisor, as applicable, attempts to minimize this risk by entering into repurchase agreements only with financial institutions that are deemed to be of good financial standing.

5

Purchase securities sold in private placement offerings made in reliance on the "private placement" exemption from registration afforded by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act, and resold to qualified institutional buyers under Rule 144A under the Securities Act. The Fund will not invest more than 15% of its net assets in Section 4(a)(2) securities and illiquid securities unless the Manager or the sub-advisor, as applicable, determines, by continuous reference to the appropriate trading markets and pursuant to guidelines approved by the Trust's Board of Trustees ("Board") that any Section 4(a)(2) securities held by the Fund in excess of this level are at all times liquid.

INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS

Fundamental Policies. The Fund has the following fundamental investment policy that enables it to invest in another investment company or series thereof that has substantially similar investment objectives and policies:

Notwithstanding any other limitation, the Fund may invest all of its investable assets in an open-end management investment company with substantially the same investment objectives, policies and limitations as the Fund. For this purpose, "all of the Fund's investable assets" means that the only investment securities that will be held by the Fund will be the Fund's interest in the investment company.

Fundamental Investment Restrictions. The following discusses the investment policies of the Fund.

The following restrictions have been adopted by the Fund and may be changed with respect to the Fund only by the majority vote of the Fund's outstanding interests. "Majority of the outstanding voting securities" under the 1940 Act and as used herein means, with respect to the Fund, the lesser of (a) 67% of the shares of the Fund present at the meeting if the holders of more than 50% of the shares are present and represented at the shareholders' meeting or (b) more than 50% of the shares of the Fund.

The Fund may not:

1

Purchase or sell real estate or real estate limited partnership interests, provided, however, that the Fund may invest in securities secured by real estate or interests therein or issued by companies which invest in real estate or interests therein when consistent with the other policies and limitations described in the Prospectus.

2

Invest in 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 foreign currency, options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, forward contracts, swaps, caps, floors, collars, securities on a forward-commitment or delayed-delivery basis, and other similar financial instruments).

3

Engage in the business of underwriting securities issued by others, except to the extent that, in connection with the disposition of securities, the Fund may be deemed an underwriter under federal securities law.

4

Lend any security or make any other loan except (i) as otherwise permitted under the 1940 Act, (ii) pursuant to a rule, order or interpretation issued by the SEC or its staff, (iii) through the purchase of a portion of an issue of debt securities in accordance with the Fund's investment objective, policies and limitations, or (iv) by engaging in repurchase agreements with respect to portfolio securities.

5

Issue any senior security except as otherwise permitted (i) under the 1940 Act or (ii) pursuant to a rule, order or interpretation issued by the SEC or its staff.

6

Borrow money, except as otherwise permitted under the 1940 Act or pursuant to a rule, order or interpretation issued by the SEC or its staff, including (i) as a temporary measure, (ii) by entering into reverse repurchase agreements, and (iii) by lending portfolio securities as collateral. For purposes of this investment limitation, the purchase or sale of options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, forward contracts, swaps, caps, floors, collars and other financial instruments shall not constitute borrowing.

7

Invest more than 25% of its total assets in the securities of companies primarily engaged in any one industry provided that: (i) this limitation does not apply to obligations issued by U.S. agencies; and (ii) tax-exempt municipalities and their agencies and authorities are not deemed to be industries.

The above percentage limits (except the limitation to borrowings) are based upon asset values at the time of the applicable transaction; accordingly, a subsequent change in asset values will not affect a transaction that was in compliance with the investment restrictions at the time such transaction was effected. With respect to the fundamental investment restriction relating to making loans set forth in number 4 above, securities loans will not be made if, as a result, the aggregate amount of all outstanding securities loans by the Fund exceeds 33 1/3% of its total net assets (including the market value of collateral received).

 

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For purposes of the Fund's policy relating to issuing senior securities set forth in (5) above, "senior securities" are defined as Fund obligations that have a priority over the Fund's shares with respect to the payment of dividends or the distribution of Fund assets. The Investment Company Act prohibits the Fund from issuing any class of senior securities or selling any senior securities of which it is the issuer, except that the Fund is permitted to borrow from a bank so long as, immediately after such borrowings, there is an asset coverage of at least 300% for all borrowings of the Fund (not including borrowings for temporary purposes in an amount not exceeding 5% of the value of the Fund's total assets). In the event that such asset coverage falls below this percentage, the Fund is required to reduce the amount of its borrowings within three days (not including Sundays and holidays) so that the asset coverage is restored to at least 300%. Consistent with guidance issued by the SEC and its staff, the requisite asset coverage may vary among different types of instruments. The policy in (5) above will be interpreted not to prevent collateral arrangements with respect to swaps, options, forward or futures contracts or other derivatives, or the posting of initial or variation margin.

For purposes of the Fund's industry concentration policy, the Manager may analyze the characteristics of a particular issuer and instrument and may assign an industry classification consistent with those characteristics. The Manager may, but need not, consider industry classifications provided by third parties, and the classifications applied to Fund investments will be informed by applicable law. A large economic or market sector shall not be construed as a single industry or group of industries. The Manager currently considers securities issued by a foreign government (but not the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities) to be an "industry" subject to the 25% limitation. Thus, not more than 25% of a Fund's assets will be invested in securities issued by any one foreign government or supranational organization. The Fund might invest in certain securities issued by companies in a particular industry whose obligations are guaranteed by a foreign government. The Manager could consider such a company to be within the particular industry and, therefore, the Fund will invest in the securities of such a company only if it can do so under its policy of not being concentrated in any particular industry or group of industries.

Non-Fundamental Investment Restrictions. The following non-fundamental investment restrictions apply to the Fund and may be changed with respect to the Fund by a vote of a majority of the Board. The Fund may not:

1

Invest more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities, including time deposits and repurchase agreements that mature in more than seven days; or

2

Purchase securities on margin, except that (1) the Fund may obtain such short term credits as necessary for the clearance of transactions, and (2) the Fund may make margin payments in connection with foreign currency, futures contracts, options, forward contracts, swaps, caps, floors, collars, securities purchased or sold on a forward-commitment or delayed-delivery basis or other financial instruments.

All percentage limitations on investments will apply at the time of the making of an investment and shall not be considered violated unless an excess or deficiency occurs or exists immediately after and as a result of such investment. Except for the investment restrictions listed above as fundamental or to the extent designated as such in the Prospectus, the other investment policies described in this SAI are not fundamental and may be changed by approval of the Trustees.

TEMPORARY DEFENSIVE INVESTMENTS

In times of unstable or adverse market, economic, political or other conditions, where the Manager or the sub-advisor believes it is appropriate and in the Fund's best interest, the Fund can invest up to 100% in cash and other types of securities for defensive or temporary purposes. It can also hold cash or purchase these types of securities for liquidity purposes to meet cash needs due to redemptions of Fund shares, or to hold while waiting to invest cash received from purchases of Fund shares or the sale of other portfolio securities.

These temporary investments can include: (i) obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities; (ii) commercial paper rated in the highest short-term category by a rating organization; (iii) domestic, Yankee and Eurodollar certificates of deposit or bankers' acceptances of banks rated in the highest short-term category by a rating organization; (iv) any of the foregoing securities that mature in one year or less (generally known as "cash equivalents"); (v) other short-term corporate debt obligations; (vi) repurchase agreements; (vii) futures; or (viii) shares of money market funds, including funds advised by the Manager or a sub-advisor.

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

Portfolio turnover is a measure of trading activity in a portfolio of securities, usually calculated over a period of one year. The rate is calculated by dividing the lesser amount of purchases or sales of securities by the average amount of securities held over the period. A portfolio turnover rate of 100% would indicate that the Fund sold and replaced the entire value of its securities holdings during the period. High portfolio turnover can increase the Fund's transaction costs and generate additional capital gains or losses.

DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS

The Fund publicly discloses portfolio holdings information as follows:

1

a complete list of holdings for the Fund on an annual and semi-annual basis in the reports to shareholders within sixty days of the end of each fiscal semi-annual period and in publicly available filings of Form N-CSR with the SEC within ten days thereafter;

2

a complete list of holdings for the Fund as of the end of its first and third fiscal quarters in publicly available filings of Form N-Q with the SEC within sixty days of the end of the fiscal quarter;

3

a complete list of holdings for the Fund as of the end of each quarter on the Funds' website (www.americanbeaconfunds.com) approximately sixty days after the end of the quarter; and

4

ten largest holdings for the Fund as of the end of each calendar quarter on the Funds' website (www.americanbeaconfunds.com) and in sales materials approximately fifteen days after the end of the calendar quarter.

 

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Public disclosure of the Fund's holdings on the website and in sales materials may be delayed when an investment manager informs the Fund that such disclosure could be harmful to the Fund. In addition, individual holdings may be omitted from website and sales material disclosure, when such omission is deemed to be in the Fund's best interest.

Disclosure of Nonpublic Holdings.

Occasionally, certain interested parties — including individual investors, institutional investors, intermediaries that distribute shares of the Fund, third-party service providers, rating and ranking organizations, and others — may request portfolio holdings information that has not yet been publicly disclosed by the Fund. The Fund's policy is to control the disclosure of nonpublic portfolio holdings information in an attempt to prevent parties from utilizing such information to engage in trading activity harmful to Fund shareholders. To this end, the Board has adopted a Policy and Procedures for Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings Information (the "Holdings Policy"). The purpose of the Holdings Policy is to define those interested parties who are authorized to receive nonpublic portfolio holdings information on a selective basis and to set forth conditions upon which such information may be provided. In general, nonpublic portfolio holdings may be disclosed on a selective basis only when it is determined that (i) there is a legitimate business purpose for the information; (ii) recipients are subject to a duty of confidentiality, including a duty not to trade on the nonpublic information; and (iii) disclosure is in the best interests of Fund shareholders. The Holdings Policy does not restrict a Fund from disclosing that a particular security is not a holding of the Fund. The Holdings Policy is summarized below.

A variety of third-party service providers require access to Fund holdings to provide services to the Fund or to assist the Manager and the sub-advisor(s) in managing the Fund ("service providers"). The service providers have a duty to keep the Fund's nonpublic information confidential either through written contractual arrangements with the Fund (or another Fund service provider) or by the nature of their role with respect to the Fund (or the service provider). The Fund has determined that disclosure of nonpublic holdings information to service providers fulfills a legitimate business purpose and is in the best interest of shareholders. In addition, the Fund has determined that disclosure of nonpublic holdings information to members of the Trust's Board of Trustees fulfills a legitimate business purpose, is in the best interest of Fund shareholders, and each Trustee is subject to a duty of confidentiality.

The Fund has ongoing arrangements to provide nonpublic holdings information to the following service providers:

Service Provider

Service

Holdings Access

Manager

Investment management and administrator

Complete list on intraday basis with no lag

Sub-Advisor

Investment management

Holdings under sub-advisor's management on intraday basis with no lag

State Street Bank and Trust Co. ("State Street") and its designated foreign sub-custodians

Funds‘ custodian and foreign custody manager, and foreign sub-custodians

Complete list on intraday basis with no lag

Investment Technology Group, Inc.

Fair valuation of portfolio securities for Fund with significant foreign securities holdings

Complete list on daily basis with no lag and more frequently when the Manager seeks advice with respect to certain holdings

xxx

Fund's independent registered public accounting firm

Complete list on intraday basis with no lag

FactSet Research Systems, Inc.

Performance and portfolio analytics reporting for the Manager

Complete list on intraday basis with no lag

Bloomberg, L.P.

Performance and portfolio analytics reporting

Complete list on intraday basis with no lag

Certain third parties are provided with nonpublic holdings information (either complete or partial lists) by the Manager or another service provider on an ad hoc basis. These third parties include: broker-dealers, prospective sub-advisors, borrowers of the Fund's portfolio securities, pricing services, legal counsel, and issuers (or their agents). Broker-dealers utilized by the Fund in the process of purchasing and selling portfolio securities or providing market quotations receive limited holdings information on a current basis with no lag. The Manager provides current holdings to investment managers being considered for appointment as a sub-advisor to the Fund. If the Fund participates in securities lending activities, potential borrowers of the Fund's securities receive information pertaining to the Fund's securities available for loan. Such information is provided on a current basis with no lag. The Fund utilizes various pricing services to supply market quotations and evaluated prices to State Street. State Street and the Manager may disclose current nonpublic holdings to those pricing services. An investment manager may provide holdings information to legal counsel when seeking advice regarding those holdings. From time to time, an issuer (or its agent) may contact the Fund requesting confirmation of ownership of the issuer's securities. Such holdings information is provided to the issuer (or its agent) as of the date requested. The Fund does not have written contractual arrangements with these third parties regarding the confidentiality of the holdings information. However, the Fund would not continue to utilize a third party that the Manager determined to have misused nonpublic holdings information.

The Fund has ongoing arrangements to provide periodic holdings information to certain organizations that publish ratings and/or rankings for the Fund or that redistribute the Fund's holdings to financial intermediaries to facilitate their analysis of the Fund. The Fund has determined that disclosure of holdings information to such organizations fulfills a legitimate business purpose and is in the best interest of shareholders, as it provides existing and potential shareholders with an independent basis for evaluating the Fund in comparison to other mutual funds. As of the date of this SAI, all such organizations receive holdings information after it has been made public on the Fund's website.

No compensation or other consideration may be paid to the Fund, the Fund's service providers, or any other party in connection with the disclosure of portfolio holdings information.

Under the Holdings Policy, disclosure of nonpublic portfolio holdings information to parties other than those discussed above must meet all of the following conditions:

 

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1

Recipients of portfolio holdings information must agree in writing to keep the information confidential until it has been posted to the Fund's website and not to trade based on the information;

2

Holdings may only be disclosed as of a month-end date;

3

No compensation may be paid to the Fund, the Manager or any other party in connection with the disclosure of information about portfolio securities; and

4

A member of the Manager's Compliance staff must approve requests for nonpublic holdings information.

In determining whether to approve a request for portfolio holdings disclosure by the Manager, Compliance staff generally considers the type of requestor and its relationship to the Fund, the stated reason for the request, any historical pattern of requests from that same individual or entity, the style and strategy of the Fund for which holdings have been requested (e.g., passive versus active management), whether the Fund is managed by one or multiple investment managers, and any other factors it deems relevant. Any potential conflicts between shareholders and affiliated persons of the Fund that arise as a result of a request for portfolio holdings information shall be decided by the Manager in the best interests of shareholders. However, if a conflict exists between the interests of shareholders and the Manager, the Manager may present the details of the request to the Board for a determination to either approve or deny the request. On a quarterly basis, the Manager will prepare a report for the Board outlining any instances of disclosures of nonpublic holdings during the period that did not comply with the Holdings Policy. The Compliance staff generally determines whether a historical pattern of requests by the same individual or entity constitutes an "ongoing arrangement" and should be disclosed in the Fund's SAI.

The Manager and the sub-advisor(s) to the Fund may manage substantially similar portfolios for clients other than the Fund. Those other clients may receive and publicly disclose their portfolio holdings information prior to public disclosure by the Fund. The Holdings Policy is not intended to limit the Manager or the sub-advisor from making such disclosures to their clients.

LENDING OF PORTFOLIO SECURITIES

The Fund may lend securities from its portfolio to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions needing to borrow securities to complete certain transactions. In connection with such loans, the Fund remains the beneficial owner of the loaned securities and continues to be entitled to payments in amounts approximately equal to the interest, dividends or other distributions payable on the loaned securities. The Fund also has the right to terminate a loan at any time. The Fund does not have the right to vote on securities while they are on loan. However, it is the Fund's policy to attempt to terminate loans in time to vote those proxies that the Fund determines are material to its interests. Loans of portfolio securities may not exceed 33 1/3% of the value of the Fund's total assets (including the value of all assets received as collateral for the loan). The Fund will receive collateral consisting of cash in the form of U.S. dollars, foreign currency, or securities issued or fully guaranteed by the U.S. Government which will be maintained at all times in an amount equal to at least 100% of the current market value of the loaned securities. If the collateral consists of cash, the Fund will reinvest the cash and pay the borrower a pre-negotiated fee or "rebate" from any return earned on the investment. Should the borrower of the securities fail financially, the Fund may experience delays in recovering the loaned securities or exercising its rights in the collateral. Loans are made only to borrowers that are deemed by the Manager to present acceptable credit risk on a fully collateralized basis. In a loan transaction, the Fund will also bear the risk of any decline in value of securities acquired with cash collateral. The Fund seeks to minimize this risk by limiting the investment of cash collateral to registered money market funds, including money market funds advised by the Manager that invest in U.S. Government and agency securities.

For all funds that engage in securities lending, the Manager receives compensation for administrative and oversight functions with respect to securities lending, including oversight of the securities lending agent, State Street Bank and Trust Company. The amount of such compensation depends on the income generated by the loan of the securities. The Fund receives payments equal to any dividends or interest, as applicable, paid on the securities loaned and simultaneously earns either interest on the investment of the cash collateral and/or fee income if the loan is otherwise collateralized.

As of the date of this SAI, the Fund does not intend to engage in securities lending activities.

TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS OF THE TRUST

The Board of Trustees

The Trust is governed by its Board of Trustees. The Board is responsible for and oversees the overall management and operations of the Trust and the Fund, which includes the general oversight and review of the Fund's investment activities, in accordance with federal law and the law of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as well as the stated policies of the Fund. The Board oversees the Trust's officers and service providers, including American Beacon Advisors, Inc. ("American Beacon"), which is responsible for the management of the day-to-day operations of the Fund based on policies and agreements reviewed and approved by the Board. In carrying out these responsibilities, the Board regularly interacts with and receives reports from senior personnel of service providers, including American Beacon's investment personnel and the Trust's Chief Compliance Officer ("CCO"). The Board also is assisted by the Trust's independent registered public accounting firm (which reports directly to the Trust's Audit and Compliance Committee), independent counsel and other experts as appropriate, all of whom are selected by the Board.

Risk Oversight

Consistent with its responsibility for oversight of the Trust and the Fund, the Board oversees the management of risks relating to the administration and operation of the Trust and the Fund. American Beacon, as part of its responsibilities for the day-to-day operations of the Fund, is responsible for day-to-day risk management for the Fund. The Board, in the exercise of its reasonable business judgment, also separately considers potential risks that may impact the Fund. The Board performs this risk management oversight directly and, as to certain matters, through its committees (described below) and through the Board members who are not "interested persons" of the Trust as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Investment Company Act

 

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("Independent Trustees"). The following provides an overview of the principal, but not all, aspects of the Board's oversight of risk management for the Trust and the Fund.

In general, the Fund's risks include, among others, investment risk, liquidity risk, securities selection risk and valuation risk. The Board has adopted, and periodically reviews, policies and procedures designed to address these and other risks to the Trust and the Fund. In addition, under the general oversight of the Board, American Beacon, the Fund's investment adviser, and other service providers to the Fund have themselves adopted a variety of policies, procedures and controls designed to address particular risks to the Fund. Different processes, procedures and controls are employed with respect to different types of risks. Further, American Beacon as manager of the Fund oversees and regularly monitors the investments, operations and compliance of the Fund's investment advisers.

The Board also oversees risk management for the Trust and the Fund through review of regular reports, presentations and other information from officers of the Trust and other persons. Senior officers of the Trust, and senior officers of American Beacon, and the CCO regularly report to the Board on a range of matters, including those relating to risk management. The Board and the Investment Committee also regularly receive reports from American Beacon with respect to the investments, securities trading and securities lending activities of the Fund. In addition to regular reports from American Beacon, the Board also receives reports regarding other service providers to the Trust, either directly or through American Beacon or the Fund's CCO, on a periodic or regular basis. At least annually, the Board receives a report from the CCO regarding the effectiveness of the Fund's compliance program. Also, typically on an annual basis, the Board receives reports, presentations and other information from American Beacon in connection with the Board's consideration of the renewal of each of the Trust's agreements with American Beacon and the Trust's distribution plans under Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act.

Senior officers of the Trust and American Beacon also report regularly to the Audit and Compliance Committee on Fund valuation matters and on the Trust's internal controls and accounting and financial reporting policies and practices. In addition, the Audit and Compliance Committee receives regular reports from the Trust's independent registered public accounting firm on internal control and financial reporting matters. On at least a quarterly basis, the Audit and Compliance Committee meets with the Fund's CCO to discuss matters relating to the Fund's compliance program.

Board Structure and Related Matters

Independent Trustees constitute at least two-thirds of the Board. Richard A. Massman, an Independent Trustee, serves as Independent Chair of the Board. The Independent Chair's responsibilities include: setting an agenda for each meeting of the Board; presiding at all meetings of the Board and Independent Trustees; and serving as a liaison with other Trustees, the Trust's officers and other management personnel, and counsel to the Fund. The Independent Chair shall perform such other duties as the Board may from time to time determine.

The Trustees discharge their responsibilities collectively as a Board, as well as through Board committees, each of which operates pursuant to a charter approved by the Board that delineates the responsibilities of that committee. The Board has established three standing committees: the Audit and Compliance Committee, the Investment Committee and the Nominating and Governance Committee. For example, the Investment Committee is responsible for oversight of the process, typically performed annually, by which the Board considers and approves the Fund's investment advisory agreement with American Beacon, while specific matters related to oversight of the Fund's independent auditors have been delegated by the Board to its Audit and Compliance Committee, subject to approval of the Audit and Compliance Committee's recommendations by the Board. The members and responsibilities of each Board committee are summarized below.

The Board periodically evaluates its structure and composition as well as various aspects of its operations. The Board believes that its leadership structure, including its Independent Chair position and its committees, is appropriate for the Trust in light of, among other factors, the asset size and nature of the Funds, the number of series of the American Beacon funds complex overseen by the Board, the arrangements for the conduct of the Fund's operations, the number of Trustees, and the Board's responsibilities. On an annual basis, the Board conducts a self-evaluation that considers, among other matters, whether the Board and its committees are functioning effectively and whether, given the size and composition of the Board and each of its committees, the Trustees are able to oversee effectively the number of Funds in the complex.

The Trust is part of the American Beacon funds complex, which is comprised of the 1 series within the American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust,  33 series within the American Beacon Funds and 1 series within the American Beacon Select Funds. The same persons who constitute the Board also constitute the board of trustees of American Beacon Funds and American Beacon Select Funds and each Trustee oversees the Trusts' combined 35 series.

The Board holds five (5) regularly scheduled meetings each year. The Board may hold special meetings, as needed, either in person or by telephone, to address matters arising between regular meetings. The Independent Trustees also hold at least one in-person meeting each year during a portion of which management is not present and may hold special meetings, as needed, either in person or by telephone.

