Strategy. The Fund seeks to achieve long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in a broadly diversified portfolio of equity securities of small capitalization companies based in those countries included in the MSCI All Country World ex-US Small Cap Index (the Index) that are believed to have above-average market appreciation potential. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of the value of its net assets plus borrowings for investment purposes in a broadly diversified portfolio of equity securities of small capitalization companies that are located in countries throughout the world. The Fund generally considers small-cap foreign companies to be those companies with similar market capitalization and located in countries included in the MSCI All Country World ex-US Small Cap Index. … Show more… The Fund seeks to achieve long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in a broadly diversified portfolio of equity securities of small capitalization companies based in those countries included in the MSCI All Country World ex-US Small Cap Index (the Index) that are believed to have above-average market appreciation potential. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of the value of its net assets plus borrowings for investment purposes in a broadly diversified portfolio of equity securities of small capitalization companies that are located in countries throughout the world. The Fund generally considers small-cap foreign companies to be those companies with similar market capitalization and located in countries included in the MSCI All Country World ex-US Small Cap Index. For purposes of the Funds 80% investment policy, equity securities include international equities traded on recognized global exchanges, private placements of equity securities, rights offerings, warrants, ADRs, new issues of equity securities, ETFs that primarily invest in equity securities, and derivatives, primarily index futures with economic characteristics similar to equity securities. The Fund may at times purchase or sell futures contracts on the Index, or options on those futures, in lieu of investing directly in the stocks making up the Index. The Fund might do so, for example, in order to increase its investment exposure pending investment of cash in the stocks comprising the Index. Alternatively, the Fund might use futures or options on futures to reduce its investment exposure in situations where it intends to sell a portion of the stocks in its portfolio but the sale has not yet been completed. In some circumstances, the Fund may purchase ADRs, rather than foreign shares that are traded on foreign exchanges, because the ADRs have greater liquidity or for other reasons. Some of these investments will cause the Fund to be, in part, indirectly exposed to companies that would otherwise be screened out by the Advisers Catholic Responsible Investments screening criteria. Accordingly, the Fund limits such investments to situations where they (a) do not constitute, in the aggregate, more than 5% of the Funds investments at any time, and (b) where the Adviser determines such investments are necessary to achieve the Funds investment objective and when the Adviser believes there are no reasonable alternative investments that exist that are consistent with its Catholic Responsible Investing screening criteria. From time to time, the Fund may also focus its investments in a particular geographic region, such as Europe or Asia. The Fund invests in both developed markets and emerging markets but will not invest in frontier markets. The Fund defines emerging markets countries as countries that are classified by MSCI Emerging Markets Index as emerging markets, and it defines frontier markets countries as countries that are classified by MSCI Frontier Markets Index. The Fund generally invests in at least three different countries, and invest at least 40% of its assets in securities of non-U.S. companies or, if conditions are not favorable, invest at least 30% of its assets in securities of non-U.S. companies. The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of portfolio securities to achieve its principal investment strategies. The Adviser has engaged Mercer Investments LLC (Mercer), the Funds primary sub-adviser, to provide ongoing research, opinions and recommendations of institutional asset managers and their investment funds for consideration by the Adviser, on behalf of the Fund, with respect to sub-adviser selection and portfolio construction. Mercer also provides certain non-advisory services for the Fund. However, Mercer does not have discretionary authority with respect to the investment of the Funds assets. The Adviser, working closely with Mercer and in consideration of its recommendations, uses both a quantitative screening process and qualitative selection process when selecting investments for the Fund to implement its investment strategy. The Adviser and Mercer conduct research on various investment managers and investment options in order to establish a selection of investments to fulfill the Funds investment objectives. Mercers assistance and recommendations for selection of investment funds are made according to asset allocation, return expectations and other guidelines set by the Adviser with oversight of the Board. No assurance can be given that any or all investment strategies, or the Funds investment program, will be successful. The Fund uses a multi-manager approach, relying upon a number of sub-advisers (each, a Sub-Adviser and collectively, the Sub-Advisers) with differing investment philosophies to manage portions of the Funds portfolio under the general supervision of the Adviser. Allspring Global Investments, LLC (Allspring Investments) In managing the portion of the Fund allocated to Allspring Investments, Allspring Investments Special