497K 1 cwvfcemefsp.htm CWVF CALVERT EMERGING MARKETS EQUITY FUND AS REVISED 4-18-2023

 

 

Summary Prospectus dated February 1, 2023

as revised April 18, 2023

Calvert Emerging Markets Equity Fund

Class / Ticker     A / CVMAX     C / CVMCX     I / CVMIX     R6 / CVMRX

This Summary Prospectus is designed to provide investors with key fund information in a clear and concise format. Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, which contain more information about the Fund and its risks. The Fund’s Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, both dated February 1, 2023, as may be amended or supplemented, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus. For free paper or electronic copies of the Fund’s Prospectus, Statement of Additional Information, annual and semi-annual shareholder reports, and other information about the Fund, go to http://www.calvert.com/prospectus, email a request to Prospectusrequest@calvert.com, call 1-800-368-2745, or ask any financial advisor, bank, or broker-dealer who offers shares of the Fund. Unless otherwise noted, page number references refer to the current Prospectus for this Fund.

Investment Objective

The Fund's investment objective is to seek long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in equity securities of companies located in emerging market countries.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold or sell shares of the Fund. Investors may also pay commissions or other fees to their financial intermediary, which are not reflected below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts on purchases of Class A shares if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in Calvert mutual funds. Certain financial intermediaries also may offer variations in Fund sales charges to their customers as described in Appendix B – Financial Intermediary Sales Charge Variations in the Fund's Prospectus. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and under “Sales Charges” on page 47 of the Fund's Prospectus and page 23 of the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information.

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) Class A Class C Class I Class R6
Maximum Sales Charge (load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) 5.25% None None None
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (load) (as a percentage of the lower of net asset value at purchase or redemption) None(1) 1.00% None None
(1)Class A shares purchased at net asset value in amounts of $1 million or more are subject to a 1.00% contingent deferred sales charge if redeemed within 12 months of purchase.

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) Class A Class C Class I Class R6
Management Fees 0.87% 0.87% 0.87% 0.87%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees 0.25% 1.00% None None
Other Expenses 0.17% 0.17% 0.17% 0.17%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 1.29% 2.04% 1.04% 0.97%
Less Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement (1) (0.05)% (0.05)% (0.05)% (0.05)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement 1.24% 1.99% 0.99% 0.92%
(1)Calvert Research and Management (“CRM”) has agreed to reimburse the Fund’s expenses to the extent that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses exceed 1.24% for Class A shares, 1.99% for Class C shares, 0.99% for Class I shares and 0.92% for Class R6 shares. This expense reimbursement will continue through January 31, 2024. Any amendment to or termination of this reimbursement would require approval of the Board of Directors. The expense reimbursement relates to ordinary operating expenses only and does not include expenses such as: brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses of unaffiliated funds, borrowing costs (including borrowing costs of any acquired funds), taxes or litigation expenses. Amounts reimbursed may be recouped by CRM during the same fiscal year to the extent actual expenses are less than any contractual expense cap in place during such year.
 
 

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, that the operating expenses remain the same and that any expense reimbursement arrangement remains in place for the contractual period. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

  Expenses with Redemption Expenses without Redemption
  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
Class A shares $645 $908 $1,191 $1,996 $645 $908 $1,191 $1,996
Class C shares $302 $635 $1,094 $2,172 $202 $635 $1,094 $2,172
Class I shares $101 $326 $569 $1,266 $101 $326 $569 $1,266
Class R6 shares $94 $304 $531 $1,185 $94 $304 $531 $1,185

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” the 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. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 56% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets, including borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities of companies located in emerging market countries (the “80% Policy”). The Fund is sub-advised by Hermes Investment Management Limited (the “Sub-Adviser”).

Equity securities held by the Fund will primarily include common stock, preferred stock, depositary receipts, options on securities, and equity-equivalent securities, such as participation notes (“P-Notes”). Derivatives, such as futures, options on futures, and swaps, may also be held by the Fund incidental to its main investment strategy.