The Trustees of the Trust are identified in the tables below, which provide information as to their principal business occupations and directorships held during the last five years and certain other information. Subject to the Trustee Emeritus and Retirement Policy described below, a Trustee serves until his or her successor is elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation or removal. The address of each Trustee listed below is 220 East Las Colinas Boulevard, Suite 1200, Irving, Texas 75039. Each Trustee serves for an indefinite term or until his or her removal, resignation, or retirement.*

 

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Name (Age) *

Position and Length of Time Served on the Institutional Funds Trust

Position and Length of Time Served on the American Beacon Funds and American Beacon Select Funds Trusts.

Principal Occupation(s) and Directorships During Past 5 Years

INTERESTED TRUSTEE

Alan D. Feld ** (80)

Trustee since 2017

Trustee since 1996

Partner in the law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP (law firm) (1960- Present); Trustee, American Beacon Mileage Funds (1996-2012).

NON-INTERESTED TRUSTEES

Gilbert G. Alvarado ( 47)

Trustee since 2017

Trustee since 2015

Director, Kura MD, Inc. (local telehealth organization) (2015-present); Vice President & CFO, Sierra Health Foundation (health conversion private foundation) (2006-Present); Vice President & CFO, Sierra Health Foundation: Center for Health Program Management (California public benefit corporation) (2012-Present); Director, Innovative North State (2012-Present); Director, Sacramento Regional Technology Alliance (2011- Present); Director, Women's Empowerment (2009-2014).

Joseph B. Armes (55)

Trustee since 2017

Trustee since 2015

Chairman & CEO, CSW Industrials, (f/k/a Capital Southwest Corporation) (investment company; NASDAQ:CSWC) (2013-Present); President & CEO, JBA Investment Partners (family investment vehicle) (2010-Present); Director and Chair of Audit Committee, RSP Permian (oil and gas producer, NYSE: RSPP) (2013-Present).

Gerard J. Arpey (58)

Trustee since 2017

Trustee since 2012

Partner, Emerald Creek Group (private equity firm) (2011-Present); Director, S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc. (privately held company) (2008-present). Director, The Home Depot, Inc. (2015-Present).

Brenda A. Cline (56)

Trustee since 2017

Trustee since 2004

Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Secretary, Kimbell Art Foundation (1993-Present); Director, Tyler Technologies, Inc. (2014-Present); Director, Range Resources Corporation (oil and natural gas company) (2015- Present); Trustee, American Beacon Mileage Funds (2004-2012).

Eugene J. Duffy (62)

Trustee since 2017

Trustee since 2008

Managing Director, Institutional Services, Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation (2014-Present); Principal and Executive Vice President, Paradigm Asset Management (1994-2014); Director, Sunrise Bank of Atlanta (2008-2013); Trustee, American Beacon Mileage Funds (2008-2012).

Thomas M. Dunning (74)

Trustee since 2017

Trustee since 2008

Chairman Emeritus (2008-Present); Lockton Dunning Benefits (consulting firm in employee benefits); Board Director, Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC (2007- Present); Board Member, BancTec (2010-Present) (software consulting); Trustee, American Beacon Mileage Funds (2008-2012).

Richard A. Massman (73)

Trustee since 2017

Trustee since 2004
Chairman since 2008

Consultant and General Counsel Emeritus (2009-Present), Hunt Consolidated, Inc. (holding company engaged in oil and gas exploration and production, refining, real estate, farming, ranching and venture capital activities); Trustee, American Beacon Mileage Funds (2004-2012).

Barbara J. McKenna (53)

Trustee since 2017

Trustee since 2012

Managing Principal, Longfellow Investment Management Company (2005- Present).

R. Gerald Turner (71)

Trustee since 2017

Trustee since 2001

President, Southern Methodist University (1995-Present); Director, J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (1996-Present); Director, Kronus Worldwide Inc. (chemical manufacturing) (2003-Present); Trustee, American Beacon Mileage Funds (2001-2012).

* The Board has adopted a retirement policy that requires Trustees, other than Mr. Feld, to retire no later than the last day of the calendar year in which they reach the age of 75.

** Mr. Feld is deemed to be an "interested person" of the Trust, as defined by the Investment Company Act. Mr. Feld's law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld LLP has provided legal services within the past two fiscal years to one or more sub-advisors to certain Funds in the American Beacon Funds complex.

In addition to the information set forth in the tables above and other relevant qualifications, experience, attributes or skills applicable to a particular Trustee, the following provides further information about the qualifications and experience of each Trustee.

 

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Gilbert G. Alvarado: Mr. Alvarado has extensive organizational management and financial experience as vice president and chief financial officer in public charities, and a health conversion private foundation, chief financial and information officer of the largest health foundation on the Texas/Mexico border and an accountant with a regional health system.

Joseph B. Armes: Mr. Armes has extensive financial, investment and organizational management experience as chairman of the board of directors, president and chief executive officer of an investment company listed on NASDAQ, president and chief executive officer of a private family investment vehicle, chief operating officer of a private holding company for a family office, president, chief executive officer, chief financial officer and director of a special purpose acquisition company listed on the American Stock Exchange, a director and audit committee chair of an oil and gas exploration and production company listed on the New York Stock Exchange and as an officer of public companies and as a director and officer of private companies.

Gerard J. Arpey: Mr. Arpey has extensive organizational management, financial and international experience serving as chairman, chief executive officer, and chief financial officer of one of the largest global airlines, service as a director of public and private companies, service to several charitable organizations, and multiple years of service as a Trustee.

Brenda A. Cline: Ms. Cline has extensive organizational management, financial and investment experience as executive vice president, chief financial officer, secretary and treasurer to a private foundation, service as a director and member of the audit and nominating and governance committees of various publicly held companies, service as a trustee to a private university, and several charitable boards, including acting as a member of their investment and\or audit committees, extensive experience as an audit senior manager with a large public accounting firm, and multiple years of service as a Trustee.

Eugene J. Duffy: Mr. Duffy has extensive experience in the investment management business and organizational management experience as a member of senior management, service as a director of a bank, service as a chairman of a charitable fund and as a trustee to an association, service on the board of a private university and non-profit organization, service as chair to an financial services industry association, and multiple years of service as a Trustee.

Thomas M. Dunning: Mr. Dunning has extensive organizational management experience founding and serving as chairman and chief executive officer of a private company, service as a director of a private company, service as chairman of a large state municipal bond issuer and chairman of a large airport authority, also an issuer of bonds, service as a board member of a state department of transportation, service as a director of various foundations, service as chair of civic organizations, and multiple years of service as a Trustee.

Alan D. Feld: Mr. Feld has extensive experience as a business attorney, organizational management experience as chairman of a law firm, experience as a director of several publicly held companies, service as a trustee of a private university and a board member of a hospital, and multiple years of service as a Trustee.

Richard A. Massman: Mr. Massman has extensive experience as a business attorney, organizational management experience as a founding member of a law firm, experience as a senior vice president and general counsel of a large private company, service as the chairman and director of several foundations, including services on their Investment Committees and Finance Committees, chairman of a governmental board, chairman of various professional organizations and multiple years of service as a Trustee and as Independent Chair.

Barbara J. McKenna: Ms. McKenna has extensive experience in the investment management industry, organizational management experience as a member of senior management, service as a director of an investment manager, member of numerous financial services industry associations, and multiple years of service as a Trustee.

R. Gerald Turner: Mr. Turner has extensive organizational management experience as president of a private university, service as a director and member of the audit and governance committees of various publicly held companies, service as a member to several charitable boards, and multiple years of service as a Trustee.

Committees of the Board

The Trust has an Audit and Compliance Committee ("Audit Committee").  The Audit Committee consists of Ms. Cline (Chair), and Messrs. Duffy, Alvarado, and Dunning. Mr. Massman, as Chairman of the Trust, serves on the Audit Committee in an ex-officio non-voting capacity. None of the members of the committee are "interested persons" of the Trust, as defined by the Investment Company Act. As set forth in its charter, the primary duties of the Trust's Audit Committee are: (a) to oversee the accounting and financial reporting processes of the Trust and the Funds and their internal controls and, as the Committee deems appropriate, to inquire into the internal controls of certain third-party service providers; (b) to oversee the quality and integrity of the Trust's financial statements and the independent audit thereof; (c) to approve, prior to appointment, the engagement of the Trust's independent auditors and, in connection therewith, to review and evaluate the qualifications, independence and performance of the Trust's independent auditors; (d) to oversee the Trust's compliance with all regulatory obligations arising under applicable federal securities laws, rules and regulations and oversee management's implementation and enforcement of the Trust's compliance policies and procedures ("Compliance Program"); and (e) to coordinate the Board's oversight of the Trust's CCO in connection with his or her implementation of the Trust's Compliance Program. The Audit Committee met xx times during the fiscal year ended xx xx, 20xx.

The Trust has a Nominating and Governance Committee ("Nominating Committee") that is comprised of Messrs. Feld (Chair), Turner, and Massman. As set forth in its charter, the Nominating Committee's primary duties are: (a) to make recommendations regarding the nomination of non-interested Trustees to the Board; (b) to make recommendations regarding the appointment of an Independent Trustee as Chairman of the Board; (c) to evaluate qualifications of potential "interested" members of the Board and Trust officers; (d) to review shareholder recommendations for nominations to fill vacancies on the Board; (e) to make recommendations to the Board for nomination for membership on all committees of the Board; (f) to consider and evaluate the structure, composition and operation of the Board; (g) to review shareholder recommendations for proposals to be submitted for consideration during a meeting of Fund shareholders; and (h) to consider and make recommendations relating to the compensation of Independent Trustees and of those officers as to whom the Board is charged with approving compensation. Shareholder recommendations for Trustee candidates

 

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may be mailed in writing, including a comprehensive resume and any supporting documentation, to the Nominating Committee in care of the Secretary of the Fund. The Nominating and Governance Committee met xx times during the fiscal year ended xx xx, 20xx.

The Trust has an Investment Committee that is comprised of, Ms. McKenna (Chair), Messrs. Armes and Arpey. Mr. Massman, as Chairman of the Trust, serves on the Investment Committee in an ex-officio non-voting capacity. As set forth in its charter, the Investment Committee's primary duties are: (a) to review and evaluate the short- and long-term investment performance of the Manager and each of the designated sub-advisors to the Fund; (b) to evaluate recommendations by the Manager regarding the hiring or removal of designated sub-advisors to the Fund; (c) to review material changes recommended by the Manager to the allocation of Fund assets to a sub-advisor; (d) to review proposed changes recommended by the Manager to the investment objective or principal investment strategies of the Fund; and (e) to review proposed changes recommended by the Manager to the material provisions of the advisory agreement with a sub-advisor, including, but not limited to, changes to the provision regarding compensation. The Investment Committee met xx times during the fiscal year ended xx xx, 20xx.

Trustee Ownership in the Funds

The following table shows the amount of equity securities owned in the American Beacon Funds family by the Trustees as of the calendar year ended December 31, 2016. None of the Trustees owned securities of the Fund as of the date of this SAI.

 

INTERESTED TRUSTEES

Feld

Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity Securities in all  Trusts (27 Funds as of December 31, 2016)

Over $100,000

 

NON-INTERESTED TRUSTEES

Alvarado

Armes

Arpey

Cline

Duffy

Dunning

Massman

McKenna

Turner

Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity Securities in all Trusts  (27 Funds as of December 31, 2016)

None

$50,000-$100,000

Over $100,000

Over $100,000

None

Over $100,000

Over $100,000

Over $100,000

Over $100,000

Trustee Compensation

Effective July 1, 2016, as compensation for their service to the American Beacon funds complex, including the Trust (collectively, the "Trusts"), each Trustee is compensated from the Trusts as follows: (1) an annual retainer of $120,000; (2) meeting attendance fee (for attendance in person or via teleconference) of (a) $5,000 for attendance by Board members for each regularly scheduled Board meeting, (b) $2,500 for attendance by Committee members at meetings of the Audit Committee and the Investment Committee, and (c) $1,500 for attendance by Committee members at meetings of the Nominating and Governance Committee; and (3) reimbursement of reasonable expenses incurred in attending Board meetings, Committee meetings, and relevant educational seminars. The Trustees also may be compensated for attendance at special Board and/or Committee meetings from time to time.

Effective as of July 1, 2016, for his service as Board Chairman, Mr. Massman receives an additional annual retainer of $50,000. Although he attends several committee meetings at each quarterly Board meeting, he receives only a single $5,000 fee each quarter for his attendance at those meetings.  The chairpersons of the Audit Committee and the Investment Committee each receive an additional annual retainer of $25,000 and the Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee receives an additional annual retainer of $10,000.

 

The following table shows estimated compensation (excluding reimbursements) that will be paid by the Trust to each Trustee for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017*.

Name of Trustee

Aggregate Compensation From the Trust

Pension or Retirement Benefits Accrued as Part of the Trust's Expenses

Total Compensation From the Trusts

INTERESTED TRUSTEES

Alan D. Feld

$42,215

 1

$45,000

NON-INTERESTED TRUSTEES

Gilbert G. Alvarado

$42,215

$45,000

Joseph B. Armes

$39,870

$42,500

Gerard J. Arpey

$39,870

$42,500

Brenda A. Cline

$49,251

 1

$52,500

Eugene J. Duffy

$42,215

$45,000

Thomas M. Dunning

$42,215

$45,000

Richard A. Massman

$53,942

 1

$57,500

Barbara J. McKenna

$43,388

$46,250

R. Gerald Turner

$40,399

 1

$43,000

* Estimated compensation for the period xx xx, 20xx – June 30, 2017.

 

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1 Upon retirement from the Board, each of these Trustees is eligible for flight benefits afforded to Trustees who served on the Boards as of June 4, 2008 as described below.

The Boards adopted a Trustee Retirement Policy and Trustee Emeritus and Retirement Plan ("Plan"). The Plan provides that a Trustee who has served on the Boards prior to September 12, 2008, and who has reached a mandatory retirement age established by the Board (currently 75) is eligible to elect Trustee Emeritus status ("Eligible Trustees"). The Eligible Trustees are Messrs. Feld, Massman and Turner and Ms. Cline.  The mandatory retirement age does not apply to Mr. Feld. Additionally, Eligible Trustees who have served on the Board of one or more Trusts for at least five years may elect to retire from the Board at an earlier age and immediately assume Trustee Emeritus status.  The Board has determined that, other than the Plan established for Eligible Trustees, no other retirement benefits will accrue for current or future Trustees.

Upon assuming Trustee Emeritus status, each eligible Trustee and his or her spouse (or designated companion) may receive annual flight benefits from the Trusts of up to $40,000 combined, on a tax-grossed up basis, on American Airlines (a subsidiary of the Manager's former parent company) for a maximum period of 10 years, depending upon length of service prior to September 12, 2008. Eligible Trustees may opt to receive instead an annual retainer of $20,000 from the Trusts in lieu of flight benefits.  No retirement benefits are accrued for Board service after September 12, 2008.

A Trustee Emeritus must commit to provide certain ongoing services and advice to the Board members and the Trusts; however, a Trustee Emeritus does not have any voting rights at Board meetings and is not subject to election by shareholders of the Fund(s). Currently, two individuals who retired from the Board prior to September 12, 2008, have assumed Trustee Emeritus status. One receives an annual retainer of $20,000 from the Trusts. The other individual and his spouse receive annual flight benefits of up to $40,000 combined, on a tax-grossed up basis, on American Airlines.

Principal Officers of the Trust

The Officers of the Trust conduct and supervise its daily business. As of the date of this SAI, the Officers of the Trust, their ages, their business address and their principal occupations and directorships during the past five years are as set forth below. The address of each Officer is 220 East Las Colinas Boulevard, Suite 1200, Irving, Texas 75039. Each Officer serves for a term of one year or until his or her resignation, retirement, or removal. Each Officer has and continues to hold the same position with the American Beacon Funds, the American Beacon Select Funds and the American Beacon Institutional Funds Trust.

 

Name (Age)

Position and Length of Time Served with each Trust

Principal Occupation(s) and Directorships During Past 5 Years

OFFICERS

Gene L. Needles, Jr. (62)

President since 2009; Executive Vice President 2009

President, CEO and Director, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (2009-Present); Director, Resolute Investment Managers, Inc. (2015-Present); Director, Resolute Acquisition, Inc.(2015-Present); Director, Resolute Topco, Inc. (2015-Present), President & CEO, Resolute Investment Holdings, LLC. (2015-Present); President, CEO and Director, Lighthouse Holdings, Inc.; (2009-2015); President and CEO, Lighthouse Holdings Parent, Inc. (2009-2015); Manager and President, American Private Equity Management, L.L.C. (2012-Present); President, American Beacon Cayman Managed Futures Strategy Fund, Ltd. (2014- Present); Chairman, President and CEO, Alpha Quant Advisors, LLC (2016-Present).

Jeffrey K. Ringdahl (42)

Vice President since 2010

Chief Operating Officer, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (2010-Present); Vice President, American Private Equity Management, L.L.C. (2012-Present); Director, Resolute Investment Managers, Inc. (2015-Present); Director, Resolute Acquisition, Inc. (2015-Present); Director, Resolute Topco, Inc. (2015-Present), Chief Operating Officer, Resolute Investment Holdings, LLC.(2015-Present); Senior Vice President, Lighthouse Holdings, Inc. (2013-2015); Senior Vice President, Lighthouse Holdings Parent, Inc. (2013-2015); Director and Vice President, American Beacon Cayman Managed Futures Strategy Fund, Ltd. (2014-Present); Executive Vice President, Alpha Quant Advisors, Inc. (2016-Present).

Rosemary K. Behan (58)

Vice President, Secretary and Chief Legal Officer since 2006

Secretary, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (2006-Present); Secretary, Resolute Investment Managers, Inc. (2015-Present); Secretary, Lighthouse Holdings, Inc. (2008-2015); Secretary, Lighthouse Holdings Parent, Inc. (2008-2015); Secretary, American Private Equity Management, L.L.C.(2008-Present); Secretary, American Beacon Cayman Managed Futures Strategy Fund, Ltd. (2014-Present); Secretary, Alpha Quant Advisors, LLC (2016-Present).

Brian E. Brett (56)

Vice President since 2004

Senior Vice President, Head of Distribution (2012-Present); Vice President, Director of Sales, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (2004-2012).

Paul B. Cavazos (47)

Vice President since 2016

Chief Investment Officer and Senior Vice President of American Beacon Advisors, Inc. since 2016; Chief Investment Officer, DTE Energy Company (2007-2016).

Erica B. Duncan (46)

Vice President since 2011

Vice President, Marketing & Client Services, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (2011- Present).

Terri L. McKinney (53)

Vice President since 2010

Vice President, Enterprise Services, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (2009-Present).

Samuel J. Silver (54)

Vice President since 2011

Vice President, Chief Fixed Income Officer (2016-Present); Vice President, Fixed Income Investments (2011-2016), American Beacon Advisors, Inc.

 

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Melinda G. Heika (55)

Treasurer since 2010

Treasurer, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (2010-Present); Treasurer, Resolute Investment Managers, Inc. (2015-Present); Treasurer, Lighthouse Holdings, Inc. (2010-2015); Treasurer, Lighthouse Holdings Parent Inc., (2010-2015); Treasurer, American Private Equity Management, L.L.C. (2012-Present); Director and Treasurer, American Beacon Cayman Managed Futures Strategy Fund, Ltd. (2014-Present); Treasurer, Alpha Quant Advisors, LLC (2016-Present).

Sonia L. Bates (60)

Asst. Treasurer since 2011

Director, Tax and Financial Reporting (2011-Present), Manager, Tax and Financial Reporting (2005-2010), American Beacon Advisors, Inc.; Asst. Treasurer, Resolute Investment Managers, Inc. (2015-Present); Asst. Treasurer, Lighthouse Holdings, Inc. (2011-2015); Asst. Treasurer, Lighthouse Holdings Parent Inc. (2011-2015); Asst. Treasurer, American Private Equity Management, L.L.C. (2012-Present).

Christina E. Sears (45)

Chief Compliance Officer since 2004 and Asst. Secretary since 1999

Chief Compliance Officer, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (2004-Present); Chief Compliance Officer, American Private Equity Management, L.L.C. (2012-Present); Chief Compliance Officer, Alpha Quant Advisors, LLC (2016-Present).

Shelley D. Abrahams (42 )

Asst. Secretary since 2008

Assistant Secretary, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (2008-Present)

Rebecca L. Harris (50)

Asst. Secretary since 2011

Assistant Secretary, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (2011-Present); Vice President, Alpha Quant Advisors, LLC (2016-Present).

Diana N. Lai (41)

Asst. Secretary since 2012

Assistant Secretary, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (2012-Present)

Teresa A. Oxford (58)

Asst. Secretary since 2015

Assistant Secretary, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (2015-Present); Assistant Secretary, Alpha Quant Advisors, LLC (2016-Present).

CODE OF ETHICS

The Manager, the Trust and the sub-advisors each have adopted a Code of Ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the Investment Company Act. Each Code of Ethics significantly restricts the personal trading of all employees with access to non-public portfolio information. For example, each Code of Ethics generally requires pre-clearance of all personal securities trades (with limited exceptions) and prohibits employees from purchasing or selling a security that is being purchased or sold or being considered for purchase (with limited exceptions) or sale by any Fund. In addition, the Manager's and Trust's Code of Ethics requires employees to report trades in shares of the Trusts. Each Code of Ethics is on public file with, and may be obtained from, the SEC.

PROXY VOTING POLICIES

The Fund invests exclusively in non-voting securities and is therefore not expected to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities. If the Fund were to vote any proxies, the proxy voting record for the most recent year ended June 30 is available as of August 31 of each year upon request and without charge by calling 1-800-967-9009 or by visiting the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. The proxy voting record can be found in Form N-PX on the SEC's website.

CONTROL PERSONS AND 5% SHAREHOLDERS

A principal shareholder is any person who owns of record or beneficially 5% or more of any Class of the Fund's outstanding shares. A control person is a shareholder that owns beneficially or through controlled companies more than 25% of the voting securities of a company or acknowledges the existence of control. Shareholders owning voting securities in excess of 25% may determine the outcome of any matter affecting and voted on by shareholders of the Fund. The actions of an entity or person that controls the Fund could have an effect on other shareholders. For instance, a control person may have effective voting control over the Fund or large redemptions by a control person could cause the Fund's other shareholders to pay a higher pro rata portion of the Fund's expenses. 

As of the date of this SAI, the Manager is the sole shareholder of the Fund.

