UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM N-1A
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 | ¨ | |||
Pre-Effective Amendment No. | ¨ | |||
Post-Effective Amendment No. 244 | x |
and/or
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 | x |
Unified Series Trust
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified In Charter)
2960 North Meridian Street, Suite 300
Indianapolis, Indiana 46208
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
Registrants Telephone Number, Including Area Code: (317) 917-7000
John C. Swhear
Interim President
2960 N. Meridian St., Suite 300
Indianapolis, Indiana 46208
(Name and Address of Agent for Service)
Copies to:
Dee Anne Sjögren, Esq.
Thompson Coburn LLP
One US Bank Plaza
St. Louis, MO 63101
(314) 552-6295
It is proposed that this filing will become effective:
¨ | immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b) |
¨ | on (date) pursuant to paragraph (b) |
¨ | 60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) |
¨ | on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) |
x | 75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) |
¨ | on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of rule 485 |
If appropriate check this box:
¨ | this post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment |
Crawford Dividend Opportunity Fund
(CDOFX)
PROSPECTUS
, 2012
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE:
Attractive long-term total return with below market risk, as measured by standard deviation
600 Galleria Parkway, NW
Suite 1650
Atlanta, GA 30339
(800) 431-1716
The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
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Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries |
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDS PRINCIPAL STRATEGIES AND RELATED RISKS |
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Additional Information About the Funds Principal Investment Strategies |
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Back Cover |
The investment objective of the Crawford Dividend Opportunity Fund (the Fund) is to provide attractive long-term total return with below market risk as measured by standard deviation in comparison with the Russell 2000 Value© Index. Total return is comprised of both capital appreciation and income.
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Redemption Fee | NONE |
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees |
1.00 | % | ||
Distribution and Shareholder Service (12b-1) Fees |
0.00 | % | ||
Other Expenses |
% | |||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
% | |||
Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement1 |
( | )% | ||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses, After Fee Waiver /Expense Reimbursement |
1.00 | % |
1 | The Funds advisor contractually has agreed to waive its management fee and/or reimburse expenses so that total annual Fund operating expenses (excluding brokerage fees and commissions; borrowing costs, such as (a) interest and (b) dividend expenses on securities sold short; taxes; any 12b-1 fees; any indirect expenses, such as expenses incurred by other investment companies in which the Fund may invest; and extraordinary litigation expenses) do not exceed 1.00% of the Funds average daily net assets through , 2014. This expense cap may not be terminated prior to this date except by the Board of Trustees. Each waiver or reimbursement by the advisor is subject to recoupment by the advisor within three years, provided that the Fund is able to make the repayment without exceeding the applicable expense cap. |
Expense 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 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 Funds operating expenses remain the same. Only the 1-year number shown below reflects the Advisors agreement to waive fees and/or reimburse Fund expenses. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years | |||
$ | $ |
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Portfolio Turnover
The 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 operating expenses or in the Expense Example, above, affect the Funds performance.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Funds assets are invested primarily in common stocks of small capitalization companies that demonstrate a consistent pattern of earnings and dividend growth. The Funds advisor, Crawford Investment Counsel, Inc. (the Advisor), manages the Fund using its Crawford Small Capitalization Dividend strategy, by investing primarily in companies with market capitalizations of $3.5 billion or less at the time of purchase. The Advisor believes investing for the long-term in companies with sound management, strong balance sheets, and the ability to produce consistent earnings and dividends is a low risk means of building wealth. The Advisor utilizes a bottom-up, value-oriented approach to stock selection, focusing on company fundamentals, in an effort to identify stocks of companies where the market prices do not reflect their true values. The Advisors equity investment team works together to identify appropriate stocks. The Funds portfolio managers are responsible for selecting stocks for the Funds portfolio and implementing its investment strategy.
The Advisors goal is to identify high quality small capitalization companies that have strong balance sheets and predictable earnings that are undervalued and have above-average total return potential. When selecting portfolio companies, the Advisors research process starts with a universe of companies that have at least a 3-year history of paying and/or growing dividends. Traditional fundamental analysis is conducted, collectively and individually, on existing holdings as well as potential buy candidates. The Advisors research process includes traditional balance sheet and income statement analysis, valuation analysis, discounted cash flow model, etc. In an effort to determine a conservative growth rate for the valuation models, the analyst/team looks at historical earnings, current trends, top line volume growth, capital expenditures, pricing power, industry growth, new products, margin trends and market share trends, among other factors, to develop an estimate of earnings growth over the next one-year and five-years. After the fundamental analysis has been completed, the Advisor selects a portfolio of undervalued companies that present an attractive trade-off between risk and return. The Advisor seeks to buy high quality securities at attractive valuations and to identify a catalyst that is expected to produce attractive returns.
The Advisor believes that, by focusing on small capitalization companies with consistently increasing earnings and stable-to-rising dividends from one year to the next, the Funds portfolio companies will tend to be less volatile than the Russell 2000 Value© Index. The Advisor also believes that the consistency and stability of the Funds portfolio companies cause the companies to have less earnings variability than other companies, which also leads to less stock price volatility than companies of similar size, because investors can be more confident in the expected results from these companies.
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The Advisor expects that the volatility of the Funds share price will be less than that of the Russell 2000 Value© Index, as measured by quarterly standard deviation of returns on an annualized basis. For comparison purposes, the quarterly standard deviation of returns (annualized) for the Russell 2000 Value Index for the three years ended March 31, 2012 was 25.43%. The Funds standard deviation of returns will fluctuate on a quarterly basis, and it may exceed the volatility of its benchmark during certain quarters.
The Fund expects to be fully invested in common stocks of dividend-paying companies. The Fund may invest its assets in securities of U.S. companies and foreign companies, directly or indirectly through American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) or other types of depositary receipts. ADRs are receipts, issued by domestic banks, for shares of a foreign-based corporation that entitle the holders to dividends and capital gains on the underlying security.
The Fund will not invest more than 5% of its assets in any one issuer. Certain economic sectors may be overweighted compared to others because the Advisor seeks the best investment opportunities regardless of sector. The Fund will not invest more than 25% of its net assets in any one economic sector included in the Russell 2000 Value Index or two times the weighting of that sector in the Russell 2000 Value Index, whichever is greater. The Advisor intends to purchase securities only for the long-term. As a result, the Advisor believes the Fund will have low turnover, which should help minimize short-term capital gains and postpone long-term capital gains. However, when the Advisor deems that changes will benefit the Fund, portfolio turnover will not be a limiting factor.
All investments involve risks, and the Fund cannot guarantee that it will achieve its investment objective. An investment in the Fund is not insured or guaranteed by any government agency. As with any mutual fund investment, the Funds returns and share price will fluctuate, and you may lose money by investing in the Fund. Below are some of the specific risks of investing in the Fund.
| Market Risk. Market risk involves the possibility that the Funds investments in equity securities will decline because of falls in the stock market. |
| Value Risk. Investing in value stocks presents the risk that the stocks may never reach what the Advisor believes are their full market values. |
| Small Cap Risk. Securities of companies with small market capitalizations are often more volatile and less liquid than investments in larger companies. Small cap companies may face a greater risk of business failure, which could increase the volatility of the Funds portfolio. |
| Management Risk. The Advisors value-oriented approach may fail to produce the intended results. |
| Foreign Securities Risk. Foreign securities can be more volatile than domestic (U.S.) securities. Securities markets of other countries are generally smaller than U.S. securities markets. |
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Performance information for the Fund has not been presented because, as of the date of this Prospectus, the Fund has not been in operation for a full calendar year.
Investment Advisor Crawford Investment Counsel, Inc.
Portfolio Managers The following portfolio managers have been jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund since its inception in 2012:
| John H. Crawford, IV, CFA Director of Equity Investments |
| David B. Crawford, CFA President |
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Minimum Initial Investment |
To Place Buy or Sell Orders | |
$10,000 for all account types |
By Mail: Crawford Dividend Opportunity Fund c/o: Huntington Asset Services, Inc. | |
There is no minimum amount for subsequent investments. |
P.O. Box 6110 Indianapolis, IN 46206 By Phone: (800) 431-1716 |
You may sell or redeem shares directly through the Fund or through your dealer or financial advisor. Please contact your financial intermediary directly to find out if additional requirements apply.
The Funds distributions are taxable and will be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan, IRA or 529 college savings plan. Tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of monies from those accounts.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase Fund shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank or trust company), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create conflicts 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 intermediarys website for more information.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDS PRINCIPAL
STRATEGIES AND RELATED RISKS
Additional Information About the Funds Principal Investment Strategies
The Funds assets are invested primarily in common stocks of small capitalization companies that demonstrate a consistent pattern of earnings and dividend growth. The Funds advisor, Crawford Investment Counsel, Inc. (the Advisor), manages the Fund using its Crawford Small Capitalization Dividend strategy, by investing primarily in companies with market capitalizations of $3.5 billion or less at the time of purchase. The Advisor believes investing for the long-term in companies with sound management, strong balance sheets, and the ability to produce consistent earnings and dividends is a low risk means of building wealth. The Advisor utilizes a bottom-up, value-oriented approach to stock selection, focusing on company fundamentals, in an effort to identify stocks of companies where the market prices do not reflect their true values. The Advisors equity investment team works together to identify appropriate stocks. The Funds portfolio managers are responsible for selecting stocks for the Funds portfolio and implementing its investment strategy.
The Advisors goal is to identify high quality small capitalization companies that have strong balance sheets and predictable earnings that are undervalued and have above-average total return potential. When selecting portfolio companies, the Advisors research process starts with a universe of companies that have at least a 3-year history of paying and/or growing dividends. Traditional fundamental analysis is conducted, collectively and individually, on existing holdings as well as potential buy candidates. The Advisors research process includes traditional balance sheet and income statement analysis, valuation analysis, discounted cash flow model, etc. In an effort to determine a conservative growth rate for the valuation models, the analyst/team looks at historical earnings, current trends, top line volume growth, capital expenditures, pricing power, industry growth, new products, margin trends and market share trends, among other factors, to develop an estimate of earnings growth over the next one-year and five-years. After the fundamental analysis has been completed, the Advisor selects a portfolio of undervalued companies that present an attractive trade-off between risk and return. The Advisor seeks to buy high quality securities at attractive valuations and to identify a catalyst that is expected to produce attractive returns.
The Advisor believes that, by focusing on small capitalization companies with consistently increasing earnings and
stable-to-rising dividends from one year to the next, the Funds portfolio companies will tend to be less volatile than the Russell 2000© Value Index. The Advisor also believes that the consistency and stability of the Funds portfolio companies cause the companies to have less earnings variability than other companies, which also leads to less stock price volatility than companies of similar size, because investors can be more confident in the expected results from these companies.
The Advisor expects that the volatility of the Funds share price will be less than that of the Russell 2000 Value© Index, as demonstrated by quarterly standard deviation of returns on an annualized basis. For comparison purposes, the quarterly standard deviation of returns
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(annualized) for the Russell 2000 Value© Index for the three years ended March 31, 2012 was 25.43%. The Funds standard deviation of returns will fluctuate on a quarterly basis, and it may exceed the volatility of its benchmark during certain quarters.
The Fund expects to be fully invested in common stocks of dividend-paying companies. The Fund may invest its assets in securities of U.S. companies and foreign companies, directly or indirectly through American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) or other types of depositary receipts. ADRs are receipts, issued by domestic banks, for shares of a foreign-based corporation that entitle the holders to dividends and capital gains on the underlying security.
The Fund will not invest more than 5% of its assets in any one issuer. Certain economic sectors may be overweighted compared to others because the Advisor seeks the best investment opportunities regardless of sector. The Fund will not invest more than 25% of its net assets in any one economic sector included in the Russell 2000 Value© Index, or two times the weighting of that sector in the Russell 2000 Value© Index, whichever is greater. The Advisor intends to purchase securities only for the long-term. As a result, the Advisor believes the Fund will have low turnover, which should help minimize short-term capital gains and postpone long-term capital gains. However, when the Advisor deems that changes will benefit the Fund, portfolio turnover will not be a limiting factor.
The Fund may sell a security when the Advisor believes the company fundamentals have deteriorated, if the company decreases its dividends, or if the stock has become overvalued in the opinion of the Advisor. The Fund also may sell a security when the Advisor believes that a better investment opportunity is present.
To the extent consistent with the Funds principal strategies as described above, pending selection of investments, or for cash management purposes, the Fund may invest in money market funds or other investment companies that hold primarily investment grade short-term money market instruments, including U.S. Government and agency securities.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
All investments involve risks, and the Fund cannot guarantee that it will achieve its investment objective. An investment in the Fund is not insured or guaranteed by any government agency. As with any mutual fund investment, the Funds returns and share price will fluctuate, and you may lose money by investing in the Fund. Below are some of the specific risks of investing in the Fund.
| Market Risk. Market risk involves the possibility that the Funds investments in equity securities will decline because of falls in the stock market, reducing the value of individual companies stocks regardless of the success or failure of an individual companys operations. |
| Value Risk. Investing in value stocks presents the risk that the stocks may never reach what the Advisor believes are their full market values, either because the market fails to recognize what the Advisor considers to be the companies true business values or because the Advisor misjudges those values. In addition, value stocks may fall out of favor with investors and underperform growth stocks during given periods. |
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| Small Cap Risk. Securities of companies with small market capitalizations are often more volatile and less liquid than investments in larger companies. Small cap companies may face a greater risk of business failure, which could increase the volatility of the Funds portfolio. |
| Management Risk. The Advisors value-oriented approach may fail to produce the intended results. If the Advisors perception of the value of a company is not realized in the expected time frame, the Funds overall performance may suffer. |
| Foreign Securities Risk. Foreign securities can be more volatile than domestic (U.S.) securities. Securities markets of other countries are generally smaller than U.S. securities markets. Many foreign securities may also be less liquid than U.S. securities, which could affect the Funds investments. |
Is the Fund right for you?
The Fund may be suitable for:
| Long-term investors seeking a fund with a value investment strategy |
| Investors who can tolerate the risks associated with common stocks |
General
The investment objective of the Fund may be changed without shareholder approval. From time to time, the Fund may take temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with the Funds principal investment strategies, in attempting to respond to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions. For example, the Fund may hold up to 100% of its assets in short-term U.S. Government securities, money market instruments, securities of money market funds or repurchase agreements. If the Fund invests in shares of a money market fund, the shareholders of the Fund generally will be subject to duplicative management fees. To the extent consistent with the Funds principal strategies as described above, the Fund may also invest in such instruments at any time to maintain liquidity or pending selection of investments in accordance with its investment strategies. As a result of engaging in these temporary measures, the Fund may not achieve its investment objective.
A description of the Funds policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Funds portfolio securities is available in the Funds Statement of Additional Information.
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To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. This means that when you open an account, we will ask for your name, residential address, date of birth, government identification number and other information that will allow us to identify you. We also may ask to see your drivers license or other identifying documents, and may take additional steps to verify your identity. If we do not receive these required pieces of information, there may be a delay in processing your investment request, which could subject your investment to market risk. If we are unable to immediately verify your identity, the Fund may restrict further investment until your identity is verified. However, if we are unable to verify your identity, the Fund reserves the right to close your account without notice and return your investment to you at the NAV determined on the day in which your account is closed. If we close your account because we are unable to verify your identity, your investment will be subject to market fluctuation, which could result in a loss of a portion of your principal investment.
The minimum initial investment in the Fund is $10,000. The Advisor may, in its sole discretion, waive this minimum for existing clients of the advisor and other related parties, and in certain other circumstances. The Fund may waive or lower investment minimums for investors who invest in the Fund through an asset-based fee program made available through a financial intermediary. If your investment is aggregated into an omnibus account established by an investment advisor, broker or other intermediary, the account minimums apply to the omnibus account, not to your individual investment, however, the financial intermediary may also impose minimum requirements that are different from those set forth in this prospectus. If you choose to purchase or redeem shares directly from the Fund, you will not incur charges on purchases and redemptions. However, if you purchase or redeem shares through a broker-dealer or another intermediary, you may be charged a fee by that intermediary.
Initial Purchase
By Mail - To be in proper form, your initial purchase request must include:
| a completed and signed investment application form; and |
| a personal check with name pre-printed (subject to the minimum amount) made payable to the Fund. |
Mail the application and check to:
U.S. Mail: | Crawford Dividend Opportunity Fund | |
c/o Huntington Asset Services, Inc. | ||
P.O. Box 6110 | ||
Indianapolis, Indiana 46206-6110 |
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Overnight: | Crawford Dividend Opportunity Fund | |
c/o Huntington Asset Services, Inc. | ||
2960 North Meridian Street, Suite 300 | ||
Indianapolis, Indiana 46208 |
By Wire - You may also purchase shares of the Fund by wiring federal funds from your bank, which may charge you a fee for doing so. To wire money, you must call Shareholder Services at (800) 431-1716 to obtain instruction on how to set up your account and to obtain an account number.
You must provide a signed application to Huntington Asset Services, Inc., at the above address in order to complete your initial wire purchase. Wire orders will be accepted only on a day on which the Fund, its custodian and its transfer agent are open for business. A wire purchase will not be considered made until the wired money is received and the purchase is accepted by the Fund. Any delays which may occur in wiring money, including delays which may occur in processing by the banks, are not the responsibility of the Fund or its transfer agent. There is presently no fee for the receipt of wired funds, but the Fund may charge shareholders for this service in the future.
By Depositing Securities - Shares of the Fund may be purchased in exchange for an investors securities if the securities are acceptable to the Fund and satisfy applicable investment objectives and policies. Investors interested in exchanging securities must contact Crawford Investment Counsel, Inc., the Funds Advisor, to acquire instructions regarding submission of a written description of the securities which the investor wishes to exchange. The Advisor requires that investors represent that all securities offered to the Fund are not subject to any sale restrictions. Within five business days after receipt of the written description, the Advisor will advise the investor whether the securities to be exchanged are acceptable. There is no charge for this review by the Advisor. Upon the Advisors acceptance of such exchange orders, the investor must deliver the securities in fully negotiable form within five days.
Securities accepted by the Fund must have a readily ascertainable value as determined by the Funds custodian. Securities are valued in the manner described for valuing Fund assets in the section entitled Determination of Net Asset Value. Acceptance of such orders may occur on any day during the five-day period afforded Crawford Investment Counsel to review the acceptability of the securities. The Advisor will provide delivery instructions at the time of acceptance. A gain or loss for federal income tax purposes may be realized by the investor upon the exchange of securities, depending upon the adjusted tax basis and value of the securities tendered. The Fund will accept securities in this manner only for purposes of investment, and not for resale.
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Additional Investments
You may purchase additional shares of the Fund at any time by mail, wire or automatic investment. Each additional mail purchase request must contain:
| your name |
| the name on your account(s) |
| your account number(s) |
| a check made payable to Crawford Dividend Opportunity Fund |
Checks should be sent to the Fund at the address listed under the heading Initial Purchase By Mail in this prospectus. To wire money, you must call Shareholder Services at (800) 431-1716 to obtain instructions.
Automatic Investment Plan
You may make regular investments in the Fund with an Automatic Investment Plan by completing the appropriate section of the account application or completing a systematic investment plan form with the proper signature guarantee and attaching a voided personal check. Investments may be made monthly to allow dollar-cost averaging by automatically deducting $100 or more from your bank checking account. You may change the amount of your monthly purchase at any time. If an Automatic Investment Plan purchase is rejected by your bank, your shareholder account will be charged a fee to defray bank charges.
Tax Sheltered Retirement Plans
Shares of the Fund may be an appropriate investment medium for tax-sheltered retirement plans, including: individual retirement plans (IRAs); simplified employee pensions (SEPs); 401(k) plans; qualified corporate pension and profit-sharing plans (for employees); tax-deferred investment plans (for employees of public school systems and certain types of charitable organizations); and other qualified retirement plans. You should contact the Funds transfer agent for the procedure to open an IRA or SEP plan, as well as more specific information regarding these retirement plan options. Please consult with an attorney or tax advisor regarding these plans. You must pay custodial fees for your IRA by redemption of sufficient shares of the Fund from the IRA unless you pay the fees directly to the IRA custodian. Call the Funds transfer agent about the IRA custodial fees.
Other Purchase Information
The Fund may limit the amount of purchases and refuse to sell shares to any person. If your check or wire does not clear, you will be responsible for any loss incurred by the Fund. You may be prohibited or restricted from making future purchases in the Fund. Checks must be made payable to the Fund. The Fund and its transfer agent may refuse any purchase order for any reason. Cash, third party checks (except for properly endorsed IRA rollover checks), counter checks, starter checks, travelers checks, money orders (other than money orders issued by a bank), credit card checks, and checks drawn on non-U.S. financial institutions will not be accepted. Cashiers checks, bank official checks, and bank money orders may be accepted in amounts greater than $10,000. In such cases, a fifteen (15) business day hold will be applied to the funds (which means that you may not redeem your shares until the holding period has expired). Cashiers checks and bank official checks in amounts less than $10,000 will also be accepted for IRA transfers from other financial institutions.
