497K 1 summary.htm MFS GLOBAL EQUITY FUND - SUMMARY PROSPECTUS
 
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS
February 26, 2016 (As Amended June 23, 2016)
MFS® Global Equity Fund

Before you invest, you may want to review the fund's prospectus, which contains more information about the fund and its risks. You can find the fund's prospectus and other information about the fund, including the fund's statement of additional information, online at funds.mfs.com.  You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1-800-225-2606 or by sending an e-mail request to orderliterature@mfs.com.  The fund's prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated February 26, 2016, as may be supplemented from time to time, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.

CLASS
TICKER SYMBOL
Class A
MWEFX
Class B
MWEBX
Class C
MWECX
Class I
MWEIX
Class R1
MWEGX
Class R2
MEQRX
Class R3
MWEHX
Class R4
MWELX
Class R5
MWEMX
 
Summary of Key Information
Investment Objective
The fund's investment objective is to seek capital appreciation.
Fees and Expenses
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay when you buy and hold shares of the fund.
You may qualify for sales charge reductions if you and certain members of your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in MFS Funds. More information about these and other waivers and reductions is available from your financial intermediary and in "Sales Charges and Waivers or Reductions" on page 7 of the fund's Prospectus and "Waivers of Sales Charges" on page H-1 of the fund's Statement of Additional Information ("SAI").
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment):
 
Share Class
 
A
 
B
 
C
 
I
 
R1
 
R2
 
R3
 
R4
 
R5
 
 
Maximum Sales Charge (Load)
Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)
 
5.75%
 
None
 
None
 
None
 
None
 
None
 
None
 
None
 
None
 
 
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load)
(as a percentage of original purchase price or redemption proceeds, whichever is less)
 
1.00%#
 
4.00%
 
1.00%
 
None
 
None
 
None
 
None
 
None
 
None
 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment):
 
Share Class
 
A
 
B
 
C
 
I
 
R1
 
R2
 
R3
 
R4
 
R5
 
Management Fee
 
0.81%
 
0.81%
 
0.81%
 
0.81%
 
0.81%
 
0.81%
 
0.81%
 
0.81%
 
0.81%
 
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees
 
0.25%
 
1.00%
 
1.00%
 
None
 
1.00%
 
0.50%
 
0.25%
 
None
 
None
 
Other Expenses
 
0.16%
 
0.16%
 
0.16%
 
0.16%
 
0.16%
 
0.16%
 
0.16%
 
0.16%
 
0.07%
 
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
 
1.22%
 
1.97%
 
1.97%
 
0.97%
 
1.97%
 
1.47%
 
1.22%
 
0.97%
 
0.88%

# This contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) applies to shares purchased without an initial sales charge and redeemed within 18 months of purchase.
 
LGE-SUM-062316 Page 1 of 4 
 


MFS Global Equity Fund

 
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 you redeem your shares at the end of the time periods (unless otherwise indicated); your investment has a 5% return each year; and the fund's operating expenses remain the same.
Although your actual costs will likely be higher or lower, under these assumptions your costs would be:

 
 
 
1 YEAR
 
3 YEARS
 
5 YEARS
 
10 YEARS
 
 
Class A Shares
 
$692
 
$940
 
$1,207
 
$1,967
 
 
Class B Shares assuming
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
redemption at end of period
 
$600
 
$918
 
$1,262
 
$2,102
 
 
no redemption at end of period
 
$200
 
$618
 
$1,062
 
$2,102
 
 
Class C Shares assuming
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
redemption at end of period
 