The Sub-Adviser considers emerging market countries to be those included in the Fund’s benchmark index, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index; countries determined by the World Bank to have a low to middle income economy; and other countries or markets with similar emerging market characteristics as determined by the Sub-Adviser. A company is considered to be located in an emerging market country if it has a class of securities whose principal securities market is in an emerging market country; is organized under the laws of, or has a principal office in, an emerging market country; derives 50% or more of its total revenues or earnings from goods produced, sales made, or services provided in one or more emerging market countries; or maintains 50% or more of its assets in one or more emerging market countries.

The Fund may invest in companies of any market capitalization but seeks to have market capitalization size characteristics similar to that of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. As of December 31, 2022, the market capitalization of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index companies ranged from $114 million to $1.9 trillion with a weighted average market capitalization of $93.6 billion. Market capitalizations of companies within the MSCI Emerging Markets Index are subject to change. The Fund is expected to invest its assets among companies located in emerging markets throughout the world. The Fund may also invest in securities denominated in foreign currencies and may acquire foreign currency or enter into foreign currency derivatives (including forward foreign currency exchange contracts and currency futures contracts) to seek to hedge foreign currency exposure.

Securities of companies located in emerging market countries may include American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), which may be sponsored or unsponsored, and Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”).

The Sub-Adviser seeks to identify quality companies trading at attractive valuations that are located in emerging market countries that are believed by the Sub-Adviser to have conditions that are supportive of economic growth. To this end, the Sub-Adviser combines a top-down approach to country and sector analysis with a bottom-up approach to fundamental company research, including consideration of the Fund’s responsible investing criteria described below. The country analysis includes an assessment of the risks and opportunities for each emerging market country through in-depth quantitative and qualitative analysis. The sector analysis includes a valuation assessment through qualitative analysis. The fundamental company research also utilizes a number of qualitative and quantitative methods. Portfolio construction is determined by the Sub-Adviser based on its level of conviction in the country and company with input from proprietary risk models.

Calvert Emerging Markets Equity Fund2Summary Prospectus dated February 1, 2023 as revised April 18, 2023
 

The Fund may sell a security when its fundamentals deteriorate, the target price is reached, other securities are identified to displace a current holding or it does not meet the Fund’s sustainability and corporate responsibility criteria. The Fund may also lend its securities.

Responsible Investing. The Fund has established sustainable and socially responsible investment criteria to determine whether a security qualifies as an investment for the Fund. The Fund seeks to invest in emerging market companies whose products, services or industrial and/or business practices contribute towards addressing one or more global sustainability challenges in local or international markets, including (i) development, poverty and health, (ii) environment and climate change, or (iii) rights and governance. The foregoing are commonly known as environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors. Investments are selected for financial soundness and evaluated according to these sustainability and corporate responsibility criteria, the application of which is considered to be in the economic interest of the Fund and its shareholders.

Principal Risks

Market Risk. The value of investments held by the Fund may increase or decrease in response to social, economic, political, financial, public health crises or other disruptive events (whether real, expected or perceived) in the U.S. and global markets and include events such as war, natural disasters, epidemics and pandemics, terrorism, conflicts and social unrest. These events may negatively impact broad segments of businesses and populations and may exacerbate pre-existing risks to the Fund. The frequency and magnitude of resulting changes in the value of the Fund’s investments cannot be predicted. Certain securities and other investments held by the Fund may experience increased volatility, illiquidity, or other potentially adverse effects in reaction to changing market conditions. Monetary and/or fiscal actions taken by U.S. or foreign governments to stimulate or stabilize the global economy may not be effective and could lead to high market volatility.

