Touchstone Strategic Trust

10/28/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/28/2024 13:37

Summary Prospectus by Investment Company - Form 497K

497K
Summary Prospectus
Touchstone Core Municipal Bond FundOctober 28, 2024
Class A Ticker: TOHAX Class C Ticker: TOHCX
Class Y Ticker: TOHYX Institutional Class: TOHIX
Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund's prospectus, which contains information about the Fund and its risks. The Fund's prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, both dated October 28, 2024, as amended from time to time, are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus. For free paper or electronic copies of the Fund's prospectus and other information about the Fund, go to TouchstoneInvestments.com/Resources, call 1.800.543.0407, or ask any financial adviser, bank, or broker-dealer who offers shares of the Fund.
Touchstone Core Municipal Bond Fund Summary
The Fund's Investment Goal
The Touchstone Core Municipal Bond Fund (the "Fund") seeks a high level of current income exempt from federal income taxes, consistent with the protection of capital.
The Fund's Fees and Expenses
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.You may qualify for sales charge discounts for Class A shares of Touchstone equity funds and Touchstone fixed income funds if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000 or $50,000, respectively, in Touchstone funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional, in the section titled "Choosing a Class of Shares" in the Fund's prospectus and Statement of Additional Information ("SAI") on pages 69 and 72, respectively, and in Appendix A-Intermediary-Specific Sales Charge Waivers and Discounts to the Fund's prospectus.
Class A
Class C
Class Y
Institutional
Class
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering
price)
3.25%
None
None
None
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of original purchase price or
the amount redeemed, whichever is less)
None
1.00%
None
None
Wire Redemption Fee
$15
$15
$15
$15
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a
percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees
0.40%
0.40%
0.40%
0.40%
Distribution and/or Shareholder Service (12b-1) Fees
0.25%
1.00%
None
None
Other Expenses
0.44%
1.83%
0.76%
0.37%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
1.09%
3.23%
1.16%
0.77%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(1)
(0.29)%
(1.73)%
(0.61)%
(0.29)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense
Reimbursement(1)
0.80%
1.50%(2)
0.55%
0.48%
(1)
Touchstone Advisors, Inc. (the "Adviser" or "Touchstone Advisors") and Touchstone Strategic Trust (the "Trust") have entered into a contractual expense limitation agreement whereby Touchstone Advisors will waive a portion of its fees or reimburse certain Fund expenses (excluding dividend and interest expenses relating to short sales; interest; taxes; brokerage commissions and other transaction costs; portfolio transaction and investment related expenses, including
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Touchstone Core Municipal Bond FundOctober 28, 2024
expenses associated with the Fund's liquidity providers; other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles; the cost of "Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses", if any; and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of business) in order to limit annual Fund operating expenses to 0.80%, 1.50%, 0.55% and 0.48% of average daily net assets for Classes A, C, Y, and Institutional Class shares, respectively. This contractual expense limitation is effective through October 29, 2025, but can be terminated by a vote of the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the "Board") if it deems the termination to be beneficial to the Fund's shareholders. The terms of the contractual expense limitation agreement provide that Touchstone Advisors is entitled to recoup, subject to approval by the Board, such amounts waived or reimbursed for a period of up to three years from the date on which the Adviser reduced its compensation or assumed expenses for the Fund. The Fund will make repayments to the Adviser only if such repayment does not cause the annual Fund operating expenses (after the repayment is taken into account) to exceed both (1) the expense cap in place when such amounts were waived or reimbursed and (2) the Fund's current expense limitation.
(2)
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement will differ from the ratio of net expenses to average net assets that is included in the Fund's Form N-CSR filing for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024 due to contractual changes in the Fund's expense limitation agreement effective October 29, 2024.
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, except as indicated, 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 Fund's operating expenses remain the same and that all fee waivers or expense limits for the Fund will expire after one year. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Assuming Redemption at End of Period
Assuming
No Redemption
Class A
Class C
Class Y
Institutional
Class
Class C
1 Year
$404
$253
$56
$49
$153
3 Years
$632
$833
$308
$217
$833
5 Years
$879
$1,538
$579
$399
$1,538
10 Years
$1,585
$3,412
$1,355
$927
$3,412
Portfolio Turnover.The 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 total 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 27% of the average value of the Fund's portfolio.
