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GMO Trust | GMO Global Focused Equity Fund
GMO GLOBAL FOCUSED EQUITY FUND
Investment objective
Total return.
Fees and expenses
The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay for each class of shares if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.
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 Global Focused Equity Fund
Class III
Class IV
Management fee [1] 0.60% 0.60%
Shareholder service fee [1] 0.15% 0.10%
Other expenses 2.46% 2.46%
Acquired fund fees and expenses (underlying fund expenses) [2] 0.01% 0.01%
Total annual operating expenses 3.22% 3.17%
Expense reimbursement/waiver [1] (2.38%) (2.38%)
Total annual operating expenses after expense reimbursement/waiver 0.84% 0.79%
[1] Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co. LLC (the "Manager" or "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 the Manager, federal securities law filing expenses, printing expenses, state and federal registration fees and custody expenses. The Manager also has 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 reimbursement and 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.
[2] These indirect expenses include commissions paid to broker-dealers by the Fund for executing transactions in unaffiliated underlying funds ("transaction fees"). Net fees and expenses of underlying funds (before addition of transaction fees) and indirect transaction fees were less than 0.01% and approximately 0.01%, respectively.
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, 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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Expense Example GMO Trust GMO Global Focused Equity Fund (USD $)
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
Class III
86 [1] 769 1,476 3,357
Class IV
81 [1] 754 1,451 3,310
[1] After reimbursement
Expense Example, No Redemption GMO Trust GMO Global Focused Equity Fund (USD $)
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
Class III
86 [1] 769 1,476 3,357
Class IV
81 [1] 754 1,451 3,310
[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 103% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal investment strategies
The Fund may invest directly and indirectly (e.g., through underlying funds or derivatives) in equity investments traded in any of the world’s securities markets, including emerging markets. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests directly and indirectly at least 80% of its assets in equity investments (see “Name Policies”). 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. The Fund is permitted to make equity investments of all types, including equity investments issued by non-U.S. and U.S. companies, growth and value style equities, and equity investments of companies of any market capitalization. In addition, the Fund is not limited in how much it may invest in any market or in the types of equity investments it may make, and it may often invest all its assets in a limited number of countries and/or market capitalization ranges. The Fund could experience material losses from a single investment.

The Fund focuses its investments in a limited number of securities that the Manager believes offer the most attractive investment opportunities in U.S. and non-U.S. equity markets. The Manager does not manage the Fund to, or control the Fund’s risk relative to, any index or benchmark.

The Manager selects investments using value based fundamental analysis that is informed by a disciplined quantitative screening process. The Manager analyzes companies for financial, operational, and managerial strength and compares them to their global, regional, and industry peers. The Manager also considers a company’s accounting and governance practices. As part of the investment process, the Manager frequently meets with management and/or visits companies.

The factors considered and investment methods used by the Manager can change over time.

The Fund may hold up to 20% of its assets in cash or cash equivalents. The Fund may (but is not obligated to) use a wide variety of exchange-traded and over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives, including, without limitation, forward currency contracts, futures and options, as well as exchange-traded funds. The Fund’s non-U.S. currency exposure may differ from the currency exposure of its equity investments. 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.”
  • 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. The Fund is also subject to risk because GMO does not manage the Fund to, or control the Fund’s risk relative to, any index or benchmark.
  • 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.
  • Focused Investment Risk – Focusing investments in countries, regions, sectors, companies, or industries with high positive correlations to one another creates more risk than if the Fund’s investments were less correlated.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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 derivatives and securities lending creates leverage. Leverage increases the Fund’s losses when the value of its investments (including derivatives) declines.
  • 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.
Performance
The bar chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing the Fund’s annual total returns 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. 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
Year Ending December 31
Bar Chart
Highest Quarter: 12.11% (1Q2012)
Lowest Quarter: – 5.70% (2Q2012)
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 Global Focused Equity Fund
1 Year
5 Years
10 Years
Incept.
Inception Date
Class III
20.91%       16.76% Dec. 01, 2011
Class III Return After Taxes on Distributions
20.34%       16.25% Dec. 01, 2011
Class III Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares
14.00%       14.09% Dec. 01, 2011
MSCI ACWI (returns reflect no deduction for fees or expenses, but are net of withholding tax on dividend reinvestments)
16.13%       14.13% Dec. 01, 2011