Equity Securities Risk. The value of equity securities and related instruments may decline in response to adverse changes in the economy or the economic outlook; deterioration in investor sentiment; interest rate, currency, and commodity price fluctuations; adverse geopolitical, social or environmental developments; issuer and sector-specific considerations; unexpected trading activity among retail investors; or other factors. Market conditions may affect certain types of stocks to a greater extent than other types of stocks. If the stock market declines in value, the value of the Fund’s equity securities will also likely decline. Although prices can rebound, there is no assurance that values will return to previous levels.

Foreign Investment Risk. Foreign investments can be adversely affected by political, economic and market developments abroad, including the imposition of economic and other sanctions by the United States or another country against a particular country or countries, organizations, entities and/or individuals. There may be less publicly available information about foreign issuers because they may not be subject to reporting practices, requirements or regulations comparable to those to which United States companies are subject. Adverse changes in investment regulations, capital requirements or exchange controls could adversely affect the value of the Fund's investments. Foreign markets may be smaller, less liquid and more volatile than the major markets in the United States and, as a result, Fund share values may be more volatile. Trading in foreign markets typically involves higher expense than trading in the United States. The Fund may have difficulties enforcing its legal or contractual rights in a foreign country. Depositary receipts are subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign instruments.

Emerging Markets Investment Risk. Investment markets within emerging market countries are typically smaller, less liquid, less developed and more volatile than those in more developed markets like the United States, and may be focused in certain sectors. Emerging market securities often involve greater risks than developed market securities. The information available about an emerging market issuer may be less reliable than for comparable issuers in more developed capital markets.

Currency Risk. Exchange rates for currencies fluctuate daily. The value of foreign investments may be affected favorably or unfavorably by changes in currency exchange rates in relation to the U.S. dollar. Currency markets generally are not as regulated as securities markets and currency transactions are subject to settlement, custodial and other operational risks.

Smaller Company Risk. The stocks of smaller companies are generally subject to greater price fluctuations, limited liquidity, higher transaction costs and higher investment risk than the stocks of larger, more established companies. Such companies may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources, may be dependent on a limited management group, and may lack substantial capital reserves or an established performance record. There may be generally less publicly available information about such companies than for larger, more established companies. Stocks of these companies frequently have lower trading volumes making them more volatile and potentially less liquid and more difficult to value.

Calvert Emerging Markets Equity Fund3Summary Prospectus dated February 1, 2023 as revised April 18, 2023
 

Liquidity Risk. The Fund is exposed to liquidity risk when trading volume, lack of a market maker or trading partner, large position size, market conditions, or legal restrictions impair its ability to sell particular investments or to sell them at advantageous market prices. Consequently, the Fund may have to accept a lower price to sell an investment or continue to hold it or keep the position open, sell other investments to raise cash or abandon an investment opportunity, any of which could have a negative effect on the Fund’s performance. These effects may be exacerbated during times of financial or political stress.

Derivatives Risk. The Fund’s exposure to derivatives involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other investments. The use of derivatives can lead to losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the security, instrument, index, currency, commodity, economic indicator or event underlying a derivative (“reference instrument”), due to failure of a counterparty or due to tax or regulatory constraints. Derivatives may create leverage in the Fund, which represents a non-cash exposure to the underlying reference instrument. Leverage can increase both the risk and return potential of the Fund. Derivatives risk may be more significant when derivatives are used to enhance return or as a substitute for a cash investment position, rather than solely to hedge the risk of a position held by the Fund. Use of derivatives involves the exercise of specialized skill and judgment, and a transaction may be unsuccessful in whole or in part because of market behavior or unexpected events. Changes in the value of a derivative (including one used for hedging) may not correlate perfectly with the underlying reference instrument. Derivative instruments traded in over-the-counter markets may be difficult to value, may be illiquid, and may be subject to wide swings in valuation caused by changes in the value of the underlying reference instrument. If a derivative’s counterparty is unable to honor its commitments, the value of Fund shares may decline and the Fund could experience delays in (or be unable to achieve) the return of collateral or other assets held by the counterparty. The loss on derivative transactions may substantially exceed the initial investment. A derivative investment also involves the risks relating to the reference instrument underlying the investment.