INVESTMENT SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENT

The Fund's sub-advisor is listed below with information regarding its controlling persons or entities. According to the Investment Company Act, a person or entity with control with respect to an investment advisor has "the power to exercise a controlling influence over the management or policies of a company, unless such power is solely the result of an official position with such company." Persons and entities affiliated with the sub-advisor are considered affiliates for the portion of Fund assets managed by the sub-advisor.

IPM Informed Portfolio Management AB ("IPM")

Controlling Person/Entity

Basis of Control

Nature of Controlling Person/Entity Business

Catella AB

Parent Company

Financial Services

The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and the Manager have entered into an Investment Advisory Agreement with IPM pursuant to which the Fund has agreed to pay IPM an annualized subadvisory fee that is calculated and accrued daily equal to 1.38% on the first $1 billion and 1.28% over $1

 

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billion of the Fund's average daily assets. The Investment Advisory Agreement will automatically terminate if assigned, and may be terminated without penalty at any time by the Manager, by a vote of a majority of the Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund on no less than thirty (30) days' nor more than sixty (60) days' written notice to the sub-advisor, or by the sub-advisor upon sixty (60) days' written notice to the Trust. The Investment Advisory Agreement will continue in effect for an initial period of two years and thereafter from year to year provided that annually such continuance is specifically approved by a vote of the Trustees, including the affirmative votes of a majority of the Trustees who are not parties to the Agreement or "interested persons" (as defined in the Investment Company Act) of any such party, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of considering such approval, or by the vote of shareholders. Because the Fund has not commenced operations prior to the date of this SAI, no subadvisory fees have been paid to IPM.

In rendering investment advisory services to the Fund, the sub-advisor may use the resources of one or more foreign (non-U.S.) affiliates that are not registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the "Investment Sub-Advisor's Foreign Affiliates") to provide portfolio management, research and trading services to the Fund. Under a Participating Affiliate Agreement, each of the Investment Sub-Advisor's Overseas Affiliates are considered Participating Affiliates of the sub-advisor pursuant to applicable guidance from the staff of the SEC allowing U.S. registered advisers to use investment advisory and trading resources of unregistered advisory affiliates subject to the regulatory supervision of the registered adviser. Each Participating Affiliate and any of their respective employees who provide services to the Fund are considered under the Participating Affiliate Agreement to be "supervised persons" of the sub-advisor as that term is defined in the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

MANAGEMENT, ADMINISTRATIVE AND DISTRIBUTION SERVICES

The Manager

The Manager located at 220 East Las Colinas Boulevard, Suite 1200, Irving, Texas 75039 is a Delaware corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of Resolute Investment Managers, Inc. ("RIM"). RIM is in turn a wholly-owned subsidiary of Resolute Acquisition, Inc., which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Resolute Topco, Inc. a wholly-owned subsidiary of Resolute Investment Holdings, LLC ("RIH"). RIH is owned primarily by Kelso Investment Associates VIII, L.P., KEP VI, LLC and Estancia Capital Partners L.P., investment funds affiliated with Kelso & Company, L.P. ("Kelso") or Estancia Capital Management, LLC ("Estancia"), which are private equity firms. The address of Kelso and its investment funds is 320 Park Avenue, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10022. The address of Estancia and its investment fund is 20865 N 90th Place, Suite 200, Scottsdale, AZ 85255. The address of RIH is 220 East Las Colinas Boulevard, Suite 1200, Irving, TX 75039.

Listed below are individuals and entities that may be deemed control persons of the Manager.

Controlling Person/Entity

Basis of Control/Status

Nature of Controlling Person/Entity Business/ Business History

Resolute Investment Holdings, LLC.

Parent Company

Founded in 2015

Kelso Investment Associates VIII

Ownership in Parent Company

Investment Fund

The Manager is paid a management fee as compensation for providing the Fund with management and administrative services. The expenses are allocated daily to each class of shares of the Fund based upon the relative proportion of net assets represented by such class. The Management Agreement provides for the Manager to receive an annualized management fee based on a percentage of the Fund's average daily net assets that is calculated and accrued daily according to the following schedule:

 

First $1 billion

0.425%

Next $4 billion

0.40%

Next $5 billion

0.375%

Over $10 billion

0.35%

Because the Fund has not commenced operations prior to the date of this SAI, no fees have been paid to the Manager.

Operating expenses directly attributable to a specific class are charged against the assets of that class. Pursuant to Management Agreement, the Manager provides the Trust with office space, office equipment and personnel necessary to manage and administer the Trust's operations. This includes:

complying with reporting requirements;

corresponding with shareholders;

maintaining internal bookkeeping, accounting and auditing services and records; and

supervising the provision of services to the Trust by third parties.

The Fund is responsible for expenses not otherwise assumed by the Manager, including the following: audits by independent auditors; transfer agency, custodian, dividend disbursing agent and shareholder recordkeeping services; taxes, if any, and the preparation of the Fund's tax returns; interest; costs of Trustee and shareholder meetings; preparing, printing and mailing Prospectuses and reports to existing shareholders; fees for filing reports with regulatory bodies and the maintenance of the Fund's existence; legal fees; fees to federal and state authorities for the registration of shares; fees and expenses of Trustees; insurance and fidelity bond premiums; fees paid to service providers providing reports regarding adherence by sub-advisors to the investment style of the Fund; fees paid for brokerage commission analysis for the purpose of monitoring best execution practices of the sub-advisors; and any extraordinary expenses of a nonrecurring nature.

 

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The Manager also may receive up to 10% of the net monthly income generated from the securities lending activities of the Fund as compensation for administrative and oversight functions with respect to securities lending of the Fund. As of the date of this SAI, the Fund does not intend to engage in securities lending activities. The SEC has granted exemptive relief that permits the Fund to invest cash collateral received from securities lending transactions in shares of one or more private or registered investment companies managed by the Manager.

The Manager has contractually agreed from time to time to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses for the Fund in order to maintain competitive expense ratios for the Fund. In July of 2003, the Board approved a policy whereby the Manager may seek repayment for such fee waivers and expense waivers. Under the policy, the Manager can be reimbursed by the Fund for any contractual or voluntary fee waivers or expense reimbursements if reimbursement to the Manager (a) occurs within three years after the Manager's own waiver or reimbursement and (b) does not cause the Fund's Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses to exceed the previously agreed upon contractual expense limit.

The Distributor

Foreside Fund Services, LLC ("Foreside" or "Distributor"), located at Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101, is the distributor and principal underwriter of the Fund's shares. The Distributor is a registered broker-dealer and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Under a Distribution Agreement with the Trust, the Distributor acts as the agent of the Trust in connection with the continuous offering of shares of the Fund. The Distributor continually distributes shares of the Fund on a best efforts basis. The Distributor has no obligation to sell any specific quantity of Fund's shares. The Distributor and its officers have no role in determining the investment policies or which securities are to be purchased or sold by the Trust or the Fund. Pursuant to a Sub-Administration Agreement between Foreside and the Manager, Foreside receives a fee from the Manager for providing administrative services in connection with the marketing and distribution of shares of the Trust, including the registration of Manager employees as registered representatives of the Distributor to facilitate distribution of Fund shares. Foreside also receives a fee from the Manager under a Marketing Agreement pursuant to which Foreside provides services in connection with the marketing of the Fund to institutional investors.  Since the Fund had not commenced operations as of the date of this Prospectus, no commissions have been paid to, or retained by, the Distributor from the sale of the Fund's shares.

OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS

State Street, located at 1 Iron Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02110, serves as custodian for the Fund. In addition to its other duties as custodian, pursuant to an Administrative Services Agreement and instructions given by the Manager, State Street may receive compensation from the Fund for investing certain excess cash balances in designated futures or forwards. State Street also serves as the Fund's Foreign Custody Manager pursuant to rules adopted under the Investment Company Act, whereby it selects and monitors eligible foreign sub-custodians.

Boston Financial Data Services (an affiliate of State Street), located at 330 W. 9th Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64105 is the transfer agent and dividend paying agent for the Trust and provides these services to Fund shareholders.

The Fund's independent registered public accounting firm is xxx, which is located at xxx.

K&L Gates LLP, 1601 K Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20006, serves as legal counsel to the Fund.

PORTFOLIO MANAGERS

The portfolio manager to the Fund (the "Portfolio Manager") has responsibility for the day-to-day management of accounts other than the Fund. Information regarding these other accounts has been provided by the Portfolio Manager's firm and is set forth below. The number of accounts and assets is shown as of December 31, 2016.

Number of Other Accounts Managed and Assets by Account Type

Number of Accounts and Assets for Which Advisory Fee is Performance-Based

Name of Investment Advisor and Portfolio Manager

Registered Investment Companies

Other  Pooled Investment Vehicles

Other Accounts

Registered Investment Companies

Other  Pooled Investment Vehicles

Other accounts

IPM Informed Portfolio Management AB ("IPM")

Björn Österberg

3 ($549 mil)

7 ($1.8 bil)

20 ($4.2 bil)

0 ($0)

4 ($1.7 bil)

12 ($849 mil)

Mattias Jansson

3 ($549 mil)

7 ($1.8 bil)

20 ($4.2 bil)

0 ($0)

4 ($1.7 bil)

12 ($849 mil)

Conflicts of Interest

As noted in the table above, the Portfolio Managers manage accounts other than the Fund. This side-by-side management may present potential conflicts between a Portfolio Manager's management of the Fund's investments, on the one hand, and the investments of the other accounts, on the other hand. Set forth below is a description by the sub-advisor of any foreseeable material conflicts of interest that may arise from the concurrent management of the Fund and other accounts. The information regarding potential conflicts of interest was provided by the sub-advisor.

The asset base of IPM, the sub-advisor, is spread across to materially different investment strategies; one pertaining to the same investment strategy being applied in the Fund, and the second, as separate investment strategy being a long only equity strategy. Assets are at the date of this Prospectus spread roughly equally across the two strategies.

Accounts invested in the same investment strategy also have similar portfolio set-ups, i.e. the portfolios will typically have holdings in the same instruments and are exposed to the same variations between the model portfolio(s) and the real portfolios. For these reasons, all trades shall be aggregated across accounts, for each investment strategy. The purpose is to execute similar trades through the same execution venue, to the extent possible, at the same (average) price. If this is not possible, the order shall be split and given to the relevant execution venues simultaneously.

 

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IPM is required to have in place appropriate controls over, and monitoring of, the conflicts of interests which (might) arise in relation to its business. The IPM Conflicts of Interest Policy applies to all employees, directors of the board and service providers (relating to outsourcing) and to all business areas within IPM.

All IPM employees shall report situations or transactions that can be assumed to create a conflict of interest. Such assumptions shall be reported directly to the manager or the CEO alternatively to the Chief Compliance Officer. The manager and the CEO, alternatively the Chief Compliance Officer, will then, together with the employee, determine if there is a conflict of interest, and if so, present a solution to resolve the matter.

Compensation 

The following is a description provided by the investment sub-advisor regarding the structure of and criteria for determining the compensation of the Portfolio Managers as of December 31, 2016.

IPM has a remuneration policy in place that covers all employees. The remuneration policy describes the structure of the remuneration arrangements and their application and follow-up. The policy follows the directives given by the Swedish regulator.

In addition to fixed compensation, all members of staff, except for the control functions – such as Compliance and Risk Management, are incentivized under a bonus system under which all employees share company profits above a predefined hurdle.

Any bonuses exceeding SEK 100,000 (approx. EUR 11,000) is subject to a deferral scheme: 40-60% (the higher rate for senior management) will be deferred and paid out over three years. During the deferral period the withheld portion is invested in the IPM Systematic Macro Fund (a separate pooled account running the same investment strategy as this Fund) and subject to forfeiture in case certain financial targets are not met (as decided by the IPM Board of Directors). As a rule, deferred bonus is forfeited if an employee resigns from IPM.

Ownership of the Fund

The Portfolio Managers' beneficial ownership of the Fund is defined as the Portfolio Managers having the opportunity to share in any profit from transactions in the Fund, either directly or indirectly, as the result of any contract, understanding, arrangement, relationship or otherwise. Therefore, ownership of Fund shares by members of the Portfolio Managers' immediate family or by a trust of which the Portfolio Managers are a trustee could be considered ownership by the Portfolio Managers. The Fund had not commenced operations prior to the date of this SAI. Accordingly, the Portfolio Managers do not beneficially own any shares of the Fund.

PORTFOLIO SECURITIES TRANSACTIONS

In selecting brokers or dealers to execute particular transactions, the Manager and the sub-advisor are authorized to consider "brokerage and research services" (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended), provision of statistical quotations (including the quotations necessary to determine the Fund's net asset value), and other information provided to the Fund, to the Manager and/or to the sub-advisor (or their affiliates), provided, however, that the Manager or the sub-advisor must always seek to obtain best execution. Research and brokerage services may include information on portfolio companies, economic analyses, and other investment research services. The Trusts do not allow the Manager or sub-advisor to enter arrangements to direct transactions to broker-dealers as compensation for the promotion or sale of Trust shares by those broker-dealers. The Manager and the sub-advisor are also authorized to cause the Fund to pay a commission (as defined in SEC interpretations) to a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services for executing a portfolio transaction which is in excess of the amount of the commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction. The Manager or the sub-advisor, as appropriate, must determine in good faith, however, that such commission was reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided, viewed in terms of that particular transaction or in terms of all the accounts over which the Manager or the sub-advisor exercises investment discretion. The fees of the sub-advisor are not reduced by reason of receipt of such brokerage and research services. However, with disclosure to and pursuant to written guidelines approved by the Board, as applicable, the Manager, or the sub-advisor (or a broker-dealer affiliated with them) may execute portfolio transactions and receive usual and customary brokerage commissions (within the meaning of Rule 17e-1 under the Investment Company Act) for doing so. Brokerage and research services obtained with Fund commissions might be used by the Manager and/or the sub-advisor, as applicable, to benefit their other accounts under management.

The Manager and the sub-advisor will place its own orders to execute securities transactions that are designed to achieve the Fund's investment objective and policies. In placing such orders, the sub-advisor will seek best execution. The full range and quality of services offered by the executing broker or dealer will be considered when making these determinations. Pursuant to written guidelines approved by the Board, as appropriate, the sub-advisor of the Fund, or its affiliated broker-dealer, may execute portfolio transactions and receive usual and customary brokerage commissions (within the meaning of Rule 17e-1 of the Investment Company Act) for doing so. The Fund's turnover rate, or the frequency of portfolio transactions, will vary from year to year depending on market conditions and the Fund's cash flows. High portfolio turnover generally increases the Fund's transaction costs, including brokerage commissions, and may result in a greater amount of recognized capital gains.

The Investment Advisory Agreements provide, in substance, that in executing portfolio transactions and selecting brokers or dealers, the principal objective of the sub-advisor is to seek best execution. In assessing available execution venues, the sub-advisor shall consider all factors it deems relevant, including the breadth of the market in the security, the price of the security, the value of any eligible research, the financial condition and execution capability of the broker or dealer and the reasonableness of the commission, if any, for the specific transaction and on a continuing basis. Transactions with respect to the securities of small and emerging market securities in which the Fund may invest may involve specialized services on the part of the broker or dealer and thereby may entail higher commissions or spreads than would be the case with transactions involving more widely traded securities.

The Fund may establish brokerage commission recapture arrangements with certain brokers or dealers. If a sub-advisor chooses to execute a transaction through a participating broker, the broker rebates a portion of the commission back to the Fund. Any collateral benefit received through

 

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participation in the commission recapture program is directed exclusively to the Fund. Neither the Manager nor the sub-advisor receives any benefits from the commission recapture program. The sub-advisor's participation in the brokerage commission recapture program is optional. The sub-advisor retains full discretion in selecting brokerage firms for securities transactions and is instructed to use the commission recapture program for a transaction only if it is consistent with the sub-advisor's obligation to seek the best execution available.

The Fund has not commenced operations as of the date of this SAI. Accordingly, no brokerage commissions were paid by the Fund during the previous three fiscal years and the Fund did not receive any amount as a result of participation in the commission recapture program.

REDEMPTIONS IN KIND

Although the Fund intends to redeem shares in cash, it reserves the right to pay the redemption price in whole or in part by a distribution of securities or other assets. However, shareholders always will be entitled to redeem shares for cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of the Fund's net asset value during any 90-day period. Redemption in kind is not as liquid as a cash redemption. In addition, to the extent the Fund redeems its shares in this manner, the shareholder assumes the risk of a subsequent change in the market value of those securities, the cost of liquidating the securities and the possibility of a lack of a liquid market for those securities.

TAX INFORMATION

The tax information in the Prospectus and in this section relates solely to the federal income tax law and assumes that the Fund will continue to qualify as a "regulated investment company" under the Internal Revenue Code ("RIC") (as discussed below). The tax information in this section is only a summary of certain key federal tax considerations affecting the Fund and its shareholders and is in addition to the tax information provided in the Prospectus. No attempt has been made to present a complete explanation of the federal income tax treatment of the Fund or the tax implications to its shareholders. The discussions here and in the Prospectus are not intended as substitutes for careful tax planning. The tax information is based on the Internal Revenue Code and applicable regulations in effect, and administrative pronouncements and judicial decisions publically available, on the date of this SAI. Future legislative, regulatory or administrative changes or court decisions may significantly change the tax rules applicable to the Fund and its shareholders. Any of these changes or court decisions may have a retroactive effect.

Taxation of the Fund

The Fund intends to continue to qualify each taxable year for treatment as a RIC under Subchapter M of Chapter 1 of Subtitle A of the Internal Revenue Code. To so qualify, the Fund (which is treated as a separate corporation for these purposes) must, among other requirements:

Derive at least 90% of its gross income each taxable year from (1) dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans and gains from the sale or other disposition of securities or foreign currencies, or other income, including gains from options, futures or forward contracts, derived with respect to its business of investing in securities or those currencies ("Qualifying Other Income") and (2) net income derived from an interest in a "qualified publically traded partnership" ("QPTP") ("Gross Income Requirement"). A QPTP is a "publically traded partnership" other than a partnership at least 90% of the gross income of which is Qualifying Other Income;

Diversify its investments so that, at the close of each quarter of its taxable year, (1) at least 50% of the value of its total assets is represented by cash and cash items, Government securities, securities of other RICs, and other securities, with those other securities limited, in respect of any one issuer, to an amount that does not exceed 5% of the value of the Fund's total assets and that does not represent more than 10% of the issuer's outstanding voting securities (equity securities of QPTPs being considered voting securities for those purposes), and (2) not more than 25% of the value of its total assets is invested in (a) the securities (other than Government securities or securities of other RICs) of any one issuer, (b) the securities (other than securities of other RICs) of two or more issuers the Fund controls that are determined to be engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses, or (c) the securities of one or more QPTPs ("Diversification Requirements"); and

Distribute annually to its shareholders at least 90% of its investment company taxable income (generally, net investment income, the excess (if any) of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss, and net gains and losses from certain foreign currency transactions, all determined without regard to any deduction for dividends paid) ("Distribution Requirement").

By qualifying for treatment as a RIC, the Fund (but not its shareholders) will be relieved of federal income tax on the part of its investment company taxable income and net capital gain (i.e., the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss) that it distributes to its shareholders. If for any taxable year the Fund does not qualify for that treatment — either (1) by failing to satisfy the Distribution Requirement, even if it satisfies the Gross Income and Diversification Requirements, or (2) by failing to satisfy the Gross Income Requirement and/or either Diversification Requirement and is unable to, or determines not to, avail itself of Internal Revenue Code provisions that enable a RIC to cure a failure to satisfy any of the Income and Diversification Requirements as long as the failure "is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect" and the RIC pays a deductible tax calculated in accordance with those provisions and meets certain other requirements — then for federal tax purposes, all of its taxable income (including its net capital gain) would be subject to tax at regular corporate rates without any deduction for dividends paid to its shareholders and the dividends it pays would be taxable to its shareholders as ordinary income (or possibly, for individual and certain other non-corporate shareholders (each an "individual"), as "qualified dividend income" (as described in the Prospectus)) to the extent of the Fund's current and accumulated earnings and profits. Failure to qualify for RIC treatment would therefore have a negative impact on the Fund's income and performance. Furthermore, the Fund could be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest, and make substantial distributions before requalifying for RIC treatment. It is possible that the Fund will not qualify as a RIC in any given taxable year.

The Fund will be subject to a nondeductible 4% federal excise tax ("Excise Tax") to the extent it fails to distribute by the end of any calendar year substantially all of its ordinary income for that year and substantially all of its capital gain net income for the one-year period ending on October 31 of that year, plus certain other amounts.  The Fund intends to make sufficient distributions by the end of each calendar year to avoid liability for the Excise Tax.

 

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Taxation of Certain Investments and Strategies

Hedging strategies, such as entering into forward contracts and selling (writing) and purchasing options and futures contracts, involve complex rules that will determine for federal income tax purposes the amount, character and timing of recognition of gains and losses the Fund may realize in connection therewith. In general, the Fund's (1) gains from the disposition of foreign currencies and (2) Qualifying Other Income will be treated as qualifying income under the Gross Income Requirement.

Interest and dividends the Fund receives, and gains it realizes, on foreign securities may be subject to income, withholding or other taxes imposed by foreign countries and U.S. possessions that would reduce the yield and/or total return on its securities. Tax treaties between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate those taxes, however, and many foreign countries do not impose taxes on capital gains on investments by foreign investors.  It is impossible to determine the effective rate of foreign tax in advance, since the amount of the Fund's assets to be invested in various countries is not known.

The Fund may invest in the stock of "passive foreign investment companies" ("PFICs"). A PFIC is any foreign corporation (with certain exceptions)] that, in general, meets either of the following tests for a taxable year: (1) at least 75% of its gross income is passive; or (2) an average of at least 50% of the value (or adjusted tax basis, if elected) of its assets produce, or are held for the production of, passive income. Under certain circumstances, to the extent the Fund holds stock of a PFIC, it will be subject to federal income tax on a portion of any "excess distribution" it receives on the stock and of any gain on its disposition of that stock (collectively, "PFIC income"), plus interest thereon, even if the Fund distributes the PFIC income as a dividend to its shareholders. The balance of the PFIC income will be included in the Fund's investment company taxable income and, accordingly, will not be taxable to it to the extent it distributes that income to its shareholders. Fund distributions thereof will not be eligible to be treated as QDI.

If the Fund invests in a PFIC and elects to treat the PFIC as a "qualified electing fund" ("QEF"), then in lieu of incurring the foregoing tax and interest obligation, the Fund would be required to include in income each taxable year its pro rata share of the QEF's annual ordinary earnings and net capital gain -- which the Fund likely would have to distribute to satisfy the Distribution Requirement and avoid imposition of the Excise Tax -- even if the QEF did not distribute those earnings and gain to the Fund. In most instances it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to make this election because of certain requirements thereof.