Global Equity team utilizes a disciplined investment process to invest in small-sized companies across the developed markets outside of the U.S., focusing on stocks with attractive reward-to-risk ratios. Allspring Investments focuses on companies that have established operating histories, durable asset bases that provide long-term competitive advantages, flexible balance sheets, and strong sustainable free cash flows. Allspring Investments believes that companies with these characteristics typically control their own destiny and may help insulate the portion of the Funds assets allocated to Allspring Investments from the volatility caused by cyclical earnings swings. The portion of the Fund managed by Allspring Investments is constructed to achieve diversification across regions, sectors, and industries with a goal of consistently generating favorable risk-adjusted returns. Lazard Asset Management LLC (Lazard) Lazard seeks consistency throughout market cycles and relies on a core, bottom-up stock selection approach while avoiding unwanted top-down or macro exposures to achieve this objective. The investment universe for the portion of the Funds assets allocated to Lazard consists of approximately 14,000 developed and emerging-market small cap stocks using an active, quantitatively based investment process that evaluates each companys growth potential, valuation, market sentiment and financial quality on a daily basis relative to global peers. Portfolio risks are managed independently by maintaining exposures that are similar to the benchmark including region, industry, country, capitalization and beta. The active, quantitative approach utilized by Lazards portfolio management team begins by defining the universe of stocks with sufficient liquidity and data to develop a proper analysis. Additional criteria are used to restrict the universe according to the Funds commitment to Catholic Responsible Investing SM . Companies are evaluated daily relative to peers according to Lazards assessment of four independent measures, including growth potential, valuation, market sentiment and financial quality. Companies deemed to have the most attractive rankings will typically receive the largest relative weight. Risk is managed on a benchmark relative basis controlling country, industry, sector, capitalization, beta within prescribed ranges around the benchmark allowing stock selection to determine relative return. The Fund will typically invest the majority of its assets allocated to Lazard in equity securities, including REITs of non-US developed and emerging markets companies. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its assets allocated to Lazard in equity securities. Asset allocation among countries and regions is designed to approximate that of the underlying benchmark, attempting to assure return consistency with the asset class. Lazard will not engage in market timing or make significant shifts between country markets or economic sectors based on their outlook. Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC (Parametric) Parametric is responsible for monitoring and investing cash balances of the Fund allocated to Parametric by the Adviser. Parametric will invest in derivative instruments, such as exchange-listed equity futures contracts, and/or in exchange-traded funds, to gain market exposure on cash balances or to reduce market exposure in anticipation of liquidity needs. Catholic Responsible Investing The Fund will invest its assets in a manner consistent with the components, details and definitions of Catholic Responsible Investing (CRI) as adopted from time to time by the De La Salle Brothers of the Christian Schools. CRI is an investment strategy designed specifically to help investors seek sound financial returns while remaining faithful to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. The components and details of CRI are intended to reflect both the charism (or founding spirit) and the current teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and, as such, the components and details are as adopted from time to time by the De La Salle Brothers of the Christian Schools, currently through the action of its civil entity, the Adviser. CRI blends core Roman Catholic Church teaching with a disciplined, diversified investment process aimed at delivering competitive, risk-adjusted returns over time. Currently, the three components of CRI are Catholic investment screening, active ownership and diversified investment management. For more information about the Funds policy to invest consistent with CRI and these three components, please see the section of the prospectus entitled More Information about the Funds Investment Objectives, Principal Investment Strategies and Principal Risks, Fundamental Investment Policy of Catholic Responsible Investing. As part of the Funds Catholic Responsible Investing Process, the Adviser maintains a master list of global securities that are restricted from inclusion in the Funds portfolio. While the Catholic Responsible Investing screening criteria are designed to exclude certain companies or investments from the potential investment universe because these companies operate businesses deemed inconsistent with Catholic values, the Adviser does not anticipate this reduction to have a material impact on the Funds ability to achieve its investment objective. The Adviser seeks to balance the impact of the Catholic Responsible Investing screening criteria by either overweighting select portfolio holdings or substituting additional holdings so that the Funds overall portfolio composition is adjusted to achieve its investment objective. As a result, Fund performance may be different than a fund with a similar investment strategy that does not invest in accordance with Catholic Responsible Investing screening criteria. Show less