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GMO Benchmark-Free Fund  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading GMO Benchmark-Free Fund
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading Investment objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock
Positive total return.
Expense [Heading] rr_ExpenseHeading Fees and expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock
The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may bear if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.
Operating Expenses Caption [Text] rr_OperatingExpensesCaption Annual Fund operating expenses (expenses that you bear each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination Jun. 30, 2021
Portfolio Turnover [Heading] rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading Portfolio turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block] rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities. A higher portfolio turnover rate may result in higher transaction costs and, for holders of Fund shares subject to U.S. taxes, higher income taxes. These transaction costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During its fiscal year ended February 29, 2020, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate (excluding short-term investments) was 52% of the average value of its portfolio. That portfolio turnover rate includes investments in U.S. Treasury Fund, which the Fund uses as a short-term investment vehicle for cash management. The Fund’s portfolio turnover rate during its fiscal year ended February 29, 2020, excluding transactions in U.S. Treasury Fund and other short-term investments, was 50% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 52.00%
Expense Example [Heading] rr_ExpenseExampleHeading Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock
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, regardless of whether or not you redeem your shares at the end of such periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same as those shown in the table. The one year amount shown reflects the expense reimbursement noted in the expense table. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading] rr_StrategyHeading Principal investment strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block] rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock
The investment strategies GMO pursues for the Fund are intended to complement the strategies it is pursuing for the other accounts it manages. Accordingly, the Fund is not intended to serve as a standalone investment.

The Fund is a fund of funds and invests in shares of other series of GMO Trust (each, a “GMO Fund”). The Fund may invest in any GMO Fund (collectively, the “underlying GMO Funds”), whether now existing or created in the future. These underlying GMO Funds may include, among others, the Equity Funds, the Fixed Income Funds, the Implementation Funds, and the Alternative Funds (see “Additional Information About the Funds’ Investment Strategies, Risks, and Expenses — Asset Allocation Funds”). The Fund also makes direct investments.

GMO implements the Fund’s strategy by allocating its assets among asset classes (e.g., non-U.S. equity, U.S. equity, emerging country equity, emerging country debt, non-U.S. fixed income, U.S. fixed income and commodities). The Fund is not restricted in its exposure to any particular asset class and at times may invest a substantial portion of its assets in a single asset class (e.g., fixed income). In addition, the Fund is not restricted in its exposure to any particular market, capitalization range, credit quality (i.e. the Fund may invest in below investment grade securities (commonly referred to as “high yield” or “junk bonds”)), or maturity. At times, the Fund may have substantial exposure to a particular country (including emerging and other non-U.S. countries) or group of countries sharing certain economic or other characteristics. GMO does not manage the Fund to, or control the Fund’s risk relative to, any securities index or securities benchmark.

GMO uses its multi-year forecasts of returns among asset classes, together with its assessment of the relative risks of such asset classes, to select the Fund’s investments and to decide how much to invest in each. An important component of those forecasts is GMO’s expectation that valuations ultimately revert to their fundamental fair (or intrinsic) value. GMO changes the Fund’s holdings in response to changes in GMO’s investment outlook and its assessment of market valuations and may use redemptions or purchases of Fund shares to rebalance the Fund’s investments. GMO’s ability to shift investments among the underlying GMO Funds and between underlying GMO Funds and direct investments is not subject to any limits. The Fund may invest substantially all its assets in a few underlying GMO Funds that primarily invest in the same asset class. The Fund also may, at times, invest a substantial portion of its assets in a single underlying GMO Fund. The Fund may invest in derivatives and effect short sales directly or through its investment in underlying GMO Funds. The factors GMO considers and investment methods GMO uses can change over time.

In seeking to achieve the Fund’s investment objective, GMO may invest a significant portion of the Fund’s net assets in cash and cash equivalents. In addition, the Fund may lend its portfolio securities.

The Fund also may invest in U.S. Treasury Fund, in money market funds unaffiliated with GMO, and directly in the types of investments typically held by money market funds.
Risk [Heading] rr_RiskHeading Principal risks of investing in the Fund
Risk Narrative [Text Block] rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock
The value of the Fund’s shares changes with the value of the Fund’s investments. Many factors can affect this value, and you may lose money by investing in the Fund. References to investments include those held directly by the Fund and indirectly through the Fund’s investments in underlying funds (including underlying GMO Funds). Some of the underlying funds are non-diversified investment companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and therefore a decline in the market price of a particular security held by those funds may affect their performance more than if they were diversified investment companies. The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below. For a more complete discussion of these risks, including those risks to which the Fund is exposed as a result of its investments in the underlying funds, see “Additional Information about the Funds’ Investment Strategies, Risks, and Expenses” and “Description of Principal Risks.”