Alternatively, the Fund may elect to "mark-to-market" any stock in a PFIC it owns at the end of its taxable year, in which event it would be required to distribute to its shareholders any resulting gains in accordance with the Distribution Requirement. "Marking-to-market," in this context, means including in gross income each taxable year (and treating as ordinary income) the excess, if any, of the fair market value of the stock over the Fund's adjusted basis therein (including any net mark-to-market gain or loss for each prior taxable year for which an election was in effect) as of the end of that year. Pursuant to the election, the Fund also would be allowed to deduct (as an ordinary, not a capital, loss) the excess, if any, of its adjusted basis in PFIC stock over the fair market value thereof as of the taxable year-end, but only to the extent of any net marked-to-market gains with respect to that stock the Fund included in income for prior taxable years under the election. The Fund's adjusted basis in each PFIC's stock subject to the election would be adjusted to reflect the amounts of income included and deductions taken thereunder.

Investors should be aware that determining whether a foreign corporation is a PFIC is a fact-intensive determination that is based on various facts and circumstances and thus is subject to change, and the principles and methodology used therein are subject to interpretation. As a result, the Fund may not be able, at the time it acquires a foreign corporation's shares, to ascertain whether the corporation is a PFIC and a foreign corporation may become a PFIC after the Fund acquires shares therein. While the Fund generally will seek to make appropriate elections when they are available, to lessen the adverse tax consequences detailed above, there are no guarantees that they will be able to do so, and the Fund reserves the right to make those investments as a matter of its investment policy.

The Fund may invest in one or more limited liability companies ("LLCs") and limited partnerships ("LPs") that will be classified for federal tax purposes as partnerships (and, except as expressly stated below, this discussion assumes that classification). LLCs and LPs in which the Fund may invest may include (1) a "publicly traded partnership" (that is, a partnership the interests in which are "traded on an established securities market" or "readily tradable on a secondary market (or the substantial equivalent thereof)") (a "PTP"), which may be a QPTP, or (2) a non-PTP at least 90% of the income of which is Qualifying Other Income.

If an LLC or LP in which the Fund invests is a QPTP, all its net income (regardless of source) will be qualifying income under the Gross Income Requirement for the Fund. The Fund's investment in QPTPs, together with certain other investments, however, may not exceed 25% of the value of its total assets at the end of each quarter of its taxable year in order to satisfy one of the Diversification Requirements. In addition, if the Fund holds more than 10% of a QPTP's equity securities, none of those securities will count toward its satisfying those requirements.

With respect to non-QPTPs, (1) if an LLC or LP (including a PTP) is treated for federal tax purposes as a corporation, distributions from it to the Fund might be treated as QDI and disposition of the Fund's interest therein would generate gain or loss from the disposition of a security, or (2) if such an LLC or LP is not treated as a corporation, the Fund would be treated as having earned its proportionate share of each item of income the LLC or LP earned. In the latter case, the Fund would be able to treat its share of the entity's income as Qualifying Other Income only to the extent that income would be Qualifying Other Income if realized directly by the Fund in the same manner as realized by the LLC or LP. Certain LLCs and LPs (e.g., private funds) in which the Fund may invest may generate income and gains that are not Qualifying Other Income. Each Fund will monitor its investments in LLCs and LPs to assure its compliance with the requirements for continued qualification as a RIC.

Some futures contracts, foreign currency contracts, and "non-equity" options (i.e., certain listed options, such as those on a "broad-based" securities index) - except any "securities futures contract" that is not a "dealer securities futures contract" (both as defined in the Internal Revenue Code) and any interest rate swap, currency swap, basis swap, interest rate cap, interest rate floor, commodity swap, equity swap, equity index swap, credit default swap, or similar agreement - in which the Fund invests may be subject to Internal Revenue Code section 1256 (collectively, "Section 1256 contracts"). Any Section 1256 contract the Fund holds at the end of its taxable year must be "marked-to-market" (that is, treated as having been sold at that time for its fair market value) for federal tax purposes, with the result that unrealized gains or losses will be treated as though they were realized. Sixty

 

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percent of any net gain or loss realized on these deemed sales, and 60% of any net realized gain or loss from any actual sales of Section 1256 contracts, will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss, and the balance will be treated as short-term capital gain or loss. Section 1256 contracts also may be marked-to-market for purposes of the Excise Tax. These rules may operate to increase the amount that the Fund must distribute to satisfy the Distribution Requirement (i.e., with respect to the portion treated as short-term capital gain), which will be taxable to its shareholders as ordinary income when distributed to them, and to increase the net capital gain the Fund recognizes, without in either case increasing the cash available to it.

Section 988 of the Internal Revenue Code also may apply to the Fund's forward currency contracts and options and futures on foreign currencies. Under that section, each foreign currency gain or loss generally is computed separately and treated as ordinary income or loss. These gains or losses will increase or decrease the amount of the Fund's investment company taxable income to be distributed to its shareholders as ordinary income, rather than affecting the amount of its net capital gain. If Section 988 losses exceed other investment company taxable income during a taxable year, the Fund would not be able to distribute any dividends, and any distributions made during that year (including those made before the losses were realized) would be characterized as a non-taxable return of capital to shareholders, rather than as a dividend, thereby reducing each shareholder's basis in his or her Fund shares and treating any part of such distribution exceeding that basis as gain from the disposition of those shares.

Offsetting positions the Fund enters into or holds in any actively traded option, futures or forward contract may constitute a "straddle" for federal income tax purposes. Straddles are subject to certain rules that may affect the amount, character and timing of recognition of the Fund's gains and losses with respect to positions of the straddle by requiring, among other things, that (1) losses realized on disposition of one position of a straddle be deferred to the extent of any unrealized gain in an offsetting position until the latter position is disposed of, (2) the Fund's holding period in certain straddle positions not begin until the straddle is terminated (possibly resulting in gain being treated as short-term rather than long-term capital gain) and (3) losses recognized with respect to certain straddle positions, that otherwise would constitute short-term capital losses, be treated as long-term capital losses. Applicable regulations also provide certain "wash sale" rules, which apply to transactions where a position is sold at a loss and a new offsetting position is acquired within a prescribed period, and "short sale" rules applicable to straddles. Different elections are available, that may mitigate the effects of the straddle rules, particularly with respect to "mixed straddles" (i.e., a straddle at least one, but not all, positions of which are Section 1256 contracts).

When a covered call option written (sold) by the Fund expires, it will realize a short-term capital gain equal to the amount of the premium it received for writing the option. When the Fund terminates its obligations under such an option by entering into a closing transaction, it will realize a short-term capital gain (or loss), depending on whether the cost of the closing transaction is less (or more) than the premium it received when it wrote the option.  When a covered call option written by the Fund is exercised, it will be treated as having sold the underlying security, producing long-term or short-term capital gain or loss, depending on the holding period of the underlying security and whether the sum of the option price received on the exercise plus the premium received when it wrote the option is more or less than the underlying security's basis.

If the Fund has an "appreciated financial position" - generally, any position (including an interest through an option, futures or forward contract or short sale) with respect to any stock, debt instrument (other than "straight debt") or partnership interest the fair market value of which exceeds its adjusted basis - and enters into a "constructive sale" of the position, the Fund will be treated as having made an actual sale thereof, with the result that it will recognize gain at that time. A constructive sale generally consists of a short sale, an offsetting notional principal contract or a futures or forward contract the Fund or a related person enters into with respect to the same or substantially identical property. In addition, if the appreciated financial position is itself a short sale or such a contract, acquisition of the underlying property or substantially identical property will be deemed a constructive sale. The foregoing will not apply, however, to any Fund transaction during any taxable year that otherwise would be treated as a constructive sale if the transaction is closed within 30 days after the end of that year and the Fund holds the appreciated financial position unhedged for 60 days after that closing (i.e., at no time during that 60-day period is the Fund's risk of loss regarding that position reduced by reason of certain specified transactions with respect to substantially identical or related property, such as having an option to sell, being contractually obligated to sell, making a short sale or granting an option to buy substantially identical stock or securities).

Certain aspects of the tax treatment of derivative instruments are currently unclear and may be affected by changes in legislation, regulations, administrative rules, and/or other legally binding authority that could affect the treatment of income from those instruments and the character, timing of recognition and amount of the Fund's taxable income or gains and distributions. If the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") were to assert successfully that income the Fund derives from those investments does not constitute Qualifying Other Income, the Fund might cease to qualify as a RIC (with the consequences described above under "Taxation of the Fund") or might be required to reduce its exposure to such investments.

The Fund may acquire zero coupon or other securities issued with original issue discount ("OID") (such as STRIPS). As a holder of those securities, the Fund must include in its gross income the OID that accrues on them during the taxable year, even if it receives no corresponding payment on them during the year. Similarly, the Fund must include in its gross income each taxable year securities it receives as interest on pay-in-kind securities. Because each Fund annually must distribute substantially all of its investment company taxable income, including any accrued OID and other non-cash income (such as that interest), to satisfy the Distribution Requirement and avoid imposition of the Excise Tax, it may be required in a particular year to distribute as a dividend an amount that is greater than the total amount of cash it actually receives. Those distributions will be made from the Fund's cash assets or from the proceeds of sales of its portfolio securities, if necessary. The Fund may realize capital gains or losses from those sales, which would increase or decrease its investment company taxable income and/or net capital gain.

The Fund may invest in the equity securities of corporations or other entities that invest in U.S. real property, including REITs. The sale of a U.S. real property interest by a REIT or "United States real property holding corporation" in which the Fund invests may trigger special tax consequences to the Fund's non-U.S. shareholders, who are urged to consult their tax advisers regarding those consequences.

After calendar year-end, REITs can and often do change the category (e.g., ordinary income dividend, capital gain distribution, or return of capital) of one or more of the distributions they have made during that year, which would result at that time in the Fund that invests therein also having to re-categorize some of the distributions it made to its shareholders. These changes would be reflected in your annual Form 1099, together with other tax information. Those forms generally will be distributed to you in February of each year, although the Fund may, in one or more years, request from the

 

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IRS an extension of time to distribute those forms until mid-March to enable it to receive the latest information it can from the REITs in which it invests and thereby accurately report that information to you on a single form (rather than having to send you an amended form).

The Fund may invest in REITs that (1) hold residual interests in "real estate mortgage investment conduits" ("REMICs") or (2) engage in mortgage securitization transactions that cause the REITs to be taxable mortgage pools ("TMPs") or have a qualified REIT subsidiary that is a TMP. A part of the net income allocable to REMIC residual interest holders may be an "excess inclusion." The Internal Revenue Code authorizes the issuance of regulations dealing with the taxation and reporting of excess inclusion income of REITs and RICs that hold residual REMIC interests and of REITs, or qualified REIT subsidiaries, that are TMPs. Although those regulations have not yet been issued, the U.S. Treasury and the IRS issued a notice in 2006 ("Notice") announcing that, pending the issuance of further guidance (which has not yet been issued), the IRS would apply the principles in the following paragraphs to all excess inclusion income, whether from REMIC residual interests or TMPs.

The Notice provides that a REIT must (1) determine whether it or its qualified REIT subsidiary (or a part of either) is a TMP and, if so, calculate the TMP's excess inclusion income under a "reasonable method," (2) allocate its excess inclusion income to its shareholders generally in proportion to dividends paid, (3) inform shareholders that are not "disqualified organizations" (i.e., governmental units and tax-exempt entities that are not subject to tax on their "unrelated business taxable income" ("UBTI")) of the amount and character of the excess inclusion income allocated thereto, (4) pay tax (at the highest federal income tax rate imposed on corporations, currently 35%) on the excess inclusion income allocable to its shareholders that are disqualified organizations, and (5) apply the withholding tax provisions with respect to the excess inclusion part of dividends paid to foreign persons without regard to any treaty exception or reduction in tax rate. Excess inclusion income allocated to certain tax-exempt entities (including qualified retirement plans, IRAs, and public charities) constitutes UBTI to them.

A RIC with excess inclusion income is subject to rules identical to those in clauses (2) through (5) above (substituting "that are nominees" for "that are not ‘disqualified organizations'" in clause (3) and inserting "record" after "its" in clause (4)). The Notice further provides that a RIC is not required to report the amount and character of the excess inclusion income allocated to its shareholders that are not nominees, except that (1) a RIC with excess inclusion income from all sources that exceeds 1% of its gross income must do so and (2) any other RIC must do so by taking into account only excess inclusion income allocated to the RIC from REITs the excess inclusion income of which exceeded 3% of its dividends. The Fund will not invest directly in REMIC residual interests and does not intend to invest in REITs that, to its knowledge, invest in those interests or are TMPs or have a qualified REIT subsidiary that is a TMP.

The Fund must include in its gross income each taxable year securities it receives as interest on pay-in-kind securities. Because the Fund annually must distribute substantially all of its investment company taxable income, including any non-cash income (such as that interest), to satisfy the Distribution Requirement and avoid imposition of the Excise Tax, it may be required in a particular year to distribute as a dividend an amount that is greater than the total amount of cash it actually receives. Those distributions will be made from the Fund's cash assets or from the proceeds of sales of its portfolio securities, if necessary. The Fund may realize capital gains or losses from those sales, which would increase or decrease its investment company taxable income and/or net capital gain.

Taxation of the Fund's Shareholders

General - Dividends and other distributions the Fund declares in the last quarter of any calendar year that are payable to shareholders of record on a date in that quarter will be deemed to have been paid by the Fund and received by those shareholders on December 31 of that year if the Fund pays the distributions during the following January. Accordingly, those distributions will be reportable by, and taxed to, those shareholders for the taxable year in which that December 31 falls.

If Fund shares are sold at a loss after being held for six months or less, the loss will be treated as long-term, instead of short-term, capital loss to the extent of any capital gain distributions received on those shares. In addition, any loss a shareholder realizes on a redemption of Fund shares will be disallowed to the extent the shares are replaced within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the disposition of the shares; in that case, the basis in the acquired shares will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss. Investors also should be aware that the price of Fund shares at any time may reflect the amount of a forthcoming dividend or other distribution, so if they purchase Fund shares shortly before the record date for a distribution, they will pay full price for the shares and receive some part of the price back as a taxable distribution, even though it represents a partial return of invested capital.

Basis Election and Reporting - A Fund shareholder who wants to use an acceptable method for basis determination with respect to Fund shares other than the average basis method (the Fund's default method) must elect to do so in writing (which may be electronic).  The basis determination method a Fund shareholder elects may not be changed with respect to a redemption (including a redemption that is part of an exchange) of Fund shares after the settlement date of the redemption.

In addition to the requirement to report the gross proceeds from redemptions of Fund shares, the Fund (or its administrative agent) must report to the IRS and furnish to its shareholders the basis information for shares that are redeemed and indicate whether they had a short-term (one year or less) or long-term (more than one year) holding period. Fund shareholders should consult with their tax advisers to determine the best IRS-accepted basis determination method for their tax situation and to obtain more information about how the basis reporting law applies to them. Fund shareholders who acquire and hold Fund shares through a financial intermediary should contact their financial intermediary for information related to the basis election and reporting.

Backup Withholding -The Fund is required to withhold and remit to the U.S. Treasury 28% of dividends, capital gain distributions, and redemption proceeds (regardless of the extent to which gain or loss may be realized) otherwise payable to any individual who fails to certify that the taxpayer identification number furnished to the Fund is correct or who furnishes an incorrect number (together with the withholding described in the next sentence, "backup withholding"). Withholding at that rate also is required from the Fund's dividends and capital gain distributions otherwise payable to such a shareholder who (1) is subject to backup withholding for failure to report the receipt of interest or dividend income properly or (2) fails to

 

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certify to the Fund that he or she is not subject to backup withholding or that it is a corporation or other "exempt recipient." Backup withholding is not an additional tax; rather, any amounts so withheld may be credited against your federal income tax liability or refunded.

Non-U.S. Shareholders - Dividends from the Fund's investment company taxable income that are paid to a shareholder who is a non-resident alien individual or foreign entity (each a "non-U.S. shareholder") -- other than (1) dividends paid to a non-U.S. shareholder whose ownership of the Fund's shares is effectively connected with a trade or business within the United States the shareholder conducts and (2) capital gain distributions paid to a nonresident alien individual who is physically present in the United States for no more than 182 days during the taxable year -- generally are subject to 30% federal withholding tax (unless a reduced rate of withholding or a withholding exemption is provided under an applicable treaty). However, two categories of dividends the Fund might pay, "interest-related dividends" and "short-term capital gain dividends," to non-U.S. shareholders (with certain exceptions) and reported by it in writing to its shareholders are exempt from that tax. "Interest-related dividends" are dividends that are attributable to "qualified net interest income" (i.e., "qualified interest income," which generally consists of certain original issue discount, interest on obligations "in registered form," and interest on deposits, less allocable deductions) from sources within the United States. "Short-term capital gain dividends" are dividends that are attributable to net short-term gain, computed with certain adjustments. Non-U.S. shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisers concerning the applicability of that withholding tax.

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act ("FATCA") - Under FATCA, "foreign financial institutions" ("FFIs") and "non-financial foreign entities" ("NFFEs") that are Fund shareholders may be subject to a generally nonrefundable 30% withholding tax on (1) income dividends the Fund pays and (2) certain capital gain distributions and the proceeds of redemptions of Fund shares it pays after December 31, 2018. As discussed more fully below, the FATCA withholding tax generally can be avoided (a) by an FFI, if it reports certain information regarding direct and indirect ownership of financial accounts U.S. persons hold with the FFI, and (b) by an NFFE, if it certifies its status as such and, in certain circumstances, information regarding substantial U.S. owners.

The U.S. Treasury has negotiated intergovernmental agreements ("IGAs") with certain countries and is in various stages of negotiations with other foreign countries with respect to alternative approaches to implement FATCA. An entity in one of those countries may be required to comply with the terms of the IGA instead of U.S. Treasury regulations, as described below. An FFI resident in a country that has entered into a Model I IGA with the United States must report to that country's government (pursuant to the terms of the applicable IGA and applicable law), which will, in turn, report to the IRS. An FFI resident in a Model II IGA country generally must comply with U.S. regulatory requirements, with certain exceptions, including the treatment of recalcitrant accountholders. An FFI resident in one of those countries that complies with whichever of the foregoing applies will be exempt from FATCA withholding.

An FFI can avoid FATCA withholding by becoming a "participating FFI," which requires the FFI to enter into a tax compliance agreement with the IRS under the Internal Revenue Code. Under such an agreement, a participating FFI agrees to (1) verify and document whether it has U.S. accountholders, (2) report certain information regarding their accounts to the IRS, and (3) meet certain other specified requirements.

An NFFE that is the beneficial owner of a payment from the Fund can avoid FATCA withholding generally by certifying its status as such and, in certain circumstances, either that (1) it does not have any substantial U.S. owners or (2) it does have one or more such owners and reports the name, address, and taxpayer identification number of each such owner. The NFFE will report to the Fund or other applicable withholding agent, which may, in turn, report information to the IRS.

Those foreign shareholders also may fall into certain exempt, excepted, or deemed compliant categories established by U.S. Treasury regulations, IGAs, and other guidance regarding FATCA. An FFI or NFFE that invests in the Fund will need to provide it with documentation properly certifying the entity's status under FATCA to avoid FATCA withholding. The requirements imposed by FATCA are different from, and in addition to, the tax certification rules to avoid backup withholding described above. Foreign investors are urged to consult their tax advisers regarding the application of these requirements to their own situation and the impact thereof on their investment in the Fund.

Other Taxes - Statutory rules and regulations regarding state and local taxation of ordinary income dividends, qualified dividend income dividends and net capital and foreign currency gain distributions may differ from the federal income taxation rules described above. Distributions may also be subject to additional state, local and foreign taxes depending on each shareholder's situation.

DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST

The Trust is an entity of the type commonly known as a "Massachusetts business trust." Under Massachusetts law, shareholders of such a trust may, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable for its obligations. However, the Trust's Declaration of Trust contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for acts or obligations of the Trust and provides for indemnification and reimbursement of expenses out of Trust property for any shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the Trust. The Declaration of Trust also provides that the Trust may maintain appropriate insurance (for example, fidelity bonding) for the protection of the Trust, its shareholders, Trustees, officers, employees and agents to cover possible tort and other liabilities. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss due to shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which both inadequate insurance existed and the Trust itself was unable to meet its obligations. The Trust has not engaged in any other business.

The Trust was originally created to manage money for large institutional investors. The following individuals (and members of that individual's "immediate family"), are eligible to purchase shares of the Institutional Class with an initial investment of less than $250,000: (i) employees of the Manager, (ii) employees of a sub-advisor for Funds where it serves as sub-advisor, (iii) members of the Board, (iv) employees of Kelso/Estancia, and (v) members of the Manager's Board of Directors. The term "immediate family" refers to one's spouse, children, grandchildren, grandparents, parents, parents-in-law, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters-in-law, a sibling's spouse, a spouse's sibling, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews; relatives by virtue of remarriage (step-children, step-parents, etc.) are included. Any shareholders that the Manager transfers to the Institutional Class upon termination of the class of shares in which the shareholders were originally invested is also eligible for purchasing shares of the Institutional Class with an initial investment of less than $250,000.

 

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The Ultra Class was created to manage money for large institutional investors, including pension and 401(k) plans.

 

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FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The Trust's independent registered public accounting firm, xxx, audits and reports on the Fund's annual financial statements. The audited financial statements include the schedule of investments, statement of assets and liabilities, statement of operations, statements of changes in net assets, financial highlights, notes and report of independent registered public accounting firm. Shareholders will receive annual audited financial statements and semi-annual unaudited financial statements. As of the date of this SAI, the Fund has not commenced operations. Accordingly, financial statements are not available for the Fund.

 

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APPENDIX A

AMERICAN BEACON ADVISORS, INC.

SUMMARY OF PROXY VOTING POLICY AND PROCEDURES

Proxy voting is an important component of investment management and must be performed in a dutiful and purposeful fashion in order to secure the best long-term interests of the advisory clients of American Beacon Advisors, Inc. ("AmBeacon"). AmBeacon's proxy voting policies and procedures are designed to implement AmBeacon's duty to vote proxies in clients' best interests. Given that AmBeacon manages portfolios that invest solely in fixed-income securities, the only securities for which we expect to receive proxies are money market mutual funds. As such, the proxy voting policies and procedures set forth voting guidelines for the proxy issues and proposals common to money market funds.

