11/05/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/05/2024 15:28
Summary Prospectus August 5, 2024 |
Brandes Core Plus Fixed Income Fund
Class/Ticker Class I BCPIX Class A BCPAX Class R6 BCPRX
Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund's Prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund's Prospectus, Reports to Shareholders, Statement of Additional Information and other information about the Fund online at https://www.brandes.com/funds/resources. You may also obtain this information at no cost by calling 1-800-395-3807 or by e-mail at [email protected]. The Fund's Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, both dated August 5, 2024, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.
Investment Objective
The Brandes Core Plus Fixed Income Fund (the "Core Plus Fund" or "Fund") seeks to maximize long-term total return, consisting of both current income and capital appreciation.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Core Plus Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you or your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000 in the Brandes International Equity Fund, Brandes Global Equity Fund, Brandes Emerging Markets Value Fund, Brandes International Small Cap Equity Fund, Brandes Small Cap Value Fund, and Brandes Core Plus Fixed Income Fund (the "Brandes Funds"). More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in the section titled, "Shareholder Information" on page 16 of the Prospectus and "Additional Purchase and Redemption Information" on page 63 of the Fund's Statement of Additional Information.
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)
Class A | Class I | Class R6 | ||||
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) | 3.75% | None | None | |||
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) | None* | None | None |
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Class A | Class I | Class R6 | ||||
Management Fees | 0.35% | 0.35% | 0.35% | |||
Distribution (12b-1) Fees | 0.25% | None | None | |||
Other Expenses(1)(2) | 0.30% | 0.33% | 0.30% | |||
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses | 0.01% | 0.01% | 0.01% | |||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | 0.91% | 0.69% | 0.66% | |||
Less: Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(3) |
(0.40%) | (0.38%) | (0.35%) | |||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(2)(4) | 0.51% | 0.31% | 0.31% |
* |
A contingent deferred sales charge ("CDSC") of 1.00% on amounts of less than $4 million, 0.50% on amounts of at least $4 million but less than $10 million and 0.25% on amounts of at least $10 million may apply to certain investments in Class A shares of $1 million or more that are redeemed within 12 months of the date of purchase. |
(1) |
"Other Expenses" for Class I shares includes 0.05% of class-specific sub-transfer agency fees. |
(2) |
"Other Expenses" have been adjusted from amounts incurred during the most recent fiscal year of the Fund's predecessor to reflect estimated current expenses. The Brandes Core Plus Fixed Income Fund, a series of Brandes Investment Trust, was the predecessor to the Fund (the "Predecessor Fund"). |
(3) |
Brandes Investment Partners, L.P. (the "Adviser") has contractually agreed to limit the Management Fee of each share class of the Core Plus Fund to 0.30% pursuant to an Investment Advisory Fee Waiver Agreement in effect until July 15, 2026. |
(4) |
The Adviser has contractually agreed to limit the Core Plus Fund's Class A, Class I and Class R6 annual operating expenses (exclusive of acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, interest, brokerage commissions, expenses incurred in connection with any merger or reorganization or extraordinary expenses such as litigation), including repayment of previous waivers, to the following percentages of the Fund's average daily net assets attributable to the specific classes through July 15, 2026: 0.50%, 0.30% and 0.30%, respectively (the "Expense Caps"). The Expense Caps may be terminated at any time by the Board of Trustees upon 60 days' notice to the Adviser. The Adviser is permitted, with Board approval, to be reimbursed for fee reductions and/or |
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expense payments made in the prior 36 months following the waiver or reimbursement with respect to any Class of the Fund. The Adviser may request reimbursement if the aggregate amount paid by the Fund toward operating expenses for the Class for such period (taking into account any reimbursement) does not exceed the lesser of the Expense Cap in effect at the time of waiver or at the time of reimbursement. |
Example |
This example is intended to help you compare the costs of investing in the Core Plus 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. The example reflects the Expense Caps described above through the expiration date of the Expense Caps and total annual fund operating expenses thereafter. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |||||||||||||
Class A | $ | 425 | $ | 616 | $ | 822 | $ | 1,417 | ||||||||
Class I | $ | 32 | $ | 182 | $ | 347 | $ | 823 | ||||||||
Class R6 | $ | 32 | $ | 176 | $ | 333 | $ | 789 |
Portfolio Turnover |
The Core Plus 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 its most recent fiscal year, the Predecessor Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 15.72% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Core Plus Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) measured at the time of purchase in fixed income securities. These include, but are not limited to, debt securities issued by U.S. and foreign companies, debt obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government and foreign governments and their agencies and instrumentalities, and U.S. and foreign mortgage-backed securities, collateralized mortgage obligations and asset-backed debt securities. The Fund may also invest in other forms of debt obligations and income-producing securities, including but not limited to preferred stock. The Fund may invest up to 25% of its total fixed income assets, measured at the time of purchase, in securities not denominated in U.S. dollars.
