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Institutional Class Shares | SANDS CAPITAL GLOBAL GROWTH FUND
Sands Capital Global Growth Fund
Investment Objective

The Sands Capital Global Growth Fund's (the "Fund") investment objective is long-term capital appreciation.

Fund Fees and Expenses

These tables describe the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold Institutional Class Shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Shareholder Fees
Institutional Class Shares
SANDS CAPITAL GLOBAL GROWTH FUND
INSTITUTIONAL CLASS SHARES
Redemption Fee (as a percentage of Amount Redeemed) 2.00% [1]
[1] As a percentage of amount redeemed, if shares redeemed have been held for less than 90 days.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
Institutional Class Shares
SANDS CAPITAL GLOBAL GROWTH FUND
INSTITUTIONAL CLASS SHARES
Management Fees 0.85%
Other Expenses 0.12%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.97% [1]
[1] Sands Capital Management, LLC (the "Adviser") has contractually agreed to waive or reduce fees and reimburse expenses in order to keep Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses for Institutional Class Shares (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses, and extraordinary expenses (collectively, "excluded expenses")) from exceeding 1.10% of the Fund's Institutional Class Shares' average daily net assets (the "expense cap") until March 31, 2021. In addition, the Adviser may receive from the Fund the difference between the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (not including excluded expenses) and the expense cap to recoup all or a portion of its prior fee waivers or expense reimbursements made during the three-year period preceding the recoupment if at any point Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (not including excluded expenses) are below the expense cap (i) at the time of the fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement and (ii) at the time of the recoupment. This Agreement may be terminated: (i) by the Board of Trustees (the "Board") of The Advisors' Inner Circle Fund (the "Trust"), for any reason at any time, or (ii) by the Adviser upon ninety (90) days' prior written notice to the Trust, effective as of the close of business on March 31, 2021.
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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Expense Example
One Year
Three Years
Five Years
Ten Years
Institutional Class Shares | SANDS CAPITAL GLOBAL GROWTH FUND | INSTITUTIONAL CLASS SHARES | USD ($) 99 309 536 1,190
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 total annual Fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund's performance. During its most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 34% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategy

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests primarily in equity securities of publicly-traded companies located anywhere in the world, including equity securities in developed and emerging markets. Under normal market conditions, the Fund expects to invest in at least three countries, including the United States, and invest at least 40% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in non-U.S. companies. For purposes of this policy, a company is considered to be a non-U.S. company if: (i) at least 50% of the company's revenues or operating income is generated outside of the United States; (ii) the company is organized or maintains its principal place of business outside of the United States; or (iii) the company's primary trading market is located outside of the United States. From time to time, the Fund may also focus its investments in a particular geographic region, such as Europe, Asia and North America.

 

In making investment decisions for the Fund, Sands Capital Management, LLC (the "Adviser") focuses on companies that generate (or that the Adviser expects to generate) above average earnings growth and that, in the Adviser's opinion, are leading growth businesses in the marketplace. The Fund typically invests in a portfolio of 30-50 issuers that the Adviser believes represents the best opportunities to achieve the Fund's investment objective and, from time to time, may heavily invest in a particular sector. In selecting securities for the Fund, the Adviser utilizes a fundamental, bottom-up, business-focused research approach. This research starts with internal competitive landscape analysis, ongoing participation at industry conferences, review of industry and trade periodicals and quantitative screens to populate an initial universe of publicly traded companies that it expects will generate above average earnings growth. The Adviser then evaluates each company for six key investment criteria:

 

● sustainable above-average earnings growth;

 

● leadership position in a promising business space;

 

● significant competitive advantages;

 

● clear mission and value-added focus;

 

● financial strength; and

 

● rational valuation relative to the market and business prospects.

 

Companies that the Adviser determines may meet all six investment criteria are then screened with in-depth qualitative and quantitative research, including a full competitive analysis and proprietary financial modeling. This additional screening also typically includes identifying the key metrics for a particular business or industry, any specific risks or issues relating to a company, as well as a hypothetical "sell case," i.e. evaluating a range of scenarios under which a position in a security would be reduced or sold.

