| Aberdeen Select International Equity Fund | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Aberdeen Select International Equity Fund | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Objective | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Aberdeen Select International Equity Fund (the “Select International Equity Fund” or the “Fund”) seeks long-term growth of capital. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 Select International Equity Fund. This table does not include the brokerage commissions that you may pay when purchasing or selling Institutional Class Shares of the Fund. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Example | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Select International Equity 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 sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. It assumes 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: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The example does not include the effect of the potential taxes and costs associated with the receipt by the Fund of Article 63 EU Tax Reclaims, which are unknown as of the date of this Prospectus, as noted in the footnote below the table in “Fees and Expenses of the Fund.” If the taxes and costs associated with these reclaims were included, the expenses would be materially higher. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portfolio Turnover | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Select International Equity Fund pays transaction costs, such as brokerage 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. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 18% of the average value of its portfolio. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Principal Strategies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, the Select International Equity Fund invests at least 80% of the value of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities issued by companies that are located in, or that derive a majority of their earnings or revenue from, a number of countries around the world other than the U.S. For purposes of the 80% policy, a company is considered to be outside the U.S. if Fund management determines that the company meets one or more of the following criteria: the company · is organized under the laws of, or has its principal office in, a country outside the U.S.; · has its principal securities trading market in a country outside the U.S.; and/or · derives the majority of its annual revenue or earnings or assets from goods produced, sales made or services performed in a country outside the U.S. Equity securities include, but are not limited to, common stock, preferred stock and depositary receipts. If the Fund changes its 80% investment policy, it will notify shareholders at least 60 days before the change and, if necessary, will change the name of the Select International Equity Fund. Under normal circumstances, a number of countries around the world will be represented in the Fund’s portfolio, some of which may be considered to be emerging market countries. At times, the Fund may have a significant amount of its assets invested in a country or geographic region. The Fund may invest in securities denominated in U.S. Dollars and currencies of the foreign countries in which it is permitted to invest. The Fund typically has full currency exposure to those markets in which it invests. The Fund may invest in securities of any market capitalization. The Fund may invest in securities of any market sector and may hold a significant amount of securities of companies, from time to time, within a single sector. The Adviser employs a fundamental, bottom-up equity investment process, which is based on first-hand research and disciplined company evaluation. Stocks are identified for their long-term, fundamental value. The stock selection process contains two filters, first quality and then price. In the quality filter, Adviser seeks to determine whether the company is a business that has good growth prospects and a balance sheet that supports expansion, and evaluates other business risks. ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) analysis is fully integrated into investment decisions for all equity holdings. As such, the Adviser evaluates ESG factors as part of the investment analysis process and this forms an integral component of the Adviser’s quality rating for all companies. In the price filter, the Adviser assesses the value of a company by reference to financial ratios, and estimates the value of the company relative to its market price and the valuations of other potential investments. The Adviser may sell a security when it perceives that a company’s business direction or growth potential has changed or the company’s valuations no longer offer attractive relative value. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Principal Risks | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Select International Equity Fund cannot guarantee that it will achieve its investment objective. As with any fund, the value of the Fund’s investments — and therefore, the value of Fund shares — may fluctuate. These changes may occur because of: Country/Regional Focus Risk — Significant exposure to a single country or geographical region involves increased currency, political, regulatory and other risks. Market swings in the targeted country or geographical region likely will have a greater effect on portfolio performance than they would in a more geographically diversified fund. Emerging Markets Risk — A magnification of the risks that apply to foreign securities. These risks are greater for securities of companies in emerging market countries because the countries may have less stable governments, more volatile currencies and less established markets (see “Foreign Securities Risk” below). Foreign Currency Exposure Risk — The value of foreign currencies relative to the U.S. Dollar fluctuates in response to market, economic, political, regulatory, geopolitical or other conditions. 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. This risk may impact the Fund more greatly to the extent the Fund does not hedge its currency risk, or hedging techniques used by the Adviser are unsuccessful. Foreign Securities Risk — Foreign securities involve risks in addition to those of comparable U.S. securities. Foreign securities may be more volatile, harder to price and less liquid than U.S. securities. They are subject to different accounting and regulatory standards, and political and economic risks. Impact of Large Redemptions and Purchases of Fund Shares — Occasionally, shareholders may make large redemptions or purchases of Fund shares, which may cause the Fund to have to sell securities or invest additional cash. These transactions may adversely affect the Fund’s performance and increase transaction costs. In addition, large redemption requests may exceed the cash balance of the Fund and result in credit line borrowing fees and/or overdraft charges to the Fund until the sales of portfolio securities necessary to cover the redemption request settle. Issuer Risk — The value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer’s goods or service. An individual security may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the market as a whole. Large-Cap Securities Risk - Securities issued by large cap companies subject the Fund to the risk that those securities may underperform securities issued by companies with smaller capitalizations or the market as a whole. Management Risk — The Fund is subject to the risk that the Adviser may make poor security selections. The Adviser and its portfolio managers apply their own investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the Fund and there can be no guarantee that these decisions will achieve the desired results for the Fund. In addition, the Adviser may select securities that underperform the relevant market of other funds with similar investment objectives and strategies. Market Risk — Deteriorating market conditions might cause a general weakness in the market that reduces the prices of securities in those markets in which the Fund invests. Mid-Cap