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Management and Operational Risk – The Fund runs the risk that GMO’s investment techniques will fail to produce desired results. GMO uses quantitative models as part of its investment process. GMO’s models may not accurately predict future market movements or characteristics. In addition, they are based on assumptions that can limit their effectiveness, and they rely on data that is subject to limitations (e.g., inaccuracies, staleness) that could adversely affect their predictive value. The Fund also runs the risk that GMO’s assessment of an investment (including a security’s fundamental fair (or intrinsic) value) is wrong or that deficiencies in GMO’s or another service provider’s internal systems or controls will cause losses for the Fund or impair Fund operations.

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Market Risk – Equities – The market price of an equity may decline due to factors affecting the issuer or its industry or the economy and equity markets generally. If an underlying fund purchases an equity for less than its fundamental fair (or intrinsic) value as assessed by GMO, the Fund runs the risk that the market price of the equity will not appreciate or will decline due to GMO’s incorrect assessment. An underlying fund also may purchase equities that typically trade at higher multiples of current earnings than other securities, and the market prices of these equities often are more sensitive to changes in future earnings expectations than the market prices of equities trading at lower multiples. Declines in stock market prices generally are likely to reduce the net asset value of the Fund’s shares.

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Non-U.S. Investment Risk – The market prices of many non-U.S. securities (particularly of companies tied economically to emerging countries) fluctuate more than those of U.S. securities. Many non-U.S. securities markets (particularly emerging markets) are less stable, smaller, less liquid, and less regulated than U.S. securities markets, and the cost of trading in those markets often is higher than in U.S. securities markets. In addition, issuers of non-U.S. securities (particularly those tied economically to emerging countries) often are not subject to as much regulation as U.S. issuers, and the reporting, accounting, custody, and auditing standards to which those issuers are subject often are not as rigorous as U.S. standards. Transactions in non-U.S. securities generally involve higher commission rates, transfer taxes, and custodial costs than similar transactions in U.S. securities. In addition, the Fund may be subject to non-U.S. taxes, potentially on a retroactive basis, on (i) capital gains it realizes or dividends, interest, or other amounts it realizes or accrues in respect of non-U.S. investments; (ii) transactions in those investments; and (iii) repatriation of proceeds generated from the sale or other disposition of those investments. Also, the Fund needs a license to invest directly in securities traded in many non-U.S. securities markets, and the Fund is subject to the risk that it could not invest if its license were terminated or suspended. In some non-U.S. securities markets, prevailing custody and trade settlement practices (e.g., the requirement to pay for securities prior to receipt) expose the Fund to credit and other risks. Further, adverse changes in investment regulations, capital requirements or exchange controls could adversely affect the value of the Fund’s investments. These and other risks (e.g., nationalization, expropriation or other confiscation of assets of non-U.S. issuers, difficulties in obtaining and enforcing legal judgments) tend to be greater for investments in the securities of companies tied economically to emerging countries. The economies of emerging countries may be predominantly based on only a few industries or dependent on revenues from particular commodities, and often are more volatile than the economies of developed countries.

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Market Risk – Fixed Income – The market price of a fixed income investment can decline due to market-related factors, including rising interest rates and widening credit spreads, or decreased liquidity due, for example, to market uncertainty about the value of a fixed income investment (or class of fixed income investments).

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Derivatives and Short Sales Risk – The use of derivatives involves the risk that their value may not change as expected relative to changes in the value of the underlying assets, pools of assets, rates, currencies or indices. Derivatives also present other risks, including market risk, illiquidity risk, currency risk, credit risk, and counterparty risk. The market price of an option is affected by many factors, including changes in the market prices or dividend rates of underlying securities (or in the case of indices, the securities in such indices); the time remaining before expiration; changes in interest rates or exchange rates; and changes in the actual or perceived volatility of the relevant stock market and underlying securities. The Fund may create short investment exposure by selling securities short or by taking a derivative position in which the value of the derivative moves in the opposite direction from the price of an underlying asset, pool of assets, rate, currency or index. The risks of loss associated with derivatives that provide short investment exposure and short sales of securities are theoretically unlimited.

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Futures Contracts Risk – The risk of loss to the Fund resulting from its use of futures contracts is potentially unlimited. Futures markets are highly volatile, and the use of futures contracts increases the volatility of the Fund’s net asset value. A liquid secondary market may not exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time, and the Fund might be unable to effect closing transactions to terminate its exposure to the contract. When the Fund uses futures contracts for hedging purposes, it runs the risk that changes in the prices of the contracts will not correlate perfectly with changes in the securities, index, or other asset underlying the contracts or movements in the prices of the Fund’s investments that are the subject of the hedge. In addition, the Fund may be unable to recover or may be delayed in recovering margin or other amounts deposited with a futures commission merchant or futures clearinghouse. Foreign futures contracts are often less liquid and more volatile than U.S. contracts.

