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Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
  • Portfolio Withdrawal Strategies
    I did not realize that you are supposed to invest 100% of your retirement accounts with equities. I never have. In fact equity %age in my retirement accounts is far lower than in my taxable accounts - not saying that is the right strategy, just stating facts. I could be completely wrong in my approach but my favoring taxable accounts for equity allocation has to do with expected lower tax rates on cap gains vs ordinary income and mutual fund distributions vs ETF distributions. I never had any equity or allocation mutual funds in my taxable accounts. It will be good to start a thread asking forum to share their %age equity in retirement vs taxable accounts.
  • Portfolio Withdrawal Strategies
    Thanks for your comments Old_Joe.
    Your retirement planning yielded excellent results!
    My primary reason for starting this thread was to learn more about various portfolio withdrawal strategies.
    I plan to retire relatively soon and wanted to see how others handled portfolio withdrawals in retirement.
  • Portfolio Withdrawal Strategies
    MikeM said- "I personally won't be taking 5% because I don't need to, but the thought of taking 3% sure sounds safer."
    And of course the key words there are "because I don't need to". So it's evident that there really is no percentage "rule" that fits everyone. Everyone's portfolio is different and everyone's needs are different. We, for example, have been retired over 20 years, are in our 80's, and have yet to need to take any percent from our portfolio/savings. In fact that has grown significantly since retirement.
    Neither of us came from wealth- I retired as a radio tech and my wife as a teacher. We both were super fortunate to have pensions and SS retirement income. But we began planning for retirement in 1970, and were very careful about expenditures. Being blessed (so far) with good health is a really major factor also.
    To reiterate: everyone's needs are different. There is no one percentage that fits all.
  • Portfolio Withdrawal Strategies
    "M only regret about my early financial decisions is not having our retirement accounts 100 % inequities when I was in my 30s and 40s. But I wanted to sleep at night!"
    I also was not 100% invested in equities during my 30s and 40s.
    Taking risk tolerance into consideration, it can be beneficial to construct
    a portfolio that an investor is comfortable with to decrease anxiety.
  • Portfolio Withdrawal Strategies
    In general, models like these are helpful to me, but I rarely do exactly what they recommend
    It is difficult I have found to accurately predict what your spending will be in retirement. I ran multiple [plans over the years but the reality in retirement has proven most of them were too high, especially when you look at just the necessities, ie food utilities rent and insurance
    One of the reasons we have adequate savings in retirement is we were rather frugal when we were working. We splured only on the kid's education which paid of. Small house, cheap cars camping vacations mean we don't have to worry about running out of money.
    M only regret about my early financial decisions is not having our retirement accounts 100 % inequities when I was in my 30s and 40s. But I wanted to sleep at night!
  • Portfolio Withdrawal Strategies
    "Investors have been conditioned for decades to believe they can withdraw only 4% a year
    through a theoretical 30-year retirement, adjusted for inflation."

    "But several studies and retirement experts now view 4% as too conservative and inflexible.
    J.P. Morgan, in a recent report, recommended about 5%.
    David Blanchett, who has a doctorate in personal financial planning and has studied retirement withdrawal rates for years, says 5% 'is a much better starting place, given today’s economic reality and people’s flexibility.'”

    "The inventor of the 4% rule agrees.
    Retired financial planner Bill Bengen tells Barron’s he is revising his benchmark in an upcoming book,
    and that a rate 'very close to 5%' may be warranted."

    This article (link below) places too much emphasis on bucket strategies.
    While a formal bucket strategy can be beneficial for certain investors, it is not essential.
    The "4% rule" is not an ironclad rule - it's only a decent starting point for retirement withdrawal rates.
    1) What are your thoughts regarding retirement withdrawal rates of ~5% for the general population?
    2) Which withdrawal strategy do you utilize and why:
    a) fixed real withdrawal amount (FRWA); b) FRWA which skips inflation adjustment after annual portfolio loss;
    c) RMD method using IRS Life Expectancy Tables; d) "guardrails" plan developed by Guyton and Klinger;
    e) other strategy.