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The Fund has authorized certain broker-dealers and other financial institutions (including their designated intermediaries) to accept on its behalf purchase and sell orders. The Fund is deemed to have received an order when the authorized person or designee accepts the order, and the order is processed at the net asset value next calculated thereafter. It is the responsibility of the
broker-dealer or other financial institution to transmit orders promptly to the Funds transfer agent.
You may receive redemption payments by check or federal wire transfer. The proceeds may be more or less than the purchase price of your shares, depending on the market value of the Funds securities at the time of your redemption. A wire transfer fee of $15 is charged to defray custodial charges for redemptions paid by wire transfer. This fee is subject to change. Any charges for wire redemptions will be deducted from your Fund account by redemption of shares. The Fund does not intend to redeem shares in any form except cash. However, if the amount you are redeeming is over the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of the Funds net asset value, the Fund has the right to redeem your shares by giving you the amount that exceeds the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of the Funds net asset value in securities instead of cash. In the event that an in-kind distribution is made, you may incur additional expenses, such as the payment of brokerage commissions, on the sale or other disposition of the securities received from the Fund. If you redeem your shares through a broker-dealer or other institution, you may be charged a fee by that institution.
By Mail - You may redeem any part of your account in the Fund at no charge by mail. Your request should be addressed to:
U.S. Mail: | Crawford Dividend Opportunity Fund | |
c/o Huntington Asset Services, Inc. | ||
P.O. Box 6110 | ||
Indianapolis, Indiana 46206-6110 |
Overnight: | Crawford Dividend Opportunity Fund | |
c/o Huntington Asset Services, Inc. | ||
2960 North Meridian Street, Suite 300 | ||
Indianapolis, Indiana 46208 |
Your request for a redemption must include your letter of instruction, including the Fund name, account number, account name(s), the address, and the dollar amount or number of shares you wish to redeem. Requests to sell shares that are received in good order are processed at the net asset value next calculated after we receive your order in proper form. To be in proper order, your request must be signed by all registered share owner(s) in the exact name(s) and any special capacity in which they are registered. The Fund may require that signatures be guaranteed if you request the redemption check be made payable to any person other than the shareholder(s) of record or mailed to an address other than the address of record, if the mailing address has been changed within 30 days of the redemption request, or in certain other circumstances, such as to
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prevent unauthorized account transfers or redemptions. The Fund may also require a signature guarantee for redemptions of $25,000 or more. Signature guarantees are for the protection of shareholders. All redemptions requiring a signature guarantee must utilize a New Technology Medallion stamp, generally available from the bank where you maintain your checking or savings account. For joint accounts, both signatures must be guaranteed. Please call Shareholder Services at (800) 431-1716 if you have questions. At the discretion of the Fund or the transfer agent, you may be required to furnish additional legal documents prior to a redemption to insure proper authorization.
By Telephone - You may redeem any part of your account (up to $25,000) in the Fund by calling Shareholder Services at (800) 431-1716. You must first complete the Optional Telephone Redemption and Exchange section of the investment application or provide a signed letter of instruction with the proper signature guarantee stamp to institute this option. The Fund, the transfer agent and the custodian are not liable for following redemption instructions communicated by telephone to the extent that they reasonably believe the telephone instructions to be genuine. However, if they do not employ reasonable procedures to confirm that telephone instructions are genuine, they may be liable for any losses due to unauthorized or fraudulent instructions. Procedures employed may include recording telephone instructions and requiring a form of personal identification from the caller.
The Fund or the transfer agent may terminate the telephone redemption procedures at any time. During periods of extreme market activity, it is possible that shareholders may encounter some difficulty in telephoning the Fund, although neither the Fund nor the transfer agent has ever experienced difficulties in receiving and, in a timely fashion, responding to telephone requests for redemptions. If you are unable to reach the Fund by telephone, you may request a redemption by mail.
Additional Information
If you are not certain of the requirements for a redemption please call Shareholder Services at (800) 431-1716. Redemptions specifying a certain date or share price cannot be accepted and will be returned. You will be mailed the proceeds on or before the fifth business day following the redemption. However, payment for redemption made against shares purchased by check will be made only after the check has been collected, which normally may take up to fifteen calendar days. Also, when the New York Stock Exchange is closed (or when trading is restricted) for any reason other than its customary weekend or holiday closing, or under any emergency circumstances (as determined by the Securities and Exchange Commission) the Fund may suspend redemptions or postpone payment dates. You may be assessed a fee if the Fund incurs bank charges because you direct the Fund to re-issue a redemption check.
Redemption proceeds sent by check by the Fund and not cashed within 180 days will be reinvested in the Fund at the current days net asset value. Redemption proceeds that are reinvested are subject to the risk of loss like any other investment in the Fund.
Because the Fund incurs certain fixed costs in maintaining shareholder accounts, the Fund may require you to redeem all of your shares in the Fund on 30 days written notice if the
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value of your shares in the Fund is less than $2,500 due to redemptions, or such other minimum amount as the Fund may determine from time to time. You may increase the value of your shares in the Fund to the minimum amount within the 30-day period. All shares of the Fund are also subject to involuntary redemption if the Board of Trustees determines to liquidate the Fund. In such event, the Fund will provide notice to shareholders, but the Fund will not be required to obtain shareholder approval prior to such liquidation. An involuntary liquidation will create a capital gain or capital loss which may have tax consequences about which you should consult your tax advisor.
Fund Policy on Market Timing
The Fund discourages market timing. Market timing is an investment strategy using frequent purchases, redemptions and/or exchanges in an attempt to profit from short-term market movements. Market timing may result in dilution of the value of Fund shares held by long-term shareholders, disrupt portfolio management and increase Fund expenses for all shareholders. The Board of Trustees has adopted a policy directing the Fund to reject any purchase order with respect to any investor, a related group of investors or their agent(s), where it detects a pattern of purchases and sales of the Fund that indicates market timing or trading that it determines is abusive. This policy generally applies to all Fund shareholders. The Funds administrator performs automated monitoring of short-term trading activity, if any, in the Funds shares. Any instance of suspected short-term trading is investigated by the Administrators compliance department. If such trades were deemed to be a violation of the Funds short-term trading policy, then the Funds advisor would be notified and action taken, such as suspending future purchases by the short-term trader. The Administrator provides a quarterly certification to the Board of Trustees, confirming that it has monitored Fund shareholders trades for potential short-term trading activity and, if such activity were to be discovered, the Administrator would be required to report such short-term trading to the Board of Trustees.
While the Fund attempts to deter market timing, there is no assurance that the Fund will be able to identify and eliminate all market timers. For example, certain accounts called omnibus accounts include multiple shareholders. Despite the Funds efforts to detect and prevent abusive trading activities, it may be difficult to identify such activity in certain omnibus accounts traded through a Financial Intermediary. Omnibus accounts typically provide the Fund with a net purchase or redemption request on any given day where purchasers and redeemers of Fund shares are netted against one another and the identities of individual purchasers and redeemers whose orders are aggregated are not known by the Fund. Consequently, the Fund may not have knowledge of the identity of investors and their transactions. Under a federal rule, the Fund is required to have an agreement with many of its Financial Intermediaries obligating the Intermediaries to provide, upon the Funds request, information regarding the Financial Intermediaries customers and their transactions. However, there can be no guarantee that all excessive, short-term or other abusive trading activities will be detected, even with such an agreement in place. Certain Financial Intermediaries, in particular retirement plan sponsors and administrators, may have less restrictive policies regarding short-term trading. The Fund reserves the right to reject any purchase order for any reason, including purchase orders that it does not think are in the best interests of the Fund or its shareholders, or if the Fund thinks that the trading is abusive. The Fund has not entered into any arrangements with any person to permit frequent purchases and redemptions of Fund shares.
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Determination of Net Asset Value
The price you pay for your shares is based on the Funds net asset value per share (NAV). The NAV is calculated at the close of trading (normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open for business (the NYSE is closed on weekends, most Federal holidays and Good Friday). The NAV is calculated by dividing the value of the Funds total assets (including interest and dividends accrued but not yet received) minus liabilities (including accrued expenses) by the total number of shares outstanding. Requests to purchase and sell shares are processed at the NAV next calculated after the Fund receives your order in proper form.
Securities held by the Fund generally are valued at market value. Short-term securities with maturities of 60 days or less are valued based on amortized cost. If a market quotation is not readily available or is deemed unreliable, the security will be valued at a fair value determined in good faith by the advisor in accordance with policies and procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees. Fair valuation also is permitted if, in the advisors opinion, the validity of market quotations appears to be questionable, based on factors such as: evidence of a thin market in the security based on a small number of quotations; a significant event occurs after the close of a market but before the Funds NAV calculation that may affect a securitys value; or the advisor is aware of other data that calls into question the reliability of market quotations. When fair value pricing of securities is employed, the prices of securities used by the Fund to calculate its NAV may differ from market quotations or official closing prices. Arbitrage opportunities may exist when trading in a portfolio security is halted and does not resume before the Fund calculates its NAV. These arbitrage opportunities may enable short-term traders to dilute the NAV of long-term investors. Fair valuation of the Funds portfolio securities can serve to reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders, but there is no assurance that fair value pricing policies will prevent dilution of the Funds NAV by short-term traders, or that the Fund will realize fair valuation upon the sale of a security. The Fund may invest in portfolio securities that are listed on foreign exchanges that trade on weekends or other days when the Fund does not price its shares and, as a result, the net asset value of the Funds shares may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or redeem the Funds shares.
Dividends, Distributions and Taxes
Dividends and Distributions. The Fund typically distributes to its shareholders as dividends substantially all of its net investment income and any realized net capital gains. These distributions are automatically reinvested in the Fund unless you request cash distributions on your application or through a written request.
Taxes. Net investment income distributed by the Fund generally will consist of interest income, if any, and dividends received on investments, less expenses. The dividends you receive, whether or not reinvested, will be taxed as ordinary income, except as described below (including in the table). Dividends normally will be distributed by the Fund on a quarterly basis.
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The Fund will normally distribute net realized capital gains to its shareholders once a year. Capital gains are generated when the Fund sells its capital assets for a profit. Capital gains are taxed differently depending on how long the Fund has held the capital asset sold. Distributions of gains recognized on the sale of capital assets held for one year or less are taxed at ordinary income rates; distributions of gains recognized on the sale of capital assets held longer than one year are taxed at long-term capital gains rates regardless of how long you have held your shares. If the Fund distributes an amount exceeding its income and gains, this excess will generally be treated as a non-taxable return of capital.
Unless you indicate another option on your account application, any dividends and capital gain distributions paid to you by the Fund automatically will be invested in additional Fund shares. Alternatively, you may elect to have: (1) dividends paid to you in cash and the amount of any capital gain distributions reinvested; or (2) the full amount of any dividends and capital gain distributions paid to you in cash. The Fund will send dividends and capital gain distributions elected to be received as cash to the address of record or bank of record on the applicable account. Your distribution option will automatically be converted to having all dividends and other distributions reinvested in additional shares if any of the following occur:
| Postal or other delivery service is unable to deliver checks to the address of record; |
| Dividends and capital gain distributions are not cashed within 180 days; or |
| Bank account of record is no longer valid. |
Dividends and capital gain distribution checks issued by the Fund which are not cashed within 180 days will be reinvested in the Fund at the current days NAV. When reinvested, those amounts are subject to market risk like any other investment in the Fund.
You may want to avoid making a substantial investment when the Fund is about to make a taxable distribution because you would be responsible for any taxes on the distribution regardless of how long you have owned your shares.
Selling shares (including redemptions) and receiving distributions (whether reinvested or taken in cash) usually are taxable events to the Funds shareholders. These transactions typically create the tax liabilities described in the table below for taxable accounts.
Summary of Certain Federal Income Tax Consequences for Taxable Accounts
The following discussion reflects current law.
Type of Transaction |
Tax Status | |
Qualified dividend income |
Generally maximum 15% rate on non-corporate taxpayers. Unless otherwise amended or extended, the tax rate on non-corporate taxpayers will revert to the regular, higher ordinary income tax rate after December 31, 2012. |
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Net short-term capital gain distributions |
Ordinary income rate | |
Net long-term capital gain distributions |
Generally maximum 15% rate on non-corporate taxpayers.* Unless otherwise amended or extended, the long-term capital gains rate will revert to 20% after December 31, 2012. | |
Sales of shares (including redemptions) owned more than one year |
Gains taxed at generally maximum 15% rate on non-corporate taxpayers.* Unless otherwise amended or extended, the long-term capital gains rate will revert to 20% after December 31, 2012. | |
Sales of shares (including redemptions) owned for one year or less |
Gains are taxed at the same rate as ordinary income; losses are subject to special rules |
* | For gains realized before January 1, 2013. |
As described generally above, through December 31, 2012, designated income dividends paid by the Fund to non-corporate shareholders generally will qualify for a maximum federal income tax rate of 15% to the extent such income dividends are attributable to qualified dividend income from the Funds investment in common and preferred stock of U.S. and foreign corporations, provided that certain holding period and other requirements are met. However, to the extent that the Fund has ordinary income from the investments in debt securities, for example, such as interest income, dividends paid by the Fund and attributable to that income will not qualify for the reduced tax rate.
If shares of the Fund are purchased within 30 days before or after redeeming other shares of the Fund at a loss, all or a portion of that loss will not be deductible and will increase the basis of the newly purchased shares. If shares of the Fund are sold at a loss after being held by a shareholder for six months or less, the loss will be long-term, instead of short-term, capital loss to the extent of any capital gain distributions received on the shares.
If you are a non-corporate shareholder and if the Fund does not have your correct social security or other taxpayer identification number, federal law requires us to withhold and pay to the Internal Revenue Service 28% of your distributions and sales proceeds. If you are subject to back up withholding, we also will withhold and pay to the IRS 28% of your distributions (under current law). Any tax withheld may be applied against the tax liability on your federal income tax return.
Because your tax situation is unique, you should consult your tax professional about federal, state and local tax consequences.
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Cost Basis Reporting. As of January 1, 2012, federal law requires mutual fund companies to report their shareholders cost basis, gain/loss, and holding period to the IRS on Fund shareholders Consolidated Form 1099s when covered securities are sold. Covered securities are any regulated investment company and/or dividend reinvestment plan shares acquired on or after January 1, 2012. The Fund has chosen High Cost as its standing (default) tax lot identification method for all shareholders. A tax lot identification method is the way the Fund will determine which specific shares are deemed to be sold when there are multiple purchases on different dates at differing net asset values, and the entire position is not sold at one time. The Funds standing tax lot identification method is the method covered shares will be reported on your Consolidated Form 1099 if you do not select a specific tax lot identification method. You may choose a method different than the Funds standing method and will be able to do so at the time of your purchase or upon the sale of covered shares. Please refer to the appropriate Internal Revenue Service regulations or consult your tax advisor with regard to your personal circumstances.
For those securities defined as covered under current IRS cost basis tax reporting regulations, the Fund is responsible for maintaining accurate cost basis and tax lot information for tax reporting purposes. The Fund is not responsible for the reliability or accuracy of the information for those securities that are not covered. The Fund and its service providers do not provide tax advice. You should consult independent sources, which may include a tax professional, with respect to any decisions you may make with respect to choosing a tax lot identification method.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND
Advisor. Crawford Investment Counsel, Inc., 600 Galleria Parkway, NW, Suite 1650, Atlanta, GA 30339, serves as investment advisor to the Fund. The advisor has been providing portfolio management services since 1980 when it was founded by John H. Crawford, III. The advisor provides investment advice to separately managed equity, fixed income and balanced portfolios of high net worth clients, pension plans, trust, and other institutional investors. As of June 30, 2012, the advisor managed approximately $ billion in assets. The advisor is 100% employee-owned.
For its advisory services, the Advisor is entitled to receive a fee at the annual rate of 1.00% of the average daily net assets of the Fund. The advisor contractually has agreed to waive its fee and, to the extent necessary, reimburse certain operating expenses so that total annual operating expenses, excluding any 12b-1 fees, brokerage fees and commissions, borrowing costs (such as interest and dividend expenses on securities sold short), taxes, any indirect fees and expenses such as fees and expenses of acquired funds, and extraordinary litigation expenses, do not exceed 1.00% of the average daily net assets of the Fund. The contractual agreement is in place through April 30, 2014. Each waiver or reimbursement of an expense by the Advisor is subject to repayment by the Fund within the three fiscal years following the fiscal year in which the expense or reimbursement was incurred, provided that the Fund is able to make the repayment without exceeding the applicable expense limitation.
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A discussion regarding the factors considered by the Board of Trustees in approving the Funds management agreement will be included in the Funds initial report to shareholders for the fiscal period ending December 31, 2012.
Portfolio Managers. The investment decisions for the Fund are made by John H. Crawford, IV, CFA and David B. Crawford, CFA.
John H. Crawford, IV, CFA. Mr. John H. Crawford, IV oversees the advisors proprietary equity strategies and leads its equity research process. In addition to leading investment committee meetings and to supervising the team of dedicated equity analysts, he conducts stock specific research, and serves as a portfolio manager of the Fund. He joined the advisor in 1990. Mr. Crawford began his career in the investment industry at Merrill Lynch Capital Markets in 1988. He received his BBA degree from the University of Georgia and his Master of Finance from Georgia State University.
David B. Crawford, CFA. Mr. David B. Crawford serves as President of the advisor. Since he joined the advisor in 1992, David Crawford has been involved in the investment process as part of the research team, and is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. He has been a portfolio manager with the advisor since 1995. In addition to his 18 years experience as a research analyst and portfolio manager, he is a Chartered Financial Analyst. Prior to joining the advisor, he worked for the Federal Home Loan Bank. David Crawford graduated from Denison University with a B.A. in Economics in 1990 and from Georgia State University with a Master of Finance in 1997.
The Funds Statement of Additional Information provides the following additional information about the Funds portfolio managers: (i) compensation structure, (ii) a description of other accounts managed by each portfolio manager, and (iii) each portfolio managers ownership of shares of the Fund.
Because the Fund has recently commenced operations, there are no financial highlights available at this time.
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The following is a description of the Funds policies regarding disclosure of nonpublic personal information that you provide to the Fund or that the Fund collects from other sources. In the event that you hold shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary, the privacy policy of your financial intermediary would govern how your nonpublic personal information would be shared with nonaffiliated third parties.
Categories of Information the Fund Collects. The Fund collects the following nonpublic personal information about you:
| Information the Fund receives from you on applications or other forms, correspondence, or conversations (such as your name, address, phone number, social security number, and date of birth); and |
| Information about your transactions with the Fund, its affiliates, or others (such as your account number and balance, payment history, cost basis information, and other financial information). |
Categories of Information the Fund Discloses. The Fund does not disclose any nonpublic personal information about its current or former shareholders to unaffiliated third parties, except as required or permitted by law. The Fund is permitted by law to disclose all of the information it collects, as described above, to its service providers (such as the Funds custodian, administrator, transfer agent, accountants and legal counsel) to process your transactions and otherwise provide services to you.
Confidentiality and Security. The Fund restricts access to your nonpublic personal information to those persons who require such information to provide products or services to you. The Fund maintains physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards that comply with federal standards to guard your nonpublic personal information.
Disposal of Information. The Fund, through its transfer agent, has taken steps to reasonably ensure that the privacy of your nonpublic personal information is maintained at all times, including in connection with the disposal of information that is no longer required to be maintained by the Fund. Such steps shall include, whenever possible, shredding paper documents and records prior to disposal, requiring off-site storage vendors to shred documents maintained in such locations prior to disposal, and erasing and/or obliterating any data contained on electronic media in such a manner that the information can no longer be read or reconstructed.
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You can find additional information about the Fund in the following documents:
Annual and Semi-Annual Reports: While the Prospectus describes the Funds potential investments, the Annual and Semi-Annual Reports detail the Funds actual investments as of their report dates. The reports also may include a discussion by Fund management of recent market conditions, economic trends, and investment strategies that significantly affected Fund performance during the reporting period.
Statement of Additional Information (SAI): The SAI supplements the Prospectus and contains detailed information about the Fund and its investment restrictions, risks and policies and operations, including the Funds policies and procedures relating to the disclosure of portfolio holdings by the Funds affiliates. A current SAI for the Fund is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and is incorporated into this Prospectus by reference, which means it is considered part of this Prospectus.
You can get free copies of the current SAI and the Funds Annual and Semi-Annual Reports, by contacting Shareholder Services at (800) 431-1716. You may also request other information about the Fund and make shareholder inquiries. Alternatively, the Funds SAI and Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to Shareholders also will be made available, free of charge, at the Funds web site at www.crawfordinvestment.com.
You may review and copy information about the Fund (including the SAI and other reports) at the SEC Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Call the SEC at 1-202-551-8090 for room hours and operation. You may also obtain reports and other information about the Fund on the EDGAR Database on the SECs Internet site at http://www.sec.gov, and copies of this information may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing the SECs Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520.