The Fund's Principal Investment Strategies
Under normal circumstances, the Fund seeks to achieve its investment goal by investing its assets primarily in high-quality, municipal debt, including general obligation bonds, revenue bonds, and pre-refunded municipal bonds. This includes, but is not limited to, municipal bonds that are issued by U.S. states and their subdivisions, authorities, instrumentalities and corporations, as well as obligations issued by U.S. territories (such as Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam) that pay interest that is exempt from regular federal personal income tax. High-quality municipal debt is, for purposes of the Fund, considered to be debt with an underlying credit rating of investment grade (Baa3) or higher by Moody's Investor Service, Inc. ("Moody's"), or equivalently rated by S&P Global Ratings ("S&P") or Fitch Ratings, Inc. ("Fitch"), or, if unrated, determined by the sub-adviser to be of comparable quality.
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Touchstone Core Municipal Bond FundOctober 28, 2024
The Fund has adopted a fundamental investment policy that under normal circumstances at least 80% of the income it distributes will be exempt from federal income tax, including the federal alternative minimum tax. This fundamental policy may not be changed without the approval of the Fund's shareholders.
In managing the Fund's portfolio, Sage Advisory Services, Ltd. Co. ("Sage" or the "sub-adviser"), the Fund's sub-adviser, seeks to exploit market inefficiencies using its income, price, and volatility framework:
Income: Sage seeks to construct portfolios that generate consistent tax-free income by capturing diversified sources of credit, liquidity, and term premiums.
Price: Sage seeks to control price sensitivity at the portfolio level by managing duration and yield curve positioning.
Volatility: During periods when the price of bonds decline because of economic uncertainty or market stress, Sage seeks to identify and purchase bonds that are priced attractively relative to historical averages. Sage will add positions in a risk-controlled manner, meaning the bond is well-supported by Sage's outlook and the risk associated with purchasing the bond is carefully considered along with the benefits including yield and the potential for the price to increase.
The Fund may invest in bonds of any maturity. The average duration of the Fund will vary based on the sub-adviser's forecast for interest rates and will normally be within 25% (plus/minus) of the Bloomberg Municipal Bond Index. Duration is a measure used to determine the sensitivity of a security's price to changes in interest rates.
Throughout the investment process, Sage analyzes each municipal issue for various environmental, social and governance ("ESG") criteria. For this analysis, Sage uses a proprietary ESG framework to evaluate and score (the "Sage ESG Leaf Score") municipal projects for both their project impact and impact intensity and related controversies. The Fund does not have a minimum scoring threshold of their ESG framework for inclusion in the Fund, however, this analysis is used to evaluate the fundamental health and long-term credit risk of each issuer. The Fund may invest in a security that scores poorly on ESG criteria if the security scores highly on other factors such as valuation and strong fundamental health.
The Fund's Principal Risks
The Fund's share price will fluctuate. You could lose money on your investment in the Fund and the Fund could also return less than other investments.Investments in the Fund are not bank guaranteed, are not deposits, and are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the "FDIC") or any other federal government agency.As with any mutual fund, there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment goal. You can find more information about the Fund's investments and risks under the "Principal Investment Strategies and Risks" section of the Fund's prospectus. The Fund is subject to the principal risks summarized below.
Fixed-Income Risk: The market value of the Fund's fixed-income securities responds to economic developments, particularly interest rate changes, as well as to perceptions about the creditworthiness of individual issuers, including governments. Generally, the Fund's fixed-income securities will decrease in value if interest rates rise and increase in value if interest rates fall. Normally, the longer the maturity or duration of the fixed-income securities the Fund owns, the more sensitive the value of the Fund's shares will be to changes in interest rates.
Credit Risk: The fixed-income securities in the Fund's portfolio are subject to the possibility that a deterioration, whether sudden or gradual, in the financial condition of an issuer, or a deterioration in general economic conditions, could cause an issuer to fail to make timely payments of principal or interest, when due. This may cause the issuer's securities to decline in value.
Interest Rate Risk: In general, when interest rates rise, the prices of debt securities fall, and when interest rates fall, the prices of debt securities rise. The price volatility of a debt security also depends on its maturity. Longer-term securities are generally more volatile, so the longer the average maturity or duration of these
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Touchstone Core Municipal Bond FundOctober 28, 2024
securities, the greater their price risk. Duration is a measure used to determine the sensitivity of a security's price to changes in interest rates that incorporates a security's yield, coupon, final maturity, and call features, among other characteristics. The longer a fixed-income security's duration, the more sensitive it will be to changes in interest rates. Maturity, on the other hand, is the date on which a fixed-income security becomes due for payment of principal. Recent and potential future changes in government policy may affect interest rates.
Investment-Grade Debt Securities Risk: Investment-grade debt securities may be downgraded by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization ("NRSRO") to below-investment-grade status, which would increase the risk of holding these securities. Investment-grade debt securities rated in the lowest rating category by a NRSRO involve a higher degree of risk than fixed-income securities with higher credit ratings.