    Portfolio Withdrawal Strategies
  • BCM Focus Small/Micro-Cap Fund will be liquidated
    https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1950357/000121390024076311/ea0213708-01_497.htm
    97 1 ea0213708-01_497.htm 497
    BCM FOCUS FUNDS
    As to its Separate Series
    BCM FOCUS SMALL/MICRO-CAP FUND
    Supplement dated September 6, 2024
    to the Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information dated February 27, 2024
    This Supplement to the Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information for the BCM Focus Small/Micro-Cap Fund, a series of the BCM Focus Funds (the “Trust”), updates the Prospectus for the BCM Focus Small/Micro-Cap Fund, and the Statement of Additional Information for the Trust dated February 27, 2024, to amend certain information as described below.
    NOTICEOF LIQUIDATION
    OF THE BCM FOCUS SMALL/MICRO-CAP FOCUS FUND
    At a meeting of the Board of Trustees held on August 23, 2024, upon the recommendation of Bares Capital Management, Inc., the Fund’s Investment Advisor, the Board of Trustees (the “Board”), including all the independent trustees of the BCM Focus Funds (the “Trust”), as such is defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, unanimously approved a proposal to liquidate the BCM Focus Small/Micro-Cap Fund (the “Fund”) pursuant to a “Plan of Liquidation”. After careful consideration of several factors which they deemed relevant to their making the decision whether to liquidate the Fund, the Board concluded that it is in the best interest of the Fund and its shareholders to liquidate the Fund. The Board, therefore, approved that the Fund is to be liquidated on or about October 11, 2024 (the “Liquidation Date”). The Liquidation Date may be changed without notice at the discretion of the Trust’s officers.
    Suspension of Sales. Shares of the Fund will close to new purchases as of the close of the market on the date of this Supplement and the Fund will begin an orderly dissolution. To the extent there are any dividend or distribution payments made prior to the Liquidation Date, they will continue to be paid either in cash or in additional shares of the Fund, depending on each shareholder’s current election, as disclosed in the Prospectus. The Fund reserves the right to change this policy at any time.
    Liquidation of Assets. The Fund may depart from its stated investment objective and policies as it prepares to liquidate and distribute its assets to its shareholders. It is anticipated that beginning at the close of the market on the date of this supplement the Fund’s portfolio will be positioned into cash, cash equivalents or other liquid assets. Shareholders who remain in the Fund until the Liquidation Date will automatically receive, promptly following the Liquidation Date, a liquidation distribution equal to the net asset value of the shares of the Fund that such shareholder then holds plus, accrued and unpaid earnings of the Fund at the time of liquidation. The liquidation of the Fund’s portfolio is likely to result in increased transaction costs, which may be borne by the Fund and its shareholders and may result in higher capital gains for taxable shareholders. Shareholders should contact their tax advisers concerning the tax consequences of the liquidation.
    The liquidation of the Fund may result in one or more taxable events for shareholders subject to federal income tax. The redemption of shares prior to the Liquidation Date will generally cause a redeeming shareholder to realize a capital gain or loss depending on the shareholder’s tax basis in the shares. Similarly, liquidation proceeds paid to a shareholder as of (or prior to) the Liquidation Date will generally give rise to capital gains or capital losses depending on the shareholder’s tax basis in the shares. In addition, on or prior to the Liquidation Date, the Fund may declare taxable distributions attributable to its net investment income and net short- and/or long-term capital gain (including capital gains, if any, from the liquidation of the Fund’s assets) in advance of the Fund’s regular distribution schedule. All or a portion of any such distributions may be taxable as ordinary income.
    Shareholders should consult a personal tax adviser with respect to the effects of the liquidation and of any associated distributions.
    IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR RETIREMENT PLAN INVESTORS
    If you are a retirement plan investor, you should consult your tax advisor regarding the consequences of a redemption of Fund shares. If you receive a distribution from an Individual Retirement Account or a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP), (IRA), you must roll the proceeds into another Individual Retirement Account within sixty (60) days of the date of the distribution in order to avoid having to include the distribution in your taxable income for the year. If you receive a distribution from a 403(b)(7) Custodian Account (Tax-Sheltered account) or a Keogh Account, you must roll the distribution into a similar type of retirement plan within sixty (60) days in order to avoid disqualification of your plan and the severe tax consequences that it can bring. If you are the trustee of a Qualified Retirement Plan, you may reinvest the money in any way permitted by the plan and trust agreement.