Securities Risk — Securities of medium-sized companies tend to be more volatile and less liquid than securities of larger companies. Sector Risk — To the extent that the Fund has a significant portion of its assets invested in securities of companies conducting business in a broadly related group of industries within an economic sector, the Fund may be more vulnerable to unfavorable developments in that economic sector than funds that invest more broadly. Small-Cap Securities Risk — Securities of smaller companies are usually less stable in price and less liquid than those of larger, more established companies. Therefore, they generally involve greater risk. Valuation Risk - The price the Fund could receive upon the sale of any particular portfolio investment may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the investment, particularly for securities that trade in thin or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair valuation methodology or a price provided by an independent pricing service. As a result, the price received upon the sale of an investment may be less than the value ascribed by the Fund, and the Fund could realize a greater than expected loss or lesser than expected gain upon the sale of the investment. The Fund’s ability to value its investments may also be impacted by technological issues and/or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers. If the value of the Fund’s investments decreases, you may lose money. For additional information regarding the above identified risks, see “Fund Details: Additional Information about Investments, Investment Techniques and Risks” in the Prospectus. An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit or obligation of any bank and is not endorsed or guaranteed by any bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board or any other governmental agency. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Performance | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The bar chart and table below can help you evaluate potential risks of the Select International Equity Fund. The bar chart shows how the Fund’s annual total returns for Class A have varied from year to year. The table compares the Fund’s average annual total returns to the returns of the MSCI All Country World ex USA Index, a broad-based securities index. Remember, however, that past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily indicative of how the Fund will perform in the future. For updated performance information, please visit www.aberdeen-asset.us or call 866-667-9231. Aberdeen Asset Management Inc. (“AAMI” or the “Adviser”) and Aberdeen Asset Managers Limited (“AAML”) became adviser and sub-adviser of the Fund, respectively, on May 22, 2013. Performance prior to this date reflects the performance of an unaffiliated adviser. Performance shown for periods after December 16, 2016 reflect the Fund’s receipt of payment of Article 63 EU Tax Reclaims related to prior years (2005-2008). Prior to this receipt there was no certainty that the Fund would receive any amounts, and thus the Fund’s performance previously did not reflect any anticipated receipt of these payments. The receipt of these extraordinary payments effectively increased the Fund’s performance for all periods that include December 2016 in a manner that may not recur in the future, and the Fund’s performance was significantly higher for those periods than it would have been had the Fund not received payment of the Article 63 EU Tax Reclaims. In the tax years for which the Fund filed Article 63 EU Tax Reclaims, certain shareholders were able to reduce their federal income taxes based upon the amount of taxes that the Fund paid to foreign jurisdictions. The receipt by the Fund of the tax reclaims from these jurisdictions will also result in tax liability to the Fund to offset the tax benefits that shareholders received in the past. Based on information available as of the date of this Prospectus, an estimated tax amount has been accrued and is reflected within the Fund’s net asset value and performance. Furthermore, upon final determination of the Internal Revenue Service, if the actual tax payable is greater than the amount currently accrued, and subject to the level of assets under management at the time of any subsequent adjustments, the Fund’s expenses, net asset value and performance may be materially adversely impacted. The precise amount of the tax remains uncertain as the matter remains unsettled with the Internal Revenue Service. For Class A, the average annual total return excluding the receipt of Article 63 EU Tax Reclaims was 25.11%, 3.73%, and -2.29%, respectively, for the 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year periods ended December 31, 2017. For Institutional Class, the average annual total return excluding the receipt of Article 63 EU Tax Reclaims was 25.52%, 4.01%, and -2.05%, respectively, for the 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year periods ended December 31, 2017. There can be no assurance that the Fund will receive additional Article 63 EU Tax Reclaim payments or maintain this level of performance in the future. The Fund has Article 63 EU Tax Reclaims outstanding related to prior years (2005-2015). Consistent with U.S. GAAP accrual requirements, the Fund has recognized the Article 63 EU Tax Reclaims when a payment has been received, and has not recorded a receivable amount for any outstanding Article 63 EU Tax Reclaims because there is limited historical precedent for U.S. funds collecting reclaims of this magnitude and the total amount of the reclaims that the Fund may receive in the future is uncertain. Any additional amounts to which the Fund may be entitled, if and when recorded, likely would result in an increase in the net asset value per share of each fund at that time. In addition, Article 63 EU Tax Reclaims amounts received will be subject to tax. The Internal Revenue Service has not yet determined the amount of taxes that the Fund must pay on these amounts. For tax accounting purposes, interest payments received on these payments (if any) are treated as income and will be distributed in due course. Additionally, fluctuations in the value of foreign currencies may affect the Fund’s tax liability, because the Internal Revenue Service may require the Fund to pay any taxes owed on interest payments on Article 63 EU Tax Reclaims amounts in U.S Dollars based on the foreign currency exchange rate with the applicable jurisdiction that was in effect at the time the Article 63 EU Tax Reclaims amounts were received by the Fund. As of December 31, 2017, the total amount of reclaims filed for which no payments have been received by the Fund in the countries that may be affected by the European courts’ decisions (namely, The Netherlands, Spain, Germany, France, Poland, and Sweden) represents approximately 5.4% of net assets of the Fund before the impact of interest or any tax or additional costs incurred in the pursuit of such reclaims. These amounts net of estimated taxes (but excluding the impact of interest or tax on such interest) represent 3.1% of net assets of the Fund. Receipt by the Fund of these amounts will make the Fund’s performance seem higher than it would be as a result of the performance of its portfolio investments. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Annual Total Returns — Class A Shares (Years Ended Dec. 31) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Highest Return: 22.02% - 2nd quarter 2009 Lowest Return: -24.53% - 3rd quarter 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Average Annual Total Returns As of December 31, 2017 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
After-tax returns are shown in the following table for Class A shares only and will vary for other classes. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates in effect and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax return depends on your personal tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors in tax-deferred arrangements, such as individual retirement accounts, 401(k) plans or certain other employer-sponsored retirement plans. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