Brandes Investment Partners, L.P., the Fund's investment adviser (the "Adviser"), uses the principles of value investing to analyze and select debt securities for the Fund's investment portfolio. As part of this process, the Adviser
reviews such measures as the issuer's free cash flow, debt-to-equity ratio, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA")-to-interest ratio, debt-to-EBITDA ratio or other measures of credit worthiness in evaluating the securities of a particular issuer.
The Core Plus Fund may invest in debt instruments of any maturity or with no maturity and it may invest in both investment-grade securities and non-investment grade securities (also known as "high-yield bonds" or "junk bonds"). Up to 25% of the Fund's total debt securities may be high yield bonds. The Fund invests in debt securities that can be purchased at prices or yield premiums over U.S. Treasury securities (or other relatively risk-free securities) which the Adviser believes to be attractive based on the Adviser's assessment of each security's intrinsic value.
While the average portfolio duration of the Fund typically will vary, the duration of the Fund's portfolio is generally expected to be within a 20% margin (higher or lower) of the duration of the Fund's benchmark index. Other than in periods of unusual market conditions, which could continue for an extended period, this margin will normally be within 10% of the duration of the Fund's benchmark index.
The Adviser will typically sell a security from the Fund's portfolio when the Adviser's research process identifies a significantly better investment opportunity or the Adviser's assessment of the security's intrinsic value declines. The Adviser may also sell certain portfolio securities from time to time in order to adjust the average maturity, duration or yield of the Fund's portfolio or to meet requests for redemption of Fund shares.
Principal Investment Risks
Because the values of the Core Plus Fund's investments will fluctuate with market conditions, so will the value of your investment in the Fund. You could lose money on your investment in the Core Plus Fund, or the Fund could underperform other investments. The principal risks of investing in the Fund (in alphabetical order after the first six risks) are:
Market Risk. The value of the Fund's investments may increase or decrease in response to expected real or perceived economic, political, geopolitical or financial events in the U.S. or global markets. The frequency and magnitude of such changes in value cannot be predicted. Certain securities and other investments held by the Fund may experience increased volatility, illiquidity, or other potentially adverse effects in response to changing market conditions, inflation or deflation, changes in interest rates, lack of liquidity in the bond or equity markets or volatility in the equity markets. Market disruptions may be caused by local or regional events such as financial institution failures, war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness (including epidemics and pandemics) or other public health issues, recessions or other events or adverse investor sentiment or other political, geopolitical, regulatory, economic and social developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market. During periods of market disruption or other abnormal market conditions, the Fund's exposure to risks described elsewhere in this Prospectus will likely increase.
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Issuer Risk. The market price of a security can go up or down more than the market, or perform differently from the market, due to factors specifically relating to the security's issuer, such as disappointing earnings reports, reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services, poor management performance, major litigation relating to the issuer, changes in government regulation affecting the issuer or the competitive environment. The Fund may experience a substantial or complete loss on any investment. An individual security may also be affected by factors related to the industry or sector of the issuer.
Credit Risk. Fixed income securities are subject to varying degrees of credit risk, which are often reflected in credit ratings. The value of an issuer's securities held by the Core Plus Fund may decline in response to adverse developments with respect to the issuer or if the issuer or any guarantor is, or is perceived to be, unwilling or unable to pay or perform in a timely fashion. Changes in actual or perceived creditworthiness may occur quickly. The Fund could be delayed or hindered in its enforcement of rights against an issuer, guarantor or counterparty. Subordinated securities (meaning securities that rank below other securities with respect to payment and/or claims on the issuer's assets) are more likely to suffer a credit loss than non-subordinated securities of the same issuer and will be disproportionately affected by a default, downgrade or perceived decline in creditworthiness.
