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Goldman Sachs Local Emerging Markets Debt Fund
Goldman Sachs Local Emerging Markets Debt Fund—Summary
Investment Objective
The Goldman Sachs Local Emerging Markets Debt Fund (the “Fund”) seeks a high level of total return consisting of income and capital appreciation.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. The table does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Institutional Shares of the Fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts on purchases of Class A Shares if you invest at least $100,000 in Goldman Sachs Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in “Shareholder Guide—Common Questions Applicable to the Purchase of Class A Shares” beginning on page 67 and in Appendix C—Additional Information About Sales Charge Variations, Waivers and Discounts on page 134 of the Prospectus and “Other Information Regarding Maximum Sales Charge, Purchases, Redemptions, Exchanges and Dividends” beginning on page B-158 of the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Shareholder Fees - Goldman Sachs Local Emerging Markets Debt Fund
Class A
Class C
Institutional
Investor
Class R6
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) 4.50% none none none none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of the lower of original purchase price or sale proceeds) [1] none 1.00% none none none
[1] A contingent deferred sales charge ("CDSC") of 1% is imposed on Class C Shares redeemed within 12 months of purchase.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses - Goldman Sachs Local Emerging Markets Debt Fund
Class A
Class C
Institutional
Investor
Class R6
Management Fees 0.80% 0.80% 0.80% 0.80% 0.80%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees 0.25% 0.75% none none none
Other Expenses [1] 0.56% 0.81% 0.48% 0.56% 0.47%
Service Fees none 0.25% none none none
All Other Expenses 0.56% 0.56% 0.48% 0.56% 0.47%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 1.61% 2.36% 1.28% 1.36% 1.27%
Fee Waiver and Expense Limitation [2] (0.39%) (0.39%) (0.36%) (0.39%) (0.36%)
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses [3] 1.22% 1.97% 0.92% 0.97% 0.91%
[1] The “Other Expenses” for Class A, Class C, Institutional, Investor, and Class R6 Shares have been restated to reflect expenses expected to be incurred during the current fiscal year.
[2] The Investment Adviser has agreed to (i) waive a portion of its management fee payable by the Fund in an amount equal to any management fees it earns as an investment adviser to the affiliated funds in which the Fund invests; and (ii) reduce or limit "Other Expenses" (excluding acquired fund fees and expenses, transfer agency fees and expenses, service fees, taxes, interest, brokerage fees, expenses of shareholder meetings, litigation and indemnification, and extraordinary expenses) to 0.074% of the Fund's average daily net assets. Additionally, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC ("Goldman Sachs"), the Fund's transfer agent, has agreed to waive a portion of its transfer agency fee (a component of "Other Expenses") equal to 0.03% as an annual percentage rate of the average daily net assets attributable to Class A, Class C and Investor Shares of the Fund. These arrangements will remain in effect through at least July 29, 2021, and prior to such date, the Investment Adviser and Goldman Sachs may not terminate the arrangements without the approval of the Board of Trustees.
[3] After Fee Waiver and Expense Limitation
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 $10,000 in Class A, Class C, Institutional, Investor and/or Class R6 Shares of the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Class A, Class C, Institutional, Investor and/or Class R6 Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same (except that the Example incorporates the fee waiver and expense limitation arrangements for only the first year). The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Institutional Shares of the Fund. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Assuming complete redemption at end of period
Expense Example - Goldman Sachs Local Emerging Markets Debt Fund - USD ($)
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
Class A Shares 569 899 1,252 2,244
Class C Shares 300 699 1,225 2,666
Institutional Shares 94 370 668 1,514
Investor Shares 99 392 707 1,601
Class R6 Shares 93 367 662 1,502
Assuming no redemption
Expense Example, No Redemption
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
Goldman Sachs Local Emerging Markets Debt Fund | Class C Shares | USD ($) 200 699 1,225 2,666
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities or instruments (i.e., “turns over” its portfolio). A high rate of portfolio turnover may result in increased transaction costs, which must be borne by the Fund and its shareholders, and is also likely to result in higher short-term capital gains for taxable shareholders. These costs are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example above, but are reflected in the Fund’s performance. The Fund’s portfolio turnover rate for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2020 was 84% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Strategy
The Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes (measured at the time of purchase) (“Net Assets”) in sovereign and corporate debt securities of issuers in emerging market countries, denominated in the local currency of such emerging market countries, and other instruments, including credit linked notes and other investments, with similar economic exposures.