For routine proposals that will not change the structure, bylaws or operations of the money market fund, AmBeacon's policy is to support management; however, each proposal will be considered individually focusing on the financial interests of the client portfolio. Non-routine proposals, such as board elections, advisory contract and distribution plan approvals, investment objective changes, and mergers, will generally be reviewed on a case-by-case basis with AmBeacon first and foremost considering the effect of the proposal on the portfolio.

Items to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and proposals not contemplated in the policies set forth above will be assessed by AmBeacon. In these situations, AmBeacon will use its judgment to vote in the best interest of the client portfolio. For all proposals, especially controversial or case-by-case evaluations, AmBeacon will be responsible for individually identifying significant issues that could impact the investment performance of the portfolio.

AmBeacon manages portfolios for the American Beacon Funds (the "Beacon Funds") and the American Beacon Select Funds (the "Select Fund"). AmBeacon may invest a Beacon Fund in shares of a Select Fund. If a Select Fund solicits a proxy for which a Beacon Fund is entitled to vote, AmBeacon's interests as manager of the Select Fund seeking shareholder votes may conflict with the interests of the Beacon Fund as shareholder of the Select Fund. To avoid the appearance of a conflict of interests in these cases, AmBeacon will vote the Beacon Fund's shares in accordance with the Beacon Fund's Board of Trustees' recommendations in the proxy statement.

 

AMERICAN BEACON FUNDS
AMERICAN BEACON SELECT FUNDS

PROXY VOTING POLICY AND PROCEDURES

Last Amended April 25, 2016

Preface

Proxy voting is an important component of investment management and must be performed in a dutiful and purposeful fashion in order to secure the best long-term interests of shareholders of the American Beacon Funds and the American Beacon Select Funds (collectively, the "Funds"). Therefore, these Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures (the "Policy") have been adopted by the Funds.

The Funds are managed by American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (the "Manager"). The Manager allocates discrete portions of the American Beacon Funds among sub-advisors, but the Manager may directly manage all or a portion of the assets of certain Funds directly. The Funds' Boards of Trustees have delegated proxy voting authority to the Manager. The Manager has in turn delegated proxy voting authority to each sub-advisor with respect to the sub-advisor's respective portion of the Fund(s) under management, but the Manager has retained the authority to override a proposed proxy voting decision by a sub-advisor. For the securities held in their respective portion of each Fund, the Manager and the sub-advisors make voting decisions pursuant to their own proxy voting policies and procedures, which have been adopted by the applicable Fund and approved by the applicable Fund's Board of Trustees.

Conflicts of Interest

The Board of Trustees seeks to ensure that proxies are voted in the best interests of Fund shareholders. For certain proxy proposals, the interests of the Manager, the sub-advisors and/or their affiliates may differ from Fund shareholders' interests. To avoid the appearance of impropriety and to fulfill their fiduciary responsibility to shareholders in these circumstances, the Manager and the sub-advisors are required to establish procedures that are reasonably designed to address material conflicts between their interests and those of the Funds.

When a sub-advisor deems that it is conflicted with respect to a voting matter, its policy may call for it to seek voting instructions from the client. The Manager is authorized by the Boards of Trustees to consider any such matters and provide voting instructions to the sub-advisor, unless the Manager has determined that its interests are conflicted with Fund shareholders with respect to the voting matter. In those instances, the Manager will vote in accordance with the recommendation of a third-party proxy voting advisory service.

Each American Beacon Fund has the ability to invest in the shares of the American Beacon U.S. Government Money Market Select Fund. If the American Beacon U.S. Government Money Market Select Fund issues a proxy for which an American Beacon Fund is entitled to vote, the Manager's interests regarding the American Beacon U.S. Government Money Market Select Fund might appear to conflict with the interests of the shareholders of the American Beacon Fund. In these cases, the Manager will vote in accordance with the American Beacon Select Funds Board of Trustees' recommendations in the proxy statement.

If the methods for addressing conflicts of interest, as described above, are deemed by the Manager to be unreasonable due to cost, timing or other factors, then the Manager may decline to vote in those instances.

 

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Securities on Loan

The Manager shall engage a proxy voting service to notify the Manager before the record date about the occurrence of future shareholder meetings, as feasible. The Manager will determine whether or not to recall shares of the applicable security that are on loan with the intent of the Manager or the sub-advisor, as applicable, voting such shares. The Manager's determination shall be based on factors which may include the nature of the meeting (i.e., annual or special), the percentage of the proxy issuer's outstanding securities on loan, any other information regarding the proxy proposals of which the Manager may be aware, and the loss of securities lending income to a Fund as a result of recalling the shares on loan.

Recordkeeping

The Manager and the sub-advisors shall maintain records of all votes cast on behalf of the Funds. Such documentation will include the firm's proxy voting policies and procedures, company reports provided by proxy voting advisory services, additional information gathered by the Manager or sub-advisor that was material to reaching a voting decision, and communications to the Manager regarding any identified conflicts. The Manager and the sub-advisors shall maintain voting records in a manner to facilitate the Funds' production of the Form N-PX filing on an annual basis.

Disclosure

The Manager will coordinate the compilation of the Funds' proxy voting record for each year ended June 30 and file the required information with the SEC via Form N-PX by August 31. The Manager will include a summary of the Policy and the proxy voting policies and procedures of the Manager and the sub-advisors, as applicable, in each Fund's Statement of Additional Information ("SAI"). In each Fund's annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders, the Manager will disclose that a description of the Policy and the proxy voting policies and procedures of the Manager and the sub-advisors, as applicable, is a) available upon request, without charge, by toll-free telephone request, b) on the Funds' website (if applicable), and c) on the SEC's website in the SAI. The SAI and shareholder reports will also disclose that the Funds' proxy voting record is available by toll-free telephone request (or on the Funds' website) and on the SEC's website by way of the Form N-PX. Within three business days of receiving a request, the Manager will send a copy of the policy description or voting record by first-class mail.

Manager Oversight

The Manager shall review a sub-advisor's proxy voting policies and procedures for compliance with this Policy and applicable laws and regulations prior to initial delegation of proxy voting authority and on at least an annual basis thereafter.

Board Reporting

On at least an annual basis, the Manager will present a summary of the voting records of the Funds to the Boards of Trustees for their review. The Manager will notify the Boards of Trustees of any material changes to its proxy voting policies and procedures.

 

 

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APPENDIX B

Ratings Definitions

Below are summaries of the ratings definitions used by some of the rating organizations. Those ratings represent the opinion of the rating organizations as to the credit quality of the issues that they rate. The summaries are based upon publicly available information provided by the rating organizations.

Ratings of Long-Term Obligations and Preferred Stocks — The Funds utilize ratings provided by rating organizations in order to determine eligibility of long-term obligations. The ratings described in this section may also be used for evaluating the credit quality for preferred stocks.

Credit ratings typically evaluate the safety of principal and interest payments, not the market value risk of bonds. The rating organizations may fail to update a credit rating on a timely basis to reflect changes in economic or financial conditions that may affect the market value of the security. For these reasons, credit ratings may not be an accurate indicator of the market value of a bond.

The four highest Moody's ratings for long-term obligations (or issuers thereof) are Aaa, Aa, A and Baa. Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, with minimal credit risk. Obligations rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk. Obligations rated A are considered upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk. Obligations rated Baa are subject to moderate credit risk. They are considered medium-grade and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.

Moody's ratings of Ba, B, Caa, Ca and C are considered below investment grade. Obligations rated Ba are judged to have speculative elements and are subject to substantial credit risk. Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk. Obligations rated Caa are judged to be of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk. Obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest. Obligations rated C are the lowest rated class of bonds and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest. Moody's also appends numerical modifiers 1, 2, and 3 to each generic rating classification from Aa through Caa. The modifier 1 indicates that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier 2 indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier 3 indicates a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category.  Additionally, a "(hyb)" indicator is appended to all ratings of hybrid securities issued by banks, insurers, finance companies, and securities firms.

The four highest Standard & Poor's ratings for long-term obligations are AAA, AA, A and BBB. An obligation rated AAA has the highest rating assigned by Standard & Poor's. The obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is extremely strong. An obligation rated AA differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is very strong. An obligation rated A is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher-rated categories. However, the obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is still strong. An obligation rated BBB exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

Standard & Poor's ratings of BB, B, CCC, CC, and C are considered below investment grade and are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. BB indicates the least degree of speculation and C the highest.  While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposures to adverse conditions. An obligation rated BB is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions which could lead to the obligor's inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. An obligation rated B is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated BB, but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligor's capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. An obligation rated CCC is currently vulnerable to nonpayment, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. An obligation rated CC is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The CC rating is used when a default has not yet occurred, but Standard & Poor's expects default to be a virtual certainty, regardless of the anticipated time to default. An obligation rated C is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, and the obligation is expected to have lower relative seniority or lower ultimate recovery compared to obligations that are rated higher. An obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due unless Standard & Poor's believes that such payments will be made within five business days in the absence of a stated grace period or within the earlier of the stated grace period or 30 calendar days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligation's rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.  A rating of NR indicates that no rating has been requested, or that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that Standard & Poor's does not rate a particular obligation as a matter of policy. The ratings from AA to CCC may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.

The four highest ratings for long-term obligations by Fitch Ratings are AAA, AA, A and BBB. Obligations rated AAA are deemed to be of the highest credit quality. AAA ratings denote the lowest expectation of default risk. They are assigned only in case of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events. Obligations rated AA are deemed to be of very high credit quality. AA ratings denote expectations of very low default risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events. Obligations rated A are deemed to be of high credit quality. An A rating denotes expectations of low default risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to changes in circumstances or in economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings. Obligations rated BBB are deemed to be of good credit quality. BBB ratings indicate that expectations of default risk are currently low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate but adverse business and economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity. This is the lowest investment grade category.

 

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Fitch's ratings of BB, B, CCC, CC, C, RD and D are considered below investment grade or speculative grade. Obligations rated BB are deemed to be speculative. BB ratings indicate an elevated vulnerability to default risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time; however, business or financial flexibility exists which supports the servicing of financial commitments. Obligations rated B are deemed to be highly speculative. B ratings indicate that material default risk is present, but a limited margin of safety remains. Financial commitments are currently being met; however, capacity for continued payment is vulnerable to deterioration in the business and economic environment. Obligations rated CCC indicate, for issuers and performing obligations, default is a real possibility. Obligations rated CC indicate, for issuers and performing obligations, default of some kind appears probable. Obligations rated C indicate exceptionally high levels of credit risk. Default is imminent or inevitable, or the issuer is in standstill. Conditions that are indicative of a 'C' category rating for an issuer include: (a) the issuer has entered into a grace or cure period following non-payment of a material financial obligation; (b) the issuer has entered into a temporary negotiated waiver or standstill agreement following a payment default on a material financial obligation; or (c) Fitch Ratings otherwise believes a condition of 'RD' or 'D' to be imminent or inevitable, including through the formal announcement of a distressed debt exchange. Obligations rated RD indicate an issuer that in Fitch Ratings' opinion has experienced an uncured payment default on a bond, loan or other material financial obligation but which has not entered into bankruptcy filings, administration, receivership, liquidation or other formal winding-up procedure, and which has not otherwise ceased operating. This would include: (a) the selective payment default on a specific class or currency of debt; (b) the uncured expiry of any applicable grace period, cure period or default forbearance period following a payment default on a bank loan, capital markets security or other material financial obligation; (c) the extension of multiple waivers or forbearance periods upon a payment default on one or more material financial obligations, either in series or in parallel; or (d) execution of a distressed debt exchange on one or more material financial obligations. Obligations rated D indicate an issuer that in Fitch Ratings' opinion has entered into bankruptcy filings, administration, receivership, liquidation or other formal winding-up procedure, or which has otherwise ceased business. Default ratings are not assigned prospectively to entities or their obligations; within this context, non-payment on an instrument that contains a deferral feature or grace period will generally not be considered a default until after the expiration of the deferral or grace period unless a default is otherwise driven by bankruptcy or other similar circumstance, or by a distressed debt exchange. "Imminent" default typically refers to the occasion where a payment default has been intimated by the issuer, and is all but inevitable. This may, for example, be where an issuer has missed a scheduled payment, but (as is typical) has a grace period during which it may cure the payment default. Another alternative would be where an issuer has formally announced a distressed debt exchange, but the date of the exchange still lies several days or weeks in the immediate future. In all cases, the assignment of a default rating reflects the agency's opinion as to the most appropriate rating category consistent with the rest of its universe of ratings, and may differ from the definition of default under the terms of an issuer's financial obligations or local commercial practice.

Ratings of Municipal Obligations — Moody's ratings for short-term investment-grade municipal obligations are designated Municipal Investment Grade (MIG or VMIG in the case of variable rate demand obligations) and are divided into three levels — MIG/VMIG 1, MIG/VMIG 2 and MIG/VMIG 3. Factors used in determination of ratings include liquidity of the borrower and short-term cyclical elements. The MIG/VMIG 1 rating denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by established cash flows, highly reliable liquidity support, or demonstrated broad-based access to the market for refinancing. The MIG/VMIG 2 rating denotes strong credit quality. Margins of protection are ample, although not as large as in the preceding group. The MIG/VMIG 3 rating denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash-flow protection may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established. An SG rating denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of protection.

Standard & Poor's uses SP-1, SP-2, and SP-3 to rate short-term municipal obligations. A rating of SP-1 denotes a strong capacity to pay principal and interest. An issue determined to possess a very strong capacity to pay debt service is given a plus (+) designation. A rating of SP-2 denotes a satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes. A rating of SP-3 denotes a speculative capacity to pay principal and interest.

Ratings of Short-Term Obligations — Moody's short-term ratings, designated as P-1, P-2, P-3, or NP, are opinions of the ability of issuers to honor short-term financial obligations that generally have an original maturity not exceeding thirteen months. The rating P-1 is the highest short-term rating assigned by Moody's and it denotes an issuer (or supporting institution) that has a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations. The rating P-2 denotes an issuer (or supporting institution) that has a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations. The rating P-3 denotes an issuer (or supporting institution) that has an acceptable ability for repayment of senior short-term policyholder claims and obligations.  The rating NP denotes an issuer (or supporting institutions) that does not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.

Standard & Poor's short-term ratings are generally assigned to obligations with an original maturity of no more than 365 days — including commercial paper. A short-term obligation rated A-1 is rated in the highest category by Standard & Poor's. The obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on these obligations is extremely strong. A short-term obligation rated A-2 is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory. A short-term obligation rated A-3 exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. A short-term obligation rated B is regarded as vulnerable and has significant speculative characteristics. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties which could lead to the obligor's inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. A short-term obligation rated C is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. A short-term obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the "D" rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poor's believes that such payments will be made within any stated grace period. However, any stated grace period longer than five business days will be treated as five business days. The ‘D' rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligation's rating is lowered to ‘D' if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.

 

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Fitch Ratings' short-term ratings have a time horizon of less than 13 months for most obligations, or up to three years for US public finance, in line with industry standards, to reflect unique risk characteristics of bond, tax, and revenue anticipation notes that are commonly issued with terms up to three years. Short-term ratings thus place greater emphasis on the liquidity necessary to meet financial commitments in a timely manner. A rating of F1 denotes an obligation of the highest credit quality. It indicates the strongest capacity for timely payment of financial commitments and may have an added "+" to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature. A rating of F2 denotes good credit quality. It indicates a satisfactory capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, but the margin of safety is not as great as in the case of the higher ratings. A rating of F3 denotes fair credit quality. The capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is adequate; however, near term adverse changes could result in a reduction to non-investment grade. A rating of B denotes an obligation that is speculative. Minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus vulnerability to near term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions. A rating of C denotes a high default risk. Default is a real possibility. Capacity for meeting financial commitments is solely reliant upon a sustained, favorable business and economic environment. A rating of RD indicates an entity that has defaulted on one or more of its financial commitments, although it continues to meet other financial obligations. A rating of D indicates an entity or sovereign that has defaulted on all of its financial obligations.

 

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PART C. OTHER INFORMATION

 

Item 28.     Exhibits
       
(a) (1)   Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust, dated March 4, 2015, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 225, filed June 30, 2015 (“PEA No. 225”)
       
  (2)   Certificates of Designation for American Beacon AHL Managed Futures Fund, American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund, American Beacon Crescent High Income Fund, American Beacon Global Evolution Frontier Markets Debt Fund, and American Beacon Ionic Absolute Return Fund are incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 208, filed December 19, 2014 (“PEA No. 208”)
       
  (3)   Certificate of Designation for American Grosvenor Long/Short Fund, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 231, filed October 1, 2015 (“PEA No. 231”)
       
  (4)   Certificates of Designation for American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund and American Beacon Sound Point Floating Rate Income Fund, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 239, filed December 23, 2015 (“PEA No. 239”)
       
  (5)   Certificate of Designation for American Beacon Garcia Hamilton Quality Bond Fund, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 253, filed April 1, 2016 (“PEA No. 253”)
       
  (6)   Certificate of Designation for American Beacon GLG Total Return Fund, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 258, filed May 19, 2016 (“PEA No. 258”)
       
  (7)   Certificate of Designation for American Beacon Numeric Integrated Alpha Fund, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 262, filed August 16, 2016 (“PEA No. 262”)
       
  (8)   Certificate of Designation for American Beacon ARK Disruptive Innovation Fund, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 266, filed November 9, 2016 (“PEA No. 266”)
       
(b)     Amended and Restated Bylaws, dated February 18, 2014, are incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No.184, filed April 29, 2014 (“PEA No. 184”)
       
(c)     Rights of holders of the securities being registered are contained in Articles III, VIII, X, XI and XII of the Registrant’s Declaration of Trust and Articles III, V, VI and XI of the Registrant’s Bylaws
       
(d) (1)(A)   Management Agreement by and among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Select Funds and American Beacon Advisors, Inc., dated April 4, 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 258

 

 

 

 

  (1)(B)   Amendment to Management Agreement by and among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Select Funds and American Beacon Advisors, Inc., dated  June 23, 2016, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 269, filed December 23, 2016 (“PEA No. 269”)
       
  (1)(C)   Second Amendment to Management Agreement by and among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Select Funds and American Beacon Advisors, Inc., dated  November 1, 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 269
       
  (1)(D)   Form of Third Amendment to Management Agreement by and among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Select Funds and American Beacon Advisors, Inc., dated  January 27, 2017, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 275, filed January 25, 2017 (“PEA No. 275”)
       
  (1)(E)   Management Agreement between American Beacon Cayman Managed Futures Strategy Fund, Ltd. and American Beacon Advisors, Inc., dated April 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 269
       
  (2)(A)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. and Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss, Inc., dated April 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (2)(B)(i)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. and Brandywine Global Investment Management, LLC, with respect to the American Beacon Flexible Bond Fund, dated April 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (2)(B)(ii)   Amendment to Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. and Brandywine Global Investment Management, LLC, with respect to the American Beacon Flexible Bond Fund, dated May 11, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (2)(B)(iii)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. and Brandywine Global Investment Management, LLC, with respect to the American Beacon Large Cap Value Fund,  American Beacon Small Cap Value Fund, and American Beacon Balanced Fund, dated April 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (2)(C)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc., and Causeway Capital Management LLC, dated April 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (2)(D)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc., and Foundry Partners, LLC, dated June 20, 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 262
       
  (2)(E)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc., and Hotchkis and Wiley Capital Management LLC, dated April 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231

 

 

 

 

  (2)(F)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. and Lazard Asset Management LLC, dated April 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (2)(G)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc., and Pzena Investment Management, LLC, dated April 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (2)(H)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. and Templeton Investment Counsel, LLC, dated April 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (2)(I)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. and The Boston Company Asset Management, LLC, dated April 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (2)(J)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. and Zebra Capital Management, LLC, dated April 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (2)(K)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc., and Strategic Income Management, LLC, dated April 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (2)(L)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc., and Massachusetts Financial Services Company, dated April 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (2)(M)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc., and Pacific Investment Management Company LLC, dated April 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (2)(N)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. and Stephens Investment Management Group, LLC, dated April 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (2)(O)(i)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. and Bridgeway Capital Management, Inc., dated April 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 228
       
  (2)(O)(ii)   First Amendment to Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. and Bridgeway Capital Management, Inc., dated January 28, 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 245
       
  (2)(P)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. and Holland Capital Management LLC, dated April 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231

 

 

 

 

  (2)(Q)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc., and The London Company of Virginia, LLC, dated April 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (2)(R)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. and Acadian Asset Management LLC, dated April 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (2)(S)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc., and Sustainable Growth Advisers, LP, dated April 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (2)(T)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors Inc., and Global Evolution USA, LLC, dated April 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (2)(U)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc., and AHL Partners LLP, dated April 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (2)(V)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. and Bahl & Gaynor, Inc., dated April 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (2)(W)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc., and Crescent Capital Group LP, dated April 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (2)(X)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Cayman Managed Futures Strategy Fund, Ltd., American Beacon Advisors, Inc., and AHL Partners LLP, dated April 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (2)(Y)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc., and Hillcrest Asset Management, LLC, dated April 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (2)(Z)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc., and Ionic Capital Management LLC, dated June 22, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 225
       
  (2)(AA)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc., and Sound Point Capital Management, L.P., dated December 9, 2015, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 237, filed December 9, 2015 (“PEA No. 237”)
       
  (2)(BB)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc., and WEDGE Capital Management, L.L.P, dated April 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (2)(CC)   Lead Investment Advisory Agreement between American Beacon Advisors, Inc. and Grosvenor Capital Management, L.P., dated September 21, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 258
       
  (2)(DD)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Advisors, Inc., Grosvenor Capital Management, L.P., and Basswood Capital Management, LLC, dated September 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 258

 

 

 

 

  (2)(EE)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Advisors, Inc., Grosvenor Capital Management, L.P., and Impala Asset Management, dated September 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 258
       
  (2)(FF)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Advisors, Inc., Grosvenor Capital Management, L.P., and Incline Global Management, LLC, dated September 29, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 258
       
  (2)(GG)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Advisors, Inc., Grosvenor Capital Management, L.P., and Passport Capital LLC, dated September 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 258
       
  (2)(HH)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Advisors, Inc., Grosvenor Capital Management, L.P., and Pine River Capital Management LP, dated September 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 258
       
  (2)(II)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Advisors, Inc., Grosvenor Capital Management, L.P., and River Canyon Fund Management LLC, dated September 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 258
       
  (2)(JJ)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Advisors, Inc., Grosvenor Capital Management, L.P., and Tremblant Capital Group, dated September 28, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 258
       
  (2)(KK)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc., and Payden & Rygel, dated August 13, 2015, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 234, filed October 27, 2015  (“PEA No. 234”)
       