Preferred Stock Risk. Although preferred stocks represent an ownership interest in an issuer, preferred stocks generally do not have voting rights or have limited voting rights and have economic characteristics similar to fixed-income securities. Preferred stocks are subject to issuer-specific risks generally applicable to equity securities and credit and interest rate risks generally applicable to fixed-income securities. The value of preferred stock generally declines when interest rates rise and may react more significantly than bonds and other debt instruments to actual or perceived changes in the company’s financial condition or prospects.

Participation Note Risk. Participation notes (“P-Notes”) are subject to the risks normally associated with a direct investment in the foreign securities underlying the P-Notes. As the purchaser of a P-Note, the Fund is relying on the creditworthiness of the counterparty issuing the P-Note and does not have the same rights under the P-Note as it would as the owner of the underlying security. If the counterparty becomes insolvent, the Fund could lose the total value of its investment in the P-Note. In addition, there is no assurance that there will be a trading market for a P-Note or that the trading price of a P-Note will equal the value of the underlying security.

Securities Lending Risk. Securities lending involves a possible delay in recovery of the loaned securities or a possible loss of rights in the collateral if the borrower fails financially. The Fund could also lose money if the value of the collateral decreases.

Risks Associated with Active Management. The success of the Fund’s investment strategy depends on portfolio management’s successful application of analytical skills and investment judgment. Active management involves subjective decisions and there is no guarantee that such decisions will produce the desired results or expected returns.

Responsible Investing Risk. Investing primarily in responsible investments carries the risk that, under certain market conditions, the Fund may underperform funds that do not utilize a responsible investment strategy. The application of responsible investment criteria may affect the Fund’s exposure to certain sectors or types of investments, and may impact the Fund’s relative investment performance depending on whether such sectors or investments are in or out of favor in the market. An investment’s ESG performance or the investment adviser's and sub-adviser's assessment of such performance may change over time, which could cause the Fund to temporarily hold securities that do not comply with the Fund’s responsible investment criteria. In evaluating an investment, the investment adviser and sub-adviser are dependent upon information and data that may be incomplete, inaccurate or unavailable, which could adversely affect the analysis of the ESG factors relevant to a particular investment. Successful application of the Fund’s responsible investment strategy will depend on the investment adviser's and sub-adviser's skill in properly identifying and analyzing material ESG issues.

General Fund Investing Risks. The Fund is not a complete investment program and there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. It is possible to lose money by investing in the Fund. The Fund is designed to be a long-term investment vehicle and is not suited for short-term trading. Investors in the Fund should have a long-term investment perspective and be able to tolerate potentially sharp declines in value. Purchase and redemption activities by Fund shareholders may impact the management of the Fund and its ability to achieve its investment objective(s). In addition, the redemption by one or more large shareholders or groups of shareholders of their holdings in the Fund could have an adverse impact on the remaining shareholders in the Fund. The Fund relies on various service providers, including the investment adviser, in its operations and is susceptible to operational, information security and related events (such as public health crises, cyber or hacking attacks) that may affect the service providers or the services that they provide to the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit in a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

Calvert Emerging Markets Equity Fund4Summary Prospectus dated February 1, 2023 as revised April 18, 2023
 

Performance

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year and how the Fund’s average annual returns over time compare with a broad-based securities market index. The returns in the bar chart are for Class A shares and do not reflect a sales charge. If the sales charge was reflected, the returns would be lower. Past performance (both before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.

CRM became the investment adviser to the Fund on December 31, 2016. Performance reflected prior to such date is that of the Fund’s current sub-adviser, Hermes Investment Management Limited, and its former investment adviser. The Fund’s performance reflects the effects of expense reductions. Absent these reductions, performance would have been lower. Updated Fund performance information can be obtained by visiting www.calvert.com.