Investment Company Act #811-21237
CRAWFORD DIVIDEND OPPORTUNITY FUND
(CDOFX)
A Series of the Unified Series Trust
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
, 2012
This Statement of Additional Information (SAI) is not a prospectus. It should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus of the Crawford Dividend Opportunity Fund (the Fund) dated , 2012. A free copy of the Prospectus can be obtained by writing the transfer agent at Huntington Asset Services, Inc., 2960 North Meridian Street, Suite 300, Indianapolis, Indiana 46208, or by calling Shareholder Services at (800) 431-1716.
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DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST AND FUND
Crawford Dividend Opportunity Fund was organized as a diversified series of Unified Series Trust (the Trust) on , 2012. The Trust is an open-end investment company established under the laws of Ohio by an Agreement and Declaration of Trust dated October 17, 2002 (the Trust Agreement). The Trust Agreement permits the Trustees to issue an unlimited number of shares of beneficial interest of separate series without par value. The Fund is one of a series of funds currently authorized by the Trustees. The investment advisor to the Fund is Crawford Investment Counsel, Inc. (the Advisor).
The Fund does not issue share certificates. All shares are held in non-certificate form registered on the books of the Fund and the Funds transfer agent for the account of the shareholder. Each share represents an equal proportionate interest in the assets and liabilities belonging to the Fund and is entitled to such dividends and distributions out of income belonging to the Fund as are declared by the Trustees. The shares do not have cumulative voting rights or any preemptive or conversion rights, and the Trustees have the authority from time to time to divide or combine the shares of any series into a greater or lesser number of shares of that series so long as the proportionate beneficial interest in the assets belonging to that series and the rights of shares of any other series are in no way affected. In case of any liquidation of a series, the holders of shares of the series being liquidated will be entitled to receive as a class a distribution out of the assets, net of the liabilities, belonging to that series. Expenses attributable to any series are borne by that series. Any general expenses of the Trust not readily identifiable as belonging to a particular series are allocated by or under the direction of the Trustees in such manner as the Trustees determine to be fair and equitable. No shareholder is liable to further calls or to assessment by the Trust without his or her express consent.
Any Trustee of the Trust may be removed by vote of the shareholders holding not less than two-thirds of the outstanding shares of the Trust. The Trust does not hold an annual meeting of shareholders. When matters are submitted to shareholders for a vote, each shareholder is entitled to one vote for each whole share he owns and fractional votes for fractional shares he owns. All shares of the Fund have equal liquidation rights. The Trust Agreement can be amended by the Trustees, except that certain amendments that could adversely affect the rights of shareholders must be approved by the shareholders affected. All shares of the Fund are subject to involuntary redemption if the Trustees determine to liquidate the Fund. The Fund will provide notice to the shareholders if the Board determines, in its sole judgment, to liquidate the Fund, but the Fund will not be required to obtain shareholder approval prior to such liquidation. An involuntary liquidation will create a capital gain or a capital loss, which may have tax consequences about which you should consult your tax advisor.
For information concerning the purchase and redemption of shares of the Fund, see How to Buy Shares and How to Redeem Shares in the Funds Prospectus. For a description of the methods used to determine the share price and value of the Funds assets, see Determination of Net Asset Value in the Funds Prospectus and this SAI.
The Fund has authorized one or more brokers to receive on its behalf purchase and redemption orders. Such brokers are authorized to designate other intermediaries to receive purchase and redemption orders on the Funds behalf. The Fund will be deemed to have received a purchase or redemption order when an authorized broker or, if applicable, a brokers authorized designee, receives the order.
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Customer orders will be priced at the Funds net asset value next computed after they are received by an authorized broker or the brokers authorized designee and accepted by the Fund. The performance of the Fund may be compared in publications to the performance of various indices and investments for which reliable performance data is available. The performance of the Fund may be compared in publications to averages, performance rankings, or other information prepared by recognized mutual fund statistical services. The Funds annual report contains additional performance information and will be made available to investors upon request and without charge.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT FUND INVESTMENTS AND RISK CONSIDERATIONS
This section contains additional information regarding some of the investments the Fund may make and some of the techniques it may use.
A. Equity Securities. Equity securities include common stock and common stock equivalents (such as rights and warrants, and convertible securities). Warrants are options to purchase equity securities at a specified price valid for a specific time period. Rights are similar to warrants, but normally have a short duration and are distributed by the issuer to its shareholders. The Fund will invest principally in a portfolio of equity securities of companies that the Advisor believes to be undervalued. Securities of a company may be undervalued as a result of overreaction by investors to unfavorable news about a company, industry or the stock market in general, or as a result of a market decline, poor economic conditions, tax-loss selling or actual or anticipated unfavorable developments affecting the company. The Fund will invest in equity securities that the Advisor believes have above-average total return potential. The criterion used to identify such stocks include a history of consistent increasing dividend payouts, predictable and consistent earnings growth and strong balance sheet presence.
B. Foreign Securities. The Fund may invest in foreign securities, either directly or through depositary receipts, including American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) and European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) (collectively, Depositary Receipts). ADRs are receipts, issued by domestic banks, for shares of a foreign-based company that entitle the holder to dividends and capital gains on the underlying security. EDRs and GDRs are typically issued by foreign banks or trust companies, although they also may be issued by U.S. banks or trust companies, and evidence ownership of underlying securities issued by either a foreign or a U.S. corporation. Generally, Depositary Receipts in registered form are designed for use in the U.S. securities market and depositary receipts in bearer form are designed for use in securities markets outside the U.S.
Prices of ADRs are quoted in U.S. dollars, and ADRs are traded in the U.S. on exchanges or over-the-counter. While ADRs do not eliminate all the risk associated with foreign investments, by investing in ADRs rather than directly in the stock of foreign issuers, the Fund will avoid currency risks during the settlement period for either purchases or sales. In general, there is a large, liquid market in the U.S. for ADRs quoted on a national securities exchange or on NASDAQ. The information available for ADRs is subject to the accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards of the U.S. market or exchange on which they are traded, which standards are more uniform and more exacting than those to which many foreign issuers may be subject. EDRs and GDRs may not necessarily be denominated in the same currency as the underlying securities into which they may be converted.
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Depositary Receipts reduce but do not eliminate all the risk inherent in investing in the securities of foreign issuers. To the extent that the Fund acquires Depositary Receipts through banks that do not have a contractual relationship with the foreign issuer of the security underlying the Depositary Receipt to issue and service such Depositary Receipts, there may be an increased possibility that the Fund would not become aware of and be able to respond to corporate actions such as stock splits or rights offerings involving the foreign issuer in a timely manner.
Other foreign securities may be denominated in U.S. dollars and trade on domestic stock exchanges. Investing abroad also involves different political and economic risks. Foreign investments may be affected by actions of foreign governments adverse to the interests of U.S. investors, including the possibility of expropriation or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, restrictions on U.S. investment or on the ability to repatriate assets or convert currency into U.S. dollars, or other government intervention. There may be a greater possibility of default by foreign governments or foreign government-sponsored enterprises. Investments in foreign countries also involve a risk of local political, economic or social instability, military action or unrest, or adverse diplomatic developments. There is no assurance that the Advisor will be able to anticipate or counter these potential events and their impacts on the Funds share price.
C. Convertible Securities. A convertible security is a bond, debenture, preferred stock or other security that may be converted into or exchanged for a prescribed amount of common stock. The Fund may invest in convertible securities rated B or higher by Standard & Poors Corporation (S&P) or by Moodys Investors Services, Inc. (Moodys), or if unrated, determined by the Advisor to be of comparable quality. Generally, investments in securities in the lower rating categories provide higher yields but involve greater volatility of price and risk of loss of principal and interest than investments in securities with higher ratings. Securities rated lower than Baa by Moodys or BBB by S&P are considered speculative. In addition, lower ratings reflect a greater possibility of an adverse change in the financial conditions affecting the ability of the issuer to make payments of principal and interest. The market price of lower-rated securities generally responds to short-term corporate and market developments to a greater extent than higher-rated securities which react primarily to fluctuations in the general level of interest rates. Lower-rated securities will also be affected by the markets perception of their credit quality and the outlook for economic growth.
In the past, economic downturns or an increase in interest rates have under certain circumstances caused a higher incidence of default by the issuers of these securities and may do so in the future, especially in the case of highly leveraged issuers.
The prices for these securities may be affected by legislative and regulatory developments. For example, federal rules were adopted that required savings and loan associations gradually to reduce their holdings of high-yield securities. An effect of this legislation may be to significantly depress the prices of outstanding lower-rated securities. The market for lower-rated securities may be less liquid than the market for higher-rated securities. Furthermore, the liquidity of lower-rated securities may be affected by the markets perception of their credit quality. Therefore, judgment may at times play a greater role in valuing these securities than in the case of higher-rated securities, and it also may be more difficult during certain adverse market conditions to sell lower-rated securities at their fair value to meet redemption requests or to respond to changes in the market.
If the rating of a security by S&P or Moodys drops below B the Advisor will dispose of the security as soon as practicable (depending on market conditions) unless the Advisor determines based on
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its own credit analysis that the security provides the opportunity of meeting the Funds objective without presenting excessive risk. The Advisor will consider all factors which it deems appropriate, including ratings, in making investment decisions for the Fund and will attempt to minimize investment risk through conditions and trends. While the Advisor may refer to ratings, it does not rely exclusively on ratings, but makes its own independent and ongoing review of credit quality.
D. Preferred Stock. Preferred stock has a preference in liquidation (and, generally dividends) over common stock but is subordinated in liquidation to debt. As a general rule the market value of preferred stocks with fixed dividend rates and no conversion rights varies inversely with interest rates and perceived credit risk, with the price determined by the dividend rate. Some preferred stocks are convertible into other securities (for example, common stock) at a fixed price and ratio or upon the occurrence of certain events. The market price of convertible preferred stocks generally reflects an element of conversion value. Because many preferred stocks lack a fixed maturity date, these securities generally fluctuate substantially in value when interest rates change; such fluctuations often exceed those of long-term bonds of the same issuer. Some preferred stocks pay an adjustable dividend that may be based on an index, formula, auction procedure or other dividend rate reset mechanism. In the absence of credit deterioration, adjustable rate preferred stocks tend to have more stable market values than fixed rate preferred stocks. All preferred stocks are also subject to the same types of credit risks of the issuer as corporate bonds. In addition, because preferred stock is junior to debt securities and other obligations of an issuer, deterioration in the credit rating of the issuer will cause greater changes in the value of a preferred stock than in a more senior debt security with similar yield characteristics. Preferred stocks may be rated by S&P and Moodys although there is no minimum rating which a preferred stock must have (and a preferred stock may not be rated) to be an eligible investment for the Fund. The Advisor expects, however, that generally the preferred stocks in which the Fund invests will be rated at least CCC by S&P or Caa by Moodys or, if unrated, of comparable quality in the opinion of the Advisor. Preferred stocks rated CCC by S&P are regarded as predominantly speculative with respect to the issuers capacity to pay preferred stock obligations and represent the highest degree of speculation among securities rated between BB and CCC; preferred stocks rated Caa by Moodys are likely to be in arrears on dividend payments. Moodys rating with respect to preferred stocks does not purport to indicate the future status of payments of dividends.
E. Repurchase Agreements. A repurchase agreement is a short-term investment in which the purchaser (i.e., the Fund) acquires ownership of an obligation issued by the U.S. Government or by an agency of the U.S. Government (U.S. Government Obligations) (which may be of any maturity) and the seller agrees to repurchase the obligation at a future time at a set price, thereby determining the yield during the purchasers holding period (usually not more than seven days from the date of purchase). Any repurchase transaction in which the Fund engages will require full collateralization of the sellers obligation during the entire term of the repurchase agreement. In the event of a bankruptcy or other default of the seller, the Fund could experience both delays in liquidating the underlying security and losses in value. However, the Fund intends to enter into repurchase agreements only with its custodian, other banks with assets of $1 billion or more and registered securities dealers determined by the Advisor to be creditworthy. The Advisor monitors the creditworthiness of the banks and securities dealers with which the Fund engages in repurchase transactions.
F. Reverse Repurchase Agreements. The Fund may borrow funds for temporary purposes by entering into reverse repurchase agreements. Pursuant to such agreements, the Fund would sell portfolio securities to financial institutions such as banks and broker/dealers and agree to repurchase them at a mutually agreed-upon date and price. The Fund intends to enter into reverse repurchase agreements
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only to avoid selling securities to meet redemptions during market conditions deemed unfavorable by the Advisor. At the time the Fund enters into a reverse repurchase agreement, it will place in a segregated custodial account assets such as liquid, high quality, debt securities having a value not less than 100% of the repurchase price (including accrued interest), and will subsequently monitor the account to ensure that such required value is maintained. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the market value of the securities sold by the Fund may decline below the price at which the Fund is obligated to repurchase the securities. Reverse repurchase agreements are considered to be borrowings by an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act).
G. Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed Securities. The Fund may invest in mortgage-backed securities, including collateralized mortgage obligations, which represent direct or indirect participation in, or are collateralized by and payable from, mortgage loans secured by real property. In addition, the Fund may buy asset-backed securities, which represent participation in, or are secured by and payable from, assets such as motor vehicle installment sale contracts, installment loan contracts, leases of various types of real and personal property, receivables from revolving credit (credit card) agreements and other categories of receivables. These securities are generally issued by trusts and special purpose corporations. Mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities are often subject to more rapid repayment than their stated maturity dates would indicate because of the pass-through of prepayments of principal on the underlying loans. During periods of declining interest rates, prepayment of loans underlying mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities can be expected to accelerate, and thus impair the Funds ability to reinvest the returns of principal at comparable yields. Accordingly, the market value of these securities will vary with changes in market interest rates generally and in yield differentials among various kinds of U.S. Government securities and other mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities. Asset-backed securities present certain additional risks that are not presented by mortgage-backed securities because asset-backed securities generally do not have the benefit of a security interest in collateral that is comparable to mortgage assets. There is the possibility that, in some cases, recoveries on repossessed collateral may not be available to support payments on these securities.
H. Derivatives Transactions. The Fund may utilize various investment strategies as described below for a variety of purposes, such as hedging various market risks or enhancing potential gain.
In the course of pursuing these investment strategies, the Fund may purchase and sell exchange-listed and over-the-counter put and call options on securities, equity indices and other instruments, and purchase and sell futures contracts and options thereon (collectively, Strategic Transactions). In addition, Strategic Transactions may also include new techniques, instruments or strategies that are permitted as regulatory changes occur. Strategic Transactions may be used without limit (subject to certain limits imposed by the 1940 Act) to attempt to protect against possible changes in the market value of securities held in or to be purchased for the Funds portfolio resulting from securities markets or currency exchange rate fluctuations, to protect the Funds unrealized gains in the value of its portfolio securities, to facilitate the sale of such securities for investment purposes, to manage the effective maturity or duration of the Funds portfolio, or to establish a position in the derivatives markets as a substitute for purchasing or selling particular securities. Some Strategic Transactions may also be used to enhance potential gain although no more than 5% of the Funds assets will be committed to Strategic Transactions entered into for non-hedging purposes. Any or all of these investment techniques may be used at any time and in any combination, and there is no particular strategy that dictates the use of one technique rather than another, as use of any Strategic Transaction is a function of numerous variables including market conditions. The ability of the Fund to utilize these Strategic Transactions successfully
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will depend on the Advisors ability to predict pertinent market movements, which cannot be assured. The Fund will comply with applicable regulatory requirements when implementing these strategies, techniques and instruments. Strategic Transactions will not be used to alter fundamental investment purposes and characteristics of the Fund, and the Fund will segregate assets (or as provided by applicable regulations, enter into certain offsetting positions) to cover its obligations under options and futures to limit leveraging of the Fund.
Strategic Transactions have risks associated with them including possible default by the other party to the transaction, illiquidity and, to the extent the Advisors view as to certain market movements is incorrect, the risk that the use of such Strategic Transactions could result in losses greater than if they had not been used. Use of put and call options may result in losses to the Fund, force the sale or purchase of portfolio securities at inopportune times or for prices higher than (in the case of put options) or lower than (in the case of call options) current market values, limit the amount of appreciation the Fund can realize on its investments or cause the Fund to hold a security it might otherwise sell. The use of options and futures transactions entails certain other risks. In particular, the variable degree of correlation between price movements of futures contracts and price movements in the related portfolio position of the Fund creates the possibility that losses on the hedging instrument may be greater than gains in the value of the Funds position. In addition, futures and options markets may not be liquid in all circumstances. As a result, in certain markets, the Fund might not be able to close out a transaction without incurring substantial losses, if at all. Although the use of futures and options transactions for hedging should tend to minimize the risk of loss due to a decline in the value of the hedged position, at the same time they tend to limit any potential gain which might result from an increase in value of such position. Finally, the daily variation margin requirements for futures contracts would create a greater ongoing potential financial risk than would purchases of options, where the exposure is limited to the cost of the initial premium. Losses resulting from the use of Strategic Transactions would reduce net asset value, and possibly income, and such losses can be greater than if the Strategic Transactions had not been utilized.
1. Options on Securities Indices. The Fund may purchase and sell call and put options on securities indices and, in so doing, can achieve many of the same objectives it would achieve through the sale or purchase of options on individual securities or other instruments. Options on securities indices are similar to options on a security or other instrument except that, rather than settling by physical delivery of the underlying instrument, they settle by cash settlement, i.e., an option on an index gives the holder the right to receive, upon exercise of the option, an amount of cash if the closing level of the index upon which the option is based exceeds, in the case of a call, or is less than, in the case of a put, the exercise price of the option. This amount of cash is equal to the excess of the closing price of the index over the exercise price of the option, which also may be multiplied by a formula value. The seller of the option is obligated, in return for the premium received, to make delivery of this amount. The gain or loss on an option on an index depends on price movements in the instruments making up the market, market segment, industry or other composite on which the underlying index is based, rather than price movements in individual securities, as is the case with respect to options on securities.
2. Options on Foreign Currencies. The Fund may buy and write (sell) put and call options on foreign currencies traded on U.S. exchanges or in the over-the-counter markets. Like other kinds of options, the writing of an option on foreign currency will be only a partial hedge, up to the amount of the premium received, and the Fund could be required to buy or sell foreign currencies at disadvantageous exchange rates, thereby incurring losses. The purchase of an option on foreign currency may be an effective hedge against fluctuations in exchange rates although, in the event of rate movements adverse to the Funds position, the Fund may forfeit the entire amount of the premium plus related transaction costs.
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3. General Characteristics of Options. Put options and call options typically have similar structural characteristics and operational mechanics regardless of the underlying instrument on which they are purchased or sold. Thus, the following general discussion relates to each of the particular types of options discussed in greater detail below. In addition, many Strategic Transactions involving options require segregation of the Funds assets in special accounts, as described below under Use of Segregated and Other Special Accounts.
A put option gives the purchaser of the option, upon payment of a premium, the right to sell, and the writer the obligation to buy, the underlying security, index or other instrument at the exercise price. For instance, the Funds purchase of a put option on a security might be designed to protect its holdings in the underlying instrument (or, in some cases, a similar instrument) against a substantial decline in the market value by giving the Fund the right to sell such instrument at the option exercise price. A call option, upon payment of a premium, gives the purchaser of the option the right to buy, and the seller the obligation to sell, the underlying instrument at the exercise price. The Funds purchase of a call option on a security, financial future, index or other instrument might be intended to protect the Fund against an increase in the price of the underlying instrument that it intends to purchase in the future by fixing the price at which it may purchase such instrument. The Fund is authorized to purchase and sell exchange-listed options. However, the Fund may not purchase or sell over-the-counter options, which are considered illiquid by the SEC staff. Exchange-listed options are issued by a regulated intermediary such as the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC), which guarantees the performance of the obligations of the parties to such options. The discussion below uses the OCC as an example, but is also applicable to other financial intermediaries.
With certain exceptions, OCC-issued and exchange-listed options generally settle by physical delivery of the underlying security or currency, although in the future cash settlement may become available. Index options are cash settled for the net amount, if any, by which the option is in-the-money (i.e., where the value of the underlying instrument exceeds, in the case of a call option, or is less than, in the case of a put option, the exercise price of the option) at the time the option is exercised. Frequently, rather than taking or making delivery of the underlying instrument through the process of exercising the option, listed options are closed by entering into offsetting purchase or sale transactions that do not result in ownership of the new option.
The Funds ability to close out its position as a purchaser or seller of an OCC or exchange-listed put or call option is dependent, in part, upon the liquidity of the option market. Among the possible reasons for the absence of a liquid option market on an exchange are: (i) insufficient trading interest in certain options; (ii) restrictions on transactions imposed by an exchange; (iii) trading halts, suspensions or other restrictions imposed with respect to particular classes or series of options or underlying securities including reaching daily price limits; (iv) interruption of the normal operations of the OCC or an exchange; (v) inadequacy of the facilities of an exchange or OCC to handle current trading volume; or (vi) a decision by one or more exchanges to discontinue the trading of options (or a particular class or series of options), in which event the relevant market for that option on that exchange would cease to exist, although outstanding options on that exchange would generally continue to be exercisable in accordance with their terms.