  (2)(LL)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc., and Garcia Hamilton & Associates, L.P., dated March 29, 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 258
       
  (2)(MM)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc., and GLG LLC, dated May 1, 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 258
       
  (2)(NN)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc., and Numeric Investors LLC, dated October 27, 2016, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 264, filed October 28, 2016 (“PEA No. 264”)

 

 

 

 

  (2)(OO)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc., and ARK Investment Management LLC, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 275
       
  (2)(PP)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc., and Alpha Quant Advisors, LLC – (to be filed by amendment)
       
  (2)(QQ)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc., and TwentyFour Asset Management (US) LP – (to be filed by amendment)
       
  (2)(RR)   Investment Advisory Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc., and IPM Informed Portfolio Management AB – (to be filed by amendment)
       
(e) (1)   Form of Distribution Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Mileage Funds, American Beacon Select Funds, and Foreside Fund Services, LLC, dated March 31, 2009, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 75, filed May 1, 2009  (“PEA No. 75”)
       
  (2)   Fourteenth Amendment to the Distribution Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Select Funds, and Foreside Fund Services, LLC, dated January 23, 2017, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 178, filed February 28, 2017  (“PEA No. 178”)
       
(f)     Bonus, profit sharing or pension plans – (none)
       
(g) (1)   Custodian Agreement between Registrant and State Street Bank and Trust Company, dated December 1, 1997, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 24, filed February 26, 1998  (“PEA No. 24”)
       
  (2)   Amended and Restated Schedule D to the Custodian Agreement between Registrant and State Street Bank and Trust Company, effective as of January 18, 2017, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 178
       
(h) (1)(A)   Transfer Agency and Service Agreement between Registrant and State Street Bank and Trust Company, dated January 1, 1998, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 24
       
  (1)(B)   Amendment to Transfer Agency and Service Agreement regarding anti-money laundering procedures, dated September 24, 2002, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 42, filed February 28, 2003 (“PEA No. 42”)
       
  (1)(C)   Amendment to Transfer Agency and Service Agreement to replace fee schedule, dated March 26, 2004, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 64, filed March 1, 2007 (“PEA No. 64”)
       
  (1)(D)   Amendment to Transfer Agency and Service Agreement, dated October 26, 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 269
       
  (1)(E)   Amendment to Transfer Agency and Service Agreement, dated January 24, 2017, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 178

 

 

 

 

  (2)(A)   Securities Lending Agency Agreement between the American Beacon Funds and Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., dated March 15, 2008, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 97, filed December 30, 2010 (“PEA No. 97”)
       
  (2)(B)   First Amendment to the Securities Lending Agency Agreement, dated May 2, 2008, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 97
       
  (2)(C)   Second Amendment to the Securities Lending Agency Agreement, dated May 20, 2009, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 97
       
  (2)(D)   Third Amendment to the Securities Lending Agency Agreement, dated November 3, 2009, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 97
       
  (3)   Administration Agreement between American Beacon Cayman Managed Futures Strategy Fund, Ltd. and American Beacon Advisors, Inc., dated April 30, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 269
       
  (4)(A)   Administrative Services Agreement among American AAdvantage Funds, American AAdvantage Mileage Funds, AMR Investment Services Trust, AMR Investment Services, Inc., and State Street Bank and Trust Company, dated November 29, 1999, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 28, filed December 21, 1999
       
  (4)(B)   Amendment to Administrative Services Agreement among American AAdvantage Funds, American AAdvantage Mileage Funds, AMR Investment Services Trust, AMR Investment Services, Inc. and State Street Bank and Trust Company, dated June 30, 2004, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 50, filed June 30, 2004 (“PEA No. 50”)
       
  (5)(A)   Amended and Restated Administrative Services Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Master Trust, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. and State Street Bank and Trust Company, dated March 1, 2005, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 97
       
  (5)(B)   Amendment to the Amended and Restated Administrative Services Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Master Trust, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. and State Street Bank and Trust Company, dated December 7, 2010, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 97
       
  (5)(C)   Amendment to the Amended and Restated Administrative Services Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Master Trust, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. and State Street Bank and Trust Company, dated February 3, 2012, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 129, filed February 2, 2012  (“PEA No. 129”)
       
  (5)(D)   Seventh Amendment to the Amended and Restated Administrative Services Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. and State Street Bank and Trust Company, dated August 28, 2013, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 166, filed September 20, 2013 (“PEA No. 166”)

 

 

 

 

  (5)(E)   Eighth Amendment to the Amended and Restated Administrative Services Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. and State Street Bank and Trust Company, dated July 7, 2014, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 203, filed August 19, 2014 (“PEA No. 203”)
       
  (5)(F)   Ninth Amendment to the Amended and Restated Administrative Services Agreement among American Beacon Funds, American Beacon Advisors, Inc. and State Street Bank and Trust Company, dated February 11, 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 269
       
  (6)   Service Plan Agreement for the American Beacon Funds Investor Class, dated March 6, 2009, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 77, filed August 3, 2009 (“PEA No. 77”)
       
  (7)   Service Plan Agreement for the American Beacon Funds Advisor Class (formerly known as the AAdvantage Funds Service Class), dated May 1, 2003, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No.45, filed May 1, 2003 (“PEA No. 45”)
       
  (8)(A)   Service Plan Agreement for the American Beacon Funds Y Class, dated July 24, 2009, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 77
       
  (8)(B)   Amended and Restated Schedule A to the Service Plan Agreement for the American Beacon Funds Y Class, dated October 21, 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 269
       
  (9)(A)   Service Plan Agreement for the American Beacon Funds A Class, dated February 16, 2010, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No.84, filed March 16, 2010 (“PEA No. 84”)
       
  (9)(B)   Amended and Restated Schedule A to the Service Plan Agreement for the American Beacon Funds A Class, dated October 21, 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 269
       
  (10)(A)   Service Plan Agreement for the American Beacon Funds C Class, dated May 25, 2010, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 90, filed June 15, 2010 (“PEA No. 90”)
       
  (10)(B)   Amended and Restated Schedule A to the Service Plan Agreement for the American Beacon Funds C Class, dated October 21, 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 269
       
  (11)   Amended and Restated Credit Agreement between American Beacon Funds and American Beacon Advisors, Inc., dated January 31, 2008, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 70, filed February 29, 2008 (“PEA No. 70”)
       
  (12)(A)   Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement Agreement for the American Beacon Acadian Emerging Markets Managed Volatility Fund, dated August 9, 2013, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 166
       
  (12)(B)   Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement Agreement for the American Beacon SGA Global Growth Fund, dated August 9, 2013, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 168, filed October 3, 2013

 

 

 

 

  (12)(C)   Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement Agreement for the American Beacon Global Evolution Frontier Markets Income Fund, dated November 12, 2013, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 171, filed November 19, 2013 (“PEA No. 171”)
       
  (12)(D)   Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement Agreement for certain American Beacon Funds, dated December 19, 2013, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 173, filed December 27, 2013 (“PEA No. 173”)
       
  (12)(E)   Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement Agreement for certain American Beacon Funds, dated February 14, 2014, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 181, filed February 28, 2014 (“PEA No. 181”)
       
  (12)(F)   Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement Agreement for certain American Beacon Funds, dated March 28, 2014, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 185, filed April 29, 2014
       
  (12)(G)   Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement Agreement for the American Beacon Crescent Short Duration High Income Fund, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 196, filed July 7, 2014 (“PEA No. 196”)
       
  (12)(H)   Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement Agreement for certain American Beacon Funds, dated July 1, 2014, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 203
       
  (12)(I)   Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement Agreement for certain American Beacon Funds, dated November 13, 2014, is incorporated by reference to PEA 208
       
  (12)(J)   Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement Agreement for certain American Beacon Funds, dated January 23, 2015, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 213, filed February 27, 2015 (“PEA No. 213”)
       
  (12)(K)   Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement Agreement for American Beacon Ionic Strategic Arbitrage Fund, dated June 3, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 225
       
  (12)(L)   Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement Agreement for certain American Beacon Funds, dated March 4, 2016, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 255, filed April 29, 2016 (“PEA No. 255”)
       
  (12)(M)   Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement Agreement for certain American Beacon Funds, dated May 17, 2016, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 259, filed May 26, 2016 (“PEA No. 259”)
       
  (12)(N)   Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement Agreement for American Beacon Grosvenor Long/Short Fund, dated May 15, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (12)(O)   Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement Agreement for American Beacon Sound Point Floating Rate Income Fund, dated November 10, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 237

 

 

 

 

  (12)(P)   Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement Agreement for American Beacon Zebra Small Cap Equity Fund, American Beacon SiM High Yield Opportunities Fund and American Beacon Flexible Bond Fund, dated November 4, 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 269
       
  (12)(Q)   Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement Agreement for American Beacon Garcia Hamilton Quality Bond Fund, dated March 4, 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 253
       
  (12)(R)   Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement Agreement for American Beacon Bridgeway Large Cap Growth Fund, dated November 10, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 245
       
  (12)(S)   Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement Agreement for American Beacon GLG Total Return Fund, dated March 4, 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 258
       
  (12)(T)   Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement Agreement for American Beacon Numeric Integrated Alpha Fund, dated October 27, 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 264
       
  (12)(U)   Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement Agreement for American Beacon ARK Disruptive Innovation Fund is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 275
       
  (12)(V)   Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement Agreement for American Beacon Alpha Quant Funds – (to be filed by amendment)
       
  (12)(W)   Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement Agreement for American Beacon TwentyFour Strategic Income Fund – (to be filed by amendment)
       
  (12)(X)   Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement Agreement for American Beacon IPM Systematic Macro Fund – (to be filed by amendment)
       
(i)     Opinion and consent of counsel – (to be filed by amendment)
       
(j)     Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm – (none)
       
(k)     Financial statements omitted from prospectus – (none)
       
(l)     Letter of investment intent, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 23, filed December 18, 1997 (“PEA No. 23”)
       
(m) (1)   Distribution Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for the Advisor Class (formerly known as the Service Class), is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 45
       
  (2)(A)   Distribution Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for the A Class, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 88 filed May 17, 2010
       
  (2)(B)   Amended and Restated Schedule A to the Distribution Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for the A Class, dated October 21, 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 269
       
  (3)(A)   Distribution Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for the C Class, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 90

 

 

 

 

  (3)(B)   Amended and Restated Schedule A to the Distribution Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 for the C Class, dated October 25, 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 269
       
(n)     Amended and Restated Plan Pursuant to Rule 18f-3, dated November 4, 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 269
       
(p) (1)   Code of Ethics of American Beacon Advisors, Inc., American Beacon Funds, and American Beacon Select Funds, dated February 18, 2014, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 181
       
  (2)   Code of Ethics of Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss, Inc., dated December 31, 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 178
       
  (3)   Code of Ethics of Brandywine Global Investment Management, LLC, dated January 2017, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 178
       
  (4)   Code of Ethics of Causeway Capital Management LLC, dated April 25, 2005 and revised June 30, 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 178
       
  (5)   Code of Ethics of Foundry Partners, LLC, dated July 10, 2013, and amended December 20, 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 178
       
  (6)   Code of Ethics of Hotchkis and Wiley Capital Management, LLC, dated December 2013, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 181
       
  (7)   Code of Ethics and Personal Investment Policy of Lazard Asset Management  LLC, dated March 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 178
       
  (8)   Code of Business Conduct and Ethics of Pzena Investment Management, LLC, revised July 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 178
       
  (9)   Code of Ethics and Policy Statement on Insider Trading of Franklin Templeton, parent company of Templeton Investments Counsel, LLC, dated May 2013, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 171
       
  (10)   Code of Conduct and Personal Securities Trading Policy of The Bank of New York Mellon, parent company of The Boston Company Asset Management, LLC, dated June 22, 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 178
       
  (11)   Code of Ethics of Zebra Capital Management, LLC, dated August 22, 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 269
       
  (12)   Code of Ethics for Strategic Income Management, LLC, dated January 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 269
       
  (13)   Code of Ethics of Massachusetts Financial Services Co., dated October 31, 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 178
       
  (14)   Code of Ethics of Pacific Investment Management Company LLC (PIMCO), dated May 2009, as revised August 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 269
       
  (15)   Code of Ethics for Stephens Investment Management Group, LLC, dated April 2012, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 153

 

 

 

 

  (16)   Code of Ethics for Bridgeway Capital Management, Inc., dated June 23, 2011, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 129
       
  (17)   Code of Ethics and Conduct for Holland Capital Management LLC, dated February 2014, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 194
       
  (18)   Code of Ethics for The London Company of Virginia, LLC, dated January 4, 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 269
       
  (19)   Code of Ethics for Sustainable Growth Advisers, LP, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 162, filed July 11, 2013
       
  (20)   Code of Ethics for Acadian Asset Management LLC, dated February 2015, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 219, filed May 29, 2015
       
  (21)   Code of Ethics for Global Evolution USA, LLC, dated December 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 258
       
  (22)   Code of Ethics for AHL Partners LLP, GLG LLC and Numeric Investors LLC, revised May 2015, is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment  No. 246, filed February 17, 2016
       
  (23)   Code of Ethics for Bahl & Gaynor, Inc., amended 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 255
       
  (24)   Code of Ethics for Crescent Capital Group LP, dated May 2011, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 196
       
  (25)   Code of Ethics for Hillcrest Asset Management, LLC, dated July 8, 2014 is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 208
       
  (26)   Code of Ethics for Ionic Capital Management LLC, dated May 2014, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 214, filed March 18, 2015
       
  (27)   Code of Ethics for Grosvenor Capital Management, L.P., dated June 27, 2014, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (28)   Code of Ethics for Basswood Capital Management, LLC, dated August 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (29)   Code of Ethics for Impala Asset Management, dated November 14, 2013, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (30)   Code of Ethics for Incline Global Management, LLC, dated October 2014, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (31)   Code of Ethics for Passport Capital LLC, dated January 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (32)   Code of Ethics for Pine River Capital Management LP, dated April 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (33)   Code of Ethics for River Canyon Fund Management LLC, dated August 25, 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231

 

 

 

 

  (34)   Code of Ethics for Tremblant Capital Group, dated July 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 231
       
  (35)   Code of Ethics for Sound Point Capital Management, L.P., dated August 2014, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 237
       
  (36)   Code of Ethics for Payden & Rygel, dated August 2014, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 239
       
  (37)   Code of Ethics for Garcia Hamilton & Associates, L.P., dated December 2015, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 253
       
  (38)   Code of Ethics for ARK Investment Management LLC, as amended February 16, 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 266
       
  (39)   Code of Ethics for Alpha Quant Advisors, LLC – (to be filed by amendment)
       
  (40)   Code of Ethics for TwentyFour Asset Management (US) LP – (to be filed by amendment)
       
  (41)   Personal Trading Policy for The Boston Company Asset Management LLC, dated November 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 178
       
  (42)   Code of Ethics for WEDGE Capital Management L.L.P., dated August 22, 2016, is incorporated by reference to PEA No. 178
       
  (43)   Code of Ethics for IPM Informed Portfolio Management AB – (to be filed by amendment)

 

Powers of Attorney for Trustees of American Beacon Funds and the American Beacon Select Funds, dated February 28, 2017 – (filed herewith)

 

Item 29.Persons Controlled by or under Common Control with Registrant

 

None.

 

Item 30.Indemnification

 

Article XI of the Declaration of Trust of the Trust provides that:

 

 

 

 

Limitation of Liability

 

Section 1. Provided they have exercised reasonable care and have acted under the reasonable belief that their actions are in the best interest of the Trust, the Trustees shall not be responsible for or liable in any event for neglect or wrongdoing of them or any officer, agent, employee or investment adviser of the Trust, but nothing contained herein shall protect any Trustee against any liability to which he or she would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his or her office.

 

Indemnification

 

Section 2.

 

(a)Subject to the exceptions and limitations contained in paragraph (b) below:

 

(i)          every person who is, or has been, a Trustee or officer of the Trust (hereinafter referred to as "Covered Person") shall be indemnified by the appropriate portfolios to the fullest extent permitted by law against liability and against all expenses reasonably incurred or paid by him in connection with any claim, action, suit or proceeding in which he becomes involved as a party or otherwise by virtue of his being or having been a Trustee or officer and against amounts paid or incurred by him in the settlement thereof;

 

(ii)         the words "claim," "action," "suit," or "proceeding" shall apply to all claims, actions, suits or proceedings (civil, criminal or other, including appeals), actual or threatened while in office or thereafter, and the words "liability" and "expenses" shall include, without limitation, attorneys' fees, costs, judgments, amounts paid in settlement, fines, penalties and other liabilities.

 

(b)No indemnification shall be provided hereunder to a Covered Person:

 

(i)          who shall have been adjudicated by a court or body before which the proceeding was brought (A) to be liable to the Trust or its Shareholders by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his office or (B) not to have acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that his action was in the best interest of the Trust; or

 

(ii)         in the event of a settlement, unless there has been a determination that such Trustee or officer did not engage in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his office (A) by the court or other body approving the settlement; (B) by at least a majority of those Trustees who are neither interested persons of the Trust nor are parties to the matter based upon a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry); or (C) by written opinion of independent legal counsel based upon a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry); provided, however, that any Shareholder may, by appropriate legal proceedings, challenge any such determination by the Trustees, or by independent counsel.

 

(c)         The rights of indemnification herein provided may be insured against by policies maintained by the Trust, shall be severable, shall not be exclusive of or affect any other rights to which any Covered Person may now or hereafter be entitled, shall continue as to a person who has ceased to be such Trustee or officer and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such a person. Nothing contained herein shall affect any rights to indemnification to which Trust personnel, other than Trustees and officers, and other persons may be entitled by contract or otherwise under law.

 

 

 

 

(d)         Expenses in connection with the preparation and presentation of a defense to any claim, action, suit, or proceeding of the character described in paragraph (a) of this Section 2 may be paid by the applicable Portfolio from time to time prior to final disposition thereof upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such Covered Person that such amount will be paid over by him to the Trust if it is ultimately determined that he is not entitled to indemnification under this Section 2; provided, however, that:

 

(i)         such Covered Person shall have provided appropriate security for such undertaking;

 

(ii)         the Trust is insured against losses arising out of any such advance payments; or

 

(iii)        either a majority of the Trustees who are neither interested persons of the Trust nor parties to the matter, or independent legal counsel in a written opinion, shall have determined, based upon a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a trial-type inquiry or full investigation), that there is reason to believe that such Covered Person will be found entitled to indemnification under this Section 2.

 

According to Article XII, Section 1 of the Declaration of Trust, the Trust is a trust, not a partnership. Trustees are not liable personally to any person extending credit to, contracting with or having any claim against the Trust, a particular Portfolio or the Trustees. A Trustee, however, is not protected from liability due to willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his office.

 

Article XII, Section 2 provides that, subject to the provisions of Section 1 of Article XII and to Article XI, the Trustees are not liable for errors of judgment or mistakes of fact or law, or for any act or omission in accordance with advice of counsel or other experts or for failing to follow such advice.

 

Numbered Paragraph 10 of the Management Agreement provides that:

 

10. Limitation of Liability of the Manager. The Manager shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by a Trust or any Fund in connection with the matters to which this Agreement relate except a loss resulting from the willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on its part in the performance of its duties or from reckless disregard by it of its obligations and duties under this Agreement. Any person, even though also an officer, partner, employee, or agent of the Manager, who may be or become an officer, Board member, employee or agent of a Trust shall be deemed, when rendering services to a Trust or acting in any business of a Trust, to be rendering such services to or acting solely for a Trust and not as an officer, partner, employee, or agent or one under the control or direction of the Manager even though paid by it. The U.S. federal and state securities laws impose liabilities on persons who act in good faith, and, therefore, nothing in this Agreement is intended to limit the obligations of the Manager under such laws. This Paragraph 10 does not in any manner preempt any separate written indemnification commitments made by the Manager with respect to any matters encompassed by this Agreement.

 

 

 

 

Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Acadian Asset Management LLC provides that:

 

9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement except with respect to claims which occur due to any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with AHL Partners LLP provides, in relevant part, that:

 

9. Liability. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders, the Manager or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Manager, any affiliated person within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Manager, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Manager or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities or commodities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Adviser’s responsibilities to the Trust which may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of, the Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement, relating to its trading activities or information provided to the Manager regarding the Adviser, by the Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Adviser. The U.S. federal and state securities laws impose liabilities on persons who act in good faith, and therefore, nothing in this Agreement is intended to limit the obligations of the Adviser under such laws.

 

Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with ARK Investment Management LLC provides, in relevant part, that:

 

9. Liability of the Parties . The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Manager, any affiliated person of the Adviser within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act (“Affiliated Person”), and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Manager (“Controlling Person”), against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Manager or such Affiliated Person or Controlling Person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Adviser’s responsibilities to the Trust or the Funds that may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any Affiliate Person acting on behalf of the Adviser. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

 

 

 

The Manager agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Adviser, any Affiliated Person of the Adviser, and each Controlling Person of the Adviser, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Adviser or its Affiliated Persons or Controlling Person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Manager’s responsibilities to the Trust or the Funds that may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard by the Manager or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any Affiliated Person acting on behalf of the Manager of the Manager’s obligations and/or duties under its agreements with the Trust or the Funds. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Bahl & Gaynor, Inc. provides that:

 

9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Manager, any affiliated person within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Manager, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Manager or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Adviser’s responsibilities to the Trust which may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of, the Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Adviser. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Straus, Inc. provides that:

 

9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement except with respect to claims which occur due to any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 16 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Basswood Capital Management, LLC provides that:

 

16. Liability and Indemnification by Parties.

 

A.The Underlying Adviser shall have no liability to the Manager, Lead Adviser, the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Underlying Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Trust, the Manager, the Lead Adviser, any affiliated person of the Manager or the Lead Adviser within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Trust, the Manager or the Lead Adviser, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Trust, the Manager, the Lead Adviser or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of (i) the Underlying Adviser’s, willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the Underlying Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Underlying Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Underlying Adviser or (ii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Funds or the Underlying Adviser or the omission to state therein a material fact which was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished to the Lead Adviser, the Manager or the Trust by the Underlying Adviser or any director, officer, agent or employee of Underlying Adviser for use therein. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

 

 

 

B.The Lead Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Underlying Adviser, any affiliated person of the Underlying Adviser within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Underlying Adviser, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Underlying Adviser or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of (i) the Lead Adviser’s, willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the Lead Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Lead Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Lead Adviser or (ii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Funds or the Lead Adviser or the omission to state therein a material fact which was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished by the Lead Adviser or any director, officer, agent or employee of Lead Adviser for use therein. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

C.The Manager agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Underlying Adviser, any affiliated person of the Underlying Adviser within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Underlying Adviser, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Underlying Adviser or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of (i) the Manager’s, willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the Underlying Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Manager or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Manager or (ii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Funds or the Manager or the omission to state therein a material fact which was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was not made in reliance upon information furnished to the Manager by the Lead Adviser or the Underlying Adviser or any director, officer, agent or employee of the Lead Adviser or the Underlying Adviser for use therein. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

 

 

 

D.A party seeking indemnification hereunder (the “Indemnified Party”) will (i) provide prompt notice to the other of any Claim for which it intends to seek indemnification, (ii) grant control of the defense and/or settlement of the Claim to the other party, and (iii) cooperate with the other party in the defense thereof. The Indemnified Party will have the right at its own expense to participate in the defense of any Claim, but will not have the right to control the defense, consent to judgment or agree to the settlement of any Claim without the written consent of the other party. The party providing the indemnification will not consent to the entry of any judgment or enter any settlement which (i) does not include, as an unconditional term, the release by the claimant of all liabilities for Claims against the Indemnified Party or (ii) which otherwise adversely affects the rights of the Indemnified Party.