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Credit Risk – The Fund runs the risk that the issuer or guarantor of a fixed income investment or the obligors of obligations underlying an asset-backed security will be unable or unwilling to satisfy their obligations to pay principal and interest or otherwise to honor their obligations in a timely manner. The market price of a fixed income investment will normally decline as a result of the issuer’s, guarantor’s, or obligors’ failure to meet their payment obligations or in anticipation of such failure. Below investment grade investments have speculative characteristics, and negative changes in economic conditions or other circumstances are more likely to impair the ability of issuers of those investments to make principal and interest payments than issuers of investment grade investments.

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Currency Risk – Fluctuations in exchange rates can adversely affect the market value of the Fund’s foreign currency holdings and investments denominated in foreign currencies.

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Fund of Funds Risk – The Fund is indirectly exposed to all of the risks of an investment in the underlying funds (including underlying GMO Funds) in which it invests, including the risk that those underlying funds will not perform as expected. Because the Fund bears the fees and expenses of the underlying funds in which it invests, the increase in fees and expenses of an underlying fund or a reallocation of the Fund’s investments to underlying funds with higher fees or expenses will increase the Fund’s total expenses. The fees and expenses associated with an investment in the Fund are less predictable than those associated with an investment in funds that charge a fixed management fee.

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Commodities Risk – Commodity prices can be extremely volatile, and exposure to commodities can cause the value of the Fund’s shares to decline or fluctuate in a rapid and unpredictable manner.

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Illiquidity Risk – Low trading volume, lack of a market maker, large position size or legal restrictions may limit or prevent the Fund or an underlying fund from selling particular securities or closing derivative positions at desirable prices.

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Leveraging Risk – The use of derivatives, short sales and securities lending creates leverage. Leverage increases the Fund’s losses when the value of its investments (including derivatives) declines. In addition, the Fund’s portfolio will be leveraged if it exercises its right to delay payment on a redemption, and losses will result if the value of the Fund’s assets declines between the time a redemption request is deemed to be received by the Fund and the time the Fund liquidates assets to meet that request.

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Counterparty Risk – The Fund runs the risk that the counterparty to a derivatives contract, a clearing member used by the Fund to hold a cleared derivatives contract, or a borrower of the Fund’s securities is unable or unwilling to make timely settlement payments, return the Fund’s margin or otherwise honor its obligations.

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Smaller Company Risk – Smaller companies may have limited product lines, markets, or financial resources, lack the competitive strength of larger companies, have inexperienced managers or depend on a few key employees. The securities of companies with smaller market capitalizations often are less widely held and trade less frequently and in lesser quantities, and their market prices often fluctuate more, than the securities of companies with larger market capitalizations.

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Market Disruption and Geopolitical Risk – Geopolitical and other events (e.g., wars, pandemics, terrorism) may disrupt securities markets and adversely affect global economies and markets. Those events, as well as other changes in non-U.S. and U.S. economic and political conditions, could reduce the value of the Fund’s investments.

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Market Risk – Asset-Backed Securities – The market price of asset-backed securities, like that of other fixed income investments with complex structures, can decline for a variety of reasons, including market uncertainty about their credit quality and the reliability of their payment streams. Payment streams associated with asset-backed securities held by the Fund depend on many factors (e.g., the cash flow generated by the assets backing the securities, deal structure, creditworthiness of any credit-support provider, and reliability of various other service providers with access to the payment stream), and a problem in any of these factors can lead to a reduction in the payment stream GMO expected the Fund to receive when the Fund purchased the asset-backed security.

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Focused Investment Risk – Investments focused in asset classes, countries, regions, sectors, industries, or issuers that are subject to the same or similar risk factors and investments whose prices are closely correlated are subject to greater overall risk than investments that are more diversified or whose prices are not as closely correlated.

