To achieve its objective of capital appreciation and current income, under normal circumstances the Fund will primarily invest in domestic stocks and, to a lesser extent, debt and foreign equity instruments (including American Depositary Receipts, Global Depositary Receipts and European Depositary Receipts). The Fund’s investments in foreign equity instruments can be denominated in any applicable foreign currency. Normally, at least 80% of the Fund’s net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) are invested in dividend paying equity securities where the dividends are expected to increase over time. Such investments include common stock, hybrid instruments such as preferred stock and convertible securities, and real estate investment trusts.

The Fund also may invest in warrants, corporate bonds and other debt instruments, repurchase agreements and derivatives. The Fund “counts” relevant derivative positions towards its “80% of assets” allocation and, in doing so, values each position at the price at which it is held on the Fund’s books (generally market price, but anticipates valuing each such position for purposes of assessing compliance with this test at notional value in connection with new rules requiring that treatment, which come into effect in 2025).

In selecting companies for investment, the Adviser seeks to identify what it considers to be high quality companies. While a company selected for investment may not meet all of these characteristics, the Adviser considers a high quality company to demonstrate, in the opinion of the Adviser, some or all of the following: durable competitive advantage(s); conservative capital structure; prudent management; and attractive financial metrics, including the capacity to grow dividends. The Adviser generally will sell an investment if it no longer meets these criteria.

The derivatives in which the Fund may invest include written covered call and put options on equity or debt securities. The Fund may write “covered” call (and put) options on equity or debt securities in seeking to enhance investment return and to hedge against declines (or increases) in the prices of portfolio securities.

The Fund may enter into certain types of repurchase agreements, primarily as a cash management strategy.

The investment philosophy and strategy of the Fund can be broadly characterized as a “value” approach, as it seeks a “margin of safety” in each investment purchase with the goal being to avoid permanent impairment of capital (as opposed to temporary losses in share value relating to shifting investor sentiment or other normal share price volatility). In particular, a discount to “intrinsic value” is sought even for the best of businesses, with a deeper discount demanded for companies that we view as under business model, balance sheet, management or other stresses. “Intrinsic value” is based on our judgment of what a prudent and rational business buyer would pay in cash for all of the company in normal markets. See also Defensive Investment Strategies.

Investment decisions for the Fund are made without regard to the capitalization (size) of the companies in which it invests. The Fund may invest in debt securities generally without regard to their credit rating, time to maturity or duration. “Duration” is a way of measuring a debt security’s sensitivity to a potential change in interest rates. However, the Fund has no current intention of investing more than 5% of its net assets in debt instruments that are below investment grade (commonly referred to as “high yield” or “junk” bonds).

The Fund is a “non-diversified” fund. It generally invests a greater portion of its assets in the securities of one or more issuers and invests overall in a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund.

For more information about the Rising Dividend Fund’s principal investment strategies, please see the More Information about the Funds’ Investments section.