Interest Rate Risk. As with most fixed income funds, the income on and value of your shares in the Core Plus Fund will fluctuate along with interest rates. The Fund faces a risk that interest rates may rise. When interest rates rise, the market prices of the debt securities the Fund owns usually decline. When interest rates fall, the prices of these securities usually increase. A rise in rates tends to have a greater impact on the prices of longer term or duration securities. During periods of low interest rates, the Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates than would typically be the case, and the income generated by the Fund's investments may not be sufficient to pay Fund expenses. Recent and potential future changes in government policy may affect interest rates.
Duration Risk. The longer the maturity of a fixed income security, the more its price will vary as levels of interest rates change. The Fund can hold securities with long-dated maturities. Duration is a measure of how sensitive a security or portfolio is to moves in interest rates. If and when the Fund's duration is significantly longer than that of its benchmark index, the Fund's portfolio is likely to be more volatile when market interest rates move materially.
Liquidity Risk. Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are or become difficult or impossible to purchase or sell. Markets may become illiquid when, for example, there are few, if any, interested buyers or sellers or when dealers are unwilling or unable to make a market for certain securities. As a general matter, dealers recently have been less willing to make markets for fixed income securities. During times of market turmoil, there have been, and may be, no buyers for entire asset classes, including U.S. Treasury securities. The Core Plus Fund's investments in illiquid securities may reduce the return of the Fund
because it may be unable to sell such illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price. Illiquid securities may also be difficult to value.
Active Management Risk. The Adviser is an active manager, and the Fund's investments may differ from the benchmark. The value of your investment may go down if the Adviser's judgment about the attractiveness or value of, or market trends affecting, a particular security, industry, sector or region, or about market movements, is incorrect or does not produce the desired results, or if there are imperfections, errors or limitations in the models, tools or data used by the Adviser.
Currency Risk. Because the Core Plus Fund invests in securities denominated in foreign currencies, the U.S. dollar values of its investments fluctuate as a result of changes in foreign exchange rates. Such changes will also affect the Fund's income.
Foreign Securities Risk. Investing in securities of foreign issuers or issuers with significant exposure to foreign markets involves additional risks. Foreign markets can be less liquid, less regulated, less transparent and more volatile than U.S. markets. The value of the fund's foreign investments may decline, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably, because of factors affecting the particular issuer as well as foreign markets and issuers generally, such as unfavorable or unsuccessful government actions, reduction of government or central bank support, tariffs and trade disruptions, political or financial instability, social unrest or other adverse economic or political developments. Changes in currency rates and exchange control regulations, and the imposition of sanctions, confiscations, trade restrictions, and other government restrictions by the United States and/or other governments may adversely affect the value of the Core Plus Fund's investments in foreign securities. These risks can be elevated in emerging markets. Investments in emerging markets are generally more volatile than investments in developed foreign markets.
Mortgage- and Asset-Backed Securities Risk. Mortgage- and asset-backed securities may decline in value when defaults on the underlying mortgages or assets occur and may exhibit additional volatility in periods of changing interest rates. When interest rates decline, the prepayment of mortgages or assets underlying such securities may require the Core Plus Fund to reinvest that money at lower prevailing interest rates, resulting in reduced returns. When interest rates rise, prepayments may decline, resulting in longer-than-anticipated maturities.
Non-Investment Grade (High Yield Bond) Securities Risk. Below investment grade debt securities are speculative and involve a greater risk of default and price change due to changes in the issuer's creditworthiness. The market prices of these debt securities may fluctuate more than the market prices of investment grade debt securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty. These securities may be difficult or impossible to sell during periods of uncertainty or market turmoil.
Redemption Risk. The Fund may experience significant redemptions that could cause the Fund to liquidate its
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assets at inopportune times or unfavorable prices, or increase or accelerate taxable gains or transaction costs, and may negatively affect the Fund's net asset value ("NAV"), performance, or ability to satisfy redemptions in a timely manner, which could cause the value of your investment to decline.
U.S. Government Obligations Risk. Securities issued by the U.S. Treasury and certain U.S. government agencies are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Notwithstanding that such securities are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, circumstances could arise that would prevent or delay the payment of interest or principal on these securities, which could adversely affect their market value and the Fund's performance. Securities issued by certain other U.S. government-related entities, principally Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are often categorized as U.S. government obligations, but do not enjoy the full backing of the U.S. government.
Value Style Risk. The value style of investing has caused the Fund's performance to deviate from the performance of market benchmarks and other managers for substantial periods of time and may do so in the future.