 

The Fund intends to buy and hold securities for the long term and seeks to maintain a low level of portfolio turnover. The portfolio turnover rate of the Fund is expected to be below 50% of the average value of its portfolio. The Adviser employs a sell discipline in which the security of a company is sold if an issue emerges that negatively impacts the Adviser's assessment of one or more of the six investment criteria discussed above and the Adviser believes that the issue cannot be resolved within an acceptable time frame. The Adviser may also sell a holding if it becomes materially overvalued versus its underlying business, for risk management purposes, and/or if a more attractive investment opportunity presents itself.

 

While the Fund may invest in equity securities of companies of any size, the Fund will primarily invest in large and mid-capitalization companies given the Adviser's focus on what it considers to be established business "leaders." As such, the Fund will generally not invest in companies with a market capitalization of less than $2 billion and its total median market capitalization will typically be significantly greater than that of the MSCI Barra's ("MSCI") All Country World Index, the Fund's benchmark. As of December 31, 2019, the total median market capitalization of the MSCI All Country World Index was $9.7 billion.

 

The equity securities in which the Fund invests include common stocks as well as preferred securities. The Fund may also purchase American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs"), European Depositary Receipts ("EDRs") and Global Depositary Receipts ("GDRs" and, together with ADRs and EDRs, "Depositary Receipts"), which are certificates typically issued by a bank or trust company that represent ownership interests in securities issued by a foreign or domestic company. From time to time, the Fund may have significant investments in one or more countries. The Fund may invest up to the greater of 30% of its net assets or three times the emerging markets component of the MSCI All Country World Index, in securities of companies located in emerging markets. As of December 31, 2019, the emerging markets component of the MSCI All Country World Index was 12.3% of the total index. The Fund may use foreign exchange spot contracts to seek to hedge currency exposure. A foreign exchange spot contract is an agreement to buy or sell a specific currency for immediate delivery (i.e., "on the spot") as opposed to at a set date in the future.

 

The Fund may also invest in derivatives, specifically (i) foreign exchange forwards to seek to hedge currency exposure and (ii) "market access products," to seek to gain economic exposure to markets where holding an underlying security is not feasible. A market access product is a derivative security that provides market exposure to an underlying foreign issuer. Examples of market access products are low exercise price warrants ("LEPWs") and participatory notes ("P-notes"), both of which allow the holder to gain exposure to issuers in certain emerging market countries. A LEPW entitles the holder to purchase a security with an exercise price significantly below the market price of the underlying security. Because of its low exercise price, a LEPW is virtually certain to be exercised and the value and performance of its intrinsic value is effectively identical to that of the underlying security. These features are designed to allow participation in the performance of a security where there are legal or financial obstacles to purchasing the underlying security directly. If the LEPW is cash-settled, the buyer profits to the same extent as with a direct holding in the underlying security, but without having to transact in it. P-notes are derivatives that are generally traded over the counter and constitute general unsecured contractual obligations of the banks and broker-dealers that issue them. Generally, these banks and broker-dealers buy securities listed on certain foreign exchanges and then issue P-notes which are designed to replicate the performance of certain issuers and markets. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in market access products.

Principal Risks

As with all mutual funds, there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. You could lose money by investing in the Fund. A Fund share is not a bank deposit and it is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any government agency. The principal risk factors affecting shareholders' investments in the Fund are set forth below.

 

Equity Risk – Since it purchases equity securities, the Fund is subject to the risk that stock prices will fall over short or extended periods of time. Historically, the equity markets have moved in cycles, and the value of the Fund's equity securities may fluctuate drastically from day-to-day. Individual companies may report poor results or be negatively affected by industry and/or economic trends and developments. The prices of securities issued by such companies may suffer a decline in response. These factors contribute to price volatility, which is the principal risk of investing in the Fund.

