Delaware Ivy Balanced Fund seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in a diversified mix of stocks, debt securities and short-term instruments, depending on market conditions. Regarding its income-generating equity investments, including convertible securities, the Fund invests primarily in medium to large, well-established companies, although it may invest in securities issued by companies of any size. The Fund invests at least 50% of its total assets in equity securities including convertible securities. The Fund may invest in preferred stocks and real estate investment trusts (REITs).

The Fund invests at least 30% of its total assets in debt securities with the objective of providing income and diversification although such diversification may not protect against market risk. The Fund’s debt securities may include US government securities or investment-grade corporate bonds rated BBB- or higher by S&P Global Ratings, a division of S&P Global, Inc. (S&P), or comparably rated by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) or, if unrated, determined by the Manager to be of comparable quality. The Fund may also invest up to 20% of its total assets in non-investment-grade debt securities. The Fund has no limitations on the range of maturities of the debt securities in which it may invest.

MIMAK and the Manager use a dynamic asset-allocation framework to determine the proportion of the Fund's assets that will be allocated to the various asset classes noted above, based on the market assessment and portfolio risk contribution for such asset classes. The framework is intended to reduce riskier assets in times of market volatility and provide additional downside protection. In addition, Macquarie Investment Management Austria Kapitalanlage AG (MIMAK), the sub-advisor to the Fund, will also manage a tactical / completion sleeve and such sleeve will typically vary from 0% to 20% of the Fund’s total assets and primarily hold derivatives and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

For the purposes of this section, a reference to the Manager may also include MIMAK, with respect to its role as sub-advisor of the Fund.

In evaluating investments for the Fund, the Manager focuses on companies with resilient business models characterized by stable growth rates; strong balance sheets; relative strength in earnings; attractive return profiles and valuation; and strong free cash flow generation. In so doing, the Manager evaluates a company’s management team, its financial position, its competitive position and the condition of its respective industry in addition to other factors. The Manager utilizes financial statements, independent research by its investment management personnel, third party research, brand studies done by outside parties and other tools and processes to identify what it believes to be attractive investment opportunities with a focus on the trajectory and sustainability of a company’s business model. The Manager also focuses on companies that possess a sustainable competitive advantage by evaluating factors such as brand equity/loyalty, proprietary technology, switching costs, access to distribution channels, capital requirements, economies of scale, and barriers to entry. In addition, the Manager’s analysis informs its view of an appropriate valuation for each potential investment.

Investment opportunities typically fall into two categories: company-specific ideas which include factors such as a company’s competitive positioning, production cycles, cost restructuring or a new management team; and thematic ideas where the Manager considers economic or political forces, interest rate term structure variances, cyclical inflections, changes in consumer behavior or technology shifts.

The Fund may use a wide range of derivatives instruments, typically including forward foreign currency contracts, options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, and credit default swaps. The Fund will use derivatives for both hedging and non-hedging purposes; as a substitute for purchasing or selling securities; and to manage the Fund’s portfolio characteristics. For example, the Fund may invest in: futures and options to manage duration and for defensive purposes, such as to protect gains or hedge against potential losses in the portfolio without actually selling a security, or to stay fully invested; forward foreign currency contracts to manage foreign currency exposure; and credit default swaps to hedge against a credit event, to gain exposure to certain securities or markets, or to enhance total return.

In selecting debt securities for the Fund, the Manager focuses on current income and capital preservation and generally seeks to invest in investment-grade securities. The Fund may invest up to 30% of its total assets in foreign securities, including equity and fixed-income securities. Additionally, many of the companies in which the Fund may invest have diverse operations, with products or services in foreign markets. Therefore, the Fund may have indirect exposure to various foreign markets through investments in these companies, even if the Fund is not invested directly in such markets.

The Fund may invest in bonds of any maturity or duration.

Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, the Manager uses the same analysis as identified above in order to determine if the security is appropriately valued or has met its anticipated price. The Manager also may sell a security if the security ceases to produce income, to reduce the Fund’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.

In addition, the Manager may seek investment   advice and recommendations relating to fixed income securities from its affiliates: Macquarie Investment Management Europe Limited (MIMEL) and Macquarie Investment Management Global Limited (MIMGL). The Manager may also permit MIMGL to execute Fund equity security trades on behalf of the Manager. The Manager may also permit MIMEL and MIMGL to exercise investment discretion and perform trading for fixed income securities in certain markets where the Manager believes it will be beneficial to utilize MIMEL’s or MIMGL’s specialized market knowledge, and the Manager may also seek quantitative support from MIMGL. MIMGL is also responsible for managing real estate investment trust securities and other equity asset classes to which the portfolio managers may allocate assets from time to time.