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The hours of trading for listed options may not coincide with the hours during which the underlying financial instruments are traded. To the extent that the option markets close before the markets for the underlying financial instruments, significant price and rate movements can take place in the underlying markets that cannot be reflected in the option markets.
If the Fund sells a call option, the premium that it receives may serve as a partial hedge, to the extent of the option premium, against a decrease in the value of the underlying securities or instruments in its portfolio or will increase its income. The sale of put options can also provide income.
The Fund may purchase and sell call options on equity securities (including convertible securities that are traded on U.S. and foreign securities exchanges, and on securities indices and futures contracts. All calls sold by the Fund must be covered (i.e., the Fund must own the securities or futures contract subject to the call) or must meet the asset segregation requirements described below as long as the call is outstanding. Even though the Fund will receive the option premium to help protect it against loss, a call sold by the Fund exposes it during the term of the option to possible loss of opportunity to realize appreciation in the market price of the underlying security or instrument and may require it to hold a security or instrument which it might otherwise have sold.
The Fund may purchase and sell put options on equity securities (including convertible securities) and on securities indices. The Fund will not sell put options if, as a result, more than 50% of the Funds total assets would be required to be segregated to cover its potential obligations under such put options other than those with respect to futures and options thereon. In selling put options, there is a risk that the Fund may be required to buy the underlying security at a disadvantageous price above the market price.
4. General Characteristics of Futures. The Fund may enter into futures contracts or purchase or sell put and call options on such futures as a hedge against anticipated interest rate or equity market changes, and for duration management, risk management and return enhancement purposes. Futures are generally bought and sold on the commodities exchanges where they are listed with payment of initial and variation margin as described below. The sale of a futures contract creates a firm obligation by the Fund, as seller, to deliver to the buyer the specific type of financial instrument called for in the contract at a specific future time for a specified price (or, with respect to index futures and Eurodollar instruments, the net cash amount). Options on futures contracts are similar to options on securities except that an option on a futures contract gives the purchaser the right in return for the premium paid to assume a position in a futures contract and obligates the seller to deliver such position.
The Funds use of futures and options thereon will in all cases be consistent with applicable regulatory requirements and in particular the rules and regulations of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and will be entered into for bona fide hedging, risk management (including duration management) or other portfolio and return enhancement management purposes. Typically, maintaining a futures contract or selling an option thereon requires the Fund to deposit with a financial intermediary as security for its obligations an amount of cash or other specified assets (initial margin) which initially is typically 1% to 10% of the face amount of the contract (but may be higher in some circumstances). Additional cash or assets (variation margin) may be required to be deposited thereafter on a daily basis as the mark to market value of the contract fluctuates. The purchase of an option on financial futures involves payment of a premium for the option without any further obligation on the part of the Fund. If the Fund exercises an option on a futures contract it will be obligated to post initial margin (and potential subsequent variation margin) for the resulting futures position just as it would for
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any position. Futures contracts and options thereon are generally settled by entering into an offsetting transaction but there can be no assurance that the position can be offset prior to settlement at an advantageous price, nor that delivery will occur.
The Fund will not enter into a futures contract or related option (except for closing transactions) if, immediately thereafter, the sum of the amount of its initial margin and premiums on open futures contracts and options thereon would exceed 15% of the Funds total assets (taken at current value); however, in the case of an option that is in-the-money at the time of the purchase, the in-the-money amount may be excluded in calculating the 15% limitation. The segregation requirements with respect to futures contracts and options thereon are described below.
5. Use of Segregated and Other Special Accounts. Many Strategic Transactions, in addition to other requirements, require that the Fund segregate cash or liquid assets with its custodian to the extent Fund obligations are not otherwise covered through ownership of the underlying security or financial instrument. In general, either the full amount of any obligation by the Fund to pay or deliver securities or assets must be covered at all times by the securities or instruments required to be delivered, or, subject to any regulatory restrictions, an amount of cash or liquid assets at least equal to the current amount of the obligation must be segregated with the custodian. The segregated assets cannot be sold or transferred unless equivalent assets are substituted in their place or it is no longer necessary to segregate them. For example, a call option written by the Fund will require it to hold the securities subject to the call (or securities convertible into the needed securities without additional consideration) or to segregate cash or liquid assets sufficient to purchase and deliver the securities if the call is exercised. A call option sold by the Fund on an index will require it to own portfolio securities which correlate with the index or to segregate cash or liquid assets equal to the excess of the index value over the exercise price on a current basis. A put option written by the Fund requires the Fund to segregate cash or liquid assets equal to the exercise price.
OCC-issued and exchange-listed index options will generally provide for cash settlement. As a result, when the Fund sells these instruments it will only segregate an amount of cash or liquid assets equal to its accrued net obligations, as there is no requirement for payment or delivery of amounts in excess of the net amount. These amounts will equal 100% of the exercise price in the case of a non cash-settled put, the same as an OCC-guaranteed listed option sold by the Fund, or the in-the-money amount plus any sell-back formula amount in the case of a cash-settled put or call. In addition, when the Fund sells a call option on an index at a time when the in-the-money amount exceeds the exercise price, the Fund will segregate, until the option expires or is closed out, cash or cash equivalents equal in value to such excess. OCC-issued and exchange-listed options sold by the Fund other than those above generally settle with physical delivery, or with an election of either physical delivery or cash settlement and the Fund will segregate an amount of cash or liquid assets equal to the full value of the option.
In the case of a futures contract or an option thereon, the Fund must deposit initial margin and possible daily variation margin in addition to segregating cash or liquid assets sufficient to meet its obligation to purchase or provide securities, or to pay the amount owed at the expiration of an index-based futures contract. Such liquid assets may consist of cash, cash equivalents, liquid debt or equity securities or other acceptable assets.
Strategic Transactions may be covered by other means when consistent with applicable regulatory policies. The Fund may also enter into offsetting transactions so that its combined position, coupled with any segregated assets, equals its net outstanding obligation in related options and Strategic
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Transactions. For example, the Fund could purchase a put option if the strike price of that option is the same or higher than the strike price of a put option sold by the Fund. Moreover, instead of segregating cash or liquid assets, if the Fund held a futures or forward contract, it could purchase a put option on the same futures or forward contract with a strike price as high or higher than the price of the contract held. Other Strategic Transactions may also be offset in combinations. If the offsetting transaction terminates at the time of or after the primary transaction no segregation is required, but if it terminates prior to such time, cash or liquid assets equal to any remaining obligation would need to be segregated.
I. When-Issued and Delayed Delivery Transactions. The Fund may buy debt securities on a when-issued or delayed delivery basis. These transactions are arrangements under which the Fund buys securities with payment and delivery scheduled for a future time. Purchases of debt securities on a when-issued or delayed delivery basis are subject to market fluctuation and to the risk that the value or yields at delivery may be more or less than the purchase price or the yields available when the transaction was entered into. Although the Fund will generally buy debt securities on a when-issued basis with the intention of acquiring such securities, it may sell them before the settlement date if it deems the sale to be advisable. The Fund will not enter into these transactions for investment leverage. When the Fund is the buyer in such a transaction, it will maintain, in a segregated account with its custodian bank, cash or high-grade marketable securities having an aggregate value equal to the amount of its purchase commitments until payment is made.
In when-issued and delayed delivery transactions, the Fund relies on the seller to complete the transaction. The other partys failure may cause the Fund to miss a price or yield considered advantageous. Securities purchased on a when-issued or delayed delivery basis do not generally earn interest until their scheduled delivery date. The Fund is not subject to any percentage limit on the amount of its assets that may be invested in when-issued debt securities.
J. Corporate Debt Securities. The Fund may invest in corporate debt securities. Corporate debt securities are bonds or notes issued by corporations and other business organizations, including business trusts, in order to finance their credit needs. Corporate debt securities include commercial paper which consists of short-term (usually from one to two hundred seventy days) unsecured promissory notes issued by corporations in order to finance their current operations. Investments in corporate debt securities involve both credit and interest rate risk. The value of fixed income securities will fluctuate with changes in interest rates and bond market conditions, tending to rise as interest rates decline and to decline as interest rates rise. Corporate debt securities generally offer less current yield than securities of lower quality, but lower quality securities generally have less liquidity, greater credit and market risk and, as a result, more price volatility. Longer-term bonds are, however, generally more volatile than bonds with shorter maturities.
K. Lower Quality Debt Securities. The Fund may invest up to 10% of its assets in lower-rated securities or comparable unrated securities. These securities (commonly called junk bonds) often are considered to be speculative and involve greater risk of default or price change due to changes in the issuers creditworthiness or changes in economic conditions. The market prices of these securities will fluctuate over time, may fluctuate more than higher quality securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty, which may follow periods of rising interest rates. The market for lower quality securities may be less liquid than the market for securities of higher quality. Furthermore, the liquidity of lower quality securities may be affected by the markets perception of their credit quality. Therefore, judgment may at times play a greater role in valuing these securities than in the case of higher quality securities, and it also may be more difficult during certain adverse market conditions to sell lower quality securities at their fair value to meet redemption requests or to respond to changes in the market.
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Lower quality securities present risks based on payment expectations. For example, high yield bonds may contain redemption or call provisions. If an issuer exercises the provisions in a declining interest rate market, the Fund would have to replace the security with a lower yielding security, resulting in a decreased return for investors. Conversely, a high yield bonds value will decrease in a rising interest rate market, as will the value of the Funds assets. If the Fund experiences unexpected net redemptions, it may be forced to sell its high yield bonds without regard to their investment merits, thereby decreasing the asset base upon which the Funds expenses can be spread and possibly reducing the Funds rate of return.
Since the risk of default is higher for lower quality securities and sometimes increases with the age of these securities, the Advisors research and credit analysis are an integral part of managing any securities of this type held by the Fund. In considering investments for the Fund, the Advisor attempts to identify those issuers of high-yielding securities whose financial condition is adequate to meet future obligations, has improved or is expected to improve in the future. The Advisors analysis focuses on relative values based on such factors as interest or dividend coverage, asset coverage, earning prospects, and the experience and managerial strength of the issuer.
L. Zero Coupon Securities. Zero coupon or deferred interest securities are debt obligations that do not entitle the holder to any periodic payments of interest before maturity or a specified date when the securities begin paying current interest (the cash payment date) and therefore are generally issued and traded at a discount from their face amounts or par value. The discount varies depending on the time remaining until maturity or cash payment date, prevailing interest rates, liquidity of the security and the perceived credit quality of the issuer. The discount, in the absence of financial difficulties of the issuer, typically decreases as the final maturity or cash payment date of the security approaches. The market prices of zero coupon securities are generally more volatile than the market prices of securities that pay interest periodically and are likely to respond to changes in interest rates to a greater degree than do non-zero coupon or deferred interest securities having similar maturities and credit quality.
M. Trade Claims. The Fund may buy trade claims from creditors of companies in financial difficulty who seek to reduce the number of debt obligations they are owed. Such trade creditors generally sell their claims in an attempt to improve their balance sheets and reduce uncertainty regarding payments. For buyers, trade claims offer the potential for profits since they are often purchased at a significantly discounted value and, consequently, have the potential for higher income and capital appreciation should the debt issuers financial position improve. Trade claims are generally liquid, as there is a secondary market, but the Board of Trustees will monitor their liquidity. An investment in trade claims is speculative and there can be no guarantee that the debt issuer will ever be able to satisfy the obligation. Further, trading in trade claims is not regulated by federal securities laws but primarily by bankruptcy and commercial laws. Because trade claims are unsecured obligations, holders may have a lower priority than secured or preferred creditors. At the present time, however, the Fund intends to limit these investments to no more than 5% of its net assets.
N. Structured Notes. The Fund may invest up to 5% of its total assets in structured notes. Structured notes entitle their holders to receive some portion of the principal or interest payments that would be due on traditional debt obligations. A zero coupon bond, which is the right to receive only the principal portion of a debt security, is a simple form of structured note. Investments in structured notes
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involve risks including income risk, credit and market risk. A structured notes performance or value may be linked to a change in return, interest rate, or value at maturity of the change in an identified or linked equity security, currency, interest rate, index or other financial indicator.
When investing in structured products, it is impossible to predict whether the underlying index or prices of the underlying securities will rise or fall, but prices of the underlying indices and securities (and, therefore, the prices of structured products) will be influenced by the same types of political and economic events that affect particular issuers of securities and capital markets generally. The Funds right to receive principal or interest payments on a structured note may also vary in timing or amount, depending on changes in the reference factors. For example, where the Funds structured notes are linked to factors such as interest rates or a particular index, changes in interest rates and movement of the index may cause significant price fluctuations. In addition, changes in a reference instrument or security may cause the interest rate on a structured note to be reduced to zero, at which point further adverse changes may lead to a reduction in the principal amount payable on maturity. At final maturity, structured notes may be redeemed in cash or in kind, which is at the discretion of the issuer. If the notes are redeemed in kind, the Fund would receive shares of stock at a depressed price. To the extent that a structured note is not principal-protected through an insurance feature, the notes principal will not be protected. Reverse convertible notes are not principal-protected. In the case of a decrease in the value of the underlying asset, the Fund would receive shares at a value less than the original amount invested; while an increase in the value of an underlying asset will not increase the return on the note. If the Fund sells the structured notes prior to maturity, it may suffer a loss of principal. Structured notes may also be less liquid than other types of securities, and may be more volatile than the reference instrument or security underlying the note. Consistent with the Funds policy on illiquid investments, the Fund will only invest in structured products to the extent the Advisor determines that such products are liquid.
O. Investment Company Securities. Equity securities in which the Fund may invest include shares of other investment companies, including money market funds, open-end and closed-end funds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) whose portfolios primarily consist of equity securities. The Fund may invest in inverse ETFs, including leveraged ETFs. Inverse ETFs seek to provide investment results that match a certain percentage of the inverse of the results of a specific index on a daily or monthly basis. The Fund also may invest in ETFs whose portfolios primarily consist of commodities.
When the Fund invests in an underlying mutual fund or ETF, the Fund indirectly will bear its proportionate share of any fees and expenses payable directly by the underlying fund. Therefore, the Fund will incur higher expenses, many of which may be duplicative. In addition, the Fund may be affected by losses of the underlying funds and the level of risk arising from the investment practices of the underlying funds (such as the use of leverage by the funds). The Fund has no control over the investments and related risks taken by the underlying funds in which it invests. Because the Fund is not required to hold shares of underlying funds for any minimum period, it may be subject to, and may have to pay, short-term redemption fees imposed by the underlying funds.
In addition to risks generally associated with investments in investment company securities, ETFs are subject to the following risks that do not apply to traditional mutual funds: (i) an ETFs shares may trade at a market price above or below its net asset value; (ii) an active trading market for an ETFs shares may not develop or be maintained; (iii) the ETF may employ an investment strategy that utilizes high leverage ratios; or (iv) trading of an ETFs shares may be halted if the listing exchanges officials deem such action appropriate, the shares are de-listed from the exchange, or the activation of market-wide circuit breakers (which are tied to large decreases in stock prices) halts stock trading generally.
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Inverse and leveraged ETFs are subject to additional risks not generally associated with traditional ETFs. To the extent that the Fund invests in inverse ETFs, the value of the Funds investment will decrease when the index underlying the ETFs benchmark rises, a result that is the opposite from traditional equity or bond funds. The net asset value and market price of leveraged or inverse ETFs is usually more volatile than the value of the tracked index or of other ETFs that do not use leverage. This is because inverse and leveraged ETFs use investment techniques and financial instruments that may be considered aggressive, including the use of derivative transactions and short selling techniques. The use of these techniques may cause the inverse or leveraged ETFs to lose more money in market environments that are adverse to their investment strategies than other funds that do not use such techniques.
To the extent that the Fund invests in ETFs that invest in commodities, it will be subject to additional risks. Commodities are real assets such as oil, agriculture, livestock, industrial metals, and precious metals such as gold or silver. The values of ETFs that invest in commodities are highly dependent on the prices of the related commodity. The demand and supply of these commodities may fluctuate widely based on such factors as interest rates, investors expectation with respect to the rate of inflation, currency exchange rates, the production and cost levels of the producing countries and/or forward selling by such producers, global or regional political, economic or financial events, purchases and sales by central banks, and trading activities by hedge funds and other commodity funds. Commodity ETFs may use derivatives, such as futures, options and swaps, which exposes them to further risks, including counterparty risk (i.e., the risk that the institution on the other side of their trade will default).
Portfolio Turnover
Although the Fund generally will not invest for short-term trading purposes, portfolio securities may be sold without regard to the length of time they have been held when, in the opinion of the Advisor, investment considerations warrant such action. The Funds portfolio turnover rate is a measure of the Funds portfolio activity, and is calculated by dividing the lesser of purchases or sales of securities by the average value of the portfolio securities held during the period. A high rate of portfolio turnover (100% or more) generally leads to higher transaction costs and may result in a greater number of taxable transactions.
A. Fundamental. The investment limitations described below have been adopted by the Trust with respect to the Fund and are fundamental (Fundamental), i.e., they may not be changed without the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund. As used in the Prospectus and this SAI, the term majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund means the lesser of (1) 67% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund present at a meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund are present or represented at such meeting; or (2) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund. Other investment practices which may be changed by the Board of Trustees without the approval of shareholders to the extent permitted by applicable law, regulation or regulatory policy are considered non-fundamental (Non-Fundamental).
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1. Borrowing Money. The Fund will not borrow money, except (a) from a bank, provided that immediately after such borrowing there is an asset coverage of 300% for all borrowings of the Fund; or (b) from a bank or other persons for temporary purposes only, provided that such temporary borrowings are in an amount not exceeding 5% of the Funds total assets at the time when the borrowing is made. This limitation does not preclude the Fund from entering into reverse repurchase transactions, provided that the Fund has an asset coverage of 300% for all borrowings and repurchase commitments of the Fund pursuant to reverse repurchase transactions.
2. Senior Securities. The Fund will not issue senior securities. This limitation is not applicable to activities that may be deemed to involve the issuance or sale of a senior security by the Fund, provided that the Funds engagement in such activities is consistent with or permitted by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act), the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder or interpretations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or its staff.
3. Underwriting. The Fund will not act as underwriter of securities issued by other persons. This limitation is not applicable to the extent that, in connection with the disposition of portfolio securities (including restricted securities), the Fund may be deemed an underwriter under certain federal securities laws.
4. Real Estate. The Fund will not purchase or sell real estate. This limitation is not applicable to investments in marketable securities which are secured by or represent interests in real estate. This limitation does not preclude the Fund from investing in mortgage-related securities or investing in companies engaged in the real estate business or that have a significant portion of their assets in real estate (including real estate investment trusts).
5. Commodities. The Fund will not purchase or sell commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other investments. This limitation does not preclude the Fund from purchasing or selling options or futures contracts, from investing in securities or other instruments backed by commodities or from investing in companies which are engaged in a commodities business or have a significant portion of their assets in commodities.
6. Loans. The Fund will not make loans to other persons, except (a) by loaning portfolio securities, (b) by engaging in repurchase agreements, or (c) by purchasing nonpublicly offered debt securities. For purposes of this limitation, the term loans shall not include the purchase of a portion of an issue of publicly distributed bonds, debentures or other securities.
7. Concentration. The Fund will not invest 25% or more of its total assets in any particular industry. This limitation is not applicable to investments in obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities or repurchase agreements with respect thereto.
8. Diversification. With respect to 75% of its total assets, the Fund will not purchase securities issued by any one issuer (other than cash, cash items, securities issued or guaranteed by the government of the United States or its agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of other investment companies) if, as a result at the time of such purchase, more than 5% of the value of the Funds total assets would be invested in the securities of that issuer, or if it would own more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer.
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With respect to the percentages adopted by the Trust as maximum limitations on the Funds investment policies and limitations, an excess above the fixed percentage will not be a violation of the policy or limitation unless the excess results immediately and directly from the acquisition of any security or the action taken. This paragraph does not apply to the borrowing policy set forth in paragraph 1 above.
Notwithstanding any of the foregoing limitations, any investment company, whether organized as a trust, association or corporation, or a personal holding company, may be merged or consolidated with or acquired by the Trust, provided that if such merger, consolidation or acquisition results in an investment in the securities of any issuer prohibited by said paragraphs, the Trust shall, within ninety days after the consummation of such merger, consolidation or acquisition, dispose of all of the securities of such issuer so acquired or such portion thereof as shall bring the total investment therein within the limitations imposed by said paragraphs above as of the date of consummation.
B. Non-Fundamental. The following limitations have been adopted by the Trust with respect to the Fund and are Non-Fundamental (see Investment Limitations - Fundamental above).
1. Pledging. The Fund will not mortgage, pledge, hypothecate or in any manner transfer, as security for indebtedness, any assets of the Fund except as may be necessary in connection with borrowings described in Fundamental limitation (1) above. Margin deposits, security interests, liens and collateral arrangements with respect to transactions involving options, futures contracts, short sales and other permitted investments and techniques are not deemed to be a mortgage, pledge or hypothecation of assets for purposes of this limitation.