Prepayment Risk: The risk that a debt security may be paid off and proceeds reinvested earlier than anticipated. Prepayment impacts both the interest rate sensitivity of the underlying asset, such as an asset-backed or mortgage-backed security and its cash flow projections. Therefore, prepayment risk may make it difficult to calculate the average duration of the Fund's asset- or mortgage-backed securities which in turn would make it difficult to assess the interest rate risk of the Fund.
U.S. Government Securities Risk: Certain U.S. government securities are backed by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury while others are supported only by the credit of the issuer or instrumentality. While the U.S. government is able to provide financial support to U.S. government-sponsored agencies or instrumentalities, no assurance can be given that it will always do so. Such securities are generally neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury.
Municipal Securities Risk: The value of municipal securities may be affected by uncertainties in the municipal market related to legislation or litigation involving the taxation of municipal securities or the rights of municipal securities holders in the event of bankruptcy. In addition, a downturn in the national economy may negatively impact the economic performance of issuers of municipal securities, and may increase the likelihood that issuers of securities in which the Fund may invest may be unable to meet their obligations. Also, some municipal obligations may be backed by a letter of credit issued by a bank or other financial institution. Adverse developments affecting banks or other financial institutions could have a negative effect on the value of the Fund's portfolio securities.
In order to be tax exempt, tax-exempt securities must meet certain legal requirements. Failure to meet such requirements may cause the interest received and distributed by the Fund to shareholders to be taxable. The Fund may invest in securities whose interest is subject to state tax, federal regular income tax, or federal alternative minimum tax. Consult your tax professional for more information.
Management Risk: In managing the Fund's portfolio, the Adviser engages one or more sub-advisers to make investment decisions for a portion of or the entire portfolio. There is a risk that the Adviser may be unable to identify and retain sub-advisers who achieve superior investment returns relative to other similar sub-advisers.
Economic and Market Events Risk: Events in the U.S. and global financial markets, including actions taken by the U.S. Federal Reserve or foreign central banks to stimulate or stabilize economic growth, may at times, and for varying periods of time, result in unusually high market volatility, which could negatively impact the Fund's performance and cause the Fund to experience illiquidity, shareholder redemptions, or other potentially adverse effects. Reduced liquidity in credit and fixed-income markets could negatively affect issuers worldwide. Financial institutions could suffer losses as interest rates rise or economic conditions deteriorate. In addition, the Fund's service providers are susceptible to operational and information or cyber security risks that could result in losses to a Fund and its shareholders.
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Touchstone Core Municipal Bond FundOctober 28, 2024
ESG Investing Risk: The Fund's sub-adviser may consider ESG factors that it deems relevant or additive, along with other material factors and analysis, when selecting investments for the Fund. The Fund's ESG criteria may cause the Fund to forgo opportunities to buy certain securities, or forgo opportunities to gain exposure to certain industries, sectors, regions and countries. In addition, the Fund may be required to sell a security when it might otherwise be disadvantageous for it to do so.
Cybersecurity Risk: Cyber security breaches are either intentional or unintentional events that allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data, or proprietary information, or cause a Fund or Fund service provider to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality. A cyber security breach could result in the loss or theft of customer data or funds, loss or theft of proprietary information or corporate data, physical damage to a computer or network system, or costs associated with system repairs, any of which could have a substantial impact on the Fund. Such incidents could affect issuers in which a Fund invests, thereby causing the Fund's investments to lose value. The Fund has established risk management systems reasonably designed to seek to reduce the risks associated with cyber-events. However, there is no guarantee that the Fund will be able to prevent or mitigate the impact of any or all cyber-events.
The Fund's Performance
On December 16, 2016, the Touchstone Ohio Tax-Free Bond Fund, a series of Touchstone Tax-Free Trust (the "Predecessor Fund"), was reorganized into the Fund. The investment objectives, guidelines, and restrictions of the Predecessor Fund were substantially similar to those of the Fund. As a result of the reorganization, the performance and accounting history of the Predecessor Fund was assumed by the Fund. Financial and performance information prior to December 16, 2016 is that of the Predecessor Fund. On October 28, 2021, the Fund changed its name, investment goal, principal investment strategies, diversification status and sub-advisor. The Fund's performance shown below might have differed if Sage had managed the Fund pursuant to its current strategies prior to October 28, 2021.
The bar chart and performance table below illustrate some indication of the risks and volatility of an investment in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund's performance from calendar year to calendar year and by showing how the Fund's average annual total returns for one year, five years, and ten years compare with the Bloomberg Municipal Bond Index. The bar chart does not reflect any sales charges, which would reduce your return.The performance table reflects any applicable sales charges.Past performance (before and after taxes) does not necessarily indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. More recent performance information is available at no cost by visiting TouchstoneInvestments.com or by calling 1.800.543.0407.