    Shareholders who hold their shares through an IRA should consult their tax advisers concerning the tax implications of a distribution, their eligibility to roll over a distribution and the procedures applicable to such rollovers. Caution: If you hold shares through an IRA and do not reinvest liquidation or redemption proceeds through your IRA (i.e., if you cash a check representing those proceeds or deposit or reinvest them in a different account), such proceeds may be subject to a 10% penalty and taxed as ordinary income in the year of receipt.
    ANY SHAREHOLDERS WHO HAVE NOT REDEEMED OR EXCHANGED THEIR SHARES OF THE FUND PRIOR TO OCTOBER 11, 2024 WILL HAVE THEIR SHARES AUTOMATICALLY REDEEMED AS OF THAT DATE, AND PROCEEDS WILL BE SENT TO THE ADDRESS OR ACCOUNT OF RECORD.
    **********************
    Shareholders should read this Supplement in conjunction with the BCM Focus Small/Micro-Cap Fund’s Prospectus and the Statement of Additional Information, each as supplemented from time to time. This document provides information that you should know before investing and should be retained for future reference. This document is available upon request and without charge by calling UMB Fund Services, Inc. at (888)885-8859.
    Investors should retain this supplement for future reference.
  • September Commentary Ben Carlson's chart
    Agree with you 100% @larryB. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I experienced five years of hard work earnings go poof in the market within a few weeks...
    Like I stated earlier, easy to say in hindsight just stay invested etc...but the market doesn't care what you need to support your retirement and most crapped themselves when the markets drew down by 30% plus... They say it always comes back like that's a law of gravity or something...just like housing always goes up ..hmmm
  • Fidelity Automatic Account Builder changes
    @Sven is asking what price is received when a purchase is made automatically, as opposed to being entered by the investor. It's a good question.
    Most automatic investments are via DRIP plans. "True" DRIPs are set up with the companies themselves. In these plans, investors often receive shares from a company based on its closing price on the day of reinvestment, frequently at a discount. For example:
    common stockholders may now receive a number of shares based on 95% of the market price per share of common stock at the close of regular trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market on the valuation date fixed by the Board for such distribution
    https://ir.ofscreditcompany.com/shareholder-services/dividend-reinvestment-plan
    However, for "synthetic" DRIPs, where the brokerage is reinvesting the divs, it's not clear what price the investor is paying for the additional shares. Likewise, when the brokerage is automatically purchasing shares (with investor cash, not divs) on scheduled dates, what price is paid for those shares?
    What Fidelity does when reinvesting divs (I don't know about scheduled investments):
    Note ... that the stock price at which your reinvestment occurs is not necessarily the same as the price that is in effect on the dividend payable date. This is because we generally buy the shares of domestic companies two business days before the dividend payable date [likely now one day before with T+1], at the market price(s) in effect at the time, in order to help ensure that we have shares on hand to place in your account on the dividend payable date.
    https://www.fidelity.com/bin-public/060_www_fidelity_com/documents/customer-service/brokerage-retirement-cust-agree-and-commission-sched.pdf
    Related: what price does M* use for purchases in calculating total return including reinvested dividends?
    Reinvestments are made using the actual reinvestment price,
    https://admainnew.morningstar.com/directhelp/Glossary/Performance/Total_Return.htm
  • Kotlikoff..."No one can safely use Fidelity's "Planning Tool" to plan their finances
    @mark. Thanks for sharing that link. Mr .Kotlikoff convinced me his product is not for me. Having been retired for almost six years I have figured out that the finances of retirement are an always moving target that will defy precision modeling ,,, even from a Harvard economist who has published 3.64 million articles.
  • Kotlikoff..."No one can safely use Fidelity's "Planning Tool" to plan their finances
    I couldn't open the link but googled Kotlikoff and found it on his substack page.
    You get what you pay for. Fido is free. MAxFi (Kotlikoff) costs $89 a year, but you only need to run it once and then maybe a few years latter. They will save your data as best I can tell
    I have been pretty impressed by MaxiFi, and consider it money well spent, although it is best for people who are making decisions prior to retirement like "can I afford to retire now" or when to take Social Security
    I suspect most people would come at spending decisions on irregular basis ie "Can I afford that trip this year"
    MAxifi tells you what the max is you can spend every year. A little strange, as I assume most people worried about retirement are having trouble saving enough, not overspending in retirement
  • Kotlikoff..."No one can safely use Fidelity's "Planning Tool" to plan their finances
    Kotlikoff make some interesting comments...curious...for those retired and non-retired, and if you are comfortable answering...how do you plan your finances...self planning, advisor, software tool, "I have a bullet proof govt pension so not too concerned", kind of rough frame work and wing it as man plans and God laughs....??