 

E.No party will be liable to another party for consequential, special or punitive damages under any provision of this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 11 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Brandywine Global Investment Management, LLC provides that:

 

11. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement except with respect to claims which occur due to any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Bridgeway Capital Management, Inc. provides that:

 

9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders, the Manager or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement except with respect to claims which occur due to any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.

 

Manager shall indemnify the Adviser, its officers, directors and employees, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, controls the Adviser, for any liability and expenses, including without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses, which may be sustained as a result of the Manager’s willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, reckless disregard of its duties hereunder.

 

Numbered Paragraph 8 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Causeway Capital Management LLC provides that:

 

8. Liability of Adviser. No provision of this Agreement shall be deemed to protect the Adviser against any liability to the Trust or its shareholders to which it might otherwise be subject by reason of any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.

 

 

 

 

Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Crescent Capital Group LP provides that:

 

9. Liability of Adviser. Neither the Adviser nor any director, officer or employee of the Adviser performing services for the Trust in connection with the Adviser’s discharge of its obligations hereunder shall have liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Manager, any affiliated person within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Manager, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Manager or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Adviser’s responsibilities to the Trust which may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of, the Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Adviser. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Foundry Partners, LLC provides that:

 

9. Liability of Adviser. No provision of this Agreement shall be deemed to protect the Adviser against any liability to the Trust or its shareholders to which it might otherwise be subject by reason of any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Garcia Hamilton & Associates, L.P. provides that:

 

9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Manager, any affiliated person within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Manager, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Manager or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Adviser’s responsibilities to the Trust which may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of, the Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Adviser. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

 

 

 

Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with GLG LLC provides that:

 

9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Manager, any affiliated person within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Manager, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Manager or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Adviser’s responsibilities to the Trust which may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of, the Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Adviser. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Global Evolution USA, LLC provides that:

 

9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement except with respect to claims which occur due to any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraphs 10 and 11 of the Lead Investment Advisory Agreement with Grosvenor Capital Management, L.P. provide that:

 

10. Liability of the Lead Adviser. In the absence of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of its obligations or duties hereunder on the part of the Lead Adviser, the Lead Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, the Funds or to any shareholder of the Funds or any third party for any act or omission in the course of, or connected with, rendering services hereunder or for any losses that may be sustained in the purchase, holding or sale of any investment by a Fund.

 

11. Indemnification

 

A.The Lead Adviser shall indemnify and hold harmless the Trust, the Manager, any affiliated person of the Manager within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Manager or Trust, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses) (collectively, “Claims”), to which the Manager or Trust or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Lead Adviser’s willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of its duties under this Agreement in the performance of its obligations under this Agreement provided, however, that the Lead Adviser’s obligation under this Section 11A shall be reduced to the extent that such Claim is caused by or is otherwise directly related to (i) any material breach by the Manager of its representations or warranties made herein, (ii) any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the Manager, its affiliated person or controlling person in the performance of any of its or their duties or obligations hereunder, or (iii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the registration statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Funds or the omission to state therein a material fact known to the Manager that was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, unless such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished to the Manager or the Trust by the Lead Adviser. The indemnification in this Section 11A shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

 

 

 

B.The Manager shall indemnify and hold harmless the Lead Adviser, any affiliated person of the Lead Adviser within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Lead Adviser, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses) (collectively, “Claims”), to which the Lead Adviser or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Manager’s willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of its duties under this Agreement in the performance of its obligations under this Agreement provided, however, that the Manager’s obligation under this Section 11B shall be reduced to the extent that such Claim is caused by or is otherwise directly related to (i) any material breach by the Lead Adviser of its representations or warranties made herein, (ii) any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the Lead Adviser, its affiliated person or controlling person in the performance of any of its or their duties or obligations hereunder, or (iii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the registration statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Funds or the omission to state therein a material fact known to the Lead Adviser that was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, unless such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished to the Lead Adviser by the Manager. The indemnification in this Section 11B shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

C.A party seeking indemnification hereunder (the “Indemnified Party”) will (i) provide prompt notice to the other of any Claim for which it intends to seek indemnification, (ii) grant control of the defense and/or settlement of the Claim to the other party, and (iii) cooperate with the other party in the defense thereof. The Indemnified Party will have the right at its own expense to participate in the defense of any Claim, but will not have the right to control the defense, consent to judgment or agree to the settlement of any Claim without the written consent of the other party. The party providing the indemnification will not consent to the entry of any judgment or enter any settlement which (i) does not include, as an unconditional term, the release by the claimant of all liabilities for Claims against the Indemnified Party or (ii) which otherwise adversely affects the rights of the Indemnified Party.

 

D.No party will be liable to another party for consequential damages under any provision of this Agreement.

 

 

 

 

Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Hillcrest Asset Management, LLC provides that:

 

9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Manager, any affiliated person within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Manager, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Manager or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Adviser’s responsibilities to the Trust which may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of, the Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Adviser. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Holland Capital Management LLC provides that:

 

9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement except with respect to claims which occur due to any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Hotchkis and Wiley Capital Management, LLC provides that:

 

9. Liability of Adviser. No provision of this Agreement shall be deemed to protect the Adviser against any liability to the Trust or its shareholders to which it might otherwise be subject by reason of any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 14 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Impala Asset Management provides that:

 

14. Liability and Indemnification by Parties.

 

A.The Underlying Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Underlying Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Trust, the Manager, the Lead Adviser, any affiliated person of the Manager or the Lead Adviser within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Trust, the Manager or the Lead Adviser, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Trust, the Manager, the Lead Adviser or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of (i) the Underlying Adviser’s, willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the Underlying Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Underlying Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Underlying Adviser or (ii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Funds or the Underlying Adviser or the omission to state therein a material fact which was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished to the Lead Adviser, the Manager or the Trust by the Underlying Adviser or any director, officer, agent or employee of Underlying Adviser for use therein. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

 

 

 

B.The Lead Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Underlying Adviser, any affiliated person of the Underlying Adviser within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Underlying Adviser, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Underlying Adviser or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of (i) the Lead Adviser’s, willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the Lead Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Lead Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Lead Adviser or (ii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Funds or the Lead Adviser or the omission to state therein a material fact which was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished by the Lead Adviser or any director, officer, agent or employee of Lead Adviser for use therein. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

C.The Manager agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Underlying Adviser, any affiliated person of the Underlying Adviser within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Underlying Adviser, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Underlying Adviser or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of (i) the Manager’s, willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the Underlying Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Manager or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Manager or (ii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Funds or the Manager or the omission to state therein a material fact which was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was not made in reliance upon information furnished to the Manager by the Lead Adviser or the Underlying Adviser or any director, officer, agent or employee of the Lead Adviser or the Underlying Adviser for use therein. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

 

 

 

D.A party seeking indemnification hereunder (the “Indemnified Party”) will (i) provide prompt notice to the other of any Claim for which it intends to seek indemnification, (ii) grant control of the defense and/or settlement of the Claim to the other party, and (iii) cooperate with the other party in the defense thereof. The Indemnified Party will have the right at its own expense to participate in the defense of any Claim, but will not have the right to control the defense, consent to judgment or agree to the settlement of any Claim without the written consent of the other party. The party providing the indemnification will not consent to the entry of any judgment or enter any settlement which (i) does not include, as an unconditional term, the release by the claimant of all liabilities for Claims against the Indemnified Party or (ii) which otherwise adversely affects the rights of the Indemnified Party.

 

E.No party will be liable to another party for consequential damages under any provision of this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 14 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Incline Global Management, LLC provides that:

 

14. Liability and Indemnification by Parties.

 

A.The Underlying Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Underlying Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Trust, the Manager, the Lead Adviser, any affiliated person of the Manager or the Lead Adviser within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Trust, the Manager or the Lead Adviser, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Trust, the Manager, the Lead Adviser or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of (i) the Underlying Adviser’s, willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the Underlying Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Underlying Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Underlying Adviser or (ii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Funds or the Underlying Adviser or the omission to state therein a material fact which was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished to the Lead Adviser, the Manager or the Trust by the Underlying Adviser or any director, officer, agent or employee of Underlying Adviser for use therein (and not superseded by revisions provided to Lead Adviser, the Manager or the Trust prior to the publication of the relevant document or communication). The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

 

 

 

B.The Lead Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Underlying Adviser, any affiliated person of the Underlying Adviser within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Underlying Adviser, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Underlying Adviser or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of (i) the Lead Adviser’s, willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the Lead Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Lead Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Lead Adviser or (ii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Funds or the Lead Adviser or the omission to state therein a material fact which was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished by the Lead Adviser or any director, officer, agent or employee of Lead Adviser for use therein. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

C.The Manager agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Underlying Adviser, any affiliated person of the Underlying Adviser within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Underlying Adviser, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Underlying Adviser or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of (i) the Manager’s, willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the Underlying Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Manager or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Manager or (ii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Funds or the Manager or the omission to state therein a material fact which was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was not made in reliance upon information furnished to the Manager by the Lead Adviser or the Underlying Adviser or any director, officer, agent or employee of the Lead Adviser or the Underlying Adviser for use therein. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

D.A party seeking indemnification hereunder (the “Indemnified Party”) will (i) provide prompt notice to the other of any Claim for which it intends to seek indemnification, (ii) grant control of the defense and/or settlement of the Claim to the other party, and (iii) cooperate with the other party in the defense thereof. The Indemnified Party will have the right at its own expense to participate in the defense of any Claim, but will not have the right to control the defense, consent to judgment or agree to the settlement of any Claim without the written consent of the other party. The party providing the indemnification will not consent to the entry of any judgment or enter any settlement which (i) does not include, as an unconditional term, the release by the claimant of all liabilities for Claims against the Indemnified Party or (ii) which otherwise adversely affects the rights of the Indemnified Party.

 

 

 

 

E.No party will be liable to another party for consequential damages under any provision of this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 8 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Lazard Asset Management LLC provides that:

 

8. Liability of Adviser. No provision of this Agreement shall be deemed to protect the Adviser against any liability to the Trust or its shareholders to which it might otherwise be subject by reason of any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Massachusetts Financial Services Co. provides that:

 

9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any other third party arising out of or related to this Agreement except with respect to claims which occur due to any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Form of Investment Advisory Agreement with Numeric Investors LLC provides that:

 

9. Liability. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders, the Manager or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Manager, any affiliated person within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Manager, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Manager or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Adviser’s responsibilities to the Trust which may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of, the Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement, relating to its trading activities or information provided to the Manager regarding the Adviser, by the Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Adviser. The U.S. federal and state securities laws impose liabilities on persons who act in good faith, and therefore, nothing in this Agreement is intended to limit the obligations of the Adviser under such laws.

 

Neither the Manager nor the Trust shall have any liability to the Adviser or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Manager and the Trust agree to indemnify and hold harmless, the Adviser against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Adviser may become subject under the securities or commodities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Manager’s or the Trust’s responsibilities to the Adviser which may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of, the Manager’s or the Trust’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by either of the Manager or the Trust or by any of their directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of either.

 

 

 

 

The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 8 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Pacific Investment Management Company LLC provides that:

 

8. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or

any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement except with respect to claims which

occur due to any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its

duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 17 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Passport Capital LLC provides that:

 

17. Liability and Indemnification by Parties.

 

A.Except as otherwise provided within this Agreement, in the absence of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of Underlying Adviser’s obligations and duties hereunder (“Disabling Conduct”) on the part of Underlying Adviser, none of Underlying Adviser, its affiliated persons within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, officers, directors, members, agents, employees or controlling persons shall be subject to liability to the Manager, the Lead Adviser, the Trust or any third party, including shareholders, for any act or omission in the course of, or connected with, rendering services hereunder or for any losses that may be sustained in the purchase, holding or sale of any security by the Funds.

 

B.The Underlying Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Trust, the Manager, the Lead Adviser, any affiliated person of the Manager or the Lead Adviser within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, their officers, directors, members, agents, employees and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Trust, the Manager or the Lead Adviser, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Trust, the Manager, the Lead Adviser or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of (i) the Disabling Conduct of the Underlying Adviser or its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Underlying Adviser or (ii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Funds or the Underlying Adviser or the omission to state therein a material fact pertaining thereto which was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished in writing to the Lead Adviser, the Manager or the Trust by the Underlying Adviser for use therein. The Underlying Adviser shall have no liability or responsibility with respect to other disclosures or statements or omissions. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

 

 

 

C.The Lead Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Underlying Adviser, any affiliated person of the Underlying Adviser within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, its officers, directors, members, agents, employees and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Underlying Adviser, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Underlying Adviser or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of (i) the Disabling Conduct of the Lead Adviser or any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Lead Adviser or (ii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Funds or the Lead Adviser or the omission to state therein a material fact which was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished by the Lead Adviser or any director, officer, agent or employee of Lead Adviser for use therein. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

D.The Manager agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Underlying Adviser, any affiliated person of the Underlying Adviser within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, its officers, directors, members, agents, employees and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Investment Company Act, controls the Underlying Adviser, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Underlying Adviser or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of this agreement, except to the extent such claims are determined by a non-appealable final judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction to result from the Underlying Adviser’s Disabling Conduct or the matters described in Section 17(B). The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

E.A party seeking indemnification hereunder (the “Indemnified Party”) will (i) provide prompt notice to the other of any Claim for which it intends to seek indemnification, (ii) grant control of the defense and/or settlement of the Claim to the other party, and (iii) cooperate with the other party in the defense thereof. The Indemnified Party will have the right at its own expense to participate in the defense of any Claim, but will not have the right to control the defense, consent to judgment or agree to the settlement of any Claim without the written consent of the other party. The party providing the indemnification will not consent to the entry of any judgment or enter any settlement which (i) does not include, as an unconditional term, the release by the claimant of all liabilities for Claims against the Indemnified Party or (ii) which otherwise adversely affects the rights or reputation of the Indemnified Party.

 

 

 

 

F.No party will be liable to another party for consequential damages under any provision of this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Payden & Rygel provides that:

 

9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Manager, any affiliated person within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Manager, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Manager or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Adviser’s responsibilities to the Trust which may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of, the Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Adviser. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 15 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Pine River Capital Management LP provides that:

 

15. Liability and Indemnification by Parties.

 

A.Neither the Underlying Adviser, nor any of its directors, officers, members, partners, employees, supervised persons, or affiliated persons (within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act), nor any person who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Underling Adviser (collectively, the “Underlying Adviser Affiliates”) shall have any liability to the Trust, its shareholders, the Manager, the Lead Adviser, any affiliated person of the Manager or the Lead Adviser within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, any person who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Trust, the Manager or the Lead Adviser or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, that the Underlying Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Trust, the Manager, the Lead Adviser, any affiliated person of the Manager or the Lead Adviser within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Trust, the Manager or the Lead Adviser, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses, the “Losses”), to which the Trust, the Manager, the Lead Adviser or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of (i) the Underlying Adviser’s willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the Underlying Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Underlying Adviser or by any of the Underlying Adviser Affiliates acting on behalf of the Underlying Adviser or (ii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Funds or the Underlying Adviser or the omission to state therein a material fact which was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished to the Lead Adviser, the Manager or the Trust by the Underlying Adviser or any Underlying Adviser Affiliate for use therein and not superseded by revisions furnished to the Lead Adviser, the Manager or the Trust by the Underlying Adviser or any Underlying Adviser Affiliate prior to the publication of the relevant document or communication. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

 

 

 

B.The Lead Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Underlying Adviser and any of the Underlying Adviser Affiliates, against any and all Losses to which the Underlying Adviser or an Underlying Adviser Affiliate may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of (i) the Lead Adviser’s, willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the Lead Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement or the Lead Adviser Management Agreement by the Lead Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, partners, employees, supervised persons, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Lead Adviser; (ii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Funds or the Lead Adviser or the omission to state therein a material fact which was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished by the Lead Adviser or any of its directors, officers, partners, employees, supervised persons, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Lead Adviser for use therein; or (iii) the conduct of any other underlying adviser to a Fund. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

C.The Manager agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Underlying Adviser and any of the Underlying Adviser Affiliates, against any and all Losses to which the Underlying Adviser or an Underlying Adviser Affiliate may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of (i) the Manager’s, willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the Manager’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement or the Investment Management Agreement by the Manager or by any of its directors, officers, employees, supervised persons, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Manager; (ii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Funds or the Manager or the omission to state therein a material fact which was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was not made in reliance upon information furnished to the Manager by the Lead Adviser or the Underlying Adviser or any director, officer, agent, supervised person or employee of the Lead Adviser or any Underlying Adviser Affiliate for use therein, or (iii) the conduct of any other underlying adviser to a Fund. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

 

 

 

D.A party seeking indemnification hereunder (the “Indemnified Party”) will (i) provide prompt notice to the other of any claim for which it intends to seek indemnification, (ii) grant control of the defense and/or settlement of the claim to the other party, and (iii) cooperate with the other party in the defense thereof. The Indemnified Party will have the right at its own expense to participate in the defense of any claim, but will not have the right to control the defense, consent to judgment or agree to the settlement of any claim without the written consent of the other party. The party providing the indemnification will not consent to the entry of any judgment or enter any settlement which (i) does not include, as an unconditional term, the release by the claimant of all liabilities for claims against the Indemnified Party or (ii) which otherwise adversely affects the rights of the Indemnified Party.

 

E.No party will be liable to another party for lost profits under any provision of this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Pzena Investment Management, LLC provides that:

 

9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall not be liable for any action taken or omitted to be taken by it in its reasonable judgment, in good faith and believed by it to be authorized or within the discretion or rights or powers conferred upon it by this Agreement, or in accordance with (or in the absence of) specific directions or instructions from the Manager. No provision of this Agreement shall be deemed to protect the Adviser against any liability to the Trust or its shareholders to which it might otherwise be subject by reason of any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 14 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with River Canyon Fund Management LLC provides that:

 

14. Liability and Indemnification by Parties.

 

A.The Underlying Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party for any error of judgment or any loss arising out of any investment or other act or omission in the course of, connected with, or arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Underlying Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Trust, the Manager, the Lead Adviser, any affiliated person of the Manager or the Lead Adviser within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Trust, the Manager or the Lead Adviser, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Trust, the Manager, the Lead Adviser or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of (i) the Underlying Adviser’s willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the Underlying Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Underlying Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Underlying Adviser or (ii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Funds or the Underlying Adviser or the omission to state therein a material fact which was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, but only if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished to the Lead Adviser, the Manager or the Trust by the Underlying Adviser or any director, officer, agent or employee of Underlying Adviser for use therein. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

 

 

 

B.The Lead Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Underlying Adviser, any affiliated person of the Underlying Adviser within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Underlying Adviser, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Underlying Adviser or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of (i) the Lead Adviser’s willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the Lead Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Lead Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Lead Adviser or (ii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Funds or the Lead Adviser or the omission to state therein a material fact which was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished by the Lead Adviser or any director, officer, agent or employee of Lead Adviser for use therein. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

C.The Manager agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Underlying Adviser, any affiliated person of the Underlying Adviser within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Underlying Adviser, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Underlying Adviser or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of (i) the Manager’s willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the Manager’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Manager or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Manager or (ii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Funds or the Manager or the omission to state therein a material fact which was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was not made in reliance upon information furnished to the Manager by the Lead Adviser or the Underlying Adviser or any director, officer, agent or employee of the Lead Adviser or the Underlying Adviser for use therein. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

 

 

 

D.A party seeking indemnification hereunder (the “Indemnified Party”) will (i) provide prompt notice to the other of any Claim for which it intends to seek indemnification, (ii) grant control of the defense and/or settlement of the Claim to the other party, and (iii) cooperate with the other party in the defense thereof. The Indemnified Party will have the right at its own expense to participate in the defense of any Claim, but will not have the right to control the defense, consent to judgment or agree to the settlement of any Claim without the written consent of the other party. The party providing the indemnification will not consent to the entry of any judgment or enter any settlement which (i) does not include, as an unconditional term, the release by the claimant of all liabilities for Claims against the Indemnified Party or (ii) which otherwise adversely affects the rights of the Indemnified Party.