 

Growth Style Risk – The Fund pursues a "growth style" of investing, meaning that the Fund invests in equity securities of companies that the Adviser believes will increase their earnings at a certain rate that is generally higher than the rate expected for non-growth companies. If a growth company does not meet these expectations, the price of its stock may decline significantly, even if it has increased earnings. Many growth companies do not pay dividends. Companies that pay dividends often have lower stock price declines during market downturns. Over time, a growth investing style may go in and out of favor, causing the Fund to sometimes underperform other equity funds that use differing investing styles.

 

Management Risk – The Fund is subject to the risk that the Adviser's judgments about the attractiveness, value, or potential appreciation of the Fund's investments may prove to be incorrect. If the investments selected and strategies employed by the Fund fail to produce the intended results, the Fund could underperform in comparison to other funds with similar objectives and investment strategies.

 

Large-Capitalization Company Risk – The large capitalization companies in which the Fund may invest may lag the performance of smaller capitalization companies because large capitalization companies may experience slower rates of growth than smaller capitalization companies and may not respond as quickly to market changes and opportunities.

 

Mid-Capitalization Company Risk – The mid-capitalization companies in which the Fund may invest may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies. In particular, investments in these mid-sized companies may pose additional risks, including liquidity risk, because these companies tend to have limited product lines, markets and financial resources, and may depend upon a relatively small management group. Therefore, mid-cap stocks may be more volatile than those of larger companies.

 

Foreign Company Risk – Investing in foreign companies, including direct investments and through Depositary Receipts, poses additional risks since political and economic events unique to a country or region will affect those markets and their issuers. These risks will not necessarily affect the U.S. economy or similar issuers located in the United States. In addition, investments in foreign companies are generally denominated in a foreign currency, the value of which may be influenced by currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations. Changes in the value of a currency compared to the U.S. dollar may affect (positively or negatively) the value of the Fund's investments. These currency movements may occur separately from, and in response to, events that do not otherwise affect the value of the security in the issuer's home country. Securities of foreign companies may not be registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and foreign companies are generally not subject to the regulatory controls imposed on U.S. issuers and, as a consequence, there is generally less publically available information about foreign securities than is available about domestic securities. Income from foreign securities owned by the Fund may be reduced by a withholding tax at the source, which tax would reduce income received from the securities comprising the Fund's portfolio. Foreign securities may also be more difficult to value than securities of U.S. issuers. While Depositary Receipts provide an alternative to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their respective national markets and currencies, investments in Depositary Receipts continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities.

 

Geographic Focus Risk – To the extent that it focuses its investments in a particular country or geographic region, the Fund may be more susceptible to economic, political, regulatory or other events or conditions affecting issuers and countries within that country or geographic region. As a result, the Fund may be subject to greater price volatility and risk of loss than a fund holding more geographically diverse investments.

 

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

 

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

 

Emerging Markets Securities Risk – The Fund may invest in companies located or doing business in emerging market countries. An "emerging market" country is any country determined by the Adviser to have an emerging market economy, considering factors such as the country's credit rating, its political and economic stability and the development of its financial and capital markets. Typically, emerging markets are in countries that are in the process of industrialization, with lower gross national products than more developed countries. For purposes of determining whether a particular country is considered a developed market or an emerging market, the Fund uses the designation set forth by the MSCI, a prominent provider of investment tools and data services for institutions worldwide.

 

Investments in emerging markets securities are considered speculative and subject to heightened risks in addition to the general risks of investing in non-U.S. securities. Unlike more established markets, emerging markets may have governments that are less stable, markets that are less liquid and economies that are less developed. Differences in tax and accounting standards and difficulties in obtaining information about foreign governments or foreign companies may impair investment decisions. In addition, emerging markets securities may be subject to smaller market capitalization of securities markets, which may suffer periods of relative illiquidity; significant price volatility; restrictions on foreign investment; and possible restrictions on repatriation of investment income and capital. Furthermore, emerging market governments may have limited ability to raise taxes or authorize appropriations for debt repayment. In addition, foreign investors may be required to register the proceeds of sales, and future economic or political crises could lead to price controls, forced mergers, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, seizure, nationalization or creation of government monopolies. Moreover, the currencies of emerging market countries may experience significant declines against the U.S. dollar, and devaluation may occur subsequent to investments in these currencies by the Fund. Inflation and rapid fluctuations in inflation rates have had, and may continue to have, negative effects on the economies and securities markets of certain emerging market countries. The Fund may incur operating expenses that are higher than those of mutual funds that invest exclusively in U.S. equity securities due to higher custodial fees and brokerage commissions associated with investments in foreign securities. These risks may be magnified in less-established emerging markets.

