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GMO Trust | GMO Taiwan Fund
GMO TAIWAN FUND
Investment objective
Total return in excess of that of its benchmark, the MSCI Taiwan Index.
Fees and expenses
The tables below describe 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)
Shareholder Fees
GMO Trust
GMO Taiwan Fund
Class III
Purchase premium (as a percentage of amount invested) 0.15%
Redemption fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed) 0.45%
Annual Fund operating expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
GMO Trust
GMO Taiwan Fund
Class III
Management fee [1] 0.81%
Shareholder service fee [1] 0.15%
Other expenses 0.42%
Acquired fund fees and expenses (underlying fund expenses) 0.01%
Total annual operating expenses 1.39%
[1] Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co. LLC (the "Manager" or "GMO") has contractually agreed to waive or reduce the Fund's management fees and shareholder service fees to the extent necessary to offset the management fees and shareholder service fees directly or indirectly paid to the Manager as a result of the Fund's direct or indirect investments in other GMO Funds. Management fees and shareholder service fees will not be waived below zero. This waiver will continue through at least June 30, 2014, and may not be terminated prior to this date without the action or consent of the Fund's Board of Trustees.
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. 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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
If you sell your shares
Expense Example (USD $)
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
GMO Trust GMO Taiwan Fund Class III
203 [1] 504 828 1,745
[1] After reimbursement
If you do not sell your shares
Expense Example, No Redemption (USD $)
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
GMO Trust GMO Taiwan Fund Class III
156 [1] 454 774 1,681
[1] After reimbursement
Portfolio turnover
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, when Fund shares are held in a taxable account, higher taxes. These 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 28, 2013, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate (excluding short-term investments) was 156% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal investment strategies
The Fund typically makes equity investments directly and indirectly (e.g., through underlying funds or derivatives) in companies doing business in or otherwise tied economically to Taiwan. The Fund may invest in companies of any market capitalization. The term “equity investments” refers to direct and indirect investments in common stocks and other stock-related securities, such as preferred stocks, convertible securities, depositary receipts, and exchange-traded equity real estate investment trusts (REITs) and income trusts. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests directly and indirectly at least 80% of its assets in investments tied economically to Taiwan (see “Name Policies”).

The Manager uses proprietary quantitative techniques and fundamental analysis to evaluate and select sectors and equity investments based on factors including, but not limited to, valuation and patterns of price movement or price volatility, the Manager’s assessment of a sector’s fundamentals as well as a company’s positioning relative to its competitors. The Manager also adjusts the Fund’s portfolio for factors such as position size, market capitalization, and exposure to factors such as industry, sector, country, or currency. The factors considered and investment methods used by the Manager can change over time.

The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in securities of issuers in industries with high positive correlations to one another (e.g., different industries within broad sectors, such as technology or financial services).

As a substitute for direct investments in equities, the Fund may use exchange-traded and over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives and exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”). The Fund also may use derivatives and ETFs: (i) in an attempt to reduce investment exposures (which may result in a reduction below zero); (ii) in an attempt to adjust elements of the Fund’s investment exposure; and (iii) as a substitute for securities lending. Derivatives used may include options, futures, warrants, swap contracts, and reverse repurchase agreements. The Fund’s non-U.S. currency exposure may differ from the currency exposure represented by its equity investments.

In addition, the Fund may take active overweighted and underweighted positions in particular currencies relative to its benchmark. In addition, the Fund may lend its portfolio securities.