Performance
The Predecessor Fund reorganized into the Fund on August 5, 2024 following shareholder approval. The Fund commenced operations as of this date and assumed the financial and performance history of the Predecessor Fund. The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The Fund performance shown below is the performance of Predecessor Fund. The Predecessor Fund was managed using investment policies, objectives, guidelines and restrictions that were substantially similar to those of the Fund. Prior to the reorganization, the Fund had not yet commenced operations. The bar chart and performance table below provide an indication of the risks of an investment in the Fund by showing how the Predecessor Fund's performance varied from year to year, and by showing how the Predecessor Fund's average annual returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. Performance reflects contractual fee waivers in effect. If fee waivers were not in place, performance would be reduced. After-tax returns are shown for Class I shares only and will vary from the after-tax returns for other share classes. 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- advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts ("IRAs"). Past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance is available on the Fund's website at www.brandesfunds.com or by calling 1-800-395-3807 (toll free)
Year-by-Year Total Returns as of December 31, for Class I Shares
Best Quarter | 4Q 2023 | 6.65% | ||
Worst Quarter | 1Q 2022 | -4.99% |
Average Annual Total Returns For periods ended December 31, 2023
(Returns reflect applicable sales charges)
1 Year | 5 Year | 10 Year | ||||||||||
Class A Shares - Return Before Taxes | 3.22% | 0.85% | 1.32% | |||||||||
Class R6 Shares - Return Before Taxes | 7.48% | 2.63% | 2.51% | |||||||||
Class I Shares - Return Before Taxes | 7.37% | 1.83% | 1.98% | |||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions |
5.80% | 0.66% | 0.81% | |||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
4.33% | 0.91% | 1.02% | |||||||||
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) | 5.53% | 1.10% | 1.81% |
Class R6 shares of the Predecessor Fund were first offered on October 10, 2017. Prior to the offering of Class R6 shares, the performance shown for Class R6 shares reflects the performance of Class I shares, restated to reflect Class R6 sales loads and expenses.
The "Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares" is higher than other return figures when a capital loss occurs upon the redemption of Fund shares.
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Management
Investment Adviser. Brandes Investment Partners, L.P.
Portfolio Managers |
Position with Adviser |
Managed the Fund Since*: |
||
Charles S. Gramling, CFA | Director, Fixed Income and Fixed Income Investment Committee Member | 2024 | ||
David J. Gilson, CFA | Senior Fixed Income Analyst and Fixed Income Investment Committee Member | 2024 | ||
Timothy M. Doyle, CFA | Fixed Income Portfolio Manager and Fixed Income Investment Committee Member | 2024 |
* |
Each Portfolio Manager served as portfolio manager of the Predecessor Fund, which reorganized into the Fund on August 5, 2024. |
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
You may purchase, redeem or exchange Fund shares on any business day by written request via mail (Brandes Funds, c/o The Northern Trust Company, P.O. Box 4766, Chicago, IL 60680-4766), by wire transfer, by telephone at 1-800-395-3807, or through a financial intermediary. Class A shares may be purchased only through financial intermediaries.
Class and Type of Account |
Minimum Initial Investment |
Subsequent Minimum Investment |
||||||
Classes A | ||||||||
Regular Accounts |
$ | 2,500 | $ | 500 | ||||
Traditional and Roth IRA Accounts |
$ | 1,000 | $ | 500 | ||||
Automatic Investment Plans |
$ | 500 | $ | 500 | ||||
Class I | $ | 100,000 | $ | 500 | ||||
Class R6 | ||||||||
Class R6 Eligible Plans(1) |
$ | 0 | $ | 0 | ||||
Other R6 Eligible Investors(2) |
$ | 1,000,000 | $ | 0 |
(1) |
Class R6 shares are generally available to employer sponsored retirement plans, including profit sharing and money purchase pension plans, defined benefit plans and nonqualified deferred compensation plans, and plans described in Sections 401(k), 403(b) and 457 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Internal Revenue Code"). Class R6 shares are generally available only if plan level or omnibus accounts are held on the books of the Fund. |
(2) |
Certain other institutional or other investors, (e.g., endowments, foundations, states, counties, cities or their instrumentalities, insurance companies, trust companies, bank trust departments, etc.) may be eligible to purchase Class R6 shares. |
Tax Information
The Core Plus Fund's distributions are taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged account, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account. Distributions on investments made through tax-advantaged accounts, such as 401(k) plans or IRAs, may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Core Plus Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary, 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 intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
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