SMARX OverviewInvestment Objective of the Brandes Separately Managed Account Reserve Trust - SMART (the "Fund") (SMARX) The Fund seeks to maximize total long-term return. Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund The Fund invests primarily in a diversified portfolio of debt securities. These include debt obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government and foreign governments and their agencies and instrumentalities, debt securities issued by U.S. and foreign companies, collateralized mortgage obligations, and U.S. and foreign mortgage-backed and asset-backed debt securities. Brandes Investment Partners, L.P., the investment advisor to the Fund (the "Advisor"), generally uses the principles of value investing to analyze and select debt securities for the Fund's investment portfolio. The Fund invests primarily in debt securities that the Advisor believes offer attractive yield premiums over U.S. Treasury securities based upon an analysis of the issuer's ability to repay and the quality of the collateral (if any) supporting the debt obligation. The Fund invests in both investment grade securities (securities rated at least BBB- by Standard & Poor's or Fitch or Baa3 by Moody's or determined by the Advisor to be of comparable quality) and in non-investment grade, high yield securities. The Fund may invest up to 60% of its total assets measured at the time of purchase in high yield securities. The Fund invests in debt securities of any maturity, and there is no limit on the Fund's average portfolio maturity. The Fund may invest up to 60% of its total assets in non-U.S. dollar securities, and may engage in currency hedging. The Fund may use derivative instruments, such as options contracts, futures contracts and swap agreements, for risk management purposes or otherwise as part of its investment strategies. Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund Because the values of the 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 Fund, or the Fund could underperform other investments. As with most fixed income funds, the income on and value of your shares in the Fund will fluctuate along with interest rates. 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. Generally, the longer the Fund's average portfolio maturity and the lower the average quality of its portfolio, the greater the price fluctuation. The price of any security owned by the Fund may also fall in response to events affecting the issuer of the security, such as its ability to continue to make principal and interest payments or its credit rating. Below investment grade debt securities (commonly known as "high yield bonds" or "junk bonds") 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. Investing in foreign securities poses additional risks. The performance of foreign securities can be adversely affected by the different political, regulatory and economic environments and other overall economic conditions in the countries where the Fund invests. The Fund's use of derivative instruments, such as options contracts, futures contracts or swap agreements, involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other more traditional investments. Investments in Asset-Backed and Mortgage-Backed Securities include additional risks that investors should be aware of such as credit risk, prepayment risk, possible illiquidity and default, as well as increased susceptibility to adverse economic developments. Please see the Definitions page for an explanation between rating risks. Fees and Expenses The Fund will not charge any fees or expenses. The Advisor does not charge any fees to the Fund and is absorbing all expenses of operating the Fund. However, the Fund is an integral part of one or more "wrap-fee" programs sponsored by investment advisers and broker-dealers that are not affiliated with the Fund or the Advisor. Participants in these programs pay a "wrap" fee to the sponsor of the program. You should read carefully the wrap-fee brochure provided to you by the sponsor or your investment adviser. This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of SMART.
1 The Fund does not pay any management fees, advisory fees or expenses to the Advisor or affiliates of the Advisor. The amount under "Management Fees" reflects the estimated amount of fees attributable to advisory services if the Advisor charged the Fund for its services. The amount under "Other Expenses" reflects the estimated amount of operating expenses of the Fund which would be paid if the fees were not paid by the Advisor. Investors in the Fund must be clients or affiliates of the Advisor, certain financial institutions, or employee benefit plans, Trustees or certain employees of the Advisor. 2 The Advisor has contractually agreed to indefinitely pay or reimburse all expenses of the Fund other than extraordinary expenses. The "Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses" is the current maximum annual fee that the Fund would charge its clients for fiduciary, trust and/or advisory services if the Fund did not agree to such waiver. Please refer to the Prospectus for important information about the investment company including investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. To obtain a hard copy Prospectus, please call the Mutual Fund Group at 800.395.3807. The Brandes Funds are distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC. |
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