    https://larrykotlikoff.substack.com/p/fidelitys-retirement-planner-versus
  • Stable-Value (SV) Rates, 9/1/24
    Stable-Value (SV) Rates, 9/1/24
    TIAA Traditional Annuity (Accumulation) Rates
    Rates down by 25 bps
    Restricted RC 5.25%, RA 5.00%
    Flexible RCP 4.50%, SRA 4.25%, IRA-101110+ 4.50%
    (TIAA Declaration Year 3/1 - 2/28)
    TSP G Fund pending (previous 4.125%).
    Options outside of workplace retirement plans include m-mkt funds, bank m-mkt accounts (FDIC insured), T-Bills, short-term brokered CDs.
    #StableValue #401k #403b #TIAA #TSP
    https://ybbpersonalfinance.proboards.com/post/1632/thread
  • WealthTrack Show
    Bill Wilby, former portfolio manager for Oppenheimer Global Fund, is the featured guest this week.
    He's concerned about "unknown unknowns."
    Specifically, his major areas of concern are Private Equity (PE) and Private Credit.
    S&P 500 leverage ratio is 1.6 while PE leverage ratio may be 5 or 6 (difficult to discern).
    PE returns may decline significantly in the next 3 or 4 years.
    Backward-looking endowments/pension funds will probably decide to pull back if this happens.
    Wilby doesn't think this is a 2007/2008 caliber problem but doesn't know for certain since data is lacking.
    Consuelo asked Mr. Wilby how investing has changed over the past 20 years.
    Much more money is being run in quantitative strategies.
    The public market has shrunk relative to the private market.
    US debt to GDP ratio was probably 50% or 60% but is now at 120%.
    The Fed balance sheet has grown 10 times during the past 20 years!
    Not surprisingly, the market cap of gold (hedge against debasement?) has gone up 10 times as well.
    Wilby owns individual stocks and cash (~70%/30% mix) while avoiding bonds in his personal portfolio.
    His one investment for a diversified portfolio is AMSL which he also recommended last year.
    I really enjoyed this episode.
    https://wealthtrack.com/great-investors-retirement-portfolio/
  • MDP Low Volatility Fund will be liquidated
    https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1437249/000158064224004810/mdp_497.htm
    497 1 mdp_497.htm 497
    MDP LOW VOLATILITY FUND
    Class A Shares - MDPMX
    Class I Shares – MDPLX
    Supplement dated August 26, 2024 to Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information dated May 31, 2024
    The Board of Trustees of Valued Advisers Trust (the “Board”) authorized an orderly liquidation of the MDP Low Volatility Fund (the “Fund”), a series of Valued Advisers Trust. The Board determined on August 23, 2024 that closing and liquidating the Fund was in the best interests of the Fund and the Fund’s shareholders.
    The Fund’s investment adviser informed the Board of its view that it no longer is economically feasible to continue managing the Fund because of the Fund’s small size and the difficulty encountered in attracting assets.
    The Fund is no longer accepting purchase orders for its shares, and it will close effective as of September 24, 2024 (“Closing Date”). Shareholders may redeem Fund shares at any time prior to this Closing Date. Procedures for redeeming your account, including reinvested distributions, are contained in the section “How to Redeem Shares” in the Fund’s Prospectus. Any shareholders that have not redeemed their shares of the Fund prior to the Closing Date will have their shares automatically redeemed as of that date, with proceeds being sent to the address of record. If your Fund shares were purchased through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary and are held in a brokerage or other investment account, redemption proceeds may be forwarded by the Fund directly to the broker-dealer or other financial intermediary for deposit into your brokerage or other investment account.
    The Fund is no longer pursuing its investment objective. All holdings in the Fund’s portfolio are being liquidated, and the proceeds will be invested in money market instruments or held in cash. Shareholders may continue to reinvest dividends and distributions in the Fund or redeem their shares until the Closing Date. Any capital gains will be distributed as soon as practicable to shareholders and reinvested in additional Fund shares, unless you have requested payment in cash.
    IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR RETIREMENT PLAN INVESTORS
    If you are a retirement plan investor, you should consult your tax adviser regarding the consequences of a redemption of Fund shares. If you receive a distribution from an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRA, you must roll the proceeds into another IRA within 60 days of the date of the distribution to avoid having to include the distribution in your taxable income for the year. If you are the trustee of a qualified retirement plan or the custodian of a 403(b)(7) custodian account (tax-sheltered account) or a Keogh account, you may reinvest the proceeds in any way permitted by its governing instrument.
    For additional information regarding the liquidation, shareholders of the Fund may call (833) 914-3344.
    You should read this Supplement in conjunction with the Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, each dated May 31, 2024, which provide information that you should know before investing in the Fund and should be retained for future reference. These documents are available upon request and without charge by calling the Fund at (833) 914-3344.
    PLEASE RETAIN THIS SUPPLEMENT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE
  • A Conservative portfolio design
    Shooting for 7% returns over time, but with very low volatility (SD). I am considering the following allocation:
    PHEFX 15%
    FMSDX 15%
    CBLDX 15%
    SWHFX 10%
    PVCMX 10%
    HMEZX 10%
    HELO 10%
    PRPFX 5%
    LCORX 5%
    RSIVX 5%
    Can you do better? Please share your ideas.

    As my CDs mature, I am considering the following low volatility allocation for my retirement portfolio :
    HELO 10%
    ICMUX 25%
    PRCFX 25%
    QQMNX 15%
    RCTIX 25%
    Two of the funds are fairly new, HELO and PRCFX, but they are run by excellent and very experienced managers.
    Available PV data over the past eight months is as follows:
    Total Return = 9%
    Std Deviation = 2.8%
    Sharpe Ratio= 2.8
    Sortino Ratio = 4.8
    Can I do better, JD? I don't know, just sharing my ideas.
    But, good luck.
  • TSUMX. Portfolio mgr changes?
    I see this Edgar/SEC filing dated 8/21/24 announcing these changes for Ben KIRBY and Jeff KLINGELHOFER. They were managing several Thornburg funds. Their bios appear on Thornburg website. Kirby was also managing $13.8 billion TIBAX / TIBIX and Thornburg's only CEF TBLD ($542 million).
    "Effective August 20, 2024, Matt Burdett has been named Head of Equities and Christian Hoffmann has been named Head of Fixed Income of Thornburg Investment Management, Inc. (“Thornburg”), replacing Ben Kirby and Jeff Klingelhofer who will conclude their service as Co-Heads of Investments of Thornburg on September 30, 2024."
    Burdett and Hoffman are already part of TIBIX and TBLD teams. In TSUMX, they will be REPLACING Kirby and Klingelhofer.
    May be retirement? Moving on? Scandal?
    Someone who is keeping tabs on Thornburg should comment on these developments.
    Edgar/SEC https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/816153/000199937124010454/tbit-497_082124.htm
    Ben Kirby https://www.thornburg.com/people/ben-kirby/
    Jeff Klingelhofer https://www.thornburg.com/people/jeff-klingelhofer/
    Matt Burdett https://www.thornburg.com/people/matt-burdett/
    Christian Hoffmann https://www.thornburg.com/people/christian-hoffmann/
  • Variable Annuities - Fidelity and TIAA
    Thank you @msf for your efforts. We've discussed these annuity types in the past; and it is important for some to be aware of these choices to expand their 'tax deferred' investment choices.
    For those not familiar, the below link we take you to the Fidelity page of their investment choices. Select the investment type in the 'name' column for details of that particular choice.
    FPRA (Fidelity Personal Retirement Annuity) LINK NO login required.
  • Fidelity Latin America Fund is being merged into another fund
    https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/744822/000113322824007862/flafa-efp9504_497.htm
    97 1 flafa-efp9504_497.htm FIDELITY LATIN AMERICA FUND AMCIZ - 497
    Supplement to the
    Fidelity® Latin America Fund
    Class A, Class M, Class C, Class I, and Class Z
    December 30, 2023
    Prospectus

    Effective after the close of business on or about September 6, 2024, new positions in the fund may no longer be opened. Existing shareholders may continue to hold their shares and purchase additional shares through the reinvestment of dividend and capital gain distributions until the fund’s Reorganization takes place on or about September 13, 2024.
    Proposed Reorganization. The Board of Trustees of Fidelity Investment Trust has unanimously approved an Agreement and Plan of Reorganization (“Agreement”) between Fidelity® Latin America Fund and Fidelity® Emerging Markets Fund pursuant to which Fidelity® Latin America Fund would be reorganized on a tax-free basis with and into Fidelity® Emerging Markets Fund.
