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Class A & Y Prospectus | PACE® International Emerging Markets Equity Investments
PACE® International Emerging Markets Equity Investments
Investment objective

Capital appreciation.

Fees and expenses of the fund

These tables describe the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts on purchases of Class A shares if you or your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in the UBS family of funds. More information about these and other discounts and waivers, as well as eligibility requirements for each share class, is available from your financial advisor and in "Managing your fund account" on page 121 of the prospectus and in "Reduced sales charges, additional purchase, exchange and redemption information and other services" on page 219 of the fund's Statement of Additional Information. Different intermediaries and financial professionals may make available different sales charge waivers or discounts. These variations are described in Appendix A beginning on page A-1 of this prospectus (Intermediary-Specific Sales Charge Waivers and Discounts).

Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Shareholder Fees - Class A & Y Prospectus - PACE® International Emerging Markets Equity Investments - USD ($)
CLASS A
CLASS Y
Maximum front-end sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a % of the offering price) 5.50% none
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as a % of the lesser of the offering price or the redemption price) none none
Exchange fee none none
Annual fund operating expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses - Class A & Y Prospectus - PACE® International Emerging Markets Equity Investments
CLASS A
CLASS Y
Management fees 1.00% 1.00%
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees 0.25% none
Other expenses (includes administration fee of 0.10%) [1] 0.47% 0.45%
Total annual fund operating expenses 1.72% 1.45%
Management fee waiver/expense reimbursements [2] 0.02%
Total annual fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursements [2] 1.70% 1.45%
[1] "Other expenses" include "Acquired fund fees and expenses," which were less than 0.01% of the average net assets of the fund. Since the "Acquired fund fees and expenses" are not directly borne by the fund, they are not reflected in the fund's financial statements, and therefore the amounts listed in "Total annual fund operating expenses" and "Total annual fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursements" may differ from those presented in the financial highlights.
[2] The fund and UBS Asset Management (Americas) Inc. ("UBS AM") have entered into a written fee waiver/expense reimbursement agreement pursuant to which UBS AM is contractually obligated to waive its management fees and/or reimburse expenses so that the fund's ordinary total operating expenses of each class through November 30, 2019 (excluding dividend expense, borrowing costs, and interest expense relating to short sales, and expenses attributable to investment in other investment companies, interest, taxes, brokerage commissions and extraordinary expenses) would not exceed 1.70% for Class A, and 1.45% for Class Y. The fund has agreed to repay UBS AM for any waived fees/reimbursed expenses to the extent that it can do so over the following three fiscal years without causing the fund's expenses in any of those three years to exceed these expense caps and that UBS AM has not waived the right to do so. The fee waiver/expense reimbursement agreement may be terminated by the fund's board at any time and also will terminate automatically upon the expiration or termination of the fund's advisory contract with UBS AM. Upon termination of the agreement, however, UBS AM's three year recoupment rights will survive.
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 unless otherwise stated. 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 - Class A & Y Prospectus - PACE® International Emerging Markets Equity Investments - USD ($)
1 year
3 years
5 years
10 years
CLASS A [1] 713 1,060 1,430 2,467
CLASS Y [1] 148 459 792 1,735
[1] Except that the expenses reflect the effects of the fund's fee waiver/expense reimbursement agreement for the first year only.
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 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 65% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal strategies

Principal investments


Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowing for investment purposes) in equity securities that are tied economically to emerging market countries, which may include equity securities issued by companies domiciled in emerging market countries. The fund generally defines emerging market countries as countries that are not included in the MSCI World Index of major world economies. However, countries included in this index may be considered emerging markets based on current political and economic factors. The fund may not always diversify its investments on a geographic basis among emerging market countries.


The fund may invest, to a limited extent, in (1) bonds, including up to 10% of its total assets in bonds that are below investment grade, which are commonly known as "junk bonds," and (2) securities of other investment companies that invest in emerging markets.


Management process


The fund employs a "manager of managers" structure. UBS Asset Management (Americas) Inc. ("UBS AM"), the fund's manager and primary provider of investment advisory services, has the ultimate authority, subject to oversight by the fund's board, to oversee the fund's subadvisor(s) and recommend their hiring, termination and replacement, and to allocate assets among the fund's subadvisor(s). The relative value of each subadvisor's share of the fund's assets may change over time.