The Fund’s portfolio managers seek to build a portfolio across the emerging markets debt market consistent with the Fund’s overall risk budget and the views of the Investment Adviser’s Global Fixed Income top-down teams. As market conditions change, the volatility and attractiveness of sectors, securities and strategies can change as well. To optimize the Fund’s risk/return potential within its long-term risk budget, the portfolio managers may dynamically adjust the mix of top-down and bottom-up strategies in the Fund’s portfolio. As part of the Investment Adviser’s fundamental investment process, the Investment Adviser will integrate traditional fundamental factors with environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors. No one factor or consideration is determinative in the fundamental investment process.

The Fund may invest in all types of foreign and emerging country fixed income securities, including the following:
  • Debt issued by governments, their agencies and instrumentalities, or by their central banks, including Brady Bonds;
  • Interests in structured securities;
  • Fixed and floating rate, senior and subordinated corporate debt obligations (such as bonds, debentures, notes and commercial paper);
  • Loan participations; and
  • Repurchase agreements with respect to the foregoing.
Foreign securities include securities of issuers located outside the U.S. or securities quoted or denominated in a currency other than the U.S. Dollar.

Currency investments, particularly longer-dated forward contracts, provide the Fund with economic exposure similar to investments in sovereign and corporate debt with respect to currency and interest rate exposure. The Investment Adviser intends to use structured securities and derivative instruments to attempt to improve the performance of the Fund or to gain exposure to certain countries or currencies in the Fund’s investment portfolio in accordance with its investment objective, and the Fund’s investments in these instruments may be significant. These transactions may result in substantial realized and unrealized capital gains and losses relative to the gains and losses from the Fund’s investments in bonds and other securities.

The Fund may also seek to obtain exposure to fixed income investments through investments in affiliated or unaffiliated investment companies, including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”).

The Fund may invest in securities of any credit rating. The countries in which the Fund invests may have sovereign ratings that are below investment grade or are unrated. Moreover, to the extent the Fund invests in corporate or other privately issued debt obligations, many of the issuers of such obligations will be smaller companies with stock market capitalizations of $1 billion or less at the time of investment. Securities of these issuers may be rated below investment grade (so-called “high yield” or “junk” bonds) or unrated. Although a majority of the Fund’s assets will be denominated in non-U.S. Dollars, the Fund may invest in securities denominated in the U.S. Dollar.

For purposes of the Fund’s policy to invest at least 80% of its Net Assets in securities and instruments of “emerging market country” issuers, the Investment Adviser generally expects a country to be an “emerging market country” if the country is identified as an “emerging market country” in any of the Fund’s benchmark indices. Such countries are likely to be located in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Eastern and Central Europe and Central and South America. Sovereign debt consists of debt securities issued by governments or any of their agencies, political subdivisions or instrumentalities, denominated in the local currency. Sovereign debt may also include nominal and real inflation-linked securities. An emerging market country issuer is an issuer economically tied to an emerging market country.

The Fund’s target duration range under normal interest rate conditions is expected to approximate that of the J.P. Morgan Government Bond Index—Emerging Markets (GBI-EMSM) Global Diversified Index (Gross, USD, Unhedged) plus or minus 2 years, and over the last five years ended June 30, 2020, the duration of this Index has ranged between 4.80 and 5.53 years. “Duration” is a measure of a debt security’s price sensitivity to changes in interest rates. The longer the duration of the Fund (or an individual debt security), the more sensitive its market price to changes in interest rates. For example, if market interest rates increase by 1%, the market price of a debt security with a positive duration of 3 years will generally decrease by approximately 3%. Conversely, a 1% decline in market interest rates will generally result in an increase of approximately 3% of that security’s market price.

The Fund may invest in the aggregate up to 20% of its Net Assets in investments other than emerging country fixed income securities, currency investments and related derivatives, including (without limitation) equity securities and fixed income securities, such as government, corporate and bank debt obligations, of developed country issuers.

The Fund’s benchmark index is the J.P. Morgan Government Bond Index—Emerging Markets (GBI-EMSM) Global Diversified Index (Gross, USD, Unhedged).