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Touchstone Core Municipal Bond FundOctober 28, 2024
Touchstone Core Municipal Bond Fund - Class A Shares Total Return as of December 31
Best Quarter:
4th Quarter 2023
6.86
%
Worst Quarter:
1st Quarter 2022
(5.90
)%
Year-To-Date:
9/30/2024
2.58
%
After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual marginal federal income tax rates in effect on a given distribution reinvestment date and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns may differ from those shown and depend on your tax situation. The after-tax returns do not apply to shares held in an individual retirement account ("IRA"), 401(k), or other tax-advantaged account.The after-tax returns shown in the table are for Class A shares only. The after-tax returns for other classes of shares offered by the Fund will differ from the Class A shares' after-tax returns. The Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares may be greater than other returns for the same period due to a tax benefit of realizing a capital loss on the sale of Fund shares.
The inception dates of Class Y shares and Institutional Class shares was August 30, 2016. Class Y and Institutional Class shares' performance was calculated using the historical performance of Class A shares for the periods prior to August 30, 2016. Performance for these periods has been restated to reflect the impact of the fees and expenses applicable to Class Y and Institutional Class shares.
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Touchstone Core Municipal Bond FundOctober 28, 2024
Average Annual Total Returns
For the periods ended December 31, 2023
1 Year
5 Years
10 Years
Touchstone Core Municipal Bond Fund - Class A
Return Before Taxes
2.04
%
1.22
%
1.85
%
Return After Taxes on Distributions
2.01
%
1.21
%
1.84
%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares
2.20
%
1.46
%
2.04
%
Touchstone Core Municipal Bond Fund - Class C
Return Before Taxes
3.71
%
0.84
%
1.74
%
Touchstone Core Municipal Bond Fund - Class Y
Return Before Taxes
5.85
%
1.92
%
2.57
%
Touchstone Core Municipal Bond Fund - Institutional Class
Return Before Taxes
5.93
%
1.94
%
2.59
%
Bloomberg Municipal Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses or taxes)
6.40
%
2.25
%
3.03
%
The Fund's Management
Investment Adviser
Touchstone Advisors, Inc. serves as the Fund's investment adviser.
Sub-Adviser
Portfolio Managers
Investment Experience
with the Fund
Primary Title with
Sub-Adviser
Sage Advisory Services,
Ltd. Co.
Robert G. Smith, AIF®,
CIMC
Since October 2021
Co-Chief Investment
Officer, CEO & President
Jeffery S. Timlin, CFA,
CMT
Since October 2021
Co-Chief Investment
Officer, Managing
Director
Thomas H. Urano, CFA
Since October 2021
Principal and Managing
Director
Buying and Selling Fund Shares
Minimum Investment Requirements
Classes A, C, and Y
Initial
Investment
Additional
Investment
Regular Account
$2,500
$50
Retirement Account or Custodial Account under the Uniform Gifts/Transfers
to Minors Act
$1,000
$50
Investments through the Automatic Investment Plan
$100
$50
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Touchstone Core Municipal Bond FundOctober 28, 2024
Institutional Class
Initial
Investment
Additional
Investment
Regular Account
$500,000
$50
Fund shares may be purchased and sold on days that the New York Stock Exchange is open for trading. Existing Class A, C and Institutional Class shareholders may purchase shares directly through Touchstone Funds via the transfer agent, BNY Mellon, or through their financial intermediary. Class Y shares are available only through financial intermediaries who have appropriate selling agreements in place with Touchstone Securities. Shares may be purchased or sold by writing to Touchstone Securities at P.O. Box 534467, Pittsburgh, PA 15253-4467, calling 1.800.543.0407, or visiting the Touchstone Funds' website: TouchstoneInvestments.com. You may only sell shares over the telephone or via the Internet if the value of the shares sold is less than or equal to $100,000. If your shares are held by a processing organization or financial intermediary you will need to follow its purchase and redemption procedures. For more information about buying and selling shares, see the "Investing with Touchstone" section of the Fund's prospectus or call 1.800.543.0407.
Tax Information
The Fund intends to distribute tax-exempt income. The Fund intends to meet certain federal tax requirements so that distributions of the tax-exempt interest it earns may be treated as "exempt-interest dividends." A portion of the Fund's distributions may, however, be subject to federal income tax.
Financial Intermediary Compensation
If you purchase shares in the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other 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.
TSF-54BB-TST-TOHAX-2410
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