UBS AM's investment process begins with subadvisor selection. UBS AM's portfolio management team constructs a list of potential subadvisors based on information primarily from internal sources and the team's collective knowledge of the industry, but also supplemented by external sources. The team then focuses its research on that list to identify a small number of the most attractive candidates. This research includes analyzing the portfolio holdings and/or positioning of a subadvisor's investment strategy to understand whether the allocation of risk and the drivers of alpha are consistent with the subadvisor's investment philosophy and stated strengths. The most attractive sub-set of those subadvisors is then selected for in-depth, on-site due diligence meetings with representatives from the investment, operations and compliance groups within UBS AM. The due diligence information is then synthesized to select the most attractive candidate(s) for the fund, subject to the board's approval.


In managing the fund and overseeing the fund's subadvisor(s), UBS AM views its research process as an ongoing one, as the team continually seeks to confirm a subadvisor's investment thesis over the appropriate investment horizon. In general, UBS AM leverages its research and market knowledge to construct funds with exposure to various subadvisors that are expected, in combination, to produce the desired overall fund characteristics. UBS AM's ongoing monitoring and risk management process incorporates daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual responsibilities designed to monitor the drivers of fund risk and performance at the subadvisor level and at the overall fund level. Through this process, UBS AM may adjust a fund's positioning by altering its allocation weights across subadvisors within the fund and/or by changing the specific subadvisors within the fund.


The main strategies of the subadvisors include:


•  A strategy using fundamental research to identify companies that are attractive based on a value-oriented dividend discount model and market analysis.


•  A strategy that invests in mid and large cap companies with a quality growth orientation.


•  A strategy that uses a bottom-up quantitative approach.

Principal risks

All investments carry a certain amount of risk and the fund cannot guarantee that it will achieve its investment objective. You may lose money by investing in the fund. An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The principal risks presented by an investment in the fund are:


Credit risk: The risk that the fund could lose money if the issuer or guarantor of a fixed income security, or the counterparty to or guarantor of a derivative contract, is unable or unwilling to meet its financial obligations. This risk is likely greater for lower quality investments than for investments that are higher quality.


Equity risk: Stocks and other equity securities, and securities convertible into stocks, generally fluctuate in value more than bonds. The fund could lose all of its investment in a company's stock.


Foreign currency risk: The value of non-US dollar denominated securities held by the fund may be affected by changes in exchange rates or control regulations. If a local currency gains against the US dollar, the value of the holding increases in US dollar terms. In addition, the fund may be exposed to losses if its other foreign currency positions (e.g., options, forward commitments) move against it.


Foreign custody risk: The fund may hold foreign securities and cash with foreign banks, agents and securities depositories. Such foreign banks or securities depositories may be subject to limited regulatory oversight. The laws of certain countries also may limit the fund's ability to recover its assets if a foreign bank or depository enters into bankruptcy.


Foreign investing risk: The value of the fund's investments in foreign securities may fall due to adverse political, social and economic developments abroad and due to decreases in foreign currency values relative to the US dollar. Investments in foreign government bonds involve special risks because the fund may have limited legal recourse in the event of default. Also, foreign securities are sometimes less liquid and more difficult to sell and to value than securities of US issuers. These risks are greater for investments in emerging market issuers. In addition, investments in emerging market issuers may decline in value because of unfavorable foreign government actions, greater risks of political instability or the absence of accurate information about emerging market issuers.


Geographic concentration risk: To the extent the fund invests a significant portion of its assets in one geographic area, it will be more susceptible to factors adversely affecting that area.


High yield securities ("junk bonds") risk: Lower-rated securities (the issuers of which are typically in poorer financial health) are subject to higher risks than investment grade securities. For example, lower-rated securities may be (1) subject to a greater risk of loss of principal and non-payment of interest (including default by the issuer); (2) subject to greater price volatility; and (3) less liquid than investment grade securities. The prices of such securities may be more vulnerable to bad economic news, or even the expectation of bad news, than higher rated fixed income securities.


Interest rate risk: An increase in prevailing interest rates typically causes the value of fixed income securities to fall. Changes in interest rates will likely affect the value of longer-duration fixed income securities more than shorter-duration securities and higher quality securities more than lower quality securities. When interest rates are falling, some fixed income securities provide that the issuer may repay them earlier than the maturity date, and if this occurs the fund may have to reinvest these repayments at lower interest rates. The risks associated with rising interest rates may be more pronounced going forward due to the end of an extended period of historically low rates.


Investment company risk: Investments in open- or closed-end investment companies involve certain risks. The shares of other investment companies are subject to the management fees and other expenses of those companies, and the purchase of shares of some investment companies requires the payment of sales loads and (in the case of closed-end investment companies) sometimes substantial premiums above the value of such companies' portfolio securities.