THE FUND IS NON-DIVERSIFIED UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940, AS AMENDED (THE “INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT”), AND MAY INVEST A LARGER PERCENTAGE OF ITS ASSETS IN FEWER ISSUERS THAN DIVERSIFIED MUTUAL FUNDS.
Principal Risks of the Fund
Loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) or any government agency. The Fund should not be relied upon as a complete investment program. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. Investments in the Fund involve substantial risks which prospective investors should consider carefully before investing. The Fund’s principal risks are presented below in alphabetical order, and not in the order of importance or potential exposure.
  • Counterparty Risk.  Many of the protections afforded to cleared transactions, such as the security afforded by transacting through a clearinghouse, might not be available in connection with over-the-counter (“OTC”) transactions. Therefore, in those instances in which the Fund enters into uncleared OTC transactions, the Fund will be subject to the risk that its direct counterparty will not perform its obligations under the transactions and that the Fund will sustain losses.
  • Credit/Default Risk.  An issuer or guarantor of fixed income securities or instruments held by the Fund (which may have low credit ratings) may default on its obligation to pay interest and repay principal or default on any other obligation. Additionally, the credit quality of securities may deteriorate rapidly, which may impair the Fund’s liquidity and cause significant deterioration in net asset value (“NAV”). These risks are more pronounced in connection with the Fund’s investments in non-investment grade fixed income securities.
  • Derivatives Risk.  The Fund’s use of structured securities and other derivative instruments may result in losses. These instruments, which may pose risks in addition to and greater than those associated with investing directly in securities, currencies or other instruments, may be illiquid or less liquid, volatile, difficult to price and leveraged so that small changes in the value of underlying instruments may produce disproportionate losses to the Fund. Certain derivatives are also subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the other party in the transaction will not fulfill its contractual obligations. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with investments in more traditional securities and instruments.
  • Foreign and Emerging Countries Risk.  Foreign securities may be subject to risk of loss because of more or less foreign government regulation, less public information, less stringent investor protections and disclosure standards and less economic, political and social stability in the countries in which the Fund invests. The imposition of exchange controls (including repatriation restrictions), sanctions, confiscations, trade restrictions (including tariffs) and other government restrictions by the United States and other governments, or from problems in share registration, settlement or custody, may also result in losses. Foreign risk also involves the risk of negative foreign currency rate fluctuations, which may cause the value of securities denominated in such foreign currency (or other instruments through which the Fund has exposure to foreign currencies) to decline in value. Currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time. These risks may be more pronounced in connection with the Fund’s investments in securities of issuers located in emerging countries.
  • Interest Rate Risk.  When interest rates increase, fixed income securities or instruments held by the Fund will generally decline in value. Long-term fixed income securities or instruments will normally have more price volatility because of this risk than short-term fixed income securities or instruments. The risks associated with changing interest rates may have unpredictable effects on the markets and the Fund’s investments. Fluctuations in interest rates may also affect the liquidity of fixed income securities and instruments held by the Fund.
  • Large Shareholder Transactions Risk.  The Fund may experience adverse effects when certain large shareholders purchase or redeem large amounts of shares of the Fund. Such large shareholder redemptions, which may occur rapidly or unexpectedly, may cause the Fund to sell portfolio securities at times when it would not otherwise do so, which may negatively impact the Fund’s NAV and liquidity. Similarly, large Fund share purchases may adversely affect the Fund’s performance to the extent that the Fund is delayed in investing new cash or otherwise maintains a larger cash position than it ordinarily would. These transactions may also accelerate the realization of taxable income to shareholders if such sales of investments resulted in gains, and may also increase transaction costs. In addition, a large redemption could result in the Fund’s current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the Fund’s expense ratio.
  • Liquidity Risk.  The Fund may make investments that are illiquid or that may become less liquid in response to market developments or adverse investor perceptions. Illiquid investments may be more difficult to value. Liquidity risk may also refer to the risk that the Fund will not be able to pay redemption proceeds within the allowable time period because of unusual market conditions, an unusually high volume of redemption requests or other reasons. To meet redemption requests, the Fund may be forced to sell securities at an unfavorable time and/or under unfavorable conditions. Liquidity risk may be the result of, among other things, the reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in fixed income securities or the lack of an active market. The potential for liquidity risk may be magnified by a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances where investor redemptions from fixed income funds may be higher than normal, potentially causing increased supply in the market due to selling activity. These risks may be more pronounced in connection with the Fund’s investments in securities of issuers located in emerging market countries. Redemptions by large shareholders may have a negative impact on the Fund’s liquidity.
  • Market Risk.  The value of the securities in which the Fund invests may go up or down in response to the prospects of individual companies, particular sectors or governments and/or general economic conditions throughout the world due to increasingly interconnected global economies and financial markets. Events such as war, acts of terrorism, social unrest, natural disasters, the spread of infectious illness or other public health threats could also significantly impact the Fund and its investments.
  • Non-Diversification Risk.  The Fund is non-diversified, meaning that it is permitted to invest a larger percentage of its assets in fewer issuers than diversified mutual funds. Thus, the Fund may be more susceptible to adverse developments affecting any single issuer held in its portfolio, and may be more susceptible to greater losses because of these developments.
  • Non-Hedging Foreign Currency Trading Risk.  The Fund may engage in forward foreign currency transactions for both hedging and non-hedging purposes. The Fund’s Investment Adviser may purchase or sell foreign currencies through the use of forward contracts based on the Investment Adviser’s judgment regarding the direction of the market for a particular foreign currency or currencies. In pursuing this strategy, the Investment Adviser seeks to profit from anticipated movements in currency rates by establishing “long” and/or “short” positions in forward contracts on various foreign currencies. Foreign exchange rates can be extremely volatile and a variance in the degree of volatility of the market or in the direction of the market from that anticipated by the Investment Adviser may produce significant losses to the Fund. Some of these transactions may also be subject to interest rate risk.
  • Non-Investment Grade Fixed Income Securities Risk.  Non-investment grade fixed income securities and unrated securities of comparable credit quality (commonly known as “junk bonds”) are considered speculative and are subject to the increased risk of an issuer’s inability to meet principal and interest payment obligations. These securities may be subject to greater price volatility due to such factors as specific issuer developments, interest rate sensitivity, negative perceptions of the junk bond markets generally and less liquidity.
  • Other Investment Companies Risk.  By investing in other investment companies (including ETFs) indirectly through the Fund, investors will incur a proportionate share of the expenses of the other investment companies held by the Fund (including operating costs and investment management fees) in addition to the fees regularly borne by the Fund. In addition, the Fund will be affected by the investment policies, practices and performance of such investment companies in direct proportion to the amount of assets the Fund invests therein.
  • Sovereign Default Risk.  An issuer of non-U.S. sovereign debt held by the Fund or the governmental authorities that control the repayment of the debt may be unable or unwilling to repay the principal or interest when due. This may result from political or social factors, the general economic environment of a country, levels of foreign debt or foreign currency exchange rates.
Performance
The bar chart and table below provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing: (a) changes in the performance of the Fund’s Class A Shares from year to year; and (b) how the average annual total returns of the Fund’s Class A, Class C, Institutional, Investor and Class R6 Shares compare to those of a broad-based securities market index. The Fund’s past performance, before and after taxes, is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at no cost at www.gsamfunds.com/performance or by calling the appropriate phone number on the back cover of the Prospectus.