2. Borrowing. The Fund will not purchase any security while borrowings (including reverse repurchase agreements) representing more than 5% of its total assets are outstanding.
3. Margin Purchases. The Fund will not purchase securities or evidences of interest thereon on margin. This limitation is not applicable to short-term credit obtained by the Fund for the clearance of purchases and sales or redemption of securities, or to arrangements with respect to transactions involving options, futures contracts, short sales and other permitted investments and techniques.
4. Short Sales. The Fund will not effect short sales of securities except as described in the Prospectus or this SAI.
5. Options. The Fund will not purchase or sell puts, calls, options or straddles except as described in the Prospectus or this SAI.
6. Illiquid Securities. The Fund will not purchase illiquid securities which cannot be sold in the ordinary course of business or due to contractual or legal restrictions on resale.
7. Loans of Portfolio Securities. The Fund will not make loans of portfolio securities.
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The Funds Advisor is Crawford Investment Counsel, Inc., 600 Galleria Parkway, NW, Suite 1650, Atlanta, GA 30339. The investment decisions for the Fund are made by John H. Crawford, III and David B. Crawford, CFA. The Advisor is 100% employee-owned.
Under the terms of the management agreement (the Agreement), the Advisor manages the Funds investments subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees. As compensation for its management services, the Fund is obligated to pay the Advisor a fee computed and accrued daily and paid monthly at an annual rate of 1.00% of the average daily net assets of the Fund. The Advisor contractually has agreed to waive its fee and, to the extent necessary, reimburse certain Fund operating expenses, so that the Funds total annual expenses, excluding any 12b-1 fees, brokerage fees and commissions, borrowing costs (such as interest and dividend expenses on securities sold short), taxes, indirect expenses (such as fees and expenses of acquired funds) and extraordinary litigation expenses, do not exceed 1.00% of the average daily net assets of the Fund. The contractual agreement is in place through April 30, 2014. Each waiver or reimbursement of an expense by the Advisor is subject to repayment by the Fund within the three fiscal years following the fiscal year in which the expense or reimbursement was incurred, provided that the Fund is able to make the repayment without exceeding the applicable expense limitation.
The Advisor retains the right to use the name Crawford in connection with another investment company or business enterprise with which the Advisor is or may become associated. The Trusts right to use the name Crawford automatically ceases 90 days after termination of the Agreement and may be withdrawn by the Advisor on 90 days written notice.
The Advisor may make payments to banks or other financial institutions that provide shareholder services and administer shareholder accounts. If a bank or other financial institution were prohibited from continuing to perform all or a part of such services, the Advisor believes that there would be no material impact on the Fund or its shareholders. Banks and other financial institutions may charge their customers fees for offering these services to the extent permitted by applicable regulatory authorities, and the overall return to those shareholders availing themselves of the bank services will be lower than to those shareholders who do not. The Fund may from time to time purchase securities issued by banks and other financial institutions which provide such services; however, in selecting investments for the Fund, no preference will be shown for such securities.
About the Portfolio Managers
John H. Crawford, IV, CFA and David B. Crawford, CFA are responsible for managing the Fund (each, a Portfolio Manager). In addition to acting as Portfolio Managers to the Fund, each Portfolio Manager also serves on the Advisors investment committee and, as such, is jointly responsible for making the investment decisions of the Advisors separate accounts. As a member of the Advisors investment committee, which consists of several other members, each Portfolio Manager was responsible for management of the following types of accounts as of June 30, 2012, in addition to the Fund: [to be updated]
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Account Type |
Number of Accounts by Account Type |
Total Assets By Account Type |
Number of Accounts by Type Subject to a Performance Fee |
Total Assets By Account Type Subject to a Performance Fee |
||||||||||||
Registered Investment Companies |
| | | | ||||||||||||
Pooled Investment Vehicles |
| | | | ||||||||||||
Other Accounts |
| | | |
Each Portfolio Manager is compensated for his services by the Advisor. Each Portfolio Manager, as an owner of the Advisor, receives a fixed salary and a percentage of the firms net profits based on his percentage ownership of the Advisor. This compensation is not based on the performance of the Fund or other private client accounts of the Advisor. As with all other employees of the Advisor, each Portfolio Manager also participates in the Advisors profit sharing and other benefit plans.
Conflicts may arise as a result of a Portfolio Managers dual role as portfolio manager to the Fund and to other clients of the Advisor, with respect to his allocation of time among such clients. However, because of the similarities in the investment strategies of the various accounts, many of his duties overlap. Moreover, as a result of combining responsibilities such as research and asset selection, each Portfolio Manger believes that he is able to provide both the Fund and the other clients with more thorough research and higher quality asset selection. However, from time to time, potential conflicts of interest may arise because a Portfolio Manager may be required to pursue different investment strategies on behalf of the Fund and other clients of the Advisor. For example, the Portfolio Manager may be required to consider an individual clients existing positions, personal tax situation, suitability, personal biases and investment time horizon, which considerations would not affect his investment decisions on behalf of the Fund. This means that research on securities to determine the merits of including them in the Funds portfolio are similar, but not identical, to those employed in building the Advisors separate account client portfolios. The Advisor monitors each Portfolio Managers work load and, in the event of an overload, will take any necessary steps to allocate certain responsibilities to other employees of the Advisor.
To the extent the Fund and another of the Advisors clients seek to acquire the same security at about the same time, the Fund may not be able to acquire as large a position in such security as it desires or it may have to pay a higher price for the security. Similarly, the Fund may not be able to obtain as large an execution of an order to sell or as high a price for any particular security if the other client desires to sell the same portfolio security at the same time. On the other hand, if the same securities are bought or sold at the same time by more than one client, the resulting participation in volume transactions could produce better executions for the Fund. In the event that more than one client wants to purchase or sell the same security on a given date and limited quantities are available, the purchases and sales will normally be made by random client selection.
As of the date of this SAI, the Portfolio Managers did not own any shares of the Fund.
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GENERAL QUALIFICATIONS. The Board of Trustees supervises the business activities of the Trust. Each Trustee serves as a trustee until termination of the Trust unless the Trustee dies, resigns, retires, or is removed. The Chairman of the Board and more than 75% of the Trustees are Independent Trustees, which means that they are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust or any adviser, sub-adviser or distributor of the Trust.
The following table provides information regarding the Independent Trustees.
Name, Address*, (Age), Position with Trust**, Term of Position with Trust |
Principal Occupation During Past 5 Years and Other Directorships | |
Gary E. Hippenstiel (Age 64)
Chairman of the Audit and Pricing Committees
Independent Trustee, December 2002 to present |
President and founder of Hippenstiel Investment Counsel LLC, a registered investment advisor, since November 2008; Director, Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of Legacy Trust Company, N.A. from September 1991 to September 2008; Chairman of the investment committee for W.H. Donner Foundation and Donner Canadian Foundation from June 2005 to September 2011; Chairman of investment committee for the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation since October 2011; Chairman and Founder, Constitution Education Foundation since February 2011. | |
Stephen A. Little (Age 66)
Chairman, December 2004 to present; Independent Trustee, December 2002 to present
|
President and founder of The Rose, Inc., a registered investment advisor, since April 1993. | |
Daniel J. Condon (Age 61)
Independent Trustee, December 2002 to present |
CEO of Standard Steel, LLC since August 2011; Director Steel Wheels Acquisition Corp. since August 2011; Director Standard Steel, Inc. since August 2011; President and CEO of International Crankshaft Inc., an automotive supply manufacturing company, from 2004 to August 2011; Director International Crankshaft, Inc. since 2004; Chairman, SMI Crankshaft LLC, an automotive and truck supplier, from July 2010 to August 2011. | |
Ronald C. Tritschler (Age 60)
Independent Trustee, January 2007 to present; Interested Trustee, December 2002 to December 2006 |
Chief Executive Officer, Director and Legal Counsel of The Webb Companies, a national real estate company, since 2001; Director of First State Financial since 1998; Director, Vice President and Legal Counsel of The Traxx Companies, an owner and operator of convenience stores, since 1989; Chairman, Bluegrass Tomorrow, nonprofit organization. | |
Kenneth G.Y. Grant (Age 63)
Independent Trustee, May 2008 to present |
Senior Vice President of Global Trust Company since 2008; Senior Vice President of Advisors Charitable Gift Fund since May 2005; Senior Vice President and Chief Officer, Corporate Development, of Northeast Retirement Services, Inc. since February 2003; Senior Vice President of Savings Banks Employees Retirement Association since February 2003; Director, Lift Up Africa since 2008; Chair Investment Committee since January 2011 and past Chair, Board of Directors of Massachusetts Council of Churches; Member, Presbytery of Boston, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) since June 1975. |
* | The address for each trustee is 2960 N. Meridian St., Suite 300, Indianapolis, IN 46208. |
** | As of the date of this SAI, the Trust currently consists of 24 series. |
The following table provides information regarding the interested Trustee and the Officers of the Trust.
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Name, Address*, (Age), Position with Trust,** Term of Position with Trust |
Principal Occupation During Past 5 Years and Other Directorships | |
Nancy V. Kelly (Age 56)***
Trustee, November 2007 to present |
Regulatory Reform Director at Huntington National Bank, the Trusts custodian, since March 2012; Chief Administrative Officer at Huntington National Bank from November 2010 to March 2012; Executive Vice President of Huntington National Bank from December 2001 to November 2010; Director, Wedgewood Golf & Country Club since October 2008; Director, Greenlawn Cemetery since October 2007; Director, Directions for Youth and Families, a social service agency, since August 2006. | |
John C. Swhear (Age 51)
Interim President, March 2012 to present; Senior Vice President, May 2007 to present |
Vice President of Legal Administration and Compliance for Huntington Asset Services, Inc., the Trusts administrator, since April 2007; Chief Compliance Officer and Vice President of Valued Advisers Trust since August 2008; Chief Compliance Officer of Unified Financial Securities, Inc., the Trusts distributor, since May 2007; Secretary of Huntington Funds, April 2010 to February 2012; President and Chief Executive Officer of Dreman Contrarian Funds, March 2010 to March 2011; Vice President and Acting Chief Executive Officer of Dreman Contrarian Funds, 2007 to March 2010. | |
Robert W. Silva (Age 45)
Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer, June 2011 to present |
Vice President, Fund Administration for Huntington Asset Services, Inc., the Trusts administrator, since September 2010; Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of Dreman Contrarian Funds since March 2011; Treasurer of Huntington Funds since November 2010; Senior Vice President of Citi Fund Services Ohio, Inc. from September 2007 to September 2010; Assistant Vice President of Citizens Advisers, Inc. from May 2002 to August 2007. | |
Lynn E. Wood (Age 65)
Chief Compliance Officer, October 2004 to present |
Chief Compliance Officer of Unified Series Trust, since October 2004. | |
Tara Pierson (Age 37)
Secretary, May 2010 to present |
Employed by Huntington Asset Services, Inc., the Trusts Administrator, since February, 2000; Assistant Secretary of Dividend Growth Trust from March 2006 to February 2012. Assistant Secretary of the Trust from November 2008 to May 2010. |
* | The address for each trustee and officer is 2960 N. Meridian St., Suite 300, Indianapolis, IN 46208. |
** | As of the date of this SAI, the Trust consists of 24 series. |
*** | Ms. Kelly is deemed an interested trustee because she is an officer of an entity that is under common control with Unified Financial Securities, Inc., one of the Trusts distributors. The Board has reviewed and approved this arrangement. |
In addition to the information provided above, below is a summary of the specific experience, qualifications, attributes or skills of each Trustee and the reason why he or she was selected to serve as Trustee:
Stephen A. Little Mr. Little has been an Independent Trustee of the Trust since its inception in 2002, and he currently serves as Chairman of the Board. He previously served as trustee to three other registered investment companies. In 1993, he founded an investment advisory firm that provides discretionary investment advice and advice on socially responsible investing. Mr. Little previously held NASD Series 6, 7, and 22 licenses. Mr. Little received a B.A. from Wabash College and a M. Div. from Christian Theological Seminary. Prior to completing his education, Mr. Little served in the U.S. Marine Corps. Mr. Little was selected to serve as Trustee of the Trust based primarily on his experience in the investment management industry.
Gary E. Hippenstiel Mr. Hippenstiel has served as a mutual fund trustee since 1995. He has been an Independent Trustee of the Trust since its inception in 2002, and he currently serves as Chairman of the Audit and Pricing Committees of the Board of Trustees. He previously served as a trustee to three other registered investment companies and a variable insurance trust. In 2008, Mr. Hippenstiel founded an investment consulting firm and he also serves as Chairman of the investment committee for two family foundations. Prior to that, he served as Chief Investment Officer of Legacy Trust Company for 17 years,
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where he was responsible for establishing investment strategies and selecting and monitoring independent managers of trust accounts. Mr. Hippenstiel received a B.S. in Business Administration and an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of California, Berkeley. Mr. Hippenstiel was selected as Trustee based primarily on his experience in the investment management industry.
Daniel J. Condon Mr. Condon has been an Independent Trustee of the Trust since its inception in 2002. He has also served as trustee of three other registered investment companies. From 1990 to 2002, he served as Vice President and General Manager of an international automotive equipment manufacturing company. Since 2002, he has served as CEO of various multi-national companies. Mr. Condon received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from Eastern Illinois University. He also received his registered Professional Engineer license. Mr. Condon was selected as Trustee based on his over 21 years of international business experience.
Ronald C. Tritschler Mr. Tritschler has been a Trustee of the Trust since its inception in 2002. He also has served as trustee of three other registered investment companies. Since 1989, he has been a director, vice president and general counsel of a company that operates convenience stores. Since 2001, Mr. Tritschler has been CEO, director and general counsel of a national real estate company. He also is a director of a bank holding company. Mr. Tritschler received a B.A. in Business Administration from Baldwin-Wallace College and his J.D. and M.B.A. from the University of Toledo. Mr. Tritschler was selected to serve as a Trustee based primarily on his substantial business and legal experience.
Kenneth G.Y. Grant Mr. Grant has been an Independent Trustee of the Trust since 2008. He is a founder of a trust company that offers collective investment trust products to qualified plans. Mr. Grant has over 26 years of executive leadership experience, including experience in management, business development for financial services firms, strategic planning, and investing. Mr. Grant also has experience developing trust and plan accounting services for institutional investors. He currently serves as a senior executive of a retirement plan services provider, as senior vice president of a retirement association and as Treasurer of a council of churches. Mr. Grant received his B.A. in Psychology from Syracuse University, his Th.M. in Theology and Ethics from Boston University, and his M.B.A. from Clark University. Mr. Grant was selected to serve as a Trustee based primarily on his substantial experience in the retirement plan and financial services industry.
Nancy V. Kelly Ms. Kelly has been a Trustee of the Trust since 2007. She has served as Regulatory Reform Director of Huntington National Banks Risk Management business segment since March 2012. Prior to that, she served as Chief Administrative Officer of Huntingtons Wealth Advisors, Government Finance, and Home Lending business segment from November 2010 to March 2012, and Executive Vice President of Huntington from December 2001 to November 2010. She is active as a community leader and she serves on the Board of several local organizations, including a youth social services agency. Ms. Kelly was selected to serve as a Trustee based primarily on her experience in managing securities-related businesses operated by banks and her senior position within Huntington Bank, which is an affiliate of the Trusts administrator and distributor and also serves as custodian of certain series of the Trust. Ms. Kelly received a B.S. from Hood College in 1977, and an M.B.A. in 1981 from Xavier University.
Independent Trustees Messrs. Hippenstiel, Tritschler, Condon, and Little each have previous experience serving as trustees to other multi-series trusts, which means that they are familiar with issues relating to overseeing multiple advisers and multiple funds. Messrs. Hippenstiel, Little, and Grant have experience conducting due diligence on and evaluating investment advisers Mr. Hippenstiel as the
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Chief Investment Officer of Legacy Trust, Mr. Little as the President of a registered investment adviser, and Mr. Grant as an officer of a bank which operated a collective investment trust. This means that they are qualified to review annually each advisers qualifications, including the qualification of Crawford Investment Counsel, Inc. to serve as adviser to the Fund. Ms. Kellys experience as an officer of the Trusts custodial bank and former supervisor of the Trusts administrator provides the Independent Trustees with insight into the operations of the service providers and their day-to-day administration of the Fund.
RISK MANAGEMENT. As part of its efforts to oversee risk management associated with the Trust, the Board has established the Audit Committee, Pricing Committee, and the Advisory Contract Renewal Committee as described below:
| The Audit Committee consists of Independent Trustees Messrs. Hippenstiel, Condon, Tritschler and Grant. The Audit Committee is responsible for overseeing the Trusts accounting and financial reporting policies and practices, internal controls and, as appropriate, the internal controls of certain service providers; overseeing the quality and objectivity of financial statements and the independent audits of the financial statements; and acting as a liaison between the independent auditors and the full Board of Trustees. The Audit Committee met four times during the year ended December 31, 2011. |
| The Pricing Committee is responsible for reviewing and approving fair valuation determinations. The members of the Pricing Committee are all of the Trustees, except that any one member of the Pricing Committee constitutes a quorum for purposes of reviewing and approving a fair value. In addition to meetings to approve fair valuations, the Pricing Committee met four times during the year ended December 31, 2011. |
| The Advisory Contract Renewal Committee is responsible for conducting due diligence on the initial approval and subsequent renewals of investment advisory contracts between the Trust and the advisers and sub-advisers to each series of the Trust, and making a recommendation to the full Board of Trustees regarding approvals and renewals of these contracts. The Committee reviews materials of the type required by Section 15(c) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, which are provided by the investment advisers and sub-advisers and the Trusts Administrator. The Committee also conducts interviews of advisers and sub-advisers to the Trust. The Advisory Contract Renewal Committee is comprised of all of the Trustees, although at least two Independent Trustees are required to establish a quorum. This Committee held four meetings during the year ended December 31, 2011. |
Each Committee meets at least quarterly, and reviews reports provided by administrative service providers, legal counsel and independent accountants. The Committees report directly to the Board of Trustees.
The Independent Trustees have engaged their own independent legal counsel to provide advice on regulatory, compliance and other topics. In addition, the Board has engaged on behalf of the Trust a full-time Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) who is responsible for overseeing compliance risks. He reports to the Board at least quarterly any material compliance items that have arisen, and annually he provides to the Board a comprehensive compliance report outlining the effectiveness of compliance policies and procedures of the Trust and its service providers. As part of the CCOs risk oversight function, the CCO seeks to understand the risks inherent in the operations of the Trusts series and their advisers and sub-advisers. Periodically the CCO provides reports to the Board that:
| Assess the quality of the information the CCO receives from internal and external sources; |
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| Assess how Trust personnel monitor and evaluate risks; |
| Assess the quality of the Trusts risk management procedures and the effectiveness of the Trusts organizational structure in implementing those procedures; |
| Consider feedback from and provide feedback regarding critical risk issues to Trust and administrative and advisory personnel responsible for implementing risk management programs; and |
| Consider economic, industry, and regulatory developments, and recommend changes to the Trusts compliance programs as necessary to meet new regulations or industry developments. |
The Trustees meet in-person on a quarterly basis, typically for two days of meetings. Trustees also participate in special meetings and conference calls as needed. In addition to Board meetings, Trustees also participate in teleconferences each quarter to review and discuss 15(c) materials, and to interview advisers and sub-advisers whose contracts are up for renewal. Legal counsel to the Trust provides quarterly reports to the Board regarding regulatory developments. On a quarterly basis, the Trustees review and discuss some or all of the following compliance and risk management reports relating to the series of the Trust:
(1) | Fund Performance/Morningstar Report/Portfolio Managers Commentary |
(2) | Code of Ethics review |
(3) | NAV Errors, if any |
(4) | Distributor Compliance Reports |
(5) | Timeliness of SEC Filings |
(6) | Dividends and other Distributions |
(7) | List of Brokers, Brokerage Commissions Paid and Average Commission Rate |
(8) | Review of 12b-1 Payments |
(9) | Multiple Class Expense Reports |
(10) | Anti-Money Laundering/Customer Identification Reports |
(11) | Administrator and CCO Compliance Reports |
(l2) | Market Timing Reports |
The Board of Trustees has not adopted a formal diversity policy. When soliciting future nominees for Trustee, the Board will make efforts to identify and solicit qualified minorities and women.
On an annual basis, the Trustees conduct an assessment of the Boards and their individual effectiveness in overseeing the Trust. Based upon its assessment, the Board determines whether additional risk assessment or monitoring processes are required with respect to the Trust or any of its service providers.
Based on the qualifications of each of the Trusts Trustees and officers, the risk management practices adopted by the Board, including a regular review of several compliance and operational reports, and the committee structure adopted by the Board, the Trust believes that its leadership is appropriate.
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The following table provides information regarding shares of the Fund and other portfolios of the Trust owned by each Trustee as of December 31, 2011.
