Strategy. The Fund uses a hedged strategy. The Fund invests in long positions in stocks identified by the Adviser as undervalued and takes short positions in stocks that the Adviser has identified as overvalued. The cash proceeds from short sales will be invested in short-term cash instruments to produce a return on such proceeds just below the federal funds rate. Short sales are considered speculative transactions and a form of leverage. The Fund invests, both long and short, in equity securities traded in the United States markets. The Fund may invest in securities of companies operating for three years or less (unseasoned issuers). The Adviser will determine the size of each long or short position by analyzing the tradeoff between the … Show more… The Fund uses a hedged strategy. The Fund invests in long positions in stocks identified by the Adviser as undervalued and takes short positions in stocks that the Adviser has identified as overvalued. The cash proceeds from short sales will be invested in short-term cash instruments to produce a return on such proceeds just below the federal funds rate. Short sales are considered speculative transactions and a form of leverage. The Fund invests, both long and short, in equity securities traded in the United States markets. The Fund may invest in securities of companies operating for three years or less (unseasoned issuers). The Adviser will determine the size of each long or short position by analyzing the tradeoff between the attractiveness of each position and its impact on the risk of the overall portfolio. The Fund seeks to construct a portfolio that has less volatility than the United States equity market generally by investing less than 100% of its assets in net long positions. Although the Fund seeks to follow a hedged strategy, there can be no assurance that the Funds portfolio or investments will be insulated from market moves or effectively hedged against risk. The Fund is non-diversified, and may invest in fewer securities at any one time than a diversified fund. The Adviser uses a value approach to select the Funds long and short investments. Using this investment style, the Adviser seeks securities selling at substantial differences from their underlying values and then holds these securities until the market values reflect what the Adviser believes to be their intrinsic values. The Adviser employs a bottom-up strategy. The Adviser then uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to assess a securitys potential value. The Funds portfolio manager and research team meet with a multitude of companies annually to identify companies with increasing returns on capital in their core businesses which are selling at attractive valuations. Factors the Adviser looks for in selecting long investments include (without limitation): ? Increasing returns on invested capital; ? Companies who have demonstrated an ability to generate high return on invested capital; ? Companies which provide solid cash flows with appropriate capital; ? Potential catalysts such as new products, cyclical upturns and changes in management; and ? Low market valuations relative to earnings forecast, book value, cash flow and sales. Factors the Adviser looks for in selecting short investments include (without limitation): ? Decreasing returns on invested capital; ? Companies persistently generating low returns on investment, well below their cost of capital; ? Companies with persistently negative cash flows; and ? Potential catalysts such as declining growth rates, margin compression, and capital structure deterioration. The Fund pursues its objective by primarily investing, under normal circumstances, in equity securities traded in the United States markets that, at the time of purchase, have a market capitalization that is within the range of the market capitalization of issuers in the Russell 2000 Value Index. As of November 30, 2024, the median market capitalization of the companies in the Russell 2000 Value Index is $836 million and the largest stock is $13.6 billion. The Fund may invest in depositary receipts and equity securities of foreign companies. Although the Fund invests primarily in common stocks (which include both exchange-listed and over-the-counter (OTC) securities), the Fund may invest in all types of equity and equity-related securities, including (without limitation): ? Securities convertible into common stocks. ? Shares of real estate investment trusts (REITs). ? Warrants and rights to purchase common stocks. ? Preferred stocks. ? Shares of other investment companies (including exchanged-traded funds (ETFs)). ? Exchange-traded limited partnerships. Under normal circumstances, the Adviser expects that the Funds long positions will not exceed approximately 100% of the Funds net assets. The Funds long and short positions may involve (without limit) equity securities of foreign issuers that are traded in the markets of the United States. The Fund may also invest up to 20% of its total assets directly in equity securities of foreign issuers. To meet margin requirements, redemptions or pending investments, the Fund may also temporarily hold a portion of its assets in full faith and credit obligations of the United States government and in short-term notes, commercial paper or other money market instruments. The Fund may invest in companies that may experience unusual and possibly unique developments which may create a special opportunity for significant returns. Special situations include: significant technological improvements or important discoveries; reorganizations, recapitalizations or mergers; favorable resolutions of litigation; new management or material changes in company policies; and actual or potential changes in control of a company. The Fund may participate as a purchaser in initial public offerings of securities (IPO). An IPO is a companys first offering of stock to the public. The Fund may (but is not required to) invest in derivatives, including forward contracts and swaps. The Funds investments in derivative instruments may be leveraged and result in losses exceeding the amounts invested. The Fund may invest from time to time a significant portion of its assets in smaller or unseasoned issuers which are more volatile and less liquid than investments in issuers with larger market capitalizations. The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments, including investments that are illiquid by virtue of the absence of a readily available market or legal or contractual restrictions on resale. The Fund may also seek to increase its income by lending portfolio securities. The Adviser will sell a stock when it no longer meets one or more investment criteria, either through obtaining target value or due to an adverse change in fundamentals or business momentum. Each holding has a target valuation established at purchase, which the Adviser constantly monitors and adjusts as appropriate. While the Adviser intends to fully invest the Funds assets at all times in accordance with the above-mentioned policies, the Fund reserves the right to hold up to 100% of its assets, as a temporary defensive measure, in cash and eligible U.S. dollar-denominated money market instruments and make investments inconsistent with its investment objective. The Adviser will determine when market conditions warrant temporary defensive measures. Show less