The bar chart (including “Best Quarter” and “Worst Quarter” information) does not reflect the sales loads applicable to Class A Shares. If the sales loads were reflected, returns would be less. Performance reflects applicable fee waivers and/or expense limitations in effect during the periods shown.
TOTAL RETURN CALENDAR YEAR (CLASS A)
Bar Chart
The total return for Class A Shares for the six-month period ended June 30, 2020 was –8.73%.

Best Quarter
Q3 ‘10              +11.67%

Worst Quarter
Q2 ‘18              –14.30%
AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN For the period ended December 31, 2019
Average Annual Total Returns - Goldman Sachs Local Emerging Markets Debt Fund
1 Year
5 Years
10 Years
Since Inception
Inception Date
Class A Shares 7.42% 0.30% 1.07%  
Class A Shares | Returns After Taxes on Distributions 6.12% (1.34%) (0.72%)  
Class A Shares | Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares 4.36% (0.53%) 0.13%  
Class A Shares | J.P. Morgan Government Bond Index—Emerging Markets (GBI-EM℠) Global Diversified Index (Gross, USD, Unhedged) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 13.47% 2.78% 2.71%  
Class C Shares 10.71% 0.39% 0.73%  
Class C Shares | J.P. Morgan Government Bond Index—Emerging Markets (GBI-EM℠) Global Diversified Index (Gross, USD, Unhedged) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 13.47% 2.78% 2.71%  
Institutional Shares 12.94% 1.48% 1.83%  
Institutional Shares | J.P. Morgan Government Bond Index—Emerging Markets (GBI-EM℠) Global Diversified Index (Gross, USD, Unhedged) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 13.47% 2.78% 2.71%  
Investor Shares 12.86% 1.45% 0.95% Jul. 30, 2010
Investor Shares | J.P. Morgan Government Bond Index—Emerging Markets (GBI-EM℠) Global Diversified Index (Gross, USD, Unhedged) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 13.47% 2.78% 1.93% Jul. 30, 2010
Class R6 Shares [1] 12.95% 1.48% 1.83%  
Class R6 Shares | J.P. Morgan Government Bond Index—Emerging Markets (GBI-EM℠) Global Diversified Index (Gross, USD, Unhedged) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) [1] 13.47% 2.78% 2.71%  
[1] Class R6 Shares commenced operations on November 30, 2017. Prior to that date, the performance of Class R6 Shares shown in the table above is that of Institutional Shares. Performance has not been adjusted to reflect the lower expenses of Class R6 Shares. Class R6 Shares would have had higher returns because: (i) Institutional Shares and Class R6 Shares represent interests in the same portfolio of securities; and (ii) Class R6 Shares have lower expenses.
The after-tax returns are for Class A Shares only. The after-tax returns for Class C, Institutional, Investor and Class R6 Shares will vary. 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 an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. In addition, the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.