Trustee |
Dollar Range of the Funds Shares |
Aggregate Dollar Range of Shares of All Funds Within the Trust* | ||
Gary E. Hippenstiel |
None | None | ||
Ronald C. Tritschler |
None | $50,001 $100,000 | ||
Stephen A. Little |
None | None | ||
Daniel J. Condon |
None | None | ||
Kenneth G.Y. Grant |
None | $10,001 - $50,000 | ||
Nancy V. Kelly |
None | None |
* | The Trust currently consists of 24 series. |
Set forth below are estimates of the annual compensation to be paid to the Trustees and officers by the Fund on an individual basis and by the Trust on an aggregate basis. Trustees and officers fees and expenses are Trust expenses and are allocated by or under the direction of the Trustees in such manner as the Trustees determine to be fair and equitable. As a result, the amount paid by the Fund will increase or decrease as new series are added or removed from the Trust.
Independent Trustees |
Aggregate Compensation from the Fund |
Pension
or Retirement Benefits Accrued As Part of Fund Expenses |
Estimated Annual Benefits Upon Retirement |
Total Compensation from Trust1 |
||||||||||||
Gary E. Hippenstiel, Trustee and Chairman of the Audit Committee |
$ | 2,000 | $ | 0 | $ | 0 | $ | 48,000 | ||||||||
Stephen A. Little, Chairman of the Board |
$ | 2,000 | $ | 0 | $ | 0 | $ | 48,000 | ||||||||
Daniel J. Condon, Trustee |
$ | 1,583 | $ | 0 | $ | 0 | $ | 38,000 | ||||||||
Ronald C. Tritschler, Trustee |
$ | 1,583 | $ | 0 | $ | 0 | $ | 38,000 | ||||||||
Kenneth G.Y. Grant, Trustee |
$ | 1,583 | $ | 0 | $ | 0 | $ | 38,000 | ||||||||
Interested Trustees and Officers |
Aggregate Compensation from the Fund |
Pension
or Retirement Benefits Accrued As Part of Fund Expenses |
Estimated Annual Benefits Upon Retirement |
Total Compensation from Trust1 |
||||||||||||
Nancy V. Kelly, Trustee |
$ | 0 | $ | 0 | $ | 0 | $ | 0 | ||||||||
John C. Swhear, Interim President and Senior Vice President |
$ | 0 | $ | 0 | $ | 0 | $ | 0 | ||||||||
Robert W. Silva, Treasurer and CFO |
$ | 0 | $ | 0 | $ | 0 | $ | 0 | ||||||||
Lynn E. Wood, Chief Compliance Officer |
$ | 6,583 | $ | 0 | $ | 0 | $ | 158,000 | 2 | |||||||
Tara Pierson, Secretary |
$ | 0 | $ | 0 | $ | 0 | $ | 0 |
1 | The Trust currently consists of 24 series. |
2 | This amount does not include the value of benefits provided to the CCO. In addition to the CCOs salary listed in the table, the CCO is allocated $25,000 for potential bonus compensation, as well as to pay for the CCOs expenses in connection with compliance-related activities, including audits of advisers to the series of the Trust, attendance at compliance seminars, etc. These expenses are shared, pro rata, by each series of the Trust. |
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CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES
A principal shareholder is any person who owns (either of record or beneficially) 5% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund. A control person is one who owns, either directly or indirectly, more than 25% of the voting securities of the Fund or acknowledges the existence of such control. As a controlling shareholder, each of these persons could control the outcome of any proposal submitted to the shareholders for approval, including changes to the Funds fundamental policies or the terms of the management agreement with the Advisor. As of the date of this SAI, the Fund had no principal shareholders or control persons. As of the date of this SAI, the Trustees and officers of the Trust did not own any shares of the Fund.
ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING COMPLIANCE PROGRAM
Customer identification and verification is part of the Funds overall obligation to prevent money laundering under federal law. The Trust has, on behalf of the Fund, adopted an anti-money laundering compliance program designed to prevent the Fund from being used for money laundering or financing of terrorist activities (the AML Compliance Program). The Trust has delegated the responsibility to implement the AML Compliance Program to the Funds transfer agent, Huntington Asset Services, Inc., subject to oversight by the Trusts Chief Compliance Officer and, ultimately, by the Board of Trustees.
When you open an account with the Fund, the Funds transfer agent will request that you provide your name, physical address, date of birth, and Social Security number or tax identification number. You may also be asked for other information that, in the transfer agents discretion, will allow the Fund to verify your identity. Entities are also required to provide additional documentation. This information will be verified to ensure the identity of all persons opening an account with the Fund. The Fund reserves the right to (i) refuse, cancel or rescind any purchase or exchange order, (ii) freeze any account and/or suspend account activities, or (iii) involuntarily redeem your account in cases of threatening conduct or suspected fraudulent or illegal activity. These actions will be taken when, in the sole discretion of the Funds transfer agent, they are deemed to be in the best interest of the Fund, or in cases where the Fund is requested or compelled to do so by governmental or law enforcement authority.
PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS AND BROKERAGE
Subject to policies established by the Board of Trustees of the Trust, the Advisor is responsible for the Funds portfolio decisions and the placing of the Funds portfolio transactions. In placing portfolio transactions, the Advisor seeks the best qualitative execution for the Fund, taking into account such factors as price (including the applicable brokerage commission or dealer spread), the execution capability, financial responsibility, responsiveness of the broker or dealer, clearance procedures, wire service quotations, statistical and other research services provided by the broker or dealer to the Fund and the Advisor. The Advisor generally seeks favorable prices and commission rates that are reasonable in relation to the benefits received. Any research benefits received by the Advisor are available for all clients of the Advisor. When it can be done consistently with the policy of obtaining the most favorable net results, the Advisor may place orders with firms that provide market, statistical and other research information to the Fund or the Advisor, although the Advisor is not authorized to pay higher commissions to firms that provide such services, except as described below.
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The Advisor may in certain instances be permitted to pay higher brokerage commissions for receipt of market, statistical and other research services as defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and interpretations thereunder. Such services may include among other things: economic, industry or company research reports or investment recommendations; computerized databases; quotation and execution equipment and software; and research or analytical computer software and services. Where products or services have a mixed use, a good faith effort is made to make a reasonable allocation of the cost of products or services in accordance with the anticipated research and non-research uses and the cost attributable to non-research use is paid by the Advisor in cash.
The Advisor is specifically authorized to select brokers or dealers who also provide brokerage and research services to the Fund and/or the other accounts over which the Advisor exercises investment discretion and to pay such brokers or dealers a commission in excess of the commission another broker or dealer would charge if the Advisor determines in good faith that the commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided. The determination may be viewed in terms of a particular transaction or the Advisors overall responsibilities with respect to the Trust and to other accounts over which it exercises investment discretion. These payments will be made in exchange for the Advisors employing the broker to execute client transactions. The Advisor also may enter into soft dollar arrangements with certain brokers whereby such brokers partially pay for the Advisors use of on-line data services for investment research. For example, the Advisor has oral and written soft dollar agreements with broker-dealers to provide research services used by the Advisor to determine which broker-dealers have been active in a particular issue or have posted indication of interest in purchasing or selling a security. The Advisor also receives numerous research reports and news services that allow the Advisors portfolio managers, analysts and traders to screen, search and research both current and future holdings, monitor news, research trading activity and volume and monitor clients portfolio holdings. Research services include supplemental research, securities and economic analyses, statistical services and information with respect to the availability of securities or purchasers or sellers of securities and analyses of reports concerning performance of accounts.
The research services and other information furnished by brokers through whom the Fund effects securities transactions may also be used by the Advisor in servicing all of its accounts. Similarly, research and information provided by brokers or dealers serving other clients may be useful to the Advisor in connection with its services to the Fund.
Over-the-counter transactions will be placed either directly with principal market makers or with broker-dealers, if the same or a better price, including commissions and executions, is available. Fixed income securities are normally purchased directly from the issuer, an underwriter or a market maker. Purchases include a concession paid by the issuer to the underwriter and the purchase price paid to a market maker may include the spread between the bid and asked prices.
When the Fund and another of the Advisors clients seek to purchase or sell the same security at or about the same time, the Advisor may execute the transaction on a combined (blocked) basis. Blocked transactions can produce better execution for the Fund because of the increased volume of the transaction. If the entire blocked order is not filled, the Fund may not be able to acquire as large a position in such security as it desires, or it may have to pay a higher price for the security. Similarly, the
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Fund may not be able to obtain as large an execution of an order to sell, or as high a price for any particular portfolio security, if the other client desires to sell the same portfolio security at the same time. In the event that the entire blocked order is not filled, the purchases and sales will normally be made by random client selection.
The Trust, the Advisor and the Distributor have each adopted a Code of Ethics (the Codes) pursuant to Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act, and the Advisors Code of Ethics also conforms to Rule 204A-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The personnel subject to the Codes are permitted to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Fund. You may obtain a copy of the Codes from the Fund or the Advisor, free of charge, by calling Shareholder Services at (800) 431-1716. You may also obtain copies of the Trusts Code from documents filed with SEC and available on the SECs web site at www.sec.gov.
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
The Fund is required to include a schedule of portfolio holdings in its annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders, which is sent to shareholders within 60 days of the end of the second and fourth fiscal quarters and which is filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) on Form N-CSR within 70 days of the end of the second and fourth fiscal quarters. The Fund also is required to file a schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC on Form N-Q within 60 days of the end of the first and third fiscal quarters. The Fund must provide a copy of the complete schedule of portfolio holdings as filed with the SEC to any shareholder of the Fund, upon request, free of charge. This policy is applied uniformly to all shareholders of the Fund without regard to the type of requesting shareholder (i.e., regardless of whether the shareholder is an individual or institutional investor).
The Fund releases portfolio holdings to third party servicing agents on a daily basis in order for those parties to perform their duties on behalf of the Fund. These third party servicing agents include the Advisor, Distributor, Transfer Agent, Fund Accounting Agent, Administrator and Custodian. The Fund also may disclose portfolio holdings, as needed, to auditors, legal counsel, proxy voting services (if applicable), printers, pricing services, parties to merger and reorganization agreements and their agents, and prospective or newly hired investment advisors or sub-advisors. The lag between the date of the information and the date on which the information is disclosed will vary based on the identity of the party to whom the information is disclosed. For instance, the information may be provided to auditors within days of the end of an annual period, while the information may be given to legal counsel or prospective sub-advisors at any time. This information is disclosed to all such third parties under conditions of confidentiality. Conditions of confidentiality include (i) confidentiality clauses in written agreements, (ii) confidentiality implied by the nature of the relationship (e.g., attorney-client relationship), (iii) confidentiality required by fiduciary or regulatory principles (e.g., custody relationships) or (iv) understandings or expectations between the parties that the information will be kept confidential.
Additionally, the Fund may enter into ongoing arrangements to release portfolio holdings to Morningstar, Inc., Lipper, Inc., Bloomberg, Standard & Poors, Thompson Financial and Vickers-Stock (Rating Agencies) in order for those organizations to assign a rating or ranking to the Fund. In these instances portfolio holdings will be supplied within approximately 25 days after the end of the month. The Rating Agencies may make the Funds top portfolio holdings available on their websites and may make the Funds complete portfolio holdings available to their subscribers for a fee. Neither the Fund,
26
the Advisor nor any of their affiliates receive any portion of this fee. Information released to Rating Agencies is not released under conditions of confidentiality nor is it subject to prohibitions on trading based on the information. The Fund also may post its complete portfolio holdings to its website within approximately 25 days after the end of the month. The information will remain posted on the website until replaced by the information for the succeeding month. If the Fund does not have a website or the website is for some reason inoperable, the information will be supplied no more frequently than quarterly and on a delayed basis.
Except as described above, the Fund is prohibited from entering into any arrangements with any person to make available information about the Funds portfolio holdings without the prior authorization of the Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) and the specific approval of the Board. The Advisor must submit any proposed arrangement pursuant to which the Advisor intends to disclose the Funds portfolio holdings to the Trusts CCO, who will review such arrangement to determine whether the arrangement is in the best interests of Fund shareholders. Additionally, the Advisor, and any affiliated persons of the Advisor, are prohibited from receiving compensation or other consideration, for themselves or on behalf of the Fund, as a result of disclosing the Funds portfolio holdings. Finally, the Fund will not disclose portfolio holdings as described above to third parties that the Fund knows will use the information for personal securities transactions.
The Trust and the Advisor each have adopted proxy voting policies and procedures reasonably designed to ensure that proxies are voted in shareholders best interests. As a brief summary, the Trusts policy delegates proxy voting to the Advisor, subject to the Advisors proxy voting policy and the supervision of the Board of Trustees. The Trusts policy provides that, if a conflict of interest between the Advisor or its affiliates and the Fund arises with respect to any proxy, the Advisor must disclose the conflict to the Board of Trustees and vote the proxy in accordance with the Boards instructions. The Advisors policy provides that generally the Advisor will vote with management for routine corporate proposals unless such a vote is not in the shareholders best interests. Non-routine votes are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
You may obtain a copy of the Trusts and the Advisors proxy voting policy by calling Shareholder Services at (800) 431-1716 to request a copy from the Trusts Chief Compliance Officer, or by writing to Huntington Asset Services, Inc., the Funds transfer agent, at 2960 N. Meridian Street, Suite 300, Indianapolis, IN 46208, Attn: Unified Series Trust Chief Compliance Officer. A copy of the policies will be mailed to you within three days of receipt of your request. You also may obtain a copy from Fund documents filed with the SEC and available on the SECs web site at www.sec.gov. A copy of the votes cast by the Fund with respect to portfolio securities for each year ended June 30th will be filed by the Fund with the SEC on Form N-PX. The Funds proxy voting record will be available to shareholders free of charge upon request by calling or writing the Fund as described above or from the SECs web site.
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DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE
The net asset value of the shares of the Fund is determined as of the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which is normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern time on each day the Trust is open for business and on any other day on which there is sufficient trading in the Funds securities to materially affect the net asset value. The Trust is open for business on every day on which the NYSE is open for trading. The NYSE is closed on Saturdays, Sundays and the following holidays: New Years Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. For a description of the methods used to determine the net asset value (share price), see Determination of Net Asset Value in the Prospectus.
Equity securities generally are valued by using market quotations furnished by a pricing service when the Advisor believes such prices accurately reflect the fair market value of such securities. Securities that are traded on any stock exchange are generally valued by the pricing service at the last quoted sale price. Lacking a last sale price, an exchange-traded security is generally valued by the pricing service at its last bid price. Securities traded in the NASDAQ over-the-counter market are generally valued by the pricing service at the NASDAQ Official Closing Price. Options traded on major exchanges are valued at the last quoted sales price on their primary exchange or, if there is no sale on the applicable exchange on such day, then the last quoted bid price as of the close of such exchange will be used. When market quotations are not readily available, when the Advisor determines that the market quotation or the price provided by the pricing service does not accurately reflect the current market value or when restricted or illiquid securities are being valued, such securities are valued at a fair value as determined by the Advisor in good faith according to procedures established by the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees annually approves the pricing services used by the fund accounting agent. The fund accounting agent maintains a pricing review committee, which consults with an Independent Trustee who is a member of the Pricing Committee as fair valuation issues arise. Fair valued securities held by the Fund (if any) are reviewed by the Board of Trustees on a quarterly basis.
Fixed income securities are generally valued by a pricing service when the Advisor believes such prices are accurate and reflect the fair market value of such securities. If the Advisor decides that a price provided by the pricing service does not accurately reflect the fair market value of the securities, when prices are not readily available from a pricing service, or when restricted or illiquid securities are being valued, securities are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the Advisor, according to guidelines established by the Board of Trustees. Short-term investments in fixed income securities with maturities of less than 60 days when acquired, or which subsequently are within 60 days of maturity, are valued by using the amortized cost method of valuation, which the Board has determined will represent fair value.
The Funds net asset value per share is computed by dividing the value of the securities held by the Fund plus any cash or other assets (including interest and dividends accrued but not yet received) minus all liabilities (including accrued expenses) by the total number of shares in the Fund outstanding at such time.
The Fund does not intend to redeem shares in any form except cash. However, if the amount you are redeeming is over the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of the Funds net asset value, pursuant to an election
28
by the Trust on behalf of the Fund under Rule 18f-1 of the 1940 Act, the Fund has the right to redeem your shares by giving you the amount that exceeds the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of the Funds net asset value in securities instead of cash. In the event that an in-kind distribution is made, a shareholder may incur additional expenses, such as the payment of brokerage commissions, on the sale or other disposition of the securities received from the Fund.
STATUS AND TAXATION OF THE FUND
The Fund was organized as a series of a business trust, but intends to qualify for treatment as a regulated investment company (RIC) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code) in each taxable year. There can be no assurance that it actually will so qualify. If the Fund qualifies as a RIC, its dividend and capital gain distributions generally are subject only to a single level of taxation, to the shareholders. This differs from distributions of a regular business corporation which, in general, are taxed first as taxable income of the distributing corporation, and then again as dividend income of the shareholder.
If the Fund does qualify as a RIC but (in a particular calendar year) distributes less than ninety eight percent (98%) of its ordinary income and 98.2% of its capital gain net income (as the Code defines each such term), the Fund is subject to an excise tax. The excise tax, if applicable, is 4% of the excess of the amount required to have been distributed over the amount actually distributed for the applicable year. If the Fund does not qualify as a RIC, its income will be subject to taxation as a regular business corporation, without reduction by dividends paid to shareholders of the Fund. In such event, dividend distributions would be taxable to shareholders to the extent of the Funds earnings and profits, and would be eligible for the dividends-received deduction for corporations.
To continue to qualify for treatment as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code, the Fund must, among other requirements:
| Derive at least ninety percent (90%) of its gross income each taxable year from dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities or foreign currencies, and certain other income (including gains from options, futures, or forward contracts derived with respect to the RICs business of investing in stock, securities, or foreign currencies) (the Income Requirement); |
| Diversify its investments in securities within certain statutory limits; and |
| Distribute annually to its shareholders at least 90% of its investment company taxable income (generally, taxable net investment income less net capital gain) (the Distribution Requirement). |
The following three paragraphs apply to taxable years of the Fund for which the due date of the Funds federal income tax return occurs after December 22, 2010.
Pursuant to the recently enacted Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010 (the Modernization Act), if the Fund fails the gross income test for a taxable year, it will nevertheless be considered to have satisfied the test for such year if (i) the Fund satisfies certain procedural requirements and (ii) the Funds failure to satisfy the gross income test is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect. However, in such case, a tax is imposed on the Fund for the taxable year in which, absent the application of this provision, it would have failed the gross income test equal to the amount by which (i) the Funds non-qualifying gross income exceeds (ii) one-ninth of the Funds qualifying gross income, each as determined for purposes of applying the gross income test for such year.
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Also pursuant to the Modernization Act, if the Fund fails the asset diversification test as of the end of a quarter, it will nevertheless be considered to have satisfied the test as of the end of such quarter in the following circumstances. If the Funds failure to satisfy the asset diversification test at the end of the quarter is due to the ownership of assets the total value of which does not exceed the lesser of (i) one percent of the total value of the Funds assets at the end of such quarter and (ii) $10,000,000 (a de minimis failure), the Fund will be considered to have satisfied the asset diversification test as of the end of such quarter if, within six months of the last day of the quarter in which the Fund identifies that it failed the asset diversification test (or such other prescribed time period), the Fund either disposes of assets in order to satisfy the asset diversification test, or otherwise satisfies the asset diversification test.
In the case of a failure to satisfy the asset diversification test at the end of a quarter in a case that does not constitute a de minimis failure, the Fund will nevertheless be considered to have satisfied the asset diversification test as of the end of such quarter if (i) the Fund satisfies certain procedural requirements; (ii) the Funds failure to satisfy the asset diversification test is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect; and (iii) within six months of the last day of the quarter in which the Fund identifies that it failed the asset diversification test (or such other prescribed time period), the Fund either disposes of assets in order to satisfy the asset diversification test, or otherwise satisfies the asset diversification test. However, in this case, a tax is imposed on the Fund, at the current rate of 35%, on the net income generated by the assets that caused the Fund to fail the asset diversification test during the period for which the asset diversification test was not met. However, in all events, such tax will not be less than $50,000.
The Fund may acquire zero coupon or other securities issued with original issue discount (including pay-in-kind securities). If it does so, the Fund will have to include in its income its share of the original issue discount that accrues on the securities during the taxable year, even if the Fund receives no corresponding payment on the securities during the year. Because the Fund annually must distribute (a) 98% of its ordinary income in order to avoid imposition of a 4% excise tax, and (b) 90% of its investment company taxable income, including any original issue discount, to satisfy the Distribution Requirement, the Fund may be required in a particular year to distribute as a dividend an amount that is greater than the total amount of cash it actually receives. Those distributions would be made from the Funds cash assets, if any, or from the sales of portfolio securities, if necessary. The Fund might realize capital gains or losses from any such sales, which would increase or decrease the Funds investment company taxable income and/or net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss).
Hedging strategies, to reduce risk in various ways, are subject to complex rules that determine for federal income tax purposes, the character and time for recognition of gains and losses the Fund realizes in connection with the hedge. The Funds income from options, futures, and forward contracts, in each case derived with respect to its business of investing in stock, securities, or foreign currencies, should qualify as allowable income for the Fund under the Income Requirement.