$300
 
$618
 
$1,062
 
$2,296
 
 
no redemption at end of period
 
$200
 
$618
 
$1,062
 
$2,296
 
 
Class I Shares
 
$99
 
$309
 
$536
 
$1,190
 
 
Class R1 Shares
 
$200
 
$618
 
$1,062
 
$2,296
 
 
Class R2 Shares
 
$150
 
$465
 
$803
 
$1,757
 
 
Class R3 Shares
 
$124
 
$387
 
$670
 
$1,477
 
 
Class R4 Shares
 
$99
 
$309
 
$536
 
$1,190
 
 
Class R5 Shares
 
$90
 
$281
 
$488
 
$1,084
 

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 shares are held in a taxable account. These transaction costs, which are not reflected in "Annual Fund Operating Expenses" or in the "Example," affect the fund's performance.  During the most recent fiscal year, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 8% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
MFS (Massachusetts Financial Services Company, the fund's investment adviser) normally invests at least 80% of the fund's net assets in equity securities.
Equity securities include common stocks and other securities that represent an ownership interest (or right to acquire an ownership interest) in a company or other issuer.
In selecting investments for the fund, MFS is not constrained to any particular investment style. MFS may invest the fund's assets in the stocks of companies it believes to have above average earnings growth potential compared to other companies (growth companies), in the stocks of companies it believes are undervalued compared to their perceived worth (value companies), or in a combination of growth and value companies.
While MFS may invest the fund's assets in companies of any size, MFS primarily invests in companies with large capitalizations.
MFS invests the fund's assets in U.S. and foreign securities, including emerging market securities.
MFS normally allocates the fund's investments across different countries and regions, but MFS may invest a large percentage of the fund's assets in issuers in a single country, a small number of countries, or a particular geographic region.
MFS uses a bottom-up investment approach to buying and selling investments for the fund. Investments are selected primarily based on fundamental analysis of individual issuers. Quantitative models that systematically evaluate issuers may also be considered.
Principal Risks
As with any mutual fund, the fund may not achieve its objective and/or you could lose money on your investment in the fund. An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency.
The principal risks of investing in the fund are:
Stock Market/Company Risk:  Stock markets are volatile and can decline significantly in response to issuer, market, economic, industry, political, regulatory, geopolitical, and other conditions, as well as to investor perceptions of these conditions. The price of an equity security can decrease significantly in response to these conditions, and these conditions can affect a single issuer or type of security, issuers within a broad market sector, industry or geographic region, or the market in general.
Foreign Risk: Exposure to foreign markets through issuers or currencies can involve additional risks relating to market, economic, industry, political, regulatory, geopolitical, and other conditions. These factors can make foreign investments, especially those in emerging markets, more volatile and less liquid than U.S. investments. In addition, foreign markets can react differently to these conditions than the U.S. market.
Emerging Markets Risk:  Investments in emerging markets can involve additional and greater risks than the risks associated with investments in developed foreign markets.  Emerging markets can have less developed markets, greater custody and operational risk, less developed legal, regulatory, and accounting systems, and greater political, social, and economic instability than developed markets.
Currency Risk: The value of foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar fluctuates in response to market, economic, industry, political, regulatory, geopolitical, and other conditions, and a decline in the value of a foreign currency versus the U.S. dollar reduces the value in U.S. dollars of investments denominated in that foreign currency.
Geographic Focus Risk: The fund's performance will be closely tied to the market, currency, economic, political, regulatory, geopolitical, and other conditions in the countries or regions in which the fund's assets are invested.
Liquidity Risk:  It may be difficult to value, and it may not be possible to sell, certain investments, types of investments, and/or investments in certain segments of the market, and the fund may have to sell certain of these investments at a price or time that is not advantageous in order to meet redemptions or other cash needs.
Investment Selection Risk: MFS' investment analysis and its selection of investments may not produce the intended results and/or can lead to an investment focus that results in the fund underperforming other funds with similar investment strategies and/or underperforming the markets in which the fund invests.
Performance Information
The bar chart and performance table below are intended to provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing changes in the fund's performance over time and how the fund's performance over time compares with that of a broad measure of market performance.
 
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MFS Global Equity Fund

 
The fund's past performance (before and after taxes) does not necessarily indicate how the fund will perform in the future. Updated performance is available online at mfs.com or by calling 1-800-225-2606.
Class A Bar Chart.  The bar chart does not take into account any sales charges (loads) that you may be required to pay upon purchase or redemption of the fund's shares. If these sales charges were included, they would reduce the returns shown.