    As a result of the proposed Reorganization, shareholders of each class of Fidelity® Latin America Fund would receive shares of the corresponding class of Fidelity® Emerging Markets Fund.
    The Agreement provides for the transfer of all of the assets of Fidelity® Latin America Fund in exchange for corresponding shares of Fidelity® Emerging Markets Fund equal in value to the net assets of Fidelity® Latin America Fund and the assumption by Fidelity® Emerging Markets Fund of all of the liabilities of Fidelity® Latin America Fund. After the exchange, Fidelity® Latin America Fund will distribute the Fidelity® Emerging Markets Fund shares to its shareholders pro rata, in liquidation of Fidelity® Latin America Fund. As a result, shareholders of Fidelity® Latin America Fund will become shareholders of Fidelity® Emerging Markets Fund (these transactions are collectively referred to as the “Reorganization”).
    A Special Meeting (the “Meeting”) of the Shareholders of Fidelity® Latin America Fund is expected to be held during the third quarter of 2024 and approval of the Agreement will be voted on at that time. A combined proxy statement and prospectus containing more information with respect to the Reorganization will be provided to shareholders of record of Fidelity® Latin America Fund in advance of the meeting.
    If the Agreement is approved at the Meeting and certain conditions required by the Agreement are satisfied, the Reorganization is expected to take place on or about September 13, 2024. If shareholder approval of the Agreement is delayed due to failure to meet a quorum or otherwise (an “Adjournment”), the Reorganization will become effective, if approved, as soon as practicable thereafter.
    In connection with seeking shareholder approval of the Agreement, effective the close of business on March 22, 2024, new positions in Fidelity® Latin America Fund (the fund) may no longer be opened. Shareholders of the fund on that date may continue to add to their fund positions existing on that date. Investors who did not own shares of the fund on March 22, 2024, generally will not be allowed to buy shares of the fund except that new fund positions may be opened: 1) by participants in most group employer retirement plans (and their successor plans) if a qualifying fund is already established as an investment option under the plans (or under another plan sponsored by the same employer), 2) by participants in a 401(a) plan covered by a master record keeping services agreement between Fidelity and a national federation of employers that included a qualifying fund as a core investment option, 3) for accounts managed on a discretionary basis by certain registered investment advisers that have discretionary assets of at least $500 million invested in mutual funds and already included the fund in their discretionary account program, 4) by a mutual fund or a qualified tuition program for which Fidelity serves as investment manager, 5) by a portfolio manager of the fund, 6) by a fee deferral plan offered to trustees of certain Fidelity® funds, if the fund is an investment option under the plan, and 7) by qualified intermediaries to facilitate in-kind redemption activity when deemed by the Adviser to be in the best interests of the fund, and 8) by certain asset pools associated with an organization that already offers a qualifying fund as an investment option in its retirement plan(s). These restrictions generally will apply to investments made directly with Fidelity and investments made through intermediaries. Investors may be required to demonstrate eligibility to buy shares of the fund before an investment is accepted.
    If shareholder approval of the Agreement cannot be achieved, the Board of Trustees has approved a plan of liquidation for Fidelity® Latin America Fund. Prior to such liquidation the fund’s assets will be managed to provide for sufficient liquidity to meet redemptions prior to liquidation. In this event, effective after the close of business on July 16, 2024 (or such later date as may be required in connection with an Adjournment), the fund will no longer permit new positions in the fund to be opened. Existing shareholders will be permitted to continue to hold their shares and purchase additional shares through the reinvestment of dividend and capital gain distributions until the fund’s liquidation on or about September 13, 2024 or as soon as practicable thereafter in the event of an Adjournment.
    The foregoing is not a solicitation of any proxy. For a free copy of the Proxy Statement describing the Reorganization (and containing important information about fees, expenses and risk considerations) and a Prospectus for Fidelity® Emerging Markets Fund please call 1-877-208-0098. The prospectus/proxy statement will also be available for free on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s web site (www.sec.gov).
    Effective March 1, 2024, the fund’s management contract was amended to incorporate administrative services previously covered under separate services agreements. The amended contract incorporates a management fee rate that may vary by class. The Adviser or an affiliate pays certain expenses of managing and operating the fund out of each class’s management fee...