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Large Shareholder Risk – To the extent that a large number of shares of the Fund is held by a single shareholder (e.g., an institutional investor), the Fund is subject to the risk that a redemption by that shareholder of all or a large portion of its Fund shares will require the Fund to sell securities at disadvantageous prices or otherwise disrupt the Fund’s operations.
Risk Lose Money [Text] rr_RiskLoseMoney Many factors can affect this value, and you may lose money by investing in the Fund.
Risk Nondiversified Status [Text] rr_RiskNondiversifiedStatus Some of the underlying funds are non-diversified investment companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and therefore a decline in the market price of a particular security held by those funds may affect their performance more than if they were diversified investment companies.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block] rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock
The bar chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s annual total returns from year to year for the periods indicated and by comparing the Fund’s average annual total returns for different calendar periods with those of the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Treasury Inflation Notes: 1-10 Year Index and the Consumer Price Index. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant if you are tax-exempt or if you hold your Fund shares through tax-advantaged arrangements (such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account). Past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future performance.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text] rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns The bar chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s annual total returns from year to year for the periods indicated and by comparing the Fund’s average annual total returns for different calendar periods with those of the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Treasury Inflation Notes: 1-10 Year Index and the Consumer Price Index.
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text] rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture Past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future performance.
Bar Chart [Heading] rr_BarChartHeading Annual Total Returns/Class III Shares Years Ending December 31
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block] rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock
Highest Quarter: 6.34% (1Q2019)
Lowest Quarter: -6.74% (3Q2015)
Year-to-Date (as of 3/31/20): -18.29%
Year to Date Return, Label rr_YearToDateReturnLabel Year-to-Date
Bar Chart, Year to Date Return, Date rr_BarChartYearToDateReturnDate Mar. 31, 2020
Bar Chart, Year to Date Return rr_BarChartYearToDateReturn (18.29%)
Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel Highest Quarter:
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Mar. 31, 2019
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 6.34%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel Lowest Quarter:
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Sep. 30, 2015
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (6.74%)
Performance Table Heading rr_PerformanceTableHeading Average Annual Total Returns Periods Ending December 31, 2019
Index No Deduction for Fees, Expenses, Taxes [Text] rr_IndexNoDeductionForFeesExpensesTaxes (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.
Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant if you are tax-exempt or if you hold your Fund shares through tax-advantaged arrangements (such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account).
GMO Benchmark-Free Fund | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Treasury Inflation Notes: 1-10 Year Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 6.85%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 2.36%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 1.76%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Jun. 15, 2011
GMO Benchmark-Free Fund | Consumer Price Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 2.28%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 1.83%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 1.66%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Jun. 15, 2011
GMO Benchmark-Free Fund | Class III  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Management fee rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets none [1]
Other expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.09% [2]
Acquired fund fees and expenses (underlying fund expenses) rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets 0.26% [3]
Total annual fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.35%
Expense reimbursement rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.04%) [4]
Total annual fund operating expenses after expense reimbursement (Fund and underlying fund expenses) rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.31%
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 32
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 108
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 192
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 439
Expense Example, No Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01 32
Expense Example, No Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03 108
Expense Example, No Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05 192
Expense Example, No Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10 $ 439
Annual Return 2012 rr_AnnualReturn2012 10.95%
Annual Return 2013 rr_AnnualReturn2013 12.70%
Annual Return 2014 rr_AnnualReturn2014 1.94%
Annual Return 2015 rr_AnnualReturn2015 (3.19%)
Annual Return 2016 rr_AnnualReturn2016 5.41%
Annual Return 2017 rr_AnnualReturn2017 17.06%
Annual Return 2018 rr_AnnualReturn2018 (7.16%)
Annual Return 2019 rr_AnnualReturn2019 13.78%
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 13.78%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 4.76%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 5.89%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Jun. 15, 2011
GMO Benchmark-Free Fund | Class III | Return After Taxes on Distributions  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 12.38%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 3.42%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 4.22%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Jun. 15, 2011
GMO Benchmark-Free Fund | Class III | Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 8.55%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 3.23%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 4.19%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Jun. 15, 2011
[1] Includes both management fee and shareholder service fee. For additional information about the shareholder service fee applicable to Class III of the Fund, please see the table included in the section of the Prospectus entitled "Multiple Classes and Eligibility."
[2] The amount includes interest expense and borrowing costs for investments sold short, and dividend expenses incurred by the Fund as a result of short sales. "Other expenses" (before addition of interest expense and borrowing costs for investments sold short, and dividend expenses on short sales), interest expense and borrowing costs for investments sold short, and dividend expenses on short sales were approximately 0.06%, less than 0.01% and 0.03%, respectively. The Fund also receives income in connection with short sales, which is reflected in the Fund's net income but is not reflected as an offset to dividend expenses on short sales in the Fund's annual fund operating expenses table.
[3] Consists of approximately 0.23% in underlying fund fees and expenses, less than 0.01% in interest expense incurred by underlying funds, and 0.03% in purchase premiums and redemption fees paid to underlying funds.
[4] Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co. LLC ("GMO") has contractually agreed to reimburse the Fund for the following expenses: audit expenses, fund accounting expenses, pricing service expenses, expenses of non-investment related tax services, transfer agency expenses, expenses of non-investment related legal services provided to the Fund by or at the direction of GMO, federal securities law filing expenses, printing expenses, state and federal registration fees, and the Fund's direct non-emerging market custody expenses. This reimbursement will continue through at least June 30, 2021 and may not be terminated prior to this date without the action or consent of the Trust's Board of Trustees.