During the period(s) shown in the bar chart, the highest quarterly return was 18.83% (for the calendar quarter ended June 30, 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was (18.24)% (for the calendar quarter ended December 31, 2008).
Performance Table.
Average Annual Total Returns
           
(For the Periods Ended December 31, 2015)
           

 
Share Class
 
1 YEAR
 
5 YEARS
 
10 YEARS
 
 
Returns Before Taxes
 
B Shares
 
(6.27)%
 
7.83%
 
6.58%
 
 
C Shares
 
(3.37)%
 
8.13%
 
6.42%
 
 
I Shares
 
(1.44)%
 
9.22%
 
7.49%
 
 
R1 Shares
 
(2.41)%
 
8.14%
 
6.40%
 
 
R2 Shares
 
(1.93)%
 
8.68%
 
6.93%
 
 
R3 Shares
 
(1.68)%
 
8.94%
 
7.19%
 
 
R4 Shares
 
(1.44)%
 
9.21%
 
7.46%
 
 
R5 Shares
 
(1.34)%
 
9.28%
 
7.52%
 
 
A Shares
 
(7.33)%
 
7.66%
 
6.59%
 
 
Returns After Taxes on Distributions
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A Shares
 
(7.74)%
 
7.34%
 
5.92%
 
 
Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A Shares
 
(3.81)%
 
6.06%
 
5.37%
 
 
Index Comparison (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MSCI World Index
 
(0.32)%
 
8.19%
 
5.56%
 
 
After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns will depend on your own tax situation, and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. The after-tax returns are shown for only one of the fund's classes of shares, and after-tax returns for the fund's other classes of shares will vary from the returns shown.
Investment Adviser
MFS serves as the investment adviser for the fund.
Portfolio Manager(s)

Portfolio Manager
Since
Title
David Mannheim
1992
Investment Officer of MFS
Roger Morley
2009
Investment Officer of MFS
MFS anticipates that David Mannheim will retire as portfolio manager of the fund at a date between June 2017 and June 2018.

As of September 30, 2016, the above chart will be restated as follows:
Portfolio Manager
Since
Title
David Mannheim
1992
Investment Officer of MFS
Ryan P. McAllister
September 2016
Investment Officer of MFS
Roger Morley
2009
Investment Officer of MFS
MFS anticipates that David Mannheim will retire as portfolio manager of the fund at a date between June 2017 and June 2018.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
You may purchase and redeem shares of the fund each day the New York Stock Exchange is open for trading. You may purchase or redeem shares either by having your financial intermediary process your purchase or redemption, or through MFS Service Center, Inc. (MFSC) by overnight mail (MFSC, c/o Boston Financial Data Services, 30 Dan Road, Canton, MA  02021-2809), by mail ([Fund Name], P.O. Box 55824, Boston, MA 02205-5824), by telephone (1-800-225-2606), or via the Internet at mfs.com (MFS Access).
The fund's initial and subsequent investment minimums generally are as follows:
Class
 Initial Minimum
  Subsequent Minimum
Class A, Class B, Class C
None – automatic investment plans and certain asset-based fee programs
$25 – employer-sponsored retirement plans
$250 – Traditional and Roth IRAs
$1,000 – other accounts
$50 – by check and non-systematic written exchange request, and via MFSC telephone representatives
None – other purchases
Class I, Class R1, Class R2, Class R3, Class R4, Class R5
None
None

Taxes
If your shares are held in a taxable account, the fund's distributions will be taxed to you as ordinary income and/or capital gains.  If your shares are held in a tax-deferred account, you will generally be taxed only upon withdrawals from the account.
 
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MFS Global Equity Fund

 
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, MFS, and/or MFS' affiliates may pay the financial intermediary for the sale of shares of a fund and/or the servicing of shareholder accounts. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your broker/dealer or other financial intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your financial intermediary or visit your financial intermediary's Web site for more information.
 
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