Fund distributions received by your qualified retirement plan, such as a 401(k) plan or IRA, are generally tax-deferred; this means that you are not required to report Fund distributions on your income tax return when paid to your plan, but, rather, when your plan makes payments to you or your beneficiary. Special rules apply to payouts from Roth and Education IRAs.
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The portion of the dividends the Fund pays (other than capital gain distributions) that does not exceed the aggregate dividends it receives from U.S. corporations will be eligible for the dividends received deduction allowed to corporations; however, dividends received by a corporate shareholder and deducted by it pursuant to the dividends received deduction are generally subject indirectly to the federal alternative minimum tax.
The Funds net realized capital gains from securities transactions will be distributed only after reducing such gains by the amount of any available capital loss carryforwards. Net capital losses, if any, incurred by the Fund have an indefinite carryover period pursuant to the provisions of the Modernization Act.
If you are a non-retirement plan holder, the Fund will send you a Form 1099 each year that tells you the amount of distributions you received for the prior calendar year, the tax status of those distributions, and a list of reportable sale transactions. Generally, the Funds distributions are taxable to you in the year you received them. However, any dividends that are declared in October, November or December but paid in January are taxable as if received in December of the year they are declared. Investors should be careful to consider the tax consequences of buying shares shortly before a distribution. The price of shares purchased at that time may reflect the amount of the anticipated distribution. However, any such distribution will be taxable to the purchaser of the shares and may result in a decline in the share value by the amount of the distribution.
The foregoing is only a summary of some of the important federal income tax considerations affecting the Fund and its shareholders and is not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning. Accordingly, prospective investors should consult their own tax advisors for more detailed information regarding the above and for information regarding federal, state, local and foreign taxes.
Huntington National Bank, 41 South High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215, is Custodian of the Funds investments. The Custodian acts as the Funds depository, safekeeps its portfolio securities, collects all income and other payments with respect thereto, disburses funds at the Funds request and maintains records in connection with its duties. A Trustee of the Trust is a member of the Custodians management. The Custodians parent company, Huntington Bancshares, Inc., is also the parent company of Huntington Asset Services, Inc. (Huntington), the Trusts transfer agent, fund accountant and administrator, and of Unified Financial Securities, Inc. (the Distributor), the Trusts distributor. Huntington and the Distributor each operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Huntington Bancshares, Inc.
For its custodial services, the Custodian receives a monthly fee from the Fund based on the market value of assets under custody. The monthly fee is equal to an annual rate of 0.0125% of the first $75 million of market value; 0.0100% of the next $75 million of market value; and 0.0075% of market value in excess of $150 million. The Custodian also receives various transaction-based fees. Custodial fees are subject to a $250 monthly minimum fee per Fund account.
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Huntington Asset Services, Inc. (Huntington), 2960 N. Meridian St., Suite 300, Indianapolis, IN 46208, acts as the Funds transfer agent, fund accountant, and administrator. Certain officers of the Trust are members of management and/or employees of Huntington. Huntington is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Huntington Bancshares, the parent company of the Custodian and the Distributor. Certain officers of the Trust also are officers of Huntington.
Huntington maintains the records of each shareholders account, answers shareholders inquiries concerning their accounts, processes purchases and redemptions of the Funds shares, acts as dividend and distribution disbursing agent and performs other transfer agent and shareholder service functions. Huntington receives a monthly fee from the Fund of $1.25 per shareholder account (subject to a minimum monthly fee of $2,000) for these transfer agency services.
In addition, Huntington provides the Fund with fund accounting services, which includes certain monthly reports, record keeping and other management-related services. For its services as fund accountant, Huntington receives a monthly fee from the Fund equal to an annual rate of 0.050% of the Funds average daily net assets up to $50 million, 0.040% of the Funds average daily net assets from $50 million to $100 million, 0.030% of the Funds average daily net assets from $100 million to $150 million, and 0.020% of the Funds average daily net assets over $150 million (subject to a minimum monthly fee of $2,292).
Huntington also provides the Fund with administrative services, including all regulatory reporting and necessary office equipment, personnel and facilities. Huntington receives a monthly fee from the Fund equal to an annual rate of 0.100% of the Funds average daily net assets under $50 million, 0.070% of the Funds average daily net assets from $50 million to $100 million, 0.050% of the Funds average daily net assets from $100 million to $150 million, and 0.030% of the Funds average daily net assets over $150 million (subject to a minimum monthly fee of $3,125). Huntington also receives a compliance program services fee of $800 per month from the Fund.
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
The firm of has been selected as the Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm for the Fund for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2012. will perform an annual audit of the Funds financial statements and provides financial, tax and accounting consulting services as requested, in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
Unified Financial Securities, Inc., 2960 N. Meridian St., Suite 300, Indianapolis, IN 46208 (the Distributor), is the exclusive agent for distribution of shares of the Fund. Certain officers of the Trust are also officers of the Distributor, and a Trustee of the Trust is an officer of the Custodian, which, together with the Distributor and Huntington, are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Huntington Bancshares. As a result, such persons may be deemed to be affiliates of the Distributor.
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The Distributor is obligated to sell the shares of the Fund on a best efforts basis only against purchase orders for the shares. Shares of the Fund are offered to the public on a continuous basis.
The Fund recently commenced operations and, as a result, there are no financial statements available.
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PART C. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 28. | Exhibits |
(a) | (i) | Agreement and Declaration of Trust as filed with the State of Ohio on October 17, 2002 Filed with Registrants initial registration statement on Form N-1A dated October 21, 2002 and incorporated herein by reference. | ||||||
(ii) | First Amendment to Agreement and Declaration of Trust, as filed with the State of Ohio on September 15, 2005 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated March 31, 2006 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(iii) | Amendment No. 2 to Agreement and Declaration of Trust, as filed with the State of Ohio on May 17, 2006 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated July 24, 2006 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(iv) | Amendment No. 3 to Agreement and Declaration of Trust, as filed with the State of Ohio on September 1, 2006 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated September 19, 2006 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(v) | Amendments No. 4 and 6 to Agreement and Declaration of Trust Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A on July 5, 2007 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(vi) | Amendment No. 5 to Agreement and Declaration of Trust Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated August 1, 2007 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(vii) | Amendment No. 7 to Agreement and Declaration of Trust Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated August 31, 2007 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(viii) | Amendment No. 8 to Agreement and Declaration of Trust Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated December 17, 2007 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(ix) | Amendment No. 9 to Agreement and Declaration of Trust Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated April 29, 2008 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(x) | Amendment No. 10 to Agreement and Declaration of Trust as filed with the State of Ohio on November 12, 2008 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated November 28, 2008 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(xi) | Amendment No. 11 to Agreement and Declaration of Trust as filed with the State of Ohio on February 13, 2009 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated March 2, 2009 and incorporated herein by reference. |
(xii) | Amendment No. 12 to Agreement and Declaration of Trust as filed with the State of Ohio on August 11, 2009 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated December 29, 2009 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(xiii) | Amendment No. 13 to Agreement and Declaration of Trust as filed with the State of Ohio on October 20, 2010 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated November 5, 2010 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(xiv) | Amendment No. 14 to Agreement and Declaration of Trust as filed with the State of Ohio on November 23, 2010 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated November 29, 2010 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(xv) | Amendment No. 15 to Agreement and Declaration of Trust as filed with the State of Ohio on April 5, 2011 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated April 29, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(xvi) | Amendment No. 16 to Agreement and Declaration of Trust as filed with the State of Ohio on August 23, 2011 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated August 24, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(xvii) | Amendment No. 17 to Agreement and Declaration of Trust as filed with the State of Ohio on November 17, 2011 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated November 28, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(b) | By-laws adopted as of October 17, 2002 Filed with Registrants initial registration statement on Form N-1A dated October 21, 2002 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(c) | Instruments Defining Rights of Security Holders None. | |||||||
(d) | Investment Advisory Contracts: | |||||||
1. | (a) | Copy of Registrants Amended and Restated Management Agreement with Spectrum Advisory Services, Inc. (Spectrum) with regard to the Marathon Value Portfolio Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated July 26, 2010 and incorporated herein by reference. | ||||||
(b) | Copy of the Side Letter Agreement with Spectrum regarding fee waiver and expense reimbursement with respect to the Marathon Value Portfolio for the period ending February 28, 2013 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated February 28, 2012 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
2. | (a) | Copy of Registrants Amended and Restated Management Agreement with Becker Capital Management, Inc. with regard to the Becker Value Equity Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated August 24, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. |
(b) | Copy of the Side Letter Agreement with Becker Capital Management, Inc., regarding fee waiver and expense reimbursement with respect to the Becker Value Equity Fund for the period ended February 28, 2013 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated August 24, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
3. | (a) | Copy of Registrants Amended and Restated Management Agreement with Crawford Investment Counsel, Inc. with regard to the Crawford Dividend Growth Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated May 2, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. | ||||||
(b) | Copy of Registrants Side Letter Agreement with Crawford Investment Counsel, Inc. regarding fee waiver and expense reimbursement with respect to the Crawford Dividend Growth Fund for the period ended April 30, 2013 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated December 14, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
4. | Copy of Registrants Amended and Restated Management Agreement with IMS Capital Management, Inc. with regard to the IMS Capital Value Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated August 22, 2007, and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
5. | (a) | Copy of Registrants Management Agreement with IMS Capital Management, Inc. with regard to the IMS Dividend Growth Fund (formerly known as the Strategic Allocation Fund) approved June 6, 2004 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated September 28, 2004 and incorporated herein by reference. | ||||||
(b) | Copy of Registrants Side Letter Agreement with IMS Capital Management, Inc. regarding fee waiver and expense reimbursement with respect to the IMS Dividend Growth Fund for the period ending October 31, 2012 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated October 28, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
6. | Copy of Registrants Management Agreement with IMS Capital Management, Inc. with regard to the IMS Strategic Income Fund approved June 6, 2004 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated September 28, 2004 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
7. | (a) | Copy of Registrants Management Agreement with Financial Counselors, Inc. with regard to the FCI Value Equity Fund approved June 13, 2005 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated June 15, 2005 and incorporated herein by reference. | ||||||
(b) | Copy of Side Letter Agreement with Financial Counselors, Inc. regarding fee waiver and expense reimbursement with respect to the FCI Value Equity Fund for the period ending January 31, 2013 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated January 30, 2012 and incorporated herein by reference. |
8. | (a) | Copy of Registrants Management Agreement with Financial Counselors, Inc. with regard to the FCI Bond Fund approved June 13, 2005 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated June 15, 2005 and incorporated herein by reference. | ||||||
(b) | Copy of Side Letter Agreement with Financial Counselors, Inc. regarding fee waiver and expense reimbursement with respect to the FCI Bond Fund for the period ending January 31, 2013 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated January 30, 2012 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
9. | Copy of Registrants Management Agreement with The Roosevelt Investment Group with respect to the Roosevelt Multi-Cap Fund, approved September 12, 2005 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated August 5, 2005 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
10. | (a) | Copy of Registrants Management Agreement with SMI Advisory Services, LLC with regard to the Sound Mind Investing Fund approved August 29, 2005 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated August 6, 2005 and incorporated herein by reference. | ||||||
(b) | Copy of Side Letter Agreement with SMI Advisory Services, LLC regarding fee waiver and expense reimbursement with respect to the Sound Mind Investing Fund for the period ending February 28, 2013 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated February 28, 2012 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
11. | (a) | Copy of Registrants Amended Management Agreement with Toreador Research & Trading LLC with regard to Toreador Large Cap Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated August 31, 2009 and incorporated herein by reference. | ||||||
(b) | Copy of Side Letter Agreement with Toreador Research & Trading LLC regarding fee waiver and expense reimbursement with respect to the Toreador Large Cap Fund for the 2011 fiscal year Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated August 29, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
12. | (a) | Copy of Registrants Amended and Restated Management Agreement with Iron Financial, LLC dated November 10, 2008 with regard to the Iron Strategic Income Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated January 28, 2009 and incorporated herein by reference. | ||||||
13. | (a) | Copy of Registrants Management Agreement with Leeb Capital Management, Inc. with regard to Leeb Focus Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated November 30, 2006 and incorporated herein by reference. | ||||||
(b) | Copy of Side Letter Agreement with Leeb Capital Management, Inc. regarding fee waiver and expense reimbursement with respect to the Leeb Focus Fund for the period ended June 30, 2013 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated March 29, 2012 and incorporated herein by reference. |
14. | (a) | Copy of Registrants Management Agreement with Pekin Singer Strauss Asset Management, Inc. with regard to Appleseed Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated March 9, 2012 and incorporated herein by reference. | ||||||
(b) | Copy of Side Letter Agreement with Pekin Singer Strauss Asset Management, Inc. regarding fee waiver and expense reimbursement with respect to the Appleseed Fund for period ending June 7, 2013 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated June 7, 2012 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
15. | (a) | Copy of Registrants Management Agreement with Symons Capital Management, Inc. with regard to the Symons Value Institutional Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated December 14, 2006 and incorporated herein by reference. | ||||||
(b) | Copy of Side Letter Agreement with Symons Capital Management, Inc. regarding fee waiver and expense reimbursement with respect to the Symons Value Institutional Fund for the period ended March 31, 2016 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated July 29, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
16. | (a) | Copy of Registrants Interim Management Agreement with Dean Investment Associates, LLC with regard to the Dean Mid Cap Value Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated July 29, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. | ||||||
(b) | Copy of Side Letter Agreement with Dean Investment Associates, LLC regarding fee waiver and expense reimbursement with respect to the Dean Mid Cap Value Fund for the period ended July 31, 2012 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated March 31, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
17. | (a) | Copy of Registrants Interim Management Agreement with Dean Investment Associates, LLC with regard to the Dean Small Cap Value Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated July 29, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. | ||||||
(b) | Copy of Side Letter Agreement with Dean Investment Associates, LLC regarding fee waiver and expense reimbursement with respect to the Dean Small Cap Value Fund for the period ended July 31, 2012 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated July 29, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
18. | Copy of Interim Subadvisory Agreement between Dean Investment Associates, LLC and Dean Capital Management, LLC with regard to the Dean Mid Cap Value Fund and Dean Small Cap Value Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated July 29, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. |
19. | (a) | Copy of Registrants Management Agreement with SB-Auer Funds, LLC with regard to the Auer Growth Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated December 21, 2007 and incorporated herein by reference. | ||||||
(b) | Copy of Side Letter Agreement with SB-Auer Funds, LLC regarding fee waiver and expense reimbursement with respect to the Auer Growth Fund for the period ending March 31, 2013 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated March 29, 2012 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
20. | (a) | Copy of Registrants Management Agreement with Symons Capital Management, Inc. with regard to the Symons Small Cap Institutional Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated April 29, 2008 and incorporated herein by reference. | ||||||
(b) | Copy of Side Letter Agreement with Symons Capital Management, Inc. regarding fee waiver and expense reimbursement with respect to the Symons Small Cap Institutional Fund for the period ended March 31, 2016 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated July 29, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
21. | (a) | Copy of Registrants Management Agreement with Jones Villalta Asset Management, LLC with regard to the Jones Villalta Opportunity Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated October 16, 2008 and incorporated herein by reference. | ||||||
(b) | Copy of Side Letter Agreement with Jones Villalta Asset Management, LLC regarding fee waiver and expense reimbursement with respect to the Jones Villalta Opportunity Fund for the period ending February 28, 2013 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated February 28, 2012 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
22. | (a) | Copy of Registrants Management Agreement with SMI Advisory Services, LLC with regard to the Sound Mind Investing Balanced Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated December 23, 2010 and incorporated herein by reference. | ||||||
(b) | Copy of Side Letter Agreement with SMI Advisory Services, LLC regarding fee waiver and expense reimbursement with respect to the Sound Mind Investing Balanced Fund for the period ending February 28, 2013 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated February 28, 2012 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(c) | Copy of Subadvisory Agreement between SMI Advisory Services, LLC and Reams Asset Management Co., LLC with regard to the Sound Mind Investing Balanced Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated December 23, 2010 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
23. | (a) | Copy of Registrants Management Agreement with Leeb Capital Management, Inc. with regard to the Leeb Resources Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated April 8, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. |
(b) | Copy of Side Letter Agreement with Leeb Capital Management, Inc. regarding fee waiver and expense reimbursement with respect to the Leeb Resources Fund for the period ended June 30, 2012 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated July 1, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
24. | (a) | Copy of Registrants Management Agreement with 1492 Capital Management, LLC with regard to the 1492 Small Cap Growth Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated December 14, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. | ||||||
(b) | Copy of Side Letter Agreement with 1492 Capital Management, LLC regarding fee waiver and expense reimbursement with respect to the 1492 Small Cap Growth Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated December 14, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
25. | (a) | Copy of Registrants Management Agreement with 1492 Capital Management, LLC with regard to the 1492 Small Cap Value Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated December 14, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. | ||||||
(b) | Copy of Side Letter Agreement with 1492 Capital Management, LLC regarding fee waiver and expense reimbursement with respect to the 1492 Small Cap Value Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated December 14, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
26. | (a) | Copy of Registrants Management Agreement with Martin Capital Management, LLC with regard to the Martin Focused Value Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated February 8, 2012 and incorporated herein by reference. | ||||||
(b) | Copy of Side Letter Agreement with Martin Capital Management, LLC regarding fee waiver and expense reimbursement with respect to the Martin Focused Value Fund for the period ending June 30, 2015 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated February 8, 2012 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
27. | (a) | Copy of Registrants Management Agreement with Crawford Investment Counsel, Inc. with regard to the Crawford Dividend Opportunity Fund To be filed. | ||||||
(b) | Copy of Side Letter Agreement with Crawford Investment Counsel, Inc. regarding fee waiver and expense reimbursement with respect to the Crawford Dividend Opportunity Fund To be filed. | |||||||
(e) | (1) | Underwriting Contracts. |
(a) | Copy of Registrants Distribution Agreement with Unified Financial Securities, Inc., dated December 18, 2002, as amended December 13, 2004 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated December 30, 2004 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(b) | Copy of Registrants amended and restated Distribution Agreement with Unified Financial Securities, Inc., dated January 17, 2007 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated July 3, 2008 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(2) | Underwriting Contracts. Copy of Distribution Agreement among Registrant, Becker Capital Management, Inc. and Unified Financial Securities, Inc., dated October 17, 2003 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated October 31, 2003 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(3) | Underwriting Contracts. Copy of Distribution Agreement among Registrant, Crawford Investment Counsel, Inc. and Unified Financial Securities, Inc., approved December 7, 2003 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated December 29, 2003 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(4) | Underwriting Contracts. Copy of Distribution Agreement among Registrant, IMS Capital Management, Inc. and Foreside Distribution Services, L.P., dated July 1, 2008 - Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated April 30, 2009 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(f) | Bonus or Profit Sharing Contracts None. | |||||||
(g) | Custodian Agreements. | |||||||
(1) | Copy of Registrants Custodian Agreement with Huntington National Bank, dated December 18, 2002 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated December 31, 2002 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(2) | (a) | Custodian Agreement. Copy of Registrants Custodian Agreement with U.S. Bank, N.A., dated September 23, 2005 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated September 30, 2005 and incorporated herein by reference. | ||||||
(b) | Amendment to Custodial Agreement between U.S. Bank, N.A. and Registrant, dated December 2005 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A December 7, 2005 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(h) | (1) | (a) | Other Material Contracts. Amended Mutual Fund Services Agreement between Registrant and Unified Fund Services, Inc. Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated December 1, 2005 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||
(b) | Amendment to Amended Mutual Fund Services Agreement between Registrant and Unified Fund Services, Inc., effective as of October 1, 2007 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated October 30, 2007 and incorporated herein by reference. |
(c) | Registrants Investor Class Administration Plan for the Iron Strategic Income Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated December 5, 2008 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(d) | Registrants Retail Class Administrative Services Plan for the Toreador Large Cap Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated August 31, 2009 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(e) | Registrants Investor Class Administrative Services Plan for the Appleseed Fund - Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated January 28, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(f) | Registrants Retail Class Administrative Services Plan for the Becker Value Equity Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated August 24, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(g) | Registrants Class R Administrative Services Plan for the Crawford Dividend Growth Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated October 14, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(h) | Registrants Retail Class Administrative Services Plan for the Martin Focused Value Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated April 12, 2012 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(i) | Legal Opinion and Consent Legal opinion was filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated November 28, 2011 and is incorporated herein by reference. The consent of Thompson Hine LLP is filed herewith. | |||||||
(j) | Other Opinions None. | |||||||
(k) | Omitted Financial Statements None. | |||||||
(l) | Initial Capital Agreements. Copy of Letter of Investment Intent from Unified Fund Services, Inc., dated December 30, 2002 Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated December 31, 2002 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(m) | (1) | Copy of Revised Rule 12b-1 Distribution Plan for Crawford Dividend Growth Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated May 2, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. | ||||||
(2) | Copy of Revised Rule 12b-1 Distribution Plan for the Roosevelt Multi-Cap Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated August 24, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. |
(3) | Copy of Rule 12b-1 Distribution Plan for FCI Value Equity Fund and FCI Bond Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated August 30, 2005 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(4) | Copy of Rule 12b-1 Distribution Plan with respect to the Toreador Large Cap Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated February 2, 2006 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(5) | Copy of Rule 12b-1 Distribution Plan with respect to the Appleseed Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated October 2, 2006 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(6) | Copy of Rule 12b-1 Distribution Plan with respect to the Auer Growth Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated December 21, 2007 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(7) | Copy of Rule 12b-1 Distribution Plan with respect to the Jones Villalta Opportunity Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated October 16, 2008 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(8) | Copy of Rule 12b-1 Distribution Plan with respect to the Investor Class Shares of the Iron Strategic Income Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated December 5, 2008 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(9) | Copy of Rule 12b-1 Distribution Plan with respect to the Class A Shares of the Leeb Resources Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated July 29, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(10) | Copy of Rule 12b-1 Distribution Plan with respect to the Retail Class Shares of the Martin Focused Value Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated April 12, 2012 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(n) | (1) | Copy of Amended and Restated Rule 18f-3 Plan for Crawford Dividend Growth Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated October 14, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. | ||||||
(2) | Copy of Rule 18f-3 Plan for Iron Strategic Income Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated December 5, 2008 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(3) | Copy of Rule 18f-3 Plan for the Toreador Large Cap Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated August 31, 2009 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(4) | Copy of Rule 18f-3 Plan for the Appleseed Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated January 28, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(5) | Copy of Rule 18f-3 Plan for the Becker Value Equity Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated August 24, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. |
(6) | Copy of Rule 18f-3 Plan for the Martin Focused Value Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated April 12, 2012 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(o) | Reserved. | |||||||
(p) | (1) | Registrants Amended Code of Ethics Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A on June 20, 2007 and incorporated herein by reference. | ||||||
(2) | Code of Ethics for Senior Executive Officers Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated October 31, 2003 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(3) | Code of Ethics adopted by Unified Financial Securities, Inc., as distributor to Registrant Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A on July 3, 2008 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(q) | (1) | Registrants Revised Proxy Voting Policy Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated July 1, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. | ||||||
(2) | ISS Proxy Voting Guidelines adopted by Becker Capital Management, Inc. Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated October 31, 2003 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(3) | Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures adopted by Crawford Investment Counsel, Inc. Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated December 29, 2003 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(4) | Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures adopted by Spectrum Advisory Services, Inc. Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated February 27, 2004 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(5) | Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures adopted by IMS Capital Management, Inc. with regard to each of the IMS Funds Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated September 28, 2004 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(6) | Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures adopted by Financial Counselors, Inc. with regard to each of the FCI Funds Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated June 15, 2005 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(7) | Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures adopted by with Toreador Research & Trading LLC as advisor to Toreador Large Cap Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated February 2, 2006 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(8) | Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures adopted by Leeb Capital Management, Inc. as advisor to Leeb Focus Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated September 19, 2006 and incorporated herein by reference. |
(9) | Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures adopted by Pekin Singer Strauss Asset Management, Inc. as advisor to Appleseed Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated October 2, 2006 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(10) | Updated Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures adopted by Symons Capital Management, Inc. as advisor to Symons Institutional Funds Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated April 1, 2008 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(11) | Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures adopted by SMI Advisory Services, LLC as advisor to Sound Mind Investing Funds Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated October 13, 2006 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(12) | Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures adopted by Dean Investment Associates, LLC as advisor to the Dean Funds Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated March 7, 2007 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(13) | Proxy Voting Guidelines used with respect to Roosevelt Multi-Cap Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated April 11, 2008 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(14) | Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures adopted by SBAuer Funds, LLC as adviser to the Auer Growth Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated December 21, 2007 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(15) | Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures adopted by Jones Villalta Asset Management, LLC as adviser to the Jones Villalta Opportunity Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated October 16, 2008 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(16) | Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures adopted by 1492 Capital Management, LLC as advisor to the 1492 Funds Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated December 14, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. | |||||||
(17) | Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures adopted by Martin Capital Management, LLC as advisor to the Martin Focused Value Fund Filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A dated April 12, 2012 and incorporated herein by reference. |
Item 29. | Persons Controlled by or Under Common Control with Registrant |
The controlling shareholder of each of the FCI Bond Fund and FCI Value Equity Fund (together, the FCI Funds), Midtrusco, is under common control with the FCI Funds investment adviser, Financial Counselors, Inc. Financial Counselors, Inc. is owned 100% by FCI Holding Corporation, a Delaware corporation.
