EGBAX Eagle Series Trust, Eagle Investment Grade Bond Fund Class A (MM)

 

Investment objective | The Eagle International Equity Fund (“International Equity Fund” or the “fund”) seeks capital appreciation principally through investment in a portfolio of international equity securities.

 

Fees and expenses of the fund | The tables that follow describe the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the International Equity Fund. You may qualify for sales discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000 in the Class A shares of the Eagle Family of Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional, on page 8 of the fund’s Prospectus and on page 25 of the fund’s Statement of Additional Information.

 

(a) If you purchased $1,000,000 or more of Class A shares of an Eagle mutual fund that were not otherwise eligible for a sales charge waiver and sell the shares within 18 months from the date of purchase, you may pay up to a 1% contingent deferred sales charge at the time of sale.

(b) As the fund’s asset levels change, the fund’s fees and expenses may differ from those reflected in the preceding table. For example, as asset levels decline, expense ratios may increase. Eagle Asset Management, Inc. (“Eagle”) has contractually agreed to waive its investment advisory fee and/or reimburse certain expenses of the fund to the extent that annual operating expenses of each class exceed a percentage of that class’ average daily net assets through February 28, 2014 as follows: Class A - 1.75%, Class C - 2.55%, Class I - 1.15%, Class R-3 - 1.75%, Class R-5 - 1.15%, and Class R-6 - 1.05%. This expense limitation excludes interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, costs relating to investments in other investment companies, dividends, and extraordinary expenses, and includes offset expense arrangements with the fund’s custodian. The Board of Trustees may agree to change fee limitations or reimbursements without the approval of fund shareholders. Any reimbursement of fund expenses or reduction in Eagle’s investment advisory fees is subject to reimbursement by the fund within the following two fiscal years, if overall expenses fall below the lesser of its then current expense cap or the expense cap in effect at the time of the fund reimbursement.

 

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 the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your 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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

Portfolio turnover | The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 72% of the average value of its portfolio.

 

Principal investment strategies | During normal market conditions, the International Equity Fund seeks to achieve its objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in the equity securities of foreign issuers and depository receipts representing the securities of foreign issuers. The fund invests primarily in equity securities of foreign companies that the portfolio managers believe have the potential to capitalize on worldwide growth trends and global changes. The fund may invest in securities traded on any securities market in the world. Equity securities include common and preferred stocks,

 

Summary of International Equity Fund  2.28.2013

 

 

Principal risks | The greatest risk of investing in this fund is that you could lose money. The fund invests primarily in common stocks whose values increase and decrease in response to the activities of the companies that issued such stocks, general market conditions and/or economic conditions. As a result, the fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) also increases and decreases. Investments in this fund are subject to the following primary risks:

 

●	Derivative risk is the risk that the strategy used in purchasing futures contracts, forward foreign currency contracts and options on futures may not succeed;
●	Emerging markets risk arises because emerging markets are generally smaller, less developed, less liquid and more volatile than the securities markets of the U.S. and other developed markets. Additionally, risk arises because investing in emerging markets has greater social, political and economic uncertainty, dependence on foreign aid and a limited number of buyers;
●	Foreign security risk is the risk of instability in currency exchange rates, political unrest, economic conditions, custodial arrangements or foreign law changes;
●	Growth stock risk is the risk of a lack of earnings increase or lack of dividend yield;
●	Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of a fund’s investments in fixed income securities will fall when interest rates rise. The effect of increasing interest rates is more pronounced for any intermediate- or longer-term fixed income obligations owned by the fund;
●	Liquidity risk is the possibility that, during times of widespread market turbulence, trading activity in certain securities may be significantly hampered, which may reduce the returns of the fund because it may be unable to sell the securities at an advantageous price or time;
●	Market timing risk arises because certain types of securities in which the fund invests, including foreign securities, could cause the fund to be at greater risk of market timing activities by fund shareholders;
●	Mid-cap company risk arises because mid-cap companies may have narrower commercial markets, limited managerial and financial resources, and more volatile performance, compared to larger, more established companies;
●	Investing in other investment companies and exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) carries with it the risk that, by investing in another investment company or ETF, the fund, and therefore its shareholders, indirectly bear the fund’s proportionate share of the fees and expenses paid by shareholders of the other investment company or ETF, in addition to the fees and expenses fund shareholders directly bear in connection with the fund’s own operations;
●	Precious metal-related instruments can fluctuate due to economic cycles, the devaluation of currency, changes in inflation and interest rates and government regulation of metal sales;
●	Sector risk is the risk of a fund holding a core portfolio of stocks invested in similar businesses which could all be affected by the same economic or market conditions; and
●	Stock market risk is the risk of broad stock market decline or decline in particular holdings.