 

E.No party will be liable to another party for consequential damages under any provision of this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Sound Point Capital Management, L.P. provides that:

 

9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, provided however, the Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the Manager, any affiliated person within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, and each person, if any, who, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, controls the Manager, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Manager or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of the Adviser’s responsibilities to the Trust which may be based upon any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of, the Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Adviser. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Stephens Investment Management Group, LLC provides that:

 

9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement except with respect to claims which occur due to any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Strategic Income Management, LLC provides that:

 

9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any other third party arising out of or related to this Agreement except with respect to claims which occur due to any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Sustainable Growth Advisers, LP provides that:

 

 

 

 

9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement except with respect to claims which occur due to any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 8 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Templeton Investment Counsel, LLC provides that:

 

8. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement except with respect to claims which occur due to any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 8 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with The Boston Company Asset Management, LLC provides that:

 

8. Liability of Adviser. No provision of this Agreement shall be deemed to protect the Adviser against any liability to the Trust or its shareholders to which it might otherwise be subject by reason of any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with The London Company of Virginia, LLC provides that:

 

9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement except with respect to claims which occur due to any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 15 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Tremblant Capital LP provides that:

 

15. Liability and Indemnification by Parties.

 

A.The Underlying Adviser, and its officers, members, partners and employees, shall have no liability to the Manager, the Lead Adviser, the Fund, Fund shareholders or any third party arising out of or related to this Agreement, except that the Underlying Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Fund, the Manager, the Lead Adviser, any affiliated person of the Manager or the Lead Adviser within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, or any controlling person within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act of the Fund, the Manager or the Lead Adviser, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), to which the Fund, the Manager, the Lead Adviser or such affiliated person or controlling person may become subject under the securities laws, any other federal or state law, at common law or otherwise, arising out of (i) the Underlying Adviser’s willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the Underlying Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Underlying Adviser or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Underlying Adviser or (ii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Prospectus and/or proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Allocated Portion or the Underlying Adviser or the omission to state therein a material fact that was known, or should have been known, to the Underlying Adviser which was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished to the Lead Adviser, the Manager or the Fund by the Underlying Adviser or any director, officer, agent or employee of Underlying Adviser for use therein. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

 

 

 

B.The Lead Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Underlying Adviser, any affiliated person of the Underlying Adviser within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, or any controlling person within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act of the Underlying Adviser, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), incurred by the Underlying Adviser or such affiliated person or controlling person arising out of (i) the Lead Adviser’s willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the Lead Adviser’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Lead Adviser or (ii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, and/or proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Fund or the Lead Adviser or the omission to state therein a material fact which was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished by the Lead Adviser or any director, officer, agent or employee of Lead Adviser for use therein. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

C.The Manager agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Underlying Adviser, any affiliated person of the Underlying Adviser within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act, or any controlling person, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, of the Underlying Adviser, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including reasonable legal and other expenses), incurred by the Underlying Adviser or such affiliated person or controlling person arising out of (i) the Manager’s willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the Manager’s obligations and/or duties under this Agreement by the Manager or by any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, or any affiliate acting on behalf of the Manager or (ii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, and/or proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Fund or the Manager or the omission to state therein a material fact which was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished by Manager or any director, officer, agent or employee of the Manager for use therein. The indemnification in this Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

 

D.A party seeking indemnification hereunder (the “Indemnified Party”) will (i) provide prompt notice to the other of any claim for indemnification (“Claim”) for which it intends to seek indemnification, (ii) grant control of the defense and/or settlement of the Claim to the other party, and (iii) cooperate with the other party in the defense thereof. The Indemnified Party will have the right at its own expense to participate in the defense of any Claim, but will not have the right to control the defense, consent to judgment or agree to the settlement of any Claim without the written consent of the other party. The party providing the indemnification will not consent to the entry of any judgment or enter any settlement which (i) does not include, as an unconditional term, the release by the claimant of all liabilities for Claims against the Indemnified Party or (ii) which otherwise adversely affects the rights of the Indemnified Party.

 

 

 

  

E.No party will be liable to another party for consequential damages under any provision of this Agreement.

 

Numbered Paragraph 9 of the Investment Advisory Agreement with Zebra Capital Management, LLC provides that:

 

9. Liability of Adviser. The Adviser shall have no liability to the Trust, its shareholders or any other third party arising out of or related to this Agreement except with respect to claims which occur due to any willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.         

 

Numbered Paragraph 11 of the Administration Agreement provides that:

 

11. Limitation of Liability of American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (“ABA”). ABA shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by a Trust or any Series in connection with the matters to which this Agreement relate except a loss resulting from the willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on its part in the performance of its duties or from reckless disregard by it of its obligations and duties under this Agreement. Any person, even though also an officer, partner, employee, or agent of ABA, who may be or become an officer, Board member, employee or agent of a Trust shall be deemed, when rendering services to any Trust or acting in any business of a Trust, to be rendering such services to or acting solely for the Trust and not as an officer, partner, employee, or agent or one under the control or direction of ABA even though paid by it.

 

Section 4.2 of the Distribution Agreement provides that:

 

(a) Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, Foreside shall not be responsible for, and the Clients shall on behalf of each applicable Fund or Class thereof, indemnify and hold harmless Foreside, its employees, directors, officers and managers and any person who controls Foreside within the meaning of section 15 of the Securities Act or section 20 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (for purposes of this Section 4.2(a), "Foreside Indemnitees") from and against, any and all losses, damages, costs, charges, reasonable counsel fees, payments, liabilities and other expenses of every nature and character (including, but not limited to, direct and indirect reasonable reprocessing costs) arising out of or attributable to all and any of the following (for purposes of this Section 4.2(a), a "Foreside Claim"):

 

(i) any action (or omission to act) of Foreside or its agents taken in connection with this Agreement; provided, that such action (or omission to act) is taken in good faith and without willful misfeasance, negligence or reckless disregard by Foreside of its duties and obligations under this Agreement;

 

 

 

 

(ii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement or arising out of or based upon any alleged omission to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, unless such statement or omission was made in reliance upon, and in conformity with, information furnished to the Clients in connection with the preparation of the Registration Statement or exhibits to the Registration Statement by or on behalf of Foreside;

 

(iii) any material breach of the Clients' agreements, representations, warranties, and covenants in Sections 2.9 and 5.2 of this Agreement; or

 

(iv) the reliance on or use by Foreside or its agents or subcontractors of information, records, documents or services which have been prepared, maintained or performed by the Clients or any agent of the Clients, including but not limited to any Predecessor Records provided pursuant to Section 2.9(b).

 

(b) Foreside will indemnify, defend and hold the Clients and their several officers and members of their Governing Bodies and any person who controls the Clients within the meaning of section 15 of the Securities Act or section 20 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (collectively, the "Clients Indemnitees" and, with the Foreside Indemnitees, an "Indemnitee"), free and harmless from and against any and all claims, demands, actions, suits, judgments, liabilities, losses, damages, costs, charges, reasonable counsel fees and other expenses of every nature and character (including the cost of investigating or defending such claims, demands, actions, suits or liabilities and any reasonable counsel fees incurred in connection therewith), but only to the extent that such claims, demands, actions, suits, judgments, liabilities, losses, damages, costs, charges, reasonable counsel fees and other expenses result from, arise out of or are based upon all and any of the following (for purposes of this Section 4.2(c), a "Clients Claim" and, with a Foreside Claim, a "Claim"):

 

(i) any material action (or omission to act) of Foreside or its agents taken in connection with this Agreement, provided that such action (or omission to act) is not taken in good faith and with willful misfeasance, negligence or reckless disregard by Foreside of its duties and obligations under this Agreement.

 

(ii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement or any alleged omission of a material fact required to be stated or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon, and in conformity with, information furnished to the Clients in writing in connection with the preparation of the Registration Statement by or on behalf of Foreside; or

 

(iii) any material breach of Foreside's agreements, representations, warranties and covenants set forth in Section 2.4 and 5.1 hereof

 

(d) The Clients or Foreside (for purpose of this Section 4.2(d), an "Indemnifying Party") may assume the defense of any suit brought to enforce any Foreside Claim or Clients Claim, respectively, and may retain counsel chosen by the Indemnifying Party and approved by the other Party, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed. The Indemnifying Party shall advise the other Party that it will assume the defense of the suit and retain counsel within ten (10) days of receipt of the notice of the claim. If the Indemnifying Party assumes the defense of any such suit and retains counsel, the other Party shall bear the fees and expenses of any additional counsel that they retain. If the Indemnifying Party does not assume the defense of any such suit, or if other Party does not approve of counsel chosen by the Indemnifying Party, or if the other Party has been advised that it may have available defenses or claims that are not available to or conflict with those available to the Indemnifying Party, the Indemnifying Party will reimburse any Indemnitee named as defendant in such suit for the reasonable fees and expenses of any counsel that the Indemnitee retains. An Indemnitee shall not settle or confess any claim without the prior written consent of the applicable Client, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed.

 

 

 

 

(e) An Indemnifying Party's obligation to provide indemnification under this section is conditioned upon the Indemnifying Party receiving notice of any action brought against an Indemnitee within twenty (20) days after the summons or other first legal process is served. Such notice shall refer to the Person or Persons against whom the action is brought. The failure to provide such notice shall not relieve the Indemnifying Party of any liability that it may have to any Indemnitee except to the extent that the ability of the party entitled to such notice to defend such action has been materially adversely affected by the failure to provide notice.

 

(f) The provisions of this section and the parties' representations and warranties in this Agreement shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of any Indemnitee and shall survive the sale and redemption of any Shares made pursuant to subscriptions obtained by Foreside. The indemnification provisions of this section will inure exclusively to the benefit of each person that may be an Indemnitee at any time and their respective successors and assigns (it being intended that such persons be deemed to be third party beneficiaries under this Agreement).

 

Section 4.3 of the Distribution Agreement provides that:

 

Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, except as specifically set forth below:

 

(a) Neither Party shall be liable for losses, delays, failure, errors, interruption or loss of data occurring directly or indirectly by reason of circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including, without limitation, acts of God; action or inaction of civil or military authority; public enemy; war; terrorism; riot; fire; flood; sabotage; epidemics; labor disputes; civil commotion; interruption, loss or malfunction of utilities, transportation, computer or communications capabilities; insurrection; or elements of nature;

 

(b) Neither Party shall be liable for any consequential, special or indirect losses or damages suffered by the other Party, whether or not the likelihood of such losses or damages was known by the Party;

 

(c) No affiliate, director, officer, employee, manager, shareholder, partner, agent, counsel or consultant of either Party shall be liable at law or in equity for the obligations of such Party under this Agreement or for any damages suffered by the other Party related to this Agreement;

 

(d) Except as set forth in Section 4.2(f), there are no third party beneficiaries of this Agreement;

 

(e) Each Party shall have a duty to mitigate damages for which the other Party may become responsible;

 

 

 

 

(f) The assets and liabilities of each Fund are separate and distinct from the assets and liabilities of each other Fund, and no Fund shall be liable or shall be charged for any debt, obligation or liability of any other Fund, whether arising under this Agreement or otherwise; and in asserting any rights or claims under this Agreement, Foreside shall look only to the assets and property of the Fund to which Foreside's rights or claims relate in settlement of such rights or claims; and

 

(g) Each Party agrees promptly to notify the other party of the commencement of any litigation or proceeding of which it becomes aware arising out of or in any way connected with the issuance or sale of Shares.

 

Insofar as indemnification for liability arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to trustees, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised 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. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a trustee, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such trustee, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

 

Supplemental Limited Indemnification from the Administrator

 

Each of the Trustees of the Trust has entered into an arrangement with the Trust’s Administrator, whereby she or he may be indemnified by the Administrator for liability arising from a failure of the Administrator to carry out its duties under the Administration Agreement with the Trust and for certain securities laws claims. The arrangement is principally designed to supplement the indemnification afforded under the Trust’s Declaration of Trust as well as liability coverage provided by insurance policies. The arrangement is limited to civil and administrative claims.

 

Item 31.

 

I.Business and Other Connections of Investment Manager

 

American Beacon Advisors, Inc. (the “Manager”) offers investment management and administrative services to the Registrant. It acts in the same capacity to other investment companies, including those listed below.

 

Set forth below is information as to any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature in which each officer and director of American Beacon Advisors, Inc. is, or at any time during the past two fiscal years has been, engaged for his/her own account or in the capacity of director, officer, employee, partner or trustee.

 

 

 

 

Name; Current Position with American Beacon Advisors, Inc.   Other Substantial Business and Connections
     
Sonia L. Bates; Asst. Treasurer, Dir. Tax & Financial Reporting   Asst. Treasurer, American Beacon Funds Complex; Asst. Treasurer, Lighthouse Holdings, Inc.; Asst. Treasurer, Lighthouse Holdings Parent, Inc.; Asst. Treasurer, American Private Equity Management, L.L.C.; Asst. Treasurer, Resolute Investment Managers, Inc.
     
Rosemary K. Behan; Secretary   Secretary, American Beacon Funds Complex; Secretary, Lighthouse Holdings, Inc.; Secretary, Lighthouse Holdings Parent, Inc.; Secretary, American Private Equity Management, L.L.C.; Secretary, American Beacon Cayman Managed Futures Strategy Fund, Ltd.; Secretary, Resolute Investment Managers, Inc.
     
Christopher L. Collins; Director   Manager; APEM, L.L.C.; Director; ABA, Inc.; President and Director; Resolute Investment Managers, Inc.; President and Director; Resolute Acquisition, Inc.; President and Director; Resolute Topco, Inc.; Vice President and Director; Resolute Investment Holdings, LLC.
     
Stephen C. Dutton; Director   Manager; APEM, L.L.C.; Vice President & Treasurer and Director; Resolute Investment Managers, Inc., Vice President & Treasurer and Director; Resolute Acquisition, Inc., Vice President & Treasurer and Director; Resolute Topco, Inc., Vice President and Director; Resolute Investment Holdings, LLC.
     
Melinda G. Heika; Treasurer   Treasurer, American Beacon Funds Complex; Treasurer, Lighthouse Holdings, Inc.; Treasurer, Lighthouse Holdings Parent, Inc.; Treasurer, American Private Equity Management, L.L.C.; Director and Treasurer, American Beacon Cayman Managed Futures Strategy Fund, Ltd.; Treasurer, Resolute Investment Managers, Inc.
     
Takashi B. Moriuchi; Director   Manager; APEM, L.L.C.; Director; Resolute Investment Managers, Inc., Director; Resolute Acquisition, Inc., Director; Resolute Topco, Inc., Director; Resolute Investment Holdings, LLC.

 

 

 

 

Gene L. Needles, Jr.; Director, President and Chief Executive Officer   President, American Beacon Funds Complex; Director, President, Lighthouse Holdings, Inc.; President, Lighthouse Holdings Parent, Inc.; Manager, American Private Equity Management, L.L.C.; President, American Beacon Cayman Managed Futures Strategy Fund, Ltd.; Director, Resolute Investment Managers, Inc.; Director, Resolute Acquisition, Inc.; Director, Resolute Topco, Inc., President & CEO, Resolute Investment Holdings, LLC.
     
Jeffrey K. Ringdahl; Chief Operating Officer   Senior Vice President, American Beacon Funds Complex; Senior Vice President, Lighthouse Holdings, Inc.; Senior Vice President, Lighthouse Holdings Parent, Inc.; Vice President, American Private Equity Management; Director and Vice President, American Beacon Cayman Managed Futures Strategy Fund, Ltd.; Director, Resolute Investment Managers, Inc.; Director, Resolute Acquisition, Inc.; Director, Resolute Topco, Inc., Chief Operating Officer, Resolute Investment Holdings, LLC.

 

The principal address of the Manager, the American Beacon Funds, American Private Equity Management, L.L.C., and Resolute Investment Holdings, LLC, and Lighthouse Holdings Parent, Inc. is 220 East Las Colinas Blvd., Suite 1200, Irving, Texas 75039.

 

II.Business and Other Connections of Investment Advisers

 

The investment advisers listed below provide investment advisory services to the Trust.

 

American Beacon Advisors, Inc., 220 East Las Colinas Blvd., Suite 1200, Irving, Texas 75039.

 

Acadian Asset Management LLC (“Acadian”) is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-adviser for the American Beacon Acadian Emerging Markets Managed Volatility Fund. The principal address of Acadian is 260 Franklin Street, Boston, MA 02110.

 

Set forth below is information as to any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature in which each officer and director of Acadian is, or at any time during the past two fiscal years has been, engaged for his/her own account or in the capacity of director, officer, employee, partner or trustee.

 

 

 

 

Name; Current Position with Acadian   Other Substantial Business and Connections
Laurent de Greef; Member of Board of Managers   None
     
John Chisholm; Executive Vice President, CIO, Member of Board of Managers   Director, Acadian Asset Management (UK) Ltd
     
Churchill Franklin; CEO, Member of Board of Managers   Director, Acadian Asset Management (UK) Ltd; Director, Acadian Cayman Limited G.P.
     
Ronald Frashure; Chairman of Board of Managers   Director, Acadian Asset Management (Singapore) Pte Ltd; Director, Acadian Cayman Limited G.P.
     
Mark Minichiello; Executive Vice President, COO, Treasurer, Secretary, Member of Board of Managers   Director, Acadian Asset Management (UK) Ltd; Director, Acadian Asset Management (Singapore) Pte Ltd; Director, Acadian Asset Management (Japan)
     
Brendan Bradley; Senior Vice President, Director, Portfolio Management, Member of Board of Managers   None
     
Ross Dowd; Executive Vice President, Head of Client Service, Member of Board of Managers   Director, Acadian Asset Management (UK) Ltd; Director, Acadian Cayman Limited G.P.; Director, Acadian Asset Management (Australia) Ltd.; Director, Acadian Asset Management (Singapore) Pte Ltd; Director, Acadian Asset Management (Japan)
     
Mauricio Karchmer; Senior Vice President, Member of Board of Managers   None
     
Theodore Noon; Senior Vice President, Member of Board of Managers   None
     
Linda Gibson; Member of Board of Managers   Executive Vice President and Head of Global Distribution – OM Asset Management PLC (a public company traded on the NYSE); Director, Executive Vice President and Head of Global Distribution – OMAM Inc. (f/k/a Old Mutual (US) Holdings Inc.) (a holding company);   Director, Acadian Asset Management LLC (an investment advisor); Director, Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss, LLC (an investment advisor); Director, OMAM (HFL) Inc. (f/k/a Old Mutual (HFL) Inc.) (a holding company for Heitman affiliated financial services firms); Director, OMAM International Ltd. (f/k/a Old Mutual Asset Management International, Ltd.) (an investment advisor
     
Christopher Hadley; Member of Board of Managers   Executive Vice President and Chief Talent Officer – OM Asset Management PLC (a public company traded on the NYSE); Executive Vice President and Chief Talent Officer – OMAM Inc. (f/k/a Old Mutual (US) Holdings Inc.)  (a holding company);  Director, Acadian Asset Management LLC (an investment advisor)

 

 

 

 

Aidan Riordan; Member of Board of Managers   Executive Vice President, Head of Affiliate Management - OM Asset Management PLC (a public company traded on the NYSE); Executive Vice President, Head of Affiliate Management - OMAM Inc. (f/k/a Old Mutual (US) Holdings Inc.) (a holding company);  Director, Acadian Asset Management LLC (an investment advisor); Director, Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss, LLC (an investment advisor); Director, The Campbell Group, Inc. (a holding company for The Campbell Group LLC);  Director, Copper Rock Capital Partners LLC (an investment advisor); Director, OMAM (HFL) Inc. (f/k/a Old Mutual (HFL) Inc. (a holding company for Heitman affiliated financial services firms);  Director, Investment Counselors of Maryland, LLC (an investment advisor); Director, Thompson, Siegel & Walmsley LLC (an investment advisor)
     
Stephen Belgard; Member of Board of Managers   Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer - OM Asset Management PLC (a public company traded on the NYSE); Director, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer - OMAM Inc. (f/k/a Old Mutual (US) Holdings Inc.) (a holding company); Director, Acadian Asset Management LLC (an investment advisor);  Director, OMAM International Ltd. (f/k/a Old Mutual Asset Management International, Ltd.) (an investment advisor)

 

AHL Partners LLP (“AHL”) is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund. The principal address of AHL is 2 Swan Lane, London, United Kingdom EC4R 3AD. Information as to the officers and directors of AHL is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 167882), and is incorporated herein by reference.

 

Alpha Quant Advisors, LLC (‘‘Alpha Quant’’), formerly known as Crest Investment Partners, LLC, is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon Alpha Quant Core Fund, American Beacon Alpha Quant Dividend Fund, Alpha Quant Quality Fund and Alpha Quant Value Fund. The principal address of Alpha Quant is 220 East Las Colinas Blvd., Suite 1200, Irving, Texas 75039. On October 14, 2016 Alpha Quant became an indirect majority-owned subsidiary of Resolute Investment Holdings, LLC, which is owned primarily by Kelso Investment Associates VIII, L.P., KEP VI, LLC and Estancia Capital Partners L.P. Prior to October 14, 2016, it was founded in September 2011 as a subsidiary of Cypress Capital Group and affiliated of Cypress Trust Co. Information as to the Officers and Directors of Alpha Quant is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 285855), and is incorporated herein by reference.

 

 

 

 

ARK Investment Management LLC (“ARK”) is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon ARK Disruptive Innovation Fund. The principal address for ARK is 155 West 19th Street, Fifth Floor, New York, NY 10011. ARK was formed in June 2013, and registered as an investment adviser with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in January 2014. Information as to the Officers and Directors of ARK is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 169525), and is incorporated herein by reference.

 

Bahl & Gaynor, Inc. (“Bahl & Gaynor”) is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth Fund. The principal address of Bahl & Gaynor is 212 East Third Street, Suite 200 Cincinnati, OH 45202. Information as to the officers and directors of Bahl & Gaynor is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 106139), and is incorporated herein by reference.

 

Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss, LLC (“Barrow”) is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon Balanced Fund, American Beacon Large Cap Value Fund, American Beacon Mid-Cap Value Fund and American Beacon Small Cap Value Fund. The principal address of Barrow is 2200 Ross Avenue, 31st Floor, Dallas, TX 75201-2761.

 

Set forth below is information as to any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature in which each officer and director of Barrow is, or at any time during the past two fiscal years has been, engaged for his/her own account or in the capacity of director, officer, employee, partner or trustee.

 

Name; Current Position with Barrow   Other Substantial Business and Connections
James P. Barrow; President, Secretary, Treasurer, Executive Director   None
     
J. Ray Nixon; Executive Director, Member Board of Managers   None
     
Cory L. Martin, Managing Director, Member Board of Managers   None
     
Patricia B. Andrews; Chief Compliance and Risk Officer, Managing Director   None
     
John S. Williams; Managing Director   None
     
Linda T. Gibson; Member Board of Managers   OMAM, Inc., Executive Vice President and Head of Global Distribution
     
Aidan J. Riordan; Member Board of Managers   OMAM, Inc., Executive Vice President and  Head of Affiliate Management

 

Basswood Capital Management, LLC (“Basswood”) is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon Grosvenor Long/Short Fund.  The principal address of Basswood is 645 Madison Avenue, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10022.  Information as to the officers and directors of Basswood is included in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (CRD number 138032), and is incorporated herein by reference.

 

 

 

 

Brandywine Global Investment Management, LLC (“Brandywine”) is a registered investment adviser and is an investment sub-advisor for the American Beacon Flexible Bond Fund, American Beacon Balanced Fund, American Beacon Large Cap Value Fund, and American Beacon Small Cap Value Fund. The principal address of Brandywine is 2929 Arch Street, 8th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19104.

 

Set forth below is information as to any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature in which each officer and director of Brandywine is, or at any time during the past two fiscal years has been, engaged for his/her own account or in the capacity of director, officer, employee, partner or trustee.

 

Name; Current Position with Brandywine   Other Substantial Business and Connections
David F. Hoffman; Senior Managing Director   None
     
Mark P. Glassman; Chief Administrative Officer   None
     
Patrick S. Kaser; Managing Director   None
     
Paul R. Lesutis; Senior Managing Director   None
     
Henry F. Otto; Senior Managing Director   None