Dean Investment Associates, LLC may be deemed to be under common control with each of the Dean Funds because various persons that own Dean Wealth Management LLP, a controlling shareholder of the Dean Funds, also indirectly own more than 75% of Dean Investment Associates, LLC.
Item 30. | Indemnification |
Article VI, Section 6.4 of the Declaration of Trust of Unified Series Trust, an Ohio business trust, provides that:
Indemnification of Trustees, Officers, etc. Subject to and except as otherwise provided in the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the 1940 Act, the Trust shall indemnify each of its Trustees and officers (including persons who serve at the Trusts request as directors, officers or trustees of another organization in which the Trust has any interest as a shareholder, creditor or otherwise (hereinafter referred to as a Covered Person) against all liabilities, including but not limited to amounts paid in satisfaction of judgments, in compromise or as fines and penalties, and expenses, including reasonable accountants and counsel fees, incurred by any Covered Person in connection with the defense or disposition of any action, suit or other proceeding, whether civil or criminal, before any court or administrative or legislative body, in which such Covered Person may be or may have been involved as a party or otherwise or with which such person may be or may have been threatened, while in office or thereafter, by reason of being or having been such a Trustee or officer, director or trustee, and except that no Covered Person shall be indemnified against any liability to the Trust or its Shareholders to which such Covered Person would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of such Covered Persons office.
Item 31. | Business and Other Connections of the Investment Advisers |
1. | Becker Capital Management, Inc. (Becker) serves as the investment adviser for the Becker Value Equity Fund, a series of the Trust. Patrick E. Becker serves as the Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Becker. Further information about Becker can be obtained from the Form ADV Part I available on the IAPD. |
2. | Crawford Investment Counsel, Inc. (Crawford) serves as the investment adviser for the Crawford Dividend Growth Fund and the Crawford Dividend Opportunity Fund, each a series of the Trust. John H. Crawford III serves as President and Chief Investment Officer of Crawford. Further information about Crawford can be obtained from the Form ADV Part I available on the IAPD. |
3. | Dean Investment Associates, LLC (Dean), serves as investment advisor to the Dean Funds. Stephen M. Miller serves as President and Chief Operating Officer of Dean, and each of Mark E. Schutter, Ronald A. Best and Debra E. Rindler are executive officers. Further information about Dean can be obtained from its Form ADV Part I available on the IAPD. |
4. | Dean Capital Management, LLC (DCM), serves as sub-advisor to the Dean Funds. Douglas Leach is an executive officer. Further information about DCM can be obtained from its Form ADV Part I available on the IAPD. |
5. | Financial Counselors, Inc. (FCI) serves as the investment adviser to the FCI Value Equity Fund and FCI Bond Fund, each a series of the Trust. Mr. Robert T. Hunter serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of FCI. Further information about FCI can be obtained from the Form ADV Part I available on the IAPD. |
6. | IMS Capital Management, Inc.(IMS) serves as the investment adviser to the IMS Capital Value Fund, IMS Dividend Growth Fund and IMS Strategic Income Fund, each a series of the Trust. Mr. Carl W. Marker serves as Chairman and President of IMS. Further information about IMS can be obtained from the Form ADV Part I available on the IAPD. |
7. | Iron Financial, LLC serves as investment advisor to the Iron Strategic Income Fund. Mr. Aaron Izenstark is the President and Mr. Richard Lakin is the Chief Compliance Officer of Iron Financial. Further information about Iron Financial can be obtained from its Form ADV Part I available on the IAPD. |
8. | Jones Villalta Asset Management, LLC (JVAM), serves as investment advisor to the Jones Villalta Opportunity Fund. Stephen M. Jones and Thomas E. Villalta are executive officers. Further information about JVAM can be obtained from its Form ADV Part I available on the IAPD. |
9. | Leeb Capital Management, Inc. (Leeb) serves as investment advisor to the Leeb Focus Fund and the Leeb Resources Fund. Steven L. Leeb is the Chief Executive Officer, and Patrick DeSouza and Donna A. Leeb are executive officers. Further information about Leeb can be obtained from its Form ADV Part I available on the IAPD. |
10. | Pekin Singer Strauss Asset Management, Inc. (Pekin) serves as investment advisor to the Appleseed Fund. Mr. Ronald L. Strauss is the President of Pekin; Richard A. Singer, Brandon Hardy, Alan L. Zable, William A. Pekin, Adam Strauss, Joshua Strauss, and William Schmidle all are executive officers. Further information about Pekin can be obtained from its Form ADV Part I available on the IAPD. |
11. | SMI Advisory Services, LLC (SMI) serves as investment advisor to the Sound Mind Investing Fund and Sound Mind Investing Balanced Fund, each a series of Registrant. Mr. Eric Collier, Mr. Mark Biller, and Mr. Anthony Ayers are all principals of SMI. Further information about SMI can be obtained from the Form ADV Part I of SMI available on the IAPD. |
12. | Spectrum Advisory Services, Inc. (Spectrum) serves as the investment advisor for the Marathon Value Portfolio, a series of the Trust. Mr. Marc Heilweil serves as President of Spectrum. Further information about Spectrum can be obtained from the Form ADV Part I available on the IAPD. |
13. | Symons Capital Management, Inc. (Symons) serves as the investment advisor for the Symons Value Institutional Fund, Symons Capital Appreciation Institutional Fund, and Symons Small Cap Institutional Fund, each a series of the Trust. Edward L. Symons, Jr. is the Chairman and Founder, and Colin E. Symons, CFA, is the Chief Investment Officer. Christopher Rickard, Vickilynn Ellis, Richard F. Foran and Michael P. Czajka each are executive officers of Symons. Further information about Symons can be obtained from the Form ADV Part I available on the IAPD. |
14. | The Roosevelt Investment Group (Roosevelt) serves as investment advisor to the Roosevelt Multi-Cap Fund. Mr. Arthur Sheer serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Roosevelt. David Sheer and Steven Weiss are executive officers. Further information about Roosevelt can be obtained from its Form ADV Part I available on the IAPD. |
15. | Toreador Research & Trading LLC (Toreador) serves as investment advisor to Toreador Large Cap Fund. Mr. Paul Blinn and Dan Obrycki are executive officers of Toreador. Further information about Toreador can be obtained from its Form ADV Part I available on the IAPD. |
16. | SBAuer Funds, LLC (SBA) serves as investment adviser to the Auer Growth Fund. Mr. David Gilreath and Mr. Ronald Brock are executive officers of SBA and members of Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors, LLC. Further information about SBA and Sheaff Brock can be obtained from their respective Forms ADV Part I available on the IAPD |
17. | Reams Asset Management Company, LLC (Reams) serves as sub-adviser to the Sound Mind Investing Balanced Fund. David McKinney is the President of Reams. Further information about Reams can be obtained from its Form ADV Part I available on the IAPD. |
18. | 1492 Capital Management, LLC (1492) serves as adviser to the 1492 Funds. Timothy T. Stracka and Joseph A. Frohna are the Managing Members of 1492. Further information about 1492 can be obtained from its Form ADV Part I available on the IAPD. |
19. | Martin Capital Management, LLC (Martin) serves as adviser to the Martin Focused Value Fund. Frank K. Martin is the sole Member of Martin. Further information about Martin can be obtained from its Form ADV Part I available on the IAPD. |
Item 32. | Unified Financial Securities, Inc. Unified Financial Securities, Inc. serves as the principal underwriter for the Trust. |
(a) | Unified Financial Securities, Inc. also serves as a principal underwriter for the following investment companies: American Pension Investors Trust, The Appleton Funds, Bruce Fund, Dreman Contrarian Funds, H C Capital Trust, Huntington Funds, and Valued Advisers Trust. |
(b) | The directors and officers of Unified Financial Securities, Inc. are as follows: |
Name |
Title |
Position with Trust | ||
Daniel B. Benhase* | Director | None | ||
AnnaMaria Spurgin** | President | None | ||
John C. Swhear** | Chief Compliance Officer | Interim President | ||
Edward J. Kane* | Vice President | None |
A. Dawn Story* |
Vice President | None | ||
Varanont O. Ruchira** |
Assistant Vice President | None | ||
Karyn E. Cunningham** |
Controller | None | ||
Richard A. Cheap* |
Secretary | None | ||
Larry D. Case* |
Assistant Secretary | None |
* | The principal business address of these individuals is 41 S. High St. Columbus, OH 43215. |
** | The principal business address of these individuals is 2960 N. Meridian Street, Suite 300, Indianapolis, IN 46208. |
(c) Not applicable.
Item 33. | Location of Accounts and Records |
Huntington Asset Services, Inc.
2960 N. Meridian Street, Suite 300
Indianapolis, IN 46208
Will maintain physical possession of the accounts, books, and other documents required to be maintained by Rule 31a-(b)(1), 31a-1(b)(2), and 31a-1(b)(4) through 31a-1(b)(11).
Huntington National Bank
41 South High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215
U.S. Bank, National Association
425 Walnut Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
Will maintain physical possession of accounts, books, and other documents required to be maintained by Rule 31(b)(3) for each separate series for which the entity acts as custodian.
Unified Financial Securities, Inc.
2960 N. Meridian Street, Suite 300
Indianapolis, IN 46208
Foreside Distribution Services, L.P.
100 Summer Street, Suite 1500
Boston, MA 02110
Will maintain physical possession of the accounts, books, and other documents required to be maintained by a principal underwriter under by Rule 31a-1(d) for each separate series for which the entity acts as principal underwriter.
Becker Capital Management, Inc.
1211 SW Fifth Avenue, Suite 2185
Portland, OR 97204
Crawford Investment Counsel, Inc.
600 Galleria Parkway NW
Suite 1650
Atlanta, GA 30339
Dean Investment Associates, LLC
3500 Pentagon Blvd., Suite 200
Beavercreek, OH 45431
Dean Capital Management, LLC
7450 West 130th Street, Suite 150
Overland Park, KS 66213
Financial Counselors, Inc.
442 West 47th Street
Kansas City, Missouri 63112
IMS Capital Management, Inc.
8995 S.E. Otty Road
Portland, Oregon 97266
Iron Financial, LLC
630 Dundee Rd.
Suite 200
Northbrook, IL 60062
Jones Villalta Asset Management, LLC
805 Las Cimas Parkway
Suite 125
Austin, TX 78746
Leeb Capital Management, Inc.
500 Fifth Avenue, 57th Floor
New York, NY 10110
Pekin Singer Strauss Asset Management, Inc.
21 S. Clark Street, Suite 3325
Chicago, IL 60603
Reams Asset Management Co., LLC
227 Washington St.
Columbus, IN 47202
SMI Advisory Services, LLC
11135 Baker Hollow Rd.
Columbus, IN 47201
Spectrum Advisory Services, Inc.
1050 Crown Pointe Parkway, Suite 750
Atlanta, GA 30338
Symons Capital Management, Inc.
650 Washington Road, Suite 800
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15228
The Roosevelt Investment Group
317 Madison Ave., Suite 1004
New York, New York 10017
Toreador Research & Trading LLC
7493 North Ingram
Suite 104
Fresno, California 93711
1492 Capital Management, LLC
309 North Water Street, Suite 505
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Martin Capital Management, LLC
300 NIBCO Parkway, Suite 301
Elkhart, IN 46516
Each advisor (or sub-advisor) will maintain physical possession of the accounts, books and other documents required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1(f) at the address listed above for each separate series of the Trust that the advisor manages.
Item 34. | Management Services |
None.
Item 35. | Undertakings |
Registrant hereby undertakes, if requested by the holders of at least 10% of the Registrants outstanding shares, to call a meeting of shareholders for the purpose of voting upon the question of removal of a trustee(s) and to assist in communications with other shareholders in accordance with Section 16(c) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as though Section 16(c) applied.
Registrant hereby undertakes to furnish each person to whom a prospectus is delivered with a copy of its latest annual report to shareholders, upon request and without charge.
Registrant hereby undertakes to carry out all indemnification provisions of its Declaration of Trust in accordance with Investment Company Act Release No. 11330 (Sept. 4, 1980) and successor releases.
Insofar as indemnifications for liability arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (1933 Act), may be permitted to trustees, officers and controlling person of the Registrant pursuant to the provision under Item 27 herein, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the 1933 Act and is, therefor, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the 1933 Act and will be governed by the final adjudication.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the Registrant has duly caused this Post-Effective Amendment No. 244 to its Registration Statement on Form N-1A to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereto duly authorized, in the City of Indianapolis and the State of Indiana on July 9, 2012.
UNIFIED SERIES TRUST | ||
By: |
/s/ John C. Swhear | |
John C. Swhear, Interim President |
Attest:
By: | /s/ Robert W. Silva**** | |
Robert W. Silva, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this registration statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the date indicated by the consent of all of Registrants trustees.
Signature |
Title |
Date | ||
/s/ John C. Swhear John C. Swhear |
Interim President | July 9, 2012 | ||
/s/ Robert W. Silva**** Robert W. Silva |
Treasurer and CFO | July 9, 2012 | ||
/s/ Daniel Condon * Daniel Condon |
Trustee | July 9, 2012 | ||
/s/ Gary E. Hippenstiel * Gary E. Hippenstiel |
Trustee | July 9, 2012 | ||
/s/ Stephen Little * Stephen Little |
Trustee | July 9, 2012 | ||
/s/ Ronald Tritschler * Ronald Tritschler |
Trustee | July 9, 2012 | ||
/s/ Nancy V. Kelly ** Nancy V. Kelly |
Trustee | July 9, 2012 | ||
/s/ Kenneth Grant *** Kenneth Grant |
Trustee | July 9, 2012 |
*/**/***/**** | /s/ Carol Highsmith | |
Carol Highsmith, Attorney in Fact |
* | Signed pursuant to a Power of Attorney dated May 21, 2007 and filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A on June 21, 2007 and incorporated herein by reference. |
** | Signed pursuant to a Power of Attorney dated December 12, 2007 and filed with Registrants registration statement on |
Form N-1A on December 17, 2007 and incorporated herein by reference.
*** | Signed pursuant to a Power of Attorney dated June 19, 2008 and filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A on July 3, 2008 and incorporated herein by reference. |
**** | Signed pursuant to a Power of Attorney dated June 24, 2011 and filed with Registrants registration statement on Form N-1A on June 24, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference. |
EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit Number |
Description | |
EX.99.i | Consent of Legal Counsel |
June 29, 2012
Unified Series Trust
2960 North Meridian Street
Suite 300
Indianapolis, Indiana 46208
Re: |
Unified Series Trust, File Nos. 333-100654 and 811-21237 |
Gentlemen:
A legal opinion (the Legal Opinion) that we prepared was filed with Post-Effective Amendment No. 203 to the Unified Series Trusts Registration Statement (the Registration Statement). We hereby give you our consent to incorporate by reference the Legal Opinion into Post-Effective Amendment No. 244 to the Registration Statement (the Amendment), and consent to all references to us in the Amendment.
Very truly yours, |
/s/ Thompson Hine LLP |
THOMPSON HINE LLP |
HUNTINGTON ASSET SERVICES, INC.
2960 N. Meridian St., Suite 300
Indianapolis, IN 46208
July 9, 2012
EDGAR CORRESPONDENCE
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
450 5th Street, NW, 5-6
Washington, DC 20549
Re: | Unified Series Trust (SEC File Nos. 811-21237 and 333-100654) |
Dear Sir or Madam:
Enclosed for filing is Post-Effective Amendment (PEA) No. 244 to the registration statement on Form N-1A of Unified Series Trust (the Trust) in respect of its new series, Crawford Dividend Opportunity Fund (the Fund).
We respectfully request that the SEC Staff selectively review only those sections of the Prospectus and SAI that relate to the new Fund as set forth below. We hereby affirm to the Staff that the other sections in the Funds Prospectus and SAI are the same in all material respects as the standard provisions included in numerous Trust filings, which previously have been reviewed by the Staff.
PROSPECTUS
SUMMARY SECTION
Investment Objective
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
Principal Investment Strategies & Principal Risks
Portfolio Management
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDS INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND
Adviser
Portfolio Manager
SAI
DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST AND FUND
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDS INVESTMENTS AND RISK CONSIDERATIONS
INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS
INVESTMENT ADVISER
Please contact Dee Anne Sjögren at (314) 552-6295 with your comments.
Sincerely,
/s/ Carol J. Highsmith
Carol J. Highsmith
Vice President