For the ten years ended December 31, 2022, the highest quarterly total return for Class A was 20.55% for the quarter ended December 31, 2020 and the lowest quarterly return was -23.66% for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

Average Annual Total Returns as of December 31, 2022 One Year Five Years Ten Years
Class A Return Before Taxes -26.80% -2.74% 3.04%
Class A Return After Taxes on Distributions -26.34% -2.56% 2.83%
Class A Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Class A Shares -15.24% -1.89% 2.52%
Class C Return Before Taxes -24.11% -2.43% 2.92%
Class I Return Before Taxes -22.58% -1.43% 3.92%
Class R6 Return Before Taxes -22.47% -1.38% 3.94%
MSCI Emerging Markets Index  (reflects net dividends, which reflect the deduction of withholding taxes) -20.09% -1.40% 1.44%

These returns reflect the maximum sales charge for Class A (5.25%) and any applicable contingent deferred sales charge (“CDSC”) for Class C. Effective November 5, 2020, Class C shares automatically convert to Class A shares eight years after purchase. The average annual total returns listed for Class C reflect conversion to Class A shares after years. Prior to November 5, 2020, Class C shares automatically converted to Class A shares ten years after purchase. The Class R6 performance shown above for the period prior to February 1, 2018 (commencement of operations) is the performance of Class I shares at net asset value without adjustment for any differences in the expenses of the two classes. If adjusted for such differences, returns would be different. Investors cannot invest directly in an Index. (Source for MSCI Emerging Markets Index: MSCI.) MSCI data may not be reproduced or used for any other purposes. MSCI provides no warranties, has not prepared or approved this data, and has no liability hereunder.

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on a shareholder’s tax situation and the actual characterization of distributions, and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are not relevant to shareholders who hold shares in tax-deferred accounts or to shares held by non-taxable entities. After-tax returns for other Classes of shares will vary from the after-tax returns presented for Class A shares. Return After Taxes on Distributions for a period may be the same as Return Before Taxes for that period because no taxable distributions were made during that period. Also, Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares for a period may be greater than or equal to Return Before Taxes and/or Return After Taxes on Distributions for the same period because of losses realized on the sale of Fund shares.

Calvert Emerging Markets Equity Fund5Summary Prospectus dated February 1, 2023 as revised April 18, 2023
 

Management

Investment Adviser. Calvert Research and Management (“CRM” or the “Adviser”).

Investment Sub-Adviser. Hermes Investment Management Limited (“Hermes”).

Portfolio Managers

Kunjal Gala, Lead Portfolio Manager, Hermes, has managed the Fund since November 2019.

Vivek Bhutoria, CFA, Co-Portfolio Manager, Hermes, has managed the Fund since January 4, 2022.

Christopher Clube, Co-Portfolio Manager, Hermes, has managed the Fund since November 22, 2022.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

You may purchase, redeem or exchange Fund shares on any business day, which is any day the New York Stock Exchange is open for business. You may purchase, redeem or exchange Fund shares either through your financial intermediary or (except for purchases of Class C shares by accounts with no specified financial intermediary) directly from the Fund either by writing to the Fund, P.O. Box 219544, Kansas City, MO 64121-9544, or by calling 1-800-368-2745. The minimum initial purchase or exchange into the Fund is $1,000 for Class A and Class C, $1,000,000 for Class I and $5,000,000 for Class R6 (waived in certain circumstances). There is no minimum for subsequent investments.

Tax Information

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, unless you are exempt from taxation. If your shares are held in a tax-advantaged account, you will generally be taxed only upon withdrawals from the account.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase the Fund’s shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (collectively, “financial intermediaries”), the Fund, its principal underwriter and its affiliates may pay the financial intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the financial intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

24134 4.18.23 © 2023 Calvert Research and Management

 

 

Calvert Emerging Markets Equity Fund6Summary Prospectus dated February 1, 2023 as revised April 18, 2023