Limited capitalization risk: The risk that securities of smaller capitalization companies tend to be more volatile and less liquid than securities of larger capitalization companies. This can have a disproportionate effect on the market price of smaller capitalization companies and affect the fund's ability to purchase or sell these securities. In general, smaller capitalization companies are more vulnerable than larger companies to adverse business or economic developments and they may have more limited resources.


Management risk: The risk that the investment strategies, techniques and risk analyses employed by UBS AM and/or a subadvisor may not produce the desired results.


Market risk: The risk that the market value of the fund's investments may fluctuate, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably, as the stock and bond markets fluctuate. Market risk may affect a single issuer, industry, or sector of the economy, or it may affect the market as a whole. Moreover, changing market, economic and political conditions in one country or geographic region could adversely impact market, economic and political conditions in other countries or regions.


Model and data risk: A subadvisor for the fund may employ a complex strategy using proprietary quantitative models in selecting investments for the fund. Investments selected using these models may perform differently than expected as a result of the factors used in the models, the weight placed on each factor, changes from the factors' historical trends, and technical issues in the construction and implementation of the models (including, for example, data problems, problems with data supplied by third parties, software issues, or other types of errors). There is no guarantee that a subadvisor's quantitative models will perform as expected or result in effective investment decisions for the fund.


Multi-manager risk: The investment styles and strategies of the fund's subadvisors may not complement each other as expected by the fund's manager. The same security may be held by different subadvisors, or may be acquired by one subadvisor while another subadvisor of the fund decides to sell the same security. Subadvisors may have different views on the market causing them to make different investment decisions. For example, a subadvisor may determine that it is appropriate to take a temporary defensive position in short-term cash instruments at a time when another subadvisor deems it appropriate to maintain or increase market exposure. Because each subadvisor independently places trades for the fund, the fund may incur higher brokerage costs than would be the case if the fund only had one subadvisor. In addition, UBS AM may be subject to potential conflicts of interests in allocating fund assets because it pays different fees to the subadvisors which could impact its revenues.

Performance

Risk/return bar chart and table


The performance information that follows shows the fund's performance information in a bar chart and an average annual total returns table. The bar chart does not reflect the sales charges of the fund's Class A shares; if it did, the total returns shown would be lower. The information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing changes in the fund's performance from year to year and by showing how the fund's average annual total returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. The fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future. This may be particularly true given that other subadvisors were responsible for managing portions of the fund's assets during previous periods. Mondrian Investment Partners Limited ("Mondrian") assumed day-to-day management of a portion of the fund's assets on September 28, 2004. William Blair Investment Management, LLC ("William Blair") assumed day-to-day management of a separate portion of the fund's assets on March 23, 2011. LMCG Investments, LLC ("LMCG") assumed day-to-day management of a separate portion of the fund's assets on October 16, 2012. Updated performance for the fund is available at www.ubs.com/us-mutualfundperformance.


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. In addition, the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold fund shares through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns for other classes will vary from the Class A shares' after-tax returns shown.

PACE International Emerging Markets Equity Investments Annual Total Returns of Class A Shares*
Bar Chart

*  The returns shown above are for Class A. Previously, the returns were shown for Class C, a class of shares the fund ceased offering on July 12, 2018 and that is no longer offered through this prospectus. Class A has substantially similar annual returns to Class C because Class A is invested in the same portfolio of securities Class C was previously invested in. Class A's returns may differ from Class C's returns to the extent that Class A does not have the same expenses Class C had previously.

Total return January 1 - September 30, 2018: (9.72)%
Best quarter during calendar years shown—2Q 2009: 31.49%
Worst quarter during calendar years shown—4Q 2008: (28.35)%

Average annual total returns (figures reflect sales charges) (for the periods ended December 31, 2017)
Average Annual Returns - Class A & Y Prospectus - PACE® International Emerging Markets Equity Investments
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years
Average Annual Returns, Inception Date
CLASS A 26.40% [1] 1.07% [1] (0.33%) [1] Dec. 11, 2000
CLASS Y 34.03% [1] 2.46% [1] 0.51% [1] Feb. 09, 2001
After Taxes on Distributions | CLASS A [1] 26.36% 1.18% (0.73%)  
After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | CLASS A [1] 15.41% 1.04% (0.10%)  
MSCI Emerging Markets Index (net) (Index reflects no deduction for fees and expenses) [1] 37.28% 4.35% 1.68%  
[1] The returns shown above are for Class A. Previously, the returns were shown for Class C, a class of shares the fund ceased offering on July 12, 2018 and that is no longer offered through this prospectus. Class A has substantially similar annual returns to Class C because Class A is invested in the same portfolio of securities Class C was previously invested in. Class A's returns may differ from Class C's returns to the extent that Class A does not have the same expenses Class C had previously.