 

Performance | The bar chart that follows illustrates annual fund returns for the periods ended December 31. The table that follows compares the fund’s returns for various periods with benchmark returns. This information is intended to give you some indication of the risk of investing in the fund by demonstrating how its returns have varied over time. The bar chart shows the fund’s Class A share performance from one year to another. The fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future. To obtain more current performance data as of the most recent month-end, please visit our website at eagleasset.com.

 

 

No performance information is presented for Class R-6 shares because Class R-6 shares have not yet commenced operations for this fund. If and when Class R-6 shares commence operations for this fund, current performance data as of the most recent month-end may be found on our website at eagleasset.com.

 

After-tax returns are calculated using the historically 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. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns are shown for Class A only and after-tax returns for Class C, Class I, Class R-3, Class R-5, and Class R-6 will vary. The return after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of fund shares at the end of the measurement period.

 

Investment Adviser | Eagle Asset Management, Inc., is the fund’s investment adviser.

 

Subadviser | Artio Global Management, LLC (“Artio”) serves as the subadviser to the fund.

 

Portfolio Managers | Richard C. Pell and Rudolph-Riad Younes, CFA®, have shared responsibility for the day-to-day management of the fund since 2002. Mr. Pell is Chief Investment Officer of Artio and Mr. Younes is Head of International Equities at Artio.

 

Purchase and sale of fund shares | The fund will stop accepting purchases on March 15, 2013.  After such date, the fund will begin an orderly transition of its portfolio to cash and cash equivalents and will no longer be pursuing its investment objective.  On or about April 26, 2013, the fund will liquidate its remaining assets and distribute cash pro rata to all remaining shareholders who have not previously redeemed or exchanged all of their shares.

 

Until March 15, 2013, you may purchase, redeem, or exchange Class A, C and I shares of the fund on any business day through your financial intermediary, by mail at Eagle Family of Funds, c/o U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, P.O. Box 701, Milwaukee, WI 53201-0701 (for regular mail) or 615 East Michigan Street, Third Floor, Milwaukee, WI, 53202 (for overnight service), or by telephone (800.421.4184). In Class A and Class C shares, the minimum purchase amount is $1,000 for regular accounts, $500 for retirement accounts and $50 through a periodic investment program, with a minimum subsequent investment plan of $50 per month. For individual investors, the minimum initial purchase for Class I shares is $2,500,000, while fee-based plan sponsors set their own minimum requirements. Class R-3 and Class R-5 shares can only be purchased through a participating retirement plan and the minimum initial purchase for Class R-3 shares and Class R-5 shares is set by the plan administrator. Class R-6 shares can only be purchased through a qualifying retirement plan or Section 529 college savings plan. To be eligible, shares must be held through plan administrator level or omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund. The minimum initial purchase amount for individual investors is set by the plan administrator.

 

Tax information | The dividends you receive from the fund will be taxed as ordinary income or net capital gain (i.e., the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss) unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case you may be subject to federal income tax on withdrawals from such tax-deferred arrangement.

 

Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries | If you purchase the fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 

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