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Dec. 30, 2022
American Beacon Tocqueville International Value Fund
Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) are invested in equity securities of small market capitalization companies that are economically tied to countries outside of the United States, including developed and emerging market countries. These companies have market capitalizations within the market capitalization range of the companies in the MSCI® ACWI ex USA Small Cap Index at the time of investment. The market capitalization range of the MSCI ACWI ex USA Small Cap Index was $2.5 million to $8.2 billion as of November 30, 2022. The Fund may hold smaller companies considered micro-capitalization companies, as well as medium-capitalization companies. The Fund invests principally in equity securities, which may include common stocks, depositary receipts and U.S. dollar-denominated foreign stocks traded on U.S. exchanges. The Fund’s investments in equity securities may be denominated in foreign currencies, and the Fund may invest directly in foreign currencies.

 

The investment process of the Fund’s sub-advisor is based on bottom-up analysis of companies rather than top-down country or sector allocation. The sub-advisor’s process is intended to add long-term value primarily through stock selection. The Fund may have significant exposure to Japanese and European companies. However, as the composition of the Fund’s portfolio changes over time, the Fund’s exposure to Japan and Europe may be lower at a future date, and the Fund’s exposure to other countries or regions may be higher.

 

The sub-advisor seeks to generate returns by harnessing the power of the momentum premium, which is the principle that companies that have outperformed in the recent past will continue to outperform for a period of time. The sub-advisor seeks to exploit behavioral biases around change, which cause investors to underreact to new information. The sub-advisor believes these underreactions to new information lead to opportunities to invest in companies with improving or accelerating financial performance that is expected to continue, otherwise known as momentum. The sub-

advisor’s disciplined “Informed Momentum” approach to investing combines stock selection, tailored risk management, and efficient implementation to seek to harness the momentum premium to generate returns. The stocks of companies held by the Fund may exhibit characteristics of both value stocks and growth stocks during the time they are held by the Fund. The Fund holds approximately 100-150 investments.

 

The Fund may also invest cash balances in other investment companies, including a government money market fund advised by the Manager, with respect to which the Manager also receives a management fee. The Fund may seek to earn additional income by lending its securities to certain qualified broker-dealers and institutions on a short-term or long-term basis.

 

The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of portfolio securities to achieve its principal investment strategies.

·European Securities Risk. The Fund’s performance may be affected by political, social and economic conditions in Europe, such as growth of economic output (the gross national product), the rate of inflation, the rate at which capital is reinvested into European economies, the success of governmental actions to reduce budget deficits, the resource self-sufficiency of European countries and conflict between European countries. The European financial markets have experienced and may continue to experience volatility and adverse trends due to concerns relating to economic downturns; rising government debt levels and the possible default on government debt; national unemployment in several European countries; and, most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These events have adversely affected the exchange rate of the euro and may continue to significantly affect European countries. Responses to financial problems by European governments, central banks, and others, including austerity measures and other reforms, may not produce the desired results, may result in social unrest and may limit future growth and economic recovery or may have unintended consequences. In addition, one or more countries may abandon the euro and/or withdraw from the European Union (“EU”). The impact of these actions, especially if they occur in a disorderly fashion, could be significant and far-reaching.

 

   

Many EU nations are susceptible to economic risks associated with high levels of debt, and a default or debt restricting by any European country could 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. Such a default or debt restructuring could affect exposures to other EU countries and their companies as well. In addition, issuers have faced difficulties obtaining credit or refinancing existing obligations, and financial markets have experienced extreme volatility and declines in asset values and liquidity. Russia’s war with Ukraine has negatively impacted European economic activity. The effects on the economies of European countries of the Russia/Ukraine war and Russia’s response to sanctions imposed by the U.S. and other countries are impossible to predict, but have been and could continue to be significant. For example, exports in Eastern Europe have been disrupted for certain key commodities, pushing commodity prices to record highs, and energy prices in Europe have increased significantly.

 

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. The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading and may have a high portfolio turnover rate, which 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 had a lower portfolio turnover rate.

 

Micro-Capitalization Companies Risk

Micro-capitalization companies are subject to substantially greater risks of loss and price fluctuations, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably, because their earnings and revenues tend to be less predictable. Since micro-capitalization companies may not have an operating history, product lines, or financial resources, their share prices tend to be more volatile and their markets less liquid than companies with larger market capitalizations, and they can be sensitive to changes in overall economic conditions, interest rates, borrowing costs and earnings. The shares of micro-capitalization companies tend to trade less frequently than those of larger, more established companies, which can adversely affect the pricing of these securities and the future ability to sell these securities.

 

Small-Capitalization Companies Risk

Investing in the securities of small-capitalization companies involves greater risk and the possibility of greater price volatility, which at times can be rapid and unpredictable, than investing in larger-capitalization and more established companies. Since small-capitalization companies may have narrower commercial markets, and more limited operating history, product lines, and managerial and financial resources than larger, more established companies, the securities of these companies may lack sufficient market liquidity and they can be particularly sensitive to changes in overall economic conditions, interest rates, borrowing costs and earnings.

Effective January 21, 2023, a new sub-advisor began managing the Fund and an 80% investment policy was implemented. Performance through January 20, 2023 reflects the Fund’s performance under the management and strategy of its prior sub-advisor.