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Managing portfolio
turnover that may result in capital gains and losses |
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Selling tax lots of
securities that have a higher tax basis before selling tax lots of securities that have a lower tax basis The Fund’s investments in fixed income securities are limited to cash equivalents. |
The Fund’s benchmark index is the MSCI EAFE
Index.
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.
Foreign 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; less stringent accounting,
corporate governance, financial reporting and disclosure standards; and less economic, political and social stability in the countries in which the Fund invests. The imposition of exchange controls, 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.
Investment Style Risk. Different investment styles (e.g., “growth,” “value” or
“quantitative”) tend to shift in and out of favor depending upon market and economic conditions and investor sentiment. The Fund may outperform or underperform other funds that invest in similar asset classes but employ different
investment styles.
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 net asset value (“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.
Management Risk. A strategy used by the Investment Adviser may fail to produce the intended results. The Investment Adviser attempts to execute a complex strategy for the Fund using proprietary quantitative models.
Investments selected using these models may perform differently than expected as a result of the factors used in the models, the weight placed on each factor, changes from the factors’ historical trends, and technical issues in the
construction and implementation of
the models (including, for example, data problems and/or software
issues). There is no guarantee that the Investment Adviser’s use of these quantitative models will result in effective investment decisions for the Fund. Additionally, commonality of holdings across quantitative money managers may amplify
losses.
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.
Portfolio Turnover Rate Risk. A high rate of portfolio turnover (100% or more) involves correspondingly greater expenses which must be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.
Stock Risk. Stock prices have historically risen and fallen in periodic cycles. U.S. and foreign stock markets have experienced periods of substantial price volatility in the past and may do so again in
the future.
Tax-Managed Investment Risk. Because the Investment Adviser balances investment considerations and tax considerations, the pretax performance of the Fund may be lower than the performance of similar funds that are not
tax-managed. Even though tax-managed strategies are being used, they may not reduce the amount of taxable income and capital gains distributed by the Fund to shareholders. A high percentage of the Fund’s NAV may consist of unrealized capital
gains, which represent a potential future tax liability to shareholders. The Fund is not suitable for investment by individual retirement accounts, other tax-exempt or tax-deferred accounts or for other investors who are not sensitive to the federal
income tax consequences of their investments.
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 Institutional 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.
Performance reflects applicable fee waivers and/or
expense limitations in effect during the periods shown.
CALENDAR YEAR ( INSTITUTIONAL)