The Fund also may invest in U.S. Treasury Fund and money market funds that are unaffiliated with GMO.
Principal risks of investing in the Fund
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. The Fund is a non-diversified investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and therefore a decline in the market price of a particular security held by the Fund may affect the Fund’s performance more than if the Fund were a diversified investment company. The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below. For a more complete discussion of these risks, see “Description of Principal Risks.”
  • Market Risk – Equities – The market prices of equities may decline due to factors affecting the issuing companies, their industries, or the economy and equity markets generally. If the Fund purchases equities at a discount from their value as determined by the Manager, the Fund runs the risk that the market prices of these investments will not appreciate or will decline for a variety of reasons, one of which may be the Manager’s overestimation of the value of those investments. The Fund also may purchase equities that typically trade at higher multiples of current earnings than other securities, and the market prices of these investments 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.
  • Non-U.S. Investment Risk – The market prices of many non-U.S. securities fluctuate more than those of U.S. securities. Many non-U.S. markets are less stable, smaller, less liquid, and less regulated than U.S. markets, and the cost of trading in those markets often is higher than in U.S. markets. Non-U.S. portfolio transactions generally involve higher commission rates, transfer taxes, and custodial costs than similar transactions in the U.S. In addition, the Fund may be subject to non-U.S. taxes, including potentially on a retroactive basis, on (i) capital gains it realizes or dividends or interest it receives on non-U.S. investments, (ii) transactions in those investments, and (iii) the repatriation of proceeds generated from the sale of those investments. Also, many non-U.S. markets require a license for the Fund to invest directly in those 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. 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 with respect to participating brokers, custodians, clearing banks or other clearing agents, escrow agents and issuers. 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) tend to be greater for investments in companies tied economically to emerging countries, the economies of which tend to be more volatile than the economies of developed countries. Certain characteristics of Taiwan’s economy and geographic location also subject the Fund to risks. For example, Taiwan is a small island state with few raw material resources and limited land area and thus it relies heavily on imports for its commodity needs. Any fluctuations or shortages in the commodity markets could have a negative impact on the Taiwanese economy. Also, rising labor costs and increasing environmental consciousness have led some labor-intensive industries to relocate to countries with cheaper work forces, and continued labor outsourcing may adversely affect the Taiwanese economy. Taiwan’s economy also is intricately linked with economies of Asian countries that have experienced over-extensions of credit, frequent and pronounced currency fluctuations, currency devaluations, currency repatriation, rising unemployment, and fluctuations in inflation. Currency devaluations in any one country can have a significant effect on the entire region. Political and social unrest in Asian countries could cause further economic and market uncertainty in Taiwan. In particular, the Taiwanese economy is dependent on the economies of Japan and China, and also the United States, and a reduction in purchases by any of them of Taiwanese products and services or negative changes in their economies would likely have an adverse impact on the Taiwanese economy. Taiwan’s geographic proximity to China and Taiwan’s history of political contention with China have resulted in ongoing tensions with China, including the risk of war with China. These tensions may materially affect the Taiwanese economy and securities markets. All of these risks could reduce the value of an investment in Taiwan Fund.
  • Currency Risk – Fluctuations in exchange rates can adversely affect the market value of the Fund’s non-U.S. currency holdings and investments denominated in non-U.S. currencies.
  • Focused Investment Risk – Focusing investments in countries, regions, sectors, companies, or industries with high positive correlations to one another, such as the Fund’s investments tied economically to Taiwan, creates more risk than if the Fund’s investments were less correlated.
  • Market Disruption and Geopolitical Risk – Geopolitical and other events 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 adversely affect the value of the Fund’s investments.
  • 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 or another GMO Fund) or a group of shareholders with a common investment strategy (e.g., GMO asset allocation accounts), the Fund is subject to the risk that a redemption by those shareholders of all or a large portion of their Fund shares will disrupt the Fund’s operations.
  • Management and Operational Risk – The Fund runs the risk that GMO’s investment techniques will fail to produce desired results. The Fund’s portfolio managers may use quantitative analyses and models, and any imperfections, errors, or limitations in those analyses and models could affect the ability of the portfolio managers to implement the Fund’s strategies. By necessity, these analyses and models make simplifying assumptions that limit their efficacy. Models that appear to explain prior market data can fail to predict future market events. Further, the data used in models may be inaccurate and may not include the most recent information about a company or a security. The Fund also runs the risk that GMO’s assessment of an investment may be 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.
  • Liquidity Risk – Low trading volume, lack of a market maker, large position size, or legal restrictions may limit or prevent the Fund from selling particular securities or unwinding derivative positions at desirable prices.
  • Smaller Company Risk – Smaller companies may have limited product lines, markets, or financial resources, may lack the competitive strength of larger companies, or may lack managers with experience or depend on a few key employees. The securities of small- and mid-cap companies 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.
  • 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 will be unable or unwilling to make timely settlement payments, return the Fund’s margin or otherwise honor its obligations.
  • Derivatives Risk – The use of derivatives involves the risk that their value may not move as expected relative to the value of the underlying assets, rates, or indices. Derivatives also present other risks, including market risk, liquidity risk, currency risk, and counterparty risk.
  • Leveraging Risk – The use of reverse repurchase agreements and other derivatives and securities lending creates leverage. Leverage increases the Fund’s losses when the value of its investments (including derivatives) declines.
  • Fund of Funds Risk – The Fund is indirectly exposed to all of the risks of an investment in the underlying funds in which it invests, including the risk that those underlying funds (including ETFs) will not perform as expected.
Performance
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 a broad-based index. Purchase premiums and redemption fees are not reflected in the bar chart, but are reflected in the table; as a result, the returns in the table are lower than the returns in the bar chart. Returns in the table reflect current purchase premiums and redemption fees. 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-deferred arrangements (such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account). Past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future performance.
Annual Total Returns/Class III Shares
Years Ending December 31
Bar Chart
Highest Quarter: 22.85% (3Q2010)
Lowest Quarter: – 23.74% (4Q2008)
Year-to-Date (as of 3/31/13): 1.47%
Average Annual Total Returns
Periods Ending December 31, 2012
Average Annual Total Returns GMO Trust GMO Taiwan Fund
1 Year
5 Years
10 Years
Incept.
Inception Date
Class III
10.95% 2.96% 8.69% 8.49% Oct. 04, 2002
Class III Return After Taxes on Distributions
[1] 10.82% 2.48% 7.38% 7.21% Oct. 04, 2002
Class III Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares
[1] 8.20% 2.66% 7.43% 7.26% Oct. 04, 2002
MSCI Taiwan Index (returns reflect no deduction for fees or expenses, but are net of withholding tax on dividend reinvestments)
16.68% 1.54% 8.73% 9.59% Oct. 04, 2002
[1] For periods prior to the public offering of the Fund's shares, which began on October 29, 2009, the Fund's after-tax returns reflect dividends that included certain non-deductible investment expenses.