 

Liquidity Risk – The risk that certain securities may be difficult or impossible to sell at the time and the price that the Fund would like. The Fund may have to lower the price of the security, sell other securities instead or forego an investment opportunity, any of which could have a negative effect on Fund management or performance.

 

Derivatives Risk – The Fund's use of foreign exchange forwards and market access products (including P-Notes and LEPWs) is subject to market risk, correlation risk, valuation risk, liquidity risk and credit risk. Market risk is the risk that the market value of an investment may move up and down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably. Correlation risk is the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index. Valuation risk is the risk that the derivative may be difficult to value. Liquidity risk is the risk that the derivative may be difficult or impossible to sell at the time and the price that the Fund would like, which may cause the Fund to have to accept a lower price to sell a derivative, sell other securities to raise cash, or give up an investment opportunity, any of which could have a negative effect on the Fund's management or performance. Credit risk is the risk that the counterparty to a derivative contract will default or otherwise become unable to honor a financial obligation. The Fund's use of foreign exchange forwards is also subject to leverage risk and hedging risk. Leverage risk is the risk that the use of leverage may amplify the effects of market volatility on the Fund's share price and may also cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it would not be advantageous to do so in order to satisfy its obligations. Hedging risk in this context is the risk that the derivatives instrument used for hedging currency exposure may also limit any potential gain that may result from a change in relative values of the underlying currencies. To the extent that the Fund engages in hedging strategies, there can be no assurance that such strategy will be effective or that there will be a hedge in place at any given time. Each of these risks could cause the Fund to lose more than the principal amount invested in a derivative instrument.

 

Preferred Stock Risk – Preferred stocks in which the Fund may invest are sensitive to interest rate changes, and are also subject to equity risk, which is the risk that stock prices will fall over short or extended periods of time. The rights of preferred stocks on the distribution of a company's assets in the event of a liquidation are generally subordinate to the rights associated with a company's debt securities.

Performance Information

The bar chart and the performance table below illustrate the risks and volatility of an investment in Institutional Class Shares of the Fund by showing changes in the Fund's Institutional Class Shares' performance from year to year and by showing how the Fund's Institutional Class Shares' average annual total returns for 1 and 5 years and since inception compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. Of course, the Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) does not necessarily indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available by calling 1-888-826-5646.

Bar Chart
BEST QUARTER WORST QUARTER
17.05% (15.29)%
(03/31/2012) (09/30/2011)
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2019

This table compares the Fund's Institutional Class Shares' average annual total returns for the periods ended December 31, 2019 to those of an appropriate broad based index.

 

After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts ("IRAs").

Average Annual Total Returns - Institutional Class Shares - SANDS CAPITAL GLOBAL GROWTH FUND
Label
1 Year
5 Years
Since Inception
Inception Date
INSTITUTIONAL CLASS SHARES Fund Returns Before Taxes 30.16% 12.16% 13.09% Mar. 31, 2010
INSTITUTIONAL CLASS SHARES | After Taxes on Distributions Fund Returns After Taxes on Distributions 28.42% 11.39% 12.56% Mar. 31, 2010
INSTITUTIONAL CLASS SHARES | After Taxes on Distributions and Sales Fund Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares 19.08% 9.63% 10.90% Mar. 31, 2010
MSCI All Country World Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes) MSCI All Country World Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes) 26.60% 8.